Teridax reflected upon his recent conversation with Reinesfell. The operation to establish initial contact with the mare had been, for the most part, successful: his underlings had located their target without issue, he'd had enough time to extend at least a minor invitation for her to join his forces, and she had been returned to her ship without anyone, pony or not, realizing she'd even left. In fact, Artaegen and Pharynx had ingeniously managed to buy Teridax extra time with which to speak to the mare, as well as ensuring their own escape.

The only drawback, of course, had been the mare herself.

Reinesfell, as it turned out, was either very stubborn, very prideful, or highly xenophobic. Or maybe, Teridax considered, she might be a combination of all three. In fact, it would be even better for him if she was. After all, it merely meant she was that much easier to manipulate. Teridax had had eons of practice in convincing beings with millennia of experience under their belt to do his bidding, one way or another. As such, a mere pony who was hardly into her double-digits would present almost no challenge to begin with.

These inferior, more ephemeral beings only needed a slight push to get going, it turned out. One just had to come from the right angle...

~~~~
(A few days prior, in Teridax's sanctum:)

Reinesfell landed in darkness, after having been pulled through a shadow by what might as well have been otherworldly forces. She got to her hooves, glaring about into the darkness, but she was obviously unable to see anything.

Teridax, however, could see just fine. He may not have been in the same place as her, but his powers allowed him to view her as if he were right there with her, and that suited him just fine. Utilizing his mastery over darkness, illusions, and the like, he began to speak to her.

"Reinesfell..." He said, his words cold and haunting. In response, the comparatively young empress perked up and began glancing about in fear.

"H-hello...?" She asked, taking several steps backward.

"Reinesfell...!" He said again, slower and more insistently.

"Alright, this isn't funny!" Reinesfell spat, garnering her courage once more, even if it was really a show of false bravado. "I order you, as Empress of Heimutia, to reveal yourself! I will not be made to suffer foalish prankery in clichéd darkness...!" She began carefully moving around, blindly sweeping an available foreleg ahead of herself to stave off bumping into anything. Her efforts were in vain, however, for she banged headfirst into a high-set overhang of some kind, causing her to let out a sharp grunt of pain.

Internally, she cursed the coating of resin on her horn, for it seemed to completely neutralize her ability to cast any sort of spell whatsoever.

"And yet," Makuta's voice replied from the inky shadows, "is it not said that a being's true character is revealed by darkness? As such, that begs the question; who are you in the dark, young one?" He used his power over illusion to create a pair of large, glowing red eyes in the darkness; long, thing, and angularly slanted they were, as they swooped through the shadows towards Reinesfell, throwing off a small bit of reddish light into the area around them.

"Whoever you are, knave, your filly-fooling illusions do not scare me one iota." Now that she had something to focus her attentions on, Reinesfell stood confidently, glaring accusingly into the artificial gaze.

Makuta gave a slow, hearty chuckle. "Reinesfell, know this: even these darkest shadows of my own creation could hope to hide your fear. Or the truth..."

"Truth? What truth?" Reinesfell demanded, even stomping a hoof for emphasis. "Answer me!"

"That your dreams of empirical expansion and conquest are all for naught. Empires rise and fall like the ocean tides, kingdoms crumble from within, and this? This thing you are attempting, which I believe you call a 'Reich'? They hardly even get that far." The glowing eyes glided closer to her. "And you know it...!"

"That's what you believe!" The Kaiserin snapped back. "But I have my reasons for trying, and the drive, the determination to pull it off...!"

"I am old enough to have seen entire civilizations rise and fall in their entirely, whelp. Yours is no different: successful or not, it will fade with time, as all things do."

"So maybe I fail. Or maybe I succeed, only for it to fall apart later. Either way, I'll have done right by my citizens. And there will always be somepony to succeed me if I fall."

"So you believe. But even so, your ambitions would bear fruit only from the branches of a single tree in the end. And yet, if your plans were aligned with my vision and mind, a veritable orchard would be at your people's disposal. Work with me, assist me in achieving my goals, and you will find that your own endeavors to be blessed with success. Deny me, and you might just find tragedy following in your wake."

Reinesfell shook her head vehemently. "I refuse your offer, and deny you your threat. Any achievement towards my goals that is made not by my own hooves will be hollow, and a liability for my own standing among my ponies. Outsourcing progress in any manner means I would be failing them."

"You fail them all the more by refusing me, Kaiserin." Makuta said, his voice disturbingly low and level. "Bend yourself to my design, and your nation, your people, will be spared. Protected, even."

"No! I will never bend so much as a single blade of grass to your will, interloper. Especially not to someone who won't even identify themselves, let alone do me the courtesy of showing me their face."

"Our time grows short. You will be returned, with time to reconsider your decision before next we speak. I advise that you take the time to do so."

And with that, tendrils of dark energy abruptly seized Reinesfell and began dragging her through a shadow portal in the floor. There was barely time for her to let the ghost of a surprised cry ring out before she was gone. Teridax sighed in response and let the ambient darkness return to a less oppressive state.

"So... my goodwill refused, once again. How disappointing: I expected better of you, Kaiserin. And yet, it seems that all the ponies are good for in an emergency are three things. Freezing up, fleeing in absolute terror, and -- rarely,-- they stand and fight.""

