XXX - Preparations
Rainbow Dash set down outside a very familiar cave, and Rarity climbed off her back.
“You sure they’ll recognize us?”
Rainbow Dash fixed Rarity with a ‘really?’ look. Rarity cringed. “Sorry. I just don’t want them shooting at us.”
“You think they could take us with the power we have?” Rainbow Dash chuckled.
“Er… No I suppose. I guess I’ve forgotten that we are far above regular ponies now…”
“Come on.” Rainbow Dash said. “Time to say hello to the crew…”
The two sisters marched through the caves to the old cove. Rainbow Dash was silent for once as they took a peek into the place she grew up in. She smiled to see that there were still pirates here - and that they gasped the moment they saw her.
“CAPTAIN!” Zephyr yelled. “You-“
“I’m back buddy!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “You miss me?”
“Very much so yes!”
“Should not have asked you that question, who else missed me?”
The rest of the crew shouted a rowdy “HURRAH!” Rainbow Dash grinned. It was good to be home. Then she frowned, looking at Rarity. She sighed.
“Everyone remember Rarity?”
“DID YOU REALIZE SHE’S YOUR SISTER YET?” Someone yelled from across the cove.
“…A month ago I might have clocked you for saying that.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “But yeah, I know now.” She roughly put a hoof around Rarity. “She’s the best.”
Rarity gagged. “Neck… Pain…”
Amethyst trotted out of the crowd towards Rainbow Dash. “Well that’s good.” She looked up at her old captain. “You going to cause a problem with my crew?”
“You want there to be a problem?” Rainbow Dash smirked.
Amethyst let out a small chuckle. “No. They’re all yours if you want them.”
“Mmmm nah.” Rainbow Dash said. “You’re the pirates now. I’ve got other stuff to do.” She smiled. “I’m here because we’re going to war. And we’re going to need your help.”
“Oh?” Amethyst asked. “How so?”
“Besides being the best army anyone could ask for? Supplies. Magic artifacts. Whatever you’ve stolen that can be useful. The connections I know you all have. I assume you figured out how to sail without wind?”
“We got ourselves a technician, Scootaloo.” Amethyst said. “Kid’s a tiny little pegasus from Cirrus, but she hooked us up a bunch of propellers on our boats.”
“Good.” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll tell you all about the war we’re starting later. But before that, anything else I should know?”
Amethyst’s eyes sparkled. “Come here. I got something for you.” She walked down the cove’s dock, Rarity and Rainbow Dash following. She stood at the edge, and reached into the water. A small purple and green orb appeared.
“An Eidolon!” Rarity said. “Amazing! We’ll have to get it to Fluttershy right away!”
Rainbow Dash stared at the orb. “Th… That color…”
Rarity blinked. “What? I mean it’s a good color bu- Oh my. Is that...?”
Amethyst nodded. “It’s Spike.”
Rainbow Dash started crying. “How do we get him out?”
“Fluttershy.” Rarity said. “She’ll take good care of him.”
Amethyst shrugged, grabbing the eidolon orb with her hoof and giving it to Rainbow Dash. “He was your brother. You’ll know what to do with him.”
Rainbow Dash sniffed. “Thank you… Thank you so much…”
“Don’t thank me.” Amethyst said. “I just kept it here safe. Thank him - his spirit was strong enough to survive. He really didn’t want to go. So he lived on as a legend.” She smiled. “Now, what about this army?”
“Guy’s name is Exdeath…” Rainbow Dash said.
—
Applejack and Lyra strode into Chrysalis’ throne room.
“Hi!” Minuette said from beside her mother. “I though you guys left FOREVER!”
“We did.” Applejack said. “We came back.”
Chrysalis nodded. “As heroes are apt to do. What have you returned for?”
“You felt the destruction of Trotton castle?” Lyra asked.
“I felt more than that.” Chrysalis said. “I felt the entire world shudder and meld into itself. I felt a power unleashed the likes of which I have never seen.” She leveled her eyes at the two mares. “What has done this?”
Applejack cleared her throat. “It’s the evil that destroyed the Crystals Chrysalis. Its name is Exdeath, and he has unlocked the power of something called the Void. Which will, apparently, eat the entire planet eventually if we don’t find a way to stop it.”
