//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: Second Chances // by Mediocre Morsov //------------------------------// Something was off when Flurry Heart woke up Sunday morning, bleary-eyed and half-asleep. As she fell back to sleep then woke up again, she realized that her roommate and best friend was missing. That couldn’t be right, of course, because Luster Dawn was always awake and muzzle-deep in a book. Today she was… absent. The alicorn filly got ready for her day, the mystery of her missing roommate keeping her from going back to sleep. Searching for her saddlebags, Flurry found the half-finished model they were working on stored in one of their shared cupboards, half-forgotten. A twinge of sadness touched the filly moments before an idea made her light up. “I know what we can do today,” she mused aloud. This was a perfect way to spend a Sunday, building a project with a friend. Flurry trotted through the halls of the school, searching for her roommate. She checked the library first, naturally, but the only pony there was Cozy Glow. Curious, the alicorn approached her oldest friend. “What are you doing here on a Sunday?” she asked, a smirk already creasing her lips. “Mom and dad work at the school on Sundays and we don’t have any Wonderbolt practice today, so the house was lonely. Thought I’d come in for a few hours before heading home,” Cozy explained, returning the smirk, “and I thought I might run into you, kid.” “Oh?” “It’s been awhile since we’ve hung out,” Cozy smiled, then blushed in embarrassment. “Though, I guess a full-grown mare like me hanging out with a filly is a little, ah… odd.” “Yeah, but we’re odd anyway,” Flurry chuckled. “I’d love to hang around, but I’m looking for Luster. Have you seen her?” “I haven’t seen her since Fall Break,” Cozy admitted with a sudden crestfallen expression. She bounced back quickly, a mischievous smile on her face. “Golly, are you sure you two are only friends?” “Gah!” Flurry turned vibrant red, caught off-guard by the question. She’d never considered it before. Cozy Glow’s laughter snapped her out of her thoughts. “I’m kidding! Gosh, relax.” “Sorry, you just surprised me,” Flurry Heart laughed anxiously. “I don’t think I like her that way? Never really thought about it until now.” The filly put a hoof to her chin, speculating. “Are you seriously thinking about this?” Cozy raised an eyebrow. “I’m the daughter of the Princess of Love,” Flurry snorted, “speculating on romance is second nature to me. I think you’re right, though; I don’t have a crush on your sister.” “I feel oddly relieved,” Cozy said, and Flurry couldn’t tell if she were being sarcastic or not. “Anyway, I’ve only seen a few students today. Maybe you should check the Headmare’s office, or the counselor. I’m pretty sure mom uses tracking spells on us, but I can’t prove it.” “Alright, will do,” Flurry nodded. They said their goodbyes and the alicorn trotted through the halls, returning greetings to passing students before reaching the office of Headmare Starlight. She caught an argument going on inside and stopped to listen. “Someone managed to get into the vault without being detected, then vanished without a trace!” Starlight was clearly on the offensive. “Oh? And you think I can just get past magic alarms without setting them off?” a second voice retorted. Flurry immediately recognized it as Discord’s. She couldn’t tell if the God of Chaos was genuinely offended or simply mocking Starlight. “Your powers rival that of the Princesses and are unpredictable,” Starlight retorted, a suspicious edge to her words, “and you’re able to travel by slipping through space and time. You’re the only creature I can think of that could have done this.” “What would I want with a tacky piece of jewelry?” Discord scoffed. “As you yourself pointed out, my powers rival that of not one, but two alicorns. What benefit would I have from it?” “Some bizarre life lesson?” Starlight deadpanned. “I wouldn’t put it past you to try and teach some creature a lesson about power and responsibility by giving them the Alicorn Amulet.” “Don’t give me any ideas,” Flurry Heart could hear the smirk in Discord’s voice. His tone quickly became somber. “I promise you, though, I haven’t been to the Canterlot Vaults except for rare occasions when Twilight lets me accompany her, and even then I’ve found the place dreadfully boring.” “…Twilight asked you to accompany her to the Vaults?” “There are a few artifacts there that even her book reading couldn’t help her puzzle out,” the draconequus chortled. “It helps to have an ancient deity as a friend sometimes.” There was a moment of silence as the Headmare weighed Discord’s reasoning. “Sorry, Discord,” she sighed at last. “Princess Twilight has been stressing about this theft, but there’s no clues. You were the only creature I could think of.” “You’re lucky that my ego isn’t as easy to bruise as it has been,” Discord chuckled. “Tell you what; I’ll bug that old fuddy-duddy Tirek about this and see if the two of us can puzzle