Trixie looked up as the skies suddenly began to darken with ominous clouds, their massive forms streaked with jagged lightning bolts. The unicorn jumped as the ground began to quake violently. Leaves flittered down from the trees as their branches shook, and a nearby pile of boulders toppled over. The frightened magician managed to dodge a rotten branch as it broke off of an overhead oak. She looked up to watch for more, and then noticed something strange. The sudden storm was lowering itself from the sky, growing closer and closer to the ground. Trixie watched, eyes and mouth agape as the storm touched down on several farming properties, spanning over their predominately empty fields. Trixie crouched down in a bush as the clouds swirled and twisted to form the mighty towers of a monstrous castle built of dark, crumbling stone. Likewise, the rest of the cloud changed to make an ancient, decaying city materialize around it.
Now before Trixie was a sight from another time, a time when the world was still in its darkest ages. Her first thought was that it was some kind of apparition of a settlement lost to the ever-progressing movement of time. The mare’s thoughts were interrupted when the beating of distant drums reached her ears. The rhythm reminded her of music she’d once heard when performing at a renaissance fair, but at the same time contained the threatening beat of a war march. Trixie’s magenta eyes grew wide as she found the latter to be true as the drums grew closer. Now she could make out the sound of an army on the march, too late realizing that they were heading in her direction.
When she finally laid eyes upon the source of this noise, the unicorn was frozen with fear. Coming into view was a mass of the most hideous creatures she’d ever seen. Each was bipedal, though some of the smaller ones leapt about with the aid of their knuckles. No two seemed alike, some were muscular, some were lean, and some were small. Their oily, hairy skins were covered in rusting, dented armor. They clutched wickedly sharp weapons in their claws, as though they had raided a massive armory in the tomb of an ancient king.
Unable to bear the sight of the wretched beasts, Trixie instead turned her attention to the unlikely figure leading them. Staggering ahead of the army was a gangly donkey clad in an orange and red tunic, his ears poking out of a tightly fitting hood. Trixie thought he looked rather ugly, but this was normal considering she thought than anypony was in someway blemished compared to her. The donkey suddenly paused in his advance, the creatures behind him stopping with a final collective step.
“All bow before his Excellency, the Almighty Grogar!” the donkey cried in a nasally voice. At his words, the army parted into two long lines.
Trixie watched as a huge beast came striding down the newly created path. The newcomer was an enormous goat, twice the size of an average pony. His strong, lean body was covered in dark, steely fur, the color of the storm clouds Trixie had first seen. He moved on four powerful cloven hooves, each one seeming large enough to crush a pony’s skull. A tangled beard hung from his sneering muzzle, and a spectacular pair of ebon horns grew from his brow, curling so that the sharp tips pointed ahead. The creature looked out at the world with two burning red eyes that glowered like coals in their sockets. Around his neck was a thick collar covered in tarnished brass plates. Suspended from it was an iron bell, that paradoxically did not ring as he moved.
Trixie nearly fainted when the horrible beast turned and looked at her hiding place.
“What manner of absurdity is this?” he called out in a guttural voice that grated the unicorn’s ears, “You, there. Come out of that bush at once!” Trixie was mortified. She had no idea how she could be seen, as she was unable to tell that the tip of her hat was quite visible as it protruded obtrusively from the shrub. Fearful of what would befall her if she didn’t comply, the trembling unicorn emerged from her hiding place. Her knees buckled violently as the monstrous goat trotted over to her, the ugly donkey trailing behind him. Trixie soon found herself face to face with the creature, who bore down on her with his terrible gaze.
“Mage,” he growled, “What do you call yourself?” At first Trixie was confused at him calling her a mage. But then she remembered she wore her costume, which she had pattered off of the clothing once worn by the ancient wizards of Equestria.
“Th-the Great and Powerful Trixie,” she squeaked, not sounding at all great and powerful.
“Great and Powerful Trixie,” the goat replied, “I am Grogar, Lord of Darkness. I presume you know of me?” Trixie thought that he was going to kill her not too far in the future, and decided it wouldn’t make a difference if she shook her head.
“..N-no…”
“It matters not,” he said, “For soon I will rule these lands. Tell me, Mage, do you wish to join me?” The question had seemingly come out of nowhere, and Trixie found herself speechless for a moment.
“…Pardon?” she finally murmured. The goat smiled, revealing a mouthful of jagged, crooked teeth.
“I request your allegiance,” he said, “I need your help in conquering Equestria.” Trixie slowly pointed a hoof at herself.
“My help?” she muttered, a dumbfounded look on her face. Grogar nodded.
“Any who wish to serve me will be needed in my fight to restore the proper monarchy,” he said, “And those who choose to aid me will be rewarded.” Trixie’s ears perked up.
“Rewarded?…” she mused. The great goat nodded.
“In return for your loyalty, you shall receive a gift. What is it that you most desire?” Trixie’s fear was melting away as her true ambitious, opportunistic nature began to surface.
“I want…” She paused for just a moment, some small part of her telling her not to trust someone who went by the title of ‘Lord of Darkness’. But though the magician was really quite clever, her intelligence was often dampened by her ambition. In effect, she became quite stupid when faced with an opportunity such as the one at hand.
“I want to be the most magical unicorn in Equestria,” she said at last, “I want glory, fame, and power.” Grogar’s small smile grew wider, causing the unicorn to stiffen in fear.
