Magic Words
Raven let out deep panting breaths, her heart raced and thundered in her chest. She could barely comprehend what she had just done. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, then sighed tiredly. 'What did I do to deserve this?' She questioned and then had a self depreciating thought hit her. 'Oh right, daughter of Trigon,' She ignored the thought and trotted shakily to the curtains and closed them. She closed every curtain she could bathing the inside of the tree into a comfortable darkness. That done she found some candles and lit them to provide herself a descent amount of lighting.
It wasn't much but it was more than enough for her. She preferred muted colors and dark spaces. All the bright sunny colors hurt her eyes and left her feeling ill. She admitted that was a bit of an exaggeration but she didn't particularly enjoy bright colors. Yet with the tree bathed in shadow, she sat down and looked around the bedroom she'd found. It was dusty and old so no one had been inside for quite some time. She remembered the books she'd seen through the window and frowned to herself.
'It's an abandoned library...' She realized with a slight frown. She didn't understand why people, and apparently ponies, didn't like to read. Reading had always been something she did for fun when she was little. The world within books allowed her to escape her world and go to new places. But she knew that not everyone liked to just sit down and read. She didn't like it, but she knew that it was a fact of life. 'Well since no one was using this place, I might as well take it,' Raven rationalized as she looked around the library.
She knew some one would eventually come and attempt to evict her. She expected it to come and she would of course be sad to have to leave. But it was something that had to happen. Regardless of the fact the place was abandoned, some one would eventually inhabit the place legally. Unfortunately, she was tired, and her emotions were out of control and bouncing off the walls of her brain. Her new form, this new place, and especially the fact she had no idea how she got here had left her more emotionally exhausted than she had ever been in her life.
She stopped for a moment, her meditations could wait as a sudden thought prickled at her brain. 'My mirror.' She inwardly mumbled and closed her eyes and spoke softly. "Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos." She waved a hoof and a black portal formed before a small hand mirror fell out to the floor. 'Good, I don't want to think of what might happen if you fell into the wrong hands,' The grey winged unicorn thought while picking the mirror up with her magic. She then trotted over to the vanity and left it to sit there, before turning away with a soft sigh.
'Now that I don't have to worry about anyone wandering around in my mind. Maybe I can to try and get my emotions back under control,' The violet maned pony thought before making her way to the center of the room. Looking down at her new body, she found a new problem she hadn't expected. 'Uhhh... how do I meditate with reverse jointed limbs?' She wondered while glancing back at her hind-legs and then lifted her forelegs. She was surprised to find her forelegs could actually reach a range of motion roughly the same as her arms.
'I'm no expert on horses or ponies, but somehow I have a feeling that that isn't normal.' The little pony decided while looking back to her hind-legs and clicked her tongue. She idly leaned back and lifted each leg before she started to test their range of motion as well. A frown crossed her lips as she found that, unlike her forelimbs, her hind-legs seemed to have a limited range of motion. 'Well I guess I should have expected that much,' She decided to herself with a sigh and rose back into a sitting position.
Taking in a breath through her nose the violet maned pony sighed and closed her eyes. She needed to calm down and focus. Her emotions had been running her ragged today and she didn't need anymore incidents like earlier. She could hopefully figure things out later, but for now she really needed to calm her emotions. 'Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos...' She repeated again and again in an attempt to regain control of her wild emotions and the awesome powers that they fed...
Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria wasn't quite sure what she should make of her current situation. Not only had a mare burst into her castle in the middle of court. Admittedly she saved her from having to listen to a pony drone on and on about something. But now she was hearing a claim that a strange Alicorn had overtaken a library in Ponyville. 'It couldn't be Luna, there's still over a month before she should arrive,' Celestia reasoned with a frown as she continued to listen to the cyan pegasus ramble on and on.
'Ponyville is closest to the Everfree and the old castle. So if Luna were to have escaped I suppose that would be her first target,' Celestia reasoned with a frown. The idea that her sister had somehow gathered the strength to escape early was very worrying. 'That would mean she's far more powerful than I had anticipated,' Celestia thought with a grimace. The princess then shook her head. She reminded herself that all she knew was that an alicorn had appeared in the ponyville library. It didn't have to be her sister, it could just as easily be a new alicorn.
Much like how her niece Cadence had appeared nearly out of thin air.
Thus the princess decided to get some more facts and returned to listening to a still blathering Rainbow Dash. "... and she like totally has this awesome black magic stuff that's made a shield or something and no pony can get into the library and..." Clearly the mare had a lot to say. Though the fact she hadn't stopped for breath even once was worrying. 'Is she breathing through her nose?' Celestia wondered and hoped as she watched the rainbow mare silently. She also thought about the strange magic the pony had mentioned and frowned.
'Black magic?' she considered and hummed as she realized what the pony meant. 'She likely means a black magical aura,' the princess reasoned and a smile crossed her lips. 'Luna never had a black aura, not even as Nightmare Moon, so it cant be her,' the solar diarch noted with a minor nod of her head. However that also opened a new can of worms as she knew there was a pony with a black aura. 'Mort,' she thought with a mental scowl and tried not to growl in front of her little pony subjects.
