//------------------------------// // Chapter 1- Preparation // Story: A King, The Queens, and Their Games // by S-K Of The Flame //------------------------------// Disclaimer: I don’t own My Little Pony Chapter 1- Preparation {Discord} Not many races seemed able to stand the cold. Evolution had not allowed many races to be able to walk through it comfortably, let alone live in it. For the life of him, Discord couldn’t understand why. Snowflakes landed on him, here in the cold plains of the Frozen North. Layers upon layers of snow lay there undisturbed on the ground. The white seemed to stretch on for miles in all directions. Discord stood there, eyes closed and arms outstretched, enjoying the physical sensation of the snow landing upon him. Next to the feel of chocolate rain, there was no feeling in the world that could quite match the pleasure he felt, standing here in the snow. Not even sex could compare. There was just something about the chill that the frost and rain did to him that stirred something deep within him. Perhaps it was in part to the Wendigo in him. Reluctantly, Discord opened his eyes and put the feel of the snow out of his mind. As tempting as it was to stand there for a little longer, he was on a little bit of a time constrain. For every moment that Sombra’s horn remained hidden and unattained, it’s power dwindled, ever so slightly and Discord would need all the power that he could get from the horn to put the next step of his plans in motion. There had been enough setbacks as it was. Chrysalis had been the largest of them. He had been hoping that she would come around and begin to trust him, allowing him to more easily sway the changeling race towards his leadership. However she was proving to be more stubborn and strong willed then he would have liked. She openly questioned his motives daily, and she had been little more than an annoying thorn in his side. And there was no simple solution to her brand of annoyance, oh no. Normally he would have used his charms and mind magic to simply reorganize her mind into something easier to control, but he couldn’t do that here. Her children would sense the manipulation and would likely turn on him for trying to “harm” their mother. In the state of his being, that being that he was weaker then he would normally be, he would be taking fewer risks then he would be taking most of the time. ‘One must consider both rewards reaped and dangers risked before action is taken. When the reward outweighs the risk, action can and should be taken. If the risk outweighs the reward, it might be better to try and come up with alternatives.’ Discord closed his eyes and chuckled, shaking his head. That stupid proverb had been stomped into his head ever since she had begun the process of teaching him. It served him well on occasion, but he would very often choose to ignore it. However, for the time being, he was going to choose to follow it more often, at least until a large chunk of his power returned. Perhaps that was her punishment to him for ignoring what she had taught him. If he believed in such a thing, he would have said that she was looking down on him, frowning, clearly disappointed. “Bah, no matter.” Discord said to himself, shaking his head slightly. Thinking of her would only distract him from the task at hand. He concentrated, searching the air for the feel of Sombra’s horn. When Discord had twisted him into what he had been as the king of the Crystal Empire, he had been sure to put the mass of power corrupting his mind into His horn. He screamed for days while the shadows eroded his mind. It had been an impossible task not to enjoy every second of his screams. He could feel it. It was close, so close. All he would have to do would be to reabsorb the shadow magic he had “Blessed” Sombra with and he would gain back some of what he had lost. And even if Sombra hadn’t held Discord’s power within him, he would have been able to find him. After all, they shared the same flesh, didn’t they? The same blood? Even after these hundreds of years, Discord still questioned it. What connected those who called each other family? Not that he considered Sombra family. He may have once, long ago. But no longer. Discord’s gaze was drawn to the ground a dozen or so yards away. There, in a small puddle of melted snow, was Sombra’s horn. With a sigh of relief, Discord began to walk towards the horn. There was more power holding onto it then he had expected. Finally, something unexpected but good. This would surely shave a few days off the time needed to gather power for his “Pep talk” with Luna. As he approached, a warm air seemed to emanate from the horn. Unsurprising really. Considering how much power that he was sensing, a little heat was to be expected. It was going to burn his claw when he picked it up though. He wasn’t looking forward to that. Discord reached his griffon claw towards the horn. He could feel the air around his claw become hotter as it got closer and closer to the horn. As his claw came in contact with the horn, he heard a sizzle, and a second later, the pain coursed through him. His claw felt like it was holding pure Tartarus fire. Unrelenting fire with an unquenchable thirst to destroy everything that it came into contact with. He winced as he lifted the horn from the ground. The pain was flowing through his arm. A part of him knew that the pain was only coming from his claw, but the pain was so intense that it seemed to be flowing through him. Doing his best to ignore the pain (Though this was very much a futile effort.), Discord brought the tip of Sombra’s horn towards his stomach. After taking a breath to steady himself, Discord roughly plunged the tip into his