The Nightmare Verseby Protopony350ChaptersThe Cult and the ScrollGredvanThe First of GorpondretThe Second of Gorpondret The Bubbling WasteHepted, Who Was Above AllThe HeraldNeglorik, The All-WithinThe Cult and the Scroll The Cult and the Scroll Look! Look! The sky is enveloped! Look! Look! The beast breaks free! Look! Look! The ground is as blood! Look! Look! Damnation has come! Behold! Behold! Our king has returned! A record of the first days of the end. As a Unicorn of great power, he was well versed in many arcane tomes and tales. He prided himself in his knowledge of the great beasts of Equestria, and the deep magics of the oldest of the great wizards. He, however, knew that a single verse was beyond his grasp. He unfurled the old scroll, and read aloud the ancient words within. "The sister wrote but a single verse in her short time, and it was abysmal. The writhing of eternity would be beheld within the eyes of any who drank in this dark perversion of creation. The beautiful and maddening words of this blasphemous curse have been placed in the darkest of pits known to us, as ordered by the radiant Celestia herself. The verse is never to be read, and never to be spoken. The Nightmare Verse is to be forgotten, lest our world fall into a darkness that none could pierce. Until a way is discovered to destroy the accursed scroll is found, it must never be beheld." And he was glad. Oh he was glad at the words within, for he know that his time was near. For 40 years he searched. In the shadows he slithered and slank, and, as creatures like him are known to do, he gathered filth as he crawled. They came from all over Equestria. Those who had fallen from the highest highs, and had crept from the deepest of despairs. He knew the type who would help in his unholy quest, and his tongue was sharp, and he was sly in his speech. He was able to draw these maggots to himself, and soon they numbered in the hundreds. They were only vaguely known to even the highest ranking scholar within the walls of Canterlot, and even Celestia herself had only heard whispers of the cult that had bubbled forth from the wretched depths of Tartarus. But they could feel them. They could feel the evil, and the dark words they spoke. And Celestia was gripped by nightmares these past weeks, and deep within herself she knew that the dark time was at hand. They were getting close to the deepest of evils known to Equestria. The Nightmare Verse! The Nightmare Verse had gripped her dreams! For 1000 years the words burrowed and festered in her frail mind! And yet she was alone in her terror, for Celestia would not allow any mention of the dark verse, and her shame gripped her. Luna had clear memories of the writing, yet felt that she had no connection to the dark scroll. "T'was the nightmare, not I!" she told herself, and for 1000 years and more she would lie to herself. The dreams! Oh the damndable dreams! Luna could never forgive herself for creating the verse! The cursed song! The end of the world itself! She had only lived for mere hours, yet Nightmare Moon created all that would ever be feared. Nothing could compare. Yes, yes, the world itself was in the grip of the verse. It could never be spoken aloud, lest he hear the words, and he would return, yes, the great prophecy of the deepest dark. Neglorik! Oh the great Neglorik! The bane of light and magics themselves! The deepest dark, and the end of all that is known! Neglorik, the putrid singularity of oblivion's birth! The Unicorn had gathered all who had survived the great trek, and they stood atop a pillar of stone and bronze. The ground shook as they spoke the only word which could guide them to the prize they so coveted! "Neglorik!" they cried! "NEGLORIK!" they bellowed! "DEEPEST DARK UNFURLED! BEHOLD THE EYES OF NEGLORIK!" The spire began to lower. The journey was long, and the losses of life were great, but they drew near to the great Verse! The deepest pit. The deepest pit in Equestria. The cult had found the ancient pathway to Tartarus itself, and they threw themselves into the abyss with glee! The beating overtook them. The sound of a beating heart. For they had searched, and they had found the heart of Tartarus. The old torn scroll was sitting in utter blackness in a room of gold. No one had built this room, yet it grew from nothing to protect the scroll. The walls were covered in words lost to them. These were the names of the creatures who would bring the deepest dark. No Pony could read them, yet one name invaded their minds like a cancer. "NEGLORIK!" they cried in unison, as if compelled by some outside force. "Neglorik, behold, the Nightmare Verse is in my grasp," the old Unicorn declared. And what of the name of this old Unicorn, the one who would bring about this darkness? He is of no real importance, and would go as a footnote to history, for he would not survive this day! The Unicorn gripped the scroll in his magic, and began to read. And Celestia was paused! Her blood ran cold as all of reality was altered around her! And dear Princess, oh dear Princess, she knew that she was powerless before him! Luna! Oh dear Luna! Luna fell to the ground in pain, and she felt the darkness envelop her, and she knew she was returning, and that HE was returning, and that darkness would fall forever upon her subjects! Neglorik's eye was opened! Oh Damndable Neglorik, for his reign would bring about the deepest darkness! He spoke, oh how he spoke, and the names he spoke were alien to him, but he knew what he was speaking would change the world forever, and he smiled deeply as he read! "Neglorik, Tephliotisies, Gorpondret, Prarr, Neplohidratite, who is now known as Nightmare Moon, Gredvan, Hepted, Rel, NEGLORIK, NEGLORIK, SPARE ME A GLIMPSE OF YOUR MIGHT! NEGLORIK! NEGLORIK! BESTOW ME THE POWER OF ETERNAL NIGHT!" The door was opened. The 8 were awakened, and all in the room of gold turned to dust, and the scroll fell to the ground, and an aura of black surrounded it, and one of them stepped through, and he was the lesser of the 8, but would bring about eternal sorrow, and his name was Gredvan, and he would open the path to the rest, and he was happy, and he would die, and he knew that he would die, and yet he smiled. Smiled and smiled, for Neglorik would soon be upon them. The first day had come. Sorrow! Sorrow and weep, for the deepest dark is at hand! Gredvan Gredvan The earth trembled The sky fled The oceans boiled before us The moon continued to watch Not a single one of us were spared the panic of his first breaths. Gredvan burst forth from Tartarus, and the sky was as blood, red and terrible, and our minds were as fire, burning and shriveling at the new emotions that now captivated us! From the first moment we knew! Oh we knew! If only we had more time, perhaps we could have fought. No. We were as nothing. We were below even his breath. And now, as an aid to any who may read this, although I highly doubt that time will ever come, I will, to the best of my ability, describe to you the living nightmare that erupted from the frozen north. None spoke his name, but all heard it within themselves. "Gredvan." In our naivete, we did not at first feel fear, but first curiosity. No, I would not call what we felt curiosity, it was more a compulsion. We were being called, and some were able to resist at first, but many hundreds ran to the source, and were devoured by the heat of his glory. I, as much as it pains me to say, was one of the only survivors that was present at ground zero. Oh she told me! She begged of me! "Please! Please! See reason!" she begged, but even Celestia herself was unable to break the dark embrace that had taken me! I, however, was late, and was spared his first outburst of death, and was able to see the horror of his arrival, and I shielded myself, and thus I am one of very few who is able to tell of his appearance! The frozen north was no longer frozen, and the sudden deluge of water took the Crystal Empire from us! Oh how I wept for them! For all those I would never see again! For my friends and family suddenly taken by this beast! The air itself turned to fire and ash, and this, my dear readers, however few you may be, is when I saw his glorious horror for the first time! A mountain of flesh and blood, the creature never moved from its spot. It struggled to breath, and bubbling flesh poured from it, mingling with the new ocean he had created! Thus the frozen north became a thick swamp of water, flesh, and blood! his eyes! Oh lord his eyes! 14 yellow eyes, fixed directly on me! i ran! I removed myself from his