"... I mean really! Who's ever heard of a bunny rabbit changing into a princess! And Fluttershy and Rarity... " Celestia was surprised by how much this pony liked to talk. Of course at least she now knew the alicorn was female, so at least it definitely wasn't Mort. 'Not like anypony would have noticed him anyways. So that leaves only one logical explanation... there's a new Alicorn,' Celestia reasoned and then sat up as that thought registered in her brain. 'There's a new alicorn!' she thought with no small amount of hidden excitement.
Alicorns, like herself, were exceedingly rare. As of this moment, she was almost certain that their numbers were limited to single digits. It wasn't unexpected given what their lifespan was looking to be. She for instance was over a thousand years old and going strong. If every alicorn had such a lifespan then it would be very bad for them to be too numerous. But that also meant that things could get very, well, lonely. Knowing few ponies for what felt like only a few decades tended to leave her sad.
And she didn't even want to think about how their foals worked.
The old alicorn was thus very excited by the news of a new alicorn. If nothing else it meant that she had one more pony she wouldn't see die of old age. That was all she needed to decide that she would handle this new alicorn herself. "... and so I thought I should come here and tell you what's going on so you can do something!" the cyan pegasus, Rainbow Dash if she remembered correctly, finally finished. The mare panted with exertion and sat back, her breaths short and quick. The solar princess briefly looked to her with concern, but her growing curiosity about the new alicorn won out over it.
"Thank you, my little pony, for bringing this incident to my attention," Princess Celestia offered and rose to her hooves, idly stretched out her hind-legs. Sitting on that throne was honestly getting to be more trouble than it was worth. She made a mental note to find some cushions or something to soften it later. She then looked around the court. "Court is adjourned," She stated in a tone that brokered no chance for argument. "I shall see to this incident in ponyville myself," The solar alicorn stated as she trotted passed Rainbow Dash and through the throne room.
Celestia just hoped she didn't look too happy or excited as she left. She cared very deeply for her ponies, she was just very eager to meet the new alicorn. She trotted out of the throne room at a brisk pace, out into the courtyard. Her captain of the guard approached but she quickly assured him she would be fine and opened her wings. It had been quite some time she last she had flown, but not so long that she couldn't fly on her own. That was doubly so when the place she was going was relatively close to Canterlot.
As such the solar princess quickly shot in the direction of Ponyville. It'd been quite some time since she last felt the wind against her wings. She honestly preferred to trot or ride a carriage, but this was not a matter she could wait on. She was too eager to simply sit around and wait for her guards to get a ride. Besides that, she was significantly faster than her little ponies knew. Which is why she inhaled a breath and then shot off at break neck speed. She used her magic to teleport as well, going several times faster.
In nearly an instant she appeared in Ponyville out of a brilliant flash of light. Almost instantly the ponies of the small village bowed before her. She honestly wished they wouldn't do so, but they had done so for so long that it was unlikely to stop. Her wings shifted at her sides and she approached the blackened dome of magic. She frowned as she looked it over, only idly noticing as an older mare came to her side.
"P-Princess Celestia, w-what an honor to have y-you visit us," the mare stated nervously. Celestia nodded her head and hummed quietly. She stared at the dome of magic and library beyond it for several long moments, internally trying to reason out how she would enter. 'I suppose I could force my way through, but she might try to flee if I did that,' the alicorn mare noted to herself. She didn't want to scare the new alicorn, merely greet her and potentially make a new friend. But first she would have to figure out how to go about meeting with her.
"Has any pony tried to enter the building?" the solar alicorn questioned and looked to the older mare. The grey maned mare merely shook her head in response.
"N-no, every p-pony is too fr-frightened to try," the mare replied honestly. Celestia hummed and nodded her head in understanding. It was good that they were erring on the side of caution. A startled or hostile alicorn was potentially the most dangerous thing one could meet. She knew that from personal experience on both instances. She clicked her tongue and stopped in front of the dome of magic. A single golden shoed hoof reached out and tapped at the magic around the tree. The alicorn princess was surprised, she could feel so much magic, yet it was strange.
It was wild and chaotic with barely any signs it was controlled, not at all like she expected, and yet also unlike that of Discord.
"I would like to ask that you keep every pony back, I'm going to try and enter," Celestia urged with a kind smile. The mare quickly nodded her head and raced to keep the ponies of the little town back. The alicorn princess merely rolled her eyes and then looked at the building with a frown. She focused on following the flow of the magic, and quickly realized that the shield only covered the tree.
"Does this building have a basement?" Celestia asked over her shoulder. The older mare from before quickly nodded her head while urging the ponies back. The alicorn princess gave her thanks and then closed her eyes and focused on her magic. With a flash she vanished, only to reappear in the basement below the tree. Blinking her eyes open Celestia slowly made her way out of the basement. She made certain to make as little noise as possible, as she still didn't wish to startle the alicorn too badly.
She mentally cursed her size and weight as a floor board creaked. Blowing a breath into her bangs she stopped and considered her options. She could simply 'Wink' up to the alicorn, but that would likely startle her. Her other option was to release the power of the sun and return to her original size. Not only would she be smaller, but she would seem far less intimidating to the new alicorn as well. In fact, the only real downside she could think of was that she was so used to her current size.
