//------------------------------// // The Origin: Golden Legion // Story: Corrupted Lands // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// We stand here, right beside the perfectly spherical shiny black surface of the Barrier supposedly covering a valley where our goal is, and wonder what to do next. There is no snow settling on it, no debris, and no change in the direction of wind blowing its way. Twilight throws a rock which goes through with no resistance, not even a ripple on the seemingly liquid surface. In a matter of a true scientist, she levitates a fallen tree branch and pokes the Barrier. It goes in and out, no questions asked and no reactions caused. "Hmmm..." Twilight stares at the stick in disappointment, and then throws it through. Very scientific. I employ my brilliance and grow an eyeball on a long tentacle, slowly pushing it against the blackness. Nothing, as if my new eye was swimming in smoky ink. "My scans indicate that this is a divine construction," Bucket announces, "I cannot discern any further information because of divinity working on a wish rather than by specific rules. My theory, though, based on zero reflection or no echo of my scanning methods is of a one-way portal." "Portal where?" Desert Shade pokes the surface with a talon. Everypony is very scientific today. "Considering the ease of disconnection after a brief contact, I don't believe it is a portal that would suck you in and teleport you far away. I think it just separates the valley inside it from the rest of the world, leaving anypony entering trapped there." "Oh!" Twilight claps her hooves, "Easy!" She levitates a bunch of pebbles, and her horn flashes briefly. The pebbles shake and form the shape of a small rock pony. "Walk inside and then return back." she orders. The little thing salutes and trots through the Barrier. After waiting for about two minutes, we come to the conclusion that this really is just a one-way trip. "I think we should stay for few days and observe," Twilight concludes. "And then what?" I wave my hooves, "We go home if we find out there really is no way back? We've already estabilished that it's not a spell that melts everything that touches it." I'm getting a little shaky. I feel something inside my head, but can't put a claw on what it is. Deep down, I KNOW this isn't a trap made to just destroy anything curious enough to enter. "Look, it's not as if another day here matters-" "Yo, Twi!" I beam. "Huh?" I'm not turning back now that we've gone this far. Alone or not, I'm getting to the bottom of this. "Catch me if you can!" Jumping through, I feel the grip of her magic slide on my resistant scales. Good to know she actually values me enough to try to stop me from throwing myself in danger. The first thing I feel after a complete sensory failure is snow and ground under my hooves, which means exactly the same thing as on the other side. The second thing is something clamping on my fetlock. I look down to see Twilight's tiny rock golem hugging my leg. "That was ridiculously unwise- well fuck me backwards..." I hear Twilight's cursing followed by a gasp. Knowledge, appearing right beside her opens his mouth to comment on his mother's swear, follows her gaze upwards, and shuts up mid-breath. "It's... it's exactly like last time..." Cromach whispers. Good, at least somepony has any freaking idea what's going on, because I sure as hay don't. We are looking down into a valley the size of a small city. We are looking down, because looking up takes a toll on one's sanity. We are definitely not looking up. Crap, we are, aren't we? But hey, I'm crazy enough already, right? It's daylight here, even under the dark purple sky. No snow is falling, only frozen tears accompanied by weeping on the edge of hearing falling from giant eyeballs dotting the vastness above. Aaand that's enough eye contact, heh, I think. Yes, the cold dots landing on my back are snowflakes. No, I don't care what my eyes and ears are telling me. "Sooo, anypony still with me and not dribbling on the ground?" I ask, far too loudly and cheerfully. "What... what is this?" I hear Lyam whimper, "Magic?" "Oh no," Cromach takes his battleaxe from his back, and I hear growling sadism in his voice, "This is completely real. Harmony now knows we're here again. From now on, our steps are clearly visible for him. Maybe not even our minds are safe." "So what do we do?" Twilight asks, still gathering herself. "I am getting my long overdue revenge," the griffon snarls, and starts marching down the slope. "Wait wait wait wait!" Twilight trots to him and puts a hoof on his back, Cromach just shakes it off, "Hey, we're in this together, sir Cromach, just don't be too rash." "Twilight..." he huffs. "I doubt Blazing Light would want to see you die the same way he did." The griffon freezes. I hear him take a deep breath and sheathe his axe. "We are stopping this," he says. "First, we need to know what THIS is," Twilight nods to us, and we resume walking down. I agree