Chapters From One Light Comes Many
Luna
Princess Luna flies through the dreamscape. She scours the doors to ponies’ dreams, making sure that there were no terrible dreams that could hurt her charges. The odd nightmare is fine for a pony, but some dreams have the capabilities to harm ponies and those around them and those need to be dealt with.
Suddenly, Luna feels a ripple within the dreamscape. She shifts herself to her own personal dream, the Everfree Forest. Her horn glows as she looks for the disturbance. A familiar voice rings throughout the forest.
“Hello, Princess.”
A wave of energy racks the forest. A light blue shield covers protects Luna as the trees around her are leveled. When the dust settles, Nightmare Moon is standing on the other side of the new clearing. Her body is covered in armor that appears to be made of pure shadow.
“Tantabus,” Luna calls out, “is that you?”
Nightmare Moon simply chuckles, “I am far more than your simple worm. I am your worst Nightmare.”
Nightmare raises her hands and fires a stream of yellow energy at Luna. Luna braces herself as her shield catches the beam. She leaps to the side and starts to sling orbs of her own magic at Nightmare. Nightmare dodges the attacks with ease.
“I thought that you were slew the darkness within the minds of ponies. Perhaps you should stick with children’s nightmares.”
Luna flies into the sky and fires a giant beam of energy at Nightmare. The dark alicorn raises her arms into the air in an attempt to block. When Luna stops the energy, she flies down to the collapsed Nightmare Moon. Luna holds her foot over the mare’s chest.
“What in the Equestria are you?”
Nightmare grins, her eyes turning a sickly yellow, “Not ‘in Equestria’ at all.”
Luna suddenly wakes up and finds herself in her room. She looks around, trying to find what happened. Something yellow drips from the ceiling and she looks up to see a giant, yellow, insect hanging from her ceiling. She instinctively fires a blast of magic at the insect, but the blast just goes through and hits the ceiling.
“Nice to see you too. I, am Parallax.”
“You’re the change in an object’s apparent position depending on the line of sight from which it is observed?”
If Parallax had real eyes, it would be rolling them, “No. I am the incarnation of Fear. I merely wished to have an audience with a mare who can so completely control fear.”
“The incarnation of fear? Where would a creature like you come from?”
Parallax crawls across the wall and onto the floor, “I was born from a mortal being and brought here against my will. I am fear, but I cannot affect the world on my own. I need something, or someone, to channel my power. I need someone who can control the fear of themselves and others. Someone like you.”
Luna frowns at the creature and readies a spell, “Why would you want me to use your power?”
Parallax raises a claw and starts to wave it, “I thrive on fear. There are very bad things out there. Things that you would want to fear you or die. I believe we can have a mutually beneficial partnership.” A yellow ring forms from thin air and floats over to Luna. “There is my offer. A ring to control the yellow light of Fear.”
Luna takes the ring in her hand and stares at it. A few quick spells show that it is real and that will not facilitate possession.
“Why should I trust you about this power, this ring?”
Parallax crawls onto the bed and looks Luna straight in the eyes, “I know what you are afraid of. I don’t want to control you. I don’t want to let any more monsters into this world, or any world.” It floats away from Luna and starts to fade, “Feel free to try out the ring. It’ll need a recharge, eventually. Just put on the ring and say my name when you make your decision.”
Ponyvile
Pinkie Pie sits at her desk in the Party Cavetm.She types on her typewriter, getting down her latest party plan. When she is done with Operation Space Rainbow, she leans back and yawns.
“I need to get to bed.”
And so a giant, blue bird appears in front of her and speaks in a smooth, calming voice, “Good evening, Miss Pie.”
Pinkie yelps and falls back in her chair. She bolts up and smooths out her tank top.
“Who are you?”
“I… was once a mortal much like you. But you may call me Adara.”
“Okay, mister talking bird. What are you doing here?”
“Pinkie, you are like a ray of light in the darkness. You are so able to bring so much hope to those around you. I want to give you the power to use the power of hope.” A blue ring materializes in front of Pinkie. “Please, take this ring.”
