Vel'Koz has grown weary of the Fields of Justice, and is in pursuit of knowledge once again.
Vel'Koz, eye of the void, is on a mission to collect knowledge by any means necessary.
It was his self-imposed, and only purpose. His pursuit of intelligence has brought him off the League of Legends, and landed him in a new land, filled with new things to learn. His methods of collecting knowledge are destructive, and near-always fatal to the subject. Pity the fool that stands in his way. Pity even more the unlucky life form that knows something he doesn't.
(Rated Teen for: A wealth of death and harm upon some of your favourite, and least favourite characters)
My name is Astral Star, and along with my two best friends Verity Honora and Honour Bound, we write stories for our writing fantasies, and your reading pleasure.
Since the great majority of this story is going to be written in 1st person, sometimes knowledge of the characters, setting and concepts are made with the assumption that the reader is already familiar with the thing in question. However, we still put an effort in describing any important details so that League of Legends players and others can enjoy it as well.
Since the character Vel’koz, already exists, we can lighten the load of your imagination by providing you with an image of his appearance:
Another day in the League of Legends, how pitiful.
A match between ten so-called champions divided against two teams. I have the greatest displeasure of becoming part of their ranks. My thirst for knowledge of this primitive world has all but been sated along time ago. Their potential goes no further than the pathetic show of skill they perform for their summoners. There were many exceptions however, that have made a generous contribution to my cause. For example, Xerath, an ascendant arch-magus composed entirely of magical energy, held captive in a less-than-suitable binding sarcophagus has taught me all I needed to know about Runeterra’s magic. I have since gathered all possible intelligence in this land through the disintegration of my competitors. Though unwillingly, they have given me the ultimate power.
Knowledge.
And now was the time to move on from this bleak plane of rock, and harvest more interesting life forms.
-{>(|)<}-
The summoners have turned out to be mere mortals, living in a higher plane of existence to my own. They believe to have created us, through mind, skill and imagination. They can’t be even more wrong. Their ‘powerful magic’ does not extend further than the machines they’ve created to ‘control’ us. My poor fellow champions believe that they fight for their own goals, but in reality, they are mere pawns in the game of humans. Not I, for I have a far greater purpose, and my investigation has turned out disappointingly. A change of pace is required if the void is to survive. I focus my magical will through my eye into a single point, the sheer force of my magic puncturing a hole in the fabric of time and space. A jam my two front tentacles into it, and began to pry the hole open. Lightning of purple hues resisted my intentions, but with a mighty heave, I rend through the fabric, generating a sliver in the time-space continuum. With no time to lose, I slither inside, the rend hissing shut behind me.
To describe the void with one word a mortal would understand, would be impossible. However, being the resourceful creatures they are, they’ve created a word for it, madness. In this empty plane of darkness, existed true freedom. No laws or forces acted on this plane, everything was backwards, as well as forwards. Substantial, as well as not, dead but alive all the same. The darkest of spaces existed between universes, where time and space unravelled into a mess beyond comprehension. A world between worlds, ribbed with lightning, dust and debris. This, was my home.
Creatures of every shape and size floated across the endless chasm, fighting over each other for scraps. The poor brutes have no vision, and with my one eye, I see more than the best of what the void has to offer. The creatures of my home seek nought but the destruction of all worlds, but that is not my concern. Mine is to collect all information, from all known and unknown worlds. It is my only purpose, and that is the way it should be.
A new world shone to me through the abyss. A bright, colourful world full of life and magic. Perfect for my needs. I slither quickly into the tear and shut it behind me. If another creature were to discover this world, they would cause for too much trouble for my liking. With a flash of white, I enter my new frontier.
I blink rapidly in the sun’s glare. The light here is harsh, even underneath the canopy of the dense forest. It seemed wild, and gave a foreboding aura around the twisted trees and entangling undergrowth. A creature approaches. It is small, grey and covered in fur, with two elongated ears on the top of its head.
“What have we here,”
My voice requires re-recognition after my departure from the void. It is deep, and hollow. It vibrates as I speak, like the low buzzing of an insect. It is a unique combination that instills negative responses in my listeners. The creature, oddly enough, does not react to my voice. A creature of such small stature would normally flee at my mere presence. Intriguing, with a flash of magenta light, the position of the creature was now occupied by a pile of ash and soot.
“Hm, mammalian, physically weak but very fast. They can breed very quickly, with no danger of genetic defect through incest. Interesting,”
But it was not what I was looking for. I float along the forest floor on mere magical will, scanning the undergrowth for beings of interest. The plant life is unimpressive, and nothing I haven’t seen before, with the exception of a small, blue flower. It grew in large groups ranging from 23 to several hundred. It exhibits strange magical properties, now this, was worth something.
“Perfect,”
I reduce a large bed into a smoldering pile of hot carbon in my analysis.
“Orchid, with mysterious medicinal properties. Found only in areas of similar environmental conditions to my current location. Highly dangerous on direct physical contact with the pollen. Takes the most valued trait of a victim and manipulates it in a meaningfully humourus way. Cures can be found in three herbs, mixed into hot water and used to bathe the victim. Very useful,”
I quickly adapt my casting methods to suit this new-found power. I shiver as a blue ripple of lightning courses through my body. This world yielded some interesting specimens, and I intend to find more. Open further exploration, I happen upon a residential structure. It was built from a hollowed native tree, and decorated with tribal masks. Inside, a strange quadrupedal form stood over a cauldron of boiling liquid. I peek through a nearby window to inspect the interior.
Shelves upon shelves of strange magical concoctions and ingredients lined the walls. The cauldron’s contents also seemed to be magical in composition. The figure greatly resembled an equine, but was much smaller ans covered in black and white stripes. Its head and eyes and legs were too large to be proportionate to its body. Its chanting told me that it held a notable amount of intelligence. I silently cursed my size, as the doorway was clearly meant for creatures of lesser height and width, by at least a third. I focus a portion of magic into my eye, as it glowed brighter and brighter. At the apex of the channel, I released my magic in a single bolt of pure energy.
The creature exhibited astounding reflexes as it lept clear of my attack. My analysis retrieved results from the vat that was formerly the centrepiece of the room.
“Metal exterior,” I muse “Tempered to withstand high temperatures. Contents included, but not limited to, parsley, pumpkins, sour cream, croutons and a touch of sugar,”
Only then did I notice that the liquid was not magic, but was a meal. Oh, and the creature seemed very distressed as well.
“Who are you?” it cried “If you are friend, stay. If you are foe, go away!”
The silly creature thinks of itself in the position to be making demands, how foolish. Its dialect was far too similar to English to be coincidence. Perhaps it is a universal language? The creature obviously has intimate knowledge with this world. Thus, it had something I needed, and I was going to get it. I tore the door from its hinges, as well as a large portion of the front wall. The equine cowered below me, exhibiting the universal signs of fear. Wide eyes, quick heart beating, sweating and the compulsion to stop moving and talking. Such a useless response to any given situation. With a flash of magenta light, I put it of its misery. A great wealth of data flowed into my mind, detailing some interesting points on my current world of inhabitants.
“Equestria, ruled by two beings of divine quality. Dominantly populated by three races of ponies, unicorn, pegasi and earth. A very social, peace loving race of high magical potential,”
Now this was intriguing. This world might be worth harvesting after all. A quick sift through my new-found knowledge yielded an image of a town, not far from my current position. Quickly disintegrating the former tenant’s belongings, I made way for the town of Ponyville.
-{>(|)<}-
I departed from the forest quickly, as my new data informs me that extremely dangerous creatures roam free in there. Everfree forest, such an apt name indeed. I would most likely pay another visit in the near future. Some of the powers the creatures possess could prove useful. The light outside was much harsher than anything I was exposed to in Runeterra, aside from the human Lux’s magical attacks. The grass is very green and healthy, as were the currently limited fauna. An oddity in a world where industrial progress was evident. The air was strangely pollutant free, and carried the sweet aroma of flowers from several hills over. I could liken this world to the dreams of many an infantile human female.
I ceased progress as a thought struck me. If the previous creature’s reaction was any indication, my form was frightening to them. I floated over to a nearby stream, just before my objective and gazed into the water. Looking back at me was a large, slit magenta eye, nestled in a frame of angular bones, akin to the jaws of a shark. Three lesser eyes decorated my forehead. Two tentacles protruded from the front of my body, and one from the back. If my normal form was so abnormal in this land, then a change of shape was required to arouse less suspicion. Using my magic to alter my shape, my body folded into itself, then reformatted into something less conspicuous.
Looking back at me now, was an accurate representation of the native species of pony. A unicorn mare with a very dark purple coat, nearing black and long, wavy magenta hair that obscured my left eye. A crown of bones atop her head. My eyes were unfortunately slit, as any shape-shifting spell was far from perfect. Turning around, I now see a pattern resembling an eye, burning in pink fire. My tail also followed the style of my mane, almost touching the ground.
Satisfied with my new form, I tested out my new voice.
“Hello,”
It was reminiscent of the equine I had taken earlier, deep and mature, but lacked any accent, and thankfully, rhyme. Now truly satisfied, I trotted over a nearby bridge, and approached the town confidently.
-{>(|)<}-
After vaporising the striped pony, I now have an instinctual grasp of normal social behaviour. The town was a quaint, medieval village composed of wooden houses, and thatched rooves of straw. The residents were highly social, all-round cheerful folk of many colours. They gave me some odd looks as I passed by, but also through a greeting my way, which I enthusiastically returned. My show of normality quelled their suspicion as they walked off to do their own thing. I was just about to reach the village hall, a tall round building resembling a carousel, before a blur of pink filled my vision. The blur settled into a vibrantly pink pony, with a puffy mane and tail, greatly reminiscent of cotton candy.
