Story Time
Gather 'round, come closer my dears
Let me tell a tale that will wake all your fears.
'Tis a tale was told to scare me as a foal
about a mare who's coat was as black as coal.
The silver of stars in her mane, the green of trees in her eyes
but for a Zebra, this was quite a surprise.
No stripes did she have, how can this be?
So though she was beautiful, she was often lonely.
She had a natural gift for the Magical arts
But more and more she was drawn to the things of the dark.
They did not stare, they did not tease
On the contrary, they were eager to please.
They whispered beautiful things in her ear day and night
Slowly her heart twisted to something not right.
The day finally came when they brought her below
To the land underneath, where all evil must go.
Dressed up as a prize, she was brought to their King
For these dark ones thought to hear wedding bells ring.
But, she was a Zebra warrior still
And no male would ever bend her to his will.
His scepter she took and ran him clean thru
And with his death, her power...it grew.
The power rushed in and the changes commenced
While all around her in Hell the dark ones did tense.
Her stature and size increased with her might
As she truly became a thing of the Night.
Her teeth became sharp, her eyes glowed with fire
As the thoughts of her past filled her with ire.
The blood-stained staff she affixed to her head
Forsaking her roots to be a Unicorn instead.
Then she rose from the dark to walk the land once more
A hunger inside she'd not known before.
Nopony was safe, not even her kin
She fed on their fear, ate their souls with a grin.
She wandered the land, eating her fill
Using illusion to pull her prey to her hill.
Thus it went for a hundred years, so it's told
Until a prince came, one brave and bold.
He alone climbed the hill and defeated the Queen
And to this day, the Black Unicorn has not been seen.
But beware little ponies, it is said she lives still
In the hearts of all who would go under the hill.
Keep your hearts pure, down to a foal
Or you too may end up with coats of coal.
Zecora bowed her head as she finished and waited for a good ten seconds before her awed audience burst into applause. Cheerilee stepped up beside her on the makeshift stage and raised her voice to be heard over the cheering ponies.
“That was a wonderful rendition of the Zebra legend of the Black Unicorn by our very own Zecora, and I must say it gave me the shivers. How about another round of applause?” Cheerilee waited for the cheers, especially loud from the little ponies right in front, to die down again before finishing her speech. “I'd like to say thank you to all the parents and little ponies who made this Fright Night a success. I wish you all a good night and a stupendous fall break.” Cheerilee smiled down at her students sitting in the very front row, “Be good for your parents and I'll see you in a week. Good night!”
There was the scrapping of chairs and the clatter of little hooves as adult ponies stretched and little ponies hurried for the dessert table to finish off the cookies. Cheerilee thanked Zecora one more time for her help with the show before Twilight Sparkle approached her.
“That was wonderful, Cheerilee”, the purple unicorn said with a smile, “what gave you the idea for this?”
“Some of the foals in my class really wanted Nightmare Night to come more than once a year, and we were studying non-Equestrian mythology this past week. This seemed like a good chance to do a little more of both.” The magenta earth pony answered with her signature smile.
“Well, I jus' hope it don't give Apple Bloom nightmares”, Applejack remarked as she trotted up to the pair, “Whwee-oo, that last story chilled me right to the bone!”
“Haha, looks like somepony is scared”, a voice came from above the trio. They looked up and watched the cyan pegasus make faces at Applejack before laughing and landing at her side. “I mean, come on, how much more fake can a story get?”
“The story I told was not a fake, though I will admit that it takes the cake”, Rainbow Dash squealed and jumped into Applejack's arms when a haunting voice suddenly came from behind her. “The Black Unicorn is very alive, but here in Equestria she can not thrive.”
“Z-Zecora, don't sneak up on me like that”, Rainbow Dash complained from her safe perch, “I could have killed you.”
“Yep, you were rip' roar'n for a fight”, Applejack replied sarcastically as she dropped her friend the few feet to the ground. Twilight barely spared the squabbling pair a glance as she approached the zebra.
“What do you mean, Zecora? You said the prince defeated the Black Unicorn.”
Zecora shook her mane. “The prince defeated her, that much is true. But I'm afraid to destroy her, he could not do. The power she wielded was far too great, fueled as it was by such burning hate. Banishment then was his only course, and in the end it came down to brute force. With a magical staff he cut open the sky, then pushed her through and waved her good-bye.” Zecora gazed deep into Twilight's eyes, the purple unicorn and her friends completely transfixed. “Nopony knows to which world she was sent, but be sure that on revenge she is bent. If ever she were to escape her cage, then upon our whole world she would bring her rage.”
“Whoah....What would she do?” Rainbow Dash asked quietly.