Pinkie cautiously reaches out her left hand and grabs the ring. She slips it onto her right ring finger. Blue light washes over her, leaving her with a blue and black bodysuit with a strange symbol on her chest.
“Wow,” she whispers, “What does it do?”
“It will grant you the power to manipulate the blue light of Hope. You can also fly and put hope into ponies’ minds.”
“Sweet. How do I do that?”
Instead of answering, Adara wraps its wings around Pinkie and disappears. It reappears high above Ponyville, where it lets go. Pinkie screams as she falls through the open air. She tries to flap her arms to fly, hoping with all her might that she will live. Her body is covered in a blue glow and she slows to a halt. Pinkie looks at herself hovering hundreds of feet above the ground.
“I’m flying? This is amazing!”
Pinkie swoops through the air and flies towards the moon. As she climbs above the clouds, she lets herself fall a short ways before catching herself and floating back over to Adara.
“I see you enjoyed yourself.”
“This ring is just… wow!” Her smile falters slightly, “But why did you give me this ring?”
“I just got to this world and scanned the minds of ponies. This world has almost gone to ruin multiple times in the past two years. If this trend continues, ponies need hope. As a party pony and an Element of Harmony, you seemed like to best choice. If you choose to keep the ring, of course.”
Pinkie looks down at the ring. The same symbol on her chest is on the ring and it glows.
“I’ll keep the ring.”
“Excellent.”
Pinkie and Adara appear in Pinkie's room. A large, blue lantern materializes in the corner of the room and starts to pulse.
“I’ll be able to communicate with you through the ring, but you will need to recharge it at this battery every so often. I need to go now.”
“Wait, why do you need to go?”
“If I am here, I believe an entity named Ion is here too. You’re strong enough with the ring alone, but Ion’s power over Will shall increase the power of your Hope a hundredfold. Just remember, enough Hope and the ring will give you anything."
Adara disappears in a flash of blue light, leaving Pinkie alone in her room. She looks down at her ring and over at the lantern. She slowly pulls off the ring, leaving her in her pajamas, and puts it on her bedside table.
"Pinkie Pie, bringer of Hope! I like that."
Author's Note
Hello, people of the internet. This is Utopianking with a question for all of you.
From One Light Comes Many
Our Town
Starlight Glimmer walks into her home, happy to be done with the work of the day. Her townsponies have finished constructing a house for their newest ‘friend’. She smirks as she closes her door. The stallion was apprehensive at first, but eventually accepted that his cutie mark only causes pain to those around him. They always do.
Starlight walks up to her bathroom and pours a large bucket of water into her tub. With a quick spell the water is the perfect temperature. She strips off her simple clothes and gently slides into the tub, sighing in contentment as the warm water washes over her tired muscles. She glances out the window and sees her happy little ponies walking about in the moonlit night.
“Do you really think that they are happy?”
Starlight shrieks as an indigo octopus rises from her bath. She leaps from the tub and fires a blast of magic at the creature. The blast goes through the creature and singes the floor. There is a frantic knock at Starlight’s door.
“Could you excuse me for a moment?” she cautiously asks. When the creature doesn’t move, she quickly wraps a towel around herself and rushes downstairs. She pops her head out of her door to see Double Diamond standing on her porch with a worried look on his face.
“Are you alright?” DD asks, “I heard screaming.”
“I’m fine,” she replies, “There was a spider. It surprised me.”
“Oh. Have a nice night.”
“You too.”
Starlight closes the door and turns around. The octopus is floating a few feet away from her, its tentacles bobbing in midair.
Starlight starts to hiss at the creature, “What are you doing he-”
The creature plunges a tentacle into Starlight’s chest and her eyes turn pure indigo. She finds herself floating in a starry space. She stares across the space at the creature, whose form is shifting between octopus-thing and nondescript pony.
“What are you?” she yells.
“I am the Proselyte, Entity of Compassion. You need to be shown true compassion.”
