//------------------------------// // Chapter III // Story: The Last Testament of Myrddin // by Knight Breeze //------------------------------// “So, he became infected with the Madness, then?” Celestia asked, clearly confused about something. “...What is… The Madness?” Alex asked as he looked up from the sheaf of papers. The assembled bearers of the Elements of Harmony all looked uncomfortable at that.  “It’s one of Discord’s favorite tricks.  Not only can he modify the laws of reality, but the minds of ponies, as well,” Twilight piped up, all while rubbing her horn.  “It… twists your perception, warps your very personality into something that doesn’t even closely resemble you, all while your form becomes a part of the chaos that he has inflicted upon the world around you.  It’s… not exactly pleasant.” “True, but I doubt it caused Myrddin too much trouble.  By his own admission, he was not too far from the safety of Providence, and we have his record, meaning he was able to survive long enough to write it down for posterity,” Luna pointed out.  “Discord’s curse would have run out long before then.” Alex didn’t respond at first, instead choosing to read ahead a little, while flipping through a few extra pages.  “...I don’t think that’s the case…” he muttered, before returning to where he was.  “...This looks like it was something different from what you’re describing.  In fact, he says as much.” The assembled ponies looked baffled at that.  “Something… different? Different how?” Fluttershy asked, her voice quivering slightly. Alex didn’t explain, choosing to instead clear his throat and keep reading, to allow the ancient traveler the chance to explain for himself.  “I don’t know what the demon did to me, nor do I think he fully understands it himself.  Chaos, by its very nature, is unpredictable.  To attempt to understand it, or to try and predict or control it, is to bring folly down upon yourself.  However, I can make a guess as to what he intended.  I can also inform you, dear kinsmen, as to what the practical effects were upon my mind.” “Now, I am sure that my students are there beside you, speculating on the nature of my madness, and guessing that what their people experienced was the same as what was inflicted upon me, and let me assure you that that is not the case.  My madness is something quite unique to me, and cannot be cured by such things as the changeling’s protective field, or even the Elements of Harmony themselves.  Even as I write this, the world around me shifts and changes, and I see things that cannot possibly be.  This book, for instance, appears as it does in my hand, while at the same time it looks as if I am attempting to write on an acorn, while at the same time, a tree larger than the largest beech tree in britain stares me down, silently judging me for using its corpse as a record.  I surmise it must have something to do with how my madness interacts with my sight, but I am getting ahead of myself.  Just rest assured that it will remain with me ‘till the day I die, though the effects are lessened in the absence of a magical field.  How ironic, then, that the very thing I sought for my entire life, is the very thing I wish to be rid of...” “However, I am rambling, so I will return to what I was speaking of earlier: the demon’s intention.  I can only guess as to what he wanted for me, as I am not him, and am unable to read the madness that is his mind.  However, based upon the effects that have been forced upon me, I can guess as to what he intended.” “After Discord touched me, I blacked out for some time, but it could not have been too long, for my invisibility charm was still in effect.  When I came to, however, I found myself lying face-down inside the changelings’ barrier, my clothes stained with numerous unknown substances, and my skin covered with bruises, all while I muttered to myself in what was once an unknown tongue.” “It is my opinion that, when he touched me, he attempted to impart his language to me, whether it be to better taunt me, or for some other, more nefarious reason, I do not know.  As I have stated before, though, chaos magic is unpredictable.  It is likely that not even he knew what he had wrought that day, though I am sure that, had he known what would have happened to me, he would not have attempted such a foolhardy task.” “The magic did impart the tongue of the equines to me, but that is only a happy side effect of what he truly did.  When the demon worked his magic upon me, I gained a perfect understanding of every word that existed in the equine’s tongue, regardless of whether or not the equines knew what those words truly meant themselves.” The silence that followed this statement was deafening, though an outside observer could have easily inferred that it was mostly over confusion about what Alex had just read out loud.  “Wait… I ain’t sure how that’s any different than what he said before… Doesn’t that just mean he was taught how to talk?  Why would a ‘perfect knowledge’ make him go crazy?” Applejack asked as she scratched her head with her hoof. “I am not sure I understand either…” Luna asked as she eyed Alex wearily.  “Though, from the expression on Alex’s face, I can infer that it is likely a much larger problem than we give it credit for.” “Oh, I read ahead, and believe me, it’s pretty bad,” Alex said, before he turned the page and barreled forward.  “This does very little justice to explain my affliction, so I will try to be more exact.  I know that the sun and stars are the same.  More importantly, I know how they work.  I do not know the words for the inner parts of a star, nor do I know the names of the processes involved, for such words do not exist in the equine tongue.  However, I know what a star is.  I know it is a ball of energy and heated air.  I know that it is constantly throwing out harmful energies, which impact our planet's air, loosing much of their bite before reaching us.  I know stars have a lifespan equal to millions upon millions of my own, and that compared to them, I am barely a blip in the history of the cosmos.” “All this barely scratches the surface of the knowledge that has been imparted unto me, though.  I know what air is, and why we need to breathe it.  I know what the wind is, and how it is driven, and what things contribute to its function.  I know what magma is, and why it is so hot underneath the earth’s skin.   I know all of this, despite the fact that most, if not all, of the people of this world are ignorant of these facts.  What the demon forced into my head wasn’t a language attached to meaning, it was truth attached to a language.  I know the exact, true definition of every word in the equine’s tongue, what those concepts encompass, and the hidden truth behind their function.  I know far too much than any one man can handle at any one time, and… it broke me.  It shattered my mind like a hammer striking glass, and I was not prepared for such a blow.” “My vision and power were affected as well, for the power of a mage is intrinsically linked to his mind and soul, both of which were now irrevocably broken…” * * * I stood up from the earth, my head buzzing with noise and light, some real, caused by the chaos outside the shell, while most were things that only I could see.  Phantoms seemed to pass back and forth between the falls and the world beyond the protective shell. It was a great multitude of horse-creatures, some bug-like, others not so much, and oddly, some humans scattered among them, as well, forever mingling as they passed through this area and into eternity. It was more than a little disconcerting, but I pushed through them, their forms passing harmlessly through me as I made my way back to the falls, and to the mirror.  I had to get back, had to sit down, and think.  Rather, I had to sit down and not think.  My head was too full, too packed with ideas, thoughts, information… and if that was all it was packed with, I think I might have been able to cope. It was the voices that really got to me.  There were thousands of them, all clamoring for my attention, though, at the same time, their volume was no more than that of the quietest whisper, barely too quiet for me to catch.  It was truly maddening, which wasn’t at all helpful, considering everything else I had to deal with at the moment. As I neared the falls, however, I stopped when I remembered the guards.  I tried to concentrate on my invisibility spell, but as I did so, a wave of nausea passed over me, and it seemed like my mind went into overdrive.  Concepts that the West Saxon dialect had no name for chased each other through my head, as several voices, all mine, began to argue with each other over how best to improve this one, simple spell. They were far too many to name, far too many shards of myself, all arguing with each other, attempting to gain supremacy.  However, the me that heard them all still seemed somewhat in charge of the body, despite my fractured psyche playing havoc with my head.  It must be the largest part of your mind that is whole… a quiet voice whispered to me, clearly heard through the din inside my skull. “Thanks… I don’t think I could have pieced that together myself,” I muttered out loud in the new tongue I had learned.  It was a strange one, filled with inflections and sounds that were hard to make with the human tongue, but I still spoke it quite fluently, almost as if I had been born to it. Anytime… the calm part of my mind whispered back. I took a deep breath, which seemed to quiet the voices somewhat, and shouted in the recesses of my mind.  Look, we’ll improve the spell later!  For now, though, we need to make our way back through this place, and to where we came out from, and the old spell will work perfectly fine for this task.  Agreed? My head was filled with more whispered muttering at that, and it seemed like the pieces of my mind couldn’t even agree on that, but truth be told, I didn’t really need them to.  I just needed them distracted long enough for me to check and see if the spell I had crafted earlier was still in effect. To my immense relief, it was, to which I allowed myself a heavy sigh.  