... Pave the Path to Hell
For a certainty, we were becoming mad. Killing creatures will change you... especially doing so in such large droves as we did. Sombra and I killed hundreds between us, not to include those we ordered to their deaths or had executed by somepony else. We had committed heinous acts in the course of peace. Eventually word of our atrocities had reached into Equestria, and Celestia herself came as an envoy and met with Sombra, as I was touring our battlements in preparation for further enemy campaigns. She sought to convince us to abdicate for ponies less bloodied. She never passed judgement on us, but she knew that the fear we had built was gaining us enemies. Equestrian nobility, wanting the land for themselves, had taken to activistic talks of invasion to topple the empire for its acts against equinity. I, of course, would hear none of this for years to come.
But the only action we could take against that was to bolster our forces and train more ponies to fight. We began to take outlying areas and… requisition their able-bodied, pulling them back to the capital to train them and arm them for further conquest. I had adopted the name of Crystal Empire only for a show of strength, but slowly that's exactly what we became.
I would come to realize this only far, far too late.
It was effective, though. The Caribou were repelled until their forces reeled from their war effort, and our countercharge all but annihilated their force, taking a few alive for... extensive anatomical study. The changelings had fled, or if they had not yet, they were hiding very well. The griffon state had fallen into disrepair, and Equestria's only standing military was the royal guard. Yakyakistan had taken a separatist approach, content not to poke the sleeping giant. No creature on Equus could match the martial might of Our grand army.
No creature but Tia's lover.
High Steward and Chamberlain Jewel Storm had gone missing after a particularly embarrassing stunt he pulled. He had overstepped his bounds and deigned to utilize foreign allies to rid himself of particularly annoying house-heads in the nobility, but word only got out about it once he warned the successors that something interesting would happen soon. The Noble lords were killed accidentally, and the successors took it upon themselves to crucify Jewel Storm despite having no solid evidence of any wrongdoing. Jewel Storm and the Grand Magus Starswirl the Bearded had been working on several spells in conjunction with Tia, and when Jewel Storm was forced from his position, Starswirl resigned as Grand Magus and began traveling, sending reports of research to Tia regularly.
Tia, in private, was beside herself with worry, but she had grown well into the role of leading a peaceful kingdom. She kept a small contingent of Royal Guard, but that was all the military might they needed. “We do this to keep Our subjects safe… from themselves.” Tia would tell me much later, along with reciting a poem about paper tigers. I would have done well to listen when she spoke of it, but that is a separate issue. For all intents, and in all proceedings, Princess Celestia wore her crown well.
I saw tidings of war between the races once I noticed the Griffon Kingdom poising for an attack on a few western Equestrian settlements. I was unsurprised, as it seemed like an easy mark, but I wouldn’t stand for it. I ordered a regiment of my Crystal Army to stand guard on the perimeter of Equestrian Land, along with a few of my own Thestral guard as scouts. They succeeded in disrupting the supply lines to the Griffon force and soon forced a withdrawal from the opposition. The ferocity of Our armies was legendary in their time, and I took great pride in being able to secure peace through a show of arms against all but the most insidious of foes.
Almost a year passed like this. I would spend most of my dreamwalk with Sombra, trying to help him find peace. Most of my waking hours would be spent overseeing defenses and magical research. What little other time I had went into foreign diplomacy, until one day I received a missive from Tia stating only that, “He was able to discover an artefact with untold magical powers, and has since gone missing. I request your assistance forthwith in locating him.” I told Sombra that I would need to take a leave to visit with my sister, but to continue our research and send me updates whenever he had a breakthrough.
Have you figured out who “He” is? Or rather, what he was? I will give you a hint that he was both Jewel Storm and Starswirl the Bearded, but neither were his actual name. Hyperion had integrated himself into our lives as three different ponysonas. One was the Grand Magus Starswirl, whom history knows as one of the most prolific and well traveled wizards. Another was Jewel Storm, the loyal advisor to the royal family, a cunning tactician and charismatic prankster. Hyperion himself was all but forgotten; Tia knew him because they were lovers, but how they met, I’m still not sure. I knew him because I was their messenger, and close to my sister during their romance. I knew little about him at the time, but their correspondence ensured that I knew him just as well… well, almost as well… as Tia herself.
