Starlight Glimmer wasn't one to reveal many secrets even to her new friends, but there was one secret that even she had no knowledge of, a secret that Twilight would discover by accicdent when reading one of Starswirls journals.
EDIT - This is no longer a One shot. >:) Something that i took notice of when Twilight commented that not even her magic could initially stop Starlight, and Twily is an Alicorn. Where exactly did she get all that magic, and was it something Starlight learned, or Inherited.
Starlight Glimmer was a powerful unicorn, and now the protege of Princess Twilight. But even she would find out that there was more to her past then just Sunburst' trip to magic school, and the aftermath of being alone all the time before creating Our Town out in the sticks. She would discover, as would Twilight, that Starswirl was more then just a hero figure to them, He was also closely linked in a surprising way to Starlight Glimmer. The past is not set in stone There is no fate but what we make for ourselves And Starlight was about to learn it.
Edit: Will include parts from the Season 6 Finale. People have commented and asked why I'm doing this. Did it ever dawn on you that Starswirl the Bearded was known to be a Time Traveler? That we know next to nothing on the history of the Changelings or Chrysalis? Ive seen a few fics that painted the picture that the Changelings were or are somehow related to the FlutterPonies. But i had another idea. One that came from The Episodes Hearts and Hooves day, and The Crystal Empire. Remember when Sweetie Belle read about the Love Poison, specifically Chaos Reigning? A kingdom Falling??? ANd in the Crystal Empire episode, how Twilight had stated that the Crystal Fair was," Created by the Empire's first QUEEN to renew the love and light in the Empire???? >:)
There were many things that have faded with the passing of time. Empires have come and gone, republics have risen from the ashes of those empires, and time continued on. Its hard though when your dealing with beings that are damn near immortal, much less the royalty that's running said nations. Those that are immune to the effects of the passing of that much time have a unique insight at times. But even some of them can be in the dark on some matters. It had been decades since the supposed passing of Starswirl the Bearded from this plane of existence. Or so everypony had thought. It turned out he had sent himself into exile after a falling out with Princess Celestia over the use of Dark Magic. Something that would end up corrupting him in the end, but not as of yet.
Starswirl's essence had become fractured over the extended use of Dark Magic. The infection would cause him to split into 4 separate entities. One of which would infect the leader of the Crystal empire and force him to transform into an Umbra, or shadow pony, to be precise.
The second became the aspect of Chaos and Disorder. Discord. That was still a ways off, but he had to make sure that Equestria and the princesses were prepared for some of the coming threats that were going to crop up in the future. He just didn't have the courage to tell Celestia that one of those threats be from her own family.
The third energy fracture would become something far more destructive. The Omega molecule. It could render the space around the entire planet of Equus impossible to navigate if one were using a Starship or other advanced flying vessel.
There was also the small matter of time travel. Starsiwrl had developed a powerful spell that if cast correctly, could transport himself to any time period in Equestria's history. He realized how dangerous it could be in the wrong hooves, so he decided to make a time skip of about 100 years. He'd time skip forward to see what general progress Ponykind had made, without revealing himself to anypony. He knew that the slightest contamination of the timeline could drastically alter the flow of history. He stopped for a moment to consider what he was about to do.
"There cant be any mistakes in casting," he told himself. It was much easier to think that, then to practice it out loud at times. He prepared himself for the shock that would come to his body from jumping that far forward in time. There was a slight buzzing in his ears as he shifted into the future and became accustomed to his new surroundings. He cast a masking spell so no pony would recognize him. He was in a small town on the eastern edge of Equestria. he knew he could spend a year here at most before returning to his own time. His actions though would go against everything he had ever told himself about what not to do in the timeline he was in now. In the end the powerful Starswirl the Bearded would contradict himself, and all for the love of a mare. In the back of his mind, he realized something else. If she became pregnant by him, their offspring would inherit his natural magical abilities. They'd be one of the most powerful unicorns for their time. They could even be able to rival that of an alicorn.
He had already studied that route himself. After all, the Alicorn Amulet was one of the most powerful artifacts he had ever created, it was also unfortunately one of the reasons he had become obsessed with the power of dark magic. Something that a certain showmare would come to experience in about 40 years time from this point in history. From this point in time, Trixie Lulamoons parents had just started dating. They well into their teens in human years. Having a family didnt occur to them until a stranger happened to give them a cryptc hello in passing. This stranger also happened to be quite friendly with Trixie's mother. If this were the human world, one might assume that Starswirl was having his way with Trixie, and later Starlight's, mothers.
In the ancient myths of humans, it was said that an old world Titan would go around disguised as either a human or magical bird, and impregnate women that he found quite attractive for beings such as mere mortals. He used his magic to make sure they didn't remember what he looked like. For all these two mares knew it was their boyfriends/ future husbands that had been with them, and not a time traveler.
"I must be careful,"he thought to himself. One wrong decision and he could create an alternate Timeline where Luna became a despot or a Timeline where it was Celestia that became corrupted instead of Luna.
Or the worst one he realized was a timeline where Equestria was destroyed by war and over use of magic.
And just like that, the year had passed in a blink of an eye. The time skip he had been through seemed like mere moments to him. He scolded himself for what he just done. He could feel the corruption spreading further through out his body. No pony could know of what had just transpired, so he kept it out of his journals for the longest time. He had time to prepare one more time jump, and he knew exactly where he wanted to spend his remaining days as Starswirl the Bearded. He went back to that little village on the eastern edge of Equestria. He thought to himself that in 100 years time, his name would pass into legend. His darker half had other plans though. As soon as the corruption was complete, he'd go back 1000 years and start anew.
Gone would be Starswirl the Bearded, and in his place would stand the most powerful unicorn king to ever grace the annals of history. His new name would be feared far and wide. The Crystal Empire would be his soon, and with it the most powerful artifact, only second in comparison to the Alicorn Amulet, The Crystal Heart. There was one obstacle in the way of that taking place, her name was Princess Amore, leader of the Crystal Empire, and its sole ruler. He used his knowledge of magic and crystals to put a curse on her, turning her from the once Beautiful pony she was known and admired to be, into a twisted and blackened husk void of any real emotion. He used his magic to cut off access to her own heart, save for allowing her to stay alive. His magic had cut off access to all emotions save for love. Half of her empire shared in this curse when he seized power from her.
A thousand years would pass since that tragic event. Little did Celestia know that when she and Luna confronted King Sombra, they were in fact confronting Starswirl. The Dark magic had vastly altered his appearance, granting him a somewhat youthful look, opposed to how he used to look when she knew him as her close friend and magic council. A secret that nearly stayed hidden through out most of Equestria's coming future.
Prior to the Change-
Starswirl traveled across Equestria in the search of the perfect place to finish out his remaining days of being clear headed and uncorrupted by the practice of dark magic. He knew it could take years for it to eventually corrupt him completely, so he wandered into a small town on the eastern edge of Equestria, the same town it turned out was the birth home to Starlight Glimmer. During his stay there he ended up fancying a local mare that caught his eye. One thing led to another and she ended up pregnant by him. Of course she knew who he was, but kept it from the rest of the town. He had told her that he was near the last of his days and was just looking for somewhere to spend the rest of them.
What neither of them knew till later was that their unforeseen offspring would grow to rival the power of that of an alicorn, due to their heritage. The day their daughter was born it had been decided that he should leave after it was discovered just how far the dark magic corruption had spread through his mind. He set out for the frozen north. The Starswirl everypony had come to know and admire, even Twilight Sparkle, was gone, and in his place was a powerful Unicorn whose heart had become as black as night.
His reign was the stuff of nightmares to say the least. He had overthrown a monarch and enslaved her subjects through brute force and abject fear. He had the magic to bring out a ponies worst fears, and through that means, subjugate the entire kingdom of the Crystal Empire. The Original Crystal Princess had been led astray by this mysterious unicorn and thus was cursed to a miserable existence as a twisted and cold hearted creature. Amore became known through out the lands now as Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, her mind twisted into a shadow of what it once was. She was no longer able to assume her true form like she used to be capable of after a certain pony's betrayal. Even Twilight wasn't aware of Chrysalis' true identity, neither were Luna or Celestia. If they had been aware, one or both of them would of done what they could to reverse the spell and help her claim her regality and position in the Crystal Empire.
Curse you, I'll get you back someday Starswirl, I swear on my life, She thought to herself all those years ago.
Starlight Glimmer was about to learn something about her past that would change her view on the world as she knew it. It wouldnt change the type of pony she had become because of Twilight's act of reformation or becoming her friend. But it would shed light on why she was able to match the power of an alicorn. Starlight would find out who father was and why he had to abandon her and mother at such a bad time in their lives. It had only been a few months since the Crystalling. But that wouldn't matter soon. With Twilight's help and the discovery of the truth of her birth, she'd finally find out what her real destiny was.
But could she handle the other side of the Truth. That her father was not only once a time traveling wizard, but also living embodiment of suffering and misery. Could finding out that her father was none other then Starswirl be a blessing? Or a curse when she also realized that he later became Sombra. How would that affect Starlights' sanity knowing that?
Starlight was traversing Twilight's castle for the hundreth time, still getting lost in the process. it had been months since Flurry Heart had been born, and there was reports of renewed Changling activity. That was the least of their worries though. It come to Twilight's attention that Celestia had just sent her another of Starswirl's journals, one that no pony had read in over 3 decades, seeing that the contents had been deemed classified by Celestia right after Starswirl's disappearance.
It turned out that Starswirl had visited the town in which Starlight Glimmer had been born. and the entry ended with some rather cryptic writing that Twilight realized was an ancient unicorn cypher. A Cypher that when properly decoded by her, revealed that Starswirl disappeared on the exact day that Starlight was born. The exact day and time of the month. It got her mind racing at what the implications could mean if it turned out to be true. No wonder she wasn't able to stop Starlight Glimmer when they were battling. Yes Twilight was an ascended alicorn, but Starlight was a unicorn and a powerful one at that. She had always wondered how Starlight Glimmer was able to counter her at ever turn. She never suspected that she was the direct descendant of Starswirl himself.
Starlight had told Twilight that she was an only child. Her mother had died giving birth to her, and her father just up and vanished. The only thing she could recall was a picture that bore an image of an old unicorn with a grey coat and a white goatee. That was all she could remember. Her friend Sunburst and his parents tried to help look after her while she continued to stay in what was her parents house. It had been passed to her when her mom died, and since her dad just up and left, no pony contested the matter at all.
It also turned that the want it need it spell that Twilight had used years ago on her Smarty pants doll, was also a creation of Starswirls spell work. It was a bit disconcerting that a pony of her stature had mastered a spell that dangerous. it was also something that no pony had even told Starlight about, mostly out of their fear of what she'd think of seeing Twilight like that.
Five months. Five months of searching and she was no closer to her target. Starlight Glimmer wasn't the type of pony that was just going to let herself be assaulted and captured. Her friends were always with her, which made it difficult for the figure in question to get close enough to assail her at all. She wasn't going to let this go. She just couldn't. Glimmer had taken her empire away from her, and of all things sought to co opt it with "friendship". That kind of sentiment was always for the weak minded.
It wasn't always like that for Chrysalis. She used to be a much more kind and beloved leader, but that was centuries ago. Her current mindset was due to decades of having a poisoned and disrupted spirit. Her soul had suffered for the longest time and only after losing her empire did she completely snap. She'd get Starlight back if it meant the end of her. As time went on, she started to calm down to an extent. She wasn't really that mad at Starlight,she thought to herself. She was only doing what Twilight had taught her.
The more the queen thought about it, the more it circled back to another pony that had disrupted her life. The greatest mage in Equestria's history was also the biggest liar as far as she was concerned. Starswirl had done more damage to her then Starlight ever could have. Chrysalis wanted to get back at him despite knowing that he was no longer alive. She'd have to settle for harming his heirs instead. If he hadn't cursed her she'd be raising her daughters right now. The three of them would be ruling Equestria together.
"I'll get that bastard back for lying to them," she told herself as she traversed the path leading out of the badlands. Chrysalis could barely contain her rage but she knew she had to if she wanted to make it out of here alive. The Badlands may seem desolate, but just like the Everfree Forest there were parts that were largely unexplored. She knew of rumors that there was an underground bunker belonging to an extinct race that was somewhere in the area. She had seen the inside of this place before planning her invasion of Canterlot.
She had watched the security recordings of that cursed facility. There was still a part of her that wished she could have saved some of these "humans" if she had been there. Some type of experiment had rampaged through the building and killed most of the researchers there. That was when she saw it. The hatch that she had remembered from her previous trip there. Chrysalis decided to investigate the bunker again before tracking down Starlight Glimmer and her friends.
"Gods these humans really were stupid for not setting up better Security measures," she thought as she traveled down the darkened hallway. As she rounded the corner she thought she saw something duck down the hall and into another corridor. Against her better judgement she decided to check it out. With her magic skills she contain whatever it might be and force it to serve her if she needed.
She pushed the door open to find what looked like a security station filled with monitors. As a precaution Chrysalis closed the door behind and pulled an office chair over to sit on. It felt comfortable to be able to sit on something that wasn't a rock again. Her eyes parsed over the computer screens until she saw what she was looking for down here. A mare in security armor was walking past the security camera on the other side of the hallway where the Queen had been.
Chrysalis noticed that this pony was walking strangely. That was when she saw the gash on the mare's leg and blood that was dried and stained on the side of it. As the Camera panned again the mare was now approaching the security room. Chrysalis used a cloaking spell and moved herself to the corner away from the doorway. As she did so the mare came in and tapped a few buttons on the security camera's keyboard.
"So, you're the one that's been evading me," Chrysalis mused as she revealed herself to this pony. There was something off about her though. Chrysalis noticed that upon first view. Since when could a pegasus used unicorn magic? The two of them just stood there staring at each other before the other one spoke.
"I was tasked with keeping an eye on this place by my goddess, Nightmare Moon," the mare spoke. Chrysalis wanted to take a step back when she heard that name uttered. Then she thought of something. Was this mare even aware that Nightmare Moon had been restored to being Princess Luna? She decided to test out a theory that was just now forming in her mind.
"Really now," the Queen said aloud," Then you don't know do you?" She said coyly. " Your Goddess was defeated the student of her sister. A Mare named Twilight Sparkle and her new friends at the time defeated her." For now she left out the part where the Elements of Harmony had purged Luna of the Darkness that had consumed her. Regardless of what she just said there was still a coldness in this mare's eyes that didnt seem to go away.
"Then its up to me to make sure she's restored to power then," The mare said with a coldness that drove fear into Chrysalis' severed heart. Even she wasn't that cold hearted. Bitter yes. But not cold enough to start a coup. Thats what she had told herself repeatedly when making her plans to overthrow Celestia's rule and feed her subjects. Chrysalis never really considered herself a despot. Just somepony that thought she was doing what was best for those around her.
Lately she had been having a change of heart when she thought about Starlight had told her back then. It had taken her this long to realize just how alone she was, and how much she hated it to be honest. She wanted to be in the company of others. She wanted her family back. And no not her Changeling hive. Her daughters. She wanted to learn about all the things she missed out on when they were growing up. And make up for missing it all.
