Aether, Heir of Chaos

by Arcane Anonymity

It is soooo much easier when they cooperate

Wake up before dawn, shower, breakfast, meet maids, find out that there is an eldritch abomination on Royalty Level residing in the hospital.

Great way to start a day.

They only called him either by patient number, or by the moniker of 'Black Tears', since he quite literally cries tears of black liquid sorrow. He-she kept responding 'nothing' or 'nothing, twice over' when asked for a name, the ponies not quite catching the meaning.

Lemme see...

Meanwhile, at the castle...

Still can't get it down a hundred-percent...

A panicked guard dashed through the ample hallways, having used an emergency code to convince his fellow guards that his haste was entirely justified. His bat wings flapping to add speed to his gallop without actually flying.

He had sent another of the guards to fetch Cadence and take her to the throne room, which was his destination. He barked the phrase, about a high-priority emergency that required a delicate approach, and he was let through.

Celestia put away the paperwork she was working on (she found that ponies seeing her do paperwork even in the throne room made her more relatable) and gave her full attention to the guard. Her eyes widened in fear, having noticed that he was one of the guards Luna had taken with her.

"Princess!" He said as he bowed and rose. "The presence of princess Cadence has been requested at Canterlot Hospital by prince Aether, and your aid would be appreciated as well!"

Cadence and Shining Armor appeared not long after. Cadence loathes being called 'Mi Amore Cadenza', for reasons that I will say when I get to a certain party in Manehattan.

"What is the situation?" Celestia asked, voice firm and already thinking of possible solutions to both likely complications on our trip, to common emergencies.

Too bad this was not something she had registered as 'common'.

The guard saluted and proceeded.

"Princess Luna took prince Caster Aether to visit patient 'Black Tears' at the magic security ward; however, when facing the patient, the prince reacted with recognition and intense fear, letting loose a blast of cold air in reflex, and refusing to get near without support from princess Cadence." He said, but then gulped and shook a little before opening his mouth again, making Celestia worry further. "He... before I was out of hearing range, I heard him yell - he was... complaining. He... he said, and I quote, 'of all the things I could deal with t-today, it had to be the bucking ponified embodiment of Misery and Despair himself'."

Needless to say, now everyone present knew very well what would I have to fear.

Back with Luna...

She looked at the pony behind the magical safety glass, eyes wide and a hoof to her chest.

"Misery?" Luna loves all things dark and scary, much to her sister's dismay, but she knew very well that this guy didn't enjoy his own life that way... what I said was, understandably, a shock.

"Yes. He either is Zero Two, or Reality is screwing with me by making a pony that looks just like that." I was trotting up and down the hallway, stealing a glance at him and waving at him every now and then; for one, if what Luna had told me was true, then he didn't want to be that way any more than I wanted to fight Dark or perhaps even Miracle Matter.

I had only used a couple of mouthfuls of Harmony magic, so there was no need to get the girls involved in this. Plus, I have my own light magic, limited as it was.

He looked at me every time, and, one time, when he looked like he was pondering something, he winced in pain and shuffled in place. He was wearing magic suppressors, by the way, rune-carved bracers on all four hooves, a band across his barrel but beneath his wings, one on his neck, and a circlet-like thing on his head. Dark magic is harder to contain, because the fundamentals and perceptions are different, sometimes even completely opposite, to those of regular magic. I melt the restraints off because dark magic worms its way to all the important bits, then light and dragon fire ride it and destroy the stuff because the dark magic prevents them from being drained or reduced before they reach the control bits, and the possible combinations alone are too many for any equipment smaller than the dance hall to hope to contain; this guy's suppressors were custom-made for the dark magic he radiates, and even then they couldn't prevent it from hurting him.

"The big, big problem is not that he's like that against his will. There's bigger stuff than that." I said, and Luna was shocked. "No, the big problem is that, if he is who I think he is, then that means that there could be some that are bad to others willingly."

Luna quite clearly thought that that wasn't exactly news, but given that patient 'Black Tears' had black magic enough to make shadowy creatures and almost-Nightmares without trying, and even against his will, she caught on to how bad a situation I was talking about. Oh, both of us had no doubt that any of us could take him on -and out- even one on one, and even if the girls got involved, they wouldn't need to go Lisa Frank on him, either... but we were going to try to help him, because he wanted help...

Luna was understandably concerned after she processed the thoughts.

"Finding this guy here is a signal that you not only receive more than just humans, and a whole mess of things that might just mean... I can't even start to explain. I am not really surprised that this happened, being already in a world that was once thought of as fictional, but him of all things?" I was still pacing, then Celestia, Shining, and Cadence burst through the door.

I tried my best. We shoo'd away everyone else, leaving just the five of us and him. I tried asking him what his name was, and he replied 'nothing twice over', and then...

"As in, 'Zero Two'?"

"That... we said." He had trouble talking, like he couldn't be bothered to form the words right.