gaze, and was once again standing in my home, and I wept. I wept for everyone who had been lost. I wept for the horror I had witnessed. I wept an hour for each eye that had dug itself into my mind! And as I was crying myself to sleep, I found myself transported again to the north! The beast was not satisfied, and would have my life! I screamed! I screamed like none have ever screamed! I screamed the scream of someone faced with Armageddon itself! And she arrived! Celestia, in her beauty and glory snatched me away from the beast! And I could see the blood in her mane, and the burns on her face! Just being this near to the monster had caused her great pain! I watched the mountain of gore as it opened it's mouth full of thorns, and it let out a bellowing scream! "NEGLORIK!" it announced, and all the world heard its painful wail! And a flash of light overtook me, and suddenly the beast was gone, and a large hole was left in space itself, and it glowed, and stars and planets could be seen within, and the new swamp began to bubble, and a large tentacle protruded from the hole! Tears filled my eyes, and I said the name. I had not known the name, but I feel that many others spoke at that same moment! "Gorpondret." And the earth began to shake! The second was coming, and the sky turned to gold, and the clouds fell from the sky and turned to great tornadoes, and the Pegisi who tried to stop them were reduced to nothing! Her body came through the great hole, and we prepared for the second great death to grip our world! The First of Gorpondret The First of Gorpondret The planet ceased its motion The moon wept in the sky The grass turned to fire beneath us His tongue swept the forests clean They were enthralled by the new visitor that bled forth from the hole in reality! "SAVIOR! SAVIOR!" the Ponies cried! Oh the hope in their eyes as her beauty took hold of them! I, however, felt no such glee, for I had seen her emerge from the hole! A large, vaguely spherical mass of tentacles and and spires of bone! Her one large eye never moved, as if it was able to take in all things at all times, and her stench was like manure and rot! Yes, her very form was like that of a rotting eye pulled from some great Daemon, and she screamed in pain as she was exposed to our world! but I beheld a great light, and she closed her great eye, and the light took form around her, and she was transformed into a being of radiance and glory! Yes! Yes! She was taking the form of a great Alicorn! Her mane was like the stars in the sky waving before us, and her cutie mark was one of hope and beauty! A harp and sword! The mark of gods was adorned her, and she galloped through the sky, and a great trail of gold followed her, and the sky seemed to sing great melodies as she filled Equestria with light and pure awe! They sang! The Ponies sang at her glory! They wept! Oh how they wept as she brought light to their fleeting lives! And they came! They came and i thought finally someone shall put an end to this madness, for they refused to heed my words! But them! Oh the great heroes! The ones who were once called the Elements of harmony! I had thought them lost, and I am sure they had lost much hope, but they stood before me! But it was not to be. I pleaded! I pleaded as Celestia had pleaded with me! They were taken! They could not break from her intoxicating beauty, and she had them as she had most others! And how i mourned them! How I mourned these once great Mares! And what of Celestia? Had she fallen to the spell of this beast? No, and the truth pains me even more! Dear Celestia! Kind, caring, wonderful Celestia! Her body was unable to resist, and, in saving me from Gredvan, she had become weak, and this great mass of filth had grabbed her, and taken her form! YES! THIS BEAST DEVOURED MY PRINCESS, AND TAKEN A FORM LIKE HERS! I am in great sorrow as I write, for even after all of these years, her death was among the hardest thing I was forced to bare! But oh damned Gorpondret! OH DAMNED NEGLORIK! YOU TOOK THEM ALL! EVERY FRIEND! ALL OF MY FAMILY! THE ONES I HELD DEAR! And yet I lived. And yet i live. And I feel you. I smell you through the crust of the earth, and I am sickened. I am sickened because I was never able to stop you, and I was never able to avenge them! I apologize, as I have veered from the task at hand, and laid my heart bare on this these papers, but I feel that to truly grasp the horror that Equestria fell under, you must also know how the individual felt, and how they were tormented by these great godless things! As was said, Equestria had been ravaged by tornadoes as she arrived, and she would insult us yet again! Gorpondret calmed the air, and stopped the tornadoes, causing the ponies to heap even more praise onto her! Her name was upon all of their tongues, and she took great joy in the prayers and praises she was given! This went on for 21 days, and the planet was in ecstasy, and the very air smelled of sweet honey, and the singing soothed all it reached. Fools! All of them fools, for they bought into this gaudy display of false godhood! And they would all pay for there faith in this deceptive messiah they so adored! And I first enjoyed the look on their faces! Oh how bitter I was! When the food turned to rot in thier mouths, and the grass burst into fire, and they screamed and cried, I smiled, for just a moment. For Celestia. For Celestia I smiled, for the ones who turned from her were being punished! But my face soon fell to horror! The warriors of harmony fell! They screamed and contorted on the ground as thier bodies transformed and burst from the inside! Oh dear Pinkie Pie! Her screams of joy turning to those of agony! Oh dear Fluttershy! Her own animals turned on her as she was changed, and she was reduced to nothing! Oh dear Applejack! Her strength meant nothing to this godless abomination! Oh dear Rarity! Her beauty changed to horror! Oh dear Rainbow! She fought back the returning tornadoes as hard as she could, yet was unable to withstand them, and she was torn apart by the great force! And oh dear Spike! Oh DEAREST spike! You were trampled by those who fled from this being they just moments before worshiped! And oh dear Twilight! Oh dear, dear Twilight! You only watched. You watched with such glee as this began, and you were unable to save them. Your family in the north! Your dear Princess! Your greatest friends! Your assistant who was as a son to you! All gone, and yet you write this pointless tome! Oh dear Twilight! You were alone, and still 6 were to come. The Second of Gorpondret The Second of Gorpondret 4.The Second of Gorpondret And i beheld the fall of the lords And I beheld the fall of the moon And I beheld the eye of the great one And I beheld the deepest dark I have not written in this tome for many days. The remembrance of the horrors of that day were enough to send me into a fit of sorrow and mania, and I was unable to find myself until today. Now I shall continue. Oh how I had underestimated the horrors that I would witness! I lost so much, yet they took even more, and I have lost almost all that I hold close, yet I remembered one that still may live! I began my journey, and it would be long, for my wings had been rendered useless in the past weeks, and so I marched to Canterlot, but I met yet new horrors on my way! Gorpondret had shed her facade of the Alicorn Goddess, and had once again become the disembodied eye that I had before described! Oh how they ran, and it was futile, for she would only need to cast her gaze upon them, and they were transformed into writhing masses of pus and fleshy tendrils, and these new beasts would infect any they touched, and it took only hours for thousands of these monstrous daemons to roam the streets of my beloved Ponyville! It took me a great many days, but I was soon at the gates of Canterlot! And as I had hoped, they still fought! The royal guard still fought, and they were not alone! The Gryphons, the Dragons, and even the Diamond Dogs had come to make one final stand! Oh, how my heart leaped when I saw him! My brother! My dear brother had survived, and he still led his soldiers! I wept in his embrace, and he into mine, and I smiled! i felt true happiness for the first time in oh so long! And we wept for his family! I wept for my dear sister! We wept for his dear daughter, and for our dear parents, and for all who we had lost in these days of calamity! And others that i thought dead had come to our aid! Ember, lord of the Dragons had come, and with her had brought an army! And the great Yaks had brought