//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22- Harbingers 
// Story: Only the Broken, Only the Cursed (please read blog post) 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

Twilight found herself alone again, in a strange hallway. It wasn’t a void, nor a mystical setting. She was standing on a hardwood floor, and the walls were brick, layered without flaw. A soft glow from a domed overhead chandelier bathed her in its light. In front of her, a lone door, unassuming and almost humble, stood framed by the bricks. Curiously, she reached for it, throwing it open to reveal them, waiting for her.
What awaited her through that door was anything but what she expected. Trixie was waiting for her, but so were the other three, however, none of them seemed to notice her standing there. She stayed quiet and observed the scene with disbelief, and slight disappointment. These are the harbingers of the apocalypse?
Starlight lay sprawled on a big sofa, watching what seemed to be a cartoon show about ponies, in which one of the characters, resembling her, had used their magic to render the main characters helpless. She protested at the TV as she opened a bag of potato chips.
“Oh c’mon, that is completely out of character! This show has been off the rails since Dusk got her wings in season 3!”
Trixie lay on top of Starlight, laughing at her outburst.
“Oh, who do you think you are fooling, Famine? You know you love it.”
Off to the side Cozy glow sat at a tyke table furiously scribbling away with a crayon. After a moment she grinned and threw the crayon onto the table. Picking up the parchment she ran to the open-air kitchen behind the couch where Sunset was busy stirring a pot.
“Pestilence, I did it! Look!”
Wiping her hooves on her apron, Sunset took the parchment and looked at it, gushing at the scribbles, that Twilight couldn’t begin to decipher.
“Oh, would you look at that! Who’s my good little warrior?”
The filly cringed at being called little.
“Hey, Pestilence! I’m older than you!”
Sunset grinned wickedly.
“And what if you are, War? I’ll tell you what, I’ve been dying for a new necklace, why don’t you take some beads and do that for me?”
Batting her eyes at Cozy, Sunset winked.
“If it’s good, you’ll get an extra portion of cake for dessert.”
Completely placated, Cozy raced back to the table and began fiddling with some wooden beads. Twilight marveled at how Sunset handled the situation. She heard Sunset then mutter to herself with a grin.
“Haven’t changed a bit over eons, have you War?”
Twilight chuckled at the comment only to notice all four had turned to stare at her, alerted by her laughter. She began to sweat as a dagger was at her throat in an instant, while a sniper’s laser was zeroed in on the gap between her eyes.

***

There was silence at the table as the five sat there staring at the stack of parchment, bound in twine and sealed by Celestia, that lay before them. The seal took the form of a living fire that resembled a fully-animated alicorn sitting in the middle. Standing a mere third of a hoof in height, it glared up at them, as all five stared down at it; as though defying them to try and open the bundle upon which it rested.
Rarity leaned over and whispered to Applejack.
“Nothing’s happening darling, maybe for once, she was wrong?”
Applejack’s brow furrowed as she thought about the situation. The seal stared up at her as its flame flicked to and fro. Celestia had made it crystal clear that, with no pretenses or misgivings, on the night she died, the seal would fade and the parchments within were to be followed to the letter. 
Still, the tiny flaming alicorn, now angrily biting at the hoof of Rainbow Dash who was gingerly poking it, seemed to be just fine. She was right about everything else, could it be our Tyrant isn’t dead after all? Just as Applejack’s heart held a glimmer of hope, the alicorn let out a squeal of pain, before laying down on its side. It whimpered weakly as the flames in its form dwindled away, slowly closing its eyes and laying still. And then, it was gone. 
Rainbow’s curious eyes went wide as the little fire pony vanished. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy felt their hearts break. It didn’t seem possible. Celestia was the shining beacon of suppression in the Realm of the Dead. All celebrated their hatred of the most oppressive ruler in the history of Equus. Invincible, immortal, widely acknowledged as the Demon of Tartarus; there were many prestige and titles her subjects had given her but for Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity she was simply the Mother of Equus.
After resurrecting them, she had gone out of her way to stay in contact. Though kept from others, the three had written letters to the Tyrant, detailing their ventures, hopes, and dreams on a nightly basis for the past 8 years. Likewise, by sunrise they would find letters on their bed stands, each individually written to provide comfort, and peace of mind as she addressed their worries and concerns. There’s no way. She can’t really be...gone?
 As the twine slowly untied itself, the three felt tears well in their eyes. There was no mistaking it, Their Tyrant had truly fallen. And within that bundle lay her last words to them.
All eyes were on Applejack as the Headmare reached for the top of the stack. The writing was delicate calligraphy written with a steady focus. At the top of the page was a large “Operation: Friendship is Magic.”

