Origin of the Elements

The End of an Age

                                          Written by: DarkShadowHart Edited by: Howard The Retro

      A long time ago, thousands of years before the royal pony sisters were even born; another kingdom thrived on the continent now known as Equestria, a benevolent monarch known to her followers as The First Queen ruled this kingdom.  Everypony called her your majesty or my queen but she was always happiest when they called her by her name, Nihility. With the powerful magic that arose from the void within her heart, she united the three races together for the first time in history, ushering in a golden age that sadly would not last. While the story of the Elements of Harmony is not about the queen, the events of the following day, sends the world down a path that will forever change its fate.

       One day many years into her rule, the queen is sitting on her throne, awaiting the first visitor of the day. Just as she begins to get comfortable, she feels a deep, dark coldness. The queen places her hoof on her chest as she feels a sharp pain as if an icy claw is reaching into her and squeezing the air from her lungs.

       Nihility rushes over to a window, her azure eyes widen and begin to tremble as she looks upon her kingdom. At the far edge of her city, a pillar of dark magic shoots from the ground into the sky. Nihility’s jaw drops and begins to quiver as she slowly steps back from the window. She has never seen anything like the black mist, swirling with streaks of green and violet light and she has never felt anything so… wrong.

       Nihility closes her eyes and slowly exhales pushing down her fear. She turns and runs straight towards the castle doors throwing them open. She spreads her emerald wings and tears through the air. Her deep blue mane blows in the wind as she heads for dark magic. The dark mist collapses in on itself forming into a black cocoon that blocks out the sun. The cocoon bulges and deforms as if something is trying to push its way out.

      Nihility hovers in the air, just a few yards away from the darkness. The claw that gripped her chest before is now trying to seize her entire body in its icy grasp. Her entire body begins to shiver as the cocoon slowly rips apart. One hoofed leg emerges and stomps down crushing a small house. Two scaled hands emerge, each with three jagged claws tipped with piercing talons.

      The scaly hands grip the seam of the cocoon. The claws dig in and slowly rip the seam apart. A creature like nopony has ever seen emerges. It stands on two hoofed legs. Its upright body is covered in a patchwork of grey fur and dark scales. As the creature stands it towers above the nearby houses. Its razored teeth brim with saliva. The creature opens its deformed mouth and lets out a bone chilling howl that echoes for miles.

      Nihility gasps as she stares at this grotesque pony-like creature. Of all its twisted features, her gaze fixates on the creature’s eyes. Its eyes are mirror images of her own, with its azure blue iris but the thing that catches her attention is its sclera. The sclera is normally white, but this creature’s is a smoky black, just like Nihility’s. In all her time, in all her travels she has never before seen another creature with eyes like her own.

The beast roars then rampages mindlessly through the town, tearing apart anything in its path. Nihility bursts forth towards the creature. She strikes the back of beast’s neck. It snarls then quickly turns swiping with its claws. Nihility rolls above its swipe. She dives down slamming her hoof into the beast’s chest. The creature staggers back. It lunges forward and swipes at Nihility repeatedly but she is a veteran warrior and easily dodges its lumbering strikes, countering each one with a blow of her own.

Even though she is a fly battling a bear, Nihility’s strikes carry weight. Blow after blow she pushes the beast back. The beast strikes out with its claws. Nihility shoots above the swipe. She flips over the beasts head then dives down behind its legs.

Nihility twists then kicks off the ground. She bolts towards the back of the beast’s knee. She strikes with all her might. The beast’s leg collapses underneath it. Nihility bursts skyward. She delivers a devastating uppercut to the beasts chin, snapping its head back. She kicks off its chest launching her high into the air. She dives down headfirst. She flips, extending her back leg. She strikes the beasts with a crushing kick sending it slamming to the ground.

As the dust clears, a crowd gathers. Nihility proudly spreads her wings then lifts into the air. She lands in front of the crowd who greets her with cheers and applause, but their celebration comes too soon. A low rumble escapes the beast’s chest. Nihility turns to see it rise off the ground. The beast glares at Nihility, its eyes aflame as it snarls through its jagged teeth.