Chrysalis nodded. “Such power will cause such great evil. It explains much.”
Minuette frowned. “Uh… what do you want from us?”
Applejack sighed. “We can’t get to Exdeath easily. He’s deep within the Void itself. While we have the means to enter and a way to kill him, there’s going to be a long long battle through all kinds of horrors before we can get to it. In short…” She gulped. “We are looking for armies to recruit. You were the first on the list.”
Chrysalis sighed. “I would love to say yes. However… My kingdom is weak. My changelings are starving. I’m not sure I could order them to fight for you.”
Minuette frowned. “We… I… We can’t I’m sorry! We’re barely allowed to stay in the castle anymore!” She started crying. “Everyone blames us for their problems…”
Lyra frowned. “They need love right?”
“Yes. More than anything.” Chrysalis said.
“Then I, Lyra Heartstrings, current head of the City of Mare, pledge that of my people’s in return for your assistance in saving the world.”
Chrysalis gaped. “…Truly?”
“Yes.” Lyra said. “We’ll welcome you. We’ll let you into our city…. assuming it survives this attack, that is.”
Chrysalis smirked. “This… This could work. Offer them what they hunger for. You better be willing to hold up your end of the bargain or things will get messy.”
“Frankly ma’am…” Applejack said. “If you help save the world, ponies will love the changelings forever. Celebrate them as heroes.”
Chrysalis smiled. “Let’s make the announcement.”
“Might want to be discrete about it.” Lyra said. “Exdeath is watching. He may try to consume anything he finds threatening into the Void.
“Oh but of course.” Chrysalis said. “i shall send a message via magic once we are ready.”
“Thank you.” Applejack bowed. “You don’t know what this means.”
“Nope!” Minuette said. “A war! This’ll be fun!”
Chrysalis sighed. It would most certainly not be fun…
—
Twilight and Fluttershy looked at the tower before them. It stretched far into the sky, beyond where either of them could see.
“So…” Twilight said. “We could go in through the front door… Or just fly up.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Flying is good.”
The two spread her wings. Fluttershy found it weird that she was the better flier of the two - she had never been very good at flying. But lo and behold, Twilight was stumbling and clawing at air the entire time.
“You okay?” Fluttershy asked. “You need me to have one of them help you-“
“No! Perfectly fine!” Twilight wheezed. “It’ll be grand! Up up up the tower!” She began to pant. “No end in sight…”
The two colorful mares flew up for what seemed like hours but was in reality only about five minutes. The air was thin, the atmosphere barely breathable, but at long last they landed on top of the tower.
It ticked as they arrived. The moment they landed the edges of the tower were engulfed in flames.
“Well, there goes our oxygen.” Twilight muttered, still gasping for breath, though now there was choking thrown in the middle of her words.
Fluttershy summoned Shiva, attempting to freeze the flames to no avail. “Well that’s disappointing.” Shiva muttered. “Why is all the fire I’m shown ice-proof?”
“FEEL THE HELLFIRE!” Ifrit roared, coming into existence and attempting to control the brilliant fire. It did nothing. “WHAT? I AM THE FIRE SPIRIT! IT SHOULD LISTEN TO ME!”
~it is not your fire~ A voice rang into their minds, echoing with the annals of time. A great bird appeared in the center of the tower, glowing stronger than anything they’d seen before. ~you come for me~ It was not a question.
Twilight spread her wings and lit her horn. “You are coming with us eidolon!”
~you have fought weak eidolons before, those who wanted to be with you~ Phoenix roared. ~i am not to be taken i am not to be controlled~
Fluttershy summoned Carbuncle. “Phoenix, old friend. Assist us once again.”
~i will not be moved carbuncle~
“In that case… We will use force.” Carbuncle said, driving a spear of light into the fiery shape of Phoenix. Phoenix was unharmed by the blade and blasted Carbuncle away with a simple blast of white fire.
Twilight encased Phoenix in a sphere of magic, which Shiva covered in her own ice. Phoenix broke out and sailed into the sky, launching torrents of holy flame on all of them.
Fluttershy brought out Titan and Ramuh, both of whom attacked without hesitation. Titan smashed Phoenix into the ground and Ramuh electrocuted the bird with an impressive bolt, while Twilight shot the eidolon with a magic laser.