hoards to fight alongside us! And him. He shielded us, and he protected all within Canterlot! Discord! Discord had used his great magic to protect my brother and friends! I embraced him in a hug, and the shock on his face brought another true smile to mine! But I had not come to see any of them. I had come to see the one who, although it was unknown to me at the time, had started this nightmare! Luna! Luna could not be seen, for a huge orb of darkness had enveloped her! And I could hear her screams, yet none could release her from her agony! And a voice came to me! It's tongue was that of an ancient evil, and my mind felt as though it was being devoured as I heard! "I am Neplohidratite, who has been named Nightmare Moon, and I have come to pave the way! Neglorik! Neglorik has come!" And visions gripped me, and I saw into eternity, and my eyes were opened to the world outside of our own, and I was unable to hold back, and I spoke! I spoke her name, and thus released her! I came upon a great truth! This blasphemous Godless thing could only be brought into our world through mention! Luna had been desperate for new power, and thus spoke a name she knew was forbidden, and that had been locked away, and yet she spoke, and she opened herself to the one called Neplohidratite, who drew power from mortal prayer, and through Luna, she wrote the accursed tome! The nightmare Verse! The Nightmare verse! Thought to be a great spell was simply a catalyst ! And now, because of the foolish jealousy of a single Mare, the great plan of the deepest dark Neglorik has come to fruition! Damndable Luna! And Neplohidratite had gained power from Luna herself, and was able to enter my mind, and forced me to speak her name, and now she is able to take control once again! Nightmare Moon! Nightmare Moon has returned, and the sky bellowed in pain! And I fell to the ground, and Nightmare Moon stood over me, and she told me something that would fracture my mind! She had planned this! She allowed everyone in Canterlot to survive, so that I would come, and I would speak her name, for she needed to the power of an Alicorn to speak it, and thus I was as Luna, and brought her evil once again! And outside, I heard the screaming, and I teleported away, and from outside, I saw Gorpondret cast her gaze upon them all! They were transformed! Not even Discord could survive, for his magic never truly could hold them back, and so 2 of these creatures held possession of Canterlot, and I could hear the laughter of Nightmare Moon, and she flew into the sky, and darkness again began to take hold of the world! "THE ELEMENTS ARE GONE, AND NONE SHALL STAND AGAINST US!" she cried, and I cried, and the planet cried, for she had returned! And what of the elements! My great vision gave me a grim understanding of them! They never held magic as we know it, but instead a fraction of the same power that Neglorik himself held, and now nothing can stop them, and I fell to the ground and screamed, for all was truly lost! And, at that moment, the great swamp in the north began to scream. The Bubbling Waste5.The Bubbling Waste It gurgled as it rose And it bled a foreign substance And it laid barren all it touched And it was the bubbling waste I must apologize, for I have taken what was meant to be a historical tome, and turned the narrative into a story of my own experiences, but please understand, I am one of the only Ponies on this planet who can bare a true witness of what happened in the days leading to the deepest dark, and so I find that I am unable to remove myself from these accounts! Now I will tell you of the twin Daemons, who laid waste to much of our world, and who bubbled forth from the great swamp created from the remains of Gredvan, and their names were Prarr and Rel, and they were known to the other beasts, yet they had not yet been born, and Neglorik had planned the coming of these creatures, and they took form within the great swamp, and the swamp bubbled and screamed, and oh how they screamed! Gorpondret averted her eye, as if she was witnessing a holy birth, and could not allow herself to view the resplendence! And Nightmare Moon flew in great circles around the swamp, and she caused the moon itself to go dark as they were born! Prarr! The great Daemon princess! Prarr was the first to emerge, and her body was of sludge and stone, grinding away the vegetation of the earth, and leaving behind a oily substance which would never allow anything to grow on that spot again! Rel! The great Daemon prince! Rel sprouted wings of gas and flames, and he burnt all that he touched, and even moutains fell before him! "GLORY TO OUR FATHER NEGLORIK, FOR HE BIRTHED US IN THE HELLSPIRES OF GREDVAN!" they cried over and over! Soon it became the balled of our new hellscape, and they flew and slithered across the earth, causing great destruction and death, and none could stand within 10 miles of them without melting into a pile of flesh and blood! And we came to call these damned siblings The Bubbling Waste, for all fell before them and turned to oozing heaps! And that is when the door was opened! Tartarus was opened! And the great beasts poured forth from deep within, yet they did not harm a single Pony! No! No instead they scooped us up, and took us to far off, hidden places! They brought some to deep pits, and some into Tartarus itself, for even though they had been creatures of evil, they wished to stand against the great plague of sin that had invaded our world! And he came for me! He took me in his arms, never looking at me, knowing that I must hold great hate for him, but truly I was joyed to see anyone who I had known, and so Tirek brought me to Tartarus, and it became a stronghold for good and evil alike, for we were to face those that go far beyond evil, and for the first time in many days, I felt hope once more! The swarms came! They stormed Tartarus, and I thought we were doomed, but no! No, it was not one of them, it was the great Chrysalis! She had brought her swarms to help on our war against hellish creation! We hunted, and gathered, and found friends and old foes, and soon we numbered in the tens of thousands, and we would forge great magical weapons, and we would fight! And I had hope. And Hepted was near, and we were still as nothing. Hepted, Who Was Above All Hepted, Who Was Above All He had the face of a man And the voice of a God And he looked upon us And we were nothing To all native creatures of Equestria, this would come to be known as the greatest battle our planet would ever face. Tirek, lord of Tartarus, rallied his great army. Chrisylis, the great Hive Mother, prepared her children. And I. I crafted the great magic engines. Huge, asymmetrical, crawling abominations of steel and magic, and I felt as a Goddess, for I had created that which would slay the abominable Devil Gods which had infested our once great land! They simply watched. Nightmare Moon, Gorpondret, Prarr, and Rel stopped their horrific works, and gathered together, and watched as our armies marched to meet them. The bellowing laughter! Oh how it echoed throughout the planet, and we were undeterred, and we fired the first of the great magic engines, and Gorpondret fell from the sky, and a great scream was heard from her as she crashed to the earth! Oh how we cheered! But only for a moment. The scream turned again to laughter, and Gorpondret's great eye split, and hoards of contorted oily masses of tumorous flesh galloped from within, and that was when I realized what they were! There were, or once were, our friends and families! They charged at us, and the armies met them, and blood and screams filled everything, and the laughter continued! Gorpondret returned to the sky, and Nightmare Moon mocked us from above! "Little Twilight, what can one such as you do to a God?" The enemy soldiers fell, and yet they kept attacking, and we could do nothing to stop them! "ENOUGH!" a loud voice called, and the ground shook, and a huge crack in the earth separated our armies, and many from both sides were eaten by the earth itself! The creature was only the size of a Minotaur, yet the great Daemons all lowered to the ground, and bowed their heads as he approached. He was thin, and stood on 2 legs, and had a shape like the creatures from beyond the great mirror! "Hear now the words of Hepted, right hand of the exulted Neglorik, and heed what I am to say!" he said, and once again struck the earth with his wooden cane, which appeared as the branch from some great tree! It was a sight to behold! All of the awesome monsters which had laid waste