I was, perhaps, a little jealous that Tia was the elder until I was sent to the Crystal Tribelands and made a kingdom of my own with Sombra. This is neither here nor there, but it will help explain how this all began. Tia’s affairs with Jewel Storm were a bit of a… precedent for my relationship with Sombra. Ironic, considering...
I digress.
I traveled south to meet my sister, and when she saw me she was awestruck by my newly found alicorn status. It was something we had read about, dreamt about, but never actually thought possible. It had come with a lot of things to get used to as well.
Over time, I became more powerful far more rapidly than before. My body started to change more. My mane had started shimmering faintly, though it still looked like a regular mane. I had gotten slightly taller, and my body became stronger, though it was becoming more lithe as well. My wings became grander, feathers longer. At this point I stood almost two heads taller than my sister, was longer and thinner as well.
I smiled sweetly at Tia. “Dearest Sister! We are glad thou art well!” I bowed slightly
Celestia smiled sheepishly in return. “Luna, it is good to see you well also. I had yet to hear of your… transformation. Congratulations are in order, as this has not been proven in recorded history.” Tia gracefully bowed her head in a deferential manner.
I couldn’t help but giggle. I had approached her in a sovereign manner and she had deferred due to my stronger stature. I had never felt stronger than Tia, and I wanted to tease her about my ascension. I didn’t realize then however, that it had truly been too easy. Tia saw me trying to maintain my composure and I could just barely make out the grin that she hid from me. Her bow deepened just a touch and she leapt at me without warning. I drew back a touch, surprised, but she wrapped a leg around my neck and tousled my mane with one of her hooves. Her back hooves landed on the ground as she had brought my head down a touch when she landed on my neck. As soon as they did she let go and jumped away laughing. “You’ll never be too big for your big sister though!”
I started laughing as well, despite myself. “Tia, whatever will I do with you?” I laughed along. After that little scene, we relaxed into a more natural, sisterly tone. She told me about how things were progressing with the nobility making land grabs at the nearby settlements, making money off the explorers and settlers alike without ever leaving Canterlot, which was quickly becoming more affluent. It wasn’t the same city anymore, she told me, as the nobility had built up the walls surrounding the city even further and access was restricted. She had abolished slavery, but was having trouble enforcing wage and housing laws. She had also funded expeditions into the surrounding areas, primarily to find resources for the royal holdings so that she wouldn’t lose even more power to the nobles, but was finding settlements, travelers, and natives looking to swear fealty for economic protection. There were a few pockets of ill-meaning ponies about, but these bandits and ruffians were easily dealt with by her trained explorers.
I spoke little of my own struggles, only letting her know that there was an internal threat that looked to dissolve the unity of the kingdom, and that we had taken care of it. She asked of the draconian policies and I assured her they were necessary, but now that the primary threat is taken care of that we could start reinstituting the freedoms that other nations enjoy. I told her about some of the external threats facing both of our kingdoms, and she was both surprised and thankful that I had intercepted the griffon raiding parties, as she has been wrapped up in court, trying to handle the nobility and keep them still at the same time.
Which turned our conversation to the reason she called for me. She had lost contact with Starswirl and a pony like Jewel Storm had shown up near the Everfree Forest, and the forest began acting strange. It was almost like the Forest had become sentient and actively sought to ensnare anypony who might dare trespass. Celestia had sent several members of the guard in but heard no report whatsoever of their progress. She needed someone she could trust at court while she investigated herself.
“I believe I should be able to make short work of this problem. Who is your current guard captain?” I asked, a devious thought in my mind.
She raised an eyebrow at my inquiry, but answered it nonetheless. “A young stallion by the name of Black Light. He has proven his keen mind for investigation time and time again to earn the post.” She paused and look at me, trying to discern my intentions. “Why do you ask?”