completely. While the creepy situation upwards is unsettling enough, the state of affairs down in the valley makes even less sense. It is a siege. On the bottom of the valley there lies a city, well - a large town more like. Nothing too big or too complex, but a full town with stone walls, sentry turrets, roads, and general infrastructure. In contrast to that image of civilization, the Corrupted inside are just like the wild ones, like animals trapped in an ornate cage. It reminds me of Canterlot in a way, where Corrupted just nested and lived in the crumbling houses of the supposedly once glorious city but without the wreckage. Where somepony would get enough raw materials in this secluded valley to build such a clean city with no sings of destruction is beyond me. In its center, there stands a pyramid with top cut off providing a platform offering clear view of the entire valley. An exploratory look reveals there are two kinds of Corrupted down there. The first kind are the city Corrupted. I try to reach out with my mind towards one, but am stopped by a will of magnitude I've never met before. No getting into one of those then. From what I can see, some are stationed on the walls, shooting spikes growing from them like porcupines. Some jump down, forced by the will inside them to stop the attackers climbing up the sheer walls. Those are immediately crushed to pieces by the sieging army. The strange thing is that there is no connection between the Corrupted lounging deeper inside the city and those called to defend its walls, as if those inside had no idea what was going on. Just like... just like the hollow golems the Breeder Queen in the Crystal Empire used, but these are real Corrupted, only wiped clean until called to service. The attacking army are much more... equine-looking Corrupted. There is only several hundred of them in comparison to the thousands spawning in the city and dying in the fight, but they seem to be going equal with the defenders. The distinct thing is that they are using tools - swords, crossbows, spears. In the minutes we spend by going down, I see tactical maneuvers in action, strategy I learned in my time with the Hex Guard, traps and baits. An experimental mental touch of the 'soldier Corrupted' reminds me of many minds working like a well-oiled a machine. Very similar to the buffalo incident, but these are not driven by destruction, but efficiency. Both sides are dying and respawning in the endless grinder of blood and flesh. About halfway down the slope, I sense a surge of will nearby, and, being on edge ever since we came here, pounce. My claws wrap around the handle of a halberd and I rip it from an appearing defender's grasp. My second swipe cleaves through armor, but doesn't cut deep enough. I stop. I sense confusion, I sense the need for retaliation, I sense fear from the new Corrupted sprouting from the ground and surrounding us, but not ill intent. Jumping away in case my instinct misled me, I reevaluate the situation and notice something. Corrupted usually come completely in shades of black, brown, and other dark colours aside from their eyes, and these guys are no different, but here and there, each one in a different place, these ones bear a little golden trimming - an earring here, a hair in their mane there, or even something completely different like a tail wrap. They come closer, wary of me, and sniff the air. Twilight is staring, eyes wide, at the armor replicas the Corrupted are wearing. Chilly is furrowing his brows as if trying to remember something long gone. Bastion, though, walks over to the closest Corrupted, stands up straight... ...and salutes. In return, they all stomp the ground, raise their muzzles, and return the gesture. "The Golden Legion..." Twilight whispers and her ears perk up, "Celestia...?" she shakes her head, "Let's follow them!" "Chilly?" I look at the white King who is staring with his mouth agape. "I used to know some of them... no, all of them," he answers, "I don't know who they are, but I know I knew them. That's all, sorry." I don't need to hear anything else to follow Twilight without hesitation. The sieging legion, in a matter befitting a coordinated group rather than Corrupted, is spread around the city, surrounding it for some reason. Not like the city Corrupted are attempting to leave or anything anyway. While escorted in a fasion very similar to the Hex Guard practices, I spot three groups of tents which have to either be command posts, field hospitals, or supply warehouses. None of those make sense. Corrupted don't need intensive care, mouth-to-mouth relaying of orders, or weapons. This all feels like a shattered memory of what these Corrupted used to be ages ago. The largest command post comes to view, and with it a Corrupted who gives me a fantastic idea how to transform my body further. She is staring, motionless, at the bloodbath under the city walls, but I can feel crushing mental pressure coming from her. She is a Corrupted alicorn, tall, completely