~~~~
(Now)

Teridax smiled internally. She would be easy to manipulate, indeed. Those eager to protect others always were, no matter how stubborn they might be. And Teridax had an idea as to what -- or rather, whom, -- he could use to leverage her into agreeing to his terms. As for when he'd reestablish contact?

Well, that would come soon enough...

~~~~
("Our Town," Northern Equestria)

Starlight was terrified beyond belief. Never, in all her years of study, had she seen, read, or heard of anything hinting at the existence of such a monstrosity as the creature that currently had her by the throat. In desperation, she sent a look at the stallion standing idly in her home. It bore a mixed message, partly pleading and partly accusatory. The nameless stallion, who had been looking idly at one hoof, caught her look and raised an eyebrow in seeming confusion.

The monster that held her caught the look too, briefly glancing between the two of them, and then a lightbulb seemed to go off. He chuckled and turned to the stallion. "Hey, dude," he said, "I think she wants you to help her out."

The stallion's eyebrows furrowed, and he began idly looking at his hoof again. "Oh, come on. Why would I--" He suddenly cut himself off mid-sentence as something seemed to click in his mind, and he facehooved. "Right, right, sometimes I forget..."

Without warning, the stallion was engulfed in emerald fire, which grew to nearly reach the room's ceiling before dissipating. What was left was not a charred corpse, however. Instead, by Starlight's reckoning, it was something far worse.

Where there had been a stallion, there was now the large four-armed bulk of something even more monstrous than the being that had her by the throat.

"You know," the new monster said, "one of the drawbacks to being a shapeshifter is that you sometimes forget what shape you're in. Honestly, it can be fatal sometimes."

"I'll have to take your word for it," the monster holding Starlight replied. "I'm beginning to doubt I inherited the ability..."

Starlight's vision was starting to get hazy, and she was beginning to feel like she was losing fine motor control over her extremities. She must've made a sound then, or done something else to garner the monster's attention, because he suddenly turned to look at her with mild interest.

"Oh... My apologies, miss..." The stranger said, loosening his grip a bit. Starlight gasped mightily as sweet, life-giving air began to flow more freely into her lungs. "That matter aside, I'd like you to explain a few things; namely, about this small township thing you got going on here, and what's so special about it. But most of all, I'm curious as to why I was drawn not just to this village, but to your house in particular, and from the better part of a continent away at that."

His tone was, for the most part, gentle and curious, with accents of excitement and the general anticipation of something coming to a climax after a long wait. With this in mind, Starlight reasoned it was probably best to give them the information they seemingly wanted as soon as possible... At least, as much as she felt they really needed to know without jeopardizing her little project while it was still at its roots.

"A-alright," she choked out, her throat still sore, "b-but it's easier to... show you... than tell..."

