The Story of Everfree - a Narrative Chronicle

by Recon777

17 - The Cataclysm

Hyperion had awakened. It had taken over five thousand years for this, the largest fragment of his horn, to be found. Fully in control now, he compelled Ziph to begin working on a project that would rekindle his vendetta against ponykind. It was a project involving the arts of blood magic and necromancy.

Hyperion was not content merely being a passenger in some random zebra's body. He wanted his old body back. Hyperion now knew that both of his daughters had somehow survived and that the mortal ponies had built a great nation, though for some reason, Luna had been banished to the face of the moon.

Over the following eight months, Ziph lost both his sanity and his reputation as a respectable alchemist as Hyperion compelled him to write a spellbook. The book contained some of Hyperion's most destructive and sickening magical tricks. A variety of things that, if used by the zebras, would not go well for the ponies.

Various types of war magic were included. And of course, the soul transference magic necessary for Hyperion to one day regain his own alicorn body. Ziph then presented the spellbook to the zebra war council who, by this time, was desperate for solutions to the minotaur problem.

The minotaurs had aggressively broken through the zebra borders and were pressing inward relentlessly. The zebras were entirely outclassed by these brutes and were losing badly. Minotaurs didn’t even have magic or technology, but their sheer strength was enough, as even one minotaur was capable of ripping apart whole squads of zebras bare handed.

While the zebras were generally quite skilled in hoof combat, martial arts, and mystical subterfuge, they still fell in great numbers to minotaur forces. Three years into the war, it was clear that something new would be required if the zebras were to survive as a species.

The war council was suspicious due to Ziph's tarnished reputation. They agreed to consider his spellbook only because they had run out of better options. Ziph was finally allowed to present his solution. They had him waiting in a meeting room at the war council’s headquarters when Hyperion decided to act.

Ziph locked the door and set the tip of Hyperion’s horn on the floor next to the open spellbook. Having no further need of Ziph's body, Hyperion performed a blood/soul transfer as the first step in restoring himself. Ziph began screaming as his body opened up and bled out onto the floor. The blood washed over the spellbook, removing the written words from it.

By the time another zebra broke the door down, Ziph was gone. The now blank book sat open on the floor next to a strange conical shard, lying in a large puddle of blood with a pile of zebra bones scattered around it. Strangely, the blood seemed to be flowing into the shard. The zebra ran to get something to clean up the mess, but by the time he returned, all the blood was gone.

The war council named it the Cataclysm. They found that the powerful artifact could somehow impart dark and terrible war knowledge to any zebra who spent a day locked in a room with it. So effective was the magic it contained that the mindless brutes who had invaded Arkadia were soundly defeated.

The zebras then pushed the minotaurs themselves nearly to extinction to underscore their superiority and make sure the beasts knew never to cross them again. Bio-magical warfare had become the savior of Arkadia. The dark magic that the Cataclysm taught was lauded openly among the zebra's warrior caste.

Many opposed the practices, but the war council was quick to praise the artifact’s secrets. Over the decades following the Minotaur War, dark magic in many forms became a staple aspect of many zebra potions and practices. The more insidious spells from the Cataclysm were kept secret, but eventually, few zebras knew of a time when dark magic was not a part of zebra potion brewing and mystical practices.

Comments

[PonyDragon]

Many opposed the practices, but the war council was quick to praise the artifact’s secrets. Over the decades following the Minotaur War, dark magic in many forms became a staple aspect of many zebra potions and practices. The more insidious spells from the Cataclysm were kept secret, but eventually, few zebras knew of a time when dark magic was not a part of zebra potion brewing and mystical practices.

Using dark magic is like drinking strange wine. It may go well for a while, but eventually there will be a price to pay.