***

Twilight felt an overwhelming bloodlust from three of the four entities. Sunset had instantly drawn and steadied her ranged weapon, while Starlight had unsheathed and placed her blades against Twilight’s throat.
Cozy Glow meanwhile, was staring mercilessly at her, holding her over-sized battleax. Her sweet crystallized honey voice didn’t sound so cute anymore.
“Best tell us who you are and how you got into our house.”
Twilight, no stranger to such threats of obliteration, felt at ease and, though sweating from the dagger’s unbearable hunger slowly invading her being, calmly observed them before remarking.
“You are not the four from the hallway. Though you do resemble them. Your magic is far more potent.”
Throughout the whole encounter, only Trixie, or rather, the entity resembling Trixie, stayed still and watched as the scene unfolded. Slowly clapping its hooves, it rose and smiled.
“Not bad, you can tell that simply by watching us? All of you at ease, she is Trixie's guest.”
The effect of the words was instantaneous; as quickly as the weapons were brought to bear, they vanished and the three returned to their mundane activities. Starlight was back in her spot on the couch, eating her chips, and complaining about how Blue Fast would never have done those pranks before season 3. Sunset’s attention went back to simultaneously stirring her pot and watching Cozy Glow, who was busy fiddling with her beads, a smirk playing on her muzzle. Twilight was surprised at how quickly the situation changed. Meanwhile, Trixie spoke to her.
“Oh, don’t mind them. If it doesn’t involve some kind of conflict they just aren’t interested.”
“And what about you?”
Trixie smiled slyly.
“What about Trixie?”
Twilight shook her head. The smell pervading her nostrils was foreign, the feeling was cold, clammy. And the taste on her tongue was horribly fetid and acidic. On top of that, it was overwhelmingly so. This was most certainly not Trixie’s magic.
“Who or what are you? You are not that Unicorn. Her magic was warmer and felt like it had a pulse. Yours is cold, as though dead, still and placid.”
The mare before her became formless, plagued with acid greens blended with ebony. It no longer resembled a Unicorn at all. This state lasted for a minute as Twilight stared in silent shock. The formless mass reformed once again to resemble Trixie and smiled.
“Cold, dead, still and placid, Trixie sees. You really can see Trixie’s magic can’t you?”
Chuckling, the mare stared directly into Twilight’s eyes, as her voice grew solemn. She began to speak as though quoting a reverent scripture, one Twilight knew quite well.
“I looked, and there before me was a pale pony! The mare was named Death, and Tartarus was following close behind her. They were given power over the whole of Equus to kill by ax, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the realms.”
Gesturing to herself with her hoof, the entity resembling Trixie gave a flourished bow.  
“Death, Leader of the Four Horsemares of the Apocalypse, at your service. Come we have much to discuss.”

