//------------------------------//
// Evil Always Finds A Way 
// Story: Gloom and Doom 
// by casualbrony10 
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There was silence for a moment as the ponies took in Discord's words. 
"You see, Erebus was too powerful to be fully contained, even by Harmony. Despite being shoved far into the Earth with a mountain piled on top of him and Harmony's magic surrounding him Erebus still wormed his way through the depths over centuries, seeking freedom. In some spots around Equestria, some of his magic bubbles up through cracks in the crust. The amount and appearance of the dark magic varies from source to source as does their effect. Other beings that find these places, these wells of dark magic, can then harness it. These wells are just small pieces of the true power of Erebus, but they are more than enough to threaten Equestria. Erebus can even influence those who come in contact with the dark wells, like a whisper in their ear, a stray thought not their own. The centuries and millennia following Erebus' defeat saw the rise and fall of many monsters and villains." 
Images flashed in front of the ponies. A large goat firing blasts of fire at terrified ponies, a serpent attempting to devour the moon, a group of cloaked ponies performing a dark ritual, a hydra so massive that it looked like it could hurl entire mountains like snowballs. 
"That's Typhon! He's real!" Twilight exclaimed in fear.
"Oh, you know of him? Yeah he was real at one point, the brute was mindless, destroying everything. Guess that's what happens when a dragon is dumb enough to actually drink from a well of liquid dark magic. He thought it would make him a god, instead he became an insane beast. Don't worry though, he ended up destroying himself, that's what usually happens to these villains if Harmony doesn't get to them. He tried to pick up a volcano and it exploded on him."
More images flashed around the ponies of countless villains wielding dark magic. Some of the snapshots revealed the origins of their own foes: Queen Chrysalis and the first changelings rising out of a pool of green ooze, Sombra discovering a dark crystal, the forging of the alicorn amulet, the sirens discovering 3 glowing gems, a young Princess Luna speaking with a shadowy creature, a cloaked pony imbuing a book with dark magic. 
"Inspiration..." Spike started.
"Manifestation.." Rarity finished with awe.
Every picture showed some pony or other tapping into a mysterious dark power.
"Yeah, eerie right? These are only the ones Erebus is directly linked to, there are countless indirect ones. Tirek and myself were indirectly influenced. I think Tirek's magic stealing spell was invented by an earlier warlock who got it from Erebus; it must have been passed around for thousands of years til Tirek found it. I on the other hand, used only my own power but acted for reasons related to Erebus. I disliked how it was always some beastie discovering a remnant of Erebus and using it for evil then either digging their own grave or tasting the rainbow. If there's one thing chaos hates it's the same thing over and over. About a thousand years ago Erebus contacted me in a dream and gloated about Equestria being in an eternal, orderly cycle," Discord shuddered, "That was the last straw, I snapped and you know the rest. In hindsight, I should have realized that Erebus was just using me in yet another attempt to stir up trouble. Ironic how it still played out the same."
"So is Gloom another guy who used the dark magic or a monster spawned from it?" Twilight asked.
"Yep. Gloom was a windigo. Windigos were born in a way similar to the changelings, except they were full spirits rather than corporeal beings. After they spawned from a tendril of Erebus over a thousand years ago then started feeding. They were born from Erebus' magic and were shaped by his feelings, which were mostly hate, thus the windigos were cold spirits of hatred. I'm sure you've heard the old story of Hearthswarming where the windigos met their doom, but that old tale is just the tip of the iceberg. Let me show you what really happened."
The scene changed to a huge ice cavern. The cavern was enormous, large enough to fit all of Ponyville and still have plenty of space. The roof rose up a hundred feet and was of solid ice and rock. The cavern was bathed in blue light from numerous glow stones, a naturally magical, but rare crystal that always shined. 3 groups of ponies, each numbering a dozen or so, stood at different ends of the cavern. One group was pegasi, another unicorn, and another earth pony. All groups were heavily armed and each were led by 2 ponies. Leading the unicorns was a tall, beautiful mare with a gleaming white coat and a styled, light pink mane. A tiara sat upon her head and her eyes burned with cold fury. The other unicorn leader was a shorter mare with a vibrant green coat and a brown mane tied in a simple bun. She wore a tattered brown cloak with a hood. At the head of the pegasi was a large electric blue stallion with a spiked grey mane, he was adorned with bronze armor and his face was a scowl. At his side was a small, light blue mare with a white mane; she also had on a military uniform, but that of a scout rather than an officer. In front of the earth ponies was a brown mare with a curly brown mane, she wore an elaborate robe befitting a high ranking official. Her eyes darted nervously back and forth. Next to her was a light orange mare with a beige mane. She wore a simple cap with a small feather sticking out.
