//------------------------------// // Colgate's Collar // Story: Terror in Equestria 10: The Return of Tirek // by StormLuna //------------------------------// Arrival in the Archives As they headed down into the archives and Colgate continued to unlock each door, Ruby couldn't help but wonder what else she may have in there other than what she had already told her. When they reached the back room, Ruby couldn't help but shiver when she not only saw Grogar's old library, but his collar as well. She pointed at it and asked, "Ok, I know there is a reason you took that thing but what is it? Why would you bring such a cursed object back here?" Colgate replied, "Don't you remember what I told you? Don't you remember me telling you how I discovered in the Dream Valley collection the account of how Grogar used his magic to repel The Rainbow of Darkness?" Ruby replied, "Yes and I know you plan on casting a spell on that thing to replace Grogar's magic with your own." She then held up the Rainbow of Light and asked, "Can't we just rely on this? Must you use that thing?" Colgate replied, "It does not hurt to have more than one option. If just one of these two fails or is not strong enough to repel it, together we can certainly repel it and with any luck, defeat those two so I can slay them." Slaying enemies had never been something that, outside of Colgate, ponykind had ever been overly fond of. Ruby asked, "Colgate, must you slay them? Won't casting them back into Tartarus be sufficient?" Colgate replied, "No. They escaped once and I do not want to see them return again." Ruby had her concerns about negative energies being released from the killing of villains but knew that Colgate wasn't like other ponies. She knew that Colgate didn't believe in anything except slaying her foes so she decided against voicing her concerns. Colgate's Discovery After what seemed to be a fruitless discussion with her ally, Ruby watched as Colgate began to go through the books in the Tambelon collection. She knew that Colgate likely had to read through the books from that collection to figure out what she wanted but given what happened in the past, she just didn't want to be around the collection. She said, "Colgate, I'm going up to a different part of the archives, being around all of these things that belonged to Grogar is just too unnerving for me." Colgate had already become immersed in the books, looking for the information she sought and replied, "Alright, sounds good." Ruby could tell that Colgate was already so absorbed with her search that she headed into the room that had her old collection in it and began to read through copies of what her collection held. As she did this, Colgate began to read a book that had been calling out to her. For nearly an hour she continued to read it until she found something she didn't expect, she discovered that while the collar had belonged to Grogar since its creation but she also found out that it didn't always have his magic tied to it. She learned that it was the collar itself that fed his magic and to her, this was a problem. She thought to herself, "So without that collar, he was simply a harmless, overgrown goat?" After staring at the book and then the collar for a few minutes, she realized that if she could alter the energies the collar held, that she could amplify her already powerful magic multiple times. She exclaimed, "Jackpot! I'm already powerful but with this thing, I could crush anything and everything!" Ruby overheard her, went rushing into the back of the archives and asked, "Colgate, what do you mean you could crush everything?" Colgate had become more excited than she would like as she replied, "I found something amazing here. Grogar himself had no magic, it was the collar that gave him all his powerful magic!" Ruby asked, "Ok, but what does that have to do with you crushing things?" Colgate replied, "Ruby, I already have very powerful magic and an immense amount of knowledge but with this thing, my powers could be amplified multiple times!" She held the collar up and continued, "With this, I could take on every villain combined and be victorious." She got a sinister smile on her face and laughed, "And blow Twily to bits with a single bolt of energy." One thing Ruby always did like was Colgate's hatred of Twilight but realized that one pony having that much power would have its risks. She glared at the collar and asked, "Are you sure about this? Are you sure that taking control of that thing is such a good idea?" Colgate knew that Ruby was no threat but the paranoid side of her would determine her decision. She snapped, "Of course it is a good thing. If the Rainbow of Light isn't enough to destroy that Rainbow of Darkness, I'm sure that combining my already strong magic along with what this will give me will make it certain." Ruby noticed something about what Colgate had said. No longer was she talking about defeating the ancient relic, she had began to talk about destroying it. She gasped, "Colgate, I know that will give you more power but don't you know the dangers of actually destroying something like that? It could release so much negative energy that it could destroy Eqqus 1." Colgate protested, "Oh I'm sure everything will be fine and besides, if we can wipe those two out, there will be two less evil creatures we will have to deal with in the future." Ruby again knew that Colgate was not going to listen, she knew that with Colgate, it is either her way or no way. She threw her hooves up in the air and sighed, "Very well, you do what you think needs to be done." As she headed back towards the front of the archives, she couldn't help but wonder if Colgate didn't have other, not so pleasant plans. Given that she was an ally of hers, Ruby didn't want to believe it but deep down, she thought that perhaps