Corrupted Lands

by Nameless Narrator

We Are the Land: Iceborn King

The white Hunter is conflicted.

On one hoof, Chilly knows Corrupted have to be driven out of his territory in order not to endanger a wandering pony. On the other, however, he saw how beneficial cooperation between the two races can be if the Corrupted are under a strong rule. Granted, Nightshade's sanity was a thing to be questioned, but now that means little.

The main reason for his confusion, as he wanders his new home up in the cold north, is the Breeder mare he saved from the bandits following him ever since. He was in this situation once, lonely, forgotten, with his mind drifting away, and he was saved by a lucky encounter with Nightshade. He doesn't want that to happen again. The awakening of his slumbering mind in Ponyville via contact with more and more ponies made him different.

He is not like Corrupted, wild beasts needing strong will to rule over them. He is not like ponies, fragile creatures with unlimited potential. He is much like Mana Burn, a strong warrior tainted by the dark influence behind the Corrupted, but forcefully ripped away from it. However, where Mana Burn is an accidental success story, Chilly knows he is much more. His "owner" made him into much more, wanted him to be more than those experiments before him and those following.

He recalls Bastion with a hint of jealousy and sadness. Where Bastion marginally succeeded in returning to Canterlot and bringing their "owner's" research back, Chilly failed and lost himself for decades. Seeing Bastion, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle again brought back memories. Not many, granted, but those strong and important ones.

Especially the one about a glorious white alicorn he admired, adored, worshipped, and loved. The ruler of the sun, leader of the Golden Legion, an immortal princess, and underneath it all a simple mare who shouldered the future of her land without complaint. He was one of the endless line of lovers princess Celestia had through her life, he knew it at the time. He knew he was just a little dot in her eternal existence which would be eventually forgotten. Yet, his princess spent her time with him as if he was the one lover she would grow old with.

He knew it wasn't an act. When Celestia loved, she loved with all her heart and soul. Which was one reason she couldn't bring herself to allow "Chilly" to join her and the Legion in the final days. Bastion was sent to escort the seriously wounded and deliver the research while he was... spared. The second reason was a lot more calculated. Celestia's lover became the most successful experiment between the transformed soldiers, one who kept majority of his essence through the transformation, one who stayed himself. A pony with strong self can gather followers and turn them to his cause.

Frostbite, a unicorn battlemage volunteer became the first artificially created Corrupted leader. Upon the experiment's success, Celestia transformed herself to become the Queen of the tainted Golden Legion. Had he not survived, she would have never used the rituals the second time. His mission was to be a safeguard against Celestia's failure, to create a hive which would help ponies deal with the undefeated threat.

A century later he succeeded. Not in the way his princess wanted, but he did.

However, one big however, it all now hangs on Nightshade not falling to pieces, which is something he has trouble believing. He understands, though. After all, he could not defeat the crushing loneliness and the taint gnawing at him for years. Who was he to expect it from somepony without his ingrained loyalty and self-control? He had the experience for a long time, and now he has the recovering mind to make use of it again. The white Hunter comes to a simple conclusion - solitude is the reason making the mind deteriorate. Ponies, and apparently Corrupted, need contact with one another to prevent becoming... animals.

Which is why he simply sighs when the Breeder mare starts chewing his rump and demanding attention. Expecting to see a gaping and dripping marehood, Chilly dismisses the resurfacing memories and turns around.

His ribs crack as a devastating blow sends him crashing into the trunk of a nearby icy tree. He growls, quickly forming talons and glistening armor of rime. He must have been pretty deep in thought not to have noticed a Protector approaching him.

The enemy looks like a massively oversized unicorn, all in oily black, with wild, yellow eyes. Most Corrupted give the appearance of imaginary chiseled pony god statues, but this one radiates real power. Still, attacking another Corrupted in his territory is foolish. After being tossed around by giant hooves with tentacled fetlocks grabbing him before each throw, Chilly is forced to reconsider his first impression. So far, he could regenerate most of the damage quickly enough, and he knows he will win in a contest of stamina, but as he rolls away from a stomp ready to easily crush his skull he knows he might not have the time. Anyway, stamina-based fights between Corrupted could take days.

The Corrupted is simple, however, no matter how insanely strong his Protector form makes him. Chilly is agile, fast, and makes the enemy's legs freeze over and over in order to slow him. Dark blood stains the ground and trees everywhere the eye can see, especially the eye of the Breeder hidden behind a tree. She does not feel threatened, she just does not want to get in the way. After all, neither of the others care to harm her, she is not powerful enough to be eaten, and mating with a strong specimen is only a pleasure.

