1,000 years before the banishment of Nightmare Moon
Glacies, a small nation north of the Equestrian Crystal Mountains, was covered by ice.
It's not supposed to be this way...
Seven years ago, the land was ruled with an iron claw belonging to an elemental dragon by the name of Boreas. For generations he had had the Glacien ponies chained in slavery. It had been this way for nearly two hundred and fifty years. And after generations of suffering, the Glaciens fought back. Led by a group that called themselves Nightingales, the ponies dropped their tools and picked up their weapons. Several attempts were made on the beat's life while he resided in the castle of the capital city of Palmyra. Each attempt failed. Every time, Boreas would fend them off with his control over the ice and snow. The same ice and snow that he brought with him at the beginning of his reign. With no options open to them, the Nightingales were forced to retreat into the frosted forests. Forests that were once as lush as those of the still young neighboring nation of Equestria.
Ever since Boreas brought an eternal winter with him, everything was white, dull, empty. Cold. Life and energy had been sucked from the land, so much so that even cutie marks were becoming more difficult to find on the flanks of the Glaciens.
Five years after the failed Nightingale attacks against Boreas had stopped, one of the countless stars fell from the night sky. A star that landed in an old farm field that had long ago been turned to permafrost. It was seen streaking across the sky by many who were looking up at the sky with hope, but found by only one a few weeks later.
Corona Nevei hadn't expected anything particularly exciting to happen the day she went on that walk. It felt like every other day for the past two hundred and forty seven years of her life when she did the exact same thing. Being an alicorn of royal blood in Glacies, Corona Nevei was quickly hidden from Boreas when she was born after his takeover. So for two hundred and forty seven years, the white coated, teal to royal blue gradient maned, cobalt eyed alicorn spent her lonely days going for walks in the Southern Forest, waiting. Waiting for the day she would be able to free the ponies that were under her care.
Everything changed when she found the fallen star.
"It shouldn't be this way..." Nevei said to herself as she usually did on her walks.
The alicorn stepped through the threshold of the Southern Forest, entering the flat snowy plain. It was one of her favorite expanses of land. From her spot, Nevei could see for miles in most directions. From stories told to her long, long ago, this was one of the most beautiful places in all of Glacies when it wasn't tilled for farming. Field grass that was several feet tall that swayed with the wind. Vibrant patches of flowers that made up all of the visible colors. Leaves that grew on the branches of the trees that would eventually turn to various shades of oranges, welcoming an even more beautiful fall. Now, everything was dead. But there was still some serenity that Nevei was able to find it it.
Everyday she would walk out into this open expanse. So far out that she wouldn't be able to see the forest she came from. The only indication of direction would be the sun moving slowly across the sky, and her own tracks in the snow that led her back. But on her way out to her favorite spot, her solemn peace was broken by her right fore-hoof colliding with something buried in the snow, causing Nevei to trip and fall forward into the white powder.
She pulled herself up to look at what had caused her the pain in her hoof. The jagged edges of a small, black rock were poking up through the white backdrop. Nevei used her magic to pick it up. There was a snap as the object broke the ice that had connected it to the ground.
While contained in her magic, the rock began to glow and shake. Cracks formed on the surface, pouring out a blinding blue light from within. With a flash, the object knocked itself out of Nevei's magic, knocking her a few feet away and onto her back. Again picking herself up, Nevei noticed that the rock had transformed. No longer was it a jagged, rough piece of black stone. Now it appeared to her as a large diamond shaped sapphire. The air around the glowing gem was condensing, turning to ice and falling to the snow. No longer in the grasp of her magic, the object hoovered in the air.
Nevei stood and looked on at the object, making sure to keep a few feet between her and it in the event it tried to knock her down again. Small, brightly glowing orbs began pouring out of the floating gem in vast numbers. Three sets of colors made up the orbs: red, green, and yellow. Orbs of like color seemed to be attracted to one another. The red orbs grouped together on the left side of the floating sapphire, filling in an oval shape that was a few feet wide and several feet high, very nearly creating a solid wall. The green orbs hoovered in the space to the right side of the sapphire, while the yellow orbs took up a position. What's more, the orbs had their own collective sentient consciousness.
They spoke to her, both parts individually and parts as one. With each syllable that was announced, the orbs accompanied it with a short, dim flash of light.
The orbs introduced themselves as spirits. Spirits from another realm, not unlike that of Glacies'. Essentially gods, they each ruled over a planet of their own, controlling an single element, and tasked to protect the inhabitants of those planets. Boreas was the spirit of ice, banished from the orbs' realm for his corruption. He had been sent to Nevei's realm for his treason, unknown to the mystical spirits that it was inhabited by sentient life. Once the orbs of the other realm discovered their mistake, the came to fix it, bringing with them the sapphire stone.
The Conduit, as they called it, was the only thing capable of encasing Boreas' spirit. But even then it could not completely stop his reach. On top of that, it could only contain him for a thousand years, before there was a chance to bring him back to his full power unless careful measures were taken.
Drawbacks aside, the spirits in front of Nevei explained to her how the Conduit could be activated, and how they could trap Boreas within it.
"It will take all of the magical force you can muster," they said. "All those who can use their magic, must." They promised to stay, and lend their own abilities in the assistance of capturing the rouge ice spirit.
With a new tool that might finally free her people, Nevei was quick to return to her isolated home, occupied by only herself and a hoof-full of family friends. It was with their help that she was able to get into contact with the Nightingale leadership, since she was unable to leave the forest for fear that Boreas would somehow find her, who hid themselves in the forest outside of Palmyra. Explaining her plan and what she had, the Nightingales helped her find every Glacien unicorn that was willing to help. It took them several months, but they eventually gathered several hundred volunteers.
Nevei then made her first venture out of the Southern Forest, wrapped in a cloak so that no pony could accurately identify her. She met the Nightingales, and a small army of mainly unicorns, but also consisting of several earth ponies and pegasi. It was those earth ponies and pegasi that would make the initial charge against Boreas. The dragon had used his corrupting influence to turn the ponies who lived in Palmyra to his side, and had been using them as defense from attack while he sat back in the castle he took from the Glacien ponies. His thinking was that the Glaciens wouldn't attack their own citizens, much less those of the capital city. Little did he know their desperation to free themselves.
