He Makes a Unicorn (AB 2)
Forgath honestly didn't know what he would do without his thestrals. It had been less than a year since they had become his minions, yet already they were indispensable.
"Move those sorry flanks, recruit! I've seen ducks that swim faster than you're going!"
Forgath watched as Shadow Mane ran the newest group of guard recruits through their paces. The stallion cut an imposing figure in his new armor - black plate, decorated with with lunar emblems at the breast and shoulders. Or should it be "Lunar"? Either way, Forgath approved of the simple, elegant style of the armor and crests both; a good look for a Trusted Lieutenant, yet not one that would distract from his own ensemble. Today, said ensemble matched his mottled armor with a deep violet cloak that surrounded him from back to chest, trimmed at the bottom in the white-and-black speckles of ermine fur. Forgath had been surprised indeed to find a furrier among his new minions, but she had wasted no time in flying south and finding something "befitting of her new lord". While a more "royal" look then he tended to favor, he was of the opinion that dark enough violet goes with everything.
Just like black.
"Get those wings folded! No gliding, not even hops! This is leg day, so if you want to keep all four you better move them! Private Tip, did I say you could laugh?"
Forgath smiled behind his helmet; it seemed some things were constant whatever world you were on.
"See something you like, Forgy?" He didn't face her, but he could hear the smirk in her voice.
"Yes I do, Forge Bellows."
She ignored the use of her name, her tone growing more smug. "And what's caught your eye? Is it his flowing mane? Those cute little fangs of his? Or maybe it's his nice, shapely -"
"- Loyalty to Ironforge and dutiful training of further minions? Why yes, it is that exactly. Good guess." Forgath allowed himself a faint smirk at the indignant huff from the green mare. One point to the Dark Lord.
"You have the most boring taste in stallions, you know that?"
"This coming from the mare that likes her 'stallions' bipedal?"
"Psh, everypony likes 'em exotic. Maybe some silks and cute jewelry..."
"If I ever capture a sultan's harem of nubile minotaur bulls, you'll be the first to know."
She turned a wide-eyed gaze up at him, full of the same exaggerated hope that dripped from her voice. "You mean it?"
He allowed himself a few chuckles (one point for the pony) and Puffy laughed with him, soon falling into a mostly-comfortable silence as they each retreated into their thoughts.
Yes, the thestrals were indispensable. The new weather team had cleared the sky of the constant, swirling clouds, and while they would reform eventually Forgath was presently enjoying a sunny day - a guilty pleasure for a dark lord if ever there was one. A select few had joined the lower ranks of the magi; while they did not have the same instinctual talent for crystal foci, their innate magics gave them insight into workings dealing with water, air, and shadow. Several of their civilians brought with them knowledge of crafts that were not present among the citizens of Ironforge, including the aforementioned furrier. Granted, not all of them were immediately useful (and Forgath wasn't sure what he was going to do with the beekeeper in this climate) but that was a matter for later. Even more valuable, a small segment of them had military training and experience that was invaluable, including Shadow Mane first and foremost. His crystal pony guards had trained, yes, but largely from scratch; Forgath did not know how to train a quadruped to fight as anything but a mount.
Which was a fact he would never, ever reveal to Puffy.
A second fact that he would not be sharing was that he did appreciate his new minions' aesthetics. They came with muted colors, fangs (which were not cute), slit pupils, and best of all bat wings! They were still ponies, and Forgath would live with that, but these were what a minion was supposed to look like. The first time he had seen one of them waiting in a patch of shadow, visible only as a pair of faintly reflective eyes...yes, these were proper, dark, respectable-looking minions.
If only they didn't tend to squeal when they were happy, they would be ideal.
The time for musing on such matters was almost up, however; there was a greater task to accomplish today than checking in on the training of his guard. He nodded to Shadow Mane in a lull between beratings, getting a nod in return, and turned to walk back towards the rest of the city with his pair of personal guard falling into step beside him.
The new training grounds were stationed in a middle-portion of the new leaflet. Ironforge had been a circular, walled city prior to the arrival of the thestrals, but now it also sported an extra, north-pointed, jutting set of walls about as long as the city center was in diameter, wide at the base where it met the circle and narrowing to a distant point tipped in a watchtower. New housing had risen up between the new walls (taller buildings, with fewer windows but more balconies) and a large portion of the thestrals had settled in and opened shops and the like. Apparently the name "Bat Quarter" was catching on, and while Forgath didn't necessarily approve, the name did have certain advantages over the much blander "Northern Quarter".
