//------------------------------//
// Calamity, Destruction Incarnate 
// Story: Dramatis Personae of the Pony Wars 
// by Wings of Black Glass 
//------------------------------//

The Alicorn called Calamity is h̴̟̏ė̷̱̮̻̑r̵̢͌̃͝ͅe̵̘̪̘̽̏͠ unquestionably the most dangerous and lethal being in existence.  Extremely clever and determined, but also very į̵̙̲̑n̷͕͔̈̉s̸͚̜̥̔̈̿ā̵͕͕ͅn̷̛̥̻̠̚ê̷̡̜̳͗ unpredictable.  Those who can bring themselves to talk to him only do so with ṭ̷̝̫̆̕͠e̵̢͓͐͛̐r̵͚̈ŗ̴̼̐̎́͜ȍ̶̙̣̐́r̸̲͓͙͑͌ trepidation.  Somewhere within, he remembers being decent and honorable a very long time ago, but even he doesn’t know if it was ever *false* real.

“I hate them for all the lies.  I hate them for all the pain.  Most of all, I f̶̡͚̽́̚ê̶̥̘̱͘å̶͈ṙ̸̝̠̙͝ hate them because they could have been better and chose not to.”





He opened his eyes for the first time in f̴͓̫̄ö̶̧̥̙͛ṙ̶͇̖ẹ̸̘͗̒͝v̷̖̼̰̋͗̆ḝ̷r̴̨̂͛ some time.  His foe was missing, and he struggled to remember where he was.  Everything had changed since only a moment ago, or was it lifetimes?  B̶̳̟̿̍o̶̮͚̠͆̿͛ẗ̶̳̹́̑̒h̵̩͒̑͘  He glanced around, trees and overgrown stone where a blink ago were ornate pillars and lit torches.  Bright sunlight filtered down through a canopy of spring growth over the gaping hole in the chamber’s ceiling.  There had been another present, where had they v̴̦̳̈̋a̴̝̿̕n̵̯̲̥͊̇ì̶̢͜s̸͍̰̩͐̈́̐h̷̛̙e̸͈̍̐͠d̸̦̽ gone?
Fire and fury and death surrounded him.  Hated f̴̙̬͕͌ọ̵͚̈o̸̪̔̈́̂l̴͔̍̆͝į̶̆̊̔s̴̯̑̓͠h̸͍̀ Alicorns to be slain throwing themselves against him like water on rocks, and with about as much effect.  Magical energy built around him, but of no Nexus he could identify or negate.  Ĩ̵̢̇͜m̵͓̗͊̌̔p̴̝̬͙̅͝ọ̸̫̗̉s̴̭̝̃̀̿s̴͈̑͑i̶͎̤̔ḇ̶̑ļ̵̅͜e̸̟̋̓̀!̸͓̂̒͂  The doors flew open as he approached, and he saw Ormyryx working the spell.  Fear in the other Alicorn’s eyes, and then desperation and a prayer of apology.  Something like chains snapped tight about his soul and body and mind, and then he was n̴̹̫̺̅̀͋o̴̱̣̔w̴͚̆̊h̸͓͙̤̽͊̎e̸̞͒̿͋͜r̵͍̉e̶̱͇͂ here.
He stepped over half-remembered corpses, become dust ages ago, and out into a new world.  Everything was at once both familiar and at the same time n̴̮̉̍̈́e̵̟͂̎͗w̴͔͈̐̈͝ͅ very strange.  Emerging from the forest, a road that was not there when he arrived stretched away from some unknown city towards distant mountains.  At least those appeared to be untouched by t̵͙̙͇̒i̶̪̘̬͑̏m̴̨͖̽̈́e̵̡͉͑̈ the change.