When the attack began, it was the non-unicorn Nightingales, earth ponies, and pegasi who went in first, attacking and being attacked by their own people. They cleared a path to the castle in the heart of Palmyra. It was then that the rest of the Nightingales and unicorns who went in, lead by Nevei. The ensuing battle that occurred in the castle nearly destroyed the already ancient structure. The main floor on the throne room eventually collapsed with Boreas still on it, giving way to a fifty foot crater.
The unicorns lined themselves up shoulder to shoulder around the rim of the hole. With Nevei hovering above the center of the crater, Conduit contained in her magic, she and the rest of the ponies closed their eyes and focused. All of their magic was cast upon the Conduit at once. The sapphire crystal glowed and pulsed, a stream of it's own magical energy swirling out and colliding with Boreas, who was still attempting to clamber out of the hole. With a powerful strike, the full force of the combination of magical energy was blasted down on the dragon. It's skin was frozen instantly, locking him in a position that looked as though he was ready to strike. Then that ice turned to granite, encasing Boreas within.
A second stream of magical energy poured out of the eyes of the dragon trapped in the stone, finding its way up to the Conduit. Apparently the absorption of magical energies from an alicorn, hundreds of unicorns, and an elemental spirit were too much for the gem, and it shattered. Fragments off appropriate necklace size shot out, piercing the stone walls and flying off in unknown distances in all directions. The main piece that was left behind was smaller than what had been there previously. It was here that the spirits returned. They instructed Queen Nevei to take the Conduit and put it somewhere safe, for in a thousand years, the chance would arise to free Boreas.
In the time that followed, Nevei had the crater that Boreas' stone form now occupied turned into a rotunda, and the throne room built on top of it, permanently covering it up. The throne concealed a hidden entrance that revealed a hidden stair case which led down to the tomb. A throne that Nevei now found herself sitting upon seven years later.
In those seven years since Boreas was vanquished, Nevei was unanimously voted to become the queen. Alicorn aside, she was the sole savior of the Glacien ponies in their eyes. Her approval rating was through the roof. But then summer came, things began to go down hill for the Queen. In a single season, she had become the scapegoat.
When she was rallying the ponies together for the final fight against the being that had thrusted them all into an eternal winter, it was implied to them that once he was gone the winter would be over, and life would return to Glacies in the summer after everything melted in spring. With Boreas' banishment occurring in mid-winter, the ponies had some time to wait and get accustomed to their new lives. However, when the spring came, the temperatures did not rise, and the snow did not melt. But the Glaciens were patient, confident that the now Queen Nevei would do everything in her power to free them. When summer rolled around, their patience wore thin when the snow was still there.
Seven years after Boreas' banishment, the ground was still frozen. Life had not been returned to the land. Crops had not been grown; ponies were still starving. Her ponies. The air still bit at their coats. And it was all Queen Nevei's fault.
The queen sat on her throne, slouched over to one side with her head resting on her hoof. With her free hoof she rubbed circles around the centerpiece jewel that was around her neck. It was a sapphire. Specifically one of the shards that had broken off of the Conduit. When it was found, a smith turned it into a necklace and presented it to her so that her victory would always be close to heart.
She sighed, thinking back on how everything was supposed to be corrected. The sigh was not missed by her assistant, a pink colored earth pony who sat at the base of the throne. Rose had felt helpless as she stood by all these years as the Glacien ponies turned on the queen.
"I know I must sound like a scribe with Alzheimer's by now, your highness," Rose said to the queen, "but this isn't your fault."
"Isn't it, though? The spirits came to me and gave me the chance to free my ponies, and look at us!" Queen Nevei through her hooves to the air. "Everything's the same! My ponies are starving. The plants are dead. The animals either won't fly back or are stuck in an eternal hibernation. Frost has replaced the glass on our windows. We have seen every breath we have ever taken.
"They're right to blame me..."
"No, they're not! We're no longer ruled in slavery because of that dragon, we're ruled in freedom because of you!"
"But then why hasn't everything gone back to the way it used to be? The way I remember it being told to me as a foal."
"I cannot say, your highness. But sureley it isn't your fault."
"It is my responsibility too protect my citizens, and I'm failing them..." Queen Nevei stood from her throne and began descending the steps.
"May I ask where you are going, your highness?" Rose said as Queen Nevei passed by her.
"For a walk, Rose. I... I need to do some thinking before our guests from Equestria arrive."
"Oh. Would you like some company?"
"No thank you, Rose. This is something I have to do on my own. You are free to return home to your family, if you wish."
The two mares were walking side by side while talking. They stopped when they reached two large silver colored doors that made up the main exit to the outside.
"I think I will await your return, your highness."
"Very well." Queen Nevei turned around and instead of going through the silver doors, she went through a single wooden door that led to a spiral stair case.
She followed the stairs up one flight before going through another door. That door brought her to a large dinning hall that sat above the equally large throne room. The alicorn walked past the forty pony table, heading for a set of double doors on the other side. Through those, the Queen found herself standing in what would have been a massive garden. All it was now was a collection of dead trees and bushes, and flat plots that once held flowers but now contained only snow and ice.
The only thing that was green was the artificial shrubbery that made up the large hedge maze. And even then it was only a sickly green. She was familiar with every twist, turn, and path within the maze from the countless times she had wandered in to clear her mind. Queen Nevei took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly with closed eyes, and stepping into the opening path.
She calmly walked towards the first intersection. From here, she could either go forwards, to the left, or right. If she went straight, it would take her to a dead end. Going right would be the one if she were intending to get out. But she didn't want out. She wanted to make it to the heart of the maze. So instead, she went left.
The path she had chosen had many twists and turns in the hopes to disorient the maze's subject. But Queen Nevei wasn't fooled by any of them. The only thing she found unusual wasn't even with the maze itself. It was her necklace, the one with the Conduit Shard for a centerpiece. The gem was growing very cold. So much so that Nevei could feel it through her coat. She pressed a hoof against it to check and make sure. Her suspicions were confirmed when she wiped the condensation off of it. Chalking it up to the outside temperature, the alicorn moved on.
