"She's up there."
Blueblood craned his neck. He and Cadance stood before an ancient pine tree, easily one hundred feet high. They'd been traveling through the forest for several hours, now, doubling back occasionally or searching for a detour around an obstacle, the little glowing ball of light hovering around the alicorn's horn the only real guidance they had. Now, the orb was pointing straight up, and after circling the trunk of the mighty redwood a few times, they'd decided it could only mean one thing.
"Not it," Blueblood said mildly.
Cadance shot him a glare. "My wing is hurt."
"It's healing."
"I'm a princess."
"I'm a prince."
"I'm feminine and delicate."
"I'm large and clumsy."
"You're my big brother. You're supposed to take care of me."
"You're my little sister, I should get to boss you around."
"Will you two just shut up!" cried a raspy voice from high above. "I'm tangled up in these saddlebags, and I can't move! One of you just get up here and help me!"
Blueblood looked at Cadance. She raised an eyebrow and stared back impassively. "Fine," he groused, moving towards the trunk. Ponies were not meant for climbing trees, but with strong teeth and a lot of determination, they could manage. Or at least, so he'd read. In truth, Blueblood had never climbed anything but stairs and, on occasion, a ladder. The idea of scaling a tree or a wall had always filled him with anxiety. What if you fell? How could you catch yourself, short of risking getting all of your teeth yanked out?
Nevertheless, this looked simple enough. The pine was very, very tall, but it was sturdy, and the branches were thick and close enough together that if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was walking up a spiral staircase. Until his hoof met nothing but air, and he fell forward, slamming his jaw on a branch and biting into his tongue.
"Blue!" Cadance shouted in concern. "Are you okay?"
He grumbled something indistinct and spat blood. Thanks a lot, Cadance. Finding purchase again, he continued on his way.
As he rose, the branches became thinner and thinner, and began to sag and creak alarmingly beneath his hooves. One gave way beneath his rear hoof, and he let out a short shriek as the world suddenly spun below him.
"You're almost here, Blueblood!" Rainbow Dash called encouragingly. He looked up, and, indeed, she was only ten or so more feet above. True to her word, she'd been horribly tangled by the saddlebags she'd managed to hold on to through the storm; they'd wrapped around her legs and her wings and twisted around the branches she'd crashed through, leaving her bobbing in mid-air like a bug in a spiderweb. He couldn't help but grin, and she glared at him. "Yeah, laugh it up, Redtooth."
He frowned and wiped his hoof across his mouth; it came back smeared with blood. "Frggn' trs," he mumbled.
Moving slowly and deliberately, Blueblood finally got within hoof's reach of Dash. Using his telekinesis, he unbuckled the straps on the various pouches and caught them as they fell. The pegasus, meanwhile, leapt clear of her prison the moment she was free, and did a couple of quick loops before hovering to a stop next to him. "Want a lift?"
A few, heart-stopping moments later, they were on the ground. He slid to the ground numbly as Dash let him go, giggling. "Hey, Princess Cadance," she said. "Where's everypony else?"
She shook her head. "We don't know. We were washed downriver in the storm."
"Yeah... probably should've stayed on shore." The pegasus' eyes widened. "What happened to your wing?!"
"Lightning."
"That's awful," Rainbow said with remarkable empathy. She fluttered over to the princess' side and touched the scarred appendage gingerly. "So, like... you can't fly?"
"I'm afraid not."
Dash stared at it for another moment, and then her expression shifted to a confident grin. "Well, good thing you found me, right? I'll fly up and find our friends!"
"Actually-" Blueblood began, but he was cut off by a burst of air pressure as the pegasus rocketed into the sky. He pushed a tangle of mane out of his eyes and looked at Cadance. "Impulsive, isn't she?"
She smiled. "Stick out your tongue, Blue."
He frowned, remembered the blood pouring out of his mouth, and did so. Her horn flared, and he immediately felt the pain and swelling recede. "Ah, thanks, little sister. Now I can speak again."
"Joy."
A few seconds later, Dash returned, skidding to a stop just a few inches above the ground. She looked at her companions in embarrassment. "Um... there's kind of a lot of trees."
"In a forest?" Blueblood asked. "Really?"
