The Violet Champion
Prologue
Judgment
Before she could gasp, before she could cry out, or hear the cries of her friends, she was twisting. The light blinded her, everything was white. Her body felt mangled and battered, and the assault was still going on. No rational thought entered her mind. All there was was the pain and fear, mingled with bafflement. It suddenly stopped. Her body felt whole again, her hooves planted on firm ground. The trauma of what was happening to her lingered for a moment, then her thoughts collected. Her vision began to restore, and make out shapes and colors. It was all blurred, but she was vaguely aware of multiple shades of blue and angular architecture. Her heart still raced, and her thoughts returned to Celestia, Cadance and Luna. Chained to the pillars of Tartarus, weak and sullen. How their hope and vitality was restored when she returned, victorious. Tirek defeated, her friends and people freed, and even Discord redeemed. Then the light came and... she was here. Where was here, exactly?
Her vision at last sharpened to normality, and she could take in her surroundings. Her mouth dropped open as he raised her head. She was in a cavernous hall the size of Canterlot's throne room. She was flanked by walls decorated with stain glass, all made of dark bluish colors. The shards formed the bodies of bipedal creatures, some robed and serene, others armored and fierce, holding weapons or wielding magic. Some resembled creatures she knew. An upright monkey with a staff, a minotaur even bigger than Iron Will, and many others. The room was dim, and the only illumination provided were blue lights. Twilight couldn't find their source, it seemed to just come from nowhere. At one end of the room, massive marble doors engraved in runes stood imposingly, massive and patient, as if waiting.
Suddenly, Twilight felt a presence, and her hair stood on end. She whirled around to face the intruder, tensing upon seeing the creature. He was upright and canine in nature, shelled in beautiful golden armor that encompassed his torso, the back of his neck and head. His face was free for her to observe. Jackal-like, coated in dark fur, his eyes glowing the same blue as the room they stood in, staring at her thoughtfully.
Swallowing down apprehension, Twilight asked, “Who are you?”
“My name is Nasus,” he answered in a baritone voice. “Curator of the Sands, Champion of the League Of Legends.”
Royalty? Twilight wondered, unsure. And League Of Legends? Sounded made-up, honestly. But there were more pressing matters on her mind.
“How did I get here?” she demanded.
“The same way as I,” he answered. “Summoned by those in need of a Champion, one who will aid in the curing of a world, one who will rid innocents of conflict and genocide.”
Okay, that's pretty heavy, she thought with dismay.
“And these summoners want me to... do all of that?”
“They are hoping you can, if you pass judgment,” he answered. The dismay continued to deepen with each of his words spoken to her.
“So I've been kidnapped to play their games?” she retorted suddenly, surprising herself. Where had that come from?
“Take heart, child,” Nasus spoke sagely, “the intentions of summoners are not malicious. They will not use you against their will, if you are not deemed to be... contained.”
Contained? By Celestia's Sun, every word he says just prompts more questions! Twilight thought, frustrated. What could they possibly contain?
“I know my words only confuse you further,” Nasus amended. “Forgive me for that, but mere words cannot convey the reasons as to why your presence is desired in the Institute Of War. Come, we will show you.” Nasus stretched an arm to his side, and in a flash of light a great scepter appeared in his hand, pulsating with a level of power that Twilight had only ever felt beings like Celestia or Tirek wield. Nasus raised the scepter, then brought it down onto the stone floor with a resounding strike that echoed in the room. Below his feet and her hooves, a pale circle appeared, some sort of insignia etched into the ethereal light. White light like the kind that had taken her from Equestria overcame the mare once again. But the terrible sensation that had nearly torn her asunder before was not present again. Rather, it felt like a normal teleportation spell of which she herself was capable of performing. The light dissipated, and the hall was replaced by a grand view of a dark city. It was not a friendly looking city, in fact. The architecture was reminiscent of Canterlot, but more twisted and unholy. Crimson lights illuminated the buildings. A mountain that was gnarled like a root jutted into the twilight sky, and it seemed the walls and bastions of a castle were carved from the rock itself. At the crest of the mountain a traditional castle sat, black and foreboding, being circled by hundreds, maybe even thousands of crows. Keeps rose and watched like sentinels, and Twilight felt extremely vulnerable under their gaze. It was then she noticed the face of the mountain... was actually a face! Or, well, the likeness of a skull. Three alcoves, two sunken dark eyes and a nose-bone staring at her from her vantage point with Nasus. He gazed as well, undaunted by the sight of the city.