A movement drew his attention.  Ś̵̩̎̃o̵̢͔͈̅̆͐l̶͖̰̽̑̓d̵͎̘̈́̓͆ī̶̗̩ͅḙ̵͕̈́̒̓ȑ̴̰͈s̸̞̲̖͆̂?̴͎͕͔͑  It was ordinary Ponies, merchants by the look of them.  They bore no marks of allegiance or ownership, or at least none he saw.  He strode towards them, intent to s̴͚͙͗̑̌l̵͖̱͓̓ä̴͙́̑̾ỷ̴̖͒ ask them what had happened.  They stared at him in wonder, not fear, and bowed ŕ̵̪ę̴̖̾͋ͅv̵͙̳̭̈͒ë̸̬́̾r̸̡̛̔é̴̝̣̚n̷̨͝č̶̘͙̜̑͠ę̵̠͔̃̑͋ as he came closer.  They spoke, but it was no tongue he understood, and they seemed confused when he said as much.  Clearly, he would get nothing ư̷̮͔͙͆̕s̸̛̳̒e̶̗̜̫̓̈́͆l̸͇̘͌ḛ̵̪̚s̶̠͐́̏s̵̠̒̈́ helpful from them, and they had already escaped his attention before he even finished unfurling his wings.
It took him time to understand what had happened.  That spell Ormyryx had been performing was the h̴̖̦̮̃̽̑à̶̗t̸͓̀̑̑e̴̤̺͆̄d̶̫̿̇́ Alicorn’s last gasp, an attempt to imprison him where he could not harm anyone ever again.  Where he would ṅ̶͚̩̻͋̕ō̸͔̓t̸̪̝̫͗ exist while the world went on without him, forgotten.  That must have been thousands of years ago, judging by the forests that stand where there used to be empty plains and rivers running new courses.
W̸̠̄̐̒h̵̼̻̅̊͐y̸̢̛͇̭̿͠?̸̗͌͘  What cause would the Alicorn have to lock him away so long?  Certainly, he was no threat to the mighty Alicorns.  He was only a c̷͇͚̽ȍ̶͍̮̓͝ẃ̶͔͝ã̶̧̤̺́r̷̡̖̤͗̋d̶͚̪̖̅̽ bureaucrat and student of philosophy.  Perhaps he could convince f̴̟̈́ơ̸̢̩̤̈́ṛ̶͑͋c̷̬̮͗̊ẽ̷͖̬͕̅ them to work for something more than personal ambition and wealth?  He studied laws, and debated with other Ponies, and begged for an audience.  They listened to his speech of a better way and then l̷̝̓a̵̹̞̠͒ü̵̥͔̲͝g̴̢̀ͅh̶̙̱̋ͅẻ̸̥̳͝d̷̻̗̆ͅ yawned and waved him away.  So he went to the masses, the regular Ponies and Kirin and even the s̶͉͔̲̽l̷̬̓̎a̷̰̻̍v̵̪͖͂e̵̖̳̅̑s̸̙͍̆ Changelings, and called them to rise up and demand change.  It was š̵̢̭t̸͈̗̮̿̽̔u̴̡̽͛̐p̴̞̚i̴̢͝d̵̞͉͕̂͐ unwise.
That was perhaps the w̵̥̝̍̾r̷̤̥͓̄͊o̷̫̣̥͆͂ṋ̸̄g̶͇̞̿͜͝ incorrect question, why wouldn’t they?  Alicorns are cruel by nature.  He lived beneath the iron-clad hooves of a dictator, literally trodden on at one point.  He watched as they fought for power and glory and f̷̠̪̻͗̎̅ů̵͒͗ͅn̷̰̒̇̚ a dozen other reasons, ignorant of the lives lost in the exchange.  Some could move whole mountains, others able to enter dreams and minds across continents.  Once, he saw an invader obliterate an entire army with a flash of flame so bright he could sometimes still see it when he blinked.  They had so much p̴̣͉̀͋͜o̶̢̢͔͑ẅ̵̡͉͚e̴̮͌͗͜r̷̫̰͖͑̾ potential, if only they were willing to use it for the good of all.
Confused, he f̶̢̼̟̃̊l̵̝͆̾ė̷̡̩̤̒d̸̡͎̽ went to the coast, hoping to find a hiding place among the many islands just offshore.  It was here, in the distant past, he had found his answer in a Nexus Temple in a cave on a desolate spire of rock, ordinarily inaccessible under high tides.  Fearfully he huddled there, trapped by rising waters, waiting for the Nexus’s Alicorn to come and end him.  But none did.
