//------------------------------// // No One is Safe From Corruption // Story: Corruption and Chaos // by Peridork //------------------------------// Zap Apple looked around at the scenery of where she landed. She was surrounded by lots of trees that most definitely were not apple and grumbled as she was led along by the guards flanking her sides. The guards led her to a large door and shoved her inside. “Well I’ll never, that is no way to treat a lady!” Zap Apple yelled at the retreating guards. Before she turned around, she heard a voice talking to her. “Now what have my guards done to you my fair damsel?” Zap Apple blushed for she had never been spoken to in this way. Little did she know that in a few years she would be one of the most talked about mares in Ponyville because of her beauty. “Um, nothing that bad.” “Oh. because the last time a beauty like yours came here it was a long time ago. It was your dear Princess Luna and she had me entranced with her face. It was love at first sight, but we were star-crossed lovers because I was a hippo and she was a pony.” “What! I would love to hear of your adventures. I was raised to love a story as much as the other mare.” Zap Apple happily said because she could tell that this King was very lonely. “Very well, it was the days of the Titan Wars and 3000 years before that Nightmare Moon Incident that you ponies made such a big deal out of that me and her fell in love. “ “Wow this is the gosh darned oldest tale I ever did hear.” “My fair damsel, you seem to be the conglomeration of a regal pony and a country pony. Who pray tell are your parents.” “Jus’ the best most beautiful mares in Equestria, the Elements of Honesty and Generosity.” “Oh...that is not good. The last time the Elements married, Chaos erupted. Not because of anyone’s fault; it just is a portent that the barriers on the gates are weakening. Is Chaos out of her chains?” “Uh...maybe” Roland the Hippo King blanched because he still had emotional scars from when Chaos escaped the last time. It was almost the end of Terra even with prayer to the benevolent Faust. “Once upon a time there was a King and a Princess, me and her, we were so happy but we could not have children you see. Our anatomy was much too different, while we were both distantly related to every immortal creature in Equestria.” “It was what later inhabitants, the first mortals, would call the age of gods. What most do not know is that while we were gods, we were not exempt from mass murder and death. One rose among us, Chaos and her brood of abominations, that brought us to our knees. We had lost hope until three more god-like beings came from the skies in a blue box.” “What? You mean to tell me that all ponies are space aliens?” Zap Apple gasped. She and all the other Equestrians believed that they were originally on Terra and scientists could never understand why there were no pony skeletons until around four thousand or so years ago. “No, they are space aliens, your race was created out of the dust of Terra and given life by the Princesses and that Time Pony. They brought down Chaos with help from Harmony, the husband of that creature, before she could call on help from the Elder Gods between the worlds.” “Finally, to keep our world safe we all helped create the Lights of Reason and you, my dear, are one of them.” Nighdancer groaned. She wanted to see her sister be happy again. It was nobody’s fault that Chaos escaped...at least not the fault of the Princesses. When she saw the beast move they did the most rational thing they could; they hid in the sewers. “Sunny Skies, are we there yet? “Are you that addicted to sugar that much that even knowing that the original Sugarcube Corner is in Ponyville that you can’t shut up?” Sunny Skies growled. Her sister was getting on her nerves after five hours of talking. “Yep, after being on the other side of the world and rediscovering sugar, I am both addicted to and craving sugar.” “Ok, I have a plan. I will teleport to Ponyville and you will fly there.” “Fine.” “Ready, Zap Apple?” “As I will ever be.” “Ok” Roland activated the magic circle once he began speaking. “Tunak tunak tun tunak tunak tun da da da” “What’s that?” “This is the love song of my race, you are now the Light of Beauty.” “What do I do now?” “Well...can you pose for me. I need a model for my paintings.” “Will I be wearing clothes?” “Yes... that was done 4000 years ago.” “Then no, in 4000 years tastes have changed. I would not feel comfortable doing it.” Roland nervously spoke up. “Well, I want to show my thanks because you kept me company.” The King grabbed a chain and pulled it towards Zap Apple. On the end was a gun and it was unlike anything she had ever seen. Its barrel was made of some stone and its its grip was made of the blackest wood she had seen. “My dear this is the Tartarus Cannon and the Chain of the Reaper. We created them from materials from Tartarus and bound a demon to the weapons. The metal is from the meteor that hit the world and unleashed