"Where are we- Huh, this place... the citadel. Madness knows of this too," Sabre says to himself. He looks ahead, at the citadel, which was the centre of the no longer existing Rainbow Kingdom. The citadel is the last remaining remnants of the kingdom left still existing. The entrance and the breaking point where the top part fell off, darkness isn't there. In it's place, are those pitch black blocks that emits Madness Steve's essence everywhere.
"Assistant, Cutie Mark Crusaders, go over to the trees over there. You three, do whatever you can to hide Assistant from Madness. Dark, go with them as well. You're on support," Sabre instructed to the Dark Steve, Assistant Steve and the CMC. They began heading to the trees further back.
"I sense the armour up there, where the top broke off," Hypno Steve stated, who then moves Derpy's body to look at Sabre and speaks without his voice echoing.
"Put the armour on. That will stop you getting corrupted. The citadel is covered in that essence. I'll be fine, as I'm in control of Derpy, who's already corrupted. Discord will be fine, as he has his chaos abilities." Sabre puts on the armour.
"Okay. Anyway, with them out of harms way, I guess now it's just us three-"
"Yeaheah yeaheaheah yeaheaheah emotionalalwl momentnt ha ha oh my goshsh everything's so sad. Let'setswtswts getetwtwtrtrtrr movingingrngrngrr," Hypno Steve interrupted Sabre. The three began to walk to the citadel entrance.
(A minute later)
Sabre, Hypno Steve/Derpy and Discord make it to the entrance of the citadel. Sabre then looks over to Hypno Steve/Derpy.
"So, what's the plan Hypno? Are we gonna go up to that breaking point and get into the armour without Madness Steve noticing or what?"
"Yes, let's sneak by Madness Steve. There'srsrs a goodoododwd chanceancewncsrsr the armourour is alone as Madness is lookinginging for us. He can sense that something had got inside of Derpy's mind and took control of her off of him," Hypno Steve replied.
"If Madness isn't there, that means we might have some time to get inside of the armour. When we do, you Sabre, and you too Discord, need to stay near me. If not, it may not go well for the three of us," Hypno Steve stated. Sabre and Discord nodded in response. They then enter the citadel, and began to walk up the spiral spruce stairs, which have massively been corrupted by Madness Steve's essence. Sabre is fine, because of his armour with the essence. Hypno Steve is fine, because he's inside of Derpy's mind, which is keeping him safe. Discord is fine, because he has his chaos magic.
(A few minutes later, reaching the top)
Sabre, Hypno Steve/Derpy and Discord have reached where the breaking point is, where Shadow Sabre made the parts of the building higher up collapse on purpose. In the room where the Shadow Sword and the Rainbow Crystal was, they see the red armour.
"Hey, there is the armour-"
"Oh... I don't think so!" A voice snapped, lightning summoning right beside the armour. After the lightning died down, Madness Steve appeared.
"You three aren't going to do anything! You three aren't going anywhere!"
"Umumwm yeah... you aren'tntntrtr gonnanananranrnrrr tell mememe whatmememe towhat do! Neither arearerer youyou gonnanawa tell thesese two what to dotodododrdrr as much as I don't care about them. Madness Steve is it- Ah... I know who you are..." Hypno Steve responded, sounding very cocky. Using Derpy's wings, Hypno Steve began to hover around Madness Steve in circles whilst speaking.
"Youyou knowowow, you seem reallyeyeyeryrr scaryreallyscary. You'vevevewvwvrvrvrrr beenenwn waitingingng forororwr sowowo longng to leaveve the Madness Dimension, but HE is still keeping you in. It's annoying, isn't it?" Hypno Steve then uses Derpy to hover back down, standing beside Sabre and Discord.
"He? Who? Who are you talking about?" Sabre asked.
"It doesn'tntrtrr matterererrr. Whatat mattersrsrr is that he is in our way rightight now. This... Madness Steve," Hypno Steve responded. With Derpy, Hypno Steve walks up close to Madness Steve whilst speaking.
"Youyou knowow I'mymymym notot scaredared of youofyouofyouyou! Maybe if I was just thetherererr Red Leaderredleaderleader oror even Hypno, I would've been. But I now can use Derpy as a weapon. You can'tnt do anything to me."
"You think I'm gonna be beaten by a being I already defeated, another who can't use powers correctly and one in control of another being who can't even look straight in one direction!? You think I'll let you fools delay me even further!? HA! Let's see if you'll be scared at this! Armour, absorb Derpy, and the fool in control of her, now!" Madness Steve snapped, using his abilities to move the armour towards Derpy.
"Hypno, the armour will just absorb-"
The armour began striking lightning, but with Hypno Steve using the abilities the essence in Derpy gave, stopped the pegasus from being absorbed.
