//------------------------------// // Epilogue: New Enemies Rise! // Story: Destiny Book 1: Dark Vengeance // by SirScribe //------------------------------// Tartarus. Do you know where the monsters go once they’re defeated? Do you know what happens to the worst souls in Creation? The souls not even Hell would accept fall into Tartarus. In Tartarus, you would wish for Hell. At least you would be given a break from time to time. The dark cavern that concealed the worst creatures had always been a place to experience pure fear and torture. Ponies, humans, aliens, gods and so many more evil creatures were sent to Tartarus for a minimum of at least 5 life sentences. To the worlds beyond, Tartarus was where villains were reformed. For some, it was the perfect place to carry out hatred on souls who deserved it. For others, it was a fate worse than death. For the very few, it was home. The wastelands of Inner Tartarus was suddenly greeted by a gray blur speeding through the valley. The blur raced past some geysers currently occupied by damned souls from other dimensions. The very souls tried to cry out to the blur for help, but their cries bore little fruit. The blur raced throughout the prison. The further it went, the worse the monsters and the tortures were. The blur jumped over a bottomless pit and toward what appeared to be a stone castle. The castle took up the very end of the endless chasm. Built out of red stone with dragons guarding the entranceway, the castle held a giant sign that said KEEP OUT! No, seriously. Right above the castle is a neon sign that says KEEP OUT! Ignoring the obvious signs of danger, the blur raced through the obsidian gates and past the dragon guardians. Unlike Equestrian dragons, these dragons were all violet shaded with piercing red eyes. Each dragon had three heads, two of which were on lookout while the third was asleep. The dragons saw the blur race past them but thought nothing of it. Soon, the other heads were fast asleep. The blur blasted through the doors and up staircase after staircase, winding around towers and flying through floorless corridors. The blur stopped in front of large black doors. In its still place was a creature of human appearance. The creature was wearing a black leather coat with obvious holes in the shoulders and back area. He wore a black T-shirt with a skull pendant necklace around his neck. He also was wearing gray cargo packs with army boots to match. His head was covered with a plastic skull mask with a large golden crown hanging off the side of his head. The creature kicked open the doors to the room and spread his arms out wide. “GUESS WHO’S BACK?!” he announced. The room his was in was basically empty aside from the hooded man kneeling in front of a throne and a woman in black armor pacing the open space in front. The woman cursed upon laying her red eyes on the skull-masked individual. “You’re late again Kraos,” she said. The figure, Kraos only laughed. “If anyone is late, it’s our bastard brother who has yet to show his face around here! 20 millennia and all we get is a summons? If I wanted to be humiliated by a summons, I would go to jury duty.” The hooded figure laughed as he rose from in front of the throne. “You? The Mad King Kraos sitting down in a jury? If that were to happen, I would give my godhood to a mortal!” The two men laughed as the woman sighed as she continued to pace the room. “You both are idiots, you know that?” The Mad King wiped a tear from his mask. “Oh please, you find us hilarious and you know it! God of Madness? Hell, make me the patron god of Court Jesters!” “Now there’s an idea.” The three individuals froze as the new voice echoed throughout the room. The hooded figure raised his head as the throne was consumed with black smoke. In a second, the smoke turned red as a new figure appeared. Like all the others, this figure was human in appearance. He wore a blood red suit and tie with black slicked hair. His eyes shone with the power of the Universe. On instinct, the three other individuals bowed before the man at the throne. The woman was the first to speak. “M-my Lord.” The man raised his hand at the woman. “Please, no need for formalities yet. I am simply curious about the state of the operation. Kraos, was it successful?” The Mad King shook his head. “They have been defeated, my Lord. It has just been recently as well.” The red-suited man growled. “And your research has proven—?” “Positive. The Elements of Harmony can crack.” The man smiled, bearing a single canine tooth. “Excellent, now we move onto step two. You all have what you need to do?” “Yes my Lord!” the three said in unison. The man turned to the hooded figure. “Hypnos, I want you to return to the other dimension and see what you can do in generating enough energy to break the seal on my castle.” “Thy will be done, my Lord,” the hooded figure said. “Darklight, I want the royal family eliminated immediately. If we are to get our hands on the Elements, we need to ensure we will not be disturbed by them at all. I don’t care how, just do it. Bring the Elements intact,” the man ordered. The woman grinned. “Thy will be done, my Lord.” “Kraos, I want you to tail the Time Lord. Do not make yourself known until I say to. If the information is correct, then we should have no problem in gathering the information we seek.” “Got it boss,” the Mad King said. The red-suited man growled. “You’re all dismissed…” The three turned to walk out. “Except you, Kraos.” The Mad King froze. The hooded figure, Hypnos chuckled. “Good luck.” Hypnos turned to smoke. Kraos sighed and spun around, readjusting his crown in the process. “What’s up?” The red-suited man said nothing. He approached the Mad King and backhanded him through a series of columns before landing on the stone balcony just outside the room. Kraos rolled to a stop and groaned in pain. The red-suited man simply walked over to the Mad King and sighed. “I gave you a chance to redeem yourself, but once again, you failed!” Kraos slowly rose up. “Six little ponies banded together and defeated your little regime change like it was nothing. That is embarrassing Kraos!” “M-my Lord, even they caught me by surprise! I was certain…” “Taking over the mind of the god of Chaos was not the way to go. I asked you to find me any information regarding the Elements of Harmony, but you failed me! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t banish you to the lower rings of Hades!” Kraos said nothing. He reached into his coat and tossed a blue box at the red-suited man. He caught it swiftly and closely inspected it. “What is this?” The Mad King smiled. “The Harmony Prophecy. A prophecy that foretells the end of Equestria by the hooves of the leader of the kingdom of twilight. I found her, my Lord. I found Twilight Sparkle.” The red-suited man flashed a wicked grin. “Consider yourself lucky, Kraos. Don’t make me have to repeat this conversation.” The Mad King bowed. “Thy will be done, my Lord.” The red-suited man walked away with the Chest in his hand. “Twilight Sparkle: the Princess of Friendship and the Destroyer of Equestria.” Kraos laughed maniacally. “This will be fun.” The red-suited man vanished in a cloud of red smoke, leaving the Mad King alone in the throne room.