black, with eyes burning like roaring pyre. Even in comparison to me or her well-built soldiers, she is massive, a... a tainted demigod. She is the first Corrupted with a cutie mark - an orange sun. Even just the power of her mark bearing the colour of boiling magma makes the air warmer as we approach. Considering Twilight's astonished walk of a doll led by strings, I have little to no doubt that this creature, in some shape or form, is, or was, the alicorn called Celestia, the fake Queen. Cautious more than ever before, I touch the alicorn mind ahead. It is powerful, but... incoherent. Overwhelmingly pressuring but weak at the same time, all power with no control. Hmmm... "Princess Celestia?" Twilight stops in front of the alicorn who looks at her as she asks in a soft and shaky voice. "No," I walk over, rather less captivated, "This is... an amalgamation of minds of the entire legion. Every single one of them is the entire legion. They have a purpose here, and that's what they are, just a living purpose. There are no individual ponies present." As I make another quick attempt of reaching into the cracks of the derelict remnants of minds of the Golden Legion, I blank out. Floating in a complete darkness, I hear a calm, self-assured voice: "So, you are finally within my reach." Each word runs a burning spike into my brain. With each echo of the voice here in the eternal darkness my mental armor breaks a little. "Did you think your actions would escape me?" My body shivers. I can't move. Get a grip, Nightshade! You are the best Queen. You didn't run away, cut yourself off like Spring, and you didn't go crazy... too much. You held your own against- "Against me. Very impressive for a lesser being. Even I must admit you indeed are the best Queen." Ehh, what? He can literally read my mind? "Of course. There are so few real minds among these misguided creatures that one like yours is easy to make sense of. However, you should realize what you are." "Which is...?" I grunt, mostly trying to just reassure myself that I still exist and that I am more than just a reverberation of those words, of the all-encompassing mind currently focusing all its attention on me. On so tiny me. "My extension!" My front legs move to my neck which loses all its natural armor and turns back to soft pony skin and coat. Two sets of claws wrap around it despite all my willpower, not even slowed a little. They grip, crush, choke... ...and stop. "Grrgh!" I gasp for air. "Now that we made this little issue clear, I called you here to make you an offer." The voice now sounds as if carressing my entire body, licking it from inside out. "Offer?" I moan. "Indeed. You are as close to a perfect being as I have ever gotten. Not as you are now, definitely not, but you have true potential reaching beyond any other creature in existence. Besides me, of course. I want to explore it. I made others with more power, better senses, and resistant bodies, but they lost their mind and purpose. You, on the other tentacle, have maintained your intelligence throughout your change and you have still not reached your peak." Huh... I AM awesome then. If a disembodied godly voice says so. "I am Harmony, and you shall be my avatar. I will show you how to improve even more. You will lead all those you call Corrupted under unified mind. You will spread all over this world, and as we conquer it... we will reach out to the stars. You will have anything and everything in your grasp. Pain, ecstasy, loyalty, suffering. You will be able to choose what you want to live through or inflict upon newer and newer foes in heights never experienced before." Uhhh, that sounds way too shifty and cult-y. How about I just- "You misunderstood me. The offer was not whether you do it for me or not. The offer was only whether you keep a little of your free will while doing so." With my newfound power, I rip alicorn Celestia in half and spawn dozens Corrupted instantly to obliterate the petty Golden Legion. Spitting boiling acid, I melt Twilight's legs off and hang her under my belly to be my trophy endlessly assaulted by my tentacles in every orifice as I walk through lands which belong only to me now. The divine griffon Cromach falls under my onslaught much to the laughter of my master. Before turning Twilight to a simple flesh pleasure hole, I grind her brain for information about improving Corrupted to traverse seas. We spread. It starts with griffons, then Saddle Arabia, Zebrica, and in the end the world falls under the black plague. But that is only the beginning. More planets, lifeforms in shapes I couldn't even imagine before fall before me. Civilizations crumble, turned into pleasure pits of Corrupted. In the end, only two beings remain - my master and I. And then we join in complete and absolute unity. "AAAAH!" I scream, waking up wrapped by a set of legs and struggling to break free in horror, "Letmegoletmegoletmegoletmego!" "Shhh," I hear Chilly whisper in my ear, "I'm here. It's fine." Trembling