Chapters Let's set the stage, and let me ask you, dearest reader, what is the goal of life, or is there any other than the most obvious desire to exist, mayhaps there doesn't even need to be one in the first place. - The play of life begins in the nothingness, however, it is far from empty, there just hasn't been anyone to paint the grand tapestry yet, write the first poem to ignite the primordial spark of desire. In this place all longings, all thoughts, and emotions, every shape, form, matter, and energy paired into a single, condescending mass of darkness, however, it was more than just that, it was all, yet doomed to be nothing, or was it? - With no sense of time, a concept yet to be thought of, it was hard to measure just how many cycles have passed, not that any creature could even begin to fathom such a span of time, but eventually, something changed. It was as if from the creat pond of purity and perfection clumps appeared, simple energy and mass forming itself into a thick, condensed mass that was strangely beautiful, orbs of light danced in darkness' blight, shrinking and growing, dimming and glowing as they danced in appreciation for life's gift or mayhaps just an assumption. In truth, they had yet to understand these impulses, these strange cravings, and yearning we foolishly call emotions and desires, taking in every oh so little detail of such an empty, world. The first ones, we call them 'Lights,' soon began to explore, but there was little to see, only they had themselves and a mind most empty, with the exception, of one, small and different sphere that yet only now began to fathom of what was, is and could be.
'What is this, who am I, why do I ask, what do I wish to learn, but what is 'learning' and 'whishing'?' A sphere, as uncanny as it could be wondered, pulsating with seemingly divine, golden energy, and while small in size, bore a scent of rarity, it possessed a spark, a flame ever-glowing yet never diming with every stroke, conscience, desire, hope, but for what were these relics destined? 'What am I? Who am I?' Question began to form in this young mind, a thirst without well to drink from.
The sphere moved, shakingly at first in a realm baring no gravity, light, or anything remotely close to a waypoint, only darkness, the mind, and lights inhabited this realm. With no orientation, no destination or start, it began to wander forward. It stopped. It gazed. It wondered and questioned.
'What are they doing?' It wondered with child-like curiosity. Two spheres moved towards one another with an unrelenting pace, but when they touched, they did not impact, they stopped and stayed like they were stuck. Suddenly, and without any warning, they began to glow, one grew and the other withered, shrunk and parts of it crumbled away while the first one prospered. Then, only one sphere, now larger than both of them remained.
Was this perhaps the goal of life? To take and grow, mayhaps it was to give and stop exiting? Did there have to be more than this action, or was there more to be destined - They bore no mind, so did it die? The one who survived, was it still the same, mayhaps the old one died and the result now ruled, or, possibly, it just became more than it already was? - there was no answer, or was there? Who knew, who could claim or find out, was it to be believed, or did we just have to imagine it ourselves?
The little Light felt something, watching the few remaining sparks of what was once a great sphere, and slowly reached towards them as the victor left for a new feast. The sensation the little dots gave off was one of purity, it woke a sense of desire, a hunger for adventure and exploration, invigorating and improving the yearning to live. The sparks, they reached back to the Light, shooting towards and letting themselves, no, embedding themselves into the golden light.
"What is this sensation?" The Light spoke out for the first time with fascination and amazement as it felt such alien desires course through its very being. The lasting feeling of fulfillment never ceased, and yet there was a wish, a slumbering yearning to be yet more complete.
Suddenly, a ripple waved through the fragile, young spirit of the Light as it saw a new sphere approach. The Light watched it, no sense of fear ever crossing its mind. A weak pull, an unpleasant sensation like the cold seeping through an uncovered spot was the easiest way to describe it, grasped deep into the Lights being, but it acted without intention and tugged in response. The opposing sphere began to shake, become translucent, before vanishing with a pop, leaving behind more sparks that once again chose to make the golden light yet ever more whole.
At this moment, bearing only a splinter of time's smallest essence, it colored a picture of a world yet unknown in the golden light's mind, a world beyond this existence, a place where existing became more. Strange emotions and desires, strokes of yearnings, and heaps of hopes invigorated, brewed, and spewed within the depths of imagination. This fragment of a memory promised so much: such joy - such light - such sight - such smell - such touch - such taste - such sounds. The thought of creation buried itself oh so deep, to come even so close to having the weakest resemblance to this vision would spark a flame of joy burning everlasting. And yet, as the taste lost its flavor, the memory started to wane, the melody to fall deaf, the little light scrambled frantically to just have one more peek at this, dare it to say, perfect world?
"I need to grow - I need to see - the world that lies beneath this sea." The little light thought as she tried oh so desperately recall these memories before her vision caught yet another sphere, another token to see. With every coming light, the painting became clearer, the colors more vibrant, the smells more intense, however, they all started to fade, leaving nothing but the faintest of memories behind, and as the time went on, the frustration and once so grand hope to recreate this magical world so opposing to the one it was forsaken to dwell seemingly everlasting it - The world she thought that stagnated so much so as a few thoughts later, was thrown into a turmoil.
A light burned through the darkness, all light including herself paled in the shine as the very world began to change. The darkness twisted and formed as glimmers by the countless pierced the eternal veil. The little light caught paralyzed as colors she only saw glimpses of spread all across her vision, the spark of creation, the joy to make she so long lost ignited even brighter in her core, but this taste she could only savor a moment's time. The origin of this ocean of hues, an orb bearing all shades and senses shone even brighter now and pushed her away from this world, it tried to fight and stay, to see more of this act of creation, but it was to no avail as she and all those beings equal to her were banished from their place of existence, and those smallest bearing, not the strength or might, simply burst to smallest sparks.
In its vision, as she soared past this new world's birth, she tried to take in every last sip of slight, and these memories stayed within her for better or worse. Its perfectly symmetric and round body started to change, tendrils grew out, and take on a new shape. However, this change and the action was too much as it lost all control and vision started to fade. This light would now take on a journey so great that it dwarfed those highest hopes it once bore.
Author's Note
A crack, a spark, a well and hole, all in all, it formed not so long ago,
A new life with many new possibilities
"Uhh... what happened?... What?! What was this noise!?"
The Little Light jumped away as it heard something, wait, it heard something? It looked furiously around but found nothing. Gray rock was all that was around her as far as it could see while a puddle of something red and shaking filled a few holes that laid scattered around the ground.
Our little Light continued to look around, but there was nothing alive around it, nothing that could do anything to it, but from where did that sound come from?
"I don't understand what-" the Light stopped talking and looked around. " Happened- around- me?" the Little Light took a small pause between each time it heard a sound but was not sure what do now. It suddenly felt something soft touch it. The Little Light looked down and saw that its body was no longer a small Light, but something, weird.
The Light body changed from a small orb to- whatever it now was. It looked down as saw that its body's glow of light turned into many small rays of golden light that felt soft and covered its entire body. Looking back, it noticed that it now couldn't watch all around it anymore without moving the rest of its body.
The creature it now was, looked back and saw that it had many more of these soft rays of golden light that formed something long and fluffy? It noticed that there were even more parts of its body that needed attention too. It saw that it had four weird-looking thick lines of light and something white and weird connecting to each end.
It lifted the weird thing that was attached to its bottom of her main body and saw that the end split into four even thinner lines that looked sharp at its end.
"What am I?" Suddenly, it realized that it was it who made this sound. The sound or rather its voice sounded very mesmerizing, even if it didn't seem very strong, but high pitched, it liked it. It began to think of a way of finding out on how to name everything instead of describing it all the time.
It looked at itself for again, and this time it inspected itself very close. It noticed that it had a very slender figure but was still very high, or the rocks around it were just tiny. After a few moments, it thought of a way of describing itself.
"Okay, I think I call what I am, a 'fox,' or is 'wolf' better fitting? I don't know. Fox sounds so slender and smart while Wolf sounds so dangerous and mighty. How about this? I am now a Golden fox! Good, I am a Fox, but what makes me unique? Maybe there are others like me! Uhhh! That would be so nice to see someone who is like me, but, then I need something that makes me something else from the other!"
The Golden creature sat down on the ground and began to ponder how to call herself, or at least make her look a bit different. Suddenly an idea popped into its mind.
"I got it. I am going to call myself Auriel, yes, that sounds nice! It's so fitting too. I have beautiful sunlight around my slim body. I wish I could see all of it without having to inspect every bit of me as one."
Suddenly the ground in front of it began to rumble. It jumped away and started to run away, but fell on the ground as it still lacked the control of its limbs. Auriel looked back and saw a weird, big square that had no color on it.
The Golden Fox slowly walked back to not get in a fight and to not hit the ground. In a few moments, Auriel reached the mysterious object and gasped in joy at what it saw! There was a Golden Fox that looked exactly like it! The Golden fox walked toward the new figure, but then Auriel felt a little bit of something attacking its body right under Auriels eyes and felt as if it hit something flat.
Auriel fell on the ground and grasped the place that hurt with its paws and winced a little in this new feeling, also known as pain. After a few moments, the Golden Fox sat and inspected the weird thing in front of it. Auriel put its Paw on the object and felt something cold, hard but very flat, so smooth that the Golden fox barely felt any contact at all.
The Golden Fox put its paw away from the object and inspected itself one last time. Auriel noticed that the things that covered its body were light, but many small soft lines that stuck out of its shape and there was a big cluster of the soft mass on its chest and the long thing, that was almost as long as Auriel, that stuck out of its back.
Looking at its head, the Golden fox noticed that it had weird things attached at the top of her head. Auriel looked up and saw that two long, thin and very fluffy rectangles like object stuck out of its head.
The Golden Fox then looked down on its body and saw its limbs that turned lighter the deeper the went until they reached its white paws and these weird sharp triangle thingies. Auriel was amazed at how beautiful it looked and said.
"I look so nice, like a sun. I wonder if there are other Foxes too, maybe some that are a little different than me. If they are going to look different, then I am going to have decided how my look is going to be called. Hmmm... Slender Body, smart, beautiful? How about I call my look Male! Nah, that sounds a bit too hard and is more fitting for someone less slender. How about Fe-Male? Ahem, I am Auriel, the Female Golden Fox."
Auriel squeaked in joy as even her body agreed to this little speech as all of her lines on her body, that she decided to call hair and fur, straightened themselves. Auriel jumped around in happiness and away from the smooth stone that gave her the opportunity to see how she looked.
Auriel carefreely jumped as far as she could to explore what this new world had to give to her. Suddenly, she didn't feel the ground under her paws anymore. She looked down and saw that she was falling into one of the holes with the weird, red-hot stuff in them.
Something in her mind caused her to panic and screamed and begged her to not touch it. Auriel started to panic and closed her eyes while shouting."Nononononononononon, Stop, I don't want to land there. I want to stop!" Auriel awaited her doom, but when she opened her eyes, she noticed that she was levitating just above the weird liquid.
Auriel looked at her body and noticed that she was surrounded by a golden glow, no, an aura that saved her. Auriel touched the light, and it felt like, like her power. Did she do this? She had to try. "O-okay. Ehm, I want to get up again?" Just as she said so and believed in her power, she was slowly ascending toward the surface again.
Once Auriel was a few times her size above the ground, she noticed a small problem. How was she going to get down? "Ehm. Can I go down?" in an instant, the aura surrounding her disappeared. Auriel smiled until the hit the ground and frowned, showing many sharp teeth that she hasn't 't discovered yet.
Auriel sighed and straightened herself up, but she still felt a bit of pain on one of her paws. Auriel lifted one of her paws and saw a small and thin line of golden light that went across her paw. The wound glowed with a little light and healed itself in just a few seconds. Auriel was surprised by what she was capable off and smiled widely. This was so much better than her previous life!
Auriel looked around again and saw that there was still only rock and this red stuff around, so she looked somewhere else, up, to be exact. In the sky, Auriel saw many lights and even a sun or at least her mind was telling her that this is what it was called.
Auriel laid on her back and gazed into the sky. From her position, she could see so many lights, suns and even a few lines that shoot across the sky. She smiled, but then she made a weird and quiet sound that made her feel a bit lazy. Auriel closed her eyes, and before she even realized it, she fell asleep.
A Quest fulfilled and HE Came
Auriel spent the next few years exploring the world around her and trying to find ways to not only understand her situation but also tried to find someone like her, with no luck. Sadly, she only saw two biomes, the one she already created, and the dead land. After about two winters, Auriel has found, listed and names every creature of the plane biome she created.
After she completed her journey through the plane Biome, she tried to create the other landscapes, but to her misfortune, that was not how her magic worked. Auriels power was strong, but sadly, there were just two things that were a massive pain in the butt.
One, Auriel can't just snap something into existence, if she wants to let something happen, then she has to do every single step to reach said goal, the second problem was, she could barely control her power. The two penalties turned out to be a much bigger problem than the golden fox initially thought because she had to go through hundreds, if not thousands of attempts to recreated each landscape form her dream and, another thing about her, she was not almighty.
Auriel learned very fast that, even though she had a lot of mana in her disposal, she could not try more than one attempt for each landscape a day which made recreating her dream a very long task, which didn't mean she didn't enjoy it. The creatures of the Planes Biome and the later Biomes would often spend time with her during her magic lessons that may or may not end in either a dream coming true for the animals. For example, one fail caused it to make it rains berries through an exploded bush while another spectacular blew up a lifeless mountain because of charging a spell too much up.
Of course, the animals were not just there to laugh at Auriel for her many, many, many, and we can go on like this the whole day, attempts of learning or at least controlling her magic better, especially the spells that require more concentration. Sadly, her friends, were not eternal as she was. She had to say goodbye to many of her friends as they one day didn't wake up, but she also made many new friends over the many years she spent with them.
It usually too, in future Equestrian years, approximately about 100 to 200 years to create a Biome that would not fall apart in a month and would match Auriels dream which she can remember like if she was seeing it with her eyes right now. Auriel traveled all across her world and gave the gift of life to all corner of the world and explored everything that there was to see, from caves to mountains, sea, sky, and everything in between, often even without a single use of her magic.
After many thousand cold seasons or Winters as Auriel liked to call them, she finally completed her quest to recreate her dream and returned to the high mountain where everything started. Of course, Auriel could've just teleported there, which was a lot less mind strangeling than it was all those years ago, but she preferred to use light blue magic, or wind magic as she would explain it to her animalistic friends, to run through the landscapes with the speed of sound. In about an hour, she ran across the land and reached her destination, the Mountain of beginning which was more active than usual.
Auriel scratched her head when she saw the Mountain gave off a strong rainbow glow. Auriel was not sure what to do and decided to teleport on top of the mountain which caused her eyes to turn purple for a split second. Once she was on top, she took a few seconds to calm herself. Although she should be used to teleporting, it was still very uncomfortable for her.
Once her mind was clear again, she used brown magic or rather earth magic, which turned her eyes brown for a few seconds, to create a small tear in the mountain and jumped inside. With a loud thud, she landed on the bottom of the cave which emitted a loud echo that traveled across the whole dark cave.
Auriel used fire magic to create a fiery orb that floated beside her head and illuminated a big chunk of the cave that she now would explore. Luckily, she didn't need to drink, sleep, eat or do anything else that a normal creature would, besides maybe the sleeping part as it was just too good to give up.
After a few hours of exploring the cave, Auriel was about to just get out of the cave and ask her animal friends to help her investigate the cave when she suddenly spotted a faint rainbow glow. With happiness, she charged towards the light. Funny thing, it Auriel about two years to properly walk which mostly didn't work because her body was just not used to her new limbs.
Auriel walked around the corner and was amazed at the sight that was in front of her. In front of her was a dust corn sized, maybe even smaller, rainbow-colored orb that illuminated a massive room in the cavern that looked like the not reflecting side of her first creation, a crystal mirror. Auriel was genuinely amazed to find a cave made out of Crystal, a kind that she only found to or three times on the whole world.
Suddenly the many crystals and crystal chunks broke off the walls, ceiling, and ground and shoot towards the small rainbow orb. Hundreds, if not thousands of shards were consumed by the colorful anomaly, causing it to grow until it reached the size and form of an acorn, before shotting towards a wall and crashing through it which tremendous speed and force.
Auriel was able to dodge all of the Crystal, but the force of the mysterious object breaking though created a huge dust cloud which forced Auriel to crouch on the ground and cover her eyes. Once the dust dispelled after a few moments, Auriel stood rose and stood on her four paws again and stared at the massive hole that the glowing crystal acorn created.
Auriel patted the dust off her fur and said. "I am not going to eat acorn for a while."
After Auriel cleaned her fur to the point that one might see a bronze or a very light orange colored fox. Auriel then walked up the hole and saw that the overpowered seed landed in the vast forest, as she called it, and created an enormous crater from the looks of it.
Auriel pouted loudly as she realized that she had spent the entire day in this cave. And in the end, she only had her fur become dirty and let a dangerous acorn create a hole in her beautiful forest that was also the Biome that cost most of her neves to build a landscape that was so tightly packed with life and not it falls apart.
Auriel jumped out of the hole and used her magic to make her float through the air and then used her air magic to soar through the skies much faster which colored one of her eyes to light blue while the other turned purple. In just a few minutes, she reached the crash site and was already greeted by many rows of animals that gathered around the magical object.
Auriel said out loud in a motherly voice."I know that this thing is scary, but I will take care of it. Please go back to your homes until I deal with the"
The animals, both carnivore and herbivores, trusted Auriels judgment and walked away, giving her the space she needed to deal with the problem. After the crowd left Auriel and the alien objects, she walked down slightly burned dirt and stone ledge until she reached the bottom of the hole which formed into a cave as the root roof kept the surface from falling down.
Auriel walked up to the glowing acorn and looked skeptical at it before sitting down and thinking of what to do.
'A magical Acorn appeared in the mountain where I got a weird dream on how to form the land, and now that I completed it, it charged itself up and created a huge hole in the precious forest. What comes next? I plant the rainbow crystal acorn, and a rainbow Crystal tree grows?'
Suddenly the weird Acron glowed and phased through the ground. After a few seconds, cracks appeared in the stone, and a small Crystal sapling grew.
'I should really stop asking for things I don't want in my thoughts.'
Auriel looked at the Crystal sapling and began to think of what to do with it. She, of course, could just leave and let it mind its own business, but on the other paw, this was a something new. Auriel loved exploring and finding out about weird stuff like the odd red creature that lived underwater and looked like a big red able with eight arms that would always try to spray a strange black goo at her.
Auriel shock her and thought about the current situation. The sapling was deep underground which meant that it would be tough for it to get sunlight and water, two problems that could quickly be dealt with. Auriel first closed the entrance to the cave which caused the entire cave to fall into darkness.
The only light source that illuminated the cave was the sapling itself. Auriel sat down and closed her eyes as she tried to use a trick she learned a long, long time ago. The transmogrification of matter, a technique that helped her create most of the Biomes and her first creation, a crystal mirror.
The process of transmogrification was simple, yet highly complex. You take something and turn it into something else, easy, just that that isn't transmogrification for Auriel. Auriel could change an object into something else, but there were rules, that could be worked around with a lot of care.
For example, gold does not become leaders, Lead doesn't want to become wood, wood does not wish to become diamond, Diamond does not want to become silver, these were rules. Luckily for Auriel's plan, she didn't need to put all too much care into it as Crystal, at least the kind she was going to work with, were mostly straightforward.
Auriel concentrated on the rock as she didn't want to cause another Crystal incident like the one that happened in the snowy lands far up in the north. Auriel shocked her head again and continued to concentrate, not that it was very hard, but she didn't want to turn the surface into a crystal land.
The grounds texture was slowly changing into something warm and smooth. The rock and dirt were slowly shifting into something else, and it was a unique crystal. Suddenly the entire cave was illuminated with the light of dozens of gems that were embedded in the walls, ceiling, and the very ground, and to make things look even better, she created crystal lines that looked like roots.
Drip
Drip
Drip
Auriel smiled as the Crystal was already fulfilling their purpose. There were three kinds of Crystal in the cave. Sun Crystal, gems that would create a sun-like light, water Crystal that would use the magic energy that flows through all, especially nature to generate water and lastly there was the most crucial kind of Crystal. Armor Crystal or rock Crystal was a very stable kind of Crystal that was very hard to break for all living creatures besides her and would act as a protective shield to protect the chamber.
The Crystal Sapling glowed as if it was trying to show it's happiness and its thankfulness.
Auriel smiled and said."No need to thank me... What is your name? Would you mind if I would call you... Ehm, sorry, I haven't given anyone a name in a long time."
Auriels ears perked up when she could've sworn she could hear a faint melody that sounded very soft and harmonic.
Auriel chuckled and said."So, you want to be named after harmony? Wait, what is that thing again? Doesn't matter. From now you will be known as The Tree of Harmony, or Sapling of Harmony? Do you Mind If I call you Toh or Harms? Maybe Crystal? Sorry, I am just so excited to have an actual conversation with someone that does not just respond with nods and sounds that I have to guess what they mean."
Toh radiated a soothing glow that made Auriel a bit sleepy. Not that the tree was trying to knock her out, but Auriel was already very drained after adding the last few details on the previous Biome she created, the high mountains. Auriel walked directly in front of Toh and curled into a ball before falling asleep with a big smile on her face as something was telling her that her life would only become better from today.
This Night
In a dark night, on a world that was now filled with light, many lights fell on it, but something was wrong with this new entities. The Lights, although should've been separated from another, were a single being. The creature arrived on the world with a loud explosion that caused all wildlife to run away.
Out of the crater floated out a creature that could be best described as a monster. This Creature smiled madly at the cowering inhabitants of the lands as many sick ideas idea entered his mind. The Creature suddenly began to chuckle as the very ground was slowly forming into something else.
"Looks like it's time for a bit of fun!"
Back to Auriel
Auriel slept silently this night and would've probably slept another week if nothing would've woke her, but fate wasn't so kind. Toh gave out a very high pitch noise that made even some Crystal in the walls vibrated and caused Auriel to jump up with such force that she hit the ceiling.
Auriel said in a serious tone."Okay, okay, I am awake. Seriously little one, if you want to do something then just ask, I am not sleeping through an exploding volcano."
Auriel grumbled under head breath as she stood up and stretched her body like a cat would do which emitted a few loud pops. Although Auriel was immune to most physical lasting damage, she was not immune and had to work a bit with her body sometimes.
Harms would not stop with the annoying sound, so Auriel sighed loudly before walking towards a wall before using her magic to split open the wall into two and create a stone staircase to the surface. Auriel then made her way back up and slowly closed the entrance again with each step she too.
When she was on the surface again, her morning laziness and her happiness shattered. Auriel rubbed her eyes and checked if she was not asleep, but it was not a dream, it was a nightmare. The Once beautiful planes that she created were nothing more what they once were.
Where once green covered the land from where you stood until the horizon, was now a soft mass of gray and purple squares, the trees that would give fruits now gave out black metal balls with three holes in them and something that looked like crystal shards.
The Sky was purple, and the clouds were red from which rained a green liquid that made the plants and animals melt while their screams filled the air. Fire rained down from the sky while mountains were singing scary music and hills looked like they were made form a sweet-smelling substance. The very sun and moon were flying through the sky with high speed, and the stars blinked in various colors.
Tears of sadness leaked out of her eyes when she fell on her rear. Auriel was not even responding to what was happening around her, nor did she notice anything anymore. Silence reigned in her mind while staring into the lands she created with all her heard, the friends she made with happiness, the life she builds with all those days, destroyed.
Suddenly a white sphere was slowly fading into existence a few feet in front of her before it burst with a white flash. When the light died down, it revealed a monster. Auriel knew this energy very well but didn't even flinch, her mind was already on the edge of falling apart.
The Creature looked like if someone sewed many animals together, she didn't know many of these parts, but some she recognized. It had a deer antler on the right, a blue goat horn on the left one long fang, different-sized pupils, a snake tongue, a goat beard, and bushy white eyebrows. Its arms were unknown to her but knew that it had a goat leg and a bat wing. The scariest thing about this thing though was that the energy was from many different lights, melted into a monster.
The monster said with a sly grin that revealed many rows of sharp teeth."Uhh~! Looki, What we got here! I have never seen anything like you miss and I am sure you would make a great scarf. Uh, we are my manners. I am Discord, the spirit of Chaos and I must thank you for creating such a nice little place for me to play with. Sadly, I have no need for you... at least not alive."
Discord smiled as he could see the despair in the foxes eyes before stretching out his eagle claw to the left and snapping. Auriel was lifted into the air by an alien force and levitated towards him. Discord smile fell as this already was getting boring and pulled back his lion paw. Just as he was about to slash, the Fox freed herself from his aura and pounced him and rammed her teeth into his neck.
Discord screamed from the pain. In all of his years, not a single being was able to hurt him, but bitting him was something entirely new. Discord pulled his eagle claw in panic back and shoot it towards Auriel. Auriel only saw red, and when the fist collided with her abdomen, she shot a slash towards Discords right eye. When the fist was slowly forcing it's way deeper into Auriels inerts, she used dark blue magic to turn herself into water that landed on the ground, many feet away, without any damage and formed a puddle. After a moment, Auriels body reformed itself first by forming the water back into her original form and then replacing the water with her body parts.
Discord screamed in pain before snapping his fingers to heal most of the damage, but of course, there was only so few, Chaos magic could do to repair something. Discord looked at Auirle with his steal right eye and saw no longer desperation in her, but pure feral rage. There was little of a sentient creature at the moment.
Discord pouted loudly and said in an angry tone."So, you think you are funny? WRONG! I am the only joker here! Someone get the hook!"
Out of nowhere, a long wooden hook came from somewhere right of Auriel and tried to get her, but Auirels rage was too much to let something funny happen. Suddenly Auriel combusted into flames, turning the hook and everything surrounding her to ash, before charging at Discords.
Discord huffed before snapping his fingers and creating many weird looking things that will later be known as Chainsaws, a lot of them, before sending them all at once at Auriel.
Auriel was not intimated int he slightest bit, no, she only felt fury. This monster killed everything she worked so hard for, her friends, her land, and now it was trying to end her.
When the Chainsaws came close to Auriel, she jumped in the air, evading most of the tools by losing a few hairs and forming a vast fireball, from the fire surrounding her, and sending it towards Discord.
Discord pulled out a big two-handed water gun, whose makers name rhymed to Derf, and shot a powerful beam of lemonade at the fire. When the lemonade hit the center of the fireball, it split into eight smaller fireballs and flew past him. Discord grinned widely, but his small victory was only short-lived as the eight fireballs made a sharp curve and landed all in the chimeric creatures back.
Discord almost tumbled but was able to keep him steady by levitating himself a few feet into the air. He did not look happy in the slightest bit and cupped both of his hand in front of him together. Slowly a small orb of chaos magic was forming in his hands. The unstable ball that looked like someone threw several dozens of different colors in a mixer stopped growing when it reached a size of 20 centimeters.
Discord smiled while trying to hide his exhaustion."You- You think You will beat me that easily!? Y-You are wrong! I will finish you right here and right now!"
Discord then threw the orb with high speed at Auriel who did not move a muscle, but shortly before the sphere hit her, her eyes glowed purple for a split second.
The orb of chaos magic exploded with hugely destructive power, tearing a line of destruction through the land that Auriel forged. The underground, the earth, sky and see where not spared from the power and not even a mountain survived in its path. After several seconds, the smoke was slowly lifting and revealed Auriel unharmed. Discord rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but the suddenly the wolf well apart to dust.
Discord shouted happily."HA! Discord rules, Furry drools!!!"
"I think you are quiet mistaking, monster."
Discord turned around, and his happiness fell when he saw the fox glaring at him with a murderous look. Auriel cracked her neck before slowly rising up and standing on two feet. Auriels eyes both glowed strongly with white light and lifted one of her paws in the sky.
"I figured out why you were so strong in the begging and you gave it out on your own, sealing your fate. When you said that you were the Spirit of Chaos, I already knew what made you strong, so I waited and played around until you used up all your power by dancing around and acting like you didn't hurt me, which is wrong. You were the only creature to ever hurt me, and I hope you will be the only creature I will ever have to hurt because now... now there is literally just you and me, and I will make sure you pay for what you have done to my friends."
Discords eyes widened when he realized something terrible. He has squeezed this land of its chaotic power too fast, and now there is not even a single beast left to terrorize to gain more chaotic power!
Auriel said in a cold and dark tone"You have lost the moment you came here and now you will lose. The life around you supporting me while you are now truly alone."
The chaotic sky was slowly lifting and was replaced with thousands of dark clouds that blocked the celestial objects and everything above. The Clouds suddenly thundered with power and dozens of lightning rained from above towards Auriel, but instead of hurting her, she collected them in her paw. After a few moments, the extreme amounts of electricity has been gathered and formed into a spear sized lighting that looked like could turn an entire forest to ash.
Discord snapped his fingers continuously to try and find a way to maybe gather last the bits of chaos magic, but there was nothing left, or at least his body wouldn't let him use any more. His eyes widened when he could feel happiness form all those that came before the fox, but failed and were consumed by him.
Discord begged."H-hey Fox woman, there is no need to act so rashly, I mean, It's me! Discord. Your old pal, you wouldn't just sap me, right?"
Auriel snarled when she heard this. Without wasting a second, she pulled back the supercharged lighting and shot it towards Discord with 2/3 speed of light.
When the lightning hit discord was hit with the lighting, he screamed in agony like a banshee as his entire body was being toasted. While Discord screamed, many lightning bolts shot of him and destroyed full mountains.
Auriel put all of her paws back on the ground and slowly walked towards Discord without losing eye contact even once. In a few moments, she stood in front of him and taped him with her tail against his chest, stopping the lightning and making him fall to the ground.
Auriel put a paw on his chest and glared down at him."You lost the moment you came here, monster. I have spread order and live across this world for over ten thousand winters, becoming stronger and smarter while you acted like a newborn deer, always looking for something new to toy with until you hit your snout. I hate killing, I truly hate it, but you... you took away everything I loved and so will I do the same to you."
Only a faint sound escaped Discord burned lips. Auriel looked into the creature's eyes, and she could see how much he was begging for mercy even after all he did.
Auriel was breathing hard jumping on her back paws and slamming her front paws into his chest, breaking his rips before ramming her snout into his flesh and tearing through it like butter. In just a heartbeat, Auriel found his heart, grabbed it with her teeth and tore it out with one quick motion. Blood splattered everywhere and coated her fur with his red life essence.
The moment Discord heart was gone, he was slowly falling apart into more spark than Auriel has ever seen, but without a second thought, she absorbed all of it.
After Discord was fully absorbed, Auriel's rage burst was slowly wearing out. Only now she realized what happened, what she just has done. Auriel was scared, not of Discord or what now would happen, but of herself. She looked around and saw that the last few of Discord's creation created stopped exiting and revealed a dead land, not the ground she saw when she arrived, but a genuinely dead land.
Auriels eyes began to tear up and was close to crying, but then her eyes fell on something horrifying. She was looking directly at the mirror she created at the very begging. There was no longer a happy Fox in front of her, but a blood coated murder, littered with bits of burned meat.
Auriel let her hang low as her eyes glowed one more time with magic as the ground formed a hole in which she slowly walked in. She curled up into a small ball and closed the entrance again.
The golden Fox would spend a long time under the earth, alone, while believing that the hope for life, that everything alive was over, but she sadly forgot the one thing that survived Discord's wrath, the small sapling she planted.
A new world and a new life
So many years, have I already mourned over the loss of what I loved and cared for. So many years since I was scared of myself, of what a beast I could become, and yet, there is something that is telling me that I should not give up. That's just dumb, listening to myself was what got me into this mess in the first place.
'What does it matter if I mourn or not? I have been in this hole for longer than I could think, but it has to be long if even dense granite is starting to crumble to sand, dust, and ash.'
"Hmpf."
Auriels ears straightened themselves when she thought that she heard something, which was impossible as everything was dead, but so was the land before she came. Did a new Light come down on this land? If yes, then maybe she could have a second chance! No, this must have been just a mind game of my own mind telling me to do something. Suddenly she felt as if someone applied pressure on her. No, it was real! She had to get up!
Auriel was slowly standing up which not only caused the ground above her to slowly crack and crumble to dust but also made her back sound like someone was rolling a very heavy barrel across a street made out of bubble wrap very fast. All the sand that lied on top of her was gliding off her fur in seconds as she stood at her full height once again.
Auriel looked looking as fast around as her rusted neck let her do, but she saw nothing. Sand, a few dead plants and a few dead animal bones where all that adorned the dead land that went as far as Auriel while the burning sun made sure that nothing would change this palace.
Auriel sat down on her but and said in a sad tone and a sigh."It must have been my mind playing another trick on me. I am still alone in this dead world."
Suddenly a pair of small green eyes looked deep into Auriels eyes and said in a high pitched and cute voice."Hewwo, Mrs. Wolf, what's is your name?"
The weird creature slowly separated itself from Auriel and jumped on the ground in front of the golden Fox. Auriel stared at the Female bug-like Equine for a few moments and saw that it also had a pair of insectoid wings, a small and slightly jacked horn, green hair and tail, a lot of holes in her legs and Auriel could see the creature's ribs. Auriel suddenly began to scream and hugging her."AAAAA-aren't you the cutest little thing I have ever seen!"
Auriel hugged the little creature for several seconds with all her fluffiness with closed eyes as she not only realized how adorable a creature can be but also because she found live, sentient live that she never could create! It was the best day ever for Auriel.
After a few moments, Auriel slowly put the Equine down and was surprised at what she saw. All the holes had been fixed, and she couldn't even see the ribs anymore, Auriel now also saw that it didn't have black fur, but shiny black carapace.
The Bug-like Creature burped loudly and fell on her back while rubbing her stomach. It said with her childish voice."Wow, I have never been so full! Thank you miss... Ehm... Wolfy?"
Auriel chuckled and said with a motherly smile."Auriel. My name is Auriel, little child, and I am not a wolf. I am a Fox, an ancient one and, as far as I know, the only one of my kind. So, now you know what I am, but I still don't know what you are, would you mind telling me little one?"
The Female Equine rolled on her stomach. She said while closing her eyes."I am, and I am a Changeling... Huh? Are you not gonna run away, be scared or shout monster?"
Auriel looked at Chrysalis eyes for a few moments while not understanding why the young one would say something like that. Auriel said."Why would anyone say this to such a cute little child like yourself? Besides, why should I say this? I am a huge scary Fox with many sharp teeth, claws and magic powers with which can do a few tricks, I think I am a bit scarier."
Chrysalis showed Auriel a big smile while exposing her fangs. She said."Yay, I made a friend today! Wait, you can do magic? I never heard of a Fox casting magic, or anything else than a pony or a Changeling using it? Can you show me?!"
Auriel chuckled and said."Sure, young Chrysalis. I shall show you a bit of magic."
Auriel was so happy that she finally had someone to talk with, maybe they are even more of these changelings, she also said something about Ponies, perhaps they are nice too?
Auriel shook her head before lifting her right paw into the air. Suddenly one Auriels eye colors changed, her left one was blue while the other was green, before she tapped on the ground beside her. The sand in a vast radius glowed with a blue and green light. Slowly was the dead mass forming into blue, fresh water while green grass, bushes, flowers, and trees grew around a large oasis.
Chrysalis looked at the sight in awe. She never saw anyone cast so powerful magic to create anything so quickly. Her mother once told her of how there were Changelings who spent their whole life learning about magic and never came anywhere close.
Chrysalis said happily."WOW! You are so cool! Can you teach me a bit of magic too? I can't even lift a pebble and all I get from I teacher is that I will one day do it, but I should first study more of those old dusty books. Hmpf, all they give me is a headache!" Chrysalis ended her sentence with a big pout.
Auriel tried her best to not tackle-hug cute little Crysalis which was very hard considering that she was so small in comparison, she almost fit in her paws! Auriel thought if it was a good idea, but then she looked with those big pleading eyes at her.
Auriel sighed in defeat and said enthusiastically."Fine, but I want you to not share my lessons with anyone without my knowledge, ok?"
Chrysalis fluttered with her wings and flew straight at Auriels face and grabbed it with her hooves somehow while squeaking loudly."Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-thank-you You won't regret it!!!"
Auriel smiled while slowly pushing Crysalis back on the ground with her soft paws and said happily."Ok, how about you first show me what you can already do, ok? You said that you couldn't levitate even a pebble, but since it is the easiest spell because it almost doesn't even land in an elemental category like magic, I want you to show me so I can understand the problem. Ok?"
Crystals nodded happily and looked around for a few moments before smiling and walking up to a tiny pebble. Chrysalis stared at the little stone with determination before sling her eyes and did what looked like she trying to squeeze out her organs while her face was slowly turning green.
Auriel sighed and tapped Chrysalis on the head which broke her concentration, Auriel said with a motherly smile and a sweet tone."Dear Chrysalis, I don't know how you Changelings cast your spells, but I know that magic does not work like that, here, let me help you."
Auriel made a few steps towards Chrysalis and sat down behind her. Auriel then gently put her paws on Crysalis left and right side of her head and did a slow circling motion. Auriel said softly."Close your eyes, forget all that is not your magic or me, listen to my voice."
Chrysalis nodded and closed her eyes before exhaling loudly. She concentrated only on Auriel's voice and her magic where ever that was.
Auriel continued to give instructions."Look deep inside of you, to the deepest part of your very being, search there until you find something soft, warm, fuzzy and almost liquid."
Chrysalis nodded and looked deep inside of herself, but found nothing for several moments until she felt something insider an empty void, something that matched Auriels descriptions. Chrysalis said happily."I-I think I found it! But, what am I going to do now?"
Auriel smiled and said softly."Feel the magic inside of you, grab it and lead it to your magic organ, or wherever your kind casts magic, once you have done it, all future spells will be much easier."
Chrysalis nodded and did as Auriel said which was much harder than it sounded, but she was determined to not give in. She slowly pulled the magic to her horn which took her several attempts as the magic would often slip from her grasp. After the fifth attempt, she managed to do it and could feel a warm aura encasing her horn.
Auriel smiled as she could already see a weak, neon green aura surrounding little Chrysalis small horn. Auriel told the last steps for casting Chrysalis first spell."Picture the pebble in your mind, see it, feel it and think what it should do. Don't command your magic, but don't be too soft either, be determined and let your Will have control over reality."
Chrysalis nodded and concentrated to the best of her abilities while clenching her eyes and teeth and making a low humming noise. Suddenly, Crysalsi eyes were opened by Auriels paws, and her eyes widened even further when she saw that the pebble was floating in the air while being surrounded by a neon green aura.
Auriel looked directly at Chrysalis face and tilted her head to the right while smiling happily. Auriel said."See? It wasn't that hard, was it?" Auriels happiness was slowly falling apart when she saw that tears were building Crysalis eyes. Auriel hugged the little Changeling and said motherly."Please don't cry, little one, you did it, and you should feel proud and not sad."
Crystals wished her face dry with Auriels soft paws and said happily while still having tears running down her face."I am not sad, I am happy! Every other Changeling was able to cast magic years ago, everyone but me, and no one could teach me until you came. Thank you so much!"
Auriel hugged Chrysalis a bit stronger and curled her tail around the two of them. Auriel smiled and waited until Chrysalis calmed down while thinking of just how much better life just gotten.
Auriel asked when the sobbing stopped."Are you feeling better Chrysalis?" Auriel did know next to nothing about the new world and didn't want to make a mistake. Crysalis noded which made Auriel's smile even wider. A small idea formed in the golden Fox's mind as her eyes glowed purple for a few moments and the sweetest apple, from all the tress that just grew, levitated in front of her.
Chrysalis looked at the thing that got levitated in front of her and asked."What is this? It smells nice, but what should I do with it?"
Auriel was surprised to hear this kind of answer, but Auriel knew that she wasn't in the position to say how little wisdom some creatures possessed. She said."This, is an apple, one that can never be so good without my magic, I am sure you like it. Wait, your kind does eat other things than hugs, right?"
Chrysalis began to laugh for several moments when she heard this. Chrysalis said happily."We don't eat hugs, we eat love, sometimes other emotions too but they don't taste very good. We can eat other things, but my mama said that eating regular food is like drinking water for us."
Auriel now heard everything literally. Creatures eating emotions? That was a bizarre thing for a being to be capable of, even if this was a new strange world for her, what comes next, plants eating Changelings? Auriels hook her head and said."You should still try it, I don't have to eat at all, yet, I still like these little treats a lot."
Chrysalis nodded and took a significant bite off the apples, while chewing, her eyes suddenly widened as the flavors exploded in her mouth. Crysalis moaned silently while consuming the apple as if she hasn't anything in a thousand years.
Auriel smiled when she saw little Chrysalis reaction of eating her first apples which woken old memories of when she was just as innocent as her new friend was. Auriels eyes glowed purple for a second again and levitated another apple off the tree and happily ate it.
The two of them enjoyed the fruits so much that they sat down and spent the next few hours just chomping down fruits while Auriel was telling Crysalis a bit about herself which often made Chrysalis mouth stay wide open or caused her to spit out her mouths content surprisingly far away.
Chrysalis said with a shocked expression."You are that old!!!"
Auriel chuckled loudly and said with a smile."Well, I only realized afterward just how much time I spent as a little light which I am still not sure how much exactly, but I know that I am already a Fox for 20.000 years, so I just added a bit here and there. In the end, I just came to the conclusion that I was about 100.000 years old, but I was a long time underground so I could easily be a few millennia older, hah, how time flies by!"
When the golden Fox finished her sentence, she smiled, but this happy moment only lived very short as the very ground started to tremble. Chrysalis, fearful of the situation, hid behind Auriel who glared at a moving hill made of sand, south-west from them.
Chrysalis asked fearfully."W-what is that thing?"
Auriel pupils shrank a little, but this was not because she was scared, but because she was trying to read the unknown enemy's lifeforce, it's power and other relevant information. Auriel said quietly, almost whispering."The closest thing this creature comes after is a Giga Worm, a humongous monster that was a real problem in my days, but this one is small, tiny, maybe even just a baby compared to the beasts that ravaged the great desert. . . I wonder if this old trick still works."
The Sandpile came closer and closer until it just vanished from sight, but Auriel was no fool to believe that this silence would give them any safer. Suddenly a massive round maw, filled with hundreds of rows of sharp teeth jumped out of the sand, towards our two adventurers, to consume them.
Auriel reacted with the speed of lightning as her eyes turned red and a small, yet extremely fast expanding fireball just a few inches above Auriels head. In just a split second, the fireball shot towards the beast entered its mouth and nothing.
Chrysalis, scared for her life, buried her face in Auriels tale to not have to face death with her own eyes. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and a wave of fire erupted from the beast's mouth, catapulting the beast backward.
The Beast landed with a loud thud on the ground, smoke coming out of its mouth and steam out of the rest of its body while burn mark covered most of its body.
Chrysalis, after not feeling death for several seconds, opened one of her eyes, only to see something that made her other eye open as well in shock. A colossal sandworm, kings, and nightmares of the desert, was laying there, taken down with barely any effort. The Changelings look wandered up and saw that Auriel was smiling.
Chrysalis asked shocked."I-Is it dead?" this answer made Auriels smile fall and was replaced with a big frown and possibly a bit of pain.
Auriel said with a neutral expression."I do not kill because of fun, or because I want to eat or any other reason unless there is no other way. The spell I used was called 'Fire Bomb,' and as the name suggests, it's a highly explosive flame eruption that can cause extreme burning if done right. As for the Worm, I recognized it's kind and found out that it was a direct descendant of a Giga Worm. Back then, the land's underground was filled to the brim with lava, so many creatures that lived underground evolved to be able to receive fire immunity. Although this one had a lot of it still in it, it was still shocked to the core to feel the feeling of searing Fire once again like it's ancestors would feel every day. I would guess that it will have recovered from those burns in an hour or two, but we should get away, the Oasis is attracting predators. Since I have no Idea of the land, is there anywhere you want to go?"
Chryalsis mouth stood wide agape when her mind was filled with so much ancient knowledge that she . . . Yawned loudly. When Auriel finished her sentence, Chrysalis looked bit sad and expressed her emotions in an equally sad tone."I want to go home, back to Mommy."
Auriels ears folded to the back of her head. Auriel knew precisely what it was like to search for someone like her, but this was a bit different. Having something taken from you makes you a lot sadder than never having something. Auriel lifted her paw slowly and ruffled Chrysalis's mane a bit before saying with a motherly voice and smile."There is no need to be sad, little Chrysalis. Just tell me where to go, and we will be at your home in no time."
Chrysalis smiled once again and asked with big hope-filled eyes."Really?" Aureil nodded with a hint of determination. Chrysalis said while pointing to the north."I was outside the hive, playing a bit when a strong sandstorm blew me away for a long time. It will take ages to fly back to the hive."
Auriel was not bothered by long distances as she could run around the world in just an hour if not too many mountains were in the way. Auriel said with a slightly cocky smile."Oh, we won't be flying, we will be running very fast."
Before Chrysalis ask how this would be faster than flying, Auriel levitated Chrysalis on her back and created a small golden shield bubble so the small Changeling would not fall off. Auriel head slowly descended while her rear was lifted high in the sky before both of her eyes glowed with a light blue glow before she shot toward the north with such force that half of the oasis was buried in sand and the sound of shattering glass rang through the entire desert.
Chrysalis's eye widened when she saw the shoot past her like a blur and was fascinated just how fast Auriel was running. Auriel knew that the first time of running this fast is breathtaking and decided to make thing even more interesting by jumping up high into the air, almost reaching the clouds, and soaring through the sky.
Chrysalis said in awe."Wow! I have never been so high up in the sky! Wait, I can see the hive from up here!"
Auriel looked forward, and her expectations were not fulfilled in the slightest. She expected some kind of den, cave, nest or anything else, but what was in front of her was a humongous spire that scratched the sky, filled with hundreds of holes in the dead rock.
Auriel asked."Ehm, where is your home, little Chrysalis? I just see a very scary looking mountain."
Chrysalis answered with a bit of giggling."No, dummy, that is my home, and it's not scary when you get to know it better."
'Sigh, why do I get the feeling I will regret this. I already entered many homes of creatures, true, those were not animals, but still, they most likely won't like my presents and based of the looks of changelings, I have no doubt that they have a very similar mind like ants when it comes to intruders.'
Auriel shook her head when she realized the ground was coming closer and braced herself for the impact. Like a meteor, Auriel and Chrysalis crashed into the sand unharmed by anything. The golden Fox dispelled the golden shield bubble and walked towards the hive with Chrysalis on her back. In just a few moments, Auriel reached the outskirt of the hive, but did not expect to be greeted so 'nicely.'
A group of four in black ceratin armored Changelings descended from the sky and landed in front of Auriel, baring their fangs and giving of loud and high pitched hissing sounds.
One of the Guards, clearly a Female stated sternly."Be gone creature! We won't let thy endanger our subject with thy animalistic hunger!"
Auriel raised an eyebrow and said calmly."I have never eaten a single creature in my life, I am a vegetarian, and just so you know, just because I look like a beast does not mean I am one."
The jaws of all Changeling Guards dropped when they heard the creature talk in an elementary, but still polite manner, even stating that it was not going to eat any Changeling.
A male Changeling stepped forwards and asked cautiously."And how do we know that you are not lying? How do we know that once you enter the Hive that you won't attack our mourning Queen?!"
Suddenly a new voice was heard from Auriels back as a familiar young Changeling hoped om Auriel's back and stood between Auriel and the other Changelings."Stop! She is not eating anyone, she is nice."
The third Guard rushed in front of the group and bowed so fast that his head hit the sandy ground with a loud thud. The Changeling, clearly a Female said."Y-you Majesty, you returned! But how we saw you being carried miles away, how have you returned to us? Wait, why do you look so healthy?"
'Majesty? What is that and why are they so scared in front of little Chrysalis? I feel like a little girl did not tell me everything about her.'
Chrysalis explained proudly."This is Auriel, the golden Fox, and she gave me more love than I had in my whole life, taught me how to finally use magic, protected me from a huge Sand Worm and brought me home! So, I don't want you to treat her bad."
The Last Guard walked in front of the group and looked exactly like the other Guards and the Chrysalis, although he was a bit bigger and better armored. What Auriel also just realized was that Chrysalis had eyes like her while the Guards eyes looked like the one a fly has.
