The Queen of Shadowsby megabyte97ChaptersStupid Dog, You Make Me Look Bad!Dream?AlliesOld Students and FollowersThe Wheels of FateColab Chapter: Entity of WaterMorals?ChangeFirst StrikeWhat is the Greatest Illusion of Life?Stupid Dog, You Make Me Look Bad!It takes a special kind of individual to lock someone away until they lose track of time. I’m not talking about the mothers who send their kids to their rooms, I’m talking about the people who throw others in jails and forget about them until even their bones have turned to dust. Had I known what was going to happen, I would have gladly taken the chimera up on his offer of world domination. “Hey Shadow.” A gravely voice speaks up from the darkness. ‘Now, however…’ I think with… well I couldn’t really sigh without a body but manipulating the air, I make a fairly decent imitation of it. “Yes, Tirek?” I ask the feeble red and black centaur, not even bothering to focus on him. “How did you get to this world?” “...” Our prison is in complete darkness, but I focus on my cellmate with such a deadpan expression that I am positive he could feel my thoughts on his question. “What?” “You’re just now asking me this?” I ask in a stupefied tone, “After we’ve been in here for how long?!?” “By the stars Wraith, just answer my question!” “You know what?” I ask the incompetent moron as I feel something snap. After what has felt like an eternity I can feel the chains keeping my anger in check finally being pushed to their limits and shattering like fine china. Gathering the fumes of magic left in me, I force myself to manifest for the first time since the alicorn sisters locked me away. Lighting a fire in what I believe to be the palm of my hand, I illuminate our prison. Spires of black rock contrast against the red cave walls, the only other color being the grey of Tirek’s cage, built out of a magic dampening material, heck even the giant double doors to our prison are red with black markings. My incorporeal form towers over everything else, phasing through several pillars of stone. Bringing both of my giant star filled hands up, I brush my purple locks of hair over my shoulders and adjust the crown on my head before lunging for the doors to my prison and jamming my giant hands between them. With a roar, I try to force the doors to bend to my will and open. The doors start to resist immediately, sending magic back through my hands, it feels like I am being burned by the sun and I use the agony the magic brings to fuel my rage further. The doors start to give, but just as I feel victory is in my grasp something changes. The light filtering through the crack in the door changes the magic, instead of a burning sun racing down my arms I can feel the incorporeal appendages growing heavy. Gritting what used to be my teeth I force the door to open a smidgen more before I realize that I can hear music. ‘Those fucking horses!’ I think, trying to fuel my rage faster than the mystic song can drain it. Forcing the doors open a sliver more, I take my chances and squeeze my form through them. I scream in agony as something is torn from my being, but the moment I collapse on the cool damp night grass on the other side I can safely say it was worth it. I pick my incorporeal purple head up off the grass when something starts growling at me. Glancing up I come face to face… to face… to face… “Really?” I hiss at the cerberus. Putting my dwindling anger into my voice I whisper to the mutt, “Sleeeeeeep.” The dog staggers from the amount of magic being thrown at it before collapsing into a deep dreamless slumber. Dragging myself up, I allow the wind to move my form towards the surrounding forest and away from the mutt guarding my previous cell. Gathering the wisps of my magic, the effects of the door are made known to me. I can feel the pain that the door made me endure, but there is nothing beyond that. This should have me panicking, but the effects of the mystic song grip my emotions in a death hold. ‘Which means I’m on a time limit...’ Once the pain is gone there won’t be anything driving me, basically crippling me and inducing an eternal slumber. With this in mind I summon my magic and fling my form in a random direction. Forests, plains, and even a desert speed by below me before I am forced to go to the ground. The pain is dwindling, and as much as I don’t like it, I know what I have to do. ‘I need to find someone weak, someone as weak as I am right now.’ Gliding along a dirt road I feel someone just up ahead and put everything on being able to… use this being. Lying against a tree on the side of the road, a pegasus mare is asleep. She has a tannish brown coat of fur with a two tone grey and black mane, and is wearing what I can only describe as a pair of shorts, a very sturdy hat, and an explorer jacket that barely fits over her mammaries. The most important features however, is that her waist is wrapped in red bandages under her arms, and her breathing is shallow… very shallow. Turning around, I force my form to mimic the mare before lying down against the tree, adjusting my form until it perfectly overlaps the mare’s. Shutting off my senses, I come face to face with the mare once again, but in an endless darkness. She is laying down with a sleepy expression on her face and I quickly walk around behind her before laying down next to her and wrapping my arms around her form, almost like I am comforting her. I open our eyes with a strangled gasp, only to flinch and shut them again as I feel the damage to our body. I latch on to the mare’s pain, making it my own and using it to guide my healing capabilities. Opening our eyes a crack I glance over my memories and open our mouth. “My name is Daring Do,” I whisper between steadying breaths. “I am twenty six years old, and I am known as A.K. Yearling, a famous author.” Taking a deep breath that turns into a yawn halfway through, I come to terms with my situation and allow us to drift off to sleep once my wound stops sending waves of agony through our body. ‘My name is lost to time, but I am remembered as the Shadow Queen.’ Dream?“Well this is unexpected,” I mutter to myself, shuffling from hoof to hoof on a familiar dirt road. Buildings made from logs and stones surround me, advertising what goods or services they sell with pictures I have not seen since I was still alive. A flower with red petals and two eyes is painted on a post outside the shop where I got my first job, and I can hear fighting coming from the building beside it where I learned how to defend myself... The master of that forsaken place can burn along with his glowing yellow hair… and then join the rest of this damn town in Tartarus. I sigh and turn around knowing exactly what is there. Two buildings really stand out from the rest in this small town, the one that most would focus on is the castle made out of pristine white stone with a red roof. It is easily the largest structure in the town, but… it does not hold the memories that the other building does. The final building that holds any meaning to me in the town is the place where it all started. The building is unlike any other, made with blue stones and marble pillars. The defining feature that really sets it apart is the spinning roof that looks like it was crafted out of the starry night sky. There isn’t anyone in sight, despite it being light outside, but I know with absolute certainty that the mage is in there, sitting on his fat ass, staring at that fucking crystal orb like always. The scenery blurs and twists before reshaping into the barren looking house I know so well. Most people, or toads, or whatever they call themselves now, seem to think that the fat bastard who owns this house never sleeps since there’s nothing but a chair and a table with a crystal ball on it. Most toads who come here never learn about the mansion he has in his attic. None of that is important as I stare at the face, or at least the hood, of the one who started everything. The glowing slitted eyes staring out from the darkness of the blue robes radiate power and the mustache that flows over the front of his robes is as long as I remember it. He never shaves it, even when it is almost touching the floor, simply choosing to hide the braids he has made in the extremely long facial hair. A smaller crystallized orb sits right below his mustache with the ever present yellow star in it. The bastard doesn’t move a muscle, almost like he is trapped in time. I walk up to the figure, stop right across the table from him, and open my mouth. “Merlon,” I start. “In all my years, I have made many mistakes both in life and in the afterlife, but none compare to my biggest mistake… letting you live.” I push on as the bastard continues to stare, unblinking, into the orb on the table, “I really should have seen it coming, you, the legendary Merlon, teaching me magic out of the kindness of your heart?” I snort. “How did it feel, to watch the woman you taught being taken away by the guard? I know you saw what would happen in that ball of yours, and you just let it happen… You weren’t teaching a student, you were making a weapon.” I laugh bitterly as the scenery flickers once again. Merlon is still in front of me, but all around us animated bones of bipedal turtles called koopas march towards a burning city. Three familiar dragons fly overhead, speeding towards the foreign city. “You knew. I know you knew. You always knew… “...Did you even mourn?” I ask as the scenery flickers once more. We are standing on opposite sides of an open casket, and looking down I can see a pale caucasian woman with blonde hair, in a black and purple dress, lying peacefully with her white gloved hands resting on her stomach. “Or did you know I would come back?” I look back up at the wizard, my friend, my teacher… my executioner. He still hasn’t moved an inch, but now it seems like he is looking down at my unmoving body in the coffin. I sigh and close my eyes, knowing that I would not get an answer from the motionless wizard in front of me. ‘...’ I like to think that I’ve seen quite a bit in both my first life and my long afterlife. Going from a teenager dressing up as a character in my first world, to being thrown into a world where dinosaurs can digest anything and squids can fly, to finding this world after putting on a performance where a plumber thought he could beat me with a hammer and some fancy shoes. I like to think that nothing could phase me. ‘...’ It’s moments like these that the multiverse whips out the most shit eating grin it can muster before pulling a pie out of nowhere, throwing it at my ethereal face, tripping me as I stagger backwards because the pie somehow hit me, and while I’m lying on my ethereal back having a joker doll somehow tickle me with a live shark, before leaning down close to my head and asking in a whisper next to my ear while I’m laughing like a loon, “Still think I can’t phase you?” ‘...’ Compound the fact that both my host and I are very light sleepers, if her memories are correct and… Well, the moral is that the multiverse is a dick and its younger siblings fate/coincidence even more so. ‘...’ So when we come to, in the back of a moving wooden wagon, tied to a spinning piece of wood, completely naked, with a fire burning below us that is somehow not spreading and burning the wagon to cinders, along with a grey minotaur rotating into view every few seconds, with a salt shaker in his meaty hands… I think my thoughts are justified. ‘...What the fuck?’ Author's Note I wonder how many people know the place the Shadow Queen visited in her dream. AlliesGoing from seeing my old teacher in Toad Town to being cooked over an open flame is pretty jarring, but I don’t have very much time to think about it before the minotaur notices we’re awake, pulls his free hand back in a fist, and punches us in the face. “Son-of-a-” I yell as pain erupts in our mouth. Tears well up in our eyes as I lock onto the minotaur with a murderous glare. ‘Big mistake,’ I think, latching onto the anger we feel. The air grows cold and the light seems to dim as the wooden wagon suddenly lurches to a stop. The grey minotaur stumbles to the right and looks to the front of the wagon, no doubt wondering why his two companions have stopped. I can feel the tiny group’s confusion as our mouth twitches up at the corners. The ethereal hand beneath the wagon gripping the axle goes completely unnoticed. I do not give them a chance to investigate. Using our anger, I force the shadows at the corners of the wagon to grow until the small pockets connect with the minotaur’s shadow. The bull jolts upright as if a bolt of electricity went up his spine. The minotaur’s arms are visibly straining against an invisible foe and a moment later I can hear the minotaur’s companions scrambling to the back of the wagon in response to the bull’s pained grunt. Two brown diamond dogs scramble into the back of the wagon with crude spears in their paws. They are wearing rags stitched together into clothes and necklaces with three fangs on each. They rush over to the minotaur asking what’s wrong, but my curse is keeping the bull busy trying to save his free will. The bull hunches over, dropping to his hands and knees, and while the mutts are trying to find what is wrong with their large companion I slowly extend the shadow coming from the bull towards the two dogs. The mutts yelp as the shadow connects the three offenders and I smile as the shadow starts crawling up the dog's legs turning their brown and matted fur into midnight black pelts. The spell latches onto the mutts’ fear to speed up the transformation, forcing their muscles and bones to grow, and taxing their bodies to their limits in order to meet the spell’s demands. I feel… strange, listening to their bones and joints snap and pop as they whimper in agony. I suppress the dogs’ minds and make their bodies go beyond their limits, the spell supplementing the energy produced by their agony in place of the nutrients in their bodies. The rags covering their bodies rip and fall to the wagon floor, and with one final burst of power the spell completes the mutts’ transformations by giving their heads a more wolfish shape. The mutts collapse next to the minotaur, who was watching the transformation of his companions with wide eyes as they were repurposed to suit my needs. The bull’s struggles redouble against my invisible restraints as my new pets stagger to their paws. ‘Release me,’ I signal silently to my pets via thought. The jagged bones protruding from my pets’ paws make quick work of my bindings. Sitting on the piece of wood, I swing our hooves over to the right side and stand up. I stagger a little, but my host’s muscle memory kicks in and I steady us before we fall. It feels strange walking again after such a long time, but I quickly return my focus to the final offender of the little group. Looking upon the straining minotaur in front of me struggling not to fall, I find the idea of transforming the helpless bull into a mindless beast… surprisingly unwanted. Gazing upon the minotaur in a professional black suit kneeling before me, I make a choice. The bull bellows and lurches up, his mouth opening to its widest as tendrils of smoke pour out of the surrounding trees. The minotaur watches on in fear as the smoke reaches him and starts filling his mouth and slithering down his throat. The bull starts to shake violently as more of the black substance forces itself into him. The bull stops shaking a few seconds later and several seconds after that his arms fall limp to his sides. The black substance dissipates after I am certain the binding is complete. “Rise,” I command. The grey minotaur climbs to his hooves, sweeping off the specks of dust on his suit before looking at me. “Bow,” I command. The minotaur complies, bending his upper body, his eyes never leave my own. “What is your name, servant?” “Ironhide, your majesty.” “What were you doing before coming into my service?” “Delivering a ring thought to be magical in nature.” “...Show me,” I demand. Ironhide walks to the edge of the wagon before jumping off, my pets and I close behind as he circles around to the front of the wagon. He grabs a bag fastened to one of the handles and pulls out a large golden ring about the size of my host’s torso. Taking the ring in our hands, I can immediately feel the artifact’s magic. It is a strange piece to say the least, the most prominent effect of the item being tied to the feeling of lust… “Where is our clothing?” I ask Ironhide, letting the ring in our hands fall to our sides. The magic in the ring is curious, but it is not important right now. “Several hours behind us, we discarded your clothing on the trail.” I turn to my large black pets, “Fetch my clothing. Do not destroy it.” My pets growl an affirmative before racing off back towards our belongings. “Where were you headed before you came into my service?” “We were heading towards a city to resupply before completing our contract with our employer.” I look at Ironhide for a moment before returning to the back of the wagon. “Continue on to the city, pull the wagon behind you so that I may see this town with my own eyes.” The minotaur straightens his suit before bowing to me, “As you command, your majesty.” I sit down in the wagon and lean back against the left wall. This entire ordeal has brought a very serious matter to my attention. I have no allies. I do not have an army either. If I truly wish to punish the alicorn sisters for imprisoning me, I must have both; for even though I can match the sisters in terms of raw power, I will be fighting not just the sisters, but all of Equestria and its allies. ‘...’ ‘Perhaps, I have more allies than I thought,’ I think with a small smile. ‘I just need to contact them.’ Swiping our hand across the wooden surface of the wagon, I jerk it up as a splinter embeds itself in our finger. Using my host’s annoyance I call upon my magic and force the shadows to take form in the palm of our right hand. The shadows twist and warp until they congeal into a black crystal ball no bigger than a jawbreaker, a gold star turning inside it. I open my mouth as I start pouring magic into the orb I call a star point. “If you ever find yourself in need,” “You will find me an ally indeed.” “But be warned, this goes both ways,” “And be ready when it comes time to pay.” “Smash this orb upon the floor,” “And call upon me, the Shadow Queen.” Upon finishing the spell weave, I open a tear in the dimension and throw the star point into the void. I close the rift and turn to see my pets running up to the wagon, our clothing secured in their paws. They lunge into the back of the wagon and lie down panting from exhaustion. I walk up to them and collect our clothes, taking a moment to bend down and pat them on the head. “Good dogs.” Author's Note The Shadow Queen is now available as a party member! She will help out with whatever problem the displaced who called her needs help with, but be warned that they will be indebted to her. If she calls in a displaced indebted to her they will be unable to refuse her request. Old Students and FollowersIt is times like these, as I watch the sleeping filly, that make individuals think. Their minds wander from one topic to another, and sometimes… sometimes, they come across a question that simply does not have an answer yet… I am having one of those moments right now. “...” In a time long since past my arcane teacher once asked me what my goals were, I told him that I wanted to make the world a better place… I was so naive back then, thinking I could make a difference, but… at least back then I knew what I wanted to do, I had a purpose. ‘What do I want to do after taking revenge?’ I ask myself for what feels like the millionth time. I’m stalling, I don’t need allies, or an army to take down the alicorn sisters, I just need to sneak into the castle undetected and strike them down from the shadows! ‘...So why don’t I? Why did I create the star point calling for help?’ ... ‘...Because you are terrified.’ I snap out of my daze and realize that I am in a very familiar star filled space. Countless small shadowy figures surround me, but they all seem dazed… all except for one. The mare has a white coat and a pink mane, on her flanks are two scrolls with daggers hidden inside them, she is carrying a familiar looking staff, but the most eye-catching feature of hers is the chain coming out of her chest connecting her to me, a trait that every other shadow figure shares. “Platinum,” I greet the mare who barely clears my ethereal waist. “You are terrified, my lady,” the former unicorn ruler states once more, before slowly gesturing to the shadowy figures around us, “When the sisters locked you away, you could feel yourself fading away, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. Very few individuals even remember that you exist, and you crave to interact with others... You are scared of what might happen if they do it again, of being subjected to the silence that was nearly the end of you.” “...” “They know how to defeat you.” “They know nothing!” I tell the mare in an aggressive tone. “They know enough to put the voices in your head to sleep.” The mare continues gesturing to the figures again. “...” “The only reason you haven’t faded is because several of us refuse to be silenced.” “...Who?” “Starswirl is still among the living, the curse you placed upon him… or her, I guess, prolonging her life beyond any reasonable amount of time, Commander Hurricane is still among the living as well, and both know that you have returned.” “And yourself?” I ask with a raised ethereal brow. The mare shifts from one hoof to the other, “I am still around, yes… but I do not recommend searching for me as I am positioned right under the alicorn sisters’ noses.” “...If you have been living with them for over a thousand years now… then why are they still alive?” “Because I couldn’t kill them,” the mare states through gritted teeth. “I had to go into hiding, the ‘royal sisters’ banished me from my own land and when I returned, Luna was banished to the moon, and the country of Equestria relied so heavily on ‘Princess Celestia’ that killing her without someone just as powerful ready to take her place would be signing the unicorn tribe’s death warrant.” “What about the unicorn tribe’s military?” The mare laughs a bitter laugh, “The military, both the unicorn and the pegasus militaries were dissolved, the ‘Equestria military’ is a joke, and the only reason that the country hasn’t been invaded by its neighbors is that they still needed Celestia to raise the sun.” “And why does Hurricane still follow me?” Platinum snorts, “My lady, she’s a soldier. What use is a soldier when there are no enemies to engage?” “No use at all.” “Exactly, although… you do have one other significant supporter to your cause my lady.” “And that is?” “...Discord, my lady.” I stare at the mare for a few moments before chuckling to myself which devolved into full blown laughter. I clutch my ethereal sides as the gravity of the gesture falls on me. ‘He’s sweet on me, he is still sweet on me. The chimera couldn’t woo a mare to save his life, but he sure does give it his best.’ My laughter slows to a crawl before stopping completely. Looking at Platinum, I ask with a smile on my ethereal face, “Is there anything else I need to know about?” Platinum shifts from hoof to hoof once more. “Yes, actually, Starswirl is on her way, she should be arriving at your location sometime today.” I clasp my ethereal hands behind my back and straighten up. “Very well, you are dismissed.” “My lady,” the mare states before slowly backing away and disappearing among the crowd of shadow figures. I shake myself out of the trance, and look around. The home is how I left it with the filly sleeping the day away on the dusty bed. … I feel tired, exhausted really. The weight of the past several hours collapses on us like a pile of bricks, all at once. ‘Maybe just a quick nap…’ I think, walking over to the door. Gathering up my magic I write a glyph on the wood. The glowing symbol is sloppy, but faced with our exhaustion I find I couldn’t care less. The symbol would alert me if anyone touches the door and that is all that matters to me at the moment. Our eyelids feel heavy, and with one last glance at the filly, we walk over to the corner next to the stove and lean against the wall, before slowly sliding down to the floor and closing our eyes. Author's Note Short chapter is short, but hey, it's better than nothing right? I've been playing the thousand year door again, but this time around I am challenging myself. 10 HP 5 FP ALL BP No badges that increase FP or HP allowed. Am I insane? Probably, but it is the most fun I have had in years with a game! The Wheels of Fate… Stone is hard. A simple observation, but an accurate one. I’ve lost track of how long I have been in here, chained and stripped of magic, but I can’t bring myself to care. ‘My mentor condemned me…’ I cracked a small smile, tears rolling down my cheeks once again. ‘He condemned me, for listening to him.’ “Heh,” my smile grows a little. ‘He condemned me, for saving countless lives.’ “Heh, ha ha,” I start chuckling. ‘It’s not like they didn’t deserve it! They slaughtered Lady Bow, they killed everyone in Gusty Gulch!’ “Hahaha, hahahahaha.” My smile morphs into a grin. I lean back, but the chains stop me from falling to the floor. ‘They deserved it! they wouldn’t stop until every crumb was taken and we were left to die!’ “Hahaha, HahahaHAhahaHAHAHA,” my voice echoes throughout my lightless prison. ‘They wanted to kill us all… I simply proved that I was better at it than they were!’ “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-” I choked on the musky air of the pit they threw me in. I could feel bile rising in my throat, but I force it down, never losing the grin on my face. ‘My “friends” and “mentor” think I’m a monster?’ I start to shake a little, the chains holding me upright rattling against the wall and floor. “Then I’ll give them a monster,” I whisper in a cracking voice to the stale air of my soon to be tomb. ‘...They deserve it…’ A wizard stares into his crystal ball, watching with sightless eyes as his former pupil rests in the temporary shelter of her new ward. He couldn’t believe it, after so long, Fate might actually keep its word and raise his former student to glory. “It has been so long,” the ancient mage whispers, tilting his head slightly and gazing upon the tools of her destruction, and salvation. Seven stars crafted from precious materials lay upon the table he sits at. Even now, after so many ages have passed, they hum with untold magic that is still as strong as the day his pupil crafted them. The air seems to vibrate as the wizard sends his magic through the artifacts. The stars shake before lifting into the air, resisting his probing of their uses just as the countless times before. “Dangerous, yet tempting. Curious, but content.” The mage mutters to himself. “...” The mage sighs before returning his attention to the crystal ball and waving his hand. The forms of his benefactors cloud the orb’s surface to his unseeing eyes, seven shifting shapes gliding back and forth as the wizard speaks. “...And this is what will save my star from the darkness that consumes her?” he asks in a tired voice, the question he has broached ever since she fell to her emotions. “The answer has not changed,” a feminine voice replies, almost as if expecting the question. “Darkness cannot live without the light, and without darkness the light loses its purpose,” an elderly voice continues. “You must have faith that the stars will light the way of the one dear to you,” a gruff voice explains. “When the final trial is complete-” a young sleepy voice starts before yawning and continuing, “-her mind will be restored.” “We have stated before that we would grant your wish,” an impatient voice chimes in, “now you must give her the means to complete it.” “See it through,” a refined voice states, “we have all come too far to back down now.” “Don’t tell us that you doubt your student’s ability to overcome these final trials?” a voice filled with joy asks. The wizard looks back to the star shaped gems in his magic, pondering their words before coming to a shocking realization. He didn’t have faith that his student would survive the coming trials. The mage’s magic wavers for a moment before increasing in strength by tenfold. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he forces a tunnel of magic to manifest behind the artifacts before hurtling them in with a fury few have ever seen from the esteemed magic user. Merlon grabs the table by the edge, realizing that he is shaking, and takes several calming breathes. ‘...Please,’ the wizard thinks. ‘Please, prove me wrong one last time, my student.’ With one last steadying breath Merlon lets go of the table and once more stares into the crystal ball, the image of his student’s host resting upon a dusty floor filling the mystic orb once again. ‘...Please…’ I find myself in the back of a wagon, clothed in the purple dress I arrived in this world wearing, but still chained and being driven somewhere. Both of my teachers are in front of me watching my every move. My Sensei’s eyes are glowing yellow and I can feel the power he is willing to use in his tense body in order to keep me from doing anything. Merlon, on the other hand, seems almost relaxed, but that doesn’t fool me, his hands are lost in the folds of his clothing and I am willing to bet every coin I have ever made that he has something up one of his sleeves just waiting for me to make a move. Faces appear and disappear in the streets, the entire town pausing and staring as the wagon passes them, and every single one of them staring at me in anger, fear, or disappointment and shame. I can’t see Bonetail, Gloomtail, or Hooktail among the crowd, but it is likely for the best. My plan is probably going to turn this entire city into ground zero in several minutes, and I don’t remember teaching them how to swim. The wagon slows to a crawl and the crowd trailing behind us closes off any escape route as we arrive at our destination. Two bipedal turtles carrying spears walk into the wagon and release my chains from the wagon boards. My teachers take the chains in their hands and walk me off the wagon, almost like a dog… Looking around, I find myself relieved that I had made the preparations beforehand. There isn’t going to be a trial for my supposed crimes, my fate is already decided, considering the wooden structure in the middle of the town square sporting a thick rope noose... I feel like this town should have been called Salem instead of Ville Riche. My teachers and I approach the scaffold as another bipedal turtle unravels a scroll off to the side. My executioners pull me up by the chains and attach them to the floorboards of the scaffold over the trapdoor before Merlon widens the noose slightly and fits my head through it. The turtle opens its mouth, “_____, you have been charged with the crimes of theft, torture, maiming, live experimentation on sapient beings-” The list goes on for a while, the gathering crowd looking at me in disgust as the koopa keeps adding to the list, “-and genocide…” The turtle finally finishes, “What say you in your defense?” I say nothing. I don’t trust myself to keep my plan a secret, opting to look at my mentor as he walks towards the lever keeping the floor under me. ‘If they do not wish to thank me in life...’ I think as the floor drops out from under me, a sharp pain shoots through my body before slowly drifting away as my vision darkens. ‘Then they shall join me in death,’ I think as the pain rushes back with a vengeance I had not known possible before then. I scream as my mind is ripped apart, an unearthly shriek tearing from my throat as I throw my spirit to the wolves and hope to prove myself a predator instead of prey. Our eyes snap open as pain erupts from our skull. I clutch our head, mentally swearing as I hear something drop to the floor. Cracking open our eyes, I look down at the objects that assaulted us and pause. There is a green emerald on the floor emitting a small amount of chaos magic, but it’s completely ignored in favor of the larger gem that I see. A five pointed star, seemingly made of some sort of orange gem, is sitting upon the dusty floor. I remember this star, I made it a long time ago. I stare at the gem for a moment before slowly reaching forward and touching it. The response is immediate, magic I had long thought lost to me reaches out of the star and embraces me like an old friend. I smirk as I feel my magic grow, ‘Looks like things are finally going my way.’ Focusing on the connection between myself and the star, I can feel other gems similar to the one in our hands in distant locations, calling to me. Tearing my eyes away from the star, I look at the small green gem and cautiously pick it up. The gem turns black as a small amount of chaos magic fills me and a voice calls out from the void. “My name is Echo, I am the entity of water, and former god of destruction, if you seek my aid, hold this emerald to your chest, speak this prayer, and I shall be there. The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.” I blink, the smirk never leaving my face, ‘Well aren’t you interesting? A former god of destruction? You just might be useful.’ One thing is certain, things are looking up. Author's Note A glimpse into the Queen's past. May the creator or whoever she believes in have mercy on her vile soul. Colab Chapter: Entity of WaterAuthor's Note First Colab chapter of the story, and my first time writing fanfiction in 3rd person... To be honest, I think I'm going to stick to first person from now on. Comments are appreciated so leave one down below if you have the time, and finally thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day! Colab Chapter: Entity of Water Finally, Echo had gotten the yellow chaos emerald after such a hectic mess of getting it in the first place. Princess Ember had it for her staff, yet somehow managed to learn how to utilize its power, it was a good thing he had Frostpool by his side through the hell. “Now to return back to Celestia to see if she can find the next emerald,” Echo said, making his way across the Ocean in his modified serpent draconic form. Echo was currently pondering if he should bring back Frostpool for another trip... Then again, perhaps it would be unwise considering Frostpool’s… questionable shenanigans and his strange ability to break the fourth wall, nothing is normal with that person. Echo arrived to the East of Equestria, slowly climbing up onto shore and returning to his unicorn form, his original colors still the same blue and green, even if the strange ponytail (no pun intended) hair was part of it, it helped Echo blend in better with the population. “Hello? The maker of this gem… are you there?” a feminine voice called out from the sky. “I swear if the multiverse decided to give me a useless token then by all the gods I will find a way to make it pay.” Echo froze at where he stood when he heard the voice. “I suppose your plea isn’t urgent, considering you did not speak the prayer.” Echo answered back, his mind’s voice echoing back to her. “Oh good, you’re actually responsive… You know what, screw it, Echo, I summon thee!” Echo’s body took on an dark glow, the same color as the emerald that the voice held, and with a bright spark of chaotic energy, Echo vanished as if he had performed Chaos Control. He flew through the void, a little startled since this is the first time he’d experienced it, his body shaking and vibrating from the suction, threatening to pull him apart. Eventually he arrived on the other side, although the landing was a bit rough, his body almost lost its form on impact. “Well now, aren’t you interesting,” the feminine voice stated from above him. Looking up Echo found what could only be described as a cross between a human and a pony looking down at him. Tan fur covered her body, at least what wasn’t covered by clothing. “A unicorn, but not one of solid matter. Maybe a side effect of using chaos magic? No, not a unicorn, but one that takes a shape similar to one… Tell me, are you an experiment of Discord’s?” “Nay, however I used to be friends with Discord before he become the beast he is now, a pony that is nothing but a shell of his former self.” Echo said. Suddenly his body twirled around, taking on two glows of yellow and gold. He pulled upon the chaos within the two emeralds within his possession, taking on a form similar to the other humanoid pony. “Considering what Travis said to me, I’d assume Discord isn’t the same here?” Echo asked, now standing on two legs. He was still the same color of blue with snake-like emerald green eyes, the hair was the same style although longer to adjust to the body’s new height, and he was naked, though there is no… mentionables to be shown. “Where exactly am I, for that matter?” “Well I guess the answers to your questions are: I have no idea seeing as I do not know your Discord, and we are in a town, specifically the temporary home of a contract holder,” the mare stated, pointing behind Echo with a hand holding a black chaos emerald. “Also, keep your voice down, I don’t want her waking up just yet.” Turning around Echo found the temporary living space extremely dusty. Tiny hoofprints were clear to see in the fine layer of dust leading to a bed with a sleeping orange filly. The only lighting in the home came from a space off to the side holding several candles, a dagger, and a bleached skeleton. A moment of silence passed as Echo inspected his newly formed hand. It felt strange yet familiar, like an lost distant memory he could never get back. Finally he responds “What exactly happened, though?” Echo asks, looking at the three questionable things in the room. It looked like some sort of ritual, but of course another familiar thing Echo wished he could remember. “You’re going to have to narrow that question down a bit, a lot has happened. Most of it you probably wouldn’t understand unless you experienced it yourself.” Echo gestured toward the strange ritual. “It looks like someone died, or possibly was sacrificed. I’m not familiar with this sort of magic. I suppose the first two things I said are false as I sense nothing chaotic, nothing left over, no death, no energy whatsoever,” Echo said, looking around the room once more. “I suppose I’ll find out later. according to your star orb token, you’re the Shadow Queen?” Echo asked, taking out the very thing from out behind his eyes. It appeared that his body served as storage, but it isn’t wet much like the red scarf around his neck and the other red gem. “Fascinating…” the mare stated, bringing a hand to her mouth and leaning against a wall. “...Yes I am the Shadow Queen, and the ritual is a summons, although it is missing several