“I know true compassion! I have stripped these ponies of the shackles that cause them pain!”
“You truly are deluded. Feel Compassion!”
Starlight drops to her knees and starts to scream. The feelings of everypony in her village run through her head. Tears start to run down her face as she feels how miserable they truly are.
“I-I’m so sorry that I’m hurting them. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“It is all right. You now understand how they feel.”
Starlight looks up, “Can we help other ponies with this? Help them feel compassion with each other?”
“We can,” Starlight and Proselyte return to normal space and an indigo ring materializes, “Use this ring and you can help everypony.”
Starlight holds out her right hand and the ring slides onto her ring finger. The towel falls away and she is covered in a black and indigo bodysuit. Starlight slowly stands up and looks at Proselyte.
“I know where to start.”
Tartarus
A giant, orange, snake flies over Equestria. Its tongue flicks out of its mouth as it searches for the greatest source of greed to fuel it. After some time, it finds a hole in the ground that simply radiates in avarice. The Ophidian flicks its tongue and flies into the hole.
The snake spins as it flies through the cavern. There are plenty of enchantments and boobytraps that kill a physical creature, or do worse to spirits. Alas, not belonging to Equestria has its benefits. It flies until it reaches a large door. Ophidian slowly phases through the door and comes face to face… to face to face with a three-headed dog.
Cerberus growls and starts barking at the snake. It looks at the dog, Ophidian looks at its greed. It has no desire beyond protecting the prisoners of Tartarus. Unacceptable as a host. Ophidian looks behind Cerberus and sees a caged centaur. Its cage is on a raised stony outcropping above the abyss of the real Tartarus, almost like a trophy.
Ophidian flies over to the cage and flicks its tongue again. The centaur inside looks up and scowls.
“What kind of torment are you supposed to be? I’m not afraid of glowing snakes.”
“Lord Tirek of Equestria, you have a desire for all of Equestria’s magic. You belong to me now.”
Ophidian flies down Tirek’s throat. The centaur howls in pain as his body expands. He becomes muscular and his horns grow out. Finally, his upper body is covered in an orange vest with a black symbol on the chest.
“What are you?” Tirek roars, “Get out of me!”
The snake’s voice buzzes in his ears, “Now why would I do that? Don’t you desire freedom from this Hell?”
“I know does not come without a price. What is your price?”
“My brothers are out in Equestria somewhere. I can’t directly find them, but I can find them if I use a powerful host. Or better yet, bring them to me.”
“And what would stop me from taking your brothers’ power when we meet?”
“I doubt you can, since I’m not made of magic. And because this.”
Orange chains weave themselves across Tirek’s arms and down his legs. He drops to his knees and his irises turn orange. His pupils become the symbol on his chest. After a few moments he returns to normal.
“I get to ride around in your body until I find my brothers. In the meantime, you have the power to claim all your heart desires. Agreed?”
Tirek is panting on the ground, “Agreed.”
He slowly rises to his hooves and shatters his manacles. He grabs the bars of his cage and pulls them apart. Stepping out of the cage, Tirek notices Cerberus running towards him. The centaur punches the dog in one of its faces, a blast of orange energy sending the hound flying.
Tirek walks down to Cerberus and looks at the hound’s broken neck, “What I wouldn’t give to imprison this son of a bitch like he has me.”
“Request acknowledged.”
Tirek’s hand raises on its own and points at Cerberus. A beam of orange energy connects the hand to the hound. Orange spreads over Cerberus and pulls him into Tirek’s hand.
“What just happened?”
“The Orange energy allows you to assimilate your enemies, if your Avarice is high enough. You can summon them to your side later.”
Tirek looks back at the prison, “Could I build an army with this power?”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Tirek smirks, “What should I call you, creature?”
“Call me Oph-. No. Super Kami Ophidian. Nah, that’s stupid. Just Ophidian.”
Tirek sighs, "What have I gotten myself into?"
Author's Note
Woop, second chapter out! Glad to have a lot of people watching.