“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie!” the pony said, in a high pitched, happy tone “I’ve never seen you ‘round before, which means you’re new! Because I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville…”
‘Will she ever stop?’ I thought, while my current body only smiled at the pony’s antics.
I decided that controlling this body wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I forfeited control and gave it free rein. However, I kept a keen watch over my surroundings through my mind’s eye, looking for any potential sources of significant knowledge. While my body wandered, my mind scouted the surrounding town in an insubstantial, ghost-like form.
“And if I don’t know you, it means you’re new! And I hope we can be the best of friends!” she continued
“I hope so too,” my body smiled
“Great!” Pinkie pulled my body along in a death grip of a hug towards a large tree “So what’s your name?”
“Umm…”
‘Uh oh’ I quickly scanned my database for an appropriate name for an infant to adolescent female. I then sent forth the very first name on the list to my body’s own mind.
“Annie,” my body said confidently
“Annie huh? Nice name! A little odd though. Anyway, the quickest way to be friends is to meet more friends! We’re going to see Twilight, Ponyville’s librarian. She lives in that giant tree over there!"
‘Finally, a place of significance’
I was readying my life form disintegration ray before another thought struck me. Testing a theory, I scanned my guide for social contact. True enough, a miasma of multi-coloured lights spread across the whole town. These streams of light connect individuals together, varying in colour and intensity depending upon the nature of the relationship and the other being’s personality. A bright violet stream connected Pinkie to a single life form within the tree-turned library. My mind’s eye flew ahead, eagerly awaiting the knowledge inside.
-{>(|)<}-
[3rd person, following Twilight Sparkle]
Twilight was studying, as per usual. Today, she was looking at trans-dimensional theory, a topic often covered by sci-fi, but captured the interests of many legitimate scientists. On the side though, she had a book of defensive spells, for safety of course. Ever since Nightmare Moon and Discord she’s needed to build some form of self-protection. Her reading was interrupted by her front door flying open.
“Hey there Twilight!” Pinkie Pie grinned, hopping all around the purple unicorn “Guess what?”
“What?” Twi asked wirily, all too familiar with Pinkie’s little games
“I got a new friend for you!”
“Well that’s nice, where is…”
Her mental functions stuttered for a bit when she saw the new arrival. The dark mare was just plain creepy. Her magenta mane and tail glowed softly, even in the midday sun. Her one visible eye was slit, and her smile looked far too artificial, not forced, but made.
“Um, hello?” Twilight said nervously “My name is Twilight, what’s yours?”
“My name’s Annie,” the mare said “It’s a pleasure to meet you Twilight,”
Her voice sent shivers up the librarian’s spine. For a brief moment, it sounded like there were two voices at once.
“Would you mind if I tried something on you?” Twilight asked nicely, but just couldn’t hide her trepidation
“Be my guest,” she said coolly, offering again that artificial smile
Pushing thoughts of psycho –killers and horror movies, she flipped the page on her self-defence book onto a page labelled ‘Spells of revealing and the dispelling of illusions’. The spell was very simple, but required a lot of concentration. Screwing her eyes shut with focus, she manifested a wave of soft pink light. It drifted lazily across the room, and vanished on the other side. Her library seemed clean, and so did Pinkie. Annie too, but it reacted weirdly to her. The book said it would reveal the true nature of any illusion in a shimmer of light, but Annie seemed to be fighting against it. Just to be sure, she cast it a couple more times, three in succession.
The first evoked the same results as before, but the second dispelled something else entirely. The third however, put it in plain sight. A huge, ghostly image of a creature that matched nothing in her books, real or otherwise shimmered into existence above the dark mare. It’s body looked like the maw of a dead beast. Three tentacles, two in the front, and a large one at the back sprouted from the bottom. It had a large, slit eye that looked to be made of magenta lightning. Three lesser eyes were positioned in its forehead. In the space of two seconds, it faded into nothingness.
“P-Pinkie,” Twilight stuttered, eyes wide at the place where the creature once was “Did you see that?”
“See what?” Pinkie asked with an arched eyebrow
“Um, nothing,”
Twilight dismissed the image as a trick of the light, but something still pulled at her. Annie was currently reading eighteen books in succession, catching a fleeting glimpse of each before returning it to the shelf. The books levitated around her in a purple aura, swirling around like electrons to an atom. Annie’s right eye darted back and forth, capturing every word in an eye blink. Twilight might have been disturbed, but also, intrigued. So intrigued, that she did not feel the malignant prescence of a being silently trawling through her head’s worth of knowledge.
No sooner had Twilight waved Pinkie pie and her new friend away, than she felt a strong mental force settle into her thoughts. A sudden migraine constricted her skull while the rest of her body ceased all action. The force felt alive, an electric tingle swimming circles around her brain. A purple haze swirled dominated her vision. Their above her, was the figure she had seen not even two minutes ago. It leered down at her with its single electric pink eye.
“What are you?” she asked fearfully
“That is not of your concern, Twilight Sparkle,” it replied, despite having no mouth
Twilight grimaced at the sound of its voice. It sounded like a metal blade, screeching against another.
“How do you know my name?” she trembled
“Another matter of unimportance,” it responded coldly “I am in your mind, Twilight, because you have something I need,”
“What do you want from me?”
“Ah, an intelligent question. I will reward you with a proper answer. I want…” it flew closer to her, almost directly face to face now “…Everything you know,”
“You could’ve just used the library,” she scowled
“The library is insufficient for my needs. You know more than the combined resources of this tree you call home. You have no doubt felt an immense pain in your cerebral cortex. Something like…”
Suddenly, a hot white iron of pain lanced her through the centre of the forehead. She wanted to scream, but the monster silenced her pre-emptively. She nodded rapidly, then the pain subsided.
“…That,”
The monster chuckled
“A mere taste of what I can do from inside your head. Even when I depart, I will still hold influence over what transpires here. I hope you can keep a secret,”
“Why’s that?” Twilight snarled
“Because, if you can’t, a terrible accident would befall you, and your friends,”
She didn’t have a response for that.
“Listen up, and listen well,” it growled “I have already taken what I need, but if you tell any other soul about my existence here…”
It didn’t need to finish.
“And just because I like to see you squirm, only you will be able to see me,”
The purple haze quickly evaporated, the monstrous figure along with it. Twilight got up quickly, shaking off all the pins and needles from her limbs. Somebody needed to know, but it was watching her, she could feel it. Perhaps there was a way to reveal it before her friends without needing to say a word. With a mind full of plans and possibilities, she set to work.
-{>(|)<}-
[3rd Person, Ponies Only]
Pinkie Pie was excitedly hopping toward her next destination, Carousel Boutique, with her new friend in tow. Annie followed along casually, seemingly oblivious to the strange looks given by the everyday pony. Silently observing the whole scene, Vel’koz floated around his host body, invisible to all but himself and Twilight Sparkle, whom he allowed to. They soon arrived at a dainty looking building, circular and resembling a wedding cake more so than a carousel or a boutique.
A small silver bell chimed as the pair entered the store. Clothes in an assortment of shapes, colours and styles were displayed on mannequins and hangers. A flawless white unicorn with a purple mane and tail done up in swirling curls worked busily by a sewing machine. No doubt making another one of those fancy dresses.
“Pinkie, darling,” the unicorn greeted “Finally agreed to some TLC for that lovely mane of yours?”
“No, silly Rarity!” Pinkie giggled “I never have to do my mane,”
“A little conditioner wouldn’t hurt,” Rarity muttered “Never mind. Where are my manners, and for that matter, where are yours Miss Pie?”
She turned to Annie and gave a graceful little curtsy
“Hello my dear, I’m am Rarity, professional fashion designer and proud owner of Carousel Boutique,”
“Hello, my name is Annie,” the dark unicorn said, with a nod and smile “A pleasure to meet you,”
“Likewise,” Rarity replied “Pinkie, can I have a private word with you?”
“Okie-Dokie!” Pinkie chirped, trotting along upstairs “See ya Annie, don’t go anywhere!”
-{>(|)<}-
Rarity’s bedroom could be an extended metaphor of the pony herself. It was clean, orderly and decorated with no absence of style.
“Pinkie,” Rarity started, her previously warm tone all gone “Where exactly did you find that mare?”
“Dunno,” Pinkie shrugged “I found her walking into town from the Everfree Forest,”
“THE WHAT!” Rarity shrieked “Did you even think that this mare could be some kind of monster in disguise?”
“Nope,”
“Did you even look at her?”
“Well,” Pinkie said, scratching her chin with a hoof “Now that I think about it, she does look pretty weird, her name’s pretty weird too. Also, she gives me the creeps whenever I stand right next to her…”
Rarity nodded her Understanding, waiting for her pink friend to finish.
“But the same thing happened with Zecora,” Pinkie finished, a carefree smile on her face. “So, meh,”
“UGH!”
Rarity gave up voicing her suspicions to her pink friend, who is happily oblivious to Annie’s appearance and mannerisms. The white unicorn trotted back downstairs, where she got the surprise of her life. Annie, was sitting at her desk, sewing the most beautiful dress her eyes had ever seen. It was a beautiful hybrid of woven silk and cotton. It looked so soft, so real, like a genuine blanket of sky. Truly the work of a master weaver.
