These Flowers Never Bloom

Chapters

Prologue
Neverbloom
Morrow (Weaver of Dreams)
Elegies
Maelstrom
Oceans of Emptiness
The Well
Weeping Wastelands
Widower
Chronicles/Epilogue
Appendix of Characters (Alphabetical Order)
Art Gallery!

Prologue

I am everything and nothing all in one, suspended in time. I become one with the darkness. Lord of Woe.

In the beginning, there was nothing. I was never conscious of my existence, until the moment I realised I possessed sentience. This remarkable self-revelation awoke in me the desire to be, to exist outside the world of oblivion that I lay sheltered in. As I opened my eyes, the world burst into life around me. Trees, shrubs and grass grew rapidly out of what I came to understand was solid ground beneath my hooves. Hooves? I then realised that I possessed a body. I could feel the firm ground and hear the rustling of plants. I could smell the scents of already-blossoming flowers and fruits. My sight filled my brain with images and colours: greens, browns, golds, reds.

I remained rooted to the spot, as much as the new plants that continued to grow rapidly around me. This was all so new, so sudden. Why was this all happening at once? What powers were at play here? Then I realised I was thinking, questioning. Who or what ever taught me to do either of those things? What had decided to bring me the gift of sentience? I felt a tumultuous wave of nausea and collapsed. With realisation after realisation crashing in waves upon my previously unused—but now heavily assaulted—brain, I lost consciousness.

I awoke to the feeling of being rather unceremoniously prodded. At first I did not respond, for I failed to immediately grasp the idea that there was some other being touching me. As my eyes shot open, I took in the sight of a being with its own appendages and body parts, just like my own. It seemed just as confused as I was at the sight and feel of me. Upon noticing the signs of my renewed consciousness, it furiously retreated. This act introduced me to a new feeling: curiosity.

As I rose unsteadily to my hooves, the other being warily watched my every action. I regarded it with my newfound sense of wonder. I could only assume it was the same age as me, a newborn in every sense. It was somehow... different from me, though. Its mane and tail were longer, its stature shorter. It had longer eyelashes, fuller lips and appeared less muscly and bony.

"What are you?"

This was a new sound to me. It was like the being had the power to harness the very wind around us and control it to form a sound of its own choosing. Which, shockingly, I was able to regard with a clear understanding: That was speech. It just spoke to me. And I understood it! Thinking to try it myself, I manufactured a response:

"I am Ilias."

Ilias. That was what I had chosen to call myself. I had no idea why or how the thought came to my head, or how it had manifested itself into speech. Somehow, I knew it to be right. But was it the whole truth? Was I simply Ilias, or something more? "What are you?" I asked the other. "Are you the same as I?"

It shook its head and formulated a response. "Not exactly the same as you. I am Rose. But you certainly appear similar. Perhaps we are the same, in a way?" The being now known as Rose answered my question with one of its own. As it did, it tossed its mane back and forth and reared up onto its hind legs.

I could not yet fathom why exactly, but this generated yet another new feeling in me: desire. I felt an attraction to this being, something I was incapable of understanding or controlling at that point. Was it because it looked the same, save for the little differences? Did I long unknowingly for similar company?

Oblivious to our presence, nature continued to grow. The trees sprouted rapidly, emerging in various shapes and colours. The shrubbery and bush life grew miniature fruits, their scents reaching my nostrils and compelling me to partake in their offshoots. With Rose momentarily forgotten, I approached a bush with small, sweet-smelling dark growths and—somewhat recklessly—sampled its bounty. As I chewed, I regarded my newly discovered sense of taste. My eyes widened. It was delicious! I moved with great enthusiasm to consume the first growth's nearby partners. As I lost myself to the new sense overriding the others, I failed to notice Rose sidling up next to me and joining in.

Realising that I had company after a short time, I ceased my indulgence and regarded it close up. It was certainly glorious to behold. For all of our similarities, this one seemed to hold a great beauty that I felt certain I possessed in fewer quantities. I stared as it ate, sampling the fruits I had so appeared to relish. It too, however, awoke from the taste-trance and fixed its own gaze upon me. The eyes were a deep green. Not unlike the shrubbery whose bounty we had consumed together. As we observed each other, I was overcome with a sudden bout of shyness. I backed away, a new question arising:

"What happens now?"

I could never have been prepared for it. The wind increased in strength from a barely discernible background noise to a roaring tornado. The two of us found ourselves huddling against each other, united in another new emotion: fear. As we watched, something stirred within the confines of the swirling winds. A light began to grow, spread and take shape. It sprouted legs, just like ours. A tail appeared on the end of the mutating form, deep auburn staining its otherwise perfectly white pigment. A pair of blue eyes formed inside a portion of white mass that soon became a face. A long horn extended from its head, even as it grew its own mane to match the tail. A pair of fluffy appendages grew from the back of the newly formed body. Within a moment, Rose and I found ourselves regarding another being similar to us. Yet it towered over us, easily twice our size.

The newer, larger being finished growing as the winds ceased their violent dance. It observed us with a smile on its face, the expression filling me with fear, hope and reverence simultaneously. Even as I was still deciding whether I should run or lower myself to the ground, it spoke:

"Greetings, Ilias and Rose; my little ponies. You may call me Dimiourgia."

Author's Note

Hello everyone, welcome to my first fanfic! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it!

Just a quick note to let you know that (as you can probably tell) the music featured alongside this story is not for the faint of heart or frail of ear. It's heavy. Really heavy. On that, you can totally choose to forego it if you wish, but know that the major source of inspiration for this fic came from these songs. This is a first-person (pony) view story, and it's very heavy on the narration. This may seem a bit jarring, but it's written as if it's a diary (the Chronicles of Woe), and one would not normally include too much "spoken dialogue" in one's own diary. Well, at least I wouldn't.

Bah, I've taken up enough of your time already, you may proceed at your own peril into the unknown...

Neverbloom

It was Morrow who cursed this place.

Ilias and Rose: firstborns of our Lady Dimiourgia. I remember all that she told us before she disappeared. She named everything that we saw in our vicinity. Plant. Rock. Fruit. Grass. Water. We watched in wonder and awe as the world around us expanded rapidly. We heard strange new sounds as they carried to our ears. A smaller being comprised of feathers settled in a nearby tree and gave a high-pitched cry. Bird. It was joined by others, similar, though not identical. A different, slightly larger creature covered in fur ran up the tree and settled near the bird, giving a lower-pitched chirp. Squirrel.

So it continued. Worm. Bee. Butterfly. Fish. Wolf. For every new creature we witnessed and had named for us, another would show itself—if only briefly—before disappearing into the depths of the ever-expanding forest. Soon enough, there was nothing I could see that wasn't alive. I could feel the life in the forest. It resonated within me. We were connected. This feeling was what prompted me to ask Dimiourgia my first question:

"What am I to this world?"

Dimiourgia encompassed me in her gentle, yet terrifying stare; her sky-blue eyes seemed to pierce right through me. "You are a Pony, Ilias. Of the Equine race, like myself. You have no wings or horn like mine. However, you will not be without skills and magic similar to my own. I intend for you and Rose to reside in this world, as your own paradise. This land—which I hereby dub Earth—is yours to roam, play in, love and cherish. You must take care of the plants and all of the creatures within. You shall feel eternal bliss in this world, for I created you both to witness your happiness. We will all benefit from your existence. Through you and Rose, this land will thrive.

"Ilias, I name you my steward of Earth. I now bestow upon you the power to feel everything in the land. You will sense all of my animals and plants: how they are growing, their health, their emotions. You will feel warmth when one of them sleeps comfortably. You will also know how it feels when one is injured, for you will be aware of their pains as well as their joy. This shall be your task within this world.”

Dimiourgia then fixed her gaze upon Rose. "Rose, I give you the power to create in my stead. You shall be responsible for how the world looks. You will create masterpieces of true beauty with my gift. Although, you must take great care not to create anything dangerous with the potential to harm either yourselves, or any other life in this land, for it would be conflicting with Ilias' own task. Try it out. I cannot wait to see what wonders you come up with!"

Rose nervously stepped away from Dimiourgia, surprised at being put on the spot. She concentrated hard for a short moment. A humming sound filled the air as a pair of drooping, closed-up flowers emerged from a previously bland bush.

Task completed, Rose opened her eyes and surveyed her work. The flowers stood out from the rest. Bright silver hue, shining from within. Yet they seemed... sad, not at all like the other flowers standing with petals wide open happily at our attention. I made a mental note to ask her about it later. A name came to me through my new sense of nature. A name I wasn't sure I was comfortable with.

Neverbloom.

We will all benefit from your existence.

It was then that Dimiourgia told us what she'd planned for this world and for us. She wanted us to create more beings, like ourselves. No explanation was necessary on the hows of it all, though, as Dimiourgia implanted that knowledge then and there into our minds. I understood then why I had that particular feeling about Rose earlier. I was male and she was female. Suddenly everything made sense. That early primal instinct I felt when she first reared up and declared what and who she was to me was explained wordlessly, to both of us.

* * * * *

Wishing upon ages, these flowers will someday bloom.