Good, because I’m fairly certain I’m in no shape to try and make a new one right now. This was also good for another reason: it gave me a frame of reference for how long I had been out.  The spell only lasted for a day at most, which meant that I hadn’t been taken by that… thing, for longer than that.  The spell was probably wearing thin, though, so if I wanted to make it back without being discovered, I had to move quickly. So, it was with stumbling, faltering steps that I made my way back through the waterfall and into the underground dwelling.  The bug-like horses were still oblivious to my presence, though that fact wasn't too comforting to my strained, fractured mind. Even with my charm, it was exceptionally difficult to just avoid the owners of the cave, nevermind trying to make my way back to the mirror.  The way seemed to have changed, for one, not to mention that the bug-horses… changelings… seemed far busier than they had been earlier.  They chattered to each other, too, but I was both too unwell, and far too busy just trying not to touch any of them to really listen in on what they were actually saying. That, and the constant shifts they underwent were somewhat distracting, as well. Every creature I met seemed to be in a state of flux: One second, they seemed to be nothing more than a baby, their tiny, cute appearance belied by the fact that they moved way, way too fast for a creature of their apparent size.  Before I could even fully comprehend what was happening, though, their forms would quickly shift into that of elderly changelings, their chitin cracked with age, and their eyes dulled with time, which in turn gave way to a blank, empty-eyed shell that were covered in dirt and worms, only to shift back to the baby form again. As I watched all of this happen, their true forms, the ones I had seen on the way out of the hive, seemed superimposed underneath this shifting, chaotic mess.  They seemed completely unfazed by how reality seemed to bleed into the past and future, which led me to believe that the problem did not lie with them, but with me. I have to get home, climb in bed, and sleep this off… I thought to myself as I narrowly avoided a whole throng of the blackish-purple creatures, mindful of the fact that even the slightest brush into me could break the fragile spell, and reveal my presence. As I hid off to one side to allow the throng past me, I couldn’t help but notice that they all seemed to be in high spirits, the reason for which was something I couldn’t even begin to understand in my current state, but it seemed to revolve around the mess of brightly colored horse-things… ponies, that they were leading between them.  The ponies looked like they were in a daze, their addled mental states persisting regardless of what point in history I saw them in, which led me to believe that they were under some spell or poison that forced them into such a state. These changelings are probably raiders of some kind… New slaves, and all that.  Best not to get involved… I thought as I pressed myself further into the crevice I was hiding in, looking down the way they were coming from, to see how long I had to wait here. I froze, then, at the sight that greeted me. Two ponies, far larger and more regal than any I had seen before, stumbled past me, their eyes as dazed as their compatriots.  I could faintly see the two foals that these creatures were now, but I barely registered that.  My mind was completely consumed by the sheer majesty that those two creatures embodied. The first was as brilliant as the rising sun herself.  Perfect alabaster fur that seemed to glow in the pale, dim light of the cave, two majestic wings that seemed to encompass all that would shelter beneath her, two light purple eyes that carried an unspeakable strength and wisdom in equal measures, a mark on her flank depicting the sun in all its glory, and a sharp horn that nobly extended from her head, its every spiral thrumming with untold power. The other was almost the complete opposite, though no less majestic and beautiful.  She had dark blue fur that seemed to eat the dim light around her, beautiful teal eyes that carried a ferocity and sadness that caused my heart to weep, and a black splotch on her flank that gave way to a glorious crescent moon, as if suspended in the night sky.  Her horn and wings were no less beautiful, though I did note that she was somewhat smaller than the white one, if only by a head, or so. The most notable thing about these two, glorious creatures, however, wasn’t their stature, or the sense of wisdom and nobility that their eyes seemed to convey.  Instead, it was the beautiful, twisting banners that made up their manes and tails.  It was as if someone had taken the heavens themselves, and contained all of their glory into the locks of these wondrous creatures.  The dark one looked as if she had simply taken the starry night sky, and wore it like a crown and cape, while the white one had beautiful, multicolored hair, all pinks, greens, purples and blues, almost as if someone had taken the mysterious alivahlah, and made it into a mantle for her to wear. I did not have a name for the alivahlah in the tongue of my birth, yet I still knew what it was, and what it looked like, even if I had never seen it before in my entire life. Both of these graceful creature’s locks flowed and fluttered in a wind that I could not feel, and I first had no idea what to make of this strange occurrence.  