//------------------------------// // The One Hate // Story: Brief History: Side Stories // by K9Thefirst1 //------------------------------// The One Hate 85 years After Warming In the dark of the night, a being consumed by a festering hatred began his work. Though anxious, he was also patient. Many things would need to happen before his revenge could come to pass. And among those things would be a weapon. The Everfree Rainbow he enslaved was more than willing, mindless though it was, to serve its master. And so, with metal either stolen or mined himself, the Hating Creature forged the steel into shape, putting the force of his own Hatred and Wrath and Anger into each blow of the hammer, the Rainbow being forced into the very metal, eager to devour anything it touched; anything but its creator and master. By dawn, the work was done, and the blade, forged in the shape of a pronged leaf, was examined with a critical eye. The master of the blade deemed it worthy of serving him. All that was needed was a name. A name that spoke all there was to know of the weapon and the desire of its master and weilder. Naturally, there could be only one thing… “Estelnehtar. The Hope-Slayer.” 98 years Before Nightmare Clang! went the hammer upon steel. Fffshhh went the forge, the fire rising at the billow’s blow. The fire glowed bright in the dark, even as the smoke of coals and metal scales and steam filled the air. Joining this Smith’s Symphony was the occasional grunt of the master smith of this forge: The Lady of the Dark, Princess of the Night, Champion of the Shadowed Ones, Princess Luna of Equestria. Once more her efforts to connect with her subjects failed… And once more she sought solace, not in her sister’s embrace, but in her forge, working stiff metal into a beautiful fashioning. Tonight she had shared a piece of music of a genre she had created from whole cloth. And everypony hated it, and instead of quieting the jeers and heckles of the audience that disrupted her performance, Celestia, her dear sister, just sat there and let it happen. Luna was interrupted from her reverie by the hissing of water on hot metal. Looking down she saw that the breastplate she was working, the glow fading to a dull orange, caught water that was slipping from her cheeks. Clearing off the tears soaking her face with a free hoof, Luna lifted the hot metal with her magic and set it on a rack to cool. She would harden and temper it later, after that she would polish it, color it and perhaps give it an etching. The work for the evening was a set of ceremonial battle armor for herself. Her designs for a matching suit for Celestia drifted about her head as well, but at the moment she couldn’t bring herself to make it. For now the Princess of the Night just wanted to stew in her hurt feelings at the Princess of the Day’s hooves. With the shoes and breast plate complete, all that was left was a helm to complete the ensemble. And Luna had just the metal for it. After she ran off from the stage, Luna ran blindly through the parliament building, just wanting to get away from everypony. When she finally halted, Luna realized that she was in the old mine deep within Friendship Cavern, among the Ancient Artifacts of Equestria. And there, there in front of her stood the blade of Talonhoof himself. The ebony shaft had long since rotted away, but the iconic three-bladed head of the lance, shining as the day Mimic herself laid it in these chambers, was unmistakable. It was a stroke of symbolic genius. The weapon was intended as nothing more than a tool of destruction. Even its name bore ill-tidings. What better way to reaffirm herself of the good she wanted for Equestria, Luna thought, than to turn this tool of death into an instrument of defense? Granted it would take much work, but Luna had time, as well as the energy to burn. As the blade heated to a white-hot glow (the Princess being careful not to overheat the tips), Luna gathered her tools and material. Even though the blade would be bent to a new shape, there was only so much reshaping she could do before the metal lost its strength. The gaps would need to be filled with extra metals, and those metals would need to be able to be chemically, structurally, and metallurgically seamless with the original material. Fortunately, Luna had just the material: Aptare. Before the sisters left for the mortal realms, their brother gifted Luna with ingots of the adaptable metal. Checking on her subject and finding it ready, Luna secured the metal and set about forcing the weapon to become armor. The first step would be to hammer a hole into it to make room for her horn. Wordlessly the Night Princess set the first hammer, specially designed to be narrow for such a job, right where it needed to be. Picking up the larger and heavier hammer, Luna slammed it down, and did it again, repeating it until the narrow hammer pierced the other side, at which time she set it aside and got a slightly wider hammer and repeated. As the Night Princess continued her work, slowly, she thought she could almost hear a voice in her mind. Normally she would have been unnerved by hearing anything without seeing who it came from. However, at the moment Luna cared not for anything beyond her work, and even though the words were ominous, they still brought something resembling comfort to her wounded heart. Three Points for the Past, Present, and Future that Flies, One black Shaft that makes the feeble Quake, Seven Dark Colors that arc through the azure Skies, And One Hate the Master’s Weapon Make For the Master’s Desire, such where it Lies. One Hate to slay them all, One Hate to seek them. One Hate to hold them all, and in their despair, end them. For the Master’s Desire, such where it Lies. 5 years Before Nightmare Celestia had finally managed to get some time to herself, after what felt like (and may as well have been) years. But for now all of their little ponies were busy with their own pursuits, leaving the alabaster Alicorn the freedom to see her sister, something she wasn’t able to do for…. Well, she couldn’t remember how long exactly, but far too long even for an immortal. It had been a while since the Princess of the Day had walked the halls of her sister’s side of the palace, and the time showed, much to Celestia’s shock and indignation. The tapestries that hung from