~i will not stand to be controlled once more i am above time itself~
Phoenix roared, sailing beak first into Twilight, gouging into her stomach. “AAA!” Twilight yelled, retaliating with enough magic to drive Phoenix through the floor.
“Twilight!” Fluttershy gasped. She summoned Odin. “Get Phoenix! I’ll take care of Twilight!”
“Yes M’lady.” Odin said, drawing his weapon and diving into the hole Phoenix was trying to jump out of.”
~you again~
“Did you miss me?” Odin said, driving his blade into Phoenix’s head, to an annoyingly small effect.
~never~ Phoenix blasted into the air once more, puffing Odin and Ramuh into nothing, and damaging Titan. ~i will not be mov-~
The thought was interrupted by a flash of rainbow that caused the Phoenix to explode. “Heck Yeah!” Rainbow Dash whooped.
“R-Rainbow…” Rarity said.
“What?”
“NEVER do that again with ME on your BACK.” Rarity shuddered. “That was horrible…”
“Eh, I think it was fine.” Rainbow Dash landed. “Hey Flutters, got something special for you.”
Fluttershy looked up from Twilight the moment Rarity started healing her. “Oh?”
“Yeah, we were on our way to the twin towers and figured we’d stop by and give you this.” She took out a purple and green eidolon. “Take good care of him.”
Twilight blinked. “Is that… What I think it is…?”
The sphere exploded in a flash of light and a mighty green and purple dragon stood before them, roaring. “AHHHHHHH that was WEIRD.” He said, holding his head. “I was dead and not dead and it was so freaky.”
Rainbow Dash laughed, tears in her eyes. “SPIKE!”
“Rainbow? Oh Rainbow!” He lifted her up. “It’s been so long! I think. I’m not sure…”
“Doesn’t matter.” Rainbow Dash said. “You’re back and alive. That’s all that matters.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Now… I can’t be with you all the time buddy. You’re an eidolon now. You have to be with Fluttershy here. But she’ll take good care of you.”
“Oh yes I will mister Spike!” Fluttershy said. “And you’ll have plenty of friends!”
Spike shrugged. “Eh, I’m alive. And I get to see Rainbow Dash. Frankly, that’s good enough for me. You can catch me up to speed later. Right now I think you’re all in a hurry.”
“Right.” Twilight said. “Fluttershy, don’t forget to grab Phoenix. We have a thing to do.”
“Right.” Fluttershy said, grabbing the red and orange eidolon orb left behind by Phoenix. “Heh. Looks like I moved you.”
“OOOOOOOOOOOOH BUUUUUURN!” Rainbow Dash yelled, laughing.
Fluttershy sheepishly smiled.
—
The Vlerryn landed on the moon city. Zecora was waiting for it.
Bon Bon poked her head out. “You must be Zecora.”
“I will not help you. I must defend what is true.”
“…What?”
“The moon is outside Exdeath’s purview. We will be long gone by the time he does a review.”
Bon Bon blinked. “Okay…”
“No armies anyway. Would be of no use in a fray. I wish you luck. Don’t forget to duck.”
Bon Bon sighed. “Can I at least look at this city of yours?”
Zecora nodded, gesturing to the door with her hoof. Bon Bon walked out, and gasped.
The entire city was covered in a gigantic glass dome through which the light of the world shone, glinting a soft blue. Vehicles flew around from skyscraper to skyscraper, left to right, up and down. Ponies and griffons of all shapes and kinds were flying and walking around, looking happy and content - so different from what she was used to these days.
Here, there was no need for fire, wind, water, or earth. Everything was provided on its own without any dependence upon the Crystals.
Discord and Marble appeared beside her. “I always found this place annoying.” Discord muttered. “So organized. Not enough variety. Not enough life.”
“But… they’ll survive.” Bon Bon pointed out. “Survive when we fall. Survive when the world is engulfed in Void. They can escape.”
“So?” Discord said, waving his hand. “What does that matter? Their lives aren’t interesting. See this? All of them drink the exact same thing every day with different flavoring!” He investigated the cup he had. “Cupcake in a cup… Bah, stop trying to copy me liquid diet! THIS is a cupcake in a cup!” He snapped his fingers and produced a cupcake in a mug. He then ate the entire thing - mug and all. “Mmm.. Porcelin.”