“The city-state of Noxus, a vile place indeed,” Nasus told her, not taking his eyes off the city. “But do not worry, you and I cannot be seen, this is only the vision of a past long gone. Something you need to see, to understand why you are needed in the League, like myself.” When Nasus spoke no longer, Twilight watched. Minutes passed, and they watched the city live and breathe, dangerous and hostile, but beautiful in its own black way. It really did remind Twilight, with some disturbance, of an evil counterpart of Canterlot. She wondered if Noxus had its own antithesis in this world, and asked Nasus such. He nodded knowingly.
“Yes. The city-state of Demacia. You can imagine that the two have been at war for many centuries. That is in fact what we are going to witness. What war was here before the founding of the Institute of War, and thus the League.” He and Twilight continued to watch, and at last a sound could be heard. Drums, in the deep. Echoing over the hills, through the valleys and upon the rivers that surrounded Noxus. War drums. Unease gripped Twilight again, but she waited quietly with her new companion. Gradually the drums grew louder, and were greeted by horns of alarm within Noxus. Shouts rose from the city, and the small figures of soldiers and civilians scrambled in the walls and upon the bastions of the city. Siege equipment was prepared, torches were lit, and magical arrays were formed. Melee fighters, archers and spearmen, and spellcasters formed ranks. Some figures held weapons Twilight had never seen before.
Nasus must have noticed her observing of the new weapons and spoke, “Guncraft. Ranged weapons that propel their ammunition with the blasts of blackpowder.” Twilight nodded, imagining the way such devices worked. She would see for herself soon enough. Beyond the walls of Noxus, the drums continued to grow in volume, until they were eventually joined by more shouting, and the marching of armored feet. Torchlight beyond the walls danced and bobbed across the fields towards the city. Fighting erupted in the streets of towns outside the central city, and Twilight first heard the cracks of gunfire and the screams of pain that followed. Her ears sank against the cacophony of terror and agony, but she didn't force herself to look away and not listen. Nasus, and these summoners of his, brought her here to see their viewpoint. Their reasons for wanting her to be some sort of champion.
The assaulting forces—Demacian, Twilight assumed—went through the towns fairly quickly. She couldn't see how they could offer much resistance, even if they had been prepared for their enemy. Soon the legions were at the walls of Noxus, and scores of orders from officers to open fire sounded off all over the walls. Arrows doused in flames soared into the attacking ranks, the flashing cracks of gunfire popping atop the walls, their missiles too quick to spot. And spells from magi carrying wands and staffs, some from just their hands, joined the fray of missiles and bullets. The ground forces returned fire, and Twilight winced as she saw the soldiers above fall to their deaths, some screaming, others silent as they were dead before they even hit the ground.
“Nasus...” Twilight whispered, feeling tears well in her eyes. He glanced down at her somberly.
“Twilight Sparkle,” he returned. She didn't bother to ask how he knew her name. She knew she hadn't given it to him since they met. But she sensed something about him. He was preparing to tell her something else. She could guess.
“This isn't the worst of it,” she said for him. He nodded gravely. Steeling herself, Twilight turned back to the carnage. Already the ground forces were beginning to try and penetrate the walls. Trebuchets were installed just out of reach of the defenders', and they fired volleys of burning stones into the walls. Some took out chunks of rocks against the bulk of the walls, others demolished parts of the walkways, making it difficult for the defenders to get to other places to offer aid. Ladders were braced against the walls, and the Demacians began to climb. Twilight saw one soldier leap upon a ladder and climb with incredible speed. His body was heavily armored, massive ornate shoulder pads flanking his upper body, a royal blue cape billowing from his back. A massive sword was braced to his hip, bare and gleaming. Magic probably held it fast, since there seemed to be no scabbard for it.
“This is one of the last great conflicts perpetrated before the founding of the League,” Nasus said. “The one you are watching lead the charge is one of our first champions, Garen, the Might of Demacia.”
“Take heart, men and women of Demacia!” his voice resounded, as if amplified. “This will be the battle to end the fiends of Noxus! FORWARD, FOR DEMACIA! FOR ALL OF VALORAN AND HER PEOPLE!” His roars of courage were answered by cries for Demacia and Valoran, meanwhile Noxians hurled insults in return, trying to drown the morale Garen was invoking among his fellow soldiers. Another voice followed Garen's.
“Listen not to the Noxian heretics!” Twilight looked upon the field and saw another man, clad in armor even more splendorous than Garen's. It was bright and golden, the shoulder blades pointed with onyx adornments. His headware was a striking combination of crown and helm, and his massive bladed spear looked like it could tear through anything. To Twilight's slight horror, he rode an equine, but this creature did not seem to be intelligent like herself. It was but an animal. Forcing that perturbing notion from her mind, she focused on the man again.