With nowhere to go and nothing to do but wait, he thought about what he had tried to accomplish.  To end the world of the Alicorns and replace it with a more fair system.  He had failed.  P̵̢̋a̶̱͕͐ṫ̵̻̃ḧ̴̫́͜è̴͍̘̥̎ț̸̛͋̂ì̵̲̕c̵̬͝.̶̡͑̀̃͜  Playing nice had gotten him exiled and scorned.  Perhaps it was time to use their rules against them.  Not knowing which Nexus he had stumbled on, and it didn’t matter if it gave him the power to s̵̗̹̓͐̐l̶̻̈a̶̢͍̫̚͠u̶̝̥̫̇̇g̶͚̜͋͘h̵̻͖̫̒ṫ̷̩͆̚e̴̙̓ṟ̶̙̇͊͑ unmake the Alicorn’s world, he stepping willingly into the swirling void.
He returned now to that cave, expecting to have a place to recover.  But it was not to be; the coast was no longer lonely and empty.  The isles were covered by a massive ĥ̵̛͖͚͎i̸̠̓͠͝v̸̝͚͒̔e̸̯͊̍̕ city and long thin bridges linking the disparate islands together.  Skulking along the coastline, he snared a lone figure to interrogate.  To his surprise, it was no Pony, but a p̷̮̔̿e̷̺̳̰̓̀̄s̷̭̈́̋͝t̴̬̞̀ Changeling.  Shapeshifter minds are malleable and easily unmade, and it was not difficult to harvest enough knowledge to speak the current language.
Although the ṷ̷͂̔̄n̸̝͈̭̿͌l̵̩̱͐͂ŭ̶̙̬c̵̖͉͈̋ḵ̸͇̈̔̈y̴̡̺̜͊́̚ poor creature was not a historian, it still knew enough to paint him a picture of what this strange new world was like.  No longer tiny nations and city-states, but massive kingdoms and empires.  Alicorns wander and ponder and advise, not reign by terror and force and lies.  S̷̻͗̿t̴̳͓͐r̴͉̎̄ȁ̴̩̝͜n̴̟̤̑͝ĝ̸̱̣͎̅ę̷̟̽.̵̮̲̃̋  It was enough for him to exist, but not enough for him to ȩ̶̭̝̐r̷̹̾͋̊ä̶̙́ḍ̵̡̥̈́̀ì̶̛͓̳̼̾c̵͜͝a̵̢̮̫̽̇́t̴̥̻͍̒e̶̜̦̍̐ understand.  For several short years, he skulked and preyed on the lost and the outsiders and the occasional informant until he understood the world as it was now.
His definitive concern remained the Alicorns.  Deceitful, corrupt, d̸̠̾̈́͒à̶̘̭̈́́n̴̨̠̭̆g̸͕͛̍e̷̖̩͝ṛ̸͕̝̓̋͝ő̵̤̀͠u̶̯̜͔͛̽š̸̢̞̥̿ Alicorns.  Supposedly the powerful nations and kingdoms are no longer ruled by such, but this cannot be.  The Alicorn Solarflare is a rising star within the Sunbound Kingdom, rumors even speaking of her as favored to take King Halo’s crown.  The Lumahina has no known Alicorn among them, but a version of f̷̟͊͘a̷͕͑͘k̵̦̱̅̂͜e̷̱̪͐̅ immortality that cannot possibly be real unless it’s some kind of cloak to hide Alicorns beneath.
They have to be d̴͙̬͇̉̅e̵̗͂͛š̶͠ͅt̶̛̰̜̝͗r̸͕͎͋̆̾o̴̧̨͕̿y̷̥͓̒e̵̘̻̿̽d̶̙͍̰͊̐͝ removed for the safety of the world itself.  Those that support them must be ė̶̳̙̈́̽l̴̢͕̓̈́i̷̫̳̩̐̿m̶̥̳̏i̸̗͓̚n̷̖̒͜a̴͇̎ṭ̵̂͂̒ͅe̷͔͝d̸͍́ discouraged from doing so.
