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Slave.

This was the first word that Discord ever learned.

That he could remember, anyway.

He blinked, awaiting his master's command. Surely there were memories before that. Of course there were. Or at least, there might have been. Not anymore.

Slave.

Obey.

Master.

Vaguely, he knew precisely what would happen should he display any form of consciousness or free will; it would happen again. Discord would be struck down with the accursed 'obedience' spell once more, obliterating his mind and forcing him to submit. Over and over and over again.

Just as it had been for…

How long?

How long had it been?

"Slave!"

"Yes, Master," Discord bowed immediately before the visage of King Sombra, not daring to breathe. Not to give away a single sign that he was thinking, that he could feel something aside from the constant urge, the need to obey.

"I require a fresh batch of subjects; the latest installation of power cells failed. Again," Sombra paced viciously before his throne, his elegant cloak flowing regally behind him as he did so.

A couple of memories flooded to the surface, and the draconequus struggled not to show emotion.

Ah.

That.

King Sombra had been rather unsuccessful in his attempts to increase his already powerful grip on the nation; his most recent attempts hadn't garnered much fruit, to his dismay.

"… Well?!" Sombra screamed at Discord, who tried not to flinch. "What are you waiting for, slave?"

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Obey.

Obey.

Obey.

Obey.

Discord felt numb, like his muscles were fighting against him. He could think, he could feel again; but his body refused to answer to his own commands. All he could do was watch as he was forced to comply to King Sombra's demands.

A hint of guilt rose in him as he slowly traipsed down the halls of the dungeon, listening to the despondent wails of the most recently acquired 'subjects'. Stallions, fillies, colts, mares. Discord was forced to amass all kinds for the collection.

"Bring in the next one!"

"Yes, Master."

Discord trudged quietly down the dirty prison, the stone blocks as cold as ice around him. The foal he dragged toward the opulent testing chamber in the middle of the ornately designed testing chamber seemed hardly old enough to walk on her own, let alone screech so loudly for her mother. For a moment, Discord considered abandoning all pretense and fighting against the constant overwhelming urge to submit… but his rejection would not last long.

It would only be a short matter of time before he was forced beneath the yoke of the obedience spell once again, his mind ripped away from him.

The filly struggled and cried as Sombra strapped her to the swiveling steel gurney in the center of the platform, numerous tubes and bubbling devices surrounding it. Wordlessly, Sombra's grey horn alit with a dirty glow as a pair of scalpels levitated beside him.

A growing sense of dread rose in Discord's chest as he tried not to shy away from what he knew was about to happen.

He couldn't look away.

Couldn't let Sombra know.

The filly seemed to know the impending danger from the floating scalpels as well, and only screamed again. Discord tried not to scowl in disgust when King Sombra's wicked grin only grew wider while he plunged the scalpels swiftly into her stomach as he levitated a large ruby, which glowed with an unhealthy light.

"Notes, slave," Sombra said distractedly, and Discord felt his body scrambling for a quill and parchment. "Experiment number eight hundred and forty-three," he stated loudly over the gurgling, choked scream of the filly as he roughly jammed the ruby inside her stomach. "Transmogrification from pegasus to crystalline life form, potentially increasing energy expenditure –"

No sooner had Sombra begun slowly stitching the filly back up than she began shaking violently in her bonds, a sickly red foam oozing from between her lips as she died.

It took everything Discord had not to vomit.

Sombra let out a genuine sigh of disappointment, and tapped his hooves against the gurney a couple of times in a calm, quiet fashion.

An instant later, he let out a scream of unbridled rage, magically jamming the scalpels into the filly's head as hard as he could.

"FAILURE!" he bellowed, kicking over the gurney. Discord flinched, hoping and praying that Sombra hadn't seen it. "How many is that today?"

"Six, Master."

"Then that's enough for one day, I suppose," Sombra seethed, beginning the trek out of the dungeons and past the numerous heavy wooden doors, all of which muffled the cries of the starving captives. "Clean this mess up, slave. And be quick about it; I expect dinner soon."

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The village of Canterlot wasn't a very big one, but it certainly looked lovely as the sun began to set over it.

