Far to the south, where the landscape became littered with granite landforms, black rock jutting from the land in great, dominating tors, lay her bastion.
The great southern moorlands, once sparse and empty, had been transformed, torn asunder by great force, ripped and rended into shape not by heavy machinery or labourers, but by sheer power and command of the rock and earth itself. Dark crystal clusters rose out of the land, in huge spires and twisted, ice-like spiked landforms, near-black frozen waterfalls. Where they weren't dominating the landscape, the crystals had taken over the granite, with dark purple crystal gleaming in the quartz it overpowered, like an infectious disease of the rock itself, empowered by dark magic that shone as light hit the crystals at the right angles.
Tremors could be felt from below the surface, the occasional loose shard of black rock or pebble departing from the ground for a split second as vibrations intermittently shook the surface. Small boulders and pieces of rock shrapnel occasionally even floated on the residual energies, the excess spilt upwards towards the surface in those invisible waves and eddies of force.
A sharp exhale accompanied the shockwave, the echoing crush and rumble of stone breaking, scraping and compressing against itself, rending and folding in on the rock layer as it was forced back by a pulse of sheer will, crushing itself as it made way, creating a vaguely tunnel-shaped rift, stretching on for many metres until the shifting rocks stopped, the incredible force acting upon it fading and losing focus.
A hot, mildly fatigued sigh filled the cold, dusty air, followed by a sharp breath of effort as a dark grey hoof struck the earth, sending more tremors and vibration through the solid rock as invisible energy flowed through it, priming the rock layer itself.
The crumble and crush of grinding rocks nearly drowned out the second grunt of effort, rocks breaking apart into plumes of dust as the sound of crystalline shattering and shifting dominated everything else. Black and dark purple crystals spontaneously erupted from the broken rocks, growing up out of the fissures and spreading, like flash-freezing water, over every possible surface, crystallising all the earth it could possibly cover.
The wave of quickly darkening and crystallising rock soon spread across the entire tunnel, colliding with itself on the ceiling before it continued into the distance, the din of grinding, shattering and re-forming crystals fading into the distance before stopping as it reached its border.
The hoof's owner pulled it from the rock it had embedded itself in, the hole quickly closing itself as more crystals rushed in to fill the depression, compacting into a smooth surface, seamlessly assimilating the fault. The subterranean darkness of the tunnel was soon lessened, but not quite driven away, by a slowly advancing lilac light -- the crystals themselves seemed to glow, the light bleeding down through the tunnel like luminous water as it rushed into each individual crystal.
With the collected, elegant motion of a black-nailed, slender hand, the off-grey dust permeating the air began to draw itself together, as if it had suddenly gained gravity, removing itself from the air by way of collecting into a single point of growing grey granite. Supple muscles flexed as dust was lifted off of black skin and smooth, dark fur, and oil-black, gently floating hair was freed from the grey dust particulates. A misty, tired breath was let out from between black, shiny and plump lips, the breath clouding on the cool subterranean air.
The materialising fist-sized rock was surrounded by a thin, wispy red glow, levitating on the spell as it gravitated towards the source, gliding silently through the air before dropping quietly into cupped grey hands, the levitation spell collapsing in on itself with a flash of deep red light. Corundum-red, cat-like eyes took in the granite chunk as black onyx began to grow in the minuscule grooves and flaws in the rock, which was well on its way to becoming a perfectly spherical crystal growth.
"...Hm. This one will do," came her reverberating sigh, echoing quietly off the crystalline walls. The onyx was held once again by the misty, crimson levitation spell as the mare turned, pacing back down the tunnel, the sound of her hoofsteps quiet, slow and spaced apart. The floating onyx was frictionlessly dragged along through the air, hovering alongside like a hound with its master. The pale lilac glow retreated, no longer needed in that particular section.
The last light to grace the tunnel was a pure, brilliant red, which faded as quickly as it had appeared. Nobody was there now. Nothing but empty space and cool air.
