Rainbow Of Fate

by Lord Drayvon22

A Golden Homecoming

Unwillingly but instinctively, Cadance and Shining Armour feel a thrill go down thier spines. Whatever this entity is, it screams danger. It’s a very weird and difficult feeling to describe but it’s deep and primal even though they don’t know why. However, Luna seems unaffected and Celestia looks at Aurum as if his mere existence is a horrendous crime against ponydom. For his part, Aurum just smiles from ear to ear. “Ah, I gather they never found out about me then?”

Despite the amused tone in his voice, the look in Celestia’s eyes could boil stones into puddles of water. “I watched you die.”

Aurum chuckles but his eyes glimmer sadistically. “Did you forget, Celestia? The Elements cannot destroy, only weaken or banish because killing isn’t harmonious. You taught me that yourself, oh great Princess.” He does a melodramatic and overly theatrical bow of respect. “The Elements stripped me of my power and trapped me on Pona Centauri but I survived. Your little tests and mind games with your student allowed dark magic to fester and allowed me to drain its power and return. Now, I’ll finish what I started and fulfil that promise we made so long ago.”

Shining Armour steps forward to look the… thing in the eyes. “And what are you?”

Aurum’s foul smile changes to a very odd look; almost like he’s regarding a lesser mortal or an interesting insect that he crushed under-hoof. “Ah yes, the former head of the useless Guards and the newest Princess’ plaything. They pretend to love but we’re really just mating poles to use and discard. Some things will never change.”

Cadance steps forward as well. “Answer him.”

“And the wife as well. What an honour to meet such royalty. Tell me, how’s it feel to be married to a mortal?” He turns his distasteful gaze to Celestia but it’s accompanied by a wry grin. “Inviting another Nightmare Moon situation, aren’t we?” When his eyes fall upon Luna, for the first time since they entered the room, his face turns into a very dark expression. One of deep, visceral, undeniable but also inexplicable hatred. “And then there’s the maggot herself.”

With a moment to think as Aurum and Luna stare each other down, Cadance senses something and her eyes widen as she feels something between Aurum and Celestia. Something long faded and barely present but still lingering, at least from Celestia. I’ve felt that before. But if that were true then… Oh no. Then again, the look on her aunties’ faces suggest some past history and he is apparently from the same era which Nightmare Moon originated from. “I thought he died.”

Aurum turns with a smile as he shifts back to his Pegasus shaped form. “And the other bit finally drops. Nice to see she didn’t forget about me but she does love talking metaphorically.”

Celestia glares at the Pegasus then suddenly turned Timberwolf. “It wasn’t a metaphor, Legionary. The stallion I loved is dead, he’s been dead for the past 975 years. What you’ve become is just a husk using his body and voice.”

Aurum shakes his head and tuts condescendingly. “A touching sentiment but a pointless one. I’ve got other things to do.”

Shining Armour narrows his eyes at the creature. “And you think we’re just gonna let you trot out of here?!” He charges his magic, amassing all of his energy for a single, powerful knockout spell.

“Oh, please.” Instead of attempting to move, Aurum becomes his weird Pegasus-like form once again and begins vibrating his wings until they’re a blur. Needless to say, seeing a fully grown stallion vibrating his wings without taking off like Scootaloo tends to do is a rather… odd sight. Celestia however seems to recognise danger and the next few seconds pass in a blur.

Celestia magically shoves Shining Armour aside and fires off a laser… just as pure black energy beams emerge from Aurum’s primaries. The three lasers clash for but a moment until deflecting off and bouncing away from each other, each flying into nearby walls. “ENOUGH!”

Shining Armour stares at the hole left mere inches from his head. “But that’s impossible! Pegasi can’t do that!”