However, this was not the first time he had attempted this.  It hadn’t worked last time, and indeed these large coordinated nations would respond ā̸̦̔̔ͅn̷̬̞̖͋͝g̷̛̰̽͝e̵̤͋ͅr̵̳͗̐̓͜ with substantial resistance if they were to ally in opposition to him.  That kind of alliance had been what defeated him in that time long ago.  A wedge Ẅ̶͖̝̙́̇Ã̸̦̂̊R̸̘͚̮͑ would have to be driven between them.  How best to cause this?
Of the many stable nations, the two most powerful are the Lumahina Empire and the Sunbound Kingdom.  Twice each year they meet at an agreed-upon location within the Twilight Lands to discuss matters that concern both great powers, which he has repeatedly heard called the Conclave.  He could attack and possibly destroy their leadership in one blow, but if there were any who escaped, they would band together, and the result would be the same.  With m̶̙̾̓o̴̝̩̿s̶̗̠͙͐t̶̼͎́͝͠ much of the Nexus power still somehow avoiding him, he would have to find some way to do this more subtly.
Fortunately for him, that large Changeling city was sitting nearly atop his Nexus.  Another few months of finding v̴̺̾͛i̸̡̻͗́̎c̷̡̠̩̈́̑̇ṭ̶͖͇̊i̷̢̨͈̊͝m̸̧̟͍̍ş̵̢̗̒͗ helpful locals finally taught him what he needed to know; the names and members of the Quorum, the leadership of the guilds.  A quick show of m̷͎͌͐̽u̷͔̔͋r̵̫͙͒ḑ̸̩̑ë̸̢̫́̿r̸̬̝͝ force to the right people and the Quorum would fold to his will.    The infiltrators would be his knife, and the Changelings his cover.  E̴̢͌͜x̵̱͆͑͆ĉ̴̢̡̭̕e̵̯̙̦̒̌l̴̻̭̀l̴̦̅̐̚e̶̬̪̔͛͘n̸̢͌̃̕t̴̳̱̐.̸̤͓͝
The day came, and he followed the assassins to the Conclave.  Quietly he was watching from the woods when he was stumbled on by a young academic type, who introduced himself as Dusk.  Ũ̷̳n̶̜̕f̷̥̣̓̀͘o̷̧͔̙̐̀̀r̷͎̗̓t̷̰̗̬̽̄̆ú̵̮̥̩̈́͂ǹ̸̯̕a̸͉͎̰͗̿̐t̷̪̬̹͌e̴̗̻͉̾̆̕.̵̩̟̓̚͘  The scholar raised no alarm, calmly seeing that he was an Alicorn and asking some polite questions.  For a moment, he indulged Dusk, amusing himself while he waited for the attack to begin.  But then Dusk grew nervous, something about his answers obviously worrying the scholar.  Then Dusk backed away, exclaiming he recognized who he was speaking to.  Ụ̷́͋n̵̖͇̍ä̷̰c̴̱͐͂c̴̲̱̍́ͅe̵̜̱̐p̶̮̀̀t̴͙̖̊̄ä̴̗b̵̳̘̬̈ľ̷͔͛ë̴͍̱́̈.̵͎͔̒̅̐  Unwilling to expend real power on a simple student, he drew a dagger and buried it in Dusk’s chest.
The dying Dusk already forgotten, he headed towards the Conclave grounds, seeing the Changeling infiltrators already beginning the attack.  He watched from the sidelines where he was hidden and witnessed firsthand the power of Solarflare as she incinerated most of them.  He ţ̶̫͙̈r̶̙̿͛ọ̷̧͑ȕ̶̦͜b̷̰̲͘l̴̨̧̊́͋į̷̞͇̿̊ṉ̷̦̋̓͋ģ̵̱̒ could not properly identify what Nexus she was using to fuel her spells.  She would be an issue; he hesitated moments longer, unsure if his reduced strength could defeat her in open combat.  Then she flew off to engage the Lumahina, and he saw them falter under her raw power.