Dash rolled her eyes. "What I mean is, I can't really see the ground. I can fly over to the shore and see if they're still there, but... "
Cadance shook her head. "They've likely moved on. Shining won't let his worry for me paralyze him. Besides, with these saddlebags, we can point ourselves right to them."
"Actually, that may be a problem," Blueblood noted dimly. He scooped up one of the saddlebags Dash had been carrying. "This one's mine. That one's yours."
"What happened to the rest?"
Dash shook her head. "I'm not sure. This really strong wind hit, and knocked them out of my hooves. Just these two got tangled up with me. The rest could be scattered all over the forest."
Cadance put her hoof to her forehead. "That's ridiculous. How could you end up with the only two bags we didn't need?"
"I dunno," the pegasus said defensively. "It just kinda happened."
"I... I know you didn't mean to, but I can't believe how absolutely worthless you are."
Dash bristled. "Worthless?! I'm worthless, Little Miss Can Barely Carry Her Own Weight in a Little Breeze?! And now you can't even fly at all!"
"I never claimed to be a strong flyer, Miss Dash-"
"What did you call me?!"
"-but you were the so-called 'expert weatherpony' who decided to fly through a storm!"
"Well, gee, maybe if 'Her Royal Highness' had shown a little leadership-"
"A wise ruler defers to the judgement of her advisers, even hot-headed little commoners like-"
"Oh, excuse me, princess?! Who do you think you're-"
Blueblood cleared his throat and forced his way between the bellicose mares. "Ladies... "
"WHAT?" they both demanded.
"Curse."
They blinked. Cadance flushed deep crimson. "Oh... right."
Dash rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh. Whoops. Sorry, princess."
"Just Cadance is fine," she said softly, flashing the pegasus a small smile. She turned to Blueblood. "I... didn't think that could still affect me."
He shrugged. "Well, apparently it can, even with Auntie Celestia's renewed spells. But I didn't just mean the arguing; no doubt the curse was responsible for which bags Rainbow Dash ended up with."
Dash blinked. "Oh, yeah. Wow, that's annoying."
"No kidding."
Cadance frowned. "We need to get you back to Equestria."
"What?"
She looked up at her brother. "I think the further you get from home, the more Aunt Celestia's spells weaken. We need to get you back before the effects worsen."
"Uh, no," Blueblood said firmly. "I'm here to rescue Twilight Sparkle, curse or no."
"Blue, don't be an idiot."
He scowled. "I'm not. Look, we don't know what's going on in Canterlot. Chrysalis said she had allies who were going to start their work, and I'm willing to bet I know who some of them are. They might be the ones weakening Celestia's spells, which means me going back to Canterlot could make things worse. Besides," he said, gesturing vaguely to the north, "we have to be getting close to Chrysalis' lair. We can't give up now."
Cadance blinked. "... How do you know who her allies are?"
"It's not important," he said, waving his hoof. "I just... remembered some things. But the fact is, there's a chance the curse would get worse no matter what we do. I'd rather risk endangering our mission than risk endangering the entire country."
"Blueblood's right," Rainbow Dash said firmly. "We can't go back. So some bad things might happen; what else is new? We've got a friend to save."
Cadance sighed and dipped her head in resignation. "Fine. There's just one problem; how are we going to find Twilight? We can't even find Shining or the others."
"With this," Blueblood said triumphantly, lifting something out of his sister's reclaimed saddlebags.
"Ew," Dash said. Cadance made a face and nodded in agreement.
"Is that... a severed changeling leg?" she asked queasily.
"Yup," the prince drawled in his best Macintosh impression. "It's the one Armor brought with as a backup plan. It... may have squeezed changeling goop over the apples you packed."
Cadance raised an eyebrow. "Remind me to thank my dear, beloved husband for that."
Rainbow Dash looked at the chitinous appendage skeptically. "Okay, why didn't the curse take that, too, if it was our only way to continue?"
"I've no idea," Blueblood said with a shrug. "Perhaps it's an effect of Auntie Celestia's spells. Or," he added, rolling his eyes, "perhaps the curse wants me to reach Crysalis' lair."
Dash and Cadance stared at him. He considered the idea for a moment. "Let's just forget I said that last part."
They made camp along a small brook, ate a dinner of fruit and trail rations in silence, and went to sleep.
Blueblood dreamed.