all over, I whimper and gradually cease struggling. I'm sitting on the ground in front of everypony while Chilly's embrace is keeping me from collapsing completely. "What's going on?" Twilight trots over, "You just collapsed out of nowhere and Chilly caught you." "It talked to me. The god talked to me. It wants me," I mumble quickly. "What? Harmony? So were we right about this?" Twilight starts saying something, but I ignore her. I ignore her because another female voice speaks, raspy and weak, but audible. "Frostbite?" Seeing me being hugged by Chilly must have sparked something in the ancient alicorn. Chilly twitches and looks up at Celestia. She sounds exactly like he did when speaking for the first time in a century, only softer. "Tia?" he smiles. So, Chilly's protective presence works even against the god itself. My head hurts like blazes, but at least there is still a 'me' to realize it. "Princess?" Twilight, seeing I'm recovering under Chilly's protection, turns back to Celestia. "Twi- Twilight?" the alicorn leans back, "What? How? TWILIGHT!" The smaller purple alicorn is wrapped in tentacles and mashed against Celestia's chest. Twilight wraps her wings around her mentor. "It's been so long, princess, so long." "Long?" Celestia looks taken aback by Twilight's vice-like embrace, "Didn't we... I... can't remember... a month at most? How are things outside? Did my message get to you? Is Canterlot holding?" Twilight lets go, biting her lip as she looks Celestia in her orange, tainted eyes. "It has been a century since you left. Most of Equestria is gone, devoured by Corrupted. As far as we know, only Ponyville, Manehattan, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire are still standing." I can feel she shock spread from Celestia through the collective mind of the entire legion. "We... we did... nothing?" Celestia whispers, "But my journal-" "It got to us only few months ago. I'm sorry, but your plan failed completely. We lost everything even before Bastion got to Canterlot, I think. I don't know how or when he got to Canterlot anyway, but I suppose it happened after the city fell, because no Corrupted or even tainted ponies were allowed in when the spread began." Molten tears start treaking down Celestia's face. "My little ponies...?" Twilight shakes her head. "There is very few of us left, but we are recovering," Twilight smiles and points at me, "Mostly thanks to her." "A Corrupted Queen?" Celestia gives me a distinctly hostile glare. On the other hoof, if even she can't recognize the pony in me then this is what I really am now. Well, who cares WHAT I am? I am WHO I am! "My name is Nightshade," I push Chilly away and grit my teeth as the headache grows, "An ex-Hex Guard alchemist and also an ex-pony. I lead the Ponyville hive and I know more about Corrupted than you ever will. WE ARE NOT ANIMALS, WE ARE NOT TOOLS, AND WE-" I'm not sure where the rage came from, but it burns brightly. Just her stare, the dismissive look of somepony with no real understanding believing they know everything makes me boil. "Wrong," Celestia interrupts, "Tools are exactly what you ar-oof!" And here it is. Now I can say I punched a Corrupted alicorn so hard her jaw shattered. My Corrupted rise from the ground and surround me, blocking the incoming tainted legionnaires. Celestia, more shocked than hurt, regenerates her muzzle in an instant and growls at me. Thunder roars above us, and I smell ozone followed by the crackling sound of electricity next to me. "ENOUGH!" one extremely pissed off alicorn of Magic makes both me and Celestia take a step back. The legionnaires freeze and Twilight stares Celestia down, "I believe you still harbor some misconceptions from a century ago, but let me tell you one thing. Times have changed. Corrupted are a threat, an enemy unlike anything ever encountered before, BUT they are a new species. No matter why or how they were created, if or when they regain their free will they WILL BE TREATED AS SUCH! I'm not sure how much my word means to you after all this time, your Highness, but I trust Nightshade one hundred percent. Without her, we wouldn't have gotten here, probably ever. Without her, the last remaining ponies would only be griffon... cattle. And without her I would still be thinking about Corrupted the wrong way in my final days." Well, I'm blushing now. "To my knowledge," Celestia starts again carefully, "The Corrupted are a plague released on this world to eradicate ponies." Ehm, yes, buuuut- No, that's not going to work. "I have witnessed Corrupted regaining control over themselves when the influence warping their minds was cut off. Chilly here might tell you more when we have the time." "Chilly?" Celestia looks at the white King. "Frostbite, Tia," he gives her a small bow, "but that was a unicorn's name. I go by Chilly these days. And if you still value my opinion, I would advise you to listen to Twilight Sparkle and Nightshade. The situation is dire and, since we don't seem to be able to