Legends from Ages Past

The tall spires of Canterlot jutted upwards towards the sky, piercing the lower clouds and emerging once again high above them like the spears and banners of a vast army. The light from the sun was dim, barely making it through the overcast sky to reach the cold and quiet city below. An eerie shadow, cast by the mountain upon which the city was perched, fell across the trade district as the sun began its descent towards the horizon from high above. As the day went by the shadow would slowly swallowed up each of the city’s districts in turn until it was consumed by darkness in the evening. Demoralised ponies went about their business in the streets far below under the constant gaze of the Chaos Guard. These servants of the Order were covered from head to hoof in black-spiked armour with red tints across the various joints that connected the parts together. The ponies of Canterlot would cower away as these fearsome creatures marched through the streets. One mare managed to drop a basket of food in the middle of the cobbled street that led directly from the city gates to the castle. As several guards neared her she backed away under the canopy of a nearby shop and watched as her family’s supper was ground into the dirt before her. Her ears dropped back as she whimpered beneath their ghostly shadows, but none of them paid her any attention and instead continuing their haunting march down towards the main gate.

Eris looked down on the ponies with disgust.

“Pitiful wimps,” he muttered under his breath, just as one of his officers approached through the double doors to his chambers. It was a large domed room right at the top of one of the palace towers, with an enormous balcony that let him view the world for miles in every direction. Eris looked out over the city, his long black and purple robes hung loosely around him and stirred gently in the wind. Beneath them, his scarred and scorched body was dotted with metal plates and castes that held his body together, allowing him to move as normal as well as offer some protection. His grey mane and tail were kept short, though from beneath his robes only the tips of his mane could be seen, slightly covering his deep purple eyes. When he had finished glaring out over the still partially ruined city he nodded, indicating the officer could now speak.

“My Lord,” the newcomer began, taking a deep bow to the lord commander, “Our Legions have sacked the old citadel of Constampedeopal and routed the Resistance’s forces back to where we presume Fort Pegathens to be hidden. Several of the rebels were captured and brought back here for questioning.”

“I understand why they were brought back.” Eris kept staring out into the open sky that reeked of despair and anguish for a moment before continuing, “What I don’t understand is why you have come here to tell me this?”

“I merely wished to let you know there were fresh captives, my Lord.” The officer took a few steps back from Eris, afraid of what Eris might do should he displease him. “I also have information of a potential second rebellion of sorts.”

Eris turned on the officer at those words. He was a veteran and had seen many battles, the burns and scars across his face showed he had seen too many summoning rituals that had gone wrong. But in his expression his true feelings were laid out bare for Eris to see. Loyalty. Loyalty to his lord commander; loyalty to the realm he now served to protect; and loyalty to the Mad-God. Eris’ eyes burned into him as he spoke.

“How did you learn this?”

The officer was stood there, shaken by the sudden anger that was building inside Eris.

“As our forces were returning from the battle at Constampedeopal several scouts noticed two ponies entering an ancient forest. Several of our legionnaires along with a warlock were sent in to follow them. Both ponies carried a lot of supplies so we suspected there may be a Resistance camp inside. The areas surrounding the Birdsong Woods are known to be sympathetic towards the rebellion due to their distance from the capital, however, they traveled deep into the forest and eventually came to a small cottage. At first we thought nothing of it until the Warlock reported back to us that inside the cottage were two ponies that had both the wings of a Pegasus and the horn of a Unicorn.”

Eris felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he lift his hoof and waved the officer away. As he left, Eris waited for the doors to close before moving to the tower’s balcony. Focusing his magic he began to mutter the words of the incantation that would allow him to see through the eyes of one of the many demons his warlocks could summon. When it was complete he felt his body shifting into that of the Shadow. It was a sensation that caused many first attempting it to scream as they felt their body moulding and tearing apart to become that of the Shadow they took possession of. These creatures did not have legs and instead used their massive hooked claws to drag themselves across the ground. Their red eyes were socketed into what would appear to be just a mass of moving trails of black magic. They were not truly a physical creature and were instead an apparition conjured from the dark void beyond the worlds, but they could still fall to the blade of an enemy.

What he saw before him was the cottage the officer had mentioned. He whispered into the mind of the nearby Warlock to move back a safer distance along with the Legionnaires and await his command. Inside the cottage he could clearly see a gathering of ponies and what was in fact a Zebra at a long wooden table. What caught his eye most though was the oldest member of the group.

Starswirl the Bearded. The one pony that was the sole cause for the full rebellion the Order now had on their hooves. He was the one responsible for getting some of The Golden Triangle to safety and organising the remnants of the Equestrian military into a fighting force that adapted their strategies to combat the Order’s magic and creatures. The tables had completely turned. No longer was it the Order ambushing the United Equestrian Armies to gain the upper hoof. Since seizing power The Order had to create its own armies to control the realm, and that meant they were now the ones being ambushed. The rebels had adapted and now moved tactically, striking at areas that had the fewest Legionnaires and using newly created Unicorn magic to prevent the Warlocks from summoning their monsters. And it was all because of this one pony.

“So you think you have found a new place to hide old fool,” Eris said as he watched Starswirl talking with the others at the table. Several times Eris had to destroy the Shadow he was in and possess another as he noticed the Zebra suddenly looking out the window in the direction of him.

