//------------------------------// // Rotten at the Core // Story: Descendants of the Isle // by Melody Song //------------------------------// Now, welcome to our little slice of Equus. Let’s see what we’re up to. A pony in a hooded cloak, a teenage filly, it seemed, was facing a wall, a spray can lifted in a crackling blue aura. It was making an electric blue symbol of what looked like two bolts of lightning, with the words Long Live The King under them. The pony then began to sing. “They say I’m trouble They say I’m bad.” The pony turned, her mouth visible from under the hood, forming a wicked grin. “They say I’m evil,” She flipped down her hood, revealing a bright magenta mane and a dark purple coat. She had a scar over one eye and a jagged stump of a horn rested on her forehead. “And that makes me glad.” The filly smirked, stalking off and dropping the spray paint into a hidden pocket in the cloak she wore. “A dirty no-good, Down to the bone.” A deeper voice sang. An adolescent changeling with black chitin, lavender, pupil-less eyes, a jagged purple carapace, purple wings, and a red frill on his neck came climbing down a building using ledges. “Your worst nightmare, Can’t take me home!” The changeling colt proclaimed, before proceeding to follow the unicorn filly. A young teenage alicorn came trotting down a table, where other ponies were clearly trying to eat. She had a dark blue coat, long, flowing, midnight colored mane, and sapphire blue eyes. Her cutie mark was of a dark blotch with a white moon inside it. “So I got some mischief in my blood Can you blame me?” The alicorn ducked under a metal bar, wings ruffling and flashing a suggestive look at a nearby colt. “I never got no love.” She stated, looking at him and winking before trotting away. A griffon with blue fur and feathers with yellow tinges walked through an alley. He was beside a brown furred griffon with white head feathers and purple tints to some of them. “They think I’m callous, A low-life hood.” As he sang, the griffon boy flicked his tail out and grasped an apple in it. The girl griffon beside him nodded approvingly before taking her own. “I’ll show ‘em I’m not useless,” He bit into the apple, then flung it behind him. The girl griffon smirked before going off on her own. “Just mis-understood!” The two fillies met up, and began to walk along, sauntering as they continued singing. “Magic, magic, hear my call We’re the baddest of them all!” The two fillies then looked to the left. The griffon boy was running after them, walking over ponies trying to sleep. They shouted protests at him and the girls nodded approval at the younger creature. They looked to the right to see the changeling colt sliding down a roof and onto the ground, before taking off towards them, joining up. “You’re trapped in our wicked world Wicked world~” The group leapt over a metal gate as one, the griffon bounding over it by climbing and the unicorn taking a running leap. “We’re rotten at the core, core, Rotten at the core We’re rotten at the core Why ask for more?” The group raced past some creatures doing laundry, upsetting the order of the place and causing a ruckus. “Ain’t nothing like the kids next, Like the kids next door We’re rotten at the… We’re rotten at the… We’re rotten at the core.” They raced into a large public gathering area, where many ponies seemed to be either living or trying to have a normal life. The unicorn pulled out the spray paint again. “They call me a schemer Say I’m a freak How could they say that? I’m just... unique!” The unicorn laughed to herself as she drew a “T” on a nearby cloth with the blue paint, promptly pushing the cloth away with her foreleg to reveal somepony bathing. “What, me, a traitor? Say I ain’t got your back?” The changeling was singing as he walked past an area where a griffon was selling things. They looked like artifacts. He picked up a talisman with an orange gem in the center. “Are we not friends?” He twirled the thing in his magic, then promptly raced off with it. “What’s up with that?” He laughed as he heard the griffon shouting for him to come back. The young alicorn was wandering through a place with bolts of fabric and large sheets of it hanging down from the ceiling. “I’m a misfit Yes, I’ll admit I break hearts in the pursuit, Of what I want, isn’t it cute?” The alicorn filly flicked her tail suggestively at a young stallion, so he didn’t see her tucking a bolt of dark purple fabric under her wing. The griffon had found his friend again, they walked through a marketplace, spilling old apples and dry vegetables everywhere. “The past is in the past As they say, forgive, forget.” He snatched up an apple and tossed it to his friend, who smirked and took off, beckoning him to follow. “The sad truth is, You ain’t seen nothing yet!” He jumped onto a hay cart and scrambled over, flying after his fellow griffon. The unicorn and alicorn had reunited, standing on a balcony and watching the chaos unfold as the griffon tugged on a rope, making a metal beam move. The changeling jumped onto it and laughed loudly, holding the thing he’d stolen close against his chest. “Magic, magic, hear my call We’re the baddest of them all. You’re trapped in our wicked world Wicked world~” “Come on!” the changeling called to the griffon as he hopped off the beam, and they flew outside, where they met up with the fillies. The griffon that had been with the boy was the first to join them as they started jumping and dancing in sync with each other. They were joined by a gray colored female griffon, an orange dragoness, and two more changelings. The first changeling was a colt, the second a filly. They all danced in perfect unison, stalking forwards and spinning in place. The four ringleaders began to sing. “I’m rotten at the core, core Rotten at the core I’m rotten at the core, Why ask for more? Ain’t nothing like the kids next, Like the kids next door I’m rotten at the… Rotten at the… I’m rotten at the core!” they finished As the group of kids began to cheer, the unicorn glanced over and saw a pony trotting by with a baby licking an old lollipop. She smirked and her broken horn charged up with a crackling aura. She carefully snatched the lollipop and held it up, grinning. As a few of the kids cheered, two large yeti-like creatures appeared, and the kids scattered. All except for the changelings, the brown griffon, and the four ringleaders. Behind the yeti creatures came a larger yeti wearing a ram horn crown and walking up to them. The Storm King, otherwise known as Cosmos. The unicorn turned and smirked. “Hey dad.” “Stealing candy Tempest? I’m so disappointed.” Cosmos spoke The unicorn, Tempest, held it up. “It was from a foal.” “That’s my nasty mare.” he reached and snatched it from her aura, spat on it, covered it with his fist, then handed it to one of his goons. “Give it back to the wretched thing.” “Dad…” “It’s the actions, Tempest, that is the difference between being mean and truly evil.” Cosmos said, turning. “When I was your age I was conquering entire kingdoms.” He ignored Tempest lip syncing with him and rolling her eyes. The other kids, except the smaller changelings, laughed. He snapped his fingers to get her attention. “You. Listen to me. I’m just trying to teach you what really counts...how to be me.” “I know that. I’ll serve you, father.” Tempest bowed, then smirked. “But I’ll be better.” Cosmos then suddenly seemed to remember something. “Oh! There’s news! I almost forgot!” he gestured to the four leaders. “You four have been chosen to attend a different school...in Equus.” “What?!” they all asked, eyes wide.