Cheerful Breeze looked out of the window and shuddered. The night was bright, the giant tear in the sky illuminating the forest outside in shades of blue. Is the world going to end? she thought. Will the sun rise again tomorrow?
She turned her head to look at the other ponies in the cottage, the six pegasi who escaped the conflagration of Cloudsdale, and the elderly earth pony stallion the house belonged to. He allowed them to stay, but had no food to give them, and they were forced to graze to feed themselves. Now, as the world started to fall apart, they slept an uneasy sleep, huddled together on the large bed while Cheerful Breeze kept watch.
She looked at her little brother, Gale. He was turning in his sleep, one wing unfurling, as if to swat away something in his dream. It’s a wonder he’s been able to fall asleep at all. But we need our rest in case something bad happens again.
She looked out of the window once more. What had happened to the world? just a month ago Equestria was a bastion of peace and harmony, and Breeze could look forward to a peaceful life. Then there was the murder of Celestia, the war with the Crystal Empire, then what she could only guess to be a beginning of a civil war… and then the rampaging monster of black flame setting whole Cloudsdale on fire. And now Breeze and her neighbours were hiding in some cottage in the middle of nowhere, with no knowledge if the rest of their families even made it out of the inferno, hoping to wait out the crisis that had now apparently split the sky itself apart.
Drizzle, an older mare sleeping near the edge of the bed, awoke with a start, bringing Breeze’s train of thought to a stop.
“Something’s coming,” she whispered, frightened.
Breeze opened her mouth to say, “You had a bad dream,” but before she could speak, the others started waking up as well, a domino effect of startled reactions bringing everypony to alarmed consciousness in a matter of seconds.
“What’s going on?” asked Gale warily.
“It’s just…” started Breeze, but then something caught her attention. In the corner of her eye, she saw movement outside. Instantly alert, she turned towards the window. “Something’s outside,” she said in a stage whisper.
“Help me!”
Breeze tumbled away with a shriek when a frightened mare pushed her face to the outside of the window.
“Please, let me in,” the stranger said, slumping next to the window sill.
The gathered pegasi looked at each other. “Just a sec,” said Breeze, moving towards the door. She grabbed the bar blocking the door with her teeth and pulled it aside.
The mare outside was a pegasus, tall and slender, with ivory coat and raven black mane. She was wide-eyed, shaking all over, and stumbled a little as she walked. She also pressed one of her wings hard to her side.
“What’s happened to you, darling?” asked Drizzle.
The mare stepped forward. “Well, I was just trying to…”
“Stop.”
Everypony froze. It was the owner of the cottage that spoke, a barked order that instantly got their attention. The elderly stallion walked forward and confronted the mare.
“You’re scared. Very scared. But it is not your fear,” he said slowly. “What are you?”
Though the mare’s expression remained unchanged, her body tensed, and Cheerful Breeze found herself stepping away from her. “What do you mean? I came for help!”
“You can’t lie to me,” said the stallion. “I can feel you. You’re not a pony.”
The mare blinked, shaking away a strand of black hair that fell across her eye. “I’m not? But I will be. I just need more of youuuuuu.”
Her mouth stretched with the last word, elongating and turning circular, like a megaphone with teeth, blue light swirling inside. Breeze heard frightened screams from behind her and leapt away, but found herself unable to turn away from the bizarre creature, the light pulling at her attention as if literally sucking her in. The strange mare didn’t stop changing shape, her legs splitting, stretching and bending, turning her into a grotesque white insect.
And then the old pony erupted in green flame and he was a pony no more. Breeze saw insect wings, black carapace, legs marred with irregular holes. Suddenly the bed rose and toppled, the cottage filled with a loud buzz as a dozen changelings emerged from a hole underneath, charging at the monster. It was like a giant spider swarmed by a dozen wasps. The effect that had been sucking away Breeze’s mind snapped free, and she escaped away from the furious fight, until she found herself with her rump to the back wall, clutching her brother protectively under her wing.
A changeling hit the wall next to her, making her yelp in fear, and slid down with a groan. The battle was all but one-sided. Yet, within seconds the advantage of numbers decided the victor - the creature broke under the repeated blows, lost substance, and evaporated. Silence fell as the changelings looked around, before finally turning towards the pegasi.
