Mindrazer: Geas

Mindrazer

Like an old, unsightly wound, the aptly named Earth Scar blemished what uniformity the soil and shrubbery of the Badlands maintained in its natural order. Steppes generally didn’t have canyons, but this was a special case. The number of rumors surrounding the origin of a ten-mile deep, one-hundred-mile long deformation in the terrain was as numerous as the population of the changeling hive occupying the temperate zone.

For the past week, Earth Scar’s depths had been buzzing with activity. Lumber, food, and various other supplies were being transported to and from the wondrous site constantly. Puzzles existed to be solved and each day the changelings inched closer to placing the final piece. The enigmas of Earth Scar would be theirs.

******

Twirling an ornate crown in her hand, Queen Chrysalis directed her changeling excavation crews. Even in this dirty place, her elaborate teal gown shimmered like a newborn star. Not a single speck of grime marred her royal attire or ebony chitin. Her fingers gracefully swam through her cascading gossamer mane, straightening a few errant curls as they went. Like the conductor of an orchestra, she commanded each group of drones to perform a different task. Some jobs were massive, others, tiny; but all of them were of the utmost importance.

“Careful with that! Anyone of those parts could be exactly what we need!” She commanded over the mining commotion.

With what forces she could spare, the queen had managed to clear out most of a large cave about halfway down the side of Earth Scar’s eastern wall. Through their efforts, the Changelings had found naught more than dust and stone, but Chrysalis had come seeking legends. For generations, tales of The Dark One had been passed down through changeling culture. Exactly what was believed varied between queens; however, one motif remained: whatever The Dark One was, it was powerful and not to be trifled with. Some of their hive worshipped the illustrious being as a god, while others feared its wrath, dreading the day when it would return and exorcise them from its territory. Chrysalis didn’t seek to praise this being, no, she sought an alliance with the creature who allegedly razed half of Equestria in hellish fire and nearly felled both Princesses alone.

One of her subjects rushed up to her, a little too excited for his own good. Filthy, and coated in pebbles and ancient sludge, the drone paid no mind to the etiquette. Days of non-stop labor had forced such trivialities out of his head. Swift as lightning, the praetorian guards surrounding the Queen struck the would-be threat down, pinning him to the ground at her feet. Four changelings whose chitin seemed to devour both light and life, clad in expertly crafted platemail stared down at the fool with apathy. All the needed was their Queen’s word and his head would roll. Their glaives were more than sharp enough to see such orders through.

Chrysalis held up a hand, silently calling for her guards’ attention. “Let him speak. Surely, one who would so rudely interrupt his Queen’s musings must come bearing good news.”

Metal screeched as the blades of the Praetors’ impromptu guillotine disbanded. Even without the guards holding him, the changeling stayed down. His muzzle never left the dirt at Chrysalis’s hooves. “Yo-your majesty, I think we’ve found him. Back, in the f-furthest tunnel on the w-west side.”

Leaning down, the queen gently cupped her worker’s chin in one of her delicate hands. “You’ve done well, my child. Go now, rest. Your queen will handle everything.” A snap of her fingers was all it to command her armored guards to surround her. Chrysalis donned the same dark green cloak that hung from her Praetors’ mantles; the emblem, a heart with three large slashes cut into it, glowed faintly in the dark.

They moved through the excavated cave as a single unit. Glaives, cloaks, and armor wreathed Chrysalis in a protective womb of metal and discipline. During their trek, Chrysalis pointed and gestured to the diggers and soldiers still working throughout the caves. Everyone had to be in position, just in case her plan exploded in her face and needed she to save herself and the changelings she brought with her.

The praetors exchanged silent glances between their ranks. None had ever seen their Queen this cautious. Many of them had been in service of the crown for over a century, and from experience, they knew Chrysalis was a superb strategist whose plans were as intricate as they were accessible. The entire situation had her guards tense.