“You know,” Rarity pondered “She might not be so bad after all,"
-{>(|)<}-
[1st person: Vel’koz]
My body has performed beyond expectation. My current targets see little to be suspicious about her, and thus, suspicious about me. While I would have preferred the quicker, direct approach to analysis, all ponies here share a strong social link. If one were to go missing, it could topple their everyday routine, and make my disguise more noticeable to criticism. Twilight Sparkle hosted the most amount of information I require, but even hers is not sufficient. As great as it is, her collection pales in comparison to what this world truly offers. Pinkie Pie is of no use to me in regards to intelligence, or lack thereof. However, her easy approach to social interaction could be useful for communication towards future subjects.
The unicorn Rarity does not house much either, but has a lot of potential when it comes to artistry. Her designs are appealing, if useless to me. A quick search through my data banks allowed me to send all my knowledge of the seamstress’ craft to my body, instantly relieving any ill feelings towards her. Winning over these ponies seems to be my primary goal right now. Each pony that ‘likes’ me will lessen the effect of my mental probing, and open doors to the minds of previously inaccessible beings. The mental read and copy method is not my most preferred, but it suits my current needs greatly.
A new complication has arisen regarding my body. She seems hungry, an altogether new sensation to experience. Aside from that, the herbivorous diet of these ponies limit the amount of neural capacity they contain. Unsurprisingly, Twilight is the smartest life form I’ve met on this world by a large margin. The amount of data I transfer from my own mind to that of my host body is quickly depleting available storage. It requires additional memory space, and also a large boost in neuroplasticity. My body will require extra protein to facilitate these necessary modifications. If my body could eat meat, things would be a lot simpler. No matter, it is a problem I must address in the future.
We are now heading to the edge of Ponyville. A large red barn could be seen in the distance, as well as an extensive orchard of apple trees. My host, Pinkie, is fully aware of my hunger through a rumbling from the stomach region. She has proposed a meal with a friend of hers named ‘Applejack’. Alcohol will kill a number of brain cells I cannot afford to lose, so I sent a subroutine to my body that would completely reject the foul substance. An orange pony with a blond mane styled in a similar fashion to female humans with country-folk origin. Also like humans of that origin, she sported freckles on both cheeks, a southern accent and a brown Stetson atop her head.
“Afternoon, Pinkie,” she greeted warmly “You’re just in time fer lunch,”
She blinked nervously when she saw the dark mare that was me, then forced a smile.
“Howdy to you too sister, you joinin’ us fer lunch too?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Annie replied kindly
“Pleasure’s all mine. Any friend of Pinkie’s is a friend of mine, come on in!”
While my body went into the house to feed, I decided to have a bit of a wander. In my current phantasmal state, physical interaction is quite impossible, but I still maintain full use of my magical and mental capability. Floating over the orchard, I could appreciate just how vast it was. It covered the majority of Ponyville’s surrounding hills. I detected two life forms on the move below. One was a big, red stallion with a large muscle-to-body weight ratio. Another was a smaller, yellow pony infant with a shock of red hair tied into a bow. The third was an elderly, green mare who dozed underneath the house’s balcony.
Succumbing to my own curiosity, I used Pinkie’s social link to dive into the red pony’s head. I was utterly disappointed by the amount of empty space in there, and withdrew quickly. The infant contained a little more, exhibiting a high amount of knowledge for one her age and size. Sadly, nothing I haven’t learned from the striped pony who I now know as Zecora or from previous exploits. The elderly mare contained a baffling amount of historical knowledge regarding this world, which I greedily collected for myself.
Finishing my overview of the surrounding land, I returned to the residence of Applejack. It was a wonder how much effort these for put into tending to an orchard of this size. The orange mare was cleaning up a pool of liquid which I determined to be composed of apple residue, and alcohol. Maybe I needed to tune down the harshness of the rejection reaction. My body sat on a stool, ejecting more stomach fluid into a bucket, with Pinkie giving her words of comfort. Strange, had the same event happened, all present company would laugh and say something like…
“Don’t have much of a head for alcohol, don’t cha Annie?” Applejack smirked
Hmph, never mind.
I look back to the young one, and a new spark of information shines to me. She has had experience with the Everfree forest, how unlikely, yet true. Delving further into her small mind, I find profiles of several of the forest’s creatures. Some of her own experience, others through her sisters. Cockatrices are small, and look ridiculous, but hold the power of petrification through mere sight. A worthy upgrade to Casseiopia’s comparatively pathetic petrification, which has limited range, duration and requires far too much effort to use. Other creatures of interest include Manticores, Aquatic Serpents and an insectoid plague known as parasprites.
This little bunch of ponies has provided some useful information.
Pinkie has been excused from my body’s side as she and our host, Applejack walk into the kitchen for a discussion.
“Are you sure that gal’s clean?” Applejack asked worriedly “She looks mighty strange to me,”
“Aw, you worry too much,” Pinkie dismissed with a hoof
“And you worry too little,” AJ replied drily
“Come on! She’s alright. Maybe a little sick right now, but she’s cool, trust me,”
Pinkie pouted at the farm pony with big blue eyes and a face reminiscent of a begging puppy. A formidable combination if used correctly.
“Fine,” Applejack grumbled “If yer so sure…”
“Oh, I’m sure Applejack. We’ll be along now, goodbye!”
“Take good care of yourself Pinkie! Keep an eye on her for me!”
“Will do!”
The pink pony retrieved Annie from her place at the couch, and now made way to another residential structure, close to the Everfree forest. A pity that I could not relieve Apple Jack of her suspicion, but there was little I could do at the time. I guess I’ll just have to add brain cells to Annie’s list of required mental modifications. Now that she’s so close to the Everfree, perhaps an upgrade is in order.
Using a simple cloaking spell, I have successfully ditched my guide Pinkie Pie on the way to her friend’s cottage. I have also extracted a number of subroutines from her mind, allowing for easier communication with future subjects. My body, ‘Annie’ is hidden safely in a cloaking spell borrowed from a certain sewer rat named Twitch, who involuntarily gave me instructions to his skills. Upon entering the Everfree, I reassumed control of my body, shoving Annie’s half-mind away and dominating it with my own. Walking with the aid of four limbs is an odd sensation to say the least. Control has opened up my senses to a barrage of information. Sight, smell, touch, hearing and even taste, how I loved to be back in a physical body.
Tracking a path well taken by Zecora, I find myself trotting along a rather bleak trail through the twisted trees. Using a skill acquired from a fellow champion named Quinn, I am now fully aware of everything around me. The majority of these skills required a suitable body to perform. Also, with the restriction set in place by the faux-summoners, I was not able to use them on the Fields anyway as I was restricted to four of my own. A rustling in a nearby shrub alerts me. A small, chicken’s head pokes from underneath the leaves, and looks at me quizzically. Having seen the memories of Apple Bloom, I know exactly what it is, so I make preparations.
Using energy procured from my latest meal of apple pastries, I use the remaining energy reserves of my body to kick start an accelerated evolution cycle. I feel enormous amounts of pain as my body changes, so I withdraw my mind and let Annie deal with it. Finally free once more of the confines of flesh, I observe with rapt fascination at the changes at work. Annie has her eyes screwed shut and teeth gritting together as the process goes on. Canine teeth in her mouth lengthened and sharpened. Her mind’s reulsion instinct to meat has been erased, and replaced with a more indifferent opinion. Her digestive tract and related systems adapt and reform to a new source of energy I have in mind.
The cockatrice climbed out of the bush, exposing its drake-like body, hissing a warning at my experiment. Annie stood up shakily, but resolved her posture into one of aggression, and animalistic hunger.
“Attack!” I commanded her
With a savage, predatory look in her slit eye, Annie dove for the Cockatrice, her new fangs bared. The poor creature had less than 0.28 seconds to resist as its throat was pierced by razor sharp teeth. Annie’s hooves held it down as the creature struggled and flailed. I have probably turned a peaceful pony into an efficient killing machine, experiment complete. While I let her drain the cockatrice of its bodily fluids and devour its flesh, I analysed the data collected from her kill.
“Good girl,”
A wave of blue sparks travelled over me as I reformatted the power of petrification to suit me. There goes one creature off the list.
-{>(|)<}-
The Parasprites were an easy affair, as they were small and fit into Annie’s hungry mouth perfectly. The little creatures did little more than eat and multiply, not unlike the othe other brutes of my home. Perhaps a future invasion could benefit from a swarm of such beings? I am now heading for a nearby stream to locate the Aquatic Serpent. A large purple snake with large orange hair sunbathed on the shore. He was far too big to become a meal, almost as large as Baron Nasher, but comparatively weak and scrawny. I reveal myself to the creature, purple lightning swirling around my form as I showed my true colours. My transformation awoke the serpent with a start.
“What have we here?” it asked questioningly, in the posh, noble accent I have always loathed.
Not wasting time, I fire a small magenta laser from the tips of my three tendrils, and all four of my eyes. I converged the lasers into a single point before me, their combined power equated to a beam bigger and more powerful than the sum of its parts. Starting with its head, I methodically disintegrated the snake’s body, travelling along its length and ending at the tip of its tail. It didn’t even scream as it was torn apart mercilessly, yet methodically. In seconds, he was reduced to a large pile of smoking ash. My completed analysis has turned in a pitiful amount of intelligence, but a wealth of aquatic based powers. Should I or any void life end up in a large body of water, this should definitely become useful.
My business here in the forest concludes with the Manticore. Annie trotted back up to me, looking up with her slit eye, a trail of blood leaking down her mouth. While she washed in the river, I scanned the surrounding forest for signs of this apparently elusive creature. Unsurprisingly, none so far. I dove back into Annie’s mind, cringing at the sudden flood sensations. My ears prick up as a high pitch squealing echoes through the air, followed by a bestial roar. Locating the point of origin for these sounds, I break into a gallop, nimbly weaving around the twisted forest and towards the signs of my quarry.
