Journey of The Untold

by Zhenra-Khal

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Princess Celestia, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Zecora, Princess Luna, Original Character
Length: 5214

A story about one Zhenra-Khal, and his struggle with his past, and with the possibilities of his future.

This is the story of Zhenra-Khal. He has a lot to learn, even when he thinks he knows it all. Perhaps looking into his past - One he'd rather leave passed - Could lead to his future, maybe even a happy one at that. If, that is, he can live through each day and find a way to reveal his secrets. But, help can come from places most unexpected, as he will soon learn.

Published 2013-11-14 02:50:05 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-23 06:49:57 UTC

Prologue

The first thing he knew was the cold. It was bitter, and biting, like a blade cutting into his side, yet a comforting reminder that he was alive. "Am..Am I alive?", He thought blearily. He tried to move, but found he couldn't, so he tried to open his eyes, and with great difficulty, they fluttered open. The Sun's glare blinded him when he first opened his eyes, and open wide they did, to the cold of a world he had no memory of. In fact, he had no memory of any world, much less whatever this one is...But he intended to find the answers, just as he always did...Wait.."Who..Who am I?".

As he struggled to remember, he made an attempt to rise to his hooves, only to fall again. "Again..?", He thought, just the effort draining him of all energy, "Again? I...How..?". His thoughts were blurry, his sight was nil, except for that most painful light, which he had no way of blocking...So he endured. After awhile, he regained enough energy to look around, and much to his surprise and disdain, he found that he lay at the bottom of a huge crater, directly in the center. He wondered how he got there, at the bottom of a crater that he had no idea what had caused...But he barely managed to make sure there was nothing in the immediate area that would harm him, before he blacked out.

His broken body lay there, his fuzzy mind dodging and weaving in and out of consciousness for...Hours? Days? He could not remember, for sometimes when he awoke, it was bright, the sun in his eyes, and other times it was dark and cold. His senses smothered and mind numb from the cold , nothing was clear anymore. So he lay there, waiting.

He decided then that, perhaps he could even tolerate the light, provided he never had to look directly at it again, but that he would always prefer the dark.

A long time had passed since he first awoke, only, nopony could be seen or heard anywhere, no help, only cold, silence and unbearable light, flashing by in a slideshow of pain and grief. "Grief?..Who do I grieve for? For, it would very much appear, that I am completely alone here.". With that final thought, lost in the sea of cold, bitter hopelessness, he lost consciousness for what felt like both the first, and last, of endless times.

Then it came...A dream. In the dream, he saw himself, swords dancing wonderfully and gracefully, guided by...He did not understand. A strange, dark light was emanating from the horn on the center of his forehead, and he appeared to be directing them, causing them to dance wildly in a display of flashing steel, sparkling, crystalline light, and his own mental fog. Before his mind's eye, the light grew brighter, and the spread to the other two horns, those near his ears, and grew brighter still, until the light was blinding. His dream-form closed his eyes.

As he watched in amazement, the energy of the light suddenly went from one end of his horn to the other, and disappeared into his head. His form grew still. Then, with a spine-chilling shriek, the light erupted from his body, destroying him, and went out.

* * * * *

The tall stallion stood on the edge of the crater. He shook his head violently, the memory frustrating, terrifying yet somehow comforting at the same time. Some things would never change, yet some things were only stable or orderly in the fact that they were chaotically unstable..."Much like my life", He mused as he turned away from the crater, toward the cliff at the edge of the clearing. "Too much like my life", He remarked, taking to the sky and leaving his past in the dust for what he hoped was the last time. But hope would soon prove false.

* * * * *

The welcome he got down in Ponyville was as frigid as his memory, as usual. Nopony gave him a passing glance, And everypony avoided him like his was a baby dragon with a grass allergy. He wished for perhaps the octillionth time that he could just window-shop in harmony with the other market-goers, even though he hides his appearance as it is. "Just let them catch a glimpse of what I really am.", He rambled. He needed to find some advice and some spell components, as well as a few...Questionable...Items. "Okay, first thing first - Visit Twilight Sparkle for the components you need, then go find the one they call..." , He paused to think, "Rarity? To find the gems and cloth I'll need...Then I should visit Zecora for everything else.". He sighed. This was going to be an incredibly long day...But for him, every day is long.