“It is said that the Dark One’s power is what exiled the infinite waters of the Crater Sea, creating the lands that we now call home,” Chrysalis started. “ Equestria has started a three-way war by trying to invade our lands through both Alkaid and Skyllia. The zebras and griffons both want to know what Celestia seeks so badly that she’d violate all standing peace treaties with them over it,” she sneered. Chrysalis knew exactly what the Diarch of the Sun wanted, but she’d claim him and his treasure first. “If we are to succeed in our campaign against Equestria, now is the time to place nicely with our neighbors and lend a helping hand where needed. But to stand against the ponies in open conflict, we need the power of the Dark One.” Her fingers idly drummed against the ornate crown in her grasp.

“But in the end, he was defeated, correct? How can he be of any use to us if he could not defeat Equestria when it was a fledgling nation? He could not stop the Alicorns before they had properly grown into their powers. They’ve had over a millennium to consolidate their power, how will he be able to stand against them now?”

Chrysalis chuckled darkly. “I shall share with you a tale passed down from queen to queen for generations...”

The Dark One

1976 years ago

Waves crashed against the side of my ship, rocking the vessel violently. Between the murderous seas and the raging storm overhead, the deck of Nebuchadnezzar was utterly drenched. An errant bolt of lightning streaked through the massive thunderheads above, briefly illuminating the stage of what would be the final battle between Celestia, Luna, and myself. As per my command, the maelstrom kept the skies untraversable and untamable, which regulated any flights to down to short-lived aerial excursions. Such glorious chaos, I thought as the salty oceanic winds rushed past us. My cape, sash, and robe all bellowed wildly behind me; I couldn’t help but glare, with empty eye sockets, at the alicorns before me.

Through divination, I had foreseen the sisters' interference in my travels, but even without such magics at my disposal, this moment was too monumental for them to just leave me to my own machinations. I knew what they were trying to do when they attacked me at sea, but oh how short their memory is if they truly believed I was handicapped here. Minimal preparation on my part was all it took to put Celestia and Luna in the predicament they now found themselves in.

Celestia lay on the deck, soaked and unconscious. Blood leaked out of the goddess’s nostrils, while patches of burned or rotted flesh dotted her battered body. Splayed out, limp and grey, on the drenched wood around her face was her once vibrant and beautiful mane. That mastercrafted golden battle armor of hers helped exactly as much as I’d warned her it would. The sight of what I had done to her only spurred my anger to new heights. Listening to the scrapping of bone on bone from my clenched fist, I let my mind review my plans. Every piece was set, the last items needed to finalize my work were in the cargo hold and would be ready for use once I had returned to my keep across the Crater Sea.

Right next to her, like a good little sister, stood Luna, still intransigent on my goals. She was faring better than her sister, but only in the sense that she could still stand and fight. Even if flight would have aided her in this fight, the stone clinging adamantly to her wings prevented her from moving them organically or gaining lift. One of her eyes was swollen shut, while her ebony fur was mottled with shimmering, inky stains. She’d abandoned her cobalt armor early in the fight, seeing that it would be of no use to her. Despite our stance as foes, I still regarded the mare with respect. She was on the precipice of certain death, yet refused to leave her sister to die alone. It’s what I would haven’t done.

Two smoking, violet blades rose to meet my challenge. The magical constructs crackled with power, vaporizing every droplet of rain to come into contact with them. Luna held the weapons at the ready; one prepared to defend Celestia, the other primed to strike me down. “It’s not too late to end this madness! Please, return to us. Gerald, come home,” she cried. I couldn’t tell if it was rain or tears streaming down her cheeks.

There was a time, before the secrets and the lies, when such a plea would have warmed my heart and broken my resolve, but as you can see, my chest is now empty… Luna buckled under the mental assault of my voice. I let each word hang in her mind, scraping away thoughts and shattering her concentration with each syllable she perceived.

Spells, memories, and emotions seeped out of her mind like sludge, poisoning her psyche and fueling my magic; she could not hide the full extent of their plans to keep me from going home to Monica and Mishra. Suddenly, the flow stymied, becoming saturated with useless junk. Her and Celestia stealing from the cookie jar behind the chef’s back, her perching bucks of pink paint over Celestia’s doorway… Clever girl.