The Protector loses balance as Chilly slides underneath him and cuts two of his legs off with his talons. A quick kick upwards topples the black unicorn, and in a flash the white Hunter is sitting on his chest, ready to slice his head off. The Protector's legs reform shortly after, but he doesn't make a move, only stares firmly at Chilly and accepts his death.

Death which never comes.

With his mind cut off from the Corrupted hive mind, Chilly can mentally sense and reach out only to others who are in the vicinity. The Breeder wants a strong mate. The Protector is famished and wants a territory. A Corrupted this strong even without nourishment could prove too much for Chilly to handle, but he decides to take a risk. A tiny bonsai tree grows next to the Protector's head with a single glimmering berry hanging from its branches.

Chilly senses confusion from both the Protector and the Breeder, and gives the former a weak mental nudge. A tentacle tongue shoots out from the Protector's mouth like a frog catching a fly, ripping the berry off. A hesitant moment later, Chilly is grabbed from behind by the Protector's prehensile tail and carefully put down while the Corrupted stands back up. He shakes his head. Something was much different when the white Hunter was sitting on him, something inside him was... calmer.

He looks at Chilly and opens his mind to him when the wordless rage and hatred return after the Hunter is not so close.

The white Hunter understands. He beckons the Breeder to approach him as well. With two minds so different and yet so alike in front of him, he easily knows where to touch and what to do. The enslaving presence he once felt is overwhelming, but he is the shield, and he can break it. Both Corrupted's eyes glaze over as their wills snap and reform, but when Chilly is done with them they breathe a sigh of relief. There is something new, however, now. They don't have any overarching sense of purpose, only their basic instincts. Thankfully, there is a leader who can tell them what to do. A leader who might even show them how to think for themselves. A leader whose mark they gladly accept. Thin white veins stain the blackness of the two Corrupted's hooves and reach halfway up their legs. Their King's territory is theirs as well, and they can freely decide whether to leave or to make it their own. With no way to communicate it, their bodies did it for them already.

A new thought forms, new order, a new distinction - The Corrupted and the Separated.

And that's it. No fanfare, no bright light, nothing.

The Protector leaves, patrolling borders of the crystalline woods, and the Breeder follows him just for the change of pace. Chilly feels their essence meshing with his own in the icy ground of his home. It changes him, and he changes them.

The King of the frozen forest awakens.

Perhaps he should give the others names as well? No, all in due time.

Over days, Chilly's territory grows along with his and his two companions' power. It is now far too spread for him to feel his Protector with his mind, but he has other senses. The glazed ground cracks and trembles in the far distance with multiple muffled hoofsteps, alerting Chilly to Corrupted visitors. No doubt the others would sense the intrusion as well and come to intercept. Well, the Protector will, the Breeder might just observe out of curiosity.

As he gallops through the white forest, Chilly smiles. The Separated are inherently inquisitive about everything, like foals who have nigh-indestructible bodies but undeveloped minds. That means whatever is keeping the Corrupted bloodthirsty and feral has a reason to suppress their true nature. Of course, they are primitive and stupid compared to ponies, but millenia of evolution would give that advantage to a species. Plus, some might turn out to really be bloodthirsty and conquering. That, though, is not an important worry now.

Chilly's mad rush bringing him miles away in minutes ends with him analyzing the situation in a fraction of a second and crashing into a Corrupted Hunter at such speed the impact leaves the enemy splattered all over a thick and tall tree. The white King shakes his head, slightly stunned and disoriented. There are over a dozen feral Hunters currently fighting Chilly's Protector, and their coordination betrays that their alpha male used to be a pony with military training.

Teeth, claws, and talons leave deep marks on the Protector's body, and even he has hard time dealing with smaller and weaker Corrupted who nonetheless never overextend during their attacks and give him little opportunity to counter. With Chilly joining the fight, the pace drastically changes. He connects his mind with the Protector's letting him tap into what little he can understand from Chilly's combat experience. The two start fighting back to back and all of a sudden the enemy numbers mean nothing.

One by one, the Hunters fall. When only six remain their alpha's howl signals retreat. Chilly's Protector keels over to rest and let his deep wounds close. The King himself, however, means to make this encounter an example to every Corrupted able to sense it.

No one gets away.

Straps of flesh and pools of blood of the intruders are absorbed by the forest, and Chilly feels something new - an overflow of resources and power. He himself is in top shape even after healing his and the Protector's wounds, the woods produce enough food for the three to last, and there is still enough biomass to work with. Should he allow more Separated to enter the world?

