Faust

by Rudiobus

Chp. 3. The Fourth In Line

"I was there when the Windigos invaded! I was THERE when Discord broke our spirits!"
"But were you there when she came? Where you there when she made the world anew, and made it yet again? You never saw Tirek. You never saw the Return of Tambelon. And above all, you didn't see her in all her glory."
- Starswirl the Bearded and Erebus the Night Stallion, from the Diary of Stwarswirl

Soul had been walking for what seemed like days.

His Breathing was labored, his mane was dirty, and his hooves felt like they had been worn to the nerve endings. His coat was covered in eons old dust, which had excited him for the first few moments before he grew bored and focused on the pain of walking once more.

"So," Astro said casually. "Where exactly is this grand treasure we were supposed to find?"

"I don't know, obviously," Soul said. "And I never said there would be a treasure."

"As I recall," Astro continued, "you said there would be godhood or some other instrument of unimaginable power here. But up to this point, I haven't even seen the temple that's supposed to house this power."

"I didn't say there would be any godhood or divinity in here," Soul replied. "I merely went on what the tablet said would be here."

"Well, apparently the tablet lied."

Soul turned to meet Astro face to face. Before he could say anything, Cindy stepped between the two, and spread her wings out to keep them separated.

"Come on, guys," She said, the tips of her feathers brushing each stallion's chest. "Let's not act like fillies. We're all adults here, so lets just quiet down and keep on walking. It's physically impossible for this tunnel to keep going on forever, so it's only a matter of time before we find what we're looking for."

Cindy could almost feel the stress drain out of the two ponies at her side as they realized just how stupid they we're being. of course, that didn't mean they weren't too proud to admit it. Astro merely huffed and continued walking, and Soul simply rolled his eyes in futile retaliation.

Astro was halfway in a step when he ran snout first into something invisible in the darkness. He stumbled back, muttering a stream of curses before looking at the darkness before him and gasping.

The shadows before the ponies rippled and shifted in the darkness as a veil of magic was torn away, revealing an immense, solid black door of pure granite. Upon the door were carved a set of words, though like the ones on the tablet, they too were a foreign mass of swirls and patterns.

"What a strange language these ponies must have used," Astro said in what sounded like admiration. "You know, I once met a travelling physician who wrote notes like this. It was a different language, obviously, and much more organized, but I can't help but be reminded of him when I see it."

"And this is relevant how, exactly?" Soul asked, knowing fully that it wasn't at all.

"Soul, shut up," Cindy said. Astro chuckled, but Cindy just gave him a glare that silenced him immediately.

"And you, Astro," she said sternly. "Just translate the damn message."

Astro did as Cindy asked without any sassy remarks, and the images quickly shifted into modern equestrian.

"Patience is a virtue," he read aloud, and began to laugh.

"Of course!" he said, smiling. "We really were walking on forever. The tunnel was just an illusion. we had to stay resilient, or else we'd keep walking forever. Oh, what a stupidly moral way of concealing the entrance, but it's still genius!"

"Well, I guess you can thank me for straightening you boys out, then," Cindy said, smiling, and pushed open the door.

There was a loud grinding noise, and the door slid open. As if on cue, the hallway beyond lit up as the torches embedded into each wall ignited spontaneously.

"I guess whoever built this place was expecting visitors a long time after they died," Soul said. "Which, to be honest, kind of disturbs me. But hey, it's an ancient temple, what else is there to expect but creepy, age old mechanisms?"

"Godhood," Astro replied. "I'd like to think godhood would be something you'd expect."

The three walked forwards once more into this new hallway. It was surprisingly clean for a structure dating before the time of Celestia, with marble walls and floors shinning as if they had been polished on,y recently. Once and a while a painting would appear, hanging on the walls of the hallway. Sadly, they were only obscure landscape paintings, showing beautiful but non descriptive mountainsides and dreadfully plain fields of grass.

Eventually, the trio entered a large, dark room. Unlike the hallway, it was lit only by a faint, blue crystal at the center of the room, which shone like moonlight and barely illuminated the curving walls of the structure, which displayed a vast array of mosaics.

"Oh my," Astro said admiringly. "What a beautiful peace of art. Perhaps, if its like most ancient equine mosaics, it tells a story of some sort."