stomach, piercing his hide. Without pausing, Discord used the horn to cut a larger line upwards. Once he was satisfied with the size of the wound, he brought the horn away. He then placed the fingers of his manticore paw inside the wound, pulling the wound wider, similar to what he had done to the changeling he had examined just weeks previous. Where one might expect blood and bone to be, the inside of Discord was completely empty. There was nothing inside of him. Looking into him, one would see blackness, stretching on seemingly forever. It was like space, but without the stars. Discord was a very unique creature (Obviously). Where most creature required blood, organs, food, even air to survive, he didn’t. He was a being made entirely of magic. Forged from the blood and flesh of many, held together by magic. He wasn’t quite sure how he was able to exist, nor did he care. He had life like any other creature and unlike all the others, didn’t require an answer to the rhyme or reason to the specifics of his existence. He existed and that was all that mattered to him. Inside of him, it was like a void. Whether or not this was his nature or not, he had never really cared to know. All that really mattered was that his power seemed to emanate from this empty still void. Discord Brought Sombra’s horn towards the open wound, placing it inside. With a gentle push, he released his grasp on the horn, and it began to gently float within the void. Once he was sure that Sombra’s horn wasn’t just going to randomly float out of the gaping hole in his stomach, Discord called upon the magic he had at his command. The flesh (Or at least it looked like flesh. He wasn’t quite sure if it was or not.) Around the edges of his wound morphed into what looked like tiny brown claws that were no larger than one of his fingers. The tiny appendages stretched toward the other side of Discords wound, grabbing hold of the flesh. Their fingers began to blend into his flesh. This continued until there was no trace that there had ever been a wound there in the first place. And now, he would wait. This inaction was almost intolerable. This world was vast and there was so much in it. So much to do. Discord hated having to wait for anything. It was so boring. But it wasn’t safe to move. Not even for him. When Sombra’s horn was completely reabsorbed into himself, there would be a massive surge of power. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that his Celesta and his Luna would feel it, even from all the way out here. Whether or not they would know if it was him, he was unsure. His little girls possessed quite the unpredictable thought processes, even by his standards. A physical sensation pulsed through Discord’s chest. It was about to happen. Sombra’s power was about to return to him. He braced himself. This was, however, something that one could not prepare themselves for. His eyes transformed into a sickly bright green with red pupils. Dark energy flowed from his eyes in the form of mist. The effects weren’t just limited to his eyes. Black veins appeared on his skin, covering almost every portion of his body. As they spread, Discord grit his teeth. It felt like his body was on fire, both on his skin, and inside his body. And then, the real pain began. An enormous amount of Dark energy blasted out of every inch of the veins. It spread in every direction, extending about thirty feet. Discord let out of scream. The pain was intense. It felt like his insides (If he had any) were being ripped from his body only to be torn shred to shred. He tried to endure, though the pain made it difficult to think. Once this pain subsided within the next minute or two, He would have the power he needed for the next phase of his plan. This pain was temporary. He was eternal. He would be here long after this snow had vanished. He would be here long after the stars burned out. He would be here long after everything ended, leaving him the only creature to exist. The pain began to end somewhat. As the pain lessened, a feeling of power began to flow through him. Where he had felt pain, He know felt the dark magic he had “Gifted” Sombra. This feeling. It was addicting. Unicorn felt a rush when magic flowed through their horns, but even they could not even imagine the ecstasy of pure power. The universe seemed to envelope you in a tight second lair of flesh. It was like having your body transform into another pleasure center. It was… Intoxicating, but also, enlightening. No other creature could match Discord in terms of power. He was unique and utterly powerful. There was no pony like him. Even using the same methods Sombra had, even he could not create another like him. And that was fine really. When 2 thing were exactly the same, they were incredibly boring. It was why he had done nothing to change the pony’s physiology when he had taken over. Despite the fact that they were insane, each one was so utterly unique that it had seemed like a crime to change them really. But this was where the likeability ended and their insanity began. They could change nothing about themselves. They remained the same beings they were when they were born until they day they ceased to exist. They were all bound by personality, gender, color; Things that they had no control over. While Discord was bound by none of these. If he disliked the color of his fur, he would change (not that he would at this point. He found himself greatly fond of his current color scheme and it would probably be a few centuries before he would grow bored of it). If he disliked his gender, he could simply switch. How terribly stale, he would think to himself. What must it be like to be the same thing everyday when you wake? What