//-------------------------------------------------------// Legends and Lore -by Fuedra- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 00 - Prolouge (Main) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 00 - Prolouge (Main) Lore, War Torn Battleon Things were not going well for the defenders of Lore, for for the second time that year; war had come to their home town of Battleon. Its protector, a man by the name of Regwald, stood at the top of the mighty guardian tower, his sword drawn as he guarded one of his oldest friends. Regwald looked back to the man behind him, his old friend Walic sweating as he used his magic in conjunction with nine of the most powerful artifacts of lore, the elemental orbs. “How you doing old friend?” “I’m managing,” said Warlic with strain, “but it’s been a long time since I last cast this spell, so I am a bit out of practice.” Regwald smiled, using his blade to cut down a creature that had managed to get past there other defenders, “You did it before old friend, you can do it again.” He saw his friend nod, and then looked back to the battle, his magically enhanced eyes picking out faces as they struggled to keep the forces of The Queen of Monsters at bay. To the north, Artix the paladin was leading what remained of the order of paladins in keeping the creatures out. To the south, Gravelyn was leading the Shadowscyth forces in a very effective defense, her many undead soldiers proving to be unmovable when compared to the Queen of Monsters lowliest denizens. To the east, he could see some of his other fiends, Victoria, Zhoom, and Galenoth were leading their own forces to push back the invaders, and to the west, many more of lore’s greatest heroes were doing their best to quell the swelling tide of enemies. All of this made Regwald smile, for as long as they fought, he knew the city would not fall. This moment was short lived however, for a moment later a massive roar echoed out over the battlefield, and when he looked to its source, he paled at the sight. Marching toward the edge of the city, clad in slicken robes and golden armaments was a The Queen of Monsters herself, and fanning out behind her was a vanguard of her greatest allies. “Titans…” Warlic, who had been trying to focus on drawing out the remainder of the element orbs, looked up from his work and sighed, noting the creatures as well and speaking up. “Well, we knew they would come eventually, I was just hoping they would get here a little later than this.” “I’ll hold them off,” said Regwald, sheathing the weapon and then going for the blade on his back, drawing the mighty Blade of Awe from its sheath before getting stayed by his old friend. “No, I need you to stay here and keep any creatures that slip by from attacking me,” said Warlic tersely, looking toward the sky before hesitantly speaking once more. “…You need to summon her.” Immediately Regwald’s face became downcast, the man not even looking back as he spoke heavily, “don’t you think we’ve taken enough from her with our wars, especially when you consider what she lost in the last one?” “We may have,” said Warlic, “but she swore that if we ever needed her she would come, and we need her now.” Regwald looked at him for a moment, and then sighed, pulling an amulet from around his neck and looking back at the battlefield. He passed his thumb over the amulets crystal for a few moments in hesitation, and then he raised it above his head as he cried a name out loud. “KIRA!” ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Land of Equestria, Castle of Friendship Twilight was not having the best of nights, for she couldn’t get any sleep at all, not with what was happening. Every time she closed her eyes, images of a world not her own and full of creatures she had never seen before filled her mind, making her sleep troubled at best. Lately however, the images from that world had been scenes of war and destruction the likes of which Twilight had never known, some so horrid that when she woke up she had to run to her bathroom to vomit. Celestia had said this would happen eventually, for all alicorns had powers of some sort pertaining to otherworldly sight. For Luna it was the ability to pear into and enter dreams, for Cadance it was the ability to see into the hearts of ponies and see their true selves, and for Celestia it was the ability to get tiny glimpses into the future. However, none of them had said anything about the possibility of Twilight getting glimpses into possibly alien worlds, for she was pretty sure that she had never seen any creatures like the ones appearing in her visions. “Well that’s not entirely true,” thought Twilight with a cringe, “after all it seems like the ones defending the town look similar to what I became when I went through the mirror into the human version of Equestria, though they look a lot bulkier…and less colorful.” Twilight sighed, and then cringed as a spike of pain shot through her head, prompting her to rub it as she cursed. “Buck it, I don’t care what I see anymore, I need bucking sleep.” So with that, she went back to her bed and climbed in, falling to sleep instantly and letting her dreams take her, hoping beyond hope that maybe this time it would be a sleep untroubled by such horrid visions. ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Lore, Battleon Guardian Tower The moment the name left his lips light exploded above them, before forming into one of the largest dragons in their world. As big as the tower itself, she used her claws to grab upon the side of the tower and become stationary, before craning her neck down to look at the man who had summoned her. “What is thy bidding, Dragonlord?” Behind them, Warlic couldn’t help but react to the sadness in her voice, for she no longer sounded like the happy go lucky dragon who had always warmed many of their hearts. “There are titans approaching Battleon, ones we cannot fight by ourselves. We need you to hold them off long enough for Warlic to finish his spell, and then we can end this once and for all.” “As you command Dragonlord,” said Kira simply, before letting go of the tower and flying toward the mass of titans, letting out a bellowing roar to let both them and her allies know she had arrived. As cheers sounded out from the town’s defenders, Regwald turned as the sound of footsteps echoed form below, before smiling as the sight of Cysero came into view. “Cysero you mad dog, what are you doing up here?” The crazed weapon smith smiled, before pulling out an orb from his jacket, one made entirely of bacon. “God damit Cysero, I thought we said we wouldn’t need that thing.” “Well I was just thinking,” said Cysero, “you guys are trying to gather the more obscure elements that power out world, so I thought, why not use the most obscure of them all to track them down.” Regwald made to comment, only for Warlic to cut him off. “There’s no time to argue, just let him bring the blasted thing here!” Cysero moved over then, letting the orb float from his hand into the circle before moving to the opposite side of Warlic to begin channeling his magic. Warlic made to protest, but was stayed when the mad mage spoke up. “Hey, the last time you pulled something like this you lost your beard and got turned into a teenager, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say we do not want to go through that again.” Warlic hesitated, and then nodded, channeling more of his power into the spell. Much too everyone’s surprise, adding the bacon orb did the trick, for the other orbs began appearing and joining the circle, till finally all eighteen Elemental Orbs were circling in a close not group, beginning to spiral around one in particular, the Elemental Orb of Law. However, just as they Warlic was beginning to work on the final part of the spell, Regwald caught something out of the corner of his eye, turning and managing to get the Blade of Awe up in time as he clashed blades with one of his oldest foes. “Drakath, why are you…!” “I WILL NOT LET YOU STEAL MY VICTORY!!!” Immediately Regwald’s mood changed, his face contorting in rage as he pushed his blade all the harder against his opponents. “You arrogant son of a bitch, this is not just your victory, if we don’t do this, all of Lore will die!” “And that is no concern of mine,” growled the former champion of chaos, “our world can burn for all I care, but I will be dammed if I let you take this from me!” Both men step back from each other, sending magic into their blades before clashing once again, energy flying from the clashing swords just as Warlic's spell went off. ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Equestria, Castle of Friendship Twilight sat bolt upright in bed, her horn glowing as her mind burned with pain. Once again she had seen visions of this…other world, focusing on beings looking like they were focusing on a spell of some sort when another being had attack, this one of the same race as them. This had puzzled her, but after a moment she had realized she shouldn’t be too surprised, after all even among her own species there were those who would fight against their own. Twilight was stopped in her thoughts when a large pulse surged through her horn, nearly flooring her as she felt a new magic entering their world. She didn’t really know how she knew, all she really knew was from what Celestia had told her, for Celestia had told her that do to her being the personification of magic, she could sense magic all around the world. But this new magic she sensed was unlike any she had ever experienced in her world, and as Celestia’s student, she had been exposed to many forms of it over the years. But this, this was different, it was more primal, more raw, and it felt exactly like the magic that she had sensed in her visions. Before she could do anything else, a letter appeared in front of her, one which she grabbed and unrolled before beginning to read with haste. Dear Twilight, I know the hour is late, but we couldn’t wait for you to be awake. As you no doubt have felt, it seems some new form of magic has entered our world, one which my sister and I have also felt. It seems scattered, having popped up in many places, but the closest seems to be within the Everfree Forest itself. Because of this, I must ask you to go there, for you and your friends are the closest ponies there who can handle something like this. Plus, if this new magic is connected to something living, I feel that it would be better if it were greeted by friendly faces rather than the hostile creatures that we know roam the Everfree. When you find it, make sure to alert me at once, but till then take care. Sincerely yours Princess Celestia Twilight grumbled a bit as she read the letter, figuring that the princess would ask her to take a look, but secretly she was happy. This new magic excited her due to all the possibilities it held, and if it was connected to the beings from her dreams, perhaps she would be able to learn more about this strange realm she was seeing. With that thought, she folded the letter back up and then headed out to the balcony, intending to gather her friends till she saw a massive dark form standing on the outskirts of her town, panic rising when it opened its mouth and emitted a mighty roar which echoed across the town below. ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Equestira, Everfree Forest Regwald groaned as he slowly woke, his body feeling sore as he tried to lift himself off the ground. He could hear other groans around him, and when he looked around, he saw what looked like Warlic nearby. “Warlic…what happened?” “I don’t know,” said Warlic simply, “I think…I think the spell react to the energies of your and Drakath’s blades, but I believe the spell worked…though it may have taken us as well.” “Well that’s just peachy,” said a voice near them, one which Regwald recognized as Gravelyn. He was about to ask her how she was doing when another voice sounded above them. “…Um, guys,” said Kira, “why do you all look like talking ponies?” Regwald’s eyes widened at that comment, which caused his vision to clear. Surrounding him on all sides were several large ponies, most of them having horns on their heads, and in the case of Warlic and himself, both wings and a horn. “Ok,” said Regwald, looking to his old friend before blowing his top, “WHAT THE FLYING FUCK HAS HAPPENED TO US WARLIC!!!” Much to everyone’s surprise, Regwald's shout was much louder than they had expected, thundering out across the expanse around them and causing many animals that had been eyeing them to scatter into the woods around them. Once the ringing had stopped, Warlic spoke up. “Well…I honestly have no idea what has happened to us, I mean from what I can tell only me, you and our allies are here…but I have no idea why we have been changed into these…creatures.” “Well assuming since we are here,” said another voice, this one being Artix, “then isn’t it likely that our enemies have been sent to this place as well, and have likely also been changed.” “I would assume so,” said Warlic, shakenly getting to his hooves as he looked around. “However, I think for the time being we need to worry about finding shelter, and possibly something to eat.” Everyone nodded, getting up and checking to make sure they still had their weapons. However, they soon stopped when a roar echoed across the wood, one which Kira recognized. “That is Exodus,” said Kira, before turning to Regwald and extending a wing to him. “Climb up Regwald, I shall need your power if I am to defeat Exodus quickly.” Regwald complied, climbing upon Kira’s back before looking back down at the rest of his friends. “Ok, you guys better make your way to where the roar originated from, for if the memories of this creature are right, he can create smaller versions of himself, and if he is anywhere near a town, I’ll need you guys down in that town conducting damage control.” Everyone nodded, and then charged off as Kira took into the sky, the mighty dragon letting out a roar of challenge as she flew toward one of her oldest foes. Author's Note I feel I should explain about two characters who will be major characters in this story, mainly the two OC's apearing in this story. Regwald: Rewgald is essentially my player character in AQWorlds, thus he is the Hero of lore. However, he also has the memories of the Hero's from the games Dragonfable, Adventure Quest, and Mechquest, though the reason why will be explained later (don't want to say now as that contains spoilers for the game AQWorlds.) Kira: Kira is from Dragonfable, and was destined to be the dragon of destruction but ended up switching destinies with the dragon of salvation. She originally was under the command of the Hero of Falconreach, but in this stories connected timeline, he was killed by Drakath, and she later came under the command of the Hero of Lore, who she has a strained partnership with, though that will also be explained later. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 01 - First Contact (Main) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 01 - First Contact (Main) Equestria, Ponyville Twilight gritted her teeth as her magic flared, straining as she held the barrier against the beast which had come to attack Ponyville. Luckily for her, it had waited a moment before going to strike, allowing her to get part of the barrier in time before it could strike. However, the barrier had not been able to complete before several smaller versions of the creature managed to break off, slipping under the barrier before it could be completed, who were now being repelled by her friends. She of course knew they would not be enough, for these creatures were like nothing she had ever seen, and even with the power granted to them by the tree of harmony, they were only managing to push the creatures back from the populace. She was forced to look away from her friends when another roar sounded from the Everfree Forest, looking up to see one of the largest dragons ever seen in Equestria, its purple eyes glowing bright as it flew toward the town. Much to Twilight’s surprise, instead of greeting the dragon as a friend, the creature turned and emitted a roar of challenge, moving forward and colliding with it as the great black dragon spewed golden flames upon it. ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Equestria, Ponyville Outskirts Artix and the others reached the outskirts of the town, just as Kira and Exodus met on the field of battle, though what was drawing there attention the most was what was happening in the town itself. Fighting against Exodus’s spawn were five ponies, all glowing with light as they used a form of magic none of them had ever seen before to repel the creatures. “There magic is not hurting them,” said Gravelyn seriously, “they will not be able to hold them off for long.” “Then we best get down there,” said Artix, before turning to Warlic and speaking to him. “Do you think you can get us past that barrier, it looks pretty solid?” “I don’t think we’ll need to,” said Warlic, and when he noticed the confused looks his friends gave him, he continued. “That barrier only seems to be keeping hostile creatures out, so I think if we go near it, it will let us in.” Artix wanted to question his old friend, but when one of the Exodus spawn punched a hole through one of the buildings, he began moving, the rest following as they made it to the barrier. When they reached it, a whole opened up in it, allowing them to pass inside, and when they were all through they split up and began attacking the Exodus Spawn. ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Equestria, Ponyville Proper Applejack kicked another creature in the face, causing it to real back as her harmonic magic surged through it. She was about to deliver another kick to the critter when an arrow lodged itself into the side of its head, causing it to vanish in a burst of black flames as several ponies ran past her and started to cut down the more of the creatures. “What the hay!” she yelled. “Sorry mam we’ll explain later,” yelled a stallion, who leapt over her head before landing and blasting one of the creatures with pure golden light, causing it to burst into flames as well. “Ok now I am really confused,” said Applejack, but she decided to chase after the new ponies, praying they would be able to get to the bottom of who these ponies were. ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Equestria, Ponyville Outskirts Kira let out another bellowing roar as Exodus made to swipe her, dodging easily before delivering a swipe of her own and taking most of its face, causing it to howl in pain. In all honesty, Exodus was not the hardest enemy Kira had ever faced, especially seeing as how it was one of the weakest of the titans. But she had a personal hatred of this monster, for it was the first one who had introduced her to how painful the pain of being exposed to her opposite element. The pain visited upon her that day would burn into her a hatred that still infuriated her to this day, and now she could visit that same pain on Exodus…again. With that thought in mind, she opened her maw wide, a glowing circle of runes forming in front of her maw as she unleashed her breath weapon, the circle turning it into a concentrated beam of holy flame. Meanwhile, Regwald was doing his best to keep Exodus’s spawn from overwhelming Kira, his sword and his spells sending one after another down to the field below, watching them explode. Suddenly, he heard the crackling of fire, and looked to see Exodus collapsing in a pile of bones and ashen limbs, fading away as his spawn fell apart as well, not able to live without their master. When he was sure they were all gone, he looked around, seeing his friends gathering in the center of the town, being joined by several other ponies who looked like they held some standing within the town. “Kira, take me over there, it looks like were about to meet the ones who rule this place.” Kira nodded, and then flew off toward the center of town, hoping that they would be able to smooth things over with the locals before things got too out of hand. //-------------------------------------------------------// Interlude 01 - Forging a Legion //-------------------------------------------------------// Interlude 01 - Forging a Legion Out on the snows of the Crystal Empire, a form stalked across its white surface, his black armor barely making a sound as he moved upon all forms like an ape. His name was Dage the Evil, and he was currently trying to get out of the storm he was currently in, while pondering on where exactly he was. The last thing he could remember, he had been leading his legion of undead alongside Gravelyn and her forces, trying to keep the queen of monsters and her hoards from overwhelming Lore’s protectors so that they could banish her and her creatures from the world, if only so that he could go back to the good old days of tormenting them himself with his fun little raids every Friday the 13th. Now however, he was new land, and land not his own, and in a body not his own, which was causing him a bit of discomfort, though of all the things to be changed into, a lizard man was definitely an upgrade, if his guess about his anatomy was correct. However, when he placed one of his hands on the ground to keep moving, he felt the presence of a soul trapped upon the plane underneath him, and moved the snow aside to find a red horn lying in the snow, picking it up and feeling the thrum of a living soul as it touched the palm of his hand. Dage smiled behind his helmet at that, placing the horn back upon the ground and then beginning to work his magic, calling upon his powers as a necromancer to bring forth a new body for the soul to occupy. First to form was the skull, which attached itself to the horn, then came the neck, then the spine, and many other bones. Soon, a pony skeleton was fully formed in front of him, the bones taking on the metallic black sheen which was customary of his legion of old. He flicked his wrist then, causing muscles and other organs to begin to form around the bones, as well as flesh to cover it. Finally, dark gray fur sprang from its body, as well as a smoky black mane and tail, and then the body collapsed upon the ground, lying prone as if waiting for something. Dage lifted a hand to his helmet, the helmets mouth opening up a crack and blue flames leaking out, flames which he then placed into the body of the pony, who’s eyes shot open and glowed bright blue as he coughed and coked on the air around him. “Hello my little pony,” said Dage with a smirk, “tell me, who are you?” The pony coughed, then spoke up when his throat was cleared. “My name is Sombra, former king of the Crystal Empire…who are you.” “Dage the Evil,” said Dage, “your savior, and new master.” Sombra scoffed at that, “I don’t know who you think I am, but I am no one’s pawn, now if you will excuse me, I have an empire to take back.” He got up to leave, but just as he took is first step, Dage lifted his hand up, a ring of blue flame forming around Sombra's neck and causing him to choke. “Sorry Sombra,” said Dage with another smirk, “but you are not going anywhere without my permission, especially to that place, for I can feel its magic from here, and you would simply cease to be.” Sombra growled, but surrendered, deciding it would be best to bide his time a while. “Very well, then what is it you wish of me?” Dage got into a comfortable sitting position, and then gestured to the pony. “I wish for you to tell me about this world, every detail. I want to know about its magic, who the dominate race is, when I have all that, I want you to take me to your gods.” Once again, Sombra scoffed. “Gods, we have no gods, at least not any we can conceive of.” “You really think so?” said Dage with a curious glance. “I know so,” said Sombra, “we have no gods, no matter the claims that they do exist.” Dage grinned at that, then bowed his head, “Very well, but on everything else, I still wish to know, then we shall leave this place.” Sombra nodded at that, and then started speaking, and as he did, Dage began collecting himself for the journey ahead. For, despite what this little pony said, he knew he had sensed gods on this world, and once he had all the information he needed, he would set off to meet them. After all, one could never have too many gods on one’s side. Author's Note Dage the Evil has entered the playing field folks, and more characters to come. With that said, let me explain how things are going to be going in regards to chapters. Main Chapters are going to be focusing on whats happening between the charactes already in the Canterlolt-Ponyville Region and their dealings with the Mane Six and the Princesses. Interlude Chapters are going to focus on either the villains, the titans and how they are fitting in, The Queen of Monsters herself, or the the Anti-Hero characters like Dage the Evil (Trust me he is an Anti-Hero) and others. Next chapter is going to be a Main Chapter, but fallowing that is going to be another Interlude, which will be introducing a character which...well lets just say his laughter makes heads roll. Till then, if you guys have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them on buy, I love hearing from you guys. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 02 - First Meeting (Main) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 02 - First Meeting (Main) Twilight really couldn’t believe her eyes at this point, for despite the fantastical things that had happened this morning, the ponies standing before her were hauntingly familiar, as well as shocking in every detail. Most of them were unicorns, while the rest were alicorns, which made Twilight a bit nervous. What also made her nervous was that many of these ponies were covered in armor, armor which had seen many a battle. And they had also were carrying weapons of similar wear, weapons which rivaled the likes of anything Equestria had to offer. Just as she was about to speak though, the black dragon she had seen before flew over their heads, landing behind the new group of ponies and lowering itself to the ground, allowing the alicorn ridding upon its back to dismount before getting comfortable while the new alicorn made his way to the front of the group before speaking to Twilight. “Can I assume you are the masters of this Town?” “Masters?” said Rainbow, “heck no, were just the heads of the friendship council.” The alicorn looked confused, but before he could ask, Twilight lifted a hoof to stay him. “Look, we will explain ourselves later, but for now, I think you should come with us, for we have some questions we need to ask you.” The alicorn nodded, and then turned to the dragon, “Kira, you might want to change to a more manageable form for now, that way you can follow.” “As you wish Dragonlord,” said Kira to the confusion of Twilight and her friends, before being engulfed in light and changing into what looked like a hybrid between pony and dragon the size of Princess Celestia, looking herself over in confusion. “Strange, it seems my other form has been altered as you have been.” Twilight was tempted to ask what she meant by that comment, but decided to leave it for later, gesturing with her wing for them to follow as she and her friends led them to her castle, sending off a quick note to Princess Celestia to meet them there, in the hopes that she could help her and her friends get to the bottom of this whole mess. ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Regwald had to admit, of all the places he had been, or remembered being, this castle was reminding him of a place he would rather not be, for it was reminding him of the Vizalain, crystal creatures who he had slaughtered. “No,” thought Regwald with a grimace, “that wasn’t me, that was him…and he is dead.” He took a deep breath, and then looked around, noting that his friends were just as nervous as he was, if not more in the case of people like Gravelyn. They were currently waiting in one of the many rooms in the lead mare’s castle, a mare who called herself Princess Twilight Sparkle, which Regwald found a weird name. As to the reason why they were waiting, apparently, Twilight was only a minor ruler in this land, and so she had sent a letter off to a ruler who had more standing, who they were waiting to meet now. “Regwald,” said a voice behind him, causing him to look back and see another old friend looking at him with a quizzical look, though he had to admit the only reason he could recognize her due to her mane. “What is it Celestia?” “I just noticed something,” said the silver haired mare, “Twilight is considered the ruler of her people, and she has both wings and a horn correct?” “True.” “Well I was thinking; if the ruling body are these…winged unicorns, why would it make you, me, and Warlic into them?” “I can’t be sure,” said Regwald, “unless it also has to do with how powerful we are, after all, were not exactly the average citizen are we.” “No we are not,” said Celestia with a chuckle, though she soon stopped as she gave him a serious look. “You know, I think you and Kira should…” “No Celestia,” said Regwald, knowing where the mare was going and deciding to put a stop to it before it could start. “I can’t be with her and you know that, she is only interested in me because I look like him and have his memories.” “That is not the only reason Regwald,” said Celestia, but before she could continue the door opened, and in walked Twilight, the rest of the so called friendship council, and three more winged unicorns, the center one actually looking to be the size of a full grown horse. The larger pony approached, looking over Regwald and his allies before speaking, Regwald noting that her voice sounded exactly like Celestia’s. “Hello my little ponies, my name is Princess Celestia…” She was cut almost instantly as Regwald and the others gasped, Regwald turning to look at his friend to notice that she was looking shocked as well, and when he looked back, he could see that their shock was not lost on the mare. “Pardon me, but what has caused you all such sock?” “Um,” said Artix, moving up so that he was standing next to their Celestia. “Pardon me your highness, but our shock was caused by the fact that you um…share the name of this mare here, for she to is called Celestia.” ஜ۩۞۩ஜ The room had gone dead silent at that statement, Twilight looking up to her mentor to see a rare look of confusion on her face, the solar monarch hesitating a moment before extending one of her wings and gesturing to the mare. “Come closer…please.” Twilight watched as the mare walked forward, and couldn’t help but take note of how similar the two mares looked, especially when she got close. When the mare was standing in front of them, Princess Celestia gave her a quick look over, and then smiled, sitting down and speaking. “Well this presents a lovely surprise, so tell me, where are you princess of?” That got Celestia confused, “Um…I’m sorry princess, but I am not a princess of anyplace, I am but a humble priestess who cares for dragons…well at least I used to be before me and my friends ended up here…wherever this is.” “Really, so you are saying you are not originally from Equestria?” “Is that what you call your planet, or your kingdom?” This got a confused look from Princess Celestia, who leaned over to speak to Luna before looking back at Celestia and speaking. “Our planet is called Equis, our kingdom is called Equestria.” Celestia sighed at that, “Then I have to say we are not native to Equis, in fact until a few moments ago we were not even ponies. We were…well we were a species called humans.” Much to the newly made pony’s surprise, Princess Celestia did not look so confused, the mare turning to Twilight and speaking to her. “Twilight, I thought you said the humans on the other side of the portal were more advanced than this, these ponies look like they have come out of Equestira’s dark ages.” “Um…princess…I don’t think they are from that world…in fact I think I know where they came from.” This got a surprised reaction from all parties, causing one of the new ponies to move up and speak. “Um, begging your pardon Your Highness, but how can you know where we are from, we just got here. Twilight sighed, “Because, I have been having visions of your world Lore for the past few months.” The room suddenly exploded in an uproar of voices, but they were soon quieted as two bright lights flashed from Princess Celestia and one of the new alicorns, the two looking at each other before the princess spoke. “I see we are of the same mindset when it comes to calming down those around us?” “I have seen that displays of power often have a quieting effect on my friends, but for now, I would like to speak to Twilight if you don’t mind.” “Go ahead, just be sure not to pressure my student too much; she is new to her station.” The stallion nodded, then walked up to Twilight and bowed his head, “Princess, my name is Warlic, Arch Mage of Lore. If you could please, tell me what your latest vision was, for it may explain why we ended up…in your world.” Twilight nodded, then explained about her last vision, explaining how she had seen their battle up to the point where Regwald had crossed swords with Drakath, and then she had been woken up by her horn burning due to the influx of new magic. “Hm,” said Warlic, “that explains a lot actually, and it really is the only concrete reason I can think of that we would have ended up in your world.” Twilight gave him a confused look, so Warlic explained. “Princess, though I have only been in your world a short time, I can tell your magic behaves very differently from our own. In our world, visions are a form of magic that can be tapped into, and, in the case of certain magic’s, traced so that they can be followed back to their source.” “What, you’re saying that your spell latched on to my vision and…followed it back here?” “In simplest terms yes,” said Warlic. “If only by accident, and if that is the case, then…then I am afraid I have to apologies to all of you.” “What do you mean by that?” asked Princess Celestia. Warlic sighed, looking at all of them before speaking up. “Because, the spell I was attempting to pull off was not meant to transport us away from our world, it was meant to banish the monsters of our world, as well as their progenitor, to make our home a safer place. However, when Regwald and Drakath clashed swords, the resulting shock wave introduced new magic into the spell, which latched onto Twilight’s vision, and sent us…and our enemies to your world.” The silence was deafening, but after a while, Twilight finally spoke up. “So…so that creature that attacked Ponyville today, that was…” “A monster from our world,” said Kira, who had moved up next to Warlic to address the princesses. “Specifically he was a Titan by the name of Exodus, one of the weakest of their kin, but still a formidable foe.” “And you are,” said Celestia, eyeing the hybrid with some worry. “Kira Elrana, former dragon of Destruction and guardian of the world of Lore, at your service.” “Whoa whoa whoa,” said Rainbow, who had flown up to look at the mare. “What they hay do you mean former dragon of destruction, usually when something has that name they can’t exactly stop being that.” “You would think so,” said Kira, “but I decided to defy my destiny in order to protect those I love, and for better or worse, I would never go back on that decision.” Rainbow looked like she wanted to argue, but Princess Celestia cut her off. “You can ask her more about herself at another time Rainbow, for now, I would like to hear about these titans.” She turned to Kira, who nodded her head before speaking. “The titans are quite simply the oldest and most powerful beings in our world, around long before our gods took up their mantles, and even older than all the races on Lore, including the dragons. They are ruled by a creature who goes by no name, save for her title…The Queen of Monsters, for she is both their progenitor, and their ruler.” Kira closed her eyes, letting her magic pool within her claws before releasing it, surrounding everyone in the room with images of the titans, as well as their queen. “By Faust’s holy quill,” said Luna, looking at the creatures surrounding them with genuine fear in her eyes, fear that was mirrored by her sister. “How can such creatures exist, they…they can’t be natural.” “In our world they are,” said Kira, “and they exist because she exists, and she has existed since time began.” Kira let her spell drop, the images fading away, and backed up to allow Warlic to speak. “We do not know when, or if they will make there presences known to you, but unlike Exodus, it will probably be a long while before they show themselves.” “Why is that,” asked Cadance, her eyes showing her hopefulness at his comment. “Because,” said Regwald, “Exodus is a mindless beast, and has no mind for strategy or the patience to even come up with a plan. The others however are a lot smarter, for they used to rule over nations and worlds, so they are well accustomed to playing to long game. They will want to take time to adapt to their new surroundings, scope out the creatures here, and most of all, adapt your world’s magic to theirs.” “Adapt our magic to theirs,” said Princess Celestia, “I’m afraid I don’t understand you.” “Beings as old as they are have their own magic which they carry with them, magic which is separate from the world’s magic. Because of this, they make the world bend to their rules, rather than letting the world bend them, which makes them even more dangerous.” Princess Celestia’s face looked grim at this description. “That is very troubling then, for we have only ever faced one being the likes of which you describe, and the only reason he is not a trouble now is because we were able to reform him.” “And he was?” Before she could speak, a flash of light blinded everypony there, and when there vision cleared, one of the strangest creatures the heroes of Lore had ever seen stood in there center, looking around with a wide grin on his face. “Oh what lovely little aliens we have here, why didn’t anybody tell me we were entertaining guests of another nature today.” “What the hell is that?” said a voice from Regwald’s crowed, drawing Discord’s attention. “Who me, well I’m Discord, spirit of Chaos and HRRKK!!!” Discord was cut off by Regwald's horn flaring, the