“I might be able to pull off a caper to distract the nobles, and if a smart guard captain is heading the investigation, he might be able to draw out the distraction long enough to allow us both the time to seek out your lover.” I grinned at my sister. “There’s nothing like a little infighting to weaken your enemies as well.”
“Hmm…” Tia mulled on it for a couple seconds. “Misdirection and sleight-of-hoof to implicate the nobles against themselves, meanwhile their supplications at court are forgotten due to their innate mistrust of each other is being taken advantage of. If you can pull it off, it would certainly be effective, but if they figure it out…” Tia was unsure it would be enough.
I snickered. “Oh, trust me, sister. Even if they do you’ll be fine. Which is more worrisome, a single wounded stag, or a hundred healthy bucks?”
“I will trust in your discretion in this matter, as it was why I called you down, but I prithee not do anything too rash.” Tia submitted. “I would like to not have to diffuse too many fires upon our return.”
“I have just the thing in mind…” My grin still hadn’t gone away.
The ploy I set up was devious. It took one week for the groundwork and Black Light was every bit as clever as Tia had said, and he was delightful to work with. He actually ended up nobility from how much the others tried to bribe him to implicate their enemies. He stayed loyal to the throne, and did very well for himself in confiscating a small fortune before releasing it discretely among Tia’s allies in court. The nobility was too distracted to realize the redistribution of wealth, and when they did realize it, there was nothing they could do about it.
Regardless, my ploy worked as my sister, a couple of her personal guards, myself and Nightwind Squall, my faithful shadow, ventured bravely toward the castle that Jewel Storm had requisitioned for us. Our thought was that if it was indeed him, this was the place he was mostly likely to go. It had emotional significance for all three of us, and I, at least, could feel the flux of wild emotion in the magical field that surrounded the forest. I had never felt a field so intense, but I knew Hyperion to be a powerful being in his own right, not to mention he had my sister for years and she had only grown in strength as well… There was no question in my mind that it was him, but I could feel something different, something darker. Something had changed him. I would come to see that it was much in the same way that my delving into Sombra had changed me.
“What was the last report you received from him?” I asked Tia as we came upon a bridge that I knew to be not far from the castle.
She thought about it momentarily. “He was speaking of a gem he had found in Saddle Arabia. His study of it found a crystalline intelligence, almost like a soul jar, but it slept until disturbed by a particular stimulus. He had woken it and hoped to be able to learn about the source of the enchantment, assuming this was a wizard’s step towards immortality.”
I nodded slowly. “You must be especially careful, then. I can feel something different about him. There may be some feedback from the soul in the gem he found.” I noticed a little bit of hesitation in her nod, and she regarded me coolly. “I’m just saying, he’ll remember you, but he may not be himself. He may be… imbalanced. I have dealt with enchantments of this type before, Sister, and they do not always leave one in an… entirely whole state of mind.”
This time her nod had a bit more confidence. I was not surprised when she asked about this though. “You’ve had experienced with soul magic?”
I nodded. “Necromancy in particular.” Tia and her guardsponies stopped in their tracks. I didn’t. “Come along, Tia, your lover requires our assistance.” I threw a coy look at her over my shoulder.
“You participated in death magic?” Tia’s white coat seemed to go pale, which I didn’t think possible. “I had heard stories, but I never thought them true.”
“Sombra and I have been studying varying types and applications of any school we have the opportunity to. The recent history of my kingdom has been bloody, why not take advantage of the chance to explore it with the resources we have?” I finally stopped, more than thirty paces from her. I turned and saw her expression; the sick, strangled, fearful, angry expression of a beautiful, chaste, experienced yet still naive mare. “Our research has saved my people on multiple occasions. Brief forays into dark magic improved our understanding of shielding. Runic magic has helped me focus my dream-walking on more difficult, elusive fears. Zebraic glyphs and alchemy have kept my armed forces strong in both the Badlands and the Northern Expanse. Combining blood magic, enchantment, and runic magics all aided in my ascension. My power now grows with every single day. I will be able to protect my people from any foes.”