must it be like to never question your role in life? What was it like to be branded on your backside, displaying to everyone your role in the world? It twisted feelings of pity within him. Why did no pony question it? Why did they all just blindly go with what their flank told them to do? It was madness in its rawest form. To be unquestioning to unsensible nonsense. To be completely illogical in the face of reason. This also gave birth to anger, in addition to the pity he felt for pony kind. There was ignorance, and then there was denial. There was no way in Equestria that none could see the truth of their insanity. Yet, despite, they denied it, ignored it. How could they do that to themselves? That would all change very soon. A wicked smile spread across his face, as he felt this new power flow through his being. He….He was Discord. He was eternal. He was immortal. Unkillable. Powerful. Intelligent. Sane! He would show them. He would show them all. He would show them the truth by stripping away the insanity that plagued them all. He would show them the one simple truth of this world, if there ever was one. “Everything, comes from, creates, and becomes, Chaos!” As the high the dark magic provided him began to fade, His love and chaos and disharmony stabilized, as the time constrain he was under came back into his mind. He looked off in the distance to the south, the sickly green glow leaving his eyes. His little Celestia and Little Luna would have surely felt such a large burst of Dark magic. That meant either that they would be sending a squad or two of guards to investigate, or (If he was lucky) they would be coming here themselves personally to discover the source. As tempted as he was to stay and reunite with them (Particularly his little Luna. He hadn’t seen her in over a thousand years), he knew he couldn’t take the risk. While he had recovered a good chunk of his power from Sombra’s horn, he was still severely underpowered (At least in his terms). He wasn’t ready for this confrontation just yet. His little girls were quite strong. No, this reunion would have to wait, just a tad longer. It was more pressing that he fetch, the one thing he still needed from Canterlot. This wouldn’t take long, now that he had more of his power. It would simply be a matter of teleporting to Canterlot (he hoped that the mere act wouldn’t deplete him too much, otherwise he would have to wait a few more days to pick up Twilight.), possess one of the guards, and take one of the Unicorn Restraining Ring. They were a fascinating piece of magic. They hadn’t existed when he had reigned. He wondered if his little Celestia had helped in their creation. Probably not. They were a very fiendish device. He doubted she had the coldness of heart to commission them. By placing these devices onto the horn of a unicorn, the device sent tiny sparks into the unicorn’s horn, traveling along the nerves into the brain. These sparks were relatively harmless, though headaches were common among subjects wearing the device. These sparks however nulled the part of the brain that controlled the process of gathering magic from your body to the horn. As a result, any unicorn wearing a Restraining Ring would be unable to access their magic. It was said that alicorns could shake off the effects in a few minutes and remove the Ring themselves, but there was no proof of this to be found. Apparently none of the alicorns had submit themselves to test this fact. Normally, Discord would have no need for such a device. After all, if he wanted to ensure that a unicorn wouldn’t be able to use their power, he would just take away their horns. His lack of power at the moment, as temporary as it would be, had led him to be unable to do so for an extended period of time. He could take Twilight Sparkle’s horn only for a day, maybe two. He was confident in his abilities. He truly was. But he was no fool. Twilight, was a very smart mare. She had been raised by his little Celestia, entrenched in her philosophies, conditioned to see anything different as wrong. It would take a great deal of time and talk to convince her of anything otherwise. His little Celestia was a very manipulative teacher. In that way, she was so like him. She understood. Expose a young one to your truth. Let them know nothing else except your truth, and they will die for your beliefs. It was a shame that Celestia had exposed Twilight to the wrong truth. This false belief in Harmony, in control, in sacrificing yourself for the supposed “Greater good”. It sickened him, really. He felt shame that such an ideology could come from anything that had come from him. Though of course, the influence could have come from her. In fact, he was certain of it. Shaking his head, Discord cleared his head of his thoughts as they began to slink back into his past, so long, long ago. He could not afford to fall into memories now, now that there was almost certainly somepony on their way. His thoughts shifted to Canterlot. The closest thing he had to a real home. He had even lived there longer than Cloudsdale. It had been the seat of his kingdom. From there, the entire nation had bent to his will. It had been his ever changing paradise. Constantly changing building, shifting styles, and the spectrum of colors ever changing every moment. It had been his masterpiece. The thought of seeing it as it currently was saddened him somewhat. His capital would no longer be the ever changing city he had left it as, but a boring, stale shadow of its former self. With the image of Cantorlot in his head, Discord gathered his magic in his fingers, and snapped. And in a bright flash of light, he was gone. There was no trace that had been there at