Realizing that princess was countering my mental drain by dumping useless thoughts to the forefront of her mind, I tried to pull my focus back to the physical realm but failed horribly. The psychic pounding was enough to force me back a step. Luna’s childhood tainted my thoughts with images of the mare in her purest most innocent form. It was as if someone painted over the pony in front of me and replaced her with the mare I… No, it wasn’t like that anymore... Every time I moved to finish her, to call down crimson lightning, to summon a whirlwind of ash and flame, I froze.

Why couldn’t I do it? Why couldn’t I-- A peaceful chill spread through my chest, numbing my body. My empty eye sockets leveled on the Night Princess, Luna. Her arm was outstretched, gripping one of the wicked mana blades in her hand while Celestia rested on her right shoulder, slung there haphazardly at best. Icy tendrils of magic spread through my bones, stealing my balance as she forced me back and pinned me to Nebuchadnezzar’s mast. In her free hand, she clenched my crown. Well, that explained why my body was rapidly growing heavy and unresponsive. Magic fled from my grasp in droves, my mind failing to weave any sort of defense. I’d lost this fight.

I chuckled like a child who thought they got away with drawing on the walls. “Tell me, why did you choose to attack me out here? To deprive me of the easily accessible necromantic energies of the earth? Or was it to keep me from feeding on the ambition, jealousy, and selfishness of those around me?” He questioned, working his physical jaws for the first time in over a hundred years. A good filibuster has never failed to stall opponents.

“No,” she started. Honestly, I was surprised. They weren’t trying to cut me off from my most dangerous spells? “We knew that if you wouldn’t listen, confronting you here would be our best chance at a decisive victory.” I let my brain sift through everything I’d read about the Crater Sea. Other than the fact that the area was created by a meteorite strike, there was nothing much of note. The only thing here was that undersea trench...

Earth Scar…

She nodded sadly. “Gerald, Lord of the Damned, Grave King, Bringer of Crimson Lightning, Hero of the Starfall, and Prince of Equestria; I, Princess Luna of Equestria, banish you to the greatest depths of the world until either the Sun or the Moon see fit to grant parole.” The arctic sensation washing through my bones surfaced in a surge of dark blue magic. Ghostly chains wrapped around my frame, binding me firmly to the mast and the deck of my ship.

Ideas fought for supremacy in my head, there had to be a way out of this. Calming my mind, I reviewed the battle. I didn’t expect this, but I could still salvage the situation.

“D-do you have any f-final words?” She asked, dropping her arm to her side. Rain or not, Luna still refused to let me see her cry.

If a skull could smirk, the corners of my mouth would be touching my earlobes right now.

From now, ‘til the end;

Your life, stands still;

Persevere as you must,

As all that you love fades to dust…

The meaning of my words was lost on Luna, but I didn’t care. She’d understand in time. Crater Sea’s roiling waters cut out anything she had to say to me, indicating that we were at the giant whirlpool over Earth Scar. I could feel my vessel tearing apart as it tried to resist being devoured by the abyss, but I knew it was all in vain. The last thing I saw before gelid ocean swallowed me was one of Luna’s feathers resting peacefully on my knee.

I haven’t lost this battle.

Earth Scar: Present

“There was something between the sisters and the lich? A friendship, maybe more,” one of the Praetor’s, a mare, mused out loud. “And his last words--” the soldier turned to her Queen. “--were a curse of sorts?” Beneath her helmet, she smiled. The Dark One had lost, yes, but its mind was preoccupied with goals other than destroying the Princesses. Not only that but at the time, its feelings for the two alicorns had proven to be the true cause of its defeat.

The Praetorians had been so enthralled by Chrysalis’s tale, that none of them noticed the inch of thick, black tar-like ichor they’d been treading for the past several seconds. The moment she realized the shift in terrain and scenery, the queen raised a hand and halted her praetors. They appeared to be on a segment of a ship’s deck. What she saw defied her understanding of decay. Every structure around them was mostly intact, even the shreds of the ancient vessel’s flag. The muck trickled down through rusty metal grates, vanishing into the bowels of the ancient ship. It took but a cursory glance at the mast wedged in the rocks of the hollow to see their prize.

