...in which Darkness reigned supreme

43 Days until Ascension

Twilight couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning side to side in constant thought. Not even the ultra fluffy mattress she had in her room would help. She had so many questions. "What happened? What did Sheol take from Luna? Bloodshed and war? There's nothing in the history books, not even the most ancient records I could dig up. Everything just begins with the Windigos being defeated and then Celestia and Luna come to Equestria. Why is there nothing about Sol, Star, the Primordials, and other stuff like that? I guess it could have been forgotten if it was that long ago, but even still, someone must have some knowledge about what happened. By the Sun this makes my head hurt."

"Having trouble sleeping?" Star asked.

"Star?! But, you're in Canterlot, how are you-"

"Twilight, I have the same powers as Luna and Nocturne combined. I'm the Queen of Dreams, remember?"

"Ooooh. Sorry I forgot." Twilight mentally kicked herself for forgetting.

"Anyways, you want answers, correct?"

Twilight nodded.

"Very well. It all happened ten billion years ago, a very long time before the Windigos came. Sheol had plans to conquer Equestria and beyond. But first, he needed to rally a true army, and to do so he needed a massive victory in order to inspire demons to join him. Some lesser demons such as imps are easily persuaded by charisma, with promises of ascending to greater ranks and power. However, most demons, want a deed that proves that this is a leader they should follow."

"So what did Sheol do?"

"First let me tell you a story, about how two races were united under one banner. During the Divine-Primordial war there were two who were arch-enemies. Azur'rath, god of the Void, and Asgorath, Creator of Dragons. Near the end of this war, Azur'rath had managed to capture Asgorath and imprison him in a dimension known as the Astral Plane."

"The source of all magic and the space between the planes of existence!" Twilight blurted out. She covered her mouth with her hooves. "Forgive me Star, I did not mean to-"

"It's alright Twilight. With your intellect and knowledge, I would expect you to know a little bit about what I'm describing."

Twilight blushed in embarrassment.

"Anyways." Star resumed. "Asgorath was imprisoned in the Astral Plane. He became its guardian, making sure the fabric of reality was stable, and that no one tried to tamper with it. It was here that he created the first dragons, the Astral dragons. They have no wings but instead move with their minds, for the Astral Plane is a place of knowledge and will-power."

"Sounds lovely, although I would probably never leave if I went there." Twilight was fascinated with that one had to use their minds to move instead of motion.

"Oh trust me, I wouldn't either." Star and Twilight both laughed.

"Among these first dragons, Asgorath created his own children who would guide the dragon race in his stead. Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon of Order, and Tiamat, the Five Headed Dragon of Chaos. However things didn't go so well between them."

"Oh yeah! There was a massive civil war between the chromatic dragons and the metallic dragons. Ember mentioned this a few times in discussion but I didn't think it was as bad as she described."

"Nope, it was worse, a LOT worse." Star emphasized.

"Oh..." Twilight sheepishly looked at the ground.

"But let us not dwell on it. During the exact same time, Azur'rath tried to create a world for his own species of mortals, but it collapsed in on itself and the debris shot off at the speed of light. To prevent any damage to others, Azur'rath created the Void, and he locked his failed creation in it. He was very sad too see this happen. It was after that he didn't try creating anything again for a time. He thought to himself that he would always fail at creating. Keep in mind, Azur'rath is a Dark god, he's not evil, he's more attuned to destruction than he is to creation. He was a warrior, not a builder. He was created to fight in the Divine-Primordial war."

"I feel so bad for him. He could really use a hug. I bet I could give him some confidence back."

"I bet you could." Star chuckled. "Fortunately, you don't have to. It was one day a certain goddess was wandering through the Astral Plane, when she came upon the gate to the Void. Her name is Melindi. She entered and found nothing but large asteroids of pale rock scattered everywhere, and it was here she found a lonely Azur'rath, sitting in the center of it all. She recognized that he was lonely and tried to cheer him up. Azur'rath turned her away but she didn't give up so easily. Day after day she visited him, and eventually, he started to come around. Eventually, he started to have feelings for her. I think you know where this is going Twilight."

"Did they get married?" Twilight asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Yep, they got married. It was after their marriage that the first Azur were created. Immortal beings who live in the Void. They also had direct children which are known as the 'Four Patrons', however they don't have names, rather they have titles. There's the Whispers in the Void, the Composer of Strands, the Eater of Worlds, and the Instrument of Desire. They also had a fifth child known as Arwen. Now, the four patrons did not like to share power, they wanted to be the favorite child and have power over the others. This started what is now known as 'The Great Game' in which four houses devoted to one of the four patrons were in civil war with each other. A four way civil war between the Azur."

"So we have two civil wars going on, one with the dragons, and one with the Azur. I don't see how this adds up."

"Trust me," Star assured Twilight, "This is where it gets good. Arwen was walking through the mortal plane, wanting to stay out of her brothers conflict. She had a preferred spot where she liked to rest and relax. A planet known as Veldor. Most of the world was a giant forest with mountains that cut through it. Upon these mountains lived blood-thirsty trolls, however, Arwen didn't know of this. All she knew about the planet is that there was a young, yet strong monk who was followed by seven golden canaries who she had a bit of a romantic relationship with. One day Arwen was walking to meet him when she was attacked by the trolls!"

Twilight let out a small yelp. She was scared. Something about Star telling this to her made it feel like she was a filly all over again. Her brother reading her bed time stories about heroes, princesses, and evil monsters.