~~~~
"...What is all this?" Artaegen asked, staring in amazement at the cave's far wall. What looked like dozens of small screens were arrayed across its surface, almost all of them displaying a colorful and unique symbol that meant little to either of the Hordika.

"They're cutie marks!" Starlight explained, gesturing to them with a foreleg. "They used to belong to the other inhabitants of the village, but -- with their permission and cooperation -- I safely and harmlessly removed them, making each of the townsponies no more or less special than the next. Everypony's equal...!"

"Wait, how is that possible?" Pharynx demanded. "I thought those were part of a pony's soul, appearing only as a manifestation of their special talent, not as a core part of it!"

"Wait, I'm confused," Artaegen interjected as he turned to Pharynx. "What's a cutie mark?"

"'s the symbol that was on her flanks," Pharynx answered, nodding at Starlight, "before she covered them both up with that makeup stuff. Seriously, what's the deal with that? Why an equals-sign?"

"Why, to show that everypony's equal, of course...!" Starlight said, brightly.

"Then why d'you still have yours?" Artaegen asked, concerned, and Pharynx voiced agreement with the sentiment.

"Well, ok, that's a bit complicated," Starlight began, her smile cracking a bit as a hint of nervousness began to slip through. "See, I'm rather talented with magic, and it takes a fair level of skill to use this--" she used her magic to hoist a long bit of wood that had been leaning against the wall of the cave, bringing it closer to the trio, "--with any great accuracy. This is the Staff of Sameness, an artifact of great power whose history I won't bore you with, and as useful as it is, it does slightly affect the minds of those on whom it is used. It makes them friendly and more cooperative, yes, but it also renders their intelligence and mental capacity to be equal with everypony else; as such, if I used it on myself, I would lose all ability to spread the virtue of Equality to the rest of Equestria, and them the world beyond! Of course, once that's done, I'll use it on myself to make it all fair."

"It looks like a wooden tuning fork," Artaegen remarked. "But, like with a really long handle..."

"It's supposed to be a giant equals-sign...!" Starlight snapped, thudding the bottom end of the Staff against the cave floor. "Seriously, haven't you seen a Staff of Power before? They always have some sort of thematic element to them that matches and indicates their general purpose!"

"Alright, alright...!" Pharynx interjected, stepping between the two. "Regardless, I still get the feeling this is gonna blow up in your face once you get outside Equestria, if not sooner."

"Oh, and how's that?" Starlight demanded, cockily.

"Creatures like Dragons, Minotaurs, and Changelings don't have cutie marks that you can remove."

There was silence for several seconds as Starlight's face fell, her eyes unfocused as she considered that thought. "Huh," she said at last, "hadn't considered that... Nevertheless, the spell should work just fine on any creature, of my calculations are correct. I'll still be needing s couple of test subjects, though...!" By this time, she'd developed a malicious grin, and moved to point the Staff at the two of them.

Artaegen and Pharynx hardly had to share a glance as they instinctively synched their counterattack across their mental link. Pharynx moved first, firing a large and sticky glob of Changeling resin from his mouth so that it collided squarely with Starlight's forehead, completely coating her horn and cutting off her magic.

Artaegen, for his part, quickly slashed his palm against the bladed end of his right arm to draw blood, then flung his hand forward as part of the same motion. "G'rah-Visho!" He spat, as the fires of dark magic burned in his eyes. Small tendrils of blood surged from his palm, kept pace with by waves of gravitic energy, and both met with the Staff of Sameness before it had a chance to fall more than half an inch. The Staff surged back to Artaegen's waiting grasp as Pharynx lunged forward and tackled Starlight, ending the small skirmish.