He wandered through the snow-capped boulevards of Arctus City. It was just as he had seen it before: ruined and empty, the ancient stone buildings tumbled down around their foundations, swept smooth and clean by the constant, howling wind. Only the old castle, the seat of King Azure Throne, Lord of the Grayspire Mountains, still stood. He turned towards it and began walking, but as he moved, the world changed around him. Crumbled homes and rose out of the rubble; colorful flowers and vines sprouted from them like leaves. Glass reformed from broken shards and set itself in the windows of shops, along with bright tapestries and signs that drew attention to their wares. Ghostly voices rose all around him, not threatening, but the simple hubbub of of a busy city, filled with ponies going about their business.
Steam hissed from strange, brass constructs, which whirred and clanked and hummed as they powered a staggering array of strange, wonderful devices. A pair of wooden cuckoos shot out of a grandfather clock, did a complicated tango, and retreated. Lightning arced between two orbs, while the machine below pressed wood shavings into crude but functional paper. An automaton pony in strange robes called to him in a metallic voice, promising to tell him his future. He smiled at the novelty and continued on.
Ponies began to appear around him, translucent at first, but quickly becoming solid. The streets were packed with mares and stallions clad in thick tunics and blouses and fur-lined cloaks. They smiled and waved to eachother, paying Blueblood no mind, not even seeming to realize he was there.
He kept moving towards the castle. Great blue banners, marked with the silver sigil of a unicorn's head with a curling ram's horn, fluttered in the breeze. Armored paladins stood watch from the parapets, their expressions impassive and stoic. They, too, paid the prince no mind.
As he crossed into the courtyard, he heard a familiar voice: a deep, commanding baritone, brusque and slightly mocking. "... And as much as I appreciate your concern, Clover, I have a kingdom to run. I can't be bothered with your master's concerns."
Azure Throne, looking hale, hearty, and decades younger than the ghostly impersonation of him that Blueblood had seen, rounded the corner of the keep, his pace quick and impatient. He was tall and broad-shouldered, his coat a brilliant silver and his mane shining gold. Beside him, jogging a bit to keep up, was a light-green unicorn with a deeper green mane, clad in a simple, brown cloak with the hood pulled up to her horn. "Azure, if we don't stop this before it's too late, it's going to affect all of us. Starswirl says-"
He snorted derisively. "Starswirl says quite a lot. If you ask me, the old goat's gone daft."
"That's no way to talk about our mentor!"
"Your mentor. I learned what I needed from him, and moved on. I owe the wizard no allegiance."
"Well, what about me?" Clover demanded, stepping in front of the king and putting her hoof down firmly. "Do I mean nothing to you?"
Azure hesitated. "That was a long time ago."
"Please, Azure," Clover pleaded. "Just trust me on this. Help me help us all."
He stared at her for a long moment, then sighed and turned away. "I have a kingdom to rule and a daughter to raise. I wish you the best of luck in dealing with these 'wendigos,' but I can't help you." His voice took on a coarse edge. "Why don't you go ask the Sisters?"
Clover stared at him, disappointment in her eyes, for a long moment. "Maybe I will. Thank you for your time, Your Majesty."
The world shifted again. Blueblood felt as if he was being pushed forward, wind pulling at his face and his mane. Suddenly, he was standing in Azure's throne room. It was empty, save for the pair of thrones at its head, the exhausted-looking king in one of them, and a harried-looking earth pony in simple, peasant's garb.
"Y'highness, I'm terrible sorry-like, you know I am," the pony said desperately. "But... we just can't grow enough food. Not without starvin' our own people."
Azure shifted on his throne. He looked older, now; his mane had started to pale, and there were the first hints of wrinkles around his eyes. "How long has your family served mine, Oak Leaf?"
"Generations, y'highness. Long as anypony's written down."
"And have we not been good masters to you and your people? Fair, just, and kind?"
"Y-yes, y'highness, always."
Azure leaned forward, staring the anxious farmer in the eye. "Did I not personally spare your wife from the executioner's axe when she stole a steam engine from one of my subjects? An object, by law, only unicorns may possess?"
"Y-yes, y'highness, y'did. I made you that nice armoire in gratitude."
The king nodded, as if that should settle the matter. "Then you should see, now, where your loyalties lie."
"Y-yes, y'highness," Oak agreed. "Though... it's just... "
Azure raised an eyebrow.