Twilight instantly recognized the scene before them, it could be nothing else, this was the first Hearthswarming Eve. Here were the original founders of modern Equestria alive again before her very eyes: Princess Platinum, Clover the Clever, Commander Hurricane, Private Pansy, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Smart Cookie. But there were great differences between the pageant she had acted in and the scene she was watching. There were more ponies than just the 6 leaders, each of the three tribes had a full expedition, and this was no childish argument, but a full on skirmish to the death was about to occur. If such a thing occurred, war would inevitably follow. A chill suddenly blew through her, permeating deep into her bones. Twilight looked up, the other ponies and dragon doing the same. High above the ponies, floating near the roof of the cavern, were countless ethereal figures. They were horse-like, but lacked a lower body and were transparent, like ghosts. These were the mythical windigos, the first enemy in Equestria's recorded history. There were far more than the three portrayed in the play, there were hundreds, maybe thousands, watching the ponies below.
"How many are there?" Rarity asked in awe.
"All of them," Discord replied, "The windigos had been feeding off of and enhancing the hatred between the 3 tribes for decades, perhaps even centuries. Their goal was to encourage an all out war and gorge themselves on all the hate. They would then freeze all the ponies in the middle, permanently capturing pony civilization at the height of hatred and violence so that there would be no other emotions and the windigos would feed forever. If this happened, Erebus would be free and reign as God, for all evil grants him power. By this point they are very close, all they need is one final outburst of hate from the leaders of ponykind and they would have enough to begin."
The pony-memories started yelling at each other and brandishing their weapons or magic.
"How dare you insult me! After all the years unicorns used our magic to bring you ungrateful clods the sun and moon! You should be bowing before me as your princess you inferior sub-ponies!" Platinum yelled.
"Like I'd bow to a weak, flightless brat like you! Here's how it gonna work, you unicorns give us magic and you earth ponies give us food, if not, then the pegasi will rain death down from the skies!" Hurricane demanded.
"Hah! Let's see how long both of you last without food. We may not have magic or flight, but you can't grow crops on clouds and you can't magic crops out of thin air! We have enough food stockpiled to last a long winter, just you wait, in a month or two you'll give us anything we want for a mouthful of hay. If you're nice to us, maybe we won't let you starve!" Puddinghead smugly declared. The chill in the cavern worsened and the windigos' eyes glowed brighter. After another few moments of yelling and cursing, the ponies charged headlong at each other. Blasts of magic and clashes of steel-clad hooves rang through the air. Only 3 ponies hung back, Clover, Cookie, and Pansy. The three reluctant enemies moved around the fighting and met with each other off to the side. Twilight could see them talking calmly, almost ignoring the brawl occurring not 30 yards away. Smart Cookie had a frown on her face and her gaze kept drifting towards Puddinghead, there was disappointment in her eyes. Pansy looked on the verge of tears and Clover just looked tired, as if she was just done trying.
"Those three had been trying to encourage peace talks, trying to convince their superiors that this was not the way," Discord continued. As the fighting became more intense, and ponies began to sustain injuries, the windigos made their move. Like a lightning strike they descended upon the ponies. All they did was dart near their prey and ponies were flash frozen, still in the midst of battle, never knowing what hit them. In the blink of an eye the only unfrozen ponies were the three would-be peacemakers. The windigos surrounded them. The three ponies were terrified and huddled together, momentarily giving in to primal herding instincts. Twilight could just barely hear what was said.
"Windigos! Demons of hatred! All is lost!" Clover despaired.
"So this is how I die, I just wish I could have said goodbye to my kin," Cookie said.
"At least I'm among friends," Pansy solemnly declared.
"Really? You consider me a friend?" Clover looked awestruck.
"I hardly know you, but both of you seem like good ponies, you didn't want to fight. I see no reason why we shouldn't be friends, at least then we can meet the end together instead of alone."
"That's the most touching thing I've heard all day. Of course I'll be your friend," Cookie said.
"As will I. After all, we are all ponies, tribes or no," Clover smiled.
The windigos lunged with a gleeful wail, only to be hurled backward by a sudden burst of brilliant white light exploding from the three ponies. The ponies looked as surprised as the windigos, but their shocked faces turned to giddy smiles as they were overwhelmed by the positive energy surging through them. The light did not just emanate from Clover, as it had in the play, but from all three ponies. 
"The fire of friendship," Twilight whispered. It was more beautiful than she had imagined, different from the rainbow of harmony, but still amazing. The fire surged forth into the panicking spirits and drove them back. The frozen ponies started thawing and moving again, once they came to their senses they gazed in awe at the fire. Some spirits tried to counter with their own magic, others tried to fly away, still more simply froze in terror, all were caught and consumed. Their screams echoed throughout the cavern. Twilight was shocked that such a wonderful energy could be so lethal.
