#kind of… time to stop the torture for awhile and serve some tea

[colleybri]

Being a Cassian Andor fangirl in older age is so much fun. Reminds me of my happy youth when my friends and I would do nasty things to dolls like have them get run over or trampled by a horse - and then make them tea before seeing how much of their clothing was removable. 

Now, as a multi-shipper, I can give Cassian a canon-compliant roll in the hay or awkward first time with Bix followed by a could-happen-unless-proved-otherwise bit of nasty mission-based non-con with Luthen. Cassian can then have a really angsty missing-scene-on-Niamos fling with Melshi, another nasty argument with Bix (optional make-up sex afterwards if feeling generous ) followed by a long and happy “everyone lived” divergent universe retirement making babies and ageing gracefully with Jyn (which you can then make into an end of life hallucination if you’re feeling particularly cruel).

Just so much fun. Torture the blorbo and then give him tea.

[musekicker]

Reigns of Chaos Part one

Been sitting on this story for awhile, so nice to have this first chapter out.

It was a bright, sunny day in Ponyville. This was the norm around this time of year especially. The pegasi made sure of it. As ever predictable it was.

Discord was never a fan of predictable. It was just so boring. 

Even so, he had long stopped trying to lobby for the occasional allowance of a chocolate milk rain. Apparently too bad memories for anyone to even think of considering it.

Spoil sports.

That thought aside, Discord was enjoying the day having tea with Fluttershy.

At Fluttershy's place this time. Discord was still easing into the responsibility of hosting a tea party since the first time he did so and he had nearly over worried himself into not being chaotic and nearly faded out of existence. 

After that Discord decided to take a break on being responsible for tea party setting up. It was just a bit too stressful for the lord of chaos even if he would not completely openly admit it. But Fluttershy knew.

She was good like that.

They started with having Discord be in charge of bringing the tea. That was easy enough for Discord, relying on his own ability to adjust the teas he still did get at the tea shop to be his own brand of different. Today's tea party had what he was calling Earl Grey tea. 

Finding tea bags that all happened to be earl's had been the hardest part. The tiny monocles on the tea bag were cute though.

Fluttershy giggled, in that soft way of hers,  just finishing a story about a event she and Pinkie Pie had been at.

"Then Pinkie Pie said "I'm at the right party aren't I? It wasn't the right party, but she really made that mare's 95th birthday special." Fluttershy said.

"Pinkie does have that effect on every creature, doesn't she?" Discord said, sipping down the tea he had put maybe a whole sugar bowl's worth of sugar into.

Fluttershy nodded.

Discord open his mouth to start in on a story he wanted to share when he froze.

His face became tense and he would had dropped the tea cup in his claw if not for the death grip he had on it, frozen in his fear.

He turned many shades pale. Like he had been dipped in bleach. 

"Discord? Discord, what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, leaning forward and looking at Discord in concern.

He did not hear Fluttershy's question.

He was far too deep into the feeling of dread that had just went down his body, starting from horn tip to tail. A deep, wretched feeling that made him sick to his stomach.

Discord had not felt this amount of dread in so long. And there were a number of reasons that could cause an reaction like this. And they were all not good things. 

He need not think too hard about what the sudden dreadful feeling was and why he had felt it. What the sudden influx of power back in Equestria meant.

Discord  knew what had happened. He knew why he was so close to just curling up into a ball and attempting to hide.

The reins of chaos had been found.

He remembered that time. The time before Celestia and Luna. The time even before he ruled Equestria. 

There had been Malice.

The goat was a every bit like their name sake. They were a dark force with bright green eyes that matched the magic energy that came from his massive crown of horns. Six, curled horns that towered and intimidated.

Everything except Discord.

That had not sat right with Malice. Not with how he ruled over his collection of creatures. For his most terrifying magic did not come just from the horns themselves but rather what he could make.

He could make reigns. Magical ones that gave him control over those who wore the reigns. Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth ponies, and creatures beyond pony kind. He was the ruler and tamer of many.

And to Malice, Discord was a challenge. 

Surely his normal reigns would not do the job though. So Malice spent three sleepless days and nights, gathering the needs ingredients and focusing his magic to make a very special pair of golden reigns. Ones he quickly dubbed, the reigns of chaos.

The reigns made all Malice had to do was to figure out how to get the reigns on Discord.

Of all things it had been simple dare. That's all it had been. One that Discord could easily come out on top with.

He had been a fool.

But his pride, especially back then, would not turn down Malice's challenge that if Discord let him put the reigns onto Discord, that Discord could not easily snap them away.

A stupid move on his part.

Once they were on, Discord quickly found that he could not get them off with his power. In fact, he could not even summon up the use of his power, no matter how many times he snapped his fingers.

Malice had given his very first orders then.  

The first had been that Discord could not remove the reigns on his own.

Discord had tested that order by attempting to rip the reigns off his face. He found he could not quite reach his hand to the reigns, no matter how hard he tried.

The second order, seconds after order Malice had given was that Discord could do no harm to Malice in anyway.

It was as if the goat had read his mind. Because attacking Malice until he removed the reigns had been Discord's very next thought.

So it was, for years, so many that Discord lost count, that Discord was served Malice.

He could not use his powers unless given a order to do so.

Orders given to him he could not disobey. No matter how much he hated the order or how humiliating it all was to him. He did it. 

Sometimes without complaint if Malice ordered him to be silent. 

One time he had spent a month in utter silence and he thought he would lose his mind then.

Of course Discord being Discord had done his very best to make Malice's life anything but easy. But for every small rebellion, which included looking for loop holes in Malice's order and using them against Malice., Malice would just strike back with a order that was a form of punishment and remember how Discord had found the loop hole.

Eventually all he could really do was to stand, ever quiet, ever at attention.

It had been torture.

For such a creature of chaos that Discord was, being unable to be as wild and chaotic it was a form of prison.

Yet it was a spark of his sneaky side of himself still there when he had tricked a pony servant into taking the reigns off.

Soft heart that pony had. Discord made sure to not harm him in the vengeance that he immediately set upon the castle. 

He trapped Malice in a bell, which Discord hid away. Far from the reigns of course in case Malice ever did figure a way to break out of the bell.

The reigns he had thrown into a magic rift he created, never to be in this world again. Never to vex him once more.

Except, now he felt the surge of their power existing back in this world.

"Discord, are you okay?" 

Fluttershy's soft voice snapped Discord back into the moment.

She was looking up at him with concern.

He thought then should tell her Tell her about the past, about the reigns. About Malice.

Something stopped him.

His pride and fear was more powerful then he had thought them to still be. 

This was a weakness. A softness he wasn't ready to admit to anyone. Even Fluttershy.

With luck the reigns had been found by someone who had no idea what they were and what they could do. That they would be to some creature just a pretty decoration and conversation piece of hang on the wall. And the reigns would never vex him again.

And besides, why worry Fluttershy with what might end up being nothing.

But then, with where he hid them, what were the chances the one who found them was someone not educated on long lost magics? That they would not know the purpose of the reigns. Or in fact sought them out in the first place.

What excuse did he have for that?

As bad a idea it was, Discord would keep this secret to himself a bit longer.

Hopefully it would sort itself out.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong! But oh.. i think i left the sink on! I better get back before the house burns down! See you next Tuesday!" Discord said so quick Fluttershy barely picked up on it all.

Before she could question, he was gone.