Tartarus. With this weapon you will win against Chaos if and only if you bond with the demon.” Roland looked sadly at Zap Apple. “Ok...thanks, no pressure then.” She quickly began to walk out of there as soon as possible and cautious of his words. Once she left Roland spoke up. “Oh Luna why have I given her the weapons that turned you into Nightmare Moon? Are we that desperate? I hope that the Light of Beauty can find her friends. ” The walls only echoed what he said. Ponyville was now the worst off city in Equestria and Pinkie Pie was in the middle of it. “What do I do? I can’t see any of my friends because they are corrupted by those things. Pinkie Pie thought back on all the times she saw Depression make ponies into cupcakes and she felt dirty. She looked around and saw two ponies she had never saw before...but they looked very familiar. “Are those the Princesses? I definitely need them to be because they might know what to do.” Sunny Skies and Nightdancer looked at the pink mare coming towards them and were shocked. Unless they were hallucinating, Pinkie Pie was walking towards them mumbling incoherent things that made no sense. Nightdancer looked at Sunny Skies and yelled the first word that came to her mind. “Zombies! Oh my goodness! George Roamero was right.” and proceeded to run in the other direction as fast as possible. “Please princess-like ponies help me. My friends have been corrupted by Discord magic.” Pinkie said before fainting from exhaustion. “Can we please stop hiding our identities? I think Pinkie’s words dispelled any ability to hide in plain sight. We need to stop the Discordant stones as soon as possible, without the Bearers fighting Chaos is much more difficult." “Fine, whatever you want...but can we do this again I actually was having fun.” “Sure, sister. I know that you said we should embrace life and that our normal forms stifle our fun.” Nightdancer said before both of them began to glow. Nighdancer gained a horn and Sunny Skies gained wings. “I hate that we aren’t able to switch into our civilian forms as often as I would like.” Celestia groaned. She looked around and felt that the Discordant Stones were actually in Ponyville. “Drat and I hoped we could have some sort of vacation.” “And this is why Canterlot was destroyed...” Luna snipped at Celestia. “Lay off me you mare! Do you know how many vacation I have had in 4000 years? Two. This one and the first time we came here from Elysium and you know how that turned out.” “So what if we got roped into the natives problems with Chaos at least I can rule over ponies with an iron hoof and all because I seduced every tribal leader we met. Every one sister, how do you think Cadance got so good at her job? Tell me again why ponies usually procreate under my moon and not your sun?” Luna smirked and waited for Celestia to have a fit. “If you hadn’t almost killed me with those weapons that that stupid hippo gave you we wouldn’t have this discussion right now. We would be having this discussion a thousand years ago in our old castle that you destroyed you good for nothing floozy!” Celestia, for the first time in five hundred years, used the Royal Canterlot voice. “And really my sister, who have you been with in 4000 years? Hm, who was it? Oh yes, Starswirl the Bearded and you even had kids. A perfect little family that you watched over as it degraded and has slowly died over the years. Cadance I respect because she shows that the master race of alicorns is still alive and kicking while your oaf of a relative, Blueblood, is the only male that is young enough to have foals of his own. But he is such a pompous fool that no one, not even Rarity, wanted him. We had to wait for Chrysalis to take a liking for him. King of Changelings, bah, more like King of Fools And you worked so hard trying him to be nice to her. Isn’t that just adorable!” Luna was making kissing noises with her mouth and rolling on the ground barely containing her laughter. “Well you are not fit to have children.” Celestia grabbed at the words that Luna hated hearing. For she was both flighty and infertile. Luna began sobbing uncontrollably at the words that both her and her sister said. She had realized that even they, the all-powerful rulers of Equestria, were being corrupted by Chaos. Zap Apple was walking alongside the road to the next Kingdom and saw three figures in brown cloaks come towards her. “Uh, who are y’all cause I don’t wanna beat you up.” Zap Apple stammered. “We have being looking for you, Zap Apple.” the leader said ominously as the group took off their hoods. Zap Apple looked up from she was cowering and saw the faces of Eros, Apple Cider, and Chroma. Chroma was puzzled. “Now why are you staring at us like that? Get up...we have a mission to complete.” she said while staring off into the distance. “And I have found Midnight Snack and Scale Harmony. Come on boys let’s go.” Zap Apple was shocked. What had changed Chroma and her friends so much? In the distance a coming thunderstorm began to be heard.