Still taking suggestions for who should get the Red. Will be taking suggestions until Saturday.
From One Light Comes Many
-Dragon Lands-
Garble sits in his cave, staring intently at a large rock. He rarely leaves the cave anymore, not after what that pathetic pony-dragon did to
him. He clenches a fist at the thought of that welp and smashes it the stone. His ‘friends’ stopped hanging around him. His own parents have
left him behind. Garble curls up into a ball, tears starting to well in his eyes.
“Is that really how a dragon acts in this world?”
Garble looks up at a shimmering, red bull, “A red cow?”
“I’m not just any red cow. Hell, I’m not really a cow. I am the Butcher.”
Garble turns away from the Butcher, “I’m not going to take advice from a cow. I still have some dignity.”
“Oh, spare me. From what I remember of my world, every dragon, from the heartless bastards to the harbingers of good will, were strong, egotistical creatures who fought for their cause and never sulked because their egos were bruised. That welp, Spike, is more of a dragon than you.”
Garble leaps to his feet and roars, “Take! That! Back!”
A faint red aura appears around the dragon. Smoke pours from his nostrils.
“I’m gonna take the throne of Dragon Lord and get rid of that pony-dragon!”
“Why Dragon Lord?”
“What?”
“You must be able to see it. You’re a teenager with no natural leading abilities other than intimidation. So, why Dragon Lord?”
“Well, Dragon Lord is the strongest dragon around. And the scepter is pretty powerful. I could get back at Spike in whatever way I wanted.”
“So it was just a means to an end? Well, I can grant you the power to take vengeance on Spike. Power far greater than what being Dragon Lord will bring.”
A ring materializes in front of Garble. He grabs it with two fingers and gives it a discerning look.
“A ring?”
Garble slips the ring onto a claw and he cringes in pain. He puts a claw over heart as a crimson fire climbs up his arm and over his body. As the black and red bodysuit solidifies, Garble vomits a crimson plasma that sizzles on the ground.
“What has this thing done to me?”
“It has given you the power to achieve your vengeance. Go test it out, just make sure not to wear it for too long.”
Garble pulls off the ring and he returns to normal, “What happens if I do?”
“The ring is fueled by your anger: red-hot anger. You wear the ring for too long, it burns through your body. But a few minutes to try it out shouldn’t hurt, along with your dragon body’s natural protection.”
Garble cautiously puts the ring on and the bodysuit reappears. He limply points it at another rock on the ground and a spurt of red energy comes out. The Butcher makes an angry gesture and Garble steels his gaze. The dragon whips his hand and a blast of red energy destroys the rock. He starts to laugh and starts blasting around the cave until everything starts to shake.
Garble removes the ring and grins, “Butcher, we’re going on a roadtrip.”
-Manehatten-
A young unicorn stallion with a blue coat and a dark mane walks through a hallway with a silver mare in a ruby-red dress. They enter a room and the stallion levitates a bottle of wine and some glasses over. He pours the wine as the mare sits on the bed.
“So, hon,” she says, “What do you want.”
“L-let’s just have a drink right now.”
As the mare drinks, the stallion becomes increasingly twitchy. He licks his lips as he looks up and down the mare.
“I’m really sorry about this.”
The stallion is coated in green fire. When the fire fades, there is a changeling standing in his stomach roaring.
“Not again.”
“Do not despair, young Thorax.”
Thorax falls to the ground and starts to writhe on the ground. It feels as if the love of a thousand ponies is flowing through his bloodstream. It feels glorious.
“What are you?” Thorax whimpers in ecstasy.
A strange, bestial creature appears, wrapping itself around the room.
“I am your salvation. I am the incarnation of all Love. I am the Predator.”
When the love rush wears off, Thorax slowly rises to his feet, “What are you doing here?”
“When I came to Equestria, the first thing I noticed was your species. I was saddened by the state you were in, craving love but getting very little. Then I found you, Thorax. I would like you to be my agent among the changelings. Since changeling cannot produce the same energy via love as other creatures, I will give you all as much love as needed.”
