Broken Worlds: Age of Ruin

“I’m not sure about this, Twilight,” I said uncertainly as my alicorn friend lined up several candlesticks in the center of our bedroom, “you don’t see any way this could go wrong?”

Twilight sighed heavily. “I do,” she affirmed, “but I need to do this if I want more information on how the Elements of Harmony can be used to their full potential; who would be more reliable to ask than their original bearers?” she explained, trying to sound cheerful.

I shrugged. “You’ve got a point there,” I said slowly, “but aren’t two of the original six gone? You might be able to summon the other four, but Drayke said Argentum passed on, and Sanguis was not only destroyed by the Elements themselves, but he was obliterated in the Void! I don’t think there’s any way he can come back from that; then again, I don’t think we’d want him to.”

Twilight inspected the candles one last time as she pushed the final stick into place. They all stood in a line, each one about two or three feet from its neighbor. “Four out of six will have to do,” she said flatly. “Although Argentum would probably have been the most reliable source of information, I’m sure the others will have valuable knowledge on the Elements as well.” Saying this, she held her head high and closed her eyes as her horn became bathed in a violet aura. When she had gathered enough power, she quickly nodded toward each candle, firing a spark of magic at each that lit the wicks. The first one looked like an ordinary, orange flame, but the second one was red, the third yellow, and the last a snowy white.

There was a moment of tense silence as we stared at the candles, their flames dancing in the air gracefully, until they suddenly exploded upwards, forming a blanket of multi-colored fire that stretched out before us. I took a startled step back, but Twilight stared at the inferno expectantly; she knew what was going to happen, and refused to show any fear. Just then, four armored humans stepped out of the blaze as if it was some kind of doorway, and looked around in confusion. The first, a male by the looks of his physique, was wrapped from his head to his feet in white bandages, and wore some kind of mask over his head that covered all but his mouth. Next to him stood another male, dressed in heavy-looking, red-and-black armor that was adorned with pearl-white spikes, and had a pair of white horns on his helmet. Next was a slender-looking woman, dressed in a yellow-and-black coat and hood, and had an innocent face. Finally, there was a second woman, dressed in an elegant, white-and-blue garment with thick fur lining the ends of the sleeves and the collar.

“What is the meaning of this?” the elegant woman snapped as her eyes darted around the room; something about the way she spoke and carried herself reminded me of our friend, Rarity, as she stood in a straight and dignified manner, like she was royalty. The similarity ended there, however, as she seemed much more fierce and cruel than my unicorn friend. Her eyes swept over Twilight, and she glared as if the lavender alicorn was some kind of unnatural insect. “Oh, it’s just one of the equines,” she spat angrily.

The armored man took a step forward and drew a thick broadsword that was strapped to his side. “How dare you summon us here, creature!” he shouted, and brought his blade down on Twilight with all his strength. I cringed as the sword fell, but was relieved to find it had passed right through Twilight’s body, leaving her unharmed.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “You cannot harm me, spirits,” she said clearly. “I have summoned you here to ask for your guidance.”

The caped woman stepped forward carefully, and regarded Twilight in a much friendlier manner than the other two humans who had already spoken. “What is it you want, equine?” she asked in a gentle voice. This human was almost exactly like our old pegasus friend, Fluttershy, who always spoke in a soft, kind voice, and had a caring look in her eyes.

Twilight decided it would be more productive to speak with the kind spirit rather than her mean-spirited companions. “I need to know more about the Elements of Harmony,” she explained, “Do you know how I can unlock their full potential?”

The bandaged man stood beside the caped woman. Although I could not see his eyes, I could tell by the shape of his mouth that he wore a grim expression. “We sought the same thing in our time,” he said darkly. “The Elements of Harmony corrupted us, and turned us into darker versions of ourselves. Where we once aimed to bring peace, we instead set out to conquer.”

I decided to speak up now that I knew half of our spectral guests were willing to speak, and none of them could harm us. “We know about Argentum Vindex and his band of warriors,” I said quickly. “You were the first humans to set foot in Equestria, and you were chosen by the Elements of Harmony to unite our races.”

The well-dressed woman looked down at me, her head slightly tilted in confusion. “Is that what Argentum told you?” she asked quietly, “We were not ‘chosen’ by the Elements; we were cursed.”

The masked man stormed over and held an accusing finger toward her. “We were cursed because we were weak; Argentum was the only one who could see that what we were doing to the inhabitants of this world was wrong, and we tried to kill him when he told us to stop. We deserved everything that has happened to us,” he snapped angrily.