"Good luck with those plans," Chrysalis said before turning and walking out the doorway. She put some distance between the two of them before heading back to the surface. Let that mare stew in her own misery she thought to herself. Who knows, Chrysalis thought out loud, maybe she'll have a change of heart as well. Chrysalis decided to make a course correction in her travels.
She spotted a nearby town and took the form of a small grey unicorn before entering the townsquare. She'd tell the local mayor that she had information on the location of Queen Chrysalis and that one of the Princesses should be alerted. She prayed that it was Luna that would be spoken to. And she was right.
A dark blue alicorn approached the location of where she had said the Queen would be. As Luna approached she let her guard down and dropped the disguise. Luna looked as if she were going to take a battle stance, Chrysalis told her she didnt need to.
"Im the one that sent that message Luna," The queen sounded tired when she said that. Princess Luna had to keep her guard up. She stared at Chrysalis before speaking.
"So, you decided to surrender finally." That felt a bit backhoofed, even for Luna. She had no idea who Chrysalis really was. She would soon. After she had spoken those words Luna saw the wounded look in Chrysalis eyes. Right then she knew the Queen wasn't lying to her.
"Do you have any idea of what I've been through?" the pain in her voice was strong. " Luna, I've done things that I'm not proud of. I committed crimes that would get most locked away in Tartarus. And all in the name of defending the Changelings." She had to pause before continuing. " The one thing I regret the most is not being there.. for my Daughters." The way she said that cut through the air like ice. What did she mean by daughters Luna thought. Was there an heir to the Hive that they were aware of?
"What do you mean by Daughters," Luna found herself asking the Queen. She wasn't ready for the answer. That's the way it seemed anyway. Chrysalis stance softened when she said that. She sat on the ground for a moment to collect her thoughts.
"I wasn't always a changeling Luna, I was once the Queen of the Crystal Empire along with King Sombra. That was before my husband had been taken over and consumed by Dark Magic," She wanted to sob as she said this. It was hard for her to remember those days without wanting to break down at all. By the way Luna was staring at her now, it seemed like a good time to finish her story.
"The King and I had sired two Daughters," Chrysalis continued," Before we were struck down by that backstabbing advisor under our noses. I swore id get revenge on him and his lineage no matter what. It was too much to bear." Without cause, Luna walked over and sat down in front of her.
"He cursed me into this form and took my daughters from me to raise himself." Chrysalis extended a hoof and put it to Luna's cheek. This was the first time in her life she could reach out and connect with another. Luna started to understand just who she was really speaking with.
" You cant be," the Princess found herself choking on the words. The Queen finished them for her. It was the least she felt she could do right now. She finally had the calm to reveal the truth to Luna.
"Yes, Luna, Its' me." From here on out things in Equestria were going to change and it all started with a revelation that no pony had expected.
"I'll get her back somehow," Chrysalis thought to herself. It was only thing that had kept her going. That and getting back her real enemy. The one that she had hated for all this time before Starlight came along. He was long dead, but that didn't stop her from obsessing over it. She also hated him for keeping her away from her own daughters. They didn't even know that their mother was still alive. He had told them she died during there birth. And she was the only one left that knew this.
That question plagued her for so many years. She had been a Queen after all, and not just a Changeling Queen. She had been the original Queen of the Crystal Empire. They all thought that Princess Amore was the sole ruler over a thousand years ago. But no, she wasn't. She had kept power through the only means that had been left to her. The only one that she thought would work. And it did for the longest time.
Fear. Fear of death was the only way I was able to control them. She thought about this long and hard. She was one of the most vicious creatures to walk Equestria, at least in her current form anyway. She had used fear and intimidation to control her changeling subjects. Now she was a Queen without an army. And all because of Starlight and Thorax.
Chrysalis had gone by a different name back then, one that was nearly forgotten with the passing of time. But it was one that was still ingrained in her memory. So was the fact that her Empire was taken from her not only by her only ally at the time of historical record but the Alicorn sisters as well. Two beings that would come to know that they shared more in common with Chrysalis than both were lead to believe.
Starswirl had been the one to spread most of the 'lies' about the changeling race and their true origins. They had, in fact, had a residence within the borders of the Crystal Empire, but that was a time of strife for their race. Chrysalis and Amore had been confused for one another a few times back then because they looked so similar that they could have been twins. And they knew each other well enough that they did use camouflage magic to trade places when one of them needed a rest.
But Amore knew that Chrysalis wasn't a Changeling Queen herself, but kept that truth to herself right up until the end. Amore was, in fact, the one that was the first Changeling Queen to rule the Empire, and it helped that she was just different enough that she could pass herself off as a high-born alicorn. Of course, there was a time where she was one of the few Changeling Queens that possessed colors that were lighter than that of most of the Changeling race.
Flash forward a few centuries and Chrysalis found herself once again in a naive situation. She wasn't sure what was worse. Living in the past, or living in an era of uncertainty like she was currently. Then again, things didn't go as she had planned during the Canterlot Wedding. She didn't count on that Twilight Sparkle being so suspicious of her motives that it lead to her being forced to reveal her current form in front of all those wedding guests.
There was a part of her that saw herself in Twilight. "That Twilight,"Chrysalis thought to herself,"I can see so much of who I used to be inside of her,". The Queen mused. Chrysalis silently praised Celestia for teaching her so well. She had to keep up with her "plans" though. She had purposely let her guard down when Cadence and Shining Armor ignited their love spell. What she was doing wasn't just for her "subjects". There was something else that she needed to do. But that would take more time than she realized.
The time that she couldn't get unless she allowed herself to be "defeated". She left it up to fate. She doubted that Celestia would have openly believed her if she had told her during their fight of who she really was. She had to make it look like her vanity had gotten to her. Even after boasting about how the power of Shining Armor's love for Cadence had given her the power to beat Celestia, a part of her heart almost broke when Celestia screamed out in a pain from that blast and hit the ground hard. IN her mind she wanted to rush over and cradle her. To tell her things would be ok. But she had to maintain her appearance and restrain herself from doing what would seem out of character.
Or the fact that during the Canterlot invasion Celestia tried to challenge her. There was still a part of her that just wanted to let Celestia win if only for a chance to explain her real intentions. That she wasn't just trying to feed her subjects, but that she was there to see Celestia and Luna. To reveal a truth that Starswirl had hidden from them for all these centuries. She also realized that out of the two of them, Luna might be the easier one to reach. But that was decided to be best left for the next time they crossed paths.
She had only sought to take what was needed to feed her subjects. Even after feeding off of Shining Armor's love, she still allowed herself to become over confident. That had always been her one and fatal short coming. Even her husband at the time had commented on it during numerous state functions. She had been as beautiful as she had been naive then.
She had gained a second skin during those kinds of meetings. She became duplicitous, and it became apparent even more when her husband and king had discovered that she had made him fall for her through use of a love potion, or what later became known as the Love Poison. The same love poison that would be used by three certain fillies during what was now known as Hearts And Hooves day. He saw through this in the end and allowed his own true nature to reveal itself. He repaid her for her treachery by usurping the Throne and stealing her kingdom out from under her hooves. But not before crafting a spell that would forever alter her appearance. He also expelled any that he knew were still loyal to her.
And for his own transgressions, he was turned to shadow and banished to the frozen North by Celestia and her sister Luna. As she lay next to the pond she was drinking out of, Chrysalis couldnt help but take notice of how tired she looked. She had drained the love of a way ward ponies here and there, but it wasn't enough to stop her from looking like this. Then she came up with an ingenious idea. Turn the Princess of Friendship into her lover. For some reason Twilight reminded of herself when she was still a pony all those centuries ago. Twilight would of made a decent lover Chrysalis thought. She still could. The Queen had to find a way to convince Twilight to turn on the others and join her.
She realized she still had some of the Royal Jelly stored inside a special part of her carapace. That would be all she needed to make her proposal to Twilight. Offer her an Entire Kingdom to co-rule as Chrysalis lover in return for turning on Starlight and the others. Chrysalis was such a master of deception that there were times she deceived even herself.
Something about Twilight reminded her of herself before the curse. She had been so blindly loyal to others, especially her husband when he was sane. Even now she was fighting against herself for even considering a plan like this. It wasn't something that would be easy to execute given the target. She realized she'd have to abandon it like so many other schemes she had concocted over the many centuries of her life. The scars she also carried was enough to overwhelm most ponies sanity. She still remembered what it was like to be loved by her subjects, with no showing of fear from them at all.
Chrsyalis realized that there was one plan that she could successfully enact. One that would require help from an unlikely source. As much as she had become a monster over the years, there was one instinct that never changed. That of a mother. For one of the few times in her life since she had been cursed, the Queen openly cried. As twisted as the curse had made her, she still felt the need to seek out of her daughters.
She had already sought out the youngest of the two and now they just needed to find a way to convince elestia to let them speak to her. It wasn't going to be easy. Celestia was a strict and benevolent ruler most of the time. She was also isolated. Starswirl had always told them that there was no time for relationships given that they had to act like rulers and all. What they didnt know was that Celestia wanted Twilight to herself despite teaching her about the value of making friends. She wanted to shield the mare and to care for her.
She knew that she'd have to let her go and form her own bonds with others if she really cared for her. Celestia kept telling herself that she'd tell Twilight how she really felt about her when the time was right. And that moment was coming soon then she had hoped. she hoped that their search would help them with understanding the history of Equestria. And that she would pull Twilight aside when they got back and show her student how the Princess of the Sun truly felt.
There was a fit of jealousy forming in Celestia's heart every time she had heard that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were dating each other. It was getting harder for her to hide it from Luna and the royal guard. After they had defeated Discord Celestia saw Rainbow give Twilight a kiss on the cheek. It was making her extremely bitter that it wasn't her that was leaning down and kissing Twilight. A bitterness she couldn't get rid of.
This is it he thought to himself. This is my contribution to Eqeustria's future. I only hope that she can overcome my failures, he kept thinking to himself as he watched his daughter play with her closest friend. It was still a bitter pill for him to swallow. All these decades if not centuries of traveling forward and backward through time had taken its toll on the stallion. There were too many promises and regrets he had that had drained a part of his soul.
At least with this last one he was able to make sure she'd be ok. She had a strong will, she got that from her mother he thought to himself. It was enough to make him take one last look at her before the end finally would catch up to him. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh as the Rune he had placed did its job and teleported his essence back to the lab for what would be the last journal entry he'd write.
Starswirl the Bearded closed the cover to his journal for what seemed like the last time. He had seen enough in his time to know how dangerous time travel was, and how much damage it might cause in the hooves of the wrong pony. He closed the journal and shelved it before stepping through that portal one last time. He made sure no pony would follow him as he stepped into the past for the last time. Everything he had ever done was for the safety and security of the Equestria that he knew, and of the one that would be birthed from the ashes of the Three Tribes. There was no doubt that it would see prosperity long after he was presumed dead.
even then the first steps were always the hardest. Starswirl had tried to be the best he could to prepare and even then it wasnt going to be enough. If only he knew that his own daughter would become a threat to time itself. Starlight was so overpowered that she could break the time stream with the magic that she had inherited from the one that would have been her late father. If Twilight hadnt intervened who knows how things might have turned out for the mare.
But how could even he have foreseen the threat that was to come. The threat to the foundations of time itself from a misguided pony out for revenge against the future Princess of Friendship, one Twilight Sparkle. One of whom Starswirl knew of intimately. He had also known that the dark magic he had practiced at one point in time would catch up to him sooner than he had hoped or expected. Or the fact that it would split not only his mind but his body into two beings as well. One that would remain a weakened version of his original self and the other half that would discard the name Starswirl for one that sounded more fearful. Sombra.
Starswirl couldn't just abandon her at this point in time. Even though it was supposed to the end of journey for him, he felt compelled to be there just so she could wake up to greet him one last time. If only he knew what impact his " death" would have on her mental state. He had made it a rule to not travel into his daughter's future and had kept contact with others to a minimum.
If he had known what had happened to her, he would have abandoned all of this just to stay in her life. The more he thought about it, the more the idea stayed with him. He'd leave behind a message of sorts in the off chance she ever discovered the truth. He left behind a magical construct, a holographic message if you will, just for his Starry.
As he was deep in thought, he came to the realization that he had arrived at the point in time he had set for himself to arrive in. He was back in that village again, back where he felt he needed to be if he was to have some part in his own daughter's life. Not that if would matter in the future. He used the disguise spell one last time to make sure no pony here knew his true identity. He would let history run its course and the name Starswirl the Bearded would become one of myth and Legend. Little did he realize that the last page of his latest journal held the truth that he sought to keep away from the very pony he had now come back to. The revelation that would rock Starlight Glimmer's very soul to it's very core.
That there was a reason why she could go toe to toe with that of an Alicorn. He just hoped that she would never learn of it. how could he have known that in the future she would steal the very time spell he had sought to keep locked away in the Canterlot Archives that were named for him. He needed to put that behind him and focus on the here and now.
"Oh there you are,", he said to a familiar pigtailed foal that was playing with a friend of hers.
"Oh Hi, daddy,", she sang back to him. All she could do was smile as he levitated her onto his back.
"Ready to go home Starry?", that was his nickname for his bundle of joy.
How much longer could he go without telling her of what was to come. He kept asking himself how much would it cost him down the road not being able to tell her of her true heritage, or the cost that might come with it. He knew he was doing the right thing hiding it from her. It still didn't make him feel right about doing so, but he knew that in time, she might uncover it for herself at the right time. He never got the chance to tell her himself. Within a day he would be dead. The strain of the magic that had previously split him in two had finally taken its toll. It was only a matter of time before whatever magic was left failed completely, thus killing him in his sleep.
All of his hopes and dreams rested with her now. All he could do was make sure she was prepared for what may come down the road. A part of him wanted to take her with him back to his magic studyroom and just live out the rest of their days in seclusion with the time he had left. There was so much he wanted to teach her even with the borrowed time he was living on. He hated himself for that. He was in the final stages of a Dark Magic infection. And all he could think about was wanting more time to be with his little girl. His Starry.
He left his daughter a vague and cryptic letter only saying that he was sorry he'd not be able to be there for her when she needed him the most. She put a hoof to his chest and quietly sobbed when she found him laying on top of the bed outside of her bedroom. The day before he had carried her on his back as they trotted home. She remembered it as clearly as she could.
Everything she'd do, was for him in some twisted way. That's what she kept telling herself, that she was doing this for her father. She'd bring time and space to a standstill if it meant she'd have him back in her life. Her mind drifted to the last memory she had of her father. It was one of the few joyful memories she still clung to.
"Yes," she replied, waving goodbye to her foal hood friend that was sitting in the sandbox. How could she have known that tomorrow or the next day might be the last time she ever saw him. For the next day, this same friend of hers levitated a stack of books that had nearly fallen on top of her right back into the shelves of the two bookcases they had been pulled from earlier. That flashback was the only happy memory she clung to as she now watched her only friend leave her as well. His parents saw his magic potential and sent him off to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She waited until the day she came of age and left that town behind her. Even now that memory of riding her Father's back was the only happy memory that stayed with her.
