Legends from Ages Past

Again Eris looked out over the capital of his new Equestria from high above on his balcony. Though the name ‘Equestria’ remained, it was a very different nation to what it was a few decades years past. Where tolerance, equality and cooperation had been the pillars that held up society, now everything bent to the will and whims of Eris himself. If today he felt there should only be three hours of daylight, it was so. If today he felt there should be no food available at the market, it was so. If today he felt there should be a curfew and that all those seen outside their homes afterward were imprisoned, it was so. There was no structure of governance, no laws or judicial system. There was only Eris, and he ruled as he saw fit.

May the great Discord bless my rule, he thought to himself as he smirked.

Taking a deep breath of the cold morning air, Eris sought out his favourite sights in the city as the mists that engulfed Canterlot began to dissipate. It had been many years since his forces besieged Canterlot, but the scars of war had never been healed. A constant reminder to Equestrians of their downfall. Iconic buildings and landmarks that once inspired a nation were now tools Eris used to instil fear within the population.

The once tall towers of the Canterlot School of Magical studies were now little more than small stumps. Like great trees that at one time pierced the clouds high above, they had been felled and left to rot into the pages of history: their legacy now nothing more than kindling to fuel the fires of bitter memories. Within the palace walls themselves lay the husk of Elysium, the crypt where the greatest of Equestrians were laid to rest for eternity. It was once the highest honour that could be bestowed upon heroes of the realm, but now it was a pit of anguish and despair where prisoners were tortured and mutilated upon the graves of legends. Last but by no means least was the only location Eris visited regularly outside the safety of the palace. Previously known as Fort Wellguard, it was at one time was the centre of Equestrian military strength. Now though, The Dark Citadel was the beating heart of all Legionary and Chaos Guard activity.

Today, the citadel would play an important role in asserting the Order’s dominance over Equestria. After the discovery of the two Alicorn heathens Starswirl the Bearded had been concealing the guard had been doubled across Canterlot, the warlocks were working tirelessly on new weapons of war, and the Legions were once again making their presence felt by occupying major cities and forts. It was a recent creation of the warlocks that had given Eris reason to dress in his ceremonial garb. He was to stand in front of the citadel and unveil their newest creation to the world. A weapon that would forever empower the Order and strike fear into the hearts of every creature across the land.

“My Lord, we await your command to proceed once you are ready.”

Eris looked away from the city beyond his balcony to see one of his generals entering his tower. Through the double doors behind him, Eris could see he was being shadowed by Eris’ two personal guards. All three were dressed in the black and red armour of the Chaos Guard, but what set them apart from the regular soldiers was the finer details of their armour.

All officers, including those that weren’t unicorns, had an enormous spiked horn surrounded by a crown atop their heads. Because the Orders armour was strengthened through dark magic, the horn was strong enough that as well as being able to protect a unicorns horn in close melee fighting, it was also able to puncture the toughest of enemy armours. This design allowed the Order to train unicorns, who would normally have fought from a distance with magic, to instead use their magic to empower themselves physically. Once their gruelling training had been completed, the very first of these elite warriors had been taken by Eris to be his personal guard. Now ‘The Immortals’ were a private Legion devoted to Eris who protected him and his interests.

Generals on the other hoof were a lot easier to identify. For a start their helmets were forged in the likeness of a draconequus to show their strength and prowess earned them a place as one of Discord’s chosen. The other detail that gave somepony away as being a general was the fact none of them felt any loyalty to Eris.

“I am surprised you came to escort me there personally, General Wildfury. Normally you would only pay me a visit when you felt I was in need of council, whether I asked for it or not.”

Even though his face was covered, Eris knew the enormous Highlander pony beneath the mask was glaring fiery daggers into his soul.

