The Gates of Tartarus *Revised*
Zant was dead, and yet he was alive. It was a curious predicament, one that Zant enjoyed to reflect on in his moments of near sanity. Not that reflecting on it would make a difference, but one had to keep themselves entertained somehow. For generation after generation, he had served his master. Split into those hundreds of Redeads when he was yet a teen. Made into the sword of Ganondorf as Ghirahim when he was in his mid-twenties, all to serve his master. He had been in countless bodies, with many personalities. All different, and yet the same.
Time. To Zant it was nothing but a hindrance, a force that should be fought, not followed. His incarnations did not follow the laws of the infernal thing, appearing where his soul was needed by his master the most. He had been born and had died serving, and then born again. Contrary to popular opinion, dying was not painless. It was not just the act of one’s soul simply being there, and then not. It was a long process, one filled with torture, even after you left your body behind. Zant knew this from experience. Zant wondered what his next incarnation would be if he failed, how much pain he would have to endure. He had been lucky enough to be reborn back into this body, his favorite out of them all, when his new Mistress had taken Ganon’s place, the old beloved master that he died over and over again for. All of these thoughts flicked through his mind as he stared onto the door of Tartarus itself.
“The Twilight Realm,” He mused absently, glancing around. “A wondrous place. So unexplored, so full of possibility and delightful horror. And here,” He smiled under his mask. “Here, the gates to the greatest of them all.” The Twilight Realm was indeed a place of dark wonder to most. The natural ground of the realm was a stretching and swirling shadow, almost impossible to see in the penetrating blackness that surrounded everything, a darkness that flowed through the air like smoke. There was no life in this far off place, just a flat never ending roughness of the ground. This place, untouched by even the near-omniscient so called “goddesses” those mortals worshiped. Untainted, perfect in its potential. Unshaped by good or evil, a blank slate of creation. Not many had seen places such as this, as few existed anywhere. Zant felt truly privileged to have had his quest lead him here.
Expect in this one place, this one special place Zant had found. In front of him a large spike with about a ten foot diameter at the base and tapering dozens of feet up, jutted out of the bleak landscape, a mark on its perfect formlessness. And set into the very center was Zant’s objective. The gates of Tartarus were not that all impressive at first sight. Zant would have missed them if his senses relied on those trapped in the material plane. He would have mistaken the rock spike as just another oddity, with a strange obsidian square set into the center. He had seen stranger things in The Twilight Realm in his lifetimes.
No, he had found it by the evil. The radiation of thousands of unimaginable creatures of evil crammed all into one pocket dimension, trapped in a small hole in the universe, festering in their own hatred. It delighted him beyond words. Here! Here was his kin! The ones, the only ones, who understood what it really meant to be truly alive. To hear the screams and pleas for mercy from your helpless victims as they writhed under your power, to feel the life drain from them in their last panicked breaths. It made Zant giggle, just thinking about it.
“I found it!” He crowed. “After many hours and hours of searching!” Zant cackled again as he remembered all of the creatures he had tortured to get this location. He had lost count around thirty. But oh, he had been careful. Oh yes, so very careful. It wouldn’t have done to attract the attention of the mortal authorities, or the Vessel of Wisdom. He had been quiet. A shadow, untouchable and undetected. It had been rather fun, really, to murder and torture undetected.
Zant bowed his head, almost touching his forehead to his knees. “The Gates. The legendary Gates are here. Mistress, what would you have me do?” He asked humbly. He was too giddy to remember his dislike of his mistress’ plans. Suddenly, she was there. Zant held in a gasp as his brain was flooded by a freezing presence. It spread to every inch of his conscience, commanding all of his attention. It was mind numbing, his thoughts scattering and breaking apart in its path.
“My little pawn, you performed above expectations!” His mistress’ voice purred into his mind, seductive and hypnotic. “To find such a place, yes . . . it is perfect, my little pawn. You deserve a great reward. Do not fear, what you have earned will come to you in time, if you are patient. Now I have one more task for you to complete.”