"Stopop worrying. He can'tnt dodowo anythingingng to me, not at the moment at least. Do you think I'd give them an easy chanceance to letet himim dodowo thatatatrtrtrtrrr!?" Hypno Steve responded to Sabre.
"Well we need to get inside the armour don't we? We can't do it with him here... unless we do a distraction like this!" Discord stated as he snaps the claws on his eagle hand and creates a hole beneath Madness Steve. With Madness Steve not falling through, Discord had to push him in, which he manages to do so, as Madness Steve was expecting him to use his chaos magic to do that, not with his bare hands. Discord snaps his Eagle claws again, and closes the hole.
"That should hold him off for at least a bit," Said Discord.
"Nowowow, COME ONCOMEONONWN! Okay let'sokayletsletsts gogogowowowo! Intotototo thethethe armourthearmourerererrr!" Hypno Steve yelled, stomping Derpy's right forehoof onto the ground several times, striking lightning as he did, teleporting himself, as well as Sabre and Discord into the armour.
Sabre, Hypno Steve/Derpy and Discord are now inside the armour.
"Are we... are we there- Woah... this place is insane..." Sabre said slowly to himself.
There are a few large chunks of granite, originally held up by chains made of dark steel. But the chains changed to mostly magma blocks as well as those pitch black blocks, which most still don't know what they actually are. However, small parts of the chains are still made of that dark steel. The sky inside the armour also changed. Originally, it had a bright pink colour to it, with those dark steel chains all over in the sky, each connecting up in the centre of the sky. Now, the sky is just an empty pitch black colour, the chains in the sky only being noticeable by the parts that are magma, which gave a slight ominous orange glow, giving the shadowy shape of the chains to make them barely visible. The area they teleported to, the centre, also changed. There was originally a red nether brick stand of sorts, red nether brick pillars around, with chains keeping it together and standing up right. Now, it is just magma, bedrock, lava and those pitch black blocks. Around the terrain inside of the armour, fires are lit everywhere, keeping the place bright. The entire armour felt as hot as, if not, even hotter than a blast furnace. However, the most disturbing thing, is that there are countless steves, and not just steves from the overworld. There are also countless Indigo Steves, Blue Steves and even Demon Steves, just frozen in place. There are also other steves that Sabre had never even seen before, steves that unlike the Red Steves, these steves had truly gone extinct for real. There are Desert Steves, Ocean Steves, Forest Steves, Winter Steves, Obsidian Steves, Diamond Steves, and countless other steves Sabre had never seen before, some not even from the same reality. However, it's not just steves in the armour, there are countless ponies in the armour, fillies and adults. It doesn't even stop there. Beings from other realities are in the armour too, from beings with immense power like Goku and Vegeta, to simple mortals like Dipper and Mabel, all frozen in place, in a stasis state, everything about them being frozen. Madness Steve had went around with the armour, and took almost every single last being from literally every reality and dimension into the armour and froze them in place, with minimal effort.
"This is beyond what I see as disturbing..." Discord quietly murmured.
"Yeah, it is, this is inside of the armour?" Sabre thought.
"Yes... I assumeume withith your littlelewlwl brain that this would be... a very tight fit for every being from every reality and dimension to fitwtwtrr insideidededrdrrr someomemrmr pieceiece ofpieceof armourofarmourourwrwrwr. But it's not just a regular piece of armour. This... is basically a small pocket dimension, I guess you could say," Hypno Steve replied.
"Pocket dimension-"
"You think doing that would stop me Discord!? I can sense you three are inside of the armour! That was a foolish mistake, because you can't save anyone in the armour! I know who you three intend to save! Either way, you'll have to leave this place soon! Meanwhile, I'll be waiting for you all!" Madness Steve interrupted Sabre from speaking, shouting into the armour from the outside.
"That is true what he said. Once we leave this armour, Madness Steve will just kill us three. We've really done a boo boo here," Discord sighed.
"Focus on the task at hand. We must keep moving. Leaving is a different thing to think about all together," Hypno Steve responded.
"Hypno, we came in the armour to save everyone right? Look, here they are- Look at all the beings here. They're all frozen, how do we wake one up?" Sabre gasped, looking at the vast numbers of steves, ponies and other beings. Sabre walks up to a random mare frozen in place. This mare has a bright blue mane, an even brighter blue going down in the middle of the mane. The tail is the same colour. She also has bright blue iris in each eye, and has a purple collar around her, with a red tie, and has a purple hat as their cutie mark.
"Hey, excuse me, wake up, snap out of it-"
"I don't think that will work Sabre, unfortunately," Discord pointed out.
"Well, if we can't unfreeze anyone here, then what was the point in all of this Hypno!? How do we unfreeze them!?" Sabre snapped at Hypno Steve as he looks at Derpy.