Zecora shrugged. “To take such a guess would be folly at best. Now I bid you good night, I must get home to rest.” The zebra dipped her head in farewell to the ponies, leaving them staring as she walked out the door of the school house and down the street.
“Are you ponies alright?”, Rarity asked as she walked up to them, “You look like you've seen a ghost.”
“Oh, it ain't nothin', Sugarcube.”, Applejack replied in a shaky voice, “Just Zecora scarin' us with a story that the Black Unicorn was just banished to another world and not destroyed by that prince.”
“Yeah, like I said, totally fake”, Rainbow Dash added, “Besides, there's no way that any plain ol' unicorn could be stronger than even one of the Princesses, so we got nothing to worry about.”
“Yes, nothing at all.” Cheerilee echoed. She looked over at the sleepy little ponies and one sleepy dragon sprawled around the dessert table and smiled softly. “I think the little ones have called it a night, maybe we should think about doing the same.” The four other ponies nodded and said their last goodbye's before collecting their respective charges and starting home. Twilight still couldn't get Zecora's words out of her mind. The way she'd looked at her, like it was a warning...Twilight yawned, almost dislodging the sleeping dragon on her back. The problem of the Black Unicorn, if it was a problem, was something that would require study and thought. But, not tonight.
***
At that same moment, on a world populated by people rather than ponies, the Black Unicorn in human shape sneered down at the pitiful girl sent to defeat her. The mages of this world were truly becoming desperate if they thought that someone so meaningless she didn't even know the basics of magic could be the one to bring her to her knees. The girl stared defiantly up at the tyrannical Queen, her green eyes shining with an inner strength that bellied her outward youth. She looked only about 15, a little young for the Black Unicorn's taste but plenty old enough for her plan.
“Will you surrender?”, the girl asked the dark Queen, gripping her bronze staff tightly. It was the one weapon in the entire world that the mages thought could do any harm to the Black Unicorn, and that was exactly what she wanted them to continue to think.
The Black Unicorn laughed a dry cackle that turned into a hacking cough. “Why would I ever surrender to you?”, she asked in an ancient voice. After over a thousand years away from her home world her body no longer retained it's youthful form. She aged, rapidly, and while her power was still strong as ever, her body simply couldn't wield it any more. Which was where this little snipe came in. She was giving the inevitable 'then I'm sorry but I have to kill you' speech that the Black Unicorn had heard a thousand times before. The dark Queen cackled again as the girl got herself into a 'ready' position to strike with the staff. At least she held it like she knew what she was doing. But she didn't strike first. This girl truly had a Heart of Gold, and as such was loathe to hurt any being – even one as unarguably evil as the aged Queen before her. Not that it mattered. Like every other girl to come before this one, she'd already lost, even though she didn't know it yet. The Black Unicorn pulled out her own staff of ebony and attacked with an unearthly speed. But she didn't harm the little hero before her. No, the fight was just a show for the mages scattered throughout the room. The girl surprised the Queen with her own speed and skill, though it was still far inferior to what the Black Unicorn was truly capable of.
After a convincing battle, the girl 'managed' to get past the Queen's guard and land a solid blow. The Black Unicorn screeched with appropriate rage as the staff seemed to absorb her, her aged body collapsing into a pile of dust. The girl gave a sigh of relief and relaxed, the bronze staff warm in her hands. Suddenly, as the mages gathered around to congratulate her, the staff grew hot. The girl tried to drop it, but it was too late. The Black Unicorn flowed from the staff into it's wielder, fusing herself into the girl's young body. She couldn't change the girl's wretched Heart of Gold, but her body was now hers to manipulate. The mages all drew back in fear as the girl's shape pulled and stretched, the bronze staff dropping to the floor with a loud clang as her hands turned to hooves. Within a minute, the hero the mages had spent much of their own energy summoning stood before them in the true shape of the Black Unicorn. Her body and horn were coal black, her hooves and mane and tail streaked with silver, her eyes a burning red. This was the Black Unicorn's plan. She tricked the mages into bringing her a girl with a Heart of Gold, the strongest source of magic a mortal could poses, and then she simply took the girl's body to replace her old one. But it wasn't complete, the Black Unicorn couldn't control her new body, not as long as the girl's Heart of Gold remained untarnished. But that was where the gullible mages came back into play. Right on cue, one brave soul lifted his sword and brought it down as hard as he could toward the new Black Unicorn's neck. The Queen felt smug in that second that it took her host to notice and asses the danger. Without fail, the girls always lashed out at their former friends to save their own lives, tarnishing their Hearts and allowing the Queen to take full control. But something was wrong this time. The Queen felt a moment of true panic as her host refused to do anything to protect herself. If this body died, the Black Unicorn would die too. She couldn't let that happen.
