Chapters It was a clear night sky. The stars made themselves known like blinking holes in a black tapestry, their size so infinitesimally small compared to the enormous void they were in. One could develop a phobia from all the unending space.
On the outskirts of equestria a few unicorns were out, concealed tunic rags. Right now they were going to a special area where the princess couldn’t find them, allowing them to experiment with illegal magics that should never be used in the public.
They had finally acquired all the ingredients and knowledge they needed to perform another experiment. One requiring multiple members to perform. One that was considered one of the most dangerous in existence among ponykind.
Their destination was a large building made of stone enchanted to resist the strongest of their experiments and could even withstand the pressure of strength and fire from even an adult dragon. It was a ruined thing, buried underneath overgrown trees, massive vines, and shrubbery. The windows had long since shattered and left only gaping holes of what was once possibly a lively location.
One of the members stood behind to check that they hadn’t been followed. They quickly shut the stone door behind all of them after confirming they were alone.
“Well, that went better than expected,” the stallion at the door commented.
“Alright ponies time take the hoods off. We got another spell to use,” the stallion said as he pulled down his hood.
The stallion had a dark green mane with a blue coat. Some wrinkles made their way through his fur, revealing his advancing age.
When the rest of the unicorns took off their hoods, the old stallion couldn’t help but think of candy thanks to the wide assortment of colors in front of him. They could serve as stained glass windows where they were made of glass. They were in great contrast to the interior. By some luck, the rubble above had collapsed onto each other to make a stable cave-like area. An area lit only by candles or luminous stones brought by the unicorns since there were no cracks for light to come on. All over the walls there were traces of old rituals and spells: Scrubbed runic symbols, scorch marks, uneven dents in the stone, and even some leftover ingredients left to char and rot in the various nooks and crannies.
A young unicorn stallion with a red mane and orange coat went to the elder. “Alright boss we're all here, so what do you get for us?”
The older unicorn used his magic to pull an old satchel out from under his cloak. It was so degraded it seemed to bend, twist, and fragment like an old piece of paper.
“Umm, what is that?” one of the mares muttered.
“This, mares and stallions, is supposedly one of the oldest and rarest spells known. And I’ll be honest; I don’t even have the foggiest idea what it is or what it does.” He cleared his throat. “But whatever it is, caused the royal guards to put me on a hit list.” A lot of the unicorns in the room gasped in surprise.
“D-did they?” The younger unicorn asked, but the elder denied it.
The elder scoffed.“No, otherwise I would have seen them by now.” He lowered the satchel onto the ground and heaved a sign. “Unfortunately, I’m going to be hiding until this whole thing passes over, but as of now this will be the last experiment we do for quite some time.”
A lot of the unicorns groaned and whined Despite the danger they put themselves in there was no denying they enjoyed doing their experiments.. But, because their leader had to go into hiding,now all that fun was gone.
The elder saw their saddened expressions and spoke. “I said for the time being, that doesn’t mean forever,” he specified. “I’ll be back again,” he said with assurance. “In the meantime this is what we need.” He pulled a parchment out of the old satchel with his magic and carefully unfurled it. “The text on this paper is a little hard to translate thanks to its incredible age, but what I can tell is that we need a crystal from the Crystal Empire and both a phoenix feather and phoenix tears.”
The unicorns nodded and began to prepare while the young stallion went up to the elder. “That’s it? Seems so simple.” He spoke in doubt.
“That’s because it’s not. You do realize we’ve tangled with much simpler spells than this and there’s always been a caveat.” The young stallion nodded. “Well here’s our caveat: We need to fuse all three of them together to create a phoenix crystal.”
The young unicorn's eyes widened. “Phoenix crystal?!” he shouted.
The elder cringed from the pain in his ears. “Not so loud, I’m right here,” he complained. He rubbed his ears to clear away the ringing.
“B-but sir creating a phoenix crystal is considered dangerous for multiple reasons,” the young unicorn said.
“I know that but considering the amount of strenuous magics we’ve done, this is nothing short of making a cake,” the elder said in a cocksure manner.
“So that’s all we're doing? Making a phoenix crystal?” The young stallion asked..
The elder shook his head. ”No, this is only part of it. It gets worse from here,” he chuckled.
The young unicorn felt his spine shiver, for some reason he had a bad feeling about all of this. A very bad feeling. After finishing their conversation, the ingredients they needed were put into the middle of the room. Small metal cones were placed at the hooves of each unicorn readying to perform the spell.
“Alright everypony, what we’re about to do is a little more dangerous and a bit harder than what we’ve done so far so we must focus on this a lot more unless you enjoy being burnt to a crisp, understand?” the elder asked as he looked to everypony. The unicorns nodded knowing this was something not to joke about.
Creating a phoenix crystal was considered a very dangerous act, the reason being that its unpredictable nature and forcing so much magic potential into such a small object could end up in tragedy. A very gruesome, very burnt tragedy.
After creating holographic images of the spell instructions in front of the unicorns and preparing themselves for a bit, the elder spoke seriously“Alright we all begin the incantations when I give the mark”
Everyone was growing nervous, with hearts pounding and sweat permeating their coats. They never did something of this level, and they were as excited as they were scared. Just as the elder shouted, the unicorns quickly charged up their magic and fired their spells upon the three items.The ingredients glowed brightly from the infusion of magic, and they all started to shift and twist. The feather and tear began to float and circle around the crystal
“Alright, now we need to concentrate more pressure on the tear and father if we want them to combine stability into the crystal!!”the elder shouted..
The unicorns listened and focused even more of their magic into the ingredients. Now the crystal began to float and collided with the tear and feather, producing a bright flash.. The feather and tear glowed with radiance and produced heat that was singing the tips of the unicorns’ coats. It floated towards the crystal started to spin around it alongside the tear. They started picking up speed, creating stronger and stronger friction in the air, producing even more air and pushing the unicorns back.
The crystal began warping, changing into conglomerate shapes that moved like liquid. The liquid crystal began to expand, moving to one side until the feather and tear smacked into it. The ponies were all grunting in pain, and the walls around them were starting to turn orange from the heat. Two collapsed when their horns burst with the heat of the magic being used. Another was flung against the wall by the sheer pressure of the spell pushing against them, but they endured as best as they could. The crystal engulfed the ingredients like clay covering a toy, initiating the final reaction. The amalgamation started glowing a blinding white and producing sparks that flew in every direction. At first, the sparks weren’t significant, but their numbers began to increase until it almost looked like a fountain was flowing from the warping, central shape.
The heat from the crystal built up more and more by the second turning the closed room into an oven. The unicorns felt the magic waver from the crystal. It was starting to finalize, and all the pressure was slowly being absorbed by the crystal, giving relief to the spellcasters. They groaned and grunted because of the stress.The elder especially suffered due to his aging body.
“Well,we did it.” One of the unicorns said while huffing. They couldn’t help but stare in awe. The crystal glowed and pulsed like a beating heart, but every movement was a gentle hum rather than a violent thump.
The elder scoffed and wiped his forehead. ”Yes. We did. Now, for the actual tricky part,” he said.. The rest of the unicorns stared at him with shocked expressions. They weren’t done! Making the phoenix crystal was hard enough, but what the elder said meant that that wasn’t the hard part. The young unicorn was right, and he gulped nervously. The elder used his telekinesis to lift up his satchel and fully open it. Whatever was within caused the scaldingly hot atmosphere to dip quickly in temperature. Where the ponies were melting, now they were freezing.
What the elder pulled out was a dark blue crystal with a milky-white interior, almost making it seem like it held a ghost within its bowels. Some of the unicorns began flooding the elder with questions regarding the mysterious item. He was quick to answer them and be relieved of the noise.
“This, mares and gentlecolts, is the Wendigo Stone,” he proclaimed as he held it up high.
It produced a strange ambient noise, like distant, violent wind howling as strong as it could to be heard. The noises caused shivers in the group, and it wasn’t because of the cold. THey could feel their fear grow the longer they were in the presence of the stone.
“B-boss w-were d-d-did you g-get that?” one of them stuttered fearfully.
The elder seemed unaffected by whatever spell the stone was casting upon its surroundings. If he was truly afraid, then he didn’t show it.“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve done questionable things more than what we’ve done so far. If you're curious, then just know that I took it from somepony who has expired, and no. I wasn’t responsible.” The elder said as he looked down on the stone then back to the group. “That’s enough questions. I want to see the results of this spell” the elder spoke with hints of anger and discomfort.
He moved the satchel and the stone to the middle with the phoenix crystal. “Alright put the crystal in the satchel,” he said. One of the unicorns nodded and did just that. The elder closed the satchel up and began to speak. “On my mark all of us fire upon the satchel at the same time.” The unicorns nodded to the elder as they went back in place.
On his command, the ponies fired their spells upon the satchel, causing it to glow and pulse and shake around angrily.
“Shields up, everypony. The magics are starting to meld together within the satchel, but it is even more volatile than before, and these are the magics of two extremely powerful artifacts.” He took a deep breath to calm himself. “I’m honestly not sure if we can take the impact that the combination is going to create.” He looked to everypony standing behind the combined dome covering the satchel. “Together, this barrier can resist an adult dragon or two, but even they pale in comparison to what this is about to unleash.”
He had to speak louder and louder until he was drowned out by the screaming of the satchel. It started floating on its own and began to shake more and more violently. The ground started to tremble and milky-white fire and energy began emerging from the magic source. At first, the unicorns could handle the random, raw blasts of raw magic, but the intensity grew more and more; Tripling and quadrupling in strength. They found themselves grunting and straining their bodies to hold in the incantations. What in the world was the elder trying to do?
The impacts were taking their toll as cracks began to form on its surface, but the unicorns would pool more magic into it to repair it as best as they could. The form of the stones collided and melded together within the satchel with no real focus in mind, but the incantations eventually took their effect, and the forms of the two artifacts coalesced into a single point. The elder gasped in shock when he saw the satchel implode upon itself into a bright, white light. Everypony stared at this event until all the energy was eventually released, blowing everything back and obliterating the shield.
The elder unicorn grunted and put a hoof to his head, waiting that the loud ringing in his ears would subside. The adrenaline coursing through him started to subside as well, allowing him to feel the full force of the strain he put on his body and granting him a strong, sharp pain all throughout his being. His vision eventually refocused from the blurred mess it had briefly become, letting him see the others groaning in pain on the floor. He winced from seeing one of the ponies bent over a stone slab that had detached itself from the ceiling.
The elder was more concerned with the others of his group despite the pain he could feel himself.. “Is everpony alright?” he asked.
Another pointed and shouted at something in the room.“Oh my Faust! Boss, what is that?!”
The elder raised his eyebrow and followed the pointing foreleg.He was shocked, to say the least. What he saw made no sense at all. In the middle of the room the satchel was now gone and in its place was a floating sphere. There was no color to it. No shape. Yet...no absence of color and shape. It hurt tremendously just to look at it. He knew it shouldn’t exist, but it was there. It just…was. It stayed there, immobile, defying all common sense. No spells were cast to make it float so...immobile.
“Boss is that what supposed to happen?” one of the female unicorns asked.
The elder took some time then shook his head. “I’m not sure. The parchment stated that the artifact would allow us to perform spells and potential new magic of worldly proportions, allowing us to modify the very fabric of the world itself, but...” The elder used his telekinesis to try and grab the orb but he found that he couldn’t. “Wait that’s not…It’s not there?”
Some of the unicorns looked at him with confusion. “Uhh, boss, what do you mean?” one of the male unicorns asked.