Discord couldn't help but watch in awe as the glowing sun began to set over the horizon, casting a warm and friendly glow over the little hamlet beneath the castle. It all seemed so cozy, so calm.

Such complete and utter contrast to what he knew was the truth.

The more Discord thought, the more his mind seemed to fall into place, and the sturdier his psyche became. He vaguely wondered if this was all he ever did before 'waking up'.

What, just standing about the hallways?

My, that's certainly not very helpful. Was that another one of Sombra's orders? Stand in the hallway? How very droll. One would assume that he would find a better use for a draconequus that had no choice but to obey. Interesting.

"Good evening."

Discord blanched, not realizing that he'd simply been staring out the window as the moon began to rise. He turned slowly toward the effeminate voice, forcing all emotion from his face. It took him a moment to realize the porcelain alicorn was speaking to him.

"Oh. Uh," Discord's mind raced nervously. "Good evening… Master."

Celestia stood beside him for a long moment, watching as her younger sister began raising the moon. There was something a little off about its course, however; as if it were being raised at an odd angle.

"You don't have to call me that," she said quietly.

"Yes, Master," Discord said emotionlessly.

"You aren't fooling anypony," Celestia deadpanned without looking at him. "I know for a fact that you retain at least some small measure of yourself."

Discord paused, thinking.

"… I suppose that you'll be off to inform King Sombra of my resistance, then," he pronounced slowly. "Very well. It was a pleasant experience having a sliver of sentience while it lasted."

Celestia gave him an odd look, tilting her head slightly.

"… Draconequus, I freed you from my father's grasp."

Well, that came as a bit of a surprise.

"… How?" he asked incredulously, suddenly peering around to ensure that they weren't being watched. It seemed so impossible. Then again, he should be thanking his lucky stars that he could even think, let alone question the odds.

"That isn't important, draconequus," she said quickly, cutting him off. "All you need to know is that Father is distracted overseeing Luna's convenient 'difficulties' with the moon, and that I freed you because I need your help."

"If that's the case," Discord snorted. "I hope you realize that you didn't exactly do a great job of 'freeing' me."

Celestia cocked an eyebrow expectantly.

"Just because my mind is free doesn't mean that I am not still suffering from compulsory obedience."

"Very well," Celestia said slowly. "Then I command you to obey me."

"Yes, Master." He replied automatically.

A pained look overcame her momentarily, but she wiped it away.

"… I'm sorry." She bowed her head after a moment, her heart heavy.

"… I suppose that I should be thanking you, nonetheless," Discord stated quietly.

"Good. Then –"

"Also," Discord interrupted her, pointing out the window. "The moon is back on course."

Celestia swore under her breath.

"Servant," she breathed. "Father is growing closer by the day to achieving what Mother could not before she passed; and the closer he grows to his goal, the more innocents that shall be claimed in his name."

"I wouldn't happen to know exactly what 'goal' that might be," Discord said honestly.

"Immortality."

Discord stared at her in slight shock, the horror evident on his features.

The thought of one such as Sombra, immortal…

It made him shudder.

"And what do you expect me to do?" he frowned. "I cannot so much as say no."

"Luna and I are concocting a ploy," Celestia murmured excitedly, furrowing her light brows. "A scheme so devious that even Father would never see it coming."

"Why do I suddenly get a bad feeling about this?" Discord asked.

"We shall need your help, servant," Celestia stated again. "If we are to pull off such a coup, then my sister and I shall require all the assistance that we can manage."

"You're-you're going to overthrow King Sombra?" the draconequus asked in disbelief.

She wasn't just going to get his mind wiped again.

She was going to get him killed.

"Servant," Celestia stood up more firmly, a light burning in her magenta eyes. "Should you perform this task, not out of compulsion, but of loyalty, then I shall personally grant you absolute freedom."

"I doubt that," he said dryly. "Almost as much as I doubt that you can actually manage to instigate the necessary revolution to overthrow King Frickin' Sombra, before –"

"I shall also personally grant you the same immortality that my sister and I are going to claim before Father can."

"… You have my undivided attention."

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Author's Note:

Evidently, this story shall be straying from canon from time to time.

I do hope that you'll forgive me just this once for such a heinous act for the sake of story.