• Published 4th May 2013
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The Watcher: Rise of the Purveyor - GnollReader



After two hundred years of absence, the purveyor returns to Equestria. For the better, or for worse.

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Chapter 23: Dream of the Alicorns

Behind the portal, Spike found himself lost in wonder. He was standing on a white plane that seemed to endlessly go on in all directions. No sound could be heard and no matter how far his eyes searched the horizon, nothing but white greeted his eyes. ...Except for one object.

Hovering in front of him, a small orb hung in the air; perfectly motionless and yet constantly wavering in its color, it almost seemed misplaced in the empty room around it.

"What is that?" Spike finally managed to stammer after continuing to watch the little orb for what felt like minutes. "Where are we?"

Next to him, the purveyor let out a small sigh and started to walk around the orb; observing it from all sides and studying the unseen flows that passed through it constantly. "This place," he started, "Is a separate dimension. It is a vault to hold what was supposed to be the greatest accomplishment of the alicorns." Zaeres stopped behind the orb, facing the dragon on the other side.

"Unknown to Nithhogr, the alicorns recovered Sirrush's body; his blood, to be precise." He held out an open palm towards the small orb. "And in an unprecedented effort of their nation, they siphoned Sirrush's magic and fused it with their own to create this."

"What is it?" Spike carefully asked, not daring to step closer. Something about the orb greatly unnerved him.

The purveyor retreated his hand. "A singularity," he noticed Spike's confused expression and shook his head slightly. "There is no need for you to ponder on what it was; its purpose was, and still is the real issue."

Spike gave the orb a dubious look. "What was it supposed to do?"

"It was supposed to change reality." Zaeres explained. "In an attempt to surpass all races before them, the alicorns succeeded in creating a conscious entity able to change the world around it according to the wishes of its masters..."

"It's a wishing stone?!" Spike asked with a baffled expression.

"In essence, yes." Zaeres subconsciously raised an eyebrow at the simple term. The idea was simple enough to capture the purpose, but it in no way conveyed just what the alicorns had created with it; even he himself had trouble to trace the many connections the orb had to the different dimensions and the countless flows it channeled and bent to its will effortlessly.

Sin...

"So... what did the alicorns wish for?"

"They wished for a god," Zaeres replied with a heavy voice. "Or more precisely, they wished for this to become their god."

Unnoticed by Spike, the patterns of the shadows surrounding the purveyor were slowly changing.

"And did it work?" Spike asked, almost fearing the answer. "Did this thing really become their god?"

"Yes, ...and no." Zaeres replied after a moment of silence. "The orb of eternity, as they called it, was conscious but without thought. It simply acted and changed the world around it according to the wishes of its creators. ...And it did so with a terrifying simplicity."

"Why? What did it do?"

Zaeres took a moment to remember the fateful event, the echo the alicorns' sudden absence reverberated through the deepest layers of this world even to that day. "What it was meant to do. It fulfilled their wishes." The purveyor turned to Spike. "They all wished for a god, they all wished for their demands to be fulfilled, but how could the orb fulfill all of those wishes at once? Many of their dreams contradicted one another, as did their individual desires and viewpoints."

Unification...

The purveyor took a moment to push back the voice into the recesses of his mind. It was becoming more present with every day; and now that he knew whose voice it was Zaeres was becoming extremely careful not to let it wander through his thoughts any farther than he could help it.

"Feeling that all requests should be fulfilled and met," Zaeres continued, "the orb decided that not itself should be god, but rather the ones holding the desire to change the world." He turned away from the orb and towards Spike. "And with that decision it sealed the fate of the alicorns."

"What happened to them?" Spike asked, still not understanding what had happened. For a moment he wondered; had the Dorchadas just fallen apart for second? It had been only a moment, almost too short to see; but somehow, his form seemed to waver for a fleeting instant.