Well, that and she had always hated her mane when it was totally pink, she had never really been fond of the color pink. Even though her mane had always been pink it was still her least favorite color.
"I suppose it is a minor inconvenience at best," the alicorn princess admitted to herself and closed her eyes. Her body gave a brief glow and then shrank down. Her mane fell flat and cascaded down the side of her head / face, and her coat took on an even more noticeable pink hue. As soon as she finished shrinking, her regalia fell on her smaller frame, bringing a frown to her muzzle. Letting out a sigh the alicorn princess lifted her crown and then focused on her regalia. A flash of her horn and they shrank down to suit her new size.
"I actually forgot how small I really am," the alicorn admitted, then blinked. "Do I really sound like that?" she asked and giggled, her voice seeming somehow younger and more girlish. Smiling to herself, the alicorn princess slowly trotted up the stairs of the tree library. Her ears swiveled and listened as a soft voice echoed down from upstairs.
"Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos... Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos..." the voice came in a dull drone. Celestia raised a brow and couldn't help but wonder about the words. She'd never heard them before in her life, and she'd heard a great many languages over the course of her life. A frown tugged at her lips as she slowly entered the upper floor of the library. She used her magic to slowly and quietly open the door and get a look at the new alicorn. She really wasn't what she'd expected.
She was tiny in comparison to most alicorns, being no bigger than an average mare though perhaps a bit more curvy. She had a very soft pallor grey coat, with a horn and wings and tiny red gem at the base of her horn. Her violet mane was parted and fell down on both sides of her head almost like wings. Her wings were like that of a raven, her feathers darkening until they turned black at the tips of her wings. She also wore some kind of clothes on her legs and a chain belt around her waist. A glance around showed a blue cloak hanging nearby that was clearly hers as well.
What shocked her however, was the ponies complete lack of a cutie-mark. The solar diarch had always assumed that only ponies with a cutie-mark could become an alicorn. At least as far as she knew no pony without one had ever managed to become an alicorn. The fact that most alicorns had to basically 'master' their special talent also made becoming one without one unlikely. Yet somehow, this little pony had managed to do what no pony else had ever managed before.
'Definitely not what I was expecting,' Celestia admitted to herself as she slowly entered the room. She listened as the alicorn continued to chant, though the solar princess still wasn't able to discern what the words meant. A moment later she noticed a nearby mirror and raised a brow. It was a hoof mirror that seemed very unusual looking, having gems and spikes coming off of it in a noticeably demonic fashion. 'That is a very strange mirror,' Celestia thought to herself and quietly made her way over to it.
She looked at the mirror for several long moments. Her mouth twisted into a frown as she tried to see what felt so strange about it. It almost looked like a normal mirror, however something about it set her off, making her feel more than a little uneasy. 'Just what are you?' the alicorn princess questioned while lifting the mirror with her magic. She narrowed her eyes and stared into the reflective surface of the hoof mirror. A second later, the princess let out a yelp as four crimson eyes opened within the mirror.
There was a sudden swirl of magic as the alicorn princess was pulled into the mirror. The object fell to the ground with a quiet clatter. A second later the other alicorn opened her eyes and looked around, only to widen her eyes upon seeing the mirror. "No," she whispered with wide and frightened eyes. She knew that this couldn't mean anything good.
Celestia frowned as she found herself in a place she could hardly comprehend. Instead of a world, there were only patches and paths of land hanging in an endless expanse. The only thing that grew on these sparse patches of rock and dirt were old dead trees. The mare found herself shiver as she then gazed up, and then even down, to see a strange sky. It was as if she were looking into the distant heavens at night. Nothing like Luna's night, this was the baren expanse of space, visible only by use of powerful telescopes.
"Where am I?" the solar alicorn questioned under her breath. The place unnerved her, for it was far too quiet. There was no life in this place, only endless silence. A shiver raced down her spine but she suppressed it. The alicorn trotted forward a moment later, towards what looked like a building in the distance. The mare watched her surroundings, even expected something to come out at her. But whatever it was that she expected, a child like voice certainly was not it.
"Go back," the voice called. Celestia turned and looked for the source of the voice. However all was quiet once more, not a soul was around. "Go back," it came again. The mare turned all around searching for it's source, a nearby tree catching her eye. She looked to the tree and then glanced upwards. In the trees branches sat a strange creature, it resembled a raven but it's head was large and large red eyes looked upon her.
"Who-no, what are you?" the solar alicorn questioned. The little raven merely hopped from it's perch and opened it's wings. It gently soared down to land in front of the solar princess and spoke once more.
"Go back." Celestia frowned at the simple, yet equally bizarre message from the little bird.
"I can't. I don't know how to leave," she admitted warily. The tiny creature hopped forward several times, Celestia took steps back. The bird unnerved her greatly. The eyes it possessed were strange, looking at her so innocently, yet with something only just hidden within their depths. Something that was dark and sinister. Something that wanted desperately to claw its way to freedom. Something that Celestia did not want to see.