Then u̴̖̞̰͛͘n̸͎̂e̵̺͍͎̋ẍ̶̢̙͂̕p̸̬̖̉e̵͍̰̋c̵̮̀̀͗t̸͙̯͆̈́́ȇ̷̥d̶̞̥̰̋̎̌ a new combatant emerged from the forest, one he did not immediately recognize.  Somehow, Princess Moonlight had transformed herself into an Alicorn in only the past few moments.  There are no Nexus anywhere nearby; how could that be p̷̭̌̌́ó̴͖̏̕s̷̰͒ŝ̷̡̹̱i̵͖̱͌b̷͕̠̰̾l̷̲̩̼͐͌̽e̷̞̐͜?  The battle did not last long, Moonlight turning strange magic against Solarflare he was unfamiliar with only long enough to allow the Lumahina to escape.  She, too, wielding the powers of a Nexus he did not understand.
Caution was in order.  S̷̳͍̘͠t̵͖͉̀̍͊u̵̲͖̞͋̈́̿d̵̩̉̊͝y̸̠̲̓͌̊.̸̡̧̙̇͗  Something is odd about the magic they used.  The last time he encountered magic remotely like this, he vanished for millennia.  He would not risk that again.  Answers to his full power were out there, surely.  With the Changelings slain or escaped ḯ̷̜ṛ̷̦̦̀r̷̝̪͕̚̚͝e̷̘̲̒͌l̶͎̓͌e̶̯̪͖͌͑͝v̵͓̠͉̓̊̚a̵̢͙̫͐̓ǹ̶̛̺t̷̼̯͉̒̐͛, he turned and left.  There was still much work to do.
He traveled back to where he had d̷̟͉͙͠i̴̗̝̙̓s̶̫̩͆ͅa̶̝͛̇p̸͔̺̿̐̍p̴̨̬̙͗e̵͈̦͒̒a̴͇̙̠͐r̸̦͊̓e̴̝̥͚̐̿d̵̩̳̈́̈͠ been displaced into that nothing space to study what had been done to him.  The chamber was as he ṳ̸̃͘͠n̷̝͚͌ţ̸̈́̕ò̵̩̣͗u̴̡͎̅͛͒ĉ̸̦̭h̷̭͈̙͆è̷̦̳̞̑̈́d̴̡͈̊ remembered, but now he was looking for something in specific.   He found it as an object, a silver bell at the center of an arcane circle.  Surrounding it, written in the old tongue, were the words Sacred Bell Tassonla.  How the inscribed spell functioned was unclear to him, but it was clear it impacted him somehow.  When he disintegrated the bell, a rush of energy flooded into him, and something like a chain link snapped.  Some, but not all of his former strength returned.  This so-called sacred object was restricting his access to his Nexus.  If he could find them all, he would be ṵ̵̾ň̵̗̗̫̃͝s̵͓̍͗̉t̴͍͆õ̴̭p̵̬͉͐͒ͅp̴̛͎̜̔͠a̶̩͐̈͘b̸͇̪̦̈l̶̨͚̀e̶͎͎̔ restored fully.
A thought fluttered unbidden into his mind of a scholar nervously backing away from him.  The poor fool said he knew who he was.  Dusk had said, you are Calamity!  C̴̝͌̈́̈͜a̸̯̮͑͂͠ĺ̷̜̑͠ã̶̩ḿ̶̖̹̍̓͜i̷̟͕͛͆̽ṭ̸̰̺̊y̶̳̫̻͝,̶̫͇̈́ Yes.  That was who he was; how had he forgotten?  

*̵̨̡̰̮͊̚͠Ì̴̦̭̬̪̗̽̈́̀͊̐̓͜ ̷̢̧͇̙͕̭̓̒͜a̶̰͖͚̫̒́̈́͛͋m̴̛͈̻̘͗͗̓̀͝͠ ̸̟̙̺̞̉̓͛̆͐Ć̸̞̕̕a̵̞̠̣̲̟̓l̴̺̇̽̋̿â̷̢͚͈̟͆̋̏̓̓̊m̸͈̖̺̪̿̒̀̆̔ị̷̡̢̩̝̙̭̒͌ẗ̴͔̩̺́̎̀͒̏͘y̸̡̛̺͕̤͖̍̈͐́̓̕.̵͙̰͖̋͜*̴̨̡͕͍͕̖͔̒