Prologue
I'm needed elsewhere
Star Swirl, my friend.
Our time together has been an experience that I could have never imagined.
You showed me so many things. But you showed me something I would never have found in my homeland. Friendship.
It saddens me to write this letter to you. For I must leave this land and return to my own. It is nothing like what you have here in Equestria, and it is far too hostile for you to ever see.
That is why I write to you, rather than face to face. Because I know you would want o accompany me. But your safety and well-being is far more important to me than your company.
I leave for a great purpose, not because I want to, but because I have to. There are things I must do. All I can tell you is that I have family to look after.
Your friend— Scorpan.
~~~
The land was as grave and dead as Scorpan remembered it. The sky was shrouded with the everlasting fog, and the ground was as hard as stone.
A pony would not last a fortnight here. There were creatures so small, yet so poisonous, it could kill a manticore with one prick, and there were creatures so big they could swallow a full-grown dragon in one gulp. This was a land filled with monsters. Fortunately for Scorpan, he was one of those monsters.
Scorpan took in the tainted air through his nose, and released it out his mouth. It was sour, but welcoming. Scorpan unfolded his bat like wings that stretched out from his back. With a spring in his heels, he jumped into the air, and soared over the wasteland of rocks and dirt.
It only felt like yesterday that he and Tirek were leaving to find a new land to control, and eventually become deities with such power. But Scorpan gained something far greater than all the magic in Equestria could ever give him. Though, his time was short in Equestria, the memories he made could last him a lifetime.
However, not every memory was pleasant. He was burdened with the cruel memories of his betrayal to his own brother. Even though Tirek did not see the wonders Equestria held, and was content on keeping with the plan, a part of Scorpan knew it was wrong.
You left me no choice, brother.
In front of Scorpan lays a small mountain that raised above the fog but not over the clouds. On its peak was a cave entrance. But large thorny vines that twisted, and bound themselves together sealed it off.
Scorpan landed lightly near the cave. He stepped forward and looked up at the vines that blocked his path. He raised his hands to the vines, his hands glowing a faint orange. The same orange glow covered the vines and, as if they were being untied by invisible hands, they finally fell on either side of the entrance.
Scorpan lowered his hands, and entered the cave. It was pitch black. A snap of his fingers lit a fire pit that was dug in the center of the cave. The lights crawled up the walls, revealing that the cave was filled with items, like furs, bones, horns and other things that came from beasts. There were also hand made items from pots and bowls, to tools and weapons. On one side of the wall were rows of wooden racks that held various objects. Each one was craftily made by a gem or colorful mineral, and meant to be worn either on the arms, fingers, or around the neck.
Scorpan smirked, but his eyes were sad gazing over his collected work of craftsmanship. He picked up a large aqua colored mineral on one of the racks. The smirk vanished by the site of the stone he held. The horrid item that rock was going to become filled Scorpan with dread. He would create a crown as a symbol of his power and might to all of those whom he conquered; their strength, wisdom, faith, and lives now rested upon him.
The plans he had, the thoughts that drove him to such ideals burned in the depths of his mind. He clinched the stone as his hand shook. He grinded his teeth as a snarl escaped his maw. It quickly turned into a raging roar as he launched the stone at the wall behind him. It exploded to shards and a cloud of dust formed where it had impacted.
But Scorpan’s fire still burned within him. He turned his gaze on the corner of the cave that Tirek once occupied. He fired a blast of magic at the skull rack, and smashed everything that belonged to the criminal he called brother.
Scorpan ran out of the cave to prevent himself from destroying everything else, and let loose the remainder of his fire in one catastrophic scream. When his lungs could no longer produce any more fuel for his cry he fell silent. His ears rang with the echos of his shout that traveled across the land. Then he crumbled onto his knees, his face in the ground with his hands over his head. He silently sobbed on the mountain top as the sunset was absorbed by thick gray clouds.
Scorpan cried and cried all he wanted. Time did not matter to him anymore. Nothing mattered to him after what he did…
Except for one thing.
Scorpan pulled himself back up, and wiped his guilty tears away. He went back into the cave, his head clear on one thing. He went to the end of the cave and stared at the stone wall. He looked closely around until at last he found an imprint of a hand on the wall. Scorpan placed his hand over it. His hand glew orange like before, and the magic made a large O on the wall. The stone that was within the magic circle sunk backwards, then, by itself, rolled to one side to reveal a hidden room.
Scorpan stepped through the hidden room. He waved his hand in front of his face to clear the dust in the air. The room was small and consumed in darkness, save for a faint light orange sphere that hovered motionlessly over a stone altar, that was carved in the shape of a serpent's head.
Scorpan's heart thumped faster, his yellow eyes fixed on the orb. He stood at the altar, and gazed down at the sphere with mixed emotions. He took a finger and touched it. The orb brightened. Scorpan traced a circle around the sphere; a faint line followed his finger. Scorpan took his finger and then tapped it in the middle of the circle he made.
The orb changed to a bright yellow, then to a blinding white. From top to bottom, it began to dissolved. Something began to show as the orb broke into nothing; an old dirty rag or cloth was wrapped around a bundle of something.
Scorpan cupped his hands underneath the ragged object. The orb was gone, and Scorpan scooped the bundle into his arms. For a moment Scorpan just stared at it. He didn’t know whether to smile or frown. His mind was still bickering on what emotion he should show.
“I’m… sorry I left you behind.” Scorpan spoke softly to the bundle in his arms. "I was cruel, and hungry for power. I— " Scorpan paused to take a weary breath. "I left you here for a selfish act; lying to myself that it was to give you a better life. But at the cost of thousands, millions, even. I would be doing you no good to be looked up at with fear and hatred, not when there is something greater than all the magic in the world could give. The magic of friendship." Scorpan pinched his eyes shut, he was overcome by the overwhelming guilt he held.
Scorpan was consumed by the darkness in the room, his past sins gathered to watch his next action that would determine his next path in life.
“But I swear I never meant to abandon you.”
A small weary grunt came from the rags. Something wiggled from within.
Scorpan could not hold back a smile. He brought his hand over the cloth, and pulled back the hood. “You will no longer be alone, or forgotten… brother.”
Author's Note
I want to give huge thanks to my mentor, Master Craine and one of my fans Starlight Nova for pre-reading and editing!