recently turned alicorns eyes glowing bright purple along with his magic as he drew his sword along with the rest of his group, placing the sword to Discords throat as he began to speak. “You better give me one good reason not to…” “REGWALD!!!” His eyes immediately dimmed, and he turned to the one who had shouted, seeing Kira looking at him with concern as she gestured around the room. “Please my…please Regwald, put your sword away, you’re scaring them.” Regwald hesitated for a moment, and then looked back at the group who were there hosts, seeing them all with looks of fear in their eyes, though they were not directed at him, but at the being below him. When he looked down, he saw that his sword was pressed close to his throat, and was drawing blood. He quickly let the creature up, who didn’t float of the ground, causing more concern from the ponies around him. When he had backed a significant distance away, he sheathed his sword, and then used his wings to command his friends to do the same before speaking. “I…I’m sorry, but I just…the last war we fought was caused by an entity who manipulated chaos, and the battle which accidently sent us to your world was caused by the same being, so we…we have a very knee jerk reaction to beings of chaos unless they…well unless they use their powers for good.” “Well,” said Discord as he rubbed his neck, “I can assure you…I may have had my failings in the past, but I have been shown the error of my ways thanks to these mares behind me, so you don’t have anything to fear from me.” Regwald hesitated, and then nodded his head, sitting down and then looking to Princess Celestia. “Princess, if it is alright can we put off further questions till a later date, my friends and I are still a bit jumpy from our last battle, and we could use the time to calm down.” Princess Celestia nodded, and then turned to Twilight’s friends, “Girls, could you please lead them to some guest rooms, I have to speak with Twilight a moment, and then she can join you.” The girls nodded, and then started to lead the group out, and as they left Princess Celestia turned to Twilight. “Twilight, Luna and I are going to stay for a while; at least till we are sure they can be trusted in your care alone. As for Cadance…” “I’ll be staying too,” said Cadance instantly, looking at the departing ponies with saddened eyes. “I can feel a lot of pain in them, they have lost a lot of loved ones recently, and it needs time to heal.” Twilight nodded at that, and then turned to Discord. “Discord, how are you feeling?” “Frightened out of my mind,” said Discord, his eyes fixated on the departing form of Regwald. “I don’t know what kind of magic was in that blade of his, but it wanted to kill me, and I think it could have.” “What,” said Princess Celestia, “but the only kind of magic you’re weak to is…?” “Harmony magic,” said Discord, “I know…but that blade, that blade is anything but harmonic, that weapon was made for only one thing…” “What?” asked Twilight hesitantly. “…To harm beings of great power…and insure that they die.” He then snapped his fingers, vanishing and leaving the four princesses to ponder his words, and the ramifications they brought along with them.” Author's Note Lot went down this chapter, and a lot more will be coming in the next one. Next chapter Victoria and Gravelyn are going to have a talk with Princess Celestia and Luna about Rewgwald, and Twilight will also be talking to him, which will lead to the big reveal about this character and his past. Till then, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on buy, I love hearing form you guys. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 03 - Eye of the Beholder - Part 01 (Lore) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 03 - Eye of the Beholder - Part 01 (Lore) Celestia sighed as she took off her regalia, her sister doing the same as they settled down for the evening, the day having been filled with too much excitement for that day. “Sister,” said Luna, drawing the larger alicorns attention, “I am worried…” “About what Luna,” said Celestia, moving close and placing a wing on her back. “It’s just…” started Luna, “The way Regwald and the others reacted to when Discord mentioned his title, I…I know his magic can be harmful at times, but the way they reacted…” “I know,” said Celestia, “they like his magic could…could…” Celestia didn’t want to say, but Luna knew where she was going with her words. As bad as Discord had been when he had ruled over Equestria, he had never killed anypony, not even once. Oh sure, he had tortured many ponies, but no one had died. But the way those ponies had spoken, it’s was as if they had lost people to such magic, and in such ways that it had scared them horribly. They were brought out of their dreadful musings by a knock coming to their door, but before either of them could reacted it opened, and Gravelyn and Victoria walked in. “Princesses, could we have a word with you a moment?” Celestia looked to her sister, then nodded her head, “Please, what do you wish to speak with us about?” “It’s…” started Victoria, “it’s about Regwald.” “What about him?” asked Luna. “We…we came to warn you about him,” said Gravelyn. Both rulers looked confused by this, then Celestia spoke up, “Explain.” “…Look,” said Victoria, “we wouldn’t be telling you this otherwise, but…well, unless Warlic pulls something out of his hat and spirits us back home, we may be here a long time, and in that case, you need to know about Regwald. You see he’s…well, he isn’t exactly what he seems.” ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Regwald stared out at the town from the balcony of his room, the tranquility of the place both soothing…and unnerving him at the same time. If he had to place a finger…no…a hoof on what the problem was, Regwald knew it had to do with the fact that for essentially the past five years of his life, he had been at war, a war that had spread even into his tranquil home town of Battleon, tearing it apart. To see such peace again, it was sadly foreign to him, though, if he reached far enough across his memories, he knew that eventually that feeling would fade, for it had many times before. He was brought out of his dark thoughts by the sound of his door opening, and he looked up to see Twilight Sparkle walking into his room, looking concerned. “Princess, how can I be of service to thee?” Twilight looked hesitant for a moment, and then she closed the door, giving him a look before speaking. “Regwald, what are you?” “…I don’t understand the question.” “Back when you attacked Discord,” said Twilight, “when you used your magic to grab him, I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but…well, whatever you were doing to hide your magic slipped, and I saw your magic for what it truly was, which is why I want to know what you are, for you can’t be a simple hero with the kind of magic I saw in you.” Regwald looked hesitant a moment, then he sighed, getting up and walking over to Twilight before speaking. “Very well, I guess you deserve to know more than most, being the princess of this village. However I must warn you Twilight, once you know what I truly am, you may not be able to look at me the same way again…you may even come to despise me.” Before she could speak, his eyes glowed, and suddenly the entire world vanished around her, leaving her alone in a vast empty blackness. After a moment, she found herself on a stone platform, and after a moment more, a dragon larger then Kira and blacker then the night itself rose out of the blackness, his red eyes glowing brightly as he stared down at her. “This Twilight Sparkle, is my true form,” spoke Regwald, his voice sounding like rolling thunder as it reverberated around them, sounding like it came as much from the blackness itself as it did from his own scaly lips. “I am a being older than time, and have gone by many a name. The First Being, The Ageless One, Shaper of Time and Space, these are just a few Titles I have held throughout my immeasurable existence, but the title I am most known for is one which describes me best, The Eternal Dragon of Time.” He spread his great wings, a great golden ring forming behind him as he leaned his head down to expose his back to her. “Climb on, we have much to see, and when things get going, you will need a safe place to stand.” ஜ۩۞۩ஜ “So your telling me,” said Celestia, her hooves rubbing her temples as a headache began to form, “that not only is Regwald a god, he is in fact the god that is responsible for your universes existence, as well as time itself in your universe?” “That is what we’re telling you,” said Victoria, “and believe me, we were just as shocked as you when we found out.” There was a long moment of silence following that, and then Luna spoke up. “This is indeed troubling, but what we cannot understand is why he would not tell us, nor why he would appear as a lesser creature.” “That’s because he has grown accustomed to living wrapped in a mortal coil, which honestly most of us don’t see the point in him doing that, after all in his true form he has powers the likes of which most of us can’t conceive.” “So he is more comfortable in a mortal guise?” “Precisely,” said Gravelyn, “but this makes him extremely vulnerable, despite his stating the opposite from time to time. But that is not why we warned you, it…it actually has to do with the being called Discord.” Celestia looked up at that, “what about him?” Victoria looked hesitant for a moment, and then spoke up, “We wish to know what methods you possess to defeat such a creature, and if they are still available, could they be used on others?” ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Twilight had lost track of how long they had been flying, nor how far, for it was still the same endless black that it had been when they started, not changing a bit. But soon Regwald stopped, somehow managing to land upon the blackness as he looked around. “Were here,” he said. “I’ll take your word on it,” said Twilight, but as soon as she said that a shape appeared in the blackness, and she soon gasped as she saw that it was Regwald. But the dragon flying toward them looked much different from the one she was riding upon now. For one, his scales were green, not black like the one she was sitting upon, and for another, he only possessed four limbs, whereas the dragon she was standing upon possessed six. “Like many great story tellers,” Regwald began, “I prefer to begin at the beginning, or in this case, the very beginning of things. Back then, the universe was unformed, no stars, no planets, and no time.” The dragon from what Twilight now realized was Regwald's past landed on amongst the blackness, laying down to sleep as Regwald continued to speak. “As far as I know, I have always existed, and to tell you the truth my oldest living memory is of opening my eyes to the blackness, and flying about before sleeping again.” “You must have been lonely,” said Twilight as she looked around. “I was, which is why I brought us to this point, for this is when I crafted time.” Twilight watched as the dragon lifted his wings, the claws on them beginning to glow as light flowed from out of the blackness, swirling around faster and faster till they burst, and suddenly the entire space around them filled with starts. “You see, I was already a being who existed in his own time, so I thought, what if the world could exist in my time as well. So, I gathered up my power, and then flung it out of the world around me, and then…everything else began to exist as well.” Twilight looked confused, so Regwald explained. “You see Twilight, without time, things simply don’t exist, take this creature for example.” As he said that, he conjured up a simple looked animal, which was running in place in front of Twilight at a steady pace. “Now, watch as I steadily increase time.” Suddenly, the creature began speeding up, faster and faster till finally it vanished, which caused Twilight to blink in shock. “Now tell me Twilight,” said Regwald, “does it exist?” “What,” said Twilight, “of course it does!” “Oh really, what evidence do you have that can show me it exists.” Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, realizing that she honestly had no way of proving that the creature existed or not. “So what does this mean?” “It means that without time, nothing can exist, for if there is no time, then how do we measure our existence?” “I wouldn’t know,” said Twilight honestly, “I guess…we couldn’t could we?” “No we couldn’t, even I couldn’t if I wasn’t who I was.” Regwald Spread his wings again, gliding after his past self as the once black expanse became more and more filled with stars, Twilight looking around in amazement as they flew through the vast expanse. “After I forged time, I flew around to see what it had birthed, and was surprised when I sensed life beginning to form on many of the planets that had recently formed, many of them varied, but none of them like me. And then one day, as I was flying through a particularly dense nebula cloud, I heard something…calling to me.” As they watched, The Eternal Dragon suddenly shot up from the cloud, and floating above it, was a creature which caused Twilight mass confusion.” “Wait a moment, isn’t that…” “The Queen of Monsters?” said Regwald, “yes…that is her, for she was the one calling to me.” The Eternal Dragon approached The Queen, looking hesitant, but then she moved in close, grabbing him by his face and staring deeply into his eyes. “We shared many words that day,” said Regwald, “Many secrets, many unimportant things. I honestly can’t remember anything we talked about that day…but I do remember how it ended, for that was the day…I found my first love.” “Wait, you not saying you…” “Loved her?” finished Regwald, “sadly, yes I did. But you must understand, at the time, she was the only one like me I had ever encountered, and the same could be said for her in regards to me. We were after all gods, and pretty much the only ones around at the time, for it would be many years before the lesser gods would come into existence.” He then shook his head, as if he was trying to shake away bad memories. “But I digress, that is not important. After a long while, we started wandering the universe together, watching as life sprung up on planets here or there, and even influencing the evolution of some worlds.” Twilight watched as the two beings approached a world, watching as their magic stretched out, influencing the ecology of the planet and making it suitable for many forms of life. “Sadly, as time passed, a pattern began to form within the universe, a pattern which caused my mate to grow more and more hostile as the years passed. This pattern came in the form of the persecution upon The Queen’s chosen people, the monsters, who were being hunted and slaughtered due to fear and prejudice.” Again the images changed, but when they did Twilight nearly threw up, for it was depicting scenes of monsters getting attacked and butchered by various other humanoid races, and above, The Queen of Monsters looked on with tears streaming down her face. “I can assume by your look you are not used to such carnage,” said Regwald in a comforting tone. “No,” said Twilight, “I mean we have monsters in our world, even some that eat ponies, but we do our best not to kill them, even the most hostile. We only resort to killing when it becomes absolutely necessary, and even then we do it with trepidation.” “Well in the case of our sentient races, they held no such trepidation, mainly due to the oldest fear to plague such races, the fear of what they do not understand. Because of this fear, they slaughtered monsters without any consideration, which lead to The Queen of Monsters fall.” Suddenly, the images switched to a new world, and as they watched the skies above exploded as The Queen descended upon it, her eyes glowing blood read as she lead a score of grand beasts to lay siege to the world. “She was swift in her retribution, and soon, the entire universe was in turmoil, for even the gods who had come into being after us could not stand against her, even united. So, with a heavy heart…I was forced to do battle with her.” The scene changed once more, and Twilight jumped as a bellowing roar tore through space. Twilight then ducked, for The Eternal Dragon of Time flew over them, his mouth opening wide as a torrent of blinding light flew from his mouth to strike The Queen of Monsters, who blocked it with a feral his before unleashing a torrent of lightning bolts from her hands upon him. The Eternal Dragon dogged out of the way, roaring a bit as it clipped his wing but he kept on going, the great halo upon his back beginning to spin before he stopped in midair and spread his wings wide, the plate on his chest glowing bright before unleashing a beam of blue light that incinerated part of The Queen. “Our battle lasted for days, shaking the heavens of all the planets of the universe. But with being like us, we couldn’t die, so…in the end I was forced to do something that I would never do again…I removed her from time.” The scene changed one final time, showing a battered Eternal Dragon standing over an even more battered looking Queen, who was collapsed upon her belly and slowly being pulled into the gaping maw of a black hole, looking up at The Eternal Dragon with sorrow in her eyes. “Please…don’t do this…please…” “I’m sorry,” said The Eternal Dragon, “…but I must.” He then slammed his wing claws together, causing The Queen to be sucked in before the hole closed, and then his wings to his sides, the mighty dragon throwing his head back and unleashing a heart wrenching roar at the loss of one so dear to him. ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Celestia gave the two rulers a skeptical look, and then spoke, “I don’t know if that is information you should know at this time.” “I am afraid I have to disagree,” said Victoria, “for if The Queen of Monsters starts her campaign in this world, Regwald will insist on fighting against her. And if he does, we will need a method of dealing with him…should the need arise.” “And why would we need to deal with him?” asked Luna. “Because during the war of Chaos, Regwald was our greatest warrior, at least till he came up against Drakath. When that happened, Drakath was able to chaorrupt him, turning him against us which in the end, even when we managed to bring him back, resulted in the release of The Queen of Monsters.” “…Chaorrupt?” “Sorry,” said Victoria, “I should have known you might not know that term. “Chaorruption is basically when a person falls victim to the ravages of chaos magic, which warps them into a twisted version of themselves.” Celestia actually smiled a bit at that, “so, like when a pony is discorded?” “…Explain.” “Discorded was a method of control used by the spirit Discord, which caused a pony to act against their nature, essentially making them an opposite of their former self.” “I see,” said Victoria, “then yes, much like that. For when Regwald was Chaorrupted, he went from a savior…to a conqueror.” That last bit made the room grow cold; Luna and Celestia staring at both the rulers till Gravelyn spoke up. “The thing is, even after he came back to us, he still held within him the chaos which had chaorrupted him, one he says he has control over…even if we disagree with him.” “And that’s why we want to know how you were able to gain control of this Discord, for if it can control him, it may be able to be used against Regwald if he…were to slip.” Celestia turned to Luna, who nodded, causing Celestia to sigh as she spoke. “I am afraid that the weapon we have which fist defeated Discord was not used to gain control over him, however, it may be able to purify him of any remaining chaos influence that may remain.” That got a hopeful look from the two rulers, causing Victoria to speak up, “What is this weapon?” “We call them the Elements of Harmony, which come from a magical object known as the Tree of Harmony. The tree is our worlds shield, and the elements are our worlds sword, and combined they create a force which has managed to defeat every enemy that has been through against us over the years. Recently, they have chosen Twilight and her friends as their wielders, and have granted them their full power, though we have yet to see what that entails.” “And you said they can purify beings of chaos,” said Gravelyn, “do we have more than your word on that?” “…They purified me,” said Luna, causing both rulers to look shocked. “What?” Luna sighed, “Ages ago, I became corrupted by my own jealousy towards my sister, causing me to turn into a creature known as Nightmare Moon, a beast who sought to bring about eternal night for the entire world. The first time I was hit by the elements, they banished me to the moon, but after I returned a thousand years later, Twilight and her friends were able to use the elements to purify me of the darkness in my heart and return me to what I once was.” “…and you think this could do the same for Regwald?” asked Gravelyn. “Most likely yes,” said Celestia, “for we have seen it purify chaos from others before, especially those who had been discorded.” At this, Victoria began tearing up, and in response Gravelyn reached out a wing to comfort her. “Prithee,” said Luna, “what causes you such grief.” “Victoria’s father…and my technical step father; fell to Chaorruption, to the point where Regwald was forced to kill him. To hear that these elements can purify chaos…it pains our hearts to know there was a method to save him, even if it was out of our reach.” Celestia could understand their pain, and much to their surprise got up and wrapped them both up in her wings, comforting them both. “Um, Princess Celestia…” started Victoria. “Don’t mind my sister,” said Luna, “she does this to everypony, which has resulted in her being regarded as one of the most approachable rulers in our world.” “I see,” said Gravelyn, managing to extract herself from the hug before speaking again. “So, do you think you will be able to convince Twilight and her friends to purify Regwald?” “I’m sure we will be able to,” said Celestia, “after all, he is a god, which means we need to make sure he stays on our side if he is as powerful as you claim.” “He is, and more so, we honestly don’t know if his powers have any limits…if only he would use them.” “Well maybe that is something I can discuss with him in the future,” said Celestia, “for now, let us go speak with them, for I can sense both are awake.” They all got up, and as one left the room, the two smaller alicorns actually bearing smiles on their faces as, in their minds, thing were finally going there way. Author's Note OK, before I go into what comes next I have to say my peace here about a part which I know is going to cause some controversy amonst those readers who do know the story of AQWorlds. Now before any of you who have played the came react to Gravelyn calling King Alteon her step father, please let me explain. I have played pretty much every game Artix Entertainment has made, from Adventure Quest to Pony vs Pony, Mech Quest to Oversoul. However, it is the information gathered from both Dragonfable and AQWorlds, as well as lore from Sepulcher's villain wiki page which led to this decision. Basic thing is, the same woman who was married to King Alteon and gave birth to his three daughters also gave birth to Sepulcher's daughter Gravelyn. Hell, Alteon alleges to this during his death scene in AQWorlds, commenting on the fact that she has the heart of her mother. Ok with that out of the way, not to explain about this chapter. Yes, I know its kind of an exposition dump. Yes, I know some of what I invented about the Eternal Dragons past, especially his connection to The Queen of Monsters was kinda strange, but I feel it fits. And yes, I know this chapter has Part 01 in its title, but there is a reason for that. This chapter will be one of many chapters where Regwald explains not only about his own past, but also about the past of Lore, the other hero's who's memories he shares, as well as the special connection Regwald shares with the Hero of Falconreach, AKA, the hero before him. These chapters will be dispersed throughout the story, instead of grouped together like I have seen other part chapters before. What this means is that there will be a few chapters between each of these "lore" chapters (hah), which will hopefully keep the exposition decently spaced out, while managing to tell the parts of Regwald's story that needs to be told, for there is a lot about his character that results from the lives of the hero's who came before him, and will also, in my own way, piece together all the games from Artix Entertainment into a cohesive, and hopefully satisfying whole. Anyways, next chapter will be an intermission chapter, which will include The Queen of All Monster's being confronted one of Equis's less well known guardians (Remember what Celestia said about the shield). After that, we will get new main chapter, however it wont be a lore one (hm, maybe I should make chapter tags), instead it will be more dealing with how Gravelyn and Victoria are in regards to how the react around Regwald himself and his method of story telling. Till then guys, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them by, I love hearing from you guys. //-------------------------------------------------------// Interlude 02 - The Crossing of Monumentals //-------------------------------------------------------// Interlude 02 - The Crossing of Monumentals Equis: Barren Wastes The Queen of All Monsters was confused. The last thing she