all. Or if there was, though snow would soon consume any of the evidence left behind. He hadn’t stood a chance. Even if he had seen Discord. But he hadn’t. A pity. He would have liked to see the guard’s expression when he performed the possession. But sometimes, one didn’t get what they want. Floating above his prey, Discord began to examine his target. He was a regular looking Pegasus guard, at least by his little Celestia’s standards. A white coat with a blue mane and tail. His half lidded eyes were a shade of teal. He wore the traditional armor of the Canterlot guard. A golden helmet with a crest, similarly colored to much his mane. He wore a chestpiece of gold that went from his chest to his flank, but with hole to allow his wings freedom of movement. On each of his hoofs was a golden slipper. He was a grunt in every sense of the word. Not a trace of emotion crossed his face. If there even was emotion on his face, it was indistinguishable from the stoic look he presented the world with. It was the same as his features. He had none. There was nothing to distinguish him from any other guard. Their coat was the same. Their mane was the same. Their Armor was the same. It was a crime against their race. Every pony was born with a unique look. Yet these “guards” (He would never understand why Celestia kept guards. She didn’t need them. She was powerful enough to defend herself without the use of regular ponies.) seemed to throw away all of these unique features they possessed for the prospect of no identity. Truly, these ponies were the very essence of the insanity plaguing the pony race. Wasting no more time, pondering all this. Discord began the process. His claws took hold of the guard’s front hoofs. As he took hold of them, his claws and arms began to sink into his victim. He/the guard instantly cringed at the uncomfortable sensation of another lifeform entering them. As more of his form entered the Guard, he began to become ghostly in appearance. His form disappeared as he became one with this pony. As Discord became just a floating head, one that could be seen right through and be thought of as a hallucination. He opened his mouth, wider than any mouth was supposed to able to. Positioning himself so that the guard’s head was inside his mouth, he snapped his mouth shut. There many sensation as his head entered the head he now inhabited. He was afraid. Something was inside of him, something alien. It was amused. His fear was amusing this unknown force. He thrashed as best he could inside his own head. He thrashed in the vain hope that he could throw this thing out of him. It took Discord a few moments to separate this guards thoughts from his own. Even though he was conscious in a sense of the word, he could no longer bother Discord with onslaught of fear and resistance. Granted, taking this route had ensured the pony would be brain dead when he left the body, but that was of little consequence. He wanted to dress and look like everypony, who was Discord to argue. Tarturaus, he would even help the guard. He would make it so that this guard looked and acted like any corpse in Equestria. What larger majority could one hope to imitate? Discord took a moment to take in his surroundings. He was in a garden of some sorts. (He wasn’t familiar with the complete layout of the castle. He wasn’t really interested in what kind of mess that his little Celestia had made of His place.) Statues of ponies who had either lived long ago or never existed at all stood upon stone slabs on the grass. The body he inhabited was standing on a stone pathway, stretching out, turning and swirling, creating the road through this place. Gingerly, he took a step forward with his new body. It felt slightly odd to be walking on all fours again, but there was nothing he could do about that. These bodies were not designed to walk on two hoofs. Still, it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation. He continued his pace with an air of purpose. Now that he had connected to this guard, their knowledge was now his to access. He now knew where he had to go. The armory near the barracks. There he would find the restraining ring that he desired. Once he had that, the cogs of his plan would begin to spin. Everything would come together as he had desired, baring small variations in other’s actions. Not that these variations would matter. Twilight and his little Luna would join him and stand by his side, the changeling hive would bow down and worship him properly as their God, and Chysalis would become his loyal follower. He was not sure though which role she would fulfill. His slave or his pet? Perhaps he would flip a bit. As he walked down the path, he came across a familiar face. From down the path, he could see the statue he had left in place of his former prison, sitting atop a dais. Where once he sat atop it, stone covering the entirety of his form, draining him of his magic, now stood a stone copy of him, meticulously shaped down to the last detail. His little Celestia was a very sharp observer, and he had no desire to tip her off to the fact that he was no longer there, free to wreak untold havoc upon her so called kingdom. He still had so much to do before it became safe for her to discover his escape. Discord had already decided that it would soon after, if not exactly after, he had brought his little Luna into the folds of his plans. Her corruption would be impossible to hide from little Celestia. And his involvement would also be impossible to hide, no matter how clever he was about it. It wasn’t a question of whether his weakened state prevented him from pulling the wool over her eyes, it was more a question of how much he would have to screw