The Book of Salzar

Carrying the cursed book proved to be more difficult than expected. Being a bird with relatively poor physical strenght was not a problem when one had magic as support. But what the Ancient soon found out was the book's ability to... "nullify" his magical essence. In other words, casting magic was impossible as long as the book came in contact with it physically.

"Clever... very clever..."

Whoever wrote it probably thought of themselves as really smart individuals. There was only one group that was truly capable of posing a threat to their plans and that was that insane cult that worshipped the anomaly. That same anomaly that constantly tried to ruin their plans, even if they would benefit from the results. If only those lunatics knew what they worshipped to begin with...

The Ancient heard the flapping of wings behind itself, so it turned around to face whoever had the audacity to chase it through the skies. To its pleasure, it was none other than the royal sisters themselves. It felt some sort of pride, realizing that the "Equestrians" had to send their rulers to deal with it. But all traces of it vanished and were quickly replaced with tranquil fury as the princesses stood firmly in their places, clearly refusing to come forward.

"Return the book at once!" Commanded the younger one. The Ancient replied with a snort.

"You have no authority over me, alicorn." It spat. "Why should I listen to you?"

"Why, you..."

Celestia interrupted her. "Please! You don't know what that book contains! Stop all of this before it is too late!"

"Quite the contrary." The voice was as cold and calm as ice. "Perhaps I need to remind you that we are far older than you? We know what we are dealing with. You, on the other hand, don't and most likely never will. You lack... the proper enlightenment."

"Is brute force and mockery everything you know, fiend?! Do you understand how much everyone on Equus suffers because of your actions?!" Luna retorted.

"Our problem, it is not. Your kind banished us from these lands, our lands. We simply decided to return the favor."

"By killing innocents and spreading chaos?!"

"What are deaths of few thousands compared to a banishment of a whole race?"

"But we didn't even know you exsisted until recently!" Celestia replied. "Was there really need for violence where the problems can be solved peacefully? My little ponies aren't the only ones living on Equus!"

"Maybe I should explain, we have no desire to share our planet with lowly invaders such as you."

"Stop accusing us of a crime that we didn't commit!"

"You didn't, but your ancestors did. And with such ferocity that were caught unprepared. You cannot even begin to comprehend our state. We lost everything we had. Technological wonders, sources of knowledge... And for what? For a few spellcasting ponies and other mockeries of nature." The crow stared at the two princesses. "But it wasn't all for naught, you know? Thanks to you, who banished us into the formless aether, that same aether you use for your spells, now we achieved even more power. Loosing our bodies was a price to pay, however."

Celestia closed her eyes and dropped her head slightly. "I'm... sorry."

"I don't need your pity. You want the book? Here it is."

The crow let go of the book. While Celestia let out a startled cry at the crow's blatant disregard for magical artifacts, her younger sister immediately flew downwards, trying to grab the book. Before she could do that, the Crow's beak glew brightly as it shot out a green thunder bolt at her back.

"Luna!"

Her sister couldn't hear her. She was unprepared for such a devastating attack and she lost her consciousness because of it. Celestia snapped her head at the possessed crow, which spat out a fireball at her. The distraction worked and the crow was free to reach the book and fly away without any problems. Celestia decided to help her sister rather than retrieve the cursed object.

Things were going really well.

Twilight Sparkle had seen it before. She and her friends were witnesses countless of times. Ponies, Minotaurs, even simple animals, all under their control. All with those glowing green eyes. Sometimes it would be subtle, like completely normal green irises. Other times... well, their eyes would glow like two green tiny suns. The first time that happened, they were shocked beyond belief. Even the bravest ponies burst into tears of terror at the sight. To see a member of their species under complete control of another being was something out of nightmares. Apart from being a scary phenomenon, those possessed looked... off.

No, not in a possessed-sense off. Their behavior was creepy and abnormal. Some possessed ponies had trouble walking on all fours, some would scream profanities or just scream like a madpony, some would laugh as they attacked other ponies.

Worse of all, there was no way to permanently stop any of them. As soon as the vessel would suffer enough damage for them to be useless, they would simply escape and search for another. Never before she was so thankful to those who fought them on the battlefield. After all, they were the reason why half of Equestria was still safe from the Ancients as well as the cult.

And what about their magic? Their power? Even Twilight had to admit, it was beyond anything they ever fought. Summoning storms, causing earthquakes, turning lands into one giant wildifre. She guessed that exposure to the magical aether would do that to a pony.

But now it was different. All bearers of the elements, plus several guardponies, against one Ancient. She was confident in their victory. Safety in numbers and all that. But first, some questions.

"What are you doing here?" She demnaded. Her royal status made her confident like that.

"Nothing that concerns you, alicorn." The Ancient replied with a confident smirk of his own. "We already have what we searched for. Everything else in here is useless to us."

"It even speaks with commander's voice!" Twilight heard one of the guardponies whispering to another. She didn't really care though. She was to busy controlling her anger due to the entity calling the whole royal library useless.