"It is still barbaric, and an affront to the breath of the creator. I cannot understand how you would be okay with this. Father--"
"Father's beliefs mean nothing to me anymore." I said flatly. "Perchance, had he actually cared to spend time with me, his words of love and acceptance would not ring so hollow in my ears. Not to mention that his faith in the unseen means little against the empirical data gathered by my research." I picked up my hoof, inspecting it while speaking, and glared evenly at her when I crossed my hooves. “Our ‘Lord Father’ was a biased, ignorant simpleton, and every bit as preoccupied with himself as the nobles you fight on a daily basis.”
Tia's face went red with anger and embarrassment as I turned back down the trail. "Luna..." Her voice was flustered and contained a dangerous edge. "Do not disrespect father by besmirching his name. You are his daughter, you have a duty to the family..."
"Dare not speak to me of Duty, Sister!" I returned, my voice even sharper than hers. "All I have done has been in the name! I have a duty to my people! I have a duty to the stallion who may as well be my husband! I have fulfilled my duty to you by protecting YOUR borders with MY army!" I drew myself up and used the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice. "Our Empire Has Taken The Yolk Of Protecting The Creatures Of All Nations, And You Have No Right To Speak To Us On How To Carry Out This Duty! You Stand At Our Mercy, You Enjoy Our Protection, You. Need. Our. Might!" I saw Tia's guards quivering, and she herself had fear running through her eyes. She tried to hide it, but, no matter how cliche it may be, I could feel her fear. I let my voice drop into a harsh whisper. "Do not dare speak to me of duty, Sister. I have done mine, even more than you, and I deserve that respect." I turned back down the path and started walking away, head held high. I gritted my teeth, feeling tired and alone when a chirp at my side made me look at Nightwind Squall, standing beside me. He trilled softly with a kind smile. “Thank you.” I tried to return the smile, but could feel that my mouth only slightly turned up.
Just barely, behind me I could hear her hooves falling into line, and a soft whisper "Luna, What has he done to you?"
"Misanthropy and war have made me strong. Sombra has been my strength." I answered quietly. "I have been generous. I have been kind. I have been honest." I closed my eyes. "He has been loyal and studious. We work together to lead the empire."
"Luna, remember who you are. You are better than this. Dark--"
"Magic is a tool, why would I deny it's use? We are overextended, protecting the borders of nations not our own, and more and more ponies flock to the safety of our lands, despite the harsh conditions. " I said, annoyed. "We are doing all we can to ensure a peaceful future. I am respected, if not loved. I am loved by Sombra, and that is enough for me. I have given my all, Sister. Why can you not see this?"
I heard a beleaguered sigh. "I can see it, Luna. I just feel like you've given too much. You aren't the same mare I knew even five years ago." I could hear pain in her voice, as though she was the one bearing my weight.
I, on the other hand, had been steeled by my trials. "No. I have grown." I said gravely, before realizing the pun. I grinned wryly and turned my head, flipping my mane. "Can't you tell?"
She couldn't do more than snicker. I loved to see her laugh, but charisma and humor was always her forte, not mine. I did what I could, even when we had our disagreements.
The ground began tremoring, and it grew worse until I had to take to the air lest I lose my balance. "Nightwind, I feel tremendous amount of magical energy in that direction." I pointed a hoof that ended up almost directly toward the castle. "I need to help my sister's guard. Scout it out, and stay out of sight." He saluted crisply and flew away, soft and silent but fast and graceful as a falcon. I smiled as I watched him go, appreciating his talent and love more than ever. I swept down to Tia and the guards. I steadied Tia and had her focus on her magic so that she could carry herself across the moving terrain. I wrapped her guards in my magic and carried them as we made our way toward the epicenter of the quake.