out how it was done. There’s probably an ancient horror or two we’ve forgotten about. In the meantime, I believe you’ve had a curious filly waiting just outside for the past five minutes.” Flurry Heart flinched back as a startled Starlight Glimmer quickly opened the door and flashed a nervous grin. “Flurry!” the Headmare chuckled nervously, shooting a deadly glare back at Discord before returning her attention to the filly. “What, uh, what can I help you with?” “I, um…” the alicorn wasn’t sure if she should ask about the conversation she had clearly overheard, or if she should pretend it wasn’t an issue like Starlight was. “I’m looking for Luster Dawn. Do you know where she is?” “Oh, well…” Starlight blushed, lowering her voice. “To be completely honest, I do have a tracking spell I used on my daughters when they were younger, but Luster figured out how to stay undetected. Is something wrong?” “Nothing’s wrong,” Flurry assured her. “I was just hoping we could work on our friendship project. It’s been awhile.” “That’s so sweet!” the Headmare struggled not to tear up with a mother’s pride. “I’m so happy you two have become friends!” “Easy there,” Discord chimed in over the unicorn’s shoulder, “you’re starting to sound like daddy dearest.” “Discord, shouldn’t you be bothering your wife?” Starlight hissed. “Oh! You’re absolutely right!” the draconequus looked genuinely shocked, checking three watches and a sundial that were suddenly on his wrist. “It’s nearly teatime!” And with that, he disappeared. “I’m sorry about that,” Starlight sighed. “I wish I could help you, but I… don’t see my youngest daughter as often as I’d like.” Flurry felt the deep heartache in the unicorn, like a keen blade pressed against her own heart. Although it wasn’t her domain, Flurry had a sixth sense for love, either as an inherited trait from her mother’s magic or because of her mother’s (and, to a lesser extent, Chrysalis’) influence and teachings on the subject. She was empathetic – indeed, empathic – towards emotions of romantic or familial love, and could pick up on even the subtlest of heartbreaks, the quietest of passions. In a flash, the Headmare bounced back. “Have you checked the library?” “Yes,” Flurry chuckled, rolling her eyes, “the thought crossed my mind.” “I’m sure she’s on school grounds,” Starlight shared in the good humor. “Luster Dawn can barely stay away.” Flurry thanked Starlight and headed on her way, mulling it over. Surely her roommate was still on school grounds. Where else could Luster be, except for her parents’ home? She rarely went there, and both her parents were on campus anyway. No, she had to be hiding somewhere at the school, surely. … “This is deliciously brilliant,” the Nightmare hissed at the edges of Luster Dawn’s consciousness, “working out of your parents’ home while they’re at work. The irony is palpable…” “Quiet,” the filly muttered, more out of reflex than any serious attempt. Her focus was set upon the task before her: the careful memorization of the magical rites and formulas to bore her way into the dimension her would-be mentor was trapped in. Luster had her suspicions who that mentor was. In all her research, the possibilities of who it could be dwindled with every fresh revelation, leaving only one mythical terror. Despite her insistence that what ponies referred to as “dark magic” was just an older form of magic and nothing to be feared, she had been raised on all the stories of the near-apocalypse caused by the various villains of Equestria, the dangers of disharmony and isolation, and the horrors that could be unleashed from the magic she was studying. If her mentor was who she suspected it was, she’d be unleashing nigh-unstoppable evil into the world… “There is no such thing as evil…” she insisted to herself. Selfishness wasn’t evil. It was just nature. That’s what cold-hard facts and statistics told her. She chose to believe only what she saw, only what she felt. The beliefs and feelings of others were immaterial to her, and despite what her mother and father said about those things being just as important as the material reality of things, Luster Dawn refused to be swayed by it. She was proud to be amoral. “Did you say something?” the demon sounded incredibly close, and unbearably amused. Luster bit down an angry retort. “You are correct that evil, as you think of it, does not exist.” As I think of it, Luster noted mentally. She knew what the demon was waiting for. The filly’s eyes drifted to where she’d hidden the Alicorn Amulet, a feeling of power-lust washing over her. She felt an itch, a withdrawal from being separated from the artifact even after only a short exposure. Slowly, she uncovered the amulet and stared at it levitating in her magical grasp. It glinted maliciously, ominously. “This is a mistake…” the comment was barely above a whisper. The front door opening and closing caught her off-guard, her eyes widening in panic as she looked around her room. She’d pushed all her furniture aside to leave the floor clear, an