//------------------------------// // The Children of the Night // Story: The Crystal Vizier // by Lich-Lord Krosis //------------------------------// Celestia’s heart couldn’t take it. She laughed. She wept. She was nearly overcome with the emotions surging through her, the undead trio in the hallway beside her and the children all but forgotten. Shining Armor watched on in slight shock as his former ruler turned mother-in-law snuggled with the shadowy colts and fillies. His mouth opened and closed several times, but words refused to exit. ’Kel’Thuzad, I need you below your laboratory.’ ’Forgive me for asking my king, but for what exactly?’ ’I need your... expert opinion on something.’ Silence for several moments. ......... ’Twilight and Cadence are requesting that they accompany me.’ Shining Armor audibly sighed, his muzzle dropping as he realized that the Scourge’s presence on Equus was likely soon to be discovered. “Buck it.” Shining muttered to himself. ’Very well. Just tell them to prepare themselves. They may not like what they see.’ ’Thank you, my king. We will be there shortly.’ Shining Armor looked back upon the sun goddess as she cuddled with the foals, their inky black forms crawling all over the large alicorn. Now, Shining Armor was never the greatest at magical identification. Unless it was about wards or arcane shields. Then he could give you a thesis on kinetic energy displacement and arcane absorption enchantments that would make Twilight proud. However, despite his limited knowledge, he was fairly certain that the dozen or so foals currently climbing over his fellow alicorn were cursed. ......... Amnennar watched the solar alicorn and her supposed nephews and nieces with a gentle smile adorning his usually expressionless face. If the undead ice mage had a weakness, it was children. He had volunteered at a Lordaeron orphanage after the end of the First War when he was younger, and he quickly realized that besides dutifully studying, children brought him a not inconsiderable amount of joy when he was around them. Something about their playful innocence and youthful idiocy was immensely charming to the lich, and he was quite glad to see that this world’s children were quite similar in their mannerisms. As the youngsters swarmed their apparent ‘Auntie Tia’, one of the colts, the first the lich had found, broke off from the group, approaching the lich. Celestia’s gaze followed the young equine, a questioning look adorning her muzzle as the colt trotted up to the lich, and embraced one of the mage’s kilt pedals. “Thank you, Amanar.” the little colt spoke, his adorable mispronunciation making the lich’s nonexistent heart swell. Amnennar chuckled, floating lower so that the colt could actually look him in the eyes. “Whatever for, little one?” he chuckled, gently petting the colt’s mane, wisps of shadow flowing through the lich’s fingers. “For being our guardian angel.” the little colt responded, hugging the clawed hand in front of him. “For bringing Auntie Tia back to us.” “Y-You’re welcome, little one.” Amnennar chuckled, the solar alicorn’s fears seemingly put to rest as she let the lich and colt’s moment progress unhindered. “Tell me, lich. What is your name?” Celestia asked, her visage now adorned with a gentle smile once again as she rose, the shadowy children huddled close to her under her wings. The colt ran back to his auntie, and the lich rose to his full height before bowing low before the monarch. “Amnennar, your highness.” the skeletal mage answered. “Well, Amnennar, you have my thanks for finding these foals.” Celestia donned a motherly smile, before nuzzling the closest foal to her, the small filly known as Nightgleam reciprocating the gesture with a little giggle. “They are very dear to me and my sister.” Celestia explained, her muzzle rising to view the undead wizard before her once again. Amnennar nodded. “I can see that clearly, your highness.” Amnennar chuckled. “But it was more them that found me.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed in slight alarm. Her head darted to the foals huddled beneath her. “What were you all doing down here?” Celestia calmly asked, before immediately, a thestral colt responded. “When Momma Moon left us, she wanted us to be safe!” he exclaimed. “So she had us stay with Mistress Yao!” ......... “Mistress Who?” ......... “So who are these adorable little bundles of joy?” Cadence asked. Two pegasus fillies rode on her back, giggling and raving about how pretty their new ‘Auntie Candy’ was. A gaggle of three colts, two unicorns and one thestral, rode atop Shining Armor’s back, their cheers of ‘faster’ goading the undead stallion forward with a slight chuckle. “Well Cadence, do you remember what I told you about what happened after Discord was defeated the first time?” Celestia asked, Nightgleam and another small unicorn colt asleep on her own back, snoozing between the elder alicorn’s wings. “You said that there was a cleanup period, with you and Aunt Luna as rulers of Equestria, right?” Cadence replied. Celestia nodded. “A cleanup period of about