“I mean there’s just nothing there.” They stared at him with more confusion, prompting a groan of annoyance. “What I mean is we can see the sphere right there in front of us, but my magic can’t pick it up as if...as if it wasn’t there…” The elder began to what this thing was if it wasn’t an object. Unless it wasn’t an object at all but, rather, a hole? There was one way to find out, at least, one way he could think of for the time being. Using his magic, he lifted a piece of stone that broke from the ceiling and chucked it at the hole. It flew towards it and then just disappeared. He felt a sudden pressure in his mind but shook it off. This was not the result he was expecting at all.
“What is that? What exactly did we do?” one of the unicorns asked. Stress filled every syllable.
The elder speaks immediately. “I’m...not sure. This isn’t what was supposed to happen, I’m sure of it. I think he might have torn a hole in reality.” Many present were baffled. A tear in reality?!“But, even with the amount of magic pooled together, that shouldn’t have happened.” The elder put a hoof to his chin and started thinking, but that only worsened his growing headache..thing and raised a hoof to it.. This was an incredibly risky action he was undertaking. So many things could go wrong, but deep down he loved it. This was exactly why they all performed forbidden spells: To see just what they were and what they could do!
He passed the hood of his robe through it first, followed by a hoof. “This is strange. I can’t feel anything at all, almost like…” The elder frowned and pulled his limb back out. “I need to check the parchment. There must be an explanation somewhere on it, and if not there then in my notes.”
When the elder left, some of the more curious unicorns moved to the aberration. The young unicorn from earlier couldn’t help but be amazed by the results of their experiment..
“Wow.” He turned to the others. “Can you believe it? We did this.”
“Yeah, but what did we do?” one of the mares wondered.
“Hm? What was that?” The young stallion was sure he had seen something, so he leaned closer and felt something graze his eyes.“Uhh, boss?” he called out.
The elder had been rummaging through his satchel, pulling out a few dozen notes held in a satchel far too small for all that was being pulled out. “What?” he shouted.
Unnerved, the unicorn took several seconds to answer. “There’s something in the...thing,” he said nervously.
“What are you talking about?” the elder said without taking his eyes away from his notes.
“I mean,” the young unicorn looked at the hole then back to the elder. “I saw something move in it.”
The elder stopped and turned to the young unicorn with a raised brow. “What, are you sure?” the elder asked. The young stallion nodded. “That’s not right, nothing should be--“ His voice hitched in his throat when saw something jump out and hit the young stallion in the head. A sickening pop of bone came shortly afterwards from the young unicorn as his eyes rolled back. He fell limply to the floor, seemingly killed instantly. The rest of the unicorns were horrified, screaming in terror and backing away from whatever the culprit was.
Despite the horror the elder was seeing, he couldn’t help but try and analyze whatever this thing was. He saw shapes vaguely resembling bony hands with glowing white veins pulsating through them.
This thing was just unnatural; it defied logic because it shouldn’t be alive at all, and yet it stood before them all. It moved its head from side to side making wet pops, and then it spoke. “I’ve pondered over time whether the unicorns have evolved their magic to greater heights or they've degraded over time.” Its voice was deep, guttural, and echoed deeply. It sounded ancient.
“I-it speaks!” One of the female unicorns shouted.
“But what does that matter? I came back, finally! And I must stretch my form.!” It bolted about, faster than anyone could follow.. It moved with grace, seemingly dancing with twists and turns. The unnatural beast returned back to the middle as if nothing had happened. The elder was about to speak but to his horror watched as every pony casually fell to the ground, dismembered and cut into pieces, left in pools of red.
The elder can only register the need to scream as everyone he knew had died in the blink of an eye. He couldn’t believe it! This had to be nightmare. He wanted to wake up soon. He needed to! Maybe this was Luna toying with him? He felt something warm touch his hoof, and looking down he saw the spreading pool of blood he. This...this was no dream. The elder’s breath stuck in his throat, and he spun around to get as far away from this place as possible. He didn’t get the chance as a boney finger became lodged in his cranium.
The beast chuckled, enjoying the shocked look the elder was giving. t“Let’s see what I can learn from you..” It chuckled again. A loud ‘boom’ resonated in the enclosed chamber, and the elder became limp. His green coat became paler until his body was fully lifeless. The entity pulled its finger back and wiped the viscera on the elder’s coat, slightly disgusted.“Thank you for your help in guiding this lost wanderer. You must see your life as a worthwhile investment, helping strangers you’ve never met before. .” It produced a guttural, garbled laughter as muscle and sinew started growing across its body, filling in the gaps and holes.
Its chuckles eventually subsided, and it turned back around to the thing that brought it here.“I managed to hitchhike on their spell, but I can’t have anything else coming out with me, let alone it ” He grabbed the edges and pulled them together, visibly struggling as he put his new muscles through their paces. Finally ‘gone’, the creature sighed in relief. “Takes care of that. Now is the time to leave.” As he took a step forward, he heard light breathing. It came from the red-maned unicorn lying on the floor, barely alive. “Ahh still alive, are we?” It pondered silently. “I could kill you, but I’m busy being free. You can have your fun there, although...”
He raised a hand over the young pony, engulfed him in a purple aura, then raised him to meet the creature’s face. The unicorn’s eyes slowly fluttered open. He immediately began screaming in terror, making the entity quickly grab his muzzle closed with two hands.
“W-what in the name of Tartarus are you?!” The young unicorn yelled in terror.
While the yelling was annoying, hearing the pony incite the name of ‘Tartarus’ was chuckle-worthy to the entity. “I am...the Chaos King, and I am here to take Equestria as my own, as should have happened the first time!” He dropped the young unicorn on the floor causing a pained grunt. “But...perhaps I was too hasty in my actions. I haven’t been out in a very long time, you see.” He cleared his throat. “I need information, and you will provide it for me until otherwise.” He smiled, revealing his row of sharpened and crooked teeth.
—————————————
His heart pounded his chest. The fear was getting worse by the second the longer he stared at that grin. It was an awful, unnatural smile with so many crooked teeth. Even his nightmares weren’t so twisted.
The young unicorn could hear the guttural growl coming from its throat. The grin slowly started to flip into a displeased frown. It was getting annoyed by his staring.
“If you're done staring I suggest you get moving. I have a world to...change.” The two exchanged silence, irritating the creature more. “Now tell me where we are!” Chaos ordered angrily.
The young unicorn took in a deep inhale in an attempt to relax his nerves. It worked somewhat. “I-I don't know...” he gulped as its eyes were upon him.
”Don’t know…?” Chaos narrowed his eyes at the unicorn. He bent down to his level. “That simply won’t do, and also it makes no sense.” He crapped an arm around the neck of the stallion, terrifying him even more. The pony followed every intricate movement. “You see, you are here. So, clearly you know where you are,” he said calmly. ” I am a king, or a future one if you want to be pedantic.” He smiled, displaying his sharp teeth. “As a king’s aide, I would be certain that you would know where we are. You’re not going to be leaving any time soon, nor will you be dying either. So, I’ll ask again.” The entity dug his fingers into the stallion’s delicate flesh, inciting a muffled cry of pain “Where. Are. We?” He said in a terrifyingly calm and venomous tone.
The young unicorn was about to hyperventilate at this point. This creature might say it wouldn’t kill him, but every part of his being screamed in terror of that inevitable scenario.. “I d-don't know e-exactly but, but I k-know we-were close to C-Canterlot,” he stuttered out.
The young unicorn felt the fingers leave his neck; he moved his hoof to rub it gently, afraid that any sudden movements could put him in danger. Only a little blood had trickled out, but his relief was ruined when he was taken off the ground unexpectedly, inciting a yelp.
“Well it’s time we make due with what I have,” the Chaos King said as he made his way out. However, there was a problem.
“W-wait! How are you going to get through? It’s too small!” The young unicorn shouted. Chaos snarled in irritation and rubbed whatever it was that served as kis skull. He was thoroughly annoyed by this unicorn constantly shouting! ...But, if he was honest, it was better than the complete silence he had grown accustomed to, or lack of the existence of sound and no sound in its totality.
The king stopped right in front of the exit. The unicorn was right. It was too small for his frame, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t force his way out. A snide grin grew across his face. An ethereal dark purple light grew in intensity from the palm of his hand, although it flickered like an angry flame rather than laze about like a spell orb. The creature pulled his arm back, ready to launch the orb at the entrance.
The young unicorn raised his brow in surprise. He scampered forward, trying to stop the self-proclaimed ‘king’. “W-wait what are you-?! No don’t!” He was cut when the chaos king smashed his fist against the wall.
A wide crack formed across the wall, spreading cracks throughout and destabilizing the structure. Even the spell they had all created to maintain the structure’s strength was starting to give way.
The young unicorn gasped in response. This creature’s power surpassed a dragon’s? “Oops, I shouldn't have held back too much.” He was holding back?! “Although I suppose I shouldn’t have underestimated the wall at the same time.”
The king reeled back his arm once again and smashed his fist against the wall, deepening the crater and causing cracks along the invisible barrier. He continued to pound at it, wary of the possibilities that could come with him using his full power so quickly, but he didn’t have to worry at all. THe barrier and the wall had both come down in just three extra hits. Five in total. The massive labs had just crumbled away with the last strike when the barrier collapsed, leaving a cloud of dust behind it.
Chaos King chuckled with enthusiasm, liking the results. Both the unicorn and the king turned around as soon as they saw the magic begin dissipating and crackling violently. “H-he punched the w-wall so hard that the m-magic is starting to distort…” the young unicorn whispered quietly to himself.
The creature smirked and stared at its fist. “I’m a little rusty, or magic is strong here. Either way it just means I need to work out and get the dust off this form.”
He lifted his other arm and smashed his fingers into the dirt. The purple glow returned, muffled by the brown bed it had entered, and the ground began to shake. The land began to split as the light grew further along the cracks like a pack of giant worms.
The young unicorn gasped and grabbed the creature’s arm. “W-what are you doing?!” He shouted again whilst shaking the appendage.
Chaos king began laughing loudly. “This, servant! This is how I’ll change the world!” He shouted with glee and laughter. He bolted, without warning, into the dense forest surrounding the ruins.
The red maned unicorn was surprised at how fast this abominable creature was. His speed was anathema to his size. Everything about him just felt [i[wrong. The stallion instantly knew why the king was running, or at least he thought he did, because everything became white and he lost consciousness.
Chaos King laughed loudly as he saw the shockwaves fling the stallion’s body violently forwards. The creature used his massive arms to catch and keep the young unicorn from harm as his massive body crashed through and destroyed many trees in the process. The entity tumbled on the ground a good several dozen feet until he was on his back, he moved his arms away from the servant to check if he was still alive. To his joy he was, to his disappointment he was unconscious. Chaos king looked up and smiled. There was a billowing plume of smoke rising to the sky from the ruins. He laughed wildly at the beauty before him.
“Ah, pain! Sensations once again! I yearn to explore the delicacies I have been offered once again.” He chuckles again as he stands back up, he feels the wind touch his flesh and graze through his silver mane.
Before he could leave he took this moment to breathe in a large amount of fresh air into his new lungs. It was a sensation he had not felt for a long time and he enjoyed it. He already knew that he didn’t need air to stay alive but still it was a welcoming sensation he missed.
Then he leaves the area with the unconscious unicorn in his arms.
——————Canterlot
This was the day, the day that Twilight would become a true princess, but, for an odd reason, she felt very uneasy. Moreso than when Canterlot was invaded. She was currently outside of the castle on one of the balconies enjoying the cool night air that ruffled her fur tentatively, but even this didn’t help calm her. She watched the night sky gradually shift into a solid black while the sun was rising from the horizon. Celestia was raising it slowly, probably because of the ordeal they had all gone through.