ancient summoning circle clearly marked in chalk upon the wooden boards. Candles gave off plentiful light, enough to be seen from outside. “Luster?” the voice of Cozy Glow came from downstairs, questioningly. “Are you home?” The unicorn felt her heart jump into her throat at the creaking on the staircase as her adopted sister approached. She tried to think of how to escape, but she couldn’t fathom of how to explain away the strange state she’d left her room in. Cozy Glow was upon her door faster than expected. “Have you been feeling okay?” the pegasus asked just beyond the wooden portal. “I thought I saw a light on in your room yesterday night, but you weren’t here in the morning… Have you been visiting home in secret? If your homesick, I’m sure mom would let you-” “She’s not your mom…” Luster spat out, her voice quiet but loud enough that Cozy could hear she had spoken. The unicorn filly shook her head in surprise. Where had that comment come from? She felt a seething rage enter her heart. “What was that?” the pegasus’ voice took on a slightly unnerved edge, as if she had made out at least some of the bitter comment. There was a moment of silence before Cozy inhaled to steady herself and then continued. “Luster… I know we haven’t gotten along well, but…” Luster tuned her sister out, trying to steady her emotions. Why was she feeling enraged and envious all of a sudden? Her eyes widened in realization as she noticed the demon had fallen silent. The Nightmare was attempting to possess her while she was vulnerable! “Get out, demon!” Luster snapped without thinking. Cozy went silent, but somehow the idea she’d hurt her sister only angered her further. The Nightmare was definitely inside her, trying to takeover. “Luster… are you alright?” Cozy’s voice was concerned with an edge of hurt to it. She shifted, getting close to the door and trying the handle. Rage shot through Luster, so volatile and potent that she let out a snarling roar. She shook her head and stared at the floorboards through blurring vision. She noticed the Alicorn Amulet was clasped around her neck, an act the Nightmare had accomplished without her noticing. Looking upwards at her own horn, the filly felt dread that it was still glowing. I’m still performing magic… she realized, looking at the floorboards again in horror. The sigils and runes were glowing as they worked the spell, unbidden. Luster could hear the Nightmare’s hissing voice filling her head with the incantation. “What’s wrong?!” Cozy started banging against the door. “Stay out, Cozy Glow!” Luster snapped, fear and anger warring in her voice. A moment later she lost control of her voice, chanting the incantation seared into her mind. She lost control of her actions, becoming a puppet of the demon. She had thought the Nightmare weak, a fleeting shadow, but it had hidden its true strength. “You do not know the half of my strength, little one…” the voice in her mind was at once a hissing whisper and the rumble of thunder, “I shall soon be complete.” The latch on the door broke as Cozy Glow finally battered her way inside. … Cozy Glow had come home early out of boredom. There wasn’t much sense in helping out at the School of Friendship if there wasn’t anything to help with, or trying to spend time with either parent when they were busy. When she had seen the candlelight in Luster Dawn’s room, she’d hoped to pass on Flurry Heart’s desire to hang out to the young unicorn before too much daylight was lost. It had been a surprise to hear the rage and bitterness of her sister’s voice, the snarling roars, and then the sinister chanting. The ominous glow of magic was also concerning, especially when coupled with the icy feeling of absolute dread. There was something wrong – terribly wrong – with this kind of magic. Cozy Glow was no expert, but she could feel the wrongness of the art. It was akin to the twisted parody of alicorn-ship she had assumed as a filly, but so much worse. Something old, more akin to the windigos she had briefly glimpsed. Ancient, eternal, dancing through the chill of death. So, she broke the door down to save her sister from a perceived threat. She hadn’t expected to see her sister wearing some medallion, performing the dark art she felt. The magic made the room shimmer as if she were looking at it through a haze of heat. In the wavy air, shimmering with light and power, Cozy could see wings – long and foreboding – rising from Luster’s back. The filly’s eyes were glowing with golden light veined in black, the intensity of her magic corrupted by cancerous darkness. Cozy Glow only gaped, unsure of what to do to stop whatever ritual was occurring. She only watched and felt as reality buckled. A bend in the air formed, then ripped. Unlight filtered from the fissure in the fabric of the universe from some timeless void. The pegasus stepped back in primal horror as a mass of shadow dark enough to smother stars stepped through the increasing rip in reality. It towered over the ponies, seeming to fill the room and go beyond