They hate you, you know. The voice echoed softly in her mind, even though it was not her voice.
Queen Nevei jumped and spun around, lowering her horn and getting ready to cast a powerful spell, expecting something to be standing behind her. All she saw was her own tracks in the snow.
"Who is there!?" the Queen shouted into the icy air, her voice echoing into the distance. "I demand you show your self!"
But we are already here.
Again Nevei spun around. Instead of holding back, she let loose with a magical spell that vaporized a circular hole in the side of the maze wall.
The voice began to laugh. You are mistaken if you believe we can be destroyed so easily.
"We? Who are you?"
We are the hated that your charges cast upon you. You are the reason we exist. And it is you who we will consume.
Queen Nevei straightened herself up, relaxing her pose but still remaining at attention.
"I do not know what you are talking about."
Liar!
There was enough force behind the voice in Queen Nevei's head that she was forced to plug her ears in a subconscious effort to stop it. By the time the scream stopped, it left her wincing in pain.
You know exactly what we are. All those ponies out there that you hold under your charge, they all hate you.
"Some of them do not."
Don't lie to yourself, Corona Nevei. They all blame you for failing to return Glacies to its former glory, even after destroying that dragon. They cannot farm for the food they desperately need, and they can never warm themselves enough to even sleep!
"But some of them do not cast blame on me. Some like Rose—"
Rose is a liar! Again, Queen Nevei winced. This time, however, she recovered, and continued along the maze's path.
The next intersection Nevei ran across only allowed her to go straight, or to the right. since she was next to the maze boundary.
At this point, all the alicorn wanted to do was go back and take a nap while she still had time. To do this, she would have gone straight. But just as she took a step forward, something caught her eye. It seemed to be a gray wisp of smoke, slithering along the ground. Nevei just saw the tail end of it before it disappeared down the path to her right. The white mare poked her head around the corner, only to see nothing.
"Somepony there?"
Not somepony... the voice said to her. Something.
"And what would that be?"
It gave a small laugh. Why don't you find out?
"No, tell me what it is."
Salvation!
Queen Nevei sighed, shuffling one of her forehooves around.
Do it. You know you want to.
"I will not let you control me."
You already have!
She took a deep breath and rounded the corner. As she continued forward, the shard grew colder, emitting a soft glow. Again, Nevei saw another dark wisp. This one crawled its way up to the side of the hedge, disappearing over the top of it.
I know some of them hate me, Queen Nevei thought to herself, but they can't all hate me... Can they?
They can, replied the mysterious voice, and they do.
She came to another four-way intersection. The wisp of smoke again revealed itself, this time it slithered its way down the path to the left. It would appear that it wanted her to go to the center of the maze. Although hesitantly, Nevei complied, and followed the path that the wisp was laying before her.
"So what are you, again?"
All will be answered in time, my Queen.
"Whatever you are, I am not your Queen."
Soon, you will be...
"Pfft. Doubtful."
Do not doubt your own mind...
To this, Queen Nevei quirked and eyebrow, but continued ahead anyway.
In no time, she arrived at the entrance to the center of the maze. It was an arch that gave way to what was essentially a very small park. Two fountains that were now frozen, one on either side, made up the flanks of the rectangular space. A pair of benches were pushed together in front of said fountains, positioned so that anypony sitting on them would face them. Small flower patches separated the twp sets of benches, broken only by the stone path that was just wide enough for a couple of ponies to walk through the flowers. In the very center of the small park, surrounded by a circle of walking stones, was the only piece of living vegetation in the known kingdom.
It wasn't much, really. Just a small bush that had a single blue flower blooming out of the top. It had been Queen Nevei's project for the past seven years. Every day, she would come out to it and nearly exhaust her magical reserves trying to keep it alive. In the years that she had had it, it only recently bloomed.
Impressive, really, the voice said, once again startling the alicorn. But she controlled herself, knowing that there would be nothing for her to vaporize. Putting so much work into something so small and fragile.
Queen Nevei smiled. "Worth every bead of sweat, though."
But was it? That flower took years of effort to get to this stage... There is no way for you to heal the entire kingdom like this.
"No. There is a way. There has to be a way."
Not while Boreas' magic still rules this realm.
"What? Boreas is gone. He has no power; I imprisoned him in the Conduit myself."
And that prison has broken. There are holes that allow him to extend his reach across Glacies. Everyday he sucks more energy from this place; its ponies.
"But how?"
The Conduit has been broken. Boreas' magic is able to escape and infect. His magic also resides in the shards, shards like the one you are currently wearing around your neck.
Queen Nevei slowly looked down at her sapphire necklace. The shard from the Conduit was pulsating a soft blue light.
Do you feel that coldness coming from it? That is Boreas' magic infecting you, corrupting you. Both body and mind. It is what has allowed my creation! Soon, he will fully take you over,, and use you as the catalyst of his wrath.
"No!" Nevei grabbed hold of the necklace and tried pulling it off as hard as she could. But it didn't so much as budge.
Once it has bonded, it is impossible to remove.
Queen Nevei tried to relax, taking several deep breaths in an effort to clear her mind.
"This isn't happening," she whispered to herself. "I'm not hearing any voices, it's all just in my head."
Oh no, we are real; this is happening. You are right, however, this is in your head. For now.
The alicorn closed her eyes, trying to ignore the voice. She cast a spell at the bush in front of her, the same spell that she had been using to revive the plant. Starting out with a relatively low level of energy, she slowly built herself up. Never did she use all of her magical energy on it, but she did use a significant amount. At about half her available power, she noted something different happening. She was becoming light headed, and growing numb at the base of her horn.
We thank you, our Queen,
"For what?" Nevei grunted, trying to wrestle control of her magic. Green sparks of start magical energy began shooting from the tip of her horn. She tried what she could to cancel the spell, only to have it grow even more powerful.
For granting our freedom!