The farmer took a deep breath, steadied himself, and rose from his knees. "... You can't grow food up here, y'highness. So it seems to me that mayhap I'm the one who ought to be askin' about loyalty."
"You would betray me?"
Oak swallowed. "N-no, y'highness, but I think maybe-"
Azure's horn flared blue. The farmer opened his mouth to scream, but froze, suddenly and completely rigid. His own eyes began to pulse with the same light as the king narrowed his eyes, pouring more and more power into his spell. "You will bring us your food. You will let your people starve if need be, but you will bring us your food. And you will kill anypony who questions your orders."
The light dimmed. Oak sagged to the floor, breathing heavily. "Y-yes, y'highness," he gasped. "All our food. An' I'll kill anypony who says otherwise."
His eyes unfocused and glassy, the farmer staggered out of the hall. Azure sat in silence, his chin resting on his hooves, looking pensive.
"Well done, boy."
Azure glanced to the side as one of the tapestries, bearing his ram-horned unicorn sigil, shifted and came to life. "You're putting what I've taught you to good use, I see."
The king inclined his head respectfully. "Lord Tyranny. I serve you loyally, as ever."
"Yes, yes, of course you do." The emblem turned sideways and stepped out of the tapestry, stretching into a blue-and-silver version of the twisted draconequus. "Just dropped by to tell you: you'll be getting a visit from the Sisters, soon."
Azure paled. "Do... do they know?"
Tyranny pointed a claw at himself. "About me? About us? Nah. Far as they know, I'm still locked in Tartarus. Tartarus," he laughed. "Talk about your revolving doors. No, dear boy, they're here about your little wendigo problem."
"What is their concern?"
"Well, they're going to use them as an excuse to force everypony to live together in peace and harmony, with trees, and flowers, and chirping blegh." He stuck out his tongue and feigned sticking a claw down his throat. "Under their benevolent guidance, of course."
"They wish to rule?"
"Oh, they won't say that. But ever since your old galpal Clover found 'paradise,' they've been going around to all the other pony nations and offering them a deal: join us, or die. And given the choice between living in a beautiful new country or starving to death while wendigos shriek at you from the sky, well, quite a few ponies have signed up."
Azure scowled. "Cowards. The wendigos will leave eventually. They trade their liberty for safety, the short-sighted fools."
Tyranny draped himself across the king's throne, tapping him on the shoulder. "And that's why I like you, Azzy. You have vision. And I bet you've also figured something else out." He grinned wickedly and leaned down closer to the unicorn's ear. "The wendigos? They're here 'cause the Sisters summoned them."
Azure looked at the draconequus in shock, and the creature reared back, claws clasped to his face in mock surprise. "I know, right? Who'd have thought those sweet, innocent little freaks would be so ruthless? I suppose we can both understand the temptation of power, though, eh?"
"I... " The king shook his head. "I'm sorry, my lord, but... that seems drastically out of character for them. As much as I may despise them, the Sisters have never shown that kind of-"
Tyranny rolled his eyes and pressed a claw down on the top of Azure's skull. His eyes flashed blue, and in a bored voice, he said, "You firmly believe that Celestia and Luna are responsible for the wendigos, and this is all a trick to unite ponydom under their dictatorial rule." He leaned back as Azure sagged down, breathing heavily. "Yeesh, I really hate those two goody-two-hooves sometimes."
The unicorn sat up abruptly. "And they're coming?! Here?! I must... I must warn my people! I must protect my family!"
The draconequus grinned. "Yeah, you do that, Azzy. And be sure to mind-whammy anypony who doesn't buy it! Now, if you'll excuse me... "
"Of course, my lord," Azure said with a deep bow. "Thank you for the warning. Be assured, my subjects will not be taken in by this hoax."
"Glad to hear it. I'll need plenty of dead ponies around when I raise my army."
"... What?"
Tyranny rolled his eyes, stretched over to the king, and poked his head again. "Forget what I just said."
"Y-yes, my lord," Azure gasped.
The dragonequus winked, pointed a talon at him, and made a clicking sound. Then he stepped back into the tapestry, resumed the emblem's typical pose, and was gone.
