> Sins of the Past > by Star Seeker > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue- Creating the Monster > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- //------------------------------------------------- // Story: Sins of the Past // Prologue: Creating the Monster // Author: Star Seeker //------------------------------------------------- 1100 years before the events of "Friendship is Magic She strode through the halls, her armor clanking faintly as she went. The stones on the floor were so polished that she could see her reflection in it, the walls covered with tapestries of events that had happened long ago, some of which she had witnessed herself. The ceiling was a painting of a beautiful starry night. When she approached he door leading to the observatory, the guards saluted and opened the door. Her sister was already there, gazing at the magical projection of the battlefield. She looked at it too. It was an awful sight. There were no bodies, even though there were thousands of casualties, the only signs of the conflict that had taken place there was the blackness, the remnants of a huge magical power that had scorched the earth, burning anything and everything into ashes. "So it is finished" said Luna as she approached the projection. It rippled slightly as it changed to another angle of the horrific scene. "Discord is imprisoned in stone and his army is no more". Celestia just kept staring at the projection. "Why do you look so solemn? Can you no hear the celebrations going on?" Her horn glowed, and the doors to the balcony swung open. The noise washed through the room, the cheers of ponies could be heard as Pegasus, unicorns and earth ponies alike danced, sang, ate and drank as they celebrated the end of the war and the end of the tyranny of Discord, the end of chaos. "I am not celebrating because I mourn for all those who have perished in this senseless bloodshed" Said Celestia, turning to her sister. "And for the humans…". "The humans chose their side" Interrupted Luna. She moved to the stand next to the bed and her horn glowed undoing the clasps that held her armor on as they floated onto it. "They took up their arms for Discord and they have played the price for their decision. The only one of their wretched race left is Discord's apprentice, the one that we captured at the start of this war, and he is still imprisoned in the crystal caverns." Celestia stood up and walked out and stood on the balcony, the sound of the celebrations washed over her. " I know that but, did they really deserve extinction? I know what they did, and I don't think that I could ever forgive them for it, but it's because of us that…" "SILENCE!" yelled Luna, who spun to face her. "We did what we had to do to survive, they were trying to expand their kingdom and". "Don't forget" Interjected Celestia. " That this place was originally theirs. We came here here seeking refuge and a new home after our disharmony brought the frost spirits upon us". "We settled here, built our cities and towns, built farms and roads". She sighed. "But you're right, enough of this dreadful topic". She walked back into the room, the balcony doors closing silently behind her, muffling the sounds of the celebration. "Now, let us go visit our prisoner". The magical elevator rapidly picked up speed as it descended into the main chamber of the crystal caverns, but the riders hardly felt a thing. After 5 minutes, it slowed down and stopped with barely a whisper. They walked towards the magically sealed door at one end of the chamber, their images reflected on all sides by the mirror like surfaces of the sheer crystal walls. As they approached the door, their horns begin to glow and in response, the heavy bolts sealing the door started to slide across, responding to the combined magic of the two. The door opened without a sound. In the middle of the room, chained to the raised pedestal by the celestial bonds, an enchanted chain designed to suppress the magic of the captive. They glowed faintly, the runes engraved onto the steel moving slowly around the wrist cuff and the chain. The human chained there had a unique physical appearance compared to the other humans Celestia had seen before. It was his face that attracted her gaze. The human has striking blue eyes, as blue as the sky on a cloudless day which shined with intelligence, and golden blond hair that seemed to glow by itself. His body was dirty after being chained to the spot for so long, he was lean and slightly muscular, about 5' 9 feet tall ad radiated strength and power. The most significant feature on his body however, were the markings that covered both his shoulders, the humans version of cutie marks. His were of an open book with an hourglass hovering above it, which was encompassed by a ring of fire, ice and lightning. This signified that while he was young, only about 17, he had mastered the arcane magic. He looked up from his cross-legged position as they entered the room, his calculating eyes following them. Celestia had always been disturbed by how humans could sit like that. " So, my captor finally decide to grace me with their presence" he said. "So what news do you bring me? Free me and trade me for a captive Alicorn? Or have you come to taunt me like your sister over there" he moved his head in Luna's directing. Luna's nostrils flared. " I still question your motives for imprisoning me here, I have never harmed anyone". "You were Discord's apprentice" said Luna. "We couldn't risk you running around out there". "Well, I COULD have apprenticed to you or your sister over there, or any other unicorn or alicorn, butt who's fault is that eh?" He said. Celestia stepped forward. "You certainly have an interesting way of suppressing your fear. But I wonder how you would react if you knew that you were the last of your kind?". He paled. "You're lying" Celestia's horn glowed and the projection from the observatory appeared. It showed the final moments of the battle, of a colossal column of magic carving through the human forces as they fled the battlefield, leaving nothing but ashes. It then flicked to a scene of the human kingdom, which was emitting huge columns of smoke as it burned to the ground. Screams of dying humans could be heard as one of the towers on the castle had just collapsed, destroying everything beneath it. "Your kind has been erased from the face of Equestria, you are all that remains of your wretched race". Her horn stopped glowing and the projection vanished. "As the new ruler of Equestria, i now condemn you to imprisonment for eternity as the final punishment for your race. Her horn glowed once more and the Elements of Harmony appeared before her, spinning slowly. They stopped suddenly and flew to their respective owners, fixing themselves to their collars and tiaras. They shone and Celestia and Luna rose of the ground, their eyes ablaze. The human started shouting "No no NO". The Elements flashed and a bolt of rainbow light shot from them and smacked the human square in the chest. Nothing happened for a moment and the human breathed a sigh of relief, and then the crystal of the platform started growing over the human. He struggled and strained and tried to resist the growing crystal. As the growth reached his neck, he looked Celestia square in the eye. "You have just made an enemy of a lifetime. You cant keep me here for an eternity and i will get out, and when i do, i will have my revenge you hear me? I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!". The crystal covered his head and there was silence. Luna looked up at Celestia. " At last, we can go celebrate". She touched the ground and the Elements disappeared. Celestia tapped her shoulder. "Not just yet. First, we have to make sure that no pony can ever use the power that we used of that battlefield. We seal the weapon away, and then we can go celebrate". During the events of "A Canterlot Wedding" "The Elements of Harmony are out only chance now" whispered Celestia, as she lay on the floor of the main room. "Go to the tower and get to them before the changelings can". "Don't worry Celestia, we'll get there as fast as we can" said Twilight, as she and her friends started running towards the doors. Down in the crystal caverns while this was happening, another event took place. A ripple of yellow light went through the chamber as residual energy from the blast that hit Celestia depleted her temporarily of magic. As it touched the formation in the middle of the chamber, a