The day that she blamed cutie marks for taking her only real friend away from her. A day that would send her on a path of near self-destruction. After her father 'died', she left that village behind as a painful reminder of what her life had been up until that day. She headed out on her own until she came to a remote area in the middle of the desert and began her plans of a town without Cutie Marks. One by one ponies would travel here under the falsehoods she promised them. That their lives would be more fulfilled if they were to give up the pain of a life full of special talents.
These will be the First Steps to a world free of pain and heartache, She thought to herself.
The only way for Equality is if we're all the same, Starlight Glimmer told herself. While she was telling herself that, a Certain Princess was telling a pupil of hers that there is more to life than dusty old books. What's more, Starlight realized that she was more of a prodigy with magic then even Twilight Sparkle.
After everything that had happened to her, she had to be more careful with trusting anypony than she ever had before. She knew deep down that she felt fractured and alone. She kept telling herself that no pony else would want to love somepony as damaged as she was. The only pony she had ever really loved was her father. It would take a certain showmare to make Starlight realize just how wrong she had been.
As she got the edge of town, a solitary tear streamed down her cheek and onto the ground. There's no going back now she thought. Im going to break the world, the way its broken me.
The Shadow Lands. Nothing grows there anymore. The land is littered with remnants of cities of the pegasi race that were once grand, but now lying in utter ruin and darkness. Death is a constant companion there. Its cold touch sapping the life from any wary traveler that ventures near. Twin statues of Skeletal Pegasi swordsman guard the entrance to this forsaken place.
It was a somber sight for Rainbow Dash to say the least. Seeing the shattered remnants of her races origins left her in near shambles. As the three of them passed by one of the out lying towers one of the revenant guards turned its head and looked right at Rainbow. She was almost unerved by that thing staring at her until it did something that caught her curiosity.
It turned and saluted her. She found herself stopping and saluting back at it, muttering under her breath to carry on. Almost on queue it turned back to resume its guard posting. They were just shadows of the ponies they once were. And yet that one that saluted her gave her the feeling that there was some remnant of its soul that was left residing inside of its rotting mass. When Starlight and Twilight were busy studying some of the ruins Rainbow split away from them and walked over towards that Pegasi skeleton.
As if another had taken control of her voice, she asked it for a progress report. And it spoke in between the gnashing of teeth against exposed bone.
"The.. towers have fallen... commander," It said in between pauses. She stood at attention as the Skeletal guard continued," We're all that's left of its defenders. We're forbidden from leaving this post." The thing craned its neck to stare into Rainbow's eyes with its own empty sockets.
"May the goddesses preserve you, Commander Hurricane," after it said that name Rainbow Dash realized that she was directly related to one of the most famous heroes of their homeland. Rainbow raised her left hoof and placed it first on placed it on the Skeletal guards' armor plating and solemnly answered.
"And may you one day find the peace in death that was denied to you soldier,", and with that she walked back to where Starlight and Twilight were standing. Twilight had turned in time to see what Rainbow Dash had been up to when she noticed her absence earlier. She wasn't even mad that she had done something like that. Twilight trotted over and hugged her marefriend. She thought it was comforting that Rainbow had shown a connection with something that was from their nations past.
Starlight remained silently as she watched what Dash had done. There was something about that Skeletal guard that left her a bit unerved. That armor reminded her of the armor that soldier had been wearing in her dream. She could hear the voices of the dead all around her in this place. Reaching towards her from beyond the veil. The sooner their trip here was done , the better, she thought to herself. She wanted to get away from here and back to Trixie's warm cabin. The two of them had built the place less then a year ago after deciding to live together.
She could only dream of Trixie's embrace. The smell of hickory being burned over a warm fire. She wanted to leave so much, but in the end she knew that her and Twilight had to finish this research mission for Princess Celestia. It was important to the founding of Equestria.
The dead seem to inhabit the shadows of the out lying ruins, skeletal pegasi guards forever keeping watch their cursed plains of origin, like guardians forever doomed to maintain a dark vigil over what was once their homeland. Never knowing rest, their decayed eyes always staring off into the nether.
It was at one point one of the land bastions of the vaunted Pegasi race. It was their ground-based capital for some time before it was lost to a mysterious cataclysm that forced them to relocate their capital to the clouds.
It is also said to now be the very birth place of necromantic magic and the conjuration spells most foul. nothing grows there, at least not anymore, not since the last great pegasi/mage war. Its location is now nothing but a mere myth in regards to equestrian legend. It's presence predates what was previously known in regards to the history of the Three pony Tribes.
It had even been rumored that the Shadows predate what is known of the Changeling empire in the bad lands. There was a legend that was deemed by prophecy that foretold that the Shadow lands would cover all of Equestria in the distant future. It was these same legends and myths that set Starswirl on his path to uncovering the lost history of the Elements of Harmony.
Nothing is known of the elements prior to Starswirl finding them so far north of the Primary Equestrian plains. He had told those who came after him, like Clover the Clever, that he had found them with the Tree of Harmony. But if they had been much further north than that, where exactly had they been crafted?
It was one of many questions that have been lost to the ages. But two ponies would soon discover its connection to not only the Elements But to that of another. Starlight and Twilight would not only uncover Starlight's connection to Starswirl, but also a secret that would shatter their trust in him and the Princesses forever.
There was a reason why Chrysalis was the creature she is now. A secret that even Celestia would come to know and be repulsed by. Chrysalis was at one point in her life the Prior Queen of the Crystal Empire, and an alicorn as well. Celestia and Luna had been kept in the dark their entire lives about who their parents were, more specifically who their MOTHER was and what ill fate had befallen her.
Sombra was an entirely different pony when he had been married to Chrysalis. It wasn't until his mind had been possessed by the dark magic that had split from Starswirl that he became the dark king that history would later portray him to be. Some parts of history in the Crystal Empire would be muddied and obscured by the passage of time.
The Queen of Changelings wasn't just another threat to be tossed aside. She was a creature of nature, that nature being Revenge on the one pony that had cost her everything. She was clearly more mad at Starswirl then she was Starlight. Starlight was the one that had taken what was left of her empire away from her, But Starswirl was the one that had taken away her future, along with that of her husband. And her daughters.
"I'm doing this for them, not just my subjects,", She thought to herself. Because of what happened during the disaster that was the Canterlot Wedding, she had to find another way to reach Celestia and Luna, for them considered her a threat still. It wasn't until the next encounter that she even remotely considered telling them. So she decided to confront the youngest of the two, Luna. She knew she'd never believe it, but she had to try nonetheless.
Seeing Luna standing there was enough to make part of her heart crack in two. She wanted to reach out to her, to tell her right away that she wasn't her enemy. Her stance was enough to make Chrysalis a bit tense though. Her words cut through the air like a bitter wind.
"What makes you think you'll win this time bug?", to which Chrysalis could only stare into Luna's sapphire tinted irises before putting a hoof to her mouth. If only you knew how close we really were my little Luna, Chrysalis thought to herself as she pawed at a patch of grass with her left hoof.
"Did Starswirl ever explain to you what happened to your mother?", She could tell this caught Luna off guard. And yet Luna could instantly tell from the way Chrysalis was carrying herself that she meant no ill will towards the Alicorn. In fact, her demeanor was giving the blue alicorn a different kind of message altogether as well.
Something more, she could see the crystal blue tears staining Chrysalis's face. She had always been told that Changelings couldn't feel anything, that they could only take emotions from others. The more she thought about it the more she began to suspect that her old mentor Starswirl had lied to her about the Changeling race. What Chrysalis had said back to her cemented her feelings like an anchor.
"He never told anypony but me that she died giving birth to Tia and myself,", nervously awaiting Chrysalis revelation to that answer. She was not ready for what was said next.
" I didn't die, my dear," Chrysalis paused," He cursed me into this form."
Luna's heart stopped for a moment. She knew that the changelings were masterful liars, but even this seemed beyond anything they could think up. Doubt started to creep in, what if it was true, she found herself thinking. She put a hoof to Chrysalis chest, and could faintly feel the heart that was beating within it. Changelings were supposed to be heartless she had been told ages ago. They were supposed to be beasts with no hearts that drained the love of others in order to survive. Could it possible that Starswirl had lied to them? Or more prominently to her and Celestia, in order to keep them from discovering the truth?
"Does Tia know?" she found herself asking Chrysalis.
"NO, my dear Luna, even if I tried to explain it to her with you by my side, she'd think that I was lying and placed you under a mind control spell to trick both of you," for the first time in ages she could feel tears start to form in her eye ducts. This would be the first time since she had been cursed that she was physically able to cry at all.
Luna found herself wrapping a hoof around Chrysalis neck and holding onto her.
"I promise, I will not tell her until the time is right," as she did this the two of the rested their heads against each other. It had been ages since her curse into this form that she could remotely feel anything towards another, and know that the feelings being returned weren't being forced out of them by some spell.
1000 years before Current Events Castle of the two Sisters
Dont fight it anymore, the voice told her.
And along with that a memory.
"Why protect your imperialistic interests?", King Sombra mused in front of Luna," You are far more fit to rule then your sister."
And now it all came to a head, as if by prophecy. It was breaking Celestia's heart that she even had to fight against her own blood. She knew she was still inexperienced when it came to becoming a leader, but she tried to do her best all the same. Even so, she didn't want this. She tried to talk Luna down to no avail. She could see that pain that was forming in her younger sister's eyes.
Celestia wanted to curse herself for allowing this to even come to pass. That she'd have to banish her own sister if it came to it was becoming a stark reality now. She turned the corner to the entrance to the throne room just in time to find her sister rounding the other corner near her throne. She didn't want to do this, but Celestia realized she had no choice in the end. Celestia held her breath while she sister began speaking.
" How could you do this to me, Tia?", a pale blue alicorn screamed at the one now in front of her. Her Sister, Celestia, or Tia as was a family nickname. Her emotions were raw and on the verge of bursting forth like a flood.
Celestia could feel the emotions in her sister's words. She desperately wanted to do anything she could to reassure her that thing's between them would get better. That what Starswirl had told them both wasn't just a lie.
Celestia had honestly believed him when he said he had prophesied that the two of them would bring peace and harmony to the land after their defeat of the Lord Of Chaos Discord. If Celestia only knew the truth behind Discord's origin's, she would have taken a more subtle course of action.
"Luna, please understand, I wasn't trying to lie, I only wanted to protect you." was her response, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. She could see the hatred growing in her little sister's eyes like a dam being unleashed.
" Spare me, you promised equal control, and after everything we suffered at the claws of that mal content Discord, This is how you repay me?!", She was tired. Tired of all the lies being spared at her expense. Tia and her counsel Starswirl had promised Luna that she and her older sister would rule the kingdom of Equestria together as equals, but as time wore on that was proving less and less true.
The bitterness and jealousy had been building within her heart for the longest time until she could bare no more of it. It needed a valve, a release of some kind. That release came in the form of a split consciousness, a second personality that had been given form and reason because of Luna's growing resentment and bitterness.
A personality that came to be known as Nightmare Moon. One whose only duty was to get rid of the only obstacle in her way for ruling the Kingdom alone, her sister Celestia. As the transformation took hold of her, Luna fell into a listless sleep for what seemed like forever. Nightmare Moon was in control now.
"No..," Celestia muttered," please sister, it doesn't have to end like this," She tried to plead with the being that was once Princess Luna, but not one word seemed to get through to her sister. Starswirl had promised them that he had foreseen them ruling the lands of Equestria.
Peacefully even, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed that even this prophecy might have been misinterpreted.
She tried to think of everything she could to talk her sister down, there was a way to stop her maddened sister, but it was something that she had only considered as a last resort. It was something that she'd live to regret. It was a regret that would leave a hole in Celestia's heart for almost a thousand years until a meeting with a small purple unicorn.
There was only one recourse as of this moment, she thought. I Must banish her. I have to lure her away from the throne room, Celestia thought to herself. As the alabaster alicorn took to the air, she could hear her sister scream after her.
"Where do you think you're going?!", Nightmare screamed at Celestia, taking flight as to chase down what was essentially her only flesh and blood relative.
The two exchanged magic bolts with each other until Celestia was winded by a lucky shot and sent through the roof of the Castle's cathedral, and also the housing for the Elements of Harmony. As she picked herself up off the ground, Celestia could hear her sister's now insane cackling in the distance.
"Why Luna, why couldn't you have waited. Why my sister.", The princess and Goddess of the sun was now drowning in her own tears as she opened the vault doors and brought the pedestal that contained the Elements to the surface.
"My dear Luna," she choked out in between sobs," You leave me no choice but to use these," And with that last statement she soared high into the air. Oh Luna, please forgive me someday. I still love you, my little sister.
Choking back tears, Celestia activated the Elements and sent a massive beam of rainbow colors hurtling towards her own sister. in a flash of brilliant white light, Nightmare was gone, blasted to the surface of the moon to endure a thousand years of exile.
As Celestia stared at the moon, something her sister had once sung to her came to the front of her mind.
"Do you want to see the moon rise?", As soon as she whispered that one lyric she fell to her haunches, her scream echoing in the night, mixed with tears or sorrow and regret.
It was to be expected that her reaction would be the same as everypony else, but to say that Celestia was in a celebratory mood was at least an under statement, to say the least. She had just banished her one and only sister to the moon for a thousand years of exile. It wasn't something that the princess took any joy out of doing, inside she was crying nonstop. The pain of that act would haunt her for most of her immortal life. And she knew that. In the same way that her sister would punish herself in the future when she returned, Celestia was doing that as of that moment. She was punishing herself with straying thoughts. She constantly second guessed herself. Was there another way, could she of done more to talk her sister out of her fugue to a point where she could have been reasoned with more thoroughly.
Celestia decided to pay her sister a small visit if nothing else. She felt that she had to explain to Luna why she had done what she did. That she needed to clear her conscience of the guilt that had been building up for all this time. She appeared in the Moon palace's upper balcony and in front of a very disgruntled Night Princess.
"Luna, why didn't you listen to me," she said as she stared at the mare she was now standing in front of.. and a very irate one at that. She could hear the venom dripping off Luna's words as she greeted her older sibling. She wasn't in the mood to be near Celestia but decided to just listen to what had to be said.
"Come to gloat dear sister,", Nightmare spat at her guest. Before she could open her mouth again Celestia walked up and placed her horn against the side of Nightmare Moon's head. Images were awash in her mind. Celestia took a step back before speaking.
It felt as if she had been there with her even despite being banished. She saw the memories of the years following that event. Of how sullen Celestia had become even when hosting diplomatic functions. She'd stare at the moon, never paying mind to what was going on in her own castle. Luna/Nightmare had the stark realization that it caused Celestia more pain than it did to her.
She watched as Celestia cried into her pillow several nights in a row and openly berated a guard for interrupting her at one point. The look on the Princess' face had caused him to shrink out of the room muttering that she was needed in the Council chambers. Her banishment could have had a very adverse and negative effect on Celestia if it had gone down a different path.
"I wont be visiting for awhile Luna, but I needed you to understand that I hated myself for banishing you. I know you wont care, But I still love my little sister."And with those words she was gone, having teleported back to her own misery back in Equestria.