"The fire of friendship is not inherently violent or dangerous. If you were to stick your hoof in it you would not burn, in fact it would heal any wounds you have. This is a benevolent force, pure positive energy released, but the windigos don't react to magic like a pony would. They are beings literally made out of hatred converted to energy. If the fire comes into contact with hate, it does its best to heal and replace it with love, but a windigo needs hate to survive and love is death to them. Thus they were all destroyed," Discord narrated, "At least, almost all of them."
As Discord spoke Twilight noticed a single, small windigo fleeing out the entrance to the cavern. The fire had partially enveloped it but it was just barely fast enough and lucky enough to escape immolation. Nevertheless, flames licked across its ethereal body and burned it. Discord snapped his fingers and the scene changed to just outside the cavern. The lone windigo screamed and thrashed as it flew haphazardly away from the cave, crashing through the forest around it. Its pristine hide was horrifically blackened and burned, with ghostly bone exposed by the fire. It vanished into the distance with a maddened wail.
The scene changed again showing the windigo some time later. It dragged its mutilated body through the forest, whimpering in agony. 
"Ah yes, I remember this. I'm not proud of what happens next," Discord sounded reluctant to continue. In the memory Discord himself suddenly appeared before the disfigured windigo.
"Hello there! Why the long face horsey?" past Discord chuckled. The windigo responded with a hoarse growl. "Woah! Don't get mad at me, I wasn't the one that gave you the whole Two-Face treatment, that was the ponies." The windigo snarled, hate burning in what was left of it's eyes. "I bet you want to wreak glorious chaos upon them all, don't you?" Discord smiled a devious smile, "But first you need to get something for those burns. There's a lovely hot spring just over that way that will fix you right up." Discord pointed. The windigo eagerly dragged itself in the direction as past Discord chuckled and vanished with a poof. The windigo came upon what looked like a large mud pit, about the size of the mirror pool. Dark magic emanated from it and noxious fumes bubbled and frothed in the dark goop. Present day Discord's voice rang clearly for all the ponies to hear, "I led him to a well of Erebus, thought it would lead to more chaos. I had no idea what it would do, what he would become, and honestly, at the time, I didn't care," Discord sounded uncharacteristically solemn. 
After a moment of hesitation, the windigo plunged into the pool, desperate to soothe his burns. He vanished into the muck. There was silence as minutes ticked by. The pool's surface was disturbed violently by a huge surge of shadow magic combined with the windigo's own frost. With a howl, the windigo exploded from the pool, the black muck covering it, changing it. Its body solidified and reshaped, the icy blue spirit stained with oily darkness. The exposed bone filled with blackness and became it; the ethereal mane liquefied and dripped down it's neck. Small claws poked out of its hooves and fangs grew from its mouth. The blue glow in its eyes intensified as it floated into the air, shadows whipping around it in a gale of darkness. The entire well flowed into the windigo and absorbed into its body. When it was over, the new creature floated over a dry pit. It breathed in and out, each breath a gasp of smoke. 
The newly remade creature was Gloom, its past appearance now the same as its present day form. Gloom flew off, muttering incoherently to himself. A short distance away, past Discord could be seen with a bag of popcorn and a soda.
The scene changed rapidly. Ponies travelling the lonely roads began disappearing, villages became bleak and depressing, happiness seemed a rare oddity. Seasons came and went as the problems worsened. Unicorn wizards and magicians began disappearing as Gloom abducted them for their knowledge of magic and their powers. All the while, Gloom watched and listened and learned, but stayed just out of sight. Twilight had trouble keeping track of all the things that passed before her in the blink of an eye. At last the scene stopped. It was the Crystal Empire, then just a small town, the great crystal palace only just beginning construction. The town was in ruin, rivers of darkness flowed through the streets and cries of despair echoed throughout. Gloom stood triumphant over a broken alicorn.
"By Celestia! That's Princess Amore!" Twilight recognized the princess from very old paintings that still hung in the crystal palace and from the old memorial that stood in the Empire's graveyard. The legendary princess lay broken and defeated, her body rent by wicked claw marks and bathed in dark magic. Her breaths were ragged and slow, but she was still alive. Of course she's alive here, Amore didn't die until the rise of Sombra. The Empire was fully built by then so this would be at least a few decades before. Even Celestia didn't exist yet this long ago. Twilight thought. Evidently, the princess had put up a terrific fight, the chamber around them looked like a war-zone. The Crystal Heart floated a few meters from Gloom. The dark spirit was casting some sort of spell, his magic gathered across the town as he muttered incantations. The spell's focal point was the Crystal Heart itself, but the heart seemed to be resisting and Gloom's spell-work kept falling apart as he tried to build it. He stopped short as the sound of galloping was heard from outside. Two ponies charged in, one was Clover the Clever. Clover looked almost middle aged, a sharp contrast to Hearthswarming, where she was in her teens, barely a mare. However, Twilight was too busy staring at the other figure, Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest wizard in pony history. There, right before her eyes was a legend. 
