//------------------------------// // Chapter I ~ The Wretched Black Sky // Story: Death is Liberty // by the7Saviors //------------------------------// The world had changed, becoming something darker, something completely alien and horrifying. The stars were wrong, the moon a shattered and unsightly thing to behold. The air reeked of bloodlust and madness and chaos. Land once verdurous and healthy had turned black and lifeless, twisted and tainted by the same vile forces that had corrupted everything else around it. Vicious, mindless, undying horrors roamed the blackened land seeking to sate an unquenchable thirst for blood and flesh and violence. For the poor creatures of Equestria who'd never known such overwhelming asperity in even the darkest annals of their history, this was an all-encompassing nightmare made real. If one looked hard enough, one could find the broken, twisted remains of a more harmonious era scattered here and there. Much of that world, however, had been buried in the Collapse—a complete and utter breakdown of the barrier between two dimensions that should never have intertwined. The Collapse brought with it demoniac changes not just to Equestria, but to its inhabitants as well. Those whose bodies were not rent asunder and devoured by maddened monstrosities were made to suffer a new and horrendous existence as those selfsame monstrosities. At least, for the most part. Wretched as the world had become, and unbeknownst to many whose lives had been lost or changed irreparably, there was still a glimmer of light in the interminable darkness—several of them in fact. Not every creature, be they a victim of the Collapse or a resident of the invading dimension, had given up their sanity. Spread thinly throughout the land, in fact, were the merest scraps of a mostly lucid society. Beasts that had survived a long and nightmarish war with their minds intact had banded together to create small communities where possible. And for the creatures whose entire world had crumbled in the Collapse, there was hope in the form of those small but powerful glimmers of light. Through the efforts of a single creature—a single mare who herself had become an unwilling sacrifice—the magic of Harmony survived, albeit in scattered pieces. Still, while that power is no longer whole, those Equestrians who are able to make their way to that fragmented Harmony dispersed throughout the land—those who've lost their body, mind, and soul to the Collapse—should find their way once more... ...and if Skal-Ga—no... if the other me... if the other Twilight can gather the missing ponies who represent the Elements of Harmony, then there may be a way to restore if not all then at least some semblance of order to this horrible world. The lavender alicorn finished its explanation of the current situation and fell silent. The pony was only a projection, the mere ghost of a mare who'd had her physical form stolen away from her. Given a new life as an ethereal entity by the Tree of Harmony, she was now bound to that Tree. Once the rightful wielder of the Element of Magic, the mare had herself become that very Element. Through circumstances beyond her control—whether she wished it or not, whether for good or for ill—Twilight Sparkle's fate and consciousness were now tied inexorably to the Will of Harmony. It was a fate she hadn't expected, nor was it something she particularly cared for but there was no getting around it now. The deed had been done and all she could do now was cope as best she could with the current situation. If needs must, she would do all in her power to ease the insurmountable burden of those lost to the darkness and madness of the Black Dimension. Standing before her, basking in the radiance and conviction she exuded, was the twisted creature Twilight had been speaking to up until a moment ago. Here was yet another victim of circumstance—a mare whose body had succumbed to the awful changes wrought by forces beyond her control. Here was a mare who, though abominable in physique, had managed to fight against the madness and retain a sizeable portion of her sanity. Despite all odds, the mare had overcome what should have been impossible to resist, but she was by no means an ordinary mare, nor were these ordinary circumstances. In fact, the mare, for all her mental fortitude, owed much of her lucidity to pure luck. "I see... so this is the state of things..." croaked the mutated mare after taking a long moment to let Twilight's words sink in. Her once-powerful voice had become a deep rasp, an effect of the vile mutation. She eyed the intangible alicorn a moment, then focused on the luminescent sapling that served as an anchor for her incorporeal form, "to think my desperate struggle might've been in vain had I been only a few yards further from the Tree's power... how galling." Twilight winced at the mare's displeased frown, partly from guilt and partly from the way it further twisted her already demonic features. In many ways, it was wrong to call her a pony, for that's not quite what she was anymore. Like the rest of the Equestrian citizens who'd survived the Collapse, she'd been changed into something altogether unpleasant to look upon—something right out of