Canterlot, the home of the regal alicorns and the capital of the pony nation. Equestria had faced many dangers, toppled many evils, and was in a time of harmony. But that harmony had recently been. disrupted. The Centaur by the name of Tirek had stomped across Equestria and the other nations around it, draining them of their most vital tool.
Magic.
But, Tirek was stopped. Six brave mares rose up and used the ultimate magic against him, the Magic of Friendship. It seemed ridiculous to anyone who had never experienced it first hand, yet
those who had knew; it was the most powerful force they had ever encountered.
Others had fallen to the power before Tirek. Nightmare Moon, the evil persona of Princess Luna, Goddess of the Moon. Discord, a being who could alter reality to his will, one of the greatest of his kind. Indeed, indeed, friendship was a powerful gift.
Now, because of that gift, Tirek stood before the Council of Nations. The cabal was composed of beings who were considered gods by their kind, from Pony to Draconquus, Griffon to Dragon. Tirek himself was powerful and had once almost defeated them all in the past. Of course, he had been stopped just as he was now.
It was almost inconceivable. He, Lord Tirek; The God Eater, Stomper of Worlds, Devourer of Magic, Demon of Tartarus. Foiled by six mares.
Now he was here, in Canterlot’s council chamber. Inside the meeting room, it had grown dark. Outside, a storm was wreaking havoc across the world. De to the large magic flux that was released after Tirek’s defeat, a global hurricane now raged across the planet: just the latest in Tirek resume of crimes.
The sound of howling winds and the rain smashing the walls, roofs, and windows filled the quiet room. Many creatures of all kinds sat silently, staring at the chained centaur before them. Their glares expressed the hatred they shared for the monster.
I let out a sigh, my wings flapping in agitation. I looked over at the other world leaders, those considered Gods like my sister and I. Tirek has once again rampaged through my lands once he escaped Tartarus. Luckily, my former student, Twilight Sparkle, was able to find out the secret of the magic box and had defeated him.
I was the leader of this council, not out of power, but through my fairness and kindness. This was now coming back to bite me in the ass. Our choices were limited, and the majority of said choices would be far too cruel for me to approve in good conscious.
"Well,” I said, filling the void of silence that had cursed the room long enough. “What do you think? Should we send him back to Tartarus where he will rot for eternity, or find some new way to confine him?” Tirek gave me a look of pure hatred, not appreciating us choosing his fate in front of him. He could stuff his horns up his ass because I don’t give a damn at this point.
“Tartarus has proven ineffective,” the Griffon Queen, Alexentric, barked in anger. She was half owl, half panther, with white, regal feathers. “I propose what I proposed centuries ago, Celestia…..Death!”
Some around me gave conflicted looks. Death would be simple, it would be quick, and it would be effective. But morally, it would be wrong. Then again, I took it into careful consideration. Maybe it was time to end this, even if it felt wrong. Was it fair to leave him to the next generation once again?
“We can’t just do that!” Princess Twilight shouted in disagreement. I let out a tired sigh. This wouldn’t end well. The Griffon Queen was known for her temper, and Twilight’s outburst would not help.
“With all due respect, Princess Twilight,” Alexentric growled at the young princess’s outburst. “It is the only logical way of doing this. For too long has he been allowed to scheme, to plot. You Equestrians have put us in enough trouble already with your pointless mercy.”
I was going to interject, but Luna locked her foreleg with mine. “This is something young Twilight must do herself,” she whispered. My eyes drifted from her’s and back my former student. Perhaps Perhaps my sister is right, I thought. Let’s see what she says in response.
“That same logic led to the downfall of Griffonstone,” Twilight shot back. Ah yes that silly one-eye goat. “You knew of Arimaspi, and you showed no mercy towards him when he raided your subjects’ home. You locked him away away and had him tortured. When he escaped, he he went straight for your capital! That lack of mercy led to Griffonstone’s downfall.”
That shocked the griffoness and Alexentric went silent. I was impressed. It’s not every day one shuts down the goddess of griffons.
“What do you suggest we do then, Princess of Friendship?” the Diamond Dog King, King Mudrowler, asked.
“I suggest we put him through the same process as Discord: reformation!” she answered confidently.
My eyes dilated at the mere prospect of Tirek being ‘reformed’. I looked around to see similar expressions; many of us were shocked at the very thought. Tirek let out a snarl, his hatred for friendship demanded he not conform to such weaknesses.
