Makings of A Monster

I ran out of the meeting room, knowing where she had went instantly, my senses in overdrive. I could smell her perfume, see puddles formed via tears. But, I could mainly feel a tingle of magical residue, that I (somehow) knew was hers. I had a moment of doubt though. '

This was a terrible idea, so why was I going through with it? Why am I after her?' I wondered, as I moved forward, in the direction she had went. As I ran, moving left, right, forward, I noticed small changes, down stairs, the area growing more secluded. The walls grew more decayed, and old. There were no other paths to follow now, no branching hallways, just this ancient passage. There were also burns on the walls, created via fire magic, and recent, based on this newfound magic sensing ability.

There was also the unsettling feeling that this place gave off, the kind of feeling that was screaming in my head, telling me to turn back, run away as fast as possible, but I was smarter, I could feel what was causing it. Runes, etched into the bricks, hidden from view, with the sole purpose of keeping people away. But I am much smarter than that...

SLAM

I toppled, having ran face first into a wall. I held my nose, feeling that it wasn't broken, but was bleeding a bit, letting it drip onto the floor. Glancing around, I found that I was at a dead end, with Celestia's trail having went cold, leading to the wall, and just cutting out.

Wait.

I looked at the wall, feeling hesitation, and something trying to push my gaze away. I looked away, and felt relief. Then slowly, back at the wall, feeling a force, trying to make me look away. It was something trying to make me turn back. I fought, getting up, and pressed my hand against the wall.

A jolt. Ancient runes, everywhere, even inside the bricks. I could feel their purpose, to make me turn back, run away, and never speak of this place again. To make me ignore the wall. To be honest, if I hadn't ran into it, I probably never would have noticed it. Or perhaps, the runes had caused me to run into it, since it made me not take notice of it.

There was also an interesting spell. No, more like a lock of sorts, appearing to be tuned to someones specific magical aura. An alicorn's magic. You see, without an alicorn's magic, it was just a wall, but, when that kind of magic touches the wall... Well, the lock would unlock. The very wall would disappear. At least, that's what my senses and logical mind told me.

"So that's how she disappeared..." I mumbled to myself, staring at the wall. But...

'How am I supposed to get in, if I don't have alicorn magic?' I pondered, dragging my hand across the wall again, feeling the runes within. 'In fact, how is it that I can feel the runes in the first place?'.

'Well, I am attuned to magic, and runes are practically the written word of magic. Therefore, I can feel them, and read them easily... Wait... That's it!!!', my eyes widened, the solution had been staring me directly in the face the entire time! I am attuned to all magic, to the very source of it! That, is the solution!

I kept my hand against the wall, thinking about Celestia, and all I knew about her, hoping to god this would work. I pushed those thoughts through my arm, through my hand, and out via my fingertips, letting them loose against the wall, keeping my eyes closed the entire time. Her normally kind and calm demeanor, but anger as hot as the sun, when needed.

A spark, a flicker of gold. The wall vanished, and with my weight being pushed against the wall via my hand, I fell through onto the other side, where the wall appeared, most of the light vanishing, leaving only torchlight, revealing the stark difference between this area and the last one. This hallway, instead of the marble brick, had ancient grey cobblestone, looking so old that it made me think it had always existed. The area had many cobwebs, and lots of dust, showing off its disrepair, obvious even in the torchlight.

I could feel Celestia's aura once again, leading down the hall, and so, I followed, each step echoing. The hallway was long, and filled with rune-based traps, but all were disabled. Soon reaching the end, I saw a large door, looking new and refurbished, a stark contrast from everything around it. It was gigantic in size, with 4 holes, appearing to be meant for horns, and above the holes, were cutie-marks, specifically, the marks that adorned the alicorns, which mean't to me, only a royal alicorn could open this door. Thankfully, the door lay open, showing the brightly lit room beyond.

I stepped forward, and cringed, being hit by a wave of magic. The next room was filled with a lot of magic, enough to make me feel sick. As I cringed, I noticed the writing above the door. In Latin, it said 'Buy De Reliquia' and 'In his nocent. Ex causa quia terra rursus redire', which said 'The Relic Vault', and 'Within are dangerous things. For the sake of the land, turn back.'.

I knew what that was, and to explain, allow me to add a fragment of an old book one of the cultists have read.