Colgate wanted one thing and one thing only, global domination. Altering the Collar After Ruby left, Colgate wanted to continue to read about how the collar gained Grogar's energy but then realized that since he was just an aggressive yet harmless goat without it, that something else had to have happened so she put the book down, grabbed the collar in her aura and realized that perhaps if she went into a trance, that she could figure out how it aided him so much. She focused on the collar intensely, trying her hardest to develop a connection with it. After fifteen minutes of staring at it, she went into a trance and saw images of a time long, long ago. She saw an image that shocked her, she saw images of three witches forging the bells from the Volcano of Gloom before placing them on a collar, enchanting it and then giving it to Grogar. Colgate knew that taking control of an ancient relic would not be easy but she had confidence that she could do it. As she continued to focus on the images of the past, she watched as the witches placed the collar around his neck and then recite an enchantment spell to make it to where it would only work for him, "The power of the collar is great, With it are sewn the seeds of hate, The goat as of now has no magic, Yet this is something tragic. The collar and its bells will give him the power he will need, To achieve his greatness this is what he will need, Now he can take foes on head to head, And in the end his enemies shall be dead." Colgate knew that the spell would need to be altered in a way that would include energy of pure good yet not lessen the power of the collar any, perhaps even strengthen it. She sat there in thought for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly to recite and what kind of energy to pump into the relic. After nearly an hour of focusing on it, she grabbed it in her aura and her eyes began to shine blue as she recited, "The collar's power is beyond great, With it I will be able to eradicate the seeds of hate, While I possess powerful magic, Only having what I have is tragic. This relic will provide me with the power I need, To achieve absolute power this is what I will need, Now those who stand in my way I can make sure they're dead, And I shall rule with a level head." As she finished reciting the spell, a powerful bolt of blue energy struck the relic and it took on a drastic transformation. Not only was the collar itself restored, but the bells on it took on a different appearance. What was once a silver bell in front had transformed into a metallic blue bell with her cutie mark on it. The secondary golden bells on the sides had become silver and also had her cutie mark on them. She gave the altered collar a smile and placed it around her neck. As she placed it around herself, she felt a huge amount of energy surging into her, the type of energy she knew that she would need. She also felt herself begin to grow physically, not so much that she would tower over allies but enough that she would be visibly taller than them. Once the growth and energy surge were complete, she headed towards the exit to find Ruby reading books in the Dream Valley collection and said, "Well I did what I wanted to do. I altered the energies in the collar." Ruby approached Colgate and the first thing she noticed was that she had grown. She gasped, "Colgate, what happened to you? We used to stand at the same height but now you're probably a foot taller than me!" Before Colgate could say anything Ruby continued, "And the collar, every bell has your cutie mark on it!" Colgate replied, "Yes, it does. I know now that this collar truly does belong to me. Its energy is tied to me and with it, our victory is certain." Ruby continued to analyze her further and it looked like the collar had became part of her, that it looked like it had fused into her. She put her hoof up to Colgate and tried to move the collar but it wouldn't budge, not even a little bit. She gasped, "Colgate, did you do something to make it become part of you?" Colgate replied, "Well if I did it wasn't intentional but I do know one thing, this has strengthened my power many times over." She stared at the locket hanging around Ruby's neck and suggested, "Perhaps we should do the same thing with that Rainbow of Light. Perhaps we should tie its energy directly to you." Ruby had an extremely nervous look on her face and asked, "I don't know Colgate, I don't know if tying this directly to me is such a good idea. What if it was to be LaurFa that was the one with the proper energies to wield it?" Colgate replied, "Ruby, you are my number one ally and I would not have given you that thing if I weren't sure you were the one to use it." She leaned towards her and continued, "Besides, if we tie it directly to you, she could not take it and try to wield it herself." Ruby knew exactly who Colgate meant by she. The last thing Ruby wanted was for Twilight to maybe get a hold of the Rainbow but something just didn't seem right about this, she simply wasn't comfortable with tying an ancient relic to herself. She said, "Colgate, I think it would be best if we left things the way they are." Colgate sighed, "Very well." She pointed her wing towards the exit and continued, "Let's get going. I am sure everypony else will be here soon and there are certain ponies I do not want being in my tower without me being present." Ruby knew who Colgate was talking about and could understand her concerns. She replied, "I don't blame you, let's get back upstairs." Ruby began to head back upstairs and was followed by Colgate, who locked each door on the way out. As they headed out, Colgate felt like a new pony, a much more powerful pony than she had been before. She knew that with the extra power she now had, that the chances of failure in their upcoming mission were zero.