Dimiourgia next introduced us to the concept of time. Though she intended Rose and I to ever endure, our plants and animal friends were not so fortunate. We learned about how seconds were different from minutes, hours and days. She fashioned two orbs in the sky above us: one too blinding to stare directly at for any period of time and one less so, but possible to observe as a result. She then lowered both orbs below our sight and infused me with her magic. I felt inexplicably warm inside, warmer than I'd felt before. This feeling lingered momentarily before vanishing, upon which I experienced a completely opposite feeling: cold. My eyes felt like they'd stopped working too, or that I had closed them—for now it was suddenly dark. Then Dimiourgia gave me the command:

"Raise the sun, Ilias."

Sun. That was the name she gave it. I did as she ordered, feeling her kind eyes upon me. A feeling of excitement laced with uncertainty flowed through me. I wanted to prove to her that I could do what she asked. I closed my eyes and reached out with my new power. The warm feeling returned, bathing me in its radiance. As I felt the light from the sun shine through my closed eyelids, I chanced a peek skyward. There it was: my sun. Filling the forest with its golden light and... warmth? Why did the sun now generate the warmth? The forest had been perfectly ambient and well-lit before the sun and the other orb came into existence. So why did temperature and lighting suddenly depend upon the sun?

"Well done Ilias," Dimiourgia complimented me. "You are no doubt confused about what has transpired here, so allow me to explain. I intend for you and Rose to control these two Celestial orbs: the sun and the moon. They will be responsible for generating light and warmth, which both you and your world will require to survive. However, you cannot simply have the sun up as long as you like, lest the land become scorched and your eyes become weak. This is where the moon comes in. After you raise the sun, it will move slowly across the sky, signaling the passing of twelve hours, at which time you will need to lower it from sight.

"This is when Rose will raise the moon." Dimiourgia shifted her attention to Rose. "It will still generate a little light over the world, but living things will be able to sleep comfortably, free from the disturbance of the suns rays. The land will also cool in the suns absence, so that it does not overheat. Keeping the sun and moon constantly rising and setting in a pattern will be essential for you to keep the time.

"I want you to raise the moon now, Rose." Rose stepped up next to Dimiourgia and concentrated on using her own magic. The dark of the setting sun was replaced by the gentle glow of the moon over our forest. It was nowhere near as bright, but it was somehow more... Beautiful. The colours of the trees, the shadows, the reflections of moonbeams on flowers giving them a different colour in the night's glow... it was all captivating. I began to understand why Dimiourgia had given us responsibility over each of our separate orbs.

The Neverbloom bush glowed especially bright.

Dimiourgia turned back to us, her eyes glinting mischievously.

"Now go and play in the night. Any way you see fit."

Morrow (Weaver of Dreams)

We could live forever and no-one could stop us.

The day that our first little foal was born awoke new, paternal feelings in me. Here was a being that we had not just created—as Rose had done so magnificently with our forest—but a being that was a true part of us. It was something quite unique. An extension of ourselves in a way that nothing else in the world could be. Our beautiful alicorn daughter: our little Celestia.

Time passed and Celestia grew to be a cheerful little filly. She made friends with every animal. She had the ability to fly with the birds and swim with the fish. She could talk to the squirrels as well as I did and make the flowers bloom as well as Rose could. She enjoyed watching me raise the sun every morning, her smile brighter than any light the orb could ever produce. Sol, she affectionately called it.

Our little darling was clearly a daytime creature, but she did not hold anything against her mother who had to raise the sun's less radiant counterpart. Our daughter was a smart little filly. She understood the ways of the world just as well as we did.

Rose and I had many more foals over time. Strangely though, they were only ever born with a set of wings for flight, a horn for magic, or neither. Those lacking extra appendages were gifted with an attuned sense of nature and physical strength. Celestia had no other filly or colt like herself to bond with, though. She loved all of our children—her gorgeous siblings—with all of her radiant little heart, but I could feel the conflict within her. She wanted a sister or a brother like herself. One who could match her height, who could fly, do magic and have a knack for cultivation.

Rose and I certainly had no idea why Celestia should be the only alicorn born to us. Dimiourgia had left us to our own devices after Celestia's birth. She was to be our greatest creation: a living monument to Dimiourgia's legacy that we could ever admire. If I thought about it, I was sure that Celestia was indeed intended to be the only one of her kind. Of course I was grateful for Dimiourgia’s blessing that had been bestowed upon her, yet I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

While dear Celly slept, I wished every night under Rose's moon for another baby alicorn.

* * * * *

Now follow me to the heart of the wood.

Celestia had taken it upon herself to deeply explore the wood as she neared her adult age. While I knew that Rose never stopped expanding the forest and creating new wonders to see, she and I hardly left our sanctum with our other young. Our sons and daughters were not quite as blessed with knowledge or as well-attuned as Celestia appeared to be. Often they would eat everything off a tree or a bush and leave it for dead, scaring away my woodland friends in the process. I could hardly fault them—the bounties were always delicious—but they didn't seem to grasp that we needed to give back as much to the wood as we took from it.

It was one evening during Celestia's enthusiastic gallivants that she happened upon a pool in a secret cave. It shone silver in the moonlight that pierced through the entrance. While she stared into it, it seemed to "call" to her. Cautiously, she dipped in her hoof. No ripples attempted to flee from the disturbance. She followed with her whole two forelegs. Still no ripples, not even a damp feeling like one would feel with ordinary water.

Celestia stared at her reflection for a moment, wondering why this magic water didn't move. As she pondered its secrets, her reflection met her gaze. It seemed almost like it was pleading with her somehow. Following this, she made a decision that would alter everything we thought we knew about life.

She dove right in.

Instead of sinking further down into the pool, she reappeared back on land at its edge. Confused, Celestia racked her brains for an explanation, but disregarded the thought soon after. Baffled by the workings of the pond, Celestia observed a miracle unfolding before her as another Celestia—identical to herself—stood up and regarded her with equal interest. I could feel the difference between the two if I really tried. The "new" Celestia seemed a little... off. A perfect copy of my daughter, yet her nature felt wrong somehow.

How could I be anything but happy? Finally my only alicorn daughter had a playmate, a sister. Yet there was something else, something that felt even more wrong as the new copy of my daughter. Its nature seemed to be continuously shifting; I couldn't tell who or what it was at all. All I knew was that Celestia had unknowingly discovered something that might have done better to remain undiscovered. The feeling vanished almost as soon as I acknowledged its existence. As if it was aware of my Earthen bond and trying to hide.

I awoke the next day to perform my "solar duties"—as Celestia had dubbed them—and came face to face with both of her, excitedly waiting for me. This was my first encounter with my daughter's copy. Same pink mane, same tail, gorgeous towering body complete with horn and wings. At first glance, she was identical, but her eyes... it was a subtle thing. While they were the same shape and colour as her accidental creator's, they seemed hollow. It was unnerving, but I chose not to let it get the best of me. I welcomed her to the family as I raised the sun with both of their attentions.

"Celestia" was introduced to the rest of the family. Rose was the first, who immediately accepted her for what she was with a motherly welcoming hug. The rest of our children all flocked to her in amazement, wondering how this was possible. I had made "my" Celestia promise not to tell anyone about the mirror pool—lest they all get excited and multiply themselves into oblivion—so the explanation she gave was that she sacrificed part of her power to split herself. Something no other pony would be able to do. It was a fair lie. One that she hated giving, but Rose and I felt it was for the best.

* * * * *

You brought me back to the darkness within. Buried in the depths of the elms. Locked beneath the Earth.

It was an encounter none of us were prepared for.

The sun slipped from my morning grasp for the first time ever, and refused to co-operate. Confused, I tried to lift it again. It began to rise as normal, then—for reasons unknown—it shot up far too high into the sky. It was suddenly high noon and everypony around me sat up groggily as the brilliance of the suns rays pierced their eyelids. Wondering what in Equestria was going on, I tried to keep everypony calm before any of them decided it was a good reason to panic. I might have succeeded too, were it not for a far more terrifying event unfolding right before our eyes.

A creature made of mismatched animal parts appeared in a snap before us. The only way I could describe this thing was that it seemed truly wild. I couldn't get a grasp of what it was, or its nature. Realising that this was what must have come through the mirror pool with my second Celestia, I took a defensive, protective stance for the first time in my life. As I stared it down and took in its bizarre appearance, more random things began to occur:

The weather changed from temperate to chilly, before reverting back and forth. My sun refused to listen to me as I tried to force it back where it should have been. Then the moon unexpectedly rose as well, to join the sun almost exactly where it was before.

The creature seemed to be enjoying itself immensely. It coiled over and around itself, laughing maniacally. Its voice gave me chills. It seemed full of power and malevolence. I could not make head or tail of its intentions. Without warning, everything returned to normal. The mismatched being turned its attention to me, vanishing and appearing next to me instantly.

"You can stop trying to figure me out now, Ilias. You will never succeed." As it spoke, pieces of Earth, fallen tree branches and even some of my children began floating in mid-air. I'd seen some unicorns perform this kind of levitation before, but never with the magnitude of power currently on display. For the first time since encountering Dimiourgia, I was afraid. Then Rose entered the fray.

"Release my children this instant, creature of malevolence!"

The creature turned its attention to Rose, rolled its eyes (literally) and placed our terrified foals back on the ground. The trees remained floating, though, turning themselves upside down. "Oh, precious Rose, I can assure you that I have no intentions to harm any of your precious children. I'm simply enjoying my new freedom, which your lovely daughter has so graciously provided me with!" It pointed to Celestia, who had been providing comfort to those who were most afraid. "But now," it continued, "I really ought to introduce myself properly. How rude of me."

