Badlands... this inhospitable land, located to the South of Equestrian borders, fanned by the seabreeze, and torned apart by merciless sandstorms, that can rip the skin of a careless pony in a matter of minutes...
Once upon a time, before my Ascension, the Badlands were green, prosperous and full of persistent life. The air was buzzing with tens of thousands of sounds, that were born by the lifeforms that inhabited it... This earth breathed, grew, rejoiced, mourned and died in the eternal melody of existence. In spite of everything, this place was full of Harmony. And in the heart of this blessed land, hiding its dark secrets from the rest of world, and luring lost souls wit the shining of the sun on the edges of flawless purple crystals, the Spire the home for the alicorns of the Unseelie Court, proudly rose to the heavens.
Once upon a time, before my Ascension, I, still young, carefree and innocent, like a weightless shadow, glided under the canopy of ancient forests. I danced under the Stars, and I sang along with them, I watched the vanity of the world, noticing connections between parts of creation... and I was happy as never before, and never will be again.
Then ... Then everything changed. From the thirst for power, from grievances and defeats, from the first sprouts of hatred it came. In a flash of blue light, piercing through the very core of the soul, which destroyed the majestic Spire, fire and death came. The earth no longer breathed, grow, rejoiced, or mourn. The earth died and with it tens of thousands of songs were replaced by the silence and echo of my demise. In a horrific cataclysm that nearly split the world in half, the last cry of mortal became the first cry of the Goddess.
Since then, centuries have passed. The unquenchable flame, that enveloped that land, finally died out, and my Scream dulled, becoming quieter and quieter. And, as it was always, as it will be for eternity, a new life has come to the place of a bygone life.
"Will the pony stare at her grave for all of eternity, or at last get down to business?" — I blinked, and looking from the crater, which, like in ancient times, sparkled with thousands of shades of violet, as soon as dense clouds let the sun's rays reach the ground, and turned my gaze to the north.
Much further North and much later, among the black, barren cliffs there was erected a new Spire, which settled new inhabitants. Changeling swarm and its Queen, persecuted by the whole world and fleeing from the wrath of Discord, settled here, among the rocks and mournful memories. Although its pretty hard to distinguish Chrysalis Hive from other similar rocks... but there's something that makes it stand out.
Chrysalis, no matter how cruel she may seem at times, loves life in all its manifestations. She simply can't imagine her life where nothing grows, where birds don't sing, where flowers don't blossom. And yet, Chrysalis was one of the few alicorns who had a magical specialization in "ecosystem creation" and "climate manipulation". There, where Chrysalis steps, life returns, the deserts soon turn into flood meadows, and bare cliffs into a lush jungle.
And although the Badlands, which have been defiled by my Ascension for thousands of years, won't be filled with life soon, but Chrysalis remained true to herself, and in her house she created a tiny island of life, wich I can sense, and to which I can teleport.
Without noise and without a flash, I emerged in the midst of a small clearing, protected from unwanted looks by walls of Changeling Hive, and covered with juicy grass, which reached to my neck. Birds happily sang their simple songs, not paying any attention to me, the insects scurried back and forth between bright flowers, the stupefying aroma of which caused the desire to taste them.
Leaning to the ground, I did what I haven't done for a very long time, began to graze, because I won't find the same lush grass as here anywhere else on this world.
When I had eaten, I stretched and looked around, looking for the mistress of this place. Chrysalis sat near a small streamlet, in which multi-colored small fishes frolicked. She sat, slightly hunched, and looked at the flow of water. Her green mane, like a waterfall, spread over her neck, and small sparks danced along its entire length. Her polished carapace shone under artificial light, and her translucent wings scattered thousands of glints, shaking from time to time. Even the ancient wounds on her limbs did not disturb the overall harmony of her appearance. And the only thing that spoiled the view was her uneven, melted horn, which, still was a very efficient weapon and magical conduit.
I slowly approached her, and sat down beside her, catching a sidelong glance, and began to watch the fish that were scurrying in the pond.
"You know..." Chrysalis began, peering at my reflection in the water. "When happened... what happened, and these snobs from the Seelie Court have confirmed that you died, along with everyone, I still knew one day you will return." She moved a little closer and suddenly I found out that Chrysalis's warm shell was rubbing against my cheek. "It's good to see you, sis."