a foal's nightmare. The former mare had become a tall, spindly thing whose lush black fur had turned to oily black skin that stretched tightly over long, bony limbs. Her terribly thin, hunched appearance belied a brutish strength incomparable to the equine creature she'd been before. Each of her four legs ended in ghoulish prehensile paws tipped with flexible, knife-like protrusions. Her mane, which once glimmered and rippled with all the stars of the night sky, had fallen into a long and hideous writhing tangle of octopoid curls. Radiating unearthly incandescence, the curls hid much of her warped visage from view save for a muzzle filled to excess with needle-like fangs and two baleful pinpoints of pale blue light where her eyes ought to have been. Above, emerging from within those writhing curls were two long black horns that curved inward toward each other. Along her back were wicked spines that stretched all the way down to the barbed tip of a long, flagellated tail. And completing her ghastly appearance was a pair of powerful, batlike wings whose span was double that of what the former pony possessed originally. This is what had become of the alicorn who'd returned to Equestria after one thousand years of banishment upon the moon. This is the would-be usurper who sought to bring her sister's rule to an end and begin her own reign under the moniker of Nightmare Moon. This is the creature who would have seen the world forever veiled in the darkness of an eternal night. This was Luna, former Princess of Equestria who had ruled alongside her sister long ago, back when Celestia's monarchy had been a diarchy. I'm sorry, Princess, once I sensed your presence, I used what little power I could to reach out and help you. I wish I could do more about your... well, about what happened to you, but the magic in this place is... strange and immutable in some ways. It doesn't work like the magic we ponies use. "It matters not, what's done is done," Luna replied dismissively, "that my mind is sound is more than enough for now, and for that, you have my sincerest gratitude." The apparition gave a wan smile at that. I'm just trying to do what I can where I'm able for now. I've managed to plant other saplings just like this one all throughout Equestria—or what's left of Equestria at any rate. Since Harmony is fragmented, the saplings don't have the power to change a pony back to their original form, but it's enough to keep the madness at bay for a time. "Meaning if I wander about without seeking out the sanctuary of these saplings for too long, my sanity is forfeit," Luna surmised, "a troublesome predicament..." I'm afraid that's the best I can do right now without the full might of Harmony and our dimension's own magic. The effect should last as long as you're near a sapling and will continue for a while after you leave, but for exactly how long ultimately depends on a pony's own strength—both of the heart and mind. "Then I should be fine for a while yet," Luna said with newfound conviction in her tone, "I had my reasons and even now I still believe many of them valid, but in the end, I let my turbulent emotions control me and was banished for it. I will not let it happen again, not now." Knowing what she did now about both this dimension and about Luna herself, Twilight couldn't help a bit of skepticism at her claim, though she worked to hide it outwardly. That said, the Princess-turned-abomination hadn't really seemed all that fazed about the fact that there was another alicorn that wasn't her sister in her midst. Twilight already explained a bit about how she knew who Luna was, how she came to be the way she was now, and why she'd likely become an alicorn in the process, but Luna's reaction had been surprisingly placid. If anything it was as though she'd already expected as much to happen. Twilight hadn't said anything about it at the time, as there were more important details to discuss. Now that the conversation had died down somewhat, however, she found her curiosity welling up once again. Um... if you'll humor me for a moment, Princess... you don't really seem to be all that surprised that I became an alicorn. Why is that? "Ah yes, your... transformation," the mutated mare sniffed, "while your union with the Tree of Harmony is unexpected, the fact that you've become an alicorn is something I might've guessed would happen eventually if you really were Celestia's protègè." Twilight frowned in bemusement. Through the memories of her other self, she'd known that Celestia had been the one guiding her to the destiny of becoming a princess herself, but nothing like that had happened in her own version of Equestria. What do you mean? Did you already know what your sister was planning? "Not so much, no, but I know of the ascension ritual and what it requires so I could infer as much," Luna replied, "Celestia spoke at length of taking on an apprentice long before she banished me, but could never find a pony that lived up to her impossible standards. "I suppose you've somehow managed to meet those standards, but in your case..." she tilted her head as if lost in thought, "...if my sister believed you worthy of ascension to alicornhood, then she was likely preparing you