The Relic Vault

This vault is an ancient legend, linked to the 2 sisters, and has existed even before them. This legend describes a vault, where dangerous objects are contained, hidden away, and best left forgotten.

Back to the story though! Despite the interference, like a annoying static, I could feel Celestia's aura ahead, and so, I pushed on. Into, the Vault!

The room I entered was large, like a warehouse, the walls made of iron and stone bricks, and covered in runes, securing the room. The floor was made of stone bricks as well, and for lighting, fiery orbs hung from the ceiling, like mini-stars. Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I took notice of the different sections. In one corner, a gigantic mound of gold bars and jewels, glittering in the light. In another corner, many bookshelves, lined with ancient and old books, full of forbidden knowledge. The rest of the room held stands, cases, chests, or cabinets, full of relics, all of it organized and labelled, like a dangerous museum.

I was in awe at the objects and the sheer power they emitted, as I stepped forward, observing. There was a bust, and on its neck sat the fabled alicorn amulet, its ruby glowing darkly. Another case held a pieced together obsidian statue, of the storm king, his shattered staff in a case beside him. Then, there was an odd cauldron, filled with a purple corruptive goo, with eyes. It tried to reach for me, but bonked into the glass the covered the top.

Then, there was a case with an odd, grey rainbow, trapped by the cases runes. I kept moving, getting closer to the bookshelf area, noticing interesting books, some written by Sombra himself. There was also 2 movable thrones, grand and beautiful, with busts beside them of alicorns, showing off crowns adorned with galaxies and stars, that actually seemed to move. Gorgeous.

However...

'Who's were they?' I wondered.

Before I could truly ponder, I experienced something... odd. I spun to my right, where this odd sensation could still be felt from. Do know that Celestia was becoming a faint memory, thanks to all of these events, however , now that I look back, I could feel her nearby, but this feeling was more important to me. I kept moving, seeking out the source, until my body naturally froze up, staring directly at it. A simple, long mahogany case, that brought its contents a little above waist height. The case had a few lower tier sealing runes, but none were active. Within the case sat a scythe, made of moonstone, and forged by the dark. The blade shone white, but appeared to drain its surroundings of light.

I stepped closer, hands moving of their own accord, finding the case unlocked and slightly open. I fully opened it, watching the weapon with fascination, especially the handle, which was pure black, a stark contrast from its blade. I felt much closer to the sensations source, giving me a clearer sense of what it was : a sense of...

Connection. Bond. Family.

I watched, taking notice of a fog, a gentle mist, leaking from the handle, and trailing off and onto the floor and away from me. At that moment, I caught myself, my hand hovering over the handle, giving me a cold feeling, as if the rooms temperature had dropped.

'Why had I been trying to touch it? Should I?' I wondered, leaving my hand above it. I could feel the weapons energy ready to react to my touch.

"Screw it." I grabbed the weapon, and instantly the feeling of 2 energies wired up my hand, and hit my head.

Wait...

2?

My vision blurred, all I saw growing fuzzy and melding together. My ears filled with a buzz, a static. My other senses grew dull as well, leaving me in an odd predicament. I couldn't even move, my limbs weightless, but no longer in my control. Then, noises. Voices low and ominous, chanting. My vision slowly grew more focused, revealing robed figures, chanting in an ancient tongue, but too distorted to make out. I looked down, seeing my body was a shapeless mist, moving through the air easily. Dark thoughts were everywhere.

My vision swirled, showing corpses, blood, and hatred. I felt time passing rapidly, and watched a city be built in my domain, shining, made of crystal. I watched as people were twisted, even a lone grey unicorn, and a beautiful blue alicorn. I watched her fight her sister, being trapped, and cast out, and with it, 2 fragments were cast out as well, landing within the scythe, the said object clattering to the floor besides the EOH. Another image, a woman in white picking it up. She had many fears, including the fear of being alone. A shape rose behind her, whispering into her ears. I was spun around, the shape directly in my face, seeming angry.

"Looking for something, brother?!" the being howled yet whispered, in a female-ish voice. I fell back, my vision returning as the case cracked, but not shattered, the scythe on the floor nearby. I gasped, shaking slightly, thing about what the FUCK just happened.