The Big Changeling Guard."In the name of Queen Chitin and the safe word of princess Chrysalis, you are hereby allowed to enter the hive, as long as you behave."
'Princess? What is going on here with these weird names?'
Chrysalis tugged on one of Auriels paws and said impatiently."Come One! We don't want to keep mother waiting any longer, do we?!" Auriel could only smile at her childish attitude and decided to follow the Changeling Guards and Chrysalis towards the entrance of the hive.
Auriels ears flicked almost always as the other Changelings were watching her like a predator would look at an obese and weak prey animal, with the difference that they most likely wouldn't eat her directly. Still, now that Auriel knew just how greedy these Changelings seemed for her 'love' or whatever that seemed to be, she would not let her guard down.
'I shouldn't be so paranoid, considering that I really look scary if you consider my big sharp claws, long teeth and the fact that I was easily three to four times bigger than the big Changeling that greeted us, I would be cautious too if that thing would enter my den with my friends in it. Still . . . What did you pull me into Chrysalis?'
The first Changeling spoke in a slightly calming manner, although it disturbed Auriel more than it calmed."You should not be so stressed, it's not only going to make your fur become gray but also makes us taste your anxiety."
Auriel rolled her eyes and snorted silently before muttering."If I can't age by sitting for like one hundred thousand years in a hole then why should worrying about being surrounded by hundreds of Changelings do anything to my health."
Auriel gazed forward and saw the entrance of the Hive which was a massive hole in the wall that was partly covered in weird green goo. Aurirel shook her head and followed the Changelings deeper into the hive- Once the group entered the mysterious castle, Auriel was surprised at what she saw, not because of how overwhelming it was, but because of just how empty the halls were.
The ground, the walls, the ceiling and everything else was just plain dead rock, not even covered by the green goo. Auriel gave out a silent sigh of relief when she realized that the Changelings weren't tricking her into a trap, or at least they did a poor job as there was literally nothing of danger inside the Hive, although she did feel a very damped magic signature deep underground.
While waling deeper into the Hive, Auriel realized that they were going downward which was not very reassuring, but nothing wrong would happen, right? Auriels thoughts were ended by another look of the first Changeling, trying to tell her to not be so indelicate.
During the walk, Auriel saw many more Changelings, some bigger, some smaller, Males, Females, even some children, although, they all had something in common. They all looked like they were on the edge of starving. Auriel, of course, knew nothing of this kinds past, nor anything of the new world to be exact, so she was not sure if she should return to her 'rightful place' as the bringer of life.
After many minutes of walking through the gray and silent, a bit dry and stuffy ventilated, halls, they reached a big double door which was decorated with a lot of green goo in which was something carved that Auriel could not read.
The Big Changeling walked in front of the door and shouted."I, hiver, humbly request to meet Queen Chitin!" Just as the Big Changeling requested, the door magically opened, but Auriel was not impressed by this at all as she could see the writing in the door glow with magic.
'It seems like magic has progressed a bit since I left this world's surface, literally.'
When the door opened widely, the group was greeted with the sight of a very big, but still with Auriel compared, Changeling. The big Changeling sat on what looked like was a very fancy looking chair made out of a black rock, that looked like a bigger version of Chrysalis, but with a weird thingy on her head with three spikes and a few gems on it and her hair color is red, she stood out more than any other Changeling did. The red-haired Changeling that seemed to not even have noticed our present, but the other Changelings have seen us, and some of them went into a defensive stance.
Chrysalis ran towards the extra big Changeling while shouting continuously."Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" The big Changeling looked in front of her and jumped off the stone seat and ran towards Chrysalis as fast as her long and with many holes filled legs let her.
When the two Changelings made contact with the other, they did something similar to hugging, but it was only really their necks which touched the other. The Red Changeling said overwhelmed with happiness."My little cuddle Bug, I missed you so much! I thought you were gone, how did you. . . MONSTER!"
The red Changeling that was apparently known as Chitin charged up her horn as she glared at Auriel who looked at her with a bored expression while the Changelings surrounding her jumped and flew away. Chitin closed her eyes as a blinding beam shot towards Auriel, making her vanish from sight and forcing everyone to look elsewhere.
Chrysalis was the first one to open her eyes again and gasped when a big cloud was she could see with bits and pieces of the broken enchanted and heavily reinforced Gate. Chrysalis eyes watered when she thought her friend was gone.
"There is no need to mourn over me just yet, little Chrysalis, it takes a lot more to get rid of me!"
Suddenly two light blue dots appeared in the smoke as suddenly a strong wind appeared out of nowhere and caused all the dirt and dust to swirl in a circular motion, creating a small whirlwind. The whirling dispelled in an instant, causing all the junk to fall to the ground, forming a dirt 'o' as in the middle stood a familiar an unharmed figure with a small sly smile on her face.
Auriel explained."Your spell was strong and would've even whipped out a huge Cockroach, but it was far too widespread! You hit more of my surroundings than actually me, try to compress your spells more before releasing them, or you might hurt one of your friends."
The jaws of all Changelings hang wide open when they listened to the weird Wolf's words, everyone besides Chrysalis who rushed towards Auriel and hugged her leg. Chrysalis said with a smiled and pleading eyes to her mother."Please don't hurt her, Mother, she helped me back to the hive. Without her, I would be worm food."
'Actually you would've been perfectly fine because the Oasis attracted the worm, but let us not talk about details now.'
Chitin looked at Auriel with sad eyes and said."Did you really protect my daughter?" Auriel nodded. Chitin lowered her head and folded her ears back." I am truly sorry for attacking you, golden Wolf, I thought you were going to take my daughter away again."
Auriel smiled and levitated Chrysalis on her back before teleporting in front of Chitin and, sat down and hugged her with her fluffy paws. Chitin was surprised that the wolf would just forgive her, only seconds after she failed murder attempt.
Auriel broke the hug after a few moments and said."I am not angry about the little beam. Also, I am not a wolf, I am a Fox, although that is not important considering that I am and always was the only of my kind. Oh, and please call me Auriel."
Queen Chitin smiled, but this happy feeling was instantly replaced with shock when Auriel broke the hug, and the Queen saw that she no longer looked like a black Skelepony, but healthy again, maybe a bit thick on the hips, but still in a healthy way. The other Changelings in the room stared at their Queen too with wide open eyes and hanging jaws at the sight of seeing one being entirely feeding their ruler.
Queen Chitin mumbled quietly."But... But... But... But... How did you? How did you do that?" Queen Chitin stared at Auriel who cutely tilted her head to the right and folded her ear to the back of her head while Chrysalis tried to copy what the golden wolf was doing. Chrysalis failed and fell to the ground and gave out an audible cute pout.
Queen Chitin stared at Auriel for a few more seconds while trying to understand how it was possible until she found the only plausible explanation as no creature would be able to store that much love. Chitin then asked Auriel desperately with wide, pleading eyes."Will... Will you stay with us?"
Auriel tiled her head even a bit more until she felt like she could go rotate even further which was a bizarre feeling. Auriel asked curiously."You want me to stay here? My, you are the first one to ask me that. Ok, but only if Chrysalis wants me to stay too."
Chrysalis chirped happily."Of course, you can stay! You are my friend!"
Auriel smiled when she head this, but there was a feeling that nagged in the back of her head, so she asked a question that she had not asked in a very long time."Why exactly do you want me to stay? I am not complaining, but I am not just a cub, I am very magically skilled Fox with a lot of magical knowledge so why take the risk?"
At this point, all Changelings were staring at Auriel as the tension in the throne room spiked to the point it was almost suffocating, not even the Queen was able to break the silence. After several moments of silence, Auriel jested."Well, It's not important anyway, I am sure we can all come along without a problem. So. . . who want to eat something?"
Queen Chitin exhaled loudly when she realized that Auriel was just joking and did not become insulted, not trusting or angry, but was just playing a game, but the Queen knew that the golden Fox did not eat in the same way as the Changelings did. . . 'Wait, what does she eat?'
Queen Chitin asked politely."Auriel, may I ask what exactly you eat?"
Auriel answered slightly confused."Well, I like fruits, vegetables and stuff like that. What did you expect? Meat?" Auriel said the second part of her sentence when Chitin was listening very carefully.
Chitin smiled as she now had no need to fear to have her subjects eaten by their guest. She asked."Auriel, I know this is much to ask, but would you please help me- us to feed this Hive?"
Auriel said with a smile and enthusiastically."Of course, I always help my friends." Happiness filled the room when the Changeling hear that their food shortage could be ended, but the moment was spoiled when Auriel asked."Ehm, how do I do that?"
"I will explain everything on the way" replied Chitin. With that, Chitin leads Auriel through the halls that made her wonder just how the Queen remembered the way.
"So, how am I going to feed them? I am kind of new to this, or just too old."
"Normally, just staying near someone is enough to feed us, but sadly that is no longer an option as the Ponies are scared of us and don't let a single Changeling near any source of Love. No, we are forced to kidnap other creatures, capture them in pods and feed off them. A truly disgusting way of surviving" Replied Chitin with a slight hint of anger
"Pods? Can you show me these weird things later? I want to see what new creatures now exist and why do the Ponies hate you so much? I personally quite enjoy your kinds present. Wait, does feeding Changelings have bad side effects that they fear you?" Asked Auriel curiously
"No, if we feed off one too much, they just fall asleep, but nothing happens to them. No, the Ponies despise what we are, I mean, look at use, Auriel. We look like monsters, nightmares that feed off love, take the form of another and look like insects. I am sorry if I sound so aggressive, but so many of us died already because of these false Stories about us." replied Chitin with words that were filled with anger and sadness.
"Stop thinking about the bad past you lived through and think more about the future. With me, you apparently have more than enough food, and if I say so myself, I am quite a strong magic caster considering I alone formed this world." Replied Auriel proudly before she stunned stopped and held a paw in front of her muzzle when she realized what she just said.
"There was no deception in your words, but. . ." Chitin said, but her thought process was stopped when she was levitated into the air by the golden wolf and walked very fast towards a massive double door and entered it, before letting the Queen to the ground.
The two of them arrive in a large room that kinda looks like an enormous chamber with many chairs and tables. What those two things were, was a riddle for Auriel. Changelings were lining up along a counter with mugs made of the same black stuff the walls are made from which are filled with a pink gel-like liquid, and Auriel noticed the fluid was barely enough for a few sips.
"So, we are here, now it's time to tell your Changelings to gather so they can be feed." Auriel was showing a natural and very nervous smile at Chitin decided that now was not the time to interrogate their guest.
"My children, we have come across a being who has agreed to help feed our Hive. Please form small groups to feed as many as possible but not too many to make our guest uncomfortable," Chitin tells the currently gathered changelings.
Auriel sat down on the ground and smiled as she really likes hugs, although it was a bit weird to 'feed' so many Changelings.
It took a few minutes, and lots of confused and fearful expressions from the changelings, which are mostly directed at Auriel where more are arriving at the line goes out of the room. Chitin nodded and signalized Auriel, an okay, and she began to hug a Changeling out of each group while the rest was feeding off the hug somehow as a few streams of pink light flew to their mouths.
Auriels POV
For many hours I happily feed the Changelings although some were a lot shyer than other while others were scared of me. I understood that many of them were not used to my presence, but still, I had a lot of fun while it lasted. Sadly, after a few hours and about five-hundred feed changelings, I was no longer able to feed them. The ones I couldn't feed were disappointed, but I told them I just need to rest for a bit.
I realized that love was like mana, you could cast it as long as you had it, but once it was empty, you had to wait until I was done with resting. It was exactly like that with the love energy as I could feel it slowly building up again after a few moments no Changeling hugged me.
Chitin is sitting beside me with a thoughtful expression.
"I something on your mind? I know that expression of yours, it's when you are thinking a lot in a short time span, am I wrong?" I ask her
She sighs and looks at the changelings who are talking to each other excitedly. "You're the first being who's shown us kindness, despite our, no, my less than friendly actions when I first saw you," she tells me.
I smile and sit down too."I know exactly how you feel. Back then, I tried my best too to care for my friends. I did some terrifying things to keep them safe, sometimes even things that made me be scared of myself. Mostly it was small decisions like trying to solve problems, but there was one time I lost myself, and I have not forgiven myself since then."
Chitin looked at me with curious and sympathetic eyes."And how did you get over it?"
Auriel shook her head and showed a small and kind smile"I never did, but that does not mean that I have to look always look back. What we did in our past is what makes us, well, us."
She smiles, and after a few minutes, I feel good enough to continue.
After feeding every changeling here, which took a few more hours, Chitin then escorts me to a vast room with a large double bed made out of moss, a smaller bed made out of the same material and what looked like was a thick patch of grass and mos on the ground. I let my eyes wander around the room for a bit more and saw a few weird wooden constructs and. . . I could not believe my eyes.
"My old Mirror! I thought that thing was gone forever!" I replied as I teleported in front of the slightly worn mirror that was still as clean when I made it.
"You made it? We found it a few miles south from the hive in the desert. I always wondered how it was made because it radiated magic." said Chitin as she walked next to me and looked into the mirror.
Suddenly the reflection changed from Chitin and me standing in a room to when I first arrived in the new world. The first few seconds were me running into the mirror, which made Chitin giggle and gating into it. The reflection then showed me when I created the grassland, the mountain that rose when I slept and even glimpses of the desert biome far in the back.
"I can't believe it. I always thought everything was lost." I said while my eyes watered a bit from the good memories, but this happy mood was destroyed when the scenery changed.
The mirror's reflection now showed when the land fell into the hands of chaos. My eyes widened when I saw what would come. I tried to stop it from continuing playing in attempting to use magic and bash against it, but it did nothing. I told Chitin to go and not see this, but she did not answer.
In the end, Chitin saw all, while I could only stare of what a monster I became and a bit off how much power I absorbed from the abomination, would that mean I was now stronger than back then? I must be, DIscord could've just squashed me like a fly if it was not for my land that barely gave him any energy.
"Chitin I-" I tried to say something but was cut off when she put one of her hooves on my shoulder.
"I saw what happened and you acted right. This thing hurt you for no reason, and you only defended yourself, there is no need to feel bad about it." Replied Chitin with a kind smile.
"But, I murdered him when he was laying on the ground, without mercy." I countered with folded ears.
"But if you did not kill him, then he would've returned and fought you again one day. Just think what he would've done if you were the one to ay on the ground, do you think he would've spared you?" Said Chitin. I shook my head, and she added."See? Now stop the bad mood already, it been a long time as far as I know."
"I really don't deserve you and chrysalis," I said with a small and slightly sad smile.
"Neither do we. Oh, before I forget, I got a small present for you," replied Chitin while walking towards a weird wooden construct, pulling out an odd empty piece of wood and taking something out of it.
Chitin came back after a few moments and was holding a weird object in her magic aura. It was an odd black empty thin circle with a small piece of metal attached to it. On the metal plate was the weird thing that Chitin wore on her head with an insect wind on each side of the hat.
"This is a collar, it's normally for animals and pets, but I think we can make an exception. I used to have a pet Timberwolf when I was a filly, but I always treated him like a real friend. With this, you will be officially seen as a part of this hive and part of the royal Changeling family of this hive. Do you accept my gift, Auriel?" explained Chitin happily.
"I-I don't know what to say. I-I never received anything from anyone, but, I am thankful for it, my friend." I said shyly, and a bit nervous as the collar floated towards my neck before being put around my neck. I turned my head towards the mirror and saw that it looked very nice on me and smiled like I never did before, it was like I never felt so happy in my long life. I finally found someone just like me.
"I thank you, Chitin. After so many years, I have finally found someone like me, not as in looking like me, but liking me, and me liking you in the same way. I thank you and Chrysalis who is spying on us so much!" I said happily
"Aww, not fair! I was hiding so well!" Said Chrysalis as she crawled out of her hiding place under the bed before seeing the collar around my neck and hugging my legs.
"It seems like my daughter is happy too about your decision. We can discuss anything else tomorrow, I believe the day was exciting enough," said Chitin.
With that said, I curled herself into a small ball on the moss and grass patch on the ground which was surprisingly comfortable. Chrysalis then flew on top of me and decided to use me as a much better and fluffier bed which I did not mind as she was very light.
In my last few moments, before I fell asleep, I could've sworn I saw Chitin who smiled at the sight of me being a bed while silently squeaking in happiness.
'I guess this is my new life, no, an actual life. I am already starting to like it.'
And with my last thought said in my mind, I fell asleep.
Author's Note
I hope you will like how this story progress. Please like, or dislike, and comment if you are interested in what will happen next.
Getting used to the hive life
I stare into the nothingness as a black void surrounds me with its cold atmosphere, no sign of anything as far as I could see. I stare down and saw my body, a fox with golden fur, sitting on a small island made of gray rock.
The scenery changes, the left side turned into something that could be described as chaos. A land where no rules exist and everything shows hints of madness, a place Discord could only create, but without the nightmarish sights, it looked more like fun than terror, as the very, very weird animals didn't seem to be frightened.
The right side changed into the land I created, and that could be best described as order, but there was no 'real' live anywhere in sight. There were just plants, and other things that laid adorned the ground, forming my biomes.
I stared at the two paths for a few moments before rage starts to invade my every thought. I screamed with anger and hatred, almost malice."You think this is funny?! I am not just some toy you can play with and force me to chose this or that! I am my own master, and I will never listen to whatever you say again! Only I, myself, will choose my life from now on! Begone!"
Just as I said it, the scenery changed back into its original blackness, leaving me in this cold void, alone. I swallowed dryly as this place, this place was where I dwindled for so long that not even I know how much time passed. I was scared and intimidated.
"Ehm. . . I want to go back to Chrysalis. Please, I like it there." I said with a lot less bravery this time, but my words were still heard as reality was starting to blur.
Real World
My eyes slowly opened, my eyelids were so heavy, I could barely open them. I haven't slept so bad in a long time, yet, I haven't slept in a very long time.
I looked around the dark room in which I laid. I looked around and tried to see if I could figure out anything, but most things were hidden behind the darkness. I lifted my head and saw that Chrysalis no longer laid on top of me, but instead, cuddled with her mother.
'oh, how much I envy you changelings, especially you, Chrysalis, to be able to live with some of your kind, to always have someone to talk to, not like me, who is alone on this world. No, that's not true, I still have them, and that is all that matters.'
I laid my head back on the soft surface of this grass and moss bed and closed my eyes, to drift back into the realms of dreamless slumber.
I returned to my peaceful and dreamless dream, hours flew by in minutes and the sweet bliss of rest that my mind carved for oh so long was finally satisfied. After what felt like a few seconds of sleep, I could hear a faint voice, an unknown one too. I ignored it and continued my slumber, but my peace was not granted as I could feel a hoof, too small for Chitin, yet too big for Chrysalis, touch my fur.
I groggily opened my eyes while my pupil fastly shrank and my vision sharpened in an instant like the slash of a Bear. In front of me was a small Changeling, no, he was average sized, I was just too big. He looked like he awaiting my next move as if he wanted me to finally wake up.
I sighed loudly and slowly rose from the warm and comfortable position that begged me to stay just a few more hours. I stretched my limbs and body while a loud yawn escaped my muzzle. Many pops could be heard too, but the changeling didn't seem to be all too scared by me which was a nice change.
I asked while my body was still trying to wake up."So, why did you wake me so early?"
The Changeling answered."My Queen asked me to wake you up and tell you that breakfast is ready. Also, the sunrise was a few hours ago, and we even delayed things in the hive just for you."
I looked at the Changeling for a moment before signing and saying."Ok, could you please show me where Chrysalis and Chitin are?"
The Changeling nodded, and so I followed him through the hive. I was quite surprised to see how much more active the children were, I think they were called Foals, and to see how happy they looked made me a bit more comfortable. Although, there was a change that I didn't like and that was that there were now many more Changelings with armor in the halls who looked so serious.
After a few minutes of walking through the halls, we reached a room in which just a big long table with many chairs was. At the far end of the table were Chrylais and Chitin.
I smiled happily before my eyes pupils turned purple for a second and I teleported in front of Chrysalis and Chitin. I grabbed chrysalis off her seat and hugged her like a. . . Something cute and soft.
I said while hugging Chrysalis."You are just the cutest being I have ever seen and ever will see."
I hugged Chrysalis for a few more moments until I could feel her struggle against my grip. I Instantly let go of her as she looked at her mother with shaking hands and full cheeks.
Chtitn's eyes widened before her horn glowed with a green aura, that was a bit darker than Chrylsais's and brought a weird big green oval shaped empty egg. Chitin poked a small hole into the top of it with her horn and levitated in front of Chrysalis who vomited a lot of Pink goo into it.
For several minutes, a stream of Pink would flow out of Chrysalis while I just sat there, filled with guilt that I possibly hurt my best friend. After about five minutes, Chrysalis stopped vomiting, and the thingy was full with the pink goo, and her mother separated the weird thing from her daughter's mouth.
"I was already wondering just how much Love you could create with a single hug and I must say, it is a more than welcome surprise to see a whole pod being filled in such a short amount of time." Said Chitin as she gave the pod to a Changeling who took it away.
My emotioned turned around faster than my mind could realize as I realized that I did not make my best friend vomit with my hug. Still, it was possible, I didn't take a bath in a very long time.
"So. . . What I did was good?" I asked curiously with a shy tone just to be sure
"It was more than that. We, Changelings, don't eat that often and a completely filled pod can feed many Changelings, of course, it is still not enough to feed all of us for a single day," replied Chitin
"That is good to hear, but I am sure that wasn't the only reason you let me wake up, right?" I said and asked.
The response that I got was in the form of Chrysalis who grabbed a big plate with all of her body and flew with it on top of the table. I smiled at the cute sight of Chrysalis dramatically panting before looking at the plate itself.
On the plate were a few neon green mushrooms that were hundreds of times smaller than the shroom trees that I knew from my time in the underground in the past, many little white and fat worms, a few colorful roots and lastly one green and very spiky looking fruit.
"Ehm. . . I don't think that this there is food besides maybe the green hedgehog fruit." I stated. Chitin and Chrysalis stared at me for a moment before both of them started to chuckle loudly.
"I can assure you that all of them are edible, especially the vandu fruit. I asked my Changelings to gather various kinds of food to be able to sustain you, Auriel. Of course, I am aware that you said you are and vegetarian, but even you probably need some kind of meat, and since fish is not an available source, we brought the next best thing here." Replied Chitin while trying to act as motherly as possibly
". . . I think I try the Vendu fruit. . ." I said while trying to not show my unhappiness.
My eye color changed to purple as the Vendu fruit was surrounded by a golden aura and floated magically towards me. Once it was in front of me, I grabbed it with one of my paws while trying to not poke myself, and took a bite out of it. Chewing it was a bit painful, but it was by far not the worst part as this fruit even made a lemon taste sweet.
". . .Auriel, you are supposed to peel it first before you eat it. . ." Said Chitin with a loud sigh
"You could've told me before I swallowed it. Besides, how am I going to peel it with all those Spikes? My magic doesn't work that way, I can't just 'snap' something peeled." I said with a hint of frustration as I have never eaten a fruit that was so bad in my whole life. Suddenly, there was a small white flash, and when I looked at the source of the light, I saw it was the now peeled fruit that showed off its blue fruit flesh.
"Uhhh~ You can make do that with you magic too? that is so cool!" Said Chrysalis in excitement and awe.
"But-but-but-but-but-but-but. . . But How! That is not how my magic works, it never worked this way! How, why, when, what!?!?" I said as my brain was slowly breaking apart. Hey, I would like to see you do something for thousands of years and then suddenly have the most awesome thing about you changed.
I looked at the fruit again and pictured the fruit in my head, but instead of blue, the fruit flesh was red in my imagination and snapped. Nothing happened. I snapped again and the same result. I snapped twenty more times and still, no results.
"I give up weird new magic, you won, I like my magic how it was. So, how about we eat something better than, whatever the stuff is that is wiggling on the plate." I said as my thumb hurt a bit, but luckily the pain vanished in just a second.
"And what are you going to eat, if you don't mind me asking? There is nothing else here unless you want to eat sand worms and or my changelings and I hope that you don't want to eat my children." Said Chitin with a slightly worried expression.
"*Sigh*. I already told you Chitin, I do not kill unless I have too, that at least counts for the Changelings. No, want I meant was that I could just grow food." I said
"Well, you did kind of turn a dead wasteland into a paradise, so I don't doubt that you could make a garden in a desert, but won't that attract predators if you plant food in front of the hive?"
"I won't make one up there, I will make one down here as not only is the warm and slightly wet air good for plants, but the walls should also keep the plants save. I just need to create a bit of water and make a few sun crystals. Could you give me a room to do said project please?" I explained with a bit of nostalgia for my first garden and asked nicely.
"Of course, it is the last thing I could do. Besides, we Changelings need to eat regular food too to create resin and to eat something fresh would be nice. Thinking about it, I haven't eaten something good in many years." Said Chitin with a smile on her face
After I avoided eating the rest of the weird things they served here, a Changeling came into the room and led me through the halls of the hive. In a few minutes, I was led to a big empty chamber that was once used for as an infirmary told me the Changeling, although he did not go into details.
Once I was alone, I walked into the center of the room and sat down, thinking of how I would reshape this room. After a few moments I came up with a plan, and one of my eyes turned blue, while the other turned green, before I touched the cold stone floor with my paw.
Like a single drop of water falling into a lake, the stone floor changed into a fertile soil of dirt upon which grass instantly grew. In the middle of the room, a miniature lake formed and a circle of water surrounding the soon to be garden.
I smiled when I saw that I still could use powers as good as I once could without problems. After the ground and water were made, I created several crystals that grew out of the soil. The crystals I made were three different kinds of gems, Sun crystals, moonstones, and water sapphires.
The sun crystals would create sunlight during the day that my crops would need. The moonstones would radiate moonlight, and together with the sun crystals, they would create a day and night cycle for the plants where they could grow and rest. Lastly, the water sapphires would use the magic out of the ground to infinitely creating water so the plants would never dry out.
My eyes turned purple as the crystals were surrounded by a golden aura and the jewelry levitated to their spot, sun and moon gems on the ceiling and the sapphires in the water.
Once everything was set, I thought of the various kinds of fruits and vegetables I ate, especially the ones that tasted better, before my eyes glowed green and I tapped on the grass once again. And like I commanded, various crops, trees, and bushes would grow scattered across all the available land while leaving a bit of space to walk and possibly rest.
I smiled as I saw my work done and was about to get my two favorite changelings, but it seemed like I was too slow as Chrysalis walked into the garden in awe.
'She must have never seen so much green in one spot, at least if we are talking about plants.' I thought with a slightly confused look.
"It seems like you like my work, little Chrysalis," I said with a small chuckle as she almost didn't even notice me while she was looking at a few fruits.
"I have never seen these kinds of fruits and vegetables, not even royal food transports or trades ever had them with them. Is it possible that you brought back extinct plants?" asked Chitin as she levitated a banana in front of her face.
"It is possible, I created many various kinds of plants in my time, hundreds, if not thousands, but sadly only a paw full of them were able to survive on their own, and I doubt even they survived the day of chaos. . . Chrysalis, I would not bite into that one just like that, that is a cry potato." I said as I took the cry potato out of Chryalsis hoofs and put it back into the ground.
The vegetable was round, had brown skin and was most of the time either white or green under it, sometimes even red, and would make you cry if you don't eat it with care.
"But why would you plant something that makes you cry?" asked Chrysalis curiously.
"Becuase you can combine them with other stuff and make even better food out of it, even though I am quite bad at it if you would count the times I created something not very tasty. . . One of my 'meals' once tried to strangle me while screaming with a very high pitched voice. . ." I said while trying to hide my frustration and embarrassment while Chitin and Chrysalis laughed loudly.
"Phew, I am not used to laughing this much, but I think you are not a good cook if the result of your cooking is that your meal tries to eat you. But, I think I have a way to deal with your problem. One of the Ponies we have put in a pod is an Earth Pony Mare with a chef hat for her cutie mark, maybe she would be able to cook you something if you can convince her not to scream or faint, that is." Explained Chitin before giving Chrysalis a banana and letting her eat it.
"I hope that she won't be too angry." were my last words before I began to eat a few fruits and vegetables before falling with my back on the grass and staring at the ceiling with a small smile on my face.
'I missed you so much, food. Sadly, I am only good with magic and not in cooking, or I would make something that is not murderous.' I thought
Chrysalis suddenly got an idea as she remembered her mother once talking about her childhood pet once. Chrysalis sneaked up to me and did the unthinkable, so cruel and evil! She began to violently, yet gently, scratch my stomach.
I stared at Chrysalis for a moment as I did not understand what she was doing, until suddenly all of my hairs pecked up and a wave of pleasure shot through my body that instantly became limb and relaxed. 'Ohh~ This is soo~. Relaxing~' I did not care that I may or may not have panted loudly like a dog with my tongue sticking out or that my back legs were twitching.
I could hear faint laughter from Chitin, but my ears were numb, and I could not hear a single thing.
Chrysalis smiled and giggled as Auriel was acting so funny. After a few moments, she realized that her slightly dusty hooves became clean and even shiny. Chrysalis looked at Auriels fur and saw that the dust from her hooves glided off Auriel's coat like it was nothing.
After a few minutes, Chrysalis released Auriel from her evil, genuinely malicious paralyzation spell of doom! Dun Dun Duuun!
Anyways.
After I regained my senses five minutes after Chrysalis stopped and tried to hide my now wholly red face that occurred as I was drowning in embarrassment, we went to the room where apparently a few creatures were put in pods. I was quite shocked to see so many weird and new creates at once, well, it where mostly just Ponies and what Chitin described as a minotaur, but still, they looked so odd.
"Why do these Ponies look so . . . Fragile. I mean, they look cute, small and soft, how do they survive like that? I mean, they could have a good sight with those huge eyes, but besides that, I do not see how they are such a threat to you." I said as I looked at the Ponies in the pods. There were some with horns, others with wings, and a few that had none of these traits, but more muscles. Oh, and the minotaur that looked like something that could've maybe survived it in the old world.
'Did the creatures all become weaker while I was away? It could be possible that my magic in the ground became less over the years, but still, did the world become so soft? Not that I mind it, the old world was often very dangerous for everything that was not me, but at least it was so much fun to see so many various exotic places.'
"You should not underestimate them, Auriel, they are much more dangerous than they might seem, at least for us they are. Normally, there are only three Pony races that are divided into three tribes, but a fourth race, combining the strength of all of them came into existence a few hundred years ago. Unicorns specialize in magic and can cast spells, but are the physical weakness of all races. The Pegasi have wings and can fly and harness the power of the weather, they are the second most durable, but because their bones are hollow, blunt weapons can easily kill them. Lastly, we have the Earth Ponies, although they don't have any of the other special traits, they are are very strong regarding physical strength and resistance, they also have a strong magic immunity and have a connection to the ground which allows them to plant crops very efficiently. Lastly, there are the Alicorns, and only two of them exist at the moment, and those two are Celestia and Luna, they have all the traits of the tribes and are much more powerful than they might seem as they control both sun and moon." Explained Chitin while I listened to every word, but when she said that those two are playing with sun and moon, I almost coughed from that.
"They have just taken sun and moon for themselves to control them?! Why would they do that?!" I didn't want to shout, but there were two things that I did not like, and when they happened I would be furious.
The first thing that could make me furious was to mess with my friends, we saw what happened with Discord, and the other is if you mess with the nature of this world and try to form it after your will. Chitin fell on the ground when she tried to back away.
"Oh, I am so sorry Chitin, I really didn't want to scare you, or shout." I apologized. Before my pupil turned purple and I levitated her back on her hooves.
"N-no. It's fine. In hindsight, it's understandable that you would react this way considering that you spent your whole life trying to keep things together. I would react similarly if someone would take away part of my Hive." replied Chitin a bit shakingly.
I nodded and said."Still, I should not have... exploded this way in front of you since you were not part of their doings. I would just love to meet them in person and talk with hem why they would take them."I said with a bit of hidden anger in my voice.
"I think I can explain it to you. In the last couple of thousand years, all creatures of Equus noticed how parts of the world became 'dead' or at least like the badlands if you want to be precise about it. At first, we did not understand, but soon even the celestial object just stopped so the Ponies took it as their duty to move them." Explained Chitin
My eyes were literally twitching when I listened to every word. The sun and moon would move on their own, even before I started giving life to the land, the only time the planet ever were not doing their jobs was when. . .
"Discord!!!!"
My paw bludged when I realized that this monsters deeds where still dwindling in the new world, even after his death, he still poisoning and corruption this beautiful place. When I couldn't hold my anger anymore, my first flew into a black wall, and the result made Chitin jaw drop.
When my fist made contact with the wall, a significant dent with many cracks formed before the wall started to crumble and then finally fell apart into a large pile of a chitin-like material.
Chitin and Chrysalis gawked at the wall in both fear and awe.
"Mommy said that that wall is like our chitin but much harder" muttered Chrysalis.
Once I realized what I just did, my pupils turned purple again, and the wall rebuilt itself in only two seconds.
"Ehm. Sorry, I am still not used to the whole 'not being completely alone' thing and I just realized that the celestial objects are like this because of Discord." I looked at Chitin and Chrysalis, and they still gawked at the wall. I said with an embarrassed tone as I rubbed the back of my head.
"Again, I thank you for not retaliating when we first met..." Chitin said emotionlessly.
I rolled my eyes before teleporting behind them and gave them a group hug.
"Don't be like that. I wouldn't have done anything to you no matter what would have happened." I said with a big smile
"Still, the thought of you being our enemy, or being anyone's enemy, is a scary one, even if you look like a pile golden fluff," said Chitin bluntly.
I smirked at her comment as it sounded a bit weird in my ears to her that me not liking anyone is scary. On the other hand, from what I could gather, my magic seems to be on a whole new level of power that they are used to. Of course, I was meant to create a world and not 'live' a 'normal' live.
"Well, if that is what you think, then I think you are safe from anyone that wants to hurt you since I will do anything to protect my friends from harm," I replied with determination.
"That is nice to hear, Auriel, and I hope other creatures will one day see more than 'Parasites' in us like you," replied Chitin with a bit of sadness in her voice.
I was about to say something to make her smile, but then I noticed that an Earth Pony with pink fur and light blue mane who looked at me with a horrified expression. Once the Pony saw that I noticed her, she began to silently scream while throwing her head and limbs as fast as she could, or rather she screamed as loud as she could, but the pod was apparently soundproof.
"Look, Mommy, our guest, has woken up." Said Chrysalis with a just too cute voice.
Chitin looked at the Earth Pony Mare and walked up to the pod. Chitin then poke her jagged from through the pod with a swift motion, causing the Mare to back away into the pod as she could. Chitin then sliced with next to no effort with her horn through the cocoon causing a weird green liquid to seep out of it, oh and also making the Pony fall on her snout.
"Ouch! Oof. Why does my muzzle hurt so much?" asked the Mare. Indeed, her red lifeforce was leaving her nose.
"Mommy, look, she is bleeding!" said Chrysalis as she hid behind her mother, apparently not wanting to see the leaking lifeforce.
"Auriel, would you be kind enough to help our guest with her wound?" asked Chitin a she looked at the Mare with a worried expression as she was slowly losing a lot of her life force. The green liquid must have made her skin soft.
"I will try my best. I used a bit of healing magic once a deer who lost his antler once to a falling tree and then was bleeding heavily through two holes where his prideful antlers once where, so I should be able to do something." I replied as I wasn't sure if I could do it as my healing spells were sometimes considered a bit strong under my animal friends.
My eyes turned purple once again, but this time, they were much paler as I weakened my magic to the lowest point I could to not possibly do more damage to her as the fall already did.
A soft and golden aura surrounded the Mares muzzle as the stained blood vanished from her fur and the bleeding stopped in a heartbeat, but the Mare then fearfully looked at Auriel and bowed so deep that she almost hurt he muzzle again. Wait, it was not bowing of gratitude, it was cowering of fear and... Sobbing?
"Please *Sniff* Please don't eat me..." begged the fearful Mare weakly as she slowly cowered into a ball. I stared at the Pony for a few moments while tilting my head to the right and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm a vegetarian," I said bluntly as my paw was doing something weird. It grabbed something soft behind my back and pulled forth a strange blue box with a thin white piece of clothing sticking out of it's top and showed it to the Pony.
The Mare didn't respond at first, but after a few more moments of sobbing, she pecked out of her hiding spot and stared at Auriel with wide and scared eyes. Her eyes were red, her faces were wet, and her nose was running. The Mare stared at the box for a moment before somehow grabbing the piece of clothing and pulled it out before cleaning her face. The box and the weird cloth piece disappeared in a small white flash after her face was clean, still red, but clean.
I walked closer to her and laid down beside her in an attempt to show that I meant no harm. The Mare clearly tensed up when she cloud feels my fur brush against hers. I slowly lifted my paw and stroked her hair slowly.
"You do not have to fear me, young one, I am not interested in harming you. What is your name, if I might ask?" I told her and asked as I didn't want to call her 'Mare' or 'you' all the time.
The Mare slowly relaxed a bit but was still a bit shaken, not only because of fear but because the green liquid from the pod was now cold. My irises turned red, and my fur glowed weakly as my body temperature rose until it radiated a comfortable amount of warmth. Her coat dried up very fast, mostly because my hair caused the liquids and dirt to fall off her body as well.
"Diamond Bell..." said the Mare quietly. I, of course, heard her words and nodded weakly.
"That is a nice name, Bell. You do not have to fear us, my friends didn't want to hurt you, but they just needed food, food that sadly no one was willing to give. But you do not have to worry, I am enough to feed them from now on, and I hope we can become good friends." I said it with a soft and comforting voice.
"Thank you for the offer, but I just want to go home..." said the Bell quietly. I did not know what to say, nor did I really understand what this 'home' thingy was, but what I knew was that it was somewhere else.
"I am sorry, Bell, but I sadly can't let you leave," said Chitin in an almost sad sounding tone. I looked down and saw that Bell stared at Chitin with a heartbroken expression.
"But... But why? Please, I just want to go home to my family, to my friends..." Belle said in a shocked tone and was almost half-shouting, but her voice was slowly becoming quieter with each word that left her mouth.
"Auriel, I am going to explain the rest after you, but I want you to answer a question for me. What would happen if you would wander through the badlands on the ground for several days with not enough water and food." Asked Chitin as nice as she could, but it was clear that she didn't want to make the situation sound better than it actually was.
"If you don't have enough food and water, you would starve, dry out or fall unconscious and even though we have food and water, you won't be able to carry so much. The worse problem would be the sandworms. The Sandworms will catch you and eat you as a whole before you can even scream for help. I could be able to help you through, but then the Changelings won't have food anymore." I explained and at the end of the sentence, I even had to look away from Bell's eyes that screamed out how much pain she was feeling at this very moment.
"Thank you, Auriel. The bigger problem would be that Ponies might get suspicious where you were, they might ask questions, and if they find out where the Hive is, then it could even come to war.." The silents that Chitin has caused was absolute, no sound, no voice, even no breath could be heard for several seconds.
"I...I-I can't go home...?" said Belle while looking at Chitin without any motions or emotions, she just looked at her, until her eyes started to water. I knew what she felt right now all too well and wrapped my tail around her as she buried her face in my fur an cried loudly. Chrysalis walked up to the sobbing Pony and hugged her by wrapped her hooves around her neck in an attempt to comfort her.
Belle was very sad after hearing that she was stuck here, but I made sure that she would not have time to be sad. Bell would spend most of the time in the garden that I decorated with the most beautiful flowers from the old world, some, that even glowed, like the moon lilies.
It took two weeks for her to start enjoying the life down here, of course, I would sometimes go outside with her, but only an hour away from the hive which she was more than thankful for. We became good friends, and we shared a few stories. She also had a few plant seeds of the new world with her that we together planted and it turned out that the plants I help grow with my magic makes them dozens of time better tasting, at least that's what Bell told me.
Bell told me about of her life back then and, although I did not understand most of it like what this 'money' thing was, or 'true love' or even what a 'bill' was, it was quite enjoyable. Bell also became my official cook, and her cooking much better than anything I could ever cook. Bell even started to give me cooking lessons, and after my 20th try, I managed to cook something uneatable, well, uneatable as in 'it won't try to eat me.'
The Hive became more alive with each day as the Changelings were becoming used to enjoying their lives and having fun and playing games. At one point, I even had to dig out an entire Chamber to store all the love I produced every day and not only was the sheer mass of love impressive but also how I managed to excavate several tons of dirt and rock away with just one swipe of my paw.
After one month of fun, Chitin asked me to become Chrysalis's magic teacher as I apparently was very good at it. Of course, I had no idea what to do and when I asked, I was shown the library or something like that was it called. In it where many different books of various origins that have all been translated into the Changeling language.
We ran into a small problem at first as I couldn't read, but I learned how to read very fast. Chitin decided to first teach me a bit about the Changelings like that the walls were covered with their 'resin' and some of the other species, but she did not let the other creatures out like the minotaur and the griffon as they would not survive it out there and would hurt her children.
After one week, I learned everything that Chitin considered as 'base knowledge,' but teaching me was not all too hard, as I had a photographic memory as Chitin said, whatever that is. Of course, we ran into a few problems. Although I was great at learning and saw many opportunities and possibilities for almost all spells that were shown me by Chitin, I had very little 'Imagination,' and a few weird things happened again that I later found out were because of Discord magic I absorbed and still have no idea how to use.
After I was educated by Chitin, I began to teach Chrysalis the various books in my way, and that was with demonstration, encouragement, no time limit, and fun. After every magic lesson, we would do something fun, like showing her a few of my memories of the old world. Chrysalis was fascinated by most of them, but also very scared of a few of them. I still regret showing her what she described as 'An ice-scarab swarm,' thousands of little small bugs that lived in the ice and snow, surviving off corpses, but where easily able to eat a whole hairy elephant in minutes.
Since I didn't have to sleep, I spend a few extra hours with reading spell books and history books, although I was also quite fond of the stories and legends too. Sadly, legends were by far not as interesting for me as they were for others as I had a lot of problems with certain adjectives, unknown words and well, the imagination part.
I would often demonstrate the spells that I improved with my powers, most of the time everyone was amazed, although there was one time I tried a lightning spell that would expand around me like a growing bubble, but... Let's just say it didn't quite work as I hoped it would.
Flashback
I stood in the middle of a large room, surrounded by a dozen piles of on top stacked stone acting as targets. In front of the wall that was furthest away from me where Chitin, Chrysalis, Bell and a few Changelings in armor that were also known as Guards. What surprised me was that Bell stopped being scared or bothered being near Changelings after only a few weeks which was a pleasant surprise.
I smiled at my audience, before closing my eyes and exhaling loudly as I shut out everything unnecessary. The hard part was not in making the spell work, no, it was keeping it on a tight leash to not let it become too strong and possibly hurt anyone.
When Auriel opened her eyes, her irises were purple, not white when she fought Discord as she is using her own power and not the power of her surroundings. All at once, a wave of yellow like light with Auriel at its center swallowed up the area. The puls took all of a moment, and the results of it were clear in an instant.
The stone targets fell to ash that was scattered across the room by a weak wind. I smiled at the results, but my happiness only lives as short as some of my hairs started to rise. I patted on the hairs that rose to make them stop and when I finally managed to keep my fur under control-
*Pomf*
All of my fur straightened itself at once, trapping me in a large, fluffy and cuddly prison ball as I rolled a bit as a side effect form my escape attempts. Silents reign across the room until Chrysalis started giggling which caused a chain reaction that made everyone laugh.
I tried to free myself, but just when I almost found a spot where I could start my escape plans, the wind came again and made me bounce out of the room like a dead bush in the desert, just with the fact that this bush was alive, fluffy and shouted for help. I think I saw Chrysalis role on the ground while laughing, snorting and almost crying from laughter before I was blown out of the room. The wind was not my friend as it took a while until a Changeling caught me... after I rolled down all stairs in the hive, but luckily, I was not hurt as my fluff saved me from pain.
End of Flashback
All in all, my first month in the hive was delightful, even though there were some low moments like when some Changelings calling me 'Princess of food' as I was officially part of the royal family now, there were also many beautiful moments like telling Stories from the old world. All in all, it was the best month I had in my life. We laughed, we told stories, Everyone was happy, and I finally got what I desired most, a family.
I was happy, and I would make sure that no one would take this happiness from me, no matter what.
The new world brings many new burdens
Two months. Two whole months it has been since I arrived in the Hive and it has been fantastic, well, mostly at least. Every time I go to sleep or wake up, I am scared that if I open my eyes again, that I am still underground, mourning over the loss. Once I realize that all wasn't a dream, I am instantly happy again.
Of course, being in the hive had some drawbacks, like not being able to be a lot outside, which wasn't as bad as it sounded. Deserts were one of my least favorite biomes as there was so little life, which didn't mean that I would not occasionally leave the hive for a few hours of sunlight and fresh air.
Most Changelings didn't want to let me leave, who would, I am their unlimited food source after all. Still, even if I would be gone for a few days, they still had enough love in the hole, excuse me, the 'storage room' as they wanted me to call it, to live off it for a while. It is still kind of funny that they always tell me that it was too dangerous outside.
Sadly, my carefree life changed on one day, and it started so peacefully.
Bell lectured me and said."Auriel, you know very well that you have to put off the collar in the kitchen and wash your paws while you're at it."
Bell was currently giving me another cooking lesson in a room beside the garden, I think this is the 27th lesson? I am improving greatly and not a single one of the last five meal I cooked burned through the plate, or the ground, or the four floor below us.
I groaned quietly. It was a surprise for me to find out that after so many years, I would get used to wearing anything and now, I don't like taking it off. I didn't feel naked or anything, no, I just felt like I would take off a part of my new life, or maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was everything I possessed?
"Do I have to?" I asked with a slightly whiny tone.
"Yes. Yes, you do. All the dirt on your coat magically falls of your fur, but dirt can still stick to your collar and then land in the meals. Besides, if I had to learn to live without clothes all the time in the hive, you can survive a few hours without your collar."
"Fine... Hey Bell, you mentioned something about 'gaining weight' what did you mean with that?" I asked while slowly pulling off my collar and putting it on a table near me.
"It means getting fat," said Bell
"And what does 'getting fat' mean?" I asked while making my way towards a bowl of water and washing my paws. I enjoyed these moments where I could learn something new from the new world, even if I annoyed a Changeling or Bell a few times with my questions.
"Well, it means... how do I say this? Getting fat means that you store up fat, something that the body makes out of everything we eat to store it for later. The more fat we store, the sower we become until one can even die from it. Thinking about it, I don't even know if you can gain weight, You spend so much time in the library, you should at least have gained some weight." explained Bell as she was slowly putting the ingredients on the table for this lessons meal.
"Actually, it is not all too hard to understand. I once spend a few winters eating barely anything, maybe a few of these weird green ropes that grow on the bottom of the huge lakes. It could be that for me, everything is just magic." I explained as good as I could
"Wow, I think I would kill just to have no longer to worry to keep a slender figure, thinking about it, I think that even the greatest wizards would sell their souls to have your powers. Wait, what do you mean with 'for me, everything is magic'?" said Bell with a small on her face.
"Did you forget, silly? I made the land with my magic; this includes all food. I have read that casting makes unicorn at least as hungry as running a lot, but I do not feel exhaustion from that, I feel just that my magic was regenerating on its own. I guess that everything eats to keep itself alive with my magic but to do so, it first needs to convert the food into something else to then later absorb the magic. I don't have to do that because I am just endlessly producing it." I explained, but when I realized what I just said. I was confused how I knew all that stuff. I turned around to see Bell with a very shocked look on her face.
"Wait, oh my Faust-no, what, how, why?" Bell freaked out as her jaw hand wide open, and her eyes widened. I walked up to her and pulled her into a hug to calm her down. After a few moments, she calmed down.
"Are you okay? You scared me a bit." I said with a bit of worry in my voice. Chitin once told me that I had an excellent sense for empathy, maybe even better than the Changelings ability to taste and eat emotions.