At the last possible moment, the Queen used what was left of her own magic to break the sword into a million pieces and suspend them in the air. The lead mage, who had tried to late to stop his over-zealous companion, gazed at the spectacle with narrowed eyes. He knew something was wrong. When a 'ghost' of the Queen in human form manifested above the unicorn's head, his suspicions were proved all too right. The Queen screeched true and indignant anger at the unicorn. “You are a fool, you would be dead right now if not for me!” The unicorn set her jaw and stared stubbornly up at the specter. “Oh, stubborn, are you. Well, two can play that game.” The 'ghost' grabbed the unicorn's long and sharp horn in both hands, the unicorn stomping and shaking her head in an attempt to dislodge her, but to no avail. The Queen closed her eyes and focused, pouring most of what was left of her precious magic into this one spell. When she was done, she was noticeably more transparent. “There...now...now you will cause fear....wherever you go...With your very presence...you will cause...chaos!” The Queen drifted lower, her wispy hands caressing the unicorn's cheeks. “And when...you finally break....I'll be waiting.” With that, she sank back into the body she wanted so desperately to claim as her own, the floating sword pieces dropping into a pile at the unicorn's side.
For a moment, all was still and quiet. Then the lead mage approached the unicorn, gently taking her head in his hands. “I- I had no idea this was her plan. The writings said she would try to escape, but this....I am sorry.” The unicorn whinnied softly, trying to tell him that it would be alright.
“Sorry or not, you know what we must do now.” The lead mage looked up as that same over-zealous mage took up another sword. “Get out of the way, sir.”
“No.” The lead mage bravely put himself between his Brother and the unicorn. “Think, Brother. This is not the Queen, this is our hero. You are simply feeling the effects of the curse that witch put on her.”
The other mage shook his head, several of his Brothers coming to stand behind him. “It doesn't matter who she is or who she was. The Queen lives inside her, and to stop her we must kill them both.”
The lead mage drew his own sword, anger flashing in his eyes. “I will not allow it! This is madness!”
Before the two could come to blows, there was a piercing whinny and the stomp of heavy, hard hooves on the stone floor. Everyone turned to look at the unicorn, her horn aglow. “Stop this.” She said quite clearly. “I do not wish to die, but I will not have you killing each other either. Magnus,” she addressed the lead mage gently, “can you and your Brothers send me to a different world? Right now?”
Magnus nodded, his mouth suddenly dry. Even knowing who this was did little to lesson the terror he felt looking at her as the curse effected him, drawing power from the strong emotions in the room. “We can. But, are you sure you want to? I do not know what world is in alignment at the moment. It would only take a couple of hours to map all the worlds...then you could chose...”
The unicorn gently shook her head. “No, Magnus. Now. My presence here will only cause you more pain. Besides, there is a chance that this other world could have more practice dealing with....shape-altering spells.” Her eyes showed the warmth and comfort that her face could no longer express to her friend, and that comforted him. Finally, Magnus nodded and the mages, even those who wanted to kill her, got in a circle around her and began muttering the Traveling Spell. The unicorn stood there in the center, alert but relaxed, her horn no longer glowing. She felt the Traveling Spell take hold as it lifted her up in a magical cyclone. Up and up she flew, through the ceiling and past the stars, until everything turned topsyturvy and suddenly she was flying down through different stars and toward a quaint and very brightly colored town on the edge of a dark forest. She was aimed for a small clearing next to a large tree that had apparently been hollowed out into a house. With a twinge of fear in her heart, she wondered if the people here would or even could help her.
***
Twilight Sparkle and Spike were almost back to the library, within spitting distance of the door, when Twilight felt the winds shift. At first she wondered what a Weather Pegasus was doing out so late at night, when she suddenly realized that the space next to her home was...warping. It was pulsing and beginning to swirl like a tornado, the wind picking up speed as it did.
“Wha....Hey, what's going on?”, Spike managed in a sleepy voice as the wind woke him up. “Woah.” Spike had to grab a hold of Twilight's neck to keep the wind from blowing him away as she stood transfixed by the strange site in front of her home. The wind reached it's climax, and as suddenly as the warping started, it stopped. The last traces of the wind and the swirling space blew away, leaving in their place...something. Twilight strained to make out what the dark lump beside her door was, until it stood up and looked at her. It was very tall, almost the size of Princess Celestia, with a very long and sharp ebony horn. It's fur was the color of a starless night, while it's mane and tail were streaked through with the silver of a shooting star. But what really held Twilight's attention was the unicorn's eyes. They were the color of a blacksmith's forge, a simmering and burning red. On her back, Spike stared just as hard. “Twi- Twilight...I-I think that...is...”