-{>(|)<}-
Upon arrival, I see a trio of infant ponies trapped between a rock wall and a pack of wooden wolves. The pitch of their cry suggests a female gender disposition. The wolves were of equal size as the dogs that inhabited the League’s jungles. Their bodies were completely composed of sticks and pieces of wood. Their eyes glowed a soft, yellow-green, suggesting magical origination. Annie licked her lips hungrily at the sight of the children, unsatisfied by her previous kills. I quelled her hunger quickly, as her intentions to consume would serve no beneficial function at this time. I reveal myself once more, the sound of electricity crackling through the air.
The wolves rounded on me in surprise, shooting me guttural snarls and warning expressions. I shot forth a bolt of pure energy at the front-most wolf, splitting and burning it on impact. The bolt split into two more, travelling perpendicular to the original, further destroying two more wolves. The remaining three pounced as one, aiming for an arm each. I banished them with a wave of magic, knocking them to the ground. I hurled a mass of unstable molecules at their paws, and watched them fly backward from the shockwave. One clattered apart as it hit the rock face behind it, while the other two got up on shaky legs.
The pair snarled a final warning, and sprinted into the brush. Odd, they left the children behind. The only scenario that suits their reaction is one I was not going to like, but I looked forward to it nonetheless. The manticore, a lion with the wings of a dragon and the tail of a scorpion roared a challenge from behind me. I withdrew to the rock face, Annie following obediently with me.
“There you are,” I said casually
The monster snarled and, charged me with savage ferocity. I loosed my Life Form Disintegration Ray as soon as it advanced. The violent stream of unstable particles deconstructed my foe rapidly at a sub-atomic level. By the time it was close enough to attack, it was little more than a cloud of soot. Annie tended to the younglings while I analysed my latest find.
“Are you alright?” she asked the frightened foals
“We’re okay,” the small red-maned farm pony replied “Thanks for saving us,”
“It isn’t me you should thank. You should save your gratitude for my friend here,”
I looked to them in surprise. What a strange response for being credited for a kill. The fool summoners often bicker over the issue of ‘kill-stealing’.
“Thanks Mister,” a small white unicorn said warmly
“Yeah! Those moves of yours were sweet!” added an orange Pegasus “What are you anyway?”
I laughed heartily at their childhood innocence.
“A figment of your imagination,” I whispered, bathing the three in a soft light
As they gazed into my eye, they fell asleep as subconscious hints flooded their mind with thoughts of slumber.
-{>(|)<}-
The sun was setting as Annie and I made our way back to Ponyville. She carried a foal across her back, and another resting on the back of her neck. I carried the remaining child on my head. All three snored quietly on the uneventful return trip. We deposited the unconscious foals near a cottage pockmarked in creature hideaways and birds, and went on our way. I reassumed my invisible guise and led Annie to our next destination. Her connection to four out of six of my objectives has allowed a sufficient psychic pathway to the remaining two. This allowed me to infiltrate and harvest their minds remotely, as well as the whole population of this rural town.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the two remaining of the six bore little of the knowledge I required. The former lacked any form of proper intelligence, while the latter was so full of emotion it sickened me. Notable subjects were few and far between in this little town, perhaps it was time I moved on.
In the privacy of Zecora’s former home, I made repairs for Annie’s body. Her condition has degraded rapidly since her exposure to alcohol, so immediate mental reconstruction was required. Additionally, her brain capacity has been maximised to the highest value a pony could achieve naturally, and her processing speed has been increased to that of a small super-computer. She dozed peacefully on the wooden floor below while I made my modifications, my arms probing her exterior with beams and sweeps of magenta light.
I do not require sleep , so I spent the rest of the night processing data. Despite the moon’s obvious path across the sky, I could not detect any sign of solar orbit. Centrifugal force due to the planet’s roatation around the sun was non-existent. A peculiar problem, but one I will address in the future. The next richest source of information lies in the minds of certain ponies residing inside Equestria’s capital, Canterlot. Also residing there, is the greatest collection of knowledge I know this world contains, the Canterlot Archive. There, I will harvest this knowledge, and hopefully conclude my mission on this land.
The next morning came quickly, and with it, the first phase of my plan. I must first reach the train station to gain transportation to Canterlot. Before I could start however, I came upon a few complications…
Firstly, the former resident of this ‘house’ seemed to be hold a significant amount of social connectivity to her neighbours. She was no social butterfly, but enough ponies were acquainted with her for her disappearance to be noticed. Seeing the facts, I hastily reconstructed Zecora’s household, and then Zecora herself. Collecting atoms from the air, taking them apart and joining them together by my will, is a tedious task. I must maintain proper control over unbalanced atoms, and contain the energy released when manipulated.
After a great amount of time, her whole house was restocked, and fully furnished. Zecora herself hovered two feet off the ground, as her muscle tissue wove around her skeleton, lending shape to just another pony corpse. I have set this process to act autonomously; it should be done in less than an hour. By the time any pony were to wander into this house, she would wake up without remembering anything of my existence. Ironic, that the only way I could have reconstructed this so seamlessly, was because I had disintegrated it all in the first place. With problem one solved, now is time for problem two…
“W-Where am I?” Annie asked, clearly shocked an bewildered
She got up hurriedly, and danced around the small residence like a scared animal. I watched with mild amusement, until she finally rested her gaze on me, and started quaking. I looked to her neutrally, and she recoiled in fear, like a normal pony.
“Who are you?!” she demanded “For that matter, what are you?!”
Hmph, seems that some of my intelligence has rubbed off on her. As much as I would desire some intelligent conversation, I wave a tendril in front of her, causing her to fall asleep once more. A subconscious command branded into her subconscious through hypnosis. Now that Annie is developing a mind of her own, I now require fuller control over her body.
Submerging myself into her mind, and pushing her own growing one aside, I shudder at the sudden flood of sensation. It takes me 2 minutes to fully settle in her body. With full control over Annie, I take a few tentative steps out of the tree, and trotted back to Ponyville.
-{>(|)<}-
The rural town of Ponyville was much the same as when I first arrived there. Sky, a clear pale blue without a single cloud across it. Sun, blindingly bright as usual. Ponies though, are making a lot more suspicious glances my way. When I looked to them in response, they turned back to their normal activity, and when I look away, they resume previous behaviour. Such treatment was undeserving, unless news of my doing has reached their primitive ears somehow. It is a problem I must address later.
Using Twilight’s memories, I pinpointed the exact location of their transportation. A train station to the North-East of Ponyville provides access to other parts of the land of Equestria. I could simply teleport there, but my data tells me such a feat is uncommon among unicorns, and can only be achieved by what they would call ‘Arch-Mages’. With a heavy sigh, I trot up to the train station.
When I arrived at the ticket booth, I realised that the whole building seemed to be ready for an incident. Tall, white Stallions in golden Roman-esque armour stood in pairs beside each doorway. The ticket fair was an easy challenge. A little hypnosis from my eye convinced the teller to lend me one ticket to Canterlot. Regretfully, he collapsed with mental exhaustion as soon as I withdrew control. I levitated the ticket before my eyes and waited silently by the station. My fellow patrons shot me curious glances as I waited, but nothing I haven’t tolerated before. That is, until the guards became involved.
“Ma’am?” a gruff voice behind me said
I turned to see a young, male unicorn guard before me. He regarded me sternly with a slightly upturned head, as to look down at me. A tough feat, since I was already eye-level with him.
“You’re going to have to come with me,” he stated flatly
“And why is that?” I curtly replied, with a drip of venom
He started to blush a little when I spoke. An odd reaction, but he quickly recovered.
“We’ll have to interrogate you under the suspicion of criminal activity,”
Turning my head for witnesses, I was sorely disappointed when I saw multiple ponies with their eyes cast towards me. I breathed a heavy sigh, and plodded towards the portable interrogation room, the obviously new guard trailing behind.
The small, fragile hut of an office stood to the corner by the train station. The poor guard had to resort to running to catch up, and opened the door for me to enter. I take a seat opposite the door, while he takes one facing it. Sadly, no social bonds could be detected between him and the ponies of Ponyville, making mental influence impossible.
“Your name?” he asked plainly
“Annie,” I replied
“Just Annie?”
“Just Annie,”
He began to furiously scribble onto a note pad with a quill, casting suspicious glances my way. While he worked, I pondered the point of such an unorthodox interrogation. Possibly a routine check-up on suspicious persons? I highly doubt that. Besides my appearance, nothing ‘illegal’ has been recorded of my doing. Perhaps there has been a leak…
“You new here?” he inquired
“Yes, but I could say the same thing for you,” I answered curtly
He grunts and returns to scribbling. Growing weary of this foolishness, I observe my surroundings for a way out. I looked to the window, only to see empty sky. The hut was completely plain, except for this desk, two chairs and the notepad he’s using. Sadly, and with no other option, I dove into is mind. Soft pink tendrils emerge from the wall, binding him to the chair on which he sat. My consciousness reached deep into his own, wrestling control from it and taking over.
Without direct social bonds to soften the process, he was plagued by intense migraines as I rummaged through his memories. Possessing a high degree of control, I lock his vocal cords to prevent screaming as I searched. The guard’s eyes were narrowed, boring holes into my own as he tried feebly to shout alarm. Only a tiny croak escaped his open mouth as I searched.