“I agree with Princess Twilight,” Luna said, gaining all of our attention. She looked around at the stares that were given to her, making my sister slightly nervous. Not that I blamed her, for she had been gone for so long and many around us had lived in the time of her…...transformation.
“If Discord could be reformed, then socan Tirek,” she continued. “For if we are to consider ourselves better then him, then should we not act like it? It was not long ago that you deemed me redeemable to take place in this council, and it was you who decided that Discord could serve a greater use!”
Pride swelled in my chest. My little sister and the one I saw as a daughter were offering a noble deal to the creature who cause us all much harm. While my feelings towards Tirek were less than savory, I could understand their logic.
I heard a small clap of approval and I turned to see Eris, leader of the Draconequui. She had a owl’s talon for one hand, and a tiger arm for another. Her color scheme was a mix between orange and black, her mane a messy black. She had a dolphin’s tail and two feet, one being a frog’s, the other a rabbit’s.
Unlike most of the leaders here, she had rarely participated in the affairs of the world. Her and her kind preferred to kick back and relax; only Discord’s own curiosity led him to Equestria. Though most Draconequus were not as powerful as Discord, Eris would put him to shame in a contest of chaos.
“Well said,” Eris chuckled. Her voice did not contain the mocking tone she usually used when speaking to us. “I agree with both of you. After all, if one could reign in Discord, than surely Tirek can also be taught to be….friendlier.”
“I highly doubt it,” Tirek sneered. His hate for Discord’s race outmatched that of my own, though I never knew why. “Discord was but a weak fool, a child---”
“Yes, yes,” Eris huffed, snapping her talon to silence the centaur. “Friendship is weakness, mushy ponies are pathetic. By the maker, do you ever shut up about that?”
I couldn’t help but smile at her antics and Tirek’s anger. He let out muffled shouts, probably vile words. The other leaders looked amused, though some of them gave annoyed looks.
“You rarely share words with us, Eris,” Blackfang, Lord of Dragons, said, tilting his head in curiosity. “Yet here you are, actually giving a damn. What brought about this?”
Eris laughed at the dragon’s choice of words. “One day, Blackfang,” she said, seriousness taking her voice for the first time in 4 centuries. “We will run into a threat we can’t just stuff under the carpet. Why not start now in using different methods, before we hit a roadblock?”
We all pondered over her words. Even the the ill tempered griffoness took Eris’s logic into consideration. A scary thing indeed, due to who Eris was.
“What happens if it doesn’t work?” Carapace, Emperor of the Changelings, asked.
Eris’s eyes blazed with fire. “Tirek now has a chance, one chance, to not screw up. If he does….then I will personally take care of him.”
Tirek shot a look of fear towards the Goddess. Eris was a being not to be trifled with. Her words seemed to convince the others and give them reassurance, if not in fear, that Tirek would not get far if he were to betray our trust.
“Twilight,” I said, looking towards the purple alicorn. “Who do you have in mind to take up this task?” She gave me a smile, happy that I was on board with her project.
“The other Elements and I should be more than enough to perform the task,” she answered. Fear gripped me; the mere thought of Twilight being alone with Tirek was sickening. Who knows what could happen to them if Tirek was given the chance to be alone with---
“Celestia?” I woke up from my turmoil of thoughts. I looked to see a worried glances from the others in the room. I had instinctively grabbed Twilight with my wing, crushing the poor mare.
I blushed and let her go, giving a nervous cough. “R--right,” I stammered. “I agree with you, Princess Twilight. Nopony is more suited for the job than you!”
I scanned the room. Some of the other members looked skeptical, but most of them were content. “With that said, I find this meeting adjourned!” I declared, all of of the attendees nodding to acknowledge what was decided.
Each vanished in their own way, but Eris stayed. Good, I needed to talk to her anyway. I trotted away from my seat to the departing Draconequus. “Wait,” I called out to her. She turned back a gave me a puzzled look.
“Yes, Princess?” Eris asked in her usual cheery self. Making fun of the title.
I rolled my eyes at her mocking tone. “When you said ‘A threat we can’t stuff under the carpet’ did you mean you’ve foreseen something?”
“I--I don’t know,” she answered, giving me a brief moment of terror. “And that’s what scares me. But whatever it is I’m feeling...it’s cold.” With those ominous words, she vanished.
I would have to inform Luna, see if she can find anything. Whatever has scared Eris can’t be good, but we’ve faced my foes before. I had confidence in my fellow leaders, in my friends, and in Twilight.
