0-0-0-0-0
Draconequui, or the few that were left, while not especially powerful or intimidating on their own, possessed an innate talent for magic; always were their kind a little closer to the chaotic energies of the universe than any other living creature. Their amalgamation of mythological pieces that comprised the sum of their bodies may lend to this fact, and Discord was no exception.
However, to Discord, magic was also something that did not come at his beck and call.
It answered occasionally, or whimsically, and sometimes not at all.
Unless his Master commanded it, of course.
"Again, slave."
Discord felt the flow of magic drain from him and into the crystal receptacle, until merely a trickle emanated from his talons. A constant pressure built atop him as he did so, and as he began to sweat, Discord was afraid that he would display emotion from the immense strain of being magically emaciated.
Back to living with a broken mind.
Back to the thoughtless, empty void.
The thought alone made the despair in him grow even more.
"Good enough," Sombra said leisurely, and Discord had to force his gasp of relief down as he dropped the dimly glowing hoof sized emerald onto the examination table. It wasn't as if King Sombra was going to waste his own precious energy, after all. In all likelihood, Sombra just didn't want to expend the extra energy. Or, at the very least, that was Discord's theory. The unicorn trotted around to the opposite side, the quivering stallion strapped atop the stained steel gurney staring in horror with his mouth agape.
Not of his own free will, as was the custom of Sombra, of course.
The earth pony's mouth was forced open by a rather cruelly sharp slew of hooks attached to multiple wires, ensuring that his teeth remained bared as he panted in panic. Sombra silently levitated the glowing emerald, admiring the craftsmanship and shine of the gem for a few moments. For a split second, the grey coated king almost appeared serene. He held his peaceful posture as he turned toward the stallion, and tugged at the strings until he began to scream.
He then jammed the entire emerald into the stallion's throat, effectively cutting off the screams.
Discord tried not to cringe as the gurgling grew more choked when Sombra magically shoved the emerald further and further down the pony's throat, tears streaming down his face as the hooks cut into his flesh.
Why did they always have to die horribly?
Sombra seemed relatively pleased as the stallion convulsed, and an eerie lime light started to ooze from the corpse's eyes.
"Notes, slave. Breakthrough number seventeen; magically enhanced crystalline polymers appear to possess a significantly higher conversion rate over naturally synthesized crystals."
… Interesting.
Horrible, monstrous methods. But an interesting observation.
I wonder…
"… Well?" Sombra barked, and Discord realized that he had begun to lose himself in thought over the implications instead of scribbling faster. He recorded Sombra's every word, his face blank. "Get this one onto the refuse pile; and be quick about it."
Discord wordlessly obeyed, his limbs moving regardless of his personal will.
Fascinatingly, he found that the more that he focused on himself and concentrated what miniscule shred of magic he still retained, he could almost begin to move them of his own volition…
However, when he did so, the overwhelming compulsion to obey crushed his every thought, leaving his head fuzzy and aching. Evidently, there seemed to be more to the obedience spell than a simple matter of willpower. Perhaps that was what Celestia had done… partially circumvented a portion of the spell, allowing him to think clearly again.
It was obvious that she required a willing ally instead of merely another servant, although to what end baffled him. Maybe the young alicorn was a tad more devious than he had previously thought.
"Faster, slave!" Sombra bellowed, and Discord dropped the unfortunate pony down a small shaft at the end of the stony hall.
"Yes, Master," Discord mumbled instantly, hurrying his shuffling pace. Oh, what he would give to escape the horrors of this prison for only a short while.
Fortunately, Sombra seemed to have grown content with his grim research for the time being. However, a look of deep agitation settled across his features as he pored over his numerous notes, and he rapped his hooves against the floor.
He silently but steadily grew more and more angry as his eyes flew over the notes, and for a moment, Discord was afraid Sombra would simply instruct him to kill a few more of the ill-fated souls trapped within the many stone chambers to alleviate his stress.
Oh, that had been a dark, dark day for Discord.
Instead, Sombra merely stacked his notes and breathed quietly through clenched teeth, rubbing his temples tenderly.
"Slave."
"Yes, Master," Discord replied promptly, standing stock still.
