Chapter 18 Herald of the End
Keristrasza found herself in a lifeless world, the sky was an empty void of nothingness, the sun had been extinguished, the moon had been shattered and the stars are gone. The ground was tainted and the grass was as black as the sky. the mountains had collapsed in on themselves, and the trees had withered to husks of their former selves. The ocean and the rivers had been dried out leaving no life in the world.
Keristrasza, in her human form, was not letting down her guard, in a nightmarish void like this, danger could be lurking everywhere.
"Where are you Starfall?" She asked herself, moving thousands of feet every step she took. A sudden voice appeared behind the Dragon Queen.
A dark mocking laughter echoed throughout the void. "There is no Starfall, We. Are. Legion! Keristrasza turned around to face the Dark Archangel, In all her years, she had never seen anything as horrific as what was facing her. A seven headed dragon, twice her dragon size. Seven heads, all the representing its nature, Evil. Keristrasza tried to focus and see beyond the the clouds that were concealing its face. "Begone, filth!" The voice penetrated her mind and it felt like a thousands shrieks of excruciating agony surged through her.
Keristrasza fell on her knees from the screams. In a flash, she could see a planet, very similar to her world. She saw starving children being slaughtered just for the sake of bloodlust, she saw humans erupting in a explosion killing those nearby to it, she also saw for a quick second humans dressed in suits, talking to hundreds of thousands of humans, being allured by its lies, she saw humans hanging themselves in despair and lying on a pavement during a blizzard.
The flash of images disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. "You resist, but it is inevitable, your world is doomed, and We will once again be born in Anger-Hatred-Pride-War-Fear-Doubt-Despair!" The heads answered separately. Once again, their voice clawed at Keristrasza's mind. flashes of humans going into battle with weapon's similar to what Starfall's father had. charging into battle and getting torn apart by spits of fire and metal. mechanical machine's that spew fire and devastate a whole village and a egg made out of metal falling in the sky and with the same intensity of a thousand suns devastated glorious cities several times the size of Equestria.
Keristrasza snapped out of her trance and regain control of her mind. She looked up at the dragon who was lowering its seven heads. Only their glowing eyes were visible behind the murky clouds."Even the righteous of you will be corrupted and those who oppose me will fall!
Keristrasza saw herself floating in the air, watching the final line of resistance against shadowy figures. One by one, ponies, gryphons, minotaurs, horses, zebra's and humans being consumed by the unending darkness. "Then at long last, Legion will reign supreme and there is nothing you can do to stop it!" Instantly, Legion disappeared as quickly as he had arrived and the screams stopped and the Dragon Queen found herself standing in the Everlife forest. It was freezing, there was snow everywhere, she looked around for a second and there she saw him...
A younger version of the prince, he seemed to be somewhere around 6 to 8 year old "Starfall?" She asked stepping closer, as she did, she made out what he was doing. She went to his side and saw the dying wolf cub in his arms. "Starfall!" She called out to him to look at her but he did not acknowledge her. "Snap out of it! You need to return to your body!" She shook the young prince's body.
"I-...I tried to save them..." He spoke with a cracking voice. He was so close to breaking down and crying.
Keristrasza was confused to who he was referring as them. She took a glance to her right side and saw who he was referring too. What she saw, was almost as horrific as Legion. An endless snowy field, with mountains of piled up corpses, mostly humans, some ponies, it literally went on in the background as a mountain chain of piled up corpses. "Lightbringer's mercy..." She spoke in horror. Such unspeakable evil would break anyone. But the Dragon Queen was not anyone. She had seen her fair share of blood since the beginning of her reign. "Starfall you need to return to your body or this vision is the future that awaits us all!"
"No! I won't leave him!" He protested out. His grief quickly turned into anger. His eyes turned red as his hair and focused it directly at the Dragon Queen. "LEAVE US ALONE!"
The Dragon Queen's eyes opened. She felt Starfall's body pressed up to her back. ´´I failed...I had only one chance to bring him back and I ran out of time!´´ She carefully crawled away off the bed and in a flash, her golden and red plates were attached to her body once again.
She left the bedchambers with the Prince still asleep in her bed. Keristrasza made her way to one of hundred secret rooms in the mountain. One of them had been storing something very powerful for millennia now. It was older than the mountain that she had lived in for the past four thousand years. She arrived at a blank wall. It was a painting of things to come to pass, drawn hundreds of years ago when she first was given this vision of the future.