"I... believe I just witnessed... history." I said to myself, watching the scythe with fearful curiosity. 2 entities, trapped within the handle, one weak and nearly dormant (I believe the fragment of NMM), and then another fragment, of a being that felt familiar, almost like family, perhaps a cult experiment?

I looked up, having taken notice of a gentle noise, sad and emotional. Sobbing. The moment I noticed this noise, I remembered the trail of mist from earlier. I rose, looking at the mist, and how it appeared to snake its way in the direction of the sobbing. Following the mist did not take long, as I reached an area in disarray, tables and stands having been thrown around, glass laying shattered on the floor, furnishings in shambles, leaving a rough clearing. Its creator was stomping around, sobbing hysterically, my eyes widening at the sight.

Celestia yelled angrily, her golden magic wrapping around a stand, with it flickering a lava orange, as she sent it flying. Her form appeared different from earlier, streaks of fire in her hair, and one of her eyes were a deep red instead of an adorable pink. Then there was the mist, having coiled up her legs and body, and pooling into her ears, its influence moving into her, like a creature whispering into her ears.

"How dare they turn against me! I'm merely trying to protect them!" she stopped sobbing for a moment, appearing to be listening to someone speaking, yet, nobody appeared to be speaking. "Yes... Maybe Twilight and Cadance aren't ready to take my place, nor my sisters, after all.".

"In fact... its a fucking horrible idea for us to retire! Luna could become corrupted by that beast! Silver could easily take her down!" she threw another stand, back turned. "Luckily, the monster is long gone, torn apart by the elements...".

"No, it wasn't Celestia." I said, rising up from my hiding space, watching her. She spun around, while the mist shifted, so a bird-like face with yellow eyes formed behind her head, and near her shoulder, looking as if it was perched there.

"You! How did you get in here? What do you mean it wasn't destroyed?" she screeched at me, the misty being watching me with curiosity. I sighed, remembering spells used by the Harmonicin Umbrin, as I may need them. I kept one in mind, letting my magic course through my body.

"I realized whats going on, so you need to as well, Celestia. The creature that took down Luna, was the Nightmist, a monster made by the Harmonicin Umbrin. When NMM became Luna once again, a fragment of the 2 were cast out and into her weapon, the scythe. Both beings survived, Tia" I stepped closer, knowing it would be best to end this quickly, while Celestia stepped away, not wanting to listen. The Nightmist began to growl.

"No. NO. Those monsters are DEAD." she screeched, but I ignored her, continuing.

"... after fighting and defeating NMM and the scythe fell... you took it, to put it in this vault. But, you were shown a way to be stronger, to stop an monster like NMM from ever appearing again. You refused, but it stayed. Its been whispering into your ear for a long time." I was an arms length away from her, a spell charged in my right hand, a yellow orb of energy in my fingertips. I continued again.

"The creature you believe is a friend, is the very creature you despise." I paused, watching her silently sob. I moved my left hand, letting it rest on her shoulder, feeling sorry for her. "Celestia, it isn't your friend, and if you keep believing that, you'll end up as Luna did. Please, for her, force the mist out of your head.".

She looked up, staring me in the eyes, worry and doubt having replaced the tears. She sniffled, and attempted to speak, even though she was still sputtering from crying so much.

"I-I f-f-felt so ah-alone for those 1000 y-years. It became my friend. If I lose it... What do I have left?" she asked, looking for guidance away from this darkness. I smiled, mustering the kindest one I could muster in this circumstance.

"Celestia, that creature is the reason you feel alone, even though your not. Luna has returned. Twilight is always willing to visit her mentor. Cadance is willing to visit her aunt. There's new rulers always able to meet with you. Hell, there's even Discord." she giggled gently at the mention of Discord, but then she looked to her side, eyes widening at finally being able to see the source of the corruption, and then they narrowed. I continued, even though a faint footstep echoed nearby, confirming the suspicion that I'd been followed. "Celestia. This monster wants you alone so it can corrupt you. Don't let it.".

The creature appeared furious, as it began to speak angrily. "Do not listen to him; he is related to me! I am your friend, and he is the enem-------".

"ENOUGH!!!" Celestia boomed in the royal canterlot voice, as she looked the Nightmist in the eye, with a full pink glare, the rage of the sun burning into the monster. "I can see what you truly are you monster. I was wrong about Silver, for you, are the only monster here." she growled, and like a wave on a beach, a wave of magic ran across her form, reverting back into her normal form, her yellow aura grabbing the mist, and throwing it off of her. It watched her, seeming scared now that it had been separated from its host.