After 4 minutes, a soft, orange glow grew from the horizon. It was a beautiful sight and was something the young alicorn never really grew tired of seeing. An unintentional smile took away the nervousness and unease she felt, replacing them with a calm and warm demeanor accentuated by the heat the sun was giving her.
A white flash interrupted her relaxation, painfully blinding her and inviting a grunt when she covered her face. The sun never did that before. Risking opening her eyes revealed a rising plume of smoke tinted with an unnatural purple haze far in the distance. Several of the trees had been flung into the air and were crashing back down like hammers. Twilight was speechless. Her uneasy feeling had returned even stronger.
Twilight’s eyes widened and she braced herself as her body was suddenly hit with an invisible wave of pressure. It was strong, so strong that she actually skidded back. The mare didn’t like the wave that washed over her. It was likely that the princesses had felt it too and that there would be plenty of witnesses. The alicorn had heard of unicorns performing illegal and dangerous experiments in the forests. Perhaps this was one of them going awry.
The wave immediately disappeared; Twilight was shaken and her heart was pounding hard against her chest. That was a powerful shockwave despite it being so far. Just what in Faust's name were they doing?!
——————3 hours later
Celestia left her sister in charge of handling the inevitable wave of terrified and malcontent subjects, freeing her to accompany her guards to the purported site the explosion occurred at. The royal guards were dotted about the landscape, inspecting the debris and damages to the general area. The trees around had been completely destroyed, leaving behind just shards of their trunks and stumps and a scorched ground. Pegasi were scouting the area and surveying the ruins that had once housed several spell casting nights among friends and enthusiasts. All that was left now was a collapsed heap of rocks and plantlife. It wouldn’t be long when these ruins would vanish beneath the greenery, the princess thought.
“What do you have to report, sergeant?” Celestia asked.
A unicorn guard with a silver wing adorning his left shoulder immediately turned about and saluted. “Well, from what we’ve gathered so far, it seems that there was some kind of illegal ritual done here.” He became silent and looked around nervously. “I...we don’t really know what kind of ritual it was. We haven’t found anything under this ruined building apart from the mangled corpses of the unicorns here.” He pointed to several medics crawling out of a hole dug by the earth ponies with the corpses in tow.
“Were they killed by that explosion?” Celestia asked.
The guard shook his head. “No, your highness. They were killed by something more physical .”
Celestia raised a brow and looked to the smoking heap. “A summoning ritual? Binding ritual?” she wondered.
The sergeant shrugged. “I’m not sure. Like I said: We don’t know what they were doing here, and the items we recovered that weren’t completely destroyed pointed towards more harmless spells and the like.”
Celestia tapped the ground pensively. “So...they were performing spells that were forbidden, but mostly harmless at first?” She nodded to herself. “In such cases, doing them outside of Canterlot is somewhat acceptable since they won’t be hurting anypony.”
“And they accept the responsibility of their actions,” the sergeant added with a somber tone.
“Can I go into the ruins?” Celestia asked.
The guard shook his head. “I’m sorry, but they’re far too unstable for a pony with your...um...size? To be able to go in there and not get crushed by the collapsing debris.” He shrunk away the more he talked. Celestia’s eyes felt like burning daggers.
“Fine, but I’m going to survey the leftover magic from the outside,” she pouted.
Rubble and wood shards fell aside of her hooves, and the guards stepped aside when she came by them. Standing in front of the ruins, the princess could hear the stone screaming as it stood in place, dust acting like the sweat falling off its brow as it took all of its effort to not just crumble all at once.
The princess wasa quick to begin assessing the magic. With her eyes closed, she could drown everything but the surrounding magic out of her thoughts. Her body glowed with a bright golden light, and her horn became engulfed by a slowly rising spiral. The guards near her remained silent, watching her every action, both eager and terrified to know if she would find something. Celestia’s spell ceased, and she turned to face the remainder of the destroyed forest around her.
“This was a spell, but I don’t think the end result was what they wanted, judging by the corpses,” Celestia explained to the sergeant.
“What do you mean?” he asked her.
“They all died before they could bind whatever it is they summoned, or they simply didn’t know what the spell would do.” She pointed to the forest, along a trail of trees that had been pushed to the side. “Whatever they unleashed fled into the forest. I don’t know what it is nor if it’s intelligent, simply scared, bloodthirsty, or a various combination of all of these.” She turned back to the sergeant, a fierce anger permeating her features. “Send the pegasi to survey the area. I want to know what they find and where.”
—————
A loud crunching sound followed by a loud ‘yelp’ had broken the natural silence of the forest. It was a Timberwolf that had its wooden head become nothing but smashed splinters. The dark magic permeating its being was not restoring its body. Rather, the dark magic was feeding the greater beast that had defeated it.
His maw was wide open and inhaling the magic like a vortex, and the king slurped it all down like a noodle. A soft green glow came from his body as he let his meal settle in. “A very delectable treat.” He chuckled. “Now then.” He dropped the unconscious unicorn on the floor. “Servant, wake up.” He lightly kicked the unicorn in his sides.
The young unicorn groaned in pain. Using his hoof to gently rub his ear to dull out the painful ringing noise, he was quick to tense up when he witnessed who was looking down at him with annoyance. He was going to scream, but the king anticipated and clamped the unicorn’s mouth shut with his hand. “Will you stop screaming for once?! I’ve barely come to this world and you're making so much noise!” The king sighed and dragged a hand across his face.” I will let you go, but scream once and your head rolls, understood?” The young unicorn nodded in response. “Good.” The beast let the pony’s mouth free.
The unicorn shook his head a bit then looked up at the king. “W-well you got me. W-what now?”
The King smiled and crossed all four of his arms behind his back. “Now, servant.” He chuckled and turned his back to the young unicorn. “We are gonna stop by my old hideout -if it still exists-, pick up a few things, then begin planning,” he chuckled loudly.
“W-what are w-we planning?” the unicorn asked.
Chaos suddenly appeared in front of the young unicorn frightening him in the process because that smile was in his face. “Take the world as my own you fool! Equestria is mine, the only king who should rule it!” The king shouted with glee again.
“W-Why though?” He paled as soon as the Chaos king glared.
“Why… I already said you welp it should be mine…”
“B-but I don’t understand. W-what do you mean yours?” he asked despite the glare.
“I mean it's…” Chaos King’s angry and proud expression melted away almost instantly. He couldn’t come up with a proper answer and started to think. The pony was right. What did the king mean by the world being ‘his’? The king shook his head and growled. “I-it doesn't matter. What is mine will be mine.” He stood back up at his full height. “Now I must ask, little unicorn. Is the country of Saddle Arabia still a thing?”
CO author the psychopath.
———
Disclaimer: Mlp and characters from other animes are not mine.
He was genuinely happy. Chaos felt the heat of the sun being absorbed into his skin. After being trapped in that damnable void for so long that the sun seemed like a distant dream, now he was actually here free at last!
“It’s so hot! Why are we doing this?!” the servant complained.
Well, there went his enjoyment…”Because, servant, I left something there that I need to pick up.” The chaotic king spoke in an annoyed tone.
“B-but why couldn’t we take the train?! Do you have any idea how far saddle Arabia is?!” The young unicron shouted.
The king growled in annoyance. “Yes I do but do not care. If I were to be on the train I would attract unwanted attention. I don’t need the publicity yet. So that is why, servant, we are not on the train. So quit complaining already!” The king shouted.
The unicorn was panting a lot, with sweat drenching his fur. “T-then why didn’t we teleport to the city? Why here in the desert?!”
“Because a lot has changed. My power can only do so much and I only teleported here by memory. There used to be a town but it’s no longer here.” He sighed.
The unicorn spoke again, straining through his exhaustion. “Then can we least stop by a town? I need water and proper clothing! I can’t survive on just my cloak! It’s black and it’s attracting more heat!”
The king snarled. “Shut up already! I’ve had it with your complaining!” Chaos halted his movement and slammed all four of his hands on the ground causing dust to rise. His palms glowed with ethereal purple flames. He raises his arms holding large chunks of sand that do not fall by even a single grain. Instead, the sand started to swirl towards the center of his hands, forming into a vortex.
The sand underwent a transformation, slowly gaining the same coloration as the flames. Chaos king turned around and dropped the mass back onto the desert in front of the young unicorn, startling him.
When the purple flames extinguished, the sand was gone and in its place was a set of clothing designed for the desert. Black boots, white turban, and a white coat designed to withstand sand storms. The young unicron looked up at the king stunned.
“W-why are you?”
“Don’t get sentimental. You are my servant and it would be wasteful if you were dead. Now hurry and change, if we want to make it to the nearest town,” the king said dispassionately and left the stallion stunned.
The young unicorn wasted no time and quickly changed into his desert wear. He caught up soon after with the chaos king who now had a black cape around his back,
As they began trekking the sand, Chaos spoke up: “I never got your name, servant. What is it?”
The stallion was honestly surprised. He didn’t expect such a question, but he did reply. “Dooley. Archive Dooley.”
“Archive Dooley, a very unique name. So you bear knowledge I presume?”
“Well...I do have a tendency of forgetting things so I keep most information in notes.”
“Hmm. Then where’s your satchel?” Chaos king questioned.
Dooley fell silent briefly but spoke through his embarrassment. “Back in the cave…” the young unicorn said sadly.
Chaos snorted and laughed loudly, to him it was extremely humorous. “Perhaps that will teach you a lesson to keep your items on you at all times.” He laughs once more. It was loud and echoed in the valley. The young unicorn winced from the volume of Chaos King's laughter.
———-
After tediously long hours of constant walking, both the King and the young unicorn had reached a nearby town. The sun was set again and the hot valley was now cooler and much more tolerable.
Dooley looked up at Chaos king with a questioning look. Why were they at a village? Didn’t he just say that he didn’t want any publicity yet? Well, apparently the king had read his mind. “We are here for two reasons, servant: One; we came here to rest temporarily then leave tomorrow. Before you rest I need you buy any supplies necessary for the journey that lays ahead of us” the creature said.
“What’s the second reason?” Dooley asked curiously. The young unicorn's spine shivered as he saw the King's lips peel back, revealing their predatory grin.
“I may have just found our new member,” Chaos King said with a slightly sadistic tone.
———— Evening ————
Evening had dropped over the town. Earlier when they came they realized that it wasn’t just inhabited by ponies but also minotaurs as well. An oddity to Dooley since they usually never traveled the deep deserts. Perhaps some wanted to make settlements to the expansive dessert, he thought.
Chaos king sent Archive to his tasks and an inn for where they could stay. Luckily enough King was able to make bits from the sand for Dooley to spend on the necessities.
The king decided he wasn’t going to use his power, at least until he deemed it necessary. Right now he was strolling the empty streets. Some minotaurs were strolling about, minding their business and never paying the creature any mind thanks to him covering his entire body with the black caps he made.
He was out by himself because he had sensed something nearby, something with highly malicious killing energy. It was the primary reason the king bothered coming to this area in the first place. He followed this energy like a bloodhound tracking the scent of a rabbit. The creature turned a corner and into an alley, following the increasingly stronger energy.
After a few minutes of walking he stopped. In front of him were 4 guard ponies who he’d guess were the law enforcers of this town. They had bronze colored helmets and lances on their side. They stood guard in front of a small stone building, chasing off any who came too close.