It gave a sweeping bow to us and announced: "I am Vorjhan, bringer of discord. And many, many laughs!" It proceeded to mismatch itself even more than it already was, switching its body parts around, splitting itself in half, merging itself with various trees and diving into the Earth as easily as if it was water. While we all stared, I found myself less afraid, and slightly more amused. At least, until it re-appeared right in my face and the second Celestia's. Simultaneously.

"I see you have a new daughter! Strange, she looks just like your old one. Was one of her not good enough for you?" He guffawed. "Yet she seems a little different to me. Not quite herself if you get my meaning. Let's change that for you. Consider it a form of gratitude on my part for releasing me." A single click of his fingers later, my newest family member began to glow.

A loud boom resounded through the area as a shockwave forced us all to the ground. I rose a few seconds later to realise that "Celestia" was no longer there. Instead, Rose glowed as brightly as the now-absent Celestia. The glow dulled, converging into a small sphere around Rose's abdomen. A strange look crossed Rose's face before she fainted.

Vorjhan laughed for a while. His laughter sent chills running through my very bones. "Ha, you see, I have granted your wish, Ilias! You will now become the father of a sister equal to your precious Celestia. She will be born an alicorn, with many of the same powers and talents. However, she will take more after her mother. She will love the night and be as close to Rose as Celestia is to you."

My jaw dropped. Another alicorn daughter? Could it really be true? Finally, Celestia will have an equal to play with! As quick as this thought entered my mind, it was replaced by the concern I should have felt first at my beloved's collapse. Galloping up to Rose, I nuzzled her. She stirred a little, then opened her eyes.

"Rose? Are you alright?" I asked her, checking for any sign of illness or injury. My partner gave a small nod of her head confirming her safety, but her next words would stay with me the rest of my too-long life:

"I'm fine Ilias, but call me not Rose, for she is no more. From this moment, I am Morrow, weaver of dreams." She fixed me with a smile that was not at all like her usual, innocently cheerful one. It spoke to me of something dark, like things were not quite right anymore. "I will remake this world as I see it in my own dreams. We will rule it together. And our daughters will rule below us."

Vorjhan had vanished. He was nowhere to be found.

Elegies

I'll keep singing songs to the birds, until you return.

For all intents and purposes, life returned to normal following this event. I could only assume Vorjhan had used his new freedom to explore the world which Rose had created. Morrow, not Rose anymore, I had to keep reminding myself. She was still, on the outside at least, the same pony that I loved from our beginnings of life, save for a slight diminish in the shine of her coat. Her mannerisms, though, had changed.

As our newest foal grew in her womb, courtesy of Vorjhan, she grew more irritable. She'd never been this way during any of her other pregnancies. She snapped at the other foals if they got up to mischief, or approached her when she wished to be alone.

Even I was unable to comfort her at times. She would shrug off my advances and stew in her own thoughts. She created far less frequently. She would even go for periods without eating. I knew it couldn't be healthy for her, or our alicorn filly relying on her mother's increased nutritional requirements.

Vorjhan did something to her.

It was the only explanation that seemed reasonable. For what he promised to deliver us with the upcoming birth of Celestia's supposed "equal," it felt like it had come at a significant cost. I could feel how different Rose’s nature had become since she renamed herself. Her heart was no longer fully into creating a beautiful word. What she did create lacked the same shine as before. I found myself wandering near the Neverbloom bush more and more often, contemplating.

What were your intentions for this odd flower? They remained shining, but drooping. Unlike the other plants and animals, they seemed to require no light or nourishment of any kind to endure. They simply remained in a state of stasis.

At times like these, Celestia could always be depended on to cheer me up. Sometimes, it felt like she was my second sun. She always knew how to make me smile. Whether it was by bringing me a platter of my favourite quinces, or telling me about her latest grand adventure exploring mother's deep forest, or simply just wrapping her wings around me and holding me in a warm enveloping hug. She was not so naive that she failed notice the change in her mother. She simply chose to not dwell on the matter and looked excitedly to the future instead. To the birth of her new baby sister.

A morality issue began plaguing my mind after a while. Vorjhan had allowed our future daughter to exist, but at the cost of an innocent life. I hadn't even considered it at the time, still shocked by what had been happening before my eyes. But now that I had time, I had to wonder. What right had he, to remove Celestia's double from the world like that? Even if she did lead to the creation of a true sister for Celestia? Was she even a real pony like the rest of us? Was she an illusion? Could I, or should I have considered her real in any sense? The thoughts nibbled at me like the fish in the streams nibbled at the reeds.

Celestia would, of course, tell me not to worry about it. She herself was feeling much more comfortable at the prospect of having a true sister, rather than to simply have another "her" running around. I understood her point of view, yet I remained uneasy.

Was it another life, or wasn't it? How would the foal be born? What kind of attitude would she have? Would she grow up to be as wholesome as my perfect Celestia, or would there be something... less pure about her? It made my head hurt thinking about every possible scenario.

* * * * *

We could have laughed, and cried, and dreamed our nights away.

The day finally came to pass when, after an extended pregnancy, Morrow gave birth to our newest precious herd member. We had no idea what to expect from her. I wondered myself, as I had for over a year. When she finally arrived, nopony was prepared for it.

She was the first of our ilk to be coated in a regal, midnight blue. The rest of us were simply varying shades of white to brown, with shades of white and blonde manes. Celestia, with her white coat and pink-pigmented mane, was the only exception. Not only was Luna's coat dark blue, her mane and tail shared the colour, albeit a lighter shade. That wasn't the only surprise that came with her birth, though. We'd known that she would be born an alicorn, and so expected her to be of a decent size as Celestia had been. She was tiny. Barely as large as our smallest regular foal had been, as if she had been stunted halfway through development.

The next surprise came not from our little filly, but from Morrow herself. Her demeanour changed. Seeing her new foal for the first time, she seemed to rediscover part of who she had once been. She became more like Rose, once again. Happily, we both gazed upon our gorgeous little blessing. A true sister to our perfect, darling Celestia. We named her Luna.

Luna may have been small, but she was in no way limited in power. I could feel the untapped potential in her. I wondered if one day she would be as powerful, or even more powerful than Celestia. The fact that she had been created by Vorjhan worried me, though. While Luna’s birth was certainly a blessing, that did not mean I could trust everything about Vorjhan’s gift. Despite this, I resolved to love my daughter just as she deserved, though never to let my guard down around her. Even with Rose seemingly returned to normal, I could not take Vorjhan’s gift at face value.

* * * * *

At the end of it all is only a teardrop to remember you by.

Many years later, Morrow’s and my own herd numbered into the hundreds. The ponies that populated the herd today were now not only our original foals, but also grand-fillies and grand-colts. Interestingly, since Luna's birth, they'd begun to have multi-coloured coats and manes. Greens, purples, pinks and blues... we even had a rainbow-maned colt. I could only assume that this was a lingering effect of Vorjhan's magic on Morrow. Morrow could not be prouder of our herd. Each of our children had grown up. Luna, in particular, had successfully alleviated our fears by growing to a size just shy of Celestia.

They had also begun to put their special talents to use. Some, mostly the earth ponies, were more gifted in cultivating the land and growing flowers and seedlings. Others—mostly our pegasi offspring, but a small number of unicorns too—had learned to control the weather, bringing rainclouds specifically where they were needed and even bringing about the change of seasons. Special marks now appeared on their flanks—marks unique to each pony—upon discovering something they were exceptionally talented at.

Our world changed from simply having the sun and moon rotate time and temperature. The forest became overgrown and thick if we left it unchecked for too long, at which point my children would bring colder weather and less rains. Snow, even.

Oh, how they loved to play in the snow. I remember copping a massive snowball to the face one day, after foalishly stepping into the thick of a "battle" between the different races. Celestia and Luna were on a team all by themselves. It was only fair, since they were immensely more powerful than even our most gifted unicorns. It was the most cold, shocking experience I'd ever felt. Still, after I melted the snow off my face and warmed myself up, I could see the humourous side to it.

Everypony had laughed except for Celly, who somehow managed to stifle her own giggle. Luna, who had long-since proven herself as a practical joker—no doubt another piece of Vorjhan showing itself—was laughing her head off louder than anypony. Which was a bit louder than one might expect, as her voice had, at times, the power to shake the very foundations of the Earth and send anything caught within earshot scurrying away.

One night, Luna accidentally frightened one of the younger colts, Starshine. He loved to gaze at the sky after dark and was particularly attached to his dear midnight-blue auntie. On this occasion however, she had slipped into one of his dreams—a talent that she had inherited from her mother—and terrified him with an illusion of us all being driven from our home. In his dream, the forest was twisting itself into something... evil. Plants mutated and tried to ensnare us all. The wolves and lions, once strictly herbivorous like ourselves, began trying to devour us instead. Some animals even merged with each other, becoming more fearsome still.

He also claimed that Luna herself had appeared much darker. "A coat of pure black," he said, "with a shimmering mane and a helmet partially covering her face." But far from these other dream traits, what terrified him the most had been Luna's eyes. He described them as "Cold, dark, with slits for pupils that gave no sign of love and showed only pure malice."

Luna did not deny what she had done when I confronted her, but she appeared incredibly remorseful. She claimed to have "no control" over her actions in that instance, but instead felt "possessed." This served only to confirm my fears that she had been affected by Vorjhan somehow. I implored her to try to stay out of other ponies' dreams in the future, unless she was certain that she could make them better. The poor dear took my words to heart and made it her new mission to help ponies weather their nightmares. She would offer advice in the darkest times, as well as an ethereal shoulder to lean on. I was indescribably proud of her.