"Honestly," Artaegen said, pointing the business end of the staff at Starlight as he came closer to her prone form, "did you really think we'd-- hold up, what?" He turned to look at the staff, which felt dead and empty in his grasp, though he was unconsciously trying to pour power into it. "What is this...?" He snarled.

Starlight, with Pharynx snarling dangerously close to her throat, chuckled nervously. "Ok, so, I lied about the staff... I'm actually the one who came up with the spell; what you're holding is a bit of random wood I found lying around, interesting as it looks."

"Yeah, you definitely had us fooled..." Artaegen muttered, and idly began squeezing his hand tighter around the useless wood, which began to flex and creak ominously in his grasp.

"Wait, no, I need that...!" Starlight nearly shrieked. "Everything will unravel if you break it!"

"Not my problem."

Without warning, Starlight reared her head back and concentrated as much energy as she could, then snapped her head forward and shattered the resin coating around her horn like it was glass. Pharynx was sent flying as a result, and Starlight scrambled to her hooves.

"Arretje," Artaegen said, hand already outstretched, and a pulse of maroon energy shot along the fake staff's length, then arced into Starlight's chest. The energy blossomed across her form, surrounding her body until she was entirely encased in the stuff, hovering in midair.

"Nice!" Pharynx said, getting up. "What spell was that?"

"Spell? I dunno," Artaegen replied, cautiously stepping out of Starlight's original trajectory, "it didn't feel like a spell to me. It felt... well, it felt more like when I do the Gravity thing, you know? Like, doesn't it feel different for you when you do the suck-y thing you do now? Or the Lightning thing?"

"Well, yeah, but you're holding her in midair, like when we Changelings weave a kinesis spell to pick up something. Or somepony. Besides, I've seen plenty of non-pony races using magic of their own. Take dragons for example: they channel magic through their fire breath and wings. Diamond dogs are notorious for their digging skills, which are magically enhanced. And other races have more indirect methods, usually involving the use of verbal, somatic, or even material components to achieve an effect. Take Zebras, for an extreme example. Their shamans and wisefolk rely on potions and what some ponies refer to as mystic mumbo-jumbo, voodoo or hoodoo, yet I've seen results unmatched by any Unicorn or Alicorn to date."

"Yeah, but this feels like something else," Artaegen continued, unconvinced. He turned to stare at Starlight, only to note that not only had she floated forward several inches, but she had slowly been turning her head to track his movements, her expression still in the glacial process of changing to one of shock and confusion. "Whoa... it's like she's slowed down."

"Yeah, she's practically a sitting duck. And speaking of Lightning..." Pharynx held out his right hands, idly bouncing a bolt of electricity between them. "Should we kill her?"

Artaegen looked at him, then turned to gaze at Starlight for a couple seconds. "Nah," he said at last, "I like her. For whatever reason, she's bound and determined to reduce the entire of ponykind to a single, exploitable level of mediocrity, and entirely of her own volition. She's better off left to her own devices, methinks. After all, I'm certain our ultimate master would approve of this whole operation..."

Pharynx gave him a Look. "I still think we should call this in, at the very least..." He cautioned, holding up two small ebony statuettes carved in the shape of a generic beetle. Artaegen smiled and held up his own pair of stony beetles.

"I was just considering the idea myself," he replied, and they both set their beetles into position. In short order, the magically-enhanced objects had created a visual interface by which they might contact Chrysalis. It was the same means they had used to achieve a more precise line of communication with the Hive, given the distance limitations of their shared mental link: in human programming terms, as the distance increased beyond a certain point, packet dropoff started getting exponentially worse.

"So, you've finally decided to report in, I see..." Chrysalis remarked, once the connection had been established. "Tell me, have you found anything yet? I can only assume that that's why you missed your previously-scheduled check-in, rather than sheer incompetence...?"