strange thing happened. Two identical sets of glowing runes appeared inside the crystal. They grower brighter and brighter until suddenly, they disappeared, the magic sustaining them dissipating. There was silence in the chamber again. Then a faint sound came from the formation in the middle of the room, the sound of fracturing glass. It got louder and louder until suddenly. CRACK. The Crystal shattered and large chunks of it went flying across the chamber. A kneeling figure remained in the spot where the crystal had been. The figure collapsed onto the platform, not use to supporting his weight after over 1000 years of imprisonment. The figure sat up slowly and looked at his shacking hands and, even though he had been trapped for so long, he started laughing, loud and maniacally. "Oh Celestia, I told you so. You couldn't keep me locked up forever. Now it's time for my long long awaited revenge". One year later Luna woke with a start. She looked around, but couldn't figure out where she was. She sat there in the darkness and thought, what had she been doing before this? She remembered she had just changed with Celestia on the balcony of the observatory to watch over the night, and that she had heard a strange noise behind her, and when she turned there was a figure that looked kind of like…. "Oh look, the guest of honor is awake" came a voice from the surrounding darkness. She spun on the spot, looking for the owner of the voice, but she couldn't see anything, which was strange, because she was able to see through the dark anywhere else. "Oh, you can't see me? How rude of me, let me help you with that". There were hoof steps in the darkness. Suddenly, the place lit up brightly. Luna covered her eyes, which had yet to adjust. 'That's better, can you see me now?" the figure asked. She looked, her blurry eyes showing her the outline of a figure that… "Oh no" Luna breathed as she realized who was standing in front of her. "Ah, so you Do remember me. How nice of you to remember the one you imprisoned for over a thousand years" he walked towards her. Luna stepped back, and stopped as her flank hit an invisible wall. "You like it? I remembered this place from all those years ago when Discord taught me everything he knew about magic" He walked slowly around her, not stepping within a meter of her. "Why have you brought me here? What is the purpose of this room?" shouted Luna, spinning so that she was always facing him. "I will answer your second question first" He paused. "What do you know about magic?". Luna looked at him, dumbfounded. "What. Have you forgotten after all those years in confinement? Magic is a form of energy that unicorns and Alicorns possess and can manipulate at their will." "Good, Good. Now how does the cutie mark relate to the owners magic?" "The cutie mark represents the special talent that that pony has, and this is usually what they're best at doing with their magic" "Close, but no cigar" He said, stopping and looking at Luna. "While cutie marks DO represent the special talent of that pony, it works differently for unicorns and alicorns. Think if it this way, you've seen how how powerful Twilight Sparkles magic was just before she got her cutie mark, how it raged and did whatever it felt like doing. What a cutie mark does for magical beings, is seal their magic up so that they can only use it for the tasks that their mark represents" He stopped, waiting for it tot sink in. "How do you know about Twilight's test to get into magic school? That happened while you were imprisoned" "My body was bound to the crystal prison, but my magic allowed my mind to wander free" He started walking in the opposite direction. "Now back to my previous topic. Did you know that it is possible to steal another beings magic?". Luna looked shocked. "How do you know this? That knowledge is forbidden." "i was alive all those years ago when it was discovered. When sufficient energy is directed at a magical beings cutie mark, the cutie mark of that being will begin to destabilize, and if someone can act quick enough, he can drain the magical powers out of that being, causing the cutie mark to look like it has shattered" He smiled, an evil smile full of malice and contempt. "To answer your first question, i have brought you here because this room has been designed to exactly what i have just said". He smirked. "And once I have finished with you, i will go after your sister". He laughter, loud and maniacally. Luna was terrified. "What could you possible want with our powers?". "I'm going to do two things with your powers. First, I'm going to bring back my race from extinction". Luna cut in. "How can you do that? Your race was wiped out". "That's a surprise. And secondly, I'm going to lift the seal on the weapon and then you and your sister can look on, helplessly as I once did, as I burn your civilization to the ground". Luna was horrified. "You're a monster" He spun to Luna, his face deadly serious. "That's the thing about monsters, they're not born, they're made. You created this monster, and now this monster has come back to rampage". He walked over to one side of the room, a hole panel appearing before him. "Now this won't hurt….much". He pressed the button. > Chapter 1- The start of something > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- //------------------------------------------------- // Story: Sins of the Past // Chapter 1: The Start of something // Author: Star Seeker //------------------------------------------------- POOF, a puff of smoke shot out of the library’s top window. Inside, Twilight stood surprised, her face blackened and her mane standing on end. Another failed experiment. She heard giggling. Across the room, Dash sat snugly on a pile of pillows with her head tucked into the latest issue of her favorite series. This one was called: Daring Doo and the Weapon of the Gods. Twilight walked over to her and looked over the top of the book. Dash was trying to contain her laughter. Twilight cleared her throat. “Hhmm”. Dash looked up. Upon seeing her face and the state of her mane, she could no longer contain her laughter. “Oh god Twilight!” she said, rolling on the pillows in a fit of laughter. “You should look in the mirror, it looks like you have done a Pinkie Pie and thought inside the chimney”. Twilights horn glowed and a mirror shot towards her. She looked into it and gasped, dropping the mirror and running towards the sink. She came back a minute later, her face and mane dripping wet, but now clean. Dash had finally stopped laughing and was back into her book. “So, what were you doing up there again?” she said as she looked up from her book. “I am trying to make a regeneration potion, so that you and your wings can heal quicker whenever you crash again”. She trotted over and sat down next to Dash, snuggling up in the pillows. “How come you’re here reading? I thought you had clean up duty after last nights storm?” Dash shifted to face her. “I’ve got Nightshade doing it, he lost the race so I made him do it”. Twilight had heard about the race that had taken place above the storm clouds last night. A high flier had come from Los Pegasus to live in Ponyville. When he got here and introduced himself, Dash has instantly challenged him to a race, eager to prove her superiority over him. Thinking it would be an easy victory, he accepted and the race had taken place after they had moved the storm in. Nightshade had started to pull ahead at the beginning of the last lap. He would have won too, but he had not yet learnt how to break the sound barrier, so Dash went sonic rainboom and overtook him on the home stretch. Gracious in defeat, he agreed to take over Dash’s portion when it was time for the clean up, on the condition of another race when he had learnt to break the sound barrier. “I just hope that Applejack had managed to pick all her apples before the storm started, it was more powerful than any of us had expected” Dash go up and put her book back on the shelf. “Wait. You mean to tell me that you didn’t know that the storm was that strong? I thought that you were told that when you were given the orders to move it in” Twilight go up. Her horn glowed and the book flew back to its original position, which was nowhere near where Dash had put it. Dash walked back to Twilight. “It was kind of strange. We usually get a couple of weeks notice before we have to bring in a major storm, but the orders for this one came across the day before from somewhere high up the chain of command. We