to our planet seemed to feel great fear for this man, and they did not speak nor move before him, and they trembled! "Look upon them, and see why I have come. You have been careless and dreadful in your wastefulness! You should have finished your work by now, and yet you toy with these lesser beings!" He rose his great cane, and Gorpondret once again fell from the sky, and this time she did not laugh, and she did not scream! She began to melt, and her body joined with the great swamp! The swamp began to put forth a pungent gas, and all who breathed it were turned into a writhing beast! "HEED THIS CALL, CHILDREN OF NEGLORIK, AND KNOW THAT YOU MUST MAKE HASTE, AND HE WILL SOON COME! IF YOU DO NOT FULFILL YOUR PURPOSE, YOU SHALL BE RETURNED TO A CATALYST!" And with that, he was gone, and all looked on in awe, and, when we were able, we retreated back to Tartarus. The game was over, and the true purpose of the otherworldly beasts was at hand! The Herald The Herald They were eaten The great armies of Equestria and Tartarus had been defeated, not by the Daemon hoards, but by the voice of a single creature. We were unable to stand before Hepted, and we ran, and the Daemon Lords that has caused us such pain, yes, they themselves shook in fear! Now 4 days had passed, and the sound of wailing and despair from above drowned out the same from below, and we were as insects scurrying under the footsteps of great Dragons, and we were at a total loss. Finally, I could take it no longer, and I stepped outside, and I was frozen in fear. I beheld, and look! The sky was being blanketed by an unholy darkness! Nightmare Moon had begun the true bulk of her work, and she was taking all light from us! Yes! yes, she not only eclipsed our own star, but had taken to the task of doing the same to all others! And even as I was looking upon the universe being engulfed in darkness, a great earthquake shook me from my terror, and i saw the great mountain of Canterlot fall! Oh how horrifying it was! And she set her sights on me! Nightmare Moon dove for me! And I ran! Oh how I ran, and I found myself at the entrance to the Everfree, which had been somehow spared! "NO! DO NOT ENTER THAT HOLY PLACE!" cried Nightmare Moon, and I knew what I had to do! I entered, and all was normal! At that moment, Nightmare Moon approached, and I thought this the end, yet it was not! She was repelled back, screamed in pain, and again took to the sky! I knew what I was to do, and I searched, and I found her! Zecora's home was still here! I knocked, yet she did not answer. I opened the door, and was greeted by yet another horror! I could not even cry. i had run dry of tears. I slept within the hut that night. Her body just across the room. She had taken her own life, and in her own blood, she had written but one word. "NEGLORIK" When I awoke, I left the old hut, and went in search of something that still gave me the faintest glimmer of hope! And I was in glee! The Tree of Harmony was still standing! "Neplohidratite." I spoke the word, and knew at that moment what had happened! She had planned this! In chasing me to this holy place, she had an entrance! My mind was still a doorway for her! The tree screamed and shook, and Nightmare Moon crawled through it like a worm emerging from the dirt! She spoke cursed, foul words, and the tree wilted! "Know now, in this moment, that you have aided Neglorik!" she laughed, and took to the sky, and the tree began to glow, and the Elements of Harmony themselves burst forth, and took to the sky! I was again frozen, and I beheld as the Elements charged into the great hole in reality that had been opened above the great swamp that was once the frozen north, and the hole expanded with the sounds of tearing and wailing, and it was as a mare giving birth, and large black hands made of oil gripped the sides of the great hole, and the last of the great Daemons came forth from it! "HE COMES!" it announced, and it stepped though, and again its form was like that of a man, although much larger, and being made of flowing, dripping oil! This was Tephliotisies, great herald of Neglorik himself! I tried to run back to Tartarus, but look, it was hopeless! Tephliotisies reached within the earth, and scooped Tartarus from the depths, and he leaned his oozing mass of a head backwards, and swallowed Tartarus! Oh how they screamed! Now, truly, I was alone. And suddenly, the deepest dark was upon me. Neglorik, The All-Within Neglorik, The All-Within Neglorik the Daemon God had come And he had brought about the deepest dark And I wept Because all things were within him At first, all I saw was the blackness. It all happened so fast. Nightmare Moon had extinguished the final star, the great swamp had transformed all life I could find into tumorous wrecks, and Tephliotisies had devoured all artificial light! Yes, I was alone with them, and they would soon be upon me, and Equestria would be forever void of magic and native life! Suddenly, the sky screamed, and the great hole in reality began to glow a blinding white, and I beheld him for the first time! NEGLORIK! ACCURSED NEGLORIK WAS HERE, AND I WAS AS STONE AS I LOOKED UPON HIM! His form took up the entire sky, and he glowed as the stars that has been darkened, and a sound like a great hurricane came forth from him! And something struck me. He was clean. He was precise and symmetrical. He was unlike all of the others! 3 huge glass orbs, and within them great unblinking eyes, and the orbs were in a triangular shape, and were connected by great transparent shafts, and every minute, without fail, I could see stars and galaxies within him! And oh what a sight he was to behold! I have scrawled a crude drawing of his basic form out of the dirt and ash that surrounds me, so as to help the reader comprehend what I am beholding! At that moment, I knew that the end of all things had come, and I looked at him, and he took no notice, and I SCREAMED at him! I screamed and cried and, in my great anger, I found the strength to propel myself upward, and a charged at the great flying continent, and I made contact, and... And I was gone. I was no longer in Equestria. I was no longer on my planet. I was within him. Neglorik had, for a reason I may never know, decided to show me great visions! Yes! Yes, this is how I was able to write this tome! Neglorik himself showed me all, and I saw things that I never wished to see! I saw the fall of many worlds! I saw millions die before Neglorik! I saw the writing of the Nightmare Verse! I saw the great cult, and for just a moment, I saw a universe beyond myself, and I saw Neglorik churning the cosmos! NEGLORIK, WHY HAD YOU COME FOR US? WHY HAD YOU COME FOR ME? As I fell deeper within him, I realized something that shook me to my core. I was starting to recognize the planet that I was approaching. Soon I could see what remained of my world, and I was placed on the ground again. I was confused at the time. I was angry and confused. I gathered all of the magic I had within myself, and sent a blast of anger and spite and rage right at him, knowing in my heart that it would do nothing! And I saw his eyes widen, and I could see a hole in him, and the planet itself shook violently as he screamed. That is when I knew. Neglorik, although he was before me right now, and was somehow residing within the universe, also housed the universe within himself! Our entire lives. Everything we had ever done. All of it was within Neglorik. And I had damaged the God of the Daemons! Oh how I rejoiced, even for just a moment! The other creatures all screamed and wailed, and Nightmare Moon began to search for me, and surly would have killed me! But no, I was able to escape! I fell into a great hole, and within it was the dried husk of the Tree of harmony! It seemed to have enough power to mask my location! So now here we are. This is the present time, and I am watching as Neglorik passes over the planet, and his followers cry and cheer as he floats! And i watch the sky, and it is being reformed, and Neglorik is crying out in agony as new stars are birthed! I have one final task before me. I have been able to reconstruct one of my magic engines, and I shall use it to destroy Neglorik! And what after that? Nothing is left. I will FREE the universe from his grasp, and maybe, one day, things will begin anew! Yes, this is what I must do! I will bring an end to him, and when I return, I shall write of my victory! Tonight, the frail God of the Daemons will fall, and all will be saved! Everything will be right again! I know it will... It has to be...