Queen Nevei's normally white aura suddenly turned a sickly green in a burst of energy powerful enough to knock the alicorn back a few feet onto her haunches. She rubbed a hoof against her forehead to get rid of the pain. Opening her eyes revealed something in front of her that was completely different than what she had previously seen before the blast.
No longer was there a flowering bush in the center of the park. Instead, there stood what appeared to be some type of pony she had never before seen.
It was the size of a run-of-the-mill mare. Instead of a soft and colorful coat, it had a dark gray, thick, chitin-like exoskeleton. Not only did it have transparent insect-like wings that were flinching and buzzing sporadically, but also a horn that looked jagged. Having both wings and a horn, even as corrupted as this, had only ever been observed in alicorns. A pair of fangs were pointing out of the front of its mouth. Its eyes were a soft blue that faded to white where the iris should have been. As it stood by and inspected Queen Nevei, it was emitting a rapid series of high pitched, but low volume chirps and clicks.
Queen Nevei gasped, pushing herself back along the ground and away from the creature a few more feet before demanding, "What in tartarus' name are you?"
"We are the creation of your mind," the creature replied with the same voice Queen Nevei had been hearing in her head. "A construct forged by the hatred cast upon you but your own citizens."
The white alicorn furrowed her brows, quickly jumping to her hooves. In one swift motion, she fired a beam of white magical energy at the creature in front of her. It did nothing to dodge the rapidly approaching spell.
Instead of blasting the creature into the previous universe, the creature instead appeared to turn into smoke that swirled around the beam. Once the spell past, the smoke reformed into the creature that had been there.
"We cannot be destroyed, your highness," the creature bowed.
"I am not your Queen!"
"Oh, but you are. And we serve to protect you."
"Protect me? Protect me from what?"
"The ponies you rule over. They do not give you love, only hatred. Without love, ponies are doomed to slowly perish alone, and in the dark. Nopony currently gives you the love you need; you are starving. We can fix that."
Queen Nevei sighed, looking down. It's right...
Of course we are.
She looked up. Even though the thing was in front of her, it was still apparently somehow connected to her mind.
"How can you fix it?"
"By taking their love and giving it to you, where it properly belongs."
"You're going to steal the love of my ponies? how is that possible?"
"Since we are not a true physical construct by nature, but a magical one, we poses the ability to change into and impersonate others. We feed off of the love given by those around whose place we take, and return it to you."
"I will never allow you to harm those I am sword to protect!"
"The ponies you are sworn to protect despise you!" A green aura lit up around the creature's horn. There was a flash of light that was the same sickly green that temporarily blinded the Queen. Once she could see again, it was revealed that the creature had transformed. Instead of appearing like a parasitic bug, it stood before her as a run-of-the-mill earth pony mare.
"The earth ponies," it said with an entirely new voice, one that matched its new body, "hate you because the ground is still frozen, and unable to be cultivated, thus starving them and every other race of pony. They blame you for allowing their fall to become the lowest social class in Glacies; comparative to dirt."
There was another flash as the psuedo-earth pony changed into a pegasus stallion.
"The pegasi," it spoke in a new, fitting voice, "hate you for not warming the air. It is too cold for them to unfurl their wings and take flight. They are unable to manipulate the weather, and help the earth ponies grow their food. They too, starve. Others regard them as being worthless, and unable to fulfill their purpose."
Another flash of green signaled the transformation from a pegasus to a unicorn mare.
"The unicorns," again, its voice matched its body, "live atop a gilded pedestal, relishing in the victory over Boreas seven years ago. Their egos have turned them lazy; they do not feel that work is worthy of them, that it belongs to the lower classes. They sit and selfishly use their magic to make their own lives better than those of earth ponies and pegasi. Because of this, the other races look upon them with disdain, and vise versa. They hate you for not fixing everything and making their insolent lives perfect, for allowing the other races to be equal citizens as them. They make false claims that they were the sole reason you stopped Boreas; that without them, he could never have been stopped."
The third flash revealed something that, even after everything else she had seen, was completely unexpected. Instead of reverting to normal form like she thought the creature would, it now stood before her as an alicorn, one taller than her. This second alicorn had a pearly coat, with a green and pink sparkling mane that seemed to always be flowing in a breeze. The creature had stolen the form of Princess Celestia herself, the very alicorn Queen Nevei was set to meet for the first time in person that day.
Queen Nevei was too stunned to say anything, so her jaw merely hung open in response.
"Even the alicorns," if Queen Nevei were to guess, this was actually what Celestia sounded like, "your own kind, without a doubt far superior from the other races, look down at you. You have no special powers over this realm. Celestia controls the sun, allowing life to grow and survive on this planet, and only because she wishes that it does. Luna, she controls the moon, allowing that same life a chance to rest. Even Mi Amore Cadenza is responsible for the love given throughout the world. But what are you compared to them? You can barely keep your kingdom warm and fed, let alone raise and lower the sun or moon."
"They are coming to help me," Queen Nevei protested.
"They are coming to control you!" Another flash covered the transformation from alicorn to the creature's apparent normal, insect form. "You are a cancer in alicorn blood and they have come to repair on the damage you are responsible for; to control you; to take your kingdom from you!"
"Lies!" Queen Nevei again prepared to cast a spell at the creature in front of her. but this time she felt faint as more green sparks shot from the tip of her horn. Her legs no longer possessed the strength to hold her up, and she fell onto her side in the snow. As much as she tried, she couldn't move. The alicorn was paralyzed, only able to look around with her eyes and barely able to speak. "What's happening to me?" she panted.
"Like I said, you are starved of love," the creature stood next to her so that it could be seen. "Rest now, for we must feed you."
Queen Nevei felt her eyes growing heavy. As much as she resisted, she was forced to close them. For a brief moment the alicorn was able to raise them enough to partially see. In that time, the black creature in front of her had dissolved into a cluster of green glowing embers that floated in a cloud of dark smoke. The wisps floated towards the sky, past the Queens field of vision. Once out of sight, she lost the battle against her own weighing eye lids, and they once again closed.
Your highness?" a familiar voice stirred Queen Nevei in her sleep. "Are you here?"