“My Lord, I only ever gave you council when it was related to our forces. Though you may not have asked for advice, I felt I had to give it as under your leadership I have led many ponies to their deaths. They died believing they were fighting to further the goal of our order, to free Discord and bring about the age of chaos. They didn’t realise it was nothing but your blind ambition that dictated their next move. My loyalty to our order has been unquestionable since I first fought beneath our banner. My only concern is that since you ascended to your ‘throne’ here in Canterlot, a lot has happened to muddy the waters as to why we actually conquered this land. Whether it was to truly free our Master, or for the glory of a few.”

Eris winced, only just managing to conceal it under his hooded robes before anypony else saw it. He knew there were some, particularly those in positions of power such as General Wildfury, who felt since he had become their leader he had used their growing strength to push his own agenda and further personal ambition. But due to the fact he commanded the respect of the Chaos Guard and had the utter devotion of the Immortals, nopony dared to question him. As he walked past his two guards by the door, their unwavering salutes spoke volumes, enough that he did not have to.

I am sure you have many concerns you daft fool, but none I would care to listen to. These halls are my own, and you would do well to watch your tongue here.

Eris needed to finally silence those dissenting voices. Though many had served for longer than he himself had, times were changing. They were ponies from another age, where wars were fought from the shadows and running away to fight another day was the most commonly used tactic on the field of battle. He was not going to allow these fools to bring about the end of his power. All was not lost, however, as this new weapon the warlocks had developed needed a few ‘volunteers’ to demonstrate it.

As they walked through the palace and out into the grounds every guard they passed saluted him. Eris knew that no matter what he chose to do with the dissenting higher-ups he would have the full support of every soldier under his command. Any that doubted him would soon meet the swift end of an Immortals blade. After leaving the palace gates it wasn’t long before they passed a small run down inn on one of the major streets with a sign outside that read The Angler’s Inn. It was then that General Wildfury spoke again.

“Your latest pet project better be worth the delay it has caused in releasing Discord. Me and the other generals are considering moving forward with the invasion of Tartarus whether you like it or not Eris. We cannot wait any longer with the Resistance gaining territory and the heathen Alicorns now on the scene.”

Eris stopped in his tracks. He could tell from the heavy silence that the General and both the Immortals behind him had also stopped. Closing his eyes, the dark powers he possessed whispered to him that from windows all around the eyes of ponies peeked out as curiosity ate at them. The streets had been cleared by several guards further ahead of them, so now was as good a time as any to make a spectacle for all the watching eyes.

“For too long now you have all questioned me.”

The two officers were standing right behind General Wildfury now, and just like earlier, Eris could sense what he was feeling beneath his masked helmet. Fear.

With one nod from their leader the two Immortals used their magic to paralyse the General, levitating him up to hold him in place as Eris let his cloak fall from its fastenings. In that moment he felt every pony behind every window, and even his two Immortals in front of him, avert their gaze as he exposed his burnt and metal patchwork flesh.

“I have led us from our small, cramped ritual chambers in basements and sewers to the great halls of Canterlot itself. I was the driving force behind the establishment of our now mighty military. It was I who sought out ancient tomes and artefacts that would give our warlocks powers they have never dreamed of possessing. And at every step along the path that allowed me to forge us into what we are today, you have been there to hinder me. Today I will unveil our new weapon against the rebels. A fusion of pony and demon that will cause even the bravest of you Highlanders to tremble in fear never mind the rest of these soft creatures.” Eris leaned in closer to whisper into the ear of the frozen pony before him. “It just so happens that after a few ‘volunteers’ have come forward to accept this gift of mine, there will be several newly promoted generals I will need to address in the citadel’s war rooms. I believe right this moment, the others are being imprisoned and awaiting my judgement just as you shall be.” Eris stepped back to bask in the fear and realisation of General Wildfury. Once the most respected warrior who fought under the banner of the Order, now he was to be painted a traitor for no other reason than Eris wanted him gone. “I hereby strip you of your rank, your titles, your lands and your legions. May they serve me better than they ever could under you. Drag him to the cages.”