“Their words are meaningless to our might and glory! And we shall let them know that it is when we silence them forever! Rally! Follow Brother Garen into the fray! For Demacia!”
“Jarvan the Fourth, Crown Prince of Demacia,” Nasus explained. “He also joined the League, representing Demacia alongside Garen, Garen's younger sister Lux, Fiora, and Xin Zhao. All of them had a part in this battle, though we will not see them all.” Before Twilight could ask why, light flashed in the sky. Not lightning. First, it wasn't cloudy at all, secondly, the light was bright yellow. Suddenly, a massive fireball descended upon Noxus. It slammed into the moat the surrounded the mountain. Then it was followed by a second, then a third, which began to pelt the buildings, even the residential ones! Twilight stared in horror as these reckless attacks lay waste to innocent civilians. Even in a city notorious for evil, this seemed wrong. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Nasus shaking his head ashamedly. Then more light spilled from within the city, this time volleys of crimson and green bolts hurling into the Demacians. Twilight held back bile when she saw what these bolts did to the men and women below. The red bolts melted the weapons and armor themselves, not the flesh, so that the molten slag seared into flesh, causing the victims to thrash and try and pull the burning fluid off their bodies. Then the green bolts did the opposite, piercing their armor as if it wasn't even there and causing the flesh to boil. Blood leaked from every orifice of the victims, even the... lower ones.
“Oh gods,” Twilight whispered, on the verge of tears. She finally looked away, unable to continue watching. She had seen conflict before. Changelings and monsters of the Everfree, and of course Tirek's rampage. But they hadn't been nearly as gruesome as this... abomination. A reassuring hand found itself on the nape of her neck.
“Come, Twilight Sparkle. I only need show you a little more, and then we will let you make your decision,” Nasus's reassuring voice rolled into her ears. When she opened her eyes again, fighting against her nausea, Noxus was gone. The sounds of battle, too. What she saw instead, although not as gory as the battle at Noxus, was still upsetting. It was what once appeared to be a forest, but was twisted beyond recognition. The flora was stunted, mutilated, but not by claws or tools. Oaks, pines, birches and other trees were hardly recognizable. Sick and twisted, and the fauna faring no better. Birds lay dead below the stumpy branches, with misshapen beaks, and underdeveloped wings and legs. Squirrels, deer, coyotes and other creatures were just as wrecked, either dead, dying or barely able to survive.
“In the past, summoners released spells indiscriminately, as you saw at Noxus,” Nasus told her grimly. “What happened at battlegrounds did not end there. The taint of magic being used in such ways spread throughout the land, affecting both the wild and civilization. In addition to these mutilations of wildlife, natural disasters were fueled many times beyond their normal thresholds. The summoners saw what they had wrought, and ceasefires were called upon just long enough for the greatest minds of Valoran to create the Institute and League.
“You see, Twilight Sparkle, The League is a means to delude war in Valoran, by holding what can be viewed as tournaments to settle political disputes. Controlled battles, held in enclosed battlegrounds, known as the Fields of Justice. But there are many issues in the world that must be tended to, and we grow in need of more Champions as time passes by.” Nasus raised his scepter again and brought it down. The light engulfed them and they were immediately back in the dim hall where Twilight had entered this world. Nasus stood before her, silently watching.
“How... how much do I have to commit to this? I have friends... a whole life back in Equestria, still.”
“That is a sacrifice you must be willing to make,” Nasus answered her solemnly. “I too left my past life, in the midst of a war, no less. But I saw that Valoran was in more need of me than my home. I had and still have to put my faith in a world I can no longer return to. You will have to, as well.”
“But... I am an Element of Harmony, in Equestria,” Twilight argued. “I don't know what connection you had to your world, Nasus, but mine can't be so easily severed. I really don't know what will happen to Equestria without me.”
“I understand, Twilight Sparkle. But listen. I did have a connection to my own world. I was the Curator of a great library. I was a scholar who taught all who sought knowledge everything they needed to know. My... brother was the one who shunned those who came with malicious intent. It worked... for a time. But Renekton, my brother, soon succumbed to all the evil that he sensed in those who barred passage. It drove him to madness, and now he seeks to destroy me more than anything.” Twilight's eyes widened.
“Your own brother?!”
Nasus nodded.
“I tried to reason with him, but he was beyond that. His mind had been corrupted, martyred by greed that had not been his own. Now he hunts me relentlessly, even when not on the Fields of Justice. I mentioned before, the Institute also contains as well as employs. Renekton is one such danger to the world to be contained, among many others.”