it. As soon as it stepped through, Luster ended the incantation. The drawn out moment of the ritual ended suddenly, the light of the magic and the candles snuffing out. Somehow, even in the darkness of Luster’s blinded room, the entity stood out clearly for the darkness of its being made the natural shadows seem light by comparison. It turned its attention on the mare and Cozy Glow saw the death of galaxies within its stare. … “Excellent work, Luster…” the Nightmare hissed in her mind. “I am now complete!” Before the filly, exhausted, could say anything, the demon left her behind to join the liberated embodiment of all evil. It seemed to grow from the additional darkness and inhaled deeply. A grin broke out on its spectral face as it let out a bark of laughter that was edged with the shrieking of tortured souls. Luster saw Cozy fall to her knees in fear. “You have done well, my student,” the Pony of Shadows spoke with a voice of eternal darkness and smoldering hate. “You shall be an acolyte of in this new era, an era of restoration. For too long these soft-willed creatures have disturbed the natural order of things.” Images of braying horses breaking bones and cutting flanks with rampant hooves in competition, images of fierce and bloody competitions for land, food and water, filled the minds of both ponies. “Competition. Self-interest. Lust and hunger and greed…” the Pony of Shadows’ voice ground through the air and through their thoughts, making their teeth itch. “This is nature. These… civilizations are lies. Compassion is weakness. Cooperation is nothing more than laziness. The strong shall persevere and the weak shall wither and die. Their bodies will be consumed by worms and grass that will feed the strong.” Luster stayed silent, feeling nauseous at the imagery. She could see the new world the Pony of Shadows would build, a world overrun with dangerous and hostile life, where creatures only banded together for self-preservation, a world without love or kindness or friendship. A world where the strong and the gifted could rule over their lessers. I didn’t want to rule over anyone, the filly thought to herself. “Ah, but you did,” the embodiment of evil turned its sinister gaze upon the unicorn, pulling her thoughts from her mind. “Why would you wish to show others that friendship is irrelevant if you didn’t intend to create a world without it?” “I-I… I just wanted everyone to get off my back about it,” Luster confessed, stepping backwards. She grew angry, “You tricked me! Your stupid minion made me do the ritual!” “Only because you had shown weakness,” the demon chuckled. “What you did business with was no minion; it was a shard of my power, haunting dreams and sowing the seeds for my return since it was exorcised from Luna. Speaking of shards of power…” The Pony of Shadows reached out towards Luster. The filly winced but was never touched. She felt her powers draining and looked down to see the vast magic of Alicorn Amulet being absorbed by the demon. Within seconds the medallion was emptied, nothing more than a decorative husk of crystal and metal. Its malign influence fled Luster’s thoughts and she found her emotions rebalancing. Her initial outrage and nausea was being replaced with her usual fascination with magic. So, the Pony of Shadows was the physical manifestation of dark magic, just like the alicorns were of harmonic magic – just as she theorized. “How quickly your mood changes,” the Pony of Shadows noted, sarcastically. “Already, your pride reasserts itself.” “Luster,” Cozy Glow’s voice broke in, reminding both Luster and her demonic ally that they were no alone, “Luster, what have you done?” “I did what I needed to, to prove to everyone that friendship isn’t the only magic out there,” Luster snapped. “You have no idea what it’s like, to be so intelligent, to have so much knowledge in magic and science, and the only thing impeding your success is the fact that you don’t understand friendship! I am protégé to the Princess herself, and I’ll never reach her expectations because of a stupid fixation on making friends! It’s ridiculous!” “I know what it feels like to not understand friendship, believe me,” Cozy dared to take a step forward, “but cutting it out of your life entirely – cutting it out of everyone’s life – isn’t the way!” “You don’t have to deal with the pressure of being a prodigy and falling short,” Luster seethed. “I sacrificed everything at a young age to dedicate my life to learning! I left my parents behind, only for them to dote on you! I have been busting my flank for years to live up to the expectations put on me by mom, by dad, and by the Princess, while you’ve been coddled while trying to join some stupid stunt team!” Cozy flinched backwards at the sudden venom of her sister. She had always suspected the deeper reasons for Luster’s animosity towards her, but to actually hear it aloud was something else entirely. The worst part was that there was no longer any of the demon’s malign influence inside of her; all of this