Though he was unable to move, his eyes began to wildly look all around him, desperate to find an ally against the wrath he had awoken. But nopony was going to help him. Even if the entire Chaos Guard were to march past through the street, not a single one of them would do anything but see Eris and salute him. He was their leader, and they would follow him to the ends of the world and plunge into the abyss that lay beyond if he commanded it.

The two officers, using their magic, took him away away to the citadel. Once they were out of sight Eris reached down for his cloak and put it back on to hide his scared body before continuing on alone. When he finally reached the gates to the citadel he was greeted by a crowd of Equestrians who had mustered enough courage to come and see what was to happen. As he entered the crowd everyone around him began frantically pushing and shoving each other out the way the moment they realised a high ranking member of the Order was amongst them.

Imagine their reaction if they realised it was no ordinary commander amongst them, Eris thought as he grinned to himself.

After he had entered the gates of the citadel they slowly shut behind him to keep what lay hidden in the courtyard a secret for just a few moments longer.

A few moments, with my old friends.

The cages with his previous generals inside were being stacked on top of one another by a group of warlocks as he approached them.

“If a single pony fights alone, he will snap like a small stick,” he said to them all. “If that pony was to fight with others at his side they would be harder to snap, like a bundle of sticks. But if several of those sticks decide to stop working together, the entire group falls apart until we are left with one stick again.”

“Screw you and your bullshit Eris,” Wildfury spat out. “You are nothing but a puppet-master, and our order are the ones being pulled along on strings. You have truly forgotten what it is we fought for!”

The general suddenly collapsed screaming in agony as Eris’ horn and eyes erupted with a dark energy that swirled around him. The warlocks and many of the nearby Guard took this as their cue to leave and soon enough they were all out in front of the gate clearing enough space for Eris to make his announcement.

As he used his magic, Eris’ voice seemed to grow deeper and rougher, like a second voice was speaking behind the first one, wearing it like a mask to hide its true identity. “You have no idea of the powers I command worm, or the plans I make. Our Master will be free within the next cycle of the moon once I have the full loyalty of my forces and my new weapons are unleashed on Equestria. You will all die knowing that your bodies will be of far greater use to me once your souls have been ripped from them.”

Before any of them could say anything all of their cages and Eris himself were levitated into the air. After spinning them all around him so they could see his vile grin one last time, he lowering them down into the courtyard beyond the gates, scattering Equestrians in all directions that were in the way, before he finally took his place on the battlements above.

“Today is a great day little children,” he began in the booming voice he used when addressing the city. “It would seem we have some very sad news. My most loyal generals have been found guilty of plotting to overthrow me and take control of the nation to further their own personal agendas. To remind you all of what will happen to those that betray our order, I have decided to make an example of them using our newest weapon in the war against the rebellion.”

The five generals tried desperately to call out and denounce his claims of mutiny but the warlocks hidden within the gathered crowd crushed their voice boxes to prevent them speaking out. After many decades of fighting in the shadows, The Order had become masters at scaremongering and manipulating others into being submissive. Every moment of Eris’ speech had been carefully planned with the help of his Immortals to ensure nothing went wrong.

With his iconic firm but shallow nod, Eris gave the order and the weapon was unveiled. Five small jars that contained a dark misty liquid were brought forward by one of the warlocks and placed on a stone table in front of the five caged ponies. Eris couldn’t help but notice that if you looked deep into the misty liquid it seemed to stare back with a primal savagery no longer found in our world. The looks of fear and apprehension across the crowds face said just as much.

“These traitors will drink the poison they sought to sow amongst us, and they will be reborn anew so they may serve our order for two lifetimes instead of one. Nopony will ever again seek to undo us, unless they are willing to take up this gift and sacrifice.”

Each of the generals had a bottle forcibly emptied down their throats. All of them bar Wildfury had accepted their fate, and did not try to resist their captors.

“Curse you and your–lies, Eris!” Wildfury spat out between gulps of the poison. “I hope the darkness s–swallows you whole!”