The crowd screams and scatters, taking shelter where they can. Nihility bends her knees, spreads her wings then bolts towards the beast. She strikes out as before but this time is different. The beast twists its body dodging her blow. It swings it scaly hand swatting her out of the air.

Nihility hits the ground and rolls to a stop. She slowly stands, holding her side. She takes deep breaths as she stares at the creature. The beast beams a sinful smile, almost as if it is taunting Nihility, begging her to attack it again. She spreads her wing, runs forward and blasts into the air.

The beast swipes at her repeatedly; its strikes come fast and focused. Nihility now struggles to dodge and her counter strikes come few and far in-between. She just dodges a strike when another comes at her, too fast to dodge. Nihility folds her forelegs and wings in front of her.  The force of the blow slams into her. Intense pressure and pain flows through her body as she is sent soaring backwards.

Nihility recovers and hovers in the air, holding her left foreleg as blood drips over her hoof. The creatures smile widen, it looks as though it’s laughing at her now. Nihility knows this cannot continue. Her eyes fix on the creature. Her breathing slows. Her eyes dilate as she calls forth her gift from the void within her.

A smoky blue mist flows from her heart to her wings and hoofs. She dashes in, she knows she doesn’t have long and wants to make every second count. She dodges the beast’s first swing and rushes in recklessly. She makes her first strike count. Her right hoof slams into the beast’s chest shattering its hardened scales. The blue mist flows through her hoof and into the beast, creating a swirling blue mark.

Nihility flies straight up. The beast swipes at her. A razor sharp claw tears down her back leg. She ignores the pain, as long as she hits her marks nothing else matters. She strikes the beast’s forehead with her left hoof, branding it with her mark. She spins to the side and kicks its shoulder with her right leg. She flips over its head. The beast nicks her with a claw. Her blood spills as the claw rips along her back. She barely manages to hit the beast’s other shoulder with her left leg. She dives down. She strikes its legs, one with each wing.

Nihility stops and raises her hoof. She has to move quickly as a claw sweeps past her. The wind off the claw spins her out of control. Before she can recover, the beast catches her in its grasp.

Nihility struggles to escape but it’s no use. The beast raises her up to its face and begins to squeeze.  Nihility’s head tilts back. Her lungs wrung dry as her chest begins to collapse. Through the pain, she manages to free one hoof, and that is all she needs.

She raises her hoof. Her tear-filled eyes flash a brilliant blue. The marks on the beast spin, twirling inward faster and faster. The beast howls and drops Nihility. Smoke pours from the marks as they spin. The beast tears at its searing flesh, but once start to spin the marks cannot be stopped.

The beast falls to its knees and howls. The agony in its cry is music to Nihility’s ears. As the mists gather to center of a mark, the searing pain stops. The beast breaths heavily, as it slowly raises its head. It stares at Nihility, its eyes burning with a rage.

Nihility lands on the ground clutching her chest, she looks up and smiles at the beast, as if she knows something it does not. The beast slowly rises to its hooves and prepares to charge. Before it can take a single step, the blaze strikes it again. The beast clutches its chest as the inferno builds. In one instant, the energy in its chest bursts forth in an explosion of blue flames. The mark on its forehead is next, followed by its shoulders and legs and the beast collapses to the ground.

Nihility takes a well-deserved breath then she clenches her eyes tight preparing for the backlash. She throws her head back and screams before collapsing to the ground. Her body trembles and shakes as burning lighting courses through her veins. She screams uncontrollably as she writhes on the ground. This soul tearing pain is the price she must pay for her power, for her blessing, her curse.

Nihility can do nothing more than lay on the ground as tears fall from her bloodshot eyes. After a few moments the pain subsides, she slowly coaxes her broken, bloody body to its hooves. She looks over at the beast, lying face down; she hangs her head with a smile and a sigh. She looks back up and gasps as she sees the beasts claw dig into the ground. Her jaw trembles as she slowly shakes her head.