“Yes Mistress. Anything. I live to serve,” Zant replied, his heads swimming with thoughts of his coming compensation.
“Go into the gate. Find the matching gate that leads into the world in which the Vessel of Courage now resides. When you are there, I will provide further instructions. Go, my little pawn.” With that final statement, the cold presence vanished from Zant’s mind as quickly as it had arrived. Zant straightened, and walked with smooth, gliding steps to the door. He raised a hand, and put his palm flat against the smooth obsidian of the door. It hummed and pulsed with a vibrant energy, sending tendrils of magic through his flesh.
Open,” they breathed, twirling in his veins, dark and sinister. “Open us. Come into our realm.”
“With pleasure!” Zant laughed, and he pushed lightly with a palm. With the whisper of hinges, the door opened, swinging inward. Zant was made into a black silhouette by the red light pouring from the gap in the stone. With one more echoing laugh, Zant stepped into the light. The door swung shut behind his retreating shadow, crashing shut with dismal finality.
-----
“The capital city of Canterlot,” Measured Fact mused. “Quite the place, isn’t it?” He said to himself, pushing his glasses further up his nose with a hoof as he gazed out the large window. The tan unicorn smiled sadly as he looked over his home city. “I could visit some old friends, I suppose . . ." he pondered, then shook his head. “No, my duties will not allow it, but, the view does soften my burden.” He smiled wistfully.
Canterlot was indeed a spectacular sight. The city jutted out of the side of Canterlot Mountain, which rose high above the surrounding landscape. The city was styled after the old cities of early Equestria, a picturesque landscape of soaring marble and stone. The mainsion houses, grand in both scale and cost, dominated the edges of the city, ringed by green lawns and foliage that turned black in the rain. The center of the city was a spiderweb of streets and alleyways, home to the finest restaurants, boutiques, and jewelers in Equestria and perhaps the world. The cobblestone streets were slightly wet with the recent rainfall, which had started only a second ago, whispering down from the grey clouds above. The city was very much alive, even at this time of the day and weather. The street lamps were all lit, and cheery light spilled from windows and doorways onto the streets. If one were to be down in the city itself, you would have heard the music and laughter from rowdy clubs downtown. Or if one were more sophisticated, as Fact liked to think of himself, the soaring orchestra at a show in the Canterlot Theater. The show started in three minutes, Fact knew. He would have liked to been there, but since he couldn’t, he would have to be content with thinking about it from all the way up here.
If one wanted a view such as this, Canterlot Castle was an excellent place to see it all, especially if one happened to live high in the spires of the castle. Only the princesses were allowed to sleep here, along with members of their personal guard and assistants, and the tan unicorn looking out from the third highest window in the entire castle had excellent vision. His green eyes swept over the entire scene smoothly, tired from a long and hard days work, but content in the brief moment of respite.
Measured Fact turned away from the window, smoothing his brown spiky hair with his light-green magic, and not for the last time cursed his unruly mane. He was supposed to be a proper and noble member of Luna’s Staff, but he had been cursed with naturally spiky hair since birth, which demanded constant attention. His tan horn, unusually long and spiked, stuck out from the center of his thick mane. The unicorn trotted over to his small and modest desk. His office was conservative, but comfortable. Magical lights lit up the room in a pleasant fashion that made the office seem rather homely, the feel completed with the large plush chairs and pictures hung on the walls next to the bookshelf near the door. A plaque sat both on the door and on his desk that read: “Measured Fact - Personal Assistant to Her Serine Highness Princess Luna.” Fact thought that the plaque was a bit too wordy, but had not bothered to change it since his hiring to this position.
Fact shuffled some of the papers on his desk with his magic, and was getting ready to sit back down top finish for the night when the lights in his office dimmed considerably, casting dark shadows around his desk and on the walls. Fact slowly set down the papers in a neat stack with care and raised his head, looking at the pony that had appeared across from him. The door had not opened at all; it had not even made a sound. Measured Fact made it a rule to make all of his doors noisy when opened.