Once they had all drank the poison they seemed to slowly lose all movement in their bodies until they were perfectly still. After what felt like an eternity as everypony watching held their breaths, they began to twitch. At first it was subtle, hardly noticeable if they had not had the eyes of a city on them. But soon enough it grew more pronounced, until they were fitting on the floor of their cages. Not long after they began to snarl and scratch at the cages as razor sharp fangs and claws began to grow out of their mouths and hooves. Their fur grew thicker, and their eyes began to glow a dark red as their deepest most primal instincts took over. After a few moments they were no longer ponies, but instead had become something much darker and more terrible than anything found in Equestria or the lands surrounding it.

“Behold our newest soldiers, the Broken. Creatures from an ancient and terrible past, forgotten for centuries until our warlocks uncovered their kind. They are what a pony is at our most primal and devolved form, vicious, cunning and with a hunger for blood.”

The five creatures were howling and screaming, their tongues hanging out their drooling mouths as they stared at the crowd of terrified ponies. Their long claws reached out towards them, trying desperately to grab somepony and devour them whole.

“Remember these creatures little children. For whenever you fight against us, we will add you to the growing ranks of our newest playthings. And to truly make you suffer we will even allow your first meal to be your own family.”

Eris turned away from the courtyard and the crowd that was rapidly dispersing as the sheer evil of the Broken was demonstrated when a prisoner pegasus was forced into the cage with what was once Wildfury. Eris could not help but think that his name was now so much more fitting in this darker form. He knew members of the resistance would have been watching the spectacle, and that was just what he wanted. To spread fear amongst their ranks, keeping them from wanting to leave their little fortresses and villages. That way when the Legions finally reach them they won’t have to look far to round them all up.

As he passed several of the citadel’s warlocks he ordered them to lower the sun and leave the world in complete darkness for a time to truly hit home the power the Order held over their world. It was then a Shadow appeared before him bearing a message from the Inner Circle, a group of warlocks who had attained such power they had ascended from the mortal world and were now neither living nor dead. Apparently, they had developed a new tool that would allow Eris to enter the dreams of somepony else, and thinking back to the small cottage he saw in the woods just a few nights before, he knew exactly who he was going to test it on.

* * * * *

Luna drifted silently over the tops of the clouds as her wings carried her far away from the world she left behind when she began to dream. Though she knew everything around her existed only in her minds eye, it still felt real. The clouds she landed on were fluffy and soft, like giant cushions she could shape to her will and nestle into. The cold night air bite her with its frozen teeth, which sank deeper into her flesh as she ascended higher into the heavens above. The light of the moon and stars bathed her in their beauty and rejuvenated her, giving her a newfound strength that allowed her to truly harness her affinity to the night and shift from her dream into the dreams of others.

Luna closed her eyes and felt the mists that formed the building blocks of dreams come over her. When she opened them again she was looking through the window of a small cottage in what felt like midsummer. It was her cottage, her home. Inside, Celestia and Rose were cooking together as Beardy sat in the front room by the fire looking over maps of far away mountains and kingdoms with a younger version of herself. As if Celestia knew she was there, she looked through the window straight at her. But Luna knew her sister would only see her if she allowed it. After a moment Celestia returned to looking at the food she was preparing in front of her, and Luna’s eyes shifted to look at her younger self once more. There was one strange thing she had noticed when she saw herself in anothers dream, she never saw her face. Luna couldn’t explain it, and unless she wanted to reveal this power she possessed to the others an answer to it would need to wait. She closed her eyes again and not a moment later she was back in her own dream, flying above the cloudy night sky as the strange mists danced around her.

But now something was different. It was as if something was watching her. Something, the mists whispered to her, that had watched her before and she hadn’t even known about it. The feeling gnawed at her for a few minutes until she could bare it no more and span around in the air to confront the presence.

But nothing was there.

From behind her she felt it again. Turning her head frantically in both directions she tried desperately to spot whatever it was that was there. An idea sparked across her mind. An idea that sent a cold shiver running up her spine, just like when the Shadow had seen her through the window of her cottage.