“Why me, though? Surely there are other changelings who have left the hive?”
“It is true, there are about a dozen other changelings not part of the hive. But you were the closest to me. What do you say? Become my vanguard of Love, and be known as the savior of your race.”
Thorax looks at the Predator, then his hand. He slowly reaches his hand towards the creature.
“I want my family to stop starving. I’ll do whatever you want.”
The Predator touches Thorax’s hand and flows into his body. The changeling starts to glow with a violet light. His clothes burn away and a suit starts to form around him. The suit appears to be an open vest, showing Thorax’s chest and abs, along with a pair of long pants. A violet ring appears on his right hand.
Thorax runs to the bathroom and looks at himself in the mirror, “What have you done to me?”
“I decided to give you a uniform. Now, go home. We have a ruler to depose.”
Thorax glows violet and he starts to float off the floor, “Woah! This is weird.”
“Just focus on flight and my power will do the rest.”
Thorax opens the window and floats out. With a violet flash, he flies high into the air and out of the city.
Author's Note
Behold, the appearance of the Butcher and the Predator. Sorry it took a while for this chapter to come out. I have been working on other ideas and I got addicted to Skyrim. Thank cyberlord4444 for the idea to use Garble as the red lantern
From One Light Comes Many
Just before sunrise, Celestia and Luna are sitting in a private war room (not that it is often used for such). Luna has just explained her encounter with the entity known as Parallax. She leans on the table, the ring floating in a magical grip.
“I’m concerned about a creature that can invade even your dreams, sister,” Celestia says, “Perhaps we should inform Twilight and her friends of it.”
Luna shakes her head, “We do not need to concern them unless the creature poses a real threat. I would have handled it myself if it didn’t leave behind the ring.”
Celestia raises a hand and the ring floats over to her, “Yes, the ring. Neither of us can sense a means of control through it. That’s a good sign, but neither of us are perfect at finding deception.”
Both mares look away from each other. Luna takes back the ring and places in into her palm. She sits, weighing the ring. Eventually, she closes her grasp and stands up.
“One you have risen the sun, meet me on the practice field. I wish to see what this ring can do in a secure location.”
Celestia looks at her sister with a concerned expression, “Are you sure it’s safe to use?”
“Not entirely, I admit. However, you may prepare a letter to Twilight in the event I cannot control the ring. Please have some faith in my abilities”
Celestia looks into Luna’s steeled gaze and sighs, “Fine. I’ll meet you there.”
^ ^ ^
The ‘practice field’ is a large, open space between the guards’ training barracks and the armory. The entire training area is on the opposite side of the mountain from Canterlot and is off limits to any civilian. Most importantly, it is a secure location that the princesses can suddenly go to without arousing much suspicion.
The princesses walk alongside a dark green earth pony stallion with a black mane. The armor he wears is slimmer than what other guards wear and does not have the identity concealing charm placed on it.
“Thank you for allowing us access to the training yard, General Iron Hoof,” Celestia says, “We apologize for the short notice.”
“It is no trouble,” Iron Hoof replies, “Though, do I have permission to ask what you require the field for?”
“We are testing an artifact of currently undetermined power,” Luna answers, “Any further information will be dispensed on a need-to-know basis.”
Iron Hoof nods, “Understood. I assume that the Guard will not be able to comment on what they see here.”
“Correct. Please ready the null field just in case.”
Celestia and Luna walk out to the center of the field. Luna slowly removes the ring from a pouch at her side and holds it in one hand. She looks at her sister, who nods. Luna slips on the ring and is engulfed in a harsh, yellow light. A yellow and black bodysuit appears over her light armor, with the insignia of the ring appearing on her chest. The guards standing by the field all take a step back, not understanding the utter terror that grips them. Luna kneels, shivering.
“Are you alright?” Celestia asks, kneeling to Luna’s level.
“I am fi-aah!”