"Y-yes. You broke my view on the world a bit there. Huh, I haven't even realized that I was talking to my maker all this time. Your existence alone is enough to prove all religion wrong. Still, that was not what made me freak out. If you die, we all will die with you, and the world as it slowly runs out of magic... I don't know how to feel about this, how did you prevent the parts of the world from dying out back then?" Said Bell with a very uneasy look as her face stitched expression a few times.
"I have no idea what a 'religion' is, can you eat it? No, that is not important right now. To answer your question, I just ran around the world in a few minutes every day. Thinking about it, I think I once saw the grass turn greener when I visited the biomes I was not working at the moment. Anyways, please do not worry too much Bell, I am sure everything will turn out perfectly fine in the end." I said with a reassuring smile while slowly releasing her from my fuzzy hugs.
Bell smiled and nodded before walking to the ingredients. I turned around to hide my slightly horrified expression.'Why Me! I don't want ponies and changelings to look differently at me. I don't want to be special. I just want to enjoy the day and not 'stop the world from dying.' *Mental Sigh* It is so weird in this new world where everyone says that I am so special, but in truth, this world is just so normal in comparison to the creatures of the old world.'
"Ok. Today we are going to experiment. I need a few of those potatoes, a green leaf ball, maybe an orange stick, a banana and lastly one of those weird red things that grow on trees." Bell listed off various fruits and vegetables while I levitate all ingredients from the garden to the table.
"Are sure that you have never seen an apple? They were the first fruit I created, and I am sure that it should have been resistant enough to survive until now." I asked with confusion and a bit of disappointment; everyone should've at least eaten an apple once.
"Nope, I am pretty sure that they didn't grow in flutter valley, or anywhere else at least. Ok, I think that was almost everything. We now only need... A GIANT WORM!!!" Shouted Bell
"Bell, I don't eat meat, I have no problem if you eat it, but I am a vegetarian." I sighed and explained it kindly as I already was asked this question way too many times already.
"NO! There is an actual worm sticking out of the wall!!!" screamed Bell as I heard a loud thud.
I turned around and saw that a giant worm dug its way through the wall and was wiggling its way to Bell extremely fast and then it jumped at my friend. My eyes color changed to purple as I teleported in front of Bell. The worm wasn't picky or scared, and without worry or care, it swallowed and bit into my arm.
I screamed and shouted in panic as I could feel the slime of the beast and the many rows of sharp teeth scrap on my fur, barely touching my skin, as it tried to take my arm. The pain was not all too strong, I barely felt anything, but I was so scared, I was even waving my hand so fast that it looked like a blur.
After a few moments, the worm let go of my arm and flew a few feet away. I shook the slime off my arm and saw that my entire arm glowed with a golden light. Blew as fast as I could air on my arm until I heard Bell scream.
I turned around and saw that the worm lost interest in me and made it's way to Bell. Many thoughts shot through my head as I tried to think of some way to stop the worm without hurting it, but in my panic, I couldn't think of any solution. I stopped pondering when I saw the worm jump at Bell; my heart pumped with the speed of light, my eye shrunk to the size of peas and my body began to shake.
Bell looked at the worm that was just inches away from her. The moment felt like an eternity as she could see the deep dark pit of the worm's body, the many sharp rows of teeth that were scattered around in the mouth of the beast, the slime that was dropping off its maw and the horrible stench the monster gave off. Bell closed her eyes as she gave up any hope.
Suddenly Bell heard the horrifying screams and roars of a dying animal. Bell looked to the ball on her right and saw that the worm was impaled by eight, three feet long ice spears, or at least that was what was not buried in the wall. The worms struggle soon ended as the spears were so big that there was almost not enough room for all of them.
Bell's heart felt like it stopped for a moment as she saw the beast die as the entire piece of the wall was painted green from the worm's blood while a puddle was slowly forming under the corpse and the stench was slowly spreading in the room. Bell slowly turned her head to Auriel.
Auriel sat there, with a horrified expression, widened and a slightly wet eyes. Her eyes were pale blue, and her paws palm was pointed at the worms corpse. Auriel was breathing heavily; it was clear that firing the spell hurt her more than it did for the worm.
Bell wanted to walk to Auriel and try to calm her down, but Auriel herself then broke the silence and said quietly."Run, tell as many Changelings to get away from this part of the Hive..."
Bell looked at Auriel and asked with a fearful tone."W-what? Why?"
"Just run already! Worms attack in packs hundreds! Run already!" Screamed Auriel as Bell could hear noises from the wall around them and in the hallway.
Bell ignored her fear and ran as fast as she could away from Auriel. While Bell was running through the halls, she heard many worms fall out of the walls but ignored it; I just ran away without looking back.
Soon many Changeling guards charged at worms while I fled and screamed out loud."Get away from this part of the Hive! Run, don't look back! Everyone who can't fight, don't fight and just get away from here!"
I stared at the door hallway as I saw many worms fall out of the wall, hungrily, they wiggled their way deeper in into the hive. I pointed my paw at the ground in front of me and watched as ten long and thick icicles of ice were growing before I broke them off the floor and levitated them beside me.
I stood back up on my four paws and remorse; I left the room without even giving the corpse a last look. I appreciated all life, in all its form in any way it existed, but I also knew that often one has to take another's life to save his own. These worms were not less worth in my eyes, but I promised them and myself to keep the Changelings safe, and I will protect them like it was my own life no matter what happens.
Just as I left the room, I stopped to levitated my collar back to me and put it back on, before looking in front of me. The halls were flooded with dozens of worms. The small ones were only a third of my size, or rather the size of changelings, the medium ones were as big as Chitin, and the large ones were a bit bigger than me.
I slowly made my way through the halls, trying to ignore what was about to happen. A giant worm saw me and jumped at me only to be impaled by a spear of ice. The worm squirmed and screeched in pain. I said quietly full of sorrow."I am sorry." The glow of my icy blue eyes intensified barely noticeable as the worm was slowly turning to ice, it's struggles and pleas ended with its life. Once the worm died, the ice crumbled first to shard and then to snow before being melted to water by the warmth of the Hive.
The other worm noticed the death of their friend and all of them wiggled their way towards me and pounced at me. They each flew fast towards me, the smallest one was almost the speed of a diving bird, but for me, everything happened very slow, all colors became dull, and my heart beat became slowly.
My spears either smashed the worm away with enough force to create a crack in the walls and floor while others were only scratched by my weapons. I could almost feel their happiness of surviving, which just hurt me even more as the dust-sized ice shards on their hides began to spread across each worm that was hit by me.
After the twentieth worm died, the realized that they were not capable of defeating me and wiggled away, deeper into the hive. I knew that I couldn't let the creatures go, they would hurt my friends, In the end, I decided with a heavy heart to end it the most peaceful way I could think of. I slammed all of my spears into the ground, embedding all of them into the floor.
"I am truly sorry that things had to go this way, I hope all of you can forgive me." were my last word as my eyes glow glowed with power or a moment before a wave of ice slowly grew until it covered the entire floor. The worm had no time to react as the ice was claiming their bodies faster than they could cry for help.
I stared at the long hallway, at all those frozen, screaming, almost horrified statues of the worms with disgust, not because of what they were or wanted to do, but of what I did, I was disgusted with myself. I hated killing, no matter what happened, from the smallest, most annoying fly to the most dangerous animal, I despiced it. I knew that it was my only chance, I couldn't turn myself invisible or teleport them and or myself away, no, that would not solve the problem as they might come back or would harm my friends.
My thought was interrupted when I suddenly smelt something weird, something I never smelled before. I looked in front of me and stared in shock as I saw the half-eaten remains of a few Changeling Guards. Their inner part was hanging out while a puddle of green lifeforce was slowly growing under the body. Those dead eyes, I felt like they stared at me.
I stared at the sight for a few moments; I knew those Guards, they were the ones that I first met. They were my friends; we would often play and talk while they were not playing Guards. I could feel tears form in the corners of my eyes, I turned my head away and continued walking deeper into the hive, but only after a few moments of walking, I gave my old friends one last look before continuing my way.
I tried to not think about what was happening; I did not want to see, hear or smell what is going on. I closed my eyes and just walked further and further, hoping to see Chitin, Chrysalis, and Bell, safe, happily and forget this day.
I stopped, I heard something deep in the earth. My ears pricked up trying to find out what this sound was. My heartbeat spiked and the sound of my heart filled the silent halls, my eyes opened, and my natural colored eyes shrank to the size of a pea. I ran as fast as I could within these tight halls.
In a few just a few minutes, I reached the largest place in the entire Hive, the place where Chitin would always talk to all of her Changelings. I think it was called 'Gathering room' although I still did not know what they were gathering there. The room was huge and could easily fit the twice the amount of Changelings there than there were in the hive.
The inside of the room was a living nightmare. Corpses, of both worm and Channeling scattered across the room. The Gaurd Changelings formed a wall between the worms, and some others watched the walls. The worms, like a flood, tried to overwhelm the Guards who now hid behind a green shield of magic.
I saw Chrysalis who was cowered in fear behind Chitin who commanded her Guards to let a part of the wall fall and once it was gone, the worms sloshed into the leak in their defense. Chitin charged up her horn to the point it glowed like fire before firing at the worms, killing them and pushing them away.
I was directly in the line of the spell and was shocked in both surprise, and slight worry as the spell was much stronger than the one she fired at me when we first met. My eyes turned purple as my paw was surrounded by a golden aura. I backpawed the magic bolt into a group of giant worms. The spell exploded and killed many worms upon impact. I could see how proudly Chitin stood; I felt sorry for giving her false hopes as I empowered her spell up with my paw. I was a little disgusted that she was happy about killing, yet delighted that she was alive.
I shook my head to push my thoughts away and exhaled loudly; I would end this now. My eyes glowed even stronger with a pale blue glow, but before I could put my paw on the ground, the ground burst open between Chitin and me as dust filled the room. A booming, bone-chilling and genuinely terrifying screech filled the room with such strength that even chunks of the roof were falling.
I could hear the slowly silent becoming screeches from the worms, but how could their voice just vanish so fast, I wondered. When the dust was slowly settling, I could see a large hole in the ground around which was a big dent, forming a slope. Many worms who stood too close to it rolled down like rocks before falling into a sheer endless abyss.
Once the dut was gone, my ears fell on my head, and my jaw stood wide open as my fears became true. In front of me was a very, very large worm. Its body was so large that it barely fit into a room that was as high as the hive itself. Its body was adorned with spikes, and its maw was gigantic around which were four huge blades acting as Mandibles. What is a Mandible?
"...A Giga Worm..." was all that could exit my mouth quietly.
The worm, not aware of its surroundings, was slowly beginning to rotate its body. The Changeling in panic began to fire spells at the Giga Worm that did nothing. The Giga Worms hide shielded the worm from weak magic; even Chitins fully charged magic bolts only created a few scorch marks.
The worm rotated faster with every second until it was about to slam its upper half like a stomp on the Changelings, my friends. I teleported myself into the middle of all of them and created a large golden wall between the worm and me. Like expected, the worm attack was stopped entirely by my spell, but its spikes created dozens of cracks, but to be fair, It was by far not the most robust magic wall I ever made.
I looked behind me and saw many scared Changelings, some of them were crying, others were praying and cowering, a few of them even looked at me with pleading eyes and then there were Chitin and Chrysalis. The two of them looked at me with hope, they knew I could quickly end it and so did I, but it still hurt me much do to the next thing.
I jumped up with my forelegs while my hindlegs stayed on the ground. To my surprise, I didn't feel wobbly or even unbalanced. I slowly lifted my paw until my palms pointed at the worm who was pressing at my wall with all its strength. My eyes burned with purple light as a small, yet ever-growing golden vortex was forming as a golden ball was growing in my palm. Small bolts of lightning of magic shot out of the ball but vanished before hitting anything, and the very air was filled with power. The golden orb soon was the size of Chitin and glowed like a sun.
When the ball stopped growing, I looked away and closed my eyes; I didn't want to witness this act of cruelty. I released the magic bold, and like a ligning, it hit the worm and pushed it away. In a blink of an eye, the worm was ripped out of the ground and shot out of the hive, breaking all walls and creating a massive opening in the hives structure, before flying at the horizon.
Many Changelings looked at the horizon in awe while trying to get used to the light. I clenched my eyes as I knew what was about to happen. With a deafening boom, a loud explosion appeared on the horizon, forming itself into a massive dome of magic while the very ground trembled furiously. After a few seconds, a strong wind gust reached us forced the others to the ground.
Silents, I loved it, it was over, finally, but now, I could feel the pain, the sadness and grief form my actions. I collapsed on the floor, without care, I just landed on the ground with my jaw first into the stone. I could feel the worry and fear around me, but I did not care for that in that moments. I wanted to scream, to shout and maybe even cry, but I couldn't. I knew that this time, I could not prevent it, but I hated it. I hate killing, I hated being forced to do it and most importantly I hate myself! Why did I have to do this, why!?
"I must thank you Auriel; You saved the Hive. I don't know how we can repay-" Chitin was praising my deeds, but I couldn't take it, I couldn't nor did I want to hear it. I snapped.
"Don't thank me for this! Don't thank me for killing! Don't thank for death! This is not happy; this is sad, just sad!" I shouted directly at Chitin face. Chitin looked at me in shock, like the other Changelings did, both normal and Guard, and then, I looked down and saw Chrysalis face, it was filled with fear.
I stared at them for a moment, realizing that they were scared of me. I turned around and slowly walked through the hole in the Hive, no one stopped me. Once I was outside. One of my eyes turned brown, and the other purple as the ground was closing, and the walls were magically rebuilding themselves.
I walked for a few minutes until I fell on the ground on purpose. My eyes watered until I couldn't take it anymore, I sobbed and cried for so long until the sun was setting. My heart and eyes hurt so much. I did not care if they were just worms that I killed, they were alive, they lived, and I just whipped them out. Then, what I said to my friends, they were scared of me .
"I am not better than Discord. I just murdered hundreds of creatures without worry, with no effort, a monster is all I am. Maybe Discord was just like me once, only to do it so many times until his heart was just gone, will I become like that too, to just end all in my path to achieve my goals? to do what I think is right?" I said, but my sobbing made it hard for even myself to understand it, it just hurt too much to think clearly.
Suddenly, I felt something soft and light on my back. I looked behind me and saw that Chrysalis who tried to hug me. "You are no monster! Stop saying that, it makes me sad!"
Out of the darkness walked Chitin with a small, yet sorrowful smile."Hello, Auriel. I wanted to say; I am sorry for today, I didn' think that it would hurt you, I am truly sorry."
I sniffed loudly and laid my head on the soft and warm sand while staring into the stars. They were beautiful; I knew they were more than just lights, they were so much more. Were they real light like I once was, or something else?
"Can I sit beside you, Auriel?" Asked Chitin to which I responded with a small and weak nod. She slowly walked beside me and sat down before putting one of her wings on my back and Chrysalis.
"My entire life, I wanted and did create life. I created this world so life and thrive, grow and exist. I knew that life would one day fade away like a snuffed out fire, but what I did today, was something I never wanted this ever to happen nor intended it to happen. I made all life, from the smallest plant to the biggest winged lizard, I cared and loved for it all. I although I am the maker of every single life, I am not the owner and never want to be the taker of it. I have no right to kill; I don't, no one has. Chitin, I am responsible for life, I always was, but death... death is not... It is wrong; it is just wrong." I said as my eyes slowly began to water again, all those memories where I try to preserve life, it only made my heart hurt even more.
"I understand how you feel, Auriel, from the day of my birth, it was my destiny to rule and take care for my Hive, just like my mother did and hers before. I care for them, I love them, and I try my best to protect them. I failed today, I failed my role as a Queen and maybe even my friend. Once you left the Hive, I only then realized, when the adrenaline wore off, just how grave this day was. A total of 154 frozen worms was found, but many large puddles of water made it obvious that were more, many more creatures who died." Chitin said every word with sadness, and I could understand her, this day was not only painful for me, but also for her as well. Chitin made a small pause before continuing to talk.
"16 Changelings died today, 11 Guards and five gatherers, many were injured, I even saw a foal with two of its legs missing.*Sob* They are healing, but I could feel their fear through the hive mind. The swarm is healing, but the pain still hurts, and even though all the wounded will soon be healed through the love, your love, it still pains me to think that I was helpless. *Sob* Without you, we would have died, all of us. You did what you had to do; it was them or us, no other path could have been taken." Chitin was talking out of my very being, I could feel how much it hurt her to speak, and I could understand why Chrysalis was silent, she was still a child, and this was just too much for her.
To my surprise, a third being came and sat on the opposite site of Chitin. I looked at the new creature and saw that it was none other than Bell."Please, stop hurting yourself, it pains Chrysalis and me to see you like this, please, come home." Bell's words only made my heart sink even deeper.
At the end of her sentence, I finally found the strength to stand up. I could see the small smile on Chitin face and felt the happiness of Chrysalis on my back."Fine, let's go home, maybe a bit of sleep will help me." were my words before we walked back into the Hive without another word spoken.
Chitin, Chrysalis and surprisingly even Bell went into the big bed, and I intended to sleep in mine as well, but before I could lay down, Chitin levitated me into their bed. Before I could even respond, I was hugged by two Changelings and a Pony who liked the softness and fluffiness of my fur.
My dreams were not as welcoming as I hoped, yet, they were almost as painful as I expected them to be. It was about the first time I killed something, accidentally, but I still ended its life. It was when I still was relatively inexperienced with magic and would try my best to become better at it.
Auriel's dream
It was a warm day where the wind would something blow over a large green and with beautiful flower adorned meadow making them almost look like shallow waves of a large pond. I was just sitting under a tree near my mirror and looked myself in the eyes while trying to color my eyes in a new color.
This way was especially useful as I so could also figure many things out about myself. For example, my eyes do glow stronger whenever I use a stronger spell, but that does not indicate how much power I put into it, no, it just says how much I hold the real power of said spell back.
I also found at this point out that I was the only one of, well, me in this world, or at least I knew that there was no one in the biomes I already created. But, I made a rather shocking realization back then. After many, many years of looking after animals, I found out that they all had one thing in common, they either had something hanging between their legs or a hole from where smaller creatures of their kind came out. I had neither of them, not even the one both variations had. Although the news were painful for me, I would always push my worries and sadness aside for more research.
On this day, I found a new color yellow. I was so excited when I first found out about it as it would make those lights that made my fur rise even before I would even cast a spell, my eyes being colored yellow was already enough for it to work.
Like a child I was back then, I wanted to try it out and just carelessly pointed my paw at the nearest object which in my case was a tree. The new magic, this energy, was wild, it was crackling in the very air around me when I was just charging it, and when I released it, the sheer force alone knocked me to the ground.
I was used to pain up to this point, but my heart sank like a rock in water when I saw what I did. The tree was split in half, set ablaze and destroyed like the everything behind it for a few moments of walking. I was at first amazed by this new power, but when I heard a shriek of pain, my joy turned to horror.
A small red, blue and yellow bird fell out of the tree and hit the ground. At first, I thought it was just hurt a little and would stand up again, but it didn't. I walked up to it and carried it away from the fire and waited for it to wake up for several minutes, nothing happened.
I gently pocked it, but nothing happened. I tried to blow air into its beak, nothing happened. I gently pressed on the bird's chest, something happened, and that was that a red liquid was leaking out of its back. I did not know what the fluid was back then and turned the bird around with a small push.
I gasped in horror. The feathers, the skin, and even the flesh was burned to a rock-like material. The smell was disgusting, it was smelled sweet, so sugary to the point I felt sick. I stared at the bird, waiting for hours even until the next morning arrived and the bird never woke up.
In the end, I buried the bird under a large tree, one, that was a hundred times large than me, made out of a black wood that was very hard to be damaged by anything. I haven't used a yellow spell after this day, I have used white spells instead which could be used in two ways.
White spells made me able to control everything around me as it was, I could from it, I could move and reform it, even turn the power of a cloud into lightning I could control a lot easier, but I could not change it or enhance it like my other spells allowed me to. The other side of white spells was that I could, if combined with another color, have all of my spells made better in a positive way like making it faster or more efficient, but I could not hurt anything with it. I liked white spells, they were like me, at least if they were alive, then they may be even better than me.
End of Auriel's dream
The next few days were painful, but I knew I wasn't alone. I woke from my sleep with a lot of salty water on my face, I knew I cried in my sleep. I would eat breakfast, I would try to make as much love as possible, even if I barely managed to make half as much as I usually did, but it was not too bad as we had enough to live of it for another month. I didn't have cooking lessons or taught Chrysalis anything for the next three days as everyone was busy with dealing with the pain their very own way.
I would stick to my books while Chrysalis would not leave her mother, I did not know what Bell did, but at that time I was in the mood to ask. On the third day after the worm attack, we did something called, 'letting go of the dead' or as Bell called it, a 'funeral.'
Chitin carried every corpse with her magic to several stones where everyone could say goodbye to their friends, I spend all the time I had left with the Changelings I knew best and healed all of their missing limbs and wound with my magic.
I can still remember Chitin pleading eyes to which I only shook my head slowly. I can heal everything, even something that would die a second later, but I can't bring anything back to death. Chitin nodded and sadly and then put all corpses in pods were they slowly became husks as their love was taken out of their remains, what was left, was dust.
Chitin then brought the dust on the surface where she released the dust to the wind. She did everything while tears were running down her face and in the end, she broke down and cried. They were her children, every last one of them was born through her, she was their mother, and a mother should never see their child die.
The next week after the funeral was silent as everyone was slowly returning to their normal state. Chitin and Chrysalis were very quiet, so was I who decided to spend her time with them as I tried my best to make them happy.
At that time, Chitin sent guards to find out where the worms came from, but the Giga Worms actions destroyed all tunnels, Chitin was angry but relieved that they would not be able to find them. I chose my words wrong when I told them that ti was a male and males were smaller than the females who could even produce offspring with the smalled sandworm.
Chitin wanted nothing more than to avenge her children but knew I would not be able to help. Instead of attacking their nest, I spend a lot of time carefully creating a bowl like underground wall to protect the hive from any attacks. I spend hours with a lot of care creating a crystal shield so big and strong that it would take a female Giga Worm a thousand years to break through while being big enough to not be in the way of the hive for a very long time.
After a week, everything was like it never happened, life became more colorful and happy again, my love would even taste better again. But for me, I would always remember what happened. I can't forget, I remember my whole life, every second of it like it was happening it the very moment, but I can push my thoughts away, deep into my mind so I will not remember them unless I want to. One could say, my mind is like a library.
I don't want my friends to be sad, neither do I want to feel the pain of loss again. I know I can't always prevent it from happening, but I can at least I can help others to overcome the many burdens that this world, my world, has to offer.
Far, Far, very far away
Far away from the hive and even the badland themselves, where cold reign over all, where the wind cut through your flesh and bones in a second and the frost claimed all, some creatures dared to venture through it. A terrible storm made it almost impossible to see further than yours muzzle and so loud was it too, that you would have to shout to one's words.
A feminine voice shouted, "Starswirl! How long till we reach the new land! I can barely see anything in front of me, and I am scared that I froze to the ground if I stop moving!"
The Pony known as Starswirl replied with an even louder masculine shout."We-we are almost there! Just a few more days and we have reached the source of the magic surge!"
Another feminine voice asked with a shout that was a little less loud than the one from the owner of the first voice."Art thee sure that is not just a coincident!? This as well may as well just hasn't been a natural phenomenon or a trick of these frozen beasts!"
Starswirl shouted as loud as he could through the cold snow with hope in his voice."No, it was too unnatural, no, it was too natural and very powerful! We may be able to get help from whatever spirit that magic belonged too, maybe it can help us with the frozen spirits!"
The first feminine voice shouted."And what if it's hostile or does not want us on its land?!"
Starswirl paused for a long time until, he finally shouted with a less powerful voice." if that's the case, then it was an honor being your mentor!" Starswirl then said quietly to himself."I hope Faust has mercy on our souls and will save us from these truly dire times."
The travelers continued their path through the ice and snow as much as they could while hoping to live long enough to tell the tale to their children. Above the wanderers were spirits that looked like they were made out of light and frost with glowing pale blue eyes that could turn the very soul of a mortal to ice. These creatures used their magic to bring as much suffering to the wanderers as possible as an act of vengeance for using the purple flames that drove most of their kind away.
Neither of them knew that all of them would soon meet their maker, but not in the way one might think.
Meeting of unexpected Guests
The worm attack was already so long ago, a few weeks in fact, yet, I can still remember it like it was happening now. Funny isn't it, I never even bothered to find out more about me, and now, I want to learn more than I can find out. Yet, there were other things that I wanted to know even more and so, I was now busy asking Bell about her view and knowledge about the new world.
Auriel sat on a comfortable red pillow, that Chitin lent her, in front of Bell who looked at her furred friend with great curiosity. The room in which they sat was a small one, nothing much in it nor was there any sign or mark of decoration that is or once would have been here besides a few pillars that kept the room from falling apart or succumbing to the weight of the dessert above them. A perfect place, just for a small conversation.
Auriel asked with curiosity as she slightly leaned forward."So Bell, I wanted to ask you this already since a few weeks, but I was not sure if you were still too uneasy to be asked these question, so my first question is going to be, are you ready?"
Bell chuckled form Auriel's 'interesting' way to speak, it was meant severe, yet it sounded a bit too unusual, like if a foal would ask this question. Bell smiled and answered."Yes, Auriel, I am ready."
Auriel nodded and put a paw on her chin in an exciting way that made Bell wonder just how flexible her body was. Auriel then answered with a smile.
Bell thought for a moment while scratching the back of her head. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting for Auriel who was more than burning for some information, Bell finally answered."Well, I lived in a simple small village as a baker. We had a few farms, a blacksmith and mostly standard wood and cobblestone houses..."
Bell stopped talking when she saw Auriel who glared at her with half-open eyes and a very annoyed expression. Auriel replied with something that is known as sarcasm."Yes... I can't even imagine how beautiful your home was and how many things you could've seen there..."
Bel looked at Auriel with a surprised expression that soon turned into an unamused one. Bell replied unhappily."For someone who does not know a lot about life today, you seem to know sarcasm perfectly well."
Auriel looked at Bell with a confused expression and a tilted head before replying curiously."What is sarcasm?"
Bell had all of the wind stolen out of her sales and sighed before answering."Sarcasm is when... Sarcasm is when somepony says something, but actually, mean the opposite."
Auriel tiled her head even more until it hang perfectly vertically on her neck which crept Bell a bit out. Auriel asked with even greater curiosity."Why would anyone use sarcasm then?"
Bell stared at Auriel for a moment and put her right forehoof in front of her eyes and exhaled loudly, but the moment she put her hoof away and wanted to explain that too, her jaw dropped when she saw Auriel's face.
Auriel smiled at Bell with a sly, almost wicked smile that revealed many perfectly white and sharp teeth and wide open eyes. Auriel then began to chuckle lightly.
Bel grumbled loudly with a very annoyed expression."Bucking Fox."
Auriel stopped her chuckling and asked curiously."What does 'bucking' mean?" Bell froze when she heard this question. Auriel was like a very young foal, should she answer that question or maybe just tell her that she... was too.... young... that would not be working.
Bells swallowed as a bit of sweat was running down her forehead before answering as mature as she could."M-Maybe I am g-going to tell you this another time, Auriel."
Auriel shrugged and said gratefully as she was walking towards a pillar."Thank you for answering me a few questions, Although there was only really one I asked because I don't know what to ask. Most of the Changelings sadly don't know a lot about the world beyond the desert and Chitin does not want to talk about 'Pony-stuff.' Also, I am sorry for playing a bit with you, but I just couldn't resist."
Bell smiled and said."No need to thank me, besides, it was nice to talk with someone who is completely comfortable with me around. Most guards just wait until I would do something while most younger Changelings are a bit scared of me. As for you prank, it was nice to see something funny in a while." But just as she finished her sentence, her smile fell as she saw something bizarre.
Auriel walked behind a pillar, only to step out in front of another pillar on the other side of the room. Auriel then turned her attention back at Bell and asked curiously and confused."Is something wrong?"
Bell continued to stare at Auriel for a few more moments before shaking her head. Bell walked up to Auriel and asked."Wha-... How did you do that? Your eye color didn't change, there wasn't even magic in the air. so how did you just walk behind that pillar and reappear behind another one?"
Auriel shrugged and replied bluntly."No idea. This has been happening a lot since I left that sand hole, and I mostly don't mind. I can't control it, but it has not been in my way yet, and it sometimes can be hilarious. Oh, before I forget, would you like to eat something that I did not cook? I would like to go outside for as long as possible after I have made even more of the stuff they call love."
Bell nodded, but her mind stopped for a moment when she thought about it a bit more. 'The stuff they call love?' Does Auriel not know what love is? She said that there was no intelligent life back then, but she never felt love before? That is very sad, but, maybe it doesn't bother Auriel too much? She is very old and sees things very different than a normal-well, everything would from actually being hurt to some emotions.' Bell followed Auriel quietly while looking at her and simulations thinking. 'Maybe I am the one who will learn more from her in the end.'
"Hello-o-o~!" said Auriel as she repeatedly waved her paw in front of Bell's eyes.
"Huh?!" Bell shrieked as she was forced out of her thoughts. She shook her head as she looked at Auriel who looked at her with a tilted head and a confused look. 'Wow... I didn't think I would be this deep in thoughts.'
Bell thought for a few moments while looking at Auriel who stared back at her. Bell sighed and petted the big wolves head while just barely reaching her chin with her hoof. Auriel melted from the contact, and her left leg began to scratch her side furiously.
The Mare in question smiled softly at Auriel and chuckling quietly.'If Someone told me I would spend my life like this, petting and teaching my maker like an ordinary pet, I would call them crazy. Still, It's kind of funny how fast I got used her, she is a lot bigger than me after all and all those sharp teeth and the way she looks. She looks less, 'cute' than most Ponies or even monsters, but then again, she is a lot different than most of us... she is so much more like a child.'
Auriel asked while slowly melting into a puddle of fur."Mhhh~ This feels so nice... Tell me, Bell. What did you think about? You seemed to be deep in thoughts, and even in my long life I rarely saw myself like that." Literally?!?! Bell jumped backward as she saw Auriel liquifying into a puddle in shock, not concern and confusion.
Auriel state in this liquid state for several more moments until she vanished in a bright flash and reappeared a few feet away from Bell, floating in the air while her eyes rolling in her eye sockets."Wow... Why are there seven and three-quarters of Pudding sized Mare?" and with that, Auriel crash -landed on the ground with her back facing down while three birds that looked like they were on fire were circling her snouted.
Bell walked up to Auriel in confusion and pocked her fluffy chest in worry."Are you okay, Auriel?" as she waved her hoof in front of Auriel
Auriel softly hit the side of her head of her head which caused her eyes to finally stop. The Fox groaned as she slowly pulled herself back on her paws and replied in embarrassment."Hehe... Yes... Ehm. Can we, maybe, not talk about this, ever again?"
Bell rolled her eyes and continued to walk down the halls. Auriel waited for an answer for a few more seconds before she ran after Bell or rather, paced fast as her long legs were quite useful in the long and narrow halls.
*Meanwhile*
Queen Chitin, the ruler of the hive and proud leader of the Changelings, usual calmness in Changeling, was very busy at the moment. Many of the Changelings took the time to listen to older infiltrators who used to spy on Ponies and gather love and now they showed a lot of interest in certain activities.
Sadly, the court today was not as organized as it usually was, no, the Changelings now asked a storm of questions and requests. Chitin began to regret having her Hive feed to the brim and full of energy, she just was too used to the silence. Chitin groaned before she looked at her Daughter who sat beside her.
Chitin placed her hooves over her daughter's ears and shouted." Shut up!!! " with fire in her eyes as a thousand or fifty flanks hit the ground simultaneously. "I understand that you are excited to finally enjoy life, I really do, my children, but could you please form a line or something? I can't hear all of you at once, even with the hivemind."
As she finished her sentence, she released Chrysalis from the silence of her mother's hooves, only to reply dryly."I still heard it..."
The Changelings heeded their Queens order and formed a line with precision, just as awaited from the Hive. The first Changeling surprisingly wore... a hat? The hat looked like a red cup made out of cloth with a golden rope at the top. Behind him was an entire group of Changelings who wore various kinds of hats too.
Chitin smiled and asked."Yes, Stinger, what would you like to request from me?"
Stinger smiled and asked."Thank you, my Queen. A few days ago, a few Guards found a pink cloud that smelled very sweet, and so the Guards observed what it would do, but to everyone surprise, these hats fell out of it like a rain shower before disappearing in green smoke. We would like to investigate from where they came from."
Chitin nodded, on the outside calm, but on the inside, she was questioning if she wasn't still dreaming. The Queen asked."So, I presume you want to locate the source of these clouds and find out if they are a thread fo the hive?"
To the Queen's surprise, the Changelings shocked his head and replied in embarrassment."Ehm... no, that's not the real reason we came to you, your majesty. We would like to find out where the clouds come from because a lot of Changelings found liking in the hats, but sadly, there are by far not enough of them for all of us."
The Queen's face froze as her hoof was slowly lifted over her head, before slowly bringing it down again while pulling her face with it throughout a few seconds. In her entire life, of all court sessions she had in her time of rule, this was by far the weirdest request she ever heard. With a loud sigh, she replied calmly."Yes, Stinger, you are allowed to find the hat clouds, but I think I already know who is the source of head decoration."
Stinger smiled and thanked his Queen for her understanding, but just as he was about to ask for who could aid him in his noble quest, the gates of the throne room opened, and two Non-Changelings entered while talking about something the Changelings never heard of.
"I told you already, I don't know how to make it, just somehow know how it looks, smells and tastes, even if all three aspects are divine..." Said Auriel as she can still taste this 'pudding' through her memories and it made Bell very jealous.
"Don't give up now, Auriel! I know it must be something done with milk, like cheese, but softer, but there is the thing that is responsible for the flavor, and I neither know what 'chocolate' or 'vanilla' is!" Shouted Bell with anger and even more jealousy.
The two of them stopped in their tracks as they noticed the large crowd of Changelings that gathered in the room as silence was absolute. Luckily, the awkward moments have been destroyed by the evilest weapon that has ever existed... Weaponized Cuteness!
Chrysalis jumped away from the throne and flew towards Auriel with a big smile on her face while shouting with joy."Aury!" While the others could only stare, Auriel didn't mind and caught Chrysalis with her paws as she jumped on her hind legs. Auriel then began to cuddle the young Princess against her fluffy chest as if she was the cutest puppy the world has ever seen while the child giggled in amusement.
After a few moments of the fun, Auriel released her best friend from her grip an slowly put her back on the ground, only to be greeted with the sight of a confused little Chrysalis. The young Changeling asked."Auriel? Why are you standing like a minotaur?"
Auriel tilted her head and was about to ask what she meant, but then she suddenly felt her tail reaching part of her back it shouldn't be able to. The Golden Fox looked back and saw that she was standing perfectly fine, even if she felt a small drain of magic, but she regenerated Waaaaaaaay more magic so it wouldn't be able to drain her. Her magic didn't mind this state, she did and instantly slumped back on all fours and blushed in a bit in embarrassment.
Bell raised an eyebrow and guessed."So, I think this new magic of yours is going a bit crazy?" The other Changelings didn't understand what the Mare was talking about until they put everything together that has happened lately. The hats, the clouds, the supernatural incidents. It all made... no sense at all, but where is the fun in that?
Stinger walked in front of Auriel and asked kindly."So... you made the hat spitting clouds?" Auriel shrugged while blushing but nodded only seconds later. "Could you please make for of them? We would like to have at least one of our own."
Auriel stared at Stinger, then looked at Chitin whos sighed and gave her an annoyed nod and then at the massive crowd who looked at her with hope. Auriel gulped as she was not sure what would happen, but she decided to try and snapped her fingers which resulted in the room suddenly getting darker.
Confusion spread across the room as for why it suddenly became dark, but their confusion was lifted once a powerful thundering sound was heard from above. Everyone present looked up and saw a huge pink and sweet smelling cloud above them. Their first reaction was joy and cheers, and they only became happier once it started to rain hats, but their happiness ended as fast as it began as the room was flooded with the overwhelming amount of fancy head accessories in seconds the room and even the hallways were slowly being clogged with the headgear.
"M-My- My Q- My Que- My Queen!!!" shouted a Changeling scout that swam through the hat flood, surprisingly and luckily, his screams ended the rain of hats to everyone's delight. Auriel was the first one to crawl her way to freedom.
"This was surprisingly relieving, like someone ut so much pressure and weight my chest and shoulders." Said Auriel with a smile as she rolled her neck while a soft sigh of relief escaped her lips. While Auriel had no idea what happened, the cult of hats was more than happy as they happily dived through the piles of headgear.
Out of a Pile close to the entrance door, a Changeling burst through his early funeral of silk and gasped loudly for air. The Changelings panted while resting on the soft hats for a few moments until he regained enough strength to make his way to the Queen. Once he made his way to the Queen, he collapsed and reported to his Majesty with his breaths before passing out.
Chitin stare with empty eyes into the air, the cheerful mood died as she began to mumble something quietly while shaking her head in disbelief, or maybe she just didn't want to accept it.
Auriel tilted her head to the right as her ears lied on her head as was slowly feeling worried about her insectoid friend. Auriel levitated Chrysalis on her back and walked towards Chitin while inspecting her. Auriel waved her paw in front of Chitins eyes and poked her side, but no reaction came from her. Auriel asked without targeting anyone specifically asked."Is this normal?" and surprisingly she got an answer as Changeling that stood beside the golden fox shook her head.
After a few more awkward moments, the Changeling Queen slowly turned her head in stress, worry, and fear towards Auriel. Chitin inhaled sharply before replying."A few hours ago... Equestrians were sighted, heading towards the Badlands. Under the Ponies are none other than the Alicorns." Bell was the only one who showed happiness from this answer as she, although the hive life was pleasant, missed having company in the form of ponies.
Auriel stared at Chitin for a few moments before saying happily."Yay, more friends!" The same Changeling from earlier was now shaking her head more rapidly and furiously. Auriel stared at the Changeling who shook her head until she got dizzy and collapsed before turning back to Chitin. The fuzzy ball of joy asked with curiosity."Do you think they will do something bad to us? Wait, how do they even know that we are here? The desert is vast, and the hive is so small." Auriel said as she stretched her arms when she mentioned 'dessert' and left only an inch space between her paws when she mentioned 'hive.'
Chitin narrowed her eyes at Auriel and answered with a sigh."It seems like a rather big forest grew around a large worm corpse that is now radiating a new kind of magic that is making plants grow appeared out of thin air. Do you think that maybe that was enough for them to find their way here?" Auriel winced when she heard Chitin, and a feeling of guilt filled her heart, at least if she even has organs.
Little Chrysalis asked with curiosity while looking between Auriel and her mother with her puppy eyes."Mommy? Do you think the bad Ponies are coming to hurt us?" No one dared to say a word until the young Changeling Queen said with a bit of anger and traces of despair."It's not fair, we didn't do anything to them, and they hate us so much for no reason!"
Nothing happened for several moments while the young Changeling breathed heavily, all eyes darted at her, she had no idea how to continue, or even end this suffocating silence. Chrysalis lowered her head in sorrow and looked at the ground with watering eyes. Too much has happened for this filly for such a short amount of time for everyone, and it took it's toll on the child first.
Auriel felt something new to her, but it was nothing she would like to feel again. This feeling, it felt like something was gripping something in her chest, keeping her silent, unmoving and undoing, yet, the craving to help and cheer her best friend was evergrowing. Auriel inhaled deeply and held his breath, before grabbing Chrysalis of her back and giving the child a hug.
Auriel exhaled slowly throughout several seconds before she said with a smile, one that hid her true feeling of the dire situation."Please don't be sad Chrysalis. Everything will end well in the end, and there is nothing you have to worry about. I will do anything I have to do to keep all of you safe." The Fox's statement filled the crowd around her with mixed feeling that mostly weighted into joy, but some for some Changelings it left a sophisticated taste in their mouths'.
Chitin stared at her furred friend with worry, fearing that Auriel might have to do what she hated the most once again. The Changeling Queen sputtered."Auriel you're not ... Please don't tell me you are planning to K-" Her sentence was ended with a rather strong type of persuasion in the form of a single glance from Auriel. The look on her Fox friend was not angry, insulted or anything else, but one that stared deep into her soul.
Auriel sighed loudly as she looked away for a moment, everyone could feel that their Maker didn't need a pause for herself, she just did it to give her listeners time to recover for what she would say next. Auriel breathed through her nose before telling them."During my long time of making this world, do you think the world was perfect?"
Auriels words lingered through the minds of all Changeling, hopping, desiring and yet simultaneously fearing what she would say next.
Auriel closed her eyes and counting her tale."No, it wasn't, my present of life was not always used for peace. The lands that were filled with magic that gave them a life that today's almost dead land could never give. But, not all of my children desired to live in peace, some of them became stronger and stronger, more brutal and to my sadness, more. I was too timid back then, hoping that things would deal with themselves, but entire races were wiped out through these greedy beings. In the end, through my timid, races were gone. In the end, I was forced to deal with them by not doing anything for them. I teleported them away into a valley, one from which I brought all creatures to another place where they could live, and took away almost all magic I gifted to the land. My children then proceded to then destroy the land in their greed until nothing remained, a hundred winters later I returned to see if they changed, but they all perished, not through starving, but because they consumed themselves."
A new light was shown on Auriel from just a short little tale from the old world. Auriel closed her eyes once again, but there were no awaited tears or sadness, just a cold look. The Fox laddy then ended her dialogue and said."I don't want to kill, yes, I avoid it as much as I can, but just because I don't like murder doesn't mean I am scared, nor incapable of doing so. I am not neglecting my duty to preserve all life. Saving a single race, as much as I hate to admit, is not my job." Auriel's voice suddenly became very somber, sad and very regretful."While killing is hurting me a lot... Not saving them... As much as it pains me to say this, and I really, really really hate to say this, from the bottom of my heart and soul... It doesn't make me feel anything as long as my doing saves more lives than it took..."
Jaws were hanging from every Changeling that heard her story and their tool to eat only descended even further as they started to realize what Auriel meant exactly with 'Not saving them... doesn't make me feel anything...' The Queen gulped and asked or more likely sputtered nervously with hints of fear."So you... you would kill entire races, w-whole kingdoms if they were t-too dangerous for other races?"
Auriel put Chrysalis on the ground and only gave the Queen another glance before looking at her with a calm expression, the worry in her eyes could even see someone with bad sight."Would it change your opinion on me if I said 'yes'?" Chitin hesitated as sweat was running down her forehead, but was able to force a shaking shock of her head. Auriel's serious expression seemingly melted away once her friend answered her question right."That's good to hear, my dear friend. Just because something or someone can do something doesn't automatically mean they will do so or at least not search for another path. I would never hurt you or your changelings, Chitin and I would first try to figure out a way to stop conflicts."
Chitin succumbed the pressure that her fox friend gave off and collapsed onto the ground with all of her hooves spread out and her lungs forcefully exhaled all air in them with a prolonged stretch cough. The Changeling Queen said weakly."Please stop doing this? It's almost suffocating when you turn from a ball of fur to an almighty and scary god that manipulates all life in her favor..." 'But wasn't I always doing so for the sake of everyone?'
Auriel stared at the deflated Queen for several seconds before shrugging which resulted in the same Changeling from earlier to slap her hoof into her own face and thus inventing the facehoof. Auriel replied with a smile."Sorry, but I don't like making promises, they feel like I am finding myself, but I will try my best to not make you feel uncomfortable. shall we now go and see if we can negotiate with our guests?"
Bell asked while looking up at Auriel with one of her forehoof on her cheek."How do you all these fancy words?" Auriel smiled while patting her fiends her and replied proudly."Spending a lot of time in the library, reading many books and having the chaos spirits magic in your body can result in many unexpected outcomes." The young Mare pointed her hoof at Auriel as she realized that she did it again, before sighing and giving up.
Meeting of expected and unexpected guests
Two horned pegasi... Winged unicorns? Winged and horned earth ponies? Whatever the term will be, lonely walked towards the source of the supernatural energy. Their companions split from them while they acted as bait for the cold-hearted spirits that craved their demise.
The two Ponies ventured day and night towards this faint beacon of hope with an ambition to find a weapon or an entity that could help them in their time of need. After many long days and nights through the icy dessert, they saw something that could not exist after the thermodynamic laws.
The frozen north and an ostensibly endless dessert collided, creating a fine line of water forming an only one-inch wide gap between the hot and cold biome. Sadly, the two ponies had no time to analyze the wonders and secrets at the current time as they could already feel how their fur was slowly freezing solid.
Although these two ponies were much more resistance to natures, or in this case, the frozen demon's wrath, they were only doing little better as the continuous attempt from the frozen spirits feared as the wendigos trying to turn them into ice statues was slowly paying its toll. With their strength slowly vanishing, they entered the desert and the burning heat raining down on them, the wish of feeling nothing on and in their bodies was slowly forming.
The two Ponies managed to go deeper into the desert while their followers were no friends of the heat, they slowly followed them as the sand was drowned by a thick sheet of ice and snow. The ponies stopped on top of a particular high sand dune with their hope slowly diminishing before spiking with confidence from the beautiful and slightly gruesome sight.
To the east, a few minutes of walk distance away was a vast forest filled with green grass, large majestic trees, plenty of various unknown fruits and berries and a colossal worm corpse through which grew an enormous tree, higher than even a castle. The gigantic tree's roots professedly connected with all plants. A genuinely admirable, if not one in a lifetime sight that could also wet the eyes of the most stone-hearted knight.
Sadly, their sweet moments of victory while they looked at a garden of fertility with amazement was interrupted when a cold chill traveled up their spines. Just in time, the ponies reacted and erected a magical barrier, barely blocking a large icicle with the destination of the younger pony's spine. The ice spell of the ghostly being created large cracks that spread across most of the shield.
Three wendigoes, spirits that resembled the upper body of a pony with a ghostly tail, their form transparent as their body was not physical, it was more of a manifestation of hatred. The spirits glared down at the ponies before widely opening their mouth, releasing a storm of cold and ice in an attempt to slowly kill their prey.
The magic barrier, cast and sustained from the possibly two most powerful ponies was already starting to crack and would most likely not stand against the icy breaths of the spirits for all too much longer. Was this the end of the two ponies that risk their lives to find salvation, or maybe was it only the beginning?
meanwhile
A bright flash suddenly appeared behind an enormous sand dune as a hundred armed Changelings, a Changeling Queen, an earth pony, and a Fox materialized out of nowhere. Everyone seemed quite surprised that the transportation went to smoothly, but sadly, there was still one passenger who apparently didn't feel as good as her traveling partner.
Auriel's world was turning, circling and even sideways jumping as she dizzily tumbled left and right. For several, she continuously almost tripped on her own paws, but luckily she regained control before even more embarrassment would find it's path and home in her. After finally calming down, the predatory, yet vegan Fox grumbling in annoyance with an atomic-sized amount of malice."Long distance teleportation... my mortal enemy." Auriel turned her attention then to Chitin and asked."Why did you want me to take so many guards with us, but not Chrysalis?"
Chitin sighed as gave Auriel a quick glance before looking back at her troops."My daughter isn't ready to see an actual battle, and I would like to spare her from politics for now at least. She is too important for me and the hive and I will not let a pony even scratch her."
Auriel nodded in understanding, at least in as much understanding as she could since she never had 'real children.' Auriel hummed before asking with curiosity."Why are the ponies radiating so much cold when they are walking into your land, into such a warm biome?"
Chitin raised an eyebrow as she stared at Auriel for several moments before replying."Don't you mean 'your land'? While we build our kingdom here, it is technically your land. Even if we build our hive here, you have been here a long time before us, and you own the very sand it's built upon."
