//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Empty Promises // Story: Dishonored: A Ruined and Drowning World // by Kleptoshark //------------------------------// Celestia looked out at the sunset she had created, washing the land in a beautiful palette of orange and purple. It was the type of sunset that lingered, that made workers put down their tools and rest awhile, stopping to appreciate the joy of being alive. Celestia felt the slight tugging in the magical spectrum, letting her know that Luna was ready to take her shift for the night. Celestia relaxed, and went to her chambers to enjoy a good night’s sleep. Well, at least she intended to get a good night’s sleep. As soon as the alicorn dozed off, she felt her conscience being pulled at by something, tugging her dreaming conscience to somewhere else. It seemed to be some sort of invitation, she accepted. She opened her eyes, and found herself standing on a broken chunk of landmass, with several other chunks of flooring hovering in place all around her. She could see moments of history, frozen in time. The mane six binding Discord with the Elements of Harmony, her first meeting with Twilight Sparkle, the vanquishing of Queen Chrysalis, she could see them all, drifting snapshots of time. “Do you like what I’ve done with the place?” Celestia turned her attention to the being which brought her here: The Outsider. She was familiar with the Outsider, as different immortal beings bearing deep reserves of magic tend to be. The Outsider was merely referred to that name by the fact that he was referred to as such by the mortals who knew him. He did have a true name, but he rarely chose to appear in the form associated with that title anymore. He had chosen his bipedal form to appear before her. By human standards, his fair complexion and earth-brown buckled jacket which matched his brown hair would have made him seem quite plain- Except for the fact that he was floating about a metre above the ground, and his eyes were a pitch black colour. He had his arms crossed over his chest. He opened his mouth to continue. “Perhaps you’d prefer that I choose something more familiar?” He disappeared in a thin cloud of black smoke, and reappeared as an earth pony, with the same dull brown mane and coat. On his flank was his ‘mark’; an ambiguous, yet distinctive black sigil that adorned the area where his cutie mark should be. His eyes held the same darkness as before: not an empty darkness, like a pit, but darkness like the depths of an ocean, the type of darkness that suggests something lurking within. He took a slight bow, and motioned to a quaint tea set spread on the same island he was standing on. The white alicorn regarded him carefully, but she eventually jumped to the island where he was sitting, and took her seat opposite of the brown equine. They spent the first few minutes in silence, until the Outsider caught Celestia gazing at the frozen moments in time. “I collect the moments I find interesting.” He said mildly, “Well, at least interesting enough to remember. You’ve made Equestria so terribly boring these days.” Celestia took another sip of tea, a subtle change coming over her demeanour. “You’re more like him than you think.” The brown stallion gave a ghost of a smile, and stirred a lump of sugar into his tea cup. “I can only assume you are referring to the previous owner of The Void? Discord, Draconequus. Self-proclaimed god of chaos. It's ironic that he never changed from that title. He started every day, and ended every night, with the same intention; to spread chaos. How original.” He took another sip from his teacup before continuing. “No doubt you believe I owe you an apology, but Discord was weak and ignorant. The very fact that he tried to seek refuge in your world is my proof. Because under your careful guidance everything always ends in the same way: good over evil, nothing ever changing.” Celestia responded in her same, musing tone. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand what you see in them.” The Outsider’s brow arched in amusement, “Humans?” he asked with genuine pleasantry. “Quite simply, they fascinate me.” The deep-eyed pony waved a hoof, and the décor depicting Equestrian history was suddenly replaced with scenes of humans. Celestia wasn’t impressed. She could see armed guards attacking innocents, a human standing atop a long-legged contraption, frozen in time as he poised a burning arrow at another wounded human. Celestia looked back at The Outsider. “Look again.” He insisted. Celestia took another glance at the drifting islands of time, trying to seek out anything that didn’t depict humans displaying their innate lack of conscience, and she was surprised at the things she had ignored. On one island a group of humans were sitting, raising glasses into the air with large grins on their faces. On another isle she saw a pair of humans deep in discussion, creating fantastic contraptions beyond her perception. “Do you see?” The Outsider asked, “Humans are absolutely captivating, they are capable of such destruction, and yet just when you start losing faith in them, they surprise you with their compassion. Utterly unpredictable. Who knows, perhaps if you didn’t keep ‘your little ponies’ in complete ignorance, they may be more like humans than you think.” “I don’t keep them ignorant.” Celestia stammered, her composure momentarily broken. “Are you really so certain?” The Outsider chided, “Even now, your protégé stays awake, studying me. She seeks a way to contact me, and when she finally learns how, I will let her find me. I wonder, will you allow her to pursue this knowledge,” he cocked his head to one side and gave the white alicorn a quizzical smile, “or will you decide that ignorance is bliss?” Celestia inhaled, and she was prepared to make dire threats against the Outsider if he so much as harmed a hair on her student’s mane. But the dream had already dissolved, and she was left yelling at the ceiling of her bedchamber.