Then, as the raiding party passed me by, I felt compelled to follow, if only to be able to continue watching these wonderful creatures for a little bit longer. On and on we went, twisting through large halls, and tight passages, until finally we ended up in a circular, large room, filled with strange, purple, translucent pods.  Each of these sticky-looking things had a pony contained inside, frozen, as if asleep, and as I watched, I knew what the changelings were doing with their new captures. The glorious ones I had seen before seemed to stare at me as they were bundled up into their own pods, and I found myself filled with an unspeakable sadness at their containment.  They are destined for more than this… I thought I heard a voice whisper to me.  They are the key to ending the demon.  You know this. Your charge is clear.  You must take them far to the north, beyond the touch of the demon, and teach them.  Teach them to be the gods you see them for, or your life’s mission will be for naught.  It is your only hope, my son…. I heard Mother Earth whisper to me. I didn’t answer, though, choosing instead to turn and make my way back through the caverns, searching desperately for the mirror that had led me to this strange, frightful place.  There’s nothing I can do for them… I thought to myself as I narrowly dodged another group heading towards the pod room.  I’m just one man… an alien among a strange people… even if I were to intervene, what good would I do for them?  I would be chased out, cast out as a monster, for what else could I be, considering the demon outside that so casually twists reality? These and other dark thoughts chased themselves around the shattered remains of my psyche, further adding to my headache as I finally reached the storage room I had first arrived in.  I’m too broken… I thought, trying to drown out the quiet protest Mother Earth was whispering to me.  Besides, the journey north would just expose me to the demon again, this time with his greatest enemy with me.  He is powerful enough to force things into my head... What’s to stop him from peering into my mind, and seeing his own downfall in those foals?  No, we’d all be dead if I were to take them from here.  Best to leave them where they can have some semblance of a life among the changelings.  At least they will be spared the torture that is living, and dying, under that demon’s hateful glare. As these and other cowardly thoughts dominated my mind, I walked up to the mirror, fully intent on stepping through, and turning away from this world entirely.  I’ll just learn to live without magic.  Move to a different town, change my name, take up a trade, and try my best to forget the madness that has consumed my entire- I stopped short when I stood in front of the mirror, my eyes widening at the creature being reflected back at me.  Rather than my own form, I instead saw an elderly pony, grey in color, with a grey and white mane and tail that curled messily behind him.  On his head perched a blue, wide-brimmed, pointed hat, while on his withers and back was a long, blue mantle that dragged slightly upon the earth beneath him.  Both articles of clothing were covered in yellow stars, moons, and strangely, bells, which tinkled joyously with his every move.  His face was hidden behind a curly white beard, and his eyes looked at me with a stern, almost reproachful glare as his muzzle turned down in a frown. The call to teach is a heavy one, he said, his stately, almost fatherly voice echoing in my mind.  Your fear is not entirely unfounded, either.  You have been dealt a heavy blow by Discord, and you fear to be hurt again, for it may destroy you completely.  No one would blame you were you to turn and run… but then, I must ask you, what will become of your people?  More importantly, what will become of you? I stared at the strange creature as he tilted his head to the side, the joyful jingling of his bells an odd contrast to the gravity of the situation.  I swallowed any feeling of wonder at the scene, though, in favor of stubbornly shaking my head as I backed away from the strange apparition.  “You cannot be serious.... whoever you are. That thing out there is so far beyond me that it would be like throwing a snowball into a volcano. At least back in Wessex I'll have a chance. I’ll build a new life for myself, one where I can live out the rest of my days in peace.” We both know that’s a lie, he said, his eyes piercing through me.  You’re too broken.  Your mind is in shambles, and will only continue to deteriorate as time wears on.  The only difference between going home, and staying here, is whether your deeds will be remembered as those of a hero who died a hero’s death… or those of a madman who was eventually put down. “How will I be remembered if I’m vaporized before even leaving this place… this hive?  