Passing through one of the two major gates back into central Ironforge, he pondered the further leaflets. Defensively, they could be both boon or curse; an extended area to be attacked and breached while at the same time a self-contained territory that would hold or fall independently. Once he had multiple leaflets, they could also share fields of fire unless the attacking force assaulted one of the points alone, and if they did that they were already funneled to that point; the defense could be focused. Of course, the prevalence of creatures on this world that could fly meant that walled fortresses were incomplete without further protections. Though he had been meaning to settle down and build a flying fortress one of these decades...
"So, copper for your thoughts?" ventured Puffy.
"It's probably not worth the effort to bind enough demons to make the Tower fly, and the quality of Ironforge's parents means there will be no forsaken children to power it with either."
"What?"
"...What?"
Point to the dark lord.
Forgath was having a good day.
His soldiers were improving, his city was growing, the sun was shining, and most importantly a plan was coming to fruition. Yes, today everything was falling into place. Soon, he would repay the trust his minions placed in him with greater power. Today, one of his most trusted would grow mightier, and in turn contribute greater power to his domain. If all went well, she would open a path for others to follow, much as she had in his magic classes. It suited her helpful nature; she was such a sweet pony, really.
Forgath made a mental note to straighten out his inner monologue; something about that last bit didn't have the right panache.
Shaking his head, he strode into the Tower of Despair flanked by Puffy and his other guard of the day, a mare by the name of Juniper Brew ("Ginny" to her friends, apparently). The trio made their way into the deep, where a ritual room had been prepared with an adjoining observation chamber. Yet another of the guard waited beside the door and snapped a salute as he saw Forgath's retinue approach, nodding to Juniper as she took up her own post beside the door. Forgath and Puffy entered and found the last of the preparations were being completed; with a bow, several robed magi lead by one Magus Steady Hoof stepped aside to allow Forgath the final examination. He paced around the ritual room, examining the chalk circle and sigils upon the floor, the charged gem foci dotting the pattern, the three bowls of reagents (bitter roots, coal, and fortified wine) in their places, and last of all the pony standing at the center of the whole thing.
Crystal Rose had grown since she initially arrived as part of the last of the refugees from Sombra's rule; the meek mare once cowering before his presence had quickly shown an interest in and aptitude for magic. Today she was among the most qualified of his magi, and that spark of interest had been kindled into an insatiable hunger. Which is what led to her present position within the circle in the center of the chamber, her light blue fur exposed by a lack of robes and sea-blue mane tied back tightly in a winding bun resembling her namesake. She was trying to look serious, but her nervous excitement was easy enough to read.
"Crystal Rose, are you prepared?"
She nodded up at him, breaking into a rather eager smile. "Yes, Lord Ironblood."
"It is not too late to allow one of the other magi to take your place."
"No. I'm doing this because I'm the most likely to succeed. I've got the most skill with these foci, and I've been meditating on the method in preparation. I have to do this."
Forgath knew that would be the reply, and he nodded as he met her determined gaze with a level one. He knew the look of a mage throwing themselves into a project. He did own a mirror, after all.
"Very well. The preparations are complete and I could find no flaw with the design. We can begin as soon as the final component is in place."
Crystal Rose smiled more widely at that, and lifted a hoof to point to a metal box outside the ritual space. Responding to her call, it flipped itself open. A large, black gem floated out and over to the pair, suspended in the blue aura of her magic. A long and thin cabochon, smoothly curved rather than faceted; one end of the stone tapered to a fine conical point while the other was rounded off, giving it a thin teardrop profile. The light in the room glittered in a six-rayed pattern across its dark surface, making its nature obvious: a star sapphire.
Forgath took it from the air, examining it closely with eye and magic, before setting it in a wire holder atop a pedestal within the circle. "No issues with the cut, infused with your mana, and specific to the ritual. Yes, this is ready as well." His attention turned back to her with a nod. "You know what this will entail. Shall we begin?"
Her tail flicked behind her as she adjusted her weight, working out her nerves. "Yes, Lord."
With a further nod, Forgath stepped from the circle and crossed into the adjoining observation room, closing the door behind him. Separated by glass and enchantments, the rest of the attending magi - monitors, medics, and observers - waited in safety, Puffy among them.
"So, couldn't talk her out of it?" Puffy grinned as the door closed behind him.
"Of course not."
"Are we starting then?"
Forgath nodded, turning to Steady Hoof and the three magi who had taken up positions at the monitoring stations, each with a different magical device - simple tools for simple tasks. "If there are no issues, we begin."