The king moved into the shadows, He was now invisible and took a silent step forward to hear what the guards had to say. The malicious energy was very near and was getting closer to where the guards currently stood.
He stops a few feet away and listens closely. “How long do we have to wait here for anyways?” said one of the guards.
“Few hours at best. They said getting a prison cart here was more difficult thanks to the recent sandstorm,” said an older guard.
Another guard pony with fear in his voice.“Well I really wish they would hurry up considering who we have in there.”
The older guard reassured his comrade. “Don’t worry. There is no way Spec can escape. That stone is designed to even keep yaks inside,” the stallion stated.
The king raised his brow curiously. Spec was a very odd name and he didn’t think whoever this being was would have such a thing. Either way he could sense this spec closing in to where the guards were
Another stallion spoke, cockiness filling his tone. “Tch. I don’t get why you guys are afraid at all. I can take on spec with my lance .”
The older stallion shook his head disapprovingly and scowled. “Do not assume that your lance can take him down. I have met many like you who have perished by this monster due to underestimating him. The fact that we got him is by pure luck.”
“Tsk sure luck had everything to do with it.” The stallion said with sarcasm in his voice.
The king could tell that this stallion was foolish and drunk on his own ego. The king scoffed. This fool had no right to boast.. That was the king’s job and his only.
He watched as the cocky stallion went to the stone prison once it had finally arrived and used the lance to tap the wall. “Hey Spec. You there?” He said in a smug tone. “Hope you realize that you're taking a one way ticket to prison. What do you say to that?”
The older stallion scowled and trudged next to his cocky comrad. “What are you doing?!” he demanded as he got in front of him.
“What? You said behind a wall. What's wrong with having a little fun?” he said with a smile.
Little did they both know a large piece of stone silently slid off inside. “The problem is we do not antagonize our prisoners, especially ones as dangerous as Spec!”
“I still don’t see that as a problem, sir. He’s scum like the rest,” he said as he moved back into his post.
The older guard growled with annoyance. “And it wouldn’t be a problem not to do it, even if it grabbed you by the neck.” As if cued, a tan arm burst through the hole, moved as quick as lightning, and wrapped around the older guard’s throat. He didn’t even get the time to scream as he was violently pulled back so fast and hard that his skull shattered and his blood stained the stone.
The rest of guards spun around including the cocky one. They stared in horror as they saw the older stallion killed and held suspended in mid air. His body was dropped to the floor head first with a wet splat. They watched as two hands grabbed the edge of the stone and began to push it apart. Soon the walls exploded outwards, causing some of the guard ponies to yelp and jump back.
“I-impossible. That stone was made to even hold yaks!” the fearful guard said in disbelief. All three of the stallion's spines shivered and paled as they heard the giggles of a sadistic monster coming from the dark pits of tartarus itself.
They saw half of his body. His skin was tan color and while his lower body was bovine, the upper half was humanoid. His face was still concealed in the darkness yet the guards could still see two glowing red orbs that penetrated deep into their soul. “Oh it’s not impossible at all, but the thing is I'm not a yak.” Spec moved forwards bringin, his face It wasn’t like that of a bovine at all. It was bizarrely stretched and the skin looked like it was being forced across his skull, giving him a constant grin.c. “I’m a Minotaur.” He giggled with glee as he charged and grabbed a second guard and twisted their neck completely around.
He dropped the body and grinned, looking for his next target. Spec watched as one of guards was running away screaming leaving the other to stay paralyzed with fear. He grinned almost unnaturally as he charged the runner. He was much faster and caught up easily, he lifted his giant fist and then completely smashed it down onto the guard, bending the helmet inwards like tin and destroying the skull. The body fell and twitched from the shock, leaving Spec to slowly turn around and stare at the last guard who was paralyzed with complete fear.
The King watched with astonishment as Spec eliminated them so quickly leaving only the fearful one. Yes he will definitely make a fine, new member.
Spec slowly stalked towards the paralyzed stallion, grinning at him unnervingly. The stallion moved his lance up out of instinct, but Spec looked down at the lance pointed to his chest while he slowly grasped it. The metal bent under the sheer strength of the minotaur’s grip.
“You asked what I have to say about going to prison.” He moved his hands towards the stallion's head. “I’d say, bring it,” he said gleefully as he was about to crush the skull of the guard.
He stopped midway, his grin vanishing and getting replaced with confusion. The stallion, while fearful, was also confused why Spec hadn’t killed him yet, then he heard the reason: Clapping.
“Bravo Bravo! What a spectacular show!” The guard turned his head to the voice and watched a massive figure step out of the shadows, clapping with giant, clawed hands. “Truly you have done such a spectacular job.” The figure motioned to all the corpses of the guards that littered the floor.
Chaos King considered his reveal to be thematically appropriate, and found amusement in his future follower’s confusion. He probably didn’t expect such a creature to be there, watch the whole event, and then clap in appreciation for the ‘work’ done.
The guard took this time to run. Spec, however, paid no mind as he stared at the cloaked Chaos King, he looked at him with curiosity as if he were a child caught in some act. “Who are you?” Spec asked.
“Me? I am Chaos King.”
“Chaos King,” Spec repeated as if being taught a new word. “Why are you here?” Spec questioned with curiosity to which Chaos chuckled.
“I am here because of you, Spec.”
“How do you know my name?!”
“They said it even when you were locked up,” the king said in a deadpanned tone while motioning to the corpses once more.
“Oh, right.”
“As I was saying.” He cleared his throat a bit. “I am here because of you, Spec. Your malicious killing energy was what made me come here, but I have to question you: Out of all the Minotaurs I've seen, you, however, look quite different, as if you are from another world.”
He watched as Spec frowned. Perhaps this was a touchy subject. He did, however, talk. “It’s a birth mutation, a rare one I’ve been given.” His frown turned back into a grin. “But I learned to embrace it! Lots of Ponies and Minotaurs learn not to mess with me.”
“Is that so? Well then.” He chuckled and pulled back the cloth to reveal his face. Spec was surprised; he wasn’t scared at all by the appearance. He was more intrigued than frightened. “Then I guess I should embrace this too.”
“What are you?” he asked with morbid curiosity.different . And I must ask you, Spec.” The creature moves his hand forwards. “Would you like to join me?”
Spec’s interest had suddenly peeked higher, the King was asking him to join now, his day had gotten even more interesting. “Join you? Why ask me this?”
“Because, Spec,” he began to explain. “As a King -especially one who is new to this world- has to have subjects; subjects of all kinds. A king would usually hand pick someone who interests them and you are what interests me,” the king finished.
Spec hummed for a moment. “What’s in it for me then?”
“Whatever it is you desire. Anything is in my power. For example.” He moved his left hand across the sand, and golden coins appeared within his palm. “I can make you rich, or I can make you much stronger than you currently are.” Spec watched in awe. He then witnessed Chaos King swallow the gold coins. He heard the crunching of metal which was muffled, then he swallowed it whole. “That is what I can do, so what do you say?” He lifted his right arm towards the Minotaur, which he just realized was actually 3 inches taller than him.
Spec looked down at the hand for a few moments. The grin returned and without hesitation he grasped the King’s hand. The King smiled with just as much glee. “I say I’m in, my lord!”
“Good! While we’re here I have to tell you my plan. I have another subject named Archive Dooley, and currently we are making our journey to Saddle Arabia.”
“Why there?”
The creature continues to explain. “I left something over there, something that will make me the king of this world! And he is our guide to that place.”
Spec asked. “So where is he then?”
“Currently he is buying supplies for the journey and buying an inn for us to stay, tomorrow we leave to continue our journey. Grab onto my shoulder so I can teleport us to him.” Spec nodded and grabbed onto the King’s shoulders. The purple flame enveloped them, and in but the blink of an eye they were gone.
———
Archive honestly didn’t expect to be put on a supply run, especially for one who killed his brethren. He did this because he had no choice, and was surprised that the king was generous enough to give him desert clothing and even bits.
Massive amount of bits at that. He’d bought a large amount of food and water that could last them a week, at least that’s what he assumed.. He then rented the best inn this town had to offer and even the best room. He knew it was wise to at least to stay on the king’s good side.
Even after all the purchases, he still saved a good amount of bits despite how expensive the room was. The room had a soft, red carpet, a massive king sized bed decorated with golden paraphernalia and colored silk, a massive window that peered into the dark and starry sky, and there was even a balcony. The last thing was a table with a large amount of food for the ‘guests of honor’.
Sighing he sat down rubbing his hoof against the side of his head easing the throbbing headache, his muscles felt sore from the constant walking in the desert and the shopping spree he had to do, he was just happy that he finally got a break.
He took a deep breath and slowly the tension within his body began to subside. Suddenly he heard a popping noise behind, turning around to see Chaos King along with a slightly larger companion. He stood up. “M-my lord I completed the task you gave me.” The young unicorn said while bowing his head tiredly.
Chaos raised his brow slightly. “I can see that, a nice expanse truly fit for a ruler.” He chuckles a bit then gets on topic. “Dooley, this.” He motions you the Minatuar next to him. “Spec our new member, do try not to be on his bad side. I've seen the outcomes of that and it was spectacular.” He chuckles with slight sadism.
Spec grins and giggles almost like a child. Archive however paled once more.
The fear began pounding his heart again, he can feel Spec sadistic nature as if it was touching him. That smile just by looking at it was a smile of a monster, despite being frightening it wasn’t as frightening as the Chaotic beings grin with all those crooked teeth. He shivered at that.
He honestly couldn’t help but feel slightly fascinated by Spec’s appearance. The face wasn’t bovine like the rest of the Minatuars he saw, instead it was more flatter and less extending, he possessed no horns, none to be seen, instead it was just a bald head with no hair. The skin of his face was tighter to the point he could easily spot his cheek bones. Truly a unique creature.
“Why is he staring at me?” Spec remarks. Which caused the Archive to blink and blush with embarrassment.
“I don’t know, he did that to me yesterday.” The creature replied. Which made Dooley whine in embarrassment.
“Sorry…” the young unicorn apologizes and bowed his head down.
“Eh it fine, I got used to it. Hey, some grub!” Spec voices his excitement for the edibles and meals on the table. He ambled towards it, picking up an apple. “I haven’t had Chow like this in awhile.” He sunk his teeth into the apple, sweet juices flowed on his tongue, taste buds took in the sweeten liquid. It was absolutely delicious to him.
Soon Spec began to eat more portions of the edible on the table, Archive watched with both shock and amazement as he devoured some of the fruits in a quick fashion.
Chaos However watches with amusement in his eyes. “Interesting fellow don’t you think?” The chaotic king quipped. The young unicorn nodded. “For all your hard work today, you may go eat and rest up for tomorrow, consider this your rewards.” Chaos said in a natural tone
Archive looked at him with slight astonishment, he nodded to him and then joined in with Spec in the feast.
Chaos King observed them as they feast. The King while watching had this nagging feeling in the back of his head, like he wasn’t sure about...something, whatever it was he could ponder it later.
Right now he wanted to test something out. Purple flame appeared on his body then he disappeared.
————— 4 miles away from town —————
Chaos King appeared far in the desert valley, miles away from town. The desert was surprisingly cold, which would usually cause discomfort to any ponies.
The creature could hear the distant calls of the wildlife miles away and felt relaxation; Another feeling he had long since forgotten.. The Chaotic King decided he would take this moment to enjoy this experience before he went on with his plan.