That… That thing is a god!  I’m nothing compared to him!” And yet, the changelings somehow manage to bring others back to their hive, despite the so-called ‘god’ running amok, the creature shot back, his voice never changing from that soothing, fatherly tone of his.  They have a way to brave the chaos, one which you can easily find and take for yourself. “That doesn’t change the fact that I’m an alien here,” I pointed out, not willing to look the elderly one in the eye.  “They’ll take me for a monster created by the demon, and kill me before I’m even able to teach those two how to respect their elders.” The grey pony nodded once more, before stepping forward and out of the mirror. I held my ground, strangely unafraid as his ghostly form drifting closer to me, before he laid a single hoof on my knee.  I felt nothing there, yet at the same time, I felt a chill touch my soul.  It wasn’t a terrible experience… in fact, it felt quite nice, considering the chaotic, burning mess that my mind was.  I still felt unnerved as the spirit reached out, though, its ghostly face filled with purpose as it stared up at me.  They may very well do as you say, but it is still something that you must do.  They need you… both our worlds need you.  To abandon this place is not just to abandon them, but to abandon your own world, too… to abandon your own hopes and dreams... “...How would I even begin to get them to listen to me?” I asked warily as I stared him down, my whole body quivering with anger, exhaustion, and fear.  “I am no authority figure, no grand teacher, no powerful mage.  Even among my own people, I am nothing more than a poor vagrant, worth less than the air I breathe, or the soil I disturb as I pass.  I am not the great hero or teacher that you are looking for.”  ...Neither was I, the grey pony answered, his muzzle and eyes turning up in an almost self-mocking manner.  I was born the lowest of peasants among the unicorns, my upbringing was poor, and my education even less so.  Yet, Starswirl the Bearded is not remembered for his upbringing, or how awkward and gruff he was towards others.  Even now, as their minds and records are corrupted and destroyed by the demon, I am remembered fondly by these ponies.  I remain a hero and teacher in their hearts and minds, even as everything I helped build crumbles to ash around them. "You and I are two different people! They need a hero! Not some... broken wretch!" I shouted back, heedless of the danger that action might carry. He stood his ground, however, the sorrow in his eyes piercing my very soul as his form began to fade. History does not call the bravest, the brightest, or the most capable to stand and change the tides of fate… She only calls those that will heed her.  She is calling now… Can you hear her? The ghostly entity disappeared entirely, then, leaving me with an odd hope throbbing in my chest.  Yet… I was still nervous.  I knew what I had to do, yet I did not know if I had the courage to follow through with the ghost’s insane instructions. More importantly, I was tired.  Far more tired than I had ever been in my entire life.  With a groan that seemed to reverberate through my very bones, I shook my head free of the last vestiges of the vision, then passed through the glass portal, and back into the rain-swept woods behind my house. I’ll sleep on it… give it some thought, then maybe… maybe I’ll become this hero of his… I was lying to myself, of course.  I was trying to convince my guilty conscience that I wasn’t running away, not really. Deep down, however, I knew better.  My cowardice bit into my soul, but I endured it, since living the life of a coward was a better fate than dying at the paws of that god-like monstrosity. Yet, as I lay down on my pillow with the familiar sounds of the coming morn echoing all around me, my fractured mind continued to argue with itself, the noise in my head they created only fueling my ever growing headache.  Thoughts and plans chased themselves around in my head, each rejected, one after another, until a thought finally struck me. The voices of my shattered soul to fell silent as they considered this brilliant, if somewhat daft, plan. As I slowly sat up, my eyes wandered towards the window that had managed to re-open sometime during the storm, and I found myself seeking out the sight of that shadowed statue barely seen in the early morning light. Then, as the morning light broke, the statue seemed to glow in the glory of Earth's mighty star, and the thought that had been brewing in my mind solidified into an intent, gluing my fractured mind into a somewhat more coherent, if still somewhat broken, whole. ...I cannot do it.  They will never listen to me, nor can I ever be the hero he wants.  I thought, as I rose from my bed.  I then gently caressed the blanket left there, before I gathered my power, and forced the cloth to change.  Brown gave way to blue, and the coarse wool turned to the finest of silk, as stars, moons and bells appeared all over its smooth, pleasing surface.  But I know who could, though...