I heard a squeak over the rumble and redoubled my speed, thinking my Nightwind Squall had been caught. I saw him flying back without his helmet. "What happened?" I asked. He had a hard time learning to speak our language, but I learned his fairly easily, so after a rapid series of clicks and squeaks I understood that there was a manticore three times the normal size who was unaffected by the momentum of the ground under him. He was caught in the side of the head, but recovered before crashing into anything. I checked his jawline and ear quickly, clicked my tongue, and waited for a response. It took him a second, but he nodded. "It is well." I sighed in relief. He smiled and blushed a little, making a small squeak and a couple clicks. "Oh, hush." I smirked and playfully slapped his face with a hoof. "Of course I'd be concerned about my faithful shadow." He smiled at me and pointed to a separate path to go around the manticore.
Eventually we made to the castle perimeter and saw fissures throughout the area. The path opened up toward the courtyard... and opened down underneath it. I looked down and saw a green-purple glow. "Tia, I've found him!" I shouted back as I angled my wings and dove. I dropped the guards on a section of the fissure floor that seemed sturdy and zipped past Jewel Storm, who was floating via telekinesis facing into a cavern. There was a large blue and silver tree in the cavern with multiple gems embedded in the branches. I didn't pay much attention to it however, as I turned to face Jewel Storm, whose face was slightly disfigured but seemed otherwise fine.
"Ah. The little Moon waxes well." He smiled and spoke with a raspy drawl. His mouth never moved. "I never thought you'd blossom before your sister, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You and Sombra are a good match... intellectually at least. I suspect his motives are slipping at this point." His face twitched and one of his pupils constricted like a cat's.
Tia finally caught up at this point. "Hyperion!" She called aloud, and at the sound of his true name, his whole body twitched and spasmed as his body shifted. Lepidoptera wings sprouted from his back, his horn twisted and started phasing between green and black, but his eyes went yellow and his torso went brown. He didn't shift back into his usual form. His mind seemed fine, but his body was breaking.
"Ah my sweet Sun! How radiant you are, as always!" He was visibly contorting, but his raspy voice remain calm and neutral, as though it wasn’t actually being spoken. "How I've missed you. Memories of your warmth have been all that let me sleep these three years we've been apart. I would rush to embrace you once more, but I'm afraid I've little time left. My heart has been trying to escape, and he has been very insistent that I leave when he does. It seems chaos has tired of control. Tell me, what do you know of Djinni magic?"
I spoke up. "Reality altering magic of the highest level, on par with that of Alicorn magic, but it functions in a cross-dimensional state, allowing for vast transfiguration, alteration, and conjuration. Djinni are known for their chaotic temperament and often bend the rules of our reality on a whim."
“And what of the Umbra Veil?” He responded, a dark shadow passing over his face
Celestia fielded this one, her face gone pallor as death. “The shadow that presides over the universe. That which hides true knowledge from all but the most dedicated seekers. It is only through the use of ancient blood magic that we might peer behind it. Those who do…”
He laughed conservatively as Celestia nodded. "You are well studied, Princesses..." He almost hissed at the end of his sentence. "Now that you know what's happening," He tossed a polished topaz to Celestia. She caught it in her magic. "My final gift."
"From one to another, From another to one. The mark of destiny, The Moon and the Sun. Alone one stands, willed. The light of two Fulfilled!"
His form seemed to explode from the magical energy, and the force of the wave knocked me and Celestia both out of the sky. I was blinded, but I never felt myself hit the ground. In fact I could feel an ethereal force righting me and all at once, my senses returned, but the ground was flat and checked, with brown and pink clouds overhead. I could hear my shadow screeching as all of his senses were assaulted by discordant popping and the low static of a train's chuff, extended to impossible length. There was also the loud splashing and bright colors all around. The world was recreated with no sense of order save that of gravity. Even that seemed to have a loose hold, if the random floating specks of dirt and pebbles moving in any direction in any fashion at varying speeds, served as any example.
I saw three small gems floating in front of me. Pink, purple, and orange. I regarded them curiously as they seemed to call to me. Each one was brimming with power. They had suspended me before I collided with the cavern wall, and were spinning around me of their own accord. I had never experienced magic like this. It was so much more powerful than the enchantments Sombra and I had been using to protect the crystal kingdom... and they were pure.