There, pinned to the pillar by a smoking purple blade of pure mana and held firm by magical chains, was the star of the star of the show. The creature sat limply, its ratty white hair covering a face untouched by sunlight in ages. For how long it had been at the bottom of Earth Scar, it’s garb seemed as pristine as the day with was woven. Tough brown leather armor protected his torso while vambraces of the same make occupied his forearms. Crimson sashes trimmed in honeycomb colored borders hung from beneath the waist of his armor and across his chest piece. A large tuft of fur stretched across his shoulders, hiding where his cape was attached. All in all, he looked like royalty, he looked like a being who could rival the princesses in power, he looked--

“--Dead. All we’ve unearthed a waterlogged skeleton. He’s been dead for ages; we’ve wasted our time, my queen,” she informed Chrysalis. Reaching down, the observant guard cupped a handful of the strange ooze. It clung to the changeling’s dark chitin, spreading a tingling sensation through her fingers.

“I assure you, I am not as dead as you believe.” A young male’s voice cut directly into everyone’s mind.

Lances of psychic pain brought the entire entourage of praetors to their knees, but Chrysalis was not impressed. “Release my subjects, Dark One.”

Within the confines of the creature’s empty skull, twin orbs of blue light burned weakly. “A gift for a gift: return my crown and I’ll end their suffering.”

Chrysalis could feel his touch at the back of her mind, scratching for any loose thread it could latch on to in an attempt to bend her to his will. “You will never receive what you want if you continue to prod around in my head like that,” she replied smugly, holding out his crown.

“... You don’t seem to care much for the wellbeing of your guards.” It was trivial to increase the intensity of his mental assault on her guards. A few of them immediately dropped to all fours, wailing in agony as his magic tore their psyche’s apart, while the remainder fell into the ichor, convulsing violently, their minds and bodies fighting violently with each other to keep them alive.

Her teeth grinded against each other. Try as she might, Chrysalis couldn’t block out the cries of her subjects. “Enough!” Chrysalis shouted, slowly walking towards him. As queen she knew when it was time to fold and cut her losses.

“I see you aren’t as short-sighted and heartless as the insects who came before you.” Gerald released the torture spell directed at her guards, but still kept hold of the back of their mind in case he needed to use them a bargaining chip again.

Sneering, she placed the crown on his head and stepped back. “There. It’s done.”

A single skeletal hand made it’s way to the magical constructs binding him to the ship. The moment he touched one of the chain's links they violently burst apart, sending her sprawling into the tar and releasing a torrent of energy into the caverns. Next came the sword, Luna’s last parting gift. He gripped the weapon by the hilt and sent a blue spark of his own magic through it, shattering his final seal and earning his freedom.

Power flooded her senses, radiating from the blade that stabbed through his chest. Magic carried a mental weight but never before had the density of energy in the air been so stifling. The presence of the hive paled in comparison to the force she was currently subjected to. There was easily enough mana in that blade to reduce a large city to slag and he just dispelled it as if it was nothing.

“Your kind proves, once again, to be just as simple as your less evolved cousins, continuously ramming their heads against closed windows and lampshades.” Gerald rose to his full height, his bones creaking with each movement he made. “Like insects, you changelings are so eager to get to the light of the candle that you fly directly into the flames, sizzling away to nothingness.”

The temperature in the chamber spiked as mana rapidly condensed in Gerald’s palm. A searing hot ball of flame and smoke formed in the lich’s hand. “You came so willingly, Queen. How could I deny your desires?”

Struggling to her feet, Chrysalis quickly regained her composure and took a step towards the dark one. “I went through the trouble of invading Canterlot and retrieving your crown in order to revive you. I’d hoped that would prove my dedication to engaging in a proper alliance with you.” Her eyes and horn flashed green with power.