The world shifted again. Blueblood stood now in Azure's bedchamber, The sheets were thrown off in disarray, and the various dressers, chests, and familiar armoire hung open as a blue unicorn mare pulled garments and other objects out and shoved them into a set of saddlebags. On the bed, beside her luggage, sat a young filly, no more than ten years old, white but with a curly blue mane. She watched the mare pack with wide, worried eyes.
"Mother, why won't you tell me what's going on?"
"Shh, dear," the older unicorn hushed, looking between two cloaks and finally settling on a brown one. "We're going to go somewhere safe."
"But we're safe here."
The mother paused and looked at her daughter, her expression heartbroken. "No, honey, we're not."
Hooves pounded on the bedroom door. "Iris! Iris, what's going on in there?! Open this door!"
"M-Mother?"
The mare shook her head and wrapped her daughter in a hug. "It will be okay, sweetie."
"Iris!" Azure demanded, his blows coming harder each time. "Open the damned door!"
"No!" she shouted back, the words wrenching out of her. She looked surprised at herself for a moment, then continued. "We're not staying, Azure! I don't care if the Sisters are as evil as you say, I am not going to watch our daughter starve!"
"Iris, don't be a fool! The wendigos-"
"The wendigos are killing us!" she shrieked. "Half the city's dead already! And all of the earth pony farmers are dead or gone, too! Even if the damned wendigos left tonight, we'd still be dead!"
"We can find a way!" Azure shouted, slamming his hoof as hard as he could. "Don't abandon me, Iris! Please! I need you with me! I love you!"
"I-I love you, too," she said quietly, almost a whisper. "Come with us, Azure. Please. Don't let your stubborn pride be the end of you. Do it... do it for me... do it for Turquoise."
"Iris... "
The room fell silent.
"Iris... " Azure said again, after long minutes had passed. "I can't let you go. I can't let you become a slave."
"Azure... "
"I- I'm sorry, darling."
Light flashed. The door exploded off its hinges, slamming against the far wall and falling to the floor with a thud. Azure stepped through the billowing dust, his eyes red and wet and desperate. Iris turned sidelong to protect Turquoise and moved back against the bed.
"Azure, please," she said softly, tears streaking down her face. "Think about what you're doing."
"I know what I'm doing," he said impassively. "I'm protecting my family."
"I... I'm your wife... "
"This won't hurt, darling. Just a little spell, and you'll understand. You'll see things my way... "
A wave of pure, starry darkness hammered through the outer wall. Iris and Turquoise screamed and dove to the ground. A brick struck Azure in the side of the head, and, dazed, he fell to his knees.
"Brave mares!" bellowed a regal, authoritative voice. "All those who question their loyalty to this mad king! We offer thee this chance to flee, and to join us in paradise... in Equestria!"
"No!" Azure shrieked. His horn flared, and he lunged towards his wide-eyed daughter.
A blast of light caught him, lifted him into the air, and slammed him bodily against the far wall. A tall, immaculately beautiful mare, her mane dancing with the colors of sunrise around white wings and a long, spiraling horn, shot through the hole in the wall and landed in a protective stance between the king and his family. "You will not pervert this child's will, tyrant!"
"You will not stop me!" Azure roared, pushing himself off of the wall. His horn flashed, and blue lightning crackled through the air, striking Celestia directly in the chest. She staggered back a step, snarled, and unleashed a blast of her own that hurled the king through the wall and the one behind that, finally landing in a crumpled heap on the spiral stairway leading down to the keep's lower floors.
"It's okay," the white alicorn said, turning to the queen and her child with gentle concern in her eyes. "You're safe, now. Will you come with us?"
Iris looked Celestia in the eye for a long, considering moment. "Yes."
The world shifted.
"We should always have known t'would be thee."
Blueblood stood again in the castle's courtyard. It seemed to be daytime, but it was impossible to tell when. Snow, almost too thick to see through, swirled around him. The wind howled with unearthly strength, and sounded almost... alive? It looked much as he had seen it in reality, now; the twisted, dead remains of a garden, the crumbling edifices... a familiar skeleton, scraped clean by the wind and the ice, a silver pendant about its neck...
He looked up. On one side of the courtyard, untouched by the snow that whipped all about them, stood Celestia and Luna. They radiated with power, their ethereal manes longer and more flowing than he had ever seen them. Opposite them, relaxed and smiling in front of the keep's main doors, stood Tyranny.