* * * * *

The knock on the door was soft, yet firm, and carried an air of wisdom behind the sound, which worried Twilight. Only older beings such as Celestia herself have that way about them. She began to panic, quite forgetting to answer the door, and thought frantically, "Oh my gosh, did I forget to write her again!?". She rushed about, worrying over each paper and quill...

...At least until she tripped over Spike, who was very unhappy at the rude awakening. "Gee, Twi, do ya have to rush around like that every time someone knocks on the door? It really hurts my head when ya do that.", He grumbled. Still worried, Twilight helped him up. "I just got an odd feeling, Spike, I didn't mean to knock you down like that."

"I know Twi, I just wish you would stop worrying."

"Yeah Spike, you're right."

The knock rung against the door again, this time more insistent. "Oh! I've got it!" She exclaimed as she rushed for the door. When she opened the door, she was amazed at the beauty of the stallion standing there. "Hello. I am here to find some components for a new spell I'm working on. Do you have the things I desire for my research?"

With that, he passed her a list using his magic, which came from not one, but oddly, three horns on his head. Spike took the list and headed for the supply room, leaving Twilight to converse with the customer. Not that she did much talking; she just stood there, staring at his horns, and his eyes, gold-colored and much like the eyes of a serpent. The odd hue of his magic and the curious structure of this stranger distracted her so much, that she was startled when he asked, "Are you just going to stand there gawking, or may I come in?". That snapped her out of it...Somewhat.

"Y-yes, yeah, uh...Make yourself at home, i'll go, uh...Help Spike find the components you need!", She blurted, and ran to the back room while the stranger settled himself in. He sat down in the corner while Spike and Twilight rummaged around in the back room for the components, Twilight complaining about having to rearrange everything in the morning. They finally found everything, and returned to the living room to find the stranger reading a very large tome that he had apparently brought with him, though, Twilight hadn't seen him bring anything in...The book disappeared, though, as she and Spike entered the room with the sack of items he'd requested.

"That'll be seventy-two bits, sir.", She told him. "Wait!". She looked in the sack and corrected herself, "Sorry, I mean seventy-three.". With that, she passed it to him, noting the hue of her magic was similar to his.
He began to leave, and as he did, Twilight called out, "Hey! Are you going to...".

"I already did, young one, check the table by where I sat. I am far smarter than I look.", He interrupted. With that, he turned and left. She ran over to the table beside where he sat, only to find a pouch barely big enough to contain a small apple. "That can't possibly contain..." She said as she dumped to contents of the bag onto the table, but stopped herself short. the bag just kept pouring and pouring. After a few seconds, It seemed to empty, but by this time, the coins were overflowing off the table and into the floor. She counted them, and was awed to find exactly one thousand bits. "How...?" She wondered, staring at the bag. "I am definitely going to study that bag.". With that she snatched up the bag and ran to her lab.

* * * * *

The stallion chuckled at the reaction he imagined had resulted from his "gift". "Perhaps a waste of time, but it was entertaining nonetheless.", He mused. It wasn't his fault he had an overabundance of bits and didn't mind giving heavy tips. He was only adding his part to the community, after all, he rarely went shopping, so he didn't spend nearly as much as the other ponies did. He was just making up for all those days he never went anywhere or did anything. Besides, he needed to test his spell, which meant he needed components, so today he had to shop; his supplies were getting low. "Speaking of my spell, I should get back to it", He thought as he hastened his steps, heading in the direction of Rarity's Boutique.

"Dealing with a scientifically-oriented pony like Twilight obviously is was easy, but dealing with an apparent drama queen would probably be the worst possible thing for me today", He thought, dreading the upcoming conversation he would have to have with the gossiping boutique owner, "I'll have to make this quick, because this is definitely the worst. Possible. Thing.". He gritted he teeth as he knocked on the front door of the boutique.