"Not a step further shade, the heart will never be yours," Starswirl's voice was of a higher pitch, and somewhat thin and reedy, fitting for his apparent age. Even this long ago Starswirl looked as old as Granny Smith. The history books could never agree on how old Starswirl was, he was already quite wizened when Celestia was born and even Clover had written that he was old when she was a filly. They also had no idea when he died, he just disappeared sometime before the reign of Discord. Despite what may have been extreme old age, he had a quickness to him, an energy and liveliness that rivaled Pinkie Pie. The bells on his hat constantly jingled and he couldn't seem to sit still.
"Silence wizard, you are beneath my notice! Oh Clover, we have a score to settle and there is no fire to protect you this time."
"Your kind is gone windigo, leave Ponykind alone and maybe you won't die as well," Clover's glared at Gloom.
"I am much more than a windigo now, I am despair itself, but words are wasted on the dead!" With these words Gloom stomped a claw on the ground and waves of darkness surrounded the two wizards, trapping them. Gloom then began charging a sphere of pure anti-light in his mouth. The sphere surged with energy and began spinning.
"Quickly Clover! Use the elements!" Starswirl yelled and with a wave of his horn the elements of harmony floated out of his saddlebags and hovered in front of them. Clover and Starswirl began concentrating, channeling their magic through the 6 gems. With a roar, Gloom fired and his blast soared towards them like a cannonball. The elements shined in answer and a rainbow shot forth from them. The rainbow collided with the orb of darkness in midair. For an instant, the rainbow was pushed back by the torpedo of death, but then Gloom's attack slowed and cracked under the rainbow's power. With an explosion the ball shattered and the rainbow scattered it to the wind. Gloom leaped to the side, dodging the beam.
"One does not simply dodge the elements of harmony," Discord said. Instantly the rainbow made an impossible 90 degree turn in midair while simultaneously doubling its speed. Gloom let out a bloodcurdling scream as the rainbow struck him. The scream quickly became muffled and then silenced all together as Gloom vanished in an explosion of blinding light. When Twilight could see clearly again all traces of evil magic were gone and ponies were starting to wake up and recover. Where Gloom had stood a large stone had appeared. Starswirl walked up to the stone as Clover rushed to attend to Amore's injuries. 
"Once everypony is okay we will need to figure out what to do with this," he said.
"Yes I suppose a 'do not touch' sign will not be enough," Clover replied as she bathed Amore in healing spells.
"I was thinking we could transport it to Everfree, near the tree of harmony. We will be there anyway to return the elements and the Tree's power will keep the prison secure. Everfree's magic will also serve to guard the prison, few intelligent beings dare travel there and the forest's constant shifting will hide it."
"Teacher, won't it eventually break free? No prison can last forever. We should destroy it."
"No Clover, we don't have the means. The elements cannot kill by their nature and you still don't know how you summoned the fire before. I dare not let that thing near the Crystal Heart again nor will I let it out of that rock for even a second. No, I fear that I must once again pass monsters down to future generations."
"What of that magic you were researching, the kind that can turn bad to good, the source of the Tree's magic?"
"I'm not even close to understanding it. I don't know, the more I study the further the answer seems, there is something I'm missing and I think it might have to do with the fire you summoned years ago, but I just can't make the connection." Starswirl sighed, "But we have more important things to do right now, like restoring Crystal Town."
"And that's the whole story. I'm ashamed to say that I found the whole thing entertaining until recently and a great deal of it is my fault. It will be many centuries until I can live down my past evils," Discord sounded forlorn.
Suddenly Twilight was back in the field with her friends and Discord. The ponies and dragon took a moment to shake off the vertigo from the sudden shift.
"Hey what happened to my popcorn?" Pinkie asked. Discord snapped his fingers and a bag of popcorn appeared in Pinkie's hooves. "Thanks!"
"Wow that was an amazing story, but we've wasted too much time. There's no telling where Gloom is now or what he's done while we've been sitting here!" Rarity started panicking.
"Weren't you listening? I said that that was all in your heads. I transferred knowledge directly to your memories. Only about a minute and 18 seconds have actually passed." Discord held up a stopwatch and showed them that it said 1:19.  
"So what the hay do we do now?" Applejack asked.
"We need to tell Celestia now!" Twilight said.
"Might already be too late for that, look, some of Gloomy's magic is on the letter she forwarded to me. When she sent it he must have been nearby," Discord held up the letter, which had a small amount of dark energy radiating from it.
"Then there's no time to lose! Discord, take us all to Canterlot now!" Twilight said. Discord gave her a deadpan look. "Sorry, please take us."
"Of course, to Canterlot!" Discord snapped his claw and they all vanished in a flash.