After a few minutes had passed, he looked at his palms. The glow of his being cracked through his new body, the lights seemingly dancing within his own flesh. “I have the power to create almost anything from these sands: bits, desert clothing. I wonder?” he lifted the cloak letting his extra appendages stretch out. “Can I create life as well?” He questioned himself.
He lifted his arms above his head, the glows of his hands becoming brighter The ground beneath him began to shake, then a massive geyser of sand began to expand outwards then swirl around. Chaos King moved his four arms to the center, doing this the sand condensed to his hands like a magnet. He hummed as he watched the sand begin to transform, each grain began to change in color turning from yellow to red then to crimson. Soon it was no longer sand but a massive amount of red liquid. He had just created blood from the sand. He concentrated more on the massive floating form of blood as it began to take shape.
First was the main body which was streamlined and thick. Legs appeared sprouting three toes and a long tail with barbed growths above them. Small arms and then hands appeared with four long fingers tipped with sharp claws. The neck formed and a flat and wide head grew atop it Soon the blood began to condense and harden, becoming an ivory white. Bones grew into shape, pushing throughout the liquid. Teeth and claws were now formed. Now organs began to take shape. The heart, the stomach, the pancreas, lung sacks, and the esophagus. Black muscles and tendons stretched from the bones and started wrapping themselves around the new skeleton, forming an extra layer of protection to the vital organs. Then, finally, came the skin. It took on an aspect of scales with the aspect of small pebbles.
Chaos King slowly lowered his creation onto the sand below. The creature leaned its head and tail down as if it were a machine. It displayed no signs of life nor intelligence. Its gaze was blank and empty. Its body, had it not been turgid from its stiff and newly made form, would have been limp and frail, quickly collapsing to the ground when the Chaos King had dropped it down.
Chaos King hummed as he made his way to it. It stood twenty feet high and fifty feet long. It had a viper-like head including the large fangs. He put his index finger on the side of its chest, anticipating the crackling power waiting to be released. He looked at it then grinned. “Rise, Golgotha.” The energy relaxed and went into the beast's heart. It began to beat slowly then built up speed. Blood pumped throughout its entire body as every organ began to activate. Its brain received and transmitted messages for the first time, causing a few spasms in this otherwise imperfect creation. The first messages it told its body was the sustenance of air. Its nostrils twitched and took in its very first breaths of air. Its chest heaved slowly, its eyelids peeled over revealing black orbs with a fire like slit.
A deep primordial growl the like of which hasn’t been heard for a long time has escaped from its throat. Its leg muscles flex as it begins to write itself up, its arms pushed against the sand. Chaos watched with fascination and astonishment; this was the first creature he ever made. Golgotha was a serpent-like creature he made from old memories, and it was amazing to know that he could even create life! He could make an army with these powers and begin the conquering; yet, for an odd reason, he felt a bit disgusted by that notion.
Shaking the feeling from his head, he looked at the beast standing above him, growling loudly. The king grinned and chuckled as the newly created beast stared at him.
“Hungry aren’t you?” he asked.
He got a deep growl as a response. It opened its mouth wide, revealing needle-like teeth. The King raised his brow as his creation lunged at him at lightning fast speeds. Dust was picked up as it made impact, soon revealing the struggling Golgotha. Chaos king used his four arms to hold it back, his feet digging into the sand and stone beneath it.
He growled in anger. “Insufferable beast! I created you and this is how I’m thanked?!” He shouted as he was being pushed back. ‘I guess I can use this as an excuse to test my physical strength.’ The king mutters in his mind as he begins to push back.
Despite his efforts the creature known as Golgotha used the muscles in its legs to spring forwards, making the struggling king drag his feet against the sand. Chaos King growled and used his strength to jerk its head in a different direction making it topple once again. Golgotha groaned but stood up flaring its nostrils and baring its fangs, angry at the chaotic king who glared back with just as much fire.
He yelled, “Come on, creature. I’ll show you your place!”
Golgotha roared with anger, it spun at surprising speeds and lashed out its tail. Chaos King leaps over it, the tail actually cracked the air with a snap, the king landed on his feet and smashed his fist across the beast's face, causing it to jerk its head to the side. Shaking its head, it turned back around and lunged its jaws at the king again, but he sidestepped and threw out a kick, earning another pained grunt from Golgotha.
The serpent creature was starting to get even angrier. Its eyes flashed violet for a second before it spun again, its speed increased, catching the king by surprise. When the creature's tail slammed into him, barbs dug into his skin making him grit his teeth from pain. The Chaos King’s body was lifted from the ground then sent flying, he eventually landed on the sand, tumbling and bouncing about, creating dust clouds with the impacts.
Groaning, the king stood up, refusing to be put down. He felt a sharp pain in the middle of his stomach and chest, the source being a massive, deep cut with puncture holes dotted about his torso. Had he been a normal pony, or perhaps even a normal creature of this world, he surely would have been sliced in half, but his surprise didn’t end there. He was bleeding but it wasn’t red. Instead, black, tar-like liquids oozed slowly from his wounds. It dripped down almost like oil onto the sand. He felt disgusted, and he didn’t like this at all. That place had affected him more thoroughly than he thought.
Thundering steps could be heard as the beast charged at him with its mouth gaping wide, shaking the king from his stupor after briefly forgetting that there was battle. He dodged the incoming charge but landed a slash on the creature's leg, making it screech. It turned its head at him with fierce anger. Chaos King didn’t know why, but instinctively he began to move his four arms in a strange rhythm. It felt like dancing, and it felt strangely natural. Golgotha roared again twisting its body to lash out its tail, the other unnatural entity moved his hands in front himself and grasped his creation’s tail for a nanosecond then instantly the king's body actually flipped over the tail letting it hit the sand and causing a huge dust cloud.
Chaos King was shocked and surprised at what he just did. He had never done this before, yet it was like muscle memory. ‘Why is this familiar?’ he thought briefly before he dodged another strike, moving his body to the side avoiding fanged jaws and retaliating with a slash. Crimson jets sprayed into the sandy floor, and as Golgotha stumbled back, it shook its head from the painful sting, angrily patting its left eye that had gone blind. Chaos King had used his claws to slice at Golgotha’s eye.
Grinning he resumed his strange dance, moving his arms in wave-like motions. Golgotha unleashed another enraged roar and charged at him, again trying to snap its jaws but an uppercut palm strike slammed its jaws painfully shut. Chaos used his extra set of arms to start punching at its chest, creating loud booms, and tiny gusts of winds from the pressure of the impacts. Cracking could be heard as Chaos King destroyed the creatures' torso.
Golgotha went limp as blood escaped from its mouth, in shock from the damage it had just sustained. Chaos King snorted then pushed the heavy creature off him, letting it crash into the sand. Its one eye stared at the king, he saw that there was still defiance in its eye despite the sheer damage it received.
The king growled. “I could turn you back into sand, but no. I’ll let the desert parasites feast on you alive,” he stated in a malicious and angered tone. He turned away from it and walked away. He touched his torso again, the wound slowly closed up almost leaving nothing, there were some slightly darker patches on his skin but that was it.
He had a lot on his mind now, the results were not what he wanted but they were results either way. There was one good thing though, the technique he did while fighting that creature was very alien and yet very familiar. He pondered on that familiarity, but nothing came to mind. It was like that location in Saddled Arabia: he knew it was there but not how . He could only remember vague tidbits, but that was it.
Perhaps going to that location in question would also help jog his memory? Perhaps not, but it was worth the attempt at the very least.
Chaos King hummed for a moment then teleported back to the inn.
Golgotha laid bleeding on the sand, its breathing was painful and difficult, yet still it attempted to stand back up. Although whenever it tried its legs trembled unable to hold its weight, causing it even more pain as it collapsed onto the sand. Its stubbornness to not give up was admirable, but pity could still be given. Soon its energy would be depleted. It couldn stand no more. All it could do now was breathe, with every intake being excruciatingly painful.
Then it felt something, something wet and warm. It wasn’t its blood. Shifting its eye to the side it saw a black liquid clinging to its pebble-like scales, and to its surprise the black substance began to move toward the cut in its leg. The anger it once had was soon replaced with fear as the tarry substance entered the wound. Soon more of this black stuff went into its mouth, despite it being the first thing Golgotha had tasted besides its blood, the liquid indescribable and disgusting.
As the liquid entered its body it felt a surge of energy and pain that was a hundred times worse than its destroyed chest. It screeched loudly and stood up forcefully, muscles flexing, tensing, rippling all around its body. It vomited a waterfall of scarlet into the sand as its bottom jaw began to split, blood gushed from its eyes making it blind. Its chest began cracking loudly, forcing the bones together to heal. Its back expanded then exploded as inky black tendrils burst out and flailed. Then they combusted into purple flame then relaxed onto the creature’s back. The waterfall of blood had finally stopped, leaving the creature to cough up a few remaining drips stuck in its throat. Golgotha’s eyes changed to a swirling purple.
It huffed slowly. The pain was gone and now it had a goal. Its first ever goal ever since it came to life. Vengeance.
———
Of course I’m gonna have some anime moments. I want to make a fun story with horror and gore and anime moments. It may seem like a bad writer's choice and it might be, but I want it to be fun.
Like and revive if you want.
Fire crackled and popped. Such a satisfying sound that could give a sense of calm and euphoria, yet despite looking at the beautiful flame the being could only feel...little…
Chaos King had his eyes transfixed on the little fire pit they made, not saying a word.
Spec was laying down on the sand peacefully out cold, his body drenched in black tonic, save his head. He snored without a care in the world.
Archive was on his haunches reading a book he bought from the small town. Earlier they left to continue their journey while making a great heist: the news of Spec being released spread like wildfire. Guards of both ponies and minotaurs alike searched the streets just to recapture their criminal.
Archive never felt like more of a criminal before. It left a bad taste in his mouth like a rotting apple. It was an experience that he’d never felt. Back when he was with his group before they were butchered, he had stolen some notes from the castle just to perform those illegal spells, and even then he felt like a criminal, but not to this level. His new group were lucky to sneak away without a hitch and into the smoldering hot desert.
During the long journey Archive found Spec to be quite the conversationalist despite his...dark background. He had asked Spec about his condition noting that he had never seen any minotaur that looked quite like him. Spec grimaced but replied nonetheless; it was birth mutation as he put it.
A very rare mutation that's been known among the Minotaur race with a name: Ápnoia. Realizing that word was in the Minotaur dialect, it took the pony time to decipher it. It came up as Apnea. Spec explained to Dooley in a small story that Apnea was a deity among the minotaur race. The god of breath: it was the one who gave the ability of breathing to the minotaurs lending them the power of breath. He then explained that, through unknown means, the god of breath somehow became corrupted with its own power, and it created suffocation. Taking the breath away, he continued to explain that the other gods had to fight Apnea or else the deity would cause every minotaur to go extinct.
Apnea was defeated, and the gods were able to let the minotaurs breathe again. While it was intriguing to learn about the history and story about one of their deities, Archive still wondered why they would call a birth mutation Apnea? Spec again explained that Apnea was different from the minotaur gods because he possessed no horns and looked less bull-like, and Spec looked identical to the god. The Minotaurs feared him because they thought he was the reincarnation of the evil god and wanted to end his life. His parents unfortunately paid the price by trying to defend him...
That's mostly why he’s taken live and lost most of his sanity, because of that incident, he became known as Crazy Spec among the ponies and among the minotaurs. Lípsi Anapnoís, or Breath Taker. It’s a dark history but a known history at least.
Despite that long yet interesting conversation.