Auriel tilted her head to the left and asked curiously."Own land? No one should own land. The world is for everyone, and everyone should be allowed to be everywhere. Besides, I made all of this not for me, but everyone else, and maybe for me too a bit. Thinking about it, I never really had my own territory... Hm, maybe it's time to do that?" Chitin chuckled dryly from Auriels comment as her childish view of the world might be better than how the world works now.
Bell's eyes widened when as she remembered rumors and reports from the time where she still was in her village."Oh oh... oh now..."
Auriel asked with interest and concern."Is there something you would like to tell us? please tell us, Bell, we are your friends, if you have a problem then just say so."
Bell looked at Auriel with great worry, but he was able to overcome her own concerns and inhaled deeply, holding her breath until she counted to four and exhaled. She began to tell something she heard from the time she was still just a normal Mare."When I was still living in my village, rumors have been spreading that ice spirits known as Wendigoes have been creating storms and cold. Their storms would make Ponies very angry, even fight against another, they are impossible to kill as their wound would only glow before fully regenerating in just a blink of an eye. Some even said that they are responsible for the great war."
"What is 'war'?" Asked Auriel with a childlike attitude.
Bell opened her mouth to answer the question, but her only way to communicate was forcefully sealed off by a strong black, hoof that almost hit the back of her throat which nearly made the poor earth pony mare gag. Thankfully, the owner of the hoof knew the boundaries of the poor mare and retreated her hoof before giving Bell an apologizing look.
While her two friends were arguing over who had right, the one who almost blurted out something delicate in front of someone who was somewhat understanding or the one who forcibly attempted to touch the others breakfast, Auriel's eyes widened in realization as she put one and one together with her remarkably and imagination.
Auriel thought horror as an almost suffocating, deafening and even blinding dread was enveloping her mind an body with a cold sensation.Powerful Creatures that can't be hurt and glow when they are hurt? Oh no... no. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. NO! Please don't be another light, please don't be another Discord, everything else but don't let it be anything that wants to hurt my friends! Auriel thought as she continuously shook her head, yet, as if someone heard her prayers, she was freed from the imprisonment of her own mind with a slight stinging feeling on her left cheek.
Auriel looked at the source from the pain and saw that it was Bell who had to stand up on her hind legs just to reach out for the golden fox. The mare in question, on the other hand, didn't seem to be happy about what she had to do and shrank back when she realized that Auriel was awakened from her daydreaming.
Bell stuttered with great concern and worry for her friends."S-sorry Auriel... I really didn't mean to hurt you, b-but you have been standing like a statue for a minute or two without noticing us. We tried to get you back on another way b-." The mare was lucky that her friend was a very sympathetic creature as she was released from answering to her creating in the form of scratching of the ear from the Duchess of Fluffiness herself. The mare instantaneously melted on the touch from the so-called princess of food as she blurted out a mash of words that made less sense than a block of ice that didn't melt on a sunny beach day.
Auriel chuckled softly on the cute sight, and maybe because she now saw what it was like so see someone else melt to form a touch, but her worries were still lingering in the back of her head as she looked at the top of the high sandy hill in front of her.
Auriel stated sternly with a sad frown."I will deal with the Wendigoes, if they are actually there, alone. Don't send anyone after me, I don't want you to get hurt. If something bad happens, save yourself and leave, there is nothing you can do to them because I don't want to lose you." the emotions did a sharp turn in the beings around her. Everything was so silent that they even could hear a low and weak whistle of the wind as an awkward tumbleweed was rolling past between the changelings and Auriel.
Chitin said in said in a combination of anger, worry and shock."No, we will not let you face whatever there is, especially not if there are ponies just behind this hill. We will stand together against this threat." Bell seemed to be lightly offended by the queen's statement. Auriel looked at the Queen with no signs of emotions, before snorting once and smiling with an amused look on her face. The fox extended her hof towards changeling queen and laid it on her left shoulder.
Auriel smiled while looking into Chitis eyes, these mortal eyes that showed so much of the fragile life of hers, yet with a fire of determination and willpower burning in the depths of her mind, soul, body, and heart. Sadly, the maker knew that her friend, as strong as her will was, flesh could only hold all so much strength in it, even if it was shielded by a natural armor.
Auriel smiled turned from happiness and joy into the one only a mother could show and said with hopes."Chitin, my friend, I know you want to help me yet the dangers and risks are far too great, you have too much to live for, Chrysalis, Bell and all the changelings in the hive they all have something that makes their lives worth living. What place, what purpose would I have if I lost you, what would your hives, your daughters and Bell's future behold without you? I don't know, but I am sure it would not be one that would be better without you."
These words made the hearts of all changelings, and Bells, melt away as the words were not only touching their very souls but also were hugely unexpected to come from her, the impact that they left behind was substantial. The queen exhaled loudly and said with a heavy heart."Just please stay safe, you are far too important for the hive and me."
Auriel smiled before turning her attention toward the events that would take place very soon. Auriel's mind was empty while walking the towards the hills top, no signs of hesitation, or even regret, she knew that whatever would happen, needed to happen. The warm feeling of the sun, the comfortable feeling of the sand under her paws and the dry and refreshing wind calmed her nerves.
The sight that awaited her was something she didn't expect, nor could've ever been prepared to see. These Wendigoes, they looked like nothing she ever saw besides maybe their heads, they were made out of something she didn't understand or likely ever would be able to recreate. They weren't her children, but she could feel something in them that she only ever perceived in the one creature, she enjoyed killing, in these creatures that made her blood boil. A feeling she almost forgot and hasn't felt in such a long time. Anger.
But what were her creatures, were the ones that were cowering behind a weak shield that was made out of something she that was beyond anything she ever saw, maybe it was just beyond her understanding or just wholly new? They fit the description of these 'alicorns' Chitin once mentioned.
The first one was huge, still only two thirds the size of her, but still significant, which was an intentional understatement of her size compared to her friend. Her fur was pristine white, or at least it would be without the ice and frozen hairs on her body. Her wings were a bit short for her size, making them, almost overlookable for Auriel, and the mare's mane was like the most beautiful rosy tips of dawn, which mean a lot for someone who watched over one hundred thousand sun settings.
The second pony, even if only considerable large for a pony, at least that was what Auriel assumed, had a deep blue fur that looked even purer due to the dark shade, but it was much 'wilder.' Her short cyan hair was even more unkempt, and a blue horn was growing out of her head, how did she know that it was only growing? Because it looked a bit small for her size and Auriel could learn a lot just with looking at something with her eyes.
Auriel eyes glowed with purple light as she created a golden barrier around her, twice as strong as the one she used against the behemoth-sized worm which seemingly stooped the unending onslaught of the Wendigoes.
The spirits that carved hate felt something familiar, almost primal in them, something they didn't understand but what their instinct and senses were screaming, no forcing them to react towards the owner of the power signature. For the first time, the ghosty creatures felt the emotion they feed for so long, on their own, even if the feeling was not originated from them, but from something inside of them.
Auriel stared at the wendigoes with great interest as they seemed to squirm, wince and fight something growling and snarling animalistic. Abruptly, their struggle stopped as the three of them looked at Auriel with a dead look in their eyes. The spirits bend their necks backward before unleashing a wave of icicles. Auriels waited for the icy projectiles to shatter on her barrier, but something shocking happened.
*Shatter*
The ice almost all ice shard broke through her barrier and Auriel was feeling something weird in her body, she didn't feel anything for a moment. The fox looked at the wendigoes who didn't move a single bit, looking down, she saw that the ponies looked back at her with horror in their eyes. Auriel felt something wet running down her body and heard the dripping of water.
Auriel slowly and shakingly looked down and saw something that made her question if she was dreaming. The icicles, they were all were sticking through her, dozens of the long icy spears impaled her body as a golden liquid was running down her body forming a puddle of the glowing and clear, even almost celestial liquid. She didn't know what was happening, and seeing as her fur was losing it's vibrant color, turning it into a matt yellow didn't help ease her mind.
Auriel felt something she never thought she could handle such a powerful sensation. It was a level of pain that she never felt. The golden fox collapsed as she was moaning and silently crying in pain, she could feel it all. The burning sun that fried her back, the dry wind of the desert, the painfully hot sensation of the sand and the worst of all, the cold feeling of the ice shard in her body. She fell from the highest cliffs, was attacked by creatures the size of mountains and was even able to swim in lava, but this, this was a thousand times worse than everything combined. Yet, all the pain that she felt on and in her body, was just a small sting compared to the tiny cut she sensed on the edge of her eye, it was paralyzing agony.
Yet, a new feeling was also creeping into her mind, it was like she saw a whole new world. Her mind was no longer free from all unnecessary, Auriel could imagine things, she felt how the world actually was, for a moment, she felt truly free, like one of her children, but then, she was slowly losing control.
Auriel's breathing rate spiked up, she heard a loud pumping in her chest, she was feeling more alive than she has ever been and the wish, the determination to survive felt like an all-consuming inferno. Her eyes turned red, freed from the boundaries of carefulness and shyness that the power's bearers once cared for. Auriel was radiating so much heat that the ice evaporate in a heartbeat, the sand on the top half of the mountain instantly turned to the glass as a wave of fire washed over the sandy ground while the ground in a five-meter radius turned to magma. Surprisingly, her own life essence flowed out of the magma, crawling up her body and back where it belonged through her wounds before said wounds healed with a golden light.
The pain was slowly decreasing for Auriel, her fur once again glowing vibrantly with a golden shine, maybe it burned even stronger as she slowly pulled her body back up and onto her paws. Auriel could still feel the pain, not as intense, but it was still there, but something in her blood that made her forget it, replacing it with pure fury.
Steam was blown out of her mouth an nostrils as Auriel was breathing heavily while she glared at the frozen spirits that looked at her with caution. The fox slowly rose even further up, breaking the laws of body flexibility and standing on her two hind legs, her body seemingly morphed slightly so that it would support her decision too. After a few seconds of menacingly straightening her back, Auriel glared down at the frozen beasts.
Auriel slowly lifted her right paw while keeping her arm straight, time seemingly slowed down while she was doing this and like a machine, her movements stopped once her limb reached a perfect 180-degree angle. Auriel didn't do this scare the Wendigoes, no, she just didn't want the two ponies to be... molten.
A single snap was enough to break the silence, but what followed, possibly broke a bit more than just that. Hundreds of watermelon-sized fireballs suddenly ignited in the very air behind Auriel, levitating and furiously flickering. With a wide arc, Auriel left arm slowly moved toward the frozen spirits with her index finger pointing at the Wendigo on the left.
Suddenly, the fireballs shot without warning toward the unlucky spirit with high speed. The Wendigoes reacted to this by firstly fleeing back to the border of the frozen land before shooting a volley of icicles at the balls of fire, but each ice projectile was only able to destroy a single fireball, in the end, the other spirits abandonment Auriel's target by trying to create a more significant gap between them.
The one Wendigo barely stood a chance as the fireballs broke through its defense, the hits were surprisingly painful for the spirits, even the two ponies seemed shocked to see the Wendigo being hurt. Luckily for the Wendigo, most fireballs missed, or at least things looked at way.
Auriel slowly clenched her fist while keeping her arm straight, before moving her fist and arm closer to her, all while maintaining eye contact with the flames that missed.
The ice beast's moment of rest was ended as it could feel increasing heat from directed at it's back. The creature turned around, only to be met with a single, fireball twice the size of it, made out of all missed smaller fireballs. Like a comet, both the ice ghost and the fireball collided with the ground before the flames exploded with an earthshattering explosion, leaving behind a severely hurt ice creature that just survived the attack. The being was struggling to move while its bodies heat was melting the snow around it.
The Wendigo didn't survive because of its luck, it survived because Auriel didn't want to kill it, she despised ending ones live, no matter who it was, she hated to admit it, but there was even a small amount of regret she felt for murdering Discord. 'No one deserves to die, not even them... I hope they won't be too angry with me.'
With lightning-like reflexed, Auriel's paw moved to the left side of her head as an icy spear the size of her own body almost hit her eye, only a millimeter away was the sharp end. Her paw was bleeding, the speed alone was enough to shred the skin on her was, and the tip even created a faint slash wound on her fingers. Once again, a golden liquid was leaking out of the now glowing and healing injury.
Auriel applied a lot of pressure onto the ice weapon, cracks only formed slowly, the sharp projectile was seemingly even harder than diamonds, a gem that would've broken a lot faster in the paw of the maker of all jewels'. After several seconds, the spear shattered and revealing that Auriel's injury already healed.
Auriels arm let her arm lose, let it hanging again as her eyes turned green, the heat vanishing in the blink of an eye, the magma turning instantly into a dark grey burned sandstone.
Just as the next icicle was about to hit, Auriel ducked, but to her surprise, she saw many hairs of hers were slowly floating down in front of her eyes. Auriel growled silently, seeing that the spirits were much faster than her reflexes before slapping her left paw onto the ground.
The ground was shaking furiously and tremendously, throwing the ponies and changelings to the ground. Suddenly cracks appeared on the field while the very earth began to bulge, forming a significant bump in the snow before suddenly dozens of thick vines shoot out of the ground.
Only one of the two Wendigoes managed to get away in time, the second one wasn't so lucky as the vines shot towards it and denied any escape as they were aggressively slashing through the air.
The cold being managed to hold the plants off for almost a minutes, but its luck soon ran out as thick root suddenly emerged out of the ground and slammed down upon the spirit, making it crash into the ground beside the fried member of its kind. The Wendigo was bound by dozens of vines before it could even realize it. Surprisingly, the plants didn't freeze, nor was the ghost able to just phase through them, it continued to struggle, but ultimately it had no avail.
Only one last Wendigo was left.
Auriel's feeling of wrath was almost completely gone after the defeat of the second Wendigo, she felt terrible for them, pitied them, even if she didn't know their past, she didn't like it and most likely wouldn't kill them. Auriel didn't hate them, she hated the part of them that reminded her of Discord. Just because they weren't her children didn't mean they had no right to be in her world.
The last Wendigo roared in malice as it charged towards Auriel, soaring through the wind as an icy storm surrounded its ethereal body that looked like it was glowing with energy.
Auriel sighed with sadness while closing her eyes. Only a second away from being steamrolled, Auriel opened her purple eyes as her left paw, that formed into a fist that was surrounded by a golden aura. Auriel's fist collided with the muzzle of the Wendigo and redirecting it towards the ground.
With a loud explosion and an all blinding gust of snow and dirt, the last Wendigo was defeated. The ponies stared with both joy and horror at the sight of seeing such an advanced level of the affinity of combat, or rather they were questioning how the fox able to do so as it exceeded the known limits of how much mana a creature could bear without... making a large stain...
Auriel was panting heavily, she was not used in destroying or fighting, at least her magic was trying it's best to make it as difficult for her as possible. The golden fox burned through more than half of her mana, which was, after all these years of training, more than enough to create a whole biome!
Yet, the sight of the spirits squirming and struggling pained her deeply, the suffering of the defeated and helpless, it almost broke her heart. In the last few moments before her mind turned back into its transparent state, a thought entered her mind, one she imagined all on her own.
With a bright flash, Aurel vanished from the top of the mountain and reappearing in front of the defeated wendigoes. The golden colored creature knelt down in her new form as her eyes turned brown. With the tap of her claw onto the ground, the snowy space glowed with a brown light as suddenly a boulder-like a crystal cluster was rising out of the depths of the world while the ground was quietly rumbling. A large light blue crystal boulder now was standing in front of her.
Auriel swiped her claw at the crystal formation, shattering the top half in a single motion and revealing a single shard that glowed with a broad blue light, a silver wendigo figure coiled around the top of the crystal and Lastly, the wendigoes tail was a small chain attached. The crystal's sharp bottom levitated only a few inches above the boulder itself as it was surrounded by a golden glow. 'I have no idea why this thought suddenly popped up, but I really hope it works, please, let it work.'
Auirle eyes turned from brown to purple once again while levitating the sharp slowly towards the Wednigoes. The icy creatures stared at the strange object before hearing a soft and quiet."Please forgive me, but you will thank me for this afterward."
The shared glowed with a powerful light as the wendigoes were sucked into the crystals, phasing through anything binding them to the world, they shouted, cried and snarled, but no matter how much they tried to fly away, they were sucked into the artifact. Once the spirits were captured, the sharp stopped glowing expect three tiny sparks that swirled in the crystal.
Auriel sighed before grabbing the shard with her paw and attaching it to her collar. The fox was tired, and the pain was, like the name stated painful, even if there were no more wound inside and outside.
Auriels slowly sank down onto her four paws. With one last use of her magic, her she teleported back where the fight began, and laid with her stomach onto the ground with her head resting on top of her paws. 'At least the heat is gone, it felt like my fur was boiling me alive.'
The two ponies stared with hanging jaws at Auriel, their hopes high, filled with determination as their beliefs for the salvation of their ponies was never as strong. With new strength, the two ponies took off the ground and flew towards Auriel.
Auriel lifted her head lightly, smiling and hoping to make new friends and maybe even learn more about the new world. While she awaited her 'guests' to arrive, she could already hear Chitin and Bell make their way up the mountain. With a dry chuckle, Auriel thought happily and a bit amusement.'I hope my friends are as excited as I am to meet them.' before wondering why she found that so funny.
Author's Note
Auriel's Character Sheet
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A bit of fluffy, cute and scary shenanigans... Wait what?
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be torn between two possible paths that a situation could take even though you have nothing to fear, at least for your own health? Because I don't. I doubt that something terrible would happen, they were both similar looking creatures and after seeing Bell living in the hive, why would these ponies be hostile? Of course, I would not let a hostile situation happen, no, but for some reason, I felt so giggly. I was a bit confused about my 'sudden joy,' but I was more interested in the next events that would take place in just a few more minutes.
The two ponies slowly walked towards Auriel, not showing any signs of weakness-- which didn't mean Auriel could not see or notice their vulnerability --of the burden of their sore muscles, their hunger after many meal-less nights and tired look in their eyes. Auriel was sure that it would possibly only take a few more minutes until they collapse should they decide to trot towards her. Yet, something in these ponies made Auriel fell something familiar, not like a friend or sibling, but more like she was facing a small piece of herself.
On the other side of the hill were the changelings, armored to the teeth and their senses sharpened. Every warriors' expectation, should a battle break out with the opposing race, was not a glorious battle but more the be a simple mean to enable their Queens escape. Of course, that were only their darkest thoughts as they believed in their new gained strength from Auriel's love, and of course the help of the princess of food herself, to be able to win any fight that would head ahead of them.
So... two factions that hated another since the dawn of time- or whenever their hatred for another started would now face one another? The changelings were the first ones to climb the sandy hill on which the maker rested. Eight hooves were silenced the moment the insectoid ponies were in sight.
Chitin quickly moved towards the ball of fluff, not carrying for the ponies that stood in front of her nor the fact that this cute animal-like creature just beaten three o the most feared creatures history has ever known. Until now. And just rubbed Auriel behind her ear with one of her front hooves. The sound the fox made was an adorable one, one that was overshadowed by an audible 'thud' that came from the younger pony.
The look on the Ponies was one Auriel has only seen once in her life, in her own tears to be exact. It was one that a creature could just express if it lost everything, the look of having one's hopes and dreams, their work, and achievements, destroyed in front of their eyes. Auriel could only guess why they felt this way but was not sure how to act.
The mare with a blue coat spoke in shock, fear and possible denial."A-... After everything that has happened, after all that was lost in both lives and property, after traveling through day and night, this is how the creator rewards us? The hope of a new home and possibly a mean to survive turned out to be a pet? A slave of another race which reigns over a dead land?" with her sentence fished, her head dropped onto the sand and finished speaking with these last words."I am done, wake me in a week."
...
...
...
"Ha... haha.... hahaha."
All eyes turned to Auriel who rolled on her back with her uproarious laughter filling the air and pounding on the ground carelessly with her tail and paws. The laughter was not natural, it felt less like a sound, but more like a wave of power that silenced all other voice. Slowly rose the fox in the air, seemingly not bound by gravity or any other rule that might disturb her amusement.
The looks on the ponies and changelings were priceless ones, for the ponies it was the face of complete and utter horror that graced their heads while it the was the look of confusion that most changelings displayed.
"BWAHAHAHAHIHIHIHIHIHEHEHEHE!"
Reality seemed to somehow bend to the will of the mad laughter. The earth trembled, the air shifted, magic seemingly vanished from the grasp of the mortal hooves and embedded itself into the objects surrounding the maker. Like a crooked and deformed chess board, the sand became almost every material the world had to offer: dirt, metal, water, wood even flesh and bone. The sky above them, not the whole, just the one in a hundred feet radius repeatedly changed color to a dirty purple, and everyone could hear that the very air was crackling and rustling.
At the peak of her levitation, roughly about 15 feet into the air, the madness stopped. There was flowing change, there was no crossing or even morphing before everything returned back into its original state, it was more like someone just pressed a button and reverted everything back in a blink of an eye.
Auriel sighed loudly, finally managing and bringing her laughter under control, with a few last giggles. "Oh... I think I have never laughed this much in my whole life! So... to answer your question, my little pony-" Auriel pulled her body back on two paws once again before stretching her arms out fully and moving her limb in a clockwise motion. Her arm ran over her body that seemingly vanished after the limb moved past. In the end, only the arm remained and snapped its fingers, creating a small flash of light and disappeared.
Auriel vanished from everyone's vision, or did she? Suddenly a familiar and joy-filled voice chirped happily behind the white-coated mare."-Nope!" Both pony mares jumped from the sudden appearance of the voice.
The ponies turned around to greed the owner of the voice, only to be met by two fingers that tapped on their noses simultaneously, making their noses scrunch up in a hilarious looking way. The fox could only smile while walking past her guests on all four paws, brushing her fur against theirs and her tail swinging left and right."No, I am no pet, nor slave, nor property. Why would I? The changelings are my friends. Besides, I personally think that everyone should be allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want unless it bothers another too much. And I am sorry to hear how much you went through, would you like to talk about it? I have aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllll time in the world after all." the last sentence that excited her mouth echoed around them several times, as if they were in a cave.
The ponies, both young and old-er stared at Auriel as if they were drunken, possibly insane or most likely dead as the display of reality warping power, physical strength and resistance, extreme healing abilities and massive magic reserves and magic regenerative capabilities were a tiny itzy bity bit stronger than the average royal magician. The ponies knew when the time to be wary would come, and this time it crashed through all walls and a cow.
Auriel chirped happily."Come Chitin, we have a lot to discuss! We don't want to let our guest wait, right?" the sound of the way the golden fox spoke was a naïve one, but not a spark or ember of foolishness was hidden under the sweetness of her voice.
Chitin was in a less mutual mood as she stared, slightly glaringly looked at the new creatures that entered the badlands."Yes... guests ..." her voice was not filled with venom or hate, it was stern, and a hint of sarcasm could be heard too. Yet, her words were clearly meant in a rather sarcastic manner as she took her time to close the distance between the ponies and herself. "What is your purpose here, pony ? I thought your kind disliked other races, so why now showing up here, in the biggest desert in this world, so far away from your home?" These words were carefully chosen to sound passive aggressive once she stood in front of the two intruders.
The white mare, a head smaller than the changeling opposing her, spoke for herself and her follower."G-Greetings, my sister, Luna and I, Celestia came here on behalf of the recently united tribes to possible find a solution to the Wendigo threat which has already been dealt with."
Chitin seemed barely faced by the Ponies words, yet she carefully listened to her words. The only thing that kept pony kind from invading other kingdoms was their hundreds of years of war between one another. Now was possibly the worst time to come fall onto the wrong side of the ponies, or maybe the best time?
Chitin spoke mutual and neutral while keeping eye contact at all time."I am Queen Chitin, ruler of the Changelings and the solution that dealt with your problems is princess Auriel, or just Auriel as she prefers to keep things to not become serious. I am going to drop the formalities here." The Ponies larger alicorn gulped silently. "You have what you want and unless you another reason to stay? Leave. You know very well that neither of our kingdoms had any interest in having contact with one another and my people have the least interest at the current time."
Luna's ears suddenly twitched when she heard that they would need to leave again through the icy hell. Yet, she wondered why a pony was standing right in the changeling mids. "If ponies aren't welcome, why is a pony of earth standing between all of your guards?" Bell blushed and quietly trotted behind a Changeling guard. Celestia glared at Luna with a hint of worry and whispered angrily."... Luna..."
Auriel had a broad smile on her face when she randomly appeared a couple hooves on the other side of the conversation, sitting on a branch of a large tree, a huge one at that, while leaning against the stem of the plant. Each branch was covered in another fruit and various flowers, surprisingly enough there was also a small pond beside the tree and grass was growing. "Bell is my friend, that's why! I don't care about what your meat looks like, we are all just skeletons with a fleshy coat after all!" And ended her sentence by taking a big bite out of a perfect looking and juicy appearing apple.
The smell that one apple emitted was divine, it could just be that their hungered bodies were just so desperate that they were willing to eat anything, or maybe they just were the lucky souls to discover Paia's tree. Luna, the one who had less meat on her ribs before they departed, was drooling without any shame.
Auriel smiled as she put a bit more effort in this tree and its fruits and seeing that it worked only sweetened everything up for her. She wasn't evil or sadistic, whatever the last adjective meant, but she felt weird and wrong feeling when they stated their names, but 'why' was a riddle for her. "You know, you don't have to just stare? Come, I made most trees to be eaten from."
'Made most trees to be eaten from?' thought both ponies.
Yet, Luna was less patient than her sister and flapped her wings with astounding speed towards the tree and ignored the shout of her name from her sister. Once there, her reflexes reacted to catch an apple that flew towards here with her mouth and with one bite, the fruit was gone. The look upon Luna's face was a blissful one, she seemingly found peace in the form of a single apple.
Celestia stared at her sister with high interest and mumbled. "But that's impossible. Any tree that was ever created or even had its growth accelerated only produced disgusting tasting fruits, Starswirl himself stated that's impossible to create anything good tasting with magic. So how is this possible?" That were the last words Celestia spoke before she realized that she was no longer standing where she did a few moments ago, but instead was looking down at the grass covered ground a few feet in the air. Yet, she knew she wasn't floating, she could feel something incredibly soft and fluffy coiled around her torse. Looking up, she saw a playful grin from Auriel. The mare with the white coat calmly said."Hello..."
Auriel happily tilted her head to the side and said."You had a question? Oh, and I didn't forget you Bell, just a moment." And just to shatter Celestia's world, even more, Auriel slashed her claws through the air, creating a hole in the air through which she pulled the mare known as Bell and sat her down on another branch. And magically, the rift closed once its purpose was fulfilled.
Celestia shocks her head before shouting. "Luna, get up here at once!" Bell rubbed her ears with her hooves in pain from the power of the alicorn's voice. The blue alicorn reacted quickly and flew up to land on the same branch were already Auriel sat, and Celestia hang. "Would you be kind enough to lift me on top of the branch, it's a bit uncomfortable to dangle here." And as the question was asked, the pony was lifted onto the tree.
Bell asked nicely."If it isn't too much to ask for, I have two requests. One, could you place promise not to scream so loud? I would like to one day hear my grandfoals." Celestia blushed in embarrassment and nodded slowly. "Second, Please be careful when you eat anything from Auriel." The two alicorns looked at Bell with worry. "No, they are not dangerous, but they are a bit addictive with their good tastes. Really, one day you have to try an apple pie made from these apples, I hope other ponies will like them as well when I visit my home." maybe one day I open a shop and sell them in my village. Ponies coming from far and wide to silver hoof for apple pie. Bell mused at the end of her sentence.
Luna grabbed a pineapple with hoof and bite a large chunk out of it, with peel and everything, and shuddered in pleasure from the taste. After swallowing she answered in a serious tone. "I am sorry to tell you this, but it's unlikely for any pony to return to homes."
Bell had all of her joy ripped out of her body when she realized what Luna just said. "Why?" Luna's mouth stood wide open, but instead of answering, she nudged her sister and took another bite from the pineapple.
Celestia glared at her sister who looked away while happily munching on the fruit. The older sister sighed loudly before answering."While the wendigoes may be improved in the crystal that Auriel wears around her collar, the damage has already been done. The earth pony lands are snowed in, the unicorn castles are frozen over, and the sky cities of the Pegasi are unreachable and have possible already fallen to the ground." Bell's jaw hung wide open, and her body was frozen.
"And that's very bad ...?" Asked Auriel. All eyes turned towards her in a heartbeat which started the fox for a moment or two. "What? I don't know what these castles and cities are! I just heard that there is a lot of snow and ice. There is a lot of lands to live, like the great forests, the crystal caves, the sky-scraping mountains, and so many more places. It's impossible to starve or not feel comfortable."
Celestia rose an eyebrow and asked skeptically."These places you mentioned are just a mere myth and even thought Starswirl believes that they once existed, that would have been before the first pony walked or flew across the land, in other words, millions of years ago."
Auriel's smile disappeared when she heard Celestia's words and asked extra nicely."Ehm... how many thousand years in a million years?"
Bell, who already began to sweat a bit as she knew where this was going, answered carefully. "A-a millions is thousand times thousand..." Auriel's jaw dropped and hit the branch in a bizarre way that was also a bit disturbing.
Auriel's jaw slowly closed itself before allowing the fox to gulp and smile again, of course, this facial expression was more of a decoy to distract her disappear. She said in a goofy tone. "How time flies by! It feels like yesterday when I was born or was it reborn? when this entire world was dead and gloomy."
Celestia nodded, but wasn't really paying attention to Auriel's words and happily plucked a banana, not that she has ever seen one or even heard of such fruit, and peeled it before taking a big bite out of the fruit. Suddenly her eyes shot open when she realized what Auriel said and shouted."Wait what!?"
Crack!
The branch on which the alicorns and Aurile sat on broke from the sudden increase of weight and the sisters fell to the ground while Auriel just hovered in the air as if nothing happened.
Luna was smirking and chuckling and tried to hide her laughter behind her hooves while looking at her sister that was laying on top of her. Celestia grumbled angrily while glaring at her sister. "Not one word about my weight, sister."
Chitin stared at the scene in front of her and facehoofed in embarrassment towards the alicorns and the absurdity of Auriel. With one last shock of her head, she trotted towards the entangled ponies and asked in the tone that could fit an annoyed teacher."As much as I enjoy watching others have fun and tasting the laughter, I would now kindly ask you to go back where you came from. " Celestia opened her mouth to say something, but Chitin quickly added. "Yes, I was paying attention. I am sorry, even if am showing only a little of it, but even if we were willing to let you live in the hive, there would never be enough space or food to house all ponies. Besides, there is as far as I know only enough water to sustain my changelings."
Luna asked with hope. "But what about the forest over there?" She said while pointing her hoof at the small forest not far away from them. "Maybe we could stretch the food there so that we at least had a place to plan where we could wander next?" Abruptly Luna's vision was filled with light blue eyes as she jumped backward and threw her sister into the dust.
Auriel cleared her throat and said professionally. "That, dear Luna, is a very very very bad idea." and she ended her sentence. Everyone looked at her waiting for an explanation. "Oh, you want to know why? Ok! So, you see, the forest was an accident after I had to get rid of the worm there. Never eat or drink, or even be anywhere near anything I made without full intention or you might get really really hurt."
Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"
Auriel chuckled and explained. "Becuase A) The food and water could be unstable, and when it falls apart into magic again then it could end with a big boom! Or B) There could be a very dangerous creature lurking inside that forest. Just wait a moment, I have an error to erase." Auriel sighed and pointed her open palm at the forest before slowly closing her paw. For a second Auriel's eyes flashed grey before the forest and the worm corpse just burst into golden dust that vanished a few moments later. The place now looked like as if it was never touched by any sapient creature's hand/hoof/paw. "All done!" Auriel smiled at the end of her work.
Over a hundred jaws hang wide open while Auriel only titled her head to the left with her ears hanging loosely.
Eventually, Bell asked with a loud gulp. "A-Auriel? W-what and how d-did you just do that?" Auriel looked at Bell and pointed her index finger at herself. Bell nodded. Auriel then pointed at the place where the forest once stood. Bell nodded again.
The golden and silly fox smiled and chirped. "Oh, that! I just erased the forest silly, and as it turned out, there was nothing alive there besides the plants and ground of course. You see, if I make a mistake, I 'clean it up.' But don't worry, it wasn't that hard, I just had to be careful to not take to much magic back, or the sand might die, or in the worst case, I could accidentally erase almost everything on this world. Just think of how long that would take me to put everything back together!"
...
...
...
Chitin started laughing and snickering. After calming down with the last few remaining snickers and ignoring everyone looking at her. "That was a good joke, but please, Auriel, could please be serious for a moment?"
"But I am serious!" Said Auriel with an even happier sounding voice while tilting her head to the left, stuck her tongue out playfully and formed a 'v' with two fingers on her left hand. The faces of everyone surrounding her slowly became filled with horror and fear. They stared at Auriel with shock, which slowly built into a look of a new high, or was it low, of terror.
What the ponies and everyone around the golden fox had yet to realize was that Auriel's 'erasing' power was not as powerful as it may seem. The spell merely destabilized the conjured mater, or to be more specific, dismantled the created or transmogrified mater and return the used magic back to its user. Of course, it would take days for Auriel to break down all of the created matter without running the risk of suffering mana burns, she was not a goddess or anywhere omnipotent, the creatures that she created just weren't made to be powerful enough to actually oppose her.
"Anyways... What are you two now going to do? It is a bit cold out there-" said Auriel as she pointing at the frozen dessert behind everyone in an attempt to distract everyone from the fact that she could undo everyone around her if she wanted to, and it surprisingly worked! "- so what is your plan? If you're hungry, you can take a few fruits on the tree if that helps."
Celestia sighed with a smile on her face, but in the end, shook her head and said sadly. "It is nice that you are concerned about our wellbeing, but I am sorry to say that unless you can pull a fertile land out of your that there is little you can help with."
A huge smile spread across Auriel's face, with the difference in this one that she now was revealing all of her sharp teeth, and the looked slightly mad. She said super energized and goofy. "Okay Loki Dokey!" as her left eye turned dark blue while the other turned green before she slapped the sand with her right paw. Small lightning and sparks could be seen near her paw. Auriel gasped loudly in shock, maybe even pain before grabbing her right paw, pulling it away and started to breathe heavily.
The ground began to rumble, and the equines were thrown off their hooves while clinging to the ground as if the end of the world was near. But the rumbling didn't stop, it only got worse while green and dark blue light was slowly glowing brighter and brighter around them. Just a few moments later, the ponies and changelings were blinded and closed their eyes and then... then there was silence, yet no one dared to open their eyes until their senses stated to sense various different things.
The smell of plants.
The comfortable warmth of the sun, not too hot or too cold.
The soft touch of the grass under them
The smell of tasty fruits and vegetables.
and lastly the sound of running water.
...
And a certain heavy breathing predatory vegetarian.
Gasps filled the air at the sight of the land surrounding them. A large chunk of the badlands, less than a third but more significant than a fourth became much more alive in just a few moments. It was no garden Eden, per se, but for creatures who lived in a dessert most of their lives, or for the ponies living in constant war and surviving the harsh winters of the north for months, was this a breathtaking sight for the tired pony eyes.
The grass was greener than on an earth pony gardener's lawn, water so pure it was barely visible for the mortal eye and fresh air that was filled to the brim with natures personal fragrance. No, we are not talking about dung...
Celestia stared at the scene before quickly shaking her head and saying to her sister, or instead demanded. "Luna, come, we must report this to Starswirl." Celestia then turned to the Changeling Queen, Chitin and said in a very thankful tone. "I can't thank you enough for your hospitality." and with these last words said, the two ponies flew towards the frozen lands again to meet the rest of their 'friends'.
Chitin could only stare and hope that she did not make the wrong choice in not interfering more. Of course, she was not going to just watch idly while ponies would slowly immigrate into this land, she still would have a say in this once the pony leaders and she would meet.
Auriel, already almost forgotten by everyone, thought while holding her hands close to her chest and her pants started to become slower before eventually stabilizing. 'T-. T-. T-too much... I-I should have been a bit more careful. I compressed too much fire into hundreds of fireballs and even kept heat shields around them that could even stop the sun, but I didn't want to set the ponies aflame... or the frozen north... or herself. But there was something else, something strong and powerful, no Light's power could compare, but it felt so weird, bad and good at the same time, yet it didn't want to change to my will... Do I really sound like this in my head? Patties' pebble's pan pulled perfect pallets. Ohh~! I sound so cute!'
Author's Note
Sorry for the short chapter, but I will work on the next chapter for "A rewritten Past" right away. I didn't want to have a strange flow of time in the next chapter, so I decided to make this one a bit shorter than usual.
Please comment your opinion on this chapter down in the comment section.
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An old friend returns and meeting of the equines (lots of fun and giggle may be included)
Bell watched the Alicorns who left the newly revived land. 'Home... I hope mom and dad are alright...' The mare in question shook her head and exhaled before trying to figure out how to get down from the tree on which she was currently sitting. Carefully she swung her left hind leg over the tree branch and slowly climbed down. At first it went well, then she went faster down, and in the end, she landed on her rump on the ground. Luckily a bush of very soft flowers was conveniently placed there to cushion her fall.
Bell carefully pulled her well-toned bottom off the ground and rubbed it, not because of pain, but because the blooms were also covered in weird fur-like hair that tickled on touch. Yet, as rushed as everything seemed, she still had a hard time understanding all that surrounded her. Nature reclaimed the land in just a few moments, or rather Auriel. Knowing this was as interesting as it was scary, a single look revealed that Auriel had never really learned magic or even studied seriously and knowing that she could be capable of so much more just showed the massive power gap.
Yet, the look Bell could see on Auriel was not a proud or happy one, but one of exhaustion and maybe even fear? Carefully Bell trotted towards Auriel and asked with concern in her voice. "Are you okay Auriel? You seem a bit tired and shocked."
Auriel almost jumped from the sudden appearance of Bell's voice, but quickly calmed down. The golden fox slowly exhaled before a broad smile once again took its rightful place on her face. "Oh... ehm, hi eh-Bell. I am quite fine, I just felt something... weird." The worry in Bell grew, and Auriel could see that. "It's nothing to worry about, really, I just have to look a bit and find it, but I am sure everything is fine."
Bell was not buying Auriel's words and was about to open her mouth as a large shadow loomed over her. The mare turned around and saw that it was everyone's favorite changeling queen who had an unamused look on her face. The queen asked. "Auriel, while I appreciate your hospitality, I really hope that this won't bite us in the flank afterward. But to more important matters now, what was your opinion on these two ponies?"
Auriel's look dulled in a heartbeat, no emotion to be seen and just like her voice. "Celestia lied about their names, their purpose here was the truth, but she was trying to hide her obvious fear, mostly directed at me. No doubt that the thought of fleeing crossed their minds several times. Luna, again a false name, was more open with her emotions and seemed to have little problems with the changelings and I present."
Chitin stared at Auriel with her mouth wide open. While Changelings could feel deceit, it only worked on weak-minded, but they couldn't sense lies when one spoke truthfully. "How did you find out so much about them?"
Auriel shrugged and answered. "It was not all too hard to find out, I did spend most of the time with animals, and you are not that far off from them... I don't mean it as an insult, but that's just the truth. Whenever I said their names, they either twitched, swallowed hard, their eyebrow twitched or any other super small detail."
Bell would remember Auriel's words, having a lie detector would spare her of so much trouble, no more ponies who would pretend that they have sick foals and try to get free stuff from her. "I think they were nice, but I think they are very desperate and scared. They probably haven't even processed everything that has happened yet. But I think they were impressed from seeing you talk in High Ponese, even if it was a bit simple."
Chitin's eyebrow rose high, and a confused facial expression now could be seen on her face. "High Ponese? I was surprised to see the ponies understand old changeling." Her head suddenly jerked up when she realized something. She rubbed her chin with her hoof. "Now thinking back, I am only now realizing that Auriel always spoke in old changeling, so how did you understand it?"
Bell tilted her head to the right and asked. "Really? I always heard her talk in simple earth pony. How does old changeling even sound?"
Chitin demonstrated the language, and it was an 'interesting experience for Bell.' Chitin emitted a mix of various screeches, growls, and hisses. But, this was what Auriel heard (Old changeling is a tough language as even the smallest drop or rise of one's voice can completely change the meaning of the sentence.) Yet Bell tilted her head even further until she tumbled onto the sand.
Auriel stared at her to friends and repeated. "Old changeling is a tough language as even the smallest drop or rise of one's voice can completely change the meaning of the sentence." Bell turned around and looked at her fluffy friend with big eyes. "What? I just repeated what Chitin just said, but I didn't hear anything different than any other time she spoke with me."
Chitin thought out loud while rubbing her chin once again. "Interesting. You seem to be able to understand other languages without ever having to learn them. This could be of great value in the future should any more races decided to settle here, or maybe just being able to go anywhere else would be nice as well."
Bell asked. "Now, that we know that Auriel is able to talk with them, what are we going to do now?"
A smile spread across Chitin's face, it was a mixture of joy and a hint of maliciousness. "Auriel?" Auriel turned all of her attention towards Chitin as her ears perked up. "Since this is your land, I think it's only fair that it is your responsibility as well. Of course, should you need help with modern diplomacy, I am more than willing to help, but unless it doesn't involve the hive or the area around it, it's your choice."
Bell asked with worry in her voice. "Are you sure that it's a good-." Chitin interrupted with an early answer. "Yes." Bell stared at the changeling queen for a few more moments before sighing in defeat out loud. "Fine, but don't complain if things go south. I think I will be staying here, but not forever, I just would like to meet ponies again." to which Chitin nodded in understanding.
Auriel asked with curiosity. "Sooo... I guess I will have to stay here?" both of them nodded. "Ok, but I will try my best to visit you and continue teaching Chrysalis as often as I can."
Chitin smiled and replied. "I am counting on that. But I think I should go back to the hive and see if my changelings managed to deal with all the hats. Would you be kind enough to send us back? I would not want to listen to head decoration problems with a headache."
Auriel smiled and nodded before snapping her fingers. The changelings glowed for half a second before vanishing in a great flash of light, leaving Bell and Auriel alone.
Bell waved her hoof in the last possible moment as the changelings who disappeared without a trace. She then turned around and asked Auriel. "What are we going to... do... now...?" only to see that Auriel was already gone. "Huh... 'guess I will look around on my own."
Meanwhile
"Starswirl! Starswirl! Starswirl!"
"What is it, my young and inpatient students?" asked a very grumpy voice whose owner could not be seen. The two sisters looked around but saw nothing but snow where they last have seen their mentor and the rest of their allies.
"Starswirl? Where are thee? We hear thy voice, but we can't see thee. Please don't tell us that you passed on and returned to haunt us like a ghost." asked Luna with her voice becoming ever more fearful and desperate.
A loud and annoyed groan came from a small pile of snow as a bone-whiteish wave of magic erupted out of the snow and throwing away the white substance. "I am very much alive, and I will not die until our friends learned to not just wander away on their own." the owner of the voice was an old unicorn stallion with a grey coat and white beard and mane who wore a blue cloak with stars on it and a big wizard head with stars attached to it as well.
"They left?!" Shouted Celestia in shock. Celestia couldn't believe it, after weeks of traveling through the ice dessert, and now that they were so close to finding a home, they left?
Starswirls look showed nothing more than a few wrinkles and two large black bags under his eyes... oh an unamused old stallion. "... No. They didn't back out of the agreement of the united tribes. They merely weren't able to stand one another's constant insults and complains anymore, so they split up to ease everyone's, mine included, nerves for the time being."
Luna stared at her mentor for a second or two before exhaling loudly. "Why can't they just see past all of this and look forward. We have finally found a suitable home, and the Wendigoes are gone as well."
"Slow down young mare, what did you just say? The Wendigoes are gone?" asked the old stallion with curiously as his forehead furrowed when he rose an eyebrow.
Celestia stepped forward and explained. "It's true, it seems like the origin of the magical signature was a creature named Auriel. She was unlike anything we have ever seen and possessed powers beyond a ponies wildest dreams." While the young alicorn may sound as if she was exaggerating, she doubted she praised the fox's powers enough.
"Truly?" asked Starswirl as he stroked his beard. "You two know that my fantasies about magic can become very much... 'wild,' but I shall take you on the word then, for now. But if your claims are true, then I am more than interested in having a talk with this 'Auriel.' Is there anything else I should know before we fetch our... companions?"
"Well..." started Celestia as she stretched this one word for several seconds.
" 'Well' what?" asked Starswirl with a cold expression on his face.
"Well... It seems like the land is already inhabited by the insectoid equines that call themselves 'Changelings.' Auriel seems to be quite fond of them, and I don't think she would take it lightly should we or any other of the tribe become hostile with her friends." stated Celestia. Starswirl's eyebrows only rose a bit more.
The stallion coughed loudly and asked shortly afterward. "Luna, I would like to hear your opinion on this matter as well. Do You think if the tribes accidentally become hostile with her, what would be the price that these fools would have to pay?" Starswirl was not a Stallion who liked war or conflict, but he always wanted to know the outcome if things should go south and have plans for any situation.
Luna gulped and smiled awkwardly. "She could erase all of ponykind, at least if her words were true?"
Starswirl stared at his student before breaking out in laughter. "Hahaha, that- that is just too grand to hear." as his laughter slowly started to die out, he asked once again. "Now, please answer my question seriously. It would take even me another thousand or so years until I could even destroy even a single pony without leaving anything left."
"B-but it's true. Auriel erased an entire forest in just a few seconds! She also said that she was older than the first pony, older than the first life in this world." half-shouted Luna.
The Stallion lifted and lowered his head a few times and waited for the punchline of the joke, but it never came. The stallion then looked at his other student, only to see her nodding in a sheepish matter. "Well... I... I think we should get our friends as soon as possible and have a little talk with this creature and on the way, please report me everything you know about her and what happened to the Wendigoes."
"But Starswirl! How are we supposed to find them?" asked Luna, but fate answered her question rather quickly.
"-What did you just say to me, horn head?!-", "-You heard me just fine!-", "-Stop fighting, it won't bring anything!-", "-stay out of this Clover!-", "-When I get my hooves around you, pigeon, then you can fly under the snow!-", "-When was the last time you washed? I can smell you all the way over here!-"
Both alicorns and Starswirl stared in the direction from which the sound came and groaned at the same time. With annoyance in their heart, the three of them began to pick up their allies and tell their mentor about the most recent news.
Elsewhere.
"Found you!" shouted Auriel with the smile only a mad person could muster as she hovered several hundreds of feet above the middle of the badlands. Auriel lifted her left hand and pointed the back of her hand toward the sky and started to rotate her hand slowly with every increasing pace. At first, nothing happened. After a few seconds, the wind began to pick up, a few moments later a breeze started to form and blow in a large circle below Auriel. The air became dryer and dryer as more and more sand was blown off the ground. The wind after a minute was strong enough to lift boulders, and in a heartbeat, a full-grown tornado suddenly appeared and drilled through the earth with overwhelming speed, not sparing sand, stone or dead plants. And after a few seconds, Auriel’s hand just stopped, and the tornado disappeared in precisely at that moment and threw all sucked up objects in all direction, leaving behind a gigantic crystal orb.
Auriel's smile instantly fell when she saw the object that was hidden under the sand. She knew that nothing could survive this long, but the hope that her masterpiece-no her first real friend lasted all those long millennia without her, was just too strong. The golden fox shock her head before falling towards the ground, with no care about getting hurt, not that it was possible to die of fall-damage for her. Auriel fell with high speed, yet landed like a feather, the ground didn't even notice her touching it, not a single sand corn disturbed, and walked on all four paws towards the crystal globe without saying another word.
"Huh? The crystals still glow as beautiful as they did when I first created them." Auriel held both of her paws in front of her with her palms facing the crystal. Her eyes turned brow as she pulled her arms apart in one quick motion and ripping an entrance into the crystal cocoon open.
The fox gasped loudly before teleporting into the center of the chamber with a broad grin on her face as when she reappeared, she hugged the large stem of a large crystal tree. The sight was mesmerizing, the colors shimmered in the air around the large crystal tree, and the six fruits that grew in it illuminated the room in all colors of the rainbow.