key markings to actually work, I’ll give you that…” The mare blinked. “Wait… you’ve never come across bone magic?” The mare asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m going by throughts and theories, It doesn’t mean I know about it, then again, I suppose I might have at one time before I was reborn as this Entity of water…” Echo said, motioning toward his own body. “I wasn’t always like this.” “Hmmm… Maybe a memory suppression spell? It could be your own mind trying to protect itself, but it is unlikely… Perhaps your magic is playing a game with you?” the Shadow Queen stated, looking at Echo like he was a puzzle she didsn’t have all the pieces to. "It's a long story.” Echo said with a sigh. "I'll give you the abridged version - I woke up as a lake of water, met Starswirl, then as the years passed, slowly gained a solid form through absorbing chaos magic such as disharmony, chaos, destruction, the flow of time, created a unicorn form, tried to make a life for myself, ended up turning Starswirl the bearded into Discord, he blasted me with chaos magic, I became a huge draconic monster, flooded a quarter of Equestria, was sealed and frozen in ice by the royal sisters, many years passed, got free, fled, the Elements of Harmony befriended me, (although 'befriended' is stretching it, more like they assumed me as a friend without trying,) but I don’t consider the same for them, et cetera. I learned I was Displaced thanks to an overpowered being called Davis, then met another Displaced, then his other friend appeared by breaking reality known as Frostpool, I learned that the Chaos Emeralds were around, he helped me get the second one, and then a moment later, you summoned me here,” Echo said without even taking a breath. He is an being of water, breathing isn’t even part of his biological functions. The Shadow Queen blinked before snorting, a small smile on her face. “It is amazing how much you assume,” she stated, walking towards Echo slowly. Echo slowly raised an eyeridge, “I don’t assume, I go by what I know thus far, Davis told me that I had died in some sort of crash before arriving in my world of Equestria. If I could restore my memories, I would do it in a heartbeat.” The Shadow Queen flicks the scarf around Echo’s neck with a finger and opens her mouth, “I’ll let you slide this time seeing as you’re apparently new to the multiverse, but the next time you are summoned be more careful. You automatically assumed that I was a friend, that I held no ill will towards you. ‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing’ is oftentimes much more than a warning. Be wary of those offering a smile and forgiveness, they always have a hidden agenda.” “To be honest, I did not assume you as a ‘friend’ at first, Shadow Queen, considering your name, I merely explained my past to better shine upon your confusion. It was either that or leave myself shrouded in mystery,” Echo explained as he crossed his arms. “You hold my token, and with it not only do you hold a small portion of chaos energy to do with as you please, but you are the summoner and the dismisser, I cannot return until I fulfill whatever you need me for, so in short: Getting on your good side will allow me to go home sooner than later… Unless there was no purpose and you just needed someone to speak to?” Echo asked. The Shadow Queen looked at Echo with flat eyes, “No, you assume a lot, there is always a way to break a contract, you simply need to find it. You introduced yourself as a former… god of destruction,” the mare stated, emphasizing the past tense of the title, “implying that you were either overthrown or you simply do not wish to have the title anymore. You stated that you destroyed a fourth of Equestria after Discord pumped you full of chaos magic, implying that you did not wish to do so… Be careful of what you say, not every individual in the multiverse is as forgiving as I am.” “...I suppose...” Echo said quietly, and then remained silent for a moment. “...Though I regret only a little when I sent the fake emeralds. I cannot lie about my title, I did become a powerful being and that was only by Discord’s power alone, who knows what I could truly become if I had all seven emeralds of chaos,” Echo said, looking down at the ground. “I am only collecting them so that they do not fall into the wrong hands, Princess Ember showed what she could do with just one; even if it was an novice attempt at throwing Chaos Bolts, she was able to do it, she overthrew her father using it and became the Dragon Lord. While her father was indeed mad, he showed a little bit of pride in his daughter.” Echo shook his head, not really comprehending why someone’s father would not attempt to find a good punishment, since she did burn him rather badly. “...Do you even know how chaos magic works?” “It can be manipulated in any shape and form depending on how much you have, and so far I’ve only learned how harness it as attacks, to control an small fabric of time, to teleport from one place to another. This is all I know, I’m sure I could do much more if I absorbed more chaos energy at a slow, steady pace, or as I mentioned before: Chaos Emeralds,” Echo said, sighing and shaking his head. “I know, I’m new to this and that draconic form of mine was only a taste, yes, I became it unwillingly as I had no experience nor control, but in the end I will be able to do it. I don’t know what I’ll use it for, but it’ll be better under my control than the control of others, what happened in the past was only the past, not the present.” “By the gods you actually don’t know…” the Shadow Queen whispered. Leaning back and crossing her arms, she got a contemplative look on her muzzle and started tapping a hoof to the dusty floor. The Shadow Queen sighed, “You do know that you are practically crippled until you learn how to use it, right?” “...I know how to use it, but only in small amounts. It’ll take time and I’m in no rush, rushing would probably turn me into that beast of the past,” Echo said, talking about the past wasn’t exactly helping the mood. “As of now, I know enough to defend myself or escape if I can’t.” The Shadow Queen stared at Echo for a time before sighing once more, “You know what, fine, if you are content with just being able to defend yourself and survive then be my guest,” she held up a finger. “I summoned you first so I am indebted to you, you can summon me one time free of charge, do you still have the star point?” Echo nodded before slowly making it emerge from out of his chest. The Shadow Queen snaps her fingers and the orb changes color from black to a deep green, the spinning star inside seeming to speed up. “Go home, Echo,” the Shadow Queen stated, snapping her fingers again. The chaotic entity disappeared a split second later. “You’re not useful right now anyway.” She continues walking back to the corner of the home and returning to her vigil over the sleeping filly. Echo is sent through the void, returning to his Equestria with disappointment in himself. “Gods above, that was an embarrassing first impression on my part. I wish I could have offered more, or at least something in return… How could I have been so stubborn? She was trying to tell me that chaos magic is like a child, it only does what it wants to do...” Echo muttered to himself, slowly heading over to Celestia’s castle. Morals?‘Mind, body, and soul… it always comes back to the basics of the mind, body, and soul,’ I think, idly twirling a bone from the skeleton between my fingers as I stare at the sleeping filly. Many individuals wonder how far others have to be pushed in order to make a deal with the devil. The answer is surprising to most: it doesn’t matter how far others are pushed, but the direction they are pushed. Starswirl did not care for her family, but when she was spurned by her peers she made a deal to serve me in exchange for acknowledgement for her work. Starswirl’s mind, while brilliant, could not handle the reality of her work, which she had dedicated her life to, being rejected. Hurricane pledged her loyalty in exchange for eternal youth so that she could always protect those precious to her, and destroy those who would wish them harm. Platinum believed in her very soul that her tribe was superior to the other two and swore her allegiance in exchange for proving this. The unicorn tribe discovered how to move celestial bodies soon after. I pull myself out of my musings and look at the bone in our hand. Scootaloo is no different from any of my followers, I simply need to make the right offer. Something tugs at me from the shadows before one of my pets silently appears in front of me carrying the curious ring from before in its jaws… I blink, realizing that I had completely forgotten about the minotaur. The bull probably knows how to handle himself, but… The fact that I had forgotten about him… “...Is the bull alone right now?” I ask my pet. The hellhound growls an affirmative after dropping the ring. “...Show me,” I say, placing a hand on the mutt’s head. Our eyes unfocus and I can see the bull, lying in the wagon he was pulling, sleeping in the cool night air in a dark alleyway. I take our hand away from the mutt’s head and blink, assessing the situation. He is a servant, but at the same time the fact I had forgotten about him is concerning. He’s an asset, but he could very well become a liability if he is captured. The binding spell placed upon him is fragile, absolutely nothing like the contracts in the sense that if it is broken there is nothing stopping the bull from exposing me before I am ready to reveal myself. “...Leave,” I command the mutt. The hound disappears into the shadows a moment later. … I push my conscious into the ethereal plane and look around at my servants, searching for a particular chain. I find it fairly quickly, the shoddy oversized chains standing out against the finer quality chains my older subjects wear. I follow it back to its source, a glowing blue outline of a bull lying upon the nonexistent floor. ‘...He’s a loose end,’ I think trickling a tiny bit of magic through the chains. ‘His life was forfeit the moment you chained him to your will.’ The magic meets resistance when it starts to pull… I start pulling harder. ‘Why do I care so much?’ I pause, the magic faltering in my grip. ‘Why do I care so much?’ I ask, looking at my ethereal hand. I have killed and murdered so many individuals that I have lost count, I’ve torn apart families without batting an eye, I have broken others so thoroughly that they have begged me for the mercy of death… so why am I hesitating? My ethereal hand shifts as realization dawns on me. Looking at the tan fur covered hand I grip the chain tightly and force more magic than I would ever need down the links towards the bull’s outline. ‘Because it is the first time my host has killed,’ I think before yanking the chain back. The chains rattle and strain for a moment before giving way and the outline of the bull fades away as an unrecognizable heap. I pull us from the ethereal plane and look down at our hands. They’re covered in a familiar red liquid seeping into our fur and staining the bone from the skeleton. I focus on breathing, forcing us to take deep long breaths and assess the situation once more. ‘Okay, the minotaur is out of the equation… FUCK! Okay, relax, these aren’t your emotions, you’re just the one feeling them, hehe… Don’t panic Daring.’ I take another deep breath and close our eyes, ‘Stop panicking, you’ve killed before, and this is no different… I only just- stop thinking and calm the fuck down.’ I don’t know how long it takes for us to calm down, but one thing is made very clear to me, ‘I need a new host. One that is more… comfortable... and less naive.’ With a final deep breath, I open our eyes to find the home exactly how I left it, and I walk towards the lavatory. I look in the dusty mirror and start to practice smiling and looking like everything is fine in the world. I might need a new host, but until I can find one I need to make sure not to draw attention to the one I have. Our eyes are wide and the smile is shaky at best, too big, artificial, a lie a toddler could see through. I can feel the blood on our hands crusting over and pulling on my host’s memories I turn the knob on the faucet and watch as murky water starts flowing out. I wash our hands as thoroughly as possible without what my host calls soap with the end result being slightly tinted fur on our arms. I go back to practicing with the mirror for a while before something tugs at me from behind once more. Turning around I hear someone trying to open the door, the handle is jiggled for a moment before stopping and a moment later I hear the lock on the door clicking open. Wrapping our form in shadows once more I step forward and prepare to meet whoever is at the door. Author's Note Everyone has a price, it simply takes one bad day to find out what it is. ChangeThe door opens and I find myself face to face with three large rugged ponies. The one coming through the doorway is a little on the short side, wearing a beat up tux and top hat, the stallion has a grey coat of fur and is sporting a patchy black beard. The stallion to the right is much bigger, an earth pony with a blood red coat of fur and wearing a faded t-shirt that probably had writing on it once upon a time. The final stallion… the one on the left… is surprisingly… normal. This stallion made me tense, I never categorize anything that draws my attention as “normal” but as soon as my eyes leave him I find myself forgetting what he looks like, what he’s wearing, I can’t even remember what tribe he belongs to. I know that he is walking through the doorway, but he doesn’t matter in the slightest. “Who are you, and why are you here?” I ask the stallion in the tux in a hypnotic voice. The stallion blinks and shakes his head before looking at me with a smile that just seems wrong. “Well now aren’t you interesting? A wraith hiding out in a rundown apartment?” The stallion takes a step forward, “I would say I am surprised, but you’re the third one we’ve found in this city.” I tilt our head slightly to the right, looking out the door to see if it’s still night outside, which it is. The stallion takes another step forward, and I call up my magic. The stallion in the tux tenses and opens his mouth… I don’t give him a chance to speak. An oversized hand made of shadows erupts from the ceiling and grabs the stallion’s muzzle and lifts him off the ground by it, he doesn’t even have time to yelp before he is dangling in the air. The other two stallions rush forward, or at least try to, they don’t make two steps before six more arms spring up from the floor and grab their legs, they yelp in surprise before falling face first onto the dusty floorboards. The attackers are subdued for the moment but the loud noises seem to have woken Scootaloo if the arcane symbols going off behind me are any indication. “What’s going on?” I hear the filly ask behind me. Turning around I see the wingless pegasus propping herself up on her elbow and rubbing the crust out of her eyes. I don’t want her waking up right now, so I absolutely saturate my voice in magic and whisper to her, “Nothing Scootaloo, just go back to bed.” It isn’t a request, it’s a demand, one that is strangely effective. “...Good night,” the orange filly mutters before rolling over and closing her eyes. I quickly turn back to the stallions in the temporary shelter and take stock of the situation. The stallion in the tux is thrashing around in the air and clawing at the hand holding him up. The hand is smoldering at the points he is touching and I can feel a tingling feeling spread through it. The same thing is happening with the ponies on the floor, but they are restrained almost entirely face down, minimizing the effect of whatever they are doing by more than a few hands. I want to question them, I really do, but the chance of them calling attention to me is too high. The multitude of hands holding the two stallions to the floor start to pull downward and they start sinking into the shadows on the floor while another hand emerges from the ceiling right behind the stallion in the tux, grabbing his throat from behind and starting to squeeze. All three of the stallions’ struggling increases as they make muffled shouts and grunts. The stallion in the tux is the first to go, his movement stopping with a sudden and sickening snap before being dropped on the floor by the hands holding him. The other two stallions are swallowed by the shadows on the floor before anything breaks, but I don’t expect them to last long seeing as the dimension they are forced into is not meant for the living. The room is silent once more as I walk up to the pony in the tux and crouch down to study him closer. It has been a long time since something has actually affected me and not just my host. I reach out and touch the pony’s neck with two of our fingers only to be surprised when I immediately strike gold. There are... patterns etched onto his skin hidden beneath his coat of fur which end very abruptly. I frown and push down a little harder trying to find where the markings continue only to find that they disappear once the marking meets a blood… vein… I blink before tracing the veins to underneath the stallion’s muzzle and finding another marking similar to the first right under where the tongue would be. ‘Well now aren’t you interesting?’ I think with a raised eyebrow. An ethereal hand emerges from the floor to the right of the stallion’s corpse and places a finger upon the first marking, I hold it there for a few moments before I feel the appendage heating up. The ethereal hand pulls away and I smell that the fur under where the finger was is slightly charred. ‘Very interesting...’ I stare at the corpse for a while before making a decision. Multiple ethereal hands rise from the floor, shaping themselves into useful tools to serve the purpose I have in mind. The hands grab the tuxedo the stallion is still in and start ripping it apart. The corpse is naked a moment later, and the ethereal hands begin probing his form to find any other markings on it. A large amount of markings are found in the chest area, along with three in both arms and legs, with a final one on the top of the head. An ethereal hand with claws instead of fingers slides forward, places one of the sharp appendages to the corpse’s chest, and slowly drags downwards, a line of red trailing behind it in contrast to the body’s grey fur. Another clawed hand joins the first, making cuts at the top and bottom of the first line, making it look like a capital “I.” Two more hands join the claws and pull the skin away with a third providing a small flame to the right of the opening. I blink in surprise at what is there. The organs and bones are still there, but there are symbols carved into them, these ones much more defined than the markings on the skin, and much more… potent. Another ethereal hand, wider and thinner than the rest, slides forward as the clawed hands dissipate to give it room. The wide hand places a finger upon the runes and our head jerks back as a snapping sound echos through the room and the bone basically explodes. I suppress the urge to yelp as I feel tiny slivers of tainted bone pepper our face. The ethereal hands cover the corpse and quickly drag it into the dimension the other two ponies were pulled into as I shake our head in shock. “...What the fuck?” I whisper in a daze. The realization that ponies could make defenses like the runes very eye opening. ‘I’ve been locked away for a long time… just how much has changed?’ My train of thought is derailed when I hear the sound of hooves just outside the door. A tall pegasus mare with grey fur and a blond mane walks through the doorway wearing a blue shirt and jeans. The mare looks at me with crooked golden eyes for a moment before bowing. “Your majesty.” Picking myself up off the floor the mare straightens and closes the door behind her before being enveloped by green flames. The pegasus is replaced by a earth pony mare around my host’s height, with a white coat of fur and a bright pink mane, wearing a long flowing blue robe depicting the stars. I acknowledge the mare with a nod, “Starswirl.” ‘Perhaps it’s time to learn what all has changed in my absence.’ Author's Note Huh... Well that just happened. Now if you are enjoying reading this half as much as I like to write it then leave a comment down below, because as most authors know nothing kills a drive for writing faster than a lack of comments... Alright, a dead laptop would shut it down faster, but a lack of comments is a close second. First StrikeI look upon the white earth pony mare with a calculating gaze. I have many questions, but I can feel her troubled emotions. Something is wrong… “Is there a problem, Starswirl?” I ask, crossing my arms. Starswirl is silent for a moment, shuffling from hoof to hoof before looking me in the eyes, “...Yes my lady, we do have a problem.” I raise an eyebrow and gesture for the mare to continue. “There was an incident last night, a minotaur was found dead in this city. Normally that wouldn’t attract much attention, but the bull was obviously attacked, and the bull’s soul was found to be destroyed… Your Highness, this city is on lockdown, and a regiment of templars are doing a very thorough search of the city looking for demons and necromancers. Your Highness, we are surrounded.” I frown. “If these ‘templars’ are looking for me then why are they not dead?” “Because they have already killed most of your followers in the city, my lady.” I raise an eyebrow again. “...Who are these ‘templars’ and what are their capabilities?” “The Solar Templars, my lady. An organization founded several hundred years ago by Celestia for the single purpose of disposing of any demon or ‘unholy creature’ in Equestria... They have eliminated both the windigos and the hellhounds.” ‘That,’ I think as my face forms a scowl, ‘is not acceptable.’ Both the hellhounds and the windigos were my own creations. “How did they do this?” “Their prefered method of attacking an enemy is the use of overwhelming force to drive their target into a kill zone.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. For a brief moment I consider just sidestepping this organization completely to make them look like fools, but now that I know what they have done in Celestia’s name… They will pay dearly for taking my assets. “Starswirl.” The earth pony mare snaps to attention at the tone of my voice. “If any of my followers are still in the city, tell them to leave. Take the filly behind me and get out of the city as soon as possible.” Starswirl looks hesitant for a moment before green flames wash over her form once again. The grey pegasus mare with the blond mane stares back at me for a second longer before going back and picking the wingless filly up with all the care of a mother. I step forward and open the door as her hands are full carrying the filly. “Hide in the woods outside of town and do not come back for any reason.” Starswirl nods and walks out to the edge of the railing before opening her wings and shooting upwards until the duo is swallowed up by the darkness of the night. I start down the metal staircase, summoning my magic in a way that I thought I would never do again. The gold crystal star fades into existence, floating an inch or so above my outstretched hand, and I grin in sadistic glee. ‘Time to teach the mortals a lesson!’ My hooves touch the pavement and I can immediately feel a spell trying to reveal me. I play along to the script that these templars have given me and reveal myself a moment before walking out of the alleyway into an open area. The effect is almost instant, multiple loud cracks fill the air as magic teleports many individuals around me. I am completely surrounded by what could be generously called a small army of ponies from the three common tribes. The attackers immediately leap into action - the unicorns start throwing spells I have never felt before, the pegasi of the group rocket into the cool night air to claim several clouds overhead, and the multitude of earth ponies run at me in a dead sprint. It takes two seconds for the closest spell to reach me, I sign their death sentence in one. Power Lift The crystal star activates and power floods my ethereal form, time seems to slow to a snail’s pace, and my magic feels like a raging dragon eager to be released and destroy everything in its path. ‘Not yet,’ I think. I have to give Starswirl enough time to escape, after all. Casually strolling up to the nearest earth pony, I punch him hard in the chest and his sluggish movement stops completely. The next earth pony is carrying a sword in his right hand; grabbing his right arm at the wrist and elbow, I yank the wrist towards me, adding about an inch to his arm length before turning the lower arm completely backwards at the elbow and completing the second earth pony’s new stance by kicking both of his knees. The next pony is surprisingly a unicorn, which I simply hit in the back of the neck before moving onto the next pony. So many exotic positions and ironic ways to cause death, unfortunately, I need some of them to remain alive for what I have planned. Shoving a sword down the throat of the earth pony wielding it, I finish off the spell by flying up and twisting the head off of one of the pegasi flying overhead, almost like the stem of an apple. I glance around the street and notice that things seem to be speeding up, so I fly back down to the ground. Taking a final look around, I’m satisfied with my work. I take a deep breath and my perception returns to normal. Screams fill the air as ponies cry out in agony, a symphony of pain that sounds beautiful to my ears. The music lasts for several seconds before it dies down and the survivors of my first strike are left gaping at the results. Others are coming out of their shelters to see what the commotion is before quickly ducking back inside for one reason or another. I grin and summon my host’s pegasus magic, shaping the wind in such a way that everyone in the street can hear me whisper. “...Do you want to know a secret?” I ask the survivors softly. “...I win in three moves.” I can smell the shock and fear in the air turn to anger as the templars renew their attack. The pegasi overhead start shooting lightning at me and the remaining unicorns fire magic bolts towards me… It is now that I retaliate in kind. Gathering my magic, the shadows grow deeper and the light from the surrounding buildings flickers. The street is jet black beneath our hooves. “One,” I whisper. “Two,” I continue, before throwing my arms wide. Lightning and magic are blown away as I yank at one of the ethereal chains I thought I would never be able to reach again. The ground starts to shake as the light from the buildings dies away completely. I grin with wide eyes as my magic swirls around me. I love the power I wield, and feeling my enemies’ despair in the moment they realize that there is no hope of winning against me. It’s delicious, the moment when hope dies. “Three,” I finish with a sadistic grin. Slamming my hands into the ground, the earth heaves as I open a door that shouldn’t be there and countless figures explode out. The air grows thick with despair and the wind dies as more and more beings emerge. The ponies surrounding me are paralyzed with fear as my makeshift army takes to the skies and starts flooding the earth. Spirits in tattered black robes fly between the buildings leaving frost behind wherever they go. Bones of various creatures burst from the dirt, forming into armored beings of shadow that burst into black flames and howl into the dead sky. Faceless spirits rise from the ground in chains, I can feel them straining against their bonds, they can feel what is going to happen and are eager to start. Beings never seen before in Equestria or this world… My experiments bask in their freedom from the cage I placed them in. Shaping my magic, I exert my will upon them, and like dogs they jump to listen to my commands. Looking out upon the countless figures my grin never fades as I spread my wings and rocket into the air before giving a single order, “Feed.” I can feel my experiments’ happiness as they spring into action. The black burning figures start ramming themselves into buildings the walls toppling against the force behind them and grabbing the nearest sapient being. Ponies cry out in shock and pain as the black fire comes into contact with them and they are slowly consumed. The chained faceless spirits tail the black robed spirits as they fly after the templars who have started running... The templars aren’t fast enough. I can see the ponies as they are caught by the robed spirits and watch as they are held by the spirits almost like a lover before they pull back their hood. The unicorns and the pegasi who are caught try to scream, but they’re unable to as the spirits lock their mouths together. It takes only a few seconds, but once the robed figures are finished with a pony, the chained spirits come forward and disappear down the mouths of their robed brethrens’ prey. The caught ponies turn and tackle those who haven’t been caught yet and start ripping off their clothes before the robed spirits catch up to them. I smirk and fly off in the direction of the forest knowing that… no one will be walking away from the city that isn’t loyal to me. ‘I will take your lives apart piece by piece, Celestia and Luna. I will destroy your legacy and show you that there are fates far worse than death…’ Author's Note Whelp, that town is done for. I wonder how Equestria will handle a massive outbreak of demons and spirits. Leave a comment down below if you want to show your appreciation for the story and help me find the motivation to write the next chapter! Thank you for reading, and have a glorious day! What is the Greatest Illusion of Life?Over four thousand years of experience, both as flesh and blood and spirit, has taught me many things. I learned how to use magic from one of the best, and he taught me that quite literally anything is possible when dealing with magic and the multiverse. I learned that nothing is absolute, and that most “gods” and “goddesses” are dicks for a reason. The absolute worst enemy for an immortal is boredom. I know this as I have experienced it myself. Immortals NEED things to do, it is the reason that they do the stupid and insane shit that they do. It makes them feel alive! Having others pray to them makes them feel important, like they are actually worth something. Mortals would think that being around for thousands of years would make immortals immune to this sort of thinking, but in all seriousness it only encourages it. Hell, the main reason I tried to shroud Merlon’s world in darkness was because I was mad at the self entitled prick. I nurtured my anger towards the mage because it helped me feel alive, which led to it eventually becoming the hatred I hold towards the bastard today. One week of true darkness and suddenly I am revered as an evil goddess who was unshackled from her flesh and blood prison to burn their villages and sentence their souls to oblivion... Toads really did overreact to everything. Nonetheless, it is for these reasons that I am surprised to hear on the ethereal wind, a prayer directed towards me of all beings as my servant and I roll into the town. My pets long since departed into the shadows that are now their home. “My Dark Queen, hear my plea.” I blink and look around unsure if I actually heard the prayer, an insistent tugging is trying to pull me towards what I can only guess is the individual praying. I stand up and step off the back of the wagon- casting a misdirection charm as I do so- and start walking in the direction of the pull. “Keep my hoofsteps muffled, and my blade silent.” I turn down a dark alleyway between two buildings my host calls apartment buildings, feeling the pull getting stronger as I do so. “As I shroud myself in your cold embrace, and commit my deeds in your name.” I start climbing a metal staircase leading up the side of the left apartment building, pausing at each floor long enough to confirm that I need to go higher before continuing. I pause again as another voice speaks up. “Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your children unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear.” The second voice sounds like a filly, her voice laced with exhaustion. I frown and pick up our pace, determined to find the filly chanting words she should not know let alone be speaking. “You’ve come! I did it! The thing, with the body, and the blade!” I pause outside the next door the pulling sensation telling me that this is my destination. I reach for the handle before freezing and wondering what I am doing. “It’s alright, you don’t have to say anything, I know why you’re here. You’re here for my contract!” After a moment of thinking I come to a conclusion and wrap us in an invisibility spell before stepping off to the side and waiting for this meeting of theirs’ to come to an end. “I want you to go to Manehatten and kill a griffon named Gilda, she’s in prison but she… she needs to die...” The voices go silent and a moment later a figure dressed in a black and red outfit steps out. They are completely silent as they descend the steps leading back to the alleyway. We wait for a while before turning to the door. I turn the handle and am surprised when it opens quietly. Stepping inside, We close the door and lock it before turning to the darkened home. The shadows seem to cling to the walls and there is a stench of death in the stale air. My host’s instincts are setting me on edge as we walk forward. It is a small abode from what We see, a small lavatory is at the other side of the home, but it doesn’t look like it has seen use in several years, besides the toilet. In the main room there is a stove with a box of crackers on it set next to several phials of water. There are cobweb covered cabinets above said oven and a single bed across from it. The floor is covered in dust with such a fine layer that tiny hoofprints are very obvious to see. There is a space beside the bed indicating where there was once a door to a closet, but the door is no longer there, leaving an empty archway. There is a flickering light coming from the archway, and with our curiosity peaked, We walk over to it. Inside the little pocket is an earth pony filly with a purple mane and an orange coat, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt. What catches our attention however is the dagger in her hands and the pile of bones in front of her in a ritualistic circle. Countless emotions roll through us as We try to comprehend the scene but I clamp down on them. This requires a delicate touch of one who knows death intimately, not one of a panicked mare way out of her depth. I glance down at our body and decide that this needs a more dramatic touch, considering the circumstances. The shadows surround and enfold us like a second skin, giving us the image of a mare made of living shadows, perfect for what I have in mind for the filly. “Now what do we have here?” I ask the air, dropping the invisibility and misdirection spells as I do. It gets the desired effect as the filly whirls around and stares at us with wide eyes. “A foal speaking words she should not know, and performing a ceremony she could not have learned through normal means.” We lean down to come face to the face with the startled filly, “Tell me, what is your name, young one?” I ask, casting one of my more favored spells as I do. “S-Scootaloo,” the filly replies, shivering as my spell permeates the air around us. “Hmmm,” We hum in thought, rising to our full height once more. I close our eyes holding the deepest darkness imaginable as the spell takes on its full effect. I can taste the filly’s fear at the realization that she might be in over her head, the exhaustion she feels crushing her, the determination she has to see her mission through to the end slowly slipping away, and underneath it all a raging current of hate and pain driving her. I open our eyes and look at the filly before us, “Tell me… Why do you call upon my children to kill? What was taken from you?” Scootaloo looks at the floor completely silent. “Did someone raze your family’s land? Did they take your family from you?” The orange filly shakes her head and remains silent. “Then why would an earth pony such as yourself pay for a life to be taken?” Scootaloo is silent for a moment before mumbling something I can’t quite catch. “What was that?” I ask, crouching down in front of the filly. Said filly looks me in the eyes after a moment of hesitation. “I said I’m not an earth pony,” she states in a voice barely above a whisper. I stare into the filly’s eyes as I try to feel her natural magic, “...They took the sky from you,” I whisper to the wingless pegasus. The filly looks back down at the floor as a torrent of sorrow overtakes her. “...” I look at the foal with pity and make a decision. Calling upon my magic, I lace our voice with it and reach out to stroke the filly’s cheek. “Sleeeeeeeep,” I whisper. The filly is exhausted and her body quickly gives in to the suggestion. I catch the filly in our arms before she falls to the floor and dispel the illusion on us. I carefully walk over to the bed and place the filly upon it before stepping back and staring at her sleeping form. “...” I’ve been around for a long time, and have done many things that most mortals would label me a demon for. I have killed, crippled, and tortured others physically, mentally, and spiritually. I have leveled entire cities and created weapons of mass destruction because it suited my purpose at the time… I turn and walk over to the skeleton wondering who it might have been, before throwing the thought away and picking up the dagger the filly dropped. Turning back, I walk up to the bed once again with the blade in our right hand. “...” I gently tilt the filly’s head up, and press the edge of the weapon to her throat. ‘It would be painless,’ I rationalize. ‘She’s already crippled for life, it would be a mercy.’ I stand frozen, holding the blade to Scootaloo’s neck. ... ……... ………………… …………………………………… ‘...What am I doing?’ I ask myself pulling the blade away with a sigh. I am basically waging war on Equestria, I know that I will need allies to distract their army as I take my revenge on the Alicorn sisters, and yet here I am about to kill a potential ally. The filly might not be much now, but the hatred and pain she carries could make her a very valuable asset if molded correctly. I walk to the other side of the room and lean against the wall, content to watch the filly sleep... for now. Author's Note Well that certainly took a dark turn. I wonder what will happen next? Leave a comment down below if you want, and have a nice day!