Damn Zebras and their ancient forsaken witchcraft, Eris thought as he clenched his teeth together. Even though he was used to controlling the beasts from the void it still was painful to destroy one you were currently possessing. All of a sudden a white pony came through from a room round the back with her head hung low as a smaller purple and sleepy looking pony followed behind her. Eris felt his heart stop for a moment as he realised what he was witnessing. These two were the ponies that the conjurors, those who used dark powers to prophesies the future, had spoken of.

And the sun and moon shall take on pony form, their magic when fully grown will charge a storm.

To us they may seem like nothing but misshapen creatures of blood and flesh.

To young to conquer, to weak to unite ponies afresh.

But to our Master they spell his doom, and the age of their kind shall be upon us soon.

Eris watched the two Alicorns as they sat at the table and joined in the conversation the others were all having. He remained still for a few moments longer thinking of how he should handle this. Calling in more troops will take time and they may have moved on by then. He raked his brain trying to think of an alternative to sending in a group of mushy Shadows who would be useless against the giant highlander and armoured knight that sat at the table. Even with the support of a few Legionnaires and a Warlock it would be difficult to do anything other than alert them to the fact he knew about them now.

Returning to his normal body Eris used his powers to commanded the Warlock in the forest to cast the Shadows back to their realm until they were needed again. His metal covered hooves rang out as he moved across the marble floor towards the giant lectern that sat between the enormous book shelves that surrounded the wall of his study. The candles that were dotted across the shelves around him floated upwards and lit as he approached. Focusing his magic he opened the old tattered book that lay on the stand. Its black cover was coated in a permanent film of dust from the centuries it had endured and the pages were old and stiffened from the many hooves that had turned them over and over in the books lifetime. He knew which section he needed. The spell he was searching for would have two purposes. For a start it would briefly empower the Shadows to become stronger and endure more before dissipating back into nothing more than dark mist and dust. However, it would also cause all of Equestria to cower in fear at the might of their Master. Upon reaching the page he called on one of the guards to his study.

“Bring me one of the captives from the last battle.”

The guard bowed and left for the dungeons. Eris looked through all the incantations and symbols needed for the coming spell and began preparing everything on the balcony that was necessary.

Not long after, two guards returned carrying a small blue Pegasus between them. His mane had been burned off by his captors and the scars across his body showed that he had been entertaining the crueler of Eris’ soldiers as they returned back to Canterlot. He fell to the floor when released and his jaw cracked against the unyielding marble, causing him to whimper as newly sparked pain ran wracked his body.

“Leave now,” Eris ordered the guards.

After they were alone Eris dragged the buck to the balcony where a giant cross awaited. Its bottom two points were joined to hinges on the edge of the balcony while the top points were held aloft by winches and pulleys to stand the cross up straight. Eris used his magic to lower the cross and nailed the colt’s legs to each of the four points on it. The screams of pain that came from him were heard across the city as they were carried down by the winds that weaved throughout the jutting towers and enormous domes. As he raised the buck back up so that the cross was in view of the entire city, Eris cleared his throat and focused his magic to project his voice throughout the streets and buildings of his city.

“Pitiful creatures of delusion and sorrow. Your pathetic attempts to overthrow our rule touches my mind.” He waited a moment to ensure he had the full attention of every pony below him before continuing. “Your continual revolting is commendable, yet saddening. To stand against our Order is to sign away the lives of those whom you love in your own blood.”

“You fear us. You fear chaos. You fear the unknown powers we possess. Because of this, you fight for the falsities that are order; hope; wisdom; and justice. As one of my old friends once taught me, fear is a lie that exists in your minds eye and tries to cloud over your judgement. What you fear is what will happen to you and your kin should you accept our rule. I am telling you now that this fear is not necessary. If we truly wished you all dead, then you are already dead, and so there is nothing to be scared of.”

Eris raised his voice so that it carried beyond Canterlot into the lands beyond the city as he drew energy from the life of the Pegasus, whose breathing was growing shallower and fainter with each passing moment. He felt the blood in the buck veins empower the spell as he boomed out in his mighty voice. “Cast away your fear, and look at what you can achieve with us!”

The colt on the cross went limp. Then the true power behind the spells magic began to take hold. As droplets of blood fell to the white marble floor of the balcony the sun began to dim. Cries of panic erupted across the city and ponies ran out into the streets to stare in horror as the sun slowly dimmed until it was the dark red of blood.

“You cannot comprehend the power of raw chaos!” Eris shouted across the mobs of ponies in the streets. He knew he had their full undivided attention now and that each would hear his words crystal clear. “Your hearts desires can be granted. Your families can be protected and fed. You can have wealth and power beyond your wildest dreams.”

Eris cast his mind back to the Warlock in the woods near the cottage, ordering him it was time to harness the blood sun and summon forth great beasts to aid in the attack on the cottage.

Kill them all my children, he whispered to them as they turned to face the small wood and thatched building that housed the destruction of their Master. Let them burn.

As he returned to his balcony and collected himself and looked out with glee at the fear and horror upon the faces of those far below.

“Chaos, is your salvation. If you fight us, you will all be lost to history.”