“The Black Unicorn.” Twilight breathed, completely dumbfounded. “It's the Black Unicorn. IT'S THE BLACK UNICORN!” Twilight suddenly shouted as her brain processed the situation. Then she turned tail and ran, Spike barely holding on. “IT'S THE BLACK UNICORN, SHE'S HERE! SHE'S BACK! THE BLACK UNICORN IS BACK!” she yelled as she ran through town, headed nowhere in particular other than away from that awful creature. Even after making it to the other side of town and back, Twilight would have kept yelling and running if she hadn't run headlong into Rarity, who had stepped outside to see what all the fuss was about. Now stopped, Twilight didn't have the strength or breath to answer Rarity, so Spike spoke for her.
“Black...Unicorn...from...Zecora's story....Appeared....at the library....I thought we...we were goners!” Spike started wailing and fell off of Twilight's back, curled into a small ball. By now, half of Ponyville were standing around the trio, whispering about the terrified pair. In an effort to remain in control of the situation, Rarity picked Spike up.
“There, there, Spike. I'm sure it was just a...trick of the light. Or someone playing a prank on you. That's it.” Rarity spoke calmly, but loud enough for everyone to hear her. She didn't want them panicking either.
“Then I reckon we ought to check it out for ourselves.” Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac – carrying a lantern – shouldered their way through the crowd and up to Twilight. “Think you can show us where she was, Sugarcube?” Twilight shook her head, still trembling and out of breath from her run. She was in no shape to show anypony anything. Applejack gently patted her friend on the shoulder. “That's ok, Sugarcube. You stay here with Rarity and rest up, Big Mac and I'll handle this.”
“Hey, what about me?” Apple Bloom whined up at her big sister as Rarity lead Twilight and Spike into her boutique.
Applejack didn't smile. “You stay here, in case it isn't a prank.” With that, she turned on her hoof and started walking toward the Golden Oak Library, the crowd parting in front of her.
“But-” A sharp look from Big Mac silenced Apple Bloom's protest, sending her grudgingly after Rarity and her charges.
“Think we should bring a unicorn?” Big Mac asked his sister as they walked down the pony-lined street. He was worried that even if it wasn't THE Black Unicorn it could still be something from the Everfree, something he, as an earth pony, would rather not tangle with.
“Know any other than Twilight who would actually be a help?” Applejack replied. Big Mac shook his mane before speeding up to a trot. He wanted to get this over as soon as possible.
It only took the pair, and their timid following, a few minutes to get to the library. Everything was dark and hidden in shadow, there was no way to tell if there was something there without getting closer. Cautiously, the brother and sister approached the dark tree. They were almost to the door when a shape suddenly rocketed toward their heads, startling Big Mac enough that he dropped the lantern.
“Who Who.”
Applejack laughed in relief when she saw that it was only Owlowiscious. “Ah, Owlowiscious, you scared us half ta death! An' Twilight even more. She sure is gonna be mad when she finds out it was just you that gave her that scare.” The owl hooted, the only reply he ever gave, and flew over to the forgotten lantern laying near the welcome mat. He landed on the stick Big Mac used to carry it and watched them expectantly.
Big Mac plodded over to the lantern, then put his head down to examine something closer. “Uh, sis. I don't think it was the owl.” Applejack, curious, came up beside him. She gave a low whistle at what she saw. Beside the library welcome mat a set of large, though delicate, hoofprints had been burned into the path. Applejack followed the hoofprints a little ways, noting that the farther they got from the door the less they were burned into the ground. The pony they belonged to had been facing Twilight, taken a few steps backwards, then spun around and galloped toward the Everfree. Applejack looked up as her brother retrieved the lantern and stood behind her. The hoofprints definitely led into the Everfree. That forest was no place for a pony at any time, but especially at night. Any further investigation would have to wait until the morning.
“Guess we should probably get back to Twilight an' tell her she ain't crazy”, Applejack said quietly, earning an non-committal grunt from her brother. Based on the unicorn's earlier hysteria, he didn't think that telling her that somepony had burned hoofprints on her front path was the wisest course of action. They turned around, Applejack finally seeing the size of the crowd that had followed them. She put on her best no-nonsense face and addressed them in a loud voice. “Now listen here. Something happened here, but it's too late tonight ta figure out what. Until we do have a chance ta figure this out, I'd like alla ya'll ta kindly stay away from the library and especially away from the forest. Now, ya'll should get ta bed, it's been a long night for alla us.” Slowly, the skittish crowd started to break up and the Apple's, accompanied by Owlowiscious, headed back to the Carousel Boutique. A light in the back was burning, prompting the pair to head for the back door. “Rarity?” Applejack called softly through the open half-door.