remembered, she had been leading her forces against the defenders of Lore, who had been on the verge of sending her and all she held dear back across the void to parts unknown. However, when the spell went off, she had blacked out, and now found herself in what felt like the kindest place in all creation. “It’s peaceful,” said The Queen, a smile slowly coming to her face as she spoke. “Maybe...maybe I can find a place here, unlike that void However, as she began to move, she suddenly felt a change in the magic, something almost hostile in it as a crack formed in the ground in front of her and a creature climbed out, Equine in shape, but exploding with power. “You do not belong here!” said the creature, taking a step closer to The Queen, which caused the magic of the planet to flux, growing even more hostile towards her with every minute. “A world goddess,” thought The Queen with trepidation, “this is not good, I can’t repel a goddess of this power…not on her turf.” So, deciding to play this tactfully, she bowed low in surrender to the creature. “I am sorry, but I did not come here on purpose, and I would leave if I could.” “I don’t care,” said the creature, “I already have one Chaos shaper to deal with, I don’t need another.” That caught The Queen by surprise, but before she could speak, another voice interrupted them. “Oh come now Monumental, I’m not that bad am I?” The Queen’s eyes widened as a new being appeared, one who was simply brimming with the magic of Chaos, something she had only seen in herself. “I only tolerate you because my chosen have managed to reform you.” “Then maybe I can do the same for her,” said the being, floating there as if waiting for Monumental to object. But she didn’t, instead snorting before turning away and beginning to fade. “Very well, but if I sense anything hostile from this one, I shall inform my chosen of the danger.” “You sure that’s wise,” said the being, “they don’t know you exist after all.” Monumental snorted, “They will know soon enough,” she said, before vanishing back into the earth. Once she was gone, the being turned to The Queen, smiling a bit before speaking. “Well, now that she is gone, my name is Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, who are you.” “…I…I have no name, but I am called The Queen or Mother of Monsters, and a Spirit of Chaos.” “A fellow chaos Spirit, I must say it has been…well I don’t really know how long it’s been since I have seen another one like me.” “…Are…are you accepted here?” “I beg your pardon?” The Queen looked hesitant, but spoke again, this time more clearly. “That being before, it mentioned that her chosen had…reformed you, does that mean that you are…accepted in this world, even though you’re a monster?” “Why of course,” said Discord, “they are my friends after all, and while it has been a struggle, I am getting comfortable living amongst them.” “And…and other monsters?” Discord thought about it, “well I can’t say their on good speaking terms with the monsters of our world, but I do know they try not to disturb the creatures in their natural habitat, and do their best to make sure they get back home if they stumble out of their environment.” The Queen choked back a sob, actually clutching a hand to her mouth to stay it, but then her eyes widened when she felt the texture of her hand. “What,” she said, pulling it up to eye level to get a look, before gasping in shock. Where a human hand should have been, instead was what looked like a griffon’s claw, and when she looked at her other hand, it was that of a lions. Trying not to panic, she used her chaos magic to bring forth a mirror, and immediately screamed as the sight of a female version of Discord looked back at her. “Wha…what!” she cried, beginning to panic, at least till Discord came up and pulled her into a hug. “Shh, shh, it’s ok,” said the Chaos spirit, waiting till she stopped shaking before pulling back and giving her a smile. “I’m assuming this is not your natural form?” She shook her head, and then, much to Discord’s surprise, she started laughing. “What’s so funny?” “It’s just,” said The Queen, “the people of my world always said I was a monster…I guess this world finally did me a favor and…made me one.” Discord chuckled at that, “if that is the case, then I have to say it couldn’t have picked better, for you look quite stunning.” That got her surprise, but what he said next nearly made her tear up, “and that title of yours, it doesn’t really suit you. After all, spirits of chaos need to embody all they can do in every aspect, so I think from now on…I shall call you Eris.” “…I…I would like that,” said Eris, shrinking back a bit as Discord took one of her hands in his own. “Come on, I’ve got some ponies I want you to meet, cause if they have taught me anything, you look like you could use some friends right now.” ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Equis: Ocean of Lost Magic. Deep beneath the waters of The Ocean of Lost Magic, two eyes stared up from its depths, and the mind attached to them focused inward. It knew it was in a different world now, it knew that as it had known when it had become displaced in time, after that meddlesome wizard. It also could sense the bountiful amounts of magic of this world, magic that, if it was sensing right, was recently added to with magic from its old world, a lot of it in fact. And, what was most pleasing to the being; it could sense many minds within this world, all of them sentient, and all of them bendable if it planned appropriately. So with a deep breath, it stretched out its tendrils and began to move, looking for a lair to call home so that it could wait…and prepare. For soon, all would once again hear the call of Kathool-Atchoo. Author's Note Now before you rage, take note, The Queen (now called Eris) was never meant the be the main villian of this story, and here's why. I have honestly always considered Kathool-Atchoo one of the most dangerous villians of the Artix Entertainment Franchise, even going so far as to put him above the likes of Sepulcher and even the Mysterious Stranger. I always thought he could be one of the greatest villains of the series if he just played to his strengths manipulations and control. Now you may ask, what role will Eris be serving in this story if she is not meant to be the villain. Well, she will also be serving to as a source of lore, as well as serving three more roles, that of providing a bit of drama for the group from Lore as they must come to accept her as being willing to reform, a way for Discord to show he has changed by helping her learn the Magic of Friendship, as well as one more role which shall help the good guys in the coming conflict with Kathool-Atchoo Anyways guys, next chapter will be showing how the hero's react to Eris's arrival, as well as Gravelyn and Victoria's reaction to Regwald sharing his what they call version of the truth. Till then, if you guys have any questions or comments, please drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 04 - Mistrust (Main) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 04 - Mistrust (Main) Celestia, Luna, Gravelyn and Victoria all found themselves outside the room they had provided for Regwald, Celestia staring at in in concern as she spoke up. “Something doesn’t feel right.” She pushed open the door, but before she could do more than gasp in shock at the sight before her, Victoria gave a bellowing yell and tackled Regwald, the magic he and Twilight had been enveloped in breaking as Victoria and him skidded to the ground, Victoria drawing out her bow and pin a drawn arrow to Regwald’s throat. “Victoria,” said Regwald, “what the hell…” “Haven’t you done enough!” yelled Victoria, “wasn’t corrupting Warlic’s mind with your lies enough for you, or must you make everyone believe that bullshit.” “There not lies!” Regwald shouted back, the two ponies ignoring everything else in the room. “What is showed him was the truth, and I showed it to you to, why won’t you believe me!” “Because I would rather use this arrow to open you a knew hole to breath out of then to believe the filth you spew about your father, for he saved my life as well as many others.” “Only due to happy accident,” said Regwald with a glare, “my father was a thrill seeking swine, and the only reason there are people to talk about him is because saving their lives happened to coincide with what he considered fun.” “You dare…!” “Enough,” said Celestia, her magic grabbing the two and ripping them apart before setting them down and holding them there. “Now, I don’t know what sort of grievance you to have against each other, but I will get to the bottom of it. Now Regwald, could you please tell me what you were doing to my student!” Regwald hesitated, and then spoke up, “I was showing her my memories, about what I really am, and what led me to become what I am today.” Celestia then turned to Victoria, “And you, why do you say what he is sharing with my student are lies?” “…not all he showed us are leis, but what he showed us about his father is nothing but lies, for he was one of the greatest heroes of our world…as well as my friend.” “He was never your friend,” said Regwald with a growl, only to be stayed by Celestia. “What was his name?” Regwald didn’t give it, but Victoria did. “His Name was Regwald Elrana, Hero of Falconreach, and first rider of the dragon of destruction. He saved countless lies, and if it wasn’t for him, our Regwald wouldn’t even be here!” “So you’re just going to skate over the fact that your friend raped my mother to get me here?” At that Victoria lost it, her horn flaring as she tried to fight past Celestia’s grip, but the older mare was too strong for her. “Let me go.” “No, I don’t care what kind of problems you have, but if you insist on fighting I’ll just send you to the bad lands and you can fight till you’ve blackened the skies for all I care, but as long as you remain here you will set aside your differences am I clear?!” Regwald nodded, but Victoria looked like she wanted to challenge Celestia’s word. “Am I clear Victoria?” Finally, the mare nodded, and once she was released from Celestia’s magic, she left the room in a hurry, leaving the rest alone with Twilight and Regwald. After she was gone, Celestia turned to Gravelyn, “and you, do you have a problem with this stallion whom you claim to be your hero?” “No your highness,” said Gravelyn, “for unlike Victoria, I did not grow up with the idealized version that people have come to associate with the Hero of Falconreach, for my father fought him long ago, and got a measure of the man, and he was no hero.” “I see,” said Celestia, finally letting Regwald up before turning to the alicorn and speaking. “Regwald, while I am happy you are so willing to share this information with my student, from now on, you will only do it in my presence, for I to wish to know more about you and your world.” “Very well Princess,” said Regwald. “But not today, for my magic is taxing at best, and when it is interrupted, it can be very draining.” “I understand, we’ll leave you be then.” With that, Celestia guided Twilight and Luna out of the room, but before the door closed Regwald spoke up. “Luna, a word of warning.” The lunar mare turned to him, noting the glare as he spoke, “Stay out of my dreams, they are not for you to see.” With that he closed the door, causing Luna to look extremely confused. “What could he have meant by that?” “I’m not sure,” said Celestia, before turning to her student. “Twilight, what were you thinking when you allowed him to use his magic on you?” “I wanted to know,” said Twilight, “I knew he wasn’t what he seemed, so I wanted to know what he was, and he showed me. And princess…I don’t know whether to be amazed…or afraid.” “Could you show me?” Twilight nodded, placing her horn to Celestia’s and giving her the image of Regwald’s true form, Celestia gasping at the sight. “By the makers, he’s…” “Giant,” said Twilight, “I know, I thought that the first time when I saw his companion Kira in her true form, but he dwarfs her in size.” “Kira is a dragon?” asked Celestia, looking shocked. “Yes,” said Twilight, “apparently, the dragons of her world can take on the shape of sentient races, though this skill seemed to only be used by evil dragons till Kira decided she would play at their game and started shape changing to blend in.” “…I see,” said Luna, “this is troubling, for we just had a thought.” “What is it sister,” asked Celestia. They kept walking in silence for a time, Luna think it over before finally, stopping in front of their chamber doors, she spoke. “I was thinking, what if they were not the only ones teleported here.” “But Luna, we already know they aren’t.” “I know,” said Luna, “but that is not what I meant. What I meant was, what if this spell teleported more than