//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 : Memories // Story: Source of all Evils // by Igris Crow //------------------------------// Somewhere in the wasteland far from the lands of Equestria. Evil schemed. “?!%@#” “I see…” “…%&&€” “A new foe?” “(!)#&” “No need to worry, after all he is just a pony. Ponies are full of love and that is their weakness.” “%#&” “Yes, it seems we will have to start earlier than expected.” “%@#&” “It doesn’t matter, Nightmare Moon’s return weakened the land. And I did hear winds that the Princess was unconscious.” “?!%” “Yes, we will have to attack now, soon, we won’t need to suffer from starvation. HAHAHAHAHA” “…and that’s what happened.” Explained Twilight to Mayor Mare. They were back at Ponyville and laid down the unconscious mares in the Town Hall instead of the local Health Center, due to the lack of space to fit the seven ponies. There, while the ponies were treated by the local doctor, Twilight explained what happened to the Mayor. Mayor Mare herself kept warily glancing at the giant pony covered in black scales who was simply staring at the blue sky in contemplation from the windows. The sight itself was quite spectacular, dramatic even. It looked like a painting one would see in a museum where a large pony with a flowing mane and tail would stare at the horizon, as if waiting for something, or somepony. She shook herself from her thoughts. “I see… and who might that be?” Mayor Mare said while pointing at the still form of the Demon King. “That… I actually never got his name.” She answered before slowly walking towards the demon. “Um…” She got nervous. “Yes?” The Demon asked, not even turning back to look at the small unicorn. “What’s your name? I never got it.” She asked, still on guard as she faced the back of the large pony. “My name? Hm… my name. I do not have a name, but the mortals of the past called me Demise.” Twilight gasped, her suspicion proved to be true. “So it’s true… you really are the Demon King Demise…” Twilight mumbled. “Oh? You know me? I thought my existence was erased from the world.” The Demon King said, glancing back at the small form of the purple unicorn. “No… the ponies may have forgotten but the world did not.” She said firmly, staring straight up towards the burning eyes of the Demon King. “I see, and what will you do with that knowledge? Are you saying that you have enough power to oppose me?” The Demon asked, amused at the reactions of the small unicorn. “I….” Twilight looked at the ground. Indeed, what could she do? She already saw what he was capable of, and even then she was sure he wasn’t even trying. Soul Drain, Levitation, even power of the monsters of the Everfree Forest. “That is right, you do not. Those who could oppose me left this world, and the closest thing to them had their souls absorbed by me. But don’t worry, if I wanted this world to burn, I would’ve already done so long ago.” He said, looking back to the bright blue sky. “Then… why?” Twilight asked, obviously in fear but also with curiosity. She was curious as to why this mighty entity did not end her or any of the others that were there. In fact, all he did was help them. “Hm… something I craved no longer exists. And ruling a ruined world would be useless. That is all that I will say for now.” He explained, confusing Twilight. Something the Demon King craved? What was it? She understood the ruling of a ruined world, but what did THE Demon King want that no longer exists? Suddenly, Princess Celestia woke up. She held her head as she felt a headache, but still stood up nonetheless. She stared at the Demon King. “D… do you intend on hurting my little ponies?” She asked. It was clear that she heard their conversation. It took a moment but the Demon King answered. “No, as long as none of them oppose me, no.” He simply answered. The Princess still had doubts, but it will do for now. “Princess! The Summer Sun Celebration!” Exclaimed Mayor Mare, just remembering the celebration after seeing Celestia wake up. Celestia widened her eyes and made a sad smile. Indeed, she had the celebration to… well, celebrate, even if the origins of the celebration made her bitter, she still needed to do it for her little ponies. She will also allow herself to drift away from her duties this one single time. It was night time and the ponies of Ponyville finally came out of their home. Relieved at their Princess’s return. Since no one touched anything after Nightmare Moon appeared, all the preparations for the celebration were still intact so they could still do the Summer Sun Celebration. ‘The Summer Sun Celebration…. Interesting.’ Demise thought as he stood behind the crowd of ponies excited for the start of the celebration. Even if the event was delayed for a day, they still had to celebrate it. Of course, the giant of a pony was noticed by most ponies, some were wary and others were scared. But as soon as Twilight announced that he was a major asset in defeating Nightmare Moon, their attitude towards him made a full 180 degree. Although some were still suspicious of him, most were grateful and even went to him to thank him for saving their beloved Princess. Of course, he would simply nod at the gratitude, not saying anything since well… Why would you try speaking with ants? He simply acknowledged their existence. Although he didn’t particularly hate the ponies, he hated their weakness. To him, they were so unbelievably weak that he thought they’d break if he simply touched them. But he let it slide as an evolution, or more like devolution caused by never having to battle in war for over a thousand years. He sighed in disappointment. Afterwards, the pony named Mayor Mare made an announcement. He wasn’t really paying attention since it was basically a speech explaining why they even celebrate this day and how she was overall happy for the Princess’s return. ‘The Princess…’ He thought as he blankly stared at the tall white pony behind the still talking Mayor Mare. An Alicorn, the highest ranking member of the pony society considered as royals. He understood the reason, the Alicorn in front of him had quite the magic aura. A flaming light, shining brightly for all to see. Compared to the thin layer of magic aura that all the other ponies had, it was quite impressive. Of course, it was still insignificant to his own, whose darkness would cover the entire continent if he let it all loose, but it was still noticeable. Then, the speech ended and the Princess came upfront. She expressed her happiness for this day and especially for the return of her little sister, who was sent to Canterlot Castle to rest. And then… ‘I see… so Her blood still runs even to this day…’ He thought as he stared at the Alicorn rising to the air, as well as the Sun rising above the horizon behind her. Movement of Celestial Bodies, something only possible with either large amount of magic power… Or Divine Powers. Demise smiled, pleased to see that his eternal nemesis still exists to this day. Although not in all her glory, that Goddess who earned the respect of the Demon King still exists in the blood of that Alicorn. Celestia flew back to the ground, her heart warming up at seeing the smiles of her little ponies. And to her surprise, she caught on the face of the black giant at the back, a small smile too. She was confused, that smile, to her surprise, was a genuine one. She could not begin to think why a Demon of all thing would smile at such a happy time. Then she had a thought. Maybe this one was actually good inside compared to the demons she knew? It was impossible as she clearly heard the being refer to himself as The Demon King… well she heard it from Twilight who briefed her on what happened before starting the ceremony. She honestly forgot she even had a book about him, her mind taken by the return of her dear sister at the time. Of course, when she heard the title of the book, she instantly remembered the Demon. Who wouldn’t? Especially those from the Royal Family? Honestly she was quite ashamed of forgetting such a tale. A tale of a Demon King, if not Demon God. Immortal and near omnipotent who threatened the world countless times with his armies of demons and whose origins transcended time itself. But now that she looked at the genuine smile on the Demon King, who seemed to stare at the ponies laughing and being happy, made her wonder. Were those stories really true? Maybe the entity was misunderstood and the only reason why only his bad deeds were recorded was because he was oppressed by those of the ancient time, and he finally snapped.  She frowned a little, unnoticed by all. Of course that would be the case since she of all ponies would know how the old civilization viewed all who were different from them. She shook her head, making sure to not touch such sensitive memories again. She looked at the possibly misunderstood Demon, whose Kingdom probably no longer exists anymore. She felt bad, if her guess was right, his people were probably all annihilated in front of him before he was sealed away. It would explain his appearance and his eyes so full of hatred. Demise shook himself out of his reminiscence of the past, just in time to notice an intriguing sight. The Princess, who was previously so cautious of him, was currently sending him a gentle and sympathetic smile. It was quite a peculiar sight, but an expected thing considering the origin of her blood. He never understood that Goddess, even through