should go see Applejack and see if…” Applejack barged through the front door. “RAINBOW DASH! I demand to know why you put such a large storm up right at the beginning of the harvest season. That storm was so strong that some of the apple trees uprooted” Dash shot from the pile of pillows, locking heads with Applejack. “You don’t demand anything from me, I was just doing my job”. They pushed into each other harder, growling. Twilights’ horn glowed and Dash teleported back to the pile of pillows. “That’s enough girls. I know that you’re angry, but it wasn’t Dash’s’ fault”. Applejack sighed. “I’m sorry Rainbow, Twilights right, it wasn’t your fault. It’s just that the storm ripped out a lot of the apple trees and it will take a while to clean everything up, not to mention all the apples we lost”. “It also ruined some of my fabric”. They all turned to face the door as Rarity walked in. She was wearing her beautiful purple raincoat with matching boots. “Part of my roof collapsed and the fabric got drenched and ran, but in comparison to Applejacks dilemma, it’s no biggie”. “No biggie! But all those pretty colours are gone!” said Pinkie as she walked out from behind Twilight. No one in he room even blinked, they were all use to Pinkies mysterious appearances. Pinkie shook her mane and the wet mud that was covering it splattered all over Rarity’s’ coat. “Pinkie! Watch where you’re flicking that!” Rarity took off her coat, inspected the muddy stains, sighed and hung it on the coat hook by the door. “Anyway, has anyone seen Fluttershy? I haven’t seen her since last night”. “She’s off with Nightshade. She asked him to help her find new homes for the animals that lost theirs last night after he has finished cleaning up” said Twilight. She sat next to Dash on the pillows, everyone sat around them. “Now that everyone that can be here is here, I want to ask you all a question. Why do you think last nights storm was stronger that anyone anticipated?” “ I might be able to help you with that” came a warm voice from the doorway. Twilight turned to the source. A smile spread across her face. “Princess!” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everyone in the room was now sitting on one of the pillows, with a mug of hot coca in their hooves. “Now that we’re all settled,” said Celestia. “I will tell you all why I came here today. As you all know, last nights storm was unexpected and very powerful, causing severe damage to Ponyville and many of the major cities of Equestria. So I did some digging in Cloudsdale and I found out where the orders for the storms came from.” She paused, taking a breath. “The orders came from Princess Luna” Dash shot up from the pillow. “ I knew it!” she exclaimed. “She went dark side again. Well I’ll sort her out in a flash!” She turned to the door and was about to bolt when Celestia spoke again. “Sit down Rainbow Dash, I have not yet finished speaking”. Dash floated back to the pillow, looking embarrassed. “Before Dash interrupted me, I was going to finish saying something important” Das blushed. “While the orders carried Luna’s magic, that’s not the problem. The problem is, Princess Luna has been missing for 3 days.” Everyone gasped. Rarity dropped her empty coca mug. “But I saw Luna standing on the balcony of the observatory when I caught the train home last night” said Rarity, picking up her mug. “I can explain that,” said Celestia, shifting into a more comfy position. “In order to stop any mass hysteria, we hired Chrysalis to impersonate Luna until we find her again”. Pinkies jaw dropped. Applejack spoke “You hired Chrysalis, the one who tried to take over the kingdom a few years ago? No to cause any offense mam, but is your head screwed on right?” Celestia smiled. “Don’t worry, I have placed several binding runes upon her so that she can only change into Luna. She feeds on the passive love that most ponies have towards Luna, so she doesn’t have to and wont be able to go and feed on anyone else” Twilight considered this for a moment. “I guess considering that the panic that would have happened if this Luna’s disappearance was discovered outweighs the risk of Chrysalis being here.” ‘ Celestia nodded. “I had hoped that you would see it that way. Now all we need to do is find out what happened to Luna” “And cue the bad guy” came a disembodied voice. Everyone jumped at the sound. Celestia horn flared to life. “Who are you? Show yourself!” she spun, looking around the room for the source of the voice. “Oh come now, is that any way to treat a guest?” said the voice. Celestia located the voice as the dark corner of the room. Her horn flared brighter. “Fine, have it your way” said the voice. A wave of darkness erupted from the shadowy corner. Her horn flared one again and she enveloped everyone in a glowing bubble. The wave smacked into the bubble and sent into a wall. The bubble shattered upon impact. “ I expected more from you, considering you have had an extra thousand years to practice.” A hooded figure emerged from the shadows. Celestia paled. “No, it can’t possibly be…” “ I told you that you couldn’t keep my imprisoned forever” he removed the hood and tossed his robe, his golden blonde hair spilling out and the marks on his shoulders glowing faintly. “Princess, who is that?” asked Twilight, as she helped Applejack stand up. “He’s someone who I locked away many years ago, when we were first establishing Canterlot. He’s a human”. She stood up. Her horn flared again and a beam of light shot towards the figure. It raised its hand and another wall of darkness rose in front of him, absorbing the light. “Seriously, I thought you would have learnt the first time.” He raised his hand and tendrils of darkness rose up from Celestials’ shadow and pinned her to the ground. “This magic. Its so familiar…” Her eyes widened. “This is Luna’s magic!” “Gees, took your time. I though you would never guess. I was the one who kidnapped Luna and stole her magic from her!” He made a fist above his head and brought it down, making darkness smash down upon Celestia. “Princess!” Twilight shouted, running to her side. Celestia groaned. She looked up at Twilight. “You must go to the tower. Get the Elements of Harmony and stop him”. Twilight nodded. “Come on girls, we have to go get the Element.” They started to move towards the door. “Oh, you mean these Elements?” He said, opening his hand. There was a sudden flash, and then the 6 Elements were orbiting above his open hand, connected to his palm by a small gold glowing chain. Celestials' eyes widened. “The Elements! But how?” He looked puzzled. “Seriously? After Discord nicked them from under your noses the first time, I would have thought that you would have searched for the flaw in the spell”. He smiled. “But that will no longer be necessary”. He made a fist. The Elements started shuddering violently. Suddenly there was a loud CRACK and the Elements fell to pieces. Twilight and the girls there stood still, shocked expressions on their faces. Celestials' wings glowed gold, and the tendrils dissipated. She stood up, “What are you planning? I demand to know!” “Seriously, what’s with all this demanding today?” He shrugged. “I guess there’s no harm in telling you now”. He walked towards the window. “I plan to bring my race back from extinction”. He turned to face them. “And then I plan to send yours there” Celestia look sceptically at him. “And how do you plan on doing that?” He chuckled. “I know how to find the Genesis Heart”. Celestials' eyes widened. “How?” “Well, actually I know how to find the one who knows how to get to it”. He turned back to the window and looked though it. Dash walked up to the princess. “Genesis Heart? I’ve never heard of that before” “Neither have I” said Twilight. “And I’ve pretty much read most of the books in both this library and the castles”. Celestia kept staring at the human. “The Genesis Heart is a magical artifact that was so powerful that many spent their whole lives trying to find it, to no avail. It is said to have unbelievable healing capabilities, and is said to be able to resurrect an entire race if a genetic sample is added to it.” Louder she added. “And who is this pony who knows the location?” The human walked back towards them. “I believe that the name he has taken this time is Nightshade, and he is, in fact, an Alicorn”. Dash was shocked. “But he’s a Pegasus. I raced him yesterday”. Rarity stepped forward. “Never mind that, he’s with Fluttershy right now”. Celestia turned towards the other. “Twilight, I