//------------------------------// // 19. Nightfall // Story: Rebirth of the Damned // by Borsuq //------------------------------// "Well..." said Twilight after the waiter took everypony's order. "As we wait, could you tell us more?" "Of course." replied Matthias, deciding not to ask why Spike asked the waiter if they had any rubies. "You wanted to know about that dragon from the vision, correct?" As Twilight nodded, Matt thought for the moment how he should start. "Long ago, Azeroth was ruled by beings know as the Old Gods." he said at last. "I don't know how many were there, but I know of three: C'Thun, Yogg-Saron, and N'Zoth. They were beings of unimaginable evil, and when the world of Azeroth attracted the attention of the titans, a race of extremely powerful, majestic creatures, akin to gods, they fought them. They managed to beat the Old Gods, and sealed the entities away within the deeps of the world for the remainder of its existence. The titans rebuilt Azeroth, and, as they began to depart, they left many guardians to protect it in the future, the most powerful ones being the dragons." "You mentioned that name, Yogg-Saron, when you fought the dragons." noticed Rarity. "Yeah, you said something about fighting it, and walking away." added Rainbow. "Walking away alive. And it wasn't the Yogg-Saron itself, it was just an avatar of him, a mindless minion of his that he empowered and controled." Matthias corrected, shrugging. "If it wasn't for the fact that I was already mad at that point of time, I doubt I could beat it, even with Anub'arak's help." "Who?" "Long story." "What did you mean that if you weren't mad you couldn't beat it?" asked Twilight. "The Old Gods are beings of unimaginable power, and even more unimaginable hatred towards everything that lives. You could fall into madness just by looking at them, let alone because of their whispers in your head. But we're getting off topic." Matt said, changing the subject back to the dragons. "As the titans were preparing to leave Azeroth, they tasked the dragons with protecting that world. In that age, there were many dragonflights, yet five flights, red, green, bronze, blue and black, held dominion over their brethren, and were chosen to shepherd the budding world. The greatest of titans imbued a portion of their power upon each of the flights' leaders. For red dragongflight, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder; for green dragonflight, Ysera the Dreamer; for bronze dragonflight, Nozdormu the Timeless One, for blue dragonflight, Malygos the Spell-Weaver, and for the black dragonflight, Neltharion the Earth-Warden. The Dragon Apects weren't just some bigger dragons with greater powers - they were the embodiment of the world's aspects: life, dream of creation, time, magic, and earth. Together, they were suppose to be able to guard Azeroth from every danger." "I'm guessing that didn't work well." interjected Twilight, probably figuring out the black dragon's identity. Matthias nodded. "Over time, Neltharion began to hear whispers. I don't know how long did it go on, but eventually, Neltharion fell into madness that destroyed his mind, changing him and his kind forever. Since then, he has been known as Deathwing the Destoyer, and originally, he worked toward the goal of the world ruled only by dragons - black dragons. As of now, however, he is so lost in his madness that he just wants to destroy Azeroth and every living being in it." Everypony shook. "You said that the Dragon Aspects were the emobidements of the world's aspects." said Twilight slowly. "So because he became evil and insane, this... Deathwing, now looks as if he was about to blow up?" "There was also other reason, but yes, mostly." replied Matthias, not bothering to mention about the Demon Soul, which was destoyed, first by Rhonin a decade and half ago, and the remanents of it by Alexstrasza's prime consort, Korialstrasz, over a year ago. "He is like earth; it's disturbed by what's inside, so it's about to erupt like a volcano." "You seem to know a lot about that, despite saying you're not a scholar." noticed Twilight. "It's... complicated." said Matt uncomfortably. "How could I explain it to them that I know all of this because I have access to the memories of beings that soul's have been claimed by Frostmourne?" he thought. Indeed, most of what he just said to them was coming from the memories of Sindragosa, the former prime consort of Malygos, that he ressurected as a frost wyrm. Matthias uttered a silent prayer that after she met her end at the hands of Ashen Verdict, she found peace at last. "So... do'ya think those other four Dragon Aspects gonna beat the Deathwin' fella?" asked Applejack. "Three." corrected her Matt. "Malygos also went insane and tried to kill all magic users on Azeroth, and so few months ago the other dragonflights and some mortals killed him." "Your world is really brutal." commented Rarity. "Couldn't they have found a different solution?" Matthias shook his head, saddened, but at least that was one of few tragedies that had happened during his reign as the Lich King that wasn't his fault. "Out of the other three... I heard that Nozdormu has been missing for some time, and when somepony that is supposed to manage the timelines is missing for some time, you really start worrying. So that leaves just Alexstrasza and Ysera." "Well, its still two to one." commented Rainbow. "Deathwing has allies." dismissed her enthusiasm Matt. "His own flight, the... Twilight's Hammer cult..." he said with an amusement. "Twilight has a hammer cult?" asked Pinkie. "No, it's just some band of lunatics that want to see the world end, and they happened to name themselves Twilight Hammer. You