“In here, dear.” Rarity answered, coming into view. “Do watch your step. Apple Bloom was so disappointed at not going with you that I told her to guard the door, but the little dear fell asleep at her post.” Applejack carefully scooped the sleeping filly onto her back as she entered, Big Mac and Owlowiscious opting to stay by the door.
“Twilight and Spike?”
“Upstairs. I made them some of my Mother's 'Goodnight Chamomile' tea to sooth their nerves.” Rarity glanced at the ceiling. “I think they've finally fallen asleep. Whatever they thought they saw, it must have been awful!”
Applejack nodded in agreement. “Awful enough ta burn it's hoofprints into the ground.”
Rarity stared at Applejack, her mouth hanging open from shock. “You mean, there really was something there?”
“Not anymore, it high-tailed it into the Everfree long before we got there.” Applejack shifted nervously on her hooves. “Still, it might be best if they stayed here for the night.”
“Oh, of course dear. It's far too late to send them home tonight. You three could stay the night as well, if you wished. It would save you the trip back to Sweet Apple Acres.” Rarity's offer wasn't just out of generosity; she was afraid of this new threat and felt safer with her friends close by.
Applejack smiled, but shook her head. “Thanks but no thanks, Rarity. It's not that I'm not tempted, but we still have mornin' chores ta do no matter where we sleep.” Applejack turned to go, her sister still snoring on her back. “We'll meet tomorra an' figure out what ta do then. 'Night, Rarity.”
“Goodnight, Applejack.” Rarity said quietly as she watched her friend leave, sure that she wouldn't get any sleep.
***
In the Everfree Forest, the new Black Unicorn stumbled again, the fall rolling her into a small thicket. Tired, sore, and utterly lost, the human-turned-equine decided that this spot was as good as any for her to stop. When she'd first landed, the new Black Unicorn had been hopeful that the unicorn she'd surprised would be able to help her, but that had quickly changed. She closed her eyes and pushed her head up against the wall of the thicket, thinking over and over how stupid she'd been to push Magnus into sending her away so fast. That purple unicorn had recognized her as the Black Unicorn, which could only mean that the Queen had been here before. Magnus had told her that the Queen was not originally from his world, but had been banished there from another before she could rise to power. Whether or not this was that home world and not just another planet terrorized by the Queen's darkness, the fact that she had been recognized meant that everyone here would be terrified of her, even without the curse. On top of that, this was a new body with new abilities. It would take time for her to figure it all out, especially the magic. She could feel it when it was working, such as when the curse had been feeding off the mage's fear, and feel it in the air around her in this place, but she was still very much at a loss when it came to using it. True, she'd used some to talk to Magnus and the other mages, but she was fairly certain that the Queen had helped with that. The new Black Unicorn could feel her, inside, the same way she could feel magic. She couldn't talk to her, or force her to leave, but she could feel her perverse joy at being sent to this land. She wondered if the Queen had known that this world would be coming into alignment and had 'pushed' her into pressuring her friends to banish her quickly. It wouldn't matter now, what's done is done, except that if the Queen could influence her like that once, who's to say that she couldn't do it again?
A distant roar distracted the new Black Unicorn from her worrying thoughts, bringing her back to the present. She shuddered and huddled down even tighter into the thicket, praying that it would keep her hidden from hungry animals until the morning.
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If the Black Unicorn was voiced, what would she sound like?
6551066 You have no idea how complicated this answer will eventually be, but that will come out as I continue to write. The Black Unicorn as she is right now (the girl transformed) is generally soft spoken, but she can be fierce. If I was going to get an actress to play her I would get Halle Berry. Her voice is a really good approximation of what I hear in my head, though the Black Unicorn doesn't have her accent. She doesn't have any accent. The original Black Unicorn, on the other hand, has a harsher voice. Deeper, older, and rougher. Kinda like an older version of Rainbow Dash, or the Scarlet Witch from X-men Evolution. I'd pick Kelly Sheridan to voice her (she was the Scarlet Witch as well as Starlight Glimmer, Sassy Saddles, Misty Fly, and a background pony.)
Here's an example of what the 'current' Black Unicorn would sound like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe32Iag9RCQ
I couldn't find a good clip of the Scarlet Witch, but this one works if you skip to 2:03 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oExsCAkVNs0
-- Kestrel Flight