--
Day 6, 22:00, month unknown, year unknown.
The miniature ball of arcane fire flickered as she considered the first sentence. Shadowy ink began to bead at the tip of the pen construct.
It has been nearly one week since I awoke from my 'death', though I do not know how much time has passed between my 'death' and subsequent 'resurrection'. As I wrote before, the Crystal Empire, its people and (I assume) Equestria all most likely believe my apparent death to have been permanent. The side-effects of the spell I used in gathering myself after the magic burst appear to be permanent. Most non-sustained spells with the same effect would have decayed after two days, thereby obeying Starswirl’s 5th Maxim of Longevity (which chaos magic consistently disobeys). One can thereby deduce that this body is now my default state. Had it been temporary, reversing it would have been trivial, but alas, this is not the case. As such, given that I will remain a female for the foreseeable future, I will henceforth refer to myself as ‘Umbra’.
Umbra leaned forward, levitating the pad of notes and the shadowy pen just an inch or two, resting on the marble desk, her inky, misty back-length mane spilling onto the desk as she rested her head. What else to write about? Most of it had been covered. The fact that her magic, both dark and neutral, had remained unchanged, that her chi -- and ability to use it -- was still present, and even that her sanity had remained fairly constant had all been taken note of.
A warm stir from between her thighs answered her question. With an annoyed huff, she glared back at the paper, eyes and horn glowing as the spell was renewed...
Additionally, not only has my appearance taken on that of a mare, but, from the symptoms I have been experiencing thus far, my internal, as well as my external physiology, has changed to match this. In other words, the hovering pen paused as she shifted uncomfortably, letting out a dissatisfied hiss, I have entered my first estrus cycle, or 'heat', as it is colloquially referred to.
She sighed dismissively and stood from the quartz chair, which disassembled itself and melted into the purple crystalline floor, assimilating with the amethyst surroundings. The pen and notepad still floated weightlessly on her crimson magic as she slowly paced away from the desk, and were still writing. Her horn shone red in the dim mauve light as the sound of her metal-clad hooves on crystal echoed around the chamber, and the steel armour she wore clanked dully and quietly.
Nevertheless, I am coping adequately, and coming to terms with this new set of circumstances. Constructing this castle was trivial, and given that this area is mostly a granite batholith, crystallisation is made easier still. Decoration was easier than expected -- despite my only option being salvaging and petty theft. One hopes this will be of no consequence, as I'm sure my frequent teleporting back and forth between here and what used to be my castle will, eventually, be noticed.
Writing in that journal certainly helped to organise her thoughts. Ever since regaining her bearings after waking up in the middle of the rocky wasteland, Umbra thought it necessary -- or at least helpful -- to keep track of her days.
She looked towards the nearest wall, a flat surface of glassy amethyst that softly gleamed in the pale, muted lilac light of the overhead braiser. With a simple open-palmed thrust of her arm, a squared section of the crystal wall became distinct from the rest of it, the colour fading from that particular part as each shard of crystal flattened and grinded, shifting into shape to begin reflecting silvery light, then refracting as the crystals organised themselves further -- then finally, slowly taking on a smooth, nearly translucent silver.
While not truly glass, it was a basic, nearly trivial technique of crystal-bending -- to force a crystal to reflect light -- but it served its purpose well enough. Umbra hadn't given it any thought, and had instead dismissed it as unnecessary, but despite all the time she'd spent in her new body -- she was quite unused to how she looked now.
As the glassy crystals finished aligning themselves, Umbra took a moment to quite literally reflect.
It had been extremely fortunate, she thought, that the spell only changed her physically, and in quite a benign way, given the unpredictable nature of chaos magic. She considered the chances as she meticulously, slowly scanned her reflection, having lacked the chance to do so properly before.