Stupid Dog, You Make Me Look Bad!It takes a special kind of individual to lock someone away until they lose track of time. I’m not talking about the mothers who send their kids to their rooms, I’m talking about the people who throw others in jails and forget about them until even their bones have turned to dust. Had I known what was going to happen, I would have gladly taken the chimera up on his offer of world domination. “Hey Shadow.” A gravely voice speaks up from the darkness. ‘Now, however…’ I think with… well I couldn’t really sigh without a body but manipulating the air, I make a fairly decent imitation of it. “Yes, Tirek?” I ask the feeble red and black centaur, not even bothering to focus on him. “How did you get to this world?” “...” Our prison is in complete darkness, but I focus on my cellmate with such a deadpan expression that I am positive he could feel my thoughts on his question. “What?” “You’re just now asking me this?” I ask in a stupefied tone, “After we’ve been in here for how long?!?” “By the stars Wraith, just answer my question!” “You know what?” I ask the incompetent moron as I feel something snap. After what has felt like an eternity I can feel the chains keeping my anger in check finally being pushed to their limits and shattering like fine china. Gathering the fumes of magic left in me, I force myself to manifest for the first time since the alicorn sisters locked me away. Lighting a fire in what I believe to be the palm of my hand, I illuminate our prison. Spires of black rock contrast against the red cave walls, the only other color being the grey of Tirek’s cage, built out of a magic dampening material, heck even the giant double doors to our prison are red with black markings. My incorporeal form towers over everything else, phasing through several pillars of stone. Bringing both of my giant star filled hands up, I brush my purple locks of hair over my shoulders and adjust the crown on my head before lunging for the doors to my prison and jamming my giant hands between them. With a roar, I try to force the doors to bend to my will and open. The doors start to resist immediately, sending magic back through my hands, it feels like I am being burned by the sun and I use the agony the magic brings to fuel my rage further. The doors start to give, but just as I feel victory is in my grasp something changes. The light filtering through the crack in the door changes the magic, instead of a burning sun racing down my arms I can feel the incorporeal appendages growing heavy. Gritting what used to be my teeth I force the door to open a smidgen more before I realize that I can hear music. ‘Those fucking horses!’ I think, trying to fuel my rage faster than the mystic song can drain it. Forcing the doors open a sliver more, I take my chances and squeeze my form through them. I scream in agony as something is torn from my being, but the moment I collapse on the cool damp night grass on the other side I can safely say it was worth it. I pick my incorporeal purple head up off the grass when something starts growling at me. Glancing up I come face to face… to face… to face… “Really?” I hiss at the cerberus. Putting my dwindling anger into my voice I whisper to the mutt, “Sleeeeeeep.” The dog staggers from the amount of magic being thrown at it before collapsing into a deep dreamless slumber. Dragging myself up, I allow the wind to move my form towards the surrounding forest and away from the mutt guarding my previous cell. Gathering the wisps of my magic, the effects of the door are made known to me. I can feel the pain that the door made me endure, but there is nothing beyond that. This should have me panicking, but the effects of the mystic song grip my emotions in a death hold. ‘Which means I’m on a time limit...’ Once the pain is gone there won’t be anything driving me, basically crippling me and inducing an eternal slumber. With this in mind I summon my magic and fling my form in a random direction. Forests, plains, and even a desert speed by below me before I am forced to go to the ground. The pain is dwindling, and as much as I don’t like it, I know what I have to do. ‘I need to find someone weak, someone as weak as I am right now.’ Gliding along a dirt road I feel someone just up ahead and put everything on being able to… use this being. Lying against a tree on the side of the road, a pegasus mare is asleep. She has a tannish brown coat of fur with a two tone grey and black mane, and is wearing what I can only describe as a pair of shorts, a very sturdy hat, and an explorer jacket that barely fits over her mammaries. The most important features however, is that her waist is wrapped in red bandages under her arms, and her breathing is shallow… very shallow. Turning around, I force my form to mimic the mare before lying down against the tree, adjusting my form until it perfectly overlaps the mare’s. Shutting off my senses, I come face to face with the mare once again, but in an endless darkness. She is laying down with a sleepy expression on her face and I quickly walk around behind her before laying down next to her and wrapping my arms around her form, almost like I am comforting her. I open our eyes with a strangled gasp, only to flinch and shut them again as I feel the damage to our body. I latch on to the mare’s pain, making it my own and using it to guide my healing capabilities. Opening our eyes a crack I glance over my memories and open our mouth. “My name is Daring Do,” I whisper between steadying breaths. “I am twenty six years old, and I am known as A.K. Yearling, a famous author.” Taking a deep breath that turns into a yawn halfway through, I come to terms with my situation and allow us to drift off to sleep once my wound stops sending waves of agony through our body. ‘My name is lost to time, but I am remembered as the Shadow Queen.’
Dream?“Well this is unexpected,” I mutter to myself, shuffling from hoof to hoof on a familiar dirt road. Buildings made from logs and stones surround me, advertising what goods or services they sell with pictures I have not seen since I was still alive. A flower with red petals and two eyes is painted on a post outside the shop where I got my first job, and I can hear fighting coming from the building beside it where I learned how to defend myself... The master of that forsaken place can burn along with his glowing yellow hair… and then join the rest of this damn town in Tartarus. I sigh and turn around knowing exactly what is there. Two buildings really stand out from the rest in this small town, the one that most would focus on is the castle made out of pristine white stone with a red roof. It is easily the largest structure in the town, but… it does not hold the memories that the other building does. The final building that holds any meaning to me in the town is the place where it all started. The building is unlike any other, made with blue stones and marble pillars. The defining feature that really sets it apart is the spinning roof that looks like it was crafted out of the starry night sky. There isn’t anyone in sight, despite it being light outside, but I know with absolute certainty that the mage is in there, sitting on his fat ass, staring at that fucking crystal orb like always. The scenery blurs and twists before reshaping into the barren looking house I know so well. Most people, or toads, or whatever they call themselves now, seem to think that the fat bastard who owns this house never sleeps since there’s nothing but a chair and a table with a crystal ball on it. Most toads who come here never learn about the mansion he has in his attic. None of that is important as I stare at the face, or at least the hood, of the one who started everything. The glowing slitted eyes staring out from the darkness of the blue robes radiate power and the mustache that flows over the front of his robes is as long as I remember it. He never shaves it, even when it is almost touching the floor, simply choosing to hide the braids he has made in the extremely long facial hair. A smaller crystallized orb sits right below his mustache with the ever present yellow star in it. The bastard doesn’t move a muscle, almost like he is trapped in time. I walk up to the figure, stop right across the table from him, and open my mouth. “Merlon,” I start. “In all my years, I have made many mistakes both in life and in the afterlife, but none compare to my biggest mistake… letting you live.” I push on as the bastard continues to stare, unblinking, into the orb on the table, “I really should have seen it coming, you, the legendary Merlon, teaching me magic out of the kindness of your heart?” I snort. “How did it feel, to watch the woman you taught being taken away by the guard? I know you saw what would happen in that ball of yours, and you just let it happen… You weren’t teaching a student, you were making a weapon.” I laugh bitterly as the scenery flickers once again. Merlon is still in front of me, but all around us animated bones of bipedal turtles called koopas march towards a burning city. Three familiar dragons fly overhead, speeding towards the foreign city. “You knew. I know you knew. You always knew… “...Did you even mourn?” I ask as the scenery flickers once more. We are standing on opposite sides of an open casket, and looking down I can see a pale caucasian woman with blonde hair, in a black and purple dress, lying peacefully with her white gloved hands resting on her stomach. “Or did you know I would come back?” I look back up at the wizard, my friend, my teacher… my executioner. He still hasn’t moved an inch, but now it seems like he is looking down at my unmoving body in the coffin. I sigh and close my eyes, knowing that I would not get an answer from the motionless wizard in front of me. ‘...’ I like to think that I’ve seen quite a bit in both my first life and my long afterlife. Going from a teenager dressing up as a character in my first world, to being thrown into a world where dinosaurs can digest anything and squids can fly, to finding this world after putting on a performance where a plumber thought he could beat me with a hammer and some fancy shoes. I like to think that nothing could phase me. ‘...’ It’s moments like these that the multiverse whips out the most shit eating grin it can muster before pulling a pie out of nowhere, throwing it at my ethereal face, tripping me as I stagger backwards because the pie somehow hit me, and while I’m lying on my ethereal back having a joker doll somehow tickle me with a live shark, before leaning down close to my head and asking in a whisper next to my ear while I’m laughing like a loon, “Still think I can’t phase you?” ‘...’ Compound the fact that both my host and I are very light sleepers, if her memories are correct and… Well, the moral is that the multiverse is a dick and its younger siblings fate/coincidence even more so. ‘...’ So when we come to, in the back of a moving wooden wagon, tied to a spinning piece of wood, completely naked, with a fire burning below us that is somehow not spreading and burning the wagon to cinders, along with a grey minotaur rotating into view every few seconds, with a salt shaker in his meaty hands… I think my thoughts are justified. ‘...What the fuck?’ Author's Note I wonder how many people know the place the Shadow Queen visited in her dream.
AlliesGoing from seeing my old teacher in Toad Town to being cooked over an open flame is pretty jarring, but I don’t have very much time to think about it before the minotaur notices we’re awake, pulls his free hand back in a fist, and punches us in the face. “Son-of-a-” I yell as pain erupts in our mouth. Tears well up in our eyes as I lock onto the minotaur with a murderous glare. ‘Big mistake,’ I think, latching onto the anger we feel. The air grows cold and the light seems to dim as the wooden wagon suddenly lurches to a stop. The grey minotaur stumbles to the right and looks to the front of the wagon, no doubt wondering why his two companions have stopped. I can feel the tiny group’s confusion as our mouth twitches up at the corners. The ethereal hand beneath the wagon gripping the axle goes completely unnoticed. I do not give them a chance to investigate. Using our anger, I force the shadows at the corners of the wagon to grow until the small pockets connect with the minotaur’s shadow. The bull jolts upright as if a bolt of electricity went up his spine. The minotaur’s arms are visibly straining against an invisible foe and a moment later I can hear the minotaur’s companions scrambling to the back of the wagon in response to the bull’s pained grunt. Two brown diamond dogs scramble into the back of the wagon with crude spears in their paws. They are wearing rags stitched together into clothes and necklaces with three fangs on each. They rush over to the minotaur asking what’s wrong, but my curse is keeping the bull busy trying to save his free will. The bull hunches over, dropping to his hands and knees, and while the mutts are trying to find what is wrong with their large companion I slowly extend the shadow coming from the bull towards the two dogs. The mutts yelp as the shadow connects the three offenders and I smile as the shadow starts crawling up the dog's legs turning their brown and matted fur into midnight black pelts. The spell latches onto the mutts’ fear to speed up the transformation, forcing their muscles and bones to grow, and taxing their bodies to their limits in order to meet the spell’s demands. I feel… strange, listening to their bones and joints snap and pop as they whimper in agony. I suppress the dogs’ minds and make their bodies go beyond their limits, the spell supplementing the energy produced by their agony in place of the nutrients in their bodies. The rags covering their bodies rip and fall to the wagon floor, and with one final burst of power the spell completes the mutts’ transformations by giving their heads a more wolfish shape. The mutts collapse next to the minotaur, who was watching the transformation of his companions with wide eyes as they were repurposed to suit my needs. The bull’s struggles redouble against my invisible restraints as my new pets stagger to their paws. ‘Release me,’ I signal silently to my pets via thought. The jagged bones protruding from my pets’ paws make quick work of my bindings. Sitting on the piece of wood, I swing our hooves over to the right side and stand up. I stagger a little, but my host’s muscle memory kicks in and I steady us before we fall. It feels strange walking again after such a long time, but I quickly return my focus to the final offender of the little group. Looking upon the straining minotaur in front of me struggling not to fall, I find the idea of transforming the helpless bull into a mindless beast… surprisingly unwanted. Gazing upon the minotaur in a professional black suit kneeling before me, I make a choice. The bull bellows and lurches up, his mouth opening to its widest as tendrils of smoke pour out of the surrounding trees. The minotaur watches on in fear as the smoke reaches him and starts filling his mouth and slithering down his throat. The bull starts to shake violently as more of the black substance forces itself into him. The bull stops shaking a few seconds later and several seconds after that his arms fall limp to his sides. The black substance dissipates after I am certain the binding is complete. “Rise,” I command. The grey minotaur climbs to his hooves, sweeping off the specks of dust on his suit before looking at me. “Bow,” I command. The minotaur complies, bending his upper body, his eyes never leave my own. “What is your name, servant?” “Ironhide, your majesty.” “What were you doing before coming into my service?” “Delivering a ring thought to be magical in nature.” “...Show me,” I demand. Ironhide walks to the edge of the wagon before jumping off, my pets and I close behind as he circles around to the front of the wagon. He grabs a bag fastened to one of the handles and pulls out a large golden ring about the size of my host’s torso. Taking the ring in our hands, I can immediately feel the artifact’s magic. It is a strange piece to say the least, the most prominent effect of the item being tied to the feeling of lust… “Where is our clothing?” I ask Ironhide, letting the ring in our hands fall to our sides. The magic in the ring is curious, but it is not important right now. “Several hours behind us, we discarded your clothing on the trail.” I turn to my large black pets, “Fetch my clothing. Do not destroy it.” My pets growl an affirmative before racing off back towards our belongings. “Where were you headed before you came into my service?” “We were heading towards a city to resupply before completing our contract with our employer.” I look at Ironhide for a moment before returning to the back of the wagon. “Continue on to the city, pull the wagon behind you so that I may see this town with my own eyes.” The minotaur straightens his suit before bowing to me, “As you command, your majesty.” I sit down in the wagon and lean back against the left wall. This entire ordeal has brought a very serious matter to my attention. I have no allies. I do not have an army either. If I truly wish to punish the alicorn sisters for imprisoning me, I must have both; for even though I can match the sisters in terms of raw power, I will be fighting not just the sisters, but all of Equestria and its allies. ‘...’ ‘Perhaps, I have more allies than I thought,’ I think with a small smile. ‘I just need to contact them.’ Swiping our hand across the wooden surface of the wagon, I jerk it up as a splinter embeds itself in our finger. Using my host’s annoyance I call upon my magic and force the shadows to take form in the palm of our right hand. The shadows twist and warp until they congeal into a black crystal ball no bigger than a jawbreaker, a gold star turning inside it. I open my mouth as I start pouring magic into the orb I call a star point. “If you ever find yourself in need,” “You will find me an ally indeed.” “But be warned, this goes both ways,” “And be ready when it comes time to pay.” “Smash this orb upon the floor,” “And call upon me, the Shadow Queen.” Upon finishing the spell weave, I open a tear in the dimension and throw the star point into the void. I close the rift and turn to see my pets running up to the wagon, our clothing secured in their paws. They lunge into the back of the wagon and lie down panting from exhaustion. I walk up to them and collect our clothes, taking a moment to bend down and pat them on the head. “Good dogs.” Author's Note The Shadow Queen is now available as a party member! She will help out with whatever problem the displaced who called her needs help with, but be warned that they will be indebted to her. If she calls in a displaced indebted to her they will be unable to refuse her request.