The young stallion noticed that Chaos King hadn’t spoken a word. Instead he had a blank look as if he wasn’t listening. The king was mostly in his thoughts.. Thoughts that led to here. The creature had made a small fire pit for warmth against the bitter cold of the desert nighttime. Again hasn’t said a word only staring at the dancing flames.
Archive lowers the book to peek at the distracted creature. He lost count on how many times he’d done this, and at this point may as well be sightseeing.
‘That’s an interesting thought.’ He commented in his head. ‘I wonder what’s got him like this?’
“I know you’re staring.”
The Unicorn jumped. ‘He knew?!’
The King looked at the archive annoyed. “You have a strange habit, am I that fascinating in the eyes of a pony?” He inquired. Putting a hand on his chin.
“I uh...w-well!” Archive stammered with embarrassment, to the creature's amusement. “W-well, I mean...yes, t-there is nothing like you on this planet s-so yes,” Archive sputtered out. Hoping this did not anger the chaos king.
The King hummed then returning to his activity. “I see.”
Archive released a sigh. ‘Well at least he’s not angry at me. I really need to stop making this a habit,’ he thought. ‘Still what’s on his mind?’
Archive started contemplating asking him what was wrong, but a part of him said if he did that he’d risk being turned to paste, while another part said that Chaos King wouldn’t do that as he would lose his only guide.
‘Well, might as well jump the cliff and see what happens.’ Gulping. He took a deep breath to get his mind in order so he wouldn’t stutter like a shy colt. “So you’re majesty,” he called out. Though saying that left a bad taste in his mouth.
The king replied with a hum of acknowledgement.
“I was wondering,” he started. “You’ve been silent for a while, ever since we left that town. Not once have you spoken a word and I was wondering if you’re ok,” Archive asked.
Chaos shifted his eye at the unicorn but not his head. The purple iris glinting from the moonlight, staring intently at the pony, measuring him up.
The young unicorn gulped slightly. That eye just didn’t seem right and it felt like his soul was being pierced by it. Phantom pains began ripping into his head. Sweat began to accumulate on his fur. It was as if Chaos King was using his eye to inflict pain on him. Though that statement was not true. The pain soon dispelled as soon as that eye glanced back to the fire.
The young unicorn released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in., That experience was just unnerving… he felt a bit disappointed somewhat, strangely.
“Why do you want to know?” The king asked, making Archive jump slightly.
“W-well-!”
“Stop,” the King interrupted. “Take a breath and talk to me when you’re better.”
Archive was stunned for the moment but did take the time to clear his throat. “Mhm right,” he began. “When we left the city you’ve been less talkative, now if I’m honest I barely know you, but I can tell that something is amiss, and I’m just wondering what’s got you…” he stopped to think of the right word. “Spooked?”
He hopes that was the right answer.
The Creature didn’t seem to say anything. At first. Until he lifted his hand and pivoted his wrist upwards. Unnatural white veins glowed dimly like the moon light. “Spooked isn’t the word I would describe myself.” Chaos king used his other hand to dig into his hard flesh, then he just ripped a chunk out straight to the bone.
Archive yelped, from the sudden and unnerving scene of the creature casually mutilating itself. ‘Why did he do that?’ he thought.
Then he noticed it. The creature's blood wasn’t normal. It slowly gushed out from the wound then dripped to the sand. Rubbing his eyes with his hooves he took a closer look at the ichor. It was deep black. Not coagulated but just an inky, oily pitch that resembled the darkness of the sky, if a bit darker.
The sand didn’t even absorb it at all. It just stayed there like there wasn’t any space to fit ‘How can any living thing have that…’ Archive shuddered.
“Unnerving is the proper term I feel.” The creature stated. His wrist began to form back, the muscles were also pitch black with white veins beginning to reform.
Archive breathed steadily. “S-so you didn’t know at first?”
Chaos shook his head. “No...that was until yesterday night. I was testing my powers, seeing what I can do.” He smiled. “It was amazing at first, watching every drop become the crimson water that all life forms have. I used my memory to create life… it was beautiful.” He then scowled. “My creation turned against me, and it was then I found out what happened.” He jeers. Violet flame began to brim on his silver hair.
“That...Faust forsaken place changed me more than I imagined.” The flame extinguished. He scooped up the sand with his blood on it and stared at it.
Archive listened to the creature. For an odd reason, he felt sympathy for him. A thought came. ‘What does he mean it changed him? Was this not his original form?’ Archive wondered. “Where did you actually come from?” he inquired.
Chaos king was deathly silent at first. “I…” he paused for a moment. “I’m not sure at all. But I will tell you this…” he sneered. “Tartarus is nothing but a sting compared to that damn void...If it can be called that…” he growled and threw the sand and blood into the fire.
Unexpectedly, the fire exploded, turning from a calm, amber orange to a violent purple.
Archive yelled in surprise and jumped back. While Chaos King reeled back from the surprise. “My blood did that?”
Spec however was still asleep and didn't even realize what happened. However a piece of flame landed on his tunic and began to spread.
“Uhh...” Archive stammered. “How is he still asleep?”
“I’m not quite sure,” the creature replied back as he extinguished the flame.
———————————————————————
In Equestria, the Princess of the Night was perched on her tower like a silent guardian, watching above the bustling city below.
Despite it being night, Canterlot was still bustling just as much as in mornings, if not a bit more. Some night restaurants and stores were open allowing the citizens to buy what they needed and eat what they desired.
No matter how many times she’d seen over the past years since returning, she could never stop feeling tranced by the sheer beauty of it, yet despite this a lot was weighing on her mind.
After that explosion a few days back she was shaken to say the least. When she saw it for the first time she admittedly thought that an undiscovered, dormant volcano erupted. Only to find out later that it wasn’t the case as soon as those unnatural plooms of purple smoke began to spread in the air like a virus.
It was fortunate that no pollution traveled to Canterlot otherwise there might have been a problem. Poor Twilight. It seemed like that poor mare could never catch a break, worse, they had to postpone her coronation until this whole ordeal was over.
What she did learn, though, is that the explosion was caused by...something. It was also responsible for the slaughtering of those unicorns. Yes they did illegal magic, but that didn’t mean they deserved death. Not like that.
She shuttered remembering their burnt, charred corpses they had severed limbs.
She gagged from remembering that. She’s seen worse but she didn’t know why that was unnerving or why it’s caused to be in this action.
Clearing her mind her stomach quelled back to normalcy. Whatever creature could be so cruel to do that was something not of this world, it didn’t belong.
Yet perhaps she shouldn’t treat this creature as an evil being. It could, for all intents and purposes, just be a confused and frightened being that was taken from its home, which was why it killed.
Sighing, she returned to her room to begin her work. She laid on her bed and closed her eyes, her horn beginning to glow and hum a translucent blue that sparkled and twinkled like stars.
In her field of vision, she didn’t see the darkness made from her eyelids. Instead she was traveling at millions of miles a second and she could see colors that resembled distant stars flying past her, leaving trails behind.
This was always her favorite part. What seemed like hours was only a second. ‘The realm of endless dreams’. She smiled.
It was a realm Luna frequented all of her nights. The realm had a beautiful dark blue hue that resembled her mane with twinkling stars that complimented the beauty of this realm.
At first it may seem like empty space however as soon as she took a step a River appeared. A river glowing like the very moon itself. Beauty itself couldn’t describe what she was looking at.
The Princess of the night lowered her intangible horn into the liquids which were as warm and mending as the neighboring sun, leading a sigh of relaxation to escape her smiling lips.
Everything came into view; She saw every dream that was occurring by the second. Her mind was strong enough to deal with the overwhelming information that was being sent to her. She released a composing sigh after removing her horn.
So far there hadn't been any nightmares so far until something reached her mind: A pony was having one so strong and realistic that Luna worried for their life, and she even felt suicidal thoughts mixing within.
She hadn’t seen a nightmare quite like this in a long time.
She hummend for the moment then promptly entered the lake of magic and then submerged. It was like being covered head to toe by actual water but the temperature was indescribable, it wasn't warm yet it wasn't cold. Yet it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. More on the lines of just being neutral.
A portal began forming right in front of her eyes with a slight blue hue. Despite not entering she could already see that this pony’s dream was not just a regular nightmare: it was nearly pitch black with a mix of dark, sandy brown.
She took a step through, her hoof touching stone along with sand. The portal closed behind her. None of the liquid magic spilled into the dream as if said magic never existed.
Luna took a good look at her surroundings. Massive chunks of stone floated aimlessly with buildings attached making this dream look ancient and abandoned for a while.
Flapping her majestic wings, the lunar princess took flight towards one of the still-intact spires in the distance. Her eyes scanning the area, she just could not find the dreamer anywhere, and the dream was vast and would give any pony a fear of Agoraphobia.
‘Just where are they?’ she thought.
She jerked her head to the side as she heard the sound of hoofsteps galloping on the stone. The pony was a unicorn with a sandy brown coat and a black mane. He was sprinting fast, fear present on his face. Luna couldn’t tell what he was running from.
Laughter. Luna heard laughter from that cloud of dust. Despite this being a nightmare conjured up by the stallion, the laughter chilled her spine in a manner as yet inexperienced by the alicorn.
It sounded like pure evil.
The sand began molding together, shaping into a titanic fist. The unicorn just noticed screamed loudly and skidded along the ground in a desperate attempt to stop and run back the other way. The massive fist came down like the hand of an angry god and smashed through the stone, destroying buildings around it and uprooting all around Debris was thrown to the sky and descended like hammers. The stallion dodged and weaved around the falling stone. However, he failed to dodge one, and it landed on the back of his hoof, breaking his ankle and earning a pained screech.
The Unicorn looked at his mangled leg; Bone stuck out, punctured through the skin like knives. Tears stained his cheeks and dripped onto the floor, yet he still crawled just to get away. The laughter got louder as the sand began forming into a face.
Eyes glowed a hot magma red which started maliciously at the dreamer, yearning to inflict more torturous pain.
“You asked what I have to say about going to prison.” The monster raised its massive fist. “I say bring it.” The titanic fist came down to smite the unicorn into fine paste, who screamed loudly as the void was starting to take over.
Luckily his savior had come. A condensed beam of pure magic shot at the nightmare construct, earning a shriek from it. Luna had seen enough and would end this.
The construct threw its gigantic wrist at her, but she dove under it and dodged. She fired another beam at its face; further hurting it.
She snarled slightly. ‘Of course this type of nightmare would be harder to put down. No matter. I will smite it like the rest.’
Luna fires another concentrated beam of magic which turns a chunk of dust and sand into glass. The nightmare construct roared in defiance and tried to crush her in its hands, again failing to do so as its hand was turned to glass.
The Unicorn stallion watched in awe, tears of joy now replaced the fear as the Lunar princess was fighting the monster, saving him from a dark fate.
The Lunar Princess dodged another massive strike and flew back 50 feet. Her horn hummed with pure magical energy design to destroy nightmares. Lowering her head, a massive pillar of energy exploded from her horn, it’s mass larger than her and caused a shock wave that blew all the dust away. The massive beam of magic penetrated through the abstracts chest.
It looked confused at first like I didn’t feel any sort of pain, that was until slowly it’s entire body was becoming glass. It shrieked loudly until it became completely silenced and became a statue. Cracks appeared and then it crumbled away.
Luna landed on the ground with a sigh. ‘I haven’t had a nightmare challenge me like that in a while, and I never thought I would see this type of it again,’ she thought.
It was true that these types of nightmares were rare and usually wouldn’t fight back, this one did. Which means the dreamer is having a serious mental problem. She was glad she took care of this matter at hand, now, however, she had to calm him down.