In response, I nuzzled her a little, then hugged her with my wing.
"It's good to see you, too, Chrysalis."
"Not even ask what happened to me?" - Chrysalis looked at me with interest.
"Discord..." my face involuntarily twisted in a grimace of disgust. Yes, this miscreant, turned Chrysalis, the Giver of Life, one of the most pleasant and beautiful alicorn mares into a parasite, forced to feed on the emotions of mortals.
"Discord..." Chrysalis nodded, and an identical expression appeared on her face, which made our family resemblance obvious, even though we belonged to different species. "So, what brings you to my humble abode? Well, besides the desire to finally meet your beloved older sister?" I fell chitinous hoof poke under my ribs.
"There are infinitely many possible causes. But in general, I came to warn you that your ... " no matter what, we are still a family... well, we were once. And it's no good not to warn my sister that one of her daughters is plotting against her.
"No, no, no! Don't say who it is!" and at my questioning look she explained. "Lately, I'm bored, so I let my daughter... have some liberties. And as for my usual entertainment, because I'm too old to fight with dragons or try to seduce Celestia once again, so I having fun by revealing my daughters plots. And how are you having fun?"
"Well, I'm pretending to be a pony and..."
"Oh? The proud Trabea condescended to live with the "lower beings"? Is the end of the world coming?" Suddenly she became more gloomy for a second and muttered something about the prognostications. Then, in her eyes, appeared cunning spark, and a smile returned to her lips. "Maybe you even found yourself a cute mare or a handsome stallion, eh?"
At the thought of what Chrysalis was thinking, I had a vomiting urge.
"I do not! I only have sex with alicorns!" I stated clearly. Pony. As a partner... How disgusting...
"Yes, yes. In my youth I thought the same way. And then I met that cute dragon, and we..."
"No need for details, Chryzzy! I just ate!"In response, Chrysalis just laughed.
"Time goes by, you do not change." with a heavy sigh and under the heartbreaking creaking of the joints, Chysalis rose to her feet, after which she began to flutter her wings softly, and woven a cloud pillow on which she had settled herself. "Okay, we can chat later. And now I'll produce even more of these ungrateful bugs, who try to challenge every decision I make. Can you wait half an hour, until I get rid of the eggs?"
"Are the drones sapient?" it seemed to me that most of the changeling's are just animals obedient to the will of their Royalty.
"Only mine." Answered Chrysalis. "Well, if you can consider sapient the same creatures who constantly try to escape from me to Equestria."
"And what was the reason? Well, I do not know, unhealthy food? Discord?" surely its Discord. I have no proof, but it is so convenient to blame him for all the troubles.
"Old age. During the conception of drones, I can use only sequences of Monarch genes. And so happens... what happens. Some of my children even come up with names for themselves. And then what? Will they choose the King and start sharing love?" Crisalis shook her head. "They are dangerous, always hungry, and simply can't control their desires. Fortunately, I can keep them under control."
"And why you don't lobotomize them?"
"Huh?"
"Why you just don't lobotomize them all?"
"True, why not..." in her eyes dangerous lights start to dance.
"Remember? All ingenious is simple." I rose to my feet, slightly pushing Chrysalis in the shoulder with the tip of my wing.
"Exactly... You know, Trabea..."
"Shift. Now this is my name."
"Shift? Okay." Her left ear jerked, and in a minute a bunch of drones came out of shadows. After that, a green fire lit on the tip of her horn, and a green crystal needle appeared right in front of her. Chrysalis pointed its end to the skull of the nearest drone, clearly deciding to see what would come out of my idea. "Oh, don't move, "Thorax"." she uttered mockingly. "You won't even feel anything..." with a quiet crunch, the needle passed between the plates of the shell, which covered its head, and changeling became silent. " ...never again. So, if you need anything, ask away. But, within reasonable limits..."
"Anything?" I looked at her greedily. Of course, there will be a little work to do, but she can become an excellent Herald.
"Within reasonable limits." emphasized the Queen, giving me a no less hungry look. After that, we both laughed.
"You know," I said more seriously. "I need to prepare a Star Focus ritual within a week."
"When and where?" just asked Chrysalis, watching how the lobotomized drone helps his freedom-loving companion to become a part of the collective once again.
Gently slipping off the passing stream of the southern wind, carrying a blizzard, I gently landed on the frozen ground.