have a new mission for you. Go and find Nightshade. Help him escape. Once you have that, find the pony with the hourglass cutie-mark. Tell him to take you back to where it all began, he’ll know what to do next”. Twilight saluted. “You can count on us princess. Lets go girls” They ran towards the door once again. “Not so fast!” The human reached towards them with his hand. The darkness collects around his arm and shot towards them, but Celestia was quicker, and intercepted it with her own magic. The darkness disappeared. Twilight and the others made it through and the door slammed shut behind them. “I’ve been around Luna long enough to know how to counter her magic”. She sent another bolt of light towards him. He tried to intercept it with the darkness, but it dissipated on contact and kept coming at him. He sidestepped it at the last second. “I guess its time to go original now”. He pointed his finger at Celestia. His hand crackled and a bolt of lightning shot out, slamming into Celestia, sending her into a wall. She collapsed there, unconscious. He waved his hand again and the tendrils of darkness covered Celestia. But when they dissipated this time, there were silver bands around her hooves, waist and neck, with glowing runes flowing through them. He looked out of the windows once more, watching Twilight and her friend’s race across the horizon for Fluttershy’s last location. When he was certain that they were gone and that Celestia was still unconscious, he open his hand again. The Elements appeared again, orbiting slowly. “They really think I destroyed them? How naïve.” They disappeared again. He walked over towards Celestials' unconscious form. He placed his hand on her and the darkness wrapped around them both. “Now the fun bit begins” he said and they disappeared. > Chapter 2 - Nightshade > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- //------------------------------------------------- // Story: Sins of the Past // Chapter 2: Nightshade // Author: Star Seeker //------------------------------------------------- “I don’t think he’s following us” huffed Applejack as they stopped to catch their breath. They had just reached the place where Fluttershy had been seen last. “If he had been, he would have found us by now”. “I guess lucks on our side today, I see Fluttershy” said Rarity, pointing to the forest at the back of Fluttershys house. Twilight looked. In the distance, she could see the distinct pink tail just poking out from behind the nearest tree. They walked over to it. Fluttershy was making sure that the owls were comfy in their new tree. “Hey Fluttershy, finished yet?” said Twilight, looking around to check that the human hadn’t sneaked up behind them. “Just about. I’m just making sure that they are happy with their choice of tree”. Dash ran up to Fluttershy. “We don’t have time for this!” she yelled, frustrated. “Where’s Nightshade?” “Are you talking about me?” came a voice from behind them. Twilight spun, horn glowing, thinking that it was the humans’ voice. Instead of a human, she found a midnight black Pegasus with a bright silver mane. He was carrying a bunch of nests spread out across his large wingspan. As soon as he saw the glowing horn, he dropped into a defensive stance. Twilight quickly doused the magic. He eased his stance. “What's going on here?” he said, moving to Fluttershys’ side. He noticed the cyan mare standing behind Twilight. “Ah, if I remember correctly, your names Rainbow Dash. What brings you here? I still haven’t leant to break the sound barrier, so you can’t be here to race.” Rarity stepped forward. “We have come on behalf of Princess Celestia” He gave her a quizzical look. “And what would the great Celestia have me do exactly?” “We need you to lead us to the Genesis Heart, someone has threatened the destruction of Equestria and he needs the Genesis Heart to accomplish it.” Nightshade bolted forward, faster than anyone could see, and stopped bare millimeters from Raritys’ face. “How do know about it? Why would Celestia tell you about it?” Twilight pushed Rarity aside and locked eyes with Nightshade. “Because Celestia has been captured by one of her old foes, and he is going to use the Genesis Heart to bring back an army of humans to wage war against Equestria. He is going to come and find you. And when he does, he will get its location out of you by any means necessary”. Nightshade stepped back, contemplating what he had just heard. “If the human is who I think he is, then we are in serious trouble”. He looked up and walked back towards Twilight. “Has Celestia told you who we are up against?” “No, he intervened before she could tell us more”. Nightshade sat down and motioned for the others to do the same. They all sat down in front of him. “The human that you are going up against is an arcane mage, and possible the most powerful human that had ever existed. Before the start of what has become to be known now in fairytales as the Armageddon Wars, he was Discords apprentice, and under his teaching, he mastered magic that would have taken centuries to perfect. It was told that he even figured out how to make himself immortal. If he has come back now, it only adds proof to that fact.” He shifted into a more comfy position. “At the very start of the war, Luna sent her top commandos to capture and kidnap him so that he could take no part in the war, and imprisoned in the Crystal Caverns beneath the castle. That’s when he disappeared from history.” “Did you ever meet him before the start of the war?” Asked Pinkie. “No, how could I have possible met him? He was born thousands of years ago” “We know that you are an Alicorn. The princess told us.” said Applejack. “Oh, well I guess I no longer to hide it then”. The area on top of his head blurred, and suddenly, a black horn appeared upon his head. Applejacks’ jaw dropped. “Fascinating” said Twilight, totally transfixed by the appearance of his horn. “Well, if this human is truly after the location of the Genesis Heart, then the best place to hide would be with it. Since he knows that you are searching for me, you had best come with me, unless you have to get the Elements of Harmony first.” Dash shook her head. “He destroyed them in front of us. We have no way to defeat him now” Nightshade gasped. “So, THAT’S why she sent you to find me, she wants you to re-forge the Elements of Harmony” Twilight gave him a quizzical look. “But how can that be? How can the Elements of Harmony be formed from something that gives life?” “That’s a common misconception, what the Elements of Harmony have is not the power to destroy evil, but the power to purify evil. That’s why Luna didn’t perish when you defeated Nightmare Moon, and why Discord was petrified rather that killed”. He turned and started walking. “Since he had destroyed the Elements, he knows that we have no way of defending ourselves, so its best that we get a move on”. He stood on the balcony of the tower, the only structure that had survived everything in between his capture and the thousand years that had passed. A breeze blew against his face and he smiled. No matter how long has passed or what had happened, the Dawnstar tower would always be his home, even if the rest of his kingdom lied in ruins around him. He placed his hands against the stone railing, feeling the strong magical power that pulsed under his palm. Of course this tower would still be standing, the enchantment the he himself had place upon the foundation stones of this tower would last until the end of time, a monument to his power. He shook his head, reminding himself of what he had to, no, needed to do, the ponies had withheld their judgment for too long. Most of the ones who had caused this injustice had perished with time, but the two princesses who had caused all this at the beginning were still here. Luna had received her punishment, and now her sister, Celestia, would receive the same punishment. After that, the whole of Equestria would cower under his fury and perish as well, and then he and his race would rule one more. He walked back inside the tower and stood in the platform in the middle. It glowed and lowered, taking him past the bottom of the tower and into the room underneath. The corridor was barren and dusty, the polished floor faded and the tapestries disintegrated without the maintenance of others. The door at the end of the corridor opened with barely a squeak, sensing his magic as he walked towards it. Inside the room, there was nothing but darkness, yet as he walked