with her brain functions before she bought anything he could come up with. He wouldn’t want to do that at all, not in a million years. A billion. Trillion! After all this time, watching her grow so smart, so strong, where would the challenge be in altering her state to bring her around to his way of thinking? Where would the fun be in watching her embracing the laws of chaos knowing that he had just snapped his fingers, bringing this change about by force? Where would his satisfaction be in taking the easy route? Granted, he had no qualms about doing this to little Luna. In fact, taking the easy route was kind of what he was planning on doing to her. But, Luna was different. It wasn’t her fault, it was just the way things had shaped up. She had been up on the moon for a thousand years sleeping, like him. She hadn’t had the time to grow like little Celestia had. It wasn’t a matter that one was better than the other. It was simply a matter of circumstances. Shaking the pony’s head, Discord brought himself out his thoughts. He found that he was having to do that more and more recently. He would need to work on that at some point. He would have time, he suspected, when he and Twilight Sparkle returned to the hive. For now however, his destination was the armory. With his thoughts now turned towards his current goal, Discord turned away from his former prison’s dais and continued down the stone path. Within a few minutes of walking, he found himself arriving at his destination. The Guard’s Pony Armory. It was a simple building. The standard gray brick ascending upwards creating three stories. The building had not windows. Its wall contained banners of the two princess. Some holding the sun of Celestia, some holding the moon of Luna. In front of the double doors leading into the building was one more of the guards who refused themselves any sort of individouality. Walking up to this waste of sentient thought, Discord walked towards the door. He hadn’t intended to waste his words on this lost cause, but of course, the stoic guard decided that he wanted to be sociable. “I thought you were supposed to be patrolling the gardens?” Slightly wincing at the prospect of having to talk to anypony, Discord schooled his body’s expression into one of neutrality, and replied, “I was, but we’re getting reports of a possible domestic dispute, so, being the never ending pot of luck that I am, I get to grab a ring and check it out. Yay.” A small, almost invisible smile graced the other guard’s face. “I didn’t hear anything about that. Then again, almost nopony comes here. And I am here by myself.” The guard almost turned away, but looked back at Discord. “By the way, you alright? You’re eyes are looking a little yellow.” An unavoidable side effect of possession. The sclera of his victims would become the same shade of yellow as his own. “I don’t know. I guess I feel a little unwell, but hey. What are you going to do? Can’t exactly bail.” “You know, there’s been this amazing development in the work place in the last couple of centuries.” The guard replied, a smirk making its way across his face. “It’s called sick leave.” “Like I said, I don’t exactly feel ill. Just unwell.” Discord said. Wanting to end this conversation quickly, he began to turn the body and walk away. “Besides, who knows what’ll happen if I go up to resources and request leave because my eyes are changing color.” “Last time I checked, they didn’t execute ponys for requesting sick leave! Not in this country!” The guard shouted to Discord, as he walked away. “And I’m pretty sure that eye colors changing is not something they’d scoff at! Just get yourself checked out! Please!” He had barely even heard that last part. He was already trying to rush ahead to where the rings were held. He could barely hold in his excitement. A short jog away was the tool he needed to keep Twilight Sparkle contained. Once he had that, he could see her again. Oh how he was looking forward to that. To once again take in her visage. To see her and imagine all the possibilities that could be. He had so much to ask her as well. How she had been, how life had been without him in it? All that and more he would learn as soon as he had this one object. The object he could now see. A shelf several feet ahead of him held many of the Restraining Rings, along with a wide variety of things that he could not bring himself to care about. Bringing himself to a slow, before stopping completely, he took a moment to admiring the ring. It was about the size of a normal ring, only pitch black. He had read that they were made from molten rock. The inside of the ring was smooth, but the outside was covered in archaic symbols that even he himself could not read. A part of his mind wondered what they were, while the other part told him that they weren’t important. That part of his brain was correct. What mattered was that this object was the key to his reunion with his favorite lavender unicorn. Gingerly, he picked up the object with his hoofs. He wished he could use his fingers. How did ponies even hold things? Looking around for something to ease this burden, his eyes locked onto a small bag on a desk nearby. Awkwardly making his over to the desk while keeping the ring in his grasp. Placing the ring in the bag, he proceeded to tie the bag to the armor this guard word. Making his way back out of the building, he could not help but feel his excitement building again. Twilight Sparkle. How would this time apart have changed her? Not a lot, he hoped. He liked her as she had been when she had sealed him up. He allowed a smile to stretch across his face. “Hold on tight Twilight Sparkle.” He said to himself. “Your savior is on his way.”