***

The clock on the wall read 5:30. Rainbow snored softly as the candlelight glowered low. Her head rested on the sturdy oak tabletop while nearby Pinkie lay muzzle-buried deep into a cupcake, snoring loudly and munching in between her breaths; though where exactly the cupcake came from, nopony knew. Watching them, before quietly draping a blanket over each, Fluttershy turned to look at Applejack and Rarity as they painstakingly poured over hundreds of pages by the now-dying candlelight. 
“Such precious gifts, may they sleep well. Find anything?”
“Too much, darling. These pages detail everything. From 8 years ago, to this moment, it’s all here. That night, our rebirth, even Twilight falling out of the sky last night. Fluttershy, Celestia knew. She knew about Applebloom, what would happen to Sweetie...Even your bunny. It’s all here.”
Fluttershy’s heart skipped a beat.
“A-Angel?”

***

“I must say, you definitely live up to the description we were given. Not many could stand before us and defy our destructive tendencies.”
“You were given a description of me?”
Twilight sat on the comfortable-looking couch next to Starlight, who ignored her and focused on her show while eating impossible amounts of potato chips from a tiny snack-sized bag. The entity known as Death nodded with Trixie’s head.
“I believe you called her mother, but that Tyrant was very determined to have us hear her out.”
“More like annoying.”
Turning around, Sunset chided Cozy Glow.
“Don’t interrupt your betters, War. It’s rude.”
“Well, it was!”
“War! What did I just say?”
“Well, Pestilence, she isn’t wrong. That mare foiling our attempts to reset that world was annoying. Destroying those crops was a labor of love, she didn’t have to regrow them so fast.”
Starlight had sat up and clicked off the TV. Yawning, she stretched and looked over at the kitchen. After chiming in, she barked out.
“Anyway, when’s dinner? I’m starving!”
“Oh pipe down, Famine, you are always starving! Dinner’s in about five minutes. Though I suppose you are right, I really didn’t appreciate her purifying my precious plagues like that.”
Cozy Glow carefully tied off her string of beads to form a necklace as she remarked.
“That’s nothing! My ax divided all the creatures of the land; pitting brother against brother. Civil wars throughout the globe and that wretched creature had all division quelled and united under her rule by week’s end.”
Twilight blinked in surprise. Celestia prevented them from unleashing their power? She was able to stave off Famine, War, Pestilence, and Death? Just what is mom?
Death laughed before calling out to the room.
“I think it’s pretty clear Celestia holds a place in our hearts.”
Starlight turned back to the TV before clicking it on again, grumbling begrudgingly.
“Not many can stand up to us, that’s for sure.”
Mumbles of agreement laced with admiration came from the other two.
“She was a sight to see.”
“Yeah.”
Turning to Twilight, Death smiled.
“You need to understand, we are not Creators, like Clover or Grogar. We are Destroyers, and justly proud of our abilities. About 900 or so years ago, we were called upon by the Creators to destroy your world. To reset it back to day one. Essentially wipe out all living, or shall I say, dead across the globe. Something of which we were more than prepared to do. Or so we thought. And so we sent our vassals.”
“Vassals?”
“We are forever bound to this house. Our powers are such, that were we to leave this very room, all of existence would be destroyed. So we send vassals; clones of us, with barely a fraction of our abilities, though still unstoppable by your standards. We control their movements and see through their eyes to carry out our wills.”
With a wave of her hoof, Death manifested a window to the past.
“Take a look.”
Twilight turned to look at the odd scene. The vassals of the four stood before Celestia, who, body ablaze, glared defiantly at them.