* * * * *

Confusion

There was a soft knock on the boutique door. "Who could that possibly be?", Rarity wondered aloud, startled. She hurried to tidy things up a bit before opening the door, still wondering. "I don't have any appointments toda-", She stopped mid-word, as the stallion who stood before her was absolutely stunning. His violet-and-gold spiked mane shone in the afternoon sun, his silver coat and three matching horns..."Three?", She mumbled softly, somewhat snapping out of her daydreaming daze.

"Three what?" The stallion asked in a tone that was curious yet obviously frustrated. "O-oh, nothing, sir, just come right in. What would such a fine stallion be looking for here in a small town's rather under-visited but fabulous boutique?", She replied, stumbling and nearly falling as she opened the door farther to let the stranger in. He entered and promptly sat down on one of her many stools.

"I am in need of a few gemstones and some fine cloth for some work of my own. Do you have these things?", With that he handed her a list. "Ooh, yes, i just got more of those in today, I'll go get them for you.". She hurried to get some polished gemstones and a roll of the fine dragonhide-and-giant-spider's web silk that she had just bought. Sure, she had twenty-three rolls of the stuff, but it didn't make her hesitate any less. She stuffed the cloth into a long, narrow bag and carefully counted the gemstones into a smaller, wider bag. Once that was done, she went to give him his order.

"That'll be thirt-" She attempted telling him the price but he stopped her short with a simple, "Already paid.". "O-oh, okay...", She stuttered, looking around slowly. He gestured at at a small bag sitting on her largest worktable, and said "Thank you, Rarity, I couldn't have found these for a better price in Canterlot." With that he left, the door closing behind him with a soft click. She walked over to the table to pick up the bag and count her money, when it hit her: "How did he know my name?". Her mind still buzzing with questions, she emptied the bag onto an unoccupied table, and those questions nearly tripled in number when bits just kept pouring out of it. It was like Christmas for Rarity, and she just stared in wonder, looking at the gold that just kept pouring from the small bag. Her thoughts wandered back to the strangers face, and with that, she fainted, out cold.

* * * * *

He trotted slowly down the road to the Everfree Forest, glad to be away from silly ponies and noise. The air was quite unsettled, and whirled about him in a way he found quite pleasing. It rustled his spiky mane, and swirled around his horns. He decided he'd release the spell he had put on himself to hide his most-used form. He stopped momentarily and closed his eyes, allowing himself to tune into the sounds of the wind rustling through the trees. His horns began to glow, a deep violet that made you think of a star in the night sky, and it appeared as though a mist dissipated from around him, and was carried away with the wind. Once the wind blew away the fog, he opened his eyes and smiled. Instead of a plain Unicorn, with the additional horns of course, he now appeared as he naturally did, a symbol of power from worlds both familiar and foreign. He was an Alicorn, a creature that combined the flight of a Pegasus, the magic of a Unicorn, and the strength of an Earth pony, all into one. But he was more. Underneath his coat of soft, silver hair, lay rows of silver scales that glittered in the sunlight. His eyes looked reptilian, with slit-shaped pupils and streaks of green and orange running through the gold of his irises. He smiled a little larger as the whites of his eyes changed from white to a ghostly greenish-yellow color, and violet flames appeared to pour from his eyes and flicker around his head. With a slight nod, his eyes lost their flame, and he resumed his pace with a little more spring in his trot, unaware of the many sets of red eyes that watched his departure.

* * * * *

As the tall Alicorn approached the sacred grove of Zecora the Wise, he slowed his pace. She had once been an outcast, much like himself, so he decided not to mask his appearance, and continued with renewed haste. He knocked on the door, and noted the many inlays and carvings on the old wood. Zecora answered quickly, as if she had been waiting for him to arrive, and upon seeing him, she gasped. "You are terrifying, old one, by I will not scream, but I must ask, are you the one of which I dream?", She asked rather excitedly, stepping aside to let him in. With his mouth open and eyes wide, he entered the zebra's home and sat down. "You knew I was coming?", He asked the rather shaken Zecora.