The alicorn's eyes fluttered open. She was still laying on her side in the snow. Thankfully, the creature was gone. Nevei moved her neck to look around, discovering that she was no longer paralyzed, although she was pretty stiff. The center of the small park came into view. To her dismay, the flower which had been her project for so long had returned, but its pedals were burnt and it was broken in half at the stem.
"Hello? Queen Nevei?" The alicorn perked her head up, recognizing the voice as Rose's. The light colored mare stepped around the corner into the center of the maze and immediately saw her Queen laying on the ground. "Corona!"
The earth pony rushed over to her side, dropping to her knees and holding the alicorn's head in her hooves.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Rose," Queen Nevei lied, slowly picking herself up. "Just taking a nap, that's all."
"Are... are you sure, your highness?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
Rose grabbed on of Queen Nevei's hooves and held it over her shoulder to help hold the still shaky alicorn up. Then the now dead plant came into view.
"What happened to your flower?" Rose gasped, nearly letting go of her Queen.
"Oh, I..." Queen Nevei was about to explain everything that she had saw and heard, but how can somepony explain that? "Uh, got distracted when I was working on it..."
"All that work, gone... I'm sure you'll find another way to bring it back."
Queen Nevei nodded, looking on at her dead creation. The two ponies stood in silce for a short while before the alicorn broke it.
"So did you need something, Rose?" she asked.
"Oh yeah, I forgot, sorry. The Royal Sisters from Equestria are here to see you."
"The meeting..." Queen Nevei went sack-jawed.
"Yes, your highness, the meeting."
Queen Nevei pulled herself off of Rose and held the mare in front of her with her hooves.
"I'm late for the meeting, aren't I?" she demanded to know, shaking the earth pony.
"Yes?"
Nevei dropped rose and took off running back through the maze. After a few turns, she remembered in her haste that she possessed the ability to teleport. Sliding to a stop, she closed her eyes and concentrated. In a flash of white energy, she disappeared. From around the corner, Rose looked on with bemusement, shaking her head from side to side.
Her ears flicked at the sound of something chirping behind her. "Huh?" Rose straightened herself up and looked back, expecting something to be there.
"Is somepony there?" She watched down the snowy path, waiting. Nothing showed itself. Not even the bird she thought she heard. "Huh, must be hearing things."
Rose shrugged and turned around, intending to head back to the castle to complete her duties for the day. Not paying attention to what was in front of her, she ran face first into somepony.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," she apologized, taking a step back to see who she had hit. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped as the sight registered. A pair of blue, iris-less eyes stared back at her, connected a dark gray body. Rose just barely managed a scream before all went silent amidst a green flash.
Queen Nevei reappeared in the hall just around the entrance for the royal conference room. She quickly calmed herself and made adjustments to her mane to make it look as though she weren't running a few seconds earlier before proceeding down the hall. Just before the turn into the next hall that led to the entrance of the conference room, she passed a mirror, catching a reflection of herself that wasn't quite right. Her normally cobalt blue eyes had turned a shade of green that was unfortunately becoming all too familiar to her. She closed her eyes and rapidly shook her head in disbelief. When she opened them to check, they had returned to normal.
"Phew," the alicorn sighed, "I'm just seeing things again. Pull yourself together, Corona, you're perfectly fine. You used too much magic on that flower the past couple of days and it's getting to you. Those things in the park? Ha, you were just dreaming! The voices? It's just those hate mongers trying to get to you so you slip up so they can replace you. Rose doesn't hate you; she's been here all these years. Everything's fine; you're just paranoid."
She walked around the corner. Two pegasus guards stood there at attention, both wearing black armor, both Nightingales. After the Boreas incident, Queen Nevei had made the Nightingales an official part of the Glacien Royal Guard. Specifically, her personal body guards. Surely if something had happened in that maze then they would have done something about it... right?
The thought ate at her already frayed nerves. What if I spawned more of the creatures and they've taken over my guards? She could feel her heard increase in pace, so she did a quick breathing exercise to calm herself back down. All in your head, right? I mean, bug things that can turn into anypony or alicorn? No way that's real.
"Your highness?" a stallion's voice brought her out of her mental rant. "Are you all right?"
She coughed before asking, "Yeah, fine. Why?"
The two guards looked at one another briefly before the second one spoke to her. "Well, you were just kind of standing there..."
"Mumbling to yourself..." the other continued his partner's sentence.
"Yeah, mumbling frantically, and your eyes... well..."
"They were turning green... ma'am, er, your highness."
"Green?" she asked, trying to quirk an eyebrow as if this was the first she were hearing about that particular phenomenon.
"Green," the two confirmed in unison.
"Huh, well that's weird." There was a pause. "Are our Equestrian guests here?"
"Yes, your highness," the first guard said, opening one of the doors to allow the alicorn entrance inside. "They are eager to meet you."
"Thank you." her words said, the white mare crossed the threshold, allowing the door to shut behind her.
Outside the conference room, the two Nightingales stood at attention in awkward silence before the first finally broke it.
"Any of that seem weird to you?" asked the first guard.
"The eyes, or the acting?" said the second.
"Both."
"... Yeah? She's been out of the whole ruling-a-nation- thing for sometime now, so I can't really blame her. Plus she's meeting these Equestrians. You?"
"I've never seen her acting like that before. Did you see her necklace? That rock was glowing."
"Yeah... " There was another pause. "Hey, did it suddenly get colder to you?"
"Pfft, it's always cold!"
"No, no. I mean noticeably, it-deffinately-got-colder, colder."
The first guard thought for a moment. "Yeah... Huh, that's interesting..."
Inside of the conference room, Queen Nevei looked around at everypony. A pair of Equestrian guards stood on either side of the room, both looking exactly alike: white unicorn stallions wearing golden armor with blue manes and tails. Even though they stood with stern expressions, not even casting her the slightest of glances, she knew that they would do anything for the two alicorns that stood by the table in front of them. The first of whom stood on her right side and was of equal size. Her coat was a deep blue, and her mane and tail were midnight blue with white sparkles that seemed to emulate the night sky. A crescent moon sat with some black spots, forming her cutie mark. The same wrapped around her neck as if it were a necklace.