Because if anything were to harm one of those things I cherish, I will do everything in my power to end it….forever.
I slowly regained consciousness. What had that salesman done? I couldn’t feel anything besides being cold…..My eyes slowly opened; even that felt foreign, and I saw rain crashing from the sky. Makes sense on why I felt cold, yet I couldn’t feel the rain hitting my sweatshirt.
In a matter of fact, I couldn’t feel the fabric either. Strange…….
I slowly got up and---wow I’m tall. I was never this tall, so what the heck happened? Creaking could be heard as I moved my joints….I felt so powerful...so superior! The feeling was foreign, yet it made me comfortable. I scanned my surroundings, and I could tell that I wasn’t at that convention anymore. There were some palm trees in the area, and I was standing on sand.
Wait, what’s up with my feet?
My eyes beheld two large mechanical feet that sank into the sand. This wasn’t part of the costume. Something was wrong, seriously wrong. Yet I felt indifferent about it. I was still calm, surprisingly not freaking out at the revelation.
It’s dark, I was probably seeing things. I doubt I could even seen my ha-----claws…….
Okay, now I was starting to feel a little upset. My head darted from side to side, searching for some kind of way to see my reflection. Ah, found one! I darted over to the puddle to see my reflection. It wasn’t what I expected, to say the least.
“Wha--what the hell!?!” I shouted to no one in particular, my voice booming and sounding more mechanical. “What’s happening?” I shouted again, shocked at my new voice. I continued to look at my reflection, staring in amazement and horror at my appearance.
I had a black mask made from a strange metal, two eye blazing from the slits in the mask. My body was colossal; I had to at least be 10 feet….. maybe taller. The gears, I literally mean gears, in my mechanical head started to turn, processing what was going on.
“You seem distressed…..” a voice said, breaking me from my thoughts.
I looked around for the source, but couldn’t find where it came from. Maybe my imagination was playing with me……
“A nice thought, yet I’m afraid to inform you that you are incorrect,” the voice said, ruining that theory. It sounded smug, as if it was amused on my predicament.
“Who are you…..” I called out, waiting for whoever it was to reveal themselves.
“A shadow….something part of you, something more fitting to control you….” the unseen entity answered ominously.
I gave a laugh at it’s words. “Control me, huh?” I asked, sarcasm dripping from my voice. “Well then, I’m afraid to inform you that you are incorrect in thinking that you can control me!”
It was silent for a minute; I felt pride swell within me at the thought of telling off this wannabe ghost. Nothing, and I mean nothing, controls me. If they tried to do so then I would show them the true meaning of---what the hell am I thinking? I feel more confident, sure, but what I was going on about was more...ruthless.
“Hehe, good to know that,” it chuckled. “Then I might not be wasting my time then, and you could prove useful company…..”
I felt more pride at its words, but I knew better than to not ask a creepy voice in my head who they were. I swear, if I’ve been infested with some spooky crap then I’mma kill someone. “Again, who are you? What’s happening to me...what am I?” I interrogated the voice.
“Inquisitive, I like that,” it laughed. “Questions are powerful; always ask questions. As for who I am, well that’s an interesting thing…..” The voice paused, as if debating on what to say, how to explain it to me. Patience was one of my virtues, so I could wait. Answers are important, and sometimes you need to wait a long time for the right answer.
“Tell me, do you remember where you were before this, who you met?” it asked politely. Though I had a feeling it already knew, I chose to indulge it with an answer.
“I was at a convention, I think, and I was going up to meet my friends, girlfriend, and my brother when I meet this merchant,” I recollected. Now that I thought about it, talking to myself might prove that I was insane…. “He said he knew them, and that they had gone to this restaurant to eat. He also gave me a mask for my costume---”
“What was the mask called? What did you go to this convention as?” it asked. Again, I thought it already knew the answer. It was in my head after all.
“It was called the….” I stopped myself, realization dawning in my little robotic head.
“Yesssss?” it said gleefully, it desired that I say the name.
“The Great…..” I said, barely loud enough to be considered a whisper. “No--no…”
“Oh, but yes,” it chuckled, the voice’s laughter echoing in my head. How---how could this be!?! “I am the mask you think of, and you are my bearer. Do you now know who you are?”
My mind started to shatter, trying to understand how this could be possible. It had to be a dream, it had to be! There was no way this was happening!