That was, until the night I had a dream similar to Starshine's.

Maelstrom

With the faces of desertion, far from the grips of time, I have found my home.

That dream, long ago—the one that Starshine had first described to me—lingered in my mind. I should have seen it as a prophecy. I should have been more careful with Luna. No. I should never have blamed her for what happened. She did not decide to be cursed. That wicked spirit of discord was the one responsible.

Vorjhan.

Even to think of his name filled me with disgust. He showed his true colours the day we met him. We were all just too blind to see his intentions. Evil intentions. There was one time, as she returned from a week of adventuring, that Celestia felt compelled to confide some potential dangers to me. The creatures that had plagued my dreams were real. They existed in dark sections of Morrow's forest that no pony had traveled to before, save for Celestia. These creatures thrived in such areas. Horrific, twisted, merged creations of animals that Dimiourgia had created.

Lions crossed with scorpions and bats. Manticore. Lions crossed with eagles. Griffon. Snakes had been combined with chickens. Cockatrice. These particular abominations could turn a creature to stone with a single glare. Not even life forms possessing no sentience were safe. Trees had been crossed with wolves. Timberwolf. Celestia had even seen a gigantic sea serpent, although he, at least, did not appear threatening. It had me incredibly distressed. Why had I been unable to sense any of these muddled "hybrid" creations? Was it Vorjhan's influence that blocked my Earthen abilities?

Celestia elaborated further upon her travels, describing further horrible mutations. There were plants that sought to trap other animals in their newly developed teeth and jaws. Some were simply noxious and would kill if consumed. Others would generate unpredictable ailments for whoever touched them. She'd described a blue flower that she'd accidentally grazed, with the consequence of that leg briefly becoming some other form of hairless appendage with many digits.

There were even other creatures that seemed to not be a combination of already existing animals, but were completely original. Celestia described these as the most terrifying of all: Dragons. Her reports told me they resembled "Large serpents, with enormous bodies and excessively large webbed wings." They had skin much like that of the fish we knew from our stream; a crucially different property being apparent immunity to any blunt impact. They had elongated necks with dangerous-looking spikes all down the length of their spines. But what had even my powerful, self-confident alicorn daughter afraid was their breath. They spewed fire, that which we as a race of equines feared the most. Unrestrained, fire had the power to destroy our meadows, forests and everything in them.

It was because of these revelations that I forbade Celestia from travelling further from home than was necessary. I loved her dearly, so I desired terribly to keep her safe. It seemed silly that I should worry about somepony so powerful, but I refused to take any chances. Especially after she told me that these creatures all appeared to desire flesh rather than fruits.

When I informed Morrow of Celestia’s discoveries, she was disgusted. It was all I could do to convince her not to go gallivanting off into the far reaches of our realm and find Vorjhan herself.

"He's dangerous, Morrow. We cannot confront him. I will not put any of our family at risk."

"Can't you see Ilias? It's because he's dangerous that he must be stopped, or made to see reason. We owe him nothing. The favour he gained from blessing us with Luna, tainted though she may be, pales in comparison to the lives he has otherwise destroyed. Lives he will continue to ruin. He must be stopped!”

"Morrow, the parts of the world that he has twisted are far away from our own. I'm sure he is perfectly fine minding his own business over yonder where he dwells. He poses no threat to us. Let's just leave him alone!"

"I will not stand by idle, with the knowledge that he has tainted my world. It was never his to play with and manipulate. What's to say he won't target us next? We have to talk to him." She would have got up and galloped away then and there, were it not for my next words:

"If you were hurt, or worse, I wouldn't want to live on without you. How would our family feel if you left them behind?"

Morrow's stony gaze softened as she breathed deeply, finally nodding in defeat. “...All right. I get it. Family comes first.” I approached and lovingly nuzzled her, even as I breathed my own sigh of relief. We would not challenge Vorjhan, for we lacked the power to do so. Morrow knew this. It pained me greatly to see her in such a state of turmoil, but less than it would have if something happened to her.

* * * * *

Plunged into darkness by the undertow of the maelstrom.

A day came where I could stand it no longer. Too often had I dreamed of Luna casting the forest into darkness, dreamed of horrific creatures invading our lands to prey upon us... only to realise that it was not Luna herself, but a shade possessing her body. A nightmare. One who would laugh maniacally as the moon went under her control, overtook the sun and never allowed the light of day to reach us again. It was then that I realised Morrow was right. We had to confront Vorjhan.

I did not reach this decision lightly. I will admit that I deeply feared for the herd. Many of them had been born after Vorjhan's brief appearance, and so, they could not understand why we were so grim. Morrow and Celestia comforted the foals and some of the elder ones who could not comprehend our task or why it was necessary. I decided that Luna should remain behind and care for the herd as a surrogate mother, however, she had grown tired of her inability to ease my night terrors. She felt it a personal insult that her image was being manipulated into terrifying me. She promised to give Vorjhan a piece of her mind.

Although I worried for our offspring, in the end I figured that the herd should be able to take care of itself. The pegasi could always flee to the skies, and the unicorns had more than enough magical power to protect themselves. Even the Earth ponies weren't defenseless, for they had proven themselves to be capable of quite vicious kicks. Finally, I entrusted one of our eldest—Star Swirl—with the task of watching over the herd in our absence.

So it came to pass that Morrow, Celestia, Luna and I set out to find Vorjhan and have him answer for the state of the world. I was confident that with our combined power, we would have a chance at making him return the world to a harmonious state.

I could not have been more wrong.

Oceans of Emptiness

Morrow's moon sat high in the sky by the time we finally came to the edge of our known wood. The difference in atmosphere and decor was immediately obvious. The border between our perfect, ordered home and the corrupt, tainted beginnings of Vorjhan's territory was as distinguishable as night, from day. Morrow's white oaks, evergreen pines and tan birches grew no longer, ceasing on the bank of a small, shallow ford. On the other side grew hideous, gnarled replicas. I could feel the rage within Morrow growing. Her life force pulsed violently.

"Mother, this is what I've told Father about," Celestia said. "These are the things I've seen. It only gets darker from here on in. We'll have to have our wits about us in there." Morrow gave Celestia a well-contained glare of disapproval.

"How bad could it be, 'Tia?" Luna asked. "Even if we do run into some fell beastie in the depths, we can take them. We're the most powerful ponies that have ever lived!"

"You don't understand, Luna; you never met Vorjhan. He's capable of anything. He made you out of a copy of myself, in case you've forgotten." Celestia walked ahead of us, igniting an illumination spell from her lengthy horn. The pseudo-solar energy pierced the gloom of our unnatural surroundings. Before us lay a wide path, with only one way in. "Usually I would have flown overhead, but..." she trailed off. No way were Morrow and I letting our daughters carry us over the wood. Not only would it drain them of energy, but their ability to protect us would be compromised, putting all of us in danger.

"I hadn't forgotten. Thanks for reminding me," Luna said with a huff.

"Girls, let's just stick together, all right?" I suggested. "We're here now, we're committed to seeing this through, so can we keep the banter to a min—" my voice was promptly cut off. Panicking, I bit down on the suffocating vine as I saw that the nearest trees had crept closer to us without our knowledge. The vine tasted foul, but it let go of me all the same. As I staggered back into Morrow, catching my balance, Celestia fired one of her solar-beams at the offending tree. Instantly, it burst into flames.

I stared at the plant as a horrible screeching sound filled the air. Never before had I heard a tree scream so loud, nor shrivel up and die so quickly. Barely ten seconds after ignition, the corrupted mangrove and all of its vines were reduced to a pile of ashes. I felt a slight pang at the death of the plant, before I remembered that it had just tried to kill me.

"So, are you satisfied yet, Ilias?" Morrow asked me. I turned to her, ready to counter with the fact that we were on our way to amend things, like she wanted. That is, I would have, had my courage not chosen to fail me right then and there. Morrow was beginning to look a little... scary. It was becoming more obvious by the moment that her demeanour had reverted to her less-than-appealing nature. The waves of anger I felt from her had only intensified in the past few moments.

The sooner we end this, the better. "All right, Morrow. You were right. Yes, we should have done this sooner. But like I said earlier, let's just get on with it."

* * * * *

"Father, watch out!"

The lion-bat-scorpion lashed at me with its freakishly long claws. Adhering to Luna's warning, I leaped back the way I came. "What manner of creature is this? Celestia?"

"It's a manticore, Father. Usually, they only attack if their territory's invaded. Of course, anything is possible in this part of the world."

"Did you ever fight one?" I asked as I ducked another swipe, this time, from the tail. No way was I getting myself stung by that menacing-looking thing; I felt certain it had the venom to end me in a matter of minutes. "If you did, I hope you took extreme caution, young filly."

The disapproving click of Morrow's tongue drew my attention. I took in her body language; it seemed like a completely different pony had taken control of my wife. As I stared, I could have sworn that I saw her mane begin to shimmer—

Luna's dark-tinged beam fired past my head, resulting in the loudest roar I'd ever heard. I realised then, that I'd been distracted and had turned my back, rather foolishly, on my predator. The manticore howled, tail and wings flailing back and forth as it tried to dispel the pain caused by my younger daughter's hit.

"Let's hightail it, everypony!" she ordered.

Celestia nodded. "I agree. The longer we linger here, the more danger we expose ourselves to."