The ring starts to pulse with yellow energy. Behind Celestia, a shape begins to form out of yellow and inky black. She turns around and sees the shape turn into a replica of Luna, with a yellow sword in her hand.
“Parallax,” Luna growls, “What is this madness?”
The yellow bug appears and begins to chuckle to itself, “Hello, Princess. Glad to see you put on the ring.”
“So you’re Parallax,” Celestia observes, “What is this thing and what have you done to my sister?”
“What have I done? I haven’t done anything more than reveal Luna’s fear to the world. She has to defeat her fear in order to have full control over the ring. Princess Luna, time to face the Tantabus.”
“Tantabus?” Celestia whispers.
Luna slowly rises to her hooves, “I will explain everything later.” She then looks straight at Parallax, “Will there be any more tricks after this?”
“Of course not. I still need an ally, after all. Wait, you can only use the ring to defeat Tantabus. Magic won’t do any good.”
“Understood. Celestia, step out of the way.”
Celestia shakes her head, “I am not going to stand by and allow you to fight an entity such as this on your own.”
“This is not up for debate!” Luna snaps, “This is my problem and I shall handle it myself!”
Celestia sees the determination in Luna’s eyes and backs towards the sidelines with a sigh. Luna looks at the Tantabus and takes an unarmed fighting stance.
“Now, how to I work this thing?”
The Tantabus makes the first move, swinging the zweihander with a single arm. Luna leaps backwards, the tip of the blade barely missing her throat. The Tantabus swings with both arms next, too fast for Luna to dodge. She cringes as a barrier appears in front of the sword, causing it to skip across with a cracking sound.
“Okay. Is it activated by my will?”
Luna leaps back a good ten meters. She then focuses on a blade appearing in her hand. A curved dagger made of the same yellow light as the Tantabus appears in her left hand. She runs at the Tantabus and it swings downwards at her. She rolls to the side before the sword hits and leaps at its side. She stabs the Tantabus, but the dagger shatters.”
“Shit.”
The Tantabus shoves Luna back and sends her rolling across the ground. She props herself up with one arm and wipes some blood from her lip.
“Are you alright?” Celestia calls.
Luna slowly stands, “I’m fine. Time to forget the ring.”
Luna flaps her wings and flies into the air. Her horn and her hands glow. She points her left hand towards the Tantabus and fires a burst of magic towards it. The yellow mare takes the blast head-on, completely unaffected.
“Magic is useless, remember!”
Luna shakes her head and looks at the Tantabus, “I will not let you overtake me.”
The Tantabus spreads its wings and flies at Luna. As it swings the sword, a yellow gauntlet appears over Luna’s hand and blocks the blade. She takes a flap and kicks the Tantabus in the face. They both plummet to the ground, with Luna landing on top of the construct. She punches it in the face over and over.
“I!” Punch. “Am not!” Punch. “Afraid!” Punch. “Of you!”
The construct’s face is crushed. It fades away and Luna slowly rises to her hooves. She removes the ring and stares at Parallax.
“Did I pass your test?”
Parallax crawls over to Luna and looks her dead in the eye, “For now. But you should be strong enough for my purposes.”
“What are your purposes? Why would you be seeking allies?”
Celestia steps forward, “If you want the cooperation of the Equestrian government, you will tell us everything of importance.”
Parallax crawls away and ponders for a moment, “Fine. I will explain the best I can. I am one seventh of another entity who was brought here against its will last night. I am the entity of fear, while my brothers encompass greed, anger, hope, will, love, and compassion. Don’t trust them not to turn on me as soon as they find me.”
“If you don’t trust what used to be a part of you, then why should we trust you?”
Parallax chuckles, “You’re one to talk. You feared your own sister. I know my fragments, but I don’t know if they’ll be psychopaths. And if we get pissed at each other… imagine a war between seven alicorns. That's why we'll all be looking for allies.” While the princesses’ faces don’t change, Parallax glows a little brighter from their fear. “So, what’s the plan?”
Author's Note
Sorry for not putting this out sooner. I have been working on this off and on basically since the last chapter.