My hooves, now snow-white, dug up the snow when I skidded to a stop near a huge frozen lake, completely cleared of the fresh snow. On the ice was drawn very complex magical circle around which scurried Changeling drones with unusual wasplike coloring. They were commanded by two Princesses, one in one like Chrysalis (although they all look like her, but they usually have different coloration), one with a mane and tail of a rich golden color, and another smaller, slightly larger than a normal pony, and with a light purple mane. Yes, Chrysalis acted like a true Queen and instead of doing something herself, she make her subordinates do it.
The princess with the golden mane, who watched after drones, noticed my landing.
"Greetings, Princess." She politely bowed to me, while glancing stealthily at my wings, then at the horn, then at the cutiemark in the form of a sun on the rump, then on an unusual long pink mane. Yes, I appeared on the ritual site in the guise of princes Celestia as she was a thousand years ago. Smaller Princess repeated her movements. "I'm Aurora, the elder Princess of the Changelings, and I was delivering material for the ritual, and this is my sister, Kogitaria, she was drawing a ritual circle. Mother warned us that we must wait for the alicorn, but..."
"But you didn't expect me, did you?" I asked, trying to imitate the facial expressions, intonation and fine motor skills of real Celestia, which will help me somewhat later. "Very good." I checked modified ritual circle, which was a complex ligature of runes, placed between two circles. Hm? So, this version of the circle should come out less costly for the caster by using the inner magic of the victims? "A very unusual decision. You did very well, little one." I turned to the little Princess, who slightly flushed with praise.
"We put the victims in cocoons and buried them in the snow." Said the older Princess, nodding at a long row of snowdrifts.
"Where did you get them?"
"We "evacuated" several villages in the Gryphon Kingdom, when the "dragon raid" began there." Aurora singled out the last words, hinting that the dragon raid was as fake as Celestia before her.
"Perfect. I hope you did not bring... inappropriate material?" I'll still check whether there are sick wounded and the like, among victims, but it's better to ask now.
"We have weeded out the elderly, the children, the sick and the wounded, and then sent them to the Auroras Hive." - Cogitaria added her five bits. Ow, not good. Children are suitable for such rituals the best. Rituals come out ... more precisely. And the need to sacrifice children... When it bothered me, anyway?
"Good. You can go your own way, or, if you want, stay and look at the ritual." Aurora immediately cleared the ritual site from the drones, then sat down on the sidelines, gazing at me intently.
"I think I will go." Said Kogitaria, disappearing in the emerald flash of teleportation spell.
"What about a special order?" I asked the Aurora.
"Unicorn-mares?" I nodded. "Five individuals, Mother said that she wove in them all the necessary charms. They're over there." She pointed to the snowdrift with her hoof.
"Good. And now you'll be out of here." I politely asked. Aurora and her drones dissapeared in the emerald flash.
So, what is the Star Focus Ritual? This, if we speak in very simple language, is a method that allows us to use the power of stellar combinations even when the stars do not quite converge. For example, if Luna had access to the "material", she could use a stellar combination of four stars to escape from her lunar prison two centuries ago.
The only downside of this ritual is that this is sacrifice, and the longer the period before the convergence of the stars, the more you should sacrifice. For the ritual which I doing now it is necessary to sacrifice nearly two hundred sapient creatures. Not that their lives worried me at all, I just do not like dirty rituals, and after this I will be covered in blood from head to hooves. And although this avatar will crumble into dust after the completion of my affairs here, but unlike my younger brother or niece I really do not like taking bloody baths.
With a heavy sigh I walked over, to the center of the ritual circle, where through the thickness of the ice could be seen boiling darkness, and put tip of my horn to the ice.
Like a swift stream, my magic rushed down, under the ice, to meet someone who was slumbering in the depths. King Sombra, one of the greatest unicorn magicians of this world, one who today would gain freedom and begin a new life.
My magic touched the sleeping mind of the ancient unicorn, slowly awakening from the torpor into which he fell, bound with chains of Eternal Ice. Seeping through the ice, a black shadow that seemed to be a rift leading to the Abyss, rose from the icy depths. Then two eyes, burning with insane green fire, opened and, it seemed, looked into my soul itself.
"Celes-s-stia-a-a!" groaned the unicorn, staring at me. "Why... did you returne-e-ed?"