To her left, stood the largest of the gathered alicorns. The same alicorn that that thing from earlier had imitated. Princess Celestia.
Seeing the Royal Sisters, Queen Nevei bowed to them, having it gracefully returned to her.
"Princess Celestia," she greeted the two, "Princess Luna, it's good to see you this far north."
"It is good to be able to come this far north again," Princess Luna replied.
"We are sorry it took so long," Princess Celestia said, "but we wanted to make sure that that infernal ice dragon was well and truly gone."
Queen Nevei shifted where she stood, feeling the necklace again growing cold. Should I tell them...? She looked into their eyes. Both pairs looked soft and kind, so willing to help her should the need arise. What would they think?
"Now that you were successful, we are finally able to lend our assistance in rebuilding Glacies."
"Thank you," Nevei nodded. Just tell them! "The help will be much appreciated." You fool... "I've been trying different spells and ideas, but I've been met with little success."
"Yes, Rose told us about a flower you managed to bring back to life; the only piece of vegetation in the nation, I've heard. May we see it sometime?"
"Oh, uhh..." memories of what happened earlier flashed in her mind. Real or not. "I'm sorry to say that I think I used a little too much magic... it didn't survive..."
"We are sorry to hear that," Luna lowered her head.
"There's not much that was lost. My method took years to take effect, and even then it was just a single flower."
There was a pause.
"May we sit?" Princess Celestia finally asked.
Her question seemed to startle Queen Nevei. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Yes, please." She led the two other alicorns towards a group of four pillows set together on the flower. "Princess Cadenza wasn't able to make it, I presume?" she asked, sitting after the Royal Sisters did.
Princess Celestia shook her head. "I'm afraid not." She is currently handling a developing situation in the Crystal Empire. Some dark magic has infected the land."
"Oh, well I hope it turns out okay."
"I am confident that she will be able to handle it." Another short pause. "So what can we do to help Glacies, do you think?"
"Well I think we need to figure out a way to heat things up and melt the ice, permanently. I've tried, but it always manages to come back that night."
"Will that be possible this far north?" Luna asked. "I understand that it's summer, but doing that this far north without affecting the rest of—"
"I don't believe that the stories told to me as a foal were lies. Grassy plains, fields of crops, leaves on the trees, animals, cherry blossoms. The family that took me in wouldn't have lied to me. And I want that future for my nation."
"I—"
"She didn't mean anything by it," Princess Celestia cut in."Just that this project will be—"
"Project?" Queen Nevei stood up, gaping. "You think that this is just some little science project you'll be able to experiment with?"
"No, I didn't m—"
"These are the lives of thousands of ponies we're talking about! The future of millions!"
She awaited the explanation for their attitude against her. Instead they sat gaping at her. Princess Luna covered her mouth with a hoof. Nevei looked over at the Equestrian guards. Both of them had similar reactions.
"What?" she asked, directing her attention back to the Royal Sisters.
"Your eyes..." Princess Luna answered, dropping her hoof. "They're turning green..."
Queen Nevei felt her stomach sink. Oh no.
"And there are green sparks coming from your horn," Princess Celestia continued. "Are you okay? I can go find you a nur—"
"No!" Queen Nevei blurted out, much to her own surprise, much less the those around her. Quickly she quieted her voice to a normal level. "I-I-I'm sorry... I-I didn't mean to yell." She took a step back. "I'll be fine... just need a moment... be right back!" And just like that, she teleported out of sight.
The Royal Sisters sat in silence for a moment, contemplating what had just happened in front of them.
"Something is very wrong..." Princess Celestia said, rising to her hooves. She was shortly followed by her sister.
"You felt it, too?" Princess Luna asked.
"Hm." Celestia nodded. "Come on, we're going to find out what's going on." The pair headed towards the guards standing by the door. "Alert the Nightingales as to what happened here, lietuenant, we're going to go look for her."
"Yes, your highness," the guard saluted, retreating through the door with his partner.
"Come on, Luna. Let's see what's going on." The two alicorns exited the now empty conference room, passing the Nightingales outside who were talking with her own guards.
"I hope she's okay..." Luna whispered to nopony in particular.
The fact of the matter was, Queen Nevei was not okay.
I'm am officially losing my mind...
She reappeared a ways down the hall, inside one of the guest suites. The alicorn darted to the full sized mirror in the corner of the room. They were right... Her eyes had indeed turned green again, and her horn was sparking.
"Why is this still happening?" she asked herself with a shaky voice.
"You are transforming," a chill ran down Nevei's spine.
In the mirror, she saw the bug creature who had been haunting her, standing right behind her. She spun around, ready to blast that thing into oblivion once and for all. Only problem was: it wasn't there. Nevei stood there for a minute to see whether or not it would reappear. That's when she sensed the presence of what felt like cold air behind her. Again she turned around, this time facing the mirror. Its glassy surface was beginning to frost over. In the center of it, surrounded by the ice, she saw the familiar blue iris-less eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
As Queen Nevei stepped backwards, the now icy surface of the mirror began to ripple as if a stone had been thrown into a calm pond. From the focal point, the black nose of the bug-like creature pierced the threshold, soon followed by the tip of its horn, then the rest of its head. She watched as the creature stepped through the mirror from the inside. It stood before her with a sly grin.
"Like I said before," it spoke, slowly approaching her, "you are weak. A disease is slowly killing you, and only the love I have reclaimed for you will cure it." A green aura formed around the creature's horn. Queen Nevei suddenly found herself backed against the wall.
Before she could react, the creature's eyes turned a solid white. A stream of green magical energy trailed from the tip of its hard, tracing its way to the tip of her's. Once the connection was made, every nerve in Nevei's body tensed up. She felt like her head was full of helium and led, all at the same time. Memories flashed through her mind. Memories of a pony who was with friends, family, being around those who cared and loved for her. She saw relationships, felt their connections. She even saw herself, but in a third person through those memories. Instantly, she recognized who the memories belonged to. And they were most definitely not her own. As quickly as the memories came, they were gone. Nevei felt herself being pulled back into reality. Even though the visions were gone, the feelings remained, and they felt... good...
"What did you just do to me?" Queen Nevei panted, exhausted from the transfer.