You don't have to tell me twice, I thought. That thing is fearsome enough. The four of us galloped further into the corruption, leaving the madly flailing mutant behind.

* * * * *

This forest feels so... dead. Dead and diminished. How can any life thrive here? With every step I took into the heart of Vorjhan's corruption, I felt my Earthen connection weaken. Soon, I won't be able to feel any life whatsoever. Soon, all I'll be left with is the feeling of Morrow's rage. Inversely with the feeling of life in the wood, her feelings grew more enraged the further we delved. I could feel the unrelenting waves coming off of her, flowing through the air, swirling around us. I was thankful that Celestia and Luna were spared those unique emotions of mine.

Every step further was a weight on my back, threatening to drag me down. The weight burdened my mind, threatening to overcome my sanity. The emptiness of the wood ate at my psyche, pressing in on me. Though the moon had almost completed its descent toward the horizon, the forest had never felt darker. I was due to raise the sun in less than an hour, but I couldn't bring myself to feel up to it. We had wandered all night, hoping to make use of the cover of darkness.

The wood rejects me. Its atmosphere blankets me. It's taunting me. It knows our presence is alien. It wants us to leave...

The Well

The whispers, they follow me. Can you hear it? Can you hear it?

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

Our last brush with real danger came from a startled timberwolf pack. We happened upon them accidentally, taking refuge under a wide royal oak as it unexpectedly began to snow—then rain, then hail—all repeating in a random pattern. The wolves were fearsome in appearance, but a swift kick from Luna shattered one to pieces. The others backed down, although they still held us in their sights.

"We shall not be easy prey for the likes of you foul creatures. Begone!" Luna bellowed in her ear-shatteringly loud voice. The timberwolves appeared to consider flight, until the alpha wolf howled a defiant challenge. Undaunted by my daughter's battle cry, it lunged for her throat, just in time to cop a face-full of concentrated light; Celestia had mastered the art of solar absorption, demonstrating on her clueless victim. With their pack leader smashed to smithereens, the others finally took the hint and retreated, but not before the leader began reforming. We elected to flee before they could change their collective minds.

Thank Dimiourgia for my daughters—Morrow and I would never have made it if not for them. Even with this small but crucial victory, my fear at the thought of our mission objective only increased, while Morrow simply grew more furious. Her eyes blazed with a fire I had never seen before. There was cold fury in that glance. She could have defeated a cockatrice in a staring match on her own at that point, I believe. Not that I was about to let her take the opportunity.

We came to a stream, a churning, frothing torrent that seemed impassable. Once again I thanked Dimiourgia for Celestia and Luna, who were more than able to carry us over on their backs. When we arrived at an enormous chasm, though, we found we could not utilise the same strategy. Some mysterious force prevented Celly and Luna from breaching the gap. Looking at the bridge, we had no choice. An enchantment of that caliber could only mean that we were close to Vorjhan's poisoned realm. Gritted determination crossed my face as I declared that we cross.

With Celestia taking point, and Luna bringing up the vanguard, we crossed in single file across the rickety bridge connecting the two cliff-faces. Surprisingly, it held all of our weight and gave no sign of strain. I could only assume it was enchanted as well. No sooner had we stepped off the end of the bridge than a deafening ringing sound filled our ears. It was piercing in the worst possible sense. Having no choice but to ignore it, we all pressed on. We soon encountered a magnificent castle of stone and wood before us, that materialised into existence only as we approached it. Twisted stone gargoyles guarded the entrance and I didn't put it past them to spring to life and threaten us. They remained mercifully passive though, so we entered the long hall with a collective deep breath.

* * * * *

This darkness is far too familiar, it's pulling me down. I want out; let me out!

"Welcome, my little ponies. Welcome to my domain of discord!" Vorjhan rolled out a red carpet from where his tongue should have been that came to rest at our hooves. "To what do I owe this magnificent pleasure? It has been a very long time. How are you, Ilias? And you, dear Rose? Oh silly me, that's not your name anymore." Vorjhan chuckled at his own joke, missing the flash of anger behind my eyes. "Ah, I can see you brought your beautiful daughters along on your little vacation. Hello, Celestia! You're looking lovely as always. I've seen you around but you never stopped in to pay me a visit." Vorjhan pouted a little, his lips leaving his face to briefly touch Celestia's muzzle before returning. To her immense credit, she never recoiled from the disgusting act.

"Oh? And who is this dark, gorgeous young thing? Your, or should I say, my little daughter? Princess of the Night, Luna? So glad to finally meet you, dearest!" He moved to kiss Luna, but she was not as tolerant as Celestia. She disappeared in a flash and reappeared next to Morrow, glaring at him with eyes of pure distrust.

"Oh come now, don't be that way, sweetheart," Vorjhan crooned. "I mean no offense. But, if you insist. I can at least pretend to be civil in the presence of royalty. For a little while." Another chuckle escaped him.

"It has indeed been a while, Vorjhan." I stepped forward and addressed the creature of chaos. "First and foremost, I'd like to thank you for the blessing you bestowed upon us. Our Luna is most precious, and you granted not only my wish, but my darling Celestia's as well. We've never been happier as a family since she was born, and for that, I truly do thank you." I gave a slight bow of respect to him, seemingly catching him off-guard.

"Why, it was my absolute pleasure, Ilias!" he declared, returning the bow rather extravagantly. "After all, it was your daughter who released me from that accursed mirror pool after Dimiourgia imprisoned me there. Did you know that I was her very first creation? A prototype, one might call me. She gave me the power to create anything, do anything, even be anything I wanted. She thought it would be fun. I admit, it was for a long time; until she started placing rules upon me, what I could and couldn't do. She insisted that a lot of the things I did didn't make sense. I failed to see any problem. I never did like rules, they're so boring to abide by. Chaos is a wonderful thing, what fun is there in making sense?"

"So she imprisoned you when you failed to listen? That does sound pretty harsh." I sympathised with him for the barest of moments, before I remembered: "Until you consider the fact that you began creating animals and plants that try to eat each other! What kind of cruelty is that? To have an animal suffer an unnatural and premature, painful death, simply at the whim of another who wished to extend its flavor palette?”

Vorjhan's eyebrow raised above his head, floating in mid-air. "Oh? You have a problem with spicing up the world a little, Ilias?"

"I do when it comes at the cost of innocent lives and the horrific fusion of creatures that creates things never supposed to exist!" I took a deep breath and calmed down before proceeding. "It's great to have the power to do anything that you want, but that doesn't mean that you should. Please, Vorjhan, return the animals to their natural state. Return their appetites so that they desire plants, not each other."

Vorjhan sighed audibly and fixed a disapproving gaze upon me. "I'm disappointed in you, Ilias. I had thought you possessed a more open mind than Dimiourgia, to be more understanding. I see now it is not so. Well, let me show you what I had to endure these countless millennia, before Dimiourgia decided to create an inferior being like yourself to replace me!" His eyes glowed and a finger snap later, I found myself drowning in an endless ocean of pitch-dark water—an ocean of emptiness. I panicked. Every movement I made was a struggle to ascend to a surface that never appeared any closer. My lungs burned. My eyes lost all vision. My legs began to grow numb. Pressure caved in on me to the point where I would have welcomed death, anything but this terrible, burning, weighty existence.

The well, so dark and cold.

Weeping Wastelands

I am your fucking end. You will tremble at my feet. Bringer of pain and suffering, hatred sadness and despair.

After an incomprehensible amount of time, I felt the force of air rushing into my burning lungs, driving out the water and the cold. A fiery warmth enveloped me, courtesy of Celestia, as I realised that I was back in Vorjhan's hallway. My family all rushed to my side while I continued to cough and splutter. Vorjhan himself simply floated nearby, admiring the spectacle he had caused.

"What did you do to him, you... you monster!?" cried Morrow. "He is knocking at death's door, in the name of your sick little game!" If looks could kill...

"Oh calm down, my dear Morrow, he was never in any real danger. I just gave him a taste of what it's like to be imprisoned in a magical pool that prevents passage through its impenetrable surface. At least, it's impenetrable from the inside. Once again, my appreciation to Celestia. Thanks to you, dear, I roam free to do as I like and as I see fit!" Vorjhan suddenly seemed to double in size, or rather, did actually double in size. "Nopony tells me what to do! Not you, not Dimiourgia, nopony! Now I'm going to take you all on a guided tour of my domain and you will see the glory that I have created!"

The next thing I knew, we were all floating in a magical sphere next to Vorjhan, unable to break free while he launched into a descriptive banter. "Look at everything I have made. Isn't it beautiful? Just look at how those enormous brown dusty slopes tower over the land below! See all of the caves carved into them, like holes in Swiss cheese? Oh wait, you probably don't know what Swiss or cheese are. Never mind. Anyway, my dragons live in those holes. It's truly magnificent to behold them flying around—breathing clouds of smoke, ash and fire—sometimes into mid-air, sometimes at wildlife. Heck, sometimes even at each other! I do enjoy a good dragon fight. Really gets the blood boiling! Quite literally too, those flames are hot, hot, hot! The dragon badlands, I call them, for they certainly are bad. Why should everything be good? How boring!"