Now begins the most difficult part of the play. I have to outsmart Sombra by forcing him to say five simple words, while not succumbing to my own disgust and not burning his soul. And after that…
"Tsh-sh-sh, calm down, my love!" And now I really want to spit. I am really calling worthless unicorn "my love"! If other alicorns can see me now...
"Discord can see us rght now. And he laughs."
"We will torment this worm later."
Okay, we should start with the simplest approach to the fallen King.
" I ... I do not care what other ponies think about your magic, I do not care what the Luna thinks about you! I just want to be with you! Sombra, come with me!"
"Wi-i-ith you-u-u?" Sombra blinked, because he, and it was obvious, had expected Celestia at the meeting to be ... less understanding and more angry. So by the way it would be. Although this couple, Sombra and Celestia, sincerely love each other (the connection between them is very strong, it's not easy to break it, and even if I had to do something like that, I would not have dared. After all, even the Dark Gods have standards...), but Celestia was slightly offended by the fact that Sombra used a bit of domestic violence on her (well, yes, he broke her spine, and then broke all the ribs, and then raped her and almost impaled her, but after all, anything happens in life) and reconcile him with her will be... problematic.
"Yeah, just come with me. No one will reproach you for your past, nobody would blame you! You will be able to start life with a clean slate!" oh, yes you will... "Next to me, you will be able to..."
"Yes... I... will go with you ... I want to start a new ... life..."
"That simple? This one disappointed in the Witch-King. Put him back in the lake, he degraded."
My eye twitched. I mean, really, I was thinking over hundreds of variants for persuading Sombra, from what I started to do to the really complicated strategy, that was supposed to confuse him before he gave me his consent. And he just agreed?!
My ears were pressed to my head, and after that a black and white wave ran across my mane, replacing the vile pink color with the noble black and white colors of my true form. The snow-white fur began to smolder, and when blackness began to appear through the whiteness. I grinned, showing Sombra my fangs, then, giving in to the triumph that literally radiated from Archmage, I started to laugh. Sombra who recognized me recoiled in fear, but the spells that kept his essence bound in ice did not allow him to escape.
"Gotcha!" I managed to say through the maniacal laughter, which like thunder was echoing over the silent icy wastelands of the North. "After so many years! After you have managed to break our previous deal, preserving everything you asked for! After you tore out your own eidos! You! And so easy just like throwing a small coin to a beggar, and not selling your soul in eternal slavery! Just agree?! WE ARE DISAPPOINTED IN YOU, SOMBRA!!!"
I walked around him, and he froze, crushed by the weight of my presence.
"But you know? You have nevertheless already shown that you are worthy to serve me. Your experience. Your skills. Your talent. Your power. I will find use for all of this." in the eyes of Sombra, to which it came down that there was a flash of hope. "But, unfortunately, I can not find the application of one thing. Your personality. And since I prefer that my slaves do not have something as pernicious as it, I will eliminate this small defect."
"No! NO!!! DON'T!!!" Sombra again tried to escape from the circle when he saw the darck glow that formed around my horn. I will apply one interesting spell, which will completely remove all his personal memories, without affecting the general information which he possesses. Well, at the same time, I will conduct an experiment on him to test my ability to shape life. Oh and I will give him the promised "life from a clean slate", transforming him into something more ... pleasant to the eye.
"Its funny... But the mare who you sacrificed to summon us, asked for the same." Spark literally purred those words. "Perhaps you should have listened to her?"
"But you're not doing something bad with me, are you? Will you pity me? Please!"
"Scream. Pray. Cry. We will remain deaf to your pleas." Archmage rumbled. "Forget whom you were! From now you are our shadow."
My horn approached the shadow trying to escape it.
"If... if everything is already decided... then..." pathetic. "Celestia ... I do not want to forget about her."
"It is acceptable." said Spark, completely removing me and other me from control over what is happening. "The memory of your lover will disappear. But the feelings... they will stay with you forever."
"NO! NO!!! DO NOT DARE, TINWE!!!"
Our horn shrouded in triumphant darkness touched the shadow.
You'll pay for it, Spark! Ten thousand times!!!
So, my Light Aspect, having spend all her power and met with the united fury of the other two parts of me, now could only groan in pain. Yes, unlike me or Archmage, Spark is not a masochist, and what we did to her, and what we are doing right now, doesn't give her any pleasure.