forward into the room, the darkness parted around him, revealing Celestias’ unconscious form. He looked up and snapped his fingers, causing a projection to appear in front of him. It showed the ponies with Nightshade, talking about the location of the Genesis Heart, and that it would be their final destination. He smiled, during his entrance at Twilights library, he had placed a charm upon the one know as Pinkie Pie that would allow him to see and hear everything that she did. She wouldn’t notice, being as eccentric as she was, and if anyone did notice it, they would most likely pass it of as one of her random things. He heard Celestia groan behind him as she started to regain consciousness. He snapped his finders and the projection disappeared, it was time to deliver judgment. Celestia woke up; her head still pounding from the fight that had taken place earlier. She sat up, and that’s when she noticed the magical bands fixed in place around her neck, stomach and hooves. They looked very familiar… “Ah, you noticed the Celestial Bonds, I was hoping you would appreciate the irony”. The human appeared from the darkness next to her. He waved his hand and a chair appeared in front of the magical circle that Celestia noticed she was in the middle of. He sat down and looked down at her. “Well, it looks like the tables have turned since we last met in a situation like this. How does it feel to be chained to the ground, completely ignorant of what's going on in the outside world?” ‘Why would you do this? These ponies are not the ones that you know. They don’t deserve whatever you have planned for them.” He lent forward and cupped a hand around one ear. “Is that a hypocrite I hear? MY race didn’t deserve what you and your sister did to it before you wiped it off the face of Equestria!” He lent back in the chair. “You’re a monster!” Celestia cried, straining against the bonds. He smirked. “I’ve already had this conversation with your sister, and look at the state she’s in now”. He snapped his fingers and the darkness beside him dissipated, revealing Luna’s pale form floating inside an identical circle to the one Celestia was in. Celestia saw this and cried out, straining even harder against the Celestial Bonds. He stood up and walked over to Luna’s body. “Don’t worry, she still lives, which is already far more than what she deserves”. He waved his hand over her, and Luna’s body dropped onto the stone floor. “LUNA!” she cried, tears streaming down her face. “Ce…Celestia?” came a weak voice. Luna struggled to move. ‘It’s okay Luna, I’m over here”. Celestia collapsed, relief flooding through her as the sound of Luna’s voice. “I feel…so weak, and so…empty” her voice was slurred from being unconscious for so long. The human chuckled. ‘She’s feeling the side effects of having all her magic drained from her body in an instant. She’ll feel like this for another couple of days until her magic starts to regenerate”. Celestia looked into Luna’s eyes. She looked defeated. That was an expression she never expected to see in her eyes. The human waved his hand again and the darkness fell around Luna’s circle again. “That’s enough of that, it’s time for you to experience the same pain as your sister”. Celestia growled. “just you wait, Twilight and the others are on their way to the Genesis Heart. They will re-forge the Elements of Harmony and they WILL defeat you”. He smiled an evil smile. “Oh, I’m counting on them getting to the Genesis Heart, but what then? You know you can’t remake what isn’t broken”. He pointed into the darkness, which parted to reveal a waist high table, with the Elements of Harmony sitting on it. Celestia gasped. “But we saw you destroy them!” “No, what you saw was an illusion of me destroying them. I will have need of their power later. I needed to give you a reason to send them to Nightshade, so that he would lead them to the Genesis Heart. And when they get there, I will know exactly where it is”. A projection appeared, showing exactly what Pinkie Pie was seeing and hearing. Right now, they were traveling through the Everfree Forrest. The projection dissipated. Celestia dropped her head, defeated. “I have broken your spirit, and now I will break your mark, and your magic will be mine”. He raised his hand and the console appeared. He moved to activate it, but he stopped short. “Have you figured out why I need both of your magical powers yet?” Celestia didn’t even look up. “I assume so that you can become stranger and stronger”. “Close, but no cigar. Come on, think, I’ve told you that I will destroy you the same way you destroyed us”. “No, still nothing”. Celestia sighed “Fine, a hint then. It’s the reason why our mythical battles were called the Armageddon Wars”. Celestia looked up at that, a horrified look on her face. “NO, you can’t possible mean…” The human started laughing. “That’s right! After using your power to break the seal that you and you sister placed upon it. I will take control of the most powerful weapon in existence. I will burn your world to ashes with the awesome power of the great magical platform. ARMAGEDDONS BLADE!” He turned to Celestia. “NOW! EMBRACE THE DARKNESS!” His hand slammed down on the console and Celestias' world went dark. Dr Whooves walked out of Derpy’s house after a fantastic lunch. As he walked out onto the street, he was assaulted by a massive headache and his vision blurred as he felt a massive surge of magical energy. He blacked out. When he came to, everything seemed darker. The world was exactly how it was moments ago, but it seemed like a bright light had gone out in the world. Worse, he could also feel his hourglass cutie-mark burning as the magic that had been withheld from him for all these year rushed into him. “My magic has returned? This is bad. Oh, this is VERY bad”. He turned and towards the Everfree Forest. A dark, stormy cloud had appeared on the horizon, and it appeared to be moving away from the town. “Oh my Celestia, what have you done, what has been unleashed upon us this time?” > Chapter 3- Genesis Rebirth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- //------------------------------------------------- // Story: Sins of the Past // Chapter 3: Genesis Rebirth // Author: Star Seeker //------------------------------------------------- “Are we there yet?” moaned Dash, who had been restricted to walking as the canopy of the forest had grown too thick for her to fly above, so she could not see where they were from the air. “Almost, the entrance should only be a couple more hours away”. Said Nightshade. They had been traveling for almost a day and a half through the Everfree forest. Everyone was tired and slightly irritable, with the unusual exception of Fluttershy, who was whistling along with half a dozen bird that had perched themselves on her outstretch wings. “So where are we going exactly?” asked Twilight, as she walked up to Nightshade. “The Genesis Heart, being an artifact of extraordinary power, radiates a magical aura which would light up the sky like a second sun. In order to conceal it, we had to hide is underground and place it within 3 layers of magic concealing seals to protect it from those who would put it to misuse”. He paused, waiting for everyone to catch up. “Even with all these measures in place, it still radiated a faint aura, so we hid it in the center of the Everfree forest, since the forest’s strange energies helped to mask its presence”. “I don’t mean to pry sugarcube, but why do you explain everything in so much detail?” asked Applejack. He looked back at her. “Because that way, if anything goes wrong, I know that I told everyone as much as I could to try and keep them alive”. He looked to the ground. “I’ve lost too much from keeping my mouth shut” “Huh?” said Pinkie, bounding towards them. Nightshade just kept walking. “Anyway” said Twilight, hoping to break the tension. “How do we recreate the Elements when we get to the Genesis Heart?” “That’s easy. You girls are the embodiments of Harmony, so all you have to do is place a gem into one of the slots on the Heart and it will become the Element that you represent” He looked up, it was beginning to get dark. “But where shall we get some gems? I would have brought some from my store if you had told me” said Rarity, avoiding the patches of mud on the path. “The tunnel that leads to the Heart is cut from an old gem mine, so there will be plenty of gems to choose from when we get there”. A dark cloud was closing in, threatening to rain. “We better pick up the pace