Through my eyes, I see a wonderfully complex miasma of blue colour. An ever shifting spectrum of bio-electric signals coursing through his brain. Before me, lay the most complex code in the universe, and I was determined to crack it. Electrical signals hardwired throughout the stallions brain correspond to certain actions, thoughts and feelings. His very DNA held the instructions for his whole body, down to anatomy and general personality. I greedily take it all, forcefully duplicating these signals and absorbing them into my own mind. The process couldn’t be more agonising for the guard below me. I didn’t even feel the cruel smile stretch across my face as I worked.
Results were a mixed-batch. His intelligence was little, but what little he had was useful to me. Rudimentary knowledge of this world’s military could prove useful for future endeavours. The source of the sudden influx of guards and suspicion is all due to an upcoming wedding between a third alicorn princess, and the Captain of the Guard. The latter of which seemed to be Twilight Sparkle’s big brother. Unfortunately, I require closer proximity to harvest his knowledge, despite the strong family bond between them. One information source at a time I believe…
My mental infiltration also informed me of other things. Firstly, this stallion is an orphan, has next to no friends, is regarded as a wimp by his peers, has no social bonds what-so-ever and finds me attractive. The all but the last give me all the confirmation I need. The final point of data was rather intriguing, obviously, pony aesthetic was sufficiently different to human aesthetic sense. The factors of enticing pony physique may become useful. Taking everything I needed, I withdraw my mind, and unceremoniously vaporise him on the spot.
With a shout, my eyes glow as a stream of purple lightning shoots from my horn, and engulfs the stallion in its arms. The energy works quickly, disintegrating the bonds between molecules and compounds, even the atoms themselves. Soon, there is only a black shadow of soot, and a singed set of armour as proof of his existence. I feel the stray electrons ionise the air around me, giving it the smell of ozone. Lingering traces of his fear plagued my mental senses like a bad smell. Fortunately, like all bad smells, they tend to disappear over time.
Satisfied with my work, I walk confidently out of the office and shut the door behind me. The other guards gave me strange looks, but I paid them no heed. The train arrived just in time as I boarded it along with the other passengers. The steam locomotive was designed to resemble some kind of large confection, like a cake maybe. I took a window seat, and stared idly at the increasingly blurred landscape. I was headed towards the final destination of my mission, and for the first time, I was looking forward to it.
-{>(|)<}-
The journey was uneventful, a mere hour of watching the landscape go by. The mountains of Canterlot stood tall and proud just ahead. Their tall, surreal shapes jutting up like blunt spikes in the otherwise featureless landscape. Fixed to the side of one, was the huge city of Canterlot. An ivory city of wealth and power, it was so large, it could be seen from Ponyville and beyond. The memories of the guard I erased quickly appeared in my mind. With his death, I have memorised all the Royal Guard patrol routes and watch schedules. Avoiding them would be far too easy.
The Canterlot station approached rapidly. Its design reflected the city well, with its ivory white colour accompanied by gold and deep purple trim. The citizens, unlike Ponyville inhabitants, were almost fully clothed and carried a vain, self-righteous aura around them. Nobles, how I despise them so. As soon as the train stopped, I quickly leapt off the train and into the station. A total of four guards were stationed there, as predicted. Taking a different route, I successfully avoid their gaze, and progress onward into the city.
The structures here seem to follow a uniform in terms of design and colour scheme. Not a single building stood out from the rest, rather jostle for the attention of all passers-by. It could even be taken as a metaphor for the mediocre nature of the ponies here. Following a route frequently taken by Twilight Sparkle, I arrived at the Canterlot archives in little time. The huge, domed marble building stood before me. Tall shelves could be seen through its various and enormous windows. Despite its obvious aura of importance, very little attention was given to it by the citizens. Well, it could explain the lack of overall intelligence around here.
Just before I entered the building, a dark hoof appeared from an adjacent alley and pulled me inside. I was thrown to the ground roughly, quickly adjusting my eyes and position to see my captor. He was a tall, dark unicorn with a spiky, electric blue mane. He looked down at me with a look of disappointment across his face, like an upset drill sergeant. I had a look at his social bondings for signs of low life activity. Odd, his bonds were green and frayed, like old, sea worn rope. This meant that either he believed he was friends with ponies, but the sentiment was never shared, or…
They were fake.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” he said harshly, but still keeping his voice at a whisper “Are you trying to blow your own cover?”
I merely looked at him blankly. He probably mistook me for someone else, however unlikely.
“The queen gave us explicit instructions to remain unseen and patrol the alleys for entry points,” he continued “So why are you wandering aimlessly in the open huh?”
I raised an eyebrow in reply.
“Ugh!” he screamed frustratingly
To my surprise, his entire body spontaneously erupted into green fire. The process took a split second, but the results were astounding. Before me stood no longer a stallion, but a bug pony. He was covered in a grey, nearing black exoskeleton that gave off a low sheen. He had a pair of translucent green wings, much too small for his body and riddled with holes like his feet. He possessed no hair, a pair of long fangs, and blank cyan compound eyes. Otherwise, he had a remarkably similar anatomy.
“We're in the clear now,” he said, calmer this time “Why are you still wearing a disguise?”
Ooh, now this was an interesting turn of events. If I could take his shape shifting ability, it would make a valuable contribution to my already deadly arsenal. Also, his language implies that he is on a mission of espionage with several others. I couldn’t help but wonder why, so I opted on solving both my problems with this specimen before me. All I had to do was subdue him.
“Oh, so you want me to reveal myself, do you?” I ask him cheekily, throwing in a low, sultry tone.
Rarity sure knew how to entice a male. It was enough to lower his guard, and increase his curiosity, therefore lowering his chances of escape.
“Um,” he stuttered “Sure?”
Without further ado, I wreathed myself in magenta flame. I felt the confines of my pony body slip away as Annie slumped to the ground, free of my control. My full form stretched out from my prison, writhing in the blanket of heat and light. It took longer than I had envisioned, but it was all worth seeing the expression on his face.
“Like what you see?” I hissed mockingly, this time with my own voice.
His reaction was clever, he turned and ran. I laughed at his naivety, and quickly snagged him with my right tentacle, dragging him kicking and screaming back into the alley. I quickly cast a vibration dampening field around us both, stealing his pleas from the ears of nearby ponies. In the darkness of the alley, they couldn’t even see us either. He continued to scream and kick in my grasp, trying in vain to escape. I laugh once more at his fear, watching his teeth grit at the sound of my voice. With enough time wasted, I bathed the creature in pink light, much like the crusaders yesterday. Also like the crusaders yesterday, he fell asleep immediately.
Chuckling to myself, I dove back into Annie, the poor thing managed to open her mouth in protest before I regained full control. Remembering knowledge gained from the purple unicorn, there seemed to be a large series of room in the basement, for storing old books and artefacts. With a plan blossoming in my mind, and a wicked smile on my face, I concealed the creature in magic, and marched right up to the Canterlot Archive. Marshalling a spell, I feel my body fade into another dimension of existence as I slipped through the ground adjacent to the building, my prisoner in tow.
Relinquishing my spell, I found myself in a dark, dusty old room below the main structure. It was inhabited by a meagre amount of books, all shoved to the side, I will read them later. The only exit was a door to the back of the room, which appeared to be boarded up and chained closed from the other side. It was lit sparsely by a single incandescent light bulb on the ceiling, giving it a war-torn old atmosphere. At least there’s no chance of escape for my little prisoner. With a plan in mind, I set to work. My goal, is to extract every ounce of data from my new subject, even if it kills him.
Sterilising the cellar room was simple, if a little messy. My new subject, the fanged insectoid pony was shackled against the wall by all four of his holed hooves. A curious trait those hooves, what purpose could such a fragile design possibly serve?
The floor was a clean, white tiled surface, and the walls of stainless steel. The rest of the room was bare as I made my analysis on the contents. Sadly, nothing more than historical artefacts of sentimental value.
My recently vacated body lay in a heap in the corner closest to the door. Annie has become quite troublesome lately, but I still require her existence if my plans are to have full effect. Some minor inconveniences now would surely be worth this entire world’s worth of knowledge.
Rubbing my two front tentacles together, I generate a simple electrical charge, arching between my limbs like a purple tennis ball on fast forward. With a sufficient charge ready, I hover over to my subject, and place both tentacles on his exo-skeletal chest.
“Clear,” I say to no one in particular
The charge arches up and down his body, stimulating every nerve in his system. He awakes with a stuttered shout, then deep lungful’s of air. It takes him a disappointing amount of time to register my presence, but fortunately his reaction remained consistent. Trembling body, wide eyes, marred speech, all the signs point to fear as his emotion of choice.
“What do you want?” he stuttered
Ah, straight to the point.
“Everything you know,” I respond plainly “Everything you are and everything you believe,”
“Well I’m not talking! I’d rather die than tell you anything!”
He does his best to sound rebellious, but his jagged speech betrays his intentions.
“I did not ask you to speak,”
With a quick lash of my right tendril, a searing blue energy collects over its tip. The energy lengthens and focuses like a laser, until it augments my arm’s length by 50%.
“Now then, let’s see what you’re made of,”
Without any ceremony, I plunge my makeshift energy blade a good 5 cm into his chest, just below the collar bone. The air was quickly filled with the sound of gargled screaming and the stench of cooking flesh and blood. Readying another energy blade in my left tentacle, I ram it down into his other collarbone, prompting a new wave of pained screeching.
Working with purpose, I pull both blades diagonally down his body, meeting in the exact centre of his chest. Pausing to receive the sounds of agony, I realise that he was actually crying. The poor fool thinks he’ll die here, but I won’t let that happen. Not yet.
Resuming motion, with both blades together, I draw them straight down his midsection, cutting an equally sided Y into his chest and stomach. My subject lost all sense of morality as he cursed and screamed in whatever primitive language these monsters spoke.