"I missed you so much, ToH!" shouted Auriel as she hugged her old friend even harder while trying her best to not break out into tears. Yet, she didn't care about the awkwardness, not even as she started whimpering as a dog would do in sadness.
The response of ToH was a soft, yet vibrant flickering of the light and a beautiful, if not slightly sad music that emitted from her friend.
Auriel sniffed loudly and wished her nose dry on her own fur, shortly before the nose hit the ground as her coat was not allowing anything to stick on it. "You have grown a lot since last time." The silence was awkwardly spreading at this point, and so the fox asked. "Are you responsible for them being... well, sentient, not like animals?" Auriel's mind was already plagued with this question for a very long, she was never able to create anything sentient, no matter how much she tried.
ToH flickered twice and, the room was almost entirely drowned in darkness in those two moments in which it responded. ToH then flashed many times as a wave-like tune was emitted by it.
"But... If intelligent life can only live if harmony exists to some point, why didn't it work with me?" asked Auriel, awaiting a world-shattering answer.
Again, ToH's light illuminated the room brighter and descending the chamber in darkness several times throughout seconds? Minutes? Hours? Time seemed to slow down and speed up at once.
Auriel listened closely to her friend's words. "So, I was Order?" ToH flickered once. "- And when I absorbed him I obtained the powers of chaos; thus, I became harmonic-like? But I have no idea how to control it yet?" ToH flickered once again. "My... children formed after me, that's why I can understand them, that's why they represent both good and bad even better than me?" And again, only once did ToH flicker. "We are not really alive, you say. We exist, we are powerful, not bound to anything, but not truly alive, sadness, pain, and despair are not ours to have and judge... We are free from true freedom." ToH flickered three times at the end, or in other words agreeing twice.
Auriel stared at the ground with a frown on her face. She sighed loudly before her expression was replaced with a smile again and realizing the weight of her friend's words. "It doesn't matter." ToH flickered in several colors, showing his confusion. "It doesn't matter, what we do, what we are or how we feel as long as we don't bother anyone else. We may be different, but that's not bad! I may have never had any bad emotions for longer than a few moments, but others will never know the true carefreeness I have all the time. In other words. No one's perfect, and that's good!"
ToH was silent, and its colors dull for a few moments before illuminating the room, every last inch with heavenly colors that just screamed happiness as if it was saying 'thank you.'
Auriel smiled at her friend with a small and soft smile and said. "I enjoyed our conversation a lot, old friend, but I must bid farewell once again, but I promise you that I will visit you a lot more often." and with that, Auriel snapped her fingers and disappeared in a bright flash of light.
Auriel reappeared and floated a dozen meters above where the sand once lied. She pointed her palm at the ground as her eyes turned brown again. She slowly closed her palm as ToH's chamber was sealed just in time as sand massed buried the crystal chamber once again.
Once all evidence was erased, Auriel stared at the ground for a moment as a wicked grin slowly spread across her face. "So... Harmony is Order and Chaos? Well, I think I have a lot to catch up with, don't I?" the fox started to giggle and then broke into a burst of mad laughter. Suddenly her laughter stopped for a moment. "Not on Discords level, but still." and continued laughing madly for a whole minute. With a loud satisfied sigh, she ended her laughter and said to herself. "I am talking to myself again..."
Chaos is such a beautiful thing, not in the way it looks, not in what it represents, but because its order is much more comfortable... because it doesn't exist. Well, kind of. When Auriel first started her *ahem* experiment, she thought she may have gotten mad just a tiny little bit, but no, it was quite the opposite. Imagine doing one thing your whole 'live' not counting her carnivorous phase as a lightbulb- whatever that is supposed to be -and then things suddenly spiced up unto a new level of a thrill. That is how Auriel was feeling when she was spreading a bit of chaos. It was like taking a break from doing all the hard work, questions and tests to a simple relaxing vacation. Chaos has its rules, the rules you make. If she says that the pink waterfall flows up, it does, and that is not wrong because that is just the new rule which most likely no creature will accept, but it is still the new rule.
Besides that, it was much more different, Auriel, of course, added a bit of order and turned her little chaos area into a fully functionally ecosystem- she like this word, it sounds so fitting -and it felt so damn right!~~~ It's like scratching this little spot on your back that you can't reach and never noticed that it itched in the first place, but then accidentally scratch it and feel like you're melting. Auriel was so much closer to harmony than ever, but still very much away since this land was mostly a chaos bomb now. Yet, the golden fox was not bothered by this very one-sided land as she had no intentions of coming anywhere close to harmony as it is just as bad when it comes to creating life as chaos and order alone, in fact, it is much worse at that job.
Order cannot bring sentients, it just can't. Sentience is the balance between insanity and sanity, a working cautiousness so to say. But a cautiousness brings many things into the equation- again, whatever that is -that just clog too much up for Order. Sadness, depression, Lust, all the other emotions and most importantly, Imagination and individuality. Auriel was, no, she is still in this state as Auriel, and her whole life was based on fulfilling this goal, making life, and blocking out everything that makes life 'life-able.' But she is trying to enjoy life as much as she can.
Chaos can create life, not that it would survive in most cases, but it can and even is able to make sentients, even if it would be very unstable and possibly as mad as a mad ferret in a puddle of mustard... She did know what mustard is, but forgot what it did and was too lazy to remember it at the moment... back to the topic! Chaos may create things, but it will destroy them a short while better due to its, like the name, already says chaotic nature.
When Auriel obtained the powers of chaos from that disgusting, all-consuming, masterpiece destroying, sadistic, incompetent *Many more insults of which half Auriel didn't even understand* Thing , she became less order and a bit more harmony. Auriel isn't harmony, she was very far away from it as true harmony is much worse than in it's fullest than Order of Chaos at their lowest. Chaos assures change of life, while order keeps things from falling apart, or a bit more straightforward, Chaos and Order can be described in three simple sentences if they are in balance that is not close to Harmony. These three things are Survival of the fittest, struggle for life and natural selection... hey, that sounds like it could come from one of the books she read... but it was very much right.
You see, Order alone would keep things from changing, very bad, Chaos would always change things, a bit less bad, harmony would make everything perfect to the point our life become dull. Our memories would always be perfect, our lives would be perfect, our friends would be perfect, the weather, the time, our moods, and, and, and, and so much more perfection to the point life isn't worth living. Nothing would be unique, you would be just another being, probably without even a name so yours wouldn't be better than other ones. In fact, we would all look alike, and there would only be one species. One biome. One time of the day. Maybe we would all be just lights with no needs for anything. Trapped in this eternal state of perfection until you become mad, which you will never become because you can't suffer any long-term, emotional, mental or physical damage until you drown in an endless puddle of despair where you envy the mortal and realize just how different you are until you end up like Discord!!!
*Wheeze*
*Wheeze*
*Wheeze*
"Breath in..."
...
"And breath out..."
As the possibly mentally and emotionally unstable fox was saying, it is hard to reach harmony or to make things clear. IT. IS. IMPOSSIBLE! ...But that doesn't stop others from trying. The changeling library held much information about the ponies, very little about other species, but still a few crucial information. You see, many tried to put their version of Harmony on others with force. Be its laws, rules or even religions and some weird guy screaming at the top of his lungs. Harmony, its meaning can be understood in just under five seconds, others made it very much complicated.
The concept of religion has fascinated her, be in an amusing way. Mortals would choose to follow the guidance of a god- the creature who made or at least took part in its creation - and then try to get into their favor. Some do it by being kind-hearted while others... well, they have an 'interesting' selection of punishment and the large variety of 'sacrifices' has made Auriel ponder once or twice if I should 'visit' indicated creatures in question as there were some truly horrifying things she read. Funny, they search for their maker and make up stories that they later believe, unknowingly that their maker was here all there time, in a dessert, less than a foot under the sand with powers that sometimes come close to what they believe she was capable of, and sometimes far too powerful for anyone's safety and sanity.
Did she mention that Auriel had a perfect memory and could relive every second in her whole life if she just tried? Because she could hear her own voice reading a book or even replaying a song she heard while doing her job... Did you know how satisfying it was to combine various instruments while doing a task and then adding the sound of the things you do to the music you hear? It was like hearing a so-called 'orchestra' in one's own head.
Auriel smiled as she wrote the last sentence in her diary/ journal. The idea to write down her own life was a tempting one, she enjoyed to read the memoirs the various creations, even if she couldn't imagine much of them. Turned out, she was a very good writer, her handwriting, or rather paw writing was perfect, again, it was just a pattern that was in her head and she had quite the time of fun to decorate the journal after spreading chaos and writing down her life story so far. The books cover, and backside were both made from the weird brown skin-like material most books have, but she decorated it with scarce stuff.
Fire diamonds, thunder Citrine, sun gold and many other jewels that she used to make the cover look pretty. The title said in sun gold 'Legacy of the Golden Fox' with a small golden figure of herself as the 'F' with her head being the upper roof and her extended paw the lower roof of the letter. Auriel then used the gemstones and embedded them in a way so that they would underline the title. The corners were platted with a silver plate on which a more massive gem was inserted, that was on both sides, just to make things clear. Lastly, she crushed many gems and formed them into two tiny multicolored pearls that she put in the spots for her eyes.
"Hihi! This is so much fun!" giggled Auriel in joy as she looked at her book and then at her surroundings which were... a 'bit chaotic.
First of all, gravity is a lie, at least in some places and so was the sky, which would change color every ten minutes or so. The ground varied from material to material to area to area. Some places where Auriel's so-called, jumping fields, while in some you would soon forget where up and down was while you're walking sideways through hidden and invisible portals. There was even a gigantic 20-edged cube in the sky which was filled to the brim with smaller 20-edged cubes. Auriel herself was currently sitting on a giant mushroom which's cap was a huge circle made out of something sweet and bread-like, and a small circle inside of it filled with air. Nothing unusual was in that air, it was just air... that shoot up like a geyser to the point you could hover in the air for about half an hour before you were gently put down by the ever so slowly weaker becoming wind.
Auriel was not mad, nor malicious or evil, it was impossible to die in this place. At least if you didn't try very hard at least. But even in the maze, you would be forcefully ejected after two or so hours with plenty or fruits and sweets inside to fill your bellies. Mental damage was not put into consideration as the animals were smart enough to stay away from the even weirder stuff and stayed in areas like the odd green sea made out of some kind of slime, but more solid, still soft, sweet and tasty.
With a satisfied not, she grabbed a weird object from her left side that lied on the giant circle. It was wrapped in paper and had a sweet icing on it as if someone carved a triangular spiral made out of some kind of cream on it with a delicious looking cherry on top. In one bit, the object was gone while Auriel chewed loudly and happily, not even bothered by the facts that she ate the wrapping with it.
Suddenly a loud ringing sound came from Auriel's tail as it furiously vibrated. She quickly swallowed the remains of the delicious object she just ate and pat her tail once before it made a loud beeping noise and was silenced. The fox then snapped her fingers, and a certain earth pony mare appeared beside her... soaking wet with a light brownish liquid. Normally you would expect someone soaked in a brown liquid to be angry or even close to drowning. Luckily she was willingly in said fluid and had a weird thing made out of something would never exist, but would be called plastic, and the object's name was snorkel, an object that shouldn't work several feet underwater, but it did, in her mouth.
Bell spat out the snorkel and said happily with glee in her eyes. "I haven't had this much fun in, like my whole life! The 'water' tastes so good, and all the things you could do were so much fun. I only could bath once every week, sometimes once a month with half-hearted bathwater or had to jump into the cold lake. But the water was warm like only a princess had access to and all the waterfalls that made you shoot so fast across the water! We must do this again, but next time you have to join me."
Auriel chuckled; happily, she always loved it when others would be happy, just seeing them with their joy was truly more worth than a hundred sunrises. "I have no idea what a bath is, and I only washed, I think about 213 times, most of which were accidental, but you are right, I should spend more time doing fun activities with y- It's chocolate milk! Now I know what the word I was pondering about all this time. The 'water' you were swimming in was chocolate milk!" said Auriel as she finally found the word which she was looking for the whole time.
Bell looked at her gigantic friend before squeaking like a filly. "Really?! You simply must show me regular chocolate. The possibilities are endless!" the mare in question gave Auriel a big, bright smile with stars in her eyes that would infect one with diabetes in a heartbeat. With another chuckle, Auriel nodded with a kind smile on her face and patted her pony friends head which caused all the chocolate milk to just melt away.
Bell made a sound cat would usually make - purr! That was what it was - and snuggled nuzzling into Auriel's chest fluff, making the last few wet spots of her fur dry and clean in a moment or two.
While Bell was enjoying herself, Auriel couldn't help but smile sheepishly in the discomfort of the situation and the weird feeling in her stomach. "...Eh-Ehm-B-bell? Would you mind to... maybe, possibly... stop?" asked Auriel, the large fox in a shy manner.
Bell froze like a statue in a heartbeat slowly realizing what she has done. Shivering and quivering, the earth pony mare slowly pulled her head back in an attempt to see the face of her predatory friend. The look on Auriel was a confused and embarrassed one. Bell started to understand just how embarrassing the situation was, she blushed, and her cheeks burned in a red color. To her surprise, Auriel blushed as well, but her checks were shining in an even more golden light than her fur was.
"A-A-A-Auriel, it is not like it looks like!" shouted Bell directly at Auriel who tilted her head to the right, still not understanding what just happened, nor really bothered by Bell's words or actions.
"Oh my little Bell, you don't have to worry about that." Bell visually relaxed and exhaled as if she just avoided a blade strike. "because I have absolutely no idea what just happened or what you just meant!" explained Auriel with phenomenal amounts of happiness as she showed her white teeth and threw her hand into the air.
Bell cringed while her left eye was twitching furiously, perhaps it was the release, or the wasted worry or maybe just the thought that she made herself look like a complete fool. Bell sighed and rubbed her nose bridge... Muzzle bridge? With the tip of her hoof. "Sometimes I am so thankful that you have no idea what others are talking about. so so thankful." Just as Bell looked up, she noticed a strange book next to Auriel, adorned with jewelry worthy of kings and queens. "What is that there?" she asked while pointing her hoof at the book.
Auriel grabbed the journal with her two paws, gripping it firmly, not sure if she should say something or not. "Well.. this will sound silly, but... it's a Diary. I wrote everything I have seen or done in it. I read a few of those in the big library in the hive and thought hey, maybe I should write one too!' "
Bell looked at the book in Auriel’s hands, it was a huge book, more prominent than what even the wised ponies would consider 'excessive,' but Auriel's book topped that by a lot, she wouldn't doubt that the diary was able to press ponies like leaves between its pages. Then there were jewels, many she didn't know of, and that meant a lot, her grandfather was a jeweler and an excellent one at that. Yet, the most interesting thing about the journal was that it radiated magic. "Auriel? Why does the book feel so... weird?"
Auriel smiled and opened the first page and revealed a weird first page. She explained as simple (or as advanced considering her understanding of runes) as she could. The first page was a plate of star metal or silver if you want it simple . On it were hundreds of symbols burned/carved and arranged in a circle-like shape, forming a symbol through which magic would constantly flow, seemingly forever due to the circle that didn't let too much magic free. Oh, did she mention that the symbols were glowing in various colors? Yeah, that was not unnerving in the slightest. But in reality, Auriel said this instead of an actual explanation. "Those things are called runes." Auriel smiled widely and stared at Bell, waiting for a reaction.
Bell chuckled in a silly way and answered bluntly."I have honestly no idea what these 'Runes' are."
Auriel's face froze, as if time itself was frozen, some even might say that here was the distant sound of crickets that were happily chirping. "Oh, right... These 'Runes' are like a construct, a machine, a sentence, maybe even life! I made them a very a long time ago to stabilize unstable biomes or... keep things away... Anyways! You can do almost everything with them, just like magic, but less mobile, yet so much stronger and useful." tried Auriel to explain as simple as she could and as much as she understood.
Bell nodded as an act of kindness to not let Auriel suffer any further from her own terrible explanation skills. The mare then looked on the second page, this one was made from a weird purple metal. Bell raised her hoof, but- "It's thaumium, pure iron that was charged with a lot of magic." -Auriel reacted faster. On the second page were many underlined word that glowed with a golden aura. There were things such as 'light phase,' 'The first years.' 'The biomes.', 'The secrets of the world.' But there was one word that stood out most. 'Important'. This word didn't glow, in fact, it was barely seeable for the normal eye. Bell tapped on the word, unknowingly that the book would react by scrolling through hundreds of pages and stopping on a grey page. The title was The world s-
Thud
Bell wasn't able to read the title entirely as Auriel slammed the book shut, the wind pressure that was emitted by this simple act almost knocked her from the shroom-ring.
Auriel didn't look pleased. She grabbed her chest fluff and pulled on it, retracting a surprising amount of fur, as if she was opening a coat, and stuffed the whole book inside where it vanished. "I think I should have warned you first, but there are things hidden on this word that should better stay hidden. I don't know how much you read, but my advice on the first page, so I'll make it clear." Auriel cleared her throat and knocked on her chest. "Let the frozen mountain's heart beat, never touch it, never take it, let it be, but don't let it go."
Bell gulped loudly and nodded. Auriel smiled and scratched Bell behind her right ear, trying to calm her down. It worked, while it did calm her down, she made it hard for the golden fox not to laugh. Bell's ears sat flat on her head, her mouth wide open and her tongue hanging out while her eyes stood closed.
Auriel smiled, it was the best she could do at the moment, but there was worry hidden behind the kind gesture. 'I envy you so much, Bell. To be able to still be shocked, to be scared, to feel bad, but I don't want you to be hit by these feelings. I can't let you, or any other creature know about the secrets of this and the old world.' Auriel's smile fell when he noticed that Bell has fallen asleep. 'You, your ponies and the changelings have barely any magic, maybe a thousand of you could come close to a small baby squirrel, but only maybe. I don't want you to know just how large the gap between you and me is, what I've done and made.' Auriel closed her eyes, inhaling deep inside, and exhaling even harder. After opening her eyes again, she could feel the worry just melt away, her 'natural' happiness seeping in once again, equal to a parasite, almost like a curse.
A sigh was everything that came out of Auriel before her eyes turned purple and a golden aura levitated Bell off the ground. A second passed before a white sphere grew over Bell, slowly widening until Bell was encased entirely, the sphere then blinked once, disappearing with the mare. The spell was a 'simple' large range teleportation spell with the destination being the earth ponies bed. The spell was first created by Auriel herself when she studied sleeping, wounded and very young animals and no, she was not a cub abductor, but for some reason, a few animals let their children out in the world way to early. Fun fact, the spell was later improved by a certain Q. who turned it into a boae 'blink of an eye' spell. A spell category that allowed a spellcaster to store a spell for a certain amount of time and then release it at will, or just cast spells instantaneously, but the later one was only harnessable by so few creatures that were doubted to even exist, that it was believed to not even exist as well. Thinking about it, this 'boae' teleportation spell and this type of magic were very close to her or Discord's chaos magic, but it also could just be her imagination.
Suddenly, Auriel visible jerked, feeling a new presence entering her newly forged land, a sensation close to a single drop of water falling into a motionless ocean of magic. It was the ponies, but it were a few more of them this, some with more pure magic and a few of them with more unrefined power, or untrained, as it was sometimes called. A smile spread across her face as she knew it was time to turn the world upside down forty-seven and a half times for a few mortals who were new to the real world of magic.
After one last look at her newest creation, the bundle of oversized joy walked to the edge of the elevated platform on which she stood and hopped off. The fall was much faster than it should have been, but instead of crashing on the ground, Auriel landed in a small glass container filled with water, soon to be known as a glass, and vanished. The glass then suddenly grew arms and pulled out a grey hat and a brown suitcase. The animated object then put the hat on and walked away.
Meeting with the Equines
"And that proves that unicorns are-"
"I have abso-bucking-lutely no more nerves left for your whining!" snapped Starswirl at Princess Platinum who gave her thirty-seventh speech about the superiority of unicorns. "I get it! We can control refined magic, and that's great! And Pegasi can control the weather and fly, also great! And lastly, Earth Ponies are stronger, bigger, can access the magic of the land and are more resistant to magic, exactly just as great as the other two tribes!" Starswirl huffed and puffed while he breathed heavily after his shouts.
Princess Platinum stared at the old mage for a moment before opening her mouth and stating. "How dare you to talk to me like that?" The unicorn princess looked like the dream of every knight, a perfect young fruit... until you look past the platinum colored coat and the silvery maned fruit's outside and saw that it was filled with worms and rotten inside
Starswirl was about to say something, but luckily Luna interrupted by shoving her hoof in her mentor's mouth and said."What my mentor sure meant with his statement was that this won't help the situation. Besides, racism would be the worst words we should use when we meet with Auriel." The looks that Luna got where mixed at best.
A pegasus with an orange coat and a red mane, wearing a set of iron armor that was decorated with symbols, fur, and feathers, flew in front of Celestia with his hooves crossed. It was none other than Commander Hurricane."Yeah, yeah, yeah, we already heard the story. I am truly sorry, Guardians, but this story sound just made up, like a fairy tale you tell colts and fillies before bedtime."
"I don't want to sound like a nay-sayer, but I am not quite sure how an oversized cat can be so strong. Ah' mean, how do you know this isn't just some magic-mind-trick, eh?" said the Earth pony with a rough, yet rather gently voice for a large and muscular earth pony, his name was Rock Hoof.
The next pony to say something was clover the clever. The orange mare, with a lighter coat and a darker mane, explained "That is quite simple, Rock Hoof. While illusion can make things look like almost everything to some extent, they cannot fake a magic signature."
Clover looked at her companions who had a worried look on their faces, the anger towards one another was still visible, but was now mixed with the concern of the situation. 'Did they all think that this was just an illusion spell? Even if so, it would take dozens, if not hundreds of archmages to radiate this much magic... at least if radiating as much magic as far and powerful was their goal...' She only now began to realize how bad this could end with her companions if they acted 'rash.'
Luna, who was starting to feel very awkward from the situation, walked in front of the other leaders of the tribes and stated. "Halt you thoughts for a moment. While Auriel may seem like the most dangerous creature pony kind has ever faced..." the look on the other ponies grew a tad horrified. "W-what I meant was... ahem, that while I am sure Auriel could be a strong opponent, I am sure that we do not have to fear her."
Celestia nodded at her sister and added to the statement. "Auriel did not seem malicious, as far as we could see, she acted more like a foal, True, a very powerful and even older foal, but still not very mature. And no, Platinum, Commander, this is not a proclamation to try and manipulate her. All we have to do is stay in the good grace of Auriel, and the changelings and everything will be fine."
Princess Platinum huffed at the comment about her and asked in a slightly annoying tone. "And how do we know that this 'animal' will not eat us while we turn around for a moment?"
"because then we'd be dead where we stand."
All heads turned towards Starswirl who kneeled in front of a weird blue crystal-like boulder that was cut in half with traces of some kind of black dust in it.
Rock Hoof slowly backed a few steps away from the crystal, he felt something in his gut, something terrible. He proclaimed as he went into a defensive stance. "Whatever that stuff is, stay away from it. It feels... nasty." lacking the words to even describe the ominous substance, the other ponies backed away too.
"Do you know what this crystal and the dust even are?" asked Starswirl without even looking at his comrades. "This... is a mana crystal cluster, one that is so strongly condensed with such high-quality mana, that it shouldn't even exist." In his mysterious ways, the old mage once again managed to creep his companions out.
Hurricane huffed and asked with a raised eyebrow."And? It's just a rock?" and to surprise everyone, even more, Starswirl chuckled, and then giggled, and then laughed. Hurricane slowly flapped his wings in the opposite direction of the possible mad stallion "Ooookay... I think he lost his marbles..."
Eventually, Starswirl calmed down and explained. "This, my fellow ponies should enlighten you why this stone is so important. You see, it is impossible for a mortal, or even im mortals to wield pure mana. The only creature to be able to wield such magic is said to be wielded by the special creature, chosen ones, to be exact."
Platinum looked confused and asked."Pure mana? Why should mana be impure, and if so, shouldn't royalty, or even a bloodline of unicorns already possess this kind of power?"
Clover the clever, and more often then enough a walking library stated. "No unicorn ever wielded this kind of power, because no pony ever had this power in the first place. Unicorns and all other creatures just manipulate the magic around them, while the 'chosen ones' create it themselves, or rather, they obtained it from the maker first hand. So far, only a hand full of beings were known from myths and legends to have this kind of magic" Platinum stared at the mare for a moment, before turning her head in the other direction, to hide her disappointment.
Celestia walked up to the mage and patted him on the back, trying to calm him down, she knew this would keep her mentor awake for weeks if she wouldn't calm him down.
Starswirl sighed loudly, knowing full well that now was not the time to experiment. Yet, there was one more thing to say. "And there is one thing that reinforces my theories, at least if I can believe my student's words." all ears perked up at this statement. "This black dust... it is void dust." most ponies looked confused at Starswirl." For any of you who don't know what it is, It's the single most rare and dangerous material in the whole world. It is said to be able to kill anything, even the chosen ones can only be around it for so long. The touch of even single dust corn is death, not even a phoenix would be able to survive from, the powder just drains them of all life. Only... the maker herself is able to survive its touch without any consequences."
The ponies were scared to their graves from hearing this. They didn't believe that Auriel was the maker, yet the thought that she was a 'chosen one,' or even as powerful as the maker was the genuinely horrifying thing. Yet, there was still one pony that was not convinced. Hurricane simple rolled his eyes and flew towards the dust, too fast to be caught. Starswirl reacted quickly to create a magic shield but was not fast enough to stop the bold pegasus. Yet, a moment before he touched it, a mysterious wind blew the dust away.
Hurricane huffed and exclaimed with a hoof swing through the air. "See? It's just dust. It looks like dust, sits on everything like dust and it blew away by the wind like dust-"
The commander's voice was greatly overshadowed by the ear-shattering cracking and breaking sound of stone, as well as a noise that could be best described as a very quiet banshee cry. The Ponies looked to their far left and what they saw was mind breaking. There where the dust landed, the ground started to turn grey, it was turning into a dead rock, not the dead Rock, and it was spreading fast. In just a heartbeat, the ground under them and everything else in what seemed like hundreds of feet radius turned to dead rock like a rat family devouring a corpse, so did the dust consumed the magic out of the ground, even the stone dozens of feed below was not spared. The only things that stopped the void dust were the mana crystal, which shrank down to the size of a shard before the dust was satisfied. The ponies jaws hanging wide open at the sigh of the destruction just a knife's tip of void dust was able to cause. Suddenly a loud clang could be heard as the commander yelped in pain and hit the hard ground with his face.
To everyone surprise, it wasn't Starswirl who almost knocked out the stupid pegasus in a fit of rage, but it was clover the angry who was breathing heavily with anger filling her eyes. She then even lectured the commander. "Besides the fact that you ALMOST KILLED US, you also reduced one of the greatest findings in pony history to the size of a hoof-file!" The commander gulped loudly while his snout was still connected to the ground.
Luna, knowing full well not to anger the mare even more, carefully levitated her away from the military pony and stated. "I think I speak in the interest of everyone that we should continue to the land we promised to lead you to now without any more stops. Is everyone okay with this?"
Rock Hoof was the one that raised his hoof and asked. "I think you uh, kind of missed to tell us a bit about the floating islands and the purple sky."
"But of course the sky is supposed to be this wa-WHAAAAT?!?" shouted Celestia as her neck turned around so fast that she almost invented the term 'neck breaking speed' and saw what lied in front of her. The dust not only devoured the magic of the ground, but also the magic of the snow, and was now revealing the land in front of them. It was madness incarnated to put it lightly.
A waterfall flowed upwards, it rained plushies, islands with trees on top of them were soaring through the sky like birds. Geometrically forms were rotating and levitating up and down in a smooth motion, giant sunflowers grew out of the ground with scales as their petals and a massive jar of honey as the middle. Yet, the most worrisome thing to see was a block of gold, easily around one hundred feet tall and wide with legs and arms with no features swung left and right, no face could be seen as it carelessly walked through the land, each step making the ground shake. But there was no sign of Auriel.
The Ponies looked around the madness and carefully walked through it, no one said a word as they followed the guardians, also known as the alicorns, in hopes that they might hold any monster off long enough so that they could flee, well, that was at least Platinum's hope.
After about an hour of walking through the seemingly endless land, the ponies encountered various... whatever they are, from bears dancing and making clicking noises with every step to a jellyfish herd that ran past them. Yet, now there stood a new thing in front of them. It was a glass of water, with a hat and a suitcase. The glass looked up at the ponies, then down, then up, then down, then up, then up and almost tripped, and then down again. The animated object then threw the suitcase in front of the ponies.
Nothing happened for a good solid minute, just everyone staring at one another. So, not knowing what else to do, Celestia walked up to the case and tapped it with her hoof.
"SUPRISE!!!" Celestia totally didn't scream like a foal as she jumped back (And landed on her back) at the sight of a huge fox, jumping out of an object that was far too small to fit her in the first place, and being showered by a lot of confetti. Auriel smiled widely before vanishing from sight, and reappearing behind the ponies again and asked. "Did I surprise you? Did I?! Did I?! Did I?! Did I?!"
Celestia frowned and said in a slightly annoyed tone "Yes... you did surprise me...a lot."
"I knew I would get you Celly! I-" Auriel was just narrating herself as she suddenly felt a poke in her hip. The golden fox turned around, only to see a lot of ponies she didn't notice before, all armed with armor and weapons.
The pony that was poking her was without horn or wing, an earth pony in iron armor and a spear in his mouth that was poking Auriel. "Hmm. I knew there were more of ponies out there, now the question is why were you separated, and why are you poking me?" thought Auriel out loud as she rubbed her chin with two fingers.
"Stop, Auriel is no threat, chief Chief Stone!" shouted Luna at the pony named Chief Stone, whose rank in the military was 'chief,' closely followed by a choir of ' WHAT's ' from the other ponies.
Chief Stone pulled back his spear, apparently shocked to see his weapon doing no damage, besides making a dot the size of a fly glow on the predator's body. The earth pony with a dark grey coat, light grey mane with a very short cut hair, spit out his spear and replied. "To answer your question, we were positioned somewhere else to warn the remaining ponies that this region was dangerous if the guardians wouldn't return within two days."
"My students weren't lying when they told me you were rather large, miss Auriel." said a gruff voice. Auriel turned around and saw an old pony, probably male considering the facial hair, who was looking so high up that the fox was worried that the stallion neck might dislocate."Now please tell us, miss Auriel, why the land has suddenly... changed."
Auriel smiled as she walked up to the Stallion, before sitting down in front of him. Auriel then lifted right paw with her index finger stretched out and *boop* booped the stallion on the nose, which not only made the pony scrunch his nose in an even funnier way than the alicorns did and emitting a loud 'boop sound.' "Oh, you ponies are just so cute! Oh, to answer your question, I just wanted to try something new out, why do you ask?"
"And you expect us to just believe you just turned the whole Badlands into a flourish and fertile land, before then turning it into a-whatever this here is within a single day? Unbelievable how stupid this animal thinks we are!" shouted a voice that was just as smooth as it was insulting.
Auriel rolled her eyes and waved her hand through the air. "Pff! Of course not. I turned half of the badlands into said things. Where do you think I put all the dangerous animals and lone worms. why do you ask, Platinum?"
Princess Platinum was surprised to see that Auriel knew her name and asked in disbelieve. "How do you know my name!?"
Auriel responded by lifting both of her paws above her head, before slowly lowering them until they reached her head's height and pointed then at her ears. "These little things can hear very well, not that it was tough to not hear you insult each other all the way here." Auriel pointed her finger at each pony and listed their names off. "Celestia, Luna, Starswirl, Rock Hoof, Clover the Clever, Hurricane and of course you, Platinum. Oh, and to quote Swirly again, all creatures have the same worth... whatever worth means, is it some kind of insect?"
Rock Hoof walked up to the golden fox and simply stated. "I like you, you don't use fancy words." Auriel smiled and pulled the Stallion in a hug that not even he could escape. Not that the stallion really tried, but he knew that he couldn't free himself even if he wanted.
Auriel put Rock Hoof gently on the ground again and said with a smile and glee in her eyes. "Oh, I knew it would be easy to make friends with you!"
It was then when everyone suddenly heard a sack of meat hit the ground with great force. Everyone turned around to see Hurricane, lying on his back while moaning in pain, with his hoof being held by the same glass of water out which Auriel suddenly appeared earlier. The glass of water let go of the Pegasus and made a noise that sounded like a huff underwater, before walking away.
Clover had a deadpan look on her face while she trotted towards the pony and asked in an annoyed, yet motherly tone. "Didn't you learn your lesson to not touch everything you see yet?" Hurricane's cheeks blush of embarrassment was luckily almost completely hidden behind his conveniently orange fur.
Auriel rose an eyebrow.'That was not supposed to happen. I clearly didn't tell it to do this, nor did I make them this way... Oh no, I have to act quick before they all become smart, no, what was the word again? Think Auriel, thin- Sentient! Yes, that was what it was called.' Auriel cleared her throat and announce loudly. "Well, I think it's time to clean this chaos up, so please don't get scared, okay?" there was an uneasy amount of seriousness in her voice, it wasn't much, but it was a lot for someone as Auriel.
"And how are you supposed to 'clean up' all of this?" asked Princess Platinum with a vast amount of skepticism in her voice and with a stern look pointed at Auriel.
Auriel didn't respond; instead, she closed her eyes, firmly pressing her left paw onto the ground and dug her claws into the dirt. First, she saw nothing, and then, she saw it all, she was connected to the, her world. The world looked blurred, an ocean of colors, magic, full of life, wild and ever-changing. Waves sweeping through reality, yet always trying to stay close to the outlines that resemble the matter she made, no spot left without color, even there where no matter was seen, in this case, the very air, it still was full of magic.
For the ponies, it looked like Aurile was asleep, yet they knew she wasn't seeing her eyelids twitch. Suddenly, small crackles of multi-colored lightning crackled across the surface of the mad realm and were the horizon and sky was flickering between its current color, the well known bright blue heavens, and the night sky.
Auriel commanded her magic to return to her, slowly the chaotic waves concentrated as they all traveled towards her, waves, tornados, hurricanes and other catastrophes worth of magic traveled towards her, all kept peaceful by her will. The chaotic magic left behind a much more ordered world of magic, much calmer and stable, yet always showing few hints of change. Yet, it seemed like only half of the chaos in the land came to her, the left remained. The chaos that has flown towards Auriel concentrated in her palm that was dug in the ground, forming a small orb of vibrating, truly blinding, and for any mortal, overwhelming amounts of magic.
Auriel slowly opened her eyelids, only for a second blinded by her suns heavenly light, only to then reveal the fertile lands she crafted not so long ago, and the sight of the flabbergasted ponies was pleasant as well. Yet, her expression was still calm, slowly her eye traveled down to her paw and there the orb of magic was. A small smile could be seen on her muzzle as the sphere began to shrink until it was wholly absorbed by the golden fox.
Seconds passed, and yet no one said a single word, the very air was thick, and no one could even understand what happened, or what was still happening. So, it was again Auriel who broke the silence.
"What?"
Negotiations and a breath of new life.
Auriel stared at the ponies in front of her while they reiterated her gesture. The golden Fox was frozen still, but not in shock, but for another reason. Was she trying to decipher the minds of these mortals, and two partially immortal creatures, those who had never gazed upon this kind of supreme power, or perhaps she was simply planning her next thousand steps in the grand chess game of life. Well... that would've been what a smart, godly light would've done, while Auriel merely tried to mimic the looks of the ponies' faces without any help from magic. It was impossible. Their eyes were just too huge to be copied.
This game of staring continued, until Auriel was bored again, so about five seconds later. "So... should I go, or-" Was Auriel asking, before being abruptly interrupted by the older Alicorn.
"What was that?" asked the Alicorn with a concerned tone, sounding slightly horrified. Dozens of laws of magic, physics, and reality were just broken in front of her, nothing made sense anymore.
Auriel shrugged with as little care in the world as possible, before replying casually. "Not much, I just made all the weirdness go away."
"How?" asked the younger Sister
"I just did," replied Auriel.
"If I may interrupt, I think I might be able to verse your question better, my dear students." said the old wizard with a smile, before clearing his throat. "What my students wanted to know was: How!?"
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," answered Auriel, misunderstanding the question.
Starswirl inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, counted to ten, before releasing his breath. "No, I am not asking how , you are. I am asking how you changed all of the THAT!" Starswirl's question now sounded more like a demand, although it was nothing done on purpose.
Auriel let out a loud 'oh...', before answering the question. "Well, first I destabilized the magical field that kept the mass structures together by overloading the spell matrix, then I disintegrated the remains of the land, and then I used the pure mana to reconstruct the landscape." Auriel described her work progress in about two seconds, making it almost impossible to understand, although Starwirl understood it.
"Thank you, my dear," Starswirl said.
"It was nothing." Said Auriel.
"The explanation?" asked Starswirl
"The explanation as well as the terraforming act," replied Auriel.
The old unicorn nodded with a smile and sat petrified in his state.
Luna stared at her Mentor, and tapped him with her hoof against his shoulder, attempting to pry out any kind of reaction, but all she managed to achieve was tipping the old Stallion over like a statue. Luna was frozen in shock, before grabbing Starswirl with her magic and setting him back in place. Luna looked away while whistling a quiet tune, acting like nothing happened, all while Celestia let out a very long sigh.
Auriel looked at the horned trio confusion, as well as a bit of worry for the elder. "Will he be fine?" She asked while pointing her finger at the Stallion in question.
"Starswirl can have his moments , whenever he sees something that he doesn't understand, which is not much, but he'll eventually have seen everything, hopefully," explained Celestia, before lifting her hoof up to her chin, and asked. "Although I do not understand how you managed to do this, I think it's best not to pry into things that I don't have to know."
Auriel smiled and then frowned. She could feel a certain 'murky feeling,' in the air, originating from the other ponies, a mix of various emotions plastered their faces, emitting a kind of energy that felt very much dirty, if not outright stressing. "Anyways, now that it seems like everyone is listening, I want to know something, before we begin."
The Guardians looked at Auriel with open minds, while the other ponies had mixed feelings regarding the sudden announcement.
Auriel own interest picked up from the sudden shift in emotions and was just as eager to hear the outcome of her words as the ponies were. "Now, I know you, and you know me, and pudding will soon know us all, might I ask why you ventured through all that snow and ice? I mean, you don't look like creatures that were made to stand a chance against the bitter cold, although, what do I know, I have been asleep for many many years... Wow, I sure like talking, don't I?" The Fox in question was once again amazed about herself, but if it was positively or negatively, is debatable.
Luna decided to take her turn in this debate. "While I am not fully aware of things came to be in the grand picture, it all boils down to the conflict between the tribes. Many years of war later, the monsters known as Wendigoes came out of seemingly nowhere. These Creatures feasted consumed our hatred, and slowly froze our kingdoms and the surrounding lands into an uninhabitable wasteland. With no land to farm crops on, and fire not capable of warming out bodies anymore, we, my sister, our Mentor and I proposed to form a pact in which the tribes would work together to ensure the survival of all of us. In the end, we managed to defeat a majority of the Wendigoes, but three managed to survive and attempted their best to ensure our demise. Well, the rest you probably know with us finding this-your land and such."
Auriel, for once, listened, very, very careful to the Alicorns words. It didn't take much brain to know that there was probably a lot more story behind the short summary she was given. 'Hatred... this feeling I know too well, it can provide one incredible power even in the weakest moments, but it is poison to the mind. Even now, I can feel the burning malice in the Wendigo cage. And yet, it is so much darker, the emotions they harnessed from the ponies, almost toxic.' Thought the golden Fox while grasping the ornament on her collar.
"I am sorry for the loss of your home, but I am forced to tell you that the wendigoes are most likely still alive, scattered into pieces and fragments, but still alive." Said Auriel in a gloomy voice. Lights do not die until they are absorbed into another one of their kin. As long as the remains are still out there, so long is the darkness of the former host in power. "The Wendigoes were most likely not so bad, to begin with before they came into contact with the blood of the foulest creature, one that although dead since millions of years, it's madness still lingers on this world."
The Guardians suddenly tensed up upon hearing and understanding Auriel's words.
The Clover's hunger for knowledge had awoken her out of her stasis, as she asked with great interest."And how does this 'blood' change one?"
Auriel shrugged. "Not sure, really depends whose blood it is. The effects are probably mostly the same, immortality, powers beyond mortal standards, a higher perception of reality, and likely much more. But, really it's only a matter of time until the power of blood changes the 'infected' altogether, or at least partially." The Alicorns were visibly sweating acorns. "Oh, don't worry, you two don't have his blood in you." The sisters visibly relaxed, although not much mentally. "You have different special blood in you, but don't worry, seeing as you two aren't evil, it's likely to assume that nothing bad will happen to you, you just have to hope it won't come back to retake it's lost Lifeforce." mixed feelings and stress for everyone, yay!
Starswirl suddenly jolted awake as his limited stash of air ran out in record time. "Did I miss anything?! I think I lost consciousness for a moment, or three and-... why do I taste dirt?" Luna looked away and whistled her worries away. Staswirl shook his head and sighed before asking. "As much as I would love to hear everything that came out of you... mouth, I would very much like to begin the negotiations regarding our stay before my time, and patience runs out with our companions." His statement was greeted with several irritated looks.
Hurricane looked at the creature the guardian's revered as 'Auriel,' before letting out a loud snort and flew towards the alicorns, Luna, to be specific. "May I ask why we are wasting our time with diplomacy, especially with this... creature. Wouldn't it be easier to just ignore it and take the land?"
Princess Platinum said. "For once, I agree with the commander."
Auriel's smile faded away and was replaced with a dull look while her half-closed eyes narrowed at the pegasus.
Rock Hoof, on the other hoof, didn't agree and said firmly. "No one is ready for war, and even if we were, you shouldn't threaten her. It's her land and not our place to ask for a fight anyways." Although the Stallion was large, muscular, and covered with many scars that covered his body, he was not a supporter of the war.
Chief Chief Stone added his opinion to Stone Hoof's speech."I am in no position to decide, nor say anything in this matter, but I would like to add that it's unlikely that we would win this battle, not, that I am asking for it. My spear did no damage to our predatory opponent, in fact, I believe my weapon has lost all it's sharpness as if I hit an anvil."
Clover the clever now also decided to enter the conversation. "I think I can speak for the majority that fighting is ill-advised, and I am sorry for having you hear us arguing about doing antagonistic acts towards you, in front of you Auriel." Auriel rolled her eyes, not as a gesture of hostility, but because she was not a friend of all this 'formality.' Clover continued. "I would also like to mention that, unlike some of our suspicions about several hidden high ranked magister acting as the power source of the paranormal activities happening in this land, that all magic, all spells, and mana originated, without a doubt, from none other than Auriel."
Auriel let out a quiet yawn while trying her best to stay awake by using exercising her mind with arduous tasks. ' Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. '
Starswirl let out a long calm sigh, as the silence had finally bestowed his pained ear, but alas, duty called, and so he joined into the conversation as well. "Now that we finally came to an agreement, and came to a somewhat neutral ground with the lord of the land, and-." But was cut off in the end.
"What?! I see nothing that would come even close to imply that this creature had claimed over these lands. I see no subject, castle, or even a landmark that marks it as the rule of this place!" shouted Princess Platinum with anger.
Auriel let out a silent sigh, before muttering to herself. "... Oh, Chitin, you sly ling, you knew this would happen, didn't you?..." The Fox spoke as if she would stand there until she would be gray and old. But since that was impossible, she would just stay there until everyone around here was old and gray. To make the waiting game a bit more interesting, Auriel looked at the magic cores. There was no reason behind it, she was just bored.
It was disappointing, they barely had anything worth mentioning, even moonlight butterfly minors had more mana in them than they had combined, not counting the Alicorns, but there was something that caught the Foxes eyes. She saw her own magic in the alicorns' hearts... every creature bore a very watered-down version of her life force in them, but in them, it was like there was a part of her in them. Of course, it didn't make sense considering that not a drop of blood had ever left her body for longer than a few minutes, was there perhaps another Light roaming her world? The thought made her hair stand up slightly.
Auriel hummed, before bringing two of her fingers to her chin. 'Hmm... well look at that, it seems like the ponies have gotten much more interesting than I initially believed, did they perhaps encounter another light, maybe one that was like me?' The thought was as worrying as it was exhilarating.
"Ehm.. are you well, miss Auriel?" a random guard had walked up to her and asked. Auriel was not too lazy to notice her presence or even bother to show some courtesy of respect, but she just didn't know the unicorn's name and didn't want to stretch this conversation out even further.
Auriel waved her paw at them and dismissed her thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine, I had just been thinking, nothing too important." Auriel then asked politely. "Now, would you like to sit down?" The Fox offered as the ponies were still arguing in front of her.
Chief stone asked, confused. "On what? I don't see any chairs or pillows even." Auriel grinned widely, was it really a surprise that it worried the ponies seeing their own image in Auriel's shining sharp teeth?
A simple tap from Auriel on the ground, and a green and brown flash in her eyes later, and, well, it was too late for them to escape.
Out of the dirt rose a perfect stone slap that went up to the middle of the ponies' chests. Suddenly, the ground under said equines began to shift, and in just a second, the ground under them rose and carried them to the 'table.' The Ponies had no idea what was happing. Once the Ponies were in place, thick and robust green vines rose from underneath them, and Auriel, and grew into living thrones under them.
Hurricane was the only one fast enough to escape the vines and moving earth and hovered above the ground with a smug smile directed at Auriel.
Auriel reiterated with an even smugger smile, and the Commander's grin vanished in a heartbeat. It could've been because of the fact that Auriel's eyes turned green,- or, which was more likely, due to a vine, that shot out of the last unoccupied throne, and ensnared itself around the pegasus' torso before pulled him onto his seat. Hurricane was not pleased.
Auriel said with a lazy smile. "Voila. Now to answer your question 'Dear' Princess Platinum , there is a vast structure called 'Hive' a couple thousand feet in the direction behind me, The Changelings built their kingdom here a while ago, but they decided since I was sleeping under the sand for millions of years, which is a much longer time that they lived in this desert, that it was my land, and that I should 'negotiate with you'. Now can anyone of you tell me what you want?" The question came out much more hostile and demanding that Auriel actually wanted, although the Fox thought nothing of it.
Celestia replying. "First of all I'd like to apologize-" She stopped when she saw Auriel doing a circular motion with her paw, implying that the Alicorn should get to the point. "- We were wondering, or rather hoping if you would like to allow ponykind to seek refugee on your land for the time being."
Auriel stared at the ponies with a blanc look, before asking. "So what you are telling me is that you few ponies want to live this land?" They all nodded, even if some were forced. Auriel shrugged and said with no worries. "Sure, just don't bother the Changelings."
"Just like that? You're just going to let us live here?" The blue Alicorn could not believe her ears and was awaiting a huge 'but,' some kind of demand in return.
"Sure, just don't bother the changelings. I mean, I don't know what the future will tell, so that's is all I am asking at the moment. I mean, what would I want from you?" Auriel had not a slither of an idea of negotiations, and to be honest, she just wanted to end all of it right here.
"Based on how the last few hours of my day were spent, I would assume that my companions believed that you would expect some kind of toll, or rent, for us living here. Those range from gold to mares, or more likely in your case, stallions." listed off Starswirl, before quickly seeing the error as he was met with many glares and an interesting look on Auriel's face.
Auriel stared at the ponies for a moment with an from all emotions drained look, before leaning forward with her hands folded. "I think I need to reconsider the previously discussed terms as it seems like I just came to the sudden realization of how much worth the asked opportunity truly has. I shall talk with my friends on how to advance in our future partnership."
Luna said begrudgingly with much sarcasm in her voice. "Most wondrous worketh, Mentor. forsooth like thou has't turned the most powerful creature in a radius of here to nowhere into a slave driver..."
Celestia glared at her sister, before weakly slapping the back of her sister's head. "Sister, how many times do I have to tell you that work that is done under the command of civilians who wish to increase their wealth isn't slavery."