"I gave you the love that was rightfully yours. You should be feeling better anytime now."
As much as she hated to admit it, the creature was right. Already she was feeling better than she had. Better in fact than on her best of days. She felt calm. All of the stress from that day's events were gone. Anger for what the Equestrians said. Fear of the creature in front of her. Her mind was clear, level. But something lingered. Something in her subconscious. Everything felt right, amazing, even, but it shouldn't have. Those memories, those feelings, weren't hers.
"Rose..." Queen Nevei whispered. "Those were her memories, weren't they? You stole them from her!"
"Yes, your highness."
"What did you do to her?" she growled, readying the most powerful spell she could muster. You killed her, didn't you!"
"Not killed, replaced. Do not worry, she is fine. Put into a sleep, living out a long dream."
"You ponynapped her, then. Not replaced."
"No, she was replaced. Rose?" The creature looked towards the door. Nevei couldn't help but follow its gaze.
A dark smoke drifted through the cracks. It gathered itself in front of the door, changing to a pinkish hue. Nevei watched in awe as the cloud formed the general shape of a pony before solidifying into an actual one. Just like that, Nevei was staring at a familiar earth pony.
"Rose?" the alicorn gasped.
"Some are meant to believe so," the pink mare replied in Rose's voice. "If you look inside, you will see the truth."
Queen Nevei relaxed, retracting the spell she was about to use. Instead she concentrated on the newcomer, focusing on her being. Something, she wasn't sure what, but something told her that this really wasn't Rose. That's when the mare flashed green. What was left standing there looked exactly like the other creature. There were two of them.
"How... How are there..."
"You should know, your highness..." the second one bowed to her before moving to stand next to the first. "It was you who created us."
Before she could begin to think of how she had created these monsters, there was a knock at the door, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Queen Nevei?" it was Luna's voice. "Are you in here? I would like to explain what we said earlier."
"They lie," the first creature hissed at her. "Remember what they said earlier? This is merely a game to them!"
"Is somepony without you?" Celestia asked.
On the other side of the door, the two alicorns could hear harsh whispering coming from within. Luna cast her sister a suspicious look.
"That room doesn't feel right," she said to her sister.
"I know. There is an unnatural presence in there. What are your senses telling you?"
"That she is confused, scarred. She isn't sure if she should let us in or push us away. Something is influencing her mind, and her subconscious is trying to fight it."
Just as Celestia was about to reply, a startled scream from inside the room interrupted her. Without hesitation, Celestia used her magic to break down the door. It shattered inwards in the form of a thousand splinters that fell just short of the occupants who were inside. Celestia and Luna were quick to enter, readying themselves for anything they could imagine. But what was awaiting them was beyond anything that they could have imagined.
Three bug-like pony sized creatures stood in an aggressive stance, baring their fangs and their wings at the Royal Sisters. They stood in an arrow formation in front of Queen Nevei, though she didn't exactly look like the alicorn from earlier.
Her wings were changing at the tips. The ends of the primary feathers had turned from white to a light blue, translucent, gossimer-looking material similar to the wings of the other creatures in the room. The changed parts were bordered by what seemed like a green fire that separated the former from what was still normal. Slowly, it was making its way along her wings, transforming more parts. The same was occurring on her legs, bordering a normal coat at the top, and black, chitin armor in the bottom, moving up her body.
"Corona," Celestia gasped, "are you all right? What's happening? What are these things?"
"I—" Nevei had attempted to speak, but was cut off. Though Celestia and Luna could still make out the shakiness in her voice.
"We are her guardians," the first creature said, "the only ones who giver her what she needs. Come any closer, and we shall protect our queen."
"Step aside," Luna commanded them, "we can help her. Something is obviously wrong and we can fix it."
"Please..." Nevei whispered, "help."
"Stand back," Celestia said, taking an aggressive step forward.
"They are lying, your highness," the third creature said. "They intend only to take further control over you. They are the enemy, not so called friends."
"What are you talking about?"
"We know the truth," the second one spoke, moving towards her. "You have been keeping this land frozen, lifeless, starving it until they cracked and begged for your help. Then you could bring what they asked, not their queen. The ponies would give up on her, and turn to you. A civil war would start, allowing you the chance to annex Glacies. We are going to stop you, and keep Queen Chrysalis safe."
"What did you call her?" Luna asked.
"Enough talking!" the first creature readied itself to cast a spell while charging towards the two alicorns. Luna teleported away, reappearing on the other side of the room. Celestia threw up a shield just in time, protecting herself from the incoming spell. The green energy was deflected into two separate beams, each hitting opposite sides of the wall and burning through the stone. Celestia was pushed back a bit by the force.
On the other side of the room, Luna had surprised the other two creatures and fired spells of her own. Both of them were turned to a dark smoke that floated up through the cracks in the ceiling. Off to the side Nevei had winced at the same time. She felt as though something inside of her had been torn away.
"Did you feel that?" the first creature suddenly appeared in front of her after gaining distance away from the other alicorns. "That's the pain you feel when the only ones you really love you are hurt. These monsters intend to inflict that pain on you, on us, until they win! They don't care to love you, only to hurt you!"
Before its plea could continue, the creature disappeared inside a large beam of white magic. Something felt like it had grabbed hold of her heart and tried to rip it out. She grunted, tightly closing her eyes in an effort to hold back any tears that might have escaped. Opening her eyes revealed the Royal Sisters standing in front of her. In an instant, she was filled with hatred.
"Are you hurt?" Celestia asked.
"You did this to me!" Nevei cast a spell that pushed away Celestia and Luna, knocking both of them into the opposite wall. "They were right... You are only trying to hurt me, not help me. You just want Glacies as your own! And I won't let that happen..."
By the end of her rant, the Royal Sisters had pealed themselves off of the wall. They stood by, appalled at what Nevei had said. "No!" Luna retorted. "We would do no such thing. If we hurt you, then it was not our intent!"
"Liars!" Nevei fired another spell at the two, both of whom rolled out of the way from it. As it was cast, the green fire that was moving along her body seemed to accelerate temporarily. Her legs, which had now turned completely black with chitin armor, also formed holes in them.