"Maybe," Cindy said, walking towards the mosaic. "That would certainly help in explaining what this place is for. But it's too dark in here to see anything. Astro, do you think you could amplify the light of that crystal so we can get a better view of this thing."

"Certainly," Astro said, and lit up his horn.

The Crystal creaked and groaned and the magic was applied, activating after countless centuries of continual stasis. The light of the gem intensified, and ever so slowly a shape began to appear, hovering in the center of the room like some specter or ghost.

"Greetings," it said, it's voice dull and flat, more mechanical and synthetic than it was lively and organic. "This is a Ponyland military recording, made in the event of a world ending conflict. This should only be activated in the event that we, nor any outside allies were unable to make it through such an event. Please, verify the following question in order to conclude the state if the world at the present: Who is the princess of Ponyland at the current moment?"

The three were silent. Soul looked at Astro, a confused look on his face.

"Well," he asked. "What do we do now?"

"Error," the voice from the gem said abruptly. "'What do we do?' is not an appropriate response. Please, answer the question accordingly."

Astro sighed. "I guess we just answer the question," he said, before he,too, was interrupted by the synthetic voice.

"Error," it said once more. "'I guess we just answer the question' is not an apropriate response. Please, answer the question accordingly."

"Fine, fine," Astro replied dryly, obviously annoyed. "I'll answer the damn que-"

"Error," The voice said yet again. "'I'll answer the damn' is not an appropriate response. Please, answer the question accordingly."

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" Cindy said before any of the other ponies could respond. "Our leader is Twilight Sparkle!"

The image above the crystal was silent for a moment, hovering as it illuminated the dust particles drifting about it.

"Appropriate response," it finally responded, growing once more in luminescence. "However, Twilight Sparkle is not registered as the current leader of Ponyland. This can only indicate that the remodification of our world has been completed. We will now begin the presentation, in order to better acquaint you with the present situation."

The image over the gemstone now shone all of it's light on one particular spot on the mural, the first few images to appear on the wall. A new voice spoke out, now, clearly coming from real pony, and not some simulation like the voice before.

"Hello," it said, its voice light and squeaky. "My name is Star Song. You do not know me, nor will any records of your world mention my name. If any of them do, it will describe a different pony, with a different life and a different family, though her personality may share many similarities with my own. Please, for the mere purpose of simplifying an already complex series of explanations, regard this pony and I as two separate entities."

Soul and his companions were too astonished to speak. This was unlike anything any of them had ever witnessed before. Tribal era magic was supposed to be nowhere near this advanced, and the mere prospect of listening to the first hand account of a tribal pony was in itself extraordinary.

"Please," Star Song continued, "Focus on the mosaic the gemstone is focusing on."

The three ponies did so, and the mare continued.

"As history has taught my own generation, reality is based on the foundation of our own beliefs. This often makes the truth hard to come to terms with, especially if it contradicts everything you have been led to believe as true. However, the time will come when all must face the reality of the world, and step out from their sheltered caves of ignorance into the light of knowledge. My people did this, as did those who came before us, and you, too, shall have to follow us into the light. But to do that, we must shatter everything you know about your world."

The mosaic became more clear in light, revealing a startling array of images. Grand, towering castles peaked above the clouds over a small field, where a group of small, strange creatures were playing. They were not ponies, though they appeared to be quite similar to them, for all but their heads were the same. however, their snouts were fat and chunky, hyper-realistic images more similar to the horses of Saddle Arabia than they were to te ponies of Equestria. There were other creatures, too, small furry balls that jumped up and down across the field, and an odd, upright, ape like creature which Soul instantly recognized as being a human.

"Behold," Star Song said gravely, "the First Generation. This is where our story shall begin, though in truth it begins much early than this, before the time of ponies, when Mankind was the ruler of this world and countless others. Here, in the great world of Ponyland, a settlement forgotten by the humans long ago, our kind first emerged from the life of domestic laborers. They lived in harmony with the humans who remained, sharing knowledge with each other and building mighty civilizations. For centuries, pony and human and bushwoolies lived in harmony. Even the dragons were content to bother only themselves, those this was probably because of an abundance of gemstones in the land at that time. But Darkness always finds its way into the world, and there came a day when even the paradise the First generation had built would begin to decay, like so much else in the world."