for something beyond the role of a mere archmage." Well, yeah, from what I understand, it was her intention for me to become a princess from the very beginning—the Princess of Friendship specifically. I can't say I don't feel at least a little hurt that she never consider whether or not that's what I would've wanted but... "Yes, that was—and evidently still is—one of Celestia's failings," Luna hissed, the icy blue light of her eyes flaring violently, "a mare so caught up in her long-term goals and schemes that she becomes blind to those suffering right before her eyes..." She froze a moment then let out a calming breath, exhaling a puff of dark smoke in the process. "...but such vexations matter very little now I suppose," she straightened up and eyed Twilight once more, "knowing my sister, I believe she had a purpose for you even beyond that of the figurehead ruler you would've likely been as this 'Princess of Friendship'." Twilight opened her mouth to respond but thought better of it and looked away. After all, even as she was now—even in this macabre scenario—there was no way she could even picture taking her mentor's place as or even rule alongside her as an actual Princess with all the authority that being an actual Princess implied. What's more, she'd seen the other Twilight's memories of being the Princess of Friendship. She'd had more responsibility, the respect of a Princess, and even a castle of her very own, but in the end, she really was just a figurehead more or less. She held some semblance of political power, but nowhere near the amount of Celestia or Luna or even Cadance for that matter. Thinking of Cadance, her thoughts began to shift to her and the rest of her family—of what became of them all. Before she could fall too deeply into that pit of roiling emotions, her reverie was broken by Luna's thoughtful rasp. "Setting that aside, I am more concerned with the machinations of your eldritch counterpart and her foe, this... Ancient King," Luna's lambent eyes burned brighter, "you claim that, in regaining her lost memories, Skal-Gazaath has embraced who she once was." Yes, that's right. She's taken control of my original body and made it her own, but under those circumstances, it didn't seem like either one of us had a say in the matter. She hadn't possessed me intentionally, that was the Ancient King's doing. When she finally 'woke up' she was just as confused as I was and... things just kind of... spiraled from there. "And the reason she was able to come to her senses was because of a specific memory?" Luna pressed with a skeptical frown, "a memory you claim the two of you shared?" Twilight gave a small frown of her own, though hers was more thoughtful as she recalled the memory in question. ...It's strange. For her they were clearly memories, but for me... I'm fairly certain it was a dream... a dream I had once when I was still a foal. I'd forgotten it until the moment our consciousness' clashed. A lot of it is still kind of hazy, but there are some things I remember vividly. "A dream..." Luna's frown deepened, "well, dreams and memories are linked to one another—rather most dreams stem from memories buried within the subconscious mind, but from what you've explained, this Twilight comes from a variant Equestria in another time and space," she exhaled another puff of dark smoke, "such a connection should not be possible." I'm not really sure what to tell you other than what I saw and heard. Luna fell silent, her brightly lit eyes dimming ever so slightly as she briefly lost herself in thought. Twilight watched curiously as the monstrous mare's head slowly turned to one side. "Is it possible?" she muttered seemingly to herself, "no, surely not..." Twilight's brow furrowed in bemusement, but before she could ask what she meant, Luna's icy blue eyes regained their previous glow and she turned to face her once more. "Very well," she finally announced, "tell me of this dream of yours." Taken aback, Twilight took a second to collect herself before replying. A-Alright... um... well, I don't know the context of what happened—and I don't think my counterpart fully understands either—but I do remember in my dream... there were images—disjointed scenes playing out in my mind. She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. They were horrible... nightmarish even. I saw a bunch of ponies I didn't know suffering or worse. Horrific shadowy things chasing ponies down and devouring them, a giant monster with a burning red eye in the sky, and... and everything was so dark. The incorporeal alicorn visibly shuddered. I remember being terrified but not being able to wake up. It was as if I was trapped in the dream—like somepony or something was holding me there and wouldn't let me go. The only frame of reference I had for what was happening was a voice. At the time I didn't know whose voice it was, all I knew was that it sounded angry and... really sad. "And what did it say?" Luna pressed, taking a step forward, "what did the voice tell you?" The voice said... it said I would have to face myself and my sins... that I would have to accept who I was and what I'd become. It was talking to me as though everything that I saw was my fault, but... but