The Cult and the Scroll The Cult and the Scroll Look! Look! The sky is enveloped! Look! Look! The beast breaks free! Look! Look! The ground is as blood! Look! Look! Damnation has come! Behold! Behold! Our king has returned! A record of the first days of the end. As a Unicorn of great power, he was well versed in many arcane tomes and tales. He prided himself in his knowledge of the great beasts of Equestria, and the deep magics of the oldest of the great wizards. He, however, knew that a single verse was beyond his grasp. He unfurled the old scroll, and read aloud the ancient words within. "The sister wrote but a single verse in her short time, and it was abysmal. The writhing of eternity would be beheld within the eyes of any who drank in this dark perversion of creation. The beautiful and maddening words of this blasphemous curse have been placed in the darkest of pits known to us, as ordered by the radiant Celestia herself. The verse is never to be read, and never to be spoken. The Nightmare Verse is to be forgotten, lest our world fall into a darkness that none could pierce. Until a way is discovered to destroy the accursed scroll is found, it must never be beheld." And he was glad. Oh he was glad at the words within, for he know that his time was near. For 40 years he searched. In the shadows he slithered and slank, and, as creatures like him are known to do, he gathered filth as he crawled. They came from all over Equestria. Those who had fallen from the highest highs, and had crept from the deepest of despairs. He knew the type who would help in his unholy quest, and his tongue was sharp, and he was sly in his speech. He was able to draw these maggots to himself, and soon they numbered in the hundreds. They were only vaguely known to even the highest ranking scholar within the walls of Canterlot, and even Celestia herself had only heard whispers of the cult that had bubbled forth from the wretched depths of Tartarus. But they could feel them. They could feel the evil, and the dark words they spoke. And Celestia was gripped by nightmares these past weeks, and deep within herself she knew that the dark time was at hand. They were getting close to the deepest of evils known to Equestria. The Nightmare Verse! The Nightmare Verse had gripped her dreams! For 1000 years the words burrowed and festered in her frail mind! And yet she was alone in her terror, for Celestia would not allow any mention of the dark verse, and her shame gripped her. Luna had clear memories of the writing, yet felt that she had no connection to the dark scroll. "T'was the nightmare, not I!" she told herself, and for 1000 years and more she would lie to herself. The dreams! Oh the damndable dreams! Luna could never forgive herself for creating the verse! The cursed song! The end of the world itself! She had only lived for mere hours, yet Nightmare Moon created all that would ever be feared. Nothing could compare. Yes, yes, the world itself was in the grip of the verse. It could never be spoken aloud, lest he hear the words, and he would return, yes, the great prophecy of the deepest dark. Neglorik! Oh the great Neglorik! The bane of light and magics themselves! The deepest dark, and the end of all that is known! Neglorik, the putrid singularity of oblivion's birth! The Unicorn had gathered all who had survived the great trek, and they stood atop a pillar of stone and bronze. The ground shook as they spoke the only word which could guide them to the prize they so coveted! "Neglorik!" they cried! "NEGLORIK!" they bellowed! "DEEPEST DARK UNFURLED! BEHOLD THE EYES OF NEGLORIK!" The spire began to lower. The journey was long, and the losses of life were great, but they drew near to the great Verse! The deepest pit. The deepest pit in Equestria. The cult had found the ancient pathway to Tartarus itself, and they threw themselves into the abyss with glee! The beating overtook them. The sound of a beating heart. For they had searched, and they had found the heart of Tartarus. The old torn scroll was sitting in utter blackness in a room of gold. No one had built this room, yet it grew from nothing to protect the scroll. The walls were covered in words lost to them. These were the names of the creatures who would bring the deepest dark. No Pony could read them, yet one name invaded their minds like a cancer. "NEGLORIK!" they cried in unison, as if compelled by some outside force. "Neglorik, behold, the Nightmare Verse is in my grasp," the old Unicorn declared. And what of the name of this old Unicorn, the one who would bring about this darkness? He is of no real importance, and would go as a footnote to history, for he would not survive this day! The Unicorn gripped the scroll in his magic, and began to read. And Celestia was paused! Her blood ran cold as all of reality was altered around her! And dear Princess, oh dear Princess, she knew that she was powerless before him! Luna! Oh dear Luna! Luna fell to the ground in pain, and she felt the darkness envelop her, and she knew she was returning, and that HE was returning, and that darkness would fall forever upon her subjects! Neglorik's eye was opened! Oh Damndable Neglorik, for his reign would bring about the deepest darkness! He spoke, oh how he spoke, and the names he spoke were alien to him, but he knew what he was speaking would change the world forever, and he smiled deeply as he read! "Neglorik, Tephliotisies, Gorpondret, Prarr, Neplohidratite, who is now known as Nightmare Moon, Gredvan, Hepted, Rel, NEGLORIK, NEGLORIK, SPARE ME A GLIMPSE OF YOUR MIGHT! NEGLORIK! NEGLORIK! BESTOW ME THE POWER OF ETERNAL NIGHT!" The door was opened. The 8 were awakened, and all in the room of gold turned to dust, and the scroll fell to the ground, and an aura of black surrounded it, and one of them stepped through, and he was the lesser of the 8, but would bring about eternal sorrow, and his name was Gredvan, and he would open the path to the rest, and he was happy, and he would die, and he knew that he would die, and yet he smiled. Smiled and smiled, for Neglorik would soon be upon them. The first day had come. Sorrow! Sorrow and weep, for the deepest dark is at hand!
Gredvan Gredvan The earth trembled The sky fled The oceans boiled before us The moon continued to watch Not a single one of us were spared the panic of his first breaths. Gredvan burst forth from Tartarus, and the sky was as blood, red and terrible, and our minds were as fire, burning and shriveling at the new emotions that now captivated us! From the first moment we knew! Oh we knew! If only we had more time, perhaps we could have fought. No. We were as nothing. We were below even his breath. And now, as an aid to any who may read this, although I highly doubt that time will ever come, I will, to the best of my ability, describe to you the living nightmare that erupted from the frozen north. None spoke his name, but all heard it within themselves. "Gredvan." In our naivete, we did not at first feel fear, but first curiosity. No, I would not call what we felt curiosity, it was more a compulsion. We were being called, and some were able to resist at first, but many hundreds ran to the source, and were devoured by the heat of his glory. I, as much as it pains me to say, was one of the only survivors that was present at ground zero. Oh she told me! She begged of me! "Please! Please! See reason!" she begged, but even Celestia herself was unable to break the dark embrace that had taken me! I, however, was late, and was spared his first outburst of death, and was able to see the horror of his arrival, and I shielded myself, and thus I am one of very few who is able to tell of his appearance! The frozen north was no longer frozen, and the sudden deluge of water took the Crystal Empire from us! Oh how I wept for them! For all those I would never see again! For my friends and family suddenly taken by this beast! The air itself turned to fire and ash, and this, my dear readers, however few you may be, is when I saw his glorious horror for the first time! A mountain of flesh and blood, the creature never moved from its spot. It struggled to breath, and bubbling flesh poured from it, mingling with the new ocean he had created! Thus the frozen north became a thick swamp of water, flesh, and blood! his eyes! Oh lord his eyes! 14 yellow eyes, fixed directly on me! i ran! I removed myself from his gaze, and was once again standing in my home, and I wept. I wept for everyone who had been lost. I wept for the horror I had witnessed. I wept an hour for each eye that had dug itself into my mind! And as I was crying myself to sleep, I found myself transported again to the north! The beast was not satisfied, and would have my life! I screamed! I screamed like none have ever screamed! I screamed the scream of someone faced with Armageddon itself! And she arrived! Celestia, in her beauty and glory snatched me away from the beast! And I could see the blood in her mane, and the burns on her face! Just being this near to the monster had caused her great pain! I watched the mountain of gore as it opened it's mouth full of thorns, and it let out a bellowing scream! "NEGLORIK!" it announced, and all the world heard its painful wail! And a flash of light overtook me, and suddenly the beast was gone, and a large hole was left in space itself, and it glowed, and stars and planets could be seen within, and the new swamp began to bubble, and a large tentacle protruded from the hole! Tears filled my eyes, and I said the name. I had not known the name, but I feel that many others spoke at that same moment! "Gorpondret." And the earth began to shake! The second was coming, and the sky turned to gold, and the clouds fell from the sky and turned to great tornadoes, and the Pegisi who tried to stop them were reduced to nothing! Her body came through the great hole, and we prepared for the second great death to grip our world!