Next, we were taken to a stunningly beautiful lake. It lay still as a mirror, without a ripple in sight. "Sky Mirror Lake," Vorjhan announced. "Home of one of my proudest creations, the changelings! Now, one would never recognise a changeling, as they can take on the form of any other sentient being that they wish. Why, Ilias, you could be in the throes of passion with a changeling pretending to be Morrow and you wouldn't know the difference! That is, until you started feeling your power draining... for you see, they feast not on plants, or even flesh, but love. Romantic isn't it? Well, for the changeling at least. Given enough time, a pony could be sucked completely dry. Not a single conscious thought would remain. You would be an empty shell of your former self, your power fed to the one who literally preyed on your feelings! What a tragic but magnificent concept, don't you agree?"

We viewed many other places, completely beyond our control. Where Vorjhan wanted to take us, we had no choice but to follow. He showed us the Griffon kingdoms: a stone-grey mountain range reaching to the sky, with many of the fearsome eagle-lion hybrids flying around the peaks. "Oh, but you'll want to stay away from those. Griffons attack in numbers, rapidly swarming their prey. Their choice meal? Well, anything they like!" He gave an evil amused laugh while our skins crawled as one.

He showed us the plains, where creatures called Buffalo roamed. "Now, even I am capable of making a species not designed to eviscerate or disembowel you. I do find these buffalo rather droll though. Oh well, at least they can still kill a pony by stampede if threatened at all!"

* * * * *

After witnessing an enormous mountain, a frozen, barely accessible north and a small place on the borders of our own forest that seemed oddly peaceful, we found ourselves back in Vorjhan's fortress. Luna looked like she was about to be sick, while Celestia just looked worried. As for Morrow... well, she certainly wasn't happy either, to put it lightly.

"So, Ilias and family, what do you think of my world? It certainly dwarfs your own for creativity and sheer size, does it not? Really, let me know what you think! I truly value your opinions. I am not an evil being, I simply desire chaos. A world without rules. It's just so much more fun that way!" Morrow and I exchanged glances. I had to admit, it certainly was varied. And vast. And full of danger and possible excitement. But it was nothing like our little safe-haven back home. Far from the paradise that I had strived to maintain for the sake of my ever-expanding family. I turned to Vorjhan, answer ready:

"I can appreciate what you've done with the world, Vorjhan. Perhaps I’ll never understand why you've done exactly as you have, but then again, you're chaos embodied right? I suppose... that if it doesn't threaten our existence in the forest... then there's no harm in it being this way."

A gasp from Morrow caught me off guard. I turned to her and saw a strange emotion in her eyes. Pity? Betrayal? I guess I'll never know. I returned my focus to Vorjhan. "What matters to me the most is my family. So if you make a solemn promise here and now, with Morrow, Celestia and Luna as my witnesses, that you will leave our realm untouched and protect it from danger... I will give you my blessing to do with the rest of the world as you see fit."

There was a deafening silence. Then something unexpected happened, something I have always been unable to forget.

A shadow escaped from Morrow's eyes. It swirled around her, and shrouded her from head to tail. Her coat began to change colour to a deep, lightless black. Her mane shimmered, turning a shade of the deepest purple. Her tail followed its lead, also becoming shimmery and purple. Morrow grew rapidly until she was the same size as Celestia. No, even larger than Celestia. The pupils in her eyes retracted and became slits. I could hardly believe it. Before my eyes, my beautiful, loving wife had succumbed to the dark influence within her. I felt the taint of Vorjhan, long dormant in her, finally arise.

In her newly transformed state, Morrow emanated waves of power, potent enough to make the small hairs on my back stand at attention. Panting, the unrecognisable Morrow raised her head and stared at Vorjhan, forcing him to recoil. Her voice was terrible to behold, and it spoke without mercy: "This is my world! It was given to me to expand and create, to weave as I will with my own dreams. And I, Morrow, weaver of dreams, exercise my right to take back my land, foul beast! I shall cover this world in my own eternal forest—nothing will ever penetrate its defenses!"

The land quaked violently, forcing me to my knees. My daughters felt the rumble and quickly took to the air, supporting me as I stumbled around. Through the large windows of the fortress, I could see the devastation unfolding: twisted, gnarled oaks sprouted up out of the soil, groaning in protest at their much-accelerated growth, while bushes that should have sported beautiful flowers sprang up, adorned only by thorns. Even the foundations of the fortress weren't safe, as barbed creeper vines rapidly snaked their way through the cracks in the walls.

While the corrupted forest spread throughout the realm, unrestrained, Morrow fixed her steely gaze upon me. It was all I could do to not turn from my beloved, twisted as she had become. "You did this to me, Ilias! You are responsible for what happens next, and you will tremble at my feet when I am through with this world!"

Hope is gone. All that's left is this abomination.

Widower

You just kept giving yourself away. A gift to cherish until piece by piece, you were laid before the roots of time.

"Mother! What are you doing?" Celestia cried to Morrow, hoping to break through the terrible power and rage which coursed through her. "Stop and listen to me! You don't want to do this! Let's just go home. Please!" Celestia’s pleas were doomed to fall on deaf ears. Morrow was already lost. I could feel it. My one great love—mother of our herd—my beautiful Rose... consumed by taint and a lust for power that had manifested itself in the worst possible way. My nightmare was coming true.

This is all my fault.

Vorjhan snapped out of his mild state of shock and smirked at Morrow, as her own twisted version of the forest spread throughout his realm. "Well, this is an interesting development isn't it? You foalish little pony. What hope do you have to defy the will of the greatest creation in all the cosmos' history? You cannot hope to stand against me and succeed. For I am chaos!" As Vorjhan spat his venom-filled words, he swelled once more. He snapped his fingers, clearly taking a shot at Morrow.

Nothing happened.

Confused, Vorjhan tried again.

Nothing happened.

Eyes wide, the creature began—for the first time since his creation—to back down, even whimpering a little. "How can this be? Why can't I warp you into a fish out of water, or even dispel your power? What is going on? Nopony overthrows Discord Embodied. Nopony!!!"

Snap!

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Truly fearful now, with Morrow approaching him and her dark power flooding through the castle, Vorjhan retreated. "No, how is this possible? How are you stronger than me? Why can''t I affect you? Tell me why!" Morrow, with a simple grin full of sadistic enjoyment, lowered her newly materialised horn directly at Vorjhan.

"I hereby banish you from this realm, as Dimiourgia did before me! As far as my forest spreads, you will not enter! You shall never again set foot in my world!"

A flash of tremendous corrupt power later and Vorjhan had vanished. I would never see him again, but Morrow was not yet finished. She had hardly begun. Unimaginably dark power continued to flow through her. It was the single most terrifying experience of my life. My lover was truly dead now. Consumed by this cursed, forbidden strength that Dimiourgia had told her never to use. It was in that moment I realised my nature sense had returned. Oh, what a comeback it had made! I was overcome with an enormous sense of fear. I and every single creature in the wood trembled as one. Something was terribly wrong.

"Father!" Celestia's voice called to me desperately as she struggled to stand against the overwhelming flow of power which radiated viciously from Morrow. "Help Mother see reason! She doesn't know what she's doing! Make her come back to her senses and cease this insanity. We're all going to die if she is allowed to continue, you know this! Please, Father!" With tears openly flowing from her eyes, my darling daughter Celestia and her beautiful sister Luna came to me and begged me to stop Morrow's wrath. To rescue our beloved mother and lover from her own insanity.

It was the only thing I could not do for them.

* * * * *

You're not desire: you're just a fucking widow, weaving webs among the woods.

"Girls, your mother is lost. There is no hope for her now. All we can do is contain the havoc she is wreaking. I need you two to stand with me and combine your powers to stop her! There is no other way!"

"But, Father—"

"Please, Father—"

"Girls!" As Celestia and Luna flinched, I steeled myself, before delivering my next words: "Trust me, you cannot imagine the pain I feel right now, making this decision, but unless you want the entire world destroyed, you will aid me in stopping Morrow, right now! Make your choice, and I promise I'll find some way to make the burden easier for you to bear. No matter what the cost."

It was all I could truthfully hope to offer them. No point quince-coating the truth when the very world we knew was at stake. At last, reason began to filter through the minds of my young alicorn daughters. Together, they cried their last tears and stood with me. Morrow turned to us, still consumed by her trance. "Oh? What's this? Trying to stop me? Don't you want us to be a family anymore? To rule this glorious world I'm creating at my side?"

"Morrow, you will not achieve anything here! This world you're creating is corrupt and tainted. It's no better than Vorjhan's, if anything, I can feel that it will be worse! If you will not stop willingly, we will do what we must. For all of Equestria." Morrow seemed to falter at my words for just a moment, her conviction wavering. For the briefest moment, I allowed myself to believe that I had gotten through to my love.

The beam of dark power she shot at me was barely deflected. I found myself rooted to the spot, stunned. She tried to kill me… she just tried to kill me. It had taken Celestia and Luna's combined efforts to repel Morrow’s power. The girls descended, coming to land in front of me from their airborne positions. Luna panted with the effort of repelling her attack, while Celestia braced herself. Morrow had made her choice. There was truly only one option left to us. She had to be stopped.

I let my passive magic drain into the young alicorn sisters, so unfairly made to turn on their own mother. Together, they fired a converging beam of pure light and darkness at Morrow, who responded with her own beam of malice. The beams interlocked for a moment, remaining where they were. Then slowly, slowly, the focal point of the beams began to move in Morrow's direction. Morrow looked nonplussed for a moment, before adding more power to her beam. She was at her limits, unable to shut off the rapidly spreading dark forest and divert its energy. Morrow was now a broken dam, which no plug would ever contain. Our only option: dissipate all the water.