"You haven't been to Aetherica," muttered Hurricane darkly, and loud enough for everyone to hear.
Auriel tilted her head to the right with confusion, breaking her calm composure, and asked with interest. "What is this 'Slavery?' You equines sure have great interest trying to not let me know what some words mean, like 'war.' I just wanted Bell to have a few more pony friends." Several ponies lifter their hooves and opened their mouths, so Auriel pointed her finger at the only one who didn't attempt to have his question answered. "You, pale yellow pony, the one with red hair and a picture of Firefly on your butt."
The pony in question was an earth pony mare who stood behind her kin, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. It failed. She jerked and stuttered. "Y-yes?"
Auriel asked. "What is your name?"
"S-Sunny Sm-miles." answered the mare.
"Okay, S-Sunny Sm-miles, you seemed to like to wanted to ask something, what would you like to know from old little me?" Auriel asked kindly, almost sounding like a grandmother.
Smiles seemed to have gained a bit of confidence from the warm approach. "No, my name is just Sunny Smiles. I, well, a few years ago someone from my village named Diamond Bell went missing without a trace, that was almost four years ago."
Auriel kept smiling. She wasn't smiling on the inside. 'This will end poorly...' thought the ancient deity, or is if fox-ity? "I am not sure if we are talking about the same pony, but maybe you can ask her later." Smiles nodded with a shy smile.
"It's a cutie mark... not a butt picture..." said Celestia dryly.
Auriel's ears peaked up from the sudden comment. "Cutie mark... sound interesting, I have to ask more about it later. Now, anywho, anyone? Any-fox? Hm, sound weird, let's just stick with anyhow, for now, I think we can talk about the rest on a later time, but first, the rules."
"What!?" shouted the highest-ranked ponies, as well as a few others.
"Pfff and I thought I was acting like a child. It's simple, I just want you, all of you and anyone else who comes here, to get along with everyone, become friends, and work together with the changelings," explained Auriel while idly sitting in front of them. She was utterly oblivious of the political nightmares her demands would induce.
"What is a changeling?" All eyes went to Hurricane, who looked oblivious to what was happening in front of him.
"Yes, I too would like to know what our 'neighbors' look like." spoke princess Platinum, Rock Hoof, as well as Chief Stone, wished to know this too.
Auriel looked at the crowd of eyes, before chuckling nervously, before saying. "Oh look at the time, I think we should push this question towards the next meeting in which I will hopefully not be abandoned to sit here."
"Wait, you can't leave yet, we still haven't decided on the conditions yet." Clover hastily interrupted.
"Why so eager to finish now? You stay here until everything is decided." Said Auriel with a shrug, she was not careless, not in terms of laziness at least, but she just didn't understand this whole talk about being allowed to stay somewhere.
Sunny Smiles said with little confidence in her voice. "I don't want to sound rude, or make anyone feel offended, but this does sound a bit weird to just let us live here for free."
Auriel hummed quietly while tilting her head, she wasn't actually thinking, she just wanted a moment of silence. "I don't see why not. I mean, I don't have a problem with you, the land is big so it won't be too long until something is going to live here, and I have all the time in the world. Literally. So I can wait as long as it takes until everyone is happy." Her smile then vanished, not in a threatening manner or anything like that, and added. "Besides, there is nothing in a long while in the direction you came from other than snow. I don't kill unless I have to, and passively ending ones live is still killing" This last sentence answered a crucial question, and made another one as well.
Luna asked in confusion and ruffled her wings a little bit. "But how does thee-" only to be muted with a golden glow in her throat.
Auriel's eyes glowed purple while her left index finger pointed the blue alicorns. She said. "I am sorry dear, but could you please talk normally? Again, I am sorry, but it's tough to understand what you are saying with the way your talking. If it isn't much to ask, could you maybe speak like your sister?"
Auriel thought as she lowered her finger and her magic. 'That was perhaps a bit mean, but wow, this is painful to listen to. Why is she looking relived?'
Luna said in a surprisingly reasonable tone. "You're right, it just a habit to talk like this in political pegasus affairs," Hurricane muttered something about finally getting the dust out of her feathers in a somewhat happy tone. "What I wanted to ask was, if you don't kill, what do you eat?" The other ponies awaited an answer.
The ponies watched Auriel's every movement and held their breath when she slowly lifted her right paw into the air, the tension was high, and then, and blinding flash stole vision from the ponies. Not a single muscle moved. When their vision was regained, they saw... they saw!
"Cucumber?" Auriel offered. The golden Fox was happily munching down a whole cucumber within seconds, while holding another one to the ponies, wondering if they were hungry.
Starswirl asked calmly. "I assume, as weird as it sounds, that you don't eat meat?"
Auriel swallowed the last of her meal before answering casually. "Yep, I am a vegetarian." Her expression suddenly changed to a very amused one. "oh wait, you thought that I, and my look, oh... No. I don't eat anything that has Lifeforce in their bodies if that is what you are asking."
Rock Hoof asked. "'Lifeforce?'"
Clover answered quickly. "It's an old ponies term for blood."
Auriel cleared her throat, and before standing up on her hind legs. "Now that everything has been talked about, I hope you... 2,5,9,14. 14 ponies will make it yourself comfortable here in your new home, make a lot of children and hopefully overcome the large dent your race due to the sudden miniature ice age."
Princess Platinum mouth opened widely in disgust, and was about to shout, "WHAAAA-hmpf!" but was promptly stopped by a grey aura that shut her mouth. Starswirl asked slowly. "Auriel, you are aware that more ponies want to come here too since they have nowhere else to go."
Auriel stopped in her tracks and asked in confusion. "Why didn't you say in the beginning that more was coming, I am sure a few more won't make a difference."
Starswirl looked at Celestia with a look that said as much as 'your turn.' The white Alicorn sighed before saying. "Auriel, it is likely that more than a few will come here. Starswirl, my sister and I had sent out a magical beacon to tell the other waves to the waves two, the higher-ranked ponies, and wave three, the normal ponies. If nothing happened, then it's likely that hundreds, if not a few thousand will soon arrive here."
Auriel blinked. She blinked again. And again. And again. And again. All while not a single word was said or the eye contact was broken. After a whole minute of silence, Auriel made a clicking noise with her tongue and said. "Well, it's official, I hate politics." This caught the ponies off guard as the Fox was otherwise less blunt in a negative way. "But don't worry, I am sure everything will be fine. If you need me, just shout. And now, tata!"
Auriel waved her paws at the ponies, before vanishing in a flash of light.
The ponies stared at the spot where the Fox was just moments ago.
Starswirl let out a loud sigh and muttering to himself. "It's official, I am going insane." before levitating the previously offered cucumber to his mouth, and taking a large bite out of it. The old Stallion's eyes widened slightly from the explosion of flavor in his mouth, and he was actually smiling while quietly eating the rest of the vegetable while his companions weren't paying attention.
A breath of new life.
Queen Chitin sat on her throne while happily gazing at the changelings in her throne room. In a short time, they managed to clean up ever last hat in the Hive, before storing them somewhere where they didn't clog up the hallways. She let out a relaxed sigh as the last hat, a beehive made out of a fur-like material with a large plush bee, was brought away, leaving the Queen to herself.
"I wonder how the negotiations went." The Changeling Queen said to herself while holding a hoof to her chin. Out of a sudden, a small smile formed on her face, thinking of the possible outcomes. Of course, it was not helpful to leave Auriel alone with *Ugh* politics, but she had two reasons to still decide it to be this way. First, and foremost, it saved her headache, and secondly, it was also crucial for her new friend.
The smile of the Queen vanished and was replaced with a sorrowful frown. She looked at the sides of her throne, and pushed her hoof across the sides of the throne, wiping away the dust and ashes. A large hoof print was visible, along with a much smaller one right next to it. Chitin placed her hoof in the mold, only to see that the imprint was still much more prominent than her own.
'Auriel, you may be powerful, but still so, so naive.' Thought Chitin with a bitter taste in her throat.
The large Changeling stared in front of her, only seeing a gray, empty room. The air was dusty, dry, and in a certain way, hollow. She still remembered a time where things were different. In the Queen's mind, for just a second, she saw the ghost of past times. The area around her was filled with color, music, laughter, and joy, before fading back into nothingness, leaving the Queen alone once again. She sighed loudly and bitterly.
Queen Chitin shook her head, almost knocking her crown over, seeing as the vision was nothing more than just a trick of the mind, or perhaps a forgotten desire? No, it was more than just that, it was more significant, even an ambition so real one might also be able to taste it, it was a memory of the past, that may as well have been a small jump in the future.
Chitin weakly smiled at the thought, and actually started to talk to herself. "Everything seems so surreal, unreal, just a big dream. Not long ago, we were close to dying, the love has been distributed to every last ling equally, every larva and egg as well, all of us were going to die in such a short time, every last one of us gone forever..." The days where love was aplenty were already long gone, more and more of her children perished more often with every single day while food shortages became the norm. In a certain way, she had already prepared to die.
Chitins eyes watered slightly upon revisiting the memory again of her giving the order while lying to her own children that everything was going to be okay. She was going to watch every last one die in her hooves. And then she came, Auriel.
The Queen snorted all of a sudden. 'It's funny, you saved us so easily, Auriel. But-...' Chitin stopper her train of throughs. 'Our fates are tied now dear Fox of light... 'I'll do everything in my power to make sure you're safe from the things that are unknown to you' She chuckled quietly at the absurdity sound of her own words, but she knew deep down that her worries were justified.
The Queen mood was the ruined, as she almost swallowed her own tongue, when a bright light burst in the middle of the room, forcing her to shield her eyes. The light died down, just as fast as it formed, and revealed a not so happy looking fox. Chitin stared in disbelief at Auriel, whose fur had visibly become much... less-shiny, and the expression on the predator's face clearly showed a negative mood. Chitin watched silently as the Fox slowly walked towards the throne, each step executed lazily and slowly until she finally reached Chitin.
Auriel looked at Chitin dead in the eyes, before slowly, and shakingly lifting her left paw a process that took over ten seconds, before the Fox finally spoke. "You... are evil" with the most dried out, annoyed tone that was imaginable. The Fox continued to stay in this exact pose for a few more seconds, before lowering her paw, and finally, she blinked after two whole minutes!
"I see... I am well aware..."
"I... see..."
"...Yes..."
Awkward, there was no better way to describe the situation at hoof than that. The Queen stared at the Fox, and the other way around, and stalemate that could go on for all eternity, both of them now had time until the very planet would one day end. Of course, the wise ruler knew that the situation was summoned by her decisions, well-meant or not; thus, it was her responsibility to clear problem, namely an irritated Fox.
Auriel asked, a little less dryly. "Why did you send me to talk with the ponies?" There was no hostility in her voice, but rather an unusual calmly response. "I mean, don't take me wrong, they seemed nice most of them at least-but I don't understand why me?" Auriel liked to meet a few new faces, sometimes even several on the same body, but the equines she met only a short while ago were... aggravating without attempting to do so.
Chitin could have mustered hundreds of lies at this moment, but she chose against to, even if lying to something-someone , non-changeling was a habit she was still attempting to break. So she spoke the truth. "No matter how bad the situation would have gone with you, the result would have still been much more positive than mine if I had decided to greed our new guest." Auriel opened her mouth and raised one finger. "I am well aware that, in the worst-case scenario, you could've pushed the leader, along with the alicorns, back into the snow with little trouble, but that is no solution." Auriel closed her mouth and lowered her finger. Chitin let out a long sigh, not annoyed, or sad, but just to make a little moment of silence. "What has happened in the past lies there, and trying to resurrect the past's grudge will only lead to more hatred."
Auriel looked calm? The predator was in thoughts, deep thought that made her teeth clenched against one another, and ended her breathing shortly. The Light tried to understand her creation, she was doing her best, but these new feeling were so alien that it forced her to just think with logic. It was no replacement for common sense, and with the lack of history that she actual understood, she was not very much capable of understanding the pain, anger, hatred, and conflict between the races, no matter how much she tried. Of course, Auriel could sympathize with each and individual emotion, but the whole was clouded for her, she lacked vision...
"The ponies..." Auriel began and continued moments later. "...Think different than changelings than Bell or me... They are somewhat different from what I understand. Some of them are nice, others protective, one arrogant, another angry, one calm, and a few unsure. They have no place, but they are trying to form a chain, but they fail." The Queen stared at Auriel in disbelief, she almost sounded like her grandfather. "They don't feel it now, but they are falling apart, they give off a feeling, so wrong it almost hurts. It's only comparable to swimming in a dirty lake, drowned in so many... emotions, thoughts, dream, it becomes...wrong..." The ponies were so different from anything that Auriel had ever seen, they were like her, in a way, but free ... and yet they waste their chance to use it, to grasp and realize it.
The Queen's mouth hanging slightly agape, the happy Fox was replaced with the mind of an old creature fitting to Auriel's age. Chitin was somewhat worried, even if what Auriel just described was what most new drones feel whenever they are in close proximity to larger groups of ponies, or other race's for that matter, and yet. There was nothing more frightening than the unknown, and we don't fear it, it leads to conflict, for what we don't understand is what one often will fight, but fusing both of them in a creature in Auriel's league could spell disaster. The thoughts of the Queen halted for a moment, the faint glow of her friend's fur was slowly coming back. She felt a slight sting in her heart, she actually thought about planning a way to stop Auriel should the need arise to.
"Auriel?" The Fox in question focused her attention to her friend. "Would you like to see something beautiful?"
The Fox couldn't help it, but her unnaturally positive demure crept back into her mind, forcing the corners of her mouth to arise, branding her face temporarily with the sign of joy, and her fur with a soothing warm glow. "Really? Show me! Show me! Show me!"Auriel broke out in cheer, all while jumping around like a fool on an extra powerful sugar rush.
A sight to behold, indescribable in its form, and yet, it's description was almost destined to be glorified in the mind of the Golden Fox. A lake of green, almost lime colored pearls, peacefully lying in an ocean of a pink liquid. Those jewels more magnificent than any stone were seemingly pulsated with an alien gleam radiated an aura of tranquility and gave off a feeling that warmed even the coldest of hearts. That was one way to describe the sight that beheld in front of two individuals that couldn't be more diverse. Queen Chitin, aswell as Auriel, stood at the entrance of the most prominent chamber in the Hive, a place shut off from the rest of the world with a thick door so heavy it took dozens of changelings to move. Inside this chamber, that was illuminated with glowing crystals with colors of jade, sapphire, and emerald was the greatest treasure of the Hive hidden. The future of the entire Hive was in this exact location. The nursery.
In the nursery, a room which's walls were covered in hexagon-shaped holes, forming a surface similar that of a honeycomb, was a significant dent in the middle, if not outright a dent. In this lowered place sat the changeling eggs, green shells almost transparent housed the offspring of the Queen, children that were virtually indistinguishable from giant maggots if it wasn't for the prominent head of a baby changeling. These eggs sat in a large puddle of love, but it was different. This energy was in it's purest form, for the untrained eyes, one might even think that the bottom of the 'lake' was pink by nature. The unhatched one had seemingly noticed the arrival of the eternal source of love and began to squirm in the presence of a source of food far more significant than their small hearts could ever imagine.
Chitin smiled at the sight of her children, it always warmed her heart to see them desperately try to come closer to the life-giving love, and then greedily consuming it until they are satisfied. This moment had last happened a long... long time ago. The eggs that now were in front of her were several decades old, not grown an inch, just kept alive in hopes of one day to find more love, but at the cost to keep them imprisoned, so they survive, and not starve off the Hive. Now, it would change.
"What do you think, Auriel?" Chitin said softly like a weak spring breeze. But there was no reply from her friend. She turned around, only to see that she was staring at the cocoons with an empty look, mouth slightly open, not even blinking. It was almost like she was trying to see something that wasn't there, it was virtually saddening in a way.
Auriel only watched. They-the hatchlings were calling after her, yearning for something she had. She slowly lifted her paw, unsure of continuing, letting it hang loosely in the air, and descending it just as slowly. One step was enough to set her in motion, step after step did she come closer to her destination. Chitin watched in high interest, and worry, after the Fox, only the nurses were allowed to even view the eggs, let alone touch them, and yet, there was a calm aura around Auriel, something that made her stay calm, despite seeing such a large creature casually stroll towards her unborn.
Auriel's gaze did not falter a second, her movement didn't slow as well, it was almost like she was carried by the very air, her paws seemingly didn't even touch the stone under here. The moment she reached the pond, she was greeted by a chorus of screams, an orchestra of cries, muffled by their jail walls. Auriel scanned the eggs, over sixty of them, placed in a circle formation, with a small heap of them located in the center. In truth, less than a second passed, before she continued to walk towards the center. Chitin watched with wide eyes as the Light watched on the water with such grace, that not a single disruption was formed on the love's surface, not one egg touched by a single hair.
Once at the core of the nursery, in front of the pile, she crouched down while slowly circling the work of life. Getting closer with every rotation, her eyes darted at the eggs around her, their begging becoming louder by the second. When in the end one stand of golden fur touched the unborn hatchlings, she lied down, her body entwined around them in a warm embrace. Auriel rested her head on the liquid's surface and closed her eyes.
Queen Chitin watched in utter confusion at the display in front of her, not understanding what the plan of the godly creature was, until something happening. The pool of love began to glow softly, like an illuminated cave filled to the brim with diamonds, while a heavenly pink aurora danced in the air which's sigh made the nurses' eyes water. Yet, as tranquil, if not outright perfect this very moment was, it was interrupted with the creaks and cracks of something breaking, the sound was unmistakable, the eggs had hatched. The young hatchlings broke through the shells walls with an unnatural strength an act impossible as it required at least two nurses to open an egg. The young larva squirmed and crawled from every egg towards the Fox, embracing her soft glow tried their best to be as close as possible to her. Those who reached the never-ending source of food chirped loudly as streams of pink energy gushed into their jaws, so much that their thoraxes glowed with the same pink hue, before eventually falling asleep next to Auriel.
Chitin was unsure what had just happened, but it was not irritating in the slightest, more of experiencing a miracle executed right in front of her very eyes. The Queen's smile deepened to the extent that almost hurt her cheeks, showing off a cute, somewhat goofy grin, and slowly walked towards Auriel. She lied down next to the massive pile of hatchlings in front of Auriel's stomach, crossed her forehooves, and rested her head on her hooves. From a watcher's perspective, one might not even see Auriel, as she was covered almost entirely by the young ones. The nurses around the nursery stared at the display in front of them before joining the slumber party aswell.
A few moments later, Chrysalis and Bell had reached the nursery too after being told the location of the Queen and Auriel and were greeted with a heartwarmingly adorable sight. Shortly later, the pile became two beings bigger.
Mortal Heart and Godly Eyes.
A different view on emotions.
What does one understand under the term 'Inner peace'? The answer varies from person to person, the words one uses to describe, their experiences and choice influenced by their long, or short, live experiences. A youngling might see it as something dull, or even nothing more than a fable, and those who care might describe it as a state of constant happiness. A wise elder would choose his or her words carefully before answering, but in the end, their answer would always be the same as a state where mind and body become one in harmony with all that surrounds them and to have their emotions in a calm and focused state.
The answer to what it truly was... was nothing from the mentioned above. Inner peace cannot be obtained by a mortal, even for the Lights, it was seemingly as rare as to see one of their celestial kin not willing to slaughter their brethren. Inner peace was a state where one being would rarely, if at all, be able to feel negative, only positive to the point that the joy that they feel becomes average and mundane to not have any down for the ups to feel special and unique.
This is what Auriel thought whenever she was alone, not that ever happened often as all life seemingly strived to draw near to her, be it as a star of power, a place of peace, or a simple friend, but something was different.
Auriel let out a quiet moan as she rolled to the side, feeling few little warm objects slightly slide down her form but ultimately still staying attached to her. A warm liquid, soft like silk and yet clear as water was beneath her, did she fall asleep in the pool again? The crisp air, cold and refreshing brushed gently against her sides like a little breeze of the summer. The wind had a unique smell to it, the mix making her nose scrunch up, and yet, the sheer alien sensation made the ancient fox nearly addicted to this new experience. Sweet, salty, a tad musky, a few whiffs of rotten and a little pinch of spoiled, her vocabulary of adjectives was not a complex one, not that there were any for nearly her whole life.
A long stretched yawn flooded out of her with sharp teeth filled maw of the predator, golden and white limbs stretching longly, and a sensation Auriel hasn't felt in her whole life overwhelmed her body. She felt tired, a bit groggy even, but overall, she felt fine...
"What?" She whispered silently as her eyes snapped wide open, the vibrant and with power gleaming gems in her eyes sockets took on a more natural tone, at least, as usual as gold could be, how she knew? She just did. Auriel breath was unsteady, quivering with immense confusion and excitement as she slowly rose from the ground but paying unyielding attention towards the little ones resting on her form.
On her body rested only a few 'lings, most of the young ones had already left her body, squirming away and make a bit of place, or perhaps they simply wished to explore, to move and experience the joy of life. Although the fox rarely does so, she felt the emotions and thoughts of the Queen as she entered the chamber, her feelings were somber at best, sorrow and pain and guilt radiating from her like a beacon of mental distress. She didn't know her reasoning to feel such things towards the unborn, or now, newly born, but she could guess given that the eggs were incredibly old, older than most creatures of the new age lived based on the life span of a pony.
Although the fox wished to rise and experiment, understand why she was feeling the way she was, on the other paw, the sight of the three remaining changelings on top of her was melting her heart away in ways she could fathom. The hatchlings had significantly grown, coming nearly to the size of little Chrysalis if they were to stand, and their power had rise immersive. The chitin had definitely thickened, the horn grew finer, and by the looks of it nearly took on a coiled surface and the wings became more powerful, did she perhaps feed them too much? Could that even apply to the beings in questions? More questions, fewer answers than appreciated.
Auriel took a little breath, the very act of doing to was merely optional as nearly all mortal needs were, but they gave her a little amusement as strange as it sounded, before holding her palm towards the trio of 'lings. Her paws were soft, they could calm the most furious beast, but they were not fitted for creatures who did not have skin to embrace her, and as such, she was forced to use a different method, magic. A thin layer of golden magic slowly began to spread around the silhouette of the changelings, starting from the soft underbelly to the limbs and head, before the young ones slowly were levitated into the ar by a so smooth and carefully power that it did little to stir any unrest into their dreams. The creatures were then slowly laid into the pink liquid, most of it had already vanished, but the soothing temperature was what made them remain asleep.
A sigh escaped Auriel's lips before she returned to the subject at hand. ' What happened to me?' She wondered as she looked over her body, only to find nothing amiss, hurt, or changed, thought her emotions had warped. Auriel didn't feel 'fine' or anything like 'Groggy,' there was only 'Awesome,' 'Perfect,' and 'spectacular,' but never was there something lowly as just a 'meh.'
The once impeccable veil of perfect happiness, everlasting and rarely ever overwhelmed, was lifted, although she could feel the ropes ever so slowly being pulled, for the moment, she was free.
"I'm free..." She muttered under her breath as she looked around her. The room looked scary in a way with all changelings sleeping around her in group and pills, heap and pillars, the bright light assaulted her eyes giving her a feeling of unease and the chilly air made her occasional shiver. She felt alive like never before, the beating in her heard, the tickling in her chest, and the infrequent singular chuckles that escaped her between breaths were signs of what she felt or what she was unable to grasp at the moment.
The Golden fox just sat there, in the puddle of her own emotions, towering all around her while the insane expression plastered across her face was with the rising and sinking chest the only things that indicated any signs of life. For minutes she was paralyzed, frozen still in her euphoria, but suddenly, her ears twitched, leaning side to side as if they were attempting to hear something, and whatever she heard, did something. Auriel's expression warped from madness to curiosity, before making a gasping sound and vanishing by falling into the inch deep liquid like a boulder in the ocean. If this was an act of magic or if her voice caused the ground to give in was unexplainable as the action was far too smooth to be resolved.
The colors of life.
A loud crack echoed through the woods, one that could make even the most coldhearted wince, followed by a pained yelp and whining of a child, or perhaps, child-like? Through the vast forest, bearing creatures, as well as plants of all kinds long gone and some new entirely, a pair of one of the most unique creatures wandered through one of its beautiful groves, the golden light was perfectly caught in the peaceful atmosphere of this amassment of plant that one might've believed to be countless of millennia old. Although the scenery was one of beauty and tranquility, the two most obnoxious creates within were less than thrilled despite the definite upgrade to their previous living location and accommodation.
"I think... I think I dislocated something..." The Solar Alicorn whined as she sued her wing to rub her lower back, as much as she hated the plagued land of snow, there was one thing she missed, and that was the soft snow on top which a thick matt could've been placed. One might wonder how such a pain could be inflicted by a night of rest when there was grass, fluffy and soft, three with leaves aplenty or even moss-covered stones. The answer was quite simple, nothing was soft, the very grass was strong and healthy to the point that the Guardian's feared that one blade of grass might penetrate their hooves.
"Pah, sister, thou seem to have lost plenty' skin on thine teeth." The Lunar sister barked loudly, even falling to the old pegasus language despite the golden fox's disdain for that way of speaking. The Solar alicorn by the name of Celestia grumbled under her breath, a final sharp motion caused an audible crack to escape her immortal back, a sigh escaped her lips and eased her pain. "Now, let us see what we can find to feast on," Luna mumbled quietly, she and her sister, but mostly she, chose to break off from the main group which resided at the exact potion where the supposed goddess left them, while they were to scout for any dangers or resources scattered around.
Celestia rolled her eyes at the gluttony of her sister, although there was a hint of jealously at the incredible metabolism of her sister where she could eat more than thrice her portion and still remain fit without much of sport, yet she seemingly pumped her rump with air by mere crumbles of bread. Celestia's hatred for the unforgiving unfairness of this world was suddenly halted when her gaze met with a fruit she never seen before, hang from a particularly interesting tree. It was one that looked like a conjugation of vines winding around each other to create one larger plant while their very tip bent in such degree that the very plant nearly formed an upside-down 'u,' on its tip grew a pear, though this one glowed in a pale blue light, gentle and cold.
"Luna? I believe I have found something." Celestia casually remarked as she slowly trotted towards the seemingly safe source of nourishment, though all too wary of any danger that surrounded the low hanging fruit.
"Huh?" Luna let out a confused sound before turning around and looking at what her sister was walking towards too. "Ahh, you found something to eat. Good, let's get it!" The Lunar alicorn grinned, her stomach rumbling in agreement, before taking off towards the supposed breakfast, her stomps barely even damaging the grass under her. She opened her mouth, teeth bared, though just before she reached it, a firm tug originating from her tail stopped her in her track and nearly topped her over.
"Sister mine, may I ask you something?" Celestia rooted around her sister, a broad smile plastered across her face, causing Luna to grimace at the sudden surge of awkwardness. "Have you gone insane!? Did you not listen to Starswirl, and what happened when Commander Hurricane touched something strange?"
"Bah, I can take care of myself; besides, this is not some dark powder of destruction, it's a simple fruit. A fruit, sister, they are mean to be eaten. I doubt that anything would happen if I were to pluck it." Luna said with a groan and a roll of her eyes.
"Both of you are right and wrong, kinda." A familiar voice said, causing both immortals to turn around and face the golden Fox, Auriel, who casually laid on top of the curved root with her head closest towards the ground. Her form slithered towards the ground, though just before making contact, she turned around like a cat. "This plant ears the name Chachabu, or, Slinger. It is an incredibly dangerous plan, but if you were to trigger the trap, you could easily save yourself, not that you have the strength to even activate it by separating the fruit from the tree." Auriel explained as she closed the distance between the alicorn and her by swinging her limbs from side to side.
"Are you calling us weak?" Luna asked with a raised eyes, her voice risen slightly as if she were to accept the challenge laid out by a Light. Auriel smiled gently and leaned her to the side, allowing vision to the fruit yet again. Luna grinned, much to her sister's dismay, who let out an annoyed sigh.
"Oh don't actor so uptight, you only get to young once, 'sides, there is absolutely no danger," Auriel said as she placed her, compared to other crumbs, large butt on the ground and caused the helms under her to bend, not due to her weight, but just out of the respect and courtesy towards their maker.
"I know, it's just she's acting like a foal the entire time. She's never been serious since mother's death, and I have been forced to act mature for two." Celestia said begrudgingly as she watched her sister wrestle with all four of her limbs with the plant, her horn sparkling as a beam of magic attempted to burn through the fibers of the tree.
"Perhaps that's why she's not serious?" Auriel asked curiously as she turned her head towards Celestia, who, in return, gave her a surprised look. "Do not give me this look, I can be serious once in a while too. Although I cannot understand the pain of losing a family member as I never had such a thing, I can very much so understand how it's like to lose something close to once heart."
Celestia stared into Auriel's eyes, although they were so much smaller in comparison to her own, despite the significant size difference, the fox's gleamed like pearly, but for once, she could see something other than perfection, it was sorrow. "You must've at least have once had a family, what else could be comparable to lose to a mother's death." Celestia quickly overlapped her hooves over her muzzle, though the fox seemed to unfazed.
"We Lights... are much different than you or any mortal race," Auriel said slowly as her face turned towards the sun, an act that would've taken sight away forever for nearly every creature was nothing for her. "We don't have families, parents, and we can't have children. Even if we did, it would not last long because..." Her jaw froze, stopping herself, before lowering her gaze onto the now heaving blue alicorn. "I made one mistake, one time, and I paid dearly for that, I let uncountable lives be snuffed out by a monster, my children, all of them."
Celestia's mouth opened and closed, the joy and happiness that seemingly were all that the golden fox was made out of were gone and left behind was a sight of pain, regret, and yet the predators would let her mouth's arches twitch upwards occasionally. "What did you do then?" She asked carefully, the pain from the fox radiated like a poisonous fire, yet the pain was less direct than the attempt to feel for her.
"I killed it, I became the very thing I never wanted to become and lost myself. I left behind a wasteland and buried myself under the sands that once rested below us." Auriel's face lowered itself as she looked towards the ground, her paw hovered over the grass, the place that now dwelled in darkness glowed softly in a grey light, the grass died away and left was a patch of dirt."I hid away in shame and gave myself all the blame, this has gone to the point that I began to hear voices in my slumber, but one that woke me was that of a few children shouting after their mother. I felt their pain, I tried to fix the problem with my magic, but I don't know if it was but a hallucination or real."
Celestia's jaw clenched painfully tight as she nodded her head to the fox's words, even if she perhaps not understood her pain or burden herself, she at least felt with her, more literal then any other creature.
"But..." Auriel started as she moved her hand away from the dark spot and let her magic flow into the desolate path and from dark flowers of all colors sprouted. "I moved on, I was woke by little Chrysalis and chose to personally intervene with my children's problems. It may hurt to let go even more so, especially since you can talk and understand more me just as much more as I can you." Auriel's eyes then turned towards the lunar Alciron, who let out a sigh and slumped her way back to the two other. "But just because they may not act like it now, they still love you none the matter, and when you need them, they will be there."
Celestia could only nod, perhaps it was for the better to just see the wisdom that was given to her by a much older immortal, knowledge that she wished she never would have to learn the natural way on her won. "I... think I understand what you're saying."
"I-uh-I think the tree is cheating." Luna huffed and puffed, although an alicorn's strength was supposed to be legendary, any malnourished creature on its last leg was doomed to be weaker than the lowest of creations.
"Just give it time, for now, enjoy being a bit careless, I'll watch over you." Auriel smiled, soft, warm, and gentle with a tilted face, before turning around and walking towards the tree of stubbornness.
Celestia stopped in all of her tracks, the picture of Auriel's expression stuck in her memory, invoking something in her she just couldn't explain.
"Did I miss anything important," Luna asked with a confused look, her eyes switching between the static expression of her sibling and the backside of the golden fox who seemed to radiate with less reach this very day, but made with an intensity she thought could not be reached.
Celestia slowly shook her head, forcing away the feeling of nostalgia and answered kindly. "No, it was nothing you need to be aware of, just an idle chattering between two old mares."
"Watch!" The sudden outburst stole away the entirety of the attention of both sisters as the watched Auriel tighten her grip around the fruit. Auriel tugged the fruit, and the bark of the stalk, but underneath hid a green, rubber-like fiber and a powerful pulse traveled across the entire three, the strain on the connection between fruit and tree grew massive as the plant wished to forcefully move to the opposite direction of Auriel. The golden fox lifted one of her claws towards the stem and, in one fruit motion, cut the connection, causing the tree to nearly catapulting itself into the air as the upper part of the plant arced and hung closely on the other side. The sheer force of the plant caused rocks, fallen sticks, and even twigs of nearby trees to be catapulted so far up that they vanished from sight.
Both sisters had to hold onto their manes, lest they feared to loses all hair on their heads from the incredibly pull, an act of nature's ingenuity of the finest kind. Celestia and Luna could only gawk in awe as Auriel made her way towards them without a single hair out of its spot and sitting down in front of them as nothing had happened.
"Don't try to eat the shell, you'll chip a tooth," Auriel commanded as traced her claws across the peel of the fruit before it fell apart into three individual pieces. The smell was intoxicating, sweeter than sugar, yet not sickening in the slightest, fruity, but not too overpowering in the slightest. The flesh of the fruit bled no juice, it looked as if the inside was entirely filled with some sort of goo, but it was far too stable for that, more like a soft, yet firm liquid that jiggled. "Come on, don't shy away. I promise you won't regret bitting into this." Auriel commented as she took a large bite out of her piece, the fruits inside wobbled much but was overshadowed by the fox's moaning.
Celestia slowly turned her head towards Luna, though she was the first one to shrug, take her piece and bite into it. The flavor was like nothing she had ever seated before. It was soft and juicy as melon, but the flavor was somewhere between strawberries and forest berries. The taste was a blessing of the highest grade compared to the dry food they had to soak up with melted snow to make it even edible. The feast sadly only lasted so long the fruit lasted, which was not long, though before sadness could sit, a whistle stole away their attention.
The fruit's remains were forcefully discarded by a golden glow when their eyes beheld the sight of Auriel sitting at a white table, three fluffy pillows of moss surrounded the object of furniture. As insane as this may sound, what was more surprising was the steaming silver kettle, the tray of cups and teabags, as well as the large bowl of sugar.
"What are you waiting for? Come and enjoy a bit of tea with me!" Auriel waved at the two Alirconrs, both, who were surprised that the ancient fox even knew what tea was. "The water is getting cold, come on, it took me several attempts, but I think I made it just like Bell explained it to me!" Ah...
"Come, sister, let's enjoy a cup of tea," Celestia said with a smile, walking past her sister, who looked at her back with the disbelief.
'What did those two talk about to change her attitude so much?' A Luna wondered upon seeing her sister relaxed and open for new things all of a sudden. Luna shook her head and ran after her sister and took place with a jump, this action causing her to nearly fall over if it wasn't for a tail that caught her flank.
"Careful dear, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself." Auriel cooed, a kind smile and a soft look on her face, as she reached over to the sugar and put two teaspoons of the white gold into her cup, a red teabag followed alongside a stream of searing water. "Please help yourselves, I brought out the good tea just for you two."
Celestia smiled as she put three teaspoons of sugar into her cup, though she stopped once her eyes meet with the most crucial ingredients of tea. "Auriel, what exactly are the sorts?" Celestia asked, unbeknown to her, the treasure chest of sweetness was stolen away by a blue aura.
"I tried to not pull out too exotic mixtures," Auriel said quickly before blowing a cold wind onto her beverage, the table underneath her cup gained a thin layer of frost in the process. "I thought you might like something more settle, so I'd recommend rose flavor," Auriel said as Celestia slowly pulled the rose teabag towards her and gave it a careful sniff, at first confused, before a smile spread across her face before filling her cup with hot water, though the moment it was filled, the container was stolen away as well. "As for you, Luna, I..."
Auriel's words froze in her throat as she watched the alicorn of the dark color scheme pour all the remaining water into the sugar bowl in which one of each teabag resided; the result was a mixture that could not be closer to a liquid made out of rainbow than possible.
"You... you probably should not be drinking that," Auriel said slowly, cautiously, and with unsureness, for the first time in a long time in a long time, Auriel did not know if a combination of her creations would result in something catastrophic or beautiful.
Luna shrugged strongly tilted her head to the left for a moment. "Probably." Despite the short agreeing on the predator's hypothesis, Luna lifted the tincture with her magic and brought it to her lips. The colorful brew rushed down Luna's throat like a waterfall and was gone long before either of the two 'adults' snapped out of their paralysis.
"Luna..? Are you feeling okay?" Celestia asked with uncertainty as Luna let the 'teacup' drop to the ground, her eyes drifted into the void past Auriel, yet her shaking only solidified her worries. The trembling grew with each moment before a thunderous noise burst from Luna, a cloud of colors of all kinds was fired like the flame of a dragon out of the alicorn's jaw, painting Auriel and her surrounding in colors galore.
"I Feel Fine," Luna replied with a wavering smile before her head dropped onto the table, a loud clung noise echoed through the meadow, and a torrent of snores escaped her other body opening, hopes that her other means of venting would not have their grand appearance.
Auriel pried her eyes open with a loud cracking, the colorful gas having settled down and stuck into her fur like honey and refused to leave her without more aggressive means. "She ate the teabags..." Auriel grumbled as she stared onto her 'colorful appearance' Her body was white, pristine to the point it looked like it was touched from incredibly accidious stomach acid, while her mane, or rather the hair on her upper body that was forced back was the color of crimson red.
"Wow..." Celestia commented as she stared at Auriel, her mane glistening in the sunlight, the sight reminding her of old memories, painful one if the sting of grief was any indication. Her face slowly lowed itself onto her teacup, the steaming goodness filling her with sweetness and tranquility no other brew was able to give. Her golden magic enveloped the cup and was brought to her lips, the goodness rushed down her throat like silver and ended with her letting out a satisfying sigh, if one didn't know any better then it would've seemed like all worry was washed away.
"Do you think citron and hot water will get this stuff out?" Auriel asked with confusion before licking at her arms, achieving nothing but a won laughter, and gained the joy of Celestia, who could not hold back her amusement any longer.
"I cannot believe what has become of my life..." Mumbled the platinum-colored pony bearing the name of her coat's color. Platinum's original tiara was destroyed during the journey after an attack of one of the demonic beasts that claimed the ice dessert as their territory. How and why they would choose such a dead, and desoland location was beyond her, though she just stamped it under yet another strike by dark spirits harboring anger against her for reasons unknown to her.
"I know, right!" Shouted an excited pony, her voice filled with joy, this pony was Clover. The mare was one that enjoyed nothing more than to study the very world around her in an endless conquest to crack every last secret this realm had to over. She let out an ear-piercing squeak as she squished her face with her hooves, only highlighting her already seemingly impossible smile. Her eyes, those vibrating orbs, vibrated as they darted onto the watermelon-sized Butterfly that landed onto her head, the creature's long tongue shot out and traced along a scar that Clover had received during a stupid accident as a foal. The sticky liquid sank into her fur, and the wound vanished while regrew there where once a little gap was.
"I don't think it's is advisable to just let everything be licking our faces, don't you think Clover?" Starswirl asked with a stern glare at the winged creature, who, in return, slowly retreated its tongue and left with sturdy flaps. "Don't give me that look, you know I'm right."
"I don't share your opinion." Said the gruff voice of Rockhoof, who in turn lifted his hoof up, only for a large bird to land onto the flat surface, the create appeared to look like a crow, though bore a peacocks tale, but instead of feather's there grew crystals, which in itself was most unusual as the rest of the avian's body coverings was made out of a mix between gas and liquid by the looks of it. "These creatures bear friendly spirits, they won't see us as a threat as long as we don't. I also don't think that Auriel would make a death trap for us filled with voracious beasts."
"While we are on the topic of pulling entire forests out of one's fur and malicious beasts, it does make me wonder why our furred friends have done nothing with these powers, don't you think." Questioned Chief Chief Stone as he walked out of a Bush, his pouches filled to the brim with fruits and berries, only a few did he actually know, but if the animals that looked like a mix of dogs and tiger could eat it, then Tartarus could he.
"If I had these kinds of power's I'd just lean back, go somewhere where no one's gonna bother me, and live a leisure life." Said a voice from above, though relaxed and male in nature. All eyes rose up and met with an armorless Hurricane, his back on a cloud while his head rested on his forehooves while chewing on a straw. "What? That's just my opinion; besides, world domination sounds like a real hassle to manage."
'I cannot believe that someone like him became Commander.' Stone thought with a roll of his eyes, back then during the wars he would've praised all gods for a failure of a leader, but now that they were in the same boat he cursed his previous hopes. His thoughts, as well as all other activities of his companions, were interrupted upon the invasion of familiar voices into their conversation, and all eyes turned towards the newcomers trotting towards them.
"How long do you think it will take for Luna to wake up?"
"Not sure, I have done a lot of dumb stuff, but this is new even for me. I say give it a few hours, among some of the brews, was a potent relaxation herb that soothes nerves really good. But then again, you're supposed to just drink it. If Luna does not wake tomorrow, then come to me, and I'll give her something that will wake her from this seemingly eternal slumber."
"If you say so..."
"Hey, just loosen up once in a while, mistakes are part of life."
"I'll... I'll attempt to try."
"Hakuna Matata."
"What?"
"I, myself, don't know half of the stuff that comes out of my mouth, so don't take it too seriously unless I'm serious."
Celestia snorted loudly, her head shaking with a small smile on her petite muzzle. Her eyes drifted past Auriel's head, the sight of Luna snuggling into Auriel's back like a foal was a sight that could've made even the coldest heart melt. Yet, the somewhat stained smile on Auriel after she had mentioned how this image appeared to her was still bothering her, despite the fox's denial.
"I like your new mane by the way," Auriel noted with a smile as she looked at Celestia from the corner of her eyes, her checks appeared ever so full and squishy whoever the predator smiled, nearly masking the row of teeth.
"Huh?"Asked Celestia in surprise as she looked closer at the denture of the fax, her fur still bore the color scheme after the artistic explosion, but she claimed to have found a way to rid herself of this paint job, but she had not changed her style in countless of years. Her eyes widened when she saw that her pink mane was now colored like a rainbow, flowing in the wind with grace and beauty.
"Trying to outshine the old' rug covering my hide?" Auriel teased with a quick raise of her eyebrows, this was only strengthened by a smirk coming from one unconscious Luna who mumbled away in her sleep.
"Oh stop it," Celestia said with a small blush as she patted the fox onto the shoulder, Auriel, in response, could only giggle.
All the ponies who accompanied the Guardian's across this long journey to this praised land could only let out an unspeakable mumbling at the sight of Celestia socializing and enjoying herself, even Platinum began to wonder if the fox had not hexed them all. Only one pony was able to show a different emotion than shock, and that was Starswirl with a shimmer of pride, visualized by a small smile.
"Oh, I hope we did not keep you waiting too long." Celestia apologized as she sped her pace up slightly, entering the circle of equines with an embarrassed smile.
"Nothing to apologize for." Starswirl waved the delay aside, knowing full well that this was, due to this significant occasion, inexcusable. "Now, come and take Luna with you, we must discuss urgent business. You may come as well, Auriel, if you wish to, that is."
"Ehm... sure, as long as it doesn't take too long. I don't want to keep my friends waiting." Auriel answered with uncertainty, his voice that previously sounded so calm and open was now that of sternness and seriousness. In the past, she might've just waved it off, but she could actually feel herself being nervous, reasons were unknown, perhaps only a feeling warning her of events to come?
Those were the fox's last moments to think before the old Stallion took on a fast pace away from the rest of ponies, their faces were wrapped in discomfort as if they were aware of what she would hear very soon.
Author's Note
Sorry for the long wait and short chapter, but I did not want to keep you guys waiting longer or have the last part of the chapter have a completely different feeling.
The ancient Light stared at the back of the old stallion's head much harder than she should have. As a matter of fact, she was so fixated that her neck cramped slightly. It was not that there was much to see except for strands of thinning hair, but rather about him in his entirety. His age, however, concerned Auriel the most. His flesh was weakening and his body degrading, yet it appeared not to have been caused by erosion due to the flickeringly flimsy bond between meat and soul, but rather a naturally induced state of magical cannibalism.
'I was wondering how my world's creatures managed to remains alive without direct connection to my magic, and so little of it remaining in the ground and air too. Without enough magic, these ponies start to crumble away, but even that is not enough for the soul core to remain pure, thus cracked in the process. I will need to look into connecting the relays, but first, figure out what the impact would be to my children and their amusing concept of 'society' and such.' Auriel thought darkly while chewing her cheek's inner flesh. "Can't let another corruption happen." She mumbled quietly under her breath.
"Is everything alright, Auriel?" A quick question caught the ancient being off guard for just a moment before she quickly turned her head towards the questioner. "You've been awfully quiet the past few minutes. Is something irking you?"
"Felt more like a couple of months if you ask me." Auriel answered nonchalantly while wavering her eyes over Starswirls soul core before perishing the thought once again. "Just thinking about this strange place this world has become." It was not a pleasant sensation to alienate herself from her grand creation, but she knew that these ponies were rather unamused about a creature claimed to have made all they can touch and more. "Might I ask what you wish to show us, magister?"
"It's 'magic caster', not magister." Before turning his head towards the golden fox, the old magister commented from the front before quickly pointing it about ten degrees higher to meet her eyes. "And as for the reason for this excursion, it's due to the lacking movement of the sun."
Auriel halted abruptly, almost freezing in time, before her eyes slowly rolled down like marbles in a glass. "The sun stopped moving? As in, it is no longer in motion and not being held back by something?" Her voice was as sharp as a knife, almost sounding like an old teacher who just needed a hunch of a reaction of guilt to finalize a sentence.
"Yes, a group of highly skilled unicorns would move sun and moon from dusk to dawn for the past two-hundred-and-sixty-three years." Starswirl said as if he read out a book entry from his memory. "Truly a mystery, but who knows, maybe I can get to the bottom of this event in my lifetime."
"Sure, good luck." Auriel replied grimly; her thinker pondered away the great mystery thoughts, each possibility worse than the one before.
"Where is lady Luna, while we are on the topic of enigmas? I was sure to have felt her presence near you when I beckoned?" Starswirl answered without turning his gaze towards his followers.
"Luna's in the real lulu land." Auriel commented casually while turning head towards the sleeping mare on her back, with baffling dexterity. Starswirl walked a few steps back, granting him higher ground and seeing the unconscious alicorn. "She drank a pretty strong tea that kicked her in the head like a mambajumba."
Starswirl stared emotionally at the trio presented at him breathlessly, inhaling deeply for three seconds before exhaling. "I will just accept that it was a creature you once knew of but what remains a matter at hoof is to awaken her. Time is running short, schedules are tight and my patience is too thin to repeat myself in an hour or two."
"No need to burn yourself like that, mentor, I am sure Auriel will end Luna's slumber very soon, isn't that right?" Celestia said with half of a shivering smile before budding the great fox once lightly, not that she would even be able to push the great creature back with all her might if she wanted to.
Auriel mumbled something under her breath just loud enough for remnants to be heard of; these could be encrypted to 'Yeah, yeah, just a moment, not like...' the rest was lost.
Celestia dropped the smile not long after seeing the golden, vegetarian predator tapped the ground, from which various pushed and plants grew bearing many, colorful, almost luminescent liquids. "I hope she understands the state I wish her to be in." The alicorn whispered with as much curiosity as there was uncertainty in her voice.
"My... nerves have not been reduced to pebbles by the strict hourglass, or the squealing of lady platinum desire for warm baths and hot meals, but by the unknown, I am faced with problems outside of this-this seemingly blessed land." The mage admitted with a solemn voice before starring off into the frozen wilds. "I feel it in my bones and horn, something terrible is soo to happen."
Celestia opened her mouth as if it was to comfort her worrying mentor before her visage suddenly jerked when she saw the happenings behind the stallion. Auriel held a transparent, hourglass-shaped object containing a black, vibrating, and sparkling liquid.