The light now focused on a new section, darker and more grim than the previous one. A strange, demonic like creature stood in the center of the image, a hideous red and black amalgamation of a human and pony's forms. the lower half was that of an equine creature, whilst the top was a bare-chested, red skinned man of an unbelievable physique. Upon his head were two long, mighty horns, and in his and there lay a billowing cloud of darkness, from which all sorts of monstrosities emerged.

"Tirek, king of the centaurs and the first of the dark lords, emerged from the darkness to usurp the peace. His armies swept across the land, killing and converting all that stood in their way. Those that were once ponies became black dragons, and what were once bright rainbows became black as night, all stemming from the dark torrent that Tirek himself wielded in his own hand. Our people moved back, broken and afraid, and rightly so. For the darkness was endless, and they were but a few."

Now the light turned to a new, more hopeful image. A human girl, flanked on either side by the strange, pony-like creatures, were pushing back the demon, Tirek. He Was falling back into an abyss, which reached out with arms of black smoke, binding him and pulling him into the darkness of who knows where.

"But Tirek could not kill hope. From the plains and valleys of Ponyland, a human named Megan, left behind by her kind, aided our own in defeating the Dark Lord. With All the armies of Ponyland behind her, they stormed the Midnight Castle, and razed it to the ground, casting Tirek back into the Dark Realm where Grogar and other foul creatures lay, rotting for their trespasses against the Harmony of the First Ones."

The light focused on a new, large image. It depicted the ruins of a castle, lying in smoking rubble at he foot of a large mountain. In the Rubble there stood a small Pegasus, or at least the Pegasus variation of whatever ponies ruled during this time period, whose coat was a brilliant white and whose mane was a fiery red. It was outlined in gold, placing an apparent importance on the figure.

"But they could not destroy the darkness entirely. From their ponies, there came a pegasus named Moondancer. A timid mare, she saw only the finest things in life, and wished for the world to remain the way it had been. So when Tirek came to destroy the world, she was appalled by what she say. Searching the ruins of the castle, she searched for a an answer to her questions, a source of all the darkness, so that she might know how to prevent it from ever coming back to taint her world. Alas, she found no such source, but only more vile magic. Our records a blurry here, but it seems that she found something, perhaps a trace of raw energy left over from the battle of midnight castle, something so powerful it could give her the power of a god. She saw the potential of such a power, and she knew that with it, she could change the world to meet her ever desire, to make it perfect in her own idea of what perfection meant. But she still had hope, hope that the world would no longer be tainted by darkness, that suffering would no longer afflict her friends. So she waited, and saw all that came after Tirek. She saw the wrath of Grogar, and the desolation that he brought with him. She saw entire kingdoms be consumed by Smooze, and watched as forests were burned to ashes by Lavan. She saw all the chaos that came, and she knew that the world would never be the paradise she had once known. This is what drove her to do the unthinkable. This is what drove her to use the power she had found to change her cutie mark, to change the very essence of her being to fit that of a god, of a creator!"

Now the light grew, expanding until the whole of the room was lit, and the ponies saw the even larger mosaic that covered the dome roof of the room. It was one image, on dark, chaotic image, filled with fire and smoke and fractured worlds, with newborn stars and dying cities. And in the center, there stood Moondancer, her form wreathed in flames and lightning bolts, her once innocent for transformed into a marvelous and terrible mare of unbelievable power.

"She was Moondancer not longer," Star Song said, her voice shaking with what may have been either fear of sorrow. "She abandoned that name with er cutie mark, and her sanity along with it. For by changing her very being, she had changed her soul, a feat no mortal, even one with the power she had, could o without driving themselves insane. So she took a new name, the name of a goddess we worshiped long before she took its name and defiled it. She became Faust, the terrible! She became Faust, the destroyer! She became Faust, the GOD!"

The light flashed, and the room became as dark as the three had found it, only slightly illuminated. Star Song spoke again now, quieter and much more solemnly than before.