The First of Gorpondret The First of Gorpondret The planet ceased its motion The moon wept in the sky The grass turned to fire beneath us His tongue swept the forests clean They were enthralled by the new visitor that bled forth from the hole in reality! "SAVIOR! SAVIOR!" the Ponies cried! Oh the hope in their eyes as her beauty took hold of them! I, however, felt no such glee, for I had seen her emerge from the hole! A large, vaguely spherical mass of tentacles and and spires of bone! Her one large eye never moved, as if it was able to take in all things at all times, and her stench was like manure and rot! Yes, her very form was like that of a rotting eye pulled from some great Daemon, and she screamed in pain as she was exposed to our world! but I beheld a great light, and she closed her great eye, and the light took form around her, and she was transformed into a being of radiance and glory! Yes! Yes! She was taking the form of a great Alicorn! Her mane was like the stars in the sky waving before us, and her cutie mark was one of hope and beauty! A harp and sword! The mark of gods was adorned her, and she galloped through the sky, and a great trail of gold followed her, and the sky seemed to sing great melodies as she filled Equestria with light and pure awe! They sang! The Ponies sang at her glory! They wept! Oh how they wept as she brought light to their fleeting lives! And they came! They came and i thought finally someone shall put an end to this madness, for they refused to heed my words! But them! Oh the great heroes! The ones who were once called the Elements of harmony! I had thought them lost, and I am sure they had lost much hope, but they stood before me! But it was not to be. I pleaded! I pleaded as Celestia had pleaded with me! They were taken! They could not break from her intoxicating beauty, and she had them as she had most others! And how i mourned them! How I mourned these once great Mares! And what of Celestia? Had she fallen to the spell of this beast? No, and the truth pains me even more! Dear Celestia! Kind, caring, wonderful Celestia! Her body was unable to resist, and, in saving me from Gredvan, she had become weak, and this great mass of filth had grabbed her, and taken her form! YES! THIS BEAST DEVOURED MY PRINCESS, AND TAKEN A FORM LIKE HERS! I am in great sorrow as I write, for even after all of these years, her death was among the hardest thing I was forced to bare! But oh damned Gorpondret! OH DAMNED NEGLORIK! YOU TOOK THEM ALL! EVERY FRIEND! ALL OF MY FAMILY! THE ONES I HELD DEAR! And yet I lived. And yet i live. And I feel you. I smell you through the crust of the earth, and I am sickened. I am sickened because I was never able to stop you, and I was never able to avenge them! I apologize, as I have veered from the task at hand, and laid my heart bare on this these papers, but I feel that to truly grasp the horror that Equestria fell under, you must also know how the individual felt, and how they were tormented by these great godless things! As was said, Equestria had been ravaged by tornadoes as she arrived, and she would insult us yet again! Gorpondret calmed the air, and stopped the tornadoes, causing the ponies to heap even more praise onto her! Her name was upon all of their tongues, and she took great joy in the prayers and praises she was given! This went on for 21 days, and the planet was in ecstasy, and the very air smelled of sweet honey, and the singing soothed all it reached. Fools! All of them fools, for they bought into this gaudy display of false godhood! And they would all pay for there faith in this deceptive messiah they so adored! And I first enjoyed the look on their faces! Oh how bitter I was! When the food turned to rot in thier mouths, and the grass burst into fire, and they screamed and cried, I smiled, for just a moment. For Celestia. For Celestia I smiled, for the ones who turned from her were being punished! But my face soon fell to horror! The warriors of harmony fell! They screamed and contorted on the ground as thier bodies transformed and burst from the inside! Oh dear Pinkie Pie! Her screams of joy turning to those of agony! Oh dear Fluttershy! Her own animals turned on her as she was changed, and she was reduced to nothing! Oh dear Applejack! Her strength meant nothing to this godless abomination! Oh dear Rarity! Her beauty changed to horror! Oh dear Rainbow! She fought back the returning tornadoes as hard as she could, yet was unable to withstand them, and she was torn apart by the great force! And oh dear Spike! Oh DEAREST spike! You were trampled by those who fled from this being they just moments before worshiped! And oh dear Twilight! Oh dear, dear Twilight! You only watched. You watched with such glee as this began, and you were unable to save them. Your family in the north! Your dear Princess! Your greatest friends! Your assistant who was as a son to you! All gone, and yet you write this pointless tome! Oh dear Twilight! You were alone, and still 6 were to come.