Old Students and FollowersIt is times like these, as I watch the sleeping filly, that make individuals think. Their minds wander from one topic to another, and sometimes… sometimes, they come across a question that simply does not have an answer yet… I am having one of those moments right now. “...” In a time long since past my arcane teacher once asked me what my goals were, I told him that I wanted to make the world a better place… I was so naive back then, thinking I could make a difference, but… at least back then I knew what I wanted to do, I had a purpose. ‘What do I want to do after taking revenge?’ I ask myself for what feels like the millionth time. I’m stalling, I don’t need allies, or an army to take down the alicorn sisters, I just need to sneak into the castle undetected and strike them down from the shadows! ‘...So why don’t I? Why did I create the star point calling for help?’ ... ‘...Because you are terrified.’ I snap out of my daze and realize that I am in a very familiar star filled space. Countless small shadowy figures surround me, but they all seem dazed… all except for one. The mare has a white coat and a pink mane, on her flanks are two scrolls with daggers hidden inside them, she is carrying a familiar looking staff, but the most eye-catching feature of hers is the chain coming out of her chest connecting her to me, a trait that every other shadow figure shares. “Platinum,” I greet the mare who barely clears my ethereal waist. “You are terrified, my lady,” the former unicorn ruler states once more, before slowly gesturing to the shadowy figures around us, “When the sisters locked you away, you could feel yourself fading away, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. Very few individuals even remember that you exist, and you crave to interact with others... You are scared of what might happen if they do it again, of being subjected to the silence that was nearly the end of you.” “...” “They know how to defeat you.” “They know nothing!” I tell the mare in an aggressive tone. “They know enough to put the voices in your head to sleep.” The mare continues gesturing to the figures again. “...” “The only reason you haven’t faded is because several of us refuse to be silenced.” “...Who?” “Starswirl is still among the living, the curse you placed upon him… or her, I guess, prolonging her life beyond any reasonable amount of time, Commander Hurricane is still among the living as well, and both know that you have returned.” “And yourself?” I ask with a raised ethereal brow. The mare shifts from one hoof to the other, “I am still around, yes… but I do not recommend searching for me as I am positioned right under the alicorn sisters’ noses.” “...If you have been living with them for over a thousand years now… then why are they still alive?” “Because I couldn’t kill them,” the mare states through gritted teeth. “I had to go into hiding, the ‘royal sisters’ banished me from my own land and when I returned, Luna was banished to the moon, and the country of Equestria relied so heavily on ‘Princess Celestia’ that killing her without someone just as powerful ready to take her place would be signing the unicorn tribe’s death warrant.” “What about the unicorn tribe’s military?” The mare laughs a bitter laugh, “The military, both the unicorn and the pegasus militaries were dissolved, the ‘Equestria military’ is a joke, and the only reason that the country hasn’t been invaded by its neighbors is that they still needed Celestia to raise the sun.” “And why does Hurricane still follow me?” Platinum snorts, “My lady, she’s a soldier. What use is a soldier when there are no enemies to engage?” “No use at all.” “Exactly, although… you do have one other significant supporter to your cause my lady.” “And that is?” “...Discord, my lady.” I stare at the mare for a few moments before chuckling to myself which devolved into full blown laughter. I clutch my ethereal sides as the gravity of the gesture falls on me. ‘He’s sweet on me, he is still sweet on me. The chimera couldn’t woo a mare to save his life, but he sure does give it his best.’ My laughter slows to a crawl before stopping completely. Looking at Platinum, I ask with a smile on my ethereal face, “Is there anything else I need to know about?” Platinum shifts from hoof to hoof once more. “Yes, actually, Starswirl is on her way, she should be arriving at your location sometime today.” I clasp my ethereal hands behind my back and straighten up. “Very well, you are dismissed.” “My lady,” the mare states before slowly backing away and disappearing among the crowd of shadow figures. I shake myself out of the trance, and look around. The home is how I left it with the filly sleeping the day away on the dusty bed. … I feel tired, exhausted really. The weight of the past several hours collapses on us like a pile of bricks, all at once. ‘Maybe just a quick nap…’ I think, walking over to the door. Gathering up my magic I write a glyph on the wood. The glowing symbol is sloppy, but faced with our exhaustion I find I couldn’t care less. The symbol would alert me if anyone touches the door and that is all that matters to me at the moment. Our eyelids feel heavy, and with one last glance at the filly, we walk over to the corner next to the stove and lean against the wall, before slowly sliding down to the floor and closing our eyes. Author's Note Short chapter is short, but hey, it's better than nothing right? I've been playing the thousand year door again, but this time around I am challenging myself. 10 HP 5 FP ALL BP No badges that increase FP or HP allowed. Am I insane? Probably, but it is the most fun I have had in years with a game!
The Wheels of Fate… Stone is hard. A simple observation, but an accurate one. I’ve lost track of how long I have been in here, chained and stripped of magic, but I can’t bring myself to care. ‘My mentor condemned me…’ I cracked a small smile, tears rolling down my cheeks once again. ‘He condemned me, for listening to him.’ “Heh,” my smile grows a little. ‘He condemned me, for saving countless lives.’ “Heh, ha ha,” I start chuckling. ‘It’s not like they didn’t deserve it! They slaughtered Lady Bow, they killed everyone in Gusty Gulch!’ “Hahaha, hahahahaha.” My smile morphs into a grin. I lean back, but the chains stop me from falling to the floor. ‘They deserved it! they wouldn’t stop until every crumb was taken and we were left to die!’ “Hahaha, HahahaHAhahaHAHAHA,” my voice echoes throughout my lightless prison. ‘They wanted to kill us all… I simply proved that I was better at it than they were!’ “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-” I choked on the musky air of the pit they threw me in. I could feel bile rising in my throat, but I force it down, never losing the grin on my face. ‘My “friends” and “mentor” think I’m a monster?’ I start to shake a little, the chains holding me upright rattling against the wall and floor. “Then I’ll give them a monster,” I whisper in a cracking voice to the stale air of my soon to be tomb. ‘...They deserve it…’ A wizard stares into his crystal ball, watching with sightless eyes as his former pupil rests in the temporary shelter of her new ward. He couldn’t believe it, after so long, Fate might actually keep its word and raise his former student to glory. “It has been so long,” the ancient mage whispers, tilting his head slightly and gazing upon the tools of her destruction, and salvation. Seven stars crafted from precious materials lay upon the table he sits at. Even now, after so many ages have passed, they hum with untold magic that is still as strong as the day his pupil crafted them. The air seems to vibrate as the wizard sends his magic through the artifacts. The stars shake before lifting into the air, resisting his probing of their uses just as the countless times before. “Dangerous, yet tempting. Curious, but content.” The mage mutters to himself. “...” The mage sighs before returning his attention to the crystal ball and waving his hand. The forms of his benefactors cloud the orb’s surface to his unseeing eyes, seven shifting shapes gliding back and forth as the wizard speaks. “...And this is what will save my star from the darkness that consumes her?” he asks in a tired voice, the question he has broached ever since she fell to her emotions. “The answer has not changed,” a feminine voice replies, almost as if expecting the question. “Darkness cannot live without the light, and without darkness the light loses its purpose,” an elderly voice continues. “You must have faith that the stars will light the way of the one dear to you,” a gruff voice explains. “When the final trial is complete-” a young sleepy voice starts before yawning and continuing, “-her mind will be restored.” “We have stated before that we would grant your wish,” an impatient voice chimes in, “now you must give her the means to complete it.” “See it through,” a refined voice states, “we have all come too far to back down now.” “Don’t tell us that you doubt your student’s ability to overcome these final trials?” a voice filled with joy asks. The wizard looks back to the star shaped gems in his magic, pondering their words before coming to a shocking realization. He didn’t have faith that his student would survive the coming trials. The mage’s magic wavers for a moment before increasing in strength by tenfold. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he forces a tunnel of magic to manifest behind the artifacts before hurtling them in with a fury few have ever seen from the esteemed magic user. Merlon grabs the table by the edge, realizing that he is shaking, and takes several calming breathes. ‘...Please,’ the wizard thinks. ‘Please, prove me wrong one last time, my student.’ With one last steadying breath Merlon lets go of the table and once more stares into the crystal ball, the image of his student’s host resting upon a dusty floor filling the mystic orb once again. ‘...Please…’ I find myself in the back of a wagon, clothed in the purple dress I arrived in this world wearing, but still chained and being driven somewhere. Both of my teachers are in front of me watching my every move. My Sensei’s eyes are glowing yellow and I can feel the power he is willing to use in his tense body in order to keep me from doing anything. Merlon, on the other hand, seems almost relaxed, but that doesn’t fool me, his hands are lost in the folds of his clothing and I am willing to bet every coin I have ever made that he has something up one of his sleeves just waiting for me to make a move. Faces appear and disappear in the streets, the entire town pausing and staring as the wagon passes them, and every single one of them staring at me in anger, fear, or disappointment and shame. I can’t see Bonetail, Gloomtail, or Hooktail among the crowd, but it is likely for the best. My plan is probably going to turn this entire city into ground zero in several minutes, and I don’t remember teaching them how to swim. The wagon slows to a crawl and the crowd trailing behind us closes off any escape route as we arrive at our destination. Two bipedal turtles carrying spears walk into the wagon and release my chains from the wagon boards. My teachers take the chains in their hands and walk me off the wagon, almost like a dog… Looking around, I find myself relieved that I had made the preparations beforehand. There isn’t going to be a trial for my supposed crimes, my fate is already decided, considering the wooden structure in the middle of the town square sporting a thick rope noose... I feel like this town should have been called Salem instead of Ville Riche. My teachers and I approach the scaffold as another bipedal turtle unravels a scroll off to the side. My executioners pull me up by the chains and attach them to the floorboards of the scaffold over the trapdoor before Merlon widens the noose slightly and fits my head through it. The turtle opens its mouth, “_____, you have been charged with the crimes of theft, torture, maiming, live experimentation on sapient beings-” The list goes on for a while, the gathering crowd looking at me in disgust as the koopa keeps adding to the list, “-and genocide…” The turtle finally finishes, “What say you in your defense?” I say nothing. I don’t trust myself to keep my plan a secret, opting to look at my mentor as he walks towards the lever keeping the floor under me. ‘If they do not wish to thank me in life...’ I think as the floor drops out from under me, a sharp pain shoots through my body before slowly drifting away as my vision darkens. ‘Then they shall join me in death,’ I think as the pain rushes back with a vengeance I had not known possible before then. I scream as my mind is ripped apart, an unearthly shriek tearing from my throat as I throw my spirit to the wolves and hope to prove myself a predator instead of prey. Our eyes snap open as pain erupts from our skull. I clutch our head, mentally swearing as I hear something drop to the floor. Cracking open our eyes, I look down at the objects that assaulted us and pause. There is a green emerald on the floor emitting a small amount of chaos magic, but it’s completely ignored in favor of the larger gem that I see. A five pointed star, seemingly made of some sort of orange gem, is sitting upon the dusty floor. I remember this star, I made it a long time ago. I stare at the gem for a moment before slowly reaching forward and touching it. The response is immediate, magic I had long thought lost to me reaches out of the star and embraces me like an old friend. I smirk as I feel my magic grow, ‘Looks like things are finally going my way.’ Focusing on the connection between myself and the star, I can feel other gems similar to the one in our hands in distant locations, calling to me. Tearing my eyes away from the star, I look at the small green gem and cautiously pick it up. The gem turns black as a small amount of chaos magic fills me and a voice calls out from the void. “My name is Echo, I am the entity of water, and former god of destruction, if you seek my aid, hold this emerald to your chest, speak this prayer, and I shall be there. The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.” I blink, the smirk never leaving my face, ‘Well aren’t you interesting? A former god of destruction? You just might be useful.’ One thing is certain, things are looking up. Author's Note A glimpse into the Queen's past. May the creator or whoever she believes in have mercy on her vile soul.