"Stop! You need me!"

"No she doesn't!" a figure yelled, moving into view, with her number-one assistant beside her, both seeming pissed. "I have read stories about you, a boogeyman of the cold north. You shouldn't be allowed to leave!".

Twilight took aim with her horn, letting loose a barrage, even though she was weak. The magic collided with the monster, and it howled in pain, before darting at them both. Spike tried to stomp it, but instead, it latched onto his leg, moving up his body and into his ears, while Twi teleported beside me, staggering weakly.

"Spike!" she yelled, but he stood still, mist flowing from his now purple eyes. His body twitched, as he grinned, showing off his sharp teeth, turning towards us.

"Now this... is interesting~." it growled, misty tufts of fire being exhaled from its nose. It glanced at its hands, observing the sharp claws, and then, began moving towards us. Celestia growled, appearing in front of us, horn charged with magic.

"Get away from them!" she fired off a very strong banishment spell to try and throw the Nightmist out of Spike, but, it merely bounced off, as it chuckled.

"VERY interesting..." Celestia appeared frozen in fear, allowing him to slash her side, letting blood fly. Like an instinct kicked in, I pointed at her, magic flowing through my arm. As she fell, Spike moved to slash her again, but he never did, a silver grey aura wrapping around her, and then she vanished, appearing beside me and Twi.

"Celestia! Silver, why didn't that spell work?" Twilight asked, moving to Celestia, conjuring up a first aid kit, and pushing aura to her side as well.

"The gems that dragons eat are filled with magic. Over time, their scales have developed a resistance. Basically, they have armor..." I explained, watching Spike slowly stumble towards us, getting used to the body. "I'm going to distract it while I think of something, and you are going to fix up Tia, okay?".

"Mhm."

"Okay..." I had kept my eyes on Spike the entire time, as now he was very close, mouth filled with purple fire. I smirked, diving to the side, a shield appearing in front of Twi as the spot I'd been in was roasted, all while yelling "Hey Nightmist, aka, failure me! It must suck knowing your very existence was a fluke!".

That seemed to grab his attention, huffing angrily at me, moving away from the 2 alicorns...

... and after the man that is less than a week old, that doesn't fully understand his magic.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

I gasped for air, having been dodging for hours. My clothes were torn and singed, but my body, burned with exhaustion, and I fell no closer to a solution.

'Lets go over this again: a monster known as the Nightmist is using a scythe as a host, and using Spike as a puppet.' I dodged a fireball, running across the floor, the monster following behind me. 'Wait...'

I turned, looking for the scythe, spotting it still laying on the floor beside the case, still crackling with energy.

'If I can run, and get it in its case... and activate the runes.' I grinned as the idea took shape, my body going into overdrive as I ran for the case. But, the next moment, I was flying through the air, vision going black, pain erupting from my lower right side and back, until I collided with the floor, pain erupting through my other side, yet I was unable to scream, my jaw feeling odd, almost broken. I heard Twilight scream, and the monster laugh, turning away.

"Its over, Sparkle. That, was a killing blow~" a deep chuckle, while she sobbed. I took this moment to look around, noticing that I sat in a pool of my own blood, deep claw-marks in my side and back. 'I should be dead'.

I looked around more, noticing that I'd been thrown very far, and it wasn't totally a bad thing. You see, I'd collided with a downed display case, and beside it, sat the scythe! I very nearly chuckled, but instead, kept silent, getting up, and picking the case up as well, moving it into position, which was much louder than I expected. Spike spun, watching as I placed the scythe back into its case, while Twilight gasped, staring at what she saw as a walking corpse.

"How are you alive!? No, you need to die, NOW!" it roared, charging at me. I readied 2 spells, as it grew closer and closer. It opened its mouth, a purple fireball ready. I launched a spell from my right hand, a quick bolt of silver plunging towards Spike, and down his throat. He sputtered, fire going out as the body froze up, paralyzed, the first part of the spell. The body then appeared to inhale, and exhale the mist, throwing the Nightmist from the body. I smiled, the Nightmist appearing dazed and confused. Time for phase 2.