The Second of Gorpondret The Second of Gorpondret 4.The Second of Gorpondret And i beheld the fall of the lords And I beheld the fall of the moon And I beheld the eye of the great one And I beheld the deepest dark I have not written in this tome for many days. The remembrance of the horrors of that day were enough to send me into a fit of sorrow and mania, and I was unable to find myself until today. Now I shall continue. Oh how I had underestimated the horrors that I would witness! I lost so much, yet they took even more, and I have lost almost all that I hold close, yet I remembered one that still may live! I began my journey, and it would be long, for my wings had been rendered useless in the past weeks, and so I marched to Canterlot, but I met yet new horrors on my way! Gorpondret had shed her facade of the Alicorn Goddess, and had once again become the disembodied eye that I had before described! Oh how they ran, and it was futile, for she would only need to cast her gaze upon them, and they were transformed into writhing masses of pus and fleshy tendrils, and these new beasts would infect any they touched, and it took only hours for thousands of these monstrous daemons to roam the streets of my beloved Ponyville! It took me a great many days, but I was soon at the gates of Canterlot! And as I had hoped, they still fought! The royal guard still fought, and they were not alone! The Gryphons, the Dragons, and even the Diamond Dogs had come to make one final stand! Oh, how my heart leaped when I saw him! My brother! My dear brother had survived, and he still led his soldiers! I wept in his embrace, and he into mine, and I smiled! i felt true happiness for the first time in oh so long! And we wept for his family! I wept for my dear sister! We wept for his dear daughter, and for our dear parents, and for all who we had lost in these days of calamity! And others that i thought dead had come to our aid! Ember, lord of the Dragons had come, and with her had brought an army! And the great Yaks had brought hoards to fight alongside us! And him. He shielded us, and he protected all within Canterlot! Discord! Discord had used his great magic to protect my brother and friends! I embraced him in a hug, and the shock on his face brought another true smile to mine! But I had not come to see any of them. I had come to see the one who, although it was unknown to me at the time, had started this nightmare! Luna! Luna could not be seen, for a huge orb of darkness had enveloped her! And I could hear her screams, yet none could release her from her agony! And a voice came to me! It's tongue was that of an ancient evil, and my mind felt as though it was being devoured as I heard! "I am Neplohidratite, who has been named Nightmare Moon, and I have come to pave the way! Neglorik! Neglorik has come!" And visions gripped me, and I saw into eternity, and my eyes were opened to the world outside of our own, and I was unable to hold back, and I spoke! I spoke her name, and thus released her! I came upon a great truth! This blasphemous Godless thing could only be brought into our world through mention! Luna had been desperate for new power, and thus spoke a name she knew was forbidden, and that had been locked away, and yet she spoke, and she opened herself to the one called Neplohidratite, who drew power from mortal prayer, and through Luna, she wrote the accursed tome! The nightmare Verse! The Nightmare verse! Thought to be a great spell was simply a catalyst ! And now, because of the foolish jealousy of a single Mare, the great plan of the deepest dark Neglorik has come to fruition! Damndable Luna! And Neplohidratite had gained power from Luna herself, and was able to enter my mind, and forced me to speak her name, and now she is able to take control once again! Nightmare Moon! Nightmare Moon has returned, and the sky bellowed in pain! And I fell to the ground, and Nightmare Moon stood over me, and she told me something that would fracture my mind! She had planned this! She allowed everyone in Canterlot to survive, so that I would come, and I would speak her name, for she needed to the power of an Alicorn to speak it, and thus I was as Luna, and brought her evil once again! And outside, I heard the screaming, and I teleported away, and from outside, I saw Gorpondret cast her gaze upon them all! They were transformed! Not even Discord could survive, for his magic never truly could hold them back, and so 2 of these creatures held possession of Canterlot, and I could hear the laughter of Nightmare Moon, and she flew into the sky, and darkness again began to take hold of the world! "THE ELEMENTS ARE GONE, AND NONE SHALL STAND AGAINST US!" she cried, and I cried, and the planet cried, for she had returned! And what of the elements! My great vision gave me a grim understanding of them! They never held magic as we know it, but instead a fraction of the same power that Neglorik himself held, and now nothing can stop them, and I fell to the ground and screamed, for all was truly lost! And, at that moment, the great swamp in the north began to scream.
The Bubbling Waste5.The Bubbling Waste It gurgled as it rose And it bled a foreign substance And it laid barren all it touched And it was the bubbling waste I must apologize, for I have taken what was meant to be a historical tome, and turned the narrative into a story of my own experiences, but please understand, I am one of the only Ponies on this planet who can bare a true witness of what happened in the days leading to the deepest dark, and so I find that I am unable to remove myself from these accounts! Now I will tell you of the twin Daemons, who laid waste to much of our world, and who bubbled forth from the great swamp created from the remains of Gredvan, and their names were Prarr and Rel, and they were known to the other beasts, yet they had not yet been born, and Neglorik had planned the coming of these creatures, and they took form within the great swamp, and the swamp bubbled and screamed, and oh how they screamed! Gorpondret averted her eye, as if she was witnessing a holy birth, and could not allow herself to view the resplendence! And Nightmare Moon flew in great circles around the swamp, and she caused the moon itself to go dark as they were born! Prarr! The great Daemon princess! Prarr was the first to emerge, and her body was of sludge and stone, grinding away the vegetation of the earth, and leaving behind a oily substance which would never allow anything to grow on that spot again! Rel! The great Daemon prince! Rel sprouted wings of gas and flames, and he burnt all that he touched, and even moutains fell before him! "GLORY TO OUR FATHER NEGLORIK, FOR HE BIRTHED US IN THE HELLSPIRES OF GREDVAN!" they cried over and over! Soon it became the balled of our new hellscape, and they flew and slithered across the earth, causing great destruction and death, and none could stand within 10 miles of them without melting into a pile of flesh and blood! And we came to call these damned siblings The Bubbling Waste, for all fell before them and turned to oozing heaps! And that is when the door was opened! Tartarus was opened! And the great beasts poured forth from deep within, yet they did not harm a single Pony! No! No instead they scooped us up, and took us to far off, hidden places! They brought some to deep pits, and some into Tartarus itself, for even though they had been creatures of evil, they wished to stand against the great plague of sin that had invaded our world! And he came for me! He took me in his arms, never looking at me, knowing that I must hold great hate for him, but truly I was joyed to see anyone who I had known, and so Tirek brought me to Tartarus, and it became a stronghold for good and evil alike, for we were to face those that go far beyond evil, and for the first time in many days, I felt hope once more! The swarms came! They stormed Tartarus, and I thought we were doomed, but no! No, it was not one of them, it was the great Chrysalis! She had brought her swarms to help on our war against hellish creation! We hunted, and gathered, and found friends and old foes, and soon we numbered in the tens of thousands, and we would forge great magical weapons, and we would fight! And I had hope. And Hepted was near, and we were still as nothing.
Hepted, Who Was Above All Hepted, Who Was Above All He had the face of a man And the voice of a God And he looked upon us And we were nothing To all native creatures of Equestria, this would come to be known as the greatest battle our planet would ever face. Tirek, lord of Tartarus, rallied his great army. Chrisylis, the great Hive Mother, prepared her children. And I. I crafted the great magic engines. Huge, asymmetrical, crawling abominations of steel and magic, and I felt as a Goddess, for I had created that which would slay the abominable Devil Gods which had infested our once great land! They simply watched. Nightmare Moon, Gorpondret, Prarr, and Rel stopped their horrific works, and gathered together, and watched as our armies marched to meet them. The bellowing laughter! Oh how it echoed throughout the planet, and we were undeterred, and we fired the first of the great magic engines, and Gorpondret fell from the sky, and a great scream was heard from her as she crashed to the earth! Oh how we cheered! But only for a moment. The scream turned again to laughter, and Gorpondret's great eye split, and hoards of contorted oily masses of tumorous flesh galloped from within, and that was when I realized what they were! There were, or once were, our friends and families! They charged at us, and the armies met them, and blood and screams filled everything, and the laughter continued! Gorpondret returned to the sky, and Nightmare Moon mocked us from above! "Little Twilight, what can one such as you do to a God?" The enemy soldiers fell, and yet they kept attacking, and we could do nothing to stop them! "ENOUGH!" a loud voice called, and the ground shook, and a huge crack in the earth separated our armies, and many from both sides were eaten by the earth itself! The creature was only the size of a Minotaur, yet the great Daemons all lowered to the ground, and bowed their heads as he approached. He was thin, and stood on 2 legs, and had a shape like the creatures from beyond the great mirror! "Hear now the words of Hepted, right hand of the exulted Neglorik, and heed what I am to say!" he said, and once again struck the earth with his wooden cane, which appeared as the branch from some great tree! It was a sight to behold! All of the awesome monsters which had laid waste to our planet seemed to feel great fear for this man, and they did not speak nor move before him, and they trembled! "Look upon them, and see why I have come. You have been careless and dreadful in your wastefulness! You should have finished your work by now, and yet you toy with these lesser beings!" He rose his great cane, and Gorpondret once again fell from the sky, and this time she did not laugh, and she did not scream! She began to melt, and her body joined with the great swamp! The swamp began to put forth a pungent gas, and all who breathed it were turned into a writhing beast! "HEED THIS CALL, CHILDREN OF NEGLORIK, AND KNOW THAT YOU MUST MAKE HASTE, AND HE WILL SOON COME! IF YOU DO NOT FULFILL YOUR PURPOSE, YOU SHALL BE RETURNED TO A CATALYST!" And with that, he was gone, and all looked on in awe, and, when we were able, we retreated back to Tartarus. The game was over, and the true purpose of the otherworldly beasts was at hand!