In terms of her visage, not much had changed -- the same basic shape of her face was still present, if thinner than before, and the tip of her muzzle had softened, and become more rounded. The same cat-like red eyes had remained, as had the green glow and the purple 'smoke' they exuded whenever she used magic, the wisps of dark, energised air curling like steam as she traced her dark grey hand across her shoulder, pursing her black, shiny lips as she still observed. The crimson cape fell away, the couplings dropping to the crystal floor with tiny, muted metallic clinks.
"Well, I suppose... this could be worse," Umbra muttered, half-whispered as she traced a finger down the front of her breastplate. The gaps in the plate-mail filled with the red magic her horn exuded, which shot across and outlined the steel plates in burning red, neon light before the magnetic forces, holding each plate together, simply faded.
Steel plates clattered to the amethyst floor as her chest-plate broke into pieces. Of course she'd known about her new shape, particularly of her now rather substantial chest, widened hips and slimmer shoulders, but to actually admire oneself in such a way was new to her. As the obscuring metal fell away, Umbra folded her arms underneath her substantial, easily head-sized breasts, pushing them up into a valley of dark, soft and perky, jiggly cleavage. Her black, glossy areolas and perky nipples seemed to gleam slightly in the dim light, looking almost wet and reflective.
Fortunately, she'd felt none the worse for having this extra weight -- not that it was overly noticeable, of course, but became more apparent as Umbra's hand exploratively, slowly kneaded one of her breasts, its weight and sheer softness to the touch surprising, in a sense. She let out a soft sigh as she continued, gently squeezing and groping her hefty, pillowy tit, squishing between her fingers as the gentle, simmering warmth of pleasure began to make itself known.
Umbra flicked some black, billowing smoky mane away from her face, looping an errant lock behind her ear as her magic flooded the magnetism of her armour below the sternum, splintering apart into individual steel plates once again, revealing more of her curvaceous, toned, nearly onyx-coloured form. Still with one on her giant bosom, she slowly trailed a hand down her flat stomach, over toned, tastefully defined abs, before the tips of two of her fingers barely brushed against the very border of her crotch.
Her body tingled with anticipation as her fingertips slowly made their way to the beginnings of her mound. A brief touch further downwards and her fingers met with a quick twitch of pleasure, a little gasp escaping her lips as her fingers brushed over where her clitoris lay. Umbra licked her lips, her slick, black tongue moistening onyx as she looked to the mirror once more. Gently, with another coo of sensitive stimulation, she stroked her midnight-black labia with just two fingers -- the wetness surprising, and the faint floral, yet carnal scent of pleasure slowly coming to her attention.
“Ooh~ So it’s… just like this..?” Umbra half-sighed, half-wondered as she slowly, painstakingly slipped those two fingers between the top of her labial lips, and--
“Ach--! N-no, no, it’s.. l-lower?” Umbra gasped, her fingers going for slightly the wrong place. She changed the angle, her two now-wetted fingers slowly easing upwards and forwards -- and it worked. With a sultry, moaning gasp, Umbra’s muzzle flushed red with pleasure as she pushed her long, slender digits in just a touch further, then gently withdrew for a moment -- then repeated. A quiet, lewd *schlc* came as her fingers probed deeper once again, and then another time, and a third.
Umbra caught herself before anything more could happen. She gently, but quickly withdrew her now-slick fingers, coming out from her labia with a final, teasing, wet *schlk*, her index and middle fingers near-dripping with her juices as she brought them up to shoulder-level.
Did she dare? Yes -- with a tentative lick, she tasted, her long, black tongue extending and wrapping around the very tips of her digits. A pleased giggle came as she gently brought her fingers to her plump lips, her tongue wrapping around her fingers, basking in the slick, sweet and strong, lusty flavour. She withdrew her fingers from her mouth and pursed her lips before a sultry smile graced her muzzle, absent-mindedly kneading her breast with her right hand.
“Mmn~ Not yet, I don’t think,” she softly sighed, letting go of her perky breast and running her hands over her newly wide, curvy hips. Umbra’s black, weightless tail swished as her hands explored lower, coming across her soft, toned flanks, which she experimentally squeezed and groped.