if we want to reach the entrance before nightfall”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The power felt good. Very good. He couldn’t deny the pleasure he was feeling as the power coursed through his veins. This would be part of the power he would need for his revenge. The human rode on one of the dark, stormy clouds that were seeking out Twilight and the rest of her friends. He looked to the sky; it had become darker as he progressed towards them. He smiled. Ever since he had drained Celestia and Luna of their magic, he had somehow taken control of their power over night and day. He was hoping that the ponies hadn’t noticed that it was becoming darker earlier and faster than usual, since he had not yet mastered these powers. He waved his hand and the projection appeared before him. It showed 2 things. First, it showed a map of the Everfree forest, with a glowing line that showed Pinkie Pies’ progression through the forest. The second thing was the feed he was getting from her 4 senses and her mysterious 5th sense, which didn’t make a lick on sense to him. Right now, it showed them hurrying towards what appeared to be a crevice. There was a natural walkway that cut into the top of it. The wind must of carved into the softer rock and the rain did the rest. “Well, here we are” came a voice out of view. Pinkie didn’t look at it. She moved closer to the entrance. “It doesn’t look that amazing. Where are the balloons? The fireworks?” she said as she stuck her head inside the entrance. “Sorry. Nothing that spectacular.” The same voice said. Pinkie finally looked at the owner of the voice. A black Alicorn filled the view. The human went pale. “No, it can’t be. It can’t be him.” Nightshade spoke again. “We’d best get moving, the entrance is pretty far down.” The human slammed his fist down onto the cloud, sending a huge bolt of lightning out of it. “IT IS HIM! THAT BASTARD!” He screamed out, as hot tears started to stream down his face, caused by painful memories from long ago. “I WILL GET YOU! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!” The thunder got louder and the clouds darker as his anger grew. Tendrils of darkness grew from his body as his magic reacted to his emotional state. ”AZEROTH! NIGHTSHADE! WHATEVER YOU CALL YOURSELF NOW! I WILL MAKE YOU BURN FOR WHAT YOU DID!” He calmed himself, wiping the tears from his face. The tendrils withdrew back into his body. He checked the map on the projection. He was about 10 minutes away from the entrance to the crevice. The feed from Pinkie showed them reaching the end of the tunnel, which turned into a bridge, which spanned the width of the crevice. “Not long now. Soon, everyone will feel my pain” he whispered to himself as the clouds floated towards their destination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “That’s… that’s p, pr, pretty high above the ground” stammered Fluttershy as she looked over the side of the bridge. “Oh come on Fluttershy!” exclaimed Dash. “You’re a Pegasus! Why do you have to worry about height?” “Calm down Dashie. You know how scared Fluttershy can get.” Twilight walked up to Fluttershy and put her hoof on her shoulder, reassuring her. “It’s only about 10 meters across Shy. You could walk it with your eyes closed see?” Applejack proceeded to walk the entire length with her eyes shut and without even breaking her stride. “See how easy that was?” “Ok…okay” she gulped. “I’ll try”. She started crawling across the bridge. All was going well until the dark clouds that had been moving over reached the crevice and unleashed a torrent of thunder, causing Fluttershy to instantly freeze up and hug the bridge. “Oh come now darling,” said Rarity as she walked up to Fluttershy. “It’s just a bit of thunder. I’ll walk with you if it makes you feel better”. Fluttershy nodded and slowly got up. She didn’t leave Rarity’s side until they were well clear on the other side. Everyone else got across without any fuss. Rarity’s eyes lit up when she noticed what lay inside the next tunnel. “Oh my…” was all that she could say as the sparkle of hundreds of gemstones lit up her eyes. She went to step forward when suddenly her horn flared brightly. Twilight rushed forward when she saw that, and when she stopped next to Rarity, her horn did the same. “Don’t worry, that’s just your horn reacting to the sudden increase of magic in the environment. We just passed through the second layer of magical seals that encompass the Genesis Heart”. Nightshade continued onwards. “The second one?” asked Twilight. “When did we pass through the first one?” “As we entered the tunnel at the start of the crevice. You may have noticed a slight tingling sensation and gotten Goosebumps” She thought for a moment. “I did, but I must have thought it was just a natural reaction of fear from being so high up.” “That’s why we put it there in the first place. No one would notice it there.” He turned to face the others. “Now that we are here, you can go and get a gem that you believe would make a good new Element. I have to proceed on and prepare the Heart for you” He turned away from the group. “When you have an appropriate gem, follow the tunnel and meet me at the main chamber”. He walked off. Dash instantly bolted to the ceiling to prize a large blood-red ruby out of the stone. It dropped to the floor and she stood above it triumphantly. “10 seconds flat!” she smirked. Applejack rolled her eyes and bucked the wall again, dislodging several gems and the topaz she had been eyeing. Fluttershy walked up and picked up a large piece of rose quartz that had also been dislodged. “That looks pretty”. Pinkie Pie was standing next to Dash with a nice sapphire I her mouth. Nobody had heard her get it. Rarity was further down with Twilight, as they attempted to get an amethyst and pink diamond out of the wall. “A little help here please Applejack” Rarity said as they struggled to pull them from the wall. “Sure”. Applejack walked up and bucked the wall once more and the gems fell from the wall. Once they all had their gems, they started to walk down the tunnel. They had been walking for about 10min when Twilights and Raritys horn flared once more, brighter than before. “I guess we just passed through the 3rd seal”. They kept moving. The further they went, the more the tunnel began to look like a hallway. After another minute of walking when they reached the main chamber. They reached the bottom and stopped. All was silent except for the slight humming and the sound of Raritys jaw hitting the floor. In the center of the room was the largest fire ruby that they had ever seen, possibly the biggest in existence. It was at least 2m squared (to Twilights trained eye) and pulsed with a red glow. Nightshade was behind it, examining a console that was projected from the Heart. “Have you found the appropriate gems yet?” He looked up. He started chuckling. “What's to funny?” asked Pinkie. “Was there a joke that I just missed?” “No, it’s just that you picked the same gems that were used to make the original Elements of Harmony”. He finished up what he was doing and walked towards them. “I guess some things never change”. “So what do we do with these now?” asked Twilight. Nightshade pointed towards the Heart. “You see those indents in the Heart? Place them gems there, and I will activate the charge which had been building up”. He walked back to the console. ”When they have been charged, simply touch the one that is yours and it will become the element you represent”. “Seems simple enough.” said Twilight. The girls all placed the gems into the slots. Each one sparked as it came in contact with the heart. “Can I get you all to stand back please, the discharge can cause some crazy things to happen.” Nightshade pushed a button on the console. The glowing in the Heart grew brighter and brighter, and the gems in the slots started to float around it. The glowing intensified and the gems started to spin around it faster and faster until… The glowing stopped and the gems hit the floor. “Odd, that wasn’t suppose to happen…” He was about to go and inspect the gems when a beam of light shot out of the hallway and sent Nightshade slamming into the opposite wall. “You can’t fix what isn’t broken.” Came a voice from the hallway. Twilight instantly spun to the hallway, horn glowing at the ready. But there was nothing there. “Behind you” said the voice again as a wall of shadow slammed into her, sending her spinning into Rarity. She stood back up. The human was standing over Nightshades body, his foot pressed against his neck. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Azeroth?” he said, grinding his foot. “Azeroth?” asked Applejack. Twilight was already on the move, sending a bolt of purple magic into the humans back. He was unprepared for it and staggered as the magic almost lifted him off his feet. Nightshade gasped for breath as Twilight teleported him back to their group. The human regained his composure. “That was strong. If I wasn’t in possession of Celestias' and Lunas’ magic, that would have torn me a new one.” He dusted himself off. “But now that I do, there is nothing you can do to me.” He looked up and received the full force of Twilights’, Raritys’ and Nightshades’ magic and got buried in the opposite wall. While they were preparing their next attack, the human stuck his hand out and yelled “IMPRISON!”. A bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of them and columns of lightning shot out of the ground, surrounding them and the others. They fired and the lightning absorbed it. He coughed up some blood and wiped it away. “I really DID underestimate you.” He placed his hand on his chest. A green glow spread across his body as it healed his wounds. After he had done this, he pointed at the cage and made a fist. A bolt of lightning redirected straight into Nightshades’ body, causing him to collapse and cry out in pain. “Why are you doing this to me?” he asked, coughing and struggling to stand up. “You know exactly why I’m doing this” he said, the anger causing his voice to grumble. “You were the reason why all this started.” Nightshade looked down, ashamed. “I remember. There are no words to say how sorry I am.” The human laughed. “You’re sorry?” He sent another bolt of lightning into Nightshade. “YOU’RE SORRY! YOU REALLY THINK THAT SORRY WILL MAKE ME FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID?” The angrier he got, the stronger the lightning got. Nightshade writhed in pain. “EVEN IF IT WERE POSSIBLE FOR ME TO FORGIVE YOU, YOU ARE A THOUSAND YEARS TOO LATE!” He turned away and the lighting stopped. As Twilight attempted to heal the burns with her magic, the human walked up to the Genesis Heart and prepared to do something. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He placed his hand on the Genesis Heart, feeling the unbelievable magic power pulse underneath his palms. He was almost done. He was mere seconds away from resurrecting the human race. He was about to configure it when he heard a rasping voice behind him. “How do you plan on using the Genesis Heart? Even if you bring them back, they will only have the intelligence of a newborn child.” He turned to the voice. Thanks to Twilight, Nightshade had recovered from most of his burns and was leaning on her for support. “How will that help you wage war?” “Before all this started, I did extensive research on the Genesis Heart. It was written that when someone from the dying species activates the Heart, he can bring the people back with the memories from a certain era, so that they can thrive on the knowledge they have and not die out again.” “I didn’t know that,” said Twilight. “I thought you told us everything?” The human smiled. “Still keeping things from people? I thought that you would have learnt by now, after what happened”. He walked back to the Heart and placed his hand upon it. Now all he needed was a memory, a memory that could only exist in that time. He thought of all the possible things that could have happened, when a memory burst up from his mind. HELP ME DADDY! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight watched as the Genesis Heart suddenly started glowing and the human was sent flying backwards. Whatever he did, it had disrupted his magic, as the lightning cage dissipated around them. The human stood up and grinned. “It worked! Soon, my army shall rise from the grave and bring this world back to the way it should be. A would ruled by us!” He turned towards the girls. “This is where your usefulness has come to an end.” He pointed his open palm towards them, his hand glowing bright. “Now perish”. Twilight closed here eyes and waited for the end… > Chapter 4- To War > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- //------------------------------------------------- // Story: Sins of the Past // Chapter 4: The reason why I fight // Author: Star Seeker //------------------------------------------------- Only the end never came. Twilight opened one of her eyes and scanned the room; everything in the room was frozen. Including the bolt of light, which was frozen mere inches in front of her face. “Sorry I’m late,” came a voice from above her. “But after recently getting my powers back, I felt like a bit of dramatic timing.” Twilight looked up. Standing above her was a light brown stallion. She looked at his cutie-mark. It was an hourglass. And it was burning bright. “Who are you?” Twilight asked, standing back up. Her legs shook as she rose and she almost fell again. “Careful, your body is not use to acting within a stasis field.” He walked over to the others, who were frozen in positions of terror as they tried to shield their bodies from the oncoming bolt. “Let me just fix this up.” He waked up to the girls and touched each one. When he touched them, they glowed for a second, and them collapsed onto the ground. Applejack was the first to stand up. She looked around. She noticed the bolt of light and the frozen human. ‘What in tarnation is going on here?” “I created a stasis field around this area. Outside, time has stopped, abet temporarily.” He helped Fluttershy up. “Now back to the introductions.” He bowed to them. “I’m Doctor Whooves, but everyone calls me the doctor. Celestia sent me to help you girls out.” “I’m Twilight Sparkle. This here is Applejack. The girls over there are Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie” She walked up an examined the humans face. There was rage in his eyes, and, strangely, a little bit of sadness as well. “What exactly are you doing here?” “When Celestia fell, the magic she had been keeping from me, my magic, came rushing back to me.” He started pacing around the room. “Celestia, having the foresight to know this would happen one day, placed a message in my magic, which would imprint on my mind as soon as I used my magic. She wants me too take you back to the beginning, to where all this began.” “What about Nightshade? He’s still frozen” She could see the pain on his face. “I’m sorry, but I cannot take him. Creating the stasis field and bringing your friends into sync with it has pushed my magic to the limit. He will have to stay here.” He walked up to Nightshade a put a hoof on his shoulder. He whispered to his frozen form. “Don’t worry, my old friend. This is not where your story ends.” He turned back to the girls. Twilight and Applejack were making sure that the girls were all right. “Sorry to rush you, but we must be leaving now. The stasis field will only last a little while longer.” He walked up to them. “I must warn you, time travel can give some ponies a sort of motion sickness. It will pass, but it doesn’t feel too good.” He stood beside Twilight and placed his left hoof above her shoulder. “Can I get all of you to place your left hoof on the person next to you, so that we can all travel together.” They did this. “All good? Brilliant! Lets go!” His mark shone brightly and they vanished. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To the human, it seem as if they had just vanished. He could taste a metallic tang on his tongue. Time travel. He punched the wall next to him. “NO, that did not just happen!” He looked at the space where they had just been. “I thought that having his magic stripped off him would have made him mortal.” He turned back to the Genesis Heart. The glow had intensified so much that it was almost too bright to look at. Suddenly, the glowing stopped. BANG! A huge wave of magic exploded out of the Heart. As it passed over him, he could feel the tingle if it. The magic was full of life. Some of the magic stopped in front of him. Before his eyes, the magic formed bones and joined together. The magic then grew flesh around the bones and other things. Before his eyes, 2 two humans appeared, a boy and a woman created and sustained by magic. The magic was forming 3 others, but he didn’t care about them right now. His attention was focused only on the boy as the magic weaved the clothes he had last been wearing. All the anger he had just been harboring left his body as he recognized who they boy was. The boy recognized him too. They ran towards each other and embraced, tears flowing from mans eyes. “Daddy!” screamed the boy as they hugged each other. ‘It’s so good to see you again! How I have missed you!” He said, squeezing the boy tighter. The woman walked over to him. Through tear filled eyes, it took the man a moment to recognize who it was. “Julia? Is that you?” She nodded and he shot up and hugged her, tears flowing freely from both of them now. “I told you I would go to the ends of the world to bring you back to me, didn’t I?” They embraced until the figures behind them coughed, getting his attention. He released her and turned to them, his tears dried up now. There were two men and a woman, all adult. One of the men and the woman were dressed in armor, and the colors of the rank they represented. The other man wore black robes, much like his own, just those ones looked brand-new. He embraced each one in turn. “My friends, it is good to meet you once more. How was death?” he asked when he had finished embracing them. “I honestly can’t remember.” Said the man in armor. “Can you Yuma?” “Me neither Aerro,” replied the woman in armor. ‘But if I can’t remember, it probably wasn’t worth remembering”. They both laughed. “What about you Zerith?” “Blank slate.” He looked behind him. “Is that Alicorn meant to running?” He turned to see Nightshade running towards the hallway. “Not so fast!” He reached out with his hand. Tendrils of darkness shot out and wrapped around Nightshade, bringing him crashing to the floor. Zerith raised an eyebrow. “That’s new, when did you learn to do that?” The darkness moved away from Nightshade, revealing Celestial Bonds. “It is the result of stealing the night princesses magic. I took her sisters as well.” Zerith looked shocked. “You took THAT much magic! Do you have any idea what that could do to you!” He shrugged. “I’ll worry about that when the time comes.” He held out his hand. His son ran over and grabbed it. “It’s time to leave. When the rest have regenerated, post a regiment here. The entire existence of the human race now depends on the survival of the spell the Heart is generating.” He looked at Aerro. “Pick up the Alicorn for me, it’s time to return home”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia could hear the sound of Luna’s steady breathing. It calmed her, since she could not see her through the unnatural darkness. She had not been able to get any form of rest since her draining. She just lay there, suspended above the circle of magic that kept her imprisoned. Most of her magic had returned already, and Luna’s had returned completely, but they could do nothing about it as long as they were still bound by the Celestial bonds. “How long have we been laying here, in the dark?” came Luna’s voice from the darkness. “A day, maybe more. I can still feel the sun moving, but I feel… disconnected…from it, like it’s no longer a part of me.” She closed her eyes, trying to reach out to the sun, but something was blocking her, taking control of the sun instead of her. “I feel the same. Maybe when the human drained us of our magic, he also took our ability to control night and day”. Celestia pondered that. It was a real possibility. Suddenly, a loud banging sound came from the darkness. It continued for a couple of seconds before… CRASH! The sound of the broken door hitting the ground rang out through the darkness. There was silence before a slight humming sound came from the same direction. “Princesses? Are you there?” Celestia recognized the voice. “Shining Armor! We’re over here! The darkness is not normal, do you think you can dispel it?” “I can try, just hold on a sec.” the humming grew louder, until a flash of purple energy washed through the room. It was still dark, but at least the darkness felt normal. A bright light came from directly next to Celestia. She shielded her eyes from the sudden light. “Sorry about that.” The light dimmed. “Is that better?” Celestia uncovered her eyes. Standing next to where she floated was Shining Armor, clad in his reflective purple armor. He looked confused as he examined the magic circle that she floated in. “What is this thing?” “It is a device which allows someone to drain the magic out of a magic being, like myself and Luna.” She looked towards one side of the room. ‘The human could activate and deactivate it from a console over there. Find it and turn these things off.” He nodded and walked in the direction Celestia had indicated. As he approached, a blue console suddenly appeared in front of him, responding to the presence of his magic. One of the buttons was flashing. “This looks promising.” He said as he pressed the button. The circles that Celestia and Luna were floating in disappeared. They hit the floor with a thud, the Celestial Bonds disintegrating as they stood up. Celestia noticed that she could stand easily, even though she hadn’t used her legs in so long. The magic circles must have stimulated her muscles as she lay there, so that they didn’t degrade. Luna spoke first. “What's going on outside?” “It’s chaos out there.” He said. “When you lost your power, the runes that were binding Chrysalis disappeared, so she fled. When everyone discovered that she was impersonating Luna, and that you disappeared, combined with the weather that has been causing destruction throughout Equestria, it all went to shit. Candence is in Canterlot trying to restore order, but without you there, I don’t think we could do much.” “I guess we should get moving then”. Celestia started walking towards the door when suddenly, a loud humming noise came from the doorway. “What's going on out there?” asked Luna as they started hurrying towards the elevator. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound good”. Said Shining The elevator reached ground level and they rushed out, to meet a spectacular sight. “Oh no” breathed Celestia as she saw what was going on. As they watched, a soft glow washed over the ruins of the castle. As the glow passed over it, the stone underneath reformed and the wood that had disintegrated centuries ago reappeared brand new. “It appears that the human has achieved his goal. We must flee quickly, before the rest of the humans regenerate as well.” They rushed towards the exit to the city as the rest of it reformed around them. By the time they had made it out, the castle had almost finished rebuilding itself, and the magic was now focusing on its main goal. As she watched, the humans that had perished all those years ago we rebuilt with magic. Tens of thousands of human warriors, along with thousands of women and children reappeared before her eyes. “This is bad. We have to hurry”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The cloud shot across the sky, carrying the human and his new companions back to his home. Yuma, Aerro and his son sat at the front of the cloud, playing around and having a laugh. Zerith was snoozing at the back, occasionally checking on Nightshades’ unconscious form. He was sitting on the side, with his feet dangling over the edge with Julia leaning on his shoulder, asleep. He looked over and saw Aerro signaling for him to come over. He lay Julia in the middle of the cloud and walked over to him. His son ran over to him. “He little dude. Can you go over and have a nap with mommy, the grown ups need to talk”. He nodded and walked over to Julia, snuggling up beside her. “So, what has happened during the years we had our dirt nap?” asked Yuma, as she lay on her back and looked up at the sky. “Where do I start?” He pondered for a moment. “Well, about a century after us, Luna went wild and was banished to the moon after trying to create eternal night in Equestria. A thousand years later, Luna escaped and Celestia found 6 new champions to wield the Elements of Harmony. Together, they defeated Nightmare Moon, who was Luna’s’ manifestation of her anger and magic and Discord, who managed to break out a couple of year before me. About 3 years ago, the changeling Queen Chrysalis attempted to take over Canterlot. During this, Celestia was defeated and I was able to break out of her prison.” “Eventful” said Aerro. “But what are we going to do now that we are back?” “We are going to take Equestria back” Aerro smiled. “I was hoping you would do that. What's the plan of attack?” He put his arm around Aerro. “First, we send a regiment to guard the Genesis Heart.” “And then?” “And then my friend,” He smiled. “Then we march on Canterlot.”