In the paintain, the image of a seven headed dragon could be seen grasping the world with its tail. A human bowing down before the moon and sun. And a blue star, brighter and bigger than the others, that will be lost to the cold and empty darkness of the void. "The visions are coming to pass, but I wonder...What comes next? Are we truly doomed to evil or is there hope?" Keristrasza muttered to herself. She moved up to the side and watched the continuation. There was nothing off the blue star, but what she did see however was an ancient pool of water, older than the Dragon Queen, she knew right away what it was, for she had seen it with her own eyes. the next image is that of three humans chained in blood to a seven headed dragon. Could it possibly be Starfall, Alexander and Crimson or something else.Another image held the markings of a black sun. Could this mean either the death of the Celestia or the fall of her grace. An uneasy feeling of crept up her spine, Keristrasza always could see into someones future at will, but lately that power had been falling her, especially during the gathering a couple of days ago. Despite her frustration, everything else is translatable except one part of the vision. The image of a bleeding heart. Could it mean the death of the Crystal Queen? or maybe the Princess of Love? or maybe, something entirely different...
The Dragon Queen sighed, this did not help her understanding the coming threat, could it be true? Has Legion won already, are we doomed to an existence of eternal darkness? She went away from the painting and into a pillar holding a vial of glowing water. It radiated a soothing glow that was equal to the moon and stars. "This small vial is all that stands between complete annihilation of all life." She stared at it. She had saved this vial for several thousand years, before the age of the princesses. All because of a voice in her head telling her to save it.
She smiled. "Lightbringer, you cunning witch!"
"Another falls to darkness...Where does it end sister? When will we know peace from this evil?" Luna said with tears sliding down her cheeks. "I-...I don't know if I can fight my son."
"I understand how you feel Luna, I also lost one of my children to the same fate." Celestia walked towards her sister and raised her head.
"Even if we would stand up to him, how could we possibly defeat him? He is more powerful, stronger and faster than Davios, the elements of harmony may work, but if the ponies would use them, if they could even bring themselves to use it, who can say that he won't harm them?
"As always Luna, you let your emotions cloud your judgment." The very familiar voice of Keristrasza came. The two princesses looked away from each other and saw humanoid dragon queen in Luna's bedroom.
The two princesses quickly picked themselves up and gave a judging look at the Dragon Queen. "Why have you come here, Keristrasza, aren't you supposed to be with my son?" Luna said, hinting to the fact that she knew about their Special night.
The Dragon Queen rolled her eyes. "I am here to help you."
"Hah, Help us!? You are just want to save your own hide."
Celestia raised her hoof in front of her sister. "Thats enough, sister, her motives do not matter, if she is here to aid us, we can't turn her down."
There was a silence before she spoke. "I have no interest in your son, Luna, I merely did what I had too."
Luna narrowed her sight in anger. "I have a hard time believing that." She replied. Luna turned and saw her sister shaking her head in disapproval. "Very well then, what did you discover?" She said biting her tongue.
"Once our business was done and his guard had been dropped, I made my way inside the deepest corners of his mind and what I found...Could not compare to anything I have ever witnessed." Luna and Celestia gave eachother a quick glance as Keristrasza stared off. They were taken back by her state...It almost seemed like she was afraid. But what could possibly scare a dragon the size of Canterlot and as powerful as the princesses.
"Keristrasza, are you alright?" Celestia asked, genuinely concerned.
The Dragon Queen snapped back to reality. Her eyes swinging back and forth between the two princesses. Quickly regaining her composure, she took a deep breath before continuing. "Inside his mind I found It...I found Legion." The room went silent. The two princesses widened their eyes in horror. It is as they had feared. Starfall is enslaved just as Davios Sunbright, Alexander and Crimson, all bound by the same fate.
"How-...How is it possible!?" Celestia asked terrified. "Crimson, gave his life to destroy Legion!"
"It is a mystery. In his final moments, Crimson, absorbed the Dark Archangel into his own body and destroyed his weakened physical form. But his spiritual form is still somewhere out there."
"You don't actually think that Legion is possessing Starfall do you!?" Luna asked, not wanting to believe that her son was the vessel of Evil.
"The force controlling Starfall is but a fraction of his being, yet he was powerful enough to break Starfall's will. Knowing this, leaves me with one final question...Where is he fully manifested?"
Celestia glanced worriedly at her sister, she knew that the cold grip of fear had entangled them both and now they were at a crossroad that could determine the fate of not just Equestria, but the world. "What else did you see inside his mind, do you know how they merged?"
Keristrasza nodded. "I do, but I did not see it in his mind, I foresaw it happening." For a moment, both Luna and Celestia were silent. "I had a vision the day before I attended the UN Council meeting, I was given a vision of a child, doused in blood and crying infront of a mirror like pool. With a nightmarish tree growing behind him, the child was covered more and more in a shadow that the tree was giving off. until an apple fell of one of its branches, then the crying stopped."