For the first time since her corruption, Luna spoke to Nightmare as if at that moment she was a separate force inside the same body. She wasn't kind, but even Nightmare understood what needed to be done. They had both seen the prophecy. And she had misunderstood it. When Starswirl had said that they would rule together Nightmare Moon now understood that it would come after a great trial that would divide the two sisters. She realized that now. Another few decades and she would return to Equestria. She also knew that she'd have to test whoever it was that would be meant to harness the power of the Elements of Harmony. Both her and Celestia's connections to the gems were now severed. It would take another to take up the mantle and utilize their powers for good.
For what seemed like the first time in quite a while, Luna was calm. Her mind was clear right now. She understood that she had let her own jealousy and craven want for power get the better of her. She lay there on her bed as Celestia finished speaking to her. She had a part to play in the future and understood her place in the world that was to be born soon. The Princess of the night simply bowed her head and spoke.
"I understand now," Luna said as NIghtmare disappeared back into the recess of Luna's mind for now. The time would come when she'd be free to embrace her sister once again. Luna lay down on her better, but this time she moved it closer to the window so she could watch the Sun rise. Even on the moon she could embrace its warmth from her tower.
"Good night Luna," Celestia said as she raised the sun and lowered the moon. For a brief second she could hear Luna's soft voice respond back," I'll see you when the time is right Tia, love you." Celestia could only smile. After setting the moon to rest, she turned to hear her assistant approach her personal chambers.
All these thoughts were going around at a mile a minute in Celestia's mind like a hurricane in a wind tunnel. And as such there was no easy answer for her to come to in the end. No matter how many times she stayed on that moment in time, nothing new came to her that would have been of any help. It also didn't help that she had to put down a rebellion after all of this had transpired.
"Your majesty," Her royal messenger said as she trotted into the Princess' personal chambers,"There's an urgent matter that needs your attention. A settler from the township of Ponyville needs to speak with you, its about some remnants of Nightmare Moon's army that are harassing her and her family." As soon she had heard that last part she got off of chair and approached the mare.
"I shall handle it immediately," the tone of her voice was one of concern. After she dismissed her she stepped out onto her balcony and Teleported to the area of the disturbance. She had a great view of the town from Canterlot Castle. Even if it seemed like a long ways away she had the power to focus on a single point of reference and transport herself there.
As soon as she was on the ground she sought out the Garrison commander of her guard contingent that was stationed in the area and asked for a status update. The commander greeted her and pointed her in the direction of the farmstead. The look on his face said more then words ever could. this stallion had seen enough combat in his life, he didn't want to see any more of it.
She could sense the situation could get worse if she didn't hurry there. She could see the Farmhouse as she rounded a nearby hill. It was small but quaint she thought to herself. She realize that she knew this family personally actually. she had agreed to give them the deed to farm this land if helped the province and the nearby town that was forming in the aftermath of her was with Luna.
She could see the Lunar commander speaking to a tan and blond maned earth pony. The mare spit out a piece of paper onto the ground and told them in very unkind words to get their no-good flanks off of her family's property. That they were given this land to farm by Princess Celestia and they were now trespassing if they didn't leave.
The Commander pulled a hoof up and smacked the mare across the face and told her in no uncertain teams that this land was rightfully Lunar Republic territory and she would watch her mouth if she were smart.
Apparently, some settlers were demanding to speak to her about an apparent issue with some hold overs from the Lunar Republic that had taken over the land they were trying to farm. A group of them, part of the Apple clan, had taken issue with members of Luna's old order and gone to the princess to deal with it. What she got was the Lunar Republic's declaration that the land belonged to them now, and as such, the Apple Family Clan was to pay them tariffs so they could remain on it. One of them was a spitting image of the future element of Honesty Applejack, and just like her namesake decided to throw the lieutenant of the Garrison off of her ' property' until Princess Celestia could spare the time to settle this dispute.
So the Garrison's forces surrounded the farm and threatened to burn down the entire crop of Apple Trees and the farm house until the rabble inside handed over the one responsible for assaulting their commander in charge. To which the mare in question told them all to go Buck Themselves, and that she don't answer to the likes of them.
" Now Y'all can take yer hides, and get them off Mah Family's property!,", the mare named Applejack shouted to the ones surrounded her family's farm. She was a spitting image of the future Applejack and of course held the same attitudes as her great great great grand daughter. She wore a stetson just like her too, a gift from her own father when it came time to pass it on. It was almost tradition you could say.
"For the last time, This land belongs to Queen Nightmare Moon and the Lunar Republic, and as such, you will turn yourself over for trial, or we will begin Burning everything from here to Appleloosa. And Light the Biggest Bon Fire Equestria has ever seen!.", the second in command yelled back at her. There was no way he was going to let some earth pony upstage him in front his squad like that, much less the entire garrison.
"Ya want me, come get me then!", she shouted back, while also bucking apples at him, for which two or more of the fruits collided with his head, knocking him flat on his flank.
" That's it, I've had it with her," he looked to the guards around him,"Take that farm house and drag her flank here,", To which his men grinned wickedly before charging off. But they didn't get too far when Celestia landed right in the middle of the lot of them. And the look on her face could send shivers down anypony's spines.
"What is the meaning of this?", she asked the Lunar Guard in front of her, who could only point to the second in command, trembling all over in the process. He was that frightened of her that he could only point, his face drained of all its color.
"This land belongs to the Queen," he paused and gulped," we were simply taking it back." That was not the answer he should have given her. He could tell by the cold gleam in her eyes as she stared at him.
"I deeded this land to the Apple Family," she spoke in a Canterlot voice," And it will remain untouched by the likes of you!", by the way that he was staring back at her, she knew he got the point of the message. The Garrison backed away from the farm house and back into the EverFree Forest, where their camp was stationed.
"Thank ya princess, I wasn't sure you'd be able to get here quick enough to handle them,", The orange coated mare responded with a hoof shake and a tip of her hat.
"It was quite alright, Miss?", Celestia asked the farm pony in front of her.
"Name's Applejack, been passed down for long since I was born, was never sure why though,", she told the princess. Her clan had held that name in their family since the time of them three tribes. It was never explained why, just that it had been mentioned by Smart Cookie, something about it being important. She had been told this by an orange earth pony that had just up and vanished one day, and that Family was the most important thing.
Celestia stopped to think for a moment. That name sounded very familiar like she had read it somewhere in one the journals that Starswirl and Clover the Clever had once shared. Starswirl had once written in his journal that Clover seemed too smart for a pony of their time period. There were times it was like she knew of events before they occurred. And he had commented that she never took off her brown cloak that she wore. He also noted that her size was twice that of the average unicorn, even he found that he was a few centimeters shorter than she was. He also noted that her cloak was large enough to hide the wings of an Alicorn.
She had to get back to Canterlot to investigate this more.
They had been walking for a few days now. Even though they were only half way to the destination due to their combined Teleport spell they were still a ways out from the intended target area. Where they were going was once the Capitol of Unicorn kingdom. Celestia had tasked them with this mission to uncover more of Starswirl's early works that hadn't been transported to Canterlot when he was still alive. She also told the two of them that they had be traveling through both the remnants of the Pegasi Kingdom and the area known as the Shadowlands.
The more Celestia thought about it the more she realized she couldn't remember what her and Luna's mother had looked liked. Only that she had died when they were both born. If only she knew the truth of the matter. Even though she worried about Twilight, she knew that her and Starlight would be up to a task like this. She figured her former student would be ecstatic to learn more about her fillyhood idol. Twilight was always going on about how she studied every spell that Starswirl the Bearded had ever spellcrafted.
"Ohh, this is going to be so exciting," Celestia recalled her saying right before her and Starlight had left the castle. Celestia smiled while Twilight started clapping her hooves in excitement.
Upon getting permission from the Princess to embark on their journey, Starlight and Twilight had made sure to pack an ample supply worth of provisions. They were after all trekking into the heart of Equestria, into the very place from which their civilization had been birthed. There was no telling what kind of dangers they'd encounter along the way. The path they were on was known to be a natural raiding spot for bandits and outlaws. The kind of ponies that sought a rougher existence well outside the confines of Equestrian Law as the two of them knew it.
"How much farther do you suppose it is?", Starlight asked Twilight as they got off the path to take a break.
"The Princess did say it would be at least over a thousand mile hike to where we needed to go, and we are about half way there due to walking and the line of sight needed for our combined teleportation spell,", Twilight looked back to see the dead panned look forming on Starlight's face. That wasn't quite the information the unicorn was expecting to hear.
"Well, I suppose it could be worse,"Starlight began," then again i guess thinking of that phrase isnt very helpful either," she nervously smiled.
"No, but it doesn't mean that its such a bad thing to think like that sometimes,"Twilight spoke to her friend,"It just shows your being realistic. Speaking of which, lunch?", the alicorn said, smiling at Starlight as she levitated two daisy and daffodil sandwiches out of her saddle bags.
Of course how many times had Twilight said that and the situation only worsened to the point where she had to get either the princess or her friends involved. She had felt that for way too long. But in regards to the here and now, the future seemed bright and felt as if it could go on and on. She levitated a sandwich to Starlight as she recalled something from before her years as an alicorn. It was when Discord had been set loose and Fluttershy was tasked with reforming him. That was a chore in her mind, seeing that Discord had eaten her reformation spells like they were lettuce in a salad. But, in the end, Fluttershy succeeded in convincing the lord of Chaos that friendship was something that was important to him.
After they finished their lunch the two of them decided to continue on. They were another 500 miles away from their target location due to their teleportation skills, when Starlight happened to take notice of what looked like stone buildings. It was, in fact the entrance to one of the out bastions of the Unicorn Kingdom. As she pried open the door with Twilight's help, she noticed a dusty old tome propped up against what was revealed to be an ancient burial tomb. It was, in fact the tomb of King Neghodin, Princess Platinum's father, who looked as if he had fallen in battle. There were scars and bite marks, as well as tool marks, all over the desiccated remains of the fallen king.
Starlight sat for a moment to take a look at what the tome might uncover. Both her and Twilight rested next to the stone slab as the unicorn prepared to read from the tome. They could both tell the tome was older than they had first suspected. Contained within was the combined History of the Unicorn Race. Their trials and turmoils abroad and at home were transcribed and contained within this one book. Nothing like this existed in Twilight's Library back home. Starlight could tell Twilight was ecstatic to learn what was inside and to hopefully preserve it for the trip back home. Princess Celestia would be thrilled to learn that a volume this large had survived the ravages of time.
"What is it Starlight?", Twilight asked as a worried look came across Starlight Glimmer's face.
"Well, how much do you know about the Changeling Empire?", That was a rather odd question in Twilight's eyes, but she responded best she could.
"Well, from what Thorax told me, it's at least as old as the Three Tribes, why?", She curious herself to see what this had to do with their current mission. As much as they both considered it to be a fun adventure, they did have a task to complete.
"It says in here that the Unicorn race was at war with the Changeling Empire at one time. And that it was lead by a mysterious figure that bore the shape and manner of an Alicorn,", Starlight looked to see a look of confusion in Twilight's eyes. Was there a secret Alicorn that not even the Princesses were aware of? And if so, what happened to her. What she immortal or just another ascended alicorn like Twilight and Cadence were? All these questions were rampaging through her mind.
The Tome of the Unicorn King
"We can't be sure who's who, those damn things have infiltrated our ranks again. We developed a crude detection spell that seems to work for the moment. But we can't be sure whose a pony and who is a Changeling. They are getting bolder now. They no longer cloak themselves in the forms of our friends and loved ones. Now their outright laying siege to the Capital.
And to make it worse, there seems to be an Alicorn of unknown origin Leading them against us. The only two I know of are the Two fledgling Princesses in the South. They seem to think that we can just over come eons of mistrust at the hooves of the Earth Pony Nation, and the Enclave of the Pegasi. They stole that word from our books and history. The only true Enclave is that of the Unicorn Empire. Just like a wretched sky dweller to usurp our culture and steal from those that once tried to call them a friend.
They are as untrustworthy as the Changelings. I have sent word to the outer Bastions to send reinforcements, but there is no telling if they were intercepted by those, Bugs. I don't know how much longer the outer ramparts will hold. I'm sure that their just tormenting us now, I'm sure of it. I can hear something, coming towards the doors now.
Drums. Drums in the deep. The Castle garrison have told me they can feel the walls reverberating from the percussion. My scout that I had sent to check the lower quarter of the castle hasn't reported back as of yet. I have sent another to go and find him, with express due to hurry back and not take his time. My second scout returned and said she found the first scout dead, his body had been torn apart and eviscerated, claw and teeth marks all over the body.
The Changelings were once rumored to be carnivores at one point in their history, a feature that they supposedly evolved out of using. But obviously, that part is no longer true. I have now taken notice that our numbers in the castle keep dwindling. Like we're being picked off one by one if we travel anywhere in the castle alone. I have ordered that this be the last line of defense. Our numbers are now one hundred."
Starlight had to pause to catch her breath, Twilight could also see a rage building in her friend. One that she hadn't seen in quite awhile. She put a hoof to Starlight's shoulder to reassure her that she was ok, and to keep reading the tome once she was calmed down. In Glimmer's mind it was if the past had bonded with her at that moment. Like she could feel all the anguish and rage of her entire race flowing through her blood. She took a breath and continued reading.
"They have taken the halls and the outer corridors. Our numbers continued to drop, first from a hundred unicorn royal guards, to at least fifty. That's half of the original number we began with. They have cut off access to food and water, forcing us to take refuge in the mausoleum housing the remains of my father, the previous King, as well those of other nobles. We are running out of food, and the air is getting staler now. If only Starswirl and Clover were here. I'm sure they'd think of something to try and out wit those beasts.
I have taken it upon myself to confront the one responsible for this blatant aggression. I was finally able to look at the bitch responsible for this aggression, and to my surprise, she is an alicorn. But it looks as though something dreadful had transpired. Her lavender and near pink fur coat is mottled and falling off in patches. Her horn is almost jagged like the blade of those ceremonial daggers the Zebras are known to wield for tribal rituals.
When she looks at me, it's as if her gaze is as cold as the ice that caps the Crystal Mountains. Almost like an Ice Iris piercing my very soul. She bears a look of despair in those neon green eyes of hers. Her hooves are armored with portions or carapace, like an insect. But what's more is the armor around her neck. A faded crystal heart is emblazoned in the center of her gleaming obsidian chest armor. It's like the armor that Royalty of the Crystal Empire wears, but it looks as if it's bonding with her body in its current condition.
"What is the meaning of this assault,", I asked her. She just stared at me for the longest time before answering.
"My new subjects here need to feed, I'm sure in this we can come to an arrangement?,", She was mocking me, I knew she was. She continued," All living things must feed, that is the nature of things,", What was she getting at?
"I think you'll do nicely," She sneered, and I found myself being wrapped up in a mix of neon green magic, and royal blue. I screamed as I felt her bear her fangs down on my neck, the blood seeping out of the bite marks like a river trickling from the confines of a dam. I was slowly dying, i could feel my life force leaving my body before I had the chance to apply a healing spell. Her Magic was negating it. I realized she was using a canceling spell designed to specifically prevent a unicorn from using a healing spell for an event such as this.