even back then, I got the sense that those words weren't really meant for me. Luna said nothing in response, instead, falling into thoughtful silence yet again. Twilight shook her head and gave a long, weary sigh. Her projected form warped and dimmed, suddenly losing much of its brilliant shine. Lost in her musings, Luna failed to notice the subtle shift in the alicorn's intangible form or the sudden weariness in her voice. It was after hearing those words that I finally woke up—or was allowed to wake up. The strange thing is... as vivid and traumatizing as that dream was... I forgot about it not long after I opened my eyes... just like I would've... any other dream or nightmare... "I see," Luna murmured, "and that was the memory you two shared then. If what you say is true, then there is only one creature I can think of that would have the power to make such an inconceivable occurrence possi—" She returned her attention to Twilight only to find that the ethereal mare's body was slowly but clearly fading away. Twilight herself looked as though she hadn't slept in several days, her violet eyes bleary and somewhat unfocused. "Your manifestation is coming undone," Luna exclaimed, her eyes shining with discontent, "what is the meaning of this?" I'm... I'm not sure, but... it looks like this is it for now... I think I need to rest for a while... "No! Not now!" Luna snapped, her eyes ablaze and her effulgent mane writhing angrily, "I still have more questions! Skal-Gazaath! The Ancient King! Where have they gone? Where is Celestia?" I'm sorry, but I don't know... I think sprouting all those saplings took more out of me than I thought... I need to rest, but once I wake up I can help you search... just find the other saplings for now... help the other ponies if you can... a-and if you somehow manage to find my brother or Cadance... tell them... tell them that I... Luna hissed in frustration, unable to do more than watch as Twilight closed her eyes and vanished from her sight. The warm and radiant light of the sapling remained as bright as ever, but the alicorn's presence had disappeared completely. "Foolish mare," Luna groused to herself a moment later, "I've no name or face to put to your brother nor do I know of any 'Cadance'." With one last irritated snort, the demonic mare tore her baleful gaze from the fledging Tree of Harmony and raised it to the pitch-black sky above. It wasn't long before her wandering eyes found their way to the crumbling remains of the moon, its spurious glow sending a chill down her barbed spine. She'd done well to keep her true emotions hidden from the young alicorn, but her show of fortitude had been just that. Beneath that veneer of relative calm, Luna felt just as sick and horrified of her new surroundings as Twilight did, if not moreso. Just the sight of that ruined, loathsome thing lighting the already unnatural night was enough to make her oily black skin crawl with fear and disgust. What an utterly wretched sky... She turned away and put the sight of the broken moon out of her mind, her thoughts moving to more important matters. Yes, there were still many questions left unanswered, but at the end of it all, there was only one thing Luna wanted above all else and one thing standing her way. Twilight and her vile parallel had evidently resolved to bring Harmony back to this appalling world. In Luna's opinion, such a task seemed insurmountable as things stood now. Still, if that was to be their aspiration, she had no cause to interfere and in fact, wished them luck. Granted she still had doubts—many doubts about the abominable 'Dead Goddess', but her previous grievances with the creature now paled in comparison to those she held against the Ancient King. There was little she could do against the elder deity now, that was an infuriating fact she had to accept. If she wanted her vengeance and a proper confrontation with her sister, Luna would simply have to find a way to amass the strength needed to take Nel-Baloth's head while taking back her sister. There was no way around it, and there was no need to hesitate. She raised one of her peculiar paws and admired the flexible talon-like appendages jutting from the end of it. Hideous as it was, there was power in this body, Luna could feel it, but she could tell it wouldn't be nearly enough to carry out her ultimate goal. What's more, she couldn't feel even a trace of her own magic, much to her displeasure and slight fear. It was as if it'd been burned away along with her original alicorn body. I need to adapt... to find a way to tap into this dimension's magic somehow. I cannot even think of felling the Ancient King without accomplishing at least that much, let alone survive... At the very least, the goal itself would keep her mind focused and lucid. Keeping those thoughts in mind, Luna spread her unfamiliar wings and took to the sky to get a better view of the world around her. Her ascent was awkward but steady, and soon enough she'd gained enough of a height to scope out a potential destination. Now where to begin... Her question was answered only seconds later as a distant, bestial howl split the eerie silence of the night several miles away from where she lingered in indecision.