Luna was furious. She charged her horn, with a powerful spell ready to strike down the Dragon Queen. "Why did you not tell us!?" She cried out.
"Luna!" Celestia called.
Keristrasza did not back down. "You know that I cannot reveal the future of others. I am bound to secrecy, forever being the keeper of fate, even at the expense of all life on the planet." Keristrasza put bluntly. "But I am allowed to take action, that is why I delved into Starfall's mind. And now I need you to trust me."
Luna's horn dimmered and her previous stance was gone. Her eyes still kept their sceptical gaze set on the Dragon Queen. "Very well, but this better not be another trick or I'll do ten times worse then what Legion will do to you." She took a deep breath, letting her frustration out.
Keristrasza nodded. "As we speak, by servants have been tasked to...Slow down Starfall's arrival."
Celestia leaned back in surprise. "Why!? Why would you provoke him?" She asked.
"I saw in his mind that his next step was to overthrow his family from the throne and then...create enough havoc to feed Legion back to his full strength. The only way for you to have a chance against Starfall is if we summon the elements, the Crystal queen and Princess of love, Then I shall reveal to you my plan of attack."
Hours had gone by, and the Princesses, with the help of the Dragon queen, were able to quickly assemble all the ponies.
Prince Shining armor, his wife and his daughter all attended, representing the Crystal empire. The princess of magic and her friends, the elements, also attended the gathering. They were also exchanging glances and whispering in the background. They were all curious what the dire circumstance could have brought them here.
Once everything had quiet down, Keristrasza spoke. "I thank you all for coming here on such a short notice, as you all know, you've all been brought here, because there is a threat, literally on the horizon that could threaten all life of Equestria and even the world.
The elements gasped in fear. "What is this threat?" Twilight asked, stepping forward to speak for her uneasy friends.
Keristrasza was going to answer, but Celestia beat her to it. Knowing that she would have frightened the ponies to much with extreme detail. "I'm afraid that its foe we thought vanquished, Legion, has returned." A cold chilling gust flew across the room. The ponies were not familiar with Legion's evil first hand, but Shining armor was.
His eyes were dead staring through the Celestia, in the past, he had been sculpted to his control and even manipulation that almost lead to the death of his wife. "How...How is it possible!? Wasn't it destroyed by Crimson?"
"We thought so, but it would seem that he has found a new champion to cover the world in darkness." Luna awnsered again.
"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Cadence asked. A silence fall across the room. The princesses couldn't bring themselves to face the reality.
"Wait a second...Where is Starfall?" Skyla asked. Unknown to her, her father and mother quickly started understood what his absence meant. "Where is Starfall!?" Skyla asked worried.
"He is the reason why we are all gathered here...The same curse that once affected his father, now is plaguing Starfall." Keristrasza answered.
As if her heart had stopped, Skyla was standing completely still. A tear starting forming in her eyes. Starfall was like a brother to her, to even imagine that he would hurt her...
"Now hold it one darn second!" Applejack protested. "Aren't we jumping to conclusion, Yer sure that Starfall is evil'n all'?"
"In his mind, I saw him planing to use your heads as a decoration for a ritual that would dry out the earth. I am very sure he is corrupted." Keristrasza blurted out. Applejack slowly sat back down, shocked by the sudden and graphic outburst.
"Uhm...Miss, human-Dragon queen?" The timid of Fluttershy reached Keristrasza sharp ears. "What is it, Element of kindness?" Her response only made the timid mare hide below the table. She slowly remerged from below, hiding behind her mane. "Uhm-..I was going to ask how Starfall is-" She stopped mid sentence.
Keristrasza raised an eyebrow at the incomplete question. "I'm guessing you wonder what caused Legion's reawakening?" Fluttershy give a shivering nod. The Dragon Queen gave a long and drawn sigh. "Very well." Keristrasza stretched out her hand, with her golden and crimson scaled gauntlets, with claws on the fingers. A dimmer red flash enveloped the whole room. in literally a flash, they all found themselves in front of Starfall, who was on his hands and knees, just by a river.
All the ponies looked around and recognized immediately that they were in the Everlife forest.
They saw his black wings and glowing red eyes. He couldn't stand the sight of his reflection. He frantically started ripping off the black feathers.
"Vigile..." in a split second, the ponies saw, what the prince saw. A flash of imagines with the sight of Vigile from a middle aged stallion, to dust in a blink of an eye. He clutched his head and screamed out in suffering. The elements were horrified by what Starfall had seen, and at such a age. "Lightbringer...Please help me!" He cried out.