was pure Luster Dawn. “Child,” the Pony of Shadows spoke, drawing the filly’s attention, “I will gift to you powers capable of rivaling any alicorn.” “Save the false promises,” the unicorn snapped, rolling her eyes. “I know you need a host to be at your most powerful, and that you grant the host unrivaled magical powers.” Luster took a step towards the Pony of Shadows and Cozy’s eyes widened in horror. “Luster, you can’t be serious!” she gasped. “You’ll really let that demon inside of you?!” “Better to rule in Tartarus…” Luster grimaced as she opened herself up to the demon. Finally, she would have the power to be who she wanted to be, without the pressures of the Princess or her parents, without the awkwardness of personal relationships, without the glaring reminder that her ex-convict of a sister was better adjusted to society than she was. She could be a princess, nay, an empress with unbridled powers at her disposal. The power seethed through her, the Pony of Shadow in all his dark majesty flooding into her. Luster clung to the hardened core of her thoughts, struggling to hold onto herself as the demon’s sheer gravitas threatened to usurp her entirely. She succeeded in retaining control, but all that was friendly or compassionate had whittled away as her body was transformed. Cozy stepped back slowly, watching in disbelief as her sister transformed. Luster grew with power, rivalling Celestia in height. Her coat had become darker, a purplish red that looked disturbingly similar to blood, while her mane had become an ethereal glow, like sunrise through polluted fog. On her back, large wings of razor-edged pinions sprouted and spread, while atop her head her horn grew long and sharp. Magical power radiated off of her in such extremes that even a pegasus like Cozy Glow could feel it. Luster’s eyes were golden orbs slitted with black. Armor of obsidian edged in gold began to form along her body, jeweled with precious stones. The Alicorn Amulet remained as a decorative feature of her new costume. When the transformation finished, Luster struck a pose. “How do I like, sister?” the nightmare asked, pouring malice into the title. “Oh, Luster…” Cozy’s shoulders slackened, “what have you done?” “Luster Dawn is no more,” the demon snapped, then smirked. “Call me… Shadow Dawn.” Despite the tension, Cozy managed to sneer, though it was a poor cover for her terror. “Shadow Dawn? Really? That’s the best you’ve got?” the mare’s bravado faltered when the humor died in Shadow Dawn’s expression. “I think it’s quite fitting,” her possessed sister retorted, standing straight. “Aside from the obvious combination of our names, it expresses how I am the dawn that will bring forth the light of the Pony of Shadow’s wisdom.” “The light of the Pony of Shadow…” Cozy repeated before shaking her head. “Don’t you see how stupid that sounds?” “It’s poetic, not literal,” Shadow Dawn sighed, turning away from her sister. “Under normal circumstances, I’d have to do something to prevent you from tattling on me. Freeze you in stone, perhaps?” the nightmare’s smile was anything but kind. “But, seeing as how the Princess has half of Equestria’s magical experts tracking the Alicorn Amulet, they’ll already have sensed my power. I could freeze you, but I did all of this to convince the Princess that I could be just as powerful as her without friendship, so I’ll spare you.” Cozy Glow felt herself cowed before the demon as it turned. It was so much like Luster Dawn in her speech and mannerisms, even in her appearance, but there was also an undercurrent of barely-restrained malice. Suddenly, the pegasus was acutely aware that if said the wrong thing, petrification would be the least of her worries. “Y-you’re letting me go?” “There’s nothing you can do to stop me, anyway,” Shadow Dawn shrugged. “You’re just a pegasus, not even an official Wonderbolt; a former felon that took over a decade to convince anyone besides my parents that you weren’t evil. You didn’t leave a very positive impression if it took that long.” Cozy Glow winced at the sting in her sister’s words. She felt oddly defeated. “They’ll be coming soon. My parents, the Princess and her hounds…” Shadow Dawn was talking mostly to herself. “I’ll have to impress them, show them my control over these powers, show them that they shouldn’t fear me. I am merciful…” The nightmare kept prattling on to herself, dark energies ebbing outwards and remaking their house into a warped parody of itself. Cozy recoiled as everything became darker, more gothic, more regal, like a fane to a dark goddess. Within seconds, the pegasus was sprinting away – then flying away – in terror, fleeing what her sister had begun. Panic overrode her Wonderbolts training, her guilt, her sense of duty to her sister. She felt hopeless despair fill her when confronted with this being that hated her and wouldn’t hesitate to make her worst nightmares come true. So, with great shame and even greater fear, Cozy Glow fled the only home she’d ever known, and the sister she’d failed.