My other hand appeared to glow, as I thought about the runes within the case, and how they were inactive. In my head, I imagined the free trade of energy, from me to the runes. I pictured the runes activating since they had fuel now: my magic.
At that moment, the runes shimmered and sparked with a silvery aura, and a low suction noise filled the room, yet the air wasn't moving. The only thing moving was the Nightmist, which billowed and waved, being sucked back into its artifact, screaming the whole time.

"Nooooo! I will kill you!" it screeched, entire form vanishing into the scythe. I merely sighed, tunnel-vision still there.

"... and I won't kill you, sibling." a squeal from nearby, and a shout of victory, Twilight was running towards me.

"You did it! You saved us!" Twilight shouted, limping a bit, but still had a great big smile on her face. I smiled... Collapsing onto the floor, exhaustion and blood-loss having finally caught up to me.

"SILVER!!!" was what I heard, before I blacked out.

Voices, flowing in and out, seeming closer and then farther away. All of it sounded urgent. Something about.. losing a lot of blood. May not make it. Should be dead. The voices drifted away, but I didn't care. I just wanted to sleep.

"No, you don't, my sibling~." a melodious voice said, from directly behind me, a hand made of vines touching my shoulder. The moment it came into contact, a deep rage filled my very soul, and so I rocketed awake.

The first sight I was greeted with was of Twilight, in cute purple footie pajama's, that hugged her cute, nerdy form, having passed out in a chair beside the bed I lay in, beside her...

"Good, your awake!" shouted 2 alicorns, one in a yellow and red tank-top and shorts, with a sunset on the top, basically pajamas, while the other younger sister was in a beautiful dress, stars dotting the blue gown. Luna drank coffee, while Tia drank a gentle, calming tea, which she put down to speak.

"Thank god your all right." she smiled, and I observed her curvy and plump figure from all of the cake waggle within her pajamas. It was the kind of figure that just made your mouth water. I looked back into her eyes, smiling back as she asked. "Do you need anything?".

"Some tea would be nice. Are you okay?".

"Mhm." her steward mumbled something to a nearby maid, and she ran off, soon returning with a nice green tea. "Twilight used strong healing magic for my wounds, but didn't have any left for you. It still hurts a bit, but its tolerable.".

"What happened after I was knocked out?". Luna answered this time.

"From what my sister has told me, after you went down, Twilight cancelled out your paralysis spell on Spike, using him to send a message to me, and so, I sent Celestia's guards, with myself accompanying them, and we took you all to the infirmary. You've been out for a few hours." Luna finished, smiling. "Now that I know your okay, I sadly need to take care of peoples dreams. Goodnight, Silver.".

She rose and left, as Celestia cleared her throat, watching me with regret in her eyes.

"... Silver. I'm sorry for how I treated you. I was horrible. Your not how I thought you were." she paused, looking down guiltily. "So, you can go with Twilight to teach at her school, I will not stop you.".

"... actually, I'd like to teach at your school.".

"Huh? What do you mean?".

"I'd like to teach at your school, and stay here in Canterlot." I paused for a mere moment. "And, if its okay, I'd like the cults base as my home... and to take the scythe into my possession.".

"What!?" she appeared to panic slightly, shaking a bit. "Why would you want the base, AND the thing that tried to kill you!? No way!".

'I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.' I thought, watching Celestia. 'I suppose I should tell her what I've been thinking.'.

"Celestia, allow me to explain. I've been thinking about the cult, and my siblings, the beings before me. I still wish to learn and teach, but I also wish to track down my siblings and traces of the cult, to study them and stop those changes from hurting this world. I also wish to study their last base, perhaps, we can learn something good." I finished, watching her, looking for a hint of an answer, but now, she appeared torn. "I wish to teach at the best school around, and if you want, you can think over my proposa---".

"Fine, you can do what you wish, but, you will have plenty of guards, and your first order of business will be the creation of a faster messaging system, okay?" she ordered, watching me with her serious pink eyes.

"Deal..." I rose, watching her and waving off a nurse that tried to put me back in bed. "I will be heading there now, after grabbing the scythe. Oh, and by the way, can you tell Discord to visit sometime? I need to talk to him.".

"Okay. And Silver?".

"Hmm?".

She wrapped her arms around me, a bit of pain hitting my side, and she smiled warmly, looking into my eyes.

"Thank you, my savior." and she gave me a gentle kiss on the lips.