Turning around, she trotted over to him. She looked at his injured leg and sighed. Her heart ached seeing him cry. No one deserved that kind of horror.
He sputtered out. “P-p-Princess Luna...?!”
“Yes, my subject.” She stopped in front of him. “It is I. You are safe.” Her horn glowed and the unicorn's leg began to heal and reconnect the splintered bone and skin.
After finishing the dreamer moved his leg to test it out. The pain was gone and tears yet again welled up in his eyes. “T-thank you Princess…” he sniffed “thank you…”
The lunar princess gave a sweet smile and nodded while placing her horn on his. The magic in it hummed and began to take away the dark thoughts they were surfacing in this dreamer's mind. The process would usually take some time but this was recent and allowed her to easily absorb it. The stallion felt like all the weight that was crushing him was at least somewhat lifted off.
Luna looked at him with a sad expression. “I know why you feel guilty after what happened, little pony,” She placed a hoof on his shoulder. “It is not your fault, your cockiness wasn't the cause, so please don’t hurt yourself over something that was unpreventable.”
The stallion reeled back slightly, his mouth quivering, tears streaming down his cheek. Clenching he gave a nod to her which earned a smile from the lunar princess.
With a flap of her wings she took flight leaving the dreamer to dream peacefully, she knew it would still take time for that stallion to recover more. The portal opened again. Stepping through she was now back in the realm with the magic lake.
Her features morphed, becoming serious. Closing her eyes and then reopening them immediately she was back in Equestria.
There was a reason why she was like this. When she tapped the unicorn’s horn she realized he was a guard for a desert town, Yedril. A place where both ponies and minotaurs alike live. That was all she learned.
When seeing those memories she saw the merciless slaughter, the brutality that was brought upon those stallions. It had been so long since she’d seen such… she couldn’t put words to what she saw, but she did see something, something not of her world.
Despite it being a memory she couldn’t help but feel like that ‘thing’ was staring at her, even if it was under that pitch black tunic. Now she knew.
She found the creature.
Luna saw the sun was slowly rising over the horizon. ‘Perfect’ she thought. ‘Sister needs to know about this.’ Immediately she galloped and flapped her wings to gain speed. As if her life depended on it.
————————————-
The trio continued their journey through the blistering dessert. Despite the clothing that was made for this kind of trip, Archive still couldn’t bear the heat; though he was grateful that his skin wouldn't get blistered.
Spec however didn’t react at all, though sweat had accumulated on his skin. He’d already gotten used to this kind of environment so this was only natural. Though he would admit it was a little hotter than usual at this time.
The creature known as Chaos King kept trudging through the hot sands barefoot. By this point the bottom of his feet would already become blistered, though his healing helped negate that problem.
They started their journey as soon as the sun rose, to Archive’s dismay. Hours, they walked, until the sun was fully above their heads and it was pure torture for the unicorn. He did have a right to complain. “S-s-sir I don’t think I can keep g-going…”
The Chaotic King growled out. “Quit you insufferable complaining. You don’t see Spec whining.”
“That’s because he’s lived in the desert. I just barely had a day!”
“It is true,” Spec chuckled.
The King grumbled incomprehensibly. “Alright fine. If we find some shade then we can take a break.”
“SHADE! ”
The King jumped as did Spec from Archive’s shout. A trail of dust ran past the two giants towards some convenient trees. They could even hear his hysterical, grateful laughter as he made his way towards the pine.
There was awkward silence at first. “He ran fast, I didn’t even see him move,” Spec said, stunned.
“Indeed,” The king agreed with the same stunned expression.
The red unicorn laughed loudly. There was even an oasis with flowing water. He took out one of the empty canteens then dipped it in, filling it up. He took a swig and felt the cold water cool his body and released a sigh of relief.
“Feeling relaxed, servant?” the King said with amusement. Archive turned and looked at the king. He felt embarrassed.
“I haven’t seen a lake in awhile!” Spec shouted with glee. “Please, your lordship, can I go for a swim?!”
The creature rolled his eyes. Spec was acting like a child and suddenly he felt like a father. “After we eat, we have been walking for hours and it’s only fair if we take our break now.”
Spec nodded, understanding. Archive opened one of the packs they bought. It was a hay sandwich, a delicious snack for the red unicorn, for Spec; however, he had a bag full of dumplings. This was always his favorite meal.
While the two were eating; Chaos King went towards the water. He stared down at his reflection. Emotion didn’t seem present at all but deep inside his core he felt… angry. This is what he looked like yet he didn’t feel any pride. Opening his mouth, he saw many crooked teeth. He didn’t even realize they were crooked at all, with each tooth having a sharp point. Closing his jaws he huffed knowing he couldn’t really do anything about it.
Dipping his hand in the water, it felt cool to the touch. He wished he knew how long it must have been to touch water once again. He didn’t care much as he took a handful and drank it down. It felt like the water was purifying his body, and he felt a bit refreshed and drank more.
While drinking he noticed something in the water, creatures with slender bodies, the same color of the sand, were swimming upstream to somewhere. “Hmm… Servant.” Archives turned to the call of his name. “What are these… creatures?”
Archive tilted his head a bit and went next to the creature. Looking at the water his eyes widened in surprise. “Those are sand cobras.”
“What?” Both Chaos king and Spec said in unison.
“Sand cobras, they are usually in the sand but sometimes they will swim in water to catch their prey, but…” he stopped for a moment. “They're usually solitary predators, seeing this many and swimming in one direction means…” Again he stopped to think, trying to process this.
“Means what?”
“It means all of them are attracted to something. But, I don’t know what…”
_________________________________________________________________
Screams of terror could be heard but was soon silenced by a deafening, horrible crunch.
Crimson dribbled to the sand like rain creating a puddle of blood. A deep growl was made along with more crunching: its purple, swirled eyes swiveled and danced around like a chameleon trying to catch sight of any prey. Its split jaw was holding an unfortunate victim: A minotaur, body halfway swallowed leaving only the legs sticking out.
The monster Golgotha swallowed the rest down with ease. It found this minotaur walking around the desert wearing a bronze helmet and an iron chest. It tried to fight back but soon found itself in the serpent king’s gullet.
It sniffed the air, the forked tongue coming out tasting any particles. It found out that there was more prey not far, however tempting as it may be to go and feast more. The one that it had been searching for was no longer there. Its ‘master’ was gone.
It huffed with anger, the tendrils on its black whipped about in displeasure, then it caught another scent. This one seemed...familiar, but it couldn’t tell what.
It moved its massive legs towards the scent, curious to what it is.
It took at least two hours to find where the scent originated from, but it found it: a stream of water. Golgotha went to the water, dipping its head down to drink, gulping down gallons with extreme thirst.
Suddenly, to its surprise, a creature crawled out, a sand cobra, its hood unfurled and looking up at the theropod. More were coming out. Doing the exact same thing looking up at It.
Golgotha didn’t attack, instead it just looked back. There was a connection between it and these serpents, it was talking to them yet words weren’t spoken. Golgotha bared its razor fangs at them and they bowed their heads. It had total control of these snakes now.
The flaming tendrils on its back launched towards one of the cobras, latching on. Soon a few more cobras were grabbed, loud painful hisses were made as their flesh were both being burned and fused, and the serpent king was satisfied with this. Golgotha tendrils were no longer the same: Now they resembled cobras coated in purple flamed
They twitched and hissed loudly, flailing and twisting in unnatural ways. As if the creature wasn’t menacing enough. The serpent king made its way into the water, its legs sinking in, water under its jaws.
While converting these cobras, it gained some of the memories of their lives. Not only that, but the creature’s intelligence had increased as well. When it cycled through the memories, it saw something. It saw...him. It found him.
It growled and dove deep in the water. For a creature of such massive size, it swam frighteningly fast, its bulk and mass creating a wave as it headed towards its destination. It didn’t even notice that a swarm of those cobras were following it.
___________________________________________________________________
“Are you certain, Luna?” the solar princess asked.
Luna nodded. “Positive, it was nothing that I had ever seen. It was the same size of a minotaur but…” She stopped for a moment. “It just seemed so unnatural. It had small claws and they looked more like hooks, and even though it was a dream, it felt like it was staring at me.” Her spine tingled.
Celestia however had a neutral face. At the moment she was thinking that for it to travel from the Canterlot forests to Yedril meant it teleported, and at a great distance meant it used a lot of magic to get there, yet for whatever reason she was certain it wasn't using any. Otherwise she would have sensed it.
After thinking up every possible solution, she came up with one. “Luna, it seems Twilight's ceremony will have to be postponed much longer then i have anticipated.” her sister raised a questioning brow at her.
“How long?”
Her elder sister didn’t reply which gave her the answer. If she were honest, she hasn't seen this serious in a long time. “Luna, we’re going to saddle arabia. Along with Twilight and the others.”
To say her sister was shocked was an understatement, the lunar princess just could not believe it at all. Things are more serious than the invasion.
____________________________________________________________________________
“So which way do we go?” Spec asked.
Archive held the map with his magic and hummed for a moment before answering. “Well, since we are at the oasis or at least part of it, we should head south, since that section is where the Arabian Lake is. We get there then we’re in the city.”
“You seem to know your way,” the king commented
The red maned unicorn stallion beamed with pride, which honestly seemed off character. “Well, Saddle Arabia is where I would always go on vacations! Though I usually wouldn't get bused to the heat,” he chuckled a bit embarrassingly
‘There he is,’ Chaos said amusingly.
“Though the problem is we need to get there by boat. On foot it would be a day's journey, but on boat it should take maybe.. Half the day? It usually depends on the river mostly, since it’s flowing fast it should take us hours at best,” Archive finished.
“But we don’t have a boat,” Spec stated.
The red stallion’s ears flattened. Embarrassment once again flooded into him. “R-right…”
The tunic covered Chaos King was about to speak until Spec annoyingly interrupted him. “Wait! I can just swim there!” He shouted, a childish giggle came from the fractured minded minotaur.
“Wait, you can swim?” Archive asked in slight disbelief.
“Of course I can!” he said with a smile, though it dropped upon realization. “Right. I never told you two this. Well before I came to town, I would practice swimming a lot; learning both how to swim fast and hold my breath longer. The exercise worked out: I can hold my breath for a long time. Not sure about the time but I know it’s long.” He continued. “And I know I can swim fast. Hell, I can get to that place maybe under 30 minutes or an hour, just need your permission Lord Chaos,” he finished.
‘Lord Chaos? Sounds really appealing now.’ The chaotic king thought, ego slightly growing. He was honestly surprised to learn new information from his second follower. He could tell Spec wasn’t lying and, in fact, his aura was glowing with excitement. The color was Aqua which was riddled with cracks. ‘Wait since when can I see...?’ The aura disappeared instantly when he noticed it.
Shaking his head from his stupor he focused again. “Right, well, Spec, this is an interesting revelation. Alright, I give you permission to swim up there and we’ll catch up.”
An excited smile appeared on the minotaur’s face. “Thank you sir!” He stripped the tunic off then turned towards the two. “I’ll see you soon.”
He dove into the stream, submerged into the cool water. He reappeared further down, leaping out, his powerful muscles pushing him out of the water covering him every time he submerged. He was using the butterfly stroke, and while for others it caused great stress to the body, for Spec it was just a standard warm-up of his muscles.
Chaos and Archive watched with awe. Spec had already made it far and had become a literal speck in the distance.
“Wow, look how fast he’s going…” Archive exclaimed. “I didn’t think a minotaur could go that fast.”
The chaotic king just hummed.
“Wait, how are we going to catch up with him?”