"Go back, go back," the little bird called, "or else!" it crowed and it's demeanor changed. Sharp teeth opened as it lunged at the princess. There were now four glowing slits for eyes glaring at her. It tried to bite her but the solar mare opened her wings and shot into the sky. The raven opened it's own wings, flapped them for a moment and shot after her. It changed along the way, becoming a true raven rather than the childish parody it had been mere moments ago. The fiendish bird chased after the princess, it's eyes locked onto her with a single minded determination.
Celestia however, merely wished to escape from the horrid creature. She flew through the endless void and approached a strange arch. She glanced back at the raven and then turned to the arch and went through. There was a sudden flash of light as the solar mare appeared somewhere new. Instead of an endless void, she was now in a massive city. She took a moment to search for anymore ravens, and then lowered to the city streets. She glanced around and blinked at what she saw. The city was clean and perfect, towering buildings that made even Canterlot look tiny by comparison.
Yet still, at the same time the city scared her. It's sky was red like blood, dark storm clouds moved without a Pegasi to push them, and far too quickly for one to have done so. The silence also unnerved her, yet was broken by disjointed noises that sounded almost like words or even a ghostly tune. As she looked around, she noticed from the corner of her eye a shadow of a hooded figure which promptly drew her attention. It seemed to sway for a moment and then dart off, moving through throngs of other strange apparitions.
Celestia didn't know why, but she felt the urge to follow the figure. She slowly trotted in it's direction. Her eyes wandered about to see the shadowy apparitions of tall slender creatures. All of them appeared to be hooded, but were white rather than the single black one. Her hooves clopped against the stone streets heavily as she followed the shadow. It soon approached what appeared to be some form of temple. The solar alicorn frowned to herself as she approached it as well. She noticed tiny apparitions near the temple, but paid them no heed as they ignored her.
The gates to the ancient temple opened at her approach. The long low creak echoed far louder than she would have liked. She shook her head of such thoughts and continued onward into the temple. Yet stopped short and looked to the side. The shadowy apparition returned, huddled down to the side. Tiny appendages were out and seemingly grasped the bars of the gate. Celestia tilted her head and noticed that the shadowy apparition seemed to be watching the ones that were outside. She also realized the shadowy apparition itself was no bigger than those small ones.
"A child?" she questioned under her breath. Then glanced to the other apparitions and frowned. "An isolated one," she amended. She frowned and approached the apparition. However as she approached the world changed, the red sky became a beautiful blue, endless and free without a cloud in sight. The stillness was replaced by a cool breeze that blew through the city. Then, all at once, the apparitions suddenly changed into something else.
The little one she had approached wore a ragged black cloak, far too large for it's tiny body. She could barely see any of it, the cloak concealed all from view save for it's arms. It's arms were clothed in white, ending with a pair of strange appendages that vaguely resembled a dragons claws. These tiny claws were currently wrapped around the bars of the fence. Celestia glanced to see the other small apparitions were also like this one, some in cloaks, but most in some kind of robes that left most of their bodies covered.
Celestia silently watched as the children played with a ball. Strangely, the child in black was simply watching them from behind the bars of the fence. A moment later the solar mare watched as the ball the children were playing with bounced away and rolled towards the child in black. The child watched the ball for several moments as it approached, then timidly reached out for it. However she backed down as one of the children in white picked it up.
"Oh great, the Ghost-Girl," the child muttered. He then quickly turned and scurried away. Celestia frowned and watched the little on in black lowered her head and leaned forward.
"Hey is that the Ghost-Girl?" one of the children asked.
"Isn't she supposed to be haunting the temple," another whispered.
"My parents told me to stay away from her," a filly stated.
"Yeah, she's supposed to be really dangerous," the final child noted. As one all five children walked away. The little filly in black lowered her head and brought her arms back into her cloak. A soft frown crossed Celestia's face as she watched her sink into herself.
"I'm n-not a ghost," she whispered meekly, her voice was a whisper, quiet and gentle. However what surprised the solar princess was that the tiny creature vanished. It did not wink like a Unicorn, no, a black raven formed behind it and wrapped her in it's wings. The raven then lowered into the ground and slid away like a ghostly wraith. Once it was gone the world shifted around her, the city falling away and leaving only the temple behind. With no where else to go, Celestia turned on her hoof and approached the temple.
As she entered the building, she saw the shadow move into a room. Celestia silently followed the shadow into the room, and frowned. Within the strange room was a massive circular portcullis from which yellow magical energy bubbled, around the room were many statues that seemed to be hooded, while upon the ground was the image of a golden raven. Soon this scene changed, and the solar princess saw a familiar black cloaked child. She was now sitting in the center of the room, across from her was a much taller and older creature.
The creature wore no hood however, her long white mane cascaded down her form in waves, while a tiny red gem was inset into the center of her forehead, and a pair of small dark eyes glanced down at the cloaked child. The creature had no muzzle, it's face seeming almost 'flat' in comparison, with barely any fur to speak of save for it's brow. It was also wearing a large amount of clothes, a black nearly skintight outfit with golden bangles over her left arm, and a long crimson colored robe that wrapped around her body and formed a high collar.
"Now Raven, do you remember the story of Azar?" the mare's voice was stern, powerful, and ancient. Celestia also noted that something about the ancient creature was off. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but something about the strange mare-like creature just struck her as odd.