The three nodded back and Steady Hoof activated the speaking stone that connected the two rooms. "Magus Crystal Rose, you may begin."
And so she did.
She bowed her head and let her mana flow into the circle, hooves starting to shimmer with an inner light, orange eyes closed in concentration. One after another, the storage foci were primed and opened their stores to the working, leaving the gems glowing softly as motes of gold light occasionally rose from the chalk lines. When she could feel the mana pull begin to take hold, when it started to gain enough momentum to pull on her internal stores, she directed the flow into the first stage, the portion of the circle that represented the beginning of the ritual itself.
Ritual magic was, essentially, no different than standard spellcasting - save that part of the spell was cast by the ritual itself rather than held in the mind. Complex workings became easier if you didn't have to focus on every bit of it at once, much like how pouring glass into a mold is easier than glassblowing. The lessons on the topic briefly ran through her head as Crystal Rose set her mind to the most important details of the spell, guiding her magic as the ritual gave the majority of it the needed form. She felt a portion of the mana become force and her head was gripped, held in place. Another portion identified and lifted the black star sapphire, holding it aloft before her muzzle.
The second stage began, wrapping the stone in her aura as it was checked and double-checked, small adjustments to its mana content made to bring it more in line with her own internal flow. With the divination complete she opened herself to it, letting her mana reserves circulate, into the gem and back to her in a steady motion. Without realizing it, she matched it to the beat of her heart. The gem was moved higher and tilted, brought closer until the flatter end rested just above her immobilized forehead.
Her mouth felt dry as the third stage waited to begin. She would later note that it was like leaping into a pile of snow; even if you were resolved to do it, the expectation of the shock and cold could still make you hesitate just before the jump - because that was the last point you could change your mind. Steeling herself, focused on her excitement and achievement, she pressed on. The coal in its brazier began to glow an unusual shade of greenish-purple and started to dissolve into smoke without first burning, its dust swept up along the current of mana through the ring. The wine glimmered, shining gold and white beneath its surface. Soft snaps and pops came from the bowl of roots as they gradually dried and withered. The glow of the circle shifted from the orange-gold of her native aura into a dark shade of octarine, and began to roil.
And then there was pain.
From within the sealed observation room, Forgath watched as the sapphire was displaced, pushed briefly outside the world only to pop back in, arriving in a space formerly occupied only by a portion of Crystal Rose’s head. The dark magic got to work even as she cried out; rather than one object simply displacing the other, it sought to fuse the two together, using the flow of her mana through it to twist and grow each into the other. Arcs of mana, both bright and dark, flickered and cracked along the spindle and around its base. She weathered it well, he thought; the ritual still held her, kept her from jerking her head around, though hooves and ears and tail trembled and whimpers followed as the sharp, sudden pain of arrival was replaced by a duller, lingering pain of bonding. And with the expenditure of the last of the reagents - accompanied by a series of crackles from the roots and a soft "whuff" as the wine vanished - the last bit of the ritual worked to heal and balm what had been hurt; willow and aqua vitae were good for both.
The dark magic faded from the air, leaving little more than the lingering scent of burnt fur and a sense of unease. Crystal Rose's hind legs had buckled at the end, leaving her sitting and staring off into space, breathing heavily as she recovered. Jutting from her forehead was the smooth, semi-pointed sapphire gleaming in the magelight. A new scar marred the skin and fur around it in an irregular, twisting, star-like pattern.
After a check with the monitoring magi, Forgath opened the door to the ritual room, walking in and over the inert circle to take a knee beside the sitting pony. "Crystal Rose, can you hear me?"
The mare blinked a few times, her empty gaze still staring slightly upward, not quite focused upon him. It took a moment and a deep breath before she responded, "Y-yes?"
"Good, that's good. Focus on my voice. Do you feel alright?"
"I feel...a little strange. Dizzy."
"That's likely the healing spells; they included spells to dull pain."
"I don't feel pain."
"Then they work. Are you ready to continue?"
"I....yes, I think so."
Forgath nodded, rising back to his full height. "Good. Can you feel the crystal horn?"
"I think so. It's...a little like holding a focus, but...more?" Her eyes slowly crossed as she tried to look up at the point.
"Good. Treat it like a focus; try to work your mana into it. Go sl-"
Her new horn blazed with light before he could say anything else, a rich gold halo forming around it. Forgath took a step back in surprise, rising in the process. Rose gasped, her eyes becoming distant once more. "I....I think...it's working."