get out, we are in this together. You can remnisce or get to know today's world later." "A very wise advice," Cromach coughs. Celestia blinks several times, and then makes a guilty face similar to Twilight whenever she talks to the griffon. What did they do to him? Was it something with the high treason Cromach was talking about? "Your Highness, we will enlighten you about the outside world later, but now we need to know what is going on here. Why is there a city full of Corrupted? Why are there structures similar to what Harmony used to return to Equus the last time inside? Is the god around, or is this all na accident fueled by enraged divine will?" "A century..." Celestia shakes her head, "No days, no nights... just eyeballs. I am so exhausted..." "We are here to help, although that part should be obvious. Bucket!" Cromach turns to the robot, "Run through the ranks of the Legion and scan everypony and everything you can find. I need an objective evaluation of the situation. I'll fill you in on the history princess is about to tell us when you're done." Bucket nods and runs off. "Oh, history... oh right," Celestia catches on, "Let's sit down here. It's not like we need or can have any sort of privacy anyway." Celestia looks at everypony offloading their bags and sitting down in a circle around her. She waves her hoof in a motion encompassing the entire city under siege. "This was already here when we arrived. At first we had the upper hoof, though, but we still couldn't break through. The one time we broke the wall these two strange ponies, not Corrupted, completely obliterated us. The Corrupted managed to rebuild the breach while we had to recover. To not let up on the pressure I had to tap into the 'fake' corruption we managed to control and twist my soldiers more and more. Now... now there is little to nothing of them left, only the drive of serving me to the end. Even if we somehow manage to get out of here, they are all gone. I am worn out beyond my own expectations. The only reason you managed to pull me out of the tangled mess of remains of will and minds is likely my divine power still holding my 'shape'." "We will get you back, princess, even if it might not be possible for the others," Twilight reassures her firmly. Celestia gives her a warm smile. "Your coming has given me a little hope, even if your words about the world outside quenched most of it. I think I can muster some more energy for the final push. How about that?" "We'll do all we can, prin- Celestia," Twilight nods. "Let's wait for Bucket to get back," Cromach interrupts, "Even Harmony cannot use divine power without limits, especially after the defeat he suffered last time. This place must have a structural weakness, and if there is somepony who can discover it then it's Bucket. For now, I would ask you to call off the assault." "What?" Celestia and Twilight both look at the griffon in clear surprise. "You need rest, what little remains of your soldiers need rest too. Harmony's power and the ability to replenish lost Corrupted is doubtlessly far beyond your own. From my experience, the god likes to play games and show you he is in charge. The only two reasons you haven't been crushed under the onslaught must be the damage Blaze, I, and the Silver Sun members caused last time, and the god's desire to just see you wear yourself out and admit defeat." "What do you recommend then?" "Give Bucket an hour to do his thing, recall your soldiers and try to recover as many autonomous minds as you can because you're going to need thinkers, not animals operating purely on instinct or combat training. You should let Nightshade help you with that. I can see you don't trust her no matter Twilight's reassurance, but she knows what she is doing." "That is what I'm afraid of," Celestia's eyes narrow as she looks at me. "We will not get anywhere like this, princess," Cromach sighs, "Much like Ponyville ponies when Nightshade came to power, you don't have much choice. You will either lose alone eventually but surely, or you will gamble everything on a little glimmer of hope," the griffon grinds his beak and his stare grows cold, "The Hope you killed two centuries ago." "Cromach!" Twilight frowns. "It is alright, Twilight. I admit my fault. My lack of trust in the griffon, his alicorn lover, and the others who risked their lives against impossible odds caused this. Harmony would have not returned if I trusted them, Corrupted would not exist if I trusted them, and I think I would not have gone alone only with my soldiers on this mission if I wasn't burdened by guilt. I caused this and deep down I thought it was up to me to correct my mistake. I failed everypony including myself." "Princess..." "But all of you are here, and together we might have enough strength for one final push. I will recall my soldiers for now. I will tell you all I know about the Corrupted city, which isn't much to be honest. And together we WILL finish what those long dead sacrificed themselves to start."