The king didn't answer. Instead he placed a hand on one of the palm trees then pushed it gently. It split in half and fell into the water. With one hand the tree ignited and began to change and morph into shape, becoming more rectangular. The wood began to change, becoming harder and slicker, until it was fully metal. The flame disappeared and revealed a raft made of metal.
Well, silver was the appropriate term. It had rails with gold edges while the main body itself was silver. Archive couldn’t understand how silver -a heavy element- could float on water. He really shouldn’t be even more surprised at this point as Chaos king stepped on the raft.
It didn’t sink.
He stepped on it as well. No signs of sinking. The raft began to move as the current pushed against the metal, it was slow at first but began to gain speed.
Spec at this point was just gone, nowhere to be seen. ‘I need to write this down, a lot is happening, and history is being made!’ The red maned unicorn beamed mentally.
There was surprisingly peaceful silence, with the only sounds being of running water and a gentle breeze. The duo actually enjoyed it, though Chaos King had to say something that was on his mind. “I have to ask something, Archive.” The unicorn was surprised as soon as his name was called out by the chaotic lord, he turned to the King. wondering what he was going to say. “You have been surprisingly calm over the past few days. Why is that?”
The unicorn's eyes winced, but he answered anyway. “Well in all honesty I'm a bit more accepting. I mean no offense you aren’t exactly the first evil overlord or some sort of eldritch abomination that tried to destroy the whole of Equestria. For a thousand years threats would constantly pop out and yet, the Princesses would always subdue them.” He continued on. “Not long ago we had an invasion. It was the biggest yet, and three villains came. Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Crazy Glow. Though in honesty I knew little about her after her fiasco. They were all defeated by the princess of friendship and her friends, not sure what happened to them, probably sent to Tartarus, but I tell ya I had fun documenting all that, and actually that princess was supposed to get a coronation, but after reading one of the newspapers in town that seems to have been postponed.”
“Why's that?”
“You came.”
“...oh”
“So yeah and that's mostly why, but if I'm completely honest, I'm not sure about you.”
“And why do you say?” He raised a brow.
“Because you didn’t hesitate at all,” he said. Remembering all the dead corpses of his colleagues including the elder, he did miss them but he had no choice but to move on.
The King looked at him blankly then hummed. ‘Perhaps I have been rash on my actions.’ A sigh escaped from his lips, really contemplating if that was ever a good idea since he left, but for now he had to push those feelings of guilt aside.
Now he really needed to plan out, if what Archive told him was true then the severity of him failing to take this world was high. Even at this moment he needed to execute plans and create backups in case all failed, but in order to do that he would actually need to see how this Princess of Friendship worked and how she operated, and what her support was.
He felt a bit frustrated knowing that might take awhile so at the moment he decided to check something else. He looked down at Archive who was reading a book and writing on a notepad to pass the time. Then he viewed the aura again, but this time its color was different;, instead of the aqua blue filled cracks that floated around Spec, this one was a solid blood orange.
‘Interesting-’ he thought.’-It seems I can literally see the magical aura that all ponies have. How many new abilities will I find?’ His lips twitched into a small smirk.
____________________________________________________________________________
Spec had been swimming for a while, and his body was slowly starting to lag and strain, yet he moved quickly and fluently with each high bound. The water was becoming colder which meant he was getting closer.
The broken minded minotaur didn’t know how long he was doing this; it might have been an hour or it might have been a minute5. He didn’t know, but what he did know was that he was somewhere by the city, just not which part..
His hand gripped firmly on the stone edge using it to lift himself up, tiny rivulets of water fell from his body like a stream. With the help of his hoof he lifted himself on land then shook his body, throwing water all around. As soon as he opened his eyes a sharp pointed object was close.
He didn’t react at all despite this. In front of him was a hairless, purple dog-like creature. It wore a mix of leather and rust colored steel armor on its chest, while the legs and shins had black leather with holes. Spec shifted his eye and saw more of these creatures around. Some were different in shade and size while others had different placement of armor, and the minotaur knew exactly what they were.
Diamond dogs. It was strange to see them out of their caverns, usually they hated light, especially in the desert.
The Diamond dog in front of him shouted. “Hey ugly why are you here?!” the dog demanded.
Spec frowned slightly, bloodlust was starting to form in his chest from that insult. “Now that wasn’t nice to say, I just got here.”
The Diamond snorted and barked with laughter, the other joined. “You hear this guy? He says we aren’t nice!”
“Hey, ask him if he wanted a balloon!” One of them shouted
“Oh yeah you want a balloon, ugly? I got one right here.” The dog chuckled as he lifted a bow and arrow in front of Specs face, who at the moment was blank. “Careful though, this once super sharp! It can poke your eye out, like what I’m about to do right…”
It happened so quick that none of the Diamond dogs expected it. The one canine who was insulting Spec was suddenly thrown, the body violently smacking and bouncing on the stone finally crashed against the wall, leaving spider web cracks. The dogs starred in horror at their dead comrade.
The dead diamond dog’s lower jaw was just smashed in, teeth and blood leaking out, along with the tongue which hung loosely and dripped with crimson.
Laughter was slowly starting to calm and all attention was turned to the Minotaur who had his fist out. It was covered in blood and some teeth. It even steamed slightly from the impact.
The broken minded minotaur chuckled then spoke, no longer was he acting like a large child but more of a professional serial killer. “Well now, I did say that wasn’t nice, but then he did try to stab me in the eye.” His psychotic smirk formed showing his pearl white molars. “Now tell me, you magi mutts: What are you all here for?”
None of them answered as they were to frighten at what they saw, one however spoke up. “And why should we tell you, you freak!” Shouted the dog.
The Diamond dog moved past the frightened crowd, he was two feet taller than the rest and had more armor on. This one had a violet mohawk that curved back, he had tribal paint that was etched across his face, small spiked implants on the right side of the face. He had two axes in his hands: the bladed ends were spiked and were covered in viscous, sticky green slime that smelled foul even from afar.
This was a captain, or another character of similar importance
“Why should we tell? You trespass in this area then kill one of my boys, you have no right to question us,” the captain said, which earned murmurs of agreement from the other dogs. Anger began to course their being from the death of their brethren. Some raised their swords, others bows, axe, maces, and anything that really acted like a weapon to them. “You killed him because you got lucky, you won’t be so right now.” The captain smirked.
But to his surprise Spec actually giggled and then full on crackled with psychotic glee which slowly became higher pitched. “Oh luck had nothing to do with it you stupid dog, but this is good. This means I can finally let loose again!”
Spec’s eyes rolled back like that of a great white shark, his jaws slightly jutted from his lips, and veins began piping from under his skin. It seemed the world began to warp around him, like his bloodlust and killing instinct took form.
The dogs were hesitant at first however their captain dispelled that fear quickly. “Attack!” The roars and howls were made as the dogs charged at the psychotic Minotaur.
They thought their numbers could take him down, all they did was end up sating his murderous hunger.
—————————————————————————————————————————————
The sun dipped slightly ,indicating early afternoon.
Dooley, during this time, had been on his notebook writing down everything that had happened these past few days. Despite it only being a few days he knew that history was being made and he loved writing it down.
Chaos, however, was more or less playing with his power. In his palm he had water and used some mental power to make the liquid move and swirl against his hand. Then he made it shape and morph into intricate shapes, like a sphere, then into a perfect cube. It then morphed into the shape of a diamond. The water hadn’t so much as dripped, in fact was so intact that it looked solid.
The king hummed there was a slight purple glow in the water, he changed its consistency from liquid to stone, it worked perfectly. He held the diamond shape stone in his hand, pride slowly filled his chest. Creating something was really enjoyable.
“Hey, king look!”
Chaos reeled slightly from Archives' loud tone. ‘His yelling is annoying…’
He stood up fully to see what the unicorn was yelling about, and to his delight they were starting to float in the city.
Archive, however, noticed something different. “Somethings...not right.”
“What do you mean?” Chaos questioned.
“Usually there would be more ponies bustling around here but I don’t see any…” an unnerving feeling began to creep along his spine.
“Maybe there’s an event happening?”
“Maybe...but there still would be a guards pony somewhere-“ he was cut off once they were at a section. A gasp escaped his throat once he saw the corpses, but they weren’t ponies. “W-what h-happ-?” He stuttered out.
“Spec’s doing,” Chaos King lamented.
The raft stopped, allowing the cloaked Chaos King to stroll off with his servant behind. His eyes looked upon the mutilated corpses: Some had their intestines torn out, others had smashed skulls.
“Spec did all of this?!” The red maned unicorn shouted, visibly disgusted. His stomach began to lurch with the lunch he had earlier.
“Indeed, although. I may have underestimated his...talent,” the king said as he turned over a corpse with his foot. This victim's jaw was torn off along with the eyes poked out, and a slight grin grew on the king’s face. He felt amazed at the bloody work that Spec had done. ‘There had to have been 40 corpses and he slaughtered them. Truly amazing,’ he thought.
Archive went behind him and stared at the corpse, and the realization kicked in. “Wait… diamond dogs?” The creature looked at him questioningly obviously expecting an answer. “Oh sorry, diamond dogs are subterranean, dog like creatures there usually underground and look for well gems and Diamonds. It’s both currency and food. But…” he stopped for a moment. “They usually hate the sun and rarely ever come out in the day. To see this many ,especially in the desert...something is going on.”
The creature hummed. “We will figure it out later, let us find Spec.”
“No need.” The voice said. They turn to see Spec, holding a pipe in his hands and smoking. “I’m right here.” The Minotaur dragged a body behind him.
The king clapped to him with all four hands. “Bravo, bravo Spec! Truly you have outdone yourself again,” he complimented which earned a giggle from the individual.
“Awww thanks, boss, though I should thank you, I feel more free.” The psychotic smirk formed slightly on his face, which the king returned with just as much glee.
The unicorn gulped slightly, feeling fear in his body. “W-well I’m kinda glad you’re back but...why are you dragging that body?”
Spec looked down. “Oh this guy? Well he’s the captain of this group and I made sure to keep him alive just for the boss,” he chuckled.
“Why thank you for your gift, now let me see this captain.” Spec threw the battered body of the captain who groaned from a shattered rib. “Let’s see what I can learn.” A sadistic smile was on Chaos King’s face as he shoved his finger into the dog's cranium. The captain froze and stiffened.
Then all of a sudden a loud booming sound was heard which caused both Spec and Archive to jump because the sound came from nowhere. The Diamond dogs eyes glowed purple, Chaos removed his finger and then allowed the Diamond dog to stand. “Good, you are under my control. Had to test it out, but listen here, get one of your trusted pack with you and find me once you are ready.” he ordered.
“Right, boss.” The controlled dog picked up his weapons, and then hopped away on one of the buildings.
Archive was confused. “What did-?”
“I tested a new ability, but that’s not the point. Things have gotten more complicated and I will explain later. Right now.” he stared down at Archive. “I need you to find us an inn and Spec put that cloak back on,”
Archive was surprised but nodded, whatever got chaos like this must be serious. He led the way by trotting towards the city, along with the King and Minotaur.
Little did they know they were being watched the whole time. The Figure hidden by the shadows hummed an amused smile was graced on their features, with a single leap the figure hoped building to building.
Things are about to be more chaotic.
—————————————————————————————————————
A lot is happening in this one chapter. I’m gonna have a lot of fun.
Also sorry for taking so long. Life just got in the way as always. But I’m still writing, thanks for reading. If you have questions I’ll answer.
Co written by The psychopath—————————————————————————————————————