"Y-Yes, Azar is the name of our l-leader, and for whom our land is named, she who has pr-protected the people of Azarath for centuries. It all started se-seven hundred years ago, you gr-grandmother, Azar the F-First, convinced the p-people to l-leave the w-warlike ways of Earth, and h-help her establish a nation of p-peace and prosperity. It was th-those humans who f-founded Azarath. She was the one wh-who taught them m-magic and guided them for t-two-hundred years," the child replied meekly, head bowed. The mare nodded curtly and placed her hands into her lap, over top an odd scepter.
"Indeed Raven, but what is it that you are hear to learn?" the now named 'Azar' questioned of the filly. Said child shifted in her spot several times and then lowered her head.
Finally, the little child replied, "C-Control, be-cause I'm dangerous." A frown marred Celestia's face at the reply. As of now she had seen very little of this child. However she had also yet to see anything that would suggest the filly was dangerous. In fact, all evidence thus far seemed to point to quite the contrary as she seemed quite timid. Azar however quietly hummed, which drew Celestia's attention back to her.
"Indeed you are," she replied and reached into her robes, "but until such a time where you can do so safely, I want you to wear these," the mare ordered and held out her hand to the filly. Raven slowly opened her hands and held them out to the ancient mare. Azar turned her hand and dropped a pair of golden rings with red runes into them.
"R-Rings of Azar?" the filly questioned. The old mare merely nodded her head gravely and sat with a stern expression. "B-but I don't understand, why...?"
"Your powers are dangerous little one," Azar interrupted crisply, "those rings will contain your powers while you sleep," she explained with a nod. It was obvious to Celestia that the filly was confused, after all, she was just a child.
"But, if they contain my powers, why can't I just wear them all the time?" Raven inquired timidly. Celestia mentally frowned and shook her head. Loath as she was to admit it, that would be an even worse idea. If she were to wear those rings at all times and never learn control, the possibility of losing control if the rings failed was almost assured. The old mare known as Azar merely tilted her mouth into a frown, her hands folded on her lap once more.
"Because then you would never learn control," the ancient mare stated sternly. "And without control, should ever the power of the rings fail, you would cause great harm to those around you," Azar stated simply, a single opened eye trained on the violet eyed filly. The little filly shifted and sunk in on herself, pulling her hands as well as the rings into her cloak. The stern tone caused Celestia to glare at the old mare. Though it was true the filly needed to learn control, being so cold to her would hardly help any pony. More over, she was just a child, and all children need patience when you teach them.
"O-okay," Raven whispered timidly. A second later the scene fell away, and the word 'Azaroth' echoed in the mind of the solar princess. 'Azaroth is her home,' Celestia noted to herself. She then turned and watched as the shadow from before wandered out of the room. She quickly followed after the shadow, the room that Azar and the filly had been in fell away as the city had before them. The solar princess frowned and briefly wondered why the world fell away after she saw the visions of the filly. However she had more pressing matters to attend and so returned to following the shadow through the strange temple.
She also noticed the shadow seemed to grow, only a little bit, but it was definitely bigger than it had been before. The solar alicorn wandered up a flight of stairs behind the shadow. Soon seeing the area turn into a new scene, the black clad filly down the hall and looking out a window. The alicorn mare slowly approached, and discretely glanced out one of the nearby windows. She saw another of the strange creatures, this one the age of a mare. She was speaking with Azar at the front gate of the temple, while the filly silently watched on.
"You should be in class Raven," a sudden voice came and startled the filly. She quickly turned around, and Celestia instantly followed her gaze. She saw yet another of the creatures, this one dressed in long brown robes with a hood. Like Azar and the creature below, this creature was female. Though it seemed as if this one was older than the one speaking with Azar, yet still far younger than Azar herself.
"I-I'm sorry," the now named 'Raven' whispered quietly. Celestia couldn't help but find the mare's name a tad strange. Then again, 'Azar' wasn't what she considered normal either. It didn't help that much of this strange world was so completely alien to her that she barely recognized anything. "It's j-just that, I was hoping mother would v-visit," the little admitted. It even seemed that her 'stutter' was starting to pass. Though the solar alicorn felt a frown cross her lips and glanced out to the two creatures outside once more.
'What is going on here? Is that-is that really her mother?' the solar princess questioned with a frown. She gazed at both mares for a long time, then shook her head. She then turned back to 'Raven' and the other mare in the hall, perhaps she could even learn something from them.
"Raven, we both know that Mistress Arella was advised against interrupting your training," the creature stated pointedly. The filly silently nodded her head in understanding. Celestia instantly felt her temper flare up and glared at the mare. Much as control was important where magic was concerned, family was just as if not more important. This 'Raven' seemed horribly isolated from her own age-group. Isolating her from adults and family as well was the last thing that they should be doing. The filly needed to learn how to be a person, not an emotionless machine!
"I know, I just," the filly whispered, then looked up as the robed creature put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come, I have much I need to teach you Raven," the mare stated. The filly silently nodded her head and looked up into the shadowed hood of the mare.