Gerald’s attack sputtered and died in his grasp, while his undead gaze shifted from blue to the same sickly green as Chrysalis’s magic. Against his will, his frame went rigid. Chrysalis slowly circled around him, dragging her sharpened fingernails through the fur on his shoulders, and stopping in front him. “I genuinely had all intentions of forgetting any hostilities that were present between you and Queen Cicada all those years ago. This partnership could have been to both of our benefits, but you forced my hand,” she sighed sadly.

“You fucking parasite, what have you done?!” roared Gerald.

The queen held her right hand up to his face, extending her middle finger to ensure he could see the ornate ring occupying the digit. The gold band was decorated with a large, gleaming red stone, one filled with swirling green energy.

“Is that--”

“--A gem from your crown?” She finished coyly, lowering her hand. “How astute of you to notice.”

Chrysalis chuckled proudly. “You are a powerful telepath, Gerald, but compared to me you may as well be a foal dabbling in mind reading. You see, I know of the connection between you humans and the artifacts you hold so close to your hearts; they bind your souls to this plane. For one such as myself, it wasn’t too difficult to fashion a geas on you using a component of your artifact. Your actions are now tied to my will until I release you. Now, kneel,” she commanded mirthlessly. While mind control was a tactic she employed regularly, the absolute subjugation of a target’s actions was something she took no joy in.

Shakily, he fell to one knee and placed a fist in the muck beneath them. His gaze lowered to the floor, locked there by Chrysalis’s command. “Your parameters are as such: You will follow my commands, though you may interject if you recognize a flaw in my plans or logic; you will not harm me or my subjects; you will answer any question I ask of you; and finally you will not attempt to run away from me or any area I designate you free to roam in. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes, my Que-queen...” Despite how hard he fought the words still flowed from his mouth.

“Even though your cooperation isn’t consensual, I will not keep you from pursuing whatever extraneous goals you may have. I never intended to.” Chrysalis turned to leave. Her guards having recovered while she bent Gerald to her will. “Now, you will help my changelings gather their equipment. When you are done, you will return to the hive with the rest of my subject then you will meet me in the throne room. Understood?”

“Yes, my queen,” he sneered.

She waved her hand and a green glow overtook her and her guards. A sphere of magical energy lifted them up and phased them through the roof and out of Gerald’s sight. “You’ll see your sisters again; I won’t stand in your way.”

Gerald slammed his fist against the stone wall of the chamber, sending red lightning arcing across the walls. “RAWWRGH!!!”

Ripples of power traveled along the strange substance on the ground, each one emanating from where a changeling stood. Gerald smirked, eyeing the small disturbances. Chrysalis may be a master of the mind, but did that power extend to every member of the hive?

Canterlot Castle- The Next Day

Within the confines of Canterlot Castle’s throne room, Celestia had called a meeting. In preparation for her guests' arrival, the solar diarch had dismissed most of her guards. She knew that the individuals she was inviting would unnerve even the toughest of her soldiers. Some of them were known as heroes, others as boogeyponies, and others still as mere nuisances. Still, if the dream she and Luna had shared last night was true, if the things that they had seen came to pass, Equestria would need the ponies Celestia had summoned.

Precious sunlight poured in unhindered through the windows, giving Celestia a clear view of the room she ruled from. As usual, the velvety, crimson carpet was just as beautiful and well maintained as the drapes current suspended over the windows; she’d have to show the castle staff that they were appreciated. Her two most trusted personal guards stood at attention on either side of her throne. Both stallions stood stone-still, refusing to move even an inch. They were there mostly to keep up appearances and relay messages between her and other staff; they’d be of limited use if her company decided to move against her. How much longer would she be on this throne? Would she survive her next encounter with Gerald? What would happen to Equestria if Gerald accomplished his goal? Were her and Luna not there enough for Gerald? The diarch sat there ruminating on those questions. Some answers she didn’t want to hear, but she knew she’d have to face them all the same. The creaking grind of metal on metal broke her from self-torment.

Her guests had arrived.