"Buuuuuck..." I thumped my head against Celestia, who wasn't that hard to convince that he didn't like this any more than she did. "He's the same guy."

I explained it to them, what a videogame was, the one I saw him in, the short plot, and a couple of my theories about what happened to this guy to make him the way he was. I... well, I was going to get inside and talk to him in a more personal way - yes, I know, that was insane, but it wasn't very hard to think up a way for the ponies to protect me with their magic while I... it was a surprise.

So, two beings that make a mockery of reason and sanity sitting together in a padded cell, with stupid-powerful ponies on the other side, to boot.

However, I had to convince Cadence that she was useful first.

"You could make a forcefield around the whole city of Canterlot for days on end, if you wanted." I said.

Eh, I showed my talent for mixing magic for the first time that day, since I can focus on -say- the resonance of the energy and not only on the spell itself; downside being that, being chaos-based mixing, order magic can muck it up (the reverse is true as well, for order-based mixing). I took Cadence's Love magic and meshed it with the part that makes me resistant to harm, while surrounding myself with a tiny bit of a fire-like aura.

Fire... can do more than just burn and heat. Fire can consume and eat away, or corrode, as it were. Dragon fire in particular, is very magical. Fire itself is a reaction, and the part that can be seen is the incandescent fuel material reacting to the heat and oxidants; the exact same thing happens in magic - the magic being used as fuel reacts to the intent and the magic in the ambient, doing all sorts of things.

Like being mixed with dark magic to become more like the idea of fire, intended as a way of eating away the invisible energies being exuded by other dark entity. He was way larger than the window let us see; he was about Luna's 'full power mode' size, rather than my 'pre-recovery' size.

Cadence was holding on to my staff as I sat, human form, in front of 'Black Tears'. She said that she could feel my heart through it, and I thought it would be a good idea to let her hang on to it. Shining and Celestia constructed a barrier so that the door could stay open, because the indiscriminate wards would likely cut me off from Cadence's combined love, happiness, and peace magic.

A brief pause... let me say, some ponies resent ponies like Twilight that learn things as foals that others spend decades trying to master. Curiously, the masters themselves don't, only those in learning. Why? Because ponies like Twilight can either see past the traps and roadblocks, or were oblivious to them from the start. A master crafter may spend several years learning a repairing spell, because it might just take him that long to truly understand the spell and what it does, how it relates to what and who he is... Twilight, for example, understands the magic itself, and all of the things required to make the magic truly her own... that is why she's so special, and why masters even congratulate her.

I am good at mixing things. I had plenty of help. I was sure I could find solutions to virtually any problem, what with so many ponies I could ask for help. I savored the sensations, the reassurances, and looked him in the eye.

I spoke to him, and I'm going to do everyone a favor and both skip all the questions I said to prevent him from going quiet and clean up his speech a little, because it's annoying to retell every single 'and then?' or his occasional stutter and habit of taking deep breaths every two or three words.

He said:

"I was alone, I used my power to search, then there was Dark Matter. We were together, and less alone. The Dark Matter became many, and moved; I thought it was to be less alone. No such luck. A pink Guardian of Dreams came to Us, holding a stick formed of the affection of many hearts. Dark Matter hated him, even before he hit me with his magic - it made me feel warm, but Dark Matter screamed then it hurt real bad; Dark Matter tried getting rid of the small pink Hero very hard, even tearing itself from me even if it hurt, but I scattered and fell into darkness."

He gave a pained grimace, and I felt the fire aura, which was almost completely transparent, act up a little. He didn't mean to broadcast his feelings, but he did nonetheless; I could tell that his magic was hurting him again, though. He was crying, and his tears were dark and thick, like ink.

"I was alone with Dark Matter, but I became strong in the dark. We came back, but I would prefer to fade instead of the pain and the sorrow. I made a pocket of sub-space to stay safe from the pink hero. I was very, very alone still. Dark Matter became many again, even after having gotten so reduced against the pink one. I could feel how they spread through the little star-worlds. The Matter of All Elements I made was destroyed, and Dark Matter returned screaming, piercing the darkness We made to remain safe. The young Warrior of Stars came again, with a fairy of the star-planet of hearts, and wielding the crystalized essence of dreams. Like before, the light-shard magic gave me warmth, but Dark Matter was hurt. Dark Matter tried to attack, but my body had became strong in the dark, and only my blood reached him."

Needless to say, sympathy came in waves. Cadence's spell in particular became incredibly strong after her uncertainty was destroyed.

He was confused, though. His magic is more reliant on emotional states then anyone else's save Cadence's, so he can detect them and even identify them in others - a little. Sensing them kind of like a changeling, and uses them just like Cadence, except that his powers only grow if he's sad.

"I was back in the great emptiness, but something tore. Energy, shapes, new things. My body became small, and Dark Matter left me again. The ponies came, keeping Dark Matter inside me, and now I am here."