"I grow restless as of late. Tell me, what is the inhabitant of cell number twenty-four?"
The draconequus froze, thinking quickly. What was he supposed to reply to that?
"… Well?" Sombra shouted. "Don't just stand there, you disgusting, useless oaf! Go find out!"
Discord held back a sigh of reprieve, thankful that Sombra hadn't expected Discord to have some form of bolstered memory process due to the obedience spell. He trudged in monotone steps down the poorly lit halls, a couple of dispersed torches here and there barely lit. The moans of the entrapped and enslaved besieged him, but Discord could do no more for them than he could himself.
Yet, anyway.
When he finally arrived at the heavyset wooden door with the number 24 inscribed in fresh ink beside it, Discord peered through the small set of iron bars high into the door to discover its inhabitants.
"Hurry up, will you? Just bring her, already!"
How Discord tired of Sombra's incessant impatience.
He bit back a groan before catching up to Sombra's words.
Her?
He must have catalogued each one individually…
The clink of keys filled the air as Discord assumed the mantle of warden, heaving open the immensely heavy wooden door to allow some small measure of light to pour in over the shaking, thin filly.
A sliver of pity arose in Discord as he watched the underfed teal unicorn shy away from him, her eyes wide with fear. The heavy chain around her neck kept her from cringing away too far, and she looked to be on the verge of tears as Discord drew nearer, her breathing fast and shallow.
He hated it the most when the young ones died.
Simply because these were her last moments didn't mean that she couldn't have an inkling of solace, however.
Discord, with a hint of rebelliousness, knelt beside her as he undid the iron lock around her neck.
"Shhh," he whispered conspiratorially. "Don't worry. It's going to be okay," he lied guiltily. So long as she went out with a little hope. Something, anything other than this wretched dismay.
The filly stared tearfully at him for a moment, but nodded shakily as he gave her a tiny hug.
"WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?!"
Discord swiftly scooped the filly up in his arms, carrying her quietly toward the far end of the hall, where Sombra paced furiously.
He sincerely hoped he wouldn't be forced to watch this one.
Especially if Sombra decided to use the corkscrew again.
Discord fought the urge to shudder.
However, to his surprise, Sombra quietly instructed Discord to place the teal filly on the stone block floor before him, where Sombra towered over her. He tilted her small head up with the bottom of his hoof, staring deeply into her eyes.
"Hello there, little one," Sombra grinned. "What is your name?"
She blinked, staring back up at him in dread and confusion.
"M-my name? Um, my-my name is –"
"No," Sombra cut her off with an unnaturally large smile. "No, you don't have a name."
She frowned, giving him a look mixed between dismay at unfairness and befuddlement.
"Yeah huh!" the filly insisted.
For a moment, Discord thought that he would kill her outright for disagreeing.
He sincerely wished that such were the case.
"No," Sombra lowered his head a little, a small spark appearing on the tip of his grey horn. "You don't have a name. You aren't anything. You're nothing."
And for the first time, Discord witnessed as the obedience spell was performed on another living creature, and it haunted him for the rest of his life.
A sickly black beam struck the filly in the face, casting her to the floor. Discord flinched, freezing in place. Fortunately, Sombra seemed fairly more intent on the stricken filly rather than his servant. The filly laid in place for a while, neither breathing nor moving.
"Rise, slave."
Discord's first instinct was to react, before he realized that he wasn't the one being spoken to. The teal filly ever so slowly dragged herself upward, a sliver of drool leaking from her mouth as she did so.
Sombra, rather pleased with himself, patted her warmly atop the head before he began lazily exiting his dank laboratory and trotting up the stairs.
"Come," he said without looking back. "To my chambers with you, slave. You shall appease me for a while."
Discord suddenly felt the urge to vomit again.
"Yes, Master," the filly mumbled, her eyes colorless and hollow.
"There's a good girl."
0-0-0-0-0
Discord sullenly followed the grey king through the castle, trudging quietly behind him and his newest retainer.
He hoped that Celestia and her sister began the revolution swiftly. Discord didn't think he could bear the thought of Sombra's rule any longer. Like clockwork, the trotting of yet another set of hooves filled the air in the vast hallways as Celestia conveniently departed from a side hall. She kept up pace alongside Sombra, to better speak to him.