“I acknowledge your pain,”
Admiring my own handiwork, I can already see his inner organs peeking out of his burnt muscle. For once, my subject had a question I was dying to answer.
“Why am I not dead?” he spoke shakily, in between pain racked gasps
“To date, none have survived preliminary testing,” I replied “Your species lacks any kind of self-documentation. The ponies themselves are collectively unaware of your existence. For those reasons, obtaining information on your species from second and third hand sources are impossible. However, this leaves me with the option of firsthand investigation,”
I paused
“It would do me know good to analyse your inner function while you yourself are not functional. I am currently feeding you a supply of life force to keep you alive while I conduct my tests,”
“Why can’t you at least block out the pain?” he gasped, pleading with his blank, cyan eyes
I give him a hearty chuckle
“Pain is a function of your body, subject. It would benefit me to know which parts of the body illicit the most pain,”
“Why?”
“An old motto of mine. ‘Kill to Learn, Learn to Kill,”
The summoners may have been a collective bunch of hormone driven adolescent idiots, but some at least have a good taste for writing and artwork. I saw no purpose to these ‘Jokes’, ‘Taunts’, ‘Laughs’ or even ‘Dances’. What kind of deranged being would program another to laugh or dance on command? I won’t even go into the way they treat each other. I’ve received more respect from the piles of ash that were formerly my opponents.
I swiftly dug two tentacles into the two flaps of flesh I created, and hoisted them apart, eliciting a pained gasp from the subject.
“Exoskeletal, and Endoskeletal? Quite peculiar,”
With this structural set up, it’s a wonder this creature could even get off the ground. While this structure made it much more durable than the average pony, it suffered with limited flexibility and a higher energy required energy intake. Speaking of energy intake…
With my third tentacle, I prepare a blade like before, but instead of going for a cut, I rammed it straight into his left eye. The sizzling of burning flesh, boiling blood, breaking bone and intense screaming were signs of horrific bodily damage. I probe my appendage across his brain, penetrating its chamber with little effort. As I made contact, I flood of sensation rippled outward, flowing through my arm and into my mind.
Information of all types floated across my consciousness before settling into a shelf in my metaphoric library. These creatures, were quite strange in more ways than one. They called themselves Changelings, this world’s masters of deception and disguise. A poor comparison to that of my void brethren however. They obtained sustenance through the impersonation of a pony in order to steal the love felt by said pony’s partner.
I can’t say I’ve ever likened such an emotion to energy, let alone an energy that can be consumed as food. Despite the ridiculousness of the notion, it all made sense in regards to his anatomy. The internal structure is remarkably similar to a pony’s, but retrofitted to use and gather emotional energy as a food. If evolution was a lazy yet imaginative mechanic, this would be the result.
Looking further, I began to detect his magic. It was just as strange as he was, a flame of raw neon green energy, completely untamed like a beast in chains. The nature of his magic was aggressive, much more so than pony magic. The changeling’s arsenal included hypnosis, lasers, barriers and a myriad of mental modifiers. These Changelings seemed little more than born soldiers or spies.
Chuckling with satisfaction, I withdrew my tendril from his head. The changeling went limp in his restraints, breathing deep, strained breaths. Blood ceased its trickle as he had little left to bleed. Little did he know, that his heart stopped several minutes ago. He looked up at me, regarding me with a single, sad, cyan eye, glazed over white with death.
“Kill me,” he rasped, a futile plea for mercy
“Not yet. Your life is required for the next procedure. Your life will continue until I am done,”
I was about to initiate partial deconstruction, before a small group of changelings burst through my reinforced steel door.
“There he is!” a female yelled, characterised by her shrill pitch “Get him!”
The first to charge was a bulky male, well-muscled compared to my current subject. He closed the gap quickly, crooked horn aimed forward to impale my body. Acting quickly, I flung a tentacle forward, my magic flowing along it and through the air. A crooked purple tear was sliced open like a fresh wound, travelling along the ground and into his path. The changeling’s eyes widened in horror before falling screaming into the endless abyss that was the void.
A second male advanced, firing green energy bolts as he went. Propping up a shield with my own magic, his attacks dissipated harmlessly. The void rift began to glow brighter and brighter, filling the room with an eerie white light. In a fraction of a second, it snapped shut with the force of a mound of dynamite. The explosion ripped through him, reducing him to a smear of blood and flesh on the opposite wall. I was well protected by my shield, but my enemies ploughed through the steal wall, and into the hallway outside.
Seeing the utter annihilation of her comrades, the female leader and the three remaining changelings made a run for it. Tearing open a rift in time-space in the wall, I dove into the star-riddled portal. The other side opened up in the ground just before the changeling’s goal of escape. I surfaced in front of them, the portal below me snapping shut with a gust of powerful wind.
A minor female stepped forward, intent on protecting her allies.
Noble, but foolish.
Gathering a ball of purple energy in my eye, I released it in her direction. She raises a green shield accordingly as the bolt hits its mark. Unlike the normal bolt, this one broke into two separate ones, striking two of her companions behind her. Reeling to see her comrades flung down the hall, I took advantage the distraction. I shot another bolt, sending her tumbling body to join them.
The leader used my preoccupation to her advantage, loosing an intense stream of energy into my back. Rounding on her, fury on my mind, I opened a tear in the wall behind her, then flung a cloud of unstable molecules at her hooves. The cloud collapses with a loud boom, the force throwing her tumbling into the portal. Before her entire body vanished, I closed the portal early. Slicing her clean in two like a guillotine.
Her lower body vanished into who-knows-where while her top half lay screaming and flailing before me in a pool of her own blood.
“So much for a leadership,” I mutter distastefully, ending her life with a flash of magenta light. How fitting that the leader be the first of this bunch to go.
With her out of the way, I turn to her comrades, only now recovering from our previous skirmish. Without a pause, I brought my power down upon them.
I flung a concentrated stream of beta-particles at the closest changeling. The radioactive particles melted through his chest in a state of accelerated decay. The male didn’t even have the air to scream as he was dissolved effectively from the inside. With my longest tendril I gathered its tip into a blade, impaling the final female against the wall, eliciting a pained scream. In an act of chivalry, the remaining male put all his energy into freeing his friend, wildly shooting bolts in my direction.
I dismissed the bolts with a shield, freezing his advance with a shower of magenta light. He slowed to a stop a metre in front of me, frozen mid scream as I began to reconfigure his atomic structure. Essentially, I began swapping the polarity of each and every atom in his body. The atom nucleus became negative, while the orbiting electrons became positive. His entire form dissolved into dense cloud of anti-matter, my power the only thing keeping it from destroying the whole building.
The female I pinned to the wall kicked and squirmed, grimacing in pain all the while. I turn to her, a malignant glint in my eye that she obviously caught, renewing her efforts of freedom. Using telekinesis, I pry her mouth open despite resistance. The cloud of anti-matter swirled menacingly above, ready for my command. The changeling, now crying with the prospect of death, increased her struggle in an attempt to remain firm
With devilish prospect, I poured the anti-matter through her mouth and into her body. Releasing my magical hold, and my physical one, the effects were instantaneous. The changeling lay gasping on the ground, racked with incomprehensible pain. Her blank eyes rolled wildly as her entire body shook. Without my magic, the anti-matter had free reign inside her body. The matter and her own body collided with each other. The result was the total annihilation of both atoms, as well as an unforetold amount of energy.
The matter ate away at her insides, leaving only energy. Using ambient life force from the death of her comrades, I kept her alive for the entirety of the process. Soon the outward signs appeared. A buzzing cloud of white energy quickly replaced her body, inside and out. A defeated expression lay on her face before even that was consumes too.
Now that the process was complete, I greedily absorbed all the energy for myself. I felt my wound, however minor, heal themselves. My magical reserves have been brought back to maximum level, and I have acquired a new powerful, one that characterised the Changeling race. In a rush of sickly green fire, my body changed.
I stood tall, a thin deep purple stallion with both a horn and wings. Armour of bones, decorated with magenta atones clung to my chest, hooves and bead, the last of which forming a crown. My eyes give off a bright magenta sheen, with no irises, only a buzzing mass of magical energy. I revelled in the rush of sensations these bodies brought. After a few minutes, I relinquished the form, donning my original shape. The power would prove useful in the future.
Floating back to my makeshift laboratory, I see my subject, still restrained and completely drained of blood. Annie stood crying by the large puddle of red liquid, eyeing it with disgust, but also a primeval hunger.
“Your services are no longer required,” I stated, turning to the purple mare.
I swear I heard a sigh of relief from the empty Changeling.
“Annie,” I said firmly
I now had her undivided attention. Her name was now a hypnotic trigger for my control. As I gestured, my subject looked up fearfully between myself and the hungry mare beside me.
“Feed,”
In a blur of purple, Annie pounced onto her latest meal, tearing at his inner organs with her hidden fangs. The changeling screamed his pain to the ceiling above as his abdominal cavity was devoured.
“You said you’d kill me!” he gasped
I gave him my most penetrating, malignant glare with my single eye.
By the time my test subject was past the point where even ambient life force could not sustain him, Annie had already cracked open his skull and feasted on his cerebral cortex. There was nothing left but strips of chitin and a full skeleton. The amount of pain he felt was so great, that it permeated the air as ambient emotional energy. Pain in this case, as all cases, was illogical. Death was inevitable for the changeling, and yet his body continues to torment, screaming its protests to his already shattered mind. Pain, is weakness.
Analysing my latest findings, I found several points of data to be mildly disturbing. There was a plan underway here in Canterlot. Something covert, and riddled with malicious intent. A complex, well-thought plan worthy of the backstabbing rogues of Noxus. I wished not to delve further, as any incident regarding this might provide ample distraction for my next goal.