"Thingsings withith thethe armourthearmour have changed. How beings are still being held in place, is the same. Everything about everyone is frozen, their states of time, their states if energy- Everything. Madness Steve's False Form feeds off of any energy it can get, and the more power they have, the more power he can use to further grow it's power. The same with that sword he possesses, except the fate of anyone there is worse as they're awake to witness it all. Those in the sword, are being dismembered by an atom at a time. Both the armour and his sword basically acts as giant batteries, and every being is a little more to it," Hypno Steve replied.
"Amidst all of this, you two must help me find... my apprentice... Mwmwmwm asmas youasyou callyoucall himcallhim. He's somewhere aroundaround hereoundroundroundround. Wellelwlwl findind him, thenen I will tell you two the solution to this problem. But pay attentionwnwnwn, both of you, Sabre and Discord. Everywhere, there's not just steves, but ponies, and other beings from neither reality. Now, there could be a chance M was one of the most recent ones to be taken in, and he could be closer. Bututwtwtwt... there's an endless sea of beings here. Everyone from all realities, either alive or alreadyeyeyeye destroyededed, areareare withinininin thisisisiwsws armourwrwrwr, it's volatilelele... lookook to the skyiyiyiyi..." Hypno Steve stated, pausing before continuing looking for M, his dear apprentice. Meanwhile, Sabre and Discord looks at the sky, looking at the chains that are just about visible.
"...the First Curse originally made the armour to hold one of the strongest curses to ever be created. Madness Steve had modified this place as if it was like dying a block of wool. Still, chainsainsnsns inininwnwn thethethe skyiyiyi... the armour is containing all of this. It is immense, and endlesslslwsws... endless madness and torture, for all of eternity. We must findind Mwmwm within all of ititrtrtrr." With that, other than Discord, Sabre and Hypno Steve went looking for M. Discord is looking for the mane 6. The three kept somewhat near each other, but they also split up and went in slightly different directions.
"Fluttershy!? Twilight!? Anypony out there!?" Discord yelled, looking around for his dear Fluttershy or any of the mane 6 for that matter.
"M!? Where are you!? M-"
"Stop yellingingng. They can'tntrtrr hear you. They are not gonna be able to tell you're here. No point yellinging foryellingfor themememrmrmrrr," Hypno Steve interrupted Sabre as well as speaking to Discord.
"Right, sorry. Got to look for M, and the six," Sabre responded, continuing walking to search for M and the mane 6.
"You three won't save those who you intend to save. I'll make sure to torture who they are, infront of your very eyes, so painfully. I will destroy you, Sabre, Discord and whoever you are that's in control of Derpy. You three have trapped yourselves, and these will be your last moments before I begin torturing you three. Enjoy these moments while you can, because your future moments will just be eternal madness and torture..." Madness Steve spoke from outside the armour, nothing but pure anger and hatred in his voice. After hearing this, Discord went looking to see where Sabre is.
"Sabre? Sabre? Where are you?"
"I'm here Discord. I'm guessing you heard what he said too huh," Sabre replied.
"Yes, with hearing that... can I... make a request?" Discord requested. Sabre nodded.
"If I don't make it to see through all of this... will uh... will you look after the girls for me?"
"Yes Discord, I promise," Sabre responded.
"Thank you," Discord responded back. This makes him less stressed, a feeling he doesn't usually have, especially when trying to stop someone. Usually, Discord could shrug off or even just sneeze if he really wanted someone gone. However, he has to play strategically to stop this one.
"Do you mind if we search together, Discord?" Sabre asked.
"Yes Sabre, what he said has also made me feel on edge. Hypno Steve... I'm sure he is fine on his own," Discord replied.
"Also, how are we even gonna beat Madness for good? I mean- If we destroy his False Form again, he just comes back. Madness Steve, he seems... unbreakable. When using the Curse of the Faceless, when I mimicked Madness, I got these... strong emotions, but as soon as I stopped mimicking him, they gone away. I'm not sure if it's what it's like to have the curse or what," Sabre stated. Sabre and Discord kept searching, together.
(A minute later)
Ahead, Sabre and Discord see a Red Steve, wearing a dark cloak, just ahead of them.
"Isn't that M there?" Discord asked Sabre, pointing with the fingers on his lion paw at the Red Steve wearing a dark cloak.
"Not just M, Discord. I see- Twilight? Discord! I see the six behind M!" Sabre exclaimed as he ran up to M. The mane 6 happened to of been frozen in place right besides M when Madness Steve took them into the armour.
"Hypno Steve! Your apprentice is here!" Discord yelled over to where Hypno Steve is searching. Instantly, he came trotting over to where Sabre and Discord is.
"Wow, you actually found him!" Hypno Steve gasped, genuinely surprised that Sabre and Discord managed to find his apprentice.