Colab Chapter: Entity of WaterAuthor's Note First Colab chapter of the story, and my first time writing fanfiction in 3rd person... To be honest, I think I'm going to stick to first person from now on. Comments are appreciated so leave one down below if you have the time, and finally thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day! Colab Chapter: Entity of Water Finally, Echo had gotten the yellow chaos emerald after such a hectic mess of getting it in the first place. Princess Ember had it for her staff, yet somehow managed to learn how to utilize its power, it was a good thing he had Frostpool by his side through the hell. “Now to return back to Celestia to see if she can find the next emerald,” Echo said, making his way across the Ocean in his modified serpent draconic form. Echo was currently pondering if he should bring back Frostpool for another trip... Then again, perhaps it would be unwise considering Frostpool’s… questionable shenanigans and his strange ability to break the fourth wall, nothing is normal with that person. Echo arrived to the East of Equestria, slowly climbing up onto shore and returning to his unicorn form, his original colors still the same blue and green, even if the strange ponytail (no pun intended) hair was part of it, it helped Echo blend in better with the population. “Hello? The maker of this gem… are you there?” a feminine voice called out from the sky. “I swear if the multiverse decided to give me a useless token then by all the gods I will find a way to make it pay.” Echo froze at where he stood when he heard the voice. “I suppose your plea isn’t urgent, considering you did not speak the prayer.” Echo answered back, his mind’s voice echoing back to her. “Oh good, you’re actually responsive… You know what, screw it, Echo, I summon thee!” Echo’s body took on an dark glow, the same color as the emerald that the voice held, and with a bright spark of chaotic energy, Echo vanished as if he had performed Chaos Control. He flew through the void, a little startled since this is the first time he’d experienced it, his body shaking and vibrating from the suction, threatening to pull him apart. Eventually he arrived on the other side, although the landing was a bit rough, his body almost lost its form on impact. “Well now, aren’t you interesting,” the feminine voice stated from above him. Looking up Echo found what could only be described as a cross between a human and a pony looking down at him. Tan fur covered her body, at least what wasn’t covered by clothing. “A unicorn, but not one of solid matter. Maybe a side effect of using chaos magic? No, not a unicorn, but one that takes a shape similar to one… Tell me, are you an experiment of Discord’s?” “Nay, however I used to be friends with Discord before he become the beast he is now, a pony that is nothing but a shell of his former self.” Echo said. Suddenly his body twirled around, taking on two glows of yellow and gold. He pulled upon the chaos within the two emeralds within his possession, taking on a form similar to the other humanoid pony. “Considering what Travis said to me, I’d assume Discord isn’t the same here?” Echo asked, now standing on two legs. He was still the same color of blue with snake-like emerald green eyes, the hair was the same style although longer to adjust to the body’s new height, and he was naked, though there is no… mentionables to be shown. “Where exactly am I, for that matter?” “Well I guess the answers to your questions are: I have no idea seeing as I do not know your Discord, and we are in a town, specifically the temporary home of a contract holder,” the mare stated, pointing behind Echo with a hand holding a black chaos emerald. “Also, keep your voice down, I don’t want her waking up just yet.” Turning around Echo found the temporary living space extremely dusty. Tiny hoofprints were clear to see in the fine layer of dust leading to a bed with a sleeping orange filly. The only lighting in the home came from a space off to the side holding several candles, a dagger, and a bleached skeleton. A moment of silence passed as Echo inspected his newly formed hand. It felt strange yet familiar, like an lost distant memory he could never get back. Finally he responds “What exactly happened, though?” Echo asks, looking at the three questionable things in the room. It looked like some sort of ritual, but of course another familiar thing Echo wished he could remember. “You’re going to have to narrow that question down a bit, a lot has happened. Most of it you probably wouldn’t understand unless you experienced it yourself.” Echo gestured toward the strange ritual. “It looks like someone died, or possibly was sacrificed. I’m not familiar with this sort of magic. I suppose the first two things I said are false as I sense nothing chaotic, nothing left over, no death, no energy whatsoever,” Echo said, looking around the room once more. “I suppose I’ll find out later. according to your star orb token, you’re the Shadow Queen?” Echo asked, taking out the very thing from out behind his eyes. It appeared that his body served as storage, but it isn’t wet much like the red scarf around his neck and the other red gem. “Fascinating…” the mare stated, bringing a hand to her mouth and leaning against a wall. “...Yes I am the Shadow Queen, and the ritual is a summons, although it is missing several key markings to actually work, I’ll give you that…” The mare blinked. “Wait… you’ve never come across bone magic?” The mare asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m going by throughts and theories, It doesn’t mean I know about it, then again, I suppose I might have at one time before I was reborn as this Entity of water…” Echo said, motioning toward his own body. “I wasn’t always like this.” “Hmmm… Maybe a memory suppression spell? It could be your own mind trying to protect itself, but it is unlikely… Perhaps your magic is playing a game with you?” the Shadow Queen stated, looking at Echo like he was a puzzle she didsn’t have all the pieces to. "It's a long story.” Echo said with a sigh. "I'll give you the abridged version - I woke up as a lake of water, met Starswirl, then as the years passed, slowly gained a solid form through absorbing chaos magic such as disharmony, chaos, destruction, the flow of time, created a unicorn form, tried to make a life for myself, ended up turning Starswirl the bearded into Discord, he blasted me with chaos magic, I became a huge draconic monster, flooded a quarter of Equestria, was sealed and frozen in ice by the royal sisters, many years passed, got free, fled, the Elements of Harmony befriended me, (although 'befriended' is stretching it, more like they assumed me as a friend without trying,) but I don’t consider the same for them, et cetera. I learned I was Displaced thanks to an overpowered being called Davis, then met another Displaced, then his other friend appeared by breaking reality known as Frostpool, I learned that the Chaos Emeralds were around, he helped me get the second one, and then a moment later, you summoned me here,” Echo said without even taking a breath. He is an being of water, breathing isn’t even part of his biological functions. The Shadow Queen blinked before snorting, a small smile on her face. “It is amazing how much you assume,” she stated, walking towards Echo slowly. Echo slowly raised an eyeridge, “I don’t assume, I go by what I know thus far, Davis told me that I had died in some sort of crash before arriving in my world of Equestria. If I could restore my memories, I would do it in a heartbeat.” The Shadow Queen flicks the scarf around Echo’s neck with a finger and opens her mouth, “I’ll let you slide this time seeing as you’re apparently new to the multiverse, but the next time you are summoned be more careful. You automatically assumed that I was a friend, that I held no ill will towards you. ‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing’ is oftentimes much more than a warning. Be wary of those offering a smile and forgiveness, they always have a hidden agenda.” “To be honest, I did not assume you as a ‘friend’ at first, Shadow Queen, considering your name, I merely explained my past to better shine upon your confusion. It was either that or leave myself shrouded in mystery,” Echo explained as he crossed his arms. “You hold my token, and with it not only do you hold a small portion of chaos energy to do with as you please, but you are the summoner and the dismisser, I cannot return until I fulfill whatever you need me for, so in short: Getting on your good side will allow me to go home sooner than later… Unless there was no purpose and you just needed someone to speak to?” Echo asked. The Shadow Queen looked at Echo with flat eyes, “No, you assume a lot, there is always a way to break a contract, you simply need to find it. You introduced yourself as a former… god of destruction,” the mare stated, emphasizing the past tense of the title, “implying that you were either overthrown or you simply do not wish to have the title anymore. You stated that you destroyed a fourth of Equestria after Discord pumped you full of chaos magic, implying that you did not wish to do so… Be careful of what you say, not every individual in the multiverse is as forgiving as I am.” “...I suppose...” Echo said quietly, and then remained silent for a moment. “...Though I regret only a little when I sent the fake emeralds. I cannot lie about my title, I did become a powerful being and that was only by Discord’s power alone, who knows what I could truly become if I had all seven emeralds of chaos,” Echo said, looking down at the ground. “I am only collecting them so that they do not fall into the wrong hands, Princess Ember showed what she could do with just one; even if it was an novice attempt at throwing Chaos Bolts, she was able to do it, she overthrew her father using it and became the Dragon Lord. While her father was indeed mad, he showed a little bit of pride in his daughter.” Echo shook his head, not really comprehending why someone’s father would not attempt to find a good punishment, since she did burn him rather badly. “...Do you even know how chaos magic works?” “It can be manipulated in any shape and form depending on how much you have, and so far I’ve only learned how harness it as attacks, to control an small fabric of time, to teleport from one place to another. This is all I know, I’m sure I could do much more if I absorbed more chaos energy at a slow, steady pace, or as I mentioned before: Chaos Emeralds,” Echo said, sighing and shaking his head. “I know, I’m new to this and that draconic form of mine was only a taste, yes, I became it unwillingly as I had no experience nor control, but in the end I will be able to do it. I don’t know what I’ll use it for, but it’ll be better under my control than the control of others, what happened in the past was only the past, not the present.” “By the gods you actually don’t know…” the Shadow Queen whispered. Leaning back and crossing her arms, she got a contemplative look on her muzzle and started tapping a hoof to the dusty floor. The Shadow Queen sighed, “You do know that you are practically crippled until you learn how to use it, right?” “...I know how to use it, but only in small amounts. It’ll take time and I’m in no rush, rushing would probably turn me into that beast of the past,” Echo said, talking about the past wasn’t exactly helping the mood. “As of now, I know enough to defend myself or escape if I can’t.” The Shadow Queen stared at Echo for a time before sighing once more, “You know what, fine, if you are content with just being able to defend yourself and survive then be my guest,” she held up a finger. “I summoned you first so I am indebted to you, you can summon me one time free of charge, do you still have the star point?” Echo nodded before slowly making it emerge from out of his chest. The Shadow Queen snaps her fingers and the orb changes color from black to a deep green, the spinning star inside seeming to speed up. “Go home, Echo,” the Shadow Queen stated, snapping her fingers again. The chaotic entity disappeared a split second later. “You’re not useful right now anyway.” She continues walking back to the corner of the home and returning to her vigil over the sleeping filly. Echo is sent through the void, returning to his Equestria with disappointment in himself. “Gods above, that was an embarrassing first impression on my part. I wish I could have offered more, or at least something in return… How could I have been so stubborn? She was trying to tell me that chaos magic is like a child, it only does what it wants to do...” Echo muttered to himself, slowly heading over to Celestia’s castle.
Morals?‘Mind, body, and soul… it always comes back to the basics of the mind, body, and soul,’ I think, idly twirling a bone from the skeleton between my fingers as I stare at the sleeping filly. Many individuals wonder how far others have to be pushed in order to make a deal with the devil. The answer is surprising to most: it doesn’t matter how far others are pushed, but the direction they are pushed. Starswirl did not care for her family, but when she was spurned by her peers she made a deal to serve me in exchange for acknowledgement for her work. Starswirl’s mind, while brilliant, could not handle the reality of her work, which she had dedicated her life to, being rejected. Hurricane pledged her loyalty in exchange for eternal youth so that she could always protect those precious to her, and destroy those who would wish them harm. Platinum believed in her very soul that her tribe was superior to the other two and swore her allegiance in exchange for proving this. The unicorn tribe discovered how to move celestial bodies soon after. I pull myself out of my musings and look at the bone in our hand. Scootaloo is no different from any of my followers, I simply need to make the right offer. Something tugs at me from the shadows before one of my pets silently appears in front of me carrying the curious ring from before in its jaws… I blink, realizing that I had completely forgotten about the minotaur. The bull probably knows how to handle himself, but… The fact that I had forgotten about him… “...Is the bull alone right now?” I ask my pet. The hellhound growls an affirmative after dropping the ring. “...Show me,” I say, placing a hand on the mutt’s head. Our eyes unfocus and I can see the bull, lying in the wagon he was pulling, sleeping in the cool night air in a dark alleyway. I take our hand away from the mutt’s head and blink, assessing the situation. He is a servant, but at the same time the fact I had forgotten about him is concerning. He’s an asset, but he could very well become a liability if he is captured. The binding spell placed upon him is fragile, absolutely nothing like the contracts in the sense that if it is broken there is nothing stopping the bull from exposing me before I am ready to reveal myself. “...Leave,” I command the mutt. The hound disappears into the shadows a moment later. … I push my conscious into the ethereal plane and look around at my servants, searching for a particular chain. I find it fairly quickly, the shoddy oversized chains standing out against the finer quality chains my older subjects wear. I follow it back to its source, a glowing blue outline of a bull lying upon the nonexistent floor. ‘...He’s a loose end,’ I think trickling a tiny bit of magic through the chains. ‘His life was forfeit the moment you chained him to your will.’ The magic meets resistance when it starts to pull… I start pulling harder. ‘Why do I care so much?’ I pause, the magic faltering in my grip. ‘Why do I care so much?’ I ask, looking at my ethereal hand. I have killed and murdered so many individuals that I have lost count, I’ve torn apart families without batting an eye, I have broken others so thoroughly that they have begged me for the mercy of death… so why am I hesitating? My ethereal hand shifts as realization dawns on me. Looking at the tan fur covered hand I grip the chain tightly and force more magic than I would ever need down the links towards the bull’s outline. ‘Because it is the first time my host has killed,’ I think before yanking the chain back. The chains rattle and strain for a moment before giving way and the outline of the bull fades away as an unrecognizable heap. I pull us from the ethereal plane and look down at our hands. They’re covered in a familiar red liquid seeping into our fur and staining the bone from the skeleton. I focus on breathing, forcing us to take deep long breaths and assess the situation once more. ‘Okay, the minotaur is out of the equation… FUCK! Okay, relax, these aren’t your emotions, you’re just the one feeling them, hehe… Don’t panic Daring.’ I take another deep breath and close our eyes, ‘Stop panicking, you’ve killed before, and this is no different… I only just- stop thinking and calm the fuck down.’ I don’t know how long it takes for us to calm down, but one thing is made very clear to me, ‘I need a new host. One that is more… comfortable... and less naive.’ With a final deep breath, I open our eyes to find the home exactly how I left it, and I walk towards the lavatory. I look in the dusty mirror and start to practice smiling and looking like everything is fine in the world. I might need a new host, but until I can find one I need to make sure not to draw attention to the one I have. Our eyes are wide and the smile is shaky at best, too big, artificial, a lie a toddler could see through. I can feel the blood on our hands crusting over and pulling on my host’s memories I turn the knob on the faucet and watch as murky water starts flowing out. I wash our hands as thoroughly as possible without what my host calls soap with the end result being slightly tinted fur on our arms. I go back to practicing with the mirror for a while before something tugs at me from behind once more. Turning around I hear someone trying to open the door, the handle is jiggled for a moment before stopping and a moment later I hear the lock on the door clicking open. Wrapping our form in shadows once more I step forward and prepare to meet whoever is at the door. Author's Note Everyone has a price, it simply takes one bad day to find out what it is.
ChangeThe door opens and I find myself face to face with three large rugged ponies. The one coming through the doorway is a little on the short side, wearing a beat up tux and top hat, the stallion has a grey coat of fur and is sporting a patchy black beard. The stallion to the right is much bigger, an earth pony with a blood red coat of fur and wearing a faded t-shirt that probably had writing on it once upon a time. The final stallion… the one on the left… is surprisingly… normal. This stallion made me tense, I never categorize anything that draws my attention as “normal” but as soon as my eyes leave him I find myself forgetting what he looks like, what he’s wearing, I can’t even remember what tribe he belongs to. I know that he is walking through the doorway, but he doesn’t matter in the slightest. “Who are you, and why are you here?” I ask the stallion in the tux in a hypnotic voice. The stallion blinks and shakes his head before looking at me with a smile that just seems wrong. “Well now aren’t you interesting? A wraith hiding out in a rundown apartment?” The stallion takes a step forward, “I would say I am surprised, but you’re the third one we’ve found in this city.” I tilt our head slightly to the right, looking out the door to see if it’s still night outside, which it is. The stallion takes another step forward, and I call up my magic. The stallion in the tux tenses and opens his mouth… I don’t give him a chance to speak. An oversized hand made of shadows erupts from the ceiling and grabs the stallion’s muzzle and lifts him off the ground by it, he doesn’t even have time to yelp before he is dangling in the air. The other two stallions rush forward, or at least try to, they don’t make two steps before six more arms spring up from the floor and grab their legs, they yelp in surprise before falling face first onto the dusty floorboards. The attackers are subdued for the moment but the loud noises seem to have woken Scootaloo if the arcane symbols going off behind me are any indication. “What’s going on?” I hear the filly ask behind me. Turning around I see the wingless pegasus propping herself up on her elbow and rubbing the crust out of her eyes. I don’t want her waking up right now, so I absolutely saturate my voice in magic and whisper to her, “Nothing Scootaloo, just go back to bed.” It isn’t a request, it’s a demand, one that is strangely effective. “...Good night,” the orange filly mutters before rolling over and closing her eyes. I quickly turn back to the stallions in the temporary shelter and take stock of the situation. The stallion in the tux is thrashing around in the air and clawing at the hand holding him up. The hand is smoldering at the points he is touching and I can feel a tingling feeling spread through it. The same thing is happening with the ponies on the floor, but they are restrained almost entirely face down, minimizing the effect of whatever they are doing by more than a few hands. I want to question them, I really do, but the chance of them calling attention to me is too high. The multitude of hands holding the two stallions to the floor start to pull downward and they start sinking into the shadows on the floor while another hand emerges from the ceiling right behind the stallion in the tux, grabbing his throat from behind and starting to squeeze. All three of the stallions’ struggling increases as they make muffled shouts and grunts. The stallion in the tux is the first to go, his movement stopping with a sudden and sickening snap before being dropped on the floor by the hands holding him. The other two stallions are swallowed by the shadows on the floor before anything breaks, but I don’t expect them to last long seeing as the dimension they are forced into is not meant for the living. The room is silent once more as I walk up to the pony in the tux and crouch down to study him closer. It has been a long time since something has actually affected me and not just my host. I reach out and touch the pony’s neck with two of our fingers only to be surprised when I immediately strike gold. There are... patterns etched onto his skin hidden beneath his coat of fur which end very abruptly. I frown and push down a little harder trying to find where the markings continue only to find that they disappear once the marking meets a blood… vein… I blink before tracing the veins to underneath the stallion’s muzzle and finding another marking similar to the first right under where the tongue would be. ‘Well now aren’t you interesting?’ I think with a raised eyebrow. An ethereal hand emerges from the floor to the right of the stallion’s corpse and places a finger upon the first marking, I hold it there for a few moments before I feel the appendage heating up. The ethereal hand pulls away and I smell that the fur under where the finger was is slightly charred. ‘Very interesting...’ I stare at the corpse for a while before making a decision. Multiple ethereal hands rise from the floor, shaping themselves into useful tools to serve the purpose I have in mind. The hands grab the tuxedo the stallion is still in and start ripping it apart. The corpse is naked a moment later, and the ethereal hands begin probing his form to find any other markings on it. A large amount of markings are found in the chest area, along with three in both arms and legs, with a final one on the top of the head. An ethereal hand with claws instead of fingers slides forward, places one of the sharp appendages to the corpse’s chest, and slowly drags downwards, a line of red trailing behind it in contrast to the body’s grey fur. Another clawed hand joins the first, making cuts at the top and bottom of the first line, making it look like a capital “I.” Two more hands join the claws and pull the skin away with a third providing a small flame to the right of the opening. I blink in surprise at what is there. The organs and bones are still there, but there are symbols carved into them, these ones much more defined than the markings on the skin, and much more… potent. Another ethereal hand, wider and thinner than the rest, slides forward as the clawed hands dissipate to give it room. The wide hand places a finger upon the runes and our head jerks back as a snapping sound echos through the room and the bone basically explodes. I suppress the urge to yelp as I feel tiny slivers of tainted bone pepper our face. The ethereal hands cover the corpse and quickly drag it into the dimension the other two ponies were pulled into as I shake our head in shock. “...What the fuck?” I whisper in a daze. The realization that ponies could make defenses like the runes very eye opening. ‘I’ve been locked away for a long time… just how much has changed?’ My train of thought is derailed when I hear the sound of hooves just outside the door. A tall pegasus mare with grey fur and a blond mane walks through the doorway wearing a blue shirt and jeans. The mare looks at me with crooked golden eyes for a moment before bowing. “Your majesty.” Picking myself up off the floor the mare straightens and closes the door behind her before being enveloped by green flames. The pegasus is replaced by a earth pony mare around my host’s height, with a white coat of fur and a bright pink mane, wearing a long flowing blue robe depicting the stars. I acknowledge the mare with a nod, “Starswirl.” ‘Perhaps it’s time to learn what all has changed in my absence.’ Author's Note Huh... Well that just happened. Now if you are enjoying reading this half as much as I like to write it then leave a comment down below, because as most authors know nothing kills a drive for writing faster than a lack of comments... Alright, a dead laptop would shut it down faster, but a lack of comments is a close second.