"Open the food hole!" Auriel said with a smile only a very creative mother would give before opening Luna's mouth and dumping the black liquid into her throat. Luna's eyes shot wide open before a deep, green hue overtook her face like a ravenous mold infection. However, the blue alicorn could not spit out the foul liquid, as her muzzle was kept shut by Auriel's paw, forcing her to swallow.
"Now what did we learn?" Auriel asked sweetly before removing her paw.
"The rainbow was so sweet... urgh." Luna belched loudly with a tumble that nearly forced her back to the ground.
"Meh, close enough." Auriel shrugged before throwing the reaming juice over her shoulder and onto the newly grown plants, letting them shiver and wither away with a coughing jerking.
"What in Primus' name have you given her?" Starswirl asked with risen eyebrows.
"Ceffoo."
"Coffee...?" Luna asked while slowly rising to her hooves after mastering her stomach.
"That sounds even better."
"Greetings lady Luna, we were just about to start the process of lowering the sun, do you believe to be fit enough for such a task?" The sweetness in disguise buried within the stallion was almost-no, was much worse than the pungent beverage, as it, at the very least, tried not to hide its true nature.
"Of course... urgh... mentor." Luna replied as fast as she could, but not fast enough for the burp that interrupted her.
"If you want to, I could give you something for the stomachache."
"No! - No - "no"..." Three voices cried out.
"Shesh, fine." Auriel snorted in response to this upmost rude rejection of her offer. The golden fox looked at the ponies for just a moment longer before they turned around and continued the walk up, making the fox wonder for just a moment if she was supposed to follow or wait before ultimately just treading along. 'Note to myself, baby portions are extreme portions for ponies.' A few minutes the party came to a halt, with Auriel patiently waiting on the side with curiosity.
"Very well, now, can the two of you remember the spell matrix?" Starswirl asked... causally, it was almost like he tried not to appear 'above' in any way, at least for now. When two short nods came to his question's response, he nodded and was the first to ignite a spark of magic.
For the old fox, she could see the very magic they were attempting to weave; of course, there were other creatures that could too, even outside the Lights. However, none could quite see the mana like the one who spun it in the first place. It was a circle, bearing various symbols with each possessing reason and meaning, lines that spoke the tales of great magisters from apprentice to master, each whisk understood the command and place they are supposed to take place as a conduit for the spell. Auriel leaned forward; her eyes gleamed with interest like a child seeing snow for the very first time. It was sophisticated, refined, only taking as much mana as needed for spell crafted to fit any mage who could cast it, not perfect in effect; however, the mold was as pushing the casters closer to perfection than most could on their own. The silver mana of the stallion filled the matrix's engravings like water flooded cracks in the stone, bearing patience and control. Soon a second source of magic fuel joined, this one burning hot and filled with destruction, daring to combust at any time if poked too deep. Finally, the third resource for this spell joined; it reminded the old fox of heavy gas, dense and slow, however able to change at any time given or remain the same if the circumstances are allowed.
Each of these three manas, as different as they could be, filled the matrix, each one-third while struggling to maintain this balance. The core of the matrix shivered and shambled, quivering left and right as the mana was poured into the center, and from there, strings formed and tried to weave themselves to a rope that should reach the heavens. However, the rope, not long was it created, quickly started to shave itself down to a stalk that soon collapsed only seconds after it so much so graced the sun's surface.
Auriel watched this display breathlessly; this sight caught her deeply; she knew though not why. The spell failed, and it was clumsily executed. Still, this coordination to reach a common goal with this kind of determination despite such noticeable difference, a hope burning so bright to overstep impassable obstacles to so much so touch a destination out of reach, woke a sensation she tasted once similarly before the first grain of time fell. Finally, she took a light breath and stood up, still watching the backs of the panting and growling ponies.
Auriel pointed her paw to the circle of ponies and reached forward, both physically and magically, joining this ritual. Her magic shone celestially, perfection given form, stable, heavenly, warm, life-giving untouchable and alone, taking fourth of the circle, but stopped not there as her mana mixed with that of the mortals, and the two that were half-way to godhood. Auriel heard three short gaps. Not often has she touched her creation in a way like this, a way where all could see her, and she them. The sensation of a significant burden crushing one, a fear of failure, anxiety not to reach standards, the woe of existence.
The mana now blessed with gold reached towards the middle in perfect harmony, creation a rope so strong and light, it ensnared the sun, one born at the beginning of all and raised by the fox's loving heart without complaints, before slowly lowering itself below the housing. As the sun licked sight's floor, a second rope was formed and reached to the moon, crafted from the primordial bedrock and molded into a perfect cube by an undying desire for creation. The moon obeyed and rose from the horizon's below, ever higher until the celestial bodies stood opposite around the world.
Celestia shook her head, breathing heavily as if she jumped from a bath to a river, the sensation of pure content in every way, the lack of mortal plight or worry now just a fleeting memory. She looked to Luna; she shared this expression, just like Starswirl, whose eyes were directed to the sky. Celestia lifted her head, just like her sister, and was met with a sight most beautiful.
The ponies saw only in the corners of their eyes how the fox's paws glided through the air with fluent, enchanting motions as stars rushed across the night sky, taking of forms and constellation, all becoming a work of art, each light in place, every wave and swirl of different blue hues with purpose, and, if I dare say so myself, a gleam of joy, as if the night had once again been graced by an old friend.
"It's..." Luna said softly while staring at the mesmerizing heavens with tearful eyes glued to the moon. "...Beautiful." Finally, was her sentence complete, just like the desire for the perfect night. Oh, what in the world would she give to see such a sight every night. On this night, Luna felt closest to the moon, not just judged by the shine or joy in her heart, but like a band that connected the alicorn with the great pale marble in the sky.
"In due time, I'm sure you can guide my sky just like I have long ago." Auriel spoke softly, motherly even as she fell to her paws like a cherry petal, walking to the sisters and sitting in between them with arms ensnarling them. "And the sun, of course, will be guided by you when you are ready." Auriel's eyes swayed gently towards the in awe alicorn of white.
"What... what magic have you cast?" Starswirl asked, his initially demanding tone faded into a question of curiosity.
"I have done not much, I have just enhanced and encouraged what was there, a nudge, and a good word." Auriel said with a gentle smile before letting grow just a bit more. "Besides, I think it's time to give my creation a bit more say in this ever changing world."
"I... you..." Celestia asked with a shivering jaw and quivering lower lip, her voice stuck in her throat like a stone. It was not anger or worry; sadness would be most fitting, but not the hurtful kind.
"Yes?" Auriel asked curiously, interested in the words Celestia wished to speak, however, already knowing it was of a topic not directed today.
Celestia stared into those two eyes; the emotions she felt reminded her of her mother, however, not so much in the sentimental sense, but more of a primordial connection. It sparked memories and realization of a day where everything changed for Luna and her, not for worse in the grand or little scheme, but change nonetheless. "It's... nothing."
"It wasn't nothing if you wished to tell me for at least a second." Auriel said with a tilt of her head, still warmly smiling, before lowering it just a little bit. "Please do speak to me, if you have something on your mind, when you are ready, that is." Her comment, directed at the solar alicorn, still touched the lunar one much more than she could've thought.
"I..." Starswirl started breathless, catching the attention of everyone present. "I may ruin the atmosphere, and I do apologize, however, I feel like your words also involuntarily were directed at me. I have to reveal something... important to you." Auriel let go of the pair of mares and leaned forward, awaiting further wisdom. "From the beginning of the expedition, the waves bringing the three tribes and me communicated through magical impulses to transmit our location, but this morning all communication ceased by something blocking out our magic."
"What could this mean?" Luna asked with shock filling her voice.
"To be quiet frankly, I have no clue." Starswirl shook his head. "I looked through every possibility, be it a powerful caster, creature, shift of lay lines, or even a sudden surge of wrath iron particles in the air, but nothing matches this signature." His voice sounded almost maddening with desperation. "So I ask you if you could help me, find the root of this situation."
"I will not promise you that I can help, this world is much more fragile than I once knew, but I may try, if I dare to push further than that, who knows what follows." The golden fox said in an almost sterile tone. It was easy to create something with seemingly unending power, yet, to create something just like someone wishes, even if they say it is perfect, will never be of such grade. "This, if I am supposed to assist in your dire time, would require a touch, if you'd call it such."
"I... I am unaware what you mean with this, however, if it helps and your goal is nothing else, then do not restrain yourself." Starswirl answered after a moment of thought. If there was any ill, would she have waited this long, or even require consent, or was it just a game to build and break towers?
Auriel tilted her head for just a moment, staring deep into the stallion's eyes, seeing everything he was with each memory shown, however not even daring to touch them even a second's time, only needing this one spell's thought. And there it was! Her paw reached forward, and claws' tip tapped the unicorn's horn's top. A light sprinkle of mana erupted, the scents of blurred spells by the hundreds filled her nose, but one was all she needed. She grasped it, memorized it, and let go of the stallion, who could only stare at his horn with crossed eyes. Auriel rose two her hind paws, her steps gracing each stand of grass on their head, light like the wind and elegant like the sun did she sway forward until she stood at the hills very top, next to the tree bearing fruit, below the pale moon, and behind an ever stretching land of ice and snow.
Auriel took a deep breath and spread her arms wide, one paw pointing to heaven, the other to the floor while her eyes, shining like jewels, stared deep into the north. Her paws slowly moved to the center, still outstretched, but never reaching it, for her limbs danced in a circular motion continuously, scraping a path forward with her magic. She felt the north, cold ice chill, the frost, the beauty, and elegance, and soon heard voices.- Damn it all, Starwirl, have you fallen deaf on our prayers? - Mother, how much further, I cannot feel my hooves? - I should've just let the damn let me be eaten by a forsaken chenoo, rather than freezing to death! -
Their pain, hate, and hardship seeped through this never stopping storm, almost as furious as ice and snow itself were they driven, and in any other circumstance, she would've been disappointed that one could or would be reduced to the running of rage. Auriel shook her head lightly before letting her magic out and forward across the ground, the sky, and the wind, hoping to create a tunnel of safety and warmth; however, just as she was about to cast, she heard something most ominous.- What is taking so long, lady Persiana? We can't keep these beasts back any longer! - Be silent, Pecado, just a moment longer, and we have this heart of crystal! -
A crack, a snap, a shake that broke her very core brought the ancient being to screams. Auriel closed her eyes with her left paw, bleeding with pain and lifeblood, while the other closed the heart, as howls of agony escaped the canine before she fell to the floor. The floor began to glow before this energy seeped away into the frozen north. The land of snow-it changed, where the cold once lulled unlucky souls into a slumber lasting eternally, now it bit and sapped every last wish and hope of life and joy away. A great storm started to rage, the heavens clouded with black snow stealing sky's shine, spires of ice grew like vines fuelled by hatred towards the pale moon, yet this outcome's sight was stolen when a wall of ice erected, parting the land of frost, with that of the forest.
The fox felt empty and pained like she was drained of her power in a desperate attempt to keep this world soil alive when one world stone was stolen by sinful mortal grasp, yet what stung more than this agony she never once knew was the sensation of betrayal by those she nurtured and fed, keeping them warm in a vail, safe from the real world it was. At least a little solace was the cries of every beast and plant, mourning the pain their maker went through.
"Mother!?" Cried Luna out of reflex and rushed forward, falling to her knees and scooping the great, light fox up. A sight most horrible and painful plastered Luna's mind. Golden sap, most familiar and memory forth bringing, ran down Auriel's face, eyes' glim shivered frugally while whisks of magic fainted in a light glow, her chest stone grey where her heart should be, and last, was the pain not enough as it was? The fox's body shifted between color and transparency, where a golden sphere rested in her chest. "Hangeth by mine side!" Where these words truly meant for the fox or just a cry of past times, no one knew, as this moment was cut off when the rest of the ponies tried to reach three leaders after having felt the sudden disturbance, and they would've succeeded was it not for a great white flash which stopped them all.
"Auriel what happened!?" Queen Chitin shouted quiet angrily as she felt the love gathered wither away when a great sorrow soured this world surface, but her anger soon shriveled away, like any emotion she bore, when she saw what she thought was her race's dying hope. "No! Get away from her!" She screamed before the buzzing of her wings enflamed the previous silence this summer night bore.
The ponies stared bewildered at the massive bug pony, wondering what poisonous fruit or evil drink they consumed; however, before they were even able to start running towards the magician and the guardians, were they surrounded by dozens of changelings.
"Never again." Hissed the lunar alicorn, pressing Auriel's barely conscious body to her chest. This combination of words enraged the Queen when she landed not far before her, and it soothed not her nerves when the second alicorn took the side of the blue one.
"W-wait, I'm sure we can talk this out, right?" Asked Diamond Bell as she stood surrounded by many changelings. The young Princess Crysalis hid under her barrel. Chrysalis and Bell, and everyone else present in the throne room were dragged along when the queen cast her teleportation spell.
"We'll talk when they unhand Auriel." Queen Chitin bared her fangs, speaking through them with anger and hatred. If this was how and for what she would die, then so be it, not like there would be much left if nothing was done, at least, those were the thoughts that pushed her further.
"We have done nothing, something in the frozen north breaks all spells and retaliated when Auriel pushed further than us." Celestia spoke frantically, as truthfully as she could be in the face of a near drawing feral beast.
"Lies, you think I would believe your deceptions once more? You believe to think a god having made earth and sky could be thwarted by mortal's grasp? You'd dare to assume I'd consider even for a heartbeat that a ravaging, spiteful creature hating magic would lurk in the frozen north, having never been seen by any creatures eyes or heard of such power, to suddenly reveal itself like a diabolic rash and strike down a god not in theory, but in flesh?" With each word, she took a haptic step like a clock, her voice slowly drifting higher while tone drifted into absurdity; her face's expression made the disbelief only more apparent. "Or do you simply assume me to be but a daft fool?"
"What would we gain by ending the life of Auriel?" The wizard, Starwirl asked dryly, almost half-awake, yet staring at her like she had gone insane. "Death is what would be our final reward. Not a golden paradise, but an eternity of darkness, the world how it was made before it was changed by her paw, an abyss of void and emptiness. We would just kill ourselves in the end, even if only our children in thousand years time would see it all die what the light touches." It was almost like he saw into the fox's being when she saw him in his entirety, but the stallion saw much more than any pony should've.
A cold wind, not one that woke life joy or shivered the mortal flesh blew past them, but a dead whiff, empty and devoided of all emotions the world once bore. It was like this world, that just felt like a little fantasy, was but a colorful wrap-around a land of coldness, emptiness, and hardship. Soon a second wind came, more alive than the one before.
"B-both of you... are wrong." Auriel whispered, her voice carried by the wind, breaking silence and storm, just like the one brewing in the hearts of ponies in many kinds. Her paws closed themselves weakly but regained their strength soon as the world gave back some of its energy to rejuvenate the grand maker. The fox's blood spilled a moment ago, seeped back to her as she separated herself from Luna's embrace, her flickering form taking on tangible ways, the shine once more glowing in heavenly eyes and the heart forgiving seemingly every crime once more beating.
"Bloodshed won't solve anything, it never has and nor ever will, so please, were I to die and world's light soon to fade, keep at least this little wish alive until the age of dark is complete once more." It would've been admirable to make such a request, was not for the consequences this one's end would bring. "No, these ponies surrounding me have not attempted to strike me down, and Starswirls assessment is true, however, it was, at least the feedback I received, not done directly by a creature."
"I feel like I am overlooking something..." Princes Platinum spoke slowly while attempting not to make eye contact with the horde of cockroach ponies staring deep into her soul with pupilless eyes while guarding a giant fox that seemingly almost cracked the world in two. "Mayhaps the frozen wasteland was not as bad as it sounded." She added quietly as a changeling hissed at her, spit shotting in her direction, only reinforced her emotionally empty and near fainting state.
"Past dear, as it is right now I doubt even Celestia and Luna would survive a day." Auriel said with a weak swing of her arm, at least her humor survived, before her smirk fell like a bag of rock into the ocean. "oh... right." She seemed to somehow... lack emotions, not even the curse of joy; however, even pain nagged her not, only a subtle sense of betrayal and sadness coated her wind like fog.
"Excuse me, what did you just blabber out?!" Commander Hurricane said with a shock that cracked his otherwise calm outside.
"Ehm... well, how do I put in words... Short or long answer?" Auriel tapped her index fingers against one another with uncertainty while supporting herself on Luna's shoulder. She blinked hard as if she lost the trail for a moment; weird, that was rare for someone who prided herself to possess near-perfect memory.
"Elaborate and not nerve-wracking would be appreciated, thank you." Chief Chief Stone said sternly, which was quickly stopped by four spears made out of resin held a bit tighter by the changelings surrounding him.
Auriel lifted one of her paws and was about to snap; however, she quickly stopped it and bit her lip lightly. Instead, she grabbed a stick and drew a large circle. "Let's, ouch... let's say this is me, and the background is the world..." She said as she drew such. "Everyone still following me?" She asked; however, she added out for a moment, her eyes light blinking once.
"Yes!" Little Crysalis said proudly.
"Well, I am probably not as powerful as you believe me to be... well, in the grand scheme of things, in comparison there's a huge difference, however all I create sooner or later falls apart, so I need to continuously sustain it with my magic." Auriel drew an apple, an arrow to the right, a shivered husk of fruit, and once again a living piece of food. She spoke quickly to not be interrupted by this heinous, alien fatigue. "However a problem I soon discovered was the transportation of magic, as a constant supply would make the region around me highly sustained, beautiful, dangerous, while the other side would most likely just be dead, or if I were to do it with penetrating pulses, I'd kill all current life with each blast." She shivered for a moment, horrible memories, nightmares flashed before her inner eyes, and she suppressed the urge to vomit.
"Overfeed and burst, or extracted and reduced to a husk, few feral changelings who tried to steal love in my mother's hive described the sensation, before and after, at least those who survived the meal, as excruciating beyond understanding... or whatever the gurgling screams of agony were." Queen Chitin spoke calmly as if a wave of nostalgia had hit, utterly unaware of the horror of those surrounding her, well, most at least.
'Maybe not having a birth family isn't that bad.' Auriel thought with quite the horror. "Ehm... Eh, anyway! To make life function around the globe, I've employed lines which would transport my magic, the ley lines, to the world stones, and this is where things get interesting." She drew lines from herself going in all directions until they reached smaller circles.
"Now it gets interesting?! Mages have for centuries question the phenomenon of lay lines!" Clover the clever stomped angrily as if the accusation and insult towards mystery pocked a beehive. "Oh, eh, please continue, but-but not too fast, I'm writing everything down, everything." She said before, true to her world, summoned several scrolls to her side.
"The world stones-!" Auriel proclaimed, however, stopped for just a second as the scribbling started. "Are very special creations of mine. Each took a very long time to make, and I say that proud and loud, and repeat, a really long time before they were ready, and not only that, each one of them contains a varying amount of my blood. In other words, not only are they indestructible for most of my creations, they are connected to me and hold part of my power." Auriel heaved hardly, the weakness set in, and she was forced to sit down. "The magic from the ley lines would feed the world stones, which not only healed everything in their range, it kept each region intact, so it would not run rampant, spread, mutate or even absorb more power, thus breeding mightier children." Auriel growled quietly, a mix of fatigue, remaining pain, and, as disappointed as she was, anger and betrayal plastered her heart. She added dotted circles around the circles that represented the world stones, forming a patchwork blanket. "Now, one of my... creations stole a world stone just a little bit ago. The altar and stone could not take the magic needed from another relic, to keep the region stable, so they ripped it from me, who in that moment tried to connect myself to the frozen land."
"The world is falling apart." Auriel spoke sadly; it hurt physically to admit it. Several frozen faces stared at her. "It would not be so bad were it just so few, but sooner or later the weave will break if more stones are stolen, or worse, more than one in a single region. I wondered why this world's strength was thinning, but to think this chaos, the frozen celestial bodies, the withering fauna, the dead earth, and hollow animals are all traced back to these sins." All emotions slowly left Auriel's face as she sat there with a blank expression, and not even what went on inside her, if anything at all, could be described. After all this hardship, the sacrifice, and horrible things... it all would be brought down by a selfish act of her creations, ultimately self-destruction of absolute scale. How poetic, were she not close to crying.
"But... how..." Rockhoof spoke slowly before shaking his head slowly. "No, I understand not this concept... of life and magic and all, but may I at least know how much time remains?" A question that laid thick in this atmosphere. Humble even when faced with the end.
"If nothing is done?" Auriel asked, slowly lifting her head. "A mere one and a half thousand years, possibly a little less." An extended period of time, but to her, it was just a blink of the eye after having spent millions of years crafting her masterwork. Yes, the frame would survive, and the birth of a new world would not take even a fraction of her slumber, but it would just not be the same. She didn't want to see her children crumble to ash before her very eyes as the world would consume itself to survive a little longer.
"Well... there is a little time left at least to change that, right? You said that you only a certain amount for things to remain... ok?" Bell tried to lift the ancient fox's mood slightly and stood still when the canine stood up with a shiver, walking towards her.
"In theory? Yes." Auriel spoke slowly, drained, before collapsing on the ground, ensnarling the mare who just accepted the position as a cuddle buddy. "But retrieving will not be easy, or locating at least. It's also important to know that the thieves when they took the artifacts, gained power beyond normal measures. And... I wish not to be forced to kill them... given their new state."
"So, if a pony were to have stolen one of these stones, and you claim it was blood from which they were crafted, the same liquid used to let our guardians ascend to alicorns, could this hypothetical pony thieve now be an alicorn?" Plaitumun leaned forward, her head poking through the line of changelings. For a moment, the fox wondered if she said that it was, somehow, her blood that transformed the alicorns, or at least, with the greedy unicorn around.
"Maybe." Auriel spoke darkly with a deep glare, with anger quilling inside of her. "However it is uncertain what the thieve becomes, after all, my magic can do beautiful and horrific things if not controlled. This 'pony-thieve' you speak of may have ascended to alicorn hood, but could also have transformed into a creature lacking conscience, so gruesome in existing that it and every other being in its vicinity will have their mind broken." The fox's tone descended into depths that could summon nightmares into the most fierce of dragons, but her whispering follow-up was almost twice as fear-inducing. "And that... that would be the lesser price to pay." Platinum let out a silent pout, unaffected by the horrific side effects told to her and only disappointed in once less chance for eternal beauty.
"T-that not likely to happen, r-right?" Chrysalis spoke with fear in her voice as her little head poked out of the golden tail.
"I don't know, I have... at least never intentionally let my magic run free, this world is always a balanced system, even when I am not awake I am at least guarding its frame." Auriel spoke coldly, not the angry or irritated way, just lacking the strength for niceties. She leaned her head forward and gave the ling a little lick on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll keep you save, and if that is not enough, there is a very large primordial ice wall between the there and here." To have the creator put herself below a wall of ice...
"It seems to be as much blessing as curse." Starswirl answered; the glance of Queen Chitin made him wonder for a moment if he stole her sentence, before continuing. "There is much to do, it would appear, however, I suggest that this journey will have to take place another day. Our predator friend is tired, a new ally has introduced herself, even if it is just as neighbors and mutual hopes that keep us together, and lastly, we soon have to figure out how to save the rest of our fleeting race."
Queen chitin chewed on her inner cheek flesh, unsure if she should let out an angry comment or decline this offer of 'friendship' as juices of rancid emotions swirled in her body like venom. "Very well, 'equal partner in this endeavor' let us see what the future brings." It... was at least an attempt to be nice to the pony bunch.
"Waiting is sadly all we can do right now... the magic is fresh, the wound not closed and neither is the fabric cleanly cut, the storm of magic will shred any spell we'll try to cast, anyone entering perhaps too. Let's just hope ponies can better survive in the wild than I originally thought." Auriel spoke slowly as her head sank to the earth.
"I... I think the day was stressful enough as it is. Maybe we should all go rest now?" Bell spoke, as she felt the light breaths of Auriel, as she drifted off into the land of slumber. It hurt her to talk almost unaffected by the possible erasion of nearly all of ponykind, to be locked away in a storm no records remember with terrors lurking even the maker speaks not of, but a little hope was perhaps needed, after all, be it as small and flickering as it could be.
"Is something the matter, private?" asked Stone as he looked over to a guard mare.
"No sir, just wanted to suggest the same thing, however, might I ask when we will clear the diplomatic tasks, sir?" Sunny Smiles said with faked fatigue, almost like not wishing to talk about a topic in public.
"When the time comes, we'll see, but said moment is not now." Queen Chitting spoke as she trotted towards her changelings that began to gather at one point. "Until next time, ponies. Have a good night." She said before her horn was engulfed by a magical glow, and the lings were gone from the ponies' sight in a flash of light.
Queen kept her eyes close, even well after having teleported back to her throne room, and only said, "Leave us." without much to add. She heard the changelings walk to their posts but knew she was still not alone. Luckily, those she wished at her side stayed. "Bell, please take my daughter to her room. I wish to spend the night alone with Auriel." She stayed blindly as she felt a painful, nostalgic clenching in her chest that dared to crush her, and any sight and word more was simply too much. When she heard them leave, she opened her eyes for just a moment. There it was, an empty throne room, with a sleeping fox at her hooves. She ignited her horn once again, and now they were in her chamber. The queen wasted no time and levitated the fox onto her bed; it was surprisingly easy, given how large the fox was or how much magic she passed, one would assume she'd be sweating out every last drop, well, if she could sweat, that is.
"Oh my little furred friend, how much you scared me today." Queen Chitin spoke solemnly as she laid down next to the fox, sharing the warmth and comfort. This sensation of loss... it was unlike the time of great slumber that befell her mother, or deaths of her once, plenty daughters, it was a faint hope she once bore. The circumstances were much different, and the situation incomparable, yet the pain of loss, only with it could she find familiarity—one event of foolish youth, the other of stained anger.
Chitin shook her head; the damn memories have long not haunted her, not that she had the strength for many years past to dream, and yet, as she sat there, tranquility soothed her. Chitin's eyes hovered over Auriel, the collar and the wendigo crystal still attached; she careful put it off Auriel and into her dresser before resting her head onto the soft fur unrivaled even by the finest of griffon feathers. Maybe the times of hate and pain could not be forgiven, but that did not mean the future would be just as bleak, and, who knows, maybe one day she could even open her heart once more.
There, in the frozen north, in the very core of this once plagued, and now godforsaken land in which ice and cold reigned, and mortals plight was aplenty, exactly there stood an ancient mountain bearing almost the shape of a spire. There once was a clean, ever polished crystal wall, but now there was a large hole. Just a few steps inside and an artist of marble or paint might've broken down to shed shears of joy, at least, of how this holy place used to appear. A floor bearing millions of frozen forms, becoming one seamless mosaic telling a story of ice and snow, atop which floated crystal giving warmth, and light and energy. The walls bore engravings in glowing, unknown texts, statues of creatures bearing might and beauty in volumes indescribable, and the ceiling, oh the ceiling how it melted eyes away. Crystal chandeliers hanged, snow fell internally but never reaching the floor, and a scene that depicted the frozen north in a light that mortals could grasp described a beautiful valley that matched the pristine state flutter valley once was in.
Now? It was all destroyed, everything.
The floor was littered with corpses of unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies.. and the guardians of this sanctum. Giant, blue shelled insects, bipedal golems of ice, snow spirits, they all laid there, starved to the bones; mayhaps this was why mortals could've ever dreamed of defying and defiling a god. And at the very end was a little heart-shaped hole in a flat, pearl-white runic plate adorned with runes and gems. The jewel, however, was gone, stolen with force and greed, or perhaps desperation? Now, this dead place stood silent, lacking the beautiful, magic-like humming of magic. Until something awoke, They awoke.
Beneath the floor, something started to glow golden; it appeared to be eggs, though they seemed more similar to seeds, larger than even an elephant. The seeds, then, changed to a bronze, light-red hue, and then fell into darkness again for a few moments. Suddenly, the ground broke with earthquake-like strength causing the very mountain above to shake, splinters and crushed ice shot in all directions, filling the air in a fog, through which only a dark green light escaped, in shapes of circles and jagged ovals. Screams that could make the bravest dragons cave in and cry howled through these ruins like thousand pained banshees, for their awakening meant only one of two most disastrous happenings.
If a creature was able to still stand there in front of the mist, to withstand the screams, power, and sickly stench these... created monsters exuded, then they might've thought to have gotten insane because in a moment so short, the brain it could not realize it, they were gone, hungry and on the search follow their orders granted eons ago.
Author's Note
Dear Reader,
if you have come this far and are interested in a little more,
Yours sincerely,
Dream or Nightmare?
Auriel let out a sharp gasp as she rolled to the side, a burning sensation feasted on her body like a ravenous swarm of locust, only rolling around on the coarse grass relieved the pain ever so slightly. She wheezed quietly as a burned smell, sweet in nature, coated her nostrils like honey to the teeth. Her paws clenched firmly against the sharp and tough grass, claws scraping the hard dirt as she forcefully alleviated herself from the soil, only to awaken to a nightmare come true.
Laying atop a lone hill, she was surrounded by brown grass, littered with bone carcasses of various creatures, some horned, others fanged, with few bearing meat. At the same time, swarms of craus and hagier enjoyed themselves most joyously. These bird-like creatures appearing like a mix between crows and vultures, adorned by spiked bone hooks like jewelry and bearing teeth growing like coral to the point they seemed like a thorn bush in their beaks, gorged themselves on the deceased. The forests far away appeared only as stalks to her eyes, burned to coal and ash, and dilated as close to the sun as they could, almost like praying for mercy. The mountains on the horizon were covered in soot, almost hidden behind black blankets of smoke that barely covered a burning sky with a cruel sun well above.
Auriel shocked her head lightly and lifted one of her paws to her face; the dirt crumbled out of her grasp into a colorless, dead powder as the last remains of her magic in this world faded. She opened her mouth, hoping to inhale at least a whisk of fresh air, but stopped as a painfully deep sting wretched itself deep into her abdomen. Auriel grunted breathlessly before turning to her side and beholding a sight that invoked an atrocious shiver across her skin. A large splinter of shimmering metal pierced her skin, her cold face reflecting on the weapon like a mirror, and she saw only a husk. She stared at the wound for a moment before taking a deep breath, swallowing the fear deep down, before grasping the weapon and ripping out with two tugs. She tried to keep her voice low but screamed highly through her bared teeth.
"It's no fun when only half the people laugh, now is it?" A calm and all too familiar, slightly annoyed voice beckoned from behind in a way, one might assume he was an old friend.
"From all the Lights I have eaten, you sure lay most like a rock in my stomach." Auriel joked with a damp chuckle while holding the bleeding wound from which a pale liquid exuded like soap-water with a bone-like paw, covered in dreadfully rotten fur.
He smirked audibly before his smile faded just as fast and loud. "That I do. Now please, do turn around." Asked Discord, his voice still slightly filled with resentment. However, it was still calm to an extend that induced more fear than it did reassure. Auriel clenched her teeth before turning on the ground, not bearing the strength to stand tall or equal, grinding her fur against the dead vegetation and smothering it in her blood just as much. There he stood, almost exactly how she remembered in her most dreaded nightmares. However, it was not the more approachable 'style' he bore, a tad more... more childish would she dare. The menacing, sickly yellow gleam gone from his eyes, two bushy eyebrows adorning his face, no, it wasn't even the calm demeanor he bore while staring at her with a raised eyebrow. He was colorful, but just as much ethereal, transparent, so much so she could almost see the burned world behind him, but at the moment, she was quite unsure which she preferred.
"You look less like a Scryl now, and more-" Auriel started, her tone attempting to be neutral but often jumping between a compliment and insult in this short, interrupted sentence.
"You?" Finished Discord with crossed arms as he leaned forward to her face with a bored look on his face, now only the comedically large snaggle tooth threatened her. "Well, of course, I would look more like the singing, child-friendly fox 'Borney,' and you a lot less like the fluffy perfection given form, from magic fairy-godmother, to the forest tooth fairy." He spoke with his voice edging ever closer to a venom tone as his appearance began to fade once again.
"So, might I ask how things are being eaten? Just wondering if I ever meet the next one of our accursed kind." Auriel asked as the pain got the better of her, the loss of blood starting to cloud her mind.
"I would claim it as rather charming, however being part of something, instead of the other way leaves one rather empty, just eyeing the world with no real thought." Discord spoke poetically, weaving his hand across the landscape, distorting the very surface like a disrupted surface of quicksilver. "However, as much as I do enjoy this competition of spitting hot fire, my time is running rather short, your body is stabilizing again and I can feel my freedom in this prison wane, so lets cut to the point already." He abruptly stopped his game as his silhouette lost yet another shade of tone.
"Well, what are you waiting then? Not like I am gonna walk away." Auriel said half-jokingly, shaking her head while chuckling to herself like a drunken beggar.
"Yeah, yeah, I was getting to that." Discord spoke dismissively. "So, here's the deal. You see, I've been quite enjoying myself on this planet, as you call it, and from what I could see, hazily may it be, it seems like a much more... enjoyable place than the ones I have visited before. By the way, sorry for the whole burning down things on your turf, just expected things to go like they always go, so I just skipped, dumbly in retrospective, a few chapters ahead." It was honestly tough to tell if he was as upmost truthful as he could be or lying so obviously that it achieved the opposite effect.
"Please... please just get to the point, I'm starting to lose the feeling in my paws." Auriel asked bitterly as her body broke down onto the blood mud that formed under her.
"Shesh, fine joy kill. When you are dead, I want to amuse myself here, without breaking anything important, of course. See the world from a closer perspective, and live in this story." Discord spoke as he extended his arm forward, his eagle paw ignited by a blue flame.
"Why are you asking, if I die then we both are part of another, and if not, you are free to do as you wish." Auriel sneered with anger, lifting her head upwards with tiredness daring to drown her in the accumulated lifeblood.
"Just trust me, you won't die to another of our bunch, and I can't interact with this world like, well, a story, only like a painting without your blessing. Sure, a few wipes of the pencil I can give, but only the outside, and even then I run to ruin the image. So, what do you say, not like you got to lose anything in the end." Discord spoke nonchalantly, his form bleached out ever more from Auriel's whitening vision.
There was a long pause, mayhaps a minute, and it was impressive how the fox stared down the waiting draconequus who stood still as a tree while his colors started to fade like the content of an hourglass, ever one bit for each second passing. Discord suddenly jerked when he heard something, wondering if he accidentally stopped time, only to be proven wrong in an upmost unsavory way.
"You... may never kill."
"Excuse me?" Discord pulled his claw away swiftly while starring at the fox dumbfoundedly. He slapped his left side of the hide with a few hefty hits, causing dust, cobwebs, and spiders to be shot from the other end. "'cause, it almost sounded like you were trying to say-."
"I said, you may never take one's life, you have to play in games, if you wish your powers beyond anything casual, be it for positive or negative, and lastly, never forget this one, always leave an option to lose. Life is a game after all, and after I pass, only the genre will change." Auriel coughed vividly, clenching her chest with the other as she grew cold as if she laid on a thick winter blanket, screams and cries echoing in her mind, as a sobbing drew near.
Discord stared for just a moment before his eyes jerked downwards, his form crumbling away as if an infection of nothingness crawled up from his feet. "Pfffffff-fine, Fox, let the game begin." Discord cursed under his breath before his eagle paw reached out to Auriel, and his fingers tip just barely touched Auriel's before the demon vanished. "No backsies." His voice like airborne venom as his presence was gone once again.
Auriel heard his voice echo from the shadows before she sunk into her own blood as if it was tar. The thick substance held her in an icy embrace, stealing away every sense or need, except for a cold, winter night's chill, the sound of a crackling fire, trampling, heavy hooves, and lastly, her own beating heart accompanied her on this uncanny journey.
"P-please stay with me Luna, j-just a little further, only a little bit more." Auriel heard a young voice tracing ever closer as if she beckoned them, but how? All she saw was a white landscape; a cold chill ran across her skin while the wind howled fiercely. Then, she saw something move, yes, it was someone moving closer.
"Only, a little bit more Luna, I promise, ju-just stay with me a little bit longer, I can do this." Auriel heard the fearful voice edging closer, ever nearer to a sobbing. There she saw it, a white unicorn with pink mane trotting weakly forward. The young mare kept her right eye closed as scarlet lifeblood flew from it, her body battered, beaten, and covered in cuts, all the while carrying on her back a blue pegasus filly on her back.
"S-see, there's light, s-so there must be somepony." Celestia said heavingly while starring hopefully into Auriel's eyes. However, the mare's look of hope soon turned into confusion. She stopped and stared bewildered, almost like something caught her eyes in a mesmerizing manner.
Suddenly, Auriels vision parted into two, but both stared into the magenta eyes of Celestia.
Celestia ventilated heavily, her breath white as a ghost while drawing her face nearer to the strange liquid. The soft shine, however, was warm as a summer day to her skin. "T-thank the heavens f-f-for this blessing." Her voice was weak before she ingested the droplet and gave the other to Luna.
Auriel's vision soon changed, now staring only with one pair of eyes at the floor, as intense light, seemingly originating from her, engulfed the snow in a golden glow, while she heard a loud gasp and a scared screeching.
"W-What!" Celestia screamed, suddenly, Auriel's/Celestia's vision started to shake and spin, first looking at white hooves, before spinning towards Luna, who, still sleeping on her sister's back, bore both wings and horn. Celestia looked blankly forward before turning to her own sides with quivering and seeing a pair of majestic wings now granted to her too. The young mare breathed heavily before turning her eyes upwards; mayhaps, she wondered if she would catch a glimpse of some sort of diving creature.
"Hello? Is someone there?" shouted a young voice, echoing through the snow-covered land.
"Be silent you fool, do you wish to alarm the pegasi raiders? Mayhaps send a flare into the sky too if it quenches your desire for attention." A second, much older voice called out.
Celestia's vision turned quickly, ever-changing in all directions, hoping to find the source. "S-stay back. I-I'm warning you, I know battle spells."
"Pss." Snorted the older voice as if he took the threat as empty as an unopened mystery crate; however, it appears as if one was still moving forward.
"Don't fret, young maid, we are not part of the arsonists, we are but travelers and saw the flames from afar. Please lower your horn, we wish no harm." The young, male voice called out, and soon enough, a ripe stallion walked past a hill of snow, thick coat adorning his sturdy body, while a mane of white covered his head and a small mustache on his face. "I come in peace, and-and I see you are recovered in of many, hopefully, least your own, but I know at least a spell to ease your wounds or heal some cuts." He offered.
Celestia stared at the stallion hard, shivering under the heavy snowfall, and the sight of a clean, thick mantle bearing no holes reminded her only how shamefully she stood, exposed. "I am fine." Celestia spat; she needed no more strangers on this day, or was it already days? She knew not. "My sister skin is burning up, do you have anything for her?"
"Well, I need to know what kind, otherwise I do more harm than good. May I step closer?" The stud answered while staring into his pouches.
Celestia opened her mouth, mayhaps to deny his request on reflex before she saw a figure looming. A large stallion with brown fur and flaming mane, his wrinkles just as deep as his disgust for all. A mage's rope ornamented his body and was he still any cold, so he had a large hat and beard to warm him. "Do see quickly."
The young stallion came closer in regulated speed, already searching with his magic grasp in his packs, before abruptly stopping when Celestia put Luna in the snow. The stallion stared at the filly for a moment, seeing both wing and horn, before his eyes snapped back at the mare, who frowned deeply at him. "Y-yes, just a moment y-your divinity." The young stallion stammered before kneeling down towards Luna and kissing her forehead; blood coated his lips as he cast an analyzation spell.
'So that's why.' Auriel noted while eyeing the glossy blood's drop that traveled down the stud's throat, the liquid bearing a blue gleam in the rare sunlight. "Demon blight, that is horrible." He whispered before turning his head towards the other stallion. "Master Magnus Starfury, the filly is being taken by Demon Blight, I need-"
"Then leave, we have nothing to waste for strangers." The old stallion interrupted his apprentice. "This world is not as kind as you make it be, Starswirl, and I wish not my invested time to be flaunted, because you gave the wrong beggar a bid, before losing all to a poor stallion's knife."
"B-but master, they bear both wing and horn, this has to be a godly sign, mayhaps this is what you were looking for, or least we not face some kind of divine retribution." Starswirl pleaded to his master, like a child begging his parents for help in dire times.
Magnus stared grimly at his apprentice before grasping a bottle containing a green liquid from his mantel. "You better not waste a drop, for you, and the other two, will pay me back every bit on this journey, be it from farm, tavern, or brotlhe, mark my words." As his sentence finished, he levitated the flask towards his apprentice.
Starswirl grasped the medicine in his magic gasp, breathing heavily, while his heart pumped vigorously as if it was nearing explosion. He jerked before ripping off the cork and emptying the content on Luna's mouth. "The flutter herb serum works slowly, but effectively. Come, we are on our journey to marcious, it wouldn't be the most luxurious excurse a mare like should be used to, but I promise safe travel."
Celestia breathed, as her head turned back towards the rising smoke, holding a necklace at her chest, before gulping hardly and taking unconscious Luna on her back once again. "We accept the offer, we are Sunny Day, and our sister's name is Moonshine."
"Greeting, you are now partaking on the journey of Magnus the grand, and his apprentice Starswirl the-well, just Starswirl really." He spoke nervously before turning around and trotting in quick speed to his master, hoping he had not come far with his still healthy hooves.
The world began to fade, as Auriel's vision stayed in place, seeing lastly only the backs of her daughters, through their veins, flowed her blood.
The fox jumped up with a frozen visage and quiet scream, starring forward empty while her heart pounded rapidly. Her form grew and shrank with each breath; sweat ran down her body while a stinging sensation poked her eyes. The vulpine's head turned around, looking frantically as if she was looking for something, a clue, a hint, mayhaps anything out of the norm.
The dark chamber, lit barely by crystal lights on the walls and the few bits of bioluminescent moss, kept the room dim but allowed most not to stumble and fall. On the ceiling, a little chandelier hung a bit away from the room. There was a small nightstand; on the other was nothing, but scratches on the ground might claim that there once was something. Next to the foot of the bed was a patch of soft vegetation; it was no moss, it turned out, but rather a very comfortable type of shroom.
"It..." Auriel choked out as paw pressed against her chest; she could feel the beating ring in her skull, and although lessening, still plagued her most horribly. "...Was it a dream?" Her voice was but a gentle butterfly's whisper. She traced a finger along the underside of her eyes, catching tears, before sinking her whole head into the warm embrace of paws. ' Yesterday wasn't, that I know.'
The fox let out a sigh, coming off as a whistle, and groaned before she revealed her face again. She built herself up slowly, her body aching horribly, and at the same time, it was upmost strange to her to sense something like that again. Pain, physical damage... done by her creation.
Her paw hovered in the air as she was about to set paw onto the floor, her face tightened for a bit, lips curling up as if disgust overtook her. It took her a long breath before she left the comforts of the bed, and as she turned her head to the door, begrudgingly attempting to see the world in all its all so perfect glory, her eyes fell onto something else. It was shining, reflecting—a mirror. For the smallest of moments, she saw something in the mirror, not just herself, but a rainbow shine shone in a single over her reflection.
Auriel's head tilted to the side as she strolled towards the mirror with quivering hooves. It took not long to reach the object, not with such long legs, but the path had much more extended duration than she wished. Auriel's reflection was not as she remembered, less colorful, less cheerful, not happy; if she didn't know better, then Auriel might've thought a changeling tried to copy her, but lacking the glow she bore. The glow .
Auriel's mouth stood open a little bit, the cold air feeling almost painful in inerts. She closed her eyes slowly, letting her magic wash over her form, feeling herself shrink, but stay in the same place still, and fluttered her 'eyes' open with newfound calmness before the horror sank in.
The golden sphere appeared cracked, whisks of dust crumbling off and rejoining a moment later, the leaks shrank ever so slow, but the sight left her with a chill and emptiness in her heart. 'I was hurt... by my creations.' The thought sank deeper and deeper even when she tried to shun the stroke of desperation out, closing her eyes, sealing her vision and hearing, feeling her magic expanding, the anger building ever higher as a burning sensation coated her whole being and-
A crack woke her, her eyes snapping wide open and fluttering while a blinding light illuminated the room like a sun. The mirror hanging from the wall was cracked, the web spreading across the entire piece, dust polluted the air, the fox could only stare at the broken image displayed. A tall standing fox golden with gleaming claws, eyes burning grey and whisks of magic escaping, a matt and unkempt fur covering her body, and a paw turned fist embedded into the glass.
Auriel slowly pulled her paw back, sinking in her form, leaning forward, and supporting herself with the other paw on the mirror. She breathed heavily, white smoke escaping her maw and nose while attempting to close her heart just for this moment. The emotions still sturred in herself as the sensation dared to choke her into submission.
"What is happening to my world... What is happening to me..." Auriel sighed deeply before lifting her head, facing the image again, the broken shards greeting her. The magic she siphoned was little, carefully gathered and infused into the mirror, letting it shine beautifully as the pieces placed themselves together like the surface of the water.
'This sensation of harm by my own magic, this betrayal, this pain. The anger I felt, overwhelming and this sense of power, over them, the thought of superiority, this isn't me, it won't be me.' Auriel thought as she turned away from the mirror, self-reflection was the least she needed, and companionship would do only harm in this very moment. 'I need a bit of silence again, like back then... Yes, things how they used to be.'
The fox pondered silently before extending her paw forward and pulling magic from the world; once, or twice she too should put herself before anything else; it would be better for everyone after all. She always made everything best with a calm mind and magic grip. The air in front of her grew frenzy, circling in an oval pattern, before a golden gate formed, through she sauntered, vanishing from this chamber, leaving the hive and crossing the land.
An errand
"I have flour, water, the stuff that Auriel called chocolate, oh sweet goodness, no! No snacking." Bell mumbled loudly as she stared at a pile of ingredients before she wished away the drool that dripped down her face. Sweets had she so rarely eaten in her life, mayhaps a few fruits preserved in honey through the winter, but never something she'd see royalty eat.
"Ohh, what's all the stuff for?" Asked a young voice, belonging to the one and only princess of the hive.
"Huh, oh, hello Chryssi, morning Chitin." The common mare said with a smile as she looked at the visitors. "Nothing much, I am trying to bake something a bit larger than usual, but I still need a few more ingredients."
"I assume it's for our most soft vulpine?" Queen Chitin asked with an elevated voice, looking at the pile and wondering what exactly the earth pony was trying to concoct.
"Mhm..." Bell hummed while pulling out a large mixing bowl, followed by a sieve and whisker. As she stood up to retreat from her finding, she almost tumbled while standing on her hind legs. "How do you know?" Diamond Bell asked all of a sudden as her head turned to the Matriarch.
"Intuition, however, you are also radiating stress, anxiety, and what I can only describe as butterflies in the stomach like a geysir." Chitin spoke with a straight face while walking over to the mare she towered more than twice. "What do you lack for this treat of yours? Will it be a pie of sort?"
"No, not pie, it will be a cake, I've read a few things in one of the books of the library, and found a really nice recipe. It was written in a very outdated equish, but I believe to understand it. The cake is called 'reunion', and it's pegasus tradition to make it when two friends find one another after a lifetime." Diamon exclaimed proudly before chuckling nervously while tipping her hooves. "But I really just picked it because Auriel absolutely adores whipped cream."
Chitin smirked mischievously at the small mare and just could not surpass the large grin that formed on her face; for heaven's sake, she appeared close to burst into laughter. "So I would assume you still need milk and eggs?"
"Yup, that's all I still need." Diamond Bell asked statically as she went through the list in her head once again. It was astonishing that the changelings possessed such large quantities of fresh food; there was yeast too... even if it all was preserved in those cocoons.
"Of course, you shall get these things, and I'll make sure you two get to be undisturbed." Chitin spoke in a mellow tone before turning towards the door, through which a guard quickly entered. "K2035, please guide Diamond Bell to the Aphyd farm, and let the worker get her some milk and unferalized eggs."