"Of c-course Lady Metrion," the filly replied and followed the mare through the temple. Celestia followed behind the two, only to halt as the world returned to the distorted world from before. A frown marred the face of the solar princess as she thought about the little filly and her past. 'She didn't need to be isolated, what they could've caused was the filly never learning to care for any pony but herself,' the ancient alicorn thought with a frown.
'Metrion, hmm?' Celestia noted with a frown, then widened her eyes. 'Azaroth, Metrion... the alicorn in the library was whispering those words,' the solar alicorn realized. She then turned as the shadow moved once more, this time larger than before. The alicorn princess quietly followed the shadow once more, back through the temple until the world changed around her once more. This time the filly was clearly older and walking down a hall in the temple. She was still dressed in the same ratty old black cloak. She was also nose deep in a book and not paying attention to where she was going.
A moment later the filly walked into another creature. She fell back and quickly gathered her book and rose up. "I'm sorry, I was just," she started to say, only to stop at a good-humored chuckle.
"Quite alright little bird, there no need for you to fret," the soft voice of an elderly male came. Celestia blinked and looked to this new creature. Much like the one before it was dressed in a long concealing brown robe with a hood. A beard hung from it's hood down its torso, a rope tied around its waist. The solar mare tilted her head as the older male crossed its forelimbs within the sleeves of his robes. "Now then, what exactly kept you so entranced that you'd run into an old monk?" the older creature questioned while stealing a quick look at the filly's book.
"Oh it's nothing!" the filly stated urgently. The old stallion merely chuckled and reached a hand out to pat her head.
"Calm down now, no reason for you to be so secretive," the old stallion stated and Raven shifted nervously.
"Y-yes, but I have t-to get to my studies with lady Metrion," the cloaked filly stated and rushed off.
"You know, I actually find that particular series quite exhilarating," the old stallion stated. Celestia raised a brow as the filly halted and looked back at the older creature over her shoulder.
"R-really?" she asked quietly. A good humored chuckle and a nod was the only answer she received, the older creature turning and wandering off down the halls. The filly watched him go, far longer than she needed, then slowly turned and made her way back through the temple. Celestia watched both leave and then looked around as the world shifted once more, then turned as the shadow reappeared. The solar mare frowned and followed after the shadow once more. Her wandering soon bringing her to a room.
The room soon formed into an alchemy lab, the old creature from before wandering around, while the filly sat in a chair nearby. "Are you sure it's alright to be teaching me about alchemy?" the filly questioned, far less timid than usual, "I've heard it can be quite dangerous." The old creature chuckled and nodded his head. Then brought down a couple of books from the walls around him.
"Of course little bird, the Lady Azar asked me to do so herself," the old stallion replied and then hummed as he placed the books in front of the filly. "First of all, you'll need to understand the fundamentals and then we'll actually work on alchemy," the old creature stated while sitting down in front of Raven. She silently nodded her head and opened the first of the books, while the older creature hummed and stroked his beard. 'He almost reminds me of Star-Swirl, well, if Star-Swirl had been more jovial,' Celestia noted with a fond smile.
"So then Raven, care to tell me about yourself?" the old stallion questioned and the filly's head shot up. She then looked down and shuffled in her seat uncomfortably. While it was certain that she was more at ease around him, even that seemed to have its limits.
"W-well there's re-really not much to t-tell," she stated softly. However the old stallion merely scoffed and leaned forward.
"Now that certainly can't be true, it isn't everyday that Azar takes on a student you know," the older creature reminded. The filly merely shifted in her seat with a nod of her head. Celestia however got the feeling that the old stallion was right, but had yet to see anything truly 'remarkable' about the filly. 'I haven't even seen her powers yet, whatever they may be,' she noted inwardly while frowning.
"I kn-know, but with my powers," the filly tried to say and the older creature snorted.
"Bah, your powers shouldn't dominate your life Raven," he stated with a nod. "If you do, you'll end up all alone someday, and I'd rather that not happen," the old stallion stated kindly. The filly tilted her head, while Celestia smiled, thankful that at least one of these creatures wasn't cold to her. 'Maybe she'll actually learn to care for something other than herself,' she mused to herself with a soft smile.
"B-but, if I lose control, p-people could be hurt," the filly replied worriedly. The old stallion nodded his head, then leaned forward.
"True Raven, but I ask you this, is a life devoid of any enjoyment or friends even worth living?" the old creature inquired wisely. The filly merely sat there, unmoving and unsure of how to answer the older creature. Celestia however nodded her head in agreement with him. A life devoid of enjoyment or friends, wasn't really any kind of life at all. Yet the filly remained silent, and then as it had happened before, the world changed yet again. The solar alicorn turned just as the shadow shifted out of the room and quickly followed it. The temple started to fall away into the void, only the shadow and it's path left in the endless expanse.
'What is going on?' the solar alicorn questioned inwardly. She knew that Azaroth and Metrion were words used by the alicorn she'd seen earlier. But why she had used them was still a mystery to her, as was how she had arrived in this strange place. 'Whatever this is, I hope it ends soon,' the alicorn mare mentally pleaded. She continued to follow the shadow, her eyes darted here and there as a horrible chanting sounded in the distance. She tried to listen to it, but it sounded so far away that she couldn't make it out. The chanting aside, Celestia turned to the shadow as it moved into a new room.