But what is the crook, eh?! Destroy such a ritual, cementing the result with the help of divine power and thereby depriving me of the ability to change anything!!! On the other hoof, now Celestia and what left of Sombra really can say that their union was forged by divinity. And we can use that.
I angrily slashed a ritual knife on the throat of another victim, a young griffin, maybe a little over nineteen, allowing her blood to pour into a pattern already already bathed in the sacrificial blood boiling and emanating menacing black haze.
Still Spark spoiled such a moment! And because of this partypooper I do not getting any pleasure from the sacrifice.
With movement honed to automatism, I opened the throat of another gryphon, which was slightly over forty. The victim jerked and several drops of blood fell on my nose, after which I eagerly licked the treat.
Okay. I do not think that my Herald will be able to resist me after what I did with him. A a bit of freedom? Yes. But still his soul is mine, and nothing will change this!
Glancing at the four stars that were arranged around the moon with an uneven quadrangle, I finished off another griffin. The last griffin.
"The stars will help in her escape, right?" I asked, when a drop of my blood, shining with unbearable blue light and leaving behind a blue smoky trail, fell into another circle, drawn on the ice inside the double circle for Star Focus. "A very precise saying." Then I cried out in zebrican languadge, while lighting my horn. "Ashtar! Dagon! Sharrak! Nammar! I conjure you with My Name, with My Power! Bow before Me, O Spirits of the Dead Stars, and by My Will break the walls of this prison!!!"
For a moment, the light of the four stars faded, and then once again become as bright as a second ago, after which a thin white ray of starlight dropped into the center of the magical circle. From the point of contact, cracks started to shatter surface of the lake, runnig to all sides, and darkness began to flow through them. I took a step back. Second, another, and than darkness was drawn back into the depths of the lake.
And then, shattering the ice, towards the light of the moon and the Stars, a beautiful gray alicorn mare rushed, whose black mane wavered in the nonexistent wind, whose crimson eyes sparkled with green fire and exuded violet smoke...
She began to slid, trying in vain to get out of her icy prison, then, finally jumping out, onto a flat surface. But then she tangled in her long legs, slipped and hit the ground with her nose. And than she made the most lame thing she could do. She burst into tears like a five-year-old filly.
Well, the first step is always the hardest...
Calming an unexpectedly whiny alicorn down with the help of the plush toy depicting princess Celestia, an eidos giving power over dark magic (a tiny spark of divinity immediately jumped into the alicorn, manifesting itself on her rump in the form of two images of the black sun) and naming (Now her name is Tenebra) , I started preparing for the next ritual.
Shaking the five mares out from the cocoons (Tenebra, noticing them immediately forgot about her toy and began staring at them, finally convincing me that one particular stallion never changes and, if there are cute mares nearby, always thinks exclusively by his lower brain, even if he became mare himself) I began to cover their bodies with special magical ink.
What do I do and why do I need these sacrificial mares at all? Well, I'll perform two rituals at the same time. The first ritual, which has no name, is based on the fact that accepting the offering of five pony magicians makes target more willing to oblige me. The second ritual is called the "Oath of Endless Magic", and its moves a mortal who has read the incantation in my Domain, where I can do with him or her... well, anything. And yes it turns a mortal into my faithful angel.
Arranging the prepared unicorns in front of the surprised mare, who immediately stretched her hooves where they don't belong , I activated a simple spell, that make Tenebra to... accept her offering, and then took out a small piece of paper, one of my feathers, and began to write the text of the incantation on it, trying not to listen, especially to what the mares who sudennly, right on the snow, go into the heat and began... enjoying each others company.
Waiting until the alicorn is finished, or, more accurately, until she tried to get under my tail, I kicked her in the nose, for an attempt on the property of Enigma, sent fainted mares back to their homes, and applied a memory spell to Tenebra (definitely, memories of how you mate with individuals of another species, this is not the experience with which you want to start your life). Then I gave her a piece of paper with an oath.
"?"
"Read this." I said. Yes, this ritual is simple as a telekinesis spell. Even easier. In order to fulfill it, you just need to be a strong magician and be able to read.
"The marks of our destinies became one, the magic without end?" Uncertainly read the alicorn, before disappearing in a flash of white light.
"So, what should I turn you into, eh, Tenebra?"