Shards of a God

The sun was setting in the frozen north, somewhere in the mountains near the Crystal Empire.  There was little out there to appreciate the majesty of Celestia’s sunsets, but those that ventured that deep into the mountains, whether for solitude, glory, or other enigmatic motives generally marveled in the colors of the sunset just as much as those who lived in cities or towns.  In an old castle in those very mountains, an ancient unicorn stallion whose motives fell into the last category faced the setting sun, waiting with an almost palpable anticipation as the sun descended and the last rays of light vanished from the world for another night.

Turning from the window, he headed back into the castle with a surety that belied the blindfold covering his eyes.  His long silvered mane flowed behind him over the dirty brown robes that he wore and a tarnished silver medallion bounced against his chest as he walked.  He quickly made his way through the cooling castle and down a spiral staircase behind an ancient wooden door, heading into the catacombs beneath the castle and the ritual room therein.

Eventually he reached his destination, opening the door to greet the ponies assembled there.  All of them, dressed in robes similar to his, though of a much finer material, bowed deeply to him as he stood there.  His blinded gaze shifted across them all as if he could see into their souls, and many of them shivered when the blindfold turned in their direction.  Finally, a pegasus dressed in the finest robes and wearing a golden circlet upon his head stepped forward and began to greet the new arrival.  “Greetings, Holy one, we are assembled here –”

The ancient stallion cut him off with a look.  “No need for the formalities, my friend,” he replied in a raspy voice.  “The time is upon us, and we must make haste in order to capture the perfect twilight moment.”

The pegasus bowed in response and stepped back to allow his leader to address the gathering.  The unicorn stallion stepped forward and raised his voice to be heard throughout the room.  “My friends, the time we have waited for has arrived.  It is time to complete the ritual and release our God from His unjust imprisonment.  I thank you all for your years of devoted service and for the sacrifice many of you will be making tonight.  Know that it is all for the sake of our God and that you will be well rewarded for your work.”

The crowd in front of him gazed in awe and reverence, devotion plain in each expression as he spoke.  Finally, he raised his front hooves, directing them all to take their places around the room.  “Tonight, my ponies, we will make history.  Of the centuries I have known, only now are the conditions right for our God to reappear.  The barrier of Harmony will be shattered, and He will rule all, blessing us and those who serve.”

Lowering his hooves to the ground, he paused as he listened to his followers take their designated places, readying themselves for the complicated ritual.  Finally, the ponies formed four rings spreading from a depression in the center of the room, each ring alternating with the one behind it.   The most experienced unicorns formed the outside ring, followed by a ring of pegasi to aid in directing the magic, and a ring of earth ponies to stabilize it.

Finally, the newest acolytes, two members of each pony race, formed the center ring, the key to the entire ritual.  Each acolyte stood within a single runic circle, each circle connected to the center depression with a line of dark runes.  A small slice of obsidian rested within each circle, the dark stone shining with its own inner light.

When the shuffling of ponies ceased, the ancient stallion was about to take his own position when a small sound reached his sensitive ears.  He turned his blinded gaze to the center ring, noting one of the acolytes shuffling about nervously as he prepared to do his part for the ritual.  Smiling a kindly smile, the ancient stallion made his way through the rings as his flock parted for him until he reached the trembling acolyte.

The acolyte, so focused on his instructions, failed to hear the ancient one approaching and nearly fainted when he spoke.  “Troubled, my friend?” asked the raspy voice.

Trying and failing to mask the fear covering his face, the acolyte stammered out a response.  “Umm, well, n-not exactly, Faith, sir, it’s j-just that…”  He trailed off as Faith raised his hoof, resting it on the acolyte’s shoulder in a fatherly fashion.

“It is all right,” Faith replied.  “You are part of a great service to our God.  We have all been asked to give in our God’s service, some more than others.”

“R-really?” the acolyte replied, his trembling easing.