What if its one of them?

Without thinking she furled her wings and dived straight down towards the ground far below in a bid to escape it, but the presence seemed to jump ahead of her, lingering just out of sight no matter where she turned. As she broke through the cloud cover Luna’s breath was suddenly stollen from her. She felt a tightness around her throat as she looked down at the world and instead of being met with the usual sight of an enormous forest stretching from horizon to horizon, she saw nothing but blackness. A deep laughter began to echo from all around her as she continued to fall and the darkness closed in on her, swallowing up the light of the moon and stars above.

“Little creature, do you truly find solace in the darkness? I don’t think you know the first thing about it.”

The shape of a pony began to take form in the darkness before Luna. Suddenly she jerked to a stop and air came flooding back into her lungs. She gasped and coughed as the pony floated in front of her, hooded and cloaked, but as he lifted his head back a burned and scared face appeared beneath his hood. Most of his body was also burnt, held together with metal plates and bonds that were surrounded by dark red scars. Even his legs were completely encased in metal and seemed to hang limply as he floated in the darkness. Patches of his grey coat were visible between the pools of scorched flesh and metal castes, like a once blank canvas upon which his many injuries were depicted.

“Does the little creature not have anything to say?” He sneered at her, his somehow perfect white teeth appearing alien alongside his broken body.

Luna stared back at the monstrosity that was once a pony. Somehow, her mind was calm. If this had happened to her while she was awake she would have been petrified to the core, just like when the Shadows attacked their cottage. But here, in the sanctuary of her dreams, a world that she was prophesied to watch over and protect for all of ponykind, she felt empowered. But even so, she struggled to find her voice in the oppressive blackness around her.

“You’re Eris, the leader of the Order?”

The monster laughed at her. “You dare to address me with my name wretch?” He spat at her. “You are a misshapen thing that should not be in our world, you are beneath me and all of our kind. Your kind belong beyond the void, out there where you cannot interfere with our plans.” A wicked grin spread across his face as he said, “If you were to leave now little creature, I might spare your family and friends.”

Luna looked back at the monster and felt something deep within her, like a small match had been struck. Rarely had Luna ever felt anger, but now it was bubbling up within her like never before as the tiny flame began to engulf her. This thing before her dared to threaten her family and claim she had no place in this world? A thing that claimed to be a pony, yet stood for all the evil and horrors that had eaten away at their species since time began?

The dream around them shook. Even the monster could feel it. Eris’ eyes widened as Luna felt her entire body grow larger, and instead of the darkness pressing down upon her, it cowered beneath her. Even her mane, which was usually a pale blue, began to glow purple and sparkled with a strange energy she had never felt before. When she spoke, her voice was harsh and ear splitting and she cackled uncontrollably.

“You think you can enter my dreams and threaten my family? Whatever you are, know that the evil you serve is nothing compared to true darkness! Do you really believe the powers gifted to you by ‘The Mad God’ are the greatest of evils within our world, nay, within our universe? You could not be any further from the truth.”

The darkness lunged upon them. It tightened around Eris and forced itself into his mouth, nose and eyes, preventing him from screaming out or seeing her terrifying form. Luna on the otherhoof felt the darkness simple glide over her flesh and whisper to her as it slowly began to grow in her mind. She could feel Eris wanted to scream, he wanted to destroy her and watch her body burn to ashes. But in this world, in the dreams that guided ponies to morning light, she was the Princess of the Night.

* * * * *

Eris burst forth from his sleep, screaming in agony as he felt the last burning strings of darkness dissipate from within him. Both of the Immortals outside came charging into his chambers, brandishing their spiked shields and spears as they looked around for whatever it was that had attacked their leader.

“My Lord! Are you alright? What happened?”

All the energy that Eris had was gone. He had entered the dream of the Alicorn believing all the pain, suffering and hardship he had sustained throughout his life left him with the greater willpower and fortitude. But now, after seeing the darkness that she had buried deep within her, he was terrified.