"Go ahead and chow down my loyal subjects, "She had ordered those that were with her. I could hear the screams of the others. Calls for help, shouts of mercy, and the occasional scream from the surviving Guards as they were torn asunder and eaten alive. The stories i had been told as a foal were true after all. Not only did Changelings feed on emotions as we were lead to believe, but that they are also carnivorous. The Goddess help the others if they learn of this.
I pray to the goddess that this tome that i have secretly crafted survives the annals of time. These beasts must be dealt with harshly. There is no other recompense to be done.
As my life finally reaches its end, I looked up and asked one question of her.
"Who are... you,", She doesn't hesitate to answer as she knows I'm near death's door now.
"That's simple, You can call me Chrysalis as of this day."
There was no way that she could have known what was to come. Chrysalis was a creature of Habit, in her past life as well as now. She still had that small voice nagging at her for all the wrongs she had done in the past. She could still feel like she was living in the past. It was all so clear to her. Like stepping into a mirror and having its contents spill out around her. There was something else though.
She could feel the hunger gnawing at her stomach. It was so intense right now. She tried to ignore it as she looked out the castle window, but it wouldn't subside. She turned to the one beside her, the one that she had bested when she invaded his fortress.
"You'll do very nicely," she purred. The kind of pur that lacked any and all emotion to it. It was devoid of feeling, just like she was. Her heart was nearly dark and cold because of the spell laid upon her so many years ago. You could almost describe the Changelings as being like Vampires with how they fed on others. Even now she couldn't resist it anymore. She had to satiate the lust that was building inside of her.
She sank her fangs into his neck, and cast the spell. The love began to drain from his body, swirling into the air and traveling towards Chrysalis. She sucked it into her mouth and could feel his essence strengthening her. The look of hopelessness he conveyed was lost on her at first.
"Noo, I can't die like this," he lamented as his strength started to fade. She knew he was on his way to the afterlife by the end of the day if not sooner. His passing would be enough to break the bonds that held the kingdom together. She'd annex his lands and claim them as her fledgling empire's new feeding grounds. It wouldn't be until later that she'd see the forces of the other two Kingdoms gathering outside of her new " capital".
All living things need to eat, The queen was sure of that. And she had an entire array of food before from beyond the borders of Equestria. The Unicorn King was easy to drain. He was already dying, what was draining the rest of his life compared to letting him linger on this way. In her mind, she was doing him a service. As the last threads of life drained away from him, she turned to her 'subjects' and gave them the command they had been longing to hear.
"Go, Feed." And with that, a number of them set off after the rest of the unicorns that were locked in that cellar that was close by. Screams could be heard echoing up from above. A few had tried to escape, but they were easily caught and brought before her majesty. She looked them over before selecting some of the mares that were with the others, sinking her jagged fangs into their throats, one at a time. There was a scream and then a subtle moan, as if the mare was being driven to some form of sick ecstasy. When her eyes opened again, they were shimmering neon green.
It was like watching a nightmare unfold. A very long and unending nightmare that there was no escape from. They could do nothing but look on in horror at what was unfolding before them. The Guards were the first ones to almost vomit at the sight that they were witnessing. It was all rather surreal. Chrysalis could see this and started to grin wickedly. It was the exact response she had been hoping for. And she relished in every moment of it.
The mare's coat began to flake off in patches until a new changeling was standing before the Queen. The others in the group could only look on, horrified at what they had all just witnessed. Chrysalis ordered any of mare that was in the building to be brought before her. Most of the commoners were dead, drained of their love, or eaten alive by these obsidian-clad monsters.
They watched helplessly as the mares that were with them were taken before the Queen and subverted by her magic. Half were turned into Changelings, the others were kept as breeding stock. They watched in horror as a number of changelings took the ones that were under a mind spell and began mating with them right then and there.
One of the castle guards that was still alive watched as a changeling took a mare that was under the mind spell and forced itself on her right before his eyes. He wasn't sure what was worse, the look on the Changeling's face, or that the mare seemed to almost enjoy being dominated by the way she kept pushing her flank against this beast, almost like she grinding with it as if she were in heat.
Before he could even think of acting out, the Fallen Alicorn approached him. He could feel a strange sensation come over his body. Soon he was also placed under a mind spell, with her straddling him now. Chrysalis walked around him a few times to get a good look at one of the soon-to-be newest members of her growing Empire. She ran her now jagged and forked tongue over his neck, before finding the softest spot to bite down on.
"I think you'll do just fine."She almost purred as her fangs sunk into the guard's neck. She could feel the blood trickle out from where she bite him. But it didn't matter really after she bit him, the conversion process would erase what was left of his personality until he was just another drone committed to her service. A part of her was screaming for her to stop this madness, and be reasonable. But that voice was just a remnant of who and what she used to be. Before his betrayal of her. Before she was cursed to this form she was in now.
SHe found herself arguing with a ghost it seemed. That insipid voice wouldn't go away. It was a constant nagging reminder of the pony she used to be. But as far as Chrysalis was concerned, the past was dead and buried. She didn't know wrong she would be several decades from that point in time. She would come to regret what she had become when the Canterlot invasion occurred. She also found that it would be the one time she would be close enough to Luna to reveal the truth.
All she could do now was prepare for the day that this curse would be lifted, and she would be returned to her original state. For ones like her the ghosts of their past have a hard time leaving them alone.
even after sieging the Castle and draining the love from the King of the Unicorns, Chrysalis was not prepared for what awaited her and her subjects when they looked out the nearest window of the King's castle keep. What she saw took her breath away right at that moment.
Outside were ten thousand Unicorns in military regalia as far as her eyes could see. Apparently someone had gotten word out that the king was dead and his castle under siege. For one of the few moments in her life, she could fear seeping into what was left of her heart. That's when she realized it wasnt all Unicorns.
There were soldiers from the Pegasi Legions embedded as well. With a legend leading the charge to the castle.
"Pegasi and Unicorns of the West!", the commander hollered," Swords will be broken, shields will be splintered, for a new day, a red day, AS THE SUN RISES!!!,", Commander Hurricane boasted as she stormed forward with her battalion towards the castle gates.
"Form Ranks!" Chrysalis shouted to her commanders as they met their enemies on the field of battle. She wasn't going to lose her new territory to a damned pegasus-led army. She inspected her troops as Commander Hurricane's forces came closer into view.
"Pikes in front, Mages behind!", She prepared herself as they got closer. As soon as the enemy forces came up over the ridge she turned and yelled.
"FIRE!" Chrysalis watched as a volley of green magic soared through the air and descended on Hurricane's advancing army. She watched as a few were knocked to the ground, most likely dead or wounded from the ferocity of the spells. It became more and more evident that they weren't being deterred by it.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh.. ATTACK!!" Commander screamed as she led her pegasi legion into the fray. She cut down the first few changelings that tried to attack her and Private Pansy, her gladius stained with green blood. They pushed through the changeling army with an advancing shield wall as soon as they could erect one.
Chrysalis felt her blood run cold at the sight of her forces being massacred like this. She pulled out a rusty Great mace and swung it in a wide arc, knocking back several earth pony soldiers, and Griffons. Several of them tried to blindside her but were stopped by the mace slamming into the sides of their bodies. She crushed the skull of the Griffon commander with enough force to send others reeling backward.
She turned around into to come face to face with Commander Hurricane. The two of them could only glare at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. She took the time to mock her opponent for even considering facing her one on one.
"Your a fool to face me like this." Chrysalis taunted. " Do you not know Death when you see it you foolish bird brain of a Pony." Her taunts struck the right nerve it seemed.
"If I'm to die, I'll die on my hooves with your body broken in front of me!" Hurricane roared, slamming into the Queen and burying her blade into the Queen's foreleg. Chrysalis yelped, and hit Commander Hurricane in the side with an errant magic blast. It was enough to knock the mare on her flank and bruise half her side.
Chrysalis knew that she had to withdraw or she'd lose the rest of her armies. She couldn't make a blunder right now and play into this pony's hooves. If only she'd kept her smarts in the coming centuries, she could have won in Canterlot. She withdrew to the castle and rallied the rest of her forces for a possible siege.
All Luna could do was entreat this being with the promise of sex if it meant that it could help her depose her own sister. She was certain that the power she could gain from this pact would be enough to guarantee her victory over Celestia. What she didn't realize at that time was that it wanted more than what she was offering. it wanted her unwavering loyalty and her very soul.
Princess Luna wasn't ready to hand that over just yet, if ever. She had to string him along for now until she could figure a way out of this that would ensure both her safety and her sanity. That last part would not work out to well when she found it waiting for her in her bed chambers. This being wanted her complete obedience and subjugation. Before she could even blink it grabbed her and threw on the bed. It transformed before her into a bipedal being that stood on two legs and bore a face of a goat. In a way it looked like Discord but not as mismatched.
"Enter this pact and I can guarantee that'll be strong enough to overthrow your dear sister,", he spoke. Luna found herself unable to break the spell that he had on her. He grabbed her by the arm and turned her over to get a better look his newest breeding stock.
But before he could slip it in her round flank, Something struck him in the head causing him to stagger backwards. She had levitated a plant pot over to herself without him noticing and struck him in the head. She then turned and bolted to the balcony of her tower and flew off into the night. She landed some distance away and ran away from the capitol as fast as her legs could carry her.
Something was stirring in the bowels of the underworld. Something cold and sadistic. A being that even Luna feared. It sought the domination and enslavement of souls, and it was coming for the Ponies of Equestria. Truth be told, it was partially responsible for the creation of darkness that would become Nightmare Moon, if not fully.
This being is what influenced Princess Luna's fear and jealousy of Celestia. What Luna didnt tell her dear sister was that this force took a physical form and nearly raped her. She tried to deny that a part of her liked this sick and twisted game it was playing with her. She eventually realized what this thing's plans for Equestria amounted to.
She fled from the castle that night and began plotting against Celestia after that, never realizing that she was enacting his plans through her broken and twisted mind. It wasnt until after her return from banishment and being cleansed by the Elements of Harmony that she finally warned her sister of would be coming for them.
And that not even their dear Twilight would be able to avoid his influence.
It's peaceful out tonight, Twilight thought to herself. It's a shame that Rainbow wasn't there to share it with her. Her mind wandered a bit, wondering how Dash was doing as of that moment. Little did she know that her wish was about to be granted. Somepony was watching her from a nearby bush, waiting for the perfect moment to spook the lavender alicorn.
As Twilight and Starlight were settling in for the night, something seemed to be watching the two ponies. Twilight could feel it in her bones that something about the spot they chose to camp at seemed a tad off. The crunch of fallen leaves alerted her to another presence that was near by.
"Show yourself,", she said, her magic lighting up the air around her.
"Don't shoot me!,", came a rough voice, a rough tomboyish voice that she knew too well. Twilight face-hoofed.
"Rainbow!,", she balked, " What are you doing?", to which Dash was a bit taken aback by.
"Oh you know, making sure my marefriend isn't gonna get lost and fail to make it back home. That and you now how much I suck at cooking my own meals.", she chirped with a sheepish grin. The last time Dash had tried to use Twilight's kitchen, she almost destroyed the place.
"You're lucky then that I didn't turn you into a frog or something,", Twilight smiled back as she poked Rainbow in the chest with a wing tip. Starlight was dead asleep, and didn't even bother to stir at the sounds she should have been hearing.
"If you did, you'd still have to kiss me. Like in those sappy stories you read to foals at the library."Dash put a wing around Twilight, pulling her close to the pegasus. The two of them sat on a thick tree branch for the longest time. The moon was illuminating the patch of forest they happened to be in.
"Does anypony back home know that you ran off after us?", Twilight asked the rainbow maned pegasus.
"They all think I'm in Cloudsdale for a school reunion,", Dash said, staring Twilight in the eyes.
"You know, now that your'e here, we could use a third set of eyes,", the alicorn said playfully.
Before Twilight say anything else, she found herself melting into a kiss with the pegasus. She was the most passionate kisser Twilight had ever known. The two of them wrapped their wings around the other, shielding themselves from the now open eyes of a very awake Starlight Glimmer. The unicorn could only lay back down and smile. She had her own special somepony to return to when this was all said and done. No pony could understand what she saw in Trixie, not even Twilight fully understood it. But the alicorn had given her the space to make her own decisions and to make her own friends just Twilight had all those years ago.
While Twilight and Dashie were spending the next afternoon together, Starlight went to sleep. she had never had a dream like this before. It was so.. real. There were piles of bone and armor scattered around her. Swords were dug into the bones and into the ground like they were old friends. There was a mist lingering all around the place.
She was walking through a battlefield she realized, an ancient and bloody battlefield. A voice called to her. Poweful and yet reserved.
"You forsoke us,", the voice drifted towards her,", you told us that the evil would never return,"What was this thing saying Starlight thought. Out of the mist came a corpse clad in an engraved Steel armor cuirass. A sword piercing it's chest. It lumbered towards her, it's voice chilling Starlight's very soul.
"What's going on,", Starlight said in paniced tone.
"You said you'd banish him Starlight,", The voice drifted closer to her ear.
"Please, i dont undertand what your saying,", she said as quickly as she could,", I've never even performed a Banishing spell before!", and with that she woke up screaming into the faces of two very concerned friends.
"Starlight, It's ok,", Twilight reassured her,", You were having a nightmare,", she said as she hugged her very frightened friend tightly.
"What kind of dream would spook somepony like you,", Dash said patting Starlight on the shoulder.
"I was walking through a field,", She caught her breath as she spoke. It was still so fresh in her mind as she recalled the details of it.
"It had to be something more if it caused you to start screaming,", Dash prodded.
"There were corpses everywhere, they were wearing some sort of steel engraved armor with swords piercing their bodies. One of the corpses started speaking to me, i could hear their voice coming from the mist that was surrounding the fields,", Starlight could only stare at looks on her friends faces.
"What?", Starlight felt like she was missing something important.
All three turned to see a Stone Gateway appear from some sort of magical vortex. Twilight could stare at it in disbelief. She had never seen anything like this in any of her history books before. Starlight winced as her put her left forehoof to her forehead. She could hear a voice in her mind. The voice was as clear and yet as loud as a thunderclap.
"Your suffering will sustain me for a thousand generations."What was this thing talking about she thought.
"What is that," Starlight said, the tone of her voice shifting towards panic. A voice, the voice, spoke to her again.
"That my dear Starlight Glimmer.. is an Oblivion Gate,", It resonated. The voice was calm and yet she could make out the faintest traces of malice forming.
"Soon," it continued,"Everything you know will burn,".
King Grover of the Second Age: The Account of the Idol of Boreas
News of Discords defeat had reached the ears of King Grover some time ago. It was only a small matter of time before the Princesses turned their attention back to that of the Griffon Kingdom. There was a rising animosity growing between the two kingdoms. King sought to avoid a war at all costs. This little excursion he was on would prove to be most productive. If he could seek out this idol, he could keep his worst fears from coing true.
It would also give me something to use at the bargaining table, he thought to himself. He knew that Princess Celestia could be a shrewd negotiator when she needed to be. She was also an alicorn not to be crossed. She was one of the few creatures around that had garnered both respect and fear from those around her.
He had heard that her and her sister Luna were growing distant as of late. He also hoped that no creature on Equus would bore Luna's wrath. During one of the few border skirmishes he had born witness to, he had personally seen her wipe out an entire battalion of Griffon soldiers.