Twilight spoke up before the spirits could quarrel anymore. “You may have been punished for your misdeeds,” she said carefully, “but I can make amends if you are willing to help us.”

The armored man looked down at her, his eyes burning behind his helm. “How can you help us, creature?” he growled. “Our time has come and gone; there is nothing we desire in this world anymore.”

Twilight smiled slightly. “Teach me how to unlock the true power of the Elements, and I will send you all to Elysium.”

This caught the spirits’ attention. “Elysium,” the gentle woman said quietly, hardly able to believe what she was hearing. While Tartarus was a prison for unnatural creatures and dead evildoers, Elysium was the exact opposite: a place where the righteous could stay for all eternity, and one day be reunited with those they cared about.

The elegant woman rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm… your terms are... agreeable, equine,” she purred happily. “Bow your head, and I shall bestow the knowledge you desire,” she added craftily.

I raised an eyebrow. “Twilight, I don’t think you should listen to her,” I said, giving the spirit a nervous look.

“Silence, dragon!” she hissed as Twilight obeyed, bowing her head before the human. She placed her hands on either side of Twilight’s head, and her face  suddenly took on a devious expression. “Perfect,” she said softly, and just as the words left her mouth, she disappeared. Suddenly, Twilight’s front legs buckled beneath her, and she collapsed on the ground. I quickly tried to help her stand, but she looked at me with terrified eyes as the color bled from her irises, slowly taking on a bleach-white color.

“Spike, run!” she gasped, and let out a pained wail that made me draw back in fear. She shakily stood up as her breathing calmed, and a wicked expression replaced her usually peaceful mannerism.

“Not the body I would like to inhabit,” Twilight said disappointedly, her voice heavily layered over by the elegant spirit’s voice, “but at least it will allow me to channel my old powers.” she gave me a crafty smile, and I jumped aside just as she hurled a ball of violet-and-white magic in my direction, narrowly missing me and colliding with a bookshelf. The books caught in the main impact were completely incinerated, whereas the rest of the shelf’s contents were ignited with a flame that matched the color of the blast. I quickly scrambled to my feet and ran for the door, which slammed shut and locked before I could exit the room.

“What’s the matter, Spike?” Twilight asked in a falsely friendly tone, “isn’t my number-one assistant going to help me clean up this mess?”

I ducked as she fired another bolt at me, the resulting explosion from its impact with the door scorching the spines on my back. I quickly ran over the smoldering timbers and out into the hall, hoping I could get some distance between myself and my possessed friend on my way to the throne room.

I know Celestia has a lot on her mind right now, I said, pushing past a confused butler pony, but I don’t think anypony else can fix this!

~-~-~-~-~

I sat in my throne, eyes closed as I tried to clear my mind. I enjoyed meditation during my days before the war began, when the only thing I needed to worry about was my subjects’ affairs, but now it had become second-nature to me, as it was a vital lifeline for keeping my sanity under the constant threat of human attack. I breathed in deeply, feeling the air slowly fill my lungs, and exhaled softly, feeling my heartbeat slow as I reached a state of serenity.

Just then, I heard the throne room doors burst open, and I snapped open my eyes to see Twilight’s dragon assistant, Spike, breathlessly sprinting in my direction.

“Celestia, it’s Twilight! She’s-” he cut off with a pained cry as a blast of magic struck him in the back, knocking him to the floor. I looked to the doorway to see my former student trotting into the room, a proud look on her face. Her eyes were completely white, with her irises just barely distinguishable from the rest.

“I assume you are Princess Celestia?” she asked, her voice distorted and layered with that of another. I nodded slightly as she went on: “I am Liberalis Anima. I have taken control of this creature’s body, and if you do not concede to my wishes and step down from your throne, I will destroy this castle and the surrounding city.”

I raised an unimpressed eyebrow. There had been many dangerous entities that posed a threat to my kingdom in the past five years, well before this war had began: Crystal Guardians, the Obsidian King, an ancient warlord, and even my brother-in-law himself, Allen Greathouse. Now, some fallen spirit was going to possess my student and try to claim my throne?

I let out a snort of bitter amusement. “Right,” I replied, and a beam of golden energy from the sun itself shot through the window above my head. The glass, rather than being broken by the attack, merely refracted and strengthened my attack, and Twilight and her controller were enveloped in the blast. When the magical assault ended, Twilight lay on her side, breathing heavily.

“Twilight, are you okay?” I asked, drawing near her motionless form. Just then, she leaped up and slammed her head into my side, her horn stabbing into my abdomen. I fell back, grimacing in pain, and I saw Twilight’s eyes had changed again; this time, her irises were a ring of blood-like crimson that sat in a sea of inky blackness.