“Bring me the others. The other Immortals. The ones who helped capture the generals. From this moment forth you are all the new Legion generals.” Eris took a deep breath to try and regain his composure before continuing, “But we shall have to postpone the ceremonies, right now we have a new enemy that must be dealt with. Summon the Inner Circle also, I need them to find out as much about our enemy as possible. Go, now!”

The two Immortals looked at one another before one galloped away. The other helped Eris to his feet and levitated over his purple cloak to hide his scars.

“My Lord, what did you see?”

“The darkest of powers our world possesses. It was nothing short of a nightmare.”

* * * * *

Celestia awoke to an ear shattering scream coming from Luna’s chambers. Leaping out of bed and into the air she flew out her door and landed in the hallway to find the others were already appearing from the other doors scattered around.

“What’s going on?” Rose said, looking about frantically. “Where's Luna?”

Beardy charged towards the door with the moon and stars emblazoned on it and threw it open, but instead of going in he froze in mid step, staring into the room.

Celestia galloped over shouting out to him, “What’s wrong? Is she ok? Luna!” As she turned and entered the room she too froze.

Inside Luna was writhing on the bed, crying and whimpering. A multitude of dark patches seemed to be forming on her coat, growing and shrinking as she shouted out.

“No!” Rose screamed as she ran into the room and past Celestia. “My baby, listen to me! It’s fine, everything's fine. Please come back to us. Please Luna, don’t let your anger and your fear control you, you must control them.”

Luna’s eyes opened briefly. Where normally they were pale blue and filled with a gentle kindness, for a moment they shone green and glistened as her iris changed into a narrow slit.

“… Luna?”

Hearing Celestia’s voice changed something. Where a moment ago a purple haze streaked through Luna’s mane, now it was the pale blue Celestia had always known it to be. The dark patches as black as night that had dotted her body began to dwindle as light illuminated the room when Nzuri entered, wielding a candlestick in one hand and a dagger in the other.

“Little Luna, I am sorry I had not come sooner. I had felt something was wrong, but I didn’t know what until I heard your wailing song.”

Luna blinked at her before she began to sob. “I–I was asleep, and then this thing, a monster, came into my dream. It made me angry! I couldn’t help myself! I felt something come over me and I couldn’t stop it–“

“Hush now Luna, everything is ok,” Rose whispered into her ear.

Celestia finally took a step forward and moved to Luna’s side, wrapping a wing around her and nuzzling her gently as she sobbed and shook.

Beardy looked back towards the others. “Get some sleep, we will need to leave at first light. There is a chance whoever, or whatever, it was Luna saw in her dream will know where we are. Rose and Celestia, stay with Luna tonight and make sure she is ok. If anything happens come and wake me immediately.”

Rose nodded and held Luna even tighter as Beardy closed the door behind him.

“What happened, sister?” Celestia asked once it was just the three of them.

“It was a monster. Eris, the leader of the Order. I could sense it–sorry, he–was evil, and when he threatened to hurt you and mother I just got so angry. Something seemed to awaken inside me, something dark and terrible.”

The words of the Elder Timberelf echoed in Celestia’s mind once again. None of them said anything more, and when Luna and Rose had finally fallen asleep after Luna has stopped sobbing and crying out, Celestia stood up and walked over to the window. She looked up at the night sky. High above, the moon sat looking back down at her. She shivered as she felt what seemed to be a million eyes staring down at her from its surface.

If you dare hurt my sister again, whatever you are, there is nothing I won’t do to find you. There is no crevasse you can hide in, no hole you can bury yourself in and no darkness my light won’t pierce where you will be safe from me. I will burn your world to the ground if it keeps my sister safe from you.

With that, the eyes seemed to dwindle until it was the same moon that had always existed. After a moment Celestia returned to her mother and sister’s side and lay down next to them, vowing to protect them both and care for them no matter the cost.

I am the Princess of the Sun, and I will bring my wrath down upon any who stand against me.