Faith nodded.  “Truly, my friend.”  He gestured to his blindfold and continued.  “When our God asked for my sight so that I could better serve Him, I was afraid as well, for I had come to treasure the gift of sight that I had enjoyed since birth.  However, He promised to reward me for my devotion, and upon following his orders, I felt his blessing.”  He smiled at the acolyte and a feeling of ease spread over the young pony at once.  “I now see far better than I ever could have with my natural eyes.  Our God is a powerful God, my friend.  Your sacrifice will be well-rewarded.”

Faith turned his gaze to the other acolytes in the center ring, and all of them felt their anxieties ease, taking comfort in his gentle smile.  “That goes for all of you, my friends,” he continued, speaking to the rest of them.  “Your sacrifices will be remembered by our God and will be rewarded.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your services.”  The smile faded from his face, and he turned to leave the circle, taking his place at the head of the ritual.  “Now, let us begin.  Our time runs short.”

His horn lit up with an amber glow, and he began to recite words from an ancient past, words that had their origins from before Equestria itself.  The harsh words of the ritual were taken up by the rest of the unicorns around the circle, repeating the phrases in a round, each line beginning where the previous finished.  The unicorns fed their magic into the words, feeling the strain as the magic was being siphoned from them.

The pegasi in the second ring raised their wings, calling upon their natural magic to direct the ritual currents towards the center of the circles.  A slight breeze began to form as the pegasi swept their wings back and forth in their efforts.  Finally, the earth ponies in the third ring raised their left hooves, placing them on the shoulder of the pony next to them.  They all called upon their own natural magic, creating a circle of stability and containing the power of the ritual within the center.

Faith continued to chant the ritual words as he carefully gauged the building magic.  Finally, when he felt that the growing forces were at the proper point, he raised his hoof and pointed at the acolytes in the center.  The one who had been watching for this exact signal lifted his hoof in response, signaling to the rest of the acolytes to begin their part of the ritual.

As one pony, the six acolytes all raised the obsidian daggers, slicing open their forelegs in a single motion.

Faith smiled as he continued to recite, watching the six acolytes press their wounded limbs on the runes surrounding them.  Blood poured from their wounds, slowly powering the runes with the crimson liquid as the center depression began to churn with dark power.  Faith felt the euphoria grow within him as the power of the ritual increased a hundredfold, and, following the instructions given to him by his God all of those years ago, took hold of that power and flung it at the barrier of Harmony separating his God from the world.

He watched with his gifted sight as the power he had called upon struck the six-part barrier and smiled to himself as he saw the miniscule cracks begin to form.  He saw a tiny portion of his God escape through those cracks, infusing each of the six portions with a slowly spreading darkness.  His goal complete, he allowed the remaining dregs of power to escape into the air, bringing the ritual to a close and turning his attention back to his followers.

He watched as many of them collapsed where they stood, their energies spent.  The six acolytes in the center toppled over lifeless, their souls having been siphoned as the greatest source of power.  Of the few who remained standing, the pegasus wearing the circlet glanced around at his companions expectantly.  Not finding what he was looking for, he turned towards Faith with a dissatisfied expression, trotting weakly towards him.  “Holy one, you said this ritual would free our God.  Where is he?  Where is Lord Asmoroth?”

Faith stared at him with his blindfolded eyes, waiting for him to calm before responding.  “Night Wing, this ritual will free the great Lord.  We have cracked the barrier.  Now, it is only a matter of time before the final keys will arrive.”

“The final keys?” Night Wing asked, surprised and upset.  “Holy one, you did not say anything about keys.  Where are they?  How will we find them?  What do they look like?”  He bristled, wings flaring.  “It could be years before we are able to locate them!”

Faith shook his head, silvered mane flowing behind.  “Not that long, my friend.  I promise.    Besides, I would imagine that any of us would be able to recognize the Bearers of Harmony.  Our contacts throughout the country will be able to help them.”  He smiled, and a tinge of madness crept through, causing Night Wing to step back.  “The keys will find us, make no mistake.

“After all,” Faith continued, smile twisting slightly.  “You have Faith, do you not?”