just sentient beings from their world to ours, like wildlife.” Both Twilight and Celestia’s eyes widened in shock, Twilight beginning to shiver at the thought. “That’s not good, for if even half the wildlife I’ve seen on their world comes here, we shall be in major danger, for there are all controlled by the one known as the Queen of Monsters.” As if the name was cursed, a bright flash appeared in the hall they were walking down, and Discord appeared before them. “Hello my friends,” said Discord happily, before walking up to Twilight with a smile on his face. “Twilight, can you come with me please, I have someone I want you to meet.” “It isn’t another friend like the Smooze is it?” asked Twilight, remembering the disaster at the gala when he had showed up. “No no one like that,” said Discord simply, “actually…well let’s just say that this person is in great need of the magic of friendship…like I used to be.” Twilight looked skeptical, but finally sighed and nodded. “Very well Discord, lead the way.” ஜ۩۞۩ஜ Eris fidgeted nervously in the room, for being surrounded by crystal reminded her of many things, but mostly of a creature she had created long ago, one that had been whipped out by a man many of lore’s citizens thought of as a hero. “The Vizalain were such beautiful creatures,” she thought to herself, “and he slaughtered them so he could craft a better sword of light…damn that man!” She was brought out of her musings by the sound of the door opening, and she looked to see Discord walking in with three goddesses in tow. “Hm, let’s see,” she thought, her mind going into tactical mode faster than she could stop it. “The largest one is a sun goddess, a pretty old and powerful one at that. The one on her left is a moon goddess, which most likely means there sisters, and the one on her right is a goddess of magic if I am not mistaken, a young one for sure, but she has power to spare.” Bowing low, Eris kept her head down as she spoke. “Greetings oh mighty ones, I hope you will not be bothered by my presence, for I promise I hold no ill will toward you.” This earned a shocked expression from the three goddesses, and a good laugh from Discord, who was rolling around in the air as he tried to contain his laughter. “Oh…oh that’s rich, oh my sides hahaha!” Eris looked confused, “what…did I do something wrong?” “No no,” said Discord, floating over to her before landing and placing a paw on her shoulder, “you just didn’t need to go to that extreme; after all they are my friends.” He then turned around, smiling at his friends as he gestured to the female at his side. “This Princesses is my new friend, named Eris, though apparently, she is from another world, and there she was called the Queen of Monsters!” Author's Note !!!Big Warning Ahead!!! To all readers who have played Dragonfable, this story is going to paint the Hero of Falconreach in a very dark light, a very dark light. He will not be a nice guy, none of his feats will be due to noble endeavors, and as implied by the Regwald of AQW, he is the result of the "Hero" of Falconreach forcing himself on someone else, though I will not say who yet. Next chapter will be a little more lighthearted, for it will be involving Fluttershy and everyone's favorite long eared, red furred companion. Till then, if you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing from you guy's. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 05: Dreams Not of This World //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 05: Dreams Not of This World The night had fallen, and the princess of the night found herself truly puzzled. New ponies had shown up from an alien world, and all of them bore the mental scars of war. Many of them were asleep now, and she could feel their dreams, some slowly turning into nightmares, which as princess of the night, she was honor bound to correct them. But was puzzled her was the words of the aliens leader, Regwald, who to was asleep, for he had told her that his dreams were not for her to witness. It made no sense to her, for nopony in the history of the world had ever denied her access to their dreams, not even her sister's dreams were beyond her influence. And now, somepony was baring her from helping them, and though his dreams seemed pleasant, there was an underlying tone telling her that he was extremely uncomfortable. So, deciding her guardianship over dreams outranked his word, she pulled open his door and walked inside. * When she entered the dream, she ground herself on a foreign world, nothing looking familiar to her as she looked for the dreamer who lay within. As she took her first few steps, a massive dragon flew over her head, its black body blocking out the sun as it soared toward a large mountain, where an even bigger dragon awaited it. When Luna's eyes fell on this dragon, she realized that this was Regwald, for Celestia had let her get a glimpse of his true form. “Kira...why do you come?” “To ask you once again....to take me as your mate, like I have been for so long now. “You know I cannot Kira, it is forbidden....” “But you are a dragon!” “I am the lord of time!” roared Regwald, causing the young dragoness to back away in fear. “I am forbidden from engaging in mortal acts, less I be tempted to become partial to the workings of the world around me.” “Then what about before, when you didn't know what you are!” “That is different....” “NO IT'S NOT!” roared Kira, advancing forward as she glared at the titanic dragon before her, “You indulged, you interfered, so why not indulge in me, am I not good enough for you!” “That's not the...” “No, I want to know, why can't you let me love you!” As Kira continued to rage, Luna saw this as an opportunity to help the young being, lighting up her horn and beginning to reach out to the dream, preparing to take command. However, the moment her horn lit up the entire scene froze, and then vanished as Regwald's glowing red eyes fixed upon her, and then he spoke. “I told you you were not WELCOME HERE!” He slammed his fist into the black abyss, and all at once Luna was expelled from the dream, the door slamming shut behind her before chains wrapped themselves around it, much to her utter shock. “He locked me out....impossible...” She activated her magic, trying to rip the chains apart, but received a magical backlash the likes of which she had never felt before, stumbling a bit as she got back to her hooves. “I shall have to speak of Tia about this...this is something that should not be ignored.” * Fluttershy sighed a bit as she headed to her forest home, feeling a bit guilty for leaving her friends at the castle after the new ponies had shown up, but at the same time not really wanting to be their because of them. She couldn’t really place why, but something about that group of ponies unnerved her to no end, for they felt…wrong, like Nightmare Moon had. “But that can’t be,” she thought, “none of them looked like her…well that one red maned pony did, she was scary.” Fluttershy shivered at the mere thought of that dark mare, for everything about her screamed Nightmare Moon, and it didn’t help that she was an alicorn. “And that other one…Regwald…why did it feel like every time I stared at him that I was staring upon a being older than Celestia, he…he carries himself like Celestia and Luna do.” Fluttershy shivered again, hoping that her observations would prove false in the end. But she couldn’t shake her observations, and if she was right, Regwald was just as old, if not older than the princesses, and that scared her a great deal. Suddenly Fluttershy stopped, hearing a rustling sound coming from the bushes beside her, and turning to see a pair of ears poking out of the bush. “Hello?” she said, looking at the bush as the ears shivered, then watching as they began to move. When it fully emerged, Fluttershy saw that it was a small bipedal squirrel like creature, covered completely in red fur with large ears and a long tail. “Hi,” said the creature, “my name is Twilly, what’s your name?” “EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” Fluttershy grabbed the little critter up in her hooves, pulling it close and hugging it as she squeed over the cute creature. “Oh you are the most adorable thing ever!” said Fluttershy excitedly, hugging it a bit more before letting it go and introducing herself. “My name is Fluttershy, it’s nice to meet you Twilly.” Twilly giggled, then looked puzzled as he spoke, “Um, not that I don't want to get to know you more, but have you seen my friends, I thought I saw them earlier, but then I lost them.” “Oh you poor thing,” said Fluttershy, “what did your friends look like?” Twilly immediately lept into explaining what they looked like, and this immediately filled Fluttershy with dread, for he had just described the ponies who were now in Twilight's Castle. However, her kind nature won out in the end, for she could tell he really wanted to see them, so she allowed him to hop on her back as she turned back to the castle. Neither of them noticed however, the tall dark figure that soon began to follow them, followed close behind by a pony who, if Fluttershy had seen him, would have sent her running for the hills. * Regwald awoke with his eyes glowing an evil red, the stallion letting out a feral like bark as he left his bed. He had told her, he had told her his dreams were forbidden, yet she had gone in anyway, and she had seen what lied within the depths of his aching heart. As he let himself collapse upon the balcony outside his room, he let his mind wander, thinking of the woman who was his secret love, his flame before he had figured out what he was. He had always planned, after the war was over, to admit his feelings for her, and allow her to take him as her mate, like she wanted so badly. But then he had found out his true nature...and the other had surfaced, haunting his every decision, his every waking thought! “Is that really how you think of me, the other?” Regwald growled as the phantom image of his other half appeared beside him, the dragon getting comfortable as he lifted his head and spoke. “Yes, that is how I see you, for nothing else fits in my mind when it comes to you.” The dragon chuckled, “Well that is your choice, but it does not change things, especially in regards to the female.” “I've already told you, I will not pursue her.” “So you say,” said the dragon, “yet your words sound hollower and hollower every time you say them, your will is weakening.” “...so what if it is?” asked Regwald plainly. “You cannot claim her, it would weaken you, make you biased, make you unable to make the sacrifices necessary if it came to saving lore.” “And what if I don't care anymore.” The dragon looked like it was about to speak, but then they both heard a chuckle, Regwald turning to see Princess Celestia looking at him, the mare smiling a knowing smile as she spoke. “So, I am not the only own who holds conversations with my power, I must admit it is quite refreshing to see.” Regwald stared in disbelief, even as the other faded away and the mare sat down beside him. “You have an other?” Celestia nodded, “I don't call her that, but yes, I have an other, all alicorns do.” “I see,” said Regwald, “that is troubling, I hope the others don't develop them like I did.” “They will, though unlike you, they will hopefully not let themselves be ruled by them.” Regwald gave her a curious look, so she elaborated. “You let your other dictate how you live your life, which is something you should not do, especially not when it comes to matters of the heart.” Regwald growled, “So she told you, well it doesn't matter, a being like me can't indulge, as you well know.” “So you say, but would it surprise you to hear that I have had relations with over forty ponies in my long life?” Regwald's eyes widened, “what...but you...such indulgences would make you biased, interfering to make sure the people you indulge in survive, rather than letting them dictate their own lives.” “True, but you forget Regwald, you are not separated from your people anymore. You walk amongst them, as such, you must indulge and interfere, for you are not just some unseen god anymore who influences the lives of all mortals, you are a god who walks among them, and thus you must pick a side...though from what I have seen, you already have.” Regwald hesitated a moment, then he realized that she did have a point. Long gone were the days where he would simply float through space on his little island, watching as the mortals dictated their own lives. But when he had let Galanoth kill him, and then was reborn as Regwald, he had interfered, he had indulged, and even after he had realized he was a god, he had continued to interfere, even with the voice in his head telling him he must detach himself from his mortal connections. “She obviously has had