//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Fallen King 
// Story: Grievance from Perdition 
// by Vin Diesels Go-Kart 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight never liked Discord. 

Much like her other friends, save Fluttershy, she could put up with his witty antics and annoying personality. However, Twilight always knew that deep down, no matter how reformed the draconequus claimed to be, he was still the spirit of chaos and that meant that he would inherently have the desire; the insatiable lust to cause havoc and turn Equestria into his own personal theme park of mischief and treachery. 

It was this reason, and quite possibly this reason alone, that caused her to loath the creature. Twilight had never really discussed the topic much with her friends, though Discord was the butt of quite a few jokes here and there. She wasn't sure if they disliked him as much as she did. Surely Rainbow Dash and Applejack would have been the sole proprietors of the "we really don't like Discord" association, as they probably were the most hostile towards him when he was around, and came up with the particularly vulgar jokes when he wasn't. 

At the end of the day though, Twilight knew that all of her friends could get along with the creature well enough, and put up with his sense of humor with gruff repose. 

She, however, was a different story. As far as the princess was concerned, Discord had been the greatest threat Equestria had ever known. He was a force that could not easily be stopped, more dangerous than Sombra, Chrysalis, or even Nightmare Moon. His powers seemed limitless and his deceptive attitude made him the perfect villain, in that no other baddie had such a desire for evil ingrained in their brains. He caused chaos for its own sake, and that made him all the more threatening. 

That's why Twilight couldn't stand the draconequus. He was the country's biggest enemy, yet he was able to float around on a cotton candy cloud as if he were an ordinary citizen... if ordinary citizens could conjure up candy clouds, that is. This caused the princess' blood to boil, and ensured that Discord would always have a special place on her "immediately turn to stone" list.

All of that went right out the window, though, as soon as Twilight saw the look on Discord's face when Ocraten wrapped his large claws around the spirit's neck. The fear that he felt seemed to radiate like the heat from Celestia's sun. As soon as Twilight looked into his eyes, she immediately felt the same panic and dismay that he did, and it truly terrified her more than anything else in the world. 

Discord never showed fear. Even as he was being turned into stone for a second time, the surprise and panic in his face wasn't nearly as prominent as it was right now. Twilight continued to stare in horror as Ocraten confronted Discord. 

"It's been a long time, you pathetic whelp. How have you been?"

Discord tried to answer, but the demon's grip was far too tight. It was a struggle for him simply to inhale enough oxygen to maintain consciousness. Cuz, you know, immortal spirits totally need that stuff. 

What came out of his mouth was nothing more than sputtering and wheezing. 

"That's nice." the demon answered. "I've been real busy being dead, you know, after you MURDERED ME!" 

With that, Ocraten ran one of his razor-like claws across Discord's face, leaving a nasty scratch, then threw the spirit clear across the street. Discord smashed into a nearby house, sending glass and wooden splinters every which way. The pony couple who had been hiding in the humble abode now jumped out of their destroyed home and took off down the street. 

With a deep chuckle, Ocraten walked over to the crash site as Discord tried to recover, coughing out bits of debris and sucking in lungfuls of air. It wasn't long before the demon king was upon him once more. 

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment, snake." he grabbed the spirit again, holding him up much like he'd done before. Massive blade still in hand, Ocraten let Discord examine himself via the sword's reflective surface. "Look at you. Look at how frightened you are. Without your powers you are nothing but a helpless swine waiting to be slaughtered. " 

Discord looked at his frightened expression in the mirror, but something the demon had said caused a grin to once again find it's way onto his mismatched face. 

"I hate to disappoint you, old friend, but my powers are still quite usable." and with that, the draconequus snapped his claws... but nothing happened. 

Discord's smile faded as he snapped his claws a few more times. Then he tried every other method he knew of to activate his mischievous powers. Much to his surprise and dismay, however, no success came from his attempts. 

Ocraten watched the spectacle with great amusement, bellowing laughter leaving his maw as fire did so as well. "Did you honestly believe I would come back seeking revenge, and not have a way of suppressing your powers?"

The spirit thought a moment. "Well... yes. I mean no offense, Ocraten, but you were never the sharpest tool in the metaphorical shed." 