A dark laughter could be heard, one that Starfall couldn't. "My Prince, what has you crying, what has you so upset? The too familiar voice of Legion echoed in the vision. However, disguised to the prince as a voice, similar to any other creature, he did not hear the evil in it.
The ponies witnessed the whole transaction, how he questioned the reality of it all, the offer given to him and his point of no return.
The vision returned back to the palm of the Dragon Queen and all the ponies were speechless. If they only knew how much the young boy suffered in his final moments.
"Now you all know what is at stake here, we stand in the crossroad of doom. If we do not act quickly, not only will Equestria perish, but the rest of this world and the others to come." She stated bluntly with no forethought to their feelings. "The only way for us to stop him is to pick a champion of our own. One that will carry the burden of the world on their shoulder and wield the sword that will strike the darkness. However, only one of a mastery of the art of magic, can be chosen, leaving you five as the prime candidates." She pointed towards the princesses. A thick silence hit the room. The princesses were speechless to this. Even if they would have the power to stand up against Starfall, who could bring themselves to bring down someone who had given them a new hope for the future of Equestria? The sad part of placing your hope on someone, if they fail you, despair takes a much stronger hold of you.
"What do you mean exactly by picking a champion?" Skyla asked.
Keristrasza glanced at every pony before finally giving up. "Starfall is the most powerful magic user in the world, his strength is rivalved by none that walk this earth. The only way to even stand a chance against such a being, is to channel our powers into one single being. One that will be able to wield the powers of a goddess. However, no physical body can wield such powers without tearing yourself apart. The longer the use, the bigger risk of being turned into ash. Once he is weakened, the elements will strike him down." Once again, the room was filled with an unbreakable silence. The former Captain of the Royal guard was also stunned and horrified that there was a chance that either his wife, daughter or sister could be the one to die.
All the of the princesses and the Crystal queen shared several glances at each other. Cadence, horrified that if her daughter would volunteer, she could be the one to fall into harm. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I will do it. I can't let Auntie Luna face her own son, as a parent myself, I can only imagine what you are going through. I will face Starfall." All eyes were casted on Cadence. They were surprised to see her be the first to volunteer. Skyla was ready to protest out against her mother's decision, but someone beat her too it.
Luna shook her head. "No Cadence, I promised Crimson, that I would look after my son, I would protect him from the grip of evil. Today I will fulfill my promise." Cadence leaned slightly back from the protest. "Besides, you have a daughter and a husband that love you, and lauren forbid I would let anything happen to my niece!"
"Luna, we would all understand if you can't face your son. I will volunteer in your place to face Starfall. It is the least I can do as Princess of Magic." Twilight suggested with a gentle voice.
Despite all their discussing of who would bear the burden of challenging Starfall, would eventually lead them nowhere, as they all have families that they need to return too, Children, husbands or even bonds stronger than family. Only one had the least to lose would they fall.
"I will do it!" Celestia protested out. All the ponies immediately looked towards her in surprise. "You all have to much to lose should you fall, and some of you lack the experience to face a power you cannot fathom. Cadence, I would never expect that you would leave behind your family, and Lauren knows I wouldn't be able to forgive myself is either you or Skyla came to harm." The two pink alicorns didn't say a word as they were both still speechless. "Twilight, I wouldn't abandon your friends and besides...I've heard that you've taken interest in a stallion during your stay in the Crystal Empire." She said with a small smile, trying to hide the grief in her eyes. "And lastly, Luna...Starfall is going to need you more than ever when this is all over...He will need his mother. The boy already grew up without a father, and in the past day to lose the closest thing he has had to a father was taken from him...If he would hurt you, he wouldn't be able to recover from that!" She stopped talking and tried to suppress the tears from what was, her way of saying good bye. All the ponies, including the dragon queen were lost for words. She turned towards Keristrasza, with a determined look that could pierce metal. "I will be our vessel of power and that is final!"
Keristrasza, still needing a second to process the whole thing, finally snapped out of it and gave a slow nod. "If you do this...There is no going back, are you truly ready to delve into the maw of evil?"
"I am!" She said with a booming confident voice.
"Very well then, you five will meet me in the courtyard in an hour and I shall start the ritual."
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Yes! its has returned
Great writing in this chapter! I was swept up in the emotional terror!
4144627 There is more emotion and terror next week:P
Thanks for the update
I don't suppose we'll get a prequel telling us the events of Starfall's father's time in Equestria and with Luna, and what happened between him and Shining?
4147916 in time, yes
3867056
That's all I need to see to be devoted to start reading