The beast slowly lifts itself onto its knees. Black blood pours from its wounds. It throws its head back and lets out a chilling howl. The air around it cools. The grass beneath it turns brown and flakes away to dust. As the cold air passes Nihility, she feels the icy claw from before. It tears into her as if it’s trying to rip her very heart from her chest.

Nihility collapses to the ground. She feels as though her very being is ripping apart as a translucent mist rises from her body. She resists with all her might, a tug of war with her very life at stake. Using every ounce of will she has, she manages to wrest control from the icy claw.

The ponies who took shelter earlier are now in danger, as the frigid air approaches them. Some run, some fight but few are as lucky as Nihility. The unfortunate ones drained of their magic fall to the ground, their eyes grey and distant their bodies cold and breathless.

The mist from those unable to resist, flows into the beast. Its strength returns and its wounds heal. Nihility looks around her. She sees ponies lying on the ground, ones she knew, ones she once called friends now stripped of the very hearts.

The tears in her eyes give way to a raging flame hotter than deepest depths of hell. She raises her head to the sky and lets out a scream that rivals the beasts own. She jumps up onto her hooves. Her pain is gone, her fatigue is gone, she feels nothing at all.

Nihility bursts into the air. She flies high above her city and stares down at the beast. Long ago, she made a promise, a promise that she will not break, no matter the cost. Her breathing slows. Her eyes dilate. She pours more magic into her body than she has ever used before. The blue mist pours from her heart and encircles her completely.

Nihility dives from the clouds like a comet from the heavens. As she plunges from the sky, she pulls back her hoof and focuses all her power into it. She screams as she slams her hoof into the beast’s chest. The force of the blow knocks it off its hooves slamming it to the ground. She holds her hoof on the beast’s chest. The mist flows from her, forming a spiraling mark that envelops the beast’s body.

Nihility flies back. She raises her hoof. Her eyes flash a brilliant blue. The mark spins inward. The beast howls as it entire body burns. A moment of silence then a pillar of blue flame bursts skyward, leaving nothing behind but scorched earth.

After a moment, the backlash hits Nihility. The lightning comes fiercer than ever before. Her eyes widen. Her muscles tighten. Her mouth opens to scream but all that comes out is a quiet whimper.

Nihility’s body stiffens and her eyes grow distant as she falls to the ground. She can barely breathe as the burning electricity turns to ice in her chest. Tears flow from her eyes as the ponies who survived gather around her. A spectral silhouette passes through the tearful crowd unnoticed by all but Nihility.

As the ghostly image approaches, the darkness around it fades. Nihility’s eyes widen, as the image becomes a pale blue unicorn stallion. He looks at her with a gentle smile.

Nihility takes a shallow breath “It can’t be.”

The stallion’s voice echoes “It is my love”

Nihility barely gathers enough breath to speak again “but you’re…”

“Right here beside you.” the stallion’s eyes begin to fill with tears “just like I’ve always been, just like we promised so long ago.”

“But how?”  asks Nihility.

“That doesn’t matter now.” the stallion reaches out his hoof “Come on Nihl, it’s time to go.”

Nihility reaches out for him but stops “I...” she struggles to get a breath “I can’t, not yet.”

“It’s ok, you can let go now.” His smile grows as a tear rolls down his face “You’ve kept your promise, like you always do. It is time for us to leave.”

Nihility pulls back her hoof and looks at the crowd.

The stallion follows her gaze “Don’t worry about them, they're strong and they will find a way.” he turns back to her with a comforting smile “Take my hoof. Where we’re going we can be together again, I promise.”

A fragile smile crosses Nihility’s face. She reaches up to him. When her hoof touches his, a translucent light surrounds them. As the light grows brighter, it swirls with a collage of vivid colors. With a final flash, the light disappears taking the stallion with it.

Nihility’s hoof falls to the ground. Her content smile sets forever on her face as a final tear falls from her dark eyes.