"They became god." Zaeres answered with a grim voice. "The orb reached out, and it changed reality; collecting the minds and souls of the alicorns that wished for a god within itself and granting them the power to change the world. However..." he returned his gaze to the orb. "There was a vital flaw within that solution, something the orb in its simple form of understanding could not foresee..."

The purveyor closed his eyes and carefully, his mind reached out towards the orb. It was faint at first, but then he could hear them; chaotic, disruptive, unorganized.

"Thousand of minds," he whispered softly, "and not one in agreement with the other." He cut off the connection and opened his eyes again, gazing into the face of the terrified dragon. "Within this orb and forever imprisoned are the minds of the entire former alicorn nation; with the power to change the world, were they only able to agree on or articulate a single, unified thought or decision."

Spike only stared at the orb in silent horror, the thought of being trapped for all eternity an unimaginable torment to him. Finally, a troubling thought entered his mind. "What will you do with it?"

Zaeres was quiet for a moment, weighing the possibilities in his mind.

Potential...

"Nothing," the purveyor finally answered.

"Nothing?" Spike asked in wonder. "But if this can really change the world, if it is really that powerful..."

"It is," Zaeres commented. "But the results of using it cannot be foreseen. It is a relic that should be kept away from the eyes of this world," he paused. "And even if anyone intended to use this, he would have to find the words to persuade all the souls trapped within it. ...Something that comes with a great risk in itself."

"So you're just going to leave it here? What if Twilight finds it?"

"She won't. I am the only one who still knows how to reach this place. Even when she one day comes to an understanding of what the alicorns attempted to do, she will remain unknowing of its results." He turned his gaze towards Spike. "And even should you tell her of its existence, she will not be able to reach it."

The purveyor drew in a long breath. "I brought you here so you could see for yourself the consequences of Sirrush's fall, and you did. The orb will remain here, until I deem its use necessary. ...In which case your blood will allow me to use it." He saw Spike's questioning face. "If I deem the situation dire enough to actually make use of it, that is."

Zaeres withdrew from the orb and started to walk towards Spike. "Let us leave this place now, we both have preparations to take care of."

Spike gave a glum nod and watched the purveyor approach him. "What about Celestia and Luna? How did they escape?"

The purveyor stopped next to Spike, his hand trailing through the air as he repeated the patterns that activated the portal. "That is a story for another time." The portal slowly started to form. "I will prepare a place for your studies. Call for me when your preparations are done."


A flash of light broke through the storming darkness that covered the Barrier. The moment Celestia appeared in the air she had to shield herself from the constant thunderstorms and rain. Even though the purveyor was not here, his influence was still changing the face of this place. She dared not imagine what he would be capable of doing should he ever fall into a rage.

And in the center of broken mountains and the ever-changing landscape, there was his city; vast, imposing... and empty.

The prophecy Nithhogr had shared with her still hung in her mind like a dreadful promise. Everything that had happened until now seemed to fit to a terrifying extent. Could the old gods really have foreseen this? What if the prophecy really came true? Would all her hopes be shattered and undone by her own doing?

Celestia shook her head. It was too late to question things now, and she had seen enough prophecies come and fall herself to know that in the end everyone of them would have to make their own fate. She would not stop now, it was the only way to save this world... even if helping him might throw it into a new era of chaos on the way.

"But can I really justify my actions knowing the possible results?" Celestia quietly said to herself; almost fearing for the purveyor to appear next to her to answer the question, but only thunder and rain answered her.

Celestia let her eyes travel over the endless city beneath, trying in vain to find an answer to the questions her conversation with Nithhogr had left her with. And she did what she had always done when difficult questions weighed on her mind. With a sure motion of her wings she landed on one of the streets, and she walked.

Lost in thought and worries she walked through the empty streets of what was to be the new birthplace of an ancient race, empty windows and doorways staring back at her as she wandered the maze of streets and bridges without aim.

Without realizing it, she traveled deeper and deeper into the crater. And there, at the bottom of the pit and cradled in darkness, she found the chambers holding the unborn bodies of a sleeping nation.