"I had a feeling, and the forest yearned, and of your approach I promptly learned", She replied, "Please answer my question, strange Alicorn, for the dream I had of you had warned.". She handed him a mug, which he took with more than a little suspicion, eyeing the zebra carefully. "It is simple maple tea, no harm will come to you from me", She said indignantly, "But darkness follows you all to close, and I fear that evil blooms like a poison rose.". He was startled, and he drank a little tea to calm himself. It was still rather hot, but sweet and free, and the taste soothed him. He asked, "You had a dream of me? When did you have this dream?".

"It was seven years ago, to the very day, yet last night, in my mind it replayed.", She answered solemnly, "My question is why have you returned? In my dream, the world burned...What wrong could you have caused, to give our royal ruler such pause?"

"You dreampt of Celestia and I?", He asked, shaking. He gulped nervously as memories flashed through his mind, those he wished would've stayed hidden. One memory engulfed him entirely, the room falling away to a place flaming and barren, a scene he knew all to well and wished he could forget. He saw Celestia, standing above him, mane and coat flaming with black and red energy. Her eyes glowing with the red of a dying sun and her head was surrounded with black wisps of fire. She towered over him, as if he were just a pawn to her, just as everyone was a pawn to her. "You never meant anything to me, Zhenra-Khal, and you will never mean anything to anyone!", She boomed, her voice otherworldly, and sounding more like a howl than anything else.

"You will hide for now, banished for three hundred years, and when you return, no one, not a single pony, will remember you, and they will hate you as much as I do, simply because I will them to.". Her face went darker, and her horn glowed with a dangerous red light, and in a flash, he was back in Zecora's hut, the zebra wisemare staring at him in concern. "If things are truly as I dream, then you are not all that you seem."

"Your words are true, Zecora, I am not as I seem. But as of this moment, that is of no consequence to you. I came here for a few items, and I intend to receive them. There are only three things on my list, and I know you must have them. They are essential pieces of my current project. and I will pay for them, as I leave no debt unpaid.".

She took the list he passed to her, and said with a scowl, "I do possess these things of which you speak, but the price will be great for the items you seek.". It was his turn to scowl. "How much?", He asked, obviously a bit disgruntled. "Four hundred bits, for you must give to get.", Came her calm and stern, yet kind, reply. His gaze hardened as he pulled another small sack from his saddlebag, and after focusing on the amount she had set, he put it on the table beside her.

"That cannot be four hundred bits, into it my hoof barely fits." She said, raising her eyebrow as she attempted to feel the contents of the bag. "I will not be swindled, strange old one, show me you are not, at my cost, having fun.". She placed the bag on the floor in front of herself and nodded to it. "Show me the contents, pour them on the floor. If the amount is right, take your items and be on your way once more.", She said in a tone full of wisdom yet curiosity.

He sighed and did as she asked, and to her amazement, the exact amount she had requested poured forth from the bag. "How did you do that? I've never seen that before. Please, if you care, can you please tell me more?". She managed to ask excitedly. "No Zecora, I simply wish to be on my way.", He said rather impatiently, "Can I have my items now?".

"Yes, why of course, how silly of me, I nearly forgot why it is I you chose to see." She replied a bit clumsily. "Here are your items, I suppose you must move along. But would you return and speak with me, before too long?". She looked at him in curiosity. "No, I am afraid I have things to do. If ever I have a spare day, though, I may trade stories with you....Maybe.", He replied solemnly, looking at the ground. "Goodbye, Zecora, your wisdom is strong, as is your spirit. I wish you well." And with that, he left, walking back through the forest, leaving the wisemare to ponder the things she'd seen, and what was to come.

Author's Note

Well. The hardest thing about this was remembering to make Zecora speak in rhyme. Other than that, it was easy.

SpellFire

He walked to his home. It had been a long journey, and his body wanted rest, as did his mind, but there was a spell he had to cast first. He ducked under a large bush between two enormous rocks, opened a trap door, and entered his home. He walked through the network of tunnels and caves that he called home, his collections of magical items glistening, humming and sparkling all around him. When he reached his lab's locked door, he bowed his head, and inserted his three horns into the three holes in the door, and it opened wide for him. He stepped through, and the door locked behind him.

