Elements Change the Dark Hearts

by Nightmare_0mega

Prologue: Stargazers

It had been an exceedingly busy turn of events over the last little while in her exceedingly longer life. Ever since the return of her sister during the Summer Sun Celebration that fateful night, Princess Celestia, Monarch of Equestria and the shining beacon of serenity and harmony for the land, didn't have very much time for respite. Between spending so VERY much needed quality time with her beloved returned sibling, acclimating the restored Princess of the Moon to the modern world, dealing with the nobles 'oh so important' grievances, taking care of her subjects with patience and compassion, and trying not to let her world fall apart every other month due to a new threat or disaster, Celestia was on the verge of running herself ragged. If it weren't for the many spells she had to hide her stress and reconstruct her composure, her very light fuchsia-ish gray coat probably would have been messier than a mad scientist that had stayed up for four weeks straight to concoct some bizarre, nature defying experiment. At the very least, her multicolored ethereal mane of light cerulean, light turquoise, very light cobalt blue, and pale heliotrope rarely needed a fix as long as her magic kept going. I thank the stars every day for the alicorn's gift of nigh infinite magic reserves, she thought with a bitter sigh.

Honestly, normally she wouldn't be complaining so much. Really, she was more than happy to know that quite a few things she fretted over the last thousand years were finally put to bed and that the Elements of Harmony were safe for the most part. However, she'd be lying if she didn't say she looked forward to Discord's return and subsequent rampage, or the changeling attack at the wedding of Shining Armor and Mi Amore Cadenza, or the Crystal Empire debacle just last week. Considering that a few of those events were rather touch-and-go, she was only glad Twilight and her friends were capable enough to lend a helping hoof to fix things. Sure, it was a bit embarrassing to be blindsided or taken down when her people needed her most, but everyone makes mistakes. Which I will dare to do fewer of in the future.

Never the less, as the day passed on and her duties were relinquished to her beloved sister, Celestia retreated to her quarters, stopping only to request a small midnight snack to be brought to her room, as well as tea and her favorite tea set. It was these little blessings that she enjoyed the most: The small mercies of the decadent lifestyle only allowed when she's not wrestling with politics, or dealing with her people, or trying to prevent catastrophes, or even attending important social functions required by aforementioned politics. As thoughts of squashing those cares and worries with tea and cookies took over her mind, she finally reached her room, bathed in a silvery moonlight that melded with the warm fireplace glow, set with her favorite cushion just before it. The light and warmth was welcoming as always and it had become something of a ritual for her every night since she started. Removing the golden gauntlets, breastplate, and crown, she took her seat with a content sigh.

A sigh that soon turned into a rather deep yawn, as her eyes began to grow heavier than usual. It wasn't unusual for the Princess to become this fatigued after a long string of days, so she accepted the call to dreamland. A small nap wouldn't hurt while I wait. With that thought in mind, she drew up a parchment, wrote a note that said "Wake me when my tea and cookies are here", and placed it on the small table nearby as she curled up and drifted to sleep.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Murky dripping. Hollow freezing. Metal turning. Silent screaming.

Rage as cold as death and sorrow as hot as lava. Stars blink twice, and existences fade. Of darkness it rises and darkness it falls. In light, as in life, it seeks an old plight. Forgotten, though, is the reason to journey and the reason to fight. Stalking memories to and fro of mortal beings and harvesting death while it is seeking. In twists of horror, of "god's" damned hands, bound to purpose of obedience blind. Memory is jumbled, thoughts are all strained, tyrannous cosmos remains unkind. Far and away from home. Far away from grace. Lost is the shadow so dire it recalls one place.

E... ... ----... es... t----... ... ia...

So cold. So cold. So cold. so cold. socold. socoldsocoldsocoldsocoldsocoldsocoldsocold...

Ce... ... le... ----... ---

i'msocold....

... ----- ... es--... ---- -- a... ...

...

...

01000011 01100101 01101100 01100101 01110011 01110100 01101001 01100001

01000011 01100101 01101100 01100101 01110011 01110100 01101001 01100001

01010111 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00111111

01010111 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00111111 00100001

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Princess Celestia woke up with a start, as her heart began to race from the bizarre nightmare. Vivid images of the inky blackness continued to swirl before her eyes for a moment until she rubbed them vigorously with her hooves and shook her head. With deep, heavy breaths, she stood up from her seat, and proceeded to her bedroom door, intending to seek out the room with a very particular mirror. However, upon opening the door, she ran right into the servant that had been carrying her tea and cookies, knocking the poor little mare over and dumping the contents all over the floor. Without hesitation, Celestia stopped, cleaned up the mess, and apologized up and down before taking off again, giving little explanation to the rattled servant.

Racing through the halls, she finally reached her destination in the span of mere minutes: a small, out of the way and very ordinary looking room that seems to be just sandwiched between two broom closets. One would be forgiven for believing that the door was just some wall decoration. With a light of her horn, she activated a secret lock, which caused the panel to slide open and reveal a thin hall, just enough for one pony to walk through. At the end of such a hallway was a medium sized circular room, lined with books all around, with a strange, horse-shoe shaped mirror lined with pink gems that sat in the middle: The Crystal Mirror.