"She created two worlds after she destroyed the first," she said. "Each one built upon a principle she thought would make it perfect. My world, the one that proceeds yours, was the second she created, the third generation of ponies, and the world that received her greatest degree of wrath. To go into the specifics would only frighten you. What you must know is that I am the last of my kind, the last of the third generation, and the last to die. Faust has already destroyed the world outside, but my colleagues and i were able to hide this place, to conceal it before she did so. When she has recreated life, this place will still be here, to warn your people of her approach. even now, while you are watching this, she has begun her descent from the stars, to evaluate your world, only to destroy it and create a new one in it's place. You must stop her, and succeed where so many failed before you. We tried to find a way to destroy her, and we did, but by that time it was to late. But your generation, you still have time. You can still find the rainbow of light. It's older than her, an eternal force, and no matter how much she likes to try, she can't effect it in any way. But it can eefect her. It can kill her. So you have to find it, before it's to late. I repeat, for the love of our goddess, you have to find it! There's nothing else i can say but that. I don't know where it is, and the likelihood of you finding it is slim, but it is the only way of stopping her before it's too late. I'm so sorry about all of this, but i can't say any more. I can only hope that you succeed in doing what we never could."

The voice stopped abruptly. The gemstone turned a dark red, and a large ERROR sign appeared over it. the group remained silent, their mouths hanging open in shock before Astro spoke.

"Well," He said giddily, his mouth widening into a smile. "I think we just made the discovery of a lifetime!"

Soul Began to smile as well, and for the first time in his entire life he walked over to Astro and clapped him on the back, laughing with him as they both realized just how big of a discovery they had made.

Cindy looked at the gem, and then at the two, and then back at the gem, astonished at how thick her two companions were being.

"Excuse me," she shouted. "But we just got a warning of a huge catastrophe coming our way! We have to get to Canterlot and tell the princess about this NOW, before-"

"Before what?" Astro said, still laughing. "The mare was obviously insane. Yes, there probably was some terrible catastrophe which killed her people, but it's not coming back anytime soon. She was probably just insane from what she had seen, and recorded her message, along with all of her delusions."

"That's ridiculous!" Cindy said. "That doesn't explain the mosaics, or the tablet, or temple itself in the first place!"

"Maybe she was a religious nut job," Soul said causally. "You see them all the time in Canterlot and Manhattan, screaming about the end of the world. Maybe she was no different."

Cindy's angered look began to fade, and her wings pulled tightly to her sides.

"I guess you're right," She said. "But... It's just so much! How do we know she wasn't lying, and that the world really is in danger?"

"So sad," said a new voice, "but I'm afraid its the truth. The Moondancer comes, with claw and tooth!"

Soul, Astro and Cindy turned around. In the doorway leading to the entrance of the temple, there stood a zebra mare, with a distinct scare running across her face.

"Oh, for the love of Celestia," Astro said, "it's that damn zebra again. Listen, why the tartarus are you here? This is for Authorized personel only, is that clear? Perhaps i should say that again, but make it rhyme."

Astro was going to say more, but stopped when he saw the look on the Zebra's face.

"Zecora is my name," She said. "It carries much fame. Perhaps you've sworn oaths to me when making bold claims?"

Astro laughed. "You?" he said "You're telling me that you're THE Zecora? Ridiculous. She'd be somewhere like Canterlot, helping the Princess with some alchemical test, and not here, in the baking desert."

At that moment, another figure stepped in. It was a member of the royal Equestrian Guard, equipped in full gold armor and wielding a spear as menacing as his stare.

"Watch your tongue!" the guard shouted, his deep voice echoing off the walls of the room. "You will address Lady Zecora in the proper manner!"

At this point, Astro fell to the ground, bowing before Zecora and the Guard.

"Oh god," he said, "I'm so sorry. If I would have never-"

"Enough!" Zecora demanded, pulling her hooves away from the sniveling Astro. "There's no time to waste. Canterlot calls, and we must make great haste!"

"B-but why would we be needed in canterlot?" Cindy asked, stepping forwards to meet the zebra eye to eye.

"The world ends," Zecora answered grimly. "Just like before. Detrot burns with blood and gore. The skies are alight with dragonfire. Twilight craves the gem to kill Faust's ire."

"So, so you mean..." Soul began, his eyes widening as the realization of what was happening hit him like a bolt of lightning.

"Yeah," Cindy said. "Star Song was right."