"Chrysalis, m'lady..." Artaegen began, "have you ever heard of any creature being able to remove a pony’s Cutie Mark?"

Chrysalis, who had previously been idly examining the clawlike fingernails of her left hand, suddenly stiffened and looked at Artaegen directly. "That shouldn't be physically possible."

"Oh, but it is..." Artaegen replied, his manic grin stretching wider than ever as he gestured to the scene behind him.

~~~~
"You are a FOOL, Artaegen!"

The ill-fated Hordika was swatted unceremoniously out of the space where he had been standing a mere moment ago, sent flying by the force of the swing behind Makuta's strange, scythelike staff.

"Do not use your presumed interpretations of my opinion on a matter as justification for anything so rash ever again, or it will be the last thing you do! Do I make myself clear?!"

Artaegen, winded and half buried in a wall of the chamber, merely nodded vigorously. He was half conscious and fighting desperately to regain the breath that had been knocked from him at the blow.

"And you," Makuta continued, rounding on Pharynx, "I would have expected you to know better than to allow such a blatant disregard for information security, among other things! The both of you nearly jeopardized this entire operation before it had ever truly begun! And yet..." He trailed off, leaving both Artaegen and Pharynx to fear for the worst.

"And yet, you have both served the plan well these last few days, despite your shortcomings. In fact, young Starlight Glimmer might prove an invaluable asset to us if she were to join us. And so, the two of you shall live... for now. To think, however, that a simple Unicorn mare such as herself might succeed where I could not, all those eons ago, it astounds me. Perhaps spite is a much more motivating force than even I realized...?"

"S-spite... Sir...?" Artaegen wheezed, finally getting some of his air back.

"Let us say I have certain insights into the inner workings of Equestrian phycology, gleaned from thousands of years of research on the subject, and leave it at that," Makuta said, turning back to the chamber's central stone table, upon which the magically-produced hologram of a city could be made out. Pharynx was quick to make note of this, garnering Makuta's attention.

"This image is of a city in the Northeast corner of Equestria," he explained to the two Hordika, "known as Manehattan. It is a massive collection of civilian lives the likes of which this world once only knew in its southern hemisphere, before..." He trailed off, and waved his battered right arm dismissively.

"And wh-what d'you intend to... do with it...?" Artaegen asked, staggering over after having extricated himself from the wall. As Makuta turned to look at him, he saw Artaegen taking in a lungful of air, which caused his partially-collapsed chest to abruptly pop back into place, and they both winced at the sound it made.

"Ignoring that," Makuta said, making a mental note that Artaegen had apparently inherited some kind of healing ability from his transformation, "I intend to use Manehattan as a means by which to send a message. For centuries, the Ponies have lived in relative peace, and their nationwide defense capabilities are sorely lacking as a result."

"So you intend to smash the city, yes? Kill everypony in its borders?" Pharynx asked, an approving grin plastered across his face.

"No. I have better uses for the city, by which I will show them their days of languishing in comfort have come to a close. It will be a glorious sunset upon the golden age of their civilization, a prelude to the casting of their people into a new, eternal darkness, with me at the helm. But come, we presently have more important things to attend to."

With that, Makuta turned and began making his way from the chamber, beckoning for the two Hordika to follow. Artaegen and Pharynx shared a look, shrugged, and moved to follow, though Artaegen paused after a mere three steps to look at the holographic image again. His head cocked to the side as he considered the display, gears turning in his head as he idly considered the logistics behind such an undertaking.

"Artaegen!"

The note of sternness in Makuta's voice shook Artaegen from his thoughts, and he quickly scurried off to join the other two.

It was not long before he met up with them once again. He received a suspicious look from Makuta as he caught up, but was asked no questions. Soon, they arrived at the destination that Makuta had in mind, being another chamber in the network of underground tunnels deep beneath the Hive. It was sparsely furnished, save for a singular pedestal, above which hovered the severed horn of King Sombra that Pharynx and Artaegen had recovered.