Bon Bon sighed. “Discord… Really? Can’t you take anything seriously? You’re a powerful magical being and the world is ending! Be a little more considerate!”
“But my dear confectionary, life stops without laughter! We fall into a disillusionment in life where we think we are happy, but aren’t, instead just forced to adapt to patterns and structures that society puts out for us. There’s a reason humans aren’t around anymore after all… They couldn’t adapt.”
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “You know that’s just what Lyra said the other day.”
“She has no idea what the change was.” Discord said. “Not yet anyway.”
Bon Bon looked up at the world above them. Then her eyes squinted. “Hey is.. Is that a black dot where Uniforge is supposed to be?”
Discord blinked. “Oh dear.” He said. “That’s not good.”
—
Exdeath reached out with the power of the Void once more. “Go out and destroy what they hold dear!” He roared, stretching his power, in an attempt to make the black sphere expand faster. The Void roared in response, eagerly eating up all it could, ripping molecules apart as it did so, hunger never satisfied.
Exdeath growled as he felt the Void hindered - once again by that relic of a time long past, the City of Man. That thing kept him from completing his tests of power. Kept him from experimenting with the Void to his full potential.
Then again, dramatic tension suggested that he would only reach maximum power once the heroes arrived to stop him…
He grunted. He was pretty sure that would be enough. He would have dominion over the Void and even their friendship wouldn’t be able to stop him. He would be able to see all at that point, and he would be able to anticipate everything. Defy all the rules. Break free of the horrendous Truth that was reality.
He laughed. “Either I will destroy everything or I will find something new! Won’t it be fun to find out?!”
—
Rainbow Dash and Rarity stood at the foot of the Twin Towers.
Which were on Crescent island.
So neither of them were in a good mood.
“So…” Rarity said. “I go up the white tower, you go up the black one. We signal to each other once we reach the top and head into the final chamber. Then we grab the magics and get the heck out.”
“Yep.” Rainbow Dash said, absentmindedly sending a fireball towards Crescent Village.
Rarity sighed. “Well… see you then.”
Rainbow Dash had no difficulty whatsoever grinding her way through the enemies in the black tower, blowing them up with all sorts of explosions and magics.
Rarity… had more difficulty.
“Back! Back heathens!” She said, firing at them with her bow and flailing her knife around. “I’m not supposed to be on the front line!”
The goblins didn’t care.
“Back! Back! I SHRINK YOU!”
Tiny goblins were just as annoying as full size, it turned out.
“THIS IS HORRIBLE!” She wailed, crawling up the stairs to yet another room filled with goblins. “Why…?”
She did, eventually, manage to crawl to the top of the tower, having healed herself a total of seventy-eight times on the way up.
Rainbow Dash looked at her from a window in the black tower. The ‘really?’ face was back.
Rarity huffed and gave the signal. They both entered the topmost rooms.
“You come for the raw power of Flare?” A voice asked Rainbow Dash.
“Well, yeah. Is it as good as gigaflare?”
The voice sighed. “That is a blasphemy of the true magic. True Flare acts quickly. True Flare acts decisively. True Flare is not so cruel.”
“Good. How do I get it? I made it through your tower.”
“The tower is not the test.” The voice said. “I am. The greatest mage to ever live, Trixie!”
“Just ‘Trixie’?”
“Yes.” The voice said. “Now face me.” A blue unicorn appeared, adjusting her purple robes. “I, the great and powerful Trixie, will destroy you!”
In the other tower, Rarity found herself face to face with a minotaur holding a giant mace. “COME HERE, FEEL PAIN!”
Rarity blinked. “Uh… Do I know you?”
“NO.” The minotaur said, raising the mace. “WANT HOLY? FIGHT ME AND WIN!”
“Bother…” Rarity muttered.
Back in the black tower, Trixie was fuming. “SIT STILL PEGASUS!”
“I’ve seen what Flare can do! NOOOOT letting it hit me again.”
“Again?” Trixie gaped. “You survived?”
“Had my sister revive me afterwards.” Rainbow Dash said, smirking.
“And where is your sister now?”
“In the other tower.”
Trixe blinked. “Oh. Well she can’t get to you here! Haha!”