I saw the problem. I had to lead up to it, though.

"Well, I think you've been alone for too long." I started, nodding and stroking my chin in contemplation. "What you need is a friend."

"Friend?"

"But of course! Friends are great to have, let me explain..." And I recounted Twilight's friendship lessons.

I could feel Celestia's pride and joy through the pulsing of the shield - heck, I think that rocks could feel it.

"Now, you are a very interesting pony, and my friends, those you can see right outside using magic, want to know you better, too." I said, and he winced in pain... then I made my move. I let the aura fade, which meant that I would only be protected by my own skin and will, and prepared a bottle full of Rainbow light.

"Dark Matter was attacking the star-worlds, spreading through their misery; as the main source of Dark Matter, the others thought you were a bad guy. Dark Matter needs you sad to be many." I said... and oh boy, did that make him mad.

It was chaos. He stood up in a flash and was yelling at himself. "You dare deny me my happiness?!"

The wave of raw feeling was not too strong to contain per se, but the shield wavered for a second by the explosion of it. Cadence, having noticed my hand hiding behind my body, guessed my intentions and doubled the strength of her spell, channeling it through my staff, then onto me, in just the moment I dashed towards him.

Now, I am not exactly bursting with initiative, and I loathed anything that could get me hurt... but the little and not-so-little changes my mind underwent helped me become a little more willing to try.

The restraints... groaned, you could say, from the stress of containing the dark magic - it was not a real, actual sound, but it could be felt. Objective that failed as dark tendrils broke from him in random places.

I placed an arm around his barrel and held it tight, while yelling something that could be interpreted as 'drink' while shoving the... about half a liter container in his muzzle.

When I opened my eyes again, my right arm, which must have been attacked relentlessly by the tentacles, felt like it was covered in hot sauce - it was wet, yet it burned. So did a little bit of my right side, and part of my left hand. The warm, wet feeling let me know that it was the many cuts what hurt, while the wetness was from the bleeding.

Celestia appeared in my range of vision, which also included a cut-up ceiling. She said something, but the world was over ninety-percent rushing water, so I didn't hear.

The cuts were really shallow, because I flared the light and poured it into the protection pseudo-spell at the last moment, but they were numerous.

A coughing laugh made me move my head towards the sound...

Sheesh, Zero was just as bloody as I was, but his injuries were far worse. Horrors trying to burst out of your body like its a tomato would do that to you. He still looked pleased, though... and smaller. Much smaller, like any other pony, and crying transparent, salty tears.

He got rushed to surgery, but I knew he'd be fine... weakened, yes; reduced, too - but he was alive. He would still be strong, even when happy, but now he didn't need to be protected from himself. It was a pain in the flank to heal him, though, because it had to be done carefully due to the amount of dark magic in his body - he switched genders mid-procedure at least three times, or so I heard. He would be staying in the hospital for weeks, and under observation for a few more, and under probation (as a citizen and dark mage) for longer still, but I guess I don't have to tell you why having him/her no longer be a second, involuntary Sombra is good now do I?

I got my shirt replaced, even though it was a conjured one, and lots, lots of bandages - the doctor was thankful that they were pretty much papercuts, even if the dark magic lingering in them meant that I would have to sport them for a few days...

It was a bit of a setback, but I found out that injuries do not carry over to other forms. Not even contaminated ones.

I still had to drain my own strength to purge the foreign magic, but with the amount I had, I was the safest option.

At least until Celestia scolded me for not telling her that I expected that to happen, since her magic would have let her come out unharmed.

Oops.

It was a bonding experience for the both of us (Zero and I), though, and he/she would be my dark magic training buddy. I think it was worth it.

Now, making plans and contingencies for everything, on the other hoof, was less worth it. Still, between the finest minds of ponydom (and a couple of zebras and Griffons) we made plans for everything - from zombies, to monsters, to Windigos, to an invasion of jotuns. Although speculations about videogame enemies, evil alternates of protagonists, good alternates of villains, and the like got a little tiring - more so the part when Celestia found out that being transported to this world as-is is only one outcome of many, and made us try to guess possible new appearances.

She had Twilight and me study Pathways and all of that stuff to discover what are the causes and odds of ponification...

I was lucky, though, that all of that happened only a little bit each day. I guess Celestia was making quite an effort to adapt to my new, chaos-powered self.

While making sure I earned my keep as a prince, naturally.

Comments

[Lorthalis of Crows]

(Yay! Story! Well done! I bw to your writing skills Sir.)

[ParadigmShift]

I knew it...Zero Two..

[Lazaro Sol]

Very good, you know magic therory better than any modern human I've met and about as well as most ziolians, kudos!

Job well done,
King Lazaro Sol of Ziolia

[Grankuwaga]

I was thinking Mr.4 for some reason tho in my defense I only seen a few vids of 0²