As I continued to filter my own power to my daughters, I could see them straining to match Morrow's phenomenal power output. I could feel it growing stronger. If my girls were at their limits, I knew how this would end.

I made my fateful choice.

I called to the life within the forest, all that remained untainted. I summoned it to me from all corners of the world. The strength that Dimiourgia had bestowed upon me was now put to the ultimate test. Many years earlier, she’d warned me about the consequences of abusing her gifts. I knew what was at stake. But I could not let everything we worked for—all that Rose had created—go to waste. Not after forty years. Too many innocent lives depended on my next move.

Every ounce of strength I possessed. Every fiber of my being. They all left me. The pain was... unimaginable. I could feel myself being literally torn apart as I gave all that I had to my fillies. My two perfect, precious fillies. As I watched their beam overpower Morrow's and slowly begin to disintegrate her, I could feel myself sharing her fate. With a final burst of power and an agonised scream, I gave my heart away.

The last I ever saw of my daughters was their tear-streaked faces, as I put every drop of power within me into them. I could feel the essence of life leaving my body, all of the magical power I possessed departing me. With no life force remaining, all of it donated to my daughters, I obliterated myself, even as their combined power obliterated their mother. With my passing through the physical world, I sent out a wish—a simple wish—to my lady Dimiourgia that I desperately hoped she could answer.

Please let my daughters, all of my offspring and all life contained in this world, forget that Morrow or I ever existed.

I locked myself in the heart of the wood, and threw away the key.

Chronicles/Epilogue

Sleep has overtaken us, and if it weren't for these binds, I would float away.

It's been countless moons since that fateful day. Our once beautiful forest, reduced to ruins. Vorjhan's castle smashed to pieces, an eternal curse of darkness and evil filling our realm. Because of Morrow.

No, because of Vorjhan. It was his influence from the day he was released that took a hold of Rose. I knew, all that time ago, that something was off about the way Celestia's copy had been dissipated and transferred into Rose to be reborn. That wrongness that I felt back then... I should have acted on it. I should have refused Vorjhan's gift, no matter how heartbroken Celestia would have been. But hindsight is a terrible thing, ever arriving late by its very nature.

Rose never was the same after that day. The way that her coat faded a few shades of colour should have been an obvious indicator. He had an influence on her; made her less warm, loving and open. Transformed her into a more selfish, colder being. I'm just glad that there was only a small amount of taint left inside Luna when she was born.

Celestia. Luna.

Each of our races split off into different groups, my family dividing itself. They developed a mistrust for each other, especially the unicorns, who considered themselves the master race because of their magic. They forced the pegasi to control their weather and forced the Earth ponies to grow their food.

The day finally arrived when the Earth ponies would not tolerate their oppression any longer. This simmering rage reached a boiling point when one of Vorjhan's corrupt races cast an extended winter over the land, fueled by the tribes' hatred for each other. But three brave ambassadors—one from each tribe—united them all again with the power of friendship and defeated Vorjhan's windigos. So it was at this time that Equestria's greatest defensive weapons were born: the Elements of Harmony.

"The Elements of Harmony..." That is what my Lady called them, when I felt my spirit taking root in the dark, forcing its crystalline foundations out from the Earth. "They will awaken soon," she told me as my shimmering branches extended beyond any reach I'd ever had. "You will see them rise again," she assured me while blue leaves and small white orbs spread out from above me. "They will take the fruits you now bear—infused with my own spirit—and triumph over the power of chaos," she said while five gemstones grew upon my new limbs and warmth converged upon my heart. "One day, they will truly realise who they are. They will fulfill their destinies."

I will never forget Lady Dimiourgia's parting words, her final whispers as a blazing sun and waning moon engraved themselves onto my cobalt trunk: "I love you, Ilias. I am so sorry for what came to pass. I promise I will keep watch over your daughters. One day, I will tell them about the brave stallion who gave his life for them. The wonderful, loving, caring stallion who forsook his own existence for the sake of their happiness. They will do you proud."

Some time after this turn of events, Celestia took up the role of sun shepherd, as Luna took up the moon in Rose's stead. They shared the responsibility that they inherited and ruled Equestria as sisters and equals. Princesses. Never queens, for the title did not suit them. At first, there was Harmony between them. All was well, for a time.

Vorjhan made another appearance. Renaming himself as "Discord," he returned to Equestria many years after Morrow had banished him from the wood. He sought to enslave all of our little ponies as his own personal playthings. Corrupting their world, making life a living tartarus for them. Celestia and Luna were forced to stand up to him once again. Wielding their new weapon of Harmony, they put a temporary end to his reign of terror and chaos and cast him in stone; a state of what should have been a permanent petrification.

Alas, all was not to be well. Not long after Discord was defeated, my daughters were once again forced to use the Elements to cull an evil unicorn whom Discord had tainted. Sombra was his name, I believe. Like Discord, he sought slaves to do his dark bidding. Although a being of inferior power to Discord, he and his accomplice fought a mighty battle against the sisters' weapon. In the end, my daughters prevailed and cast him deep beneath the ice of the frozen north. While the price of victory proved steep, Harmony reigned over the land once more.

They had thought that Harmony made them invincible... until the day there came a new threat, one they never expected. A threat from within.

Luna's taint finally caught up to her. Jealous of the attention that her elder sister received for raising the sun, while ponies slept through her beautiful night, she rebelled. Luna attempted to seize control of Celestia's beloved Sol. Unable to negotiate with her sister, my firstborn was forced to take up the very weapon they had wielded together twice before and banish Luna to her moon, lest she let everything we loved die in a freezing, eternal night.

Peace was had by all Equestrians for the next thousand years... until the day that the stars in the night sky aligned to allow the abomination to escape. The legacy of Discord and Morrow—Night Mare Moon—had returned. She seemed all-powerful. Nopony truly knew who she was; certainly none were powerful enough to oppose her in any way. Yet hope was kindled in the form of a distant descendant of Starshine's. A lavender unicorn, Celestia's star student: Twilight Sparkle. She and her five friends made their way through my cursed forest, bravely going where nopony had ventured for a millennium or longer.

I watched all of these brave ponies, my spirit ever-present, as they made their way through my cursed wood. Luna—no, Night Mare Moon—used her dark powers to manipulate the wood, seeking to halt their progress, sometimes even to end their lives. It pained me greatly to observe Morrow’s taint corrupting my precious daughter, even more so to witness her wielding our once-beautiful home as a living weapon.

They faced all the trials that the nightmare threw at them, reactivating my long-dormant Elements in Discord's crumbled fortress to defeat her, eradicating all of the taint from Luna once and for all in the process. If it were possible at all, I would give each of those brave bearers a hug of gratitude for rescuing my darling from her taint, after her horribly extended torment in exile. Mercifully reunited, my daughters reconciled and were once again able to split their duties. Balance was restored and Equestria's defenses reborn in the form of six new bearers, more powerful than ever.

* * * * *

I burden no longer the tales I wrote, take of me these Chronicles of Woe.

They call my forest "Everfree" these days. Perhaps because nopony will ever venture into it willingly to make it into a home. Well, except for one certain odd individual. Dimiourgia must have created others besides Rose and I, for I had never seen a pony like her before. A zebra, she calls herself. She seems... aware of me, somehow. It is... comforting to have her living in my domain, at peace with the tainted flora and fauna. It gives me great hope that one day the forest shall flourish once more, that ponies may yet again see it for the paradise it once was.

Still, I cannot help but laugh at the wood's name: Everfree. Most ironic, given that I am permanently bound within it to keep it from spreading. Even now, Morrow's spirit fills the wood. She tries unceasingly to break free of my containment spell and cover Equestria. Yet as long as I have bound my own spirit to it, though, she will fail again and again.

Morrow will never win. If it takes all eternity to keep her sealed away, then so be it. I will not have the beautiful world that my daughters have cultivated be destroyed. They deserve to be happy, as long as they both shall live. All of my little ponies do. Just as Dimiourgia and I wished for them, all those years ago.

The Neverbloom bush remains the same. Untouched and untainted. An unchanging monument to the great love that Rose and I once shared.

I'd wait here forever, just to see these flowers bloom. They never bloom.

The creature appeared in a flash of blinding light, on the borders of a forbidding looking wood. His world was pain. Every one of his limbs crackled and stung with residual arcane energy, the likes of which he'd felt only once, after facing her wrath. He recognised the essence of the power immediately.

Dimiourgia.

But Dimiourgia had long since departed from the world. She'd abandoned him, imprisoning him and creating a new "master race" before doing so. Yet the power that the creature had just been subjected to reeked of her creative and destructive omniscience. It terrified him. No creature of any species had ever stood up to him and come away unscathed, or at least mismatched in some way. Yet there he lay, writhing in life-consuming pain, on the threshold of what was once his own, glorious domain.

And you called me a monster.

Moments later, the agonising pain faded, subsiding to a dull ache. His fingers still crackled from the last dying wisps of power, but it was over. Mercifully, over. The creature welcomed his current pain, preferring it far more than the disintegrating feeling he'd experienced but a moment earlier. Rising to his feet, he stared back through the trees he had just been expelled from. An unusual emotion filled him, one he'd only recently become acquainted with personally. An emotion he was not keen to feel again.

Fear.