Speaking of my next goal…
In a burst of purple energy, I emerged into the Canterlot archives, a vast collection of books and artefacts. I quickly took in the vast area of stored knowledge, all under a large domed skylight. Donning Annie’s body, and ignoring her feeble protests, I greedily read every piece of text this place had to offer. Quickly snatching the books and tomes from their high shelves, processing their contents for later examination, then replacing them with more. This knowledge was sufficient enough for the next phase in my plan.
Gathering my findings into a single bag draped over my right, I exited the archive, carefully bypassing the recently unconscious bodies of its attendance. Stepping out into the harsh sunlight once again, the flood of sensation almost overwhelmed me. The normally blue sky was obstructed by a barrier of pink energy. A masterfully constructed barrier of magical energy, I do so look forward to meeting its conjurer.
The public seemed less busy, more of them were making haste towards the main palace, a grand ivory white castle trimmed with purple and gold. My subjects have informed me that a wedding was taking place. Hopefully, I can catch my quarry before she reaches the ceremony. I would hate to delay my own progress for other’s benefit. I also revelled in the freedom that came with being alone. Fighting as a team proved tiresome at best. It made me feel no better to know that my colleagues were at most, narrow minded, power hungry savages.
With a new goal in mind, I set forth, towards the main castle.
-{>(|)<}-
The castle was easy enough to find. It was similar in architecture to the surrounding city, but carried an air of royal grandeur unmistakable to a palace. In my mind’s eyes, I see the complex criss-cross of emotional links between ponies all settle on a single life form inside the castle. However, adjacent to this radiant focus of light, there was a darker star. This one had fewer links, but shone in a way similar to the brighter one. I sensed a dark presence within it as well as a veritable wealth of knowledge. The perfect target, just beyond my grasp.
Donning the body of Annie yet again, I plunged into the sea of ponies, all heading towards the castle gates. Fortunately, my dark colouring and lack of clothes remained unnoticed in the crowd by the dozens of guards by the gate. However, it did earn me the stiff lip from the Canterlot nobles. The dark nexus I sought after lay in the inner building. I could see it pacing back and forth, as if in a nervous state. I could see a bright, gold line between it and what I would presume to be her sister. Six lines of average brightness went to a corresponding character in the castle’s main hall, while fainter ones branched out to every guard in the building.
Just before I entered the grand doors to the main castle, I took a detour and headed for the statue garden towards the southwest side of the building. From here, I could see my quarry, still nervously pacing in a room about five storeys above. I fabricated a coma in Annie’s body and relinquished my hold, watching her limp form sleep hidden in a nearby hedge.
Formulating a plan, my goals were first to subdue the guards, which should have no consequence on my objective’s condition. However, when she does leave the room, I must take caution and establish a preemptive strike.
With spells at the ready, I ascended to the fifth floor, ready for battle.
[3rd person: Luna’s POV]
The wedding, how she forget. The princess of the night paced busily in her room, a wide space filled with all the luxuries that came with being a princess. A pristine, four poster bed, dresser, vanity and a whole shelf of texts, official and personal. This Royal Wedding would be the first in many centuries. As such, she had to look, act, be at her best.
After a few minutes, she decided to just be off with the nervousness, and get on with the event. Looking back at her In the mirror, was a dark blue alicorn, with an ethereal flowing mane, the colour and pattern of the night sky. She wore and elegant blue dress, as well as the small black crown and necklace she always wore. Taking one final breath for good measure, she strode out of her room with practiced confidence.
And in that instance, her mustered courage, fell to pieces.
“There you are,”
A huge, creature of chaotic energy floated above the ground before her. Three tentacles sprouted from a face of bone, featuring only a single purple eye nestled in its centre. Looking beyond the ungodly monster, Luna could see the beaten and bloodied forms of the Royal Guard. The golden and blue clad ponies who vowed themselves to the sister’s protection, lay defeated in the hallways, mere metres from their posts.
“What in the…” Luna breathed
The creature struck first, with the speed of a striking snake. A purple tentacle lashed out, catching Luna on the left cheek. She gave a startled shout at the strike, as well as the jolt of electricity that preceded it. A small white triangle burned itself into her hair. Recovering, the blue alicorn aimed a blast back at the monster, only to see it vanish into a torn, star-riddled oval in the adjacent wall. She realised little too late that a similar portal opened beneath her hooves. A long purple tendril emerged from it, wrapping itself around her midsection and pulling her screaming into the portal.
The portal opened up on a vertical wall, the sudden change making the night princess slightly nauseous as she tumbled out head over hooves. However, she was alert enough to dodge an incoming beam of magenta energy, springing into the air before it made contact. The creature floated across from her, agilely weaving around the statues that dotted the Canterlot Gardens. Luna had trouble keeping up as the thing darted between cover, sending a small hailstorm of magical bolts.
Focusing on her frustration, she sent her own storm in return fire.
“Stay still!” she screamed
The confrontation soon turned into a heated exchange of magic. Streaks of light blue and hard pink flew through the air, heating it quickly and filling it with the smell of ozone. The thing in the statues moved effortlessly, evading each and every bolt cast its way, while Luna’s stamina quickly depleted. If the fight continued like this, she would surely tire first, and be at its magical mercy.
With this in mind, she stalled her blasts and channelled for seconds. The opposing bolts slammed into her now that she was still. She grit her teeth at the sudden feelings of pain, coupled with near exhaustion. Each one stung greatly leaving a burnt streak in her dress and soot in her fur. Ignoring the pain, she released the energy. A maelstrom of blue light cascaded from her horn, quickly reducing the garden before her to ash and soot. She directed the beam across the landscape, sweeping from right to left.
When her attack finally died down, Luna collapsed onto her haunches, surveying the absolute mess she had made. The garden was nought but crumbled statues and burning bushes. The skirmish didn’t go unnoticed as a squad of six Royal Guards ran in quickly to her aid.
“Princess Luna, are you alright?” one asked
The princess’s response was a heap of ragged coughing.
“I’m fine,” she wheezed, getting up on shaky legs “Where’s the monster?”
“Monster?” another asked
“Nevermind that. Warn my sister! There’s a monster in our midst!” she barked “Go, make haste!”
The guards made it no further than two metres, before being reduced to ash.
In a hot, blast of pink light, the once proud guards of Canterlot, cast shadows of soot on the wall and stone. Luna turned in shock to the source of the blast. The monster, somehow still alive climbed out of the fallen rubble. Its single eye poured smoke from its recent attack.
“You killed them!” Luna screeched, pawing at the ground in rage
“Your actions condemned them to death,” it said simply, in a voice like grating metal “No witnesses are to be tolerated,”
Letting loose a mighty cry, she shot another burst of magic, straight at the creature. It in turn, spun right, avoiding the blast, then returned fire mid spin. The purple dart stung just like the very first strike back inside the castle, but somehow, this one was different. Luna gasped in shock, falling to her knees as purple tendrils of lightning wrapped around her. She looked down onto her chest, where two thirds of a triangle seared themselves into her fur, burning a painful white.
The monster shot another bolt, and Luna was powerless to stop it. It hit her chest, completing the mark as a full triangle. A new wave of electricity burst forth, eliciting a scream from the lunar princess. The mark pulsed against her chest, amplifying the power of the streams with each beat. Clothing, feathers and fur fell straight off her body, like burning paper in a firestorm. When the surge finally ceased, she all but a burnt, defeated, near lifeless shell.
She squinted up at the giant creature that almost spelt her demise.
“Atomic structure analysis completed,” it informed “Your power is impressive, but your body is lacking in integrity. One false move and I’ll have you reduced to ash,”
Luna took a nervous gulp
“Your cooperation is highly recommended,”
The lunar princess did not resist, as the monster tore a rift into the air above her, a ragged oval of cyan blue, then dove into it.
Then, she cried her agony to the sky above, with no hope of salvation.
-{>(|)<}-
Luna awoke in an endless sea of blue, strewn with stars and wisps of pink energy. It was a place she was familiar with, the calming flow of safety rippled around her active consciousness. She was in her own mind, but she was not alone. Purple wisps of energy flowed out of an obscure, magenta shape bleeding through the false horizon, like poisoned veins on sickly skin. Luna had no idea what to do, the energy slowly consumed her peaceful blue dreamscape in its fire. The shape grew closer, like an encroaching tropical storm, bathing its surroundings in magenta lightning.
The lights spread across the ground, nearing the lunar princess in seconds. Luna gasped in surprise as the light reached her hooves, briefly burning them black on the spot. With nowhere to escape, she ran the other way, taking fearful glances behind her at the all-consuming storm. The sounds of the storm grew ever closer, despite the efforts of the Lunar princess. Everything she tried to conjure, from guards, to barriers and even a way out did not heed her call. It was as if her whole mind was going rogue.
Just when it all seemed hopeless, the whole dreamscape bottomed out at an incomprehensibly deep and expansive chasm. It was a deep, ugly scar in the featureless blue realm of her dreams. Nothing could be seen below as the darkness soon claimed all vision. Luna took a fearful glance behind her to see the unrelenting storm approach faster than before. The calm blue sky and ground gave way to the burning tendrils from before. Soon they consumed the ground beneath her hooves, eliciting a barely contained shout of pain from the lunar princess. For whatever reason, she couldn’t fly, or use magic in her own dream. Just when the pain was reaching breaking point, the whole sky folded over like a gigantic eyelid. It was the creature from before, stairing down at her with its single slit eye. A voice like rumbling thunder echoed across the dreamscape.