More Separated would mean the need for more territory to feed them. More territory would mean safe havens for ponies and starved Corrupted alike. It would be a tall order, but if he can keep on top of the spread and turn Corrupted into Separated or biomass, he just might finally fulfill the order princess Celestia gave him in the fullest. Chilly knows his limits, though, and as such is aware that he cannot simply let his territory grow forever. He has to find a strategic piece of land which would help ponies recover their diminished domain. Perhaps a strip of land connecting the purple barrier-

He shakes his head, long-forgotten memories resurfacing.

-the lost Crystal Empire and the recovering Canterlot would be a good start. In the name of princess Celestia and her legacy of protecting ponykind, the conquest begins.

Solitary days and nights pass. To Chilly's surprise, there is much less fighting than expected.

The growth of the pale forest is visible from the city of Canterlot high up on the mountainside. Before bothering princess Luna, the captain of the Nightguard sends out a three-pony patrol to investigate.

"Gotta admit, sir, no matter how creepy this place feels compared to the oily black mushroom land we've grown to know and, ehm, love, it is kinda pretty," the newest addition to Canterlot forces, an earthpony barely of age to join, whispers a comment.

"Definitely a nice change of pace. Reminds me of winter. Speaking of winter, this is going to be the first one we can spend on the surface. I'm already booking a trip to Ponyville," the second guard, a thestral mare, nods, poking the strange vegetation with curiosity.

"Quiet, both of you!" hisses a second batpony, their sinewy and broad commander, "This isn't a sightseeing trip. Our short range scrying spells and previous reports said this white stuff is spreading from the north extremely fast. It's taking over the corrupted land, granted, but I for one am not too keen on meeting whatever is taking out the biggest threat to pony existence in recorded history."

"But what if we-" the earthpony opens his mouth.

"Fuck," the guardsmare adds her two bits to the situation.

"I'm flattered, really, but not here. What if we are the first to come into contact with possible hope for ponykind?" the earthpony validates all the rumors about his race being more endowed in the physical department rather than mental.

"Shut up or I'll break your legs!" the commander growls, "Literally here and now. Nopony will send me to a trial. At least THEY will have something to play with while we run."

The earthpony's grin freezes much like everything in this part of the woods as he finally realizes what caught his squadmates off guard. They are surrounded by Corrupted who must have moved while the soldiers were talking, masking their hoofsteps. A black head peeking from a bush here, a stern stare from behind a tree there. A Protector, several Hunters, and something white prowling in the untamed grass. They are outnumbered, definitely outmatched, but not yet under attack.

"How about we back off while we still can? Quietly, carefully, and-" the batpony mare suggests.

"Fast?" the earthpony gets the idea.

"Quick learner, I like that in a guard," the leader allows himself a smirk, "Don't turn your backs to them, just walk away. Hunters love chasing stuff, and a Protector might not attack us if we get the heck away from its territory."

"Who are you praying to?" asks the earthpony the mare mumbling to herself.

"Any deity listening, kid."

They are followed, but not attacked, all the way out of the white forest.

The report about the expedition cut short soon reaches Twilight Sparkle back in Ponyville. Being the purple and smart princess she is, she knows whom to ask for help. Sadly, Nightshade has refused all invitations to a meeting ever since the incident with rogue Hex Guards. The occasional visits from Mana Burn did shed a little light on the Ponyville hive situation, but there was nothing Twilight could do to remedy the situation. Any attempt at reaching Nightshade at her secluded glade ended with her being "politely escorted" out of the core of the Corrupted hive.

Now, though, she has a bargaining chip, one possibly valuable enough to completely turn the situation around. Having previously asked Mana Burn to talk to Nightshade, she is allowed entry into the wide circle of twisted black trees which constitutes the Queen's "throne room". Twilight suppresses a gasp at the sight of the Queen. The equine form of Nightshade has been replaced with one more used to prowling and leaping. Tight, gleaming black musculature looking more like dragon scales has replaced a standard coat, all four legs have become equipped with sharp, flexible claws, and her tail lenghtened into a thick prehensile appendage. Quite obviously, the instincts of the Corrupted Protector Queen looked for a fitting body, and with enough power she could achieve it. The alicorn-sized mesh of dragon and a pony lazily stands up and looks Twilight eye to eye.

"What do you want?" at least the voice hasn't changed, but neither did the animosity in it.

Twilight knows that mentioning anything other than her business would result in her being kicked out, possibly literally.