I do not think it needs to be said just how amazed I was at these gems. It seemed as though they were a part of the world. Like the ley energies flowed freely through them. It wasn't just channeling, though, as they felt like elements straight out of Equus. I allowed their power to flow into me and my mane became a nebula, dark and brilliant. The power surging through me made me feel more alive than I had ever known. My feet touched lightly on the ground and I walked over to my sister, who was being suspended by the gems on her side as well...
Which was when I saw the effect of the spell Hyperion had cast. "The light of two, fulfilled... He knew I had changed. He was a fairly crafty spy, to have infiltrated my empire without notice... but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, he's been blending in even longer than Misanthropy.”
Tia had been changed to match my form, yet she was taller. Her pink mane now glimmered pearlescent with purple, green, and blue and waved softly in the surrounding current of ley energies. She didn't feel as strong as i had become, but she was strong enough. When she finally gained control and touched upon the ground, she looked around furtively. A cackle rang through the air coming from no apparent direction. "Oh, Celestia, looking for little old me?" His voice was now flamboyant and bombastic. A voice I had not heard from him, but could not deny was his. "I'm touched, truly, especially after the two of you came so far just to seal me away again."
He popped up right in front of us, A grey pony head with two mismatched horns, a brown, lion-like torso with two mismatched wings and four mismatched appendages, leading into a nearly draconic tail. His body was long and serpentine, and seated somehow on an iron throne. "Are you so sure I'm naughty? Hyperion, that Jyggalag, was such a kill-joy! Why, I'm only having fun!" He said, throwing what seemed to be black pebbles here and there. He snapped his fingers and everything stopped. "This is SO BORING to have.This world isn’t even real, so let’s have some FUN!" He started swelling in size, "And besides, I'm more powerful than you could hope to be, thanks to that Djinni I have a true understanding of the magics that we wield." He snapped his fingers again and everything started moving even more erratically than before. "Our dimension could use a little of the chaos that so many others have! You haven't lived until you've seen the power chaos wields! I should think myself a spirit of Discord, for that is what I shall sow! Harmony has reigned too long, we needed to spice it up!" Discord rose into the sky and and started shouting and laughing maniacally as the world around him was swept up in a maelstrom.
I looked at Tia as this monstrosity railed against the heavens. The pain in her eyes was apparent as she saw the degradation of the ‘stallion’ she loved into this mad creature. “I can still save him.” She said under her breath. “I just have to bring back his good reason! My Hyperion is still in there somewhere…” She looked to me for support, and I saw desperation in her eyes. Her words resonated within me, however, as they sounded very familiar… almost relatable. It was not lost on me then either, and my eyes started opening.
I had no comfort to give, but my heart broke for her. I smiled wanly and told her "Tia, He may not be one you know. I..."
Her eyes clouded. and she looked back to Discord. "I won't give up on him. He gave us the power to save him. We have to do something!"
I nodded, unwilling to confront Tia's pain. I could feel power coming from the gems, but when I tried to draw upon them, the power felt hollow. It was missing some vital piece, but I couldn't place what it was. Frustrated that, despite all of my research into magic, I couldn't place the missing element, I let a little of my emotion into the magic flow... and felt a sparking reaction. Intrigued I forced all of my anxiety, anger, sadness into the gems and was fascinated by the feedback.
These gems seemed to have a similar enchantment to the Crystal Heart at the heart of my own empire. When I really thought about it, after the Crystal Faires were postponed indefinitely, I understood that the power of the heart had changed as well. The fights began getting worse and worse afterward, and the full war with the Caribou, who were even more sensitive to magic than our Unicorns, was almost six months after the Changeling infestation's conclusion. The only reason we had gained the upper hand was that our Crystal infantry could break up their ranks and our Unicorn's shields worked well on the Pegasi’s armor, deflecting all but the most damaging spells that the Caribou threw at us. Not to mention our… experimental armory, given to our special forces. Each of those weapons wrought havoc upon our foes.