"Good evening, Father," Celestia said quietly, almost faltering when she saw the blank eyed young filly following submissively behind him. A flicker of something dark passed over her features, but she hid it quickly.
"Ah, shouldn't you be sleeping at this time of night, Celestia?" Sombra said warmly to her, giving her a sharp toothed smile.
"Absolutely right, Father, as always," Celestia nodded, evidently rehearsed. She opened her mouth to give him the next line she had practiced, but she was cut off.
"Then why aren't you resting for your daily duties?"
Quickly, Celestia improvised.
"Regrettably, I find that sleep once again eludes me. I find myself in dire need of… companionship," she said slowly, eying Discord.
"Ahh," King Sombra nodded pensively. "Understandable, for a mare your age. What happened to the all stallions you were provided with?"
"They proved… unsatisfactory," Celestia stated carefully.
"Well," Sombra chortled good naturedly, pushing the teal filly toward his daughter. "Perhaps you should try a different course now and again instead of a single meal, hmm?"
"No!" Celestia looked horrified, but rapidly covered her tracks. "I-no, that is not quite what I meant, F-Father; however, I greatly appreciate your generosity."
Sombra gave her an odd look for a moment, but Celestia recovered with incredible haste.
"You are, as always, correct about my need in change of taste palette," Celestia nodded respectfully toward him in an attempt to soothe his ego. "However, I find that I have developed rather… exotic tastes quite recently."
She eyed Discord meaningfully, awaiting a response from King Sombra.
After a long, uncomfortable silence, in which Discord fretfully awaited his fate, Sombra finally let out a grunt.
"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "Just bring it back when you're done with it. And wash it. I don't need it stinking up my laboratory."
"Thank you ever so much for you graciousness, Father," Celestia bowed deeply, hiding her grin of success.
"Yeah, great," Sombra continued along his way distractedly, the sound of clopping hooves filling the empty hall once again. "Try not to break this one."
They watched him leave for a few moments, after which Celestia let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Really?" Discord asked with a smirk. "That was your plan? 'Daddy, can I have this one?'"
"Not now," Celestia hissed nervously out of the side of her mouth. "Follow me closely, servant."
With that, she took off in the opposite direction, leading Discord toward yet another wing of the palace. With the numerous amount of armored guards that they passed, it was no wonder that she wished him to keep his silence. Again, to Discord's surprise, not a single one of them seemed to be under any kind of obedience spell; meaning that they served either out of loyalty, or outright fear.
He supposed it made a sort of sense. Easier to brainwash only a vital few rather than an entire kingdom.
Then again, Discord wouldn't put it past Sombra to actually try to brainwash an entire kingdom.
Celestia eventually steered Discord toward her personal sleeping quarters, which was located at the top of a tall, spiraling tower on one end of the palace. She latched the door quietly behind them, relief again flooding her features as she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.
Her room was rather small, in comparison to the rest of the palace's rooms; a quaint, round bed and a small fireplace, with an open window.
"Now," she said breathlessly, beginning to pace. "Now comes the dangerous part."
"Oh, joy," Discord said sarcastically. "Just what I wanted; to put my own life in mortal peril."
"Would you prefer to remain my father's servant for the rest of your days?" Celestia quipped, leaving him feeling rather inadequate with no comeback.
Ergo, he improvised.
"So…" Discord tapped his talons together, grinning. "… 'All the stallions you were provided with' hmm?"
Celestia actually flushed upon his remark, but silently pulled a small gem from a hidden bag beneath her bed.
"Belay that," Celestia frowned, levitating the small crystal before Discord so that he could more closely inspect it. "Tell me, servant; do you know what this is?"
"I have a name, you know," he replied grumpily, but clutched the colorless crystal in his paw regardless. Celestia paused, staring at him for a moment.
"I-I was, well. I see. And… what, may I ask, is your name?" Celestia asked quietly.
"Sweet Sassy Molassy."
"What a peculiar name," she furrowed her brows.
"Yeah, I'm lying," he scoffed. "It's Discord."
Celestia nodded.
"Very well… 'Discord'. To business. Do you know what this is?" she eyed the crystal he held.