First StrikeI look upon the white earth pony mare with a calculating gaze. I have many questions, but I can feel her troubled emotions. Something is wrong… “Is there a problem, Starswirl?” I ask, crossing my arms. Starswirl is silent for a moment, shuffling from hoof to hoof before looking me in the eyes, “...Yes my lady, we do have a problem.” I raise an eyebrow and gesture for the mare to continue. “There was an incident last night, a minotaur was found dead in this city. Normally that wouldn’t attract much attention, but the bull was obviously attacked, and the bull’s soul was found to be destroyed… Your Highness, this city is on lockdown, and a regiment of templars are doing a very thorough search of the city looking for demons and necromancers. Your Highness, we are surrounded.” I frown. “If these ‘templars’ are looking for me then why are they not dead?” “Because they have already killed most of your followers in the city, my lady.” I raise an eyebrow again. “...Who are these ‘templars’ and what are their capabilities?” “The Solar Templars, my lady. An organization founded several hundred years ago by Celestia for the single purpose of disposing of any demon or ‘unholy creature’ in Equestria... They have eliminated both the windigos and the hellhounds.” ‘That,’ I think as my face forms a scowl, ‘is not acceptable.’ Both the hellhounds and the windigos were my own creations. “How did they do this?” “Their prefered method of attacking an enemy is the use of overwhelming force to drive their target into a kill zone.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. For a brief moment I consider just sidestepping this organization completely to make them look like fools, but now that I know what they have done in Celestia’s name… They will pay dearly for taking my assets. “Starswirl.” The earth pony mare snaps to attention at the tone of my voice. “If any of my followers are still in the city, tell them to leave. Take the filly behind me and get out of the city as soon as possible.” Starswirl looks hesitant for a moment before green flames wash over her form once again. The grey pegasus mare with the blond mane stares back at me for a second longer before going back and picking the wingless filly up with all the care of a mother. I step forward and open the door as her hands are full carrying the filly. “Hide in the woods outside of town and do not come back for any reason.” Starswirl nods and walks out to the edge of the railing before opening her wings and shooting upwards until the duo is swallowed up by the darkness of the night. I start down the metal staircase, summoning my magic in a way that I thought I would never do again. The gold crystal star fades into existence, floating an inch or so above my outstretched hand, and I grin in sadistic glee. ‘Time to teach the mortals a lesson!’ My hooves touch the pavement and I can immediately feel a spell trying to reveal me. I play along to the script that these templars have given me and reveal myself a moment before walking out of the alleyway into an open area. The effect is almost instant, multiple loud cracks fill the air as magic teleports many individuals around me. I am completely surrounded by what could be generously called a small army of ponies from the three common tribes. The attackers immediately leap into action - the unicorns start throwing spells I have never felt before, the pegasi of the group rocket into the cool night air to claim several clouds overhead, and the multitude of earth ponies run at me in a dead sprint. It takes two seconds for the closest spell to reach me, I sign their death sentence in one. Power Lift The crystal star activates and power floods my ethereal form, time seems to slow to a snail’s pace, and my magic feels like a raging dragon eager to be released and destroy everything in its path. ‘Not yet,’ I think. I have to give Starswirl enough time to escape, after all. Casually strolling up to the nearest earth pony, I punch him hard in the chest and his sluggish movement stops completely. The next earth pony is carrying a sword in his right hand; grabbing his right arm at the wrist and elbow, I yank the wrist towards me, adding about an inch to his arm length before turning the lower arm completely backwards at the elbow and completing the second earth pony’s new stance by kicking both of his knees. The next pony is surprisingly a unicorn, which I simply hit in the back of the neck before moving onto the next pony. So many exotic positions and ironic ways to cause death, unfortunately, I need some of them to remain alive for what I have planned. Shoving a sword down the throat of the earth pony wielding it, I finish off the spell by flying up and twisting the head off of one of the pegasi flying overhead, almost like the stem of an apple. I glance around the street and notice that things seem to be speeding up, so I fly back down to the ground. Taking a final look around, I’m satisfied with my work. I take a deep breath and my perception returns to normal. Screams fill the air as ponies cry out in agony, a symphony of pain that sounds beautiful to my ears. The music lasts for several seconds before it dies down and the survivors of my first strike are left gaping at the results. Others are coming out of their shelters to see what the commotion is before quickly ducking back inside for one reason or another. I grin and summon my host’s pegasus magic, shaping the wind in such a way that everyone in the street can hear me whisper. “...Do you want to know a secret?” I ask the survivors softly. “...I win in three moves.” I can smell the shock and fear in the air turn to anger as the templars renew their attack. The pegasi overhead start shooting lightning at me and the remaining unicorns fire magic bolts towards me… It is now that I retaliate in kind. Gathering my magic, the shadows grow deeper and the light from the surrounding buildings flickers. The street is jet black beneath our hooves. “One,” I whisper. “Two,” I continue, before throwing my arms wide. Lightning and magic are blown away as I yank at one of the ethereal chains I thought I would never be able to reach again. The ground starts to shake as the light from the buildings dies away completely. I grin with wide eyes as my magic swirls around me. I love the power I wield, and feeling my enemies’ despair in the moment they realize that there is no hope of winning against me. It’s delicious, the moment when hope dies. “Three,” I finish with a sadistic grin. Slamming my hands into the ground, the earth heaves as I open a door that shouldn’t be there and countless figures explode out. The air grows thick with despair and the wind dies as more and more beings emerge. The ponies surrounding me are paralyzed with fear as my makeshift army takes to the skies and starts flooding the earth. Spirits in tattered black robes fly between the buildings leaving frost behind wherever they go. Bones of various creatures burst from the dirt, forming into armored beings of shadow that burst into black flames and howl into the dead sky. Faceless spirits rise from the ground in chains, I can feel them straining against their bonds, they can feel what is going to happen and are eager to start. Beings never seen before in Equestria or this world… My experiments bask in their freedom from the cage I placed them in. Shaping my magic, I exert my will upon them, and like dogs they jump to listen to my commands. Looking out upon the countless figures my grin never fades as I spread my wings and rocket into the air before giving a single order, “Feed.” I can feel my experiments’ happiness as they spring into action. The black burning figures start ramming themselves into buildings the walls toppling against the force behind them and grabbing the nearest sapient being. Ponies cry out in shock and pain as the black fire comes into contact with them and they are slowly consumed. The chained faceless spirits tail the black robed spirits as they fly after the templars who have started running... The templars aren’t fast enough. I can see the ponies as they are caught by the robed spirits and watch as they are held by the spirits almost like a lover before they pull back their hood. The unicorns and the pegasi who are caught try to scream, but they’re unable to as the spirits lock their mouths together. It takes only a few seconds, but once the robed figures are finished with a pony, the chained spirits come forward and disappear down the mouths of their robed brethrens’ prey. The caught ponies turn and tackle those who haven’t been caught yet and start ripping off their clothes before the robed spirits catch up to them. I smirk and fly off in the direction of the forest knowing that… no one will be walking away from the city that isn’t loyal to me. ‘I will take your lives apart piece by piece, Celestia and Luna. I will destroy your legacy and show you that there are fates far worse than death…’ Author's Note Whelp, that town is done for. I wonder how Equestria will handle a massive outbreak of demons and spirits. Leave a comment down below if you want to show your appreciation for the story and help me find the motivation to write the next chapter! Thank you for reading, and have a glorious day!
What is the Greatest Illusion of Life?Over four thousand years of experience, both as flesh and blood and spirit, has taught me many things. I learned how to use magic from one of the best, and he taught me that quite literally anything is possible when dealing with magic and the multiverse. I learned that nothing is absolute, and that most “gods” and “goddesses” are dicks for a reason. The absolute worst enemy for an immortal is boredom. I know this as I have experienced it myself. Immortals NEED things to do, it is the reason that they do the stupid and insane shit that they do. It makes them feel alive! Having others pray to them makes them feel important, like they are actually worth something. Mortals would think that being around for thousands of years would make immortals immune to this sort of thinking, but in all seriousness it only encourages it. Hell, the main reason I tried to shroud Merlon’s world in darkness was because I was mad at the self entitled prick. I nurtured my anger towards the mage because it helped me feel alive, which led to it eventually becoming the hatred I hold towards the bastard today. One week of true darkness and suddenly I am revered as an evil goddess who was unshackled from her flesh and blood prison to burn their villages and sentence their souls to oblivion... Toads really did overreact to everything. Nonetheless, it is for these reasons that I am surprised to hear on the ethereal wind, a prayer directed towards me of all beings as my servant and I roll into the town. My pets long since departed into the shadows that are now their home. “My Dark Queen, hear my plea.” I blink and look around unsure if I actually heard the prayer, an insistent tugging is trying to pull me towards what I can only guess is the individual praying. I stand up and step off the back of the wagon- casting a misdirection charm as I do so- and start walking in the direction of the pull. “Keep my hoofsteps muffled, and my blade silent.” I turn down a dark alleyway between two buildings my host calls apartment buildings, feeling the pull getting stronger as I do so. “As I shroud myself in your cold embrace, and commit my deeds in your name.” I start climbing a metal staircase leading up the side of the left apartment building, pausing at each floor long enough to confirm that I need to go higher before continuing. I pause again as another voice speaks up. “Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your children unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear.” The second voice sounds like a filly, her voice laced with exhaustion. I frown and pick up our pace, determined to find the filly chanting words she should not know let alone be speaking. “You’ve come! I did it! The thing, with the body, and the blade!” I pause outside the next door the pulling sensation telling me that this is my destination. I reach for the handle before freezing and wondering what I am doing. “It’s alright, you don’t have to say anything, I know why you’re here. You’re here for my contract!” After a moment of thinking I come to a conclusion and wrap us in an invisibility spell before stepping off to the side and waiting for this meeting of theirs’ to come to an end. “I want you to go to Manehatten and kill a griffon named Gilda, she’s in prison but she… she needs to die...” The voices go silent and a moment later a figure dressed in a black and red outfit steps out. They are completely silent as they descend the steps leading back to the alleyway. We wait for a while before turning to the door. I turn the handle and am surprised when it opens quietly. Stepping inside, We close the door and lock it before turning to the darkened home. The shadows seem to cling to the walls and there is a stench of death in the stale air. My host’s instincts are setting me on edge as we walk forward. It is a small abode from what We see, a small lavatory is at the other side of the home, but it doesn’t look like it has seen use in several years, besides the toilet. In the main room there is a stove with a box of crackers on it set next to several phials of water. There are cobweb covered cabinets above said oven and a single bed across from it. The floor is covered in dust with such a fine layer that tiny hoofprints are very obvious to see. There is a space beside the bed indicating where there was once a door to a closet, but the door is no longer there, leaving an empty archway. There is a flickering light coming from the archway, and with our curiosity peaked, We walk over to it. Inside the little pocket is an earth pony filly with a purple mane and an orange coat, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt. What catches our attention however is the dagger in her hands and the pile of bones in front of her in a ritualistic circle. Countless emotions roll through us as We try to comprehend the scene but I clamp down on them. This requires a delicate touch of one who knows death intimately, not one of a panicked mare way out of her depth. I glance down at our body and decide that this needs a more dramatic touch, considering the circumstances. The shadows surround and enfold us like a second skin, giving us the image of a mare made of living shadows, perfect for what I have in mind for the filly. “Now what do we have here?” I ask the air, dropping the invisibility and misdirection spells as I do. It gets the desired effect as the filly whirls around and stares at us with wide eyes. “A foal speaking words she should not know, and performing a ceremony she could not have learned through normal means.” We lean down to come face to the face with the startled filly, “Tell me, what is your name, young one?” I ask, casting one of my more favored spells as I do. “S-Scootaloo,” the filly replies, shivering as my spell permeates the air around us. “Hmmm,” We hum in thought, rising to our full height once more. I close our eyes holding the deepest darkness imaginable as the spell takes on its full effect. I can taste the filly’s fear at the realization that she might be in over her head, the exhaustion she feels crushing her, the determination she has to see her mission through to the end slowly slipping away, and underneath it all a raging current of hate and pain driving her. I open our eyes and look at the filly before us, “Tell me… Why do you call upon my children to kill? What was taken from you?” Scootaloo looks at the floor completely silent. “Did someone raze your family’s land? Did they take your family from you?” The orange filly shakes her head and remains silent. “Then why would an earth pony such as yourself pay for a life to be taken?” Scootaloo is silent for a moment before mumbling something I can’t quite catch. “What was that?” I ask, crouching down in front of the filly. Said filly looks me in the eyes after a moment of hesitation. “I said I’m not an earth pony,” she states in a voice barely above a whisper. I stare into the filly’s eyes as I try to feel her natural magic, “...They took the sky from you,” I whisper to the wingless pegasus. The filly looks back down at the floor as a torrent of sorrow overtakes her. “...” I look at the foal with pity and make a decision. Calling upon my magic, I lace our voice with it and reach out to stroke the filly’s cheek. “Sleeeeeeeep,” I whisper. The filly is exhausted and her body quickly gives in to the suggestion. I catch the filly in our arms before she falls to the floor and dispel the illusion on us. I carefully walk over to the bed and place the filly upon it before stepping back and staring at her sleeping form. “...” I’ve been around for a long time, and have done many things that most mortals would label me a demon for. I have killed, crippled, and tortured others physically, mentally, and spiritually. I have leveled entire cities and created weapons of mass destruction because it suited my purpose at the time… I turn and walk over to the skeleton wondering who it might have been, before throwing the thought away and picking up the dagger the filly dropped. Turning back, I walk up to the bed once again with the blade in our right hand. “...” I gently tilt the filly’s head up, and press the edge of the weapon to her throat. ‘It would be painless,’ I rationalize. ‘She’s already crippled for life, it would be a mercy.’ I stand frozen, holding the blade to Scootaloo’s neck. ... ……... ………………… …………………………………… ‘...What am I doing?’ I ask myself pulling the blade away with a sigh. I am basically waging war on Equestria, I know that I will need allies to distract their army as I take my revenge on the Alicorn sisters, and yet here I am about to kill a potential ally. The filly might not be much now, but the hatred and pain she carries could make her a very valuable asset if molded correctly. I walk to the other side of the room and lean against the wall, content to watch the filly sleep... for now. Author's Note Well that certainly took a dark turn. I wonder what will happen next? Leave a comment down below if you want, and have a nice day!