I had always thought nothing of the timing, but my head began swimming at this. I was suspicious of the coincidence, and it planted the seeds of doubt in my mind about my own empire. I had so many questions...
But for now, I had to act. The gems began to go pale, but the magic felt whole and I used it to attack Discord. He was blindsided, and the amount of power in the attack knocked him out of the air and sent his body twitching across the checked floor he had made. The feedback on the attack lashed out at me, but my control was greater, thanks in no small part to the amount of training I had in necromantic manipulation, which dealt with angry souls who were far harder to control. I redirected this blind power into the ground, and a dark crystal formed. I was further intrigued, but had no time to consider it before Tia tackled me.
"LUNA!" Celestia shouted in anger, her pink eyes seeming to glow red in her raw anger. Her mane began shining, growing in potency until it almost brighter than the sun itself. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"
I coughed as I waved a hoof in Discord's direction. "Go see for yourself. I knocked him out so you could do something with him." I stood up, my entire torso screaming in a pain I skillfully kept off my face. She ran off to his side, shooting me a glare so malicious that I could only define it as evil. "So embroiled in emotion... so even the proud, pure Celestia can be moved to evil acts for love... I don't know if that's heartening, or damning." I thought to myself, shaking my head a little. I sauntered over to the two and saw that I had ripped a sizable hole through him, about halfway down his torso. I was a little amazed that with all of his power, I was still able to cause such a wound. As I came closer, however, he began to try to slither away. "Be Still." I commanded, adding in "Unless you want it to hurt more." He stopped moving and looked at me with almost as much pain and hatred as Celestia.
"You are not... Luna, Nightmare..." Discord coughed. "You are... So much stronger than... than when you left." He smiled, despite how badly he was hurt. "But I still have the upper hand." He lifted a claw and sliced a hole in our dimension. He tried to crawl into it, but I shot a burst of energy at his head to dissuade him.
"I can sense that you do, even weakened. But, you are vulnerable right now, and I can keep you from getting away." I boasted, my confidence overtaking my ability. I lowered my head so that neither could see me grimace about the pain in my side. "Celestia deserves admiration for loving you even when you vowed to destroy her world, so why don't you return the favor and let her lover back for a moment?"
"Hyperion is part of me, just as much as Starswirl, and just as much as Utao, the Djinn I found. I am a conglomeration of many made into one." He hissed, reeling from my burst of magic. He employed none of the usual snide humor I would have expected from Hyperion, so I doubted the sincerity of his words... but something inside me knew he wasn't lying.
"Indeed..." I breathed. "Well, Celestia, do you take this beast as your beloved? Or would you separate their consciousness' to attempt to reclaim a fragmented shadow of the creature you once loved?" I looked to her, evenly. I knew she wouldn't have the heart to reject him so I made the choice sound easier for her sake. In actuality, I might have been able to extricate one of them, but the difficulty of the procedure might have killed all of them. And then I caught it. “Wait, you weren’t the original Starswirl?”
Discord laughed. “That took you a while.”
Celestia looked at me, and I only just then realized she had regained her self-control. She started explaining the situation to me, and the basic layout was like this: Hyperion was found as a nymph by Grand Magus Starswirl, who performed multiple tests on him, turning him from the more primal aspect of his hive-mind to true, single intelligence. Starswirl left for a while, Hyperion took his place. Starswirl came back, Hyperion took the guise of Jewel Storm. They started working on a spell together and Starswirl disappeared.
“I felt a surge of power, so I still believe I somehow absorbed him with the spell-feedback.” Discord had knit himself back together at this point, much to my chagrin, and Celestia made sure to stand between us.
“I wouldn’t be so sure…” I heard a gruff, gravelly voice call from behind us. The else-dimensional portal now had the figure of a grey pony with a long, blue, tasseled cape standing in it. “I am much more hardy than you give me credit for, fool.” He regarded us all with the look of an ancient sage, as his eyes shone like burnished gold.
Fate truly twists in mysterious ways.