Trixie was hit with the biotoxin spell. Her front leg became nothing but bones. “What? OW! That hurts!”
“Great and powerful my butt.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
“AAAAA!” Rarity yelled as the mace came down behind her again. “Why does this keep happening to me!?”
“FEEL THE SMASH!”
“Shut up I’m trying to be melodramatic here!” Rarity whined, casting time spell after time spell on the minotaur to no effect. The giant beast was now riddled with arrows, becoming more like a porcupine than a cow.
“SMASH” The minotaur said, hitting Rarity square in the head and crushing her brains - only to have it regenerate before his eyes. “WHY YOU NOT STAY DOWN?”
“Dear, it’s called white magic.” She frowned. “Time to find a way to take you down…” Her mind raced.
Back at the black tower, Trixie was being beat to a pulp. “How are you so fast?”
“Not just a mage.” Rainbow Dash grinned, tackling Trixie again, stealing her hat. “Also a bit of a jumper and a thief. This hat is mighty fine, mind if I keep it?”
“YOU GIVE THAT BACK!”
“Make me.”
Trxie roared, blasting Rainbow Dash with a lightning bolt, only to have it sent back at her. “Yeah, nice try missy.”
The great and powerful Trixie wailed. “Why are you so difficult! I am the most powerful mage! I am great! I am-“
“Rethinking your life choices.” Rainbow Dash said, clocking Trixie across the head, knocking her out.
In the other tower, Rarity enveloped the Minotaur in a warp of space-time that slowly drained him of his energy. “Ha! Figured out how to trap you! Ha!”
“Urk… Gerk… Blargh!” He roared, forcing himself out of the prison and bringing the mace right down on Rarity. She healed back instantly, and this time just drove her crystal knife in between his eyes.
“Ech… disgusting.” She said.
At the same time, Rainbow Dash and Rarity grabbed the magical auras at the back of the room. It enveloped them - both shining with bright light of powerful ancient magics. Both did a little cheer at the same time.
Then both towers exploded.
Rainbow Dash landed on the ground outside with a loud “OOF!” She picked herself up, dusted herself off, and spread her wings. They felt warm. “AWWW YEAH!”
Then she saw something that astounded her. Rarity was floating towards the ground slowly, surrounded in a strange aura of circling white orbs, space and time warping around her.
She landed without so much as a thud. Then she lit her horn, and the white orbs gracefully sailed towards a nearby tree and vaporized it with a single, fluid motion. It was almost like art.
Rarity smiled. “That is most certainly a spell designed for yours truly.”
Rainbow Dash readied her wings, lighting them up with a whitish-orange color. “Time for this new trick! RAGH!” She thrust forward, and a nearby tree glowed red, caught fire the next second, then exploded.
Rarity blinked. Rainbow Dash laughed. “Wow that is fast!”
Then Trixie landed behind them with a spectacular thud. “Ow…”
Rarity turned to Trixie. “Oh your poor thing…”
“Don’t pity me… Gak…”
Rarity healed her up without so much as a thought.
“HAHA! YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET THE DAY YOU LET THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE LIVE-“
Rainbow Dash clocked her again, knocking the unicorn out. “Well. That happened.” She said.
—
The sword was sitting there, in a stone, unmoving. It was large, obviously built for human hands, and strangely completely devoid of any ivy.
Applejack blinked. “Huh. I was expecting some sort of guardian or something.”
Lyra sighed. “Maybe, maybe not. Just go get it.”
Applejack walked up to the sword, grabbed it with her front hooves, and pulled it out. A beam of light shot out from the forest canopy, glinting on it.
“Heheheheheheh…” An ethereal form began to take shape behind Applejack. It was blue, it was humanoid, and it was tall.
“Exdeath…?” Applejack asked, confused.
“Oh yes.” He said. “Your action caught my attention. Pulling the sword out of the stone?” He growled. “Apparently that’s a classic move.”
She readied the sword. “Oh yeah?”
“Oh yes. Legendary sword for a below average hero. Just wanted to let you know that this was always how things went. This is nothing special. Don’t you forget that you are just an ordinary-“
The Exdeath apparition vanished the moment Applejack poked it with the sword. “…Mmkaythen.” She said. “Enough of that. Time to meet up with everyone.”
Lyra nodded. “Exdeath looks creepy.”