"You ain't going nowhere, varmint!"

"Yeah! I'll buck him to the face!"

"Dash! Wait!"

Twilight knew it would be useless. Once the blue pegasus decided to do something, that something would be done even if her life depended on it. Still, Rainbow Dash, as well as others, witnessed first-hand the Ancient's power. Didn't really stop her from charging straight at them whenever she got the chance...

The Ancient kept smiling as its horn started glowing green. It shot a green ray at the charging pegasus, who dodged the attack.

"Ha! You will never catch me, slowpoke!"

If Rainbow Dash were a pony that liked to pay attention to their environment, she would find out that the ray turned around, as if it bounced from something, and went straight for her back. If it weren't for Twilight, who casted a magical barrier around her friend, thus protecting her from the attack and pulling her back to the group, Rainbow Dash would truly feel pain.

"We'll use the Elements, everypony!" Twilight shouted as the other bearers gathered near her. With the help of the Elements of Harmony, the group fired the typical rainbow-like beam at the possessed commander, who remained impassive, as if wishing to be hit.

And then everything turned white.

Every nook and cranny of the library was bathed in a blinding light. The ponies had to cover their eyes with their hooves because even their eyelids couldn't stop it. After said light died down, the six bearers opened their eyes to analyze the situation. The shock that came afterwards would imprint itself into their minds for years to come.

The Ancient was completely fine. No significant change whatsoever. Their Elements of Harmony, the same Elements that helped them defeat threats like Discord, was completely useless. It must have noticed their reactions, because it started laughing. Not one pony dared to speak.

"This is it? This is the power of Harmony, the one we are supposed to fear?" The laughter died down, it's voice suddenly becoming deep, more monstrous. "If I were a mere puppet of flesh and bone, the attack would work. But my body has long since turned to dust and I am reborn."

It pointed a hoof at itself. "What... am I? Nothing more than a being whose home is the dreaded magical aether, where I spent millenia receiving blasts of raw magical energy that peeled the flesh from my bones and destroyed my very self only to rebuild it again and again and again until all what was left... was a monster. The hatred for the crime you commited brew and grew within me, eventually giving me a shape, a reason to exsist. And you?" It pointed the hoof at them.

"Petty ponies. So captivated by the simplest things around you. So enthralled and intoxicated with Harmony that you are unable to see the harsh reality that surrounds you and the monsters it conceives in its shadows. You even went as far as to use magic to imprison yourselves deeper into your cages, tapping into the aether, our aether, thinking that, if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss won't return the favor. And so you kept digging, searching, greedy for more power, for more ways to express your "friendship". All in good fun, all in the name of Harmony, correct?"

It's voice became even more frightening, despite becoing a barely audible whisper. "It all starts with one simple-minded spellcaster deciding to go beyond the boundaries that others before them never dared to cross.Then they begin feeling odd, listening to a maddening cacophony of whispers that invade their sleep, unable to be removed by the alicorn of night. Whispers which, for some odd reason, despite their strong will and sworn loyalty to the solar alicorn, are becoming more soothing, charming, convincing. It cannot be ignored anymore, so they learn to embrace the phenomenon as if it were a mere fact of life. Then one day they wake up and soon find out that they are not on their bed but somewhere out there. They dismiss it as sleepwalking, even as it becomes more frequent. By the time the learn the truth, their bodies are forfeit. We used this technique for one whole millenium without any of you even knowing."

Nopony dared to move, knowing that one wrong hoofstep might end tragically. Their best weapon proved to be worthless in restraining the Ancient. It was only a natural thing to do.

"But enough talk. I lost too much time in here. Now allow me to show you what are we truly capable of."

With a continuous scream, the commander's frame became surrounded in a greenish aura, followed by the unmistakable sound of bones breaking. It would soon become known as the most morbid display of power that the ponies ever witnessed. One that would be hard to forget.

It all started with the legs. As everypony heard the sickening cracks, the legs started twisting in weird angles. The front hooves suddenly became swollen, disgusting blobs as several smaller appendages slowly formed their way out of the mass. But this wasn't the end of the horror. The hind legs twisted some more, as if the commander pony tried to place all of its weight on them. Before they knew it, the Ancient stood only on its hind legs, in a way that reminded them of a minotaur. A pair of bat-like wings sprouted from its back as the horn became even longer than before. If the new commander bore any resemblance to a pony, the group failed to recognize it.

The Ancient roared once more as it fired several magical rays all over the library, setting it on fire. All the ponies in the room could only watch, or in Fluttershy's case fall unconscious, as they were to scared to approach the creature in front of them. Even the guardponies, the bravest ponies of Equestria, refused to do anything that would threaten it.

"The library!" Twilight shrieked. "We have to save the library!"

And so, while the ponies were busy with their precious books, the Ancient had all the time in the world to reach the nearest window and escape.