Grip the universe. Reshape it. Disregard the screams.
-Deathsinger's Grip
Crota, Son Of Oryx
INTEL: Crota is one of the many gods worshiped by the Hive. Though he is the "youngest" member of this pantheon, he is noted to be "the heir to the Osmium Throne", a position of high importance among the Hive on their Gas Giant home planet of Fundament.
One thousand years ago.....
Princess Celestia stood over her fallen adversary, a large green sword erupting from his chest.
All around her lay dead bodies, corpses as far as the eye could see.
Some belonged to her royal guard, others were followers of the deceased creature.
"Is it dead... sister?"
Celestia looked to her side. Her eyes were soon greeted by the battered and bloodied Luna, who was clutching a sharp wound at her side.
But otherwise she was still alive.
Seeing that she was about to fall, Celestia rushed to her sister's side to support her.
"I believe so, Luna."
The creature in question was recently known to be an alien monstrosity called Crota, but his presence on Equus was made known long before this battle had been fought.
A month ago, Luna had complained about strange energies emanating from her moon. A few days later, the king of The Zebra Kingdom sent word to the sisters that his land was being besieged by strange, dark creatures and leading them was a large green skeletal titan.
It was not long before word got out that the Zebra Kingdom had fallen to these strange invaders.
Within weeks, many countries had been ravaged by what the general populace called the "Hive", for all that was left in their wake were entire nations crafted in their image of death and darkness.
Eventually the day came when the Hive was at Equestria's doorstep.
The Princess had long prepared for this battle, having amassed an army for a final confrontation that would decide the fate of the world, for if Equestria fell then nothing would stop these creatures from eating away all trace of civilization on Equus.
The two armies fought for days, both sides holding lines fast.
Where the Hive had ferocity and strength in numbers, the Royal Guard had creativity and purpose.
Much blood was spilled on both sides, and soon only Celestia, Luna and the leader of the Hive, now known as the God Prince Crota, remained.
However, for all their power the Princesses could not harm Crota. He saw their attempts to harm him as an annoyance, at best.
However, the battle soon began to go sideways when Crota infected Luna with his magic, using a spell that left her not only drained and weak, but also meant only Celestia alone could stand against him.
With the battle going sour and Crota hardly harmed, things were not looking good for poor Celestia, who's energy was scarce and deteriorating with each failed blow.
However, in a moment of desperation and weakness, Celestia suddenly remembered something from a few nights before.
Luna had come to her bed chambers complaining about a strange dream she had.
In that dream, she found herself confronted by an unknown entity who called itself 'Taox'. Luna said she only got a short glimpse at the entity before waking up, but that Taox had spoke a single sentence.
Use the Sword.
In a moment of inspiration, Celestia picked up an Ascendant sword from one of Crota's fallen knights and fought Crota with it.
Finally, after a long and bloody fight, Celestia managed to run the cleaver through the God-Prince, killing him with his own sword.
And so it was the power that Crota used to kill thousands, was the same power that caused his undoing.
When the light in his three eyes faded, Celestia knew the battle was finally over.
"So many died this day Sister. Was... was it all worth it?"
"...I... I don't know Luna... But I do know this, today we have won, tomorrow is another day. This nightmare is over and now we can rebuild what we have lost."
For a moment Luna's eye drifted to the remains of Crota as his body began to fragment and fall apart, his physical from now cleansed from this world, never would the forces of the Hive bother them again.
But then a unusual thought crossed her mind.
'How is it that Celestia managed to slay this beast and not me? It was my dream that told us what to do, plus I am more experienced in the ways of combat and war, yet sister who is all about peace and diplomacy killed him. Why should she have the glory and not me!?!'
The thought left her mind as soon as it had entered it, and a feeling of confusion fell over her as she recounted what she just thought.
'I shouldn't be thinking about such things, this isn't about who slayed him, all that matters is that he is dead.'
Taking a deep breath, Luna turned to her sister.
"Yes, sister, rebuilding is the first thing we should do."
The aftermath of what legends would refer to as "The Hive Wars" left many nations crippled and near collapse. Only Equestria emerged from the fallout with the least wounds.
Nevertheless this had left many who had experienced the horrors of the Hive with scarred minds and tormented memories. This proved to be a problem as people from around the world woke up screaming.
Many spoke of how their friends and family were delirious, speaking of
nightmares and darkness that came after them, there were even rumors of suicide as some could not live with what they had seen.
Soon a meeting of world leaders, A World Summit, was called, and it was there that the majority agreed that the events of the Hive should be erased from the minds and history of everyone. Some did it to preserve the innocence of their subjects, while many just wanted to to move on from the experience, and while there were a few who wanted to preserve the history of what had happened in so that they may learn from this experience, the welfare and well being of the people overrode any logic or reason preserving history might benefit.
All recollections of the Hive where sealed away in the deepest of vaults, while Princess Luna personally entered the dreams of the subjects of the world and did the long and tenuous job of removing the horrific memories the Hive had left in them.
Over the years the Hive wars were all a distant memory, and only legends of their darkness remained alongside others like Nightmare Moon and Discord.
Only the world leaders who passed down the truth of the Hive wars over the generations knew what happened all those many years ago, and in the end it became just another old mare's tale parents told their foals at night.
One side effect of the war was that with all the other nations struggling to survive, and over the course of a thousand years Equestria emerged as the dominant superpower that stood as the central pillar of light that would keep the world in balance for generations.
Finally, present day came when another alien race appeared on Equus, brought forth by another god....
Arceus and his Pokemon.
While many world leaders were hesitant to trust another alien race, eventually the Pokemon were allowed to call this New World home.
As a new age dawns on Equus, it would seem that the final curse the Hive left would be gone forever.
But the past has a very nasty way of catching up with the future and we all know the saying, 'all actions have consequences'....
Unknown Location in Space, Present Day
An incredibly long ship flew ominously through the depths of the void, flanked by a fleet of smaller ships bearing the larger ships apparel.
Within this large Dreadnaught laid a vast labyrinth of pits caverns and winding corridors, the ship grave of a sense of death, darkness and dread, while at the same time looked regal and worthy of royalty.
If one found the throne room of this Castle in the sky, they would come upon a large forty foot being sitting upon its throne with mixed face of contempt, calmness and focus.
His attire was that of a king's, his crown a symbol that was recognized by all his subjects.
To many he was the father of all Hive sects, a God whose age was impossible to comprehend. His eyes were that of one who had seen the light by peering into the darkness, someone who had seen the endpoint of the universe and wished to bring forth that glorious and inevitable future. It was because of this his title was spoken with fear and respect by all.
His name is Oryx, Ruler of Osmium Throne, The Taken King.
And the father of Crota.