Aurum wears the largest manure eating grin that you can possible imagine. “All ponies possess the exact same type of magic as each other, each species just channel it through different areas. For Unicorns, it’s in thier horns, in thier limbs for Earth Ponies and Pegasi through thier wings. These abilities manifest differently because each area has its own purpose; mental spells for horns, strength and toiling the Earth for limbs and wind and air management for wings. You and your family just use magic in its rawest form because a horn is a fantastic focal point. Pegasi and Earth Ponies are capable of the same but it takes a lot of training, practice and patience to learn. Without a horn, we have to all but force the magic to those parts of our bodies to use it in a more direct way.”

Does he ever shut up? He’s like a walking book. “And how’re you planning to try and take over?”

Aurum just smiles at Shining Armour condescendingly as if he were a deeply ignorant foal. “Simple, I’m giving you all exactly what you want.” The only one not slightly confused at the announcement is Celestia. “Indeed, you’ve all got your own deepest wishes haven’t you?” He looks from left to right. “Shining Armour wants his subjects to be happy and keep his immortal wife company. Cadance, much of the same and for those with feelings for one another to just come out and say it.” The somewhat patient look turns to disgust as his gaze turns to the younger of the two sisters. “You want to get closer to your subjects and desire equal respect to your elder, much better regarded sister.”

And his gaze finally turns to Celestia who looks ready to strangle him. “And you just want everypony to be happy. For your daughter in all but blood to just be able to enjoy her time without worrying about the next freak with hegemonic desires. To finally be able to rule your subjects without other threats coming to ha-“

He finds himself slammed once more into that pillar, this time by Cadance, which finally collapses on top of him. As he climbs out, with little more than a few scratches on him, she glares down the not-stallion. “And you plan to make us all happier by taking over?”

“No, I plan on starting over from scratch. Between Tirek, Sombra, Chrysalis and many others, Equus is too tainted and endangered for true peace. It and Tartarus need to be purged and reshaped for the sake of everything. Don’t worry, you’ll all thank me someday.” With that, he turns and makes ready to fly away.

“We’re not letting you leave!” Shining Armour and Cadance channel thier magic only for it to be broken apart by Legionary’s own beam.

“Do you seriously think I'd have come here if there remained the slightest chance of you stopping me? Three, two, one.”

With a powerful rumble and loud boom, the entire area is plunged into darkness for a brief moment. Not just the throne room but all of Canterlot since the Sun is blotted out for several seconds. When light returns, an enormous tornado of pure black magic has erupted from the ground on the train tracks just outside the city. “Two days until they reach the core and it’ll all be over.”

Celestia picks up and hurls him like a frisbee. “If you think I’ll let you win, Legionary, then you’re very sorely mistaken.”

And the shadow just turns into his Pegasus form to stop and hover in midair. “Unless you can find me, or find a way to stop all nine tornadoes in the next two days, I’ve won. And if any of you try anything I don’t like…”

Aurum’s voice seems to crack and break for a few moment. “I'm afraid Rainbow Dash will find out I'm not as tough as she thinks I am.”

One particular pair of eyes widen and then glare. “Struck a nerve have I, Moon? I don’t even understand why you care. You’ve met her once and even that was very brief. Then again, you always have been rather clin-”

For his troubles, Aurum finds himself blasted back into his own tornado and thus soon after flung away but he almost immediately recovers. “Just for fun, here’s a clue. Gheibh thu mi anns an t-seann choille faisg air far a bheil na measan air an giùlan.“

All four royals make to blast him fully out the sky but he instead rockets away in an enormous explosion. The three Alicorn’s make to fly after him but there’s then a flash as he disappears. “What’s he mean?”

“You can find me in the ancient forest near where the fruit is borne. We’ll send some Guards to Appleloosa just in case. He could be just about anywhere in Equestria or beyond.” Luna turns to make good on her promise only to spot the retreating flank of Aegis Shield who’d been watching in case he were needed.

Celestia nods to her peers. “In the meantime, I’ll send a letter to Twilight. There’s a lot we need to do.” Whilst she gets on with that, the other three rulers begin strategising where to search first.

???