“So...” Twilight murmured. “Not all of the... 'champions' are all that wonderful.”
“I am afraid not. Even Noxus has Champions amongst us. Sometimes even Damacians fight alongside their enemies. As have I had to fight alongside Renekton, powerful magic disabling him from butchering me.” Twilight was silent for a while. Things were obviously complicated here, and after seeing just that one battle out of many before it, this Valoran was indeed in great need of Champions. But why her? Especially given her duties in Equestria. Despite Valoran's situation, it still seemed selfish of these League summoners to try and uproot her life for their own agenda.
“Twilight,” a new voice called. She looked up in its direction. Nasus also turned around to face the new arrival. A robed woman stepped quietly through a smaller pair of doors at the other end of the hall. The hood of her robes was brushed back. Her hair was cut short, black and curly. Her eyes were brown, as was her skin. She had full lips, and prominent features, but Twilight couldn't determine her build beneath the dark robes. A striking creature, like the others Twilight had seen at the Battle of Noxus.
“My name is Jumi Madabu,” the woman said, in a accent similar to Zecora's. “I was the one who summoned you here.” Twilight studied Jumi carefully as she stood beside Nasus.
“Have you been watching me?” Twilight asked.
“I have,” Jumi answered. “A remarkable life you've had, with great power. Your battle with Tirek was one of the fiercest I have ever seen.” Twilight felt a sudden swell of anger.
“Powerful, huh? Is that why you summoned me? Because of my power? Well, if you had been paying attention, you would've probably noticed that I sacrificed all of that alicorn magic for my friends. I'm just a normal alicorn now.” Twilight was again struck by that sudden anger, but she didn't let it show. She still had half a mind to make an impression on these people.
“Twilight,” Jumi spoke again calmly. “I cannot lie and say that you misread me. I did indeed summon you because of your power, for the League, and for Valoran. But do not question the purity of my intentions. I lived through the final years, the worst years of the last Rune War. When battles were not slaughtering all of my family members one by one and destroying my homes, they were being annihilated by the ferocity of magically fueled disasters.” Twilight's demeanor flattened, along with her ears, and she looked away, somewhat ashamed. Jumi went on without pause, “I became a summoner when the League was first created, so I could have my hand manipulate the Fields of Justice, to prevent further Rune Wars from running rampant across the land. I have commanded many Champions over countless battles, from the Howling Abyss to Summoner's Rift. I have helped slay enemy Champions, destroy feral beasts of legend; earned victories, and suffered defeats. My actions have shaped Valoran, maybe not always for the best, but all of them were far better than the alternative.
“Twilight, heed Nasus's advice. Your world, while it may be affected by your absence, will still live on. I have been watching you, Sparkle. Ever since I detected your strength at Celestia's school.” Twilight looked up at her again.
“You've been watching for that long?” she asked, stunned. Jumi nodded.
“The Institute has taught me patience. It takes me years to make great decisions. It took me years to find the courage to summon you, and request your presence in the League. Especially because of the ties to your world. But you should know better than I that your friends will find a way. Whatever befalls Equestria, they will stand together.” Twilight bit her lower lip, not yet convinced.
“It's up to you, Sparkle,” Jumi said to her. “Go to the marble doors, and make your decision. Whichever way you go, I will respect it. I only ask that after what Nasus has shown you, that you consider Valoran fairly.” Twilight watched them both, but they only stared back patiently. On legs that threatened to quake, Twilight turned around to face those enigmatic marble doors. She stepped forward until she was just at the threshold. An energy hummed from the doors, she felt it resonating with her core, a warm, probing feeling, as it reflected her soul. She closed her eyes
When she opened her eyes again, she saw all of her friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Cadence, Discord, the princesses. All of her family, the people of Ponyville, Canterlot, the Crystal Empire. All of Equestria. United by friendship. Even without her, the strength of those bonds held the people fast, all that they have been through, all they will be through. Everything she had worked to create, all the toil she spent upon the land: she had done her work. She had restored lives and made them shining beacons of what all can aspire to become. And they would carry on, in her honor. The magic would never die.
Tears slid down her cheeks, and she shut her eyes against them.
After she had wiped them away with a hoof, she found herself staring at the marble door again. It still hummed, but seemed satisfied with what it had seen in her. Content to let her enter. Twilight sniffed away some build up in her snout and halted her tears. She straightened her posture and spread her wings, resolute.
With a gentle push of magic, the marble doors opened, spreading light upon Twilight Sparkle. And the League of Legends welcomed its newest Champion.