“Beginning analysis,”
Then her mind shrieked again, shattering the calm blue, fully succumbing to the flames.
I withdrew from the princess’s mind 15 minutes ago, yet here she is still, a shivering, drooling shadow of her former self. The mind was a fragile instrument and like all instruments, required expert craftsmanship and fine tuning to work effectively. What I have done, was cannibalize her mental structure and add it to my own. Her memories and magic are now mine to use.
Princess Luna on the other hand, looked utterly spent. Her coat and dress were burned in places and tattered in others. She stared blankly with hazy eyes towards the afternoon sky. She was not dead, but at this state she might find it preferable. It would take months in mental rehabilitation to recover from my treatment, and possibly years to recover physically.
The alicorn physical structure was impressive though, so she will no doubt make a quick recovery. As for myself, her knowledge, though plentiful, was hardly as satisfying as I predicted. She has spent the great majority of the last 1000 years on this planet’s only moon. While it did pique my curiosity as to the universal mechanics of this world, I diminished them for a later date.
I expanded my awareness to the castle and sensed that the wedding service was commencing. It was a major inconvenience. If I were to execute my next target in the next 48 hours it would surely cause an uproar. It appears I have to wait, but it doesn’t mean I have to spend this free time idling.
I scanned my surroundings for pockets of magical energy, casting a soft purple glow from my eye like an ethereal scanner. As efficiently as I fought, my mana reserves were frighteningly low. I hesitated to take some from Luna. I could sense a malevolent presence within her, and opted to avoid it if possible. The next largest source of mana was a statue, not too far from here.
Bonding myself with Annie yet again, I trotted towards the source. It was a hideous statue of the most badly constructed chimera I’ve ever had the displeasure of seeing. It was a serpentine creature with the disproportionate face of a goat with mismatched horns, limbs and wings, the all of which looked far too small to serve any purpose. The statue was reeling back in fright, permanently positioned for fear.
I looked up at it quizzically. There was plenty of magic inside this statue, but it was of a kind I’ve never seen. It was pure and utter chaos in magic form. The energies within held incredible potential but also a serious danger. It travelled up and down the statue’s length sending ripples in the sub-existential plane. I was tempted to take it, but was also reviled by the amount of effort it would take just to contain it, let alone use it.
First, I wanted to test it. While in Annie’s body, I lit my horn and placed it gently on the pedestal on which the statue stood. I searched for footprints in the ethereal plane, just beyond physical recognition. I sought thoughts, memories, past events, anything that would give me a clue as to the nature of this magic.
“Why don’t you ask me yourself?”
I took a step back in surprise, severing my connection to the pedestal. The creature remained in its stony state, but somehow communicated telepathically.
“Why the long face my little pony?” it goaded “Scared of little old Discord?”
Discord. The name brought up a wealth of data from my memories. Discord was the embodiment of chaos, I tyrant that ruled Equestria for his own amusement. I suddenly understood his magic, it was the ethereal embodiment of chaos, and he its physical one.
“I sensed chaos in you,” he continued “I had no idea how much, but now that you’re here…”
He chuckled
“You have too much of it in you to be a pony, a real one anyway. Not that I’m ungrateful, your magic would speed up my eternal imprisonment by a couple decades. So I was wondering, if we could make a deal?”
I balked
“A deal? With you?” I laughed, a sweet girly sound from Annie’s lips “Not likely. I know enough about you Discord, enough to know that you cannot be trusted,”
“Aw, I’m hurt, really. What have I ever done to you?”
“Nothing, but your presence could impede my investigation,”
Discord was till a statue, but he managed to communicate a smirk.
“A private eye are you? An odd cutie mark to have for a detective. The ‘eye’ is quite plain but I don’t see any ‘private’ in there,”
“My purpose is not of your concern,” I muttered dryly “I came here for your magic, and I’m going to take it,”
“Really now? The only way you could access my magic is if I was back in my real body. Woe is me, but the only thing that could break me out is the Elements of Harmony, and seeing that you are not Twilight Sparkle and you’re all alone, I guess we…”
I got very tired of his pointless banter. Readying a spell in my horn, I reversed the petrification algorithm from the cockatrice and aimed it at the cowering statue. The stone sculpture was enveloped in a blue glow, quickly revealing traces of fur, feathers and scales and Discord’s body. Soon his whole body was free from the stone prison.
“FREE AT LAST!” he cheered
He took a step forward, but oddly didn’t move an inch. He looked at me with a quizzical expression, then took another step. His whole body moved, but he stayed on top of the statue, making no actual progress. He was stuck, in layman’s terms, an invisible omnipotent hamster wheel.
“Now this is perplexing,” he thought
The quizzical draconequus snapped his fingers and in a flash of white light, nothing happened.
“Yes, very peculiar, what have you done to me, my little mare?”
I gave him an irritated huff.
“One, I am not a mare. Two, I localised the spacial coordinates of that scrawny piece of flesh you call a neck and bound it to the pedestal on which you stand. Should you somehow escape, you would only manage to hang yourself from mid-air. Finally, I nullified your magic by using my own, need I say more?”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind, but need I inquire, why free me if your only intention’s to keep me here until you drain me dry?” he smirked
His positive behaviour was unnerving, but I did not let him show it. I put a stoic expression on my face and pressed forward.
“I know you’re up to something, draconequus,” I scowled “And if you don’t tell me what…”
“You’ll what? Kill me?” he pouted “One does not simply kill the concept of chaos, let alone it’s embodiment,”
I gave him my fiercest glare. He did have a point. An idea, once thought, can never really be put to rest, even in the death of the thinker. Things always find themselves to me, always. At the same time, that nagging feeling in my gut only grew. Something was wrong.
Then, it hit me, literally.
A bolt of glowing green plasma emerged from nowhere and struck my pony body clean through the side. Fierce lances of pain threatened to steal away my consciousness as what seemed to be hundreds of changelings rained down from the sky. The huge purple dome collapsed as the insectoid army dove through the cracks like a living meteor shower.
“I do believe I was stalling,” Discord grinned “Have a good one!”
He then changed himself back to stone, just as he was before I freed him. Oh how I loathed that creature.
“Capture the purple one!” a changeling hissed “Leave no pony free!”
It took a few seconds for me to clear my head enough to realise that the purple one was me. I lay there struggling on the ground, my lifeblood pooling around me. I didn’t have enough concentration to lay a spell, but there was one thing I could do.
I separated from Annie and shot a fierce beam of energy at her. The purple mare was encased in a deep purple crystal, preserving her for stasis. Now that she was safe, I rounded on my assailants. Several ran in fear at my mere presence but some bravely stood their ground.
“ATTACK!” They all yelled
How foolish can these creatures get?
I evaporated the first wave with a neutron pulse, radiating it out from my eye. A wave of purple magic disintegrated the leading group, leaving nothing, not even soot or ash. More stood at a distance and fired at me with more magical projectiles. I quickly waved them all away with an arm and returned fire. A rapid progression of lasers seared right through their changeling flesh. The smell of cooking meat and burning blood begun to hang thickly in the air, deterring anymore direct assault from my opponents.
“Retreat!” one screamed
This one wore armour and spoke in a superior tone, he must be the leader. I focused in on him, a harmless laser pointer centred on his forehead, right between the eyes. In a flash of pink, a volatile globe of energy spiralled towards my marker and blew his head clean off his shoulders, showering his fleeing comrades in blue-green blood. I caught the severed head of the changeling in a soft magical field and studied it.
“Hard exoskeleton, resistant to magic and blunt force, but easily penetrated by focused pressure,” I mused “Hardly the right equipment for a race priding itself on lasers and blades,”
I carelessly tossed the hollow skull away and turned my attention to the surrounding chaos. Changelings travelled in droves, strafing the ground with their green magic. Ponies ran to and fro, where ever they could to escape. Some equines were held captive in a bright green sludge. Making my mind, I tore a wound in space-time and travelled to the captive’s side.
“AAAAAAH!” they all screamed.
They were silenced by a fierce glow of purple energy, reducing them, and their cages to ash. The captors were similarly dealt with.
“Biological phlegm,” I shuddered “Not the best form of capture, but an efficient one,”
These changelings intrigued me. Why would such numerous hive-minded creatures risk this assault all for ‘the power of love’? Ludicrous, love is no more tangible than hope or fear, let alone used as an energy. Yet somehow, they are. Their bodies could hardly sustain themselves with this kind of energy yet they crave it with lethal voracity. I must find out more.
I retrieved the decapitated body of a guard I’ve recently slain and studied it further. The wings for flimsy and holed, making for an inefficient flying tool. If they used magic for assistance like the pegasi do, it would burn through their supply quickly due to their high metabolism. It almost seemed like they were built specifically for the their own torture. Almost, like a punishment. To feed on love but never be loved. It can’t get any crueller.
Then, something most profound occurred.
My hearing vanished, like all the air in the world was replaced with vacuum, but I knew it was not so, since conflict still erupted around me. Then, my vision was filled with a brilliant pink light. A vast approaching field of energy that quickly consumed my surroundings, and soon myself as well. The sound came back to me in a rush of expanding air. The wall hit me as solidly as a tidal wave, propelling me high into the air. I went for my magic, but for some unknown reason it fizzled and sparked harmlessly across my body as if short circuited.
I could see all changelings across Canterlot be flung high into the air the same way, but curiously all the ponies were completely unharmed. All thoughts were lost as a particularly strong gust propelled my company higher and higher, the ivory castles of Canterlot quickly vanishing from sight.
A new landscape rushed to meet us, and with unintentional force, I complied.