Standing in front of Measured Fact was Measured Fact. The same tan stallion, complete with green eyes and brown spiky hair. The same rock solid and lean muscles, made from years and years of hard training and practice. He started steadily forward at the Measured Fact behind the desk, who inclined his head politely at the other unicorn. Their matching cutie marks made the scene even stranger. A ruler, that looked suspiciously like a sword if one were to peer closer, standing vertically upon a white piece of parchment, which was shaped like a kite shield.
“Ah, good evening, Measured Fact,” said the one behind the desk, calmly gazing at the unicorn standing patiently in front of the desk. “What can I do for you on this fine evening?” He asked politely.
“The Gates,” The same tenor voice came back from the other stallion, but completely monotone, devoid of feeling. As the other stallion’s mouth moved, tendrils of green magic poured out of his mouth, dissipating into the air. “The Gates have been compromised. Cerberus has been informed. Immediately activate protocol S-45.”
The station behind the desk frowned, and slid his glasses up with a hoof, as they had fallen down on his snout. “Acknowledged, please inform the head of the guard using the documents in file 38-5B in the administrative offices, and notify the ambassadors for the Crystal Empire. We may need their support,” He said with sharply, shutting the stack of papers into a drawer on his desk. He would have to come back to those later. More pressing issues had come up.
“Should this unit inform Princess Luna?” The other stallion asked. His expression did not change with the question, giving him a stone like look.
“No, I will inform her immediately. Get the other Golem and guard the Gates. Nothing goes in or out without my express permission. This is as of now Priority 1. Golem 2 dismissed.” The Golem in from of the door nodded at the command, and with a flash of green teleported from the room. At the Golem’s sudden absence, the lights brightened back up to normal, the long shadows disappearing. Measured Fact hummed thoughtfully. His new Golem spell had improved with his new renovations. He made a mental note to continue to work on the spell to make them more lifelike, once this crisis had been averted.
Fact trotted over to the smaller door into the adjoining bedroom. He lit his horn and opened the door. He went inside, closing the door softly behind him. As soon as the door into the bedroom closed behind him, the lights in the office went out, magically extinguished. The small bedroom was just as modestly decorated as the office. A small bed sat against one wall, with a medium sized chest of drawers next to it. Another bookshelf sat on the other wall, full of large volumes. Another small door led to a closet (Even though it was only used for special occasions that required clothing). Another door led onto a balcony. Rain could be heard lightly hitting against the stone sides of the room. Bright magical lights in the ceiling winked on as soon as he entered, giving the bedroom a comfortable atmosphere. Fact went over to the door that went to the balcony. He opened it with his magic and walked out into the light rain, closing the door behind him. Just like in the office, the lights in the bedroom shut off as he left the room.
The stone balcony jutted out from the side of the tower a few feet, with a rail to keep anyone from falling off, which entailed plummeting two hundred feet to the dark grass of the courtyard below. From the edge of the balcony the city was a glowing sea, of small pinprick lights that blurred as the rain matted his fur to his face.The crescent moon of his employer rose high above him, beautiful in its coolness and soft light. Measured Fact went through his memory, his mind was like a filing cabinet. He sorted through it, picking out a certain memory and bringing it to the front of his mind. In the memory, he was standing inside his office. Not unlike a minute ago, he was with a visitor, though this one was quite a bit more important. Princess Luna stood in front of his desk.
“Measured Fact, my moth faithful assistant,” She began. “I am going on a venture into Ponyville for a matter of importance-”
With the use for that memory gone, Fact filed it back into his mind without finishing it. “Ponyville,” He said, looking out to the west. He knew the exact distance to the center of town from his balcony. “Teleport?” He asked himself. “No, a teleport of that distance could cause me to appear halfway through a wall if I misjudged the distance by even a foot. Flying?” he turned the thought over in his mind. He finally decided that it was the right choice. It was time for a spell he had only used once before.