"Fortunately, the monk heard the screams and came to save her, it was here the identity of the monk was finally made known to Arwen. It was Bahamut, and the seven golden canaries were his gold dragon bodyguards! They finished off the trolls within seconds. Arwen was truly thankful and now she finally knew who her lover was. Bahamut never wanted to disturb anyone with his true appearance, so he took on the form of a human with eyes as blue as sapphire and glorious platinum hair. Then they got married in secret, for they knew that if their fathers found out, there would be bloodshed."

"Did Asgorath and Azur'rath find out?" Twilight was eager, she wanted to hear the rest of the story. She was scared for these two lovers, who had parents who hated one another. Just like that one book she read. However she couldn't really recall the title.

"Well, a few months later, Arwen got pregnant, and then she dissapeared for a while. She was in the Astral Plane fearing for her life and her father's. Azur'rath sent out his minions or 'Void-spawn' to find her. One of these Void-spawn saw Arwen and Bahamut with Asgorath! She was almost about to give birth and Asgorath had already spoken on the matter. He was okay with it, but when Azur'rath heard the news from his own minions, there was a screech of rage which echoes in the Astral Plane to this day. Arwen knew the jig was up. Bahamut and Azur'rath decided to take up a defensive position and guard Arwen. Azur'rath charged through the Astral Plane, with the intent of killing both Asgorath and Bahamut. Azur'rath finally made it to Asgorath's cave, a cave filled with magic gems, items, and scrolls and books with the knowledge of every spell in existence. Even the ones that have not been discovered by mortals."

"Please don't say they died!" Twilight was on the verge of tears.

"No, no creature died." Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at Star's words. "Instead, the first Void Master was born! Azur'rath was about attack Azgorath and Bahamut when he heard the cries of his own grandson. And then, he saw him. An Azur with four platinum horns and four wings. His scales were of black obsidian, and his eyes were purple He morphed in-between hybrid and full dragon form erratically, finally settling upon hybrid form. Azur'rath saw potential in the child, and he also saw the salvation of both species. Asgorath and Azur'rath put aside their differences and blessed their grandson. Azur'rath allowed Arwen to stay in the cave until her child was fully grown, for he knew exactly what this child would do. A hundred years later, this child had become a mighty warrior. He had already brought down Tiamat, winning the civil war of the dragons and forcing them to reconcile their differences. And then, with an army of unified dragons at his back, he proceded to conquer the four houses and thus he was declared: God-Emperor of the Azur and the Dragons, the Void master. He soon took a wife for himself and a daughter, who was his heir to the throne, and nineteen sons, who were to serve as his generals and closest advisors. All was well, but then, disaster struck..."

Twilight shivered as a chill ran down her spine.

"Sheol somehow entered the Void, killed the Void Master, killed his wife, killed his daughter and burnt the Obsidian City to the ground. That's how he raised an army."

Twilight was shocked. How? How could some creature bring themselves to kill a great hero?

"But all was not lost, for you see, the Void Master had become good friends with Sol and I. When his sons escaped to us and told us what had happened, we were truly distraught. They also told us that Equestria was Sheol's next target, and that we should prepare for war. But what was truly shocking, was that they said, that in the Void Master's dying moments, he gave his soul and his power, to his youngest son. However, his youngest son had not reached the age of becoming, where an Azur is given their name, so they just called him Void. Void became the next Void Master, and he swore vengeance against Sheol. The war that followed was long and bloody, but, in the end, we won. But not without great sacrifice. Void sacrificed himself to banish Sheol to Limbo."

A sudden realization dawned on Twilight. "Wait, are you saying that Sheol is the Pony of Shadows?!"

"Yes, he is when he is not in his true form. He merely used Stygian as a conduit to wreak havoc once more. Possessing Stygian at his weakest, promising revenge against the Pillars for banishing him."

"I knew there was something more to it than just hatred and anger. No pony could grow that powerful on anger and hatred alone."

"Indeed." Star sighed. "That is where the story ends."

"But what about Luna?"

Star froze. A grim expression came over her face. "I am not at liberty to discuss it without her permission."

"But-" Twilight was cut off by Star.

"No more questions. Besides, it's quite late, you better get some sleep. Oh, and before I go, tell no one of the knowledge I have granted you. It's very important that it remains a secret." Star then disappeared without warning.

Twilight was confused but she didn't want to defy Star's orders. Star was gone however, she sensed another presence, but she shrugged it off as her mind laying tricks on her. Little did she know that someone was watching. A massive bipedal creature about eight feet tall, adorned in golden breastplate decorated with numerous runes and symbols from which two horns protruded from both sides of the front of the breastplate, blue leg pieces with what seemed to be adorned with golden scarabs, and a belt with a buckle in the shape of an eye. He held a staff, powerful and ancient. His skin was as black as night, the feathers of his wings were colored red but blue near the bottom which gave off to completely blue the farther you went down his wings, and his hair was like a lion's mane, scarlet red. Two horns protruded from his head, upon his forehead sat a crown adorned with a ruby in the shape of an eye in the center, and he only had one eye, for his left had been lost long ago in battle.

"So this is the one the prophecy speaks of. Very well bother. I trust your judgement on this one."

Magnus the Red, the Sorcerer King, then teleported away, leaving a note for Twilight.

"When the Crimson King hears whispers of secrets he already knows..."

Author's Note

Again, more lore dump. I'm so sorry but better to do it sooner than later. Otherwise y'all wont understand who and what's happening. Trust me, the next few chapters are gonna really pick up the story.