The solar alicorn followed and found a small and sparsely furnished bedroom. A bookcase, a bed, and a large trunk with a familiar mirror were all that was held within. The window was large and the bed turned away from it. But what drew Celestia's attention was the filly from before. This time she was much older, and much bigger than your average pony. In her hands was a large box and standing in front of her was the elderly stallion from before. He chuckled and knelt down before the filly, motioning for her to open the box.
"Well, go on then," he urged and the filly slowly looked to the box before opening it up. She gasped quietly as she looked to it's contents and looked to the elder stallion.
"I-Is this really for me?" she asked softly. The elder creature merely nodded his head, while the filly seemed to choke for a moment. She then pulled out a familiar blue cloak and jewel incrusted golden chain-belt from the box. She was silent for a long while, then lunged at the elderly creature with a cry of thank you, arms wrapped around his neck. The elder creature chuckled and patted her back as she hugged him. "Thank you master Zinthos," the filly whispered quietly. Celestia's eyes widening as the last word finally made sense.
'Azaroth is home, Metrion is teacher, Zinthos is family,' the solar mare thought to herself. 'It's a mantra, a way for her to calm down and maintain control of her emotions. The words are the three things most important to her, home, teacher, and family,' the solar alicorn realized. She then narrowed her eyes, recognizing the cloak and belt from when she saw the alicorn in the ponyville library. 'The alicorn I saw and this filly, they're one and the same... but how?' the solar alicorn wondered to herself.
"Your welcome little bird, I just thought you might like a real birthday present for once," the elder stallion admitted. As the scene came to a close, and much like before, the world vanished from around Celestia. Soon all that was left was the floor on which she had been standing. However now something more ominous was occurring, the chanting from before far louder this time. The chanting echoed out in the distance, flames rising up and surrounding the solar mare. The chanting boomed loudly, the voices dark and cold, they chanted continuously without pause, a grim chant of doom.
The Gem was born of evils fire...
The Gem shall be his portal...
He comes to claim, he comes to sire...
The end of all things mortal...
The chanting echoed in the solar princess's ears, her eyes widened as a ghastly figure rose up from the flames and stood. It towered over her, like a bug was tiny in comparison to her own size, this being however dwarfed the size of even the tallest of the towers of Canterlot. It's four eyes glowed an eerie yellow, and what seemed like antlers grew from it's head. As Celestia looked at the monster with wide frightened eyes, the eerie chanting continued to sound all around her.
The Gem was born of evils fire...
The Gem shall be his portal...
He comes to claim, he comes to sire...
"The End of all things mortal!" the massive being declared, it's voice causing the stone upon which Celestia to rumble and shake. Soon the floor shook even more as a single clawed appendage lifted her up, flames dancing as a wicked grin stretched across it's face. The chant did not stop even once, repeating itself over and over again. The creature looked down on Celestia, that same sinister grin stretched across its face. The solar alicorn felt echo in her mind, whispers of doom and tragedy.
However as the voices became too much for her to bear, a familiar shadow formed out of the hand holding her. It rose up and then spun until it became a familiar blue cloaked filly. Its back was to her, but she could practically feel the glare it had leveled onto the creature before her. The creature's grin turned into a frown as it gazed at the filly, however the world rapidly changed. The creature roared and vanished, a bright light nearly blinding Celestia. The ancient alicorn soon opened her eyes to find the world she had been in before had returned.
The many disjointed or floating paths, the eerie void. She hated to admit it, but she preferred this to the thing she had just escaped from. However a voice broke the solar mare from her thoughts, "You should just... just go," the filly stated quietly. Celestia blinked and noticed there was now a strange portal nearby. She assumed that that was what the filly wanted her to go through. However she looked pensively to the blue cloaked filly for a moment. The ancient alicorn then slowly approached her.
"I said go!" she shouted without ever looking at the alicorn mare. There was a flash of her black magical aura, it rose and loomed over her. However Celestia didn't listen and continued her quiet approach, then sat on her haunches beside of the filly. "Just leave me alone," Raven pleaded softly. However Celestia nuzzled her side instead, then looked up as a pair of violet eyes looked to her from the shadows of her hood.
"Being alone won't make things easier for you," the solar alicorn told the girl with a small smile. Raven turned her head away then sighed tiredly.
"If I'm alone, no one will get hurt," Raven retorted. Celestia nodded her head, but still sat beside of the cloaked girl.
"Yet he didn't want you to be alone, did he?" Celestia reminded and watched the girl's shoulders slump.
"No," she admitted quietly. The solar princess looked up to the sky and sighed as she saw a bright moon above. The cloaked girl was silent for a moment, and then sighed tiredly. "But why would you want to help me?" Raven inquired of the mare. Celestia merely smiled and brushed some of her mane out of her face, then gazed at the sky.
"Because," she began, then smiled softly, "you remind me of my little sister," the solar alicorn admitted. Raven looked at the alicorn strangely for a moment, then turned to look back into the distance. Much as she would have liked for the mare to just go away and leave her alone, that didn't seem likely to happen.