know, because twilight is the time of day when the sun sets and night begins." "Wait, I don't get it; what does Princess Luna's ticks have to do with that?" Matthias facehoofed himself. "Anyway... it's not going to be easy beating Deathwing. Still, the mortal races has some great heroes among them, so I'm sure it will all end up alright." he said, trying to sound convincing. At that moment, the waiter brought their meals, so everpony started eating. After about twenty minutes of munching, there was nothing left. "Well, that was satisfying." commented Matt, pushing away an empty platter that a few moments ago stil had haywitches on it. Applejack supported his claim with a burp. As Rarity shot her a glance, the pony farmer said: "Pardon." as Matthias chuckled. "You still haven't told us what magic was that that you used to heal Applejack and Dash, and calm everypony." reminded him Twilight. "Right." agreed Matt, trying to remember how did Uther described the Light. "What I did earlier was what on Azeroth we call a 'holy magic'. It's a kind of magic one can use through channeling the strength of the Light, or, in case of some other races, whatever they worship. The Holy Light is... it is a philosophy, training its followers to seek perfection within themselves. It is very much an active practice of virtue rather than a passive worship. Those who follow it closely gain spiritual awareness and guidance, allowing them to lead others. Those like me, who use its connection for healing and fighting, are called paladins. The paladin is a 'warrior of the Holy Light'. We uphold all that is good and true in the world and revile all that is evil and sinister." "Weren't you evil?" interrupted Rainbow. "When I was evil, I couldn't use my Light given powers." replied Matthias, giving her a stern look. "That's why it took my so long to heal Applejack, it was the first time I tried to ask the Light for anything in a long time." "So... you can do all that by... praying?" asked Twilight in disbelief. "It's a bit more complicated than that, but basically, yes." Twilight rubbed her head, thinking it through. At that time the waiter brought the check and Matthias realised something. "Eh... It's kind of embarrassing, but I don't have any... what do you use for currency here, anyway?" "Bits." replied Applejack. "And don't worry, Ah got'ya covered. It's the least Ah can do after'ya saved me." "It was the Light that saved you, not me." he tried to protest. "Come now, that's stinkin'thinkin. Ya deserve some credit too." "Well... If you insist on paying for me, then I must at least pay you back somehow." "It's bad enough that everyone I ever knew hates me, I don't want to think how would they reacted if they knew I let some girl to pay for me." "Ya sure are prideful, aren't'ya?" chuckled Applejack. "If'ya insist, ya can help me on a farm tomorrow." "Sounds good to me." replied Matt. "So those vision were granted to you by this Light?" asked Twilight, who was still thinking about what he said. "No, that was because of Ner'zhul. He was once a shaman..." noticing a blank expression on everypony's faces, he added. "Shamans gets their power throught spirits of the elements: fire, water, earth, and wind. They can see into the world of spirits and communicate with creatures invisible to eyes of normal beings. Shamans are beset by visions of the future and use their sight to guide their people through troubled times. The visions are about the only thing Ner'zhul has left of his powers, although he still has some connection to the elements, guessing by how we all - me, Ner'zhul and Bolvar - felt the pain of the earth the moment Deathwing caused the Cataclysm." Twilight nodded thoughtfully. As they were leaving, they all noticed for the first time how late it was. "Oh my gosh, it's already night!" gasped Twilight. "Oh no, I have to go feed my animals!" said Fluttershy, flying away faster than Matt ever saw her. "With all that was happenin today, we all lost track of time, Ah guess." "Well, I best be going. I have a lot to do tomorrow. Good night, everypony." said Rarity. They all said their good byes and went their separate ways. Twilight tossed in her bed, unable to fall asleep. She could hear Spike quiet snoring, and there were no voices coming from Matthias bed, so she assumed he was also sleeping. She couldn't understand how could he fall asleep so easily. They both saw the same destruction; since she has trouble sleeping because of it, shouldn't he as well? Twilight whirled again. While Matthias helped her calm down with the Light, she still couldn't get those pictures out of her head. "Can't sleep?" suddenly said Matt. He wasn't surprise that she couldn't. That was why he didn't fall immediately asleep, he wanted to make sure Twilight was alright. "No." answered Twilight. Matthias wondered for some time what he should do. There was only one thing that came to his mind. Dormite liberi, Dulci pueri dormite, caloria et, Comodus Vester lecti boni. He sung quietly, to not wake up Spike, a lullaby that his mother sung to him few times when he was a child, mostly when his father was away from Capital City, because then he had some nightmares that Terenas couldn't protect him from something scary. Osservo te, semper te, Latus tui costa te, autem solus, mitite, Latus tui hic sum. In Somninum plati Floridus plena, dormite liberi Dulci mei dormite Mitite liberi, Sine pater autem, mitite, liberi, Visi te tua mater. Osservo te, semper te, Latus tui costa te, liberi sine sentite, Momentum dormite. In conclave sine mater. Conclave dum dies saperis... When he finished singing, he listened very carefully, until he heard Twilight's steady breathing. Satisfied, he fell asleep himself.