“It’s over, for now,” said the leader. “You can stay here, and we will keep you safe.”
“Don’t get any closer!” shouted one of the ponies frantically.” Cheerful Breeze realized it was herself.
The leader met her gaze, sighed, and relaxed his stance. “You’ve been here for hours. If we wanted to hurt you, we’d have done it already.”
“What about the pony who lived here?” asked Gale from under Breeze’s wing.
The changeling winced. “Dead for years. But we don’t do that anymore.”
“You don’t?” Breeze attempted a shaky smile that didn’t look the tiniest bit sincere. “What has changed?”
The changeling straightened. “Times have changed. There is a new queen, and a new hope. Whatever comes down from the sky tonight, we will face it together.”
***
“That way,” said Twilight Sparkle. The orb turned and slowly pushed its way through another wall, burning away the magic forming its substance until the bricks disappeared and gave way. They emerged in another chamber, this one filled with a memory of some ancient city, white marble palaces and tiered pyramids dominating the skyline.
“Just how big is this place?” asked Rarity.
“It’s relative,” said Discord.
“That way now,” said Twilight, accelerating the sphere through the main street, until the met the arc of a huge gate leading out of the city.
“No enemies so far,” said Dash. “It’s like…”
“Like a theatre’s prop storage,” said Pinkie Pie.
“Why do they even exist?” said Twilight. “It’s not like they actually need to be stored.”
The sphere passed through the arc and suddenly they were in the tunnels of some underground base, not unlike the one in Canterlot.
“A distraction, most likely,” said Discord. “Ponies are easily distractible. That being said-” He did a double take and looked around the tunnel. “This place looks kind of familiar.”
“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” said Pinkie. “That way,” she pointed down the corridor.
“I know,” said Twilight, navigating through the tunnel just wide enough to let them through.
“We can all feel it now,” said Fluttershy softly.
The corridor ended in a large lab chamber. Long ago it must have been filled with all sorts of instruments, arranged around a large stone table in the middle. Now, everything was crumbling with rust, a thick layer of dust filling the chamber as if it were an ancient tomb.
“There,” said Twilight, directling her power at the wall in front of her. The bubble pressed to it and started pushing through. Twilight huffed with effort. “This will take a while,” she said. “This one is much tougher than the previous ones.”
“Um, Twilight?” said Fluttershy.
A delicate light illuminated the room. Twilight chanced a look aside and saw the pieces of equipment mending themselves. “Keep an eye on it,” she said. “I’ll keep drilling.” Slowly, the sphere started pushing into the wall.
Meanwhile, the lab restored itself to how it must have looked like in its prime. Magical lights appeared in a line on the ceiling. And then two indistinct shapes started forming at the center, one standing at the machines, the other lying on its side, covered with a blanket and apparently strapped to the table.
“Fluttershy?” asked Dash.
“No aggression,” said Fluttershy. “It’s just a vision.”
“Pinkie?” asked Dash next.
Pinkie’s expression turned grim. “There will be trouble,” she said.
“Just who is it?” asked Rarity. “She looks like… Dr.Stone, but younger. Is it Indicina?”
“I think,” said Fluttershy, “this is Evening Embrace. The real Deception.”
The second pony finished taking shape as well. He was tied down and covered, except for the head, but the Elements could see that we was a unicorn, light grey, with red eyes that marked him as the bearer of Loyalty, and sporting a goatee. He was also angry and frightened, and there was a metal ring etched with runes attached around the base of his horn.
“You tricked me!” he spouted. “You messed with my mind!”
Evening Embrace turned towards him with a sad expression. “They wouldn’t have let you live otherwise. I only did it to protect you.”
“Protect me?” the unicorn stared at her. “By making me forget my duties? My friends?”
Evening Embrace turned away, flipping some switches on the surrounding instruments, but still it was clear that tears welled in her eyes. “You don’t need them. They’re dead. They’ve been for decades. They just weight you down.”
The unicorn’s face flushed with anger. “You betrayed them to their deaths! You betrayed me!”
Eve spun around, her face red. “I didn’t ! I didn’t betray you, - . I was supposed to spy on you, but then I really…”
“Loved me?” spat the stallion. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“What’s going on?” asked Applejack.