“Now it’s my turn,” she growled, her voice much deeper and masculine. I rose to my feet, ignoring the pain of the hole in my side as I struggled to charge up another attack, but Twilight rushed me again, this time throwing herself against me and knocking me into a nearby pillar.

“They say you alicorns are supposed to be immortal,” she said, charging up an orb of violet-and-red energy at the tip of her horn. “Let’s see if those stories are true, shall we?”

Just then, a purple talon prodded Twilight’s shoulder, and she halted the charge of magic as she turned to investigate the disturbance.

Spike stood behind her, his hands behind his back. “Actually, that’s a common misconception,” he explained informatively. “Alicorns aren’t immortal, but their lifespan and vitality does exceed that of normal ponies, allowing them to live much longer. Kinda like dragons,” he added, balling his fist and swinging a powerful punch at his possessed friend’s face, his draconic strength throwing her aside. Wasting no time, I quickly raised my horn in the air as a circle of golden flame surrounded Twilight, and her eyes slowly regained their former violet color.

“What just happened?” I demanded, cringing as I used my magic to speed the healing process of the wound Twilight had just inflicted on me.

Twilight shuffled her hooves nervously. “Well, I wanted to know more about the Elements of Harmony, so I summoned the spirits of their original bearers so they could tell me how to gain their full power,” she explained guiltily. “I thought if we could unlock their true potential, we could finally bring an end to this war.”

I sighed heavily. “Twilight, although your intentions were good, you should know better than to summon the spirits of the dead!” I snapped. “What if you had brought back Sanguis Cruciatus? He very nearly killed all of us when he possessed Allen, and now that the portals are open, he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again!”

Just then, a soft voice spoke up behind me. “Be gentle with her, Princess of the Wun,” it said, and I turned to see the spirit of a hooded woman in a yellow-and-black coat, and next to her stood a spectral man wrapped in white bandages. “Your student did well to call us. I am sorry my friends caused you such grief, for they were not shown the error of their ways before their death. With your permission,” she said kindly, looking me in the eyes with respect, “I would like to show her the knowledge she seeks.”

I stared suspiciously, realizing this human’s intentions were pure, and nodded. She got down on her knees before Twilight and closed her eyes, placing her hands on either side of Twilight’s head as the two glowed brightly. After a few moments, the light faded, and the human stood once again.

“It is done,” she said wearily, and I nodded thankfully. Holding my horn in the air, a golden archway filled with a bright light opened in front of the two spirits.

“You may depart,” I said simply, nodding toward the doorway. The spirits nodded thankfully and looked at each other, smiling warmly as they departed to the fields of Elysium.

“That’s where ponies go when they die?” Twilight asked, standing next to me as she strained to see through the doorway.

I nodded affirmatively. “Yes,” I said softly, “that doorway leads to Elysium.”

Twilight continued staring in wonder. “Is my big brother in there?” she asked hopefully.

I let out a heavy sigh; I knew she would ask this. “I believe so,” I started slowly, “but you cannot see him. Only the deceased are allowed in Elysium.”

Twilight sank a little, and her ears folded back in disappointment. “Oh,” she said softly.

I gave her a comforting smile as the portal faded away. “What did the spirits tell you that needed to be done?” I asked, changing the conversation.

This cheered my former student up a little. “She told me I needed to gather the chosen bearers, as well as anyone not chosen who used the Elements after Argentum Vindex and his friends,” she explained, and she suddenly frowned once again. “But… that can’t be right,” she said slowly, “I may have once felt my connection with the Element of Magic, but it has been some time since I last felt its presence.”

I thought about the spirit’s instructions once more. “Perhaps the Elements of Harmony have chosen new bearers?” I asked slowly. “It would take some effort, but you could find them. And, of course, you could search for your old friends along the way,” I added with a slight smile.

This was all Twilight needed to get her spirits up again. “That’s it!” she cried happily, “I’ll find the new chosen bearers, and my old friends, and then we can finally defeat BlackTech!” She suddenly noticed that I was giving her a suspicious look, reminding her of her current duties. “I mean, as long as you can handle things here in Canterlot on your own,” she added nervously.

I smiled warmly. “I’m only teasing, Twilight,” I said happily. “Go find your friends and the new bearers. I can handle business here just fine on my own; I think this glimmer of hope we’ve been shown has given me newfound strength. Hurry, Twilight, time is of the essence!” I said urgingly.

“Let’s go, Spike!” Twilight cried, and her draconic friend followed quickly behind as the two dashed out of the throne room, eager to begin an adventure just like the ones they had so long ago.