One moment they were there, the next moment there was nothing left of them but a smoking crater. he swore he never wanted to witness anything like that ever again.
There's always something mystifying about the past, especially lost history. It felt like something straight out of a Daring Do novel in Twilight's eyes. But this was an adventure that the explorer would miss out on. Dash could always fill her in when they got back though. A few alterations here and there and something like this would be perfect for one her chapters. When she thought about it though, it had struck her odd that Daring and Rainbow looked nearly identical. As if they could have been ... related?
That was a thought to ponder for another time though.
Over a thousand years ago, near the Griffon Kingdom.
No pony in Equestria had ever gazed upon its likeness, nor knew of its true power. But a non-pony would soon stumble upon a sacred artifact left over from a time long past. What secrets would this creature glean from it?
None that knew of its true purpose now lived to pass that knowledge on to those that would have the courage to seek it out. Or that in the future two ponies would rediscover it, only to lose to the bottom of the Abyssal Caverns.
The creature in question was a Griffon. His name was Grover the second, King of the Griffon Empire. And he sought out this artifact to restore the faith of his comrades. As he rounded the corner of the basin, he came at last to a large Granite door. On the other side of the room would be the artifact he had sought out. The door was in a bad state of erosion. He knew if he brought his full weight to bear on it, the door would most likely cave under the pressure.
The Idol or Boreas sat on its pedestal, the light seeping through the cracks of the underground chamber bouncing off of its perch. The idol had been crafted by a long dead civilization, lost and forgotten to the passage of time. The door to the chamber had broken and started to crumble with age, but still remained in its position. The door had been crafted out of solid granite, but the ravages of time were a greater foe to it then even the best tomb robber could have been.
The idol stayed there forgotten by history until the day king Grover had stumbled upon that tomb. The door had finally succumbed to the pressure that he wrought against it until the door fell to the chamber floor in large granite chunks. He realized that with this idol, he could restore the glory and honor to his kingdom that had been lost as of late.
It had been known through out history that the Griffon Kingdom was as greedy as the Dragons that lived in the wastes of Equestria. They had been rumored to always hoard their gold and other items that they collected through out their long years of life. Grover wanted to be the first of his kind to give his fellow griffons something else to strive for.
Something that would have a long-lasting meaning, if not to them, then at least to the other Kingdoms that dotted the lands to Equestria.
How could Starlight prepare herself for what was to come. How could she know that her mentor and best friend Twilight would be corrupted by the temptation of forbidden knowledge. Twilight didn't seem like the type of pony that would risk her friends for something like that. The question would become did she really know her as well as she thought she did. If only she'd have seen what Twilight was like before becoming an alicorn she realize how wrong she was.
The three friends had finally gotten to where they needed to go. Now was the time for Starlight to finally learn the truth. A truth that would break her mind and shatter her perceptions of everything in her life. For better or worse was solely up to the lavender unicorn. As they stepped into the abandoned castle, the atmosphere felt oddly familiar to her, as she had been here before, like it almost felt as it she was returning to the place of her birth.
She couldn't shake the feeling, but she trudged on. Starlight was determined to get this over with so they could all return home to their friends. As she looked around she noticed something glint off of the sunlight that was pouring in through a hole in the roof. As she approached it there was a flash of light, and she found herself in another room altogether. Her friends were nowhere to be seen, but in front of her was something she next expected. Starswirl the Bearded. Or to be exact, a magic construct of him. Like a pre-recorded message to be precise.
"Ah, you finally arrived Starlight,", the duplicate spoke.
"You.. your'e supposed to be dead,", was the first thing out of her mouth.
"What you see before you is a hologram dear," he spoke," and one that was made the real Starswirl passed from this world." A hologram was something that Twilight had told about from the human world. Something that seemed to far advanced for their civilization to even attempt right now. None the less Starswirl had apparently crafted one out of Equestrian Magic eons ago.
Before she could speak, he looked her straight in the eyes, and said something that she'd never forget.
"I also know why you've come here, Starlight,", it was very short and to the point. He could only wait and observe her body language to gauge what her response would be.
"Is it true what Princess Celestia told us?," she asked,pausing for a moment,"That there's something in Starswirl's LIbrary here that will answer a burning question that was brought up about my past?", She patiently waited for some answer, any kind of answer that would help her out.
"Yes, it's true Starry," he watched her take a step back at that name. Starry. That was a nickname that her father used to call her when she was a little foal. Her eyes started to water as her mind was flooded with memories. Memories of happier times, before she began down that dark path in the years leading up to the confrontation with Twilight and her friends.
"How,, how do know that name?", she said, fighting back the tears that wanted to escape for her eyes.
"How else?," he said very assuredly," because you Starlight Glimmer, are my daughter."
And then the flood gates broke. Starlight broke down and began crying like no other time in her life. Not even Trixie had ever seen her this emotionally compromised. When she looked back up at him. The tears were replaced with something else. A rage that hadn't been there in a long time.
"Do you have any idea of the things i've been through?!", she spat at him. On one hoof it was like she had the chance to tell her father everything that had happened to her after his apparent death. ON the other hoof she felt all the pain that she had buried that day boil itself back to the surface. She still loved her father but she was also so angry at him. That was when she let it all out. Her words burst forth like a storm of emotion and rage as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
" I formed a town where Cutie Marks were banned, i lost it all to Twilight and her friends and then I tried to get revenge on her by stealing a Time Travel Scroll that you made, and in the process nearly corrupted the timeline and almost destroyed myself over it. Only to be forgiven in the end by Twilight and her friends. Ive tried to the best I can to make amends for it."By the look on her face, he could tell that she had been through so much that he should have been there to support her.
Starswirl could only stare at the ground. He had no words for her that would have comforted her anguish. All he could utter under his breath were the words,"I'm.. I'm sorry Starlight." His heart ached to see his daughter like this. All he could do was put a hoof on her shoulder. Even as a hologram he had enough mass to physically interact with objects. He pulled her into a hug and let Starlight cry into his chest. What she said next really drew his attention.
"Then I ended up in a life and death battle against the Queen of the Changelings, and convinced those around her that they didn't have to suffer under her rule anymore and converted them to being good." After she was done saying that she took a seat for a moment. The last part of that outburst of hers had taken the wind out of her lungs.
"Wait," he said," Did you just say Queen of the Changelings?", it was very cryptic if not direct. That was the last creature he wanted her to interact with.
"Yes," Starlight repeated to him. He seemed hung up on that last part. As if it dredged up a painful memory or two.
"Starlight, be honest now, did you kill her during your encounter?", he asked.
"No, she escaped and vowed revenge on me, why?", something about this was sending a chill down her spine. What was it about Chrysalis that would even scare a hologram of Starswirl the Bearded.
"You must find her and kill her, before it's too late. For I fear what she might do if she ever revealed the truth." that was odd Starlight thought. Did Chrysalis know something about Glimmer's past as well?
By the look on her face Starswirl could tell she was pondering something. So he forced her back to reality. No pony else knew of the mistake that he had made while alive. And even as a hologram he was still Starswirl the Bearded. His consciousness at least. In a blinding flash, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were now standing next to Starlight.
"Starlight, are you alright?", were the first words out of Twilight's mouth before she turned to see who was in front of them.
"OMGOMGOMGOMGosh!", Rainbow and Starlight could only stare at her, each of them with a dead pan look on their faces as they listened to Twilight have a Nerd-gasm. Starswirl could only look at them and blink.
"Twilight's a big fan of yours,", Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath," she's read everything you've ever written. She was wearing a less then amused look on her face as found herself dragging Twilight backwards by the tail.
"The three of you must get to the Princesses and warn them to lock away the Changeling Queen. She is not merely a Changeling. But a fallen alicorn." That last part snapped Twilight to attention faster than anything Rainbow and Starlight had ever witnessed before.
"Hearts and Hooves day,", she uttered quietly. Soon they were all staring at her.
"Awhile back, Applebloom and her friends borrowed a book from me.", she stopped and waited to finish," In it a prince had fallen in love with a Princess, that also happened to have been an alicorn, but everything after that was vague. It spoke of a Kingdom Falling, Chaos Reigning, and a chapter that said something about The Fallen One returning to get their revenge on the one that cursed them." Now the three of them were staring at Starswirl.
"It's all true," he spoke," I'm the one that cursed into the form she's in now." Twilight could hardly believe what she hearing coming from the pony she had idolized all her life.
"She was the former Queen of the Crystal Empire,", he went on," but there's another reason she hates me and wants revenge on me and those of my bloodline,", They all waited for him to continue.
"She's also Celestia and Luna's mother,", he finished. Twilight heard that last one and nearly fainted. She also realized that Starswirl had done something so heinous that he had exiled himself rather then face Celestia's wrath over a revelation like this. That also meant that Queen Chrysalis was be all means the Queen regent of both the Empire and Equestria.
And that by battling her both her and Starlight had nearly attempted Regicide. Something that if discovered by Celestia and Luna could land them in the dungeons if not worse. All she could do now was question why he would order them to lock her away. And then it hit her. Celestia and Luna didn't know that Chrysalis was their mother. Starswirl had lied to them that she had died giving birth. Twilight had swallow her own pride and devotion to Celestia and keep this quiet. At least until the right moment presented itself she decided.
And while he said that, half a kingdom away, Chrysalis and Luna decided that now was the time to confront Celestia with the truth. What would Celestia do if she learned that the Bug she battled with during the Canterlot Invasion was really her mother.
"What if she doesn't believe us?" Luna looked at her mother with worry. There was no way of telling how Celestia might handle this kind of news. She might fall under the belief that Chrysalis was trying to mind control them again. the Queen could only look at youngest, and told her not to worry.
"We'll just have to find another way if it comes to it." She could see the worry in Luna's eys start to fade. She did the best she could to reassure her youngest daughter that things would be ok regardless of what happened next. She hadn't felt this relaxed in decades if not longer.
As they left Luna's study Chrysalis didn't even bother to disguise herself. The guards seeing the two of them stood at attention. They were under the belief that Luna was escorting her to the throne room to be dealt with. They were partially right. Celestia was signing documents when she was informed that Luna was escorting a prisoner to the throne room.
"So she finally found her," Celestia mused as she stood up and walked to the Throne. When she poked her head around the corner of her personal chambers and saw Luna approach with Chrysalis behind her she wondered why there no shackles on her hooves but dismissed the thought. Maybe the Queen had willing surrendered. She decided to give her a moment to explain herself.
This was risky they both thought. Celestia could have Chrysalis in a dungeon or killed if this failed to work out. Both she and luna shared a concerned look with one another as they both approached the throne room. The Guards on duty let them pass, most likely under the thought that Luna was bringing the Queen in for questioning after capturing her.
"Look at me ", she thought to herself, " Why am i so nervous right now." it was a valid thought to have. Most of the time she would have just forced her way in and used her magic to control the situation. This was different. For the first time in a long time, Chrysalis was openly relying on another to help her with something. They really had no idea what to expect. Celestia had always seen her as a threat to keep in check. Now here she was presenting herself to the Sun princess in a defeated stance. She had to though. Seeing how strong her daughters had become both filled her with pride and terror after hearing Luna describe what happened when she became Nightmare Moon.
If Chrysalis had known back then what was going on between Celestia and Luna she might have stepped in and stopped Luna from becoming a living Nightmare. As they continued down the hallway she hugged her youngest daughter and tried to reassure her that their plan would work. That Celestia would be open to hearing her out and revealing the truth of why she was here in the first place.
"Luna," Chrysalis said nervously," Whatever happens, know that I've never stopped loving you,", as she spoke Luna wrapped her fore hooves around the Queen's neck and hugged her. With that, the two of them prepared for what may come as they openned the doors to the throne room. Celestia was signing several documents when she looked up to see them enter.
She let herself believe that her sister had spent time away from Canterlot for something that couldnt be discussed. What she didn't know was that it was Chrysalis who had sought out Luna to speak to her in private. As she sat on the throne, she couldn't forget the things Chrysalis had done during the first two Changeling invasions. She also scolded herself for underestimating the Queen's magical power the first time around.
This had been the first time in centuries that Chrysalis had stared at Celestia not in a threatening or defiant manner, but as a mother returning to see her children that she hadn't glimpsed in forever. She could still remember what they both looked like when they were just small foals, barely able to remember her face before she was cursed.
Celestia could only stare at Chrysalis with visible contempt in her eyes. If only she knew the truth before this day had to come. She was about to learn something that she wished wasn't true in the slightest. Her mentor and teacher Starswirl was always held to such high degree. Even more so with Twilight, she had recently learned. Her former student was always fangirling anytime Starswirl's name came up. She wanted to join her so many times, but she decided it was against her better judgment to do that. She was a Princess and she had a kingdom to rule. Taking a title like Queen was deemed distasteful according to Starswirl the Bearded.
"Wait," Celestia thought,"Why does Chrysalis look so tired?" The more she thought about it the more it didn't make sense a being like her would appear so tired and worn out. Maybe she hadn't fed herself in a while, The princess thought to herself.
Well, she thought, Luna finally managed to locate her, Celestia thought to herself as the two walked towards the throne. Celestia thought for a moment that Chrysalis looked like some pony she used to know, way before the first Changeling Invasion, but she brushed the thought away.
"Luna," Celestia said flatly,"I see you have finally tracked her down,", Chrysalis could hear a hint of contempt in Celestia's voice. If only Celestia knew who exactly she was being graced with. Luna looked at Chrysalis before turning to her sister. That feeling came back to Celestia's mind after her sister had a look of utter hurt on her face.
Luna's azure colored eyes had the most pleading look in them. It was that same look she had when she first came back after the Elements cleansed her of the Dark magic that had taken over her mind. They were so intense right now. It wasn't until she started to speak that Celestia started to realize why Queen Chrysalis felt so... familiar to her. She decided to hear them out. The Sun princess placed a hoof on her own chest for a moment and pictured what Chrysalis might have looked like is was in fact another alicorn, and the figure that she imposed on her was a striking resemblance to her own mother. Celestia pushed that thought to the back of her mind for now and let her sister finish speaking. It wouldn't be until much later that her assumption would be proven correct.
"Do you have any idea who this is Tia?", Luna looked at her sister pleadingly. Celestia could hear the sincerity in her little sister's voice, and it struck her as odd that Luna would defend a being like Chrysalis. a being that started to feel more and more familiar as time passed. She dismissed the Guards that had gathered and decided to hear out the Changeling Queen's pleas as asked by Luna.
"I assure you that Luna is not under any of my mind control spells,", Chrysalis asserted," I'm tired of fighting this," Celestia could tell that Chrysalis looked nearly spent," and it's been so long since I've felt any kind of peace in my life." Despite everything that happened as of late, Celestia started to realize that Chrysalis magic, felt strangely familiar to her. And not just from their battle during the Canterlot invasion, but earlier than that. She waited to hear what would come out of the Queen's lips next.
At that moment Chrysalis was allowed to approached Celestia. The Sun goddess met her half way before hearing a commotion at the door to the throne room. In came Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight. Before she could speak, Chrysalis found herself being thrown to the ground by Starlight's magic. Celestia kneeled to hear whatever she was trying to utter to the Princess of the sun.