Forgath, one hand raised with shield-spell half-formed, watched cautiously as her horn continued to glow. "Alright. Good. Now, ease gently off; we don't want you t-"
"It's working!" Her horn blazed brighter, and soon so did her eyes. Mana currents began to swirl slowly through the room again as she reached out with her newfound power, and Forgath brought his shield into crackling life. "I can see! I can see it all! I...I know!"
Sickly little bubbles of dark magic began to bud from the tip of the horn, some of the aura around her souring. Forgath frowned behind his helmet, starting to push his way through the cloying magic and closer to the mare. "Crystal Rose, can you hear me?"
"The power is mine! Mine! All is within my grasp! The world in the frog of my hoof! No, at the tip of my horn! The universe itself bends to my will - and I will rule it! I will take control of this realm and remake it in my own image!" The mare began to slowly float upward into the air, her lips spreading in an ugly sort of grin, more rictus than any humor.
"Alright, that's enough." Forgath reached forward through the field and prodded her firmly upon the nose with his gauntleted finger. All at once, her magic cut out; she let out a squeak as she fell back to the floor, landing on her bottom.
Her eyes crossed again, this time focused on her nose, before she turned a furious (yet non-glowing) gaze upon Forgath himself. "You dare -!?"
Forgath proceeded to give her a second boop, getting a second squeak.
"H-Hey! Don't d-"
Again, she was booped.
"Eep! S-stop it! Don't touch me! I am the dark-" and a fourth time, "eep!"
Crystal Rose panted quietly, a hoof coming up to rub her nose. She shook her head several times, as if trying to shake her thoughts free. Forgath waited, finger at the ready. Eventually, she looked up, meeting his gaze for the first time since the procedure ended. "...Lord Forgath?"
"Magus Crystal Rose. Are you feeling better?"
"Y-yes, yes I am. What...what was that?"
"A magical surge, which looks to have affected your mind. You were going mad with power."
A light blush lit the mare's cheeks. "I...y-yes, that...that sounds right."
"Do you think you're ready for another trial?"
"Can I get a drink of water first?"
"Of course." Forgath waved in one of the medics, who brought with him a canteen. Crystal Rose was soon drinking happily from it, and only after several large swallows and a satisfied gasp did she pass it back with a nod of thanks.
"Okay. What do I do?"
"Slowly, carefully focus your magic into your new horn. Build a simple light spell, just like when you were learning."
She frowned, scrunching her muzzle as her eyes crossed upon the horn once more. Little by little, her mana flowed - overly-cautious at first, but soon enough the asteria glowed with a smooth gold light from within, the sparkling halo around it once more in place. "I...I think I've got it!"
"Very good. Don't get too excited now; slowly back it off...gentle...there you go." Forgath nodded as she dimmed the light, and then cut power to the spell. "I think it's safe to say this is a successful experiment."
Rose practically beamed at that, and so intense was her pride that her horn began tossing little sparks from it - at least until she noticed and tamped down on her manaflow. Forgath chuckled softly. "So, it is easier? Can you sense through it?"
"Mmmm...yes; I think I'm going to need time to adjust, but it's really easy to push my mana through, and I'm getting some sort of feeling from it; it's...weird."
"Alright. For the next few days you will be placed under observation and allowed only limited exposure to external magic; we don't know what the limits of the focus will be, and an overload could be disastrous." At this, the mare nodded several times. "After that, we will ease you back into magical practice; it shouldn't take much time at all with your skill, you're just adapting to a new tool. But we're going to do it gradually and under observation - correct?"
Crystal Rose straightened her back, giving a nod. "Yes, Lord Forgath; I won't try practicing on my own."
"Very good. Then I shall leave you in the capable hooves of the healers and the rest of the magi. Be careful; it would be a shame to lose such a promising mage."
Another beaming smile, and a nod. "Yes, Lord Forgath. Can I...get some sleep once we're done? I'm feeling kind of tired."
"So long as the healers say so, I think it should be fine."
She nodded, and Forgath turned to leave. While the healers rushed back in, Forgath paused beside the exit, leaning down towards Steady Hoof as he entered from the observation room, laying a hand on his robed shoulder and muttering quietly. "I want her under watch every moment of the day for the next week, no exceptions. If she has another episode like we just witnessed, she will need to be stopped swiftly, by any means necessary."
The stallion nodded his head, blond mane bobbing over pale red fur as the rest of his team moved past the pair to check on the new unicorn. "We'll have a healer and a guard with her the whole time. You'll be alerted if there are any problems."
"Good. Carry on, then."
He gave another nod, following the others and joining the examination.