He carried on carefully through his lab equipment until he found what he was looking for, a set of eight metal idols. Each of the eight idols had a slot in the top of it's head where a gemstone was supposed to go...But all of the idols were empty. He dug through his bag of gems, finding the ones he deemed most suitable. First was Ruby, representing the element of Fire, which symbolized the most extreme emotions, deemed simply Passion. He caused the Rubies he had bought to float together, and he heated them and compressed them into a single stone, infusing them with magical power, and when he was done, he had a glowing red gemstone that hummed with sheer power. He placed it in the first idol, and smiled slightly when the eyes of the idol glowed red.

He continued on to Emerald, representing Earth and timeless vows, changelessness, Honor. Again he fused them together and placed the finished gem into the idol, this time watching it's eyes glow green. He watched as a thread of light spread from the two finished idols into several of the other idols, seeking completion of the circle of power. He hurried on with Sapphire for Water, growth and Beauty, Quartz for Wind, Thought, Opal for Light, Hope, Obsidian for Shadow, Sacrifice, Topaz for Energy, Curiosity and finally he halted as he lifted the final stones into the air.

He glanced at the idols, noticing the colors of the idols' eyes...Red, Green, Blue, Grey, White, Black and Yellow, all glowing and facing their opposites. The last idol sat empty, gazing hollow toward the idol representing Energy. He sighed. The last stone was Amethyst, The stone of Wisdom, and it represented his element, the one he felt most inclined to, the one he drew power from most easily...Dimension. Time, Space, reality itself. He scowled as memories invaded his thoughts, blocking out everything he was about to do.

* * * * * * *

Her eyes blazed, hatred burning into his soul as he gazed into her eyes. He lay on the ground, weak, limp, bleeding, and the one who had done this to him was the one he had loved most...The bright, beautiful Sun in the sky was now a bloated, power-hungry fiend who burned with greed and malice. Her Cutie Mark now shone with not the sun, but an orb.
The orb was orange, but for one edge of the orb, which bore a crescent of white. The orange was surrounded in a semi-circle of red, the white in blue, so that her mark, was in all, the crescent moon and the blazing sun together. She had truly lived up to her name, controlling not one, but both Celestial bodies....He remembered all to well how she had commanded the Nightmare forces to seed her sister's mind with doubt, giving her a reason to banish Luna to the Moon for a hundred years.

And then Luna had returned, her sister seemingly normal, and she had her own control of the moon back, or it appeared so. She, like so many, was completely unaware that Celestia had stolen her powers over the Moon, and simply channeled that stolen power through Luna, so to all appearances, it seemed Luna rose the moon each night. Celestia had commanded the Elements of Harmony to deal with Discord, on two occasions...A distraction. She had told Chrysalis and her changelings to interfere with Shining Armor and Cadence's wedding...Another distraction. She had resurrected Sombra to assail the Crystal Empire...yet another distraction. None of them saw her deception...All of them were blind.

For she had created the Changelings by corrupting foals that she had kidnapped, beginning with Chrysalis, once a young unicorn named Crystalmoon...Now the Changeling Queen. The others had been different from Chrysalis, as she was the strongest and most empowered of them, the others were simple fodder, made to be disposable. She had no desire to waste any of her precious power on things that would inevitably die anyway.

She had created Sombra from the Dark Magic she commanded, A being of greed and hatred. She had little trouble creating him, as she was the one who had first discovered Dark Magic...Indeed, it runs through her blood itself, she has meddled in it so long. She had created him to enslave the Crystal Empire, making her thievery of foals less obvious to the poor, powerless denizens of that region. Those Crystal Ponies that she had stolen - She had targeted Unicorns in particular - Were to become her personal Guardians...Bred into creatures of immense power.