"I could hurt someone," Raven reminded weakly. Celestia merely smiled and nuzzled her side once more.
"I'll help you get control, I'll teach you, you could even be my student if you want," the solar alicorn suggested. The cloaked girl merely raised a brow and shot her a strange look.
"No offense, but what can a winged unicorn possibly teach me about control of enough magic to destroy entire cities?" she questioned incredulously. The mare in question merely giggled and then smiled at the girl. Clearly she had no idea who it was she was talking too.
"If you must know, I am not only a 'winged unicorn'. I am also the ruler of all Equestria, over two thousand years old, taught some of the most powerful mages in history, defeated a god of chaos, among many other feats," the solar alicorn told the now stunned girl with a smirk.
"Okay, that is quite the resume," the cloaked girl admitted.
"I also command the power of the sun," Celestia added with a smirk. The 'filly' at her side blinked for a moment and then sighed tiredly.
"You know, with that big sun on your butt I really should've seen that coming," Raven admitted with her head tilted to one side. The solar mare merely shot the young 'filly' a look for a moment, then rolled her eyes.
"First of all, it's on my flank, not my butt," Celestia began pointedly, "second, it's called a cutie-mark and it appears when a pony finds what his or her special talent is," the royal alicorn explained with a nod. Raven raised a brow at that tidbit of information, then thought back to the ponies she'd seen earlier. They all had had those weird pictures on their bu... err, flanks, but she'd just thought them a weird form of tattoo or something. She'd even entertained the idea that they were there as some form of right of passage or something.
The idea that they were some kind of magical representation of a ponies destiny was... troubling.
'I am so not looking forward to finding out what mine looks like,' the violet eyed lass thought with a shudder. She then frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what are you going to tell all those ponies outside of the library to explain who I am?" the dark teen questioned pointedly. The solar mare hummed lightly and tapped at her chin thoughtfully. She couldn't say that Raven was her sister, or niece, without some pony questioning how they were related. It'd been enough of a hassle explaining how Cadence was her niece, especially since she was several dozen times removed.
However one idea did seem possible, and amusing...
"How old are you?" Celestia questioned with a smirk. The violet eyed girl raised a brow. Somehow, she had the distinct feeling that this was not going to end well.
"Fifteen," she replied honestly. She noticed the solar mare was more than a little surprised by the admission, thus took it she appeared older. "I'm just very mature for my age," the moody teen explained as she crossed her arms over her chest. Celestia merely nodded her head, though mentally chuckled as the particular idea she had was a bit of a prank in and of itself.
"Okay, I think I have an idea on how to explain things then," Celestia assured with a wave of her hoof. The girl raised a brow, clearly not all that convinced. However, they had been in her head for far too long, and she really didn't need the mare meeting one of her emotions. Especially not the pink one. So it was with preventing that in mind that Raven opened her cloak and spread her arms out to her sides.
"Azaroth, Metrion, Zinthos..." she stated quietly, her eyes turning a molten white. A moment later both she and Celestia were covered in black, and then pulled through the portal and out of the strange world...
TBC...
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I loved this chapter. I also love the new cover art for this story. You're a pretty good artist.
So will this story and Overworked Alicorn kind of share the same universe? I say kind of because I mean while Faust and the history of the world would be the same, the event's of the series and future will be different.
I'm curious what you're going to do with Twilight in this story? Are you going to have her not just been born, or something else?
What is Celestia's plan? What will Celestia and the rest of the MLP character think about who Raven's father is, and her so called destiny?
2820333 Thanks on both counts. I tried to capture what I saw Raven looking like as a pony as best I could. I based this chapter on my own idea for where Raven's 'magic words' came from.
They do share some similar history, Mort and the others do exist here mostly because it hasn't changed that much between their worlds.
Twilight technically doesn't exist here, I had an idea for her to have been born before the series began and is already an alicorn, but I might not use that.
I'm so glad to see an update for this
, there aren't that many top notch Raven fics out there. Oooh, and I think I know what prank Celestia is planning on using, it totally fits. 
just found this story and love it, i can't help but feel that Celestia is going to pull a prank by saying something like Raven is her daughter
Loving this so far, Raven was always my favorite Titan and one of my favorite DC hero's
A Titan in Equestria? evilbrainjono.net/images/drawings/ponies_vs_titan.png
Oh, you mean that kind of Titan. I'm more than okay with this too.
This chapter was much easier to read. Looking forward to more.
Heh. That line about the pink one makes me quite eager to see her reaction to Pinkie.
3485059
That was sarcasm right?
God this is good glad to see this got updated. But does this mean that the rest of the mane 6 are going to around the same age as raven? Also raven is taking the place of twilight right? also please update this sooner next time please!!!
Keep up the amazing work, amigo!
3485059 no i assumed that it was attack on titan too
So, she will adopt Raven?
You need to brush up on your obscure lore. It's actually "Turn back"
Okay now THIS is the Raven / FiM crossover I have been DYING for, ever since I read an inferior crossover. Keep up the awesome work!! <3 <3
Anyone else looking forward to Trigon getting a faceful of the friendship rainbow laser?
Such a pity to see fics like these die, so much potential