She was where she needed to be, but despite the mirror's importance, it wasn't exactly the right thing she was looking for. For quite some time, before Twilight had become her protégé, Celestia had been researching the magical science behind the mirror, aided by the research quilled by Starswirl the Bearded. While she had given up on figuring out the nuances of how the mirror itself worked specifically, and how it could be changed to be more reliable, she hadn't forgotten the notes and books she had on the theory of other worlds and cross-world travel. Further still were the studies made by Starswirl in regards to a long forgotten project, on the off-chance something very personal would surely return. Many of the things in my past have returned in some form, after all, she darkly mused.

After a bit of searching, and an inward eureka, she found the book she needed. It was an old tome. Far older than many of the texts in the room, and probably as old as the lost journal she used to share with her sister. Inside were notes and documents on a prophecy Starswirl stumbled upon that involved Celestia which take place roughly a thousand years after the book was written, which eventually lead into research on realm-to-realm travel through various methods. Some seemed to hold, while others failed miserably. Thinking about the book, however, she recalled that there was supposed to be two books: with the second featuring later inventions that would help with cross-world travel, at least in theory. Never the less, she could hunt down the book later, as the first one had what she needed. After going through the pages, she learned one very important detail: Some of the earlier, cruder spells that were detailed were both the most stable as well as perhaps the most magically intensive. The big drawback to said spells were that they were one-way portals. To send someone back, extra steps would be required with much higher magical outputs. She was no inventor, nor did she want to endanger others with this secret she had kept between herself and Starswirl, so raw magical power was her only method for now. Celestia figured she'd need assistance with her project, but there were few candidates she could consider. Her faithful student, whilst powerful in her own right, is too preoccupied with more important matters, and still might run the risk of magical depletion, as she is just a unicorn. Celestia's sister, Princess Luna was another choice, but she ultimately decided against it, not wishing to demand such a great favor after only just returning to the world. Plus, Luna could never keep such a big secret even if it meant her life, as far as she remembered. There was Princess Cadance, but while she IS an Alicorn, her power was on the lower end. She then remembered an old "friend" that was currently set on the castle grounds as an ornament due to his actions after his recent escape. That may work, she thought, but he'd need to be rehabilitated, which will be no easy task, and will be of great risk. As long as the elements are available to my dear Twilight and her friends, I think it can work.

As of right now, however, she thought, as she pondered her next move. It was a difficult decision to make, but in the end, if she wanted to stop whatever was coming, she'd need to start now while she had that warning fresh in her mind. She could likely handle the spell on her own a maximum of three times in a short enough time span, but would require an absurdly long resting period of no magic what-so-ever to recover. After two, I'll release him, and get to work on that project, then. Leafing through the book once again, she recalled what exactly the plan of action was, taking into account the elements of harmony.

Dark, but redeemable, hearts capable of staving off the strongest of corruptible influences, she thought as she read the finer details. The notes described that weaker entities can be pulled through easier, while stronger bodies and wills can resist. Celestia wondered how Starswirl managed to figure out such a nuance, but decided to let it be for the time being, considering her old friend has been long gone now.

"A weak individual," she muttered to herself, "but, the plan requires said individuals to be strong. Then how-" she pondered, before an idea flashed in her mind. It was a loophole, but perhaps the detail was the key to pulling whom she needed.

With that in mind, she studied the spells to be cast for hours, being careful to take into account the very complex sequences and weaves, as well as the correct magical output and pressure required, just to cast and maintain the connection. Confident in her rehearsal, she charged her horn, and teleported herself to the highest spire of the palace. Once there, able to view the stars with perfect clarity and overlook her beloved city, she charged her horn once again, and began to cast the spell, first to seek out the vast, infinite cosmos and reach for the first that was described in the book. It took her a while, and considerable effort on her end to maintain such a cast and link to the starlit ocean of forever, but she eventually found what she was looking for. All of the requirements lined up well enough, and before her opportunity could be wasted, she latched onto the cold, lonely heart she found, and dragged the entity to Equestria, with a great and mighty pull. While the struggle was long, eventually the link severed and she could feel the creature begin to tumble its way to her world, not surprised in the slightest that the result wasn't immediate.

Celestia, mostly drained from the action, slumped down on the spire, gave her horn one final charge, and teleported herself back into her own bedroom. This spooked the servant that had entered her room prior to her return, whom was likely there to tidy up while the Princess was away. Celestia weakly apologized, before she clambered off to bed and advised her visitor to go and do the same. With a nod, the servant excused herself and left Princess Celestia's quarters.

As her eyes began to close, Celestia hoped beyond hope that all of these risks and actions would pay off in the end. Perhaps, and just in time too, the Elements would change the dark hearts, just enough so they can put an end to the encroaching nightmare.

Author's Note:

Avantasia

Comments

[Bold Promise]

her very light fuchsia-ish gray coat

I thought she was alabaster. What, she dies her fur white?

Whoah. That binary. And the non-canon references. No way.
...In all honesty, it doesn't actually mean anything beyond what an off-hand reference could ever possibly mean.