"Of course your majesty, Zoef will not disappoint you." The Guard spoke out with a light giggle at the end before turning towards the door. The queen almost regretted allowing every drone in the hive to not only now own a name but also choosing it for themselves, in contrast to the previous system of only changelings she regularly talks, or have done outstanding deeds.
"Oh, and Bell?" Asked Queen Chitin as she covered her daughter's ears while grinning as much as she could. "I'll make sure to make a stool available, should you need it."
When optimists talk
Princess Platinum looked over the land with a focused gaze while a chunk of sharpened coal and an extra-large piece of parchment floated just below her eyes. She pulled out a very dirty cloth tissue with a sneer, rubbing the still fine dust off, not wasting any material. She knew she would not be able to replace it for quite some time if- Her eyes turned to the giant frozen wall towering all -the glowing fox was to be believed.
"So, uh, what is your majesty drawing, if I may ask." Commander hurricane asked with a confused tone and tilted head. A guard or anypony of military rank had to follow around the 'politicians' to ensure their safety, and he was the unlucky sob to follow her. "You're not planning to build a castle already, are you?" There was no hint of sarcasm present; he asked a serious question, even in a relaxed way.
"Roads." Princess Platinum answered shortly, while her magic guided her makeshift piece of chalk across the image, as her imagination and mind tried to come up with something most efficient. Yet, it seemed as if ever so often, something else would cross her mind, break concentration, and it appeared to be wearing down her patience.
"Huh, roads? How am I to understand that?" The pegasus asked, before fluttering as soft as he could, a few meters into the air, to see a map of a land that was not there. It appeared like an interconnected web of streets between forest, lake, meadow, and mountains, a much tighter city plan than the widespread unicorn tribe could ever hope to achieve.
"If you haven't noticed it yet, commander , most of us can't fly and have to rely on made paths for transportation of ponies and wares." She shuffled quite agitate before pulling her vision away from the piece of drawing, cooling her mind down. "Do you have the slightest idea how much trouble a whole lot of nothing can do to a kingdom to be or come?"
He heard much rambling in his life, be it panicking civilian or drunken soldier, but that was one of the most unusual. "Well, let me think for a moment," Hurricane answered, holding his wing to his temple, while the princess, much to his surprise, seemed to be patiently waiting. "Transporting stuff can be quite hard with bandits hiding and animals lurking, it could also be used as a cover for attacks, or defense, in the worst-case scenario burning it down with everything inside." The use of lightning in a forest was only allowed when things were at their bleakest or if a centurion were to order it with or without the blessing of a general or higher.
Princess Platinum nodded before grimacing slightly. "If looked at a map of Primariou as a whole, with infrastructure, population road, land disputes between lords and dukes, then I can promise you the desire to rip that ugly carpet apart." Her tone was very crass, entirely unlike the princess's usual behavior.
"Uhm." The pegasus let out a questioning tone.
"Something the matter?"
"You-uh, really do know your stuff, huh?" Of course, Hurricane expected somepony to know stuff about their rank the very least. Sure, he wasn't the smartest cookies like one of thus mages spending their days away in libraries, but he knew his salt regarding military tactics and law; it was just.
"What, do you think I spend my life sitting on a throne, eating baby carrots, drinking wine, and talking about gossip?" Princess Platinum asked. There was just one thought running through the pegasus' head, don't nod . "Urgh, why am I even surprised? Laziness is running like a disease through nobility." She shook her head, causing hairs to fall out of her already ruined mane. "My point is that every lord is hoarding their land like a crab and only doing something when needed. The roads are a mess, the villages are overflowing with feces, the ponies are poor and, in some cases, even starving. AND don't even get me started on the damn bickering for every oh so little change that goes even a centimeter over a lord's border." As the unicorn called it, the metric system was a replication of the highly efficient Saddle Arabian measurements; word spread much faster in unicorn land than it did in other. However, land and construction were the polar opposite of that of the earth pony tribes.
"That is a very depressing point of view." Hurricane noted as he walked to the princess's side, nothing he'd often do unless he had to, as the usual order of two steps away and one back applied to any kind of royalty. "I'm assuming you want to change that like some kind of fresh start?" Of course, he wished for some changes too, like ending the mandatory enlistment of civilians; he was tired of eating stale bread and seeing young studs barely out of their father's home wanting to go back watering some fields.
"You are not seeing the greater picture." She noted before putting the half-finished map into her silk pouches. "Things will have to change if either way and this time, with ponies, resources, knowledge, and magic at hoof, maybe things will end up better than they were before the wendigoes came." It was rare for him to see optimism from this princess, not that it was spread thick these days.
"I am unsure if you are secretly happy about most bloody happening." Hurricane noted from her side with a tight look on his face, he had lost many soldiers, friends, and family through the storm that caused Aetherica to fall from the sky. "And besides, I thought you were against the unification, to begin with."
"Do not mistake my optimism with gratitude, commander." She sneered with an angered look when her head turned towards Hurricane. "Second of all, I am against working with their rulers class, not their ponies. Their wishes and desires differ greatly from what is best for everypony , and the dreams of the populous." The look of irritation slowly dissipated before a calmness replaced its place. "I am tired of how things were before, to your credit, of being called insane or kingdom-wrecking due to my ambition to end this dumb power play. Now, maybe things will become better, with two mediators of an immortal kind."
Hurricane let out a sigh as his emotions mixed most sweet and sour. "It is a nice dream I supposed, but I think you are missing quite a lot of details, don't you think?" His voice was low while starring to the west, where he had already seen the large structure the fox, Auriel was her name, said there to be. "This land is already inhabited, and I doubt most highly that they want their way of life to be turned upside down. Not even mentioning us building a kingdom right here, with the capital less than a day away from the border and their castle." He spoke precisely, for his words not to be misunderstood, something he learned the hard way while rising the ranks, before tapping the map pouch with his wing ever so slightly.
"And ponies call me negative." Platinum chuckled quietly to herself. "All of our lives are twisting and turning, even outside of this land, they always do. That's what my father often says in one way or another. As for racial disputes, I think it's more likely that the masses will scream and faint, their wish of bloodlust is primarily on the other tribes." The insect race, changelings were they called. She heard much of them but never saw them, almost nopony saw them and sources of these once mythological creatures were foggy as milk.
Her emotions towards them are unclear but not very negative once the nightmares wore off. A new pony race to be part of the tribe would strengthen bond and power and their need for emotions; again, if the fox was a credible and reliable source of information, not rambling about rainbows and hearts, it could forge a bond. At least if the harvesting process was as or less harmful as a blood transfusion. There were reports of pony corpses appearing as a husk. Still, there was no concrete evidence, and the fact that so few cases through history were ever documented, and an entire civilization living of this trade for heaven, who knows, was at least soothing in some way. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to deal with insane ponies screaming more lies, ruining her idea of a safe and perfect pony kingdom. Like they've done with the first offer of peace.
"The predator does not sit well with me." It was a lonely sentence, bare of emotion or care; not even a second kind of tone was added.
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about." for once. His feelings regarding the fox were split. On one hoof, he could understand her laid-back behavior, Tartarus, he'd do the same if he could, but still. Something was weird about this critter; either it was hiding something or was just really weird around ponies because personal space and not touching everything one sees were not in her dictionary. "So, what is your highness leading me to?"
"Our momentary friend is very powerful indeed, but I doubt she is as high as she believes herself to be." Princess Platinum said calmly while staring at the land; the magic was fresh, the plants brimming with life. "But is not to be underestimated. Insane creatures' motives are hardly ever found out before things are too late."
"That sound... ominous." Hurricane said slowly before pulling out his water skin and taking a large gulp. The water tasted more energizing here, or perhaps it was just the joy of no longer slurping magically melted snow. "But I still don't know where you are going with this."
"What I am trying to say is that I still believe her to be a chosen, a guardian of some sort, with a lot of history, ambition's and plans. She isn't as naive as she makes herself out to be, no one could use such complex magic otherwise." Princess Platinum noted, her nose scrunched up, sniffing lightly at the cold winds that reached deep into the new land. The wall lessened the wind but lessened the warmth. Before the pegasus could answer, she continued. "Are you aware why unicorns say that palmarious is eons old, that it is round, or that the sun goes around the world, and not the other way around?"
"Research?"
"Yes, the research of a single artifact found under castle Elfenbein. I believe it to be one of the 'world stones' as our furred acquaintance calls them. It bears her paw print, her senseless scribbling is also identical to the glyphs, the fact that is made out of titanium and bears unthinkable amounts of power, make me glad mages have not once touched it. It also reinforces my concerns."
"I think you reaching way over your head, Platinum. Like, that sure sounds very much like jumping from a to b to x, if you understand my way of saying." He stopped her rant until things went from possible to conspiracy theories.
"Oh, then please tell me where you think I'm getting to? Don't be worried about me laughing, I have heard the most insane things over blinking twice in a single second before, so I doubt it will surprise me." The level of confidence in her voice made the stallion worry.
"Well, I think you're trying to lull us into the belief that Auriel is some kind of great evil plotting our doom to get rid of her." He had no attachment to the fox outside of his hope to one day be allowed to sleep atop of the Auriel's back, but that did not mean he'd support the murder of civilians or innocent.
The pale-silver colored mare hummed a little at his response. "No, that is not my ambition, however, given the history of unicorns like Pearl Shine or the fearsome Mercury, it does sound plausible. But that is not my point." She shook her head, letting the last strains fall long and free. "There are to be believed in three stages of the divine. For the lowest, we have our guardians and their mentor, but also chief Steel Horn, the forsaken king Vlad, the rich Morgrim, lady Everlance of the deer, and a few more. They all were picked to do a task that would change the mortal world, chosen by either the maker or a chosen. In our case of the alicorns, it's possible that it was Auriel, not that her hints were oh so misleading." Her role of the eyes was so significant, someone would've made a fortune from this picture.
Hurricane snorted at the princess's remark and remembering the few oh so child-like acts of the ancient fox. He doubted most dearly that anyone could be born able to conjure such feats, and he spoke from experience, given how many spells were already hurled in his direction.
"So, I'm still following but not getting the connection between her place and us staying here." He added at the last moment with a raised eyebrow.
"Dear goodness, you are just as impatient as King Cobald claimed you were." Platinum rolled her eyes before turning towards the table in front of the wall of ice. "I believe Starswirl's claim that Auriel is a chosen one, the second tier, but never the maker herself. She shares the same features as Dragonlord Draco, Cerberus, and Matombo, beings older than almost everything, bearing power beyond mortal grasp, and bound to both duty and place."
"Ohh, now I get it!" Hurricane shouted before pointing his hoof at her chest. "You want to get into good graced of her, so she can be to us, like how Draco is to the firebreathers."
"That is about right, and while I do not understand her full purpose like the other chosen ones, I can only assume that her occupation was to create, rather than destroy or warden like the others of her kind."
"And the attack on her?"
"My guess, she got overzealous and came into a fight with the chosen one of the north. The frozen north, that is, and it really did not like our furred friend." She narrowed her eyes at the ice, it was not mortal craft, but too unlike the golden gleam of Auriel to be done by her directly, and claim for the object to have done it sounded awfully suspicious, or at least, too contra-productive to hurt the maker of it. "That predator needs some sense and rationality, and if she feels as bound to the changelings as to us, then I doubt there is much to fear for our future."
"Huh, sounds like a nice idea and all of that, but don't you think she'll get, like, really mad about manipulating her, lying or abusing her for our safety?" He hovered a meter above the ground, crossing his hooves while tilting his head.
Princess Platinum shook her head and turned around and started walking back to the camp. "Everything is a give and take in this world, even friendship is at least a little bit selfish and for their own gain, emotional support and joy count too in that regard. All we need to do is keep an open mind, make ponies accept her, let them become friends, ensure that both stay happy and bound to reality, and I can see myself retiring without seeing another damn war." She stopped and gave a soft smile, a genuine one. "After all, I doubt there will be resource shortages, or anyone dumb enough to attack a chosen one, we all know about the story of Orkum's attempt to slay Mortis, after all."
Commander Hurricane stared after the mare with a tightened jaw. 'Damn noble, when once in a while one of you sticks their head out of their fat plot, you're always scary.' He thought while following her thought process, or at least attempting to, and despite understand, well, the whole upside this plan was, it still laid wrong in his stomach. Well, that and the momentary fear to have accidentally said out loud that Platinum had a fat rear.
"so.... Uhm, Zoef, was it. What am I seeing, exactly?" Bell asked very slowly at the smiling... she actually didn't know if it was stallion or mare, or if 'drones' even had genders; at least this one was differential.
"The Aphyd nest, although we changelings feast on Love, it is only our source of energy, but we are still made up to some part of 'matter' like everything else, not even mentioning that we build our hive with resin." She, he, they? She would call him a 'he' since his voice sounds only the tiniest of bits more masculine. He spoke happily as he pointed his hole at the content of a large chamber, leading towards a giant pit with stairs leading down.
"Yes, I mean, of course, but, uh, how do I say this, where am I supposed to get eggs and milk in here?" The lone pony asked with great uncertainty while eyeing such large and, Uhm, majestic creatures roam on a large, blue, bowl-like floor from which giant bulbs grew that the aphids feasted on. They appeared as giants, slimy, while at the same time with exo-skeleton armored, cyan larvae equipped with two long antennae, a face similar to a walrus with the addition of a 'straw' for a mouth, which they used to drink from the tree-like fountains.
"Well, from our big fellas of course. Since our queen's friend planted that huge bowl down, the livestock has been feeding on the vegetation, instead of roots, which caused them to grow huge. We've got nectar and eggs aplenty now!" Zoef spoke quite happily, with his smile growing large and eyes forced shut while waving down at the workers milking and tending the livestock.
'Livestock.' That word most certainly did not sit well with her, especially after having spent who knows how long in those pods, but she felt not much older, which did not make the lack of apology from Chitin or the obscure passage of time acceptable. "So, I guess that's what the stool is for, I hope I haven't forgotten the basics."
"Oh, there no need for that, we already pumped quite a lot to keep the sleeping giants calm and are already looking into ways to deal with the excess, maybe even trade with it." Zoef spoke happily before calling out with a deep breath. "A dozen eggs and two kegs of milk for our friend here please!"
It took less than a minute before a pair of workers quickly flew up towards the raised ground with the ordered ingredients in tow. Although changeling drones appeared to be generally smaller than a pony, they bore quite a lot of strength, mayhaps even rivaling an ant was it their size when it came to power and work quality.
"Thanks for the help, please just bring them to the kitchen, if it isn't too much, I'm still not used to carrying much around." Bell spoke sheepishly but had not to say another thing before the workers flew past her. Wings, horn, and strength, a bit of all, with a coat and a claim of being cursed, they might've come along as false alicorns if circumstances were fitting. "Wait, then for what is the stool?"
"I cannot say this without running my queen's fun, so all I can say is that you will most likely understand her words. Maybe a soft, thick rug and a rageing chimney fire would make things even better, which ling knows this is unknown to me." Zoef spoke with a grin, before his wings started to buzz, and took off back the way he came from.
"I just don't get it." Bell said out loud while shaking her head, staring at the long corridor.
'Returning Hopes'
Sunny Smiles can say she had her up and down, many of them in fact, throughout her life, she wasn't old, that was true, but she most certainly was no ripe maid anymore. Despite that, much laid behind her, both physical and mentally, she was now confronted with something, or rather, somepony , of her past.
"You seem troubled, Sunny. Got any complaints, or did you eat something weird like Berry?" Asked a topaz colored stallion with a grey mane. If one did not hear him speak, one might've thought him to be a mare due to his size and smaller stature. Like most of the group following the guardians, he was selected due to their position most near the border.
"I'm fine!" A shriek of a scream bellowed from a bush, rocking it down to the roots.
"Yeah, you most certainly did not eat anything like Berry Burst's breakfast." Topaz Star mussed dryly while staring vaguely into the gamble forest, either you eat the best chow you have ever eaten or the worst grub; it's quite a lottery.
"You remember when I told you about my friend, Diamond Bell, you know, the one that just vanished into thin air one day?" Sunny knew the clarification was unnecessary, this wasn't the capital where muggers and murders ran wild, and ponies didn't just disappear like that, at least not such an optimistic mare.
"You don't have to go into detail, Steel Heart already went into detail, heavens, I never thought I'd see a stallion his size this desperate, went into the smallest detail, searched for every hint. I wonder how he's doing, haven't seen him since he was enlisted." The stallion shook his head; while he wasn't friends with either of them before the significant snowfall, that did not mean that he was heartless or didn't grow tight with this little bunch of canned ponies.
"You saw the mare that was with the changelings yesterday?"
"Yup, wasn't one of us, might've been a native or something."
"It was her, that was Diamond Bell."
Topaz's mind halted for a moment before he asked slowly and with great concern in his voice." You sure you're not just mistaking. It really isn't healthy to grasp at straws, and the last thing we need is you starting a fight with the landlord."
"Topaz, listen to me carefully." Sunny said with a severe tone and stare. "I can't fiddle around this anymore, it's driving me nuts. The next time this giant predator is here I need to have a conversation from mare to mare, just to see her again. If she isn't her, which I heavily doubt, end of the story, but I know this is her, and I and her family miss her a lot. It's been already five years, and it won't be six, no matter what."
"Huh, well, I can't really say I can do much, other than saying to the huge sheep that you want to have a talk or at least let you know, but I do what I can." Topaz rubbed his head, pushing the helmet to the side lightly, wishing not to get it dirty again.
"Thank you so much, you won't regret it, I promise." Sunny said as she jumped up, kicking her spear away in the process.
"Yeah, it isn't me who you should make this promise to. That fox and Bell are pretty close, no sane pony would couldle with such huge cat without something keeping them glued together." Topaz spoke before taking a step forward and pulling the mare closer by her collar. "I don't want to imitate the chief, but we don't need another war, be it with the changelings, or that fox as she calls herself. We are guests, so we have to friendly, if not for hospitality, then at the very least make sure as Tartarus not to make that fox our enemy. We know the story of Matombo and the elder, and I don't want to be crushed because you tried to steal away her friend, love, pet-whatever. "
Sunny Smiles was not smiling, frowning in fact, because as much as she was shocked by the sudden aggression or the painful truth, it was all true. "I try not to cause any trouble, be it for myself or the tribe." She spoke confidently while staring deep into his cold, intense eyes before he let go of her a moment later. "I, too am tired of war, and the cold is not any better." She said, before turning around and trapping her spear, and starting to sharpen it again, it was less to let out anger or show signs of bloodlust for anything, but more to calm herself, the grinding's rhythm gave her at least some routine in these strange days.
A grand, flower-filled meadow stretched across the mountain range, one so high that the world below appeared like a realm of ants. The field stretched across this plateau far and wide, and a small forest right in it's middle bathed in the strong sunlight, embraced the cool, fresh air, and feasted on the abundance of fruit untouched by civilization or predator. On this grass laid a family of moose, rested in the sun, bunnies ran through the untamed fields, and birds flew through the air, as all of a sudden an oval disk of energy appeared, floating above the ground. The animals turned their head towards the source of the spreading, primordial magic that breathed new life, awakened the highest and richest yearning in them.
Auriel opened her eyes and stopped, inhaling the sweet, pure air, free of dust, musk, or stench of sweat from either hive or herd. With a deep sigh, she leaned forward before falling onto her four paws, trotting ahead with calmness and elegance, watching the animals, her children unchained by the burden of the mind, not startled or scared from her appearance.
"Oh, is it truly too much to ask for days so long gone, for a time to beg, where the love to my children and their's towards me was unconditional. A time when they would live free, under my eternal guidance from birth to death, no sickness or headache or fatigue ever plaguing? To not fear my children's betrayal, the horror of worrying they might slay me one day, or worst of all, knowing that they choose not to be my side." Auriel spoke out with a sadness filled voice, her head swaying with each step, before abruptly stopping, three pairs of eyes stared at her, only a few meters in front of her.
"Oh little one, don't worry, I won't hurt you." Auriel said with widened eyes, crouching down and coupling her paws around the calf's mellow checks with milky eyes. Her paws gently brushed across the young one's fur, slowly calming it down, before her thumbs hovered above its closed eyes, rubbing them ever so gently with a soft, golden light shinning only a few seconds. Auriel pulled her paws back, slowly, and sat patiently until the calf fluttered its eyes open, a beautiful light blue.
'I have seen it so many times, some even from the very second of birth, others during their dying breath, the sensation of freedom, free of fear and full of joy.' Auriel thought with an affectionate, while she eyed the little calf staggeringly stand up and hopping through the fields like a kangaroo. She jerked suddenly when she felt a wetness on her neck; she stared down with a puzzled look, starring at the female with just a moment of jealousy that was soon buried under compassion.
"Is it truly so much to ask, so horrible to even think about..." Auriel muttered with a whisper before her mouth's arcs fell, and so did she with her chest facing the blue, cloudless sky. Her eyes fixated on a bunny that jumped onto her chest, cuddling and burying itself into her large bush of fluff; the male moose rested his head onto her stomach, a few birds made themselves comfortable on her arms. Auriel rubbed her face against the bunny with a smile gracing her face. "Is it truly so wrong to wish for things to go back when my love, my care, and attention was all they could ask for in a life with no darkness, a garden with only joy and warmth, lacking but one fruit with such horrible aftertaste, when I can offer them all else, and so much more with a buffet, all at the price of one such painful dish? And then, would I even be the villain or the beast or thief that stole from my creation, when they cannot even yearn after what they never and won't have tasted?"
"Or can I just not let go, am I unable to see or just blind as a whole? After all, a Light will never be a mortal, and a mortal never a Light, are our worlds truly this parted, or have I yet to find my place in this world?" Her words flew breathlessly through the air while her eyes stared into beautiful bunny opals.
Blood is thicker...
"No no no..." Starswirl mumbled with a grumble under his voice, clenching his teeth and eyes as shut as they could be without stealing away breath or sight; something was stuck in his nostrils as he vividly scribbled across parchment after another as the memories began to wane and fade.
"Are you okay, sister?" Celestia asked quietly as she passed the tent of their mentor, decorated with stars and colors of blue and white. The alicorn tapped Luna with a soft nudge, breaking her concentration in the process. "Luna, what is wrong, please talk to me."
"Thou lied to us." Luna spoke somberly, while her eyes were still focused on one point, a flat slate of stun colored in blue with a great circle of white and dots by the hundreds. A night sky. "You said you knew not of how we ascended, that you have not met with our mother of nature." Her tone slowly heated up, from cold to lukewarm.
They dreamed this night, but to her surprise, but it seemed as if she was not the only one to have lived through it.
"I have not lied to you." Celestia urged as she quickly stepped in front of her sister, who eluded her gaze, but the expression of irritation was not hidden. "I have, merely... not told the whole truth."
"Then speak, we are not a foal anymore, we demand and deserve to know about our past." Luna flapped her wings and fell onto her hooves in the same motion before stomping angrily once.
Celestia's mouth stayed open, be it just a slit through which air escaped, and watched as her sister's face fell deeper into anger. "It was when you were still young, maybe a year old? our... village, it laid on the border of both the unicorn kingdom and the empire of the pegasi. On this night, a party of raiders, bandits, or deserters I know not, burned down our home. Mother told us to flee, so I took you with me and ran. You were sick already before, and bleeding after a plank hit your head, I was scared you're dead, so I did just leave as fast as I could, not looking back."
"A few hours into the winter night I have found two golden droplets, at the time I didn't know they were Auriel's blood, their power or importance, just that they warm to the touch like sunshine on a summer day. Well, the rest of how Starswirl found us, and all that follows is all true."
Luna's head slowly shook, her face tediously devolving into horror and fear, tears building as her mouth opened ever wider, be it out of a yearning to scream or disgust. "You.. you said our mother died during our birth."
"What was I supposed to tell you?!" Celestia screamed angrily, her hoof slapping the ground. "That our mother was fletched apart by a bugbear? You would've hated and despised your birth-kin to the bottom of Tartarus and back! Left with an emptyness unfillable, I just wanted to spare you my plight!" She breathed heavily.
"It still would've been better just to tell the truth." Luna spoke through her teeth, eyes ablaze with anger and furry. "And all about your whore of a mother, you can keep silent about."
"Why are you speaking such dirt about our only parent?" Celestia whispered with shock, her ears folding back.
"Dirt, you claim I lay filth on her name? Oh, then do lecture me about the title, of a mare lifting her tail for bits!" Luna spat, her wings rising high and unfurled. "We have not a single memory of her, only constant pain of the delusion, of being responsible of her death, and now, where not even a drop of blood of either her or any random stallion on the street flows through our veins, she is but our birth giver."
Celestia took a couple, unsteady steps backward, covering her mouth with her left front hoof. "How can you speak this way, do you feel truly nothing more?"
"It is easy, under the condition when you are cursing about a stranger, but how could you know? You had fourteen years of love of a mother, but I had not a second I fondly remember, warm my heart, and now I begin to question if my heart has not been lying to me regarding another pony I 'should' be calling family." Luna's head sank slightly, starring upward with such wrath.
"Luna..." Celestia reached out with both hoof and word, but her request for atonement was swatted aside with a slap before the blue alicorn turned around and jumped high into the air, flying away as fast as her wings could carry. "I am sorry!"
'We should've never, ever come to this forsake land.' Celestia gritted her teeth in anger, fighting the stinging sensation that pierced deep into her face's flesh. 'We should've just asked the damn minotaurs for refuge, or just walk deeper into the south, and then everything would still be the same.' With a firm smack, did she send a rock flying away and stomping on the last pebble's place for good measure. A heavy sensation wore her body down, daring to drag her deep into the snow and to never awake again. ' If just never meet that damn fox, then I'd still have my sister'
The great white alicorn closed her eyes harder and harder, so much so that her eyelids dared to rip apart or give away into the fatigue. With a heavy pull of magic did she reach for the heaviest object on the ground and pulled it towards herself, and just as she was about to throw it as far away as she could and further, did the smell of unripe liver berries hit her. She opened her eyes and froze when she saw the whole night sky picture. There was a pair of alicorns, blue and white, and in the middle was a fox bearing a white coat and red mane; even the style fit their mother's. The rock fell to the ground with a heavy thud that rocked the grass below her hooves.
"Okay, okay, what is going on out here!?" Starswirl demanded angrily as he trotted out of his tent, a strained expression plastered across his face. "Huh, where has lady Luna gone to-uff!" The old mage was stopped, his lungs nearly crushed, when a roughly one-ton heavy mare, one and a half times his size, fell onto him and hugged his chest, all the while crying her eyes out.
"Oh mentor, what have I done." Celestia's tears, rarely has anyone ever seen her so much so shed a droplet, and now they fell like rain, soaking the poor stud who stared at the horizon with a look of confusion and wonder, eyeing the blue spot shrinking, slowly-shrinking away. "I'm so, so sorry. It's all my fault."
Diamond Bell stared at the large food item in front of her with precision and accuracy, circling each of the three-round sponges, eyeing the decoration like a hawk and made sure not to spare a single spoon of whipped cream, used every fruit that fit and sugar sure was not a rarity. "Father was right, I could've been a baker. Well, if someone owned a mill in that village, but no, a forge for the frontlines was so much more of a necessity." She rolled her eyes before jumping on her hindlegs, standing unsteady for a moment, before placing the beautiful, and most importantly, fragile delicacy, a meal worthy of a king, onto a little wheel cart usually used by Queen Chitin. How nice of her!
With a heavy breath, she gave the kitchen one last look, making sure every last speck was cleaned or splatter remaining on the ceiling. 'Mental note, aphid milk will pop like a geyser when whipped.' Bell nodded happily before pushing the cart forward, salivating slightly at the sweet treat. Sugar was a rarity; any piece of candy or dessert was, how could she ever afford the sweet, white gold? Even a spoon could drain a pouch faster than an infestation with a little garden.
' I wonder what dad would say if he could still see me today.' Bell thought with a solemn expression, the squeaking of the wheels being all that kept her to the world before she suddenly smiled a little bit. 'Ay, me lad 'came friend wid a god, eatin' cake and jumping through the fields like a hopper.' She chuckled under her breath before lifting her head and staring at the pair of guards warding the queen's chamber.
"Excuse me, could you fetch lady Auriel for me? I have a nice little surprise for her!" Bell said with an exaggerated title and a sweet little tone.
"Lady Auriel has not left the chamber." The first guard spoke; the hulking changeling was even larger than her uncle, who was called a giant more than once.
"Huh?"
"No one has trotted through these doors after her majesty queen Chitin, and unless the love-giver has used alternative means or plays another trick of the eyes, she's still residing there." The second guard spoke with a feminine tone. It was sometimes really hard to tell them apart, mostly because of the more similar color patterns.
"Oh, well, then I guess I just enter." Bell spoke slowly, the changeling guards nodded shortly before taking each their respective three steps aside. Bell lifted her hoof and knocked against the gate. "Auriel, can I enter?"
Auriel walked through yet another gate of magic, sighing deeply as the smells of flowers and fresh air were replaced by fungus and staleness, yet it was not the stench that bothered her most, for thinking about doing something was so much heavier on one's soul when the affected ones were standing just a few meters next to you. Their happy chatter, the joy they emitted, the complexity and richness of their emotions radiating off incomparable to the eternal contentment of her time of reign.
And yet.
It would be so easy.' This thought haunted her most, that as single wave could just... just end it all, absorb the magic back, deactivate the world stones, or just wait. It was fear to be alone, be it just encirclement by her creatures bearing no conscious, or the inability to ever create something quite like this. To never built a world like the one she bore in imagination or memory.
This, only this was the most horrifying deeds she could imagine happening both out of her perspective and that of her children. Maybe this was why they were afraid of this massive difference of power not to be seen as a shield, but a cage? It would be all so easy, and there would be nothing stopping her.
It was haunting her that both sides drew her in and made her fur rise, causing a rift in herself. On one paw, mayhaps a world without chances is a better one. After all, a world of ice and snow may not break things like sticks and stones, but, perhaps, they were worth it?
A drip broke thoughts, as she stared down onto the floor, a single tear had fallen, and where a droplet of her's was absorbed into the floor, the stone cracked lightly as a bush of large, green flowers with red feather-like petals grew, staring to the left.
The fox turned around and saw the nightstand of queen Chitin, atop of which laid her collar. She gulped down the dryness of her mouth, hoping to prevent the sour taste to spread as she remembered that the large changeling used to have a timber wolf that wore such clothing. Auriel took a deep breath before pointing her open paw at the object and pulled it towards her. "I guess it's the thought that counts." She thought while staring at the collar; her eyes hovered over the crystal for a moment before dropping every thought again. Shaking her head, the fox was about to put it back; who knew how long she would've not touched it if she didn't see something on the mark's back. "'For my best friend in the world.'" Auriel read aloud, the letters were fresh, and there was still metal dust from the job left.
'Maybe... only a perhaps. Possibly some surprises are nice after all.' Auriel held the collar to her chest and felt a warmth from it, not like a fire, but a gentle, soothing, and lightly tingling sensation in her heart. '...Maybe.' .
"Auriel, can I enter?" Auriel heard the voice of Bell.
"I, uh, yes, of course, why not." Auriel spoke frantically, fiddling at the collar, quickly attaching it to her neck, before sitting down right next to the flower. She would have time later to add it to her little garden. The fox stared patiently at the door, only to see one of the weirdest, and at the same time, the best smelling thing her nose was graced with. She quickly swiped the liquids escaping her muzzle away.
"You seemed so down yesterday and went through so much, and, well, you gave me some of the best time I had in my life, so, I, I made you a cake for cheers and thanks, you know." Bell spoke with an uneasy smile as she pulled the cake off the tray, attempting not to trip, and put the plate down in between the pair most unusual. "Huh, what's with the strange flower?"
"Oh, eh, you see, I tried something else, a new technique, yes, and, uh, this is the result." Auriel stammered with a quivering smile, her heart pounded intensely, yet it somehow was not guilt that dared to burst her chest open. With a wave of her hand did her magic encase a flower, gently plucking it from the bush, before levitating it in from Bell.
The mare stared at the strange, scarlet, almost blood-colored flower with much curiosity for its peculiar uniqueness. Usually, all of her friend's creations bore a gleam, an aura of power, and a form most mystic, but this seemed more familiar and yet unique in its sophistication. Bell leaned forward, her nose resting in its entirety in the bloom and took a deep whiff, and this one moment woke old yearning in her, a sense of excitement and joy for the time of youth, making her heart pound. She, oh she could not resist it and took a large bite.
"And, how does it taste?" Auriel asked; it was not a mocking or joke, but she was worried it was poisonous, or if it was delicious, she would consider making more of it. She channeled every last scrap of magic to her paws, enough to create a mountain or forest, no act of healing or rejuvenation would require such amounts, but the worry demanded it. The fox nearly let out a scream to Bell's reaction.
"Tasty!" Bell exclaimed with a smile as tremendous and goofy as she could muster, the petals were light as air and sweet as honey, and it spread warmth through her body, not like a warm brew, but hug or sunbath. "Auriel, you've got to pick a few more petals and spread them on the cake, it will be mind-blowing, believe me."
Auriel wondered if the plant had infested Bell's brain, as she could not imagine someone using the act of one's head exploding as a positive reinforcement of sort. Reluctantly did she pull a pawful of pallets of the bush and spread them across the king of sweetness, taking the word of her friend above that of her worries.
"What are you waiting for, take a slice, I've already cut it. Go one, there's enough for the two of us, and more." Bell said with a smile, tilting her head to the side.
Auriel's eyes slowly traveled down onto the meal, gulping once, before reaching towards the food with a quivering paw. Maybe it was just body still untrusting her creation, or her mind covered in guilt for such horrendous thought that she was this plagued, but she pushed through anyway. Her nose took a deep whiff, the combination of so many fruits and plants going through so many processes leading to a scent that almost led to her losing control and inhaling it whole. Auriel took a large bite and chewed slowly, such complex textures and rich taste, and the petals stood out most magically.
The fox pulled the cake away with half-closed eyes, breathing deeply as her body grew warmer, her heart pounding harder as she leaned her head back. It invoked so many strange emotions she once could only observe in others, but for just a moment, she could taste it. The harsh world outside the warmth of a home, and yet the desire, despite cold and hardship, to venture out and explore every last gift the world had to over, the desire to live the time available to its fullest with no regret.
Auriel's eyes snapped wide open when she felt a wet, soft, warm texture slide across her face. She opened her ice and saw Bell licking her lips with a grin. "You had some cream on your face, and I couldn't resist."
Auriel could practically feel her colors change to a pink hue as she stared at the small, warm, cuddly little mare standing in the cold chamber, the fire of the chimney long extinguished. Auriel lifted her index finger upwards before pointing at the fireplace, Bell's eyes following, the suddenly erupting fire distracting her. The fox rammed the rest of the cake into her face, barely not bothering to chew and squishing her muzzle into her, rubbing the mixture of cake and fruit everywhere.
"Hey! That's not f-fphh!" Bell started before a great tongue wished across her face. "Oh you little devil, you have no idea what fight you caused." she said before taking a bite out of the cake and jumped at the fox, limbs sprawled wide.
"Eep!"
Mayhaps a world without surprises, without dangers, or headaches, lacking even nightmares would be a 'better' one, but it most certainly would never be a good one. The joys cannot be replicated, and even a being equal to godhood with perfection given form can never find happiness without someone who has the hunger to explore the world, see deeper, and mayhaps unravel things even a deity could've never seen or felt alone.
A land to explore and a goal to achieve
'So, this is my new existence, no, this is something different. I am no longer bound by simple ways and rules; I can do whatever I want! I couldn't be 'happier'! Wait. What is this happy thing? How do I know about it? So many things unanswered, but this is so 'exciting,' and at least I know what that thing means.'
Auriel was deep in her thoughts while continuing to gaze into the stars that showed themselves at all times. The Golden Fox was not too lazy to stand up but just wanted to enjoy this moment. While laying on the ground, she looked around her and saw the weird thing that made itself look like her and the pit she fell in and began to wonder how she did it these deeds and how much more she could do.
Auriel smiled before rolling on her belly and standing up on her four legs. Auriel then slowly made her way towards the stone that acted like a mirror. With one paw after another, she made the few steps to it and looked into it again. Blue eyes stared back at her, and she began to think of how she did this weird aura thing. Auriel lifted one of her paws and looked at it as she wanted to try something.
"Hmm... What I say happens, so, what am I going to do?"
Auriel thought for several moments and searched in each corner of her mind to try something. After a few moments, she gave up and decided to just say something random.
"How about a tiny bit of red?"
To Auriels surprise, she felt something warm form from her very core and created a flame that appeared above her paw. Auriel was fascinated by this and looked carefully at it before decided to touch it with her other paw. When the other paw mad contact with the fire, it, at first, was hostile and tried to attack the paw, but after seeing that Auriel meant no harm, it stopped and let her touch it without feeling pain or extreme heat. Auriel smiled widely as she found something new again, but to her surprise, her mirror image on the rock changed slightly. Her eye color changed from blue to red.
'My eyes changed to red when I used a red spell! This is so fascinating. How about a bit blue!?'
And like Auriel thought, she felt something more liquid from her core, and an orb of water appeared in her other paw, floated above it. Auriel looked at the mirror and saw that her right eye color was red while the other was blue. Auriel squeaked in joy, but doing this caused her concentration to slip and the water shot in the sky.
Auriel looked up and thought that her blue spell was gone, but to her fortune, it wasn't. What wasn't so fortunate was that the water orb rapidly expanded above her before popping. The water rained on Auriel, putting out her flame and drenching her coat and the ground as far as she could see. Auriel shook her body like a similar animal would that she yet had to discover.
"So, blue Spells make red go away. Let's try... A lot of Green!"
Auriel looked in the mirror again and saw that both of her eyes now were green. Her happiness only lived short as she could feel a lot of power seep into the ground, yet, it felt so little compared to all the power that rested inside her. Suddenly, the very earth under her paws started to shake, and a weird thing shot out of the ground and took Auriel with it into the sky. Auriel slammed her claws into the objects and tried to not fall off.
After a few moments, she shakingly retreated her claws out of the weird object, but she also ripped out something brown, hard and rough out. Auriel turned it around a few times around and was confused about what it was. She brought it up to her face and sniffed on it. The smell, even though it wasn't particularly good, was pleasant while everything around her had a salty smell, this smelled alive.
Auriel threw the weird thing away and looked down and saw that she was very high up. It seemed as if the mysterious object had a long and brown stick for the body and a many green pieces that hang from many smaller twigs. Auriel looked at the ground and saw that there was a green layer on top of the land and this went on for as far as she could see.
"Ehm... can I go down?"
Suddenly there was a golden flash in front of her eyes. Auriel's visions circling her and she could see a few stars above her head. Auriel slumped on the ground and looked straight up and relaxed. The green stuff on the ground felt so much better than the gray hard stuff. After a few moments, her world finally stopped running, and she could look clear again.
Auriel could not describe the beauty from up close. The land was enveloped with a soft green layer of this hair like material, no, it was much more alive, she would call it grass. Auriel saw many more of these things that blew her into the sky, she decided to call them trees. Besides trees, there were a few concentrated puddles of water, or lakes, whatever you would like to call them. There also where many of these green, flat things that have been formed into circles, she called them bushes. Lastly, many colorful plants were scattered around the green grass.
While looking at the beautiful sight, something fell on her head which made her flinch and rub her head. Auriel's pain vanished as fast as it came before looking at the thing that hurt her. She picked up a weird red circle thing. At first, she found another flame, but looking closer, she noticed it was less alive. Auriel brought the object up to her face and sniffed.
The object had a delightful aroma that made her drool. WIthout a thought, she stuffed the whole thing into her mouth and began to chew. The sweetness and the hint of sour caused her eyes to water and cried tears of happiness. After the pleasure was over, Auriel looked up and saw that many more of these things hang on the tree above her.
Auriel thought for a few moments on how to get these sweet goods, but like always, she chose the easy way and just softly slapped the tree with her paw. To her surprise, this attack created a significant dent in the tree and caused a lot of apples to fall down. Auriels pupils shrunk before putting her paws on her head to shield herself and closed her eyes.
Auriel waited for the sweet doom, but it never came. She looked up and saw that her paws glowed with a golden aura, and the apples were surrounded by the same aura too. Auriel smiled and clapped her hand together in happiness. Suddenly the aura disappeared, and the delicious things fell down. Auriel was hit by many of these red things while she tried to escape the fruit bombardment.
Auriel pouted loudly before standing up and picking up the fruits. In just a few minutes, Auriel greedily devoured all of these tasty treats she decided to call them apples with a lot of joy. After she ate all of the delicious apples, she smiled and patted her stomach a few times. Auriel tried to put her paw away from her belly, but the noticed that it wasn't moving a bit.
Auriel looked down and saw that her paw stuck to her stomach were an apple or two turned into applesauce. Auriel free her paw with a bit force which ripped out many hairs out. Auriel was close to screaming, but the pain thankfully stopped, and her fur regrew in just a few moments.
Auriel didn't want to have to rip out more of her fur and didn't want her paw to become even hairier, so she looked around and began slowly walking towards a lake. Earlier, she saw that all the gray bits and dust vanished after the water hit her. If it worked back then, why shouldn't it work now?
When she reached a lake after a few moments and unintentionally collect a few rocks on her paws because of super sticky apple juice, she jumped into the water. The second she made contact with the wet blue, the sticky stuff let go of her, but she now faced a new problem.
Auriel couldn't swim.
Auriel thrashed in the water and tied to escape, but it only made things worse, and she sank. Auriel looked around n the water and noticed that she didn't feel anything wrong. It was just a bit colder, but nothing was all too different. Thinking about it, there wasn't much to breathe up there any way or at least when she arrived here.
Auriel looked around and saw that there were a few new plants. Some of them seemed very soft with many different colors while other looked like really long grass. Auriel began to ponder on how to get up to the surface because, as beautiful as it was down there, it was even better up there.
Suddenly her hairs straightened themselves, and she was slowly floating up to the surface. The golden Fox had no idea how her fur did it, but she wasn't complaining. Once she was on the surface, she inhaled a bit of air and noticed a big difference since before she slept and now. The air felt much cleaner, less salty and sweet.
Auriel leaned her head back to look into the sky one more time before she would look a bit more around, but her jaw fell when she saw something else in the sky. The sky turned blue, and there was a massive fire in the sky. Auriel gasped and submerged into the water as she didn't want to be hit by either a lot of water or a gigantic ball of fire.
After Auriel was sure it was safe, she merged out of the water again, and nothing changed. She only then realized that the fireball in the sky was the sun that looked slightly different with all the blue around it. Auriel was confused about how this happened. All she did was make the ground wet and create these plants. Maybe they are responsible for this. As much as she loved gazing at the many lights in the sky, she liked the fresh air and the soft wind just a bit more.
After Auriels fur was clean, she walked out of the water and walked in the direction where the sun was. Auriel walked through these lands for hours until she noticed that there sometimes would be a little sound and the light that was fading.
"Who is there? Hallo?"
Auriel looked around and saw something brown far away. Auriel walked as fast as she could, almost power walking, towards the new thing. After a few more minutes, she could see something that had about the same build as her, but it was two or three heads smaller than her, had dull brown fur, no claws but stumps and two big curved nails? No, horns or anthers on its head.
Besides the weird creature was another one of its kind, but this one had no antlers, a little lighter fur and was a bit smaller. In front of it where two even smaller of its kind, but these looked could barely walk. Auriel was sure that they weren't here before, or at least they wouldn't be munching a small pile of tiny and much more fragile looking apples that she called berries. Did she do this?
'Did I do this? They look very young, even if two of them are almost as big as me, they were very Jung, and they smelled very fresh, nothing that could be older than a few times closing my eyes and opening them a lot later, maybe I just call this, sleeping. But what about these creatures? They look like they can take care of themselves, so I am going to continue wandering around and leave these... Let's call them Deer, alone. Let's see what else there is to see.'
While Auriel was walking away from these new beings called Deer, she would look back as many times as she could and silently squeal with happiness. If she already found new creatures, then how long would it take to see someone like her? With a smile, she continued her journey through the lands.
During Auriel adventures through the new lands, she found various other creatures, but sadly, not a single one looked even remotely close to her. There were some who lived in the trees and flew through the skies, while others swam through the water and had skin with so many different colors.
After many hours, Aurile was surprised to see that the sky turned dark blue and the stars could be seen again. Auriel was mesmerized by its beauty, but something new decided to join the sky. A vast and white circle that illuminated the sky that she called the moon. Auriel didn't move for hours as she was too busy with trying to count all the stars Auriel could see, but she sadly fell asleep before she came even remotely close to the end.
Auriel opened her eyes and saw that she was somewhere else. Auriel found herself surrounded by an empty blue space and she could see millions of stars on the horizon. Aurel did not understand where she was, but she did not mind, but still, where was she? Auriel began to wander around the empty nothingness but found nothing. After a while, she sat down and began to think.
'Where am I? I just went to sleep, and now I am somewhere else. Did someone take me away!? I hope that wherever I am going that it's at least somewhere nice where I can see all the land.'
Suddenly the fabric of the universe began to blur and form into something else. Auriel closed her eyes as she was scared of what would happen, but when she opened them, her jaw dropped. From where she was, she could see the white fluffy things that flow through the sky, also known as clouds, from above!
Auriel gazed onto the land that was very different from where she had ventured. The land looked like it was made form many different parts, one in each direction. There was a light yellow and hot one, one with an uncountable amount of trees, one that was just a very, very big lake and dozens of others.
Suddenly the world around her started to become brighter and brighter with each passing second. Auriel didn't want to go yet and began pace back and forth in an attempt to find a way to expand her time somehow, but it had no available, and everything went white.
Auriels eyes instantly shoot open the second she was awake again, but her vision was quickly taken when something white and cold buried her. Although it wasn't freezing, at least not for her, she did want to see the sun again and jumped out of the pile.
Once Auriel was free again, her jaw dropped as she noticed where she was. Auriel was standing on a very, very high mountain from which she could see the top of the clouds and a land full of dead rocks beside the land she created.
'But... how... Was I asleep? Did I really do it or was it someone else? No, it had to be me. But what happened to me? I was asleep, which means I was still in my body and in my mind. Does that mean I can use my power to do this much? Cool!'
"Baaaaaa"
Auriels attention was taken away when she heard a weird sound. She turned around and saw a new creature. It had four hooves, white fur, two curved horns and bizarre slit pupils. The new animal munched on a bit of grass before jumping down the mountain.
Auriel ran after the animal as fast as she could, which was not very fast, and saw that the creature was safely jumping from ledge to another very fast, if it would keep this speed then it would reach the bottom very fast. Suddenly Auriel realized something significant.
How will she get down?
Auriel looked down and thought that if the new animal, she called mountain Goat, she to could do it. Of course, she could use the mysterious vanishing and appearing power thing, but she really didn't want to live through the side effects again. So with newfound self-confidence, she jumped at the first ledge, but things didn't end the way she liked and slipped up.
She fell.
Aurile fell down the cliff and hit every rock that was in her path, the weird thing was though, that every obstacle that hit her, broke. After many hits with the mountain's ledges, Auriel hit the bottom of the mountain with such force that it created a big crater.
Auriel didn't move for several seconds, but then, she straightened herself and was surprised that she barely felt anything. Although there were many glowing spots on her body, she barely felt any damage nor did it felt like there was any danger in falling down a mountain for her. After a few moments, the glowing stopped.
"That was quite... scary. It didn't feel painful, or dangerous, but it was so weird to feel so much stuff break under you and then to have my whole body glow. I think I am a bit more powerful than the rest of the creatures here. Weird powers, being able to destroy trees with barely any force and then falling down a mountain with next to no damage. I am so strong! Wait, what is a mountain."
Auriel shook her head and body, but the moment she took a step, she heard a crack coming from her body which caused her eyebrow to rise. Auriel then stretched her body which emitted many loud cracks and pops which felt very pleasant, even if it made her sensitive ears to peek up.
After Auriel made sure her body was back intact, she looked around her and smiled as she now had a goal to achieve. Auriel smiled widely and wandered towards the dead blank land where she would create a new kind of biomes and find new things to see.