Surely if his powers had been usable, Discord would have dropped a shed on top of the assaulting demon right then, but presently he could do nothing but take his abuse. Ocraten slammed the spirit into the ground. 

"No offense taken." he spat. "Now if my memory serves me, I believe my promise to you went something like this."

With that last word he slammed one of his massive feet down on Discord's body. "Now. What did I say I would do? I believe it had something to do with decapitation!"

He brought his sword's tip right up against the spirit's neck, just above the fur line. Scared out of his mind, the draconequus struggled to get free, while simultaneously pleading with the fallen king.

"Come on, Ocraten. I-it was j-just a harmless little j-joke. I-I mean spending all that time in the pits of Tartarus couldn't have been that bad, right?"

Ocraten began emanating flames from his body as he looked up and roared to the heavens. "How dare you try to plead innocence to me! You have no idea the torture I was subjected to while banished to that damnation! I had to go through every single day at a snail's pace, enduring a new kind of punishment each time the red sun rose over the fiery lake!" 

His sword pressed deeper into Discord's neck, it's tip ready to break skin. "My torment was without end, and the only thing that allowed me to retain my sanity was the desire for you to experience it ten fold!" 

Discord would have gulped if his fear of being punctured by the demon's blade wasn't present. 

Ocraten continued. "I've made a deal with my tormentors that will ensure you suffer far worse than I did." he leaned in closer to the chaotic spirit. "And the best part is that I will be the one subjecting you to this torture. Once I finish cutting you to ribbons, I will return to the underworld and meet your soul. Then you and I will have all the time in the world to catch up." 

With another chuckle, Ocraten grabbed his mighty weapon with both hands and raised it high into the air. As Discord watched his doom approach, his life on earth flashed before his eyes. Sadly, and to the spirit's immense disappointment, most of it was just him being a stone decoration to be examined by some bored noblemare at a Canterlot garden party. Not wanting to see the satisfied expression on Ocraten's face as he finished the draconequus off, Discord closed his eyes tightly, and awaited the end. 

However, a confused grunt from the demon king caused his eyes to open once more. He now saw that Ocraten was enveloped by a purple aura, preventing him from finishing his execution.

"What is the meaning of..." the demon was immediately thrown into the same house that Discord had already demolished. The spirit looked over and saw Twilight panting heavily. His confusion mounted when she galloped over to him. She seemed to be yelling something in his ear, but for some odd reason, he couldn't hear anything. The fact that he was a single second from being killed had a profound effect on the spirit's mind.  

Discord rubbed his head with a paw, then started making out what the princess was screaming. 

"RUN!" 

The spirit's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. Without anther word, he hopped off his back and bolted down the street, making a sharp left turn and disappearing from sight. 

Twilight watched as Discord fled, then turned her attention back to the destroyed house. The second floor collapsed in with a loud crash, followed by a cloud of dust rising out of the rubble. 

Through the cloud, the princess could see two red eyes staring at her with a rage she never thought could exist. Ocraten slowly stepped out of the building just as the remainder of the structure succumbed to the heavy damage and fell to pieces. He looked down the street, in the same direction Discord had fled. Then he turned his attention back to the pony who'd just prevented him from exacting his revenge. 

Twilight met the demon's gaze, which was so full of hatred that she involuntarily took a few steps back from the beast. Applejack and Pinkie Pie hadn't moved a muscle during the conflict, and Twilight's actions didn't aid them in getting over their nerves. The princess lowered her head, getting ready to defend herself against the king. She had no idea how powerful he was, but she wasn't confident she could best the creature in open combat. At the very least, she would hold him off long enough for her friends to get run to safety, which she prayed they would be smart enough to do once he attacked. 

To her surprise, however, Ocraten did not raise his sword against her. Instead, he sheathed the weapon behind his back. 

"Pony... If you value your life and the lives of your subjects, I would suggest not interfering with me again." His words were like spears, penetrating Twilight with more force than any physical attack could. The demon exhaled steam from his nostrils, then started walking in the direction Discord had gone. In his wake, he left a completely leveled house and three utterly perplexed ponies.