Since the end of the battle against the Changelings, Scootaloo’s been busy trying to dig her way out through the wall to no success. “Enjoying yourself?” This time, she actually does jump at Aurum’s voice behind her. “Chip away all you want, these walls are at least ten hooves thick.”

Scootaloo takes immediate notice that, although she’s already seen what he looks like by glancing at the magic viewing screen, the room’s still pitch black. “Too afraid to show your face?”

Aurum chuckles but the mere sound makes the room shake. “Nothing gets past you, does it? But where’s the fun when you can see me coming?”

Scootaloo stares at where she thinks his eyes would be. “Why’re you even doing this? What do you have to gain as opposed to just taking over?”

“I thought that’d be obvious. Equus has faced constantly escalating and seemingly never ending threats as long as sentient life has existed. Believe me, Nightmare Moon is the least of the many problems your kind will have to face in the future. I merely want to help relieve ponies of that and create a utopia.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

Her answer is a deep, resounding chuckle that makes Scootaloo’s blood feel like ice water. “Equus needs to be controlled and monitored so it’ll never happen again. Who better than me after Celestia proved herself useless?

“You’re insane!”

“No, insanity would imply mental illness and delusion. I’m fully capable of making good on my promises.”

Put off by his God complex, Scootaloo thinks of a good response. “Why wouldn’t you just be erased as well?”

“Because Tartarus would be spared and all dark magic comes from there. As long as dark magic exists, so will I. Tirek is already out there right now after Cerebus’ escape and that Minotaur’s the last of Celestia’s old enemies. It’s all working in my favour, now I just have to wait.”

“What even are you?”

Aurum’s voice darkens. “I was once a normal pony but you can largely thank your Princess friend for what’s happening now.”

Once again, Scootaloo glares down the very wrong pony. “She isn’t my friend; I barely even know her. I’m no different than anypony else she’s met.”

Aurum’s fang filled smile seems to illuminate itself in the dark. “And yet she was still angry enough to outright attack and try to kill me when I brought you up.” Getting nothing but a glare from the filly, he seems to turn and sit before the energy screen.

Within an hour and a half, Canterlot Castle’s dining room

It took a while but all nine ponies wind up around the table though no explanation was needed as Celestia’s letter said all it needed to. Even so, as Celestia gathers her thoughts, the others are deep in a conversation about frankly what the Tartarus is happening. When she’s gathered her thoughts, she taps a glass with a spoon to get thier attention. “First of all, I’m sorry that we have yet another problem to deal with so soon after the last.”

Fluttershy manages to bring herself to speak. “Um, excuse me.” Despite Celestia’s gentle gaze, she partially hides behind her mane. “Why would it be your fault?”

Celestia sighs. “Because Aurum is someone I knew very personally a long time ago. What happened between us was… an awakening incident after all and entirely my fault.” She looks specifically to Twilight and her friends. “You’ll remember how I acted when Luna returned to herself.” They nod.

Princess Luna! It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?

Celestia looks down, looking oddly guilty. “There’s a very unfortunate reason I said it like that. Before Luna’s breakdown, I became, for lack of a better term, conceited and too proud. It’s one of those things I did without even knowing it which caused Luna’s resentment. She was frustrated but I never seemed willing to listen and… well, you all know what happened. What happened between all three of us is tied directly into what happened with Nightmare Moon.”

Cadance looks to her aunt confused. “How’d he stand up to our magic? Thats impossible.”

Celestia sighs. “We’re powerful but not without equals. Chrysalis can beat me at her most powerful but Aurum is different. What you saw earlier was a soul corrupted to its very core by dark energy. For all intents and purposes, he’s the living embodiment of darkness.”

Shining Armour shakes his head. “What about Sombra then?”

“Sombra was a pony that used dark magic and bonded to it but he’s still in there. Aurum is dark magic itself given sentience. It controls him completely and utterly. The only reason Aurum hasn’t destroyed Equus yet is because his encounter with the Elements, the strain of breaking free and the exertion of returning left him weakened.”