“Much more creepy in person. He starts going on about all this existential hogwash while he’s trying to kill you. It’s bothersome.”
—
“I’m pretty sure it was here…” Spike said as he swam around the Water Tower ruins.
Twilight and Fluttershy were a little ways away, encased in one of Twilight’s magic bubbles. “You sure?” Twilight asked.
“Positive. The Dragonlord doesn’t want his things getting mistaken.” He poked his head into the top of the water tower. “Oh? What’s this? A crystal shard?”
Fluttershy blinked. “What?”
“One of the things that bestowed power to the other Warriors of Light.” Twilight said. Then an idea occurred to her. “Hey Spike, give that to Fluttershy would you?”
“Sure thing!” He said, tossing the crystal into the bubble. Fluttershy tried to grab it, but it just seeped into her. She blinked, looking at everything differently. “I… feel weird.” She said. She blinked.
Suddenly there was a another magic bubble around Twilights, identical in almost every way, save for a yellowish color. Fluttershy eeped.
“Woah…” Twilight said. “A mimic ability… I suppose this makes some sense since the Changelings were the Water Crystal’s people…”
Fluttershy blinked. “I can… mimic things…? …Weird…”
“Yep.” Twilight said. “We’ll have to practice after we’re done with this.”
“Found it!” Spikee said, lifting a strange stone relic out of the seafloor. “Now all we have to do is-“
Suddenly Spike, Fluttershy, and Twilight were no longer underwater. They were inside what appeared to be a gigantic volcano.
“WHO DARES CALL UPON THE DRAGONLORD TORCH?” The largest dragon Twilight had ever seen yelled at them.
“My lord.” Spike said, bowing. “The world is in danger.”
“AND YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?”
“And these ponies might have a solution.” Spike finished.
Torch frowned. “I’m listening.”
Twilight took a deep breath. “The horrible magic known as the Void has come back into existence and -“
“Yes yes I already know this go one what’s the solution.”
“…We’re gathering an army to head directly into the void to kill the man responsible for all this mess?”
Torch laughed. “A planetwide army for attacking a powerful mage bent on destroying the world?”
“Er… yes?” Fluttershy said, shrinking.
“COUNT US IN!” Torch laughed. “NO ONE EVER ASKS US TO GO TO WAR!”
“Well then.” Twilight said. “It appears our work is done then… Avoid any Void spheres, and meet at the City of Man.”
“HAHA! WILL DO! WILL DO!”
—
Limestone grinned as the Vlerryn landed amongst her army. “Well hello there! Fancy running to you here in the middle of butt nowhere!”
The Warriors of Light and Lyra stepped out, all in one place. “Hello Limestone.” Twilight said. “Sorry about sending you back-“
“No problem. I had lost it.” She waved a hoof. “Now we must never speak of it again.” She glowered, then smiled again. “Now! Why are you here?”
“We need your army to-“
“You don’t have to say anything, you already have it.”
Twilight blinked. “But don’t you have to know what we’re doing?”
“I do. Discord and Marble came by about an hour ago and explained the whole thing.” She cackled.
Discord and Marble waved from a short ways away.
“Now…” Limestone said. “We did find something we want you to see… Come with me.”
Soon, the Warriors of Light, Lyra, Discord, Marble, and Limestone found themselves in a forest. The forest seemed completely normal - nothing unusual to be seen all the way around them. It wasn’t the Everfree, it was just a your basic forest.
They took a few dozen steps and then - they were suddenly not in the forest. The sky was half day, half night, and the trees were eerily vibrant. There was a breeze, but it seemed artificial. The clouds didn’t move, and the grass crackled under their feet like plastic. There was a town - the buildings looking creepily perfect, each one with a vibrant orange roof and cream colored walls. The entire place was unsettling.
To put icing on the cake, all the inhabitants were humans.
Lyra gasped. “OHMYGOSH HUMANS.”
“Yes.” One of the women said. “We had been trapped in the Rift for thousands of years… But now the worlds are close enough for us to return.”
“I have so many questions!” Lyra squee’d. “Why do you wear clothes all the time?”
“It would be indecent not to.” The woman responded.
Fluttershy tensed, reminding herself not to release Shiva among these people. That would just be embarrassing… Hopefully their heads wouldn’t get cut off for indecent exposure.