"Alright, so, what's the plan with this old thing?" Artaegen asked, gesturing to the horn.

"Yeah, you gonna draw out its power to amplify your own or something?" Pharynx added, equally curious.

"No, you imbeciles, I've enough power of my own, for the time being." Makuta snapped at them, then returned his attention to the floating horn. "This... this is just a bit of recruitment to further flesh out our forces." With that, he raised his staff high into the air, where it crackled with dark and arcane energies. "Now, arise, King Sombra, that you might once more plague the inhabitants of this pathetic world with the scourge of your dark desires...!"

He slammed the butt of his staff into the ground then, and the horn was bathed in the power he had collected, infusing it with his might as he worked to bend the smaller artefact's magic to his own will. Upon the surface of the pedestal, a magical circle was scorched into the surface by skittering bolts of arcane energy: the resultant shape was that of a circumscribed letter "M", with a line scored horizontally through the entire thing, and with smaller writing bordering the inner limits of the circle itself. The moment the circle had been completed, shadows erupted from it, engulfing the pedestal and horn in a violent maelstrom of living smoke, which seemed content to persist as such for the time being.

"Fear not...!" Makuta declared, though Artaegen and Pharynx had already taken several steps back, their hackles raised. "This is merely the beginning of the process: the rest will take time. In the meantime, I have another mission for the two of you: hopefully, you won't make a mess of it as you almost did with the last one."

"Oh?" Came a new voice, albeit one that was familiar to the three of them. "And where, pray tell, do you intend to send them, without so much as informing me first?"

All eyes turned to see Chrysalis entering the chamber, swinging a length of silver chain in one clawed hand. The end she swung split partway along its length into several shorter chains, each ending in wicked bundles of spikes, like a metallic echo of a cat-o'-nine-tails. The rest of the chain wrapped around her torso multiple times, terminating in a small hand-sized sickle that hung at her left hip.

"Ah, Chrysalis," Makuta said with a chuckle. "You've finished forging your weapon of choice, I see. As for where I am sending these two, need I remind you who owns whom in this situation...?" Chrysalis' eyes widened momentarily at the venomous tone he'd put into those last few words, her steps halting, and she immediately backpedaled.

"M-my apologies, Lord Teridax, I forgot myself. I've invested much in the empowering of these two, and I would be loath to lose the strength they provide our forces should they fall."

"An understandable sentiment, but do remember your place in the hierarchy from here on."

Chrysalis nodded sheepishly, then turned her attention to the swirling darkness at the center of the chamber. "And if I might be so bold as to ask...?" She began, gesturing to it with her chin to signify the unspoken question.

"I am in the process of reviving King Sombra," Makuta replied, dismissively. "However, it will take some time to complete the ritual. As such, I have decided to send these two Hordika out to retrieve another asset to my plan, one who will be of great value. They will be requiring a new set of communication stones on this mission, seeing as you allowed them to leave the prior set with miss... what was her name? Starlight Glitter?"

"Glimmer," Artaegen supplied, garnering less-than-favorable looks from Chrysalis and Makuta.

"Regardless," Makuta continued, "that is how things currently stand."

"I see," Chrysalis answered, stroking her chin. "How soon do you intend to send them out?"

"The prospect of 'immediately' would be most preferable, Chrysalis. Failing that, however, I intend for them to begin with the greatest possible expediency."

"If you so wish, master..." Chrysalis began, bowing to him somewhat, "it shall be done."

"Uh, not to interrupt, but..." Artaegen flinched slightly under the returned attention of Chrysalis and Makuta, but pressed on. "Where, exactly, are we going on this mission?"

There was a brief silence in the chamber, before a slow, dark chuckling sound could be heard from the armor housing Makuta's presence. "Tell me, young Hordika," he said at last, "have you ever heard of... Tartarus?"

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long folks. Had a bit of distraction mixed with writer's block.