Their was skin made from a type of ultra-hard obsidian crystal called Black Diamonds, and with good reason, for it was as strong as diamond, and black as night, nearly invisible in darkness. They had eyes of deep green, specked with red, reflected the burning envy and hatred within. These things were bred with magic, and so magic runs through their veins...Dark Magic, Nightmare Force and Chaos magic all infused with their very bodies, making them unstoppable. They had wings that allow them to move faster than any known creature, a horn - which is actually a set of two inter-braided horns - Channeling all of the fell power that ran in their blood, strength that could overpower that of a dragon easily, and the endurance of a mountain. These things are hard to fell, and even when you do, they get right back up.

The stallion knew quite well how strong these creatures were...He had been the first try at creating them. He had been adult at the time, and working for Celestia, and he became quite enthralled with her, and it appeared she felt similarly about him. She had told him that he would have to become more powerful if he wished to become her consort, as she had explained, because she was sunlight incarnate, and if her mate was not strong enough, she always ended up inadvertently destroying him. She offered to make him powerful enough to stand by her side, and the stallion had of course agreed, so the experiments began.

She mixed his blood with that of dragons, the strongest demons of Tartarus, and the blood of the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. His form had warped and twisted, the pain overwhelming, but he had endured it because he cared for her dearly, and he wanted to be able to amount to more than just the Princess's note-taker in his lifetime. Once the experiments on his body had ceased, he was nearly dead, the stress on his body had been great, but Celestia healed him, restoring strength enough to him that he could begin to test out his new body.

He had sprouted wings, his strength had increased twenty-fold, and he grew two more horns, multiplying his magic's potency by three. He found he could travel through walls, shift into any form he desired, breathe a violet torrent of fire, among other miraculous abilities. His greatest power, though, had been that to heal, as he could heal any wound, cure any sickness, even restore the recently dead to life and full health. He was amazed at his own power, and thanked Celestia innumerable times for what she did for him. And so he became her consort, an Alicorn warrior and lover to the ruler of Equestria.

She had been unhappy with her creation. Sure, he had all those wonderful abilities, particularly his ability to heal himself and others...But he had free will, she could not control him. Yes, for now he loved her, and he was not going to become a problem immediately, but eventually he would tire of her or discover her deceptions, and he would shun her, and cause all those around her to do the same.

He was foolish in her mind, having all that power, more than her own, but not taking advantage of it, using it to gain more power and bend those around him to his will. She reminded herself that she would never be so foolish as to let any advantage pass her by like that, no matter if her temporary consort did or did not.

And so there she stood, her horn glowing with dark power, about to banish him for three hundred years...And as the bolt of energy struck him, reality did as well.

* * * * * * *

He snapped out of his nightmarish memories, still holding the Amethyst. The other idols were now alight with magical SpellFire, impatiently awaiting the completion of the ritual spell. He again heated and compressed the crystals together into a single stone, infusing it with the Magic that ran through his veins...Dark, Chaos, Nightmare, Dragon, Demon, Changeling and Alicorn Magic....All coming together in this one ritual. He carefully placed the eighth crystal into it's corresponding idol, and watched the strands of magic flow from it into the other seven, completing the circle. As he watched, he chanted the words of a long-forgotten language, commanding the energies to bend to his will. As he completed the final word of the spell, he closed his eyes in anticipation of what was about to happen.

The Center of the circle, the exact spot at which all eight idols' gazes intersected, erupted into a blinding sphere of multicolored light, which then rose slowly into the air, crackling as it grew in size and intensity, until it finally stopped six feet above the floor, and continued to grow. It finally grew to roughly the size of a beach ball, when it blasted the stallion with all it's might. He howled in pain, the wild sounds of a dragon's roar, a demon's wail, and a horse's scream echoed through the tunnels as his body changed. He grew larger, taller, more muscular until he was much taller than even Celestia herself. His horns and wings grew with him, giving him the power and speed that came with being an ancient Alicorn like the Princesses.

He had completed what Celestia had begun the day she had experimented on him, but he had improved upon her method, thus making himself stronger than every single one of her sinister Guards. He still looked the same, except for the fact that he was much larger and appeared much older...And one, other, tiny detail that most would overlook...His eyes now glowed with a funny little thing called SpellFire.

* * * * * * *