Forgath finally took his leave, his escort of two falling into step on either side. Puffy waited only until she judged that they were far enough away to start in. "So. I couldn’t help but notice you were awfully sweet with Crystal Rose…”
Forgath huffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. After the surge she needed to be pulled back to reality. I simply used the most expedient way to do so. If it had failed, I would have used other means, including rendering her unconscious.”
Puffy bumped her armored shoulder against his armored thigh. “Aw, you don’t have to be shy about it; I know you like her. She is a sweetie, isn’t she?”
“She is a valued minion and skilled mage, yes. Her ‘sweetness’ is not a factor to the quality of her minionhood.”
“Uh-huh. And gentling her into it, making sure she had ample opportunity to change her mind and not do the dangerous dark magic ritual was…just practical?”
“That is correct.” Forgath did not waver. He meant it. It was entirely practical. He wanted her to live and be well; dead minions are much less effective.
“...Think she's going to be alright?"
"I do. You ponies are tougher than you look. Still, that horn's roots go deep, and it's now a gap in her natural defenses; she will need to build up her resistance anew. We're going to need her to keep away from dark magic for a time, lest it do damage to her thinking."
"That shouldn't be too hard."
"Indeed, and the benefits will be well worth it if she doesn't die horribly. What do you think? Want to volunteer for the next trial?"
"Noooo, thank you. I'd just as soon keep my skull intact, thanks."
"I'm rather sure hers is still in one piece, there's just a new addition to it. In both directions."
"First, gross. Second, is that going to be a problem? Getting poked in the brain isn't usually a good thing."
"Heh, it shouldn't do that. It's now connected, that's all. And since the procedure should have also strengthened both the crystal itself as well as her skull, I don't think she's at risk of injury. Well, no more than without."
"What about you? Gonna get one installed under that helmet?"
"Mmmm, no, I don't think so. I do not believe it would blend well with my current foci - and in the unlikely event that I went mad with power, none of you would be able to restrain me. It is too great a risk to Ironforge and my minions, and too little gain."
"...How would we tell?"
"Pardon?"
"Nothing!"
"Hm. Now that you mention it though, you crystal ponies are fairly similar to gem foci already. You naturally store a good deal of mana, and I have noticed the way that you get more crystal-like when you're channeling mana through your bodies. Perhaps I could use you as a casting focus."
Puffy broke into a wide grin. "Oh? You want to use me, Forgy?"
Juniper let out a loud snort, which turned into a coughing fit shortly thereafter. Forgath huffed behind his helm; while he walked into it, that was a point for the pony. Tie game.
"Enough. Now that the ritual is done, we have logistics to tend to. Send a runner to fetch Plump Helmet and Axe Questions while I gather the papers; now that the lumber camps to the south are active, we need to discuss their output and contrast the wood quality to the tower cap lumber being grown beneath Ironforge."
Puffy nodded, leaving Ginny to guard the door outside the study as she rushed off. She was pleased with herself, and not just for the joke. Forgath always seemed happier when he was getting stuff done, and he'd spent a lot of effort with Rose and the rest to get the ritual into a workable form. Only time would tell if it would pay off, but for now? Her Dark Lord was satisfied, and that was nice.
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
1,043 users online
1,545,205 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
It returns! Most welcome indeed!
So, crystal unicorns created through manipulation of dark magiks. I'm sure such things won't be taken the wrong way.
Holy cow, its back.
Oh damn, hooray for the return of the apparently least randomly evil overlord!
11133496
I imagine the rejected PR responses would go something like this.
"Don't you worry about dark magic, let me worry about dark magic."
"Everything's fine. It's all completely under control."
And, of course, "Would I, Forgath Ironblood, endorse a magical ritual of questionable ethics? One that, while reasonably safe, has a nonzero chance of leaving the participant in a deteriorated mental state and/or with newfound confidence in their ability- whether realistic or not -to conquer potentially all of the known world?"
This is wonderful, a true boon of a gift. A momentous occasion to be sure!
Huh what'd you know, budding evil mages have an off switch
*minionhood
Ah, I am pleased this story still bears life. It would've have been sad life without more of the Dark Lord's dad jokes.
i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/019/633/stop_touching_me.jpg
EEEEEEEEE!
Equestrian magic has other ways to make objects float
while forgoth is corrupting the ponies a bit, they are corrupting him in turn. SQUEAKY BOOPS!
I am on the edge of my seat to see what happens with Puffy. I’m rooting for her to worm her way into that cold heart, perhaps even ascend to be his immortal queen? Romantic, if unlikely. I’m glad this story is bad!