"Apprentice, my deardeardear friendendendnd. Finallyeyeyeye, Iyiyiyi have found you again," Hypno Steve stated, with Derpy's head facing M.
"So how do we unfreeze them? We got to get M, and the six out of here," Sabre asked Hypno Steve.
"My solution is for one steve, not sure what Discord can do himself, but he can't unfreeze everyone either. Us two will save them, and you eight can get out of here," Hypno Steve replied.
"Wait- What do you mean us eight!? You two are coming back right!?" Sabre exclaimed, starring at Hypno Steve/Derpy and Discord.
"I'm willing to get the six out of here, even if it means I can't. Sabre, you've been a good friend these past few days, but I must help these six now. They showed me the path to my reform, and without them, I wouldn't know the meaning of friendship. I can't just leave them here," Discord replied, trying to be understanding with Sabre. However, Hypno Steve's reply is more blunt.
"This isisws helpingingng youyou Sabrere! And I'm now helpingingng my dear apprenticeicewswsrsrsrrr! I'm doing this, as I said I would help you. We will swap places with them, but me and Discord have a plan either way."
"How will we even get out though!? Hypno, you're the reason we got in here! Also, this would mean Derpy would be trapped here too!" Sabre exclaimed.
"The Shadow Sword. It has the essence in there too. The armour was originally designed by the First Curse to freeze steves in place inside the armour. When Madness took over it, he made it so anything can get absorbed, but not a device, tool or whatever. The essence we're using to our advantage is what's keeping me and you, Sabre, from being frozen in place, and Discord is... well, Discord. When Madness Steve made his False Form, he didn't expect that his essence could be used in such a way. He didn't expect it could be used in tools of today's time. Madness is waiting out there, so don't teleport out the armour. Teleport to Dark, Assistant and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, away from Madness and the armour. Then escape, get out of here, and figure it out yourself. I'm done helping you Sabre, and now, it'ststs timeime to helpelp myselfelfwlflf," Hypno Steve replied as he looks at M, his apprentice.
"Mwmwmwm... my dear apprenticeiceicersrrr, it's your turn!" By stomping Derpy's right forehoof on the ground several times, Hypno Steve began to swap places with M. Doing so, forced Hypno Steve out of Derpy's mind. At the same time, Discord put his arms around the mane 6, and closed his eyes, beginning to unfreeze them.
"No, wait!" Sabre exclaimed. However, Hypno Steve and Discord are now frozen in place, as well as Derpy. M and the mane 6 are now unfrozen.
"Hypno, Discord... Hypno, Discord- Hypno! Discord!" Sabre exclaimed, almost crying, but isn't, just sniffing. At least M and the mane 6 are back, unfrozen.
"Uhhh..." M said slowly, looking at the surroundings.
"What... in the name of Equestria... is going on?" Rarity slowly said to herself, confusion amongst the group being plentiful.
"We're alive!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Huh... Sabre? What... happened?" Fluttershy asked. She notices behind her, is Discord.
"Discord? Hello- Wait- Oh no no no! Hello!? Discord! Say something!" Fluttershy cried, gently poking Discord in the chest with her left forehoof. But Discord doesn't move, nor respond.
"How long have we been here Sabre?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'll explain later," Sabre replied.
"Please do," Applejack responded to Sabre.
"Where are we?" M asked Sabre.
"M, I- It's complicated, I'll explain it to you, all of you, later. But um... we need to get out of here," Sabre replied.
"Why's... Hypno Steve and Derpy here too, Sabre?" Twilight asked.
"I'll explain it later, but we have to go," Sabre kept replying.
"Ah... you three have changed something!" Madness Steve shouted from outside. Everyone finches and shudder, scared and worried.
"Okay..." M responded whilst crouching. He spoke with a slightly higher tone in his voice, but spoke slower, totally creeped out by the voice. Madness Steve began shouting again.
"You, Discord and that steve you call Hypno Steve have done something in the armour! I'll fix whatever shenanigans you three have caused! As soon as you leave the armour, I'll destroy ALL OF YOU! Then, I'll move on to torture you for all of eternity. I'll make you all regret delaying my progress."
"That's... unsettling..." M slowly responded.
"It is. You all will have to trust me on this one, for their sake too. We need to go," Sabre responded back, looking over at Hypno Steve, Discord and Derpy, seemingly frozen in place. He then looks to his left, and sees Shadow Sabre, still in his head, still following Sabre around in his mind.
"Eh- I mean- For our sake!" M exclaimed.
"Shadow, take us to Assistant Steve," Sabre demanded. He didn't want to risk accidentally teleporting right outside the armour, where Madness Steve currently is.
"You got it," Shadow Sabre responded, walking near Sabre, and the Shadow Sword began summoning lightning. Taking Sabre, M and the mane 6 out of the armour, to where Dark Steve, Assistant Steve and the CMC are.