After another small moment, Applejack speaks. “An’ what was Ore-um? He dunt sound like jus’ any ol’ pony tah me.”

Celestia nods. “He was a talented pony, a very special pony who I last saw explode when I struck him with the Elements. In a manner of speaking, he is still dead. What he was, what I used to love, is gone and replaced by… that. All that’s left is a complete monster." She takes a breath. "But enough of that, we've got other problems."

With a swoosh, Celestia unfurls a map which has glowing spots over seemingly random areas across Equus. "Eight tornadoes in total. One in the statue gardens, one just outside Ponyvile, one in the ruins of the Everfree Castle, one close to Appleloosa, one in the frozen north, one near Cloudsdale, one in the Dragon Lands and one in Griffonstone, Whilst the Royal Guards search for Aurum, we need to try and find a way to stop those tornadoes. If we can, we can buy time."

Twilight looks at her mentor curiously. "How'd you stop them before?"

"I didn't really. They stopped because I defeated Aurum." Casting that memory aside, she waves around. You'll need to split up, no-pony goes alone and none of you can get too close."

“But 's eight of 'em and only three groups o' us."

Celestia nods. "Even if we manage to defeat just one of those tornadoes, we'll buy ourselves extra time although I don't know how much. We need to move quickly but carefully."

Twilight nods. "Fluttershy and I'll handle the one near the Everfree ruins."

"Ah'll take Pinkie tah Appleloosa's tornado."

Rarity's eyes positively gleam. "And I get to join royalty and go to Trottingham. The fashion's just darling th-" She notices the odd looks, giggles slightly and grins sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Myself and Luna will also join you. You may need it, especially you two.” She looks at Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “Neither of you can fly or use magic so you’d have a hard time were he to intervene." With the plan set, Celestia stands; her eternal blank mask re-assumed. “So we’re clear. We find Aurum and we stop him by any means necessary. Just… please be careful. Don’t underestimate him, don’t do anything foalish, watch each other’s backs and don’t take ridiculous risks. There's nothing more dangerous than a fanatic who has the power to back up what he says."

???

After another two hours of tediously chipping away at the wall, Scootaloo’s hooves are sluggish and almost impossible to move. “Tired yet? Will you finally do something actually valuable with your remaining time instead of wasting it?”

“How’d you even plan to stand a chance against everypony anyway? There’s thousands of us and one of you.”

A deep laugh follows. “Your friends have had a lot of adventures so tell me. What have they found which could give me an advantage? Here’s a hint. 'Where the brambles are thickest, there you will find a pond beyond the most twisted of vines.' Ring any bells?”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrow. “Twilight and Big Mac sealed that shut months ago. And besides, they were easy to stop in the end.”

“Sealed by just a boulder I might remind you, one easily broken with strong enough magic. Thier idea only worked so long as no-one knew it was there in the first place. It’s all about stalling and wasting thier time, remember? And if one or two of them get hurt in the process, it won’t matter much longer. Soon, everything will be just perfect.” For the first time since she met him, Scootaloo feels a legitimate shiver pass over her as the entity cackles malevolently.

Comments

[Lord Drayvon22]

11647746
I do actually plan to getting into that later on. It’s just that certain things take priority. First was the Changelings, then the clean-up and now Aurum. Chain of priorities and all that. It’s happening quite a while from now but I haven’t forgotten and it will be very directly addressed. One of the most complicated things about this story was trying to incorporate the new ideas with the older, original premise but I think I’m doing a reasonable job. The original idea I had for the ending to the story had neither them nor Aurum in it whatsoever. It was essentially to just have the Princesses basically roll over and accept it but I later decided it would be a very bad idea. I decided to have a more practical demonstration of the ideas beyond what Flare was espousing with no real evidence which is why I introduced the Changelings to the story to begin with. They’re the only major large scale threat that can threaten an entire town like Ponyvile.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

11647910
okay. and why do I have the feelign they will need Dash to succeed.