"Nevei," Celestia said, "Those creatures, what ever they are, were lying to you."
"They are the only ones who actually loved me!" She tried to fire another spell at the white alicorn, only to have it deflected by a shield that Luna had thrown up in front of it. The Princess of the Night fired back, trying not to hurt the changing alicorn, but to limit her mobility instead.
The spell knocked her back against the wall.
"We are not your enemy!" Luna yelled, using her magic to hold Nevei down.
"Corona, look at yourself," Celestia approached her, a mirror floating at her side, "see what you are becoming."
Nevei pulled her head off of the ground to do as she was told. In the mirror, only half of what she saw was her. Her beautiful white wings had turned to a gossamer that barely looked as though they could lift a dog. The hair that made up her tail had lost its luster, dimming in color and straightening out. The same was beginning to take place in her mane. Her coat had mostly solidified from the neck down, hardening into an exoskeleton. Fangs were starting to poke through her gums.
What is happening to me... she wondered, losing herself in the gaze. I'm becoming a monster.
You are becoming who you truly are. It was that infernal voice again.
What did you do to me?
Your true form is being revealed. This is what you were meant to be.
I don't want this. Nopony should have to live only by stealing the love of others.
That is not your choice to make. We are in control now, and we chose to exist.
No.
What?
I said, no. Get. Out. Of. My. Head. Now!
Nevei's next spell was directed at herself, an attempt to remove the voice from her mind once and for all. All she managed to do was merely hurt herself. When it was complete, she no longer had any control over her own body. She was still conscious. She could still think. She could still feel. But the movements she made were not by her choice. The words she spoke were no longer her words.
We are in control now, the voice stated.
Nevei involuntarily stood up, breaking Luna's containment spell. As much as Nevei tried to fight it, nothing worked. Against her will she cast a spell against Princess Luna, blasting the dark alicorn through several walls behind her and into a room on the other side of the corridor. Princess Celestia put up a shield in just enough time to block the spell Nevei used against her.
"Why are you doing this?" Celestia asked over the sound of Nevei's magical beam trying to blast through her shield. It was creating enough force that it was pushing her back towards the wall, her hooves digging trenches in the stone floor.
It isn't me! Nevei pleaded, hoping that somehow her words would reach the regal alicorn.
"You are a disease on this land," the voice spoke through her, "and you must be rid of!" Nevei unwillingly started taking slow steps forward and increasing the power behind her spell. Never before had she used so much power, especially on another pony. Beads of sweat were starting to drip down the side of her face.
"Don't force my hoof, Corona," Celestia grunted through her teeth. "Snap out of it, please!"
I can't! If Nevei had the ability to, she'd be crying.
And you'll never be able to. Even more force was applied. Celestia was pushed back against the wall, which was beginning to crack under the strain. Her shield was shrinking slowly.
"Please, Nevei, stop!"
"Not until you are gone!" Again, Nevei was forced to increase the power behind a spell she didn't want to use. The sickly green beam grew in intensity.
She just barely managed to hear Celestia whisper, "I'm so sorry..."
Celestia's shield bent into the form of a straight wall, then continued to bend so that it was engulfing the beam of energy. Her spell made its way towards Nevei, continuing to surround and contain the rogue alicorn's spell. It touched Nevei's corrupted horn. A burst of white light blinded the two ponies, and the resulting shock wave embedded Nevei into the wall behind her in a spread eagle pose. By the time everything had disparate, Nevei had peeled off of the wall, leaving behind an imprint of her body, and landed in a heap on the floor.
Completely drained of energy, she was on the verge of passing out. Everything in her body hurt. And it didn't stop there; her spirit hurt, too.
See? the voice said, she doesn't care about you.
She doesn't know what's going on, Nevei retorted to the voice.
I beg to differ.
She made out the dull sound of hooves clopping slowly on the stone. The creature who was in control of her struggled to move her head so that they could see the source of the sound.
"I didn't want to do this," Princess Celestia said, stepping up to the fallen alicorn. Off to the side, Princess Luna limped into the room, making her way to her sister's side. "Something in you changed, and I don't know how to fix it... For that, I am truly sorry. No longer are you Queen Corona Nevei."
No, I'm right here! Celestia, listen to me! Don't do this!
She can't hear you, the voice told her.
"You are Chrysalis. Queen of the Changelings. For the safety of pony kind, you must be isolated." Her horn and eyes began to glow. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."
No! Celestia stop! Luna, use your powers and read my mind; tell her there is a way!
You just don't give up, do you?
Not while you exist you parasite!
"I will return one day," Nevei tried to stop the words coming out of her mouth, "and I will make you pay. This world, and its inhabitants, will become my slaves."
"So be it... Goodbye, Chrysalis."
No...
The solar princess' horn blinded Nevei.
When she regained her vision, everything had changed. No longer was she in a castle. No longer was she cold, nor could she see her breath. No longer was she surrounded by an endless snow. She was in the bottom of a canyon. In the hottest temperature she had ever felt. Surrounded by sand and limestone. IN the middle of a desert.
A series of short, rapid chirps came from behind her. A sound she recognized. What ever was still conjtrolling her forced her to look in that direction. Floating in the shadow of a massive cave opening, a pair of blue eyes stared back at her. Then another pair appeared beside them. Then another, and another. One by one, pair after pair revealed themselves in the darkness. In no time, the cave entrance was dominated by at least fifty pairs of eyes.
The first pair that revealed themselves stepped out into the light. She recognized the creature as the one who had been haunting her before; as the one who was currently in her mind. A Changeling, Celestia called it.
"Welcome home," it bowed, "Queen Chrysalis."
Author's Note
Finally! Plot holes be damned, I finally finished this story! After months of delays and writer's block, this is finally off my tray.
Basically this is my own headcannon version on how Chrysalis became Chrysalis. This story can stand on its own, but will ad onto my Broken Feathers series.
I completely understand that this may not be the best written story out there, but I rushed to get it off of my plate once and for all. So despite that, I hope you like it!
Comment your thoughts and critiques!
Thanks,
- Sam.