As Chrysalis tried to speak to her while being pinned on the ground by Starlight's magic Celestia wanted to knock the mare into the next part of the castle. If her assumption was correct then Starlight had just assaulted a member of the Crown. That was enough to have her locked in the dungeons if not executed for her actions. As Chrysalis writhed in pain while on the ground she was able to use a hoof to motion for Celestia to come closer.
What she heard only cemented the feeling she was having. Starswirl had told Celestia and Luna that their mother had died in childbirth and that their father had disappeared right after the curse that had been laid on the Crystal Empire. Her heart started to beat faster when she finally realized just who it was that Starlight was pinning to the ground. A pony that she never thought she would ever have in her life again.
"Starswirl lied about my death my Little Tia,", at the mention of that name Celestia jumped to her hooves in a show of shock. The only ones that ever said that name was her sister Luna and before that, her... mother.
"Release her Starlight Glimmer." Celestia bellowed in the Canterlot voice. her voice echoed through out the Throne room. Starlight shrank back in fear. This was the first time in her life she could feel the anger and rage in the Princess' voice. Regardless of what Starswirl had ordered them to do, there was no way in Tartarus that Starlight was going to defy a being of Celestia's power. She released the Queen from the hold that her magic had on her.
"Guards!," Celestia hollered,"take Starlight into custody." Twilight and Rainbow both shrank back at the force of the tone the Princess used. Celestia lowered her tone when she saw how Twilight recoiled at hearing her mentor use that kind of tone towards her.
Celestia was also holding back something else. She wanted to rush over to Twilight and reassure her that she wasn't angry with her. That the princess in fact loved her. She had always been told that she would be unable to spend time with others once she had gone through the coronation for becoming the ruler of Equestria. The one pony that she had tried to have a normal relationship with was killed during the first war with the Crystal Empire.
'Twilight', she thought to herself,' you don't know how much it pained me to do that', she thought to herself as the guards entered the room. After this was over with she'd tell Twilight exactly how she really felt towards her former student.
"Guards, take Starlight into custody,", she decided to hold Starlight overnight in the dungeons until this could be handled properly. She knew Starlight most likely didn't mean to hurt Chrysalis, but she still had to maintain a firm stance.
"What!?!", Starlight reeled back as she found herself being restrained by three unicorn Royal Guard members. It was more of internalization than it was an outward showing of emotion. What was going on she thought as the Guards grabbed her by the shoulders. The look on Luna's face told her what she needed to know. She had just committed treason by attacking a member of the royal family. She also came to the stark realization that her own father had also committed this crime as well as Sedition by covering it up.
"What you did just now is considered an attack on a member of the Royal Family, Ms. Glimmer,", Luna announced to Twilight's protege. There was a hard honesty in Luna's voice. Starlight started to realize that what her own father had done was so vile that it was deemed as an act against the crown. And that by trying to kill Queen Chrysalis she was only covering up for his mistakes.
"Fine," she sighed as the guards put their hooves on her shoulders. She wasn't going to fight them. It was clear that her own father had crossed the line by even asking her to do this. She'd have the night to think about it as she waited to find out what would happen the following day.
She let her shoulders go lax as they dragged her away, not bothering to resist them at all. Twilight could only stare at Celestia. Her glare was really unnerving when Celestia thought about it. Celestia looked at the ground before pulling Twilight aside. The mare begrudgingly followed her mentor over towards the next room. Celestia tried to put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder but she pushed it away. That action broke a piece of her heart. She something that was a bit unexpected. She wrapped her forehooves around Twilight Sparkle and pulled the mare into her chest.
"You need to understand Twilight that your student attacked a member of the Crown. Im just going to hold Starlight overnight in the dungeon before i release her in the morning." Twilight seemed to relax a bit after she said that. What she still didnt get was why Celestia had her wrapped in what looked like a lovers embrace.
"I also need you to understand that i have something important i needed to tell you, something that ive wanted to say for the longest time but couldnt." Celestia watched as Twilight's ears perked up as she said this. Something had caught her attention now.
"Its been so long since ive been in any form of relationship Twilight, I used to be married you see but something terrible happened to the pony i was in love with. Not to mention the daughter that we had was soon banished for trying to asurp the throne. I had never told anypony else this, but we had used a pregnancy spell seeing as the two of us were Mares. That last part caught twilight's focus more then anything. She had put two and two together without realizing it. Sunset Shimmer was Princess Celestia's daughter. And by right of birth was the heir to Equestria's throne.
In a situation like this, where one had attacked a member of the Royal Family, the sentence for such a crime was usually death. But Celestia decided to sway that motion at the behest of both Twilight, and Queen Chrysalis. Chrysalis didn't want her conscience to be stained with the thought of Starlight being executed for something that was easily forgivable in her eyes. She had so many terrible things in her own lifetime that the pain of it all finally caught up with her.
She never truly blamed Starlight for her actions, it was Starswirl that was to blame for this whole ordeal they now found themselves in. He was the one that had sent his own daughter to cover crimes that he had committed in the name of the peace. He was the one that had cured her to this form that she now wore like some twisted badge. After the two of them had talked Celestia out of giving Starlight the death penalty, Chrysalis turned to Twilight and pulled her aside.
"I can forgive Starlight for her actions, but not her father Twilight,", she was as direct as she could be, but there was now a tone of sorrow laced into her voice.
"Starlight never told me everything she read in the journal we found," Twilight stared at the ground as she said this," But was it true what was written in there about the Changelings once being carniverous?", She was trying not to let her curiousity get the better of her right now.
"Yes," Chrysalis paused," When we were first expelled from the Empire, I couldn't think of any other way to survive... so i coopted the Changeling physiology to include the ability to eat meat from smaller creatures. Little did i know that was already an aspect of their form and that they had evolved past using that " skill" as it had been labeled by them,", Twilight's pupils shrank to the size of pin pricks.
At one point the changelings were capable of eating meat. Which could also explain the various expeditions over the centuries that others had tried to make into the Badlands, only to never show up again. All those adventurers that had inspired authors like A.K. Yearling had most likely been killed and devoured by feral Changelings before Chrysalis had become their Queen all those eons ago.
And meanwhile something was stirring in the mountains of the Crystal Empire. Far the prying eyes of the elite in Canterlot, far from Twilight and Chrysalis, something was turning the skies as black as night. Even though it was getting late and Celestia was in the process of lowering the sun, something began to stir.
A massive portal opened up, brimstone and fire plummeting the surface in the process. There was one other thing that Starswirl had never told his own daughter. Something that would spell either salvation or doom for their world.
During one of his planning sessions with the Princesses, he had been working on a device that would allow to travel to a parallel world that was much like their own. Save for the fact that humans still thrived on this planet, unlike here in Equestria where the civilization had wiped itself out through constant warfare. He made friends with 3 beings there. Two of them were humans named Gormlaith, and Hakon, and one other that was a dragon. His name was called Parthanuux.
He helped them displace a terrible foe at what would later come at a great cost. This foe was beyond measure for any of the humans that were in his company at that time. There was only one recourse that Starswirl could think of, one that was beyond irrational, but had to be done none the less. He openned up a scroll and by reciting the right verses and enchantments, dispelled their mighty foe into a massive portal, casting him adrift through the annals of time and space.
There was no way to be sure if their enemy was truly gone, or would just reappear sometime in the future. What he didn't realize was that this foe would wind up in Equestria in the near future. And that Starlight would have to take on her greatest task yet. And that the reward would be something completely unexpected as well.
"Va'sha frell lonackt Dovahkin,", Alduin spoke, his voice resonating through the air like thunder," Watch as your world ends welp,", this time she understood him better. Mostly since Twilight was right next to her, using a language spell to translate what he was saying.
The size of the dragon in front of them was enough to make the Dragon Lord look tame in comparison. His scales were as black as obsidian, and his wings were just as menacing. His form was enough to send shivers down Twilight's spine. But there was something about Alduin that intrigued her. And she couldn't stop thinking about it, even when she was trying hard not to. She didn't want to doubt Starlight's abilities, but the thought started to weigh on her mind.
Could Starlight beat this monster on her own?
That was when Twilight watched in shock as Starlight pulled a blade out from under a black cloak she was wearing. It had the symbol of a blackbird on the part connecting the blade to the handle. She watched as traces of magic began emanating from the blade itself with each slash that was delivered to the beast. Starlight dodged each strike Alduin made with his wings and claws. She could see the frustration in his eyes as his attacks kept missing his target.
He took to the air and let out a series of roars. Twilight could feel the power of his Thuum knock her and those watching to the ground. It felt like her head was constantly ringing because of it. She managed to keep her eyes open long enough to watch the battle unfold in front of her. She collapsed afterwards only to awaken to Starlight standing over her, and Alduin dead behind her. They both watched as his body disintegrated, the wisps of energy that had comprised his form traveling high into the air before disappearing forever.
As the dust settled, it appeared that the only one left standing was Starlight. Alduin seemingly lay dead right behind her. Starlight looked around to see that the others had been knocked unconscious. And then she saw that several of them weren't moving at all. That meant one thing in her mind. They were dead. Starlight could barely contain the rage that was building within her now. She needed an outlet or else her anger was going to consume her at this point. She turned to Alduin and charged at him, sword unsheathed and ready for attack. She could hardly believe it as he brushed off the rubble and regained his composure.
"You cannot defeat me Jor, I will return stronger than before as i feed on the souls of your brethren in Sovngard", Alduin boasted. Starlight only stared at him as he kept talking. Alduin finally took notice of this and was taken aback by her defiance.
"Dont get so cocky," , Starlight snapped at the dragon. She wasnt going to put up with his bullshit any longer. She'd had enough of this and was ready to end it right then and there.
I'll send you back to whatever realm you crawled out of, she thought to herself. She had never faced a being quite like him before. She was going to learn later that she was descended from Royal blood. Blood that was also cursed. Not only would she learn of the connection she shared with a certain unicorn mage.
She'd learn that her Bloodline went further back then just being possibly related to Starswirl the Bearded. She learn of a family curse involving a Daedric Prince. Both her and Twilight would also discover a family secret of Twilight's that could spell disaster for the entire province of Equestria.
She focused all of her effort on the monster that was standing before her. Her rage becoming her only guide now. All she could do was commit to the attack, not bothering to look around and notice that one of the bodies of her friends was moving.
This battle had nearly cost her everything that she held dear, and almost everypony she cared about was now assumed dead. She could feel her heart beginning to break into a thousand pieces. That was when she heard his voice and turned to see him staring at her, his teeth ready to devour her.
"Kri'Shast kel Dovahkin," which roughly translated to,"Die now in Terror,", but before Alduin could muster the last ounce of strength he had, Starlight buried the Nightingale blade deeply into his forehead. At first Alduin shrugged it off. He was the first born of Akatosh after all. He had faced tougher opponents back on Nirn.
And yet for the first time in his life, he started to doubt himself when fighting against this "pony". There was something about her that started to remind him of the Last Dragonborn. He could feel the power flowing from her. An untapped potential that even she wasn't aware of. But he could feel it. And for once it frightened him.
Starlight jumped back as Alduin reared up, screaming to the sky. His scales began to crack and burn away as a divine energy engulfed him before he finally exploded for what seemed like the last time. She sheathed her sword and turned around to go check on the others. As she helped Celestia up off the ground she thought she heard something moving off to the side. She turned the corner to see what it was.
That was when Starlight heard a series of soft moans and turned to see Trixie and Twilight slowly lift themselves off the ground and stagger around for a moment. Both mares had been dazed, and knocked unconscious by the power of Alduin's Thuum. Twilight seemed more dazed then the others. Starlight surveyed the courtyard and was taken aback from the damage that was all around her.
Canterlot was in ruins and only a handful had managed to survive the battle. There was a lingering feeling of dread in the air. Like none of them truly felt that it was really over. The damage to the capitol was extensive, at least from what Starlight could see at the moment. The North side of Canterlot tower had been utterly destroyed, nothing of it remained but loose debris and rubble.
The tower and its base had crumbled under the brunt and force of Alduin's Thuum. Twilight had never felt a power like that before. The force of it was enough to render a pony of her stature unconscious and unable to help Starlight in her fight against the winged menace. It left her with a feeling of uneasiness that she hadn't felt in a very long time.
The Courtyard was in ruins, Pillars and other support beams of the castle scattered about like pebbles and twigs. Many of the stonework that had decorated the surrounding area of Canterlot castle had been destroyed during the battle with Alduin.
The devastation that had been incurred by his wrath permeated the landscape. None of the surrounding towns and villages had been able to escape the destruction that had been wrought upon the land. All they could do was rebuild what had been leveled during the fight. It sounded simpler then it looked.
As they were surveying the damage, Starlight took notice of something. She began to notice a change in Twilight, she was starting to act a bit out of character. She seemed cold and disconnected for some reason.
Starlight was completely unaware that Twilight was being contacted by a being that was on the level of an eldritch god. A being that corrupt those that were pure of heart with the lure of forbidden knowledge. At her core Twilight was still a nerd, and one that still loved her books. These traits were the kind that a certain Daedric Lord and Prince could manipulate to pull her into his service. Celestia and Luna were both well aware of this being's name, and were not willing to utter it out loud.
Old Herma Mora was well acquainted with capturing powerful warriors to his side, Twilight was no different from his point of view. Her curiosity was going to be the trap he would need to ensnare her into his service. Her thirst for knowledge only rivaled his own. There were times she was too curious for her own good and it got her into more trouble then it was worth.
In the past he had been so close to luring Princess Luna into his service when he had promised her the knowledge needed to overthrow her sister Celestia. As much as he wanted to control her, one of his siblings had gotten to the Princess of the Night first.
It was hard for Starlight to see Twilight in this condition. Whatever she thought Alduin had done to her friend would pale in comparison to what was actually transpiring. Twilight had found a very old book the day before. One that was hundreds if not thousands of years old. One that was of enormous power. It was also a book that Celestia was aware of and had warned her former pupil to never indulge in or read.
The Black Books were a source of forbidden knowledge that could easily tempt one down a much darker path then they sought in life. It had corrupted many adventurers and heroes of the past, including the Last Dragonborn. Equestria shared the same plane of existence as Nirn, and as such, it was possible for travel between the two. All it required was a precise map and a magic portal.
One could travel there by ship if needed but it was considered risky since Equestria was located near the edge of the known world. Only a few from Tamriel had ever been there and they weren't greeted with the best of reception during that time period. It was around the time of Mythic era, so most records of contact had been lost to time.
From one of these black books, Twilight would learn that her family lineage was wrought with themes like patricide and failed political coups. Not even her own mother was aware that Twilight was a descendant of the mare known as Potema Sparkle, The Wolf Queen of Equestria.
The only one that really knew more about Twilight's family was in fact Celestia herself. She wanted to avoid another Potema coming to power so she took Twilight under her wings to learn teach all she could and help the mare learn what friendship truly meant. The last thing she needed was another all powerful Necromancer Queen nearly usurping the throne. She had been there when Potema was captured during her last failed rebellion to seize the crown and throne of Equestria.