“I don’t know,” said Rarity. “There was something I didn’t hear, like…”
“I’m not!” continued Eve. “I really wanted to abandon this war, to be with you. But you were so stubborn, and then Libra’s plan worked and you…”
“No!” said the unicorn. “You didn’t love me. If you loved me, you’d knew I’d never abandon my friends. You’d never pretend to be the mare I fell in love with. You’d never dig in my head to make me your toy. How many times have you done it already!?”
Eve walked around the table, tears flowing down her cheeks. She tugged at one of the devices, lowering a small crane over the table, and pushed a small, round helmet over the stallion’s head. They struggled as he tried to prevent her from tightening it securely.
“Too many times,” she said through her teeth, struggling with a strap she pulled under his chin. “I try, and try, and try, but every time I make you forget, the memories return faster and faster. I love you, - , and you said you loved me too. But every time you remember, you choose them over me!”
The missing word reverberated with silence, an absence grating on the senses.
“Almost there,” said Twilight, turned away from the chamber, working the sphere deeper into the wall.
The others watched the scene as if mesmerised. Meanwhile, Evening Embrace finished struggling with the helmet, and approached a bigger switch on the side of the last machine.
“And I always will,” said the stallion. “I’ll remember my friends until the day I can avenge them.”
Eve once again looked him in the eyes. “No, you will not. I won’t lose you, - . You don’t know how it is, to be lonely for century after century, with only the Shattered, and your…creatures to keep you company. You’re the first pony who ever really loved me. I won’t let that slip away.”
“You’re insane,” whispered the unicorn.
Eve clenched her jaw. “Perhaps I am. Or perhaps I should’ve done it years ago. I thought I could modify your brain, and block the memories that hurt you. But if there is no other way… I’ll just remove them from your head.”
The stallion’s eyes widened with sudden fear. “What? You can’t do that!”
Eve sighed, and then her features hardened. “I can, and I will, - . I’ve had enough of watching you suffer.”
She pulled the lever, and the machines came alive with sound and light. The stallion started screaming, a cry of anguish that turned into a long, high pitched whinny. Eve watched in horrified fascination as his features warped from the muscles spasming, his red eyes shrinking in ways a healthy eye never should.
The elements turned away from the scene, but Discord kept staring.
“Is everything okay?” asked Fluttershy.
“It’s me…” said Discord shaking. “It was me…” A part of his shoulder bulged and started changing color.
“Discord! What’s going on?” demanded Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie Pie started shaking as well. “That’s bad!”
“Discord…” said Discord. “That’s not my name.” his whole body started deforming and shifting. “I’m not Discord…”
The body on the table twisted and spasmed.
“ - !” screamed Eve in despair, the silence of the unspoken word echoing like a giant bell.
Twilight abandoned her efforts and turned to face Discord like the others, but he ignored everypony, just staring blankly forward.
“What is my name?”
And then he exploded, an expanding wave of sound, shape and color. Pinkie and Twilight tried to hold on to their friends, but the bubble spell burst, and everypony was sent flying in all directions.
And then the vision disappeared, and the walls of the lab turned, like pieces of some giant machinery, and the six friends were separated.
***
In the center of the Void Passage there stood a ruin of an ancient tower. Little remained of it now, an empty circle of white stone where the ground floor used to be, surrounded by crumbled remains of the four smaller towers. The wind blew white dust over everything, as if trying to bury the place forever. The only unaffected object was a pot standing at the very center, a deep red flower growing inside it. Above it, Indigo turned slowly, wrapped in a cocoon of magic.
It was almost done. One voice had already been silent; the storm of primal instinct carried a lot of his power, but it had no personality to speak of. The other two voices were getting softer as well, though it would take some more time to silence them completely.
He turned and stretched. He had changed. Like never before, his body demanded form.
A spine appeared, then bones and tendons, as magic coalesced into a form shaped millenia before by centuries of belief. A slender but powerful body. Coat black as the midnight sky. Eyes glowing with the color they named after him. A long, sharp horn, symbol of magical power, and wide wings ready to carry him wherever he’d choose to show it. A blood red mane…
No, that wasn’t right. It came with memories of his unwilling hosts, but he felt it was wrong all the same. He reached into the Void Passage, and found a different concept.
His mane and tail stretched into strands of silvery white.
"That's better," he decided.