He lit his horn slowly, letting the magic naturally flow though his body. It grew and grew, wanting to be released, swirling inside his horn. Fact didn’t let it. The magic that Measured Fact was building was of no small amount. He only knew of only a dozen other beings alive that had more magic than he did, four of them being royal Princesses. When Fact was sweating from exertion of holding all of the magic in, he let it go with an explosive breath, casting the spell. The effect was immediate. Two wings burst from his sides. They were completely green, and shone in the rain, hissing and spitting small jets of magic in the light rain. The feathers and bone were completely made out of Fact’s built up magic, slightly transparent. Fact grimaced as he immediately felt the fatigue of the spell hit his body. His magic stores had almost completely been depleted. He was fine physically, but he estimated it would take 2.67 days to replenish his magical abilities back to full power.
“Well, these won’t last forever,” He said aloud to no one. “Better get going.” With a flap of his new magical wings, Fact launched of the building into the grey sky.
Stats
Page generated in 0.04 seconds
Total duration
972 users online
393,997 hits today, 2,314,256 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
nice update hope to see more soon!
Hmm. The bit with Zant was very intriguing. However, I feel the need to point out two small errors. Ghirahim was the blade of Demise, not Ganondorf. And that would have been his first incarnation.
5128111 Ah. Good point. The comics revealed that Nightmare was a separate entity from Luna that took advantage of Luna's moment of weakness, having needed a host and whatnot to walk around in.
Was it the Rainbow Factory? Too bad whoever goes in never comes back out.
5128204 Oh, the comics? You mean the MLP series with a weird-ass plot?
5128385 lol Won't deny that. They're all spread throughout the MLP timeline, after all.
Looking forward to the next one.:D
I'm intrigued as their aren't very many decent Wolf Link in Equestria fics out there, but... You sir, are in desperate need of an editor.
5092773
Glad to be of what help I can be. I hope it helps.
(Also, for some reason, the site didn't let me know you had replied to me. Odd, that.)
5131582 That's exactly what I said. Nightmare is the entity that possessed Luna and turned her into Nightmare Moon. It was revealed to have been the source via the comics.
5051738
I'm glad to hear I inspired you, even just a little bit. One of the reasons I personally write is to get others thinking your exact thoughts, because then, they write their own stories for me to read in return!
5127784 It was completely midnight black, completely is superfluous here , does this describe it anymore that saying something like "its coat was midnight black" ? [b/]
From this point on in your post, it's all bold. Also, the errors in this sentence...
Um... did I miss something? Because I'm confused about there being two Facts... talking to each other... Friendly changelings that have scheduled shifts being Fact?
5128059
Sorry with the Ganondorf thing.And I DID mention that Zant didn't follow the laws of time, didn't I?
5129227
Yeah . . . I will agree on that one at least. I do like it when all you guys post suggestions. I READ THEM ALL, and try to fit them into my story. Anyone interested in being an editor or something could personal message me, you know, if you wanted to.
5132429
That was a Golem spell that Fact uses. He just makes magical copies of himself with certain magical programming (such as informing him when the gates are compromised, like Golem 5), and he uses them to do tasks he wouldn't entrust to anyone BUT himself.
Hopes that answered your question.
5136618 thanks, that really confused me
5136673
You are very welcome, my good sir.
5136604 Only a small error, no biggie. And that would explain the inconsistency.
Good story. I eagerly await for more
5321669
You know, I do agree about Luna being the best. But, to address the Discord thing, he doesn't know fully about Link's world, probably not even at all. The only thing he recognized was the Triforce. Being a creature completely made out of magic himself, he no doubt knows some about the other magical beings in the multiverse, the three gods of Hyrule being among those. I can't really tell you much more than that, as it will become more relevant as the story progresses.
Spoilers!
I just wanted to apologize to everyone for the long break with out a chapter. This one is a beast to write, and with term finals and the like coming up, I haven't had the time. I hope that another chapter will be out before or at the beginning of Christmas break.
Sorry!
most?
halfway?
Princess Luna is an amino acid?
What, are you honesty gonna resume the game for the readers?
5796822 What do you mean? You mean get back to Wolf Link?
I'm wanting midna to show up SOOOOO badly. There are absolutely NO Midna and MLP crossovers.
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD!!!
Why does Measured Fact look like a ponified Squall in my mind