“N--no you’re wrong,” I said, stumbling over my words. I got up and sprinted, trying to escape the inescapable.
“Am I?” it asked, feigning innocence. “You know who you are…” it said.
The voice started to fill my mind with memories, ones that weren’t my own. I saw a figure like me, plotting his way to godhood, destroying his foes. His craft, his powers, now flowing through me. The torch of perfection passed on to me.
Then I was shifted. In a time before I came here, a time when I was falling endlessly through the Void as I made my way to my new home.
Unattainable knowledge started to fill my mind; I felt weightless and small. Before me glowed the endless light of universe after universe. Like the other, I felt drawn to it. I wanted it. It was beautiful and pure, so pure. Yet it wasn’t perfect...why couldn’t something so beautiful not be perfect? So many like me wronged, so many like me crushed under the weight of reality.
It wasn’t fair…...how could this be fair? The one creating this was fair, so why couldn’t its creation be fair? Were those who inhabited it poisoning this masterpiece? What could I do? Could I help, could I protect it?
I slowly went into the the many universes, sailing through the void. Slowly I reached my destination. A world of colorful creatures. Creatures of kindness, of love. Part of it made me sick, the cutesy garbage of friendship and love. They were weak, and I fear that without strength they would crumble as my kin did.
I would not allow this!
Plans started to formulate in my head, countless possibilities lay before me. For once I could do something meaningful! But my mind stopped, and I shot back into the void. I was stopped just as I was so close, so very close…….I was drawn back into reality.
“I can teach you, help you grow,” the mask whispered to me, its voice filled with compassion, with joy at my revelation. “I can help you, but you must know who you are. Can you tell me who you are?”
I nodded to myself, the images of my form were clear. My purpose was clear, but if the mask thought I could control me...Hah, then it would be in for a surprise. It couldn’t hear and see everything in my mind, it was foolish enough to show me that. My very being demanded I not let it control me, but for now…..I was the student, and it was the master.
For now……
“I---,” I said slowly, conscious of the real world returning. I looked down at my hands, my feet. Strolling over back to the pool, I looked at my reflection once more.
“Yes…”
“I am----” I said, enjoying the sound of my new voice. The name in my mind rolling through, giving me jolts of satisfaction. I kneeled down to look at my reflection, admiring my new body. Now that I understand who I was due to my predecessors thoughts, I can appreciate it.
“I am----”
“I am Makuta Teridax!” I shouted in triumph. The mere mention of my new name filled me with pride. I was a Makuta, a being of great power and intellect. Shadows leapt from me and I slowly began to rise higher and higher.
“And I am The Great Kraahkan!” my mask cried, his words echoing with mine.
I then lowered myself, slightly embarrassed. It was not fitting for one such as I to act so childish…..but who am I kidding, this was exciting!
I looked around, relieved at my confession. My claw rested under my head, deep in thought on what to do first.
First step was to build a base. Location was important, preferably somewhere distant so I would not be discovered. Maybe a volcano…..yeah, that would be cool. Another thing I would have to look for was a supply of Protodermis, but that shouldn’t be too difficult with my mask’s help.
The next step was to learn my new powers. I had to master each and everyone of them. That thought was exciting since I had so much to learn. I think Makuta Teridax had around 42 powers. Of course, this didn’t include the forging that I would have to learn as well. That would be fun, especially with stuff like Protodermis. Hell, I could make some loyal Rahkshi minions.
After that, I had to get information. Know your surroundings, know who your friends and enemies are. I had some idea of the multiverse, but I was far from truly understanding it yet. The memories of the former Makuta Teridax contained much knowledge of Mata Nui and the Matoran Universe and the inner working of his universe- some of that could be used here. Yes, there were beings who could fully understand the works of the multiverse, but to achieve that, I would have to….acquire it from one of them.
Finally, I had to connect with those like me. I wanted to meet them, to converse with them, and I bet they would like to do the same with me!
A new slate, and new friends I could make. Though I won’t forget my old ones. They were out there somewhere, and that salesman did the same to them as he did to me.
Heck, I could even get them in on it! This was so much fun, being sent as one who thinks about the world around him, not mindlessly destroying it. What I had learned in such a short amount of time had really opened my eyes. I might be a little on crazy side, but I was to begin with so that didn’t matter much.
After I covered those bases, I could then start the next phase of my planning.
“Now then,” I said to myself, and the mask, looking around to fortify my new lair of doom. “Where to start?”