the walls were molding and rotting, the moon-like finish on the wall was fading and chipped away in places, and ivy and other plant growths poured in through the windows. Clearly Luna’s side of the palace was actively neglected by the maintenance staff. Heads were certainly going to roll for this. However, that brought to mind the question of how this could have escaped her notice. Surely Luna would have sent word. Now the Princess of the Day was worried for the Princess of the Night. Luna, Celestia had been told, had been growing more detached from the world recently, rarely seen by her own hoofmaidens, except for when she exited her chambers to hold the Night Court and move the moon. Now that she thought of it, there were stories passing about of a dark beast that lurked the hallways late in the night, stalking anypony that wondered into this half of the palace. Some said that it was Luna herself, her mind lost to her darkness. Celestia had cast off the thought as more mean-spirited lies and treated it as such. However… Turning the corner, Celestia was relieved to see the doors of her sister’s chambers were still there, and even more so when she saw the four Night Guards that flanked said door. “Good,” she said aloud, “at least someponies are still maintaining their posts.” The four stallions stood a little straighter at the Day Princess’ compliments as she entered the Royal Chambers of the Princess of the Night. “Luna?” she said, looking about, squinting into the dark room, “Where art thou sister? ‘Tis I, thy sister Celestia, come to par take in merriment with thee.” But the dark room was silent, save for the gentle whistling of the wind through the far window. Gingerly, the Princess of the Sun treaded into the room. “Sister? I am not amused by these games.” But only the silence replied. Seeing that Luna wasn’t around, Celestia wondered deeper into the room, taking in the state of her sister’s bedchambers. Fortunately, the room was much tidier than the hallways without, but the room still held an air of abandonment. Growing more concerned for her sister, Celestia looked around for some clue as to where her sister may be, and just what she had been up to. All around the Princess of the Day, the shadows seemed obstructive and all-encroaching, as though hiding something that was watching her every move. Granted that was the norm for Luna, whose tastes gravitated towards what most ponies found… Creepy. However, the sensation now no longer felt benign, as it had in years past. There! In the corner of her eye stood a pony shape. With a start and a gasp, Celestia turned to see a mirror, and behind her in that mirror stood the shape. A jerk around and a the Princess faced the whatever-it-was, casting a minor illumination spell to see… A mannequin. A dress-maker’s dummy donned in minor battle armor. It wasn’t much for a mortal pony, but for an immortal Alicorn, the armor was largely decorative anyway. In any case, Celestia was more than familiar with her sister’s work. When upset, some would eat, others would seek out a fight. But Luna? Luna crafted. And looking at the blue armor that the dummy wore, Luna must have been upset indeed, because it was some of the finest work of hers that Celestia had ever seen. Giggling off the nerves built up, Celestia with cautious steps trotted up to the mannequin, examining the finer details Luna had lovingly laid into the metal. Eventually, irrevocably, her gaze rose, was pulled rather, to the head, and the helm that it wore, and the familiar magical energies that radiated out from the metal. “Is that… Estelnehtar?” With a touch of magic, the helm levitated into the air, bringing it closure for her to examine. The inherent magic was the same, but the tri-bladed lance head was unrecognizable: The blades had been expertly bend and buckled so to hug the curves of the wearer’s head, and a hole punched through to make way for the horn. The gaps had been covered by additional pieces of armor to both complete the protection and strengthen the piece. Finally, the metal had been tainted a nighttime blue, no doubt by some Smith’s Technique that Celestia could not fathom. “Oh Luna, ‘tis lovely.” The Sun Princess said to nopony. Taking another look at the piece of armor, Celestia shrugged and placed it on her head. “Such craftsmareship simply must be appreciated. Just once should not hur-” Celestia’s idle thoughts were interrupted by a presence, dark and malevolent, entering her mind. On the outside, her face took on a shocked and terrified appearance, her pupils and irises shrinking to pinpricks, wobbling about in fear. And in Celestia’s mind… Came a voice. Three Points for the Past, Present, and Future that Flies, One black Shaft that makes the feeble Quake, Seven Dark Colors that arc through the azure Skies, And One Hate the Master’s Weapon Make For the Master’s Desire, such where it Lies. One Hate to slay them all, One Hate to seek them. One Hate to hold them all, and in their despair, end them. For the Master’s Desire, such where it Lies. Celestia, Princess of the Sun, Day Ruler of Equestria, most powerful pony alive, stood frozen in artificial fear. “Wh-what… Who are…?” Leave Me. Forget Me. “Princess?” With a start Celestia looked around, finding herself in the hallway in front of the door to Luna’s bedchambers, the guards looking up at her with concern. Why was she in front of Luna’s bedchambers? Celestia shook her head, the knowledge slowly returning to her. Luna. She was looking for Luna, that was right, and she wasn’t in her room. So where was she? “Tell me, do you know where the Princess of the Night is? I much desire to speak with her.” The four bat-winged stallions looked amongst themselves before turning back to their liege, and shook their heads no. Celestia sighed before turning down the hallway. “Very well. When next you see her, tell Luna that her sister wishist to spend time with her.” With that, the Princess of the Day began her trek back to her half of the palace, to think on where else Luna might be hiding herself. However, Celestia stopped short, remembering something important. “One last thing!” She said to the guards, “Seek out whomever doth maintain these halls, their neglect is criminal, and I am most offended at the state of mine Sister’s home pathways.” “As you command Princess.” They said in unison.