an easy life,” said the other, appearing again by his side to speak, only to stop when, much to both of their surprise, glared at the other and spoke. “I have had to banish my sister to the moon after her other became corrupted and took over her body, and it was thanks to my indulging in the love of those few ponies who were brave enough to see me as more than a god that I got through the thousand years she was gone without slipping into madness, now begone you, I am speaking to Regwald.” The other glared at her, then vanished, the mare waiting till he was fully gone before speaking once more. “Now, I am not saying it won't be hard, but you should allow yourself to indulge in what you can, especially the love this Kira wishes to give you, for it will help you heal.” Regwald nodded his head, “I can see the wisdom in that...and I am amazed, your words remind me of my Celestia, for she would often say similar things to me, back when I was just your average hero.” Princess Celestia smiled at that, then she decided to speak. “Speaking of your Celestia, do you happen to know if she is into...women, I believe is the term for your females?” “If I recall correctly yes, she was never one for hiding it, why do you....” asked Regwald, only for his eyes to widen as he looked at her. “Wait, you're not thinking of pursuing her...are you?” “I may be, she is an attractive mare after all.” Regwald shivered a bit in disgust, not due to the fact a pony was seeking Celestia, that wasn't the issue. It was the fact that he had always looked upon the woman as a second mother, so the idea that she might have a sex life was a bit...nauseating. The Princess read him like a book, “So, like my dear student Twilight, you see this Celestia as a second mother. Well, I shall drop the topic for now, for there is something else I need to speak to you about.” Regwald gazed at her curiously, and then she spoke. “Your queen of monsters is here in the castle, and she has asked to speak with you.” Author's Note Sorry for the delay, life keeps happening and what not. //-------------------------------------------------------// Interlude 03 - Birth of A New Magical Age //-------------------------------------------------------// Interlude 03 - Birth of A New Magical Age Ledgermayne woke up to an odd sensation, that of having a body once again, which puzzled him. What also puzzled him was that his mind was not consumed by the chaos that originally consumed him when he was first given a body. And, with clarity came remorse, for he remembered what he had done, how he had tried to remove magic from all living things, not caring that it would kill all those on lore, as well as kill magic itself. Standing up, started looking back over the last events he could remember, only to stop as two things became apparent to him. One, while his body was composed of mana, it had the definite shape of a pony, and two....he was not alone. He looked back to see another pony composed of mana, the pony having a definite feminine shape as it walked up to him, sniffing him before smiling and speaking to him. “I never thought I would see another of my kind, from where do you hail from.” “I would answer, but first perchance, could you tell me where I am?” The mana mare chuckled a bit, and then nodded, before gesturing to the starry realm around them. “This is the nexus between worlds, and it connects the three plains of existence which my magic governs.” He gazed around, staring in wonderment at the realm around him, before looking back at the mana mare and speaking. “My name is Ledgermayne, and I am the....I guess you could say physical manifestation of the magic of Lore, which is the realm I hail from.” “I see,” said the mana mare, before her horn glowed, and then her features fell as she spoke again. “Then I am sorry for you loss.” “What?” “Your realm, this Lore, as well as two others that were connected to it....they no longer exist...and for that I am sorry.” He stood there for a long moment, then cast his magic out, finding his entry point into this realm and following it back....and finding nothing there. Letting the magic drop, he then cast his senses out to the find the realms she had mentioned, finding them quickly and nearly being blinded as he gazed upon them. One realm had barely any magic to speak of, but the other two not only had magic in abundance, but it had something else which he had not seen on his home realm. Every sentient creature on it had the potential to use magic. “I see you have seen,” said the mana mare, “I was in wonderment to when I first saw, but no matter how hard I tried, I could never give others the ability to use magic save for a small few. “And why is that?” asked Ledgermayne, still looking at the realms with wonder as the mana mare spoke. “My magic requires a physical conduit connected to the user to be able to cast the magic, otherwise it turns into passive magic, which is nowhere near as powerful.” “....And what if my magic did not?” The mana mare turned to him, so he explained. “My magic only requires the potential for magic to be present, if that potential is there, they can cast magic, without need for a physical conduit.” “Truly?” “Truly,” said Ledgermayne, “however, I need a means of give this magic to them, a....bridge as it where, to allow our magic’s to mingle and become one.” The mana mare thought about it for a moment, then smiled as she spoke. “Do you have a being amongst those who are gifted with magic, one who can learn any spell, and can use any form of magic you create.” Ledgermayne nodded, “do you?” The mana mare nodded, “I do indeed, and I shall summon her here at once.” * Twilight found herself in a familiar place, though like that last time she had been here, she could not remember how she had gotten there. “Twilight?” The young alicorn spun around, finding Warlic standing a few paces away from her, looking utterly confused. “Warlic...what are you doing here?” “I have no clue, especially seeing as how I have no idea where here is.” Twilight sighed, and then started explaining. “This is the nexus between worlds, it connects Eques, a mirror world which is like a dark reflection of my own, and another world I have simply dubbed Canterlot High. This was the place I was brought to when I was made an alicorn, after I...well the way they put it after I created new magic.” “But you did create new magic Twilight,” said a voice, one which was very familiar to the young mare. She turned around, seeing a face she had not seen in a long time, and ran into her hooves as she spoke her name, “Mageriss!” The two hugged each other, Warlic watching in confusion till he spotted another pony who looked like Mageriss, only this one was blue instead of magenta. “Hello Warlic, it's been a long time, hasn't it.” “Ledgermayne, what are you doing here!” “I was brought here by the same spell that sent you to Eques....the same spell which has left our home realm in ruin.” “What,” said Warlic, “no, that can’t be, the spell was never intended....” “I know it was not, but the spell it changed into was, look.” Ledgermayne let Warlic access his senses, showing him the place they had come from, which allowed Warlic to see what remained. The moment he saw it, Warlic paled, “no....no I....I never intended...” “I know,” said Ledgermayne, “but when the energies from Regwald's and Drakath's attacks merged with it, it turned from the spell you intended it to be to a spell of re-assignment, which took all life from our realm and moved it....before destroying our realm entirely.” Ledgermayne paused for a moment, and then spoke again. “However, I did not just bring you here to reveal this; I have also brought you here because we have been presented with a unique opportunity to improve thousands upon thousands of lives.” “What are you talking about?” “He is talking about the magic of your world,” said Mageriss, which drew Twilight's attention. “What...why would you be interested in their magic?” asked Twilight, looking confused. “Because of what it can do for us Twilight,” said Mageriss with a smile. “Twilight, you have long known that the use of magic in our world has long been....well, lopsided, with only a few of our worlds species able to access it beyond passive abilities. However, the magic from their world only needs a vessel that is magically compatible in order to use it, and from what he says, every single sentient creature on Eques is magically compatible.” “So....wait, what do you want to do then?” “We want to merge our magic’s with yours,” said Ledgermayne, “and I think the best way to do that would be if you and Warlic were to unite your energies for a mighty spell.” Both Twilight and Mageriss blushed, the alicorn stuttering as she tried to speak. “U...unite our energies, don't you realize what you’re asking!” “What's wrong?” asked Warlic, “I've united my energies with hundreds of fellow wizards and witches before, why should this be any different.” “Well I don't know how merging energies in your world works Warlic, but in mine the uniting of ones energies is a very personal experience, one you do only with somepony you trust absolutely, like a lover.” Warlic blushed at that, however, before he could speak, Mageriss spoke next. “As much as I agree with you Twilight, the spell Ledgermayne and I have crafted, now that I look at it, requires the combined energies of a pony from this world and one from theirs, it is the only way for those magic’s to become one.” “Besides,” said Ledgermayne, “you and Warlic are the ones who are most connected to magic out of all the beings of this world, no other can compare to you, so this spell would be safest in your hooves. Now, for the betterment of our new world, please....put aside the embarrassment and help us, you are the best ones for the job.” They both hesitated for a long moment, and then Twilight finally sighed, before walking in front of Warlic and speaking. “Let's just....get this over with, for if Mageriss is right, this will better all our lives.” Warlic nodded, and then leaned his head forward, offering his horn to her. With brief hesitation, Twilight touched her horn to his, letting their energies begin to mingle as Mageriss and Ledgermayne readied the spell. But the moment Warlic's horn had touched Twilight's, his world had become one of blind emotion, feeling's and sensation's not his own flooding his senses as his energies mixed with that of Twilight Sparkle. “I warned you,” said Twilight's voice from deep within his mind, causing him to open his eyes. But the moment he did he gasped, for when he saw Twilight, he realized he was truly seeing her, or more accurately, he was seeing all of her. “Y....you are beautiful,” said Warlic, watching as the mare blushed before him. “As are you Warlic,” said Twilight, “and I am sorry for everything that happened to you, I wish I could have been there to help.” “What are you...?” “You see me don't you,” said Twilight, earning a nod and smiling before speaking once more. “Well I see you to, all your happiness, all your pain; nothing is hidden from me while we are like this.” “The spell is ready,” said Mageriss. Both Twilight and Warlic nodded to show they understood, then felt Mageriss and Ledgermayne touch them on the shoulder, feeling the spell enter their joined mind. And then, they unleashed it. * Over the skies of Equestria, ponies watched as two cutie marks appeared, Princess Twilight's cutie mark being overlapped by another as swirling energies began to coalesce around them, before the two cutie marks exploded, sending out a shock wave of energy which passed over them and out beyond the horizon, nopony noticing as their eyes glowed, the sign that they had been gifted with new magic. Throughout the rest of the lands of Eques, the shock wave passed, and with each creature it passed over, it granted to them the same magic it had gifted the ponies, till finally it stopped at a singular spot on the opposite end of the world to Equestria, where an old, ancient, and powerless being opened her eyes, and a grin formed on her face as those eyes began to glow. For she was Grogar, oldest and most beloved of the goats, and once more, she could feel power flowing through her horns, and with that power....a hunger. Author's Note If no one got the hint from the tags, yes, there will be shipping in this story, and yes, Twilight and Warlic are indeed going to be the first to who are god smacked by Cupids arrow. Anyway, next chapter will deal with the ramifications of what this new magic will bring, as well as delve into some family time between Regwaldand his mother, so look forward to that. (And yes, I know I changed Grogar’s gender in this fic, but It seems more fitting, especially given who she is going to be partnering up with later down the line, anyways guys, catch yall next chapter.)