The creature knew the emotion. He had tasted it, in every being he had ever played with. What fun he'd had, marching into that lion's den without a care, clicking away at them while he transplanted other creatures' body parts onto them. Scorpion tails replaced their own and grew to an immense size. Bat wings swelled from their shoulders. He'd cackled madly as the newly manufactured manticores began to attack each other, out of their own pain and horrified confusion. From manticores, he'd proceeded to mutilating chickens and serpents, throwing members of each species into makeshift arenas.

The serpents had had a field day at first, with the sudden all-you-can-eat buffet. That is, until the creature had turned the tables. One by one, snake heads had detached themselves from their bodies and simply vanished. But the chickens' respite was short-lived. By the time the creature had finished toying with his "playthings", a flock of cockatrices had rapidly fled on their new scaly bellies, as far from him as possible. The ones that hadn't been petrified, at least.

The realisation dawned on him that he had just been defeated, by what he'd considered to be a far lesser being than himself. A different emotion replaced the fear, a much more powerful one. Anger. Who was she to usurp his domain? The rage festered like an old wound within him. He'd not had one before, but he'd seen the aftermath of the manticore fight days afterwards. Not a pretty sight at all. Or smell, for that matter.

With a soft pop, the creature teleported himself back into the wood, with murderous intent. He'd been a fool to leave them to their own devices, allowing them to carry on extending their exponentially-growing herd. He'd show them the true meaning of pain and suffering!

pop

As he returned to the wood's outskirts, the pain returned twofold. All life ceased to exist for the creature, as the feeling of thousands of jagged rocks piercing his skin invaded every nerve. In agonising pain once more, the creature admitted defeat. The power—that terrible, uncontrollable, viciously corrupt power—was absolute. Once again, every limb crackled with arcane energy. He had received the message loud and clear.

"I hereby banish you from this realm, as Dimiourgia did before me! As far as my forest spreads, you will not enter! You shall never again set foot in my world!"

Morrow, the betrayer. She had sacrificed everything she loved, in direct opposition of his "tainting" of her world. She'd been so angered at his superior modifications to her realm, that she'd tapped into her goddess-given power in the hope of forcibly "correcting" his alterations. How was it his fault that she didn't like what he'd done? Nevertheless, the nightmare had been unleashed. Morrow had become the great destroyer, her former life-loving self clenched in the grip of insanity forever.

Ilias, however, had tried to reason with him. The creature had liked the stallion. He'd been willing to let everything go as it was, under the solemn promise of simply leaving his own family and home alone. It would have been a mutually fair arrangement. Vorjhan would have had the rest of the world to shape and play with, with free reign to do whatever he wished; simply in exchange for not touching the herd. Of course, there was no way the spirit of chaos would ever have really kept that promise, but he would have given them a decent period of peace, at least.

Yet it had not come to pass. The damage was done, completely irreversible. A wood, and almost an entire world destroyed, tainted forever by Morrow's blackened heart. The creature knew he could never re-enter that cursed grotto again. He could feel the lingering traces of Morrow's power. A power that warned him against trying to enter once again. With a sigh and a long gaze at his old home, the creature flapped his mismatched wings and made to fly north.

One epiphany later, Vorjhan's head had snapped back to face the wood once more.

Nothing was wrong at all! Ilias had appealed to him to leave their home alone, with the condition that he'd have a free world to explore and warp to his own desire. He had achieved exactly this result. The only difference between being unable to accept Ilias' proposal, versus his current position: that Morrow had forcibly, yet effectively enacted that very proposal. The wood was now completely inaccessible, but there was still another entire world out there, waiting for him. To top it off, nothing remained to contest him!

The creature's laughter echoed over the wood, as birds were startled from their perches.

"You want to banish me from your home? You can keep it! You hear me, Morrow? It's a destroyed realm now anyway! I'm off to have far more fun, with my own incredible world!"

As he once again made to fly away from the wood, an unexpected sound interrupted him. A gasp. Followed by the sound of a short struggle, magic activating and silence, muting the final words of the unfortunate soul. Intrigued, the creature cast his gaze further into the wood. It rested on a most peculiar sight. A unicorn. A petrified unicorn, freshly cast in stone. Searching for the culprit, he caught a glimpse of a serpent's tail whipping around a large willow, before vanishing into a bush.

He had won staring contests against cockatrices before. It had always been amusing to see the chicken hybrids' eyes extinguished, by the very power they'd been emitting. But there was something about this unicorn that gave him pause. Somehow... it just didn't seem as funny as usual. The way it had frozen was not contorted into the usual, ridiculous shape, as one would normally have ended up in, while it tried to escape the spreading prison. Its eyes were not wide and staring, fear etched into them with great detail. It just looked like a normal unicorn. Four legs on the ground. Tail dragging between legs, limp. Head down, eyes closed. But what drew Vorjhan to investigate the statue further—as close as he could get to see it—was the twinkle below its left eye.

A frozen, crystalline teardrop.

The pony's last words echoed in Vorjhan's mind.

"Forgive me, Grandsire."

Author's Note

Neverbloom is the name of the album that I based my story off of. The themes of the lyrics

"I'd wait here forever, just to see these flowers bloom. They never bloom."

are the main bread and butter of the story. It's an album about a once-great and powerful love between two souls, that became irreversibly corrupted. In the album, the Lord of Woe is the singer/narrator and Morrow is the one who betrayed him (ie. cheated on him, left him, whatever) and the "forest" (which I've used literally) is a metaphor for the world they created together with their love.
Now, the Neverbloom flower is simply a symbol of the undying—yet corrupt—connection that Ilias and Morrow share.

Thank you for making it this far. Please, carry on with the sequel for more adventures if you desire.

Appendix of Characters (Alphabetical Order)

Celestia: Firstborn daughter of Ilias and Rose. Alicorn in appearance, in likeness to her father's creator. Able to communicate with nature, like her father. A mare of unquestionable honesty, generosity and loyalty. True, older sister to Luna. A mare of white coat and pink mane and tail. Obliterated in tandem with Luna, after the climactic battle with Morrow. Memory preserved and body refashioned within the mirror pool by Dimiourgia, to await the future resurrectors of harmony.

Copy of Celestia: Living mirror image of Celestia. Accidentally created by Celestia after finding and diving into the mirror pool. Eventually transformed into Luna, via the methods of Vorjhan the Chaos.

Lady Dimiourgia ("dee-myoor-zha"): The omnipotent, all-seeing Creator. Created Ilias and Rose. Initially created the Everfree forest and all life within, before allowing Rose to take responsibility of the task. Created the sun and the moon, designating each to Ilias and Rose, respectively. Original creator and imprisoner of Vorjhan the Chaos. A tall mare-figure of pure white coat and auburn mane and tail. Alicorn in appearance. Eraser of all memories involving Ilias and Rose, at the request of Ilias upon his destruction.

Ilias ("eye-lee-us"): The first stallion, father of all ponies, including Celestia but excluding Luna. Created into adulthood, lived a natural life of forty years. Husband and eternal partner of Rose, the corrupted. Able to control the sun, communicate with nature and feel disturbances in the Earth. Spirit guardian of the Everfree forest, existing solely to contain its uncontrollable growth began by Morrow. A stallion of grey coat, red mane and green eyes. Earth pony in appearance.

Luna: Daughter of Rose and Vorjhan the Chaos. True, younger sister to Celestia. Alicorn in appearance, in likeness to her mother's creator. Able to observe ponies' dreams, like her mother. A mare of unquestionable kindness and one of a rare few with a sense of humour. Speculated to wield more powerful magic than Celestia. Contains a slight amount of corruption, courtesy of Vorjhan the Chaos. A mare of dark blue coat and blue mane and tail. Obliterated in tandem with Celestia, after the climactic battle with Morrow. Memory preserved and body refashioned within the mirror pool by Dimiourgia, to await the future resurrectors of harmony.

Rose: The first mare, mother of all ponies, including Celestia and Luna. Created into adulthood, lived a natural life of forty years. Wife and eternal partner of Ilias, the first stallion. Corrupted by Vorjhan the Chaos upon conceiving Luna. Able to control the moon, create nature and observe ponies' dreams. Now an evil spirit, doomed to forever attempt to expand the Everfree forest. Also goes by the names Morrow ("more-row"), Widower, Weaver of Dreams, Betrayer. A mare of white coat and tan mane and tail. Earth pony in appearance.

Star Swirl: Firstborn son of Ilias and Rose. Brother to Celestia and Luna. A powerful unicorn of chestnut coat and grey mane.

Starshine: Grandson of Ilias and Rose, nephew of Celestia and Luna. A young unicorn. Dreamed the first dreams about the corruptions of the forest, Morrow and Luna. Purple of body, midnight-blue of mane and tail.

Vorjhan ("vore-jaan") the Chaos: An immensely powerful being made up of multiple other beings. Original creation of Dimiourgia. Imprisoned within the mirror pool for one thousand years, released unwittingly by Celestia. Father of Luna, via the transformation of Copy of Celestia and subsequent implantation into the womb of Rose. Possesses the power of chaos, allowing him to create, destroy or mismatch anything he desires. Creator of all hybrid species including manticores, cockatrices, hydras, dragons, timberwolves, changelings, griffons, carnivorous plants. Defeated and exiled from the Everfree forest by Morrow after her descent into madness and destruction. Eventually renamed himself as Discord.

Art Gallery!

Prologue

Neverbloom

Morrow (Weaver of Dreams)

Elegies

Maelstrom

Oceans of Emptiness

The Well

Weeping Wastelands

Widower

Chronicles

Author's Note

Many thanks to Wadusher0 for the chapter arts.