countless battles. Was it maybe that thing his demons said? About a female’s confusing nature? He didn’t really care anyways, and so he turned back. Walking towards the forest. As he walked, he thought about what had happened since his awakening. Compared to his countless others, this one was quite… peaceful. For his entire life, he only knew the flames of war, ever since the start of his existence in a world that no longer exists. He only knew the sight of blood. For once in his life, he was feeling at peace. Those who drove his unimaginable hatred no longer exist in this world, some are just simple fragments of what they once were. The same happened to the supreme power he sought, gone from the world. He was lost in his thoughts once again, not noticing the white alicorn following him from behind. Celestia chuckled, but she still had a sad smile on her face. She thought the undoubtedly powerful entity would notice her when she started following him. But once she looked at the face of the giant pony-like being, in her misunderstanding, she thought he was reminiscing about the past, more particularly, his own kingdom. Seeing her little ponies happy faces probably reminded him of his own people, she thought. “What is it that you want from me?” The tall pony said, stopping in his tracks. She was shaken out of her thoughts with how sudden it was. She coughed and regained her composure. “I just wanted to know where you are going, you are somewhat my savior after all.” She said while smiling. “I see. I simply wish to return to the only thing I possess.” He said while looking at the dark forest. Celestia understood, the Everfree Forest is said to be cursed by the Demon King himself long ago. ‘It is probably the only remnant of his fallen kingdom.’ Celestia thought, deeper in her misunderstanding. She was about to say something, but she was interrupted by the ground shaking, caused by Demise stomping his front legs on it. He did it 3 times, it confused the Princess as she didn’t know what he was doing. Then, she heard howls from the forest, countless howls as well as rustling could be heard from within the shadows of the forest. Then, one by one, hundreds if not thousands of the forest dwellers came out of the forest, right in front of her. She was on guard, charging up spells as her horn lit with a yellow aura. She doubted she could handle all of them, but Ponyville was right behind her. “Stand down, Celestia.” She was surprised to be addressed directly by her name. She looked at the Demon King, then back at the horde of monsters which was composed of Timberwolves, Manticores and even Hydras. All feared monsters from within the forest. “HEAR ME!” The Demon King suddenly shouted, a shout so loud it might as well shake the ground with the force. “THIS IS AN ORDER FROM YOUR KING. DEFEND THE PONIES OF THIS TOWN EVEN IF IT COSTS YOU YOUR LIVES. I WILL TREAT ALL THOSE WHO DISOBEY ME AS DEFIANCE AGAINST ME, AND YOUR EXISTENCE WILL BE BROUGHT TO AN END.” The King decreed, and all of the monsters bowed to him. Celestia had her eyes as wide as dinner plates during the entire interaction. Never before has she seen such loyalty, to carry the order of their King without hesitation. Even if they were all monsters, she could tell from them kneeling that their faith in him was unbreakable. She also couldn’t help but smile as she heard the order of the Demon King. Protection over her little ponies, especially the ones she wasn’t sure she could protect the instant something happened here. “Thank you…” She couldn’t help but say. The Demon turned around and stared directly at her as the monsters retreated back into the forest. She was still not used to this hateful stare, but unlike before, seeing such fury made her sad. ‘One day, I will make sure those flames are extinguished…’ She promised to herself. “Now then, I do believe I requested to be by your side once you recovered. Is that castle perhaps yours?” The tall pony asked as he pointed at the majestic castle hanging by the mountain side. “Y-yes.” She answered, a little flustered by how he worded his request. “Lead the way then Celestia.” He said, the mention of her name without title made her more flustered. She nodded before walking forward, shaking herself out of those embarrassing thoughts. She did owe him that much for not only saving her, but also getting rid of Nightmare Moon and Day Breaker. Meanwhile, the Demon King simply hummed in silence. Intrigued by the strange act of the pony princess, although this might be due to her blood since after all, Hylia herself was quite strange. He simply smiled, after all, it wasn’t always that the Demon King spent this much time clean of blood. Though it might change in the near future…