"Yes, I thought so," he agreed. "Really, the decor should've been a dead giveaway. I've been using that sigil since before you were born."
"We knew you'd influenced him," Celestia said, her eyes narrowed. "We didn't know you'd escaped your imprisonment."
"Well, I decided I'd had enough of the place. All that hellfire and brimstone. It's a nice place to visit, don't get me wrong, but I would not rent a condo there."
Luna snarled. "Silence thy mad tongue, draconequus. Thine parole is about to expire."
His smile widened. "Ahh, banter! And in that charming accent of yours, too. I always did like you better than your sister, Luna. You know, with that whole 'queen of darkness' thing, you'd make an excellent villain. How'd you like to switch teams? I could show you the ropes. Trust me, it's a lot more fun."
"I believe I shall decline thine generous offer."
"Your loss. Welp," he yawned, popping his long neck and stretching his taloned arms, "I suppose you girls are eager to get to the fighting, as usual. Who's up first?"
Celestia and Luna looked at eachother, grinned, and nodded.
Despite not really being present, Blueblood couldn't help but cringe and cover his eyes as the gods clashed in titanic combat. In the blink of an eye, the courtyard erupted in an explosion of sizzling energy, and the three nigh-omnipotent creatures were battling perhaps half a mile above. Thunder crashed and the earth shook as they exchanged blows; the clouds began to spin, faster and faster, centered on the site of the epic struggle.
"Impressive, isn't it?"
Blueblood looked to his right, not at all surprised to see nothing there but a faint, murky shadow. "Nightmare Moon."
"Hello again, my love."
"I figured you'd pulled me into another ancestral memory." He glanced up at the sky. "This would be one of yours, though, I assume."
"Indeed."
"So... you're Luna. You've been corrupted again, somehow."
He could hear the smirk in her voice. "Quite a clever deduction, my love. But... incorrect."
The shadow's indistinct form waved a vaguely hoof-like appendage towards the sky. "There's been some debate about my nature, as I'm sure you know. Some insist that I am merely Luna, embracing her repressed id. Or, perhaps, I am an independent manifestation of it, given free will and power, but ultimately only a part of her. Both of these are true, and yet... not."
"Oh, good. I'm glad you're not being cryptic or anything."
She laughed. "I am a seed, my love. A seed to be planted in fertile soil. I grew to fruition in Luna, but I exist beyond her."
"Then... what? This is where you were planted?"
"Exactly!" A ghostly hoof brushed against the back of his mane. "You are so very clever. Any minute now, Celestia will be defeated. Luna, in her desperation, will call for help from the only being who can aid her."
"The Devourer."
"Yes. And I will be planted, and for over two thousand years, I will grow in the darkest parts of her soul. I will twist her thoughts, ever so subtly, towards darkness and despair. I will make her jealous. I will teach her to hate. I will corrupt the Elements of Harmony and hide them away, until all but the legend of them is forgotten, knowing that I will someday rise to my full power and lay low the entire world in the name of my master." He could hear the frustration in her voice. "And then, all of that work will be thrown aside by a nerdy little mare and her idiotic friends."
Blueblood laughed. "And now you're just a disembodied voice who uses the remnants of her power to annoy her would-be husband. You must be so proud."
"You jest. But you still do not understand the breadth, the scope, of my plans. The eclipse is coming, my love. And in the end, you will join me, or you will see everything you care for burned to ash."
The shadow evaporated. In her place lay Celestia, her eyes closed, her billowing mane limp and lifeless, her hide covered with burns and scratches. Blueblood gasped and knelt beside her, trying to cup her head in his hooves, but they passed uselessly through her. He looked up; above, Luna fought with increasing desperation against the draconequus, who wore a smile so broad that the prince could read it from here.
Soon, Luna would seek the power to defeat Tyranny. And three millenia later, the effects of this day would still be felt.
"It all comes back to this moment," he told his adopted mother. "All of the suffering, all of the lies. Everything my friends and I have been through. All because you and Luna couldn't defeat Tyranny alone." He shook his head. "In the end... if we follow things to their logical conclusions... this is as much your fault as it is anypony else's. If you'd... if you'd just destroyed your enemies, instead of letting them escape again and again... "
He sighed. "If I'd had your power, this never would have had happened."
The world shifted, and Blueblood woke up.