"I need your help," she says simply, "There is something approaching Canterlot-"

"So you want monsters to fight monsters, am I right?" Nightshade frowns, "So that you don't lose any more of your precious ponies."

What hurts Twilight the most is how content Nightshade is with what happened to her. It means the princess failed to save one of her beloved subjects.

"No. Do you mind if I come closer?" Twilight asks. Nightshade simply shrugs. Her eyes go wide when Twilight wraps her hooves and wings around her, "I am so sorry, Nightshade. For sending you out there, for you being left for dead, for you having to fight every second to stay a pony, for not being there when you needed me, and for making you lose the fight. I am sorry for everything."

Nightshade pushes her away and stares, deadpan. Then she turns away.

"Wh-Why are you- Why are you asking me? Can't your guards deal with it? It's not like I can send my hive to war somewhere."

"Because the corrupted biome spreading from the north strongly resembles the one where you met Chilly."

The coming silence grows longer and longer until Nightshade breaks it.

"My Corrupted will keep doing what they have been taught to do ever since I took control unless you do something stupid, Twilight. Keep them fed and happy, you don't understand what they really are. They were not made to live and prosper, but to destroy and be forgotten. Give them the first, and you will not live to see the second."

"What did you find out?" Twilight asks, suspicion growing in her.

"Take care of them while I'm gone," Nightshade continues, not faltering, "I'll leave Mana Burn here to tell you if there's something wrong with them."

"Nightshade!"

"I might not want to return."

"But you have to-" Twilight stops herself. Asking Nightshade to forget her own needs and do what was necessary was what led to this mess in the first place. With just a little more trust, she will find a way to solve this in the best way possible. Twilight shakes her head, "Nevermind. Good luck, Queen."

Nightshade smiles, and melts into the ground. Seconds later she reforms at the northern edge of Ponyville territory. She COULD, of course, take the short route through the Ponyville-Canterlot tunnel equipped with magic portals, but she decides to observe the surface in case Twilight's patrol missed something important.

By the end of the day, she enters the icy glazed forest north of Canterlot.

She spreads her mind as far as she can, sensing weak traces of "something", but no Corrupted. She smiles to herself. That is all she needs to know.

Her victorious attitude lasts only until she physically hears multitude of hoofsteps galloping her way. A Protector, and a pack of Hunters don't even pause at the sight of her and attack. The Hunters' claws barely scratch her toned and scaly body, but the Protector's blows are vicious. Dodging and weaving, she impales Hunter after Hunter with her tail and steals their essence within the span of the blow. The ones wounded and drained enough retreat, and she is not allowed to pursue by the Protector.

He fights like a Corrupted with a hint of soldier training. Nightshade, the Protector Queen, fights like a trained soldier with all the physical capabilities of the most powerful Corrupted. They exchange blows, but there is only one eventual outcome. Claws on her front leg grow sharper as she wraps them around the Protector's neck and...

...in utter disbelief stares at the see-through ice stalagmite running through her neck, her blood trickling down its length.

A swipe of her leg later it breaks, and the wound in her neck closes. Time stands still, and her mind races.

Nightshade's final decision is to slowly back away from the Protector lying on his back under her.

"...ait...eid..." a weak and wheezy voice says behind her.

"Chilly?"

He is taller than she remembers, as tall as she is. Hair-thin sculpture of ancient Royal Guard armor made from ice covers his body, and he simply watches her, waiting. There is only one thing on Nightshade's mind, however.

She presses her muzzle into the dusting of snow all around, opens her mind, and closes her eyes.

"I will be your Breeder, your Protector, your Queen, or anything you want. Take revenge on me if you feel like it. Just don't leave me again, please. I don't want to be alone."

The white King ponders and wonders. However, before he can resolve the conflict within him for good, a Hunter comes running from the north. Its panicking mind floods Chilly's with images of thousands of Corrupted wrecking buildings made from shiny multicolored crystals and twisting terrified ponies. The Corrupted numbers are unprecedented, and there are only dozens of his Separated, many of which are not in any shape to leave the territory.

He takes Nightshade's neck into his mouth and pulls her up from her position of complete submission. As she awaits his answer, he bows to her like an equal, and speaks in language broken by decades of silence and transformed vocal chords:

"Help..."

Comments

[funguy26]

the team back together!

[Anonymous Critic]

So, a breeder queen, a protector queen, and a king of which type I can not yet tell walk into a bar city-state...

[Teraunce]

Well this will be very interesting indeed.