The Herald The Herald They were eaten The great armies of Equestria and Tartarus had been defeated, not by the Daemon hoards, but by the voice of a single creature. We were unable to stand before Hepted, and we ran, and the Daemon Lords that has caused us such pain, yes, they themselves shook in fear! Now 4 days had passed, and the sound of wailing and despair from above drowned out the same from below, and we were as insects scurrying under the footsteps of great Dragons, and we were at a total loss. Finally, I could take it no longer, and I stepped outside, and I was frozen in fear. I beheld, and look! The sky was being blanketed by an unholy darkness! Nightmare Moon had begun the true bulk of her work, and she was taking all light from us! Yes! yes, she not only eclipsed our own star, but had taken to the task of doing the same to all others! And even as I was looking upon the universe being engulfed in darkness, a great earthquake shook me from my terror, and i saw the great mountain of Canterlot fall! Oh how horrifying it was! And she set her sights on me! Nightmare Moon dove for me! And I ran! Oh how I ran, and I found myself at the entrance to the Everfree, which had been somehow spared! "NO! DO NOT ENTER THAT HOLY PLACE!" cried Nightmare Moon, and I knew what I had to do! I entered, and all was normal! At that moment, Nightmare Moon approached, and I thought this the end, yet it was not! She was repelled back, screamed in pain, and again took to the sky! I knew what I was to do, and I searched, and I found her! Zecora's home was still here! I knocked, yet she did not answer. I opened the door, and was greeted by yet another horror! I could not even cry. i had run dry of tears. I slept within the hut that night. Her body just across the room. She had taken her own life, and in her own blood, she had written but one word. "NEGLORIK" When I awoke, I left the old hut, and went in search of something that still gave me the faintest glimmer of hope! And I was in glee! The Tree of Harmony was still standing! "Neplohidratite." I spoke the word, and knew at that moment what had happened! She had planned this! In chasing me to this holy place, she had an entrance! My mind was still a doorway for her! The tree screamed and shook, and Nightmare Moon crawled through it like a worm emerging from the dirt! She spoke cursed, foul words, and the tree wilted! "Know now, in this moment, that you have aided Neglorik!" she laughed, and took to the sky, and the tree began to glow, and the Elements of Harmony themselves burst forth, and took to the sky! I was again frozen, and I beheld as the Elements charged into the great hole in reality that had been opened above the great swamp that was once the frozen north, and the hole expanded with the sounds of tearing and wailing, and it was as a mare giving birth, and large black hands made of oil gripped the sides of the great hole, and the last of the great Daemons came forth from it! "HE COMES!" it announced, and it stepped though, and again its form was like that of a man, although much larger, and being made of flowing, dripping oil! This was Tephliotisies, great herald of Neglorik himself! I tried to run back to Tartarus, but look, it was hopeless! Tephliotisies reached within the earth, and scooped Tartarus from the depths, and he leaned his oozing mass of a head backwards, and swallowed Tartarus! Oh how they screamed! Now, truly, I was alone. And suddenly, the deepest dark was upon me.
Neglorik, The All-Within Neglorik, The All-Within Neglorik the Daemon God had come And he had brought about the deepest dark And I wept Because all things were within him At first, all I saw was the blackness. It all happened so fast. Nightmare Moon had extinguished the final star, the great swamp had transformed all life I could find into tumorous wrecks, and Tephliotisies had devoured all artificial light! Yes, I was alone with them, and they would soon be upon me, and Equestria would be forever void of magic and native life! Suddenly, the sky screamed, and the great hole in reality began to glow a blinding white, and I beheld him for the first time! NEGLORIK! ACCURSED NEGLORIK WAS HERE, AND I WAS AS STONE AS I LOOKED UPON HIM! His form took up the entire sky, and he glowed as the stars that has been darkened, and a sound like a great hurricane came forth from him! And something struck me. He was clean. He was precise and symmetrical. He was unlike all of the others! 3 huge glass orbs, and within them great unblinking eyes, and the orbs were in a triangular shape, and were connected by great transparent shafts, and every minute, without fail, I could see stars and galaxies within him! And oh what a sight he was to behold! I have scrawled a crude drawing of his basic form out of the dirt and ash that surrounds me, so as to help the reader comprehend what I am beholding! At that moment, I knew that the end of all things had come, and I looked at him, and he took no notice, and I SCREAMED at him! I screamed and cried and, in my great anger, I found the strength to propel myself upward, and a charged at the great flying continent, and I made contact, and... And I was gone. I was no longer in Equestria. I was no longer on my planet. I was within him. Neglorik had, for a reason I may never know, decided to show me great visions! Yes! Yes, this is how I was able to write this tome! Neglorik himself showed me all, and I saw things that I never wished to see! I saw the fall of many worlds! I saw millions die before Neglorik! I saw the writing of the Nightmare Verse! I saw the great cult, and for just a moment, I saw a universe beyond myself, and I saw Neglorik churning the cosmos! NEGLORIK, WHY HAD YOU COME FOR US? WHY HAD YOU COME FOR ME? As I fell deeper within him, I realized something that shook me to my core. I was starting to recognize the planet that I was approaching. Soon I could see what remained of my world, and I was placed on the ground again. I was confused at the time. I was angry and confused. I gathered all of the magic I had within myself, and sent a blast of anger and spite and rage right at him, knowing in my heart that it would do nothing! And I saw his eyes widen, and I could see a hole in him, and the planet itself shook violently as he screamed. That is when I knew. Neglorik, although he was before me right now, and was somehow residing within the universe, also housed the universe within himself! Our entire lives. Everything we had ever done. All of it was within Neglorik. And I had damaged the God of the Daemons! Oh how I rejoiced, even for just a moment! The other creatures all screamed and wailed, and Nightmare Moon began to search for me, and surly would have killed me! But no, I was able to escape! I fell into a great hole, and within it was the dried husk of the Tree of harmony! It seemed to have enough power to mask my location! So now here we are. This is the present time, and I am watching as Neglorik passes over the planet, and his followers cry and cheer as he floats! And i watch the sky, and it is being reformed, and Neglorik is crying out in agony as new stars are birthed! I have one final task before me. I have been able to reconstruct one of my magic engines, and I shall use it to destroy Neglorik! And what after that? Nothing is left. I will FREE the universe from his grasp, and maybe, one day, things will begin anew! Yes, this is what I must do! I will bring an end to him, and when I return, I shall write of my victory! Tonight, the frail God of the Daemons will fall, and all will be saved! Everything will be right again! I know it will... It has to be...