"Let me guess," Discord shifted uncomfortably. "You stole one of your father's gems?"
"Not quite," Celestia paced excitedly. "Discord, did you know that beneath this very castle lies an enormous cavern, completely filled to the brim with identical crystals of enormous size?"
… Oh, I do NOT like where this is going.
"Well, I do now," Discord deadpanned.
"My father has been interested – no, obsessed – with discovering a method to convert matter into raw energy," Celestia said breathlessly. "He has gained such tunnel-vision that he fails to see the impending doom that draws upon him, even now. Father believes that, should he finally attain the power to do so, he shall obtain the potential to make himself virtually immortal."
"I don't know what that has to do with me," Discord said honestly.
"I'm getting there," Celestia paced back and forth. "It was Father that discovered this crystal cavern in the first place, prompting his research into the exchange of magical energies between crystals. What he does not know, however," she said slowly, ceasing her pacing. "Is that deep within his mines, there was discovered… an artifact."
"Dramatic," Discord replied in a bored tone, leaning against Celestia's small writing desk. "And I suppose you're going to pull some Deus Ex Machina out of your flank?"
"… For a draconequus, you are quite rude," Celestia frowned at him.
"Hey," Discord shrugged. "If I have the freedom to speak, I'm going to exercise it. It feels good."
Celestia snorted.
"Freedom of speech," she chuckled. "Such an inane notion."
"Still don't know what this has to do with me," Discord pointed at the small crystal.
"Quite simple, actually," Celestia stated. "You see, Luna and I have secretly begun collecting these artifacts one by one, and through much research through archives, have discovered what they might be. In some texts, they are holy relics, claimed to be gifts from the Titans themselves. Other speculations claim that they are referred to as the 'Elements of Harmony'."
"Sounds stupid," Discord shrugged again. "I'm not exactly looking forward to betting my life on some dusty old books."
"… You certainly aren't very optimistic, are you?"
"You could just command me to be," Discord responded dryly. "And I still don't know what you're getting at."
"… By the Night, I swear that you're as impatient as my father."
"Sometime tonight, Princess," Discord tapped his tail against the desk.
Celestia drew in a deep breath through her teeth, thinking.
"Obviously, Lulu and I are incapable of activating these 'Elements' without a proper catalyst," she continued. "I have yet to discover precisely what that may be, but it appears to relate to the energy conversion of these crystals."
"But what does that have to do with me?" Discord asked in honest confusion.
"… Discord, do you know why father keeps a draconequus for his magical research?" Celestia asked softly.
"Not a clue."
"Because," she explained. "The jewels from the crystal cavern bear great similarities to the artifacts that we recovered. In that aspect, they can only be fueled by a draconequus."
"… Interesting," he tapped his chin, genuinely attentive. "Any theories as to why that is?"
"I am uncertain, although Luna speculates that it may be because these 'Elements' also seem to maintain a form of… 'duality', if you will. There appears to be something that we are still missing, some element that is required to offset the supposed harmony of these artifacts. Regardless, every single piece of information we have recovered refers to these artifacts as a form of gateway to life eternal."
"And you expect me to… activate these 'Elements' for you?" Discord asked.
"Yes," Celestia bowed her head. "Should you do so, not only shall we finally usurp Father from his throne and free this land from his chokehold, but the idea of eternal life is… most appealing to me," she admitted.
Discord had to acknowledge the possibility behind living forever. However, the thought that immediately followed that one was the obedience spell.
Forced to remain a mindless servant.
Forever.
Discord shuddered, repulsed.
"I suppose I don't really have much of a choice in the matter, now do I?" he said finally.
Celestia stood on the balcony in silence, watching the moon as it slowly danced across the sky.
"… Discord," Celestia said with some difficulty, brushing a lock of rosy mane from her face. "There is a great chance that neither of us shall survive this venture."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that," he crossed his arms as he stood next to her. "A shame. I was just starting to enjoy your company, too."
Celestia stared at him for a long moment, and he met her eyes.
After a few moments, she simply shook her head and smiled.
"Would you care for a potential last meal?"
Discord blinked incredulously as she slowly led him back inside.
"Come. Satisfy some of my… exotic tastes."
0-0-0-0-0