“What was your civilization like? Like really like?” Lyra asked.
The woman looked wistful. “We controlled the entire world and dominated the other races… We had great technological advancements and were on the pinnacle of entering spaceflight.. And then… Then it all came crashing down.”
Rarity blinked. “...Why?”
“Our highest government funded the research of a unicorn by the name of Starswirl. ...We all know how that turned out.”
Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Uh, no we don’t.”
“Right. I forgot how legends fade…” She took in a breath. “He created the Void as a result of those experiments, plunging the world into darkness. Our civilization did not survive the wars.”
Everypony gasped. “The Void… was created?” Twilight asked. “How?”
“You’d have to ask Starswirl. Nobody knows how he did it. Just that he did.” She frowned. “...Anything else?”
“You have genders right?” Lyra asked.
Rarity clocked her. “Really Lyra! It’s obvious! Female!” She pointed at the woman. “Male!” She pointed at a man walking towards them. He wore all black, complete with a Fedora and thick sunglasses. “Well done miss Rarity.”
“Thank you - wait how do you know me?”
Limestone rolled her eyes. “Meet Ivan, the leader of this troop of humans if you ignore Cinch, who lives in that house over there and never leaves. Apparently.”
Ivan bowed. “I hear you need my assistance.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Would you, um, know about the Void control thingy?”
Twilight smiled. “What she means is do you have any idea how we can regain control of the Void?”
“Hrm…” He paused for a moment. “After the evil Exdeath is vanquished, to stop the damage it’s doing?”
Twilight blinked. “Well… Yes!”
The man nodded, looking at the group. Then he pointed at Twilight and Discord. “You two have enough latent magical power to do so. However, in order to take control of the void, you need a Crystal anchor. Which is now impossible. So you will have to do something else - take the right to control the Void from its creator.”
Discord gasped. “Wait WHAT? You can’t be serious-“
“The great thaumaturge Starswirl still retains the spells and codes required to instruct his creation.” The man said. “You can find his temple deep beneath the ocean to the south of here. It will have opened now that the worlds have reconnected.”
Discord gulped. “This… This is a bad idea…”
“It’s the best one we have.” Twilight said. “Lyra, you start coordinating the armies. We’re going to need to charge into the Void itself the moment we come back from this temple.” She turned to Discord. “…You’re not doing anything. We could use your help.”
Discord grunted. “…Fine. But I don’t like this idea at all let me tell you. Let’s just get in and get out.”
“Good.” Twilight smiled. “We’re taking the Vlerryn, hope you don’t mind.” She turned to the man. “…Is your village willing to help us?”
“Willing, perhaps. But our race is a dead one. We had our chance at this world, and we squandered it. As punishment, we can no longer leave this place. It was our own folly. Do not feel sorry for us. Just save the world.”
Twilight sighed. “Okay… Here we go girls. You ready?”
“READY!” The other four cheered.
“Oh good gravy…” Discord muttered. “This tastes like diabetes…”
---
Exdeath sat at the controls to the Void, growling. This was proving difficult. The Void’s power was hard to manage, hard to understand, and harder still to prevent from biting him back. He needed control, he needed discipline, he needed to be patient.
Unfortunately he didn’t have all that much time. He knew they were gathering an army and it would be here soon. He needed a way to slow them down further than the Void would already do naturally…
He reached into the expanse of forgotten lands and stars in the vast expanse. “HEAR ME! I CALL UPON YOU! THE TIME HAS COME TO FIGHT! THEY WILL COME! THEY WILL BE POWERFUL! THEY WILL BE CHALLENGING!”
“THEY WILL BE HEROES!”
“GO AGAINST THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS, AND MEET THEM IN THE FIELD OF BATTLE. AND WIN.”
The entire Void rippled with the thoughts of millions of transdimensional beings that heard his call. Few responded. But a few were all Exdeath was going to need. True demons would teach those pathetic mortal armies a few things or two. Their power would be unequalled…
The power of creatures designed to hunt down and kill all they saw, the power of creatures that could not be killed, but only sealed…
Two in particular caught his eye, causing him to laugh powerfully. He wasn’t sure even he could face them at his current power level!
Now… How to hurt them the most before they arrived…