“And power you shall receive,” he said, “Now, swear to me. Do you promise to serve me, Grogar, to obey my every command and follow only me?”
“I…promise,” gulped the unicorn. Grogar’s blatantly evil smile became a wicked grin.
“Excellent,” he rasped, “Then by the dark powers invested in me, I hereby take you to be my personal escort, to fulfill any duties I see fit.” Trixie’s hopeful face suddenly fell as there was a bright flash of green light. She looked down to see an iron collar clasped around her neck, kept shut by the means of what appeared to be a keyless lock. The unicorn glanced back up at the grinning goat.
“…What…what sort of duties might those be?” she murmured with a fearful frown. Grogar simply continued to smile.
“You shall assist me in any way necessary,” he said, his voice laced with what Trixie took to be malice, “To aid me in my conquests.” This did not sound any more specific than what he had originally said, and so it only caused further nervousness on Trixie’s part.
“And I still get to be the most magical unicorn in Equestria?” she asked, forcing a small grin to appear on her face. Grogar leaned in closer, snorting his foul breath in her face.
“More magical than you can possibly imagine.”
Trixie trailed behind Grogar as the dark spirit walked down the main street of Tambelon. She made sure to stay just far enough behind him so that she couldn’t smell the awful odor he gave off, but close enough so that she felt safe from the intimidating monsters behind her. She still had no idea what they were, but at the moment she didn’t care. Just as long as she was out of their reach.
As she walked, the unicorn glanced off into the ruined buildings that made up the city. To her it seemed the city was a corrupted version of a medieval Canterlot. Houses made of rotting wood and crumbling stone lined the streets, and the streets themselves were full of filth and garbage. She heard hammers pounding somewhere, guessing correctly that there was a blacksmith nearby. Trixie couldn’t see any sign that the city was inhabited by ponies, and concluded that it must have only been home to Grogar, the donkey, and the army of monsters they commanded.
Trixie looked ahead to the castle that sat on the top of a hill overlooking the ruined city. Walls made of black, weathered stone stood defiant against the cruel power of time, bearing scars from the unending battle. Its massive towers were wreathed in a peculiar smog, its wispy tendrils wrapping around the pillars of stone as if anchoring itself to them. Gargoyles adorned every possible point, their features carved to look so realistically horrible that they almost seemed to be alive, staring down at the magician with lifeless eyes. Though Trixie often thought herself to be infinitely more important that she actually was, she felt small and insignificant as she gazed up at the shadowy fortress.
A sudden groan sounded off, causing the unicorn to stiffen in fright. She relaxed slightly as she realized that it was merely the colossal oak doors of the castle opening, seemingly by their own accord. Behind them lay a long corridor lit by weakly burning torches. Trixie felt a sense of foreboding as she stepped into the building, being swallowed by the malevolent darkness. She heard Grogar’s hooves clack loudly against the stone floor ahead of her. The unicorn found herself being led down a labyrinth of musty halls and dusty corridors, until at last they emerged into a vast room.
It was lit by a huge, roaring fireplace, the flames a vibrant, unnatural ruby red. Lined against the walls were tables and benches facing the middle of the room. Behind the table on the north wall lay a massive stone throne, covered in elaborate carvings depicting writhing beasts. Hanging on the walls were massive tapestries. They looked as if they could once have been magnificent, were now tattered and moth-eaten. Still, Trixie could make out the images of terrible monsters, portrayed in an artistic manner from another era.
Trixie followed Grogar and his donkey servant to the table that sat before the throne. Grogar sat down in the massive stone chair, with Bray taking up residence on a small seat to his right.
“Come, Mage,” said the dark lord as he motioned to Trixie with a cloven hoof, “Join me.” Unable to decline, the unicorn took a seat next to him. Her nose crinkled as his goatish odor wafted into her nostrils. The unicorn looked at the doorway as some of Grogar’s army began to pour in, scrambling and pushing past each other to sit down in the benches. The last warriors to enter were rolling enormous brown barrels before them. Trixie watched in awe as the brutes lifted the casks up onto large stands with little effort, both fearful and fascinated by their strength. A short time later the hall was filled with the chattering of the beasts as they drank some kind of putrid ale from mugs hewn from leaky wood.
“Music!” called Grogar as he clapped his hooves together twice. Almost instantly the hall was filled with a strange song. Reedy horns began to screech as a loud drum was beaten erratically. This completed the scene of a twisted, demented king’s court, straight from Equestria’s middle ages. Trixie honestly felt as though she had been cast back in time to an era where death and disease were common, where ponies still lived under petty monarchies and the wilds were still untamed.
Her observations were interrupted as a goblet was set before her. Much to her delight, it was set with gigantic, colorful gems, their facets glinting beautifully in the light of the fireplace. The cup resembled the picture of a queen’s chalice from a storybook she’d had when she was little. Quickly she levitated it to her lips to sample whatever filled the glamorous goblet.
The unicorn immediately gagged, almost vomiting all over the table. A foul rancidness stung her taste buds the moment she sipped whatever vile liquid lay within the cup. She was certain it was some kind of incredibly potent alcohol, perhaps some kind of grog that had aged badly and for too long. She looked over sheepishly as she heard Grogar chuckle.
“Get the Mage something a little more suited for her taste,” he murmured to Bray.