She turned, looking over her shoulder to behold her behind in the mirror; her curvy, wide hips and toned plot made for such a sight, as did the hourglass figure she’d developed -- supple, jiggly melon-sized breasts and slim shoulders, complimented by the muscle tone Umbra still retained, along with her ravishing new form.
“Mmhmm~ Not too bad an outcome, certainly~” Umbra mused, biting her lip in pleasure as she planted a well-placed, playful spank on her jiggly, thick flanks. The echoing sound of the slap bounced around the room, as if the satisfying ripple of noise was to salute her new body.
Letting out a tiny giggle, Umbra paused. Now that she and her new body had begun the steps towards peace and understanding, in the style of true rulers -- it was clear that she was a queen, now. And a queen, Umbra thought, must surely have dresses, gowns and other silk garments to adorn a majestic body such as hers.
Snapping her fingers, Umbra renewed the spell surrounding her notes and pen. “Make a note, dearie~” she smiled, a hand on her wide, curvy hip. “Acquire as many dresses, gowns, nightdresses, and items of… lingerie, whenever possible.” Quickly, she added “O-oh, side note: get one’s measurements.”
The glow-surrounded book and pen scribbled madly as she took a breath. In the meantime, before she could reclaim some aspect of her life, she’d need to improvise and think carefully.
“I must make a map of this place,” Umbra muttered, taking one final, long look at her reflection before turning away, stepping over the metal pieces of her armour. As she took the first step, she realised that her armour was still on, below the hips -- forming, for lack of a better term, armoured thigh-high stockings. Umbra raised an eyebrow, and sauntered back to the mirror -- her soft, toned thighs squished very slightly around the very rims of the leggings, showing just a few inches of thigh before it lead up to her substantial flanks and hips. With just a touch of concentration, each metal plate coalesced, forming a smooth, shiny surface of flexible steel, joined by a layer of chainmail underneath.
Umbra put a leg forward in front of the other, with her hands on her hips. She felt an odd sense of power -- erotically powerful, with her dark colours and armour for stockings. The more she pondered the subject (and the more turned on she became), one individual came to her mind. Erotically powerful -- black-coated, like herself -- an unorthodox style of magic -- and a very sexy body.
Her black, glossy lips formed a smirk, a single fang peeking out from her top lip. “Ohh, I know who could… help me in my endeavours~” Umbra chuckled.
Dearest Chrysalis,
It is with my deepest regrets and a heavy heart that I hear the news of your invasion attempt. My sympathy goes out to you, and my condolences to those among your hive who lost their families and loved ones. And it is with great humility I write these words -- I need your help.
You may be surprised to hear from me, after so long -- it is because I too was defeated, and I spent countless months as nought but my horn. My body has since been rebuilt, but alas, this is where my trouble lies. I have come back -- much to my initial confusion, then, dare I say, my pleasant surprise -- as a mare. And as such, dear Chrysalis, I must confess that I am woefully inept in fields one expects a mare to be proficient in.
Not only this, but I have been forced into hiding, as the Crystal Empire -- as I am sure you know well -- has been taken back by Princess Mi Amore Di Cadenza. Frightfully worrying, no doubt, but by no means do I live in squalor. Rather, my new castle dominates the moorlands I find myself in, and what passes for misfortune manifests in my dependency on the local rivers and lakes for my sustenance.
I must meet with you, Chrysalis. I will venture to the Badlands and seek your hive to the best of my ability -- but might I ask for a drone or several to be stationed some miles west of your hive, to show me the way? My memory of your lands is vague, and I have only a vague bearing on where I truly am.
Yours truly,
--Queen Umbra -- formerly King Sombra of the North
P.S; I ask for your honest, true opinions and knowledge in answer to every question I may have. I am not entirely clueless about mares, but seeing as I have become one, I shall need every item of advice you can bestow. I humbly apologise for any inconvenience this message may incite.