***

“You will not touch my world!”
Unsheathing her massive ax, Cozy Glow pointed the unholy weapon at Celestia.
“If you won’t move, then we will just have to go right through you.”
Charging forward, with unnatural speed, Cozy Glow swung the ax with all her might.
Rather than budging, Celestia narrowed her eyes, and the flames rippling across the surface of her flesh grew in a raging maelstrom, surrounding her. A roar of defiance echoed through the air.
“You will not touch my world!”
The ax collided with her flesh, issuing a shockwave of air from the immense impact to radiate outward. As the dust cleared, Cozy Glow’s triumphant grin faded.Celestia stood, unfazed by the blow, the blade of the ax rested against her skin, but not a scratch appeared. She glared down at the filly, her eyes blazing with her infernal rage. In disbelief, Cozy Glow swung her ax, again and again, each time with enough force to split the world in half. Celestia just stood there, taking blow after blow without so much as a scratch.
“You will not touch my world. I will not move. And none of you-"
Whipping her glare to pierce through the other three, Celestia's skull was pierced with a conical projectile from Sunset's weapon. A soft crimson flowed from the hole between her eyes. She screamed in pain as the plagued bullet infected her throughout. Her flesh, twisted and grew dark as Celestia let out agonizing wails. She staggered but didn't budge from her spot. She slammed down her hoof in defiance as the discoloration glowed bright red, and erupted in flames.
Celestia stood in resolute conviction. She was breathing heavily and her white fur was marred with scorch marks from where the flames had burst through her skin. Gritting her teeth in agony, she finished her sentence.
"Will prevent me from protecting my world."
Sunset's jaw dropped in disbelief. That bullet held her most potent of diseases, and somehow, a simple mare had purified it from her being. Starlight drew her Blades of Starvation. Seeing that look in Celestia’s eyes, however, caused her to sheath them once more before pulling out a bag of chips. Crunching happily, she shrugged at Trixie’s raised eyebrow.
“What? She’s far hungrier than any ailment I could inflict upon her.”
Rolling her eyes, Trixie took a step forward. She walked up to Celestia, commenting towards her with each movement of her hooves.
“If I touch you, you will perish. I do not need to interact with your soul, body or essence of magic. If my hoof touches you, you will die. Your heart will stop, your blood will turn to sludge, your legs will collapse beneath you, and your eyes will see no more.”
Now inches from Celestia, Trixie stood there, with her hoof raised.
“Do you understand?”
“I will not move.”
“Trixie is not posturing, Trixie will kill you. And all of your petty defiances will have been for naught. You will perish in that spot and we will ravage this world as we please. You can step aside and we will leave you for last, or you can feel the clammy hold of Trixie’s eternal sleep.”
To emphasize her point, Trixie put her hoof a hair’s breadth from Celestia. The Tyrant shivered profusely, as the after-effects of the viral infection were felt. Her body’s temperature had fallen into the teens and her blood was sluggishly flowing, avoiding being frozen thanks to her inner fire burning fiercely. Still, she stood firm and amidst the tremendous pain she was in, stammered out through gritted teeth.
“I will not per-perish y-yet. I cannot l-let you cl-claim me y-yet.”
Trixie paused, why she hesitated; she wasn’t sure, but a strange light filled Celestia’s eyes, and never before had a mortal creature stood up to her or the three she led. Nodding slowly, she lowered her hoof to stamp it on the ground. 
Instantly, Cozy Glow and Sunset sat on their haunches; their weapons were gone from sight in a flash. Starlight meanwhile had already sat down to enjoy her snack. Trixie looked at Celestia and asked her.
“That’s some conviction you have. Tell me mortal, what is it that drives you to such extremes? Why are you willing to endure such pains?”
As Trixie made her inquiry, flames erupted from within Celestia, tearing huge gashes in her hide through which her bones and organs could be seen. Much to the amazement of the four, the holes slowly filled in with infernal fire, and then flickered away into nothing, revealing blackened scars amidst her white fur. Clearly in extreme agony, Celestia stamped her hoof several times, before letting out a heavy sigh and her labored breathing returned to normal.
“I must repair the damage that I have done to my world.”
Trixie paused for a moment before stating.
“Alright, explain. You have piqued Trixie’s curiosity.”

***

“Dinner time!”
Sunset’s shout, caused a flurry of commotion as Starlight eagerly leaped up and bolted towards a dining table that had appeared just outside the kitchen. Cozy Glow let out a squeal of excitement, and Sunset placed the lid back on the pot she had been stirring. The window faded and Twilight turned to the grinning Trixie.
“Come, Twilight. Join us for dinner, we can talk more at the table.”