She had heard horror stories of what that mare did to those that opposed her. And to make it worse half of her own family had wanted her rule overthrown when they realized just how vile she was. When she was born her own father had described her as a "she-wolf" that looked ready to pounce.
Hermaous Mora was the Demon of Knowledge in the folktales of the Skaal, and The Gardner of Men. His other Acolyte the Last Dragonborn was currently traveling Tamriel in search of more forbidden knowledge. He felt it unnecessary to repeat the mistake that he made with Miraak. It benefitted him more to leave her on Nirn then have her be stuck in his realm.
That and he didn't want to deal with a Blood Starved Vampire trying to eat the other denizens of his realm constantly. So he left her to her own devices. The one before him now though was going to be more entertaining to corrupt. Despite being in his current form, the atmosphere of this place made him want to vomit to be honest. Little did he know that some of his brothers and sisters had their own plans for this realm.
A voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her not to do this. Dont betray your friends, don't betray the pony that was like a second mother to you it begged of her. A voice that the purple alicorn ignored for the time being. She wanted to hear him out on this offer he was proposing to her.
Twilight tried to put it out of her mind. She had better things to do than listen to some voice in her head. A voice that was most likely her conscience trying to make course corrections before it was too late to do so. Just like a book she didn't want to read, she shoved it aside. It usually wasn't like her to act like this. She was turning over a new leaf she had told herself. She had to step out from under Celestia's shadow one way or another.
'Stop listening to him', the voice told her. 'This isn't like you Twilight, your not the type of pony that gives into corruption,please stop!' The voice pleaded with her. And once more she continued to ignore it. She knew that Mora was using this book as a bargaining chip, and she could care less right now. She had to have that knowledge. If only she knew what she was getting herself really into. Mora was not the type of being to be betrayed. He had methods of exacting retribution.
Twilight felt something inside of her changing. Her world view was shifting more and more each day that was in his presence. She was more willing to turn her back on her former ideals now more then she would have 5 years ago. She kept telling herself that she was doing this for the betterment of her species. The reality of it was that she was lying to herself to excuse herself of her coming actions. She would have to do the unthinkable. She'd have to turn against Celestia if she wanted to remain Mora's newest disciple.
She'd have to sell her very soul to a Daedric Lord in order to keep the Knowledge she had gained. And Mora had the perfect plan in store for her. For her service to him, he decided that he was willing to give her something unique at the end of this. Her own Daedric Realm.
Twilight Sparkle was about to enter into a faustian style deal with the Daedric Prince of Knowledge himself, Hermaous Mora. This wasn't like her at all. Making deals with Dark powers and the like. The last time she had been close to something like this was the one time that Sombra had offered to make her his queen of Shadows.
At the time she soundly rejected him and he slunk back to the shadows like a dog. But now. This was something different. She had never been presented with a book like this before. One that held vast pages of tempting and forbidden knowledge. A part of her prayed that her friends would be understanding about the whole ordeal and not think any less of her as a mare and a princess.
The other half kept telling her this was a horrible idea to even contemplate. She walked close to the writhing mass of oil black tentacles and levitated the book into her saddle bag. As far as Mora was concerned that was a good sign she was open and malleable to his future influences.
Twilight sat down and thought to herself, Im going this for a betterment of Equestria. If a pony like Sombra, or even Queen Chrysalis were to get ahold of this they'd certainly doom the land. At least in her hooves it would be put to good use. at least that's what Twilight kept telling herself as she was deep in thought. She snapped out of it when Mora spoke to her further.
"I have a task for you my dear, after we continue on our way to your private study that is,", She got off her haunches and escorted the mass to her private chambers. It was interesting watching "it" slog through the air towards the study that was adjacent to her bedroom. That was when out of nowhere he coalesced into a humanoid form. Mora took on the form of a bipedal stallion. Apparently he decided on this form if was to further his interest in Twilight Sparkle.
"I didn't know you shapeshift,", she said. She was a bit surprised by this at first before thinking that he must have done this before.
"My newest champion," he spoke,"I take on forms like this for those that i deem a vested interest." When he said that it sparked something in her. A dangerous curiosity that would have only one outcome.
"If i may ask," she was pondering what to ask him, before getting a cue as to what his interest might be. Mora was sitting on her bed. Twilight found herself being drawn over to his side. As if some invisible force was pushing, no, driving her towards him.
"Ohhh,", She began moaning. She could feel him caressing her thighs before sliding his hands up her flank and right to her buttocks. Twilight Sparkle soon found herself being levitated off the bed as he used some sort of spell to summon an oily black tentacle from out of nowhere and used it to penetrate her anal cavity. Once again Twilight's eyes rolled back into her skull as she started to orgasm from the actions being wrought upon by her " guest".
When she regained some semblance of consciousness, she found herself on her knees, shoving his horsecock into her mouth and sucking and slurping on it. She could feel what amounted to his cum sloshing into her mouth and down the back of her throat. It spilled out of her mouth and onto her chest. Twilight had never realized till now just how much she was enjoying this.
She couldnt tell them.
None of them.
Not Starlight. Not Celestia or Luna.
None of her friends. None of them could know.
When her and Starlight had been out uncovering pieces of the past, she had come across a book when they had been in the old Unicorn Capitol. A book that spoke to her. Literally. She tried to ignore it, but the voice was too tempting to put of her mind that she finally submitted and listened to it.
"My Child, I have been seeking a champion as of late, one that can out do my latest pawn,", the voice whispered to her. Twilight felt strangely aroused by it.
"What is that you ask?", she whispered back to it, hoping that Starlight wasn't eavesdropping.
"The book before you holds untold knowledge that I have gathered over the eons,", Twilight could feel herself become excited inside. You can't have too many books as far as she was concerned, " and it can all be yours... for a price."
"What kind of price are we talking about?", she asked, now cautiously excited. What would she have to do to be able to gain access to the knowledge that this book held?
Weeks turned to months. Twilight's friends began to suspect that whatever was wrong with her was due to the fight with Alduin. They couldn't get her to leave the castle during the day. She was obsessed with her new " Book". She told them it was too good to put down.
Even Starlight was becoming worried about her. Twilight was even starting to have dreams of being violated by a writhing mass of Tentacles. Luna and Starlight sent scrolls back and forth as they took turns monitoring what was happening to Twilight.
Luna decided that it was best not to inform Starlight or the others that several of the dreams were too risque and erotic to even be mentioned at all.
For you see the book she was enthralled over wasnt just any normal book that one would find in a Library or a local bookstore. No. The one she found was something that Celestia and Luna had tried to do away with centuries ago. The power and knowledge it contained bordered on dangerous, even destructive.
She had become so enamored with it that she lost track of time. She had always been so concerned with being studious before that anything else was deemed heresy in her eyes. Later that night, the voice spoke to Twilight again. She had that feeling of being aroused by it again.
"What is it that you require of me... master,", She had never called anypony that before. It was so...submissive of her to do so. That was when a oil black tentacle stretched out of the book and pierced her forehead. Her eyes rolled back as she felt herself being transported to another plane of existence.
"What I seek in return for your loyalty is simple my dear,", The writhing mass of tentacles spoke with absolute conviction," I need you to betray your friends,", It said as she felt the oil black tentacles wrap themselves around parts of her body.
Twilight was going to have to betray every pony she had ever known in order to stay in the service of her new Master.
Hermeaous Mora.
It was as dark as night as Twilight entered the cave. Hermeaous Mora had indicated that it housed a powerful and ancient relic that could be used for the task that he had given her.
According to legend, there was once an ancient artifact of great measure that could drive one to commit horrible and unspeakable acts. This artifact was in fact a sword, one that had been crafted by a being with a heart that was as black as the oncoming veil of night.
One that was cursed and believed destroyed or hidden away centuries ago.
The sword was also rumored to drive any and all that possessed the weapon insane. That it had the ability to corrupt them by warping their minds. Those that had possessed the sword swore that they could hear voices. Voices that spoke to them in hushed and whispered tones.
Voices that spoke in cryptic and vague tongues.
The wielder would be driven by the voices to do unspeakable things to those around them.
A birth like hers wasn't natural. it was said that Potema Sparkle had more wolf in her then pony. especially with the way she acted later in her life. She was more cunning and equally as depraved when it came to the dark arts and invocation spells. She made several pacts with the daedric princes in exchange for an unnaturally long life span and other things that would make anypony in the present time blush or vomit depending on the situation.
There are some constants in the universe that define the paths of others. Potema was described at birth as having soulless eyes and an aura that sent chills down the spines of those that came to know her. She was a wolf in sheeps' clothing as it were.
As the mare held the foal in her hooves, she could only stare at it. If was like staring into the gaping maw of Oblivion itself. The foal's eyes had gone black for a moment before returning to the red tint that she had been born with. The townsponies were whispering that she was an omen of bad things to come. The parents were nobles that belonged to the court of Hoofingar.
After walking through the gates of the capitol, one would usually be taken aback by the sights of the stonework that dotted the streets and made up most of the buildings. The stonework was really something to behold on most days. But not today. Today there was an uneasy tension in the air. It was like a thousand graves were opened because of the chill that now permitted the air.
The Capitol had always been a magnet for the darker aspects of Pony society. There were rumors that the sewers were infested with rats and other unsavory things. The Guards were always commenting that one of the caves nearby was a nest for Vamponies. There had been a string of mysterious deaths as of late. Bodies of earth ponies were found drained of all their blood. A pegasi merchant had gone missing in the same manner but was later found clinging to life.
"They came out of the forests, and attacked my caravan," she was fearful that she'd turn if something wasn't done soon. The priest could tell she was in fear of her life as she continued on.
"They took one of the caravan guards as a thrall," She was in tears , recounting what had transpired.
She warned that a Vampony had attacked her on the road and that she wasn't sure if she was going to turn or not. As a precaution, they gave her a Cure Disease Potion and when the swirling blue magic encompassed her body she sighed a sign of relief and proceeded to allow herself to be healed before heading back to the Pegasi kingdom.
Most of Potema's early life was well documented, but it was the latter half that spoke of the true darkness that inhabited her soul. She was a well known and dangerous practitioner of Necromancy. She had kidnapped her own niece at the time of her brother becoming Emperor and tried to force a moot to replace him.
It was one of the worst things anypony could have read about. A king being usurped in a time of peace was almost unheard of in Equestria. It was something that The Wolf Queen reveled in. Something that breathed life into her near blackened heart. Potema's brother meet with an unfortunate accident while on a hunting trip with some of the other nobles.
Her niece Kintyra was appointed Empress instead of her own son. She tried to convince the nobles that her son, Dusk Shine, was a better ruler then a mere filly of 14. The Nobles said that the coronation would be a year away. Seeing as Kintyra's age was under the specified requirement. They would have to wait for at least a year to make their case as to why Dusk should be named ruler instead.
That year passed and the Elder Council, made of up the Nobles that promised to listen to Potema's case, had already made up their mind and named Kintyra as Empress. Potema was less then impressed and decided that she was left with one other course of action.
She meet with her allies in the neighboring kingdoms of Griffonstone, The Badlands, and Hammerhoof. What followed next was the bloodiest conflict outside of the Daedric invasion that was to come several centuries later. She had her pony and Griffon allies, but more so, she always had alllies among the Vampires and undead of Equestria.
She had also made pacts with the Daedric Lords. Especially Molag Bal. Several centuries later, a mare named Twilight Sparkle would discover that Bal essentially owned her family's blood and soul. And would come to collect that debt when the time was right.
"We need to get home soon,"Midnight was ready to head home after visiting her uncle's tomb. She never understood why her daughter was so fascinated with death all the time. The priests at the temple were always warning her that her daughter was a child of Oblivion. That she should have been exiled at the earliest opportunity. She was a wolf in sheep's clothing. When she was around fifteen she watched as one of her cousins fell off a riding cart and broke his neck. She could only stand there and stare before saying," Guess he doesn't have the guts to do that again."
It was a bit cold and offputting to say the least. She could only maintain her composure for a few hours before spiraling into a screaming fit that her needs were being ignored. She made sure to taunt certain ponies that she felt deserved it.
Midnight could only look at her foal for a moment before wanting to avert her gaze again. There was something wrong with this child. She didn't laugh when surrounded by other fillies and colts. She could only stare at them with a blank look like something had turned off all emotions and senses.
She turned to her mother and asked when they were going to pay their respects in the crypt. One of Midnight's relatives had passed away recently and she had planned to pay her respects later. She thought it odd though that her daughter wanted to go with her. Her uncle and her daughter had never laid eyes on each other. She had never mentioned his name to her husband at all. It was just something that she planned to do alone.
"How did you know i was going to the Crypt Potema?", She looked down at her filly and was taken aback by the look in her eyes. They were cold and lifeless like earlier with the other fillies. When they were walking away from the other foals, she caught a glimpse of warmth returning to her daughter's eyes. But just like that it was gone again.
"Father had mentioned it in passing," she said. Figures Midnight thought. her husband was a bit of a nosy one and must thought that this would help the two of them bond a bit. She always felt a bit isolated when it came to interacting with her daughter. Maybe this would help to improve their relations.
Potema's teenage life was wrought with strange occurrences and outright horrific events that preyed upon her other family members. Potema's older brother was to be Emperor. He had a better claim to the throne then she did. She started trying to spy on him and forge documents to incriminate him in several scandalous circumstances, all of which failed in the end, with him finding out and taunting her for it.
"I know you were behind those false documents," Drake Shield told his sister. "Play your games Potema Sparkle, but i will be Emperor soon." he stared into those red irises of her," and there's nothing you can do to stop that from happening."
"Im sure you'll make a fine emperor brother,"she said behind a smile that showed she was clearly lying to his face. While Potema was lying to her brother, there was a battle going on near the border with the Crystal Empire. Gusty the Unicorn was battling a great evil that had returned.
She buried her sword her sword in the enemy in front of her. Her father, the King of Unicornia, had enchanted the blade to deal damage to any and all Dark magic users. The two of them exchanged blows before he succumb to the blades' enchantment. The enchantment was designed to ravage ones stamina and magicka, leaving them defenseless.
She had watched countless battles take place over the years while she was kept in the safety of her fathers castle walls. This time she had wanted to experience one herself. Even though it would have been against her father's wishes. The battlements had always made her feel safe, like nothing could have touched her at all.
"How can one deal with so much wanton death," she thought to herself. It was heartbreaking to see so many of those that had served her family now lying dead all around her. She prayed to the gods to receive these warriors honored souls and to protect them. It felt like a flood valve had been opened inside of her. So many emotions hit her all at once that she fell to her hooves crying.
An apothecary approached her, carrying a wounded mare upon her back. Gusty asked where she had been found. The Apothecary told her where they had found her and that she had been simply knocked unconscious despite the stab marks all over the mares body.
"We found her out near the south end of the Battlefield," The apothecary said before asking the obvious,"What should we do with her?", Gusty had to take a moment to breathe before giving the apothecary an answer.
"Take her the medical tent,"was the response,"We'll patch her up and then find out just who she is, and why she thought she could fight against us," With that the apothecary walked off in the direction of the field hospital. Gusty had known most of the ponies that lived under her Family's rule and this mare was uknown to her. She had to find out just who she was, and what compelled her to fight in this battle.