two years, actually.” Celestia remarked. “These little foals are...” Celestia shuddered, her eyes growing slightly sterner as she looked at her niece. “While Discord was never outright violent with his powers, his antics were definitely far from safe...” “So these little foals...” Cadence concluded on her own, her muzzle dropping. “Are the orphans of ponies that Discord’s magic...” Cadence held up a hoof, resting it on her adoptive mother’s shoulder. “It’s ok, auntie.” Cadence spoke, concern for her adoptive mother blanketing her form. Celestia nodded sadly, smiling at her niece. “Y-Yes... well...” Celestia cleared her throat. She craned her neck to gently muzzle the sleeping foals on her back, their forms stirring lightly, but other than an ear twitch from Nightgleam, they lay still. “When Luna and I rose to power, we had a small orphanage built within the castle grounds, up in Canterlot.” Celestia smiled. “We would make it a point to visit almost every day...” “We played with them...” “Read to them...” “Sang to them...” Celestia took a deep breath, looking down at the foals who walked amongst them. “But... one night, there was a fire.” Celestia wrenched the words out of herself, pain evident in her voice. “We still to this day don’t know what caused it...” the solar alicorn whimpered slightly, whipping her head around to check on the foals still on her back, as if she expected them to be missing. “But... but... the foals were gone.” Celestia craned her neck down to the colts and fillies around her, giving each of them a little nuzzle. “No bodies, nothing.” “Just... gone.” “Lulu... Luna took it harder than anything I’ve ever seen affect her.” Celestia explained, looking up to her companions. “She didn’t come out of her room for a month, Cadence.” “Auntie... I’m so sorry...” Cadence strode forward, wrapping a foreleg around her foster mother. Celestia accepted it with gratitude, the conversation clearly dredging up feelings that she would have preferred not come up again. “It’s okay, Cadence.” Celestia smiled, withdrawing from the hug. As the group continued on, turning into the crypt off of the tunnel, Shining Armor reached out to his vizier and underling. ’So? Are they cursed?’ Kel’Thuzad’s head turned slightly to look at the foals currently riding his king’s back. ’Oh, they’re cursed alright. But with a magic that I do not recognize. ’Really? I thought it was a hex.’ Kel’Thuzad turned to Amnennar, shaking his head slightly. ’No, a hex would be purely malicious. Curses almost always have some ulterior motive to them... another piece, as it were.’ ’Can you remove it?’ ’Possibly, but not without examining it more closely.’ Kel’Thuzad smirked to himself. ’But I can attempt to see through it.’ ’Do it, then.’ With that, Kel’Thuzad muttered a slight incantation, allowing his magically constructed eyes to see through curses. He nearly stopped in his tracks, before he forced himself to keep moving forward. The foals were... well... They weren’t undead, but he hoped to whatever higher power there was that they could no longer feel pain. All of them were suffering from severe wounds, the blackened and charred flesh surrounding the raw sores decorating their coats indicating burns as the primary source of injury. The worst of them had exposed bone, the ivory color of them charred black by the intense heat of what Kel’Thuzad assumed was the fire that Celestia had described. One filly was missing the majority of her face, the blackened bone of her skull staring up at her ‘Auntie Celestia’ with a twisted smile on the intact side of her muzzle. One colt was all but skeletal, his head and most of his forelegs untouched by the flames. “Kel’Thuzad?” The wizard snapped out of his observations to witness his queen’s concerned muzzle staring up at him. “Y-Yes, my lady?” he shakily responded, trying to ignore the fact that one of the fillies riding Cadence was missing her lower jaw, the scorched remnants of her tongue flopping limply as the curse helped her to form coherent speech. “Are you all right?” the pink alicorn asked. “You’ve been very quiet.” “Never better, my lady.” Kel’Thuzad spoke. “Just lost in my thoughts.” His queen seemed to accept the answer, as she didn’t pry further. She turned to watch Twilight start to sketch one of the impressive rock carvings on one of the sarcophagi that was intact from the battle. ’Well? What do you see?’ Kel’Thuzad turned to his king. ’See for yourself, but try not to react.’ Kel’Thuzad muttered another of the incantations, directing the spell at his friend. Shining’s eyes grew wide as he looked around quickly, visibly recoiling as he looked back at the colts riding him. ’Are they alright?’ ’They obviously don’t feel pain, so for the most part, I would say yes.’ Shining nodded, looking forwards as he attempted to ignore the horror-show all around him. ’Well, hopefully this ‘Mistress Yao’ can answer some of our questions...’ ’Indeed, Shining...’ Kel’Thuzad watched Nightgleam nuzzle into the back of Celestia’s back, the small filly’s raw, furless muzzle rubbing across the solar alicorn. ’Indeed...’