At The End

“How could you be here?” The words echoed around the empty halls of the white castle. The throne room was empty, the changeling drones having dispersed from the moment they felt the anger in the room.

“How could you be back?” Red eyes glowered at the stained glass window before the shadow.

A city in flames, ponies running terrified, others carrying a box through the burning streets. The mural had once stood in the castle of the two sisters. Having been moved when the castle was abandoned after Luna’s banishment.

Nopony knew much about what the mural was meant to be depicting. Celestia had not kept good public records. While she herself and her sister had known the significance of the depiction, most ponies had no idea.

Ancestors and their stories had long since past. The times of old were forgotten. Maybe for the best.

‘If only they knew’. The shadow glanced away from the mural. Moving to the side, it eyed the mural depicting Twilight’s rise to power. Going from simple unicorn to Alicorn.

‘Now bearer of chaos magic!’ Laughter echoed around the room, the resonating sound reverberating off the walls and hanging in the air for a moment.

Had the Shadow’s musings been any more painfully silly, maybe the air would have trembled longer. Its gaze going back to the previous window. It’s eyes seeming to grow ever more confused, the raging intensity of red burning away. Sighing, a pony’s sigh. The Shadow moved further along down the hall, opening the doors to the throne room, the hallways had been deserted.

Nopony wanted to be found near the abomination. Not even the Changelings. Ponies were a harmonic race, a race of travellers. Of explorers. Of lovers…

Of murderers.

The sound of hooves against marble was the only thing to be heard throughout the entire castle. Shadow had moved through the halls towards the magical archive located in the old library. If the threat that it felt was returning, there would be no power available on Equus that could possibly stop the oncoming storm.

The air within the outer courtyard was beginning to stir, a smell of pine trees and salt water, rising into the air. Trees began to sway in the heavy wind. Shutters banged in the distance. Flaming torches were blown in several directions before going out.

A storm was coming.

The entrance to the magical archive was abandoned too. The door sealed however against intruders. Unicorns were paying a heavy price for this rooms existence. The first sign of life made itself known as a young mare maid came around the corner hall with a cart full of jars. Upon seeing her ruler, the mare broke. Her movement stopped as all power to breath was removed from her.

Letting go of the magical signature to open the door. The Shadow moved towards the mare.

Approaching slowly, the maid appeared about ready to wet herself from fear. The ponies had not taken well to their new ruler. Had there been some sort of misunderstanding? Ponies should rejoice! Soon the whole world would do the same… or maybe not, if she was involved.

The mare dove to the ground as the sound of hooves stopped before. She couldn’t speak. She was terrified.

“West Ford.” The maid trembled even further at the mention of her name. Despite this, her eyes rose up to meet the Shadow’s as it raised her head with dark tendrils under her chin. The eyes that regarded hers flashed for only a few moments, but she could see the eyes. The eyes of a pony. They were kind and caring, looking Ford over with a seemingly pure concern. The eyes rested upon her stomach before turning back to the shade of red they had been moments before.

“Your foal is coming along?” The question appeared more as a statement, as the magic from the shadows cast removed from the young maid.

“Take good care of your child. A mothers love is the most precious thing out there.” West Ford nodded, removing herself from the bowing stance she had taken, backing away slowly from Shadow’s presence. Turning she ran as fast a she could to disappear, turning a corner, she vanished into the castle, having left the cart she had been pulling.

The Shadow approached the cart. The contents still unopened from their collection period. Stacked neatly away in groups, marked with labels. Lifting one of the containers into the air. The lid opened, a beautiful light of light blue magic was lifted out. It pulled off to the south. Ponyville the label had read. Trying to get back to its owner. Consumed by dark tendrils, the light from the fledgeling harmonious magic was devoured by its holder.

The floor was littered with magic sealing jars as the Shadow devoured each one with gusto. The sight was ungodly, terrifying to any onlooker. Each time that piece of harmonious magic was pulled into the mass of darkness, the outer shell would scream. Its body contorting and transforming slowly into a more… presentable appearance.

Moments after it began, the feasting stopped. The mass of vengeful magic was compacted down slightly to that of a pony. The process traumatic. The result…

‘Not yet I suppose’ The form seemed more accommodating. More time… It needed more time. Sending Twilight out there could only buy so much time. But not if she held her family in higher regard. If SHE had returned, then there wouldn’t be much time left now.

Recalling the Ponyville express to bring as much of the collected magic was important, but slowing down the pawn was all the more important. Hopefully keeping Twilight and her friends there as a distraction would buy more time?

‘What would it matter? You would have won either way… Galaxia’. Dropping the final container, the Shadow pursued its journey towards the dungeon. Knowing how Twilight thinks was the best way to keep her from returning with a captive too soon. Knowing the goddess, she had planned this out long ago. Maybe it was time to up the ante. Information was required, and only one of Twilight’s family could possibly give it.

The entrance to the dungeons had also been deserted. Changelings were clever enough not to get in the way of power. Well… at least these Changelings were. Of all the shapeshifters that history could recount, the bugs were the most loyal once their queen was made an obedient tool.

‘How easy it had been’.

Cages stuck into the magical rock stretched out into the gloomy cavern. Each cage had its inhabitant. Fed and watered. Even a ‘Great Evil’ could show compassion to its enemies. Ponies weren’t the enemy here. Not even the Griffons, nor the Yaks were the real threat. The real threat was within.

‘Where had harmony gone?’ The ponies of Equestria had wondered. Harmony had never left. It was always here, the ponies had not yet realised that the work of ‘world domination’ was not a desire out of hatred. It was to bring all races together. To force them to never have to fight ever again. To make peace… forever. If only the ponies in the cage ahead had known that instead of trying to resist.

“What were knight Sparkle’s plans?” The question made the ponies look up in fear, having not noticed the dark being in their presence. Celestia and Luna had been huddled together as they tried to cover the remaining members of the with their wings. A futile effort, but a motherly one nonetheless. A quality that Shadow admired. If only slightly.

“You were the one that sent her into the Everfree was it not?” Luna answered, her gaze unwavering as she glared directly at the bright red eyes.

“You told her to go to the castle. Though she has taken a stop at Ponyville.” The armour had been removed in Ponyville. That was for sure and the use of chaos magic had been limited for now. So Twilight had indeed stopped there.

“To rest up? If anything you should have sent for a royal cart!” It was Celestia’s turn to answer. She too lay defensively over Twilight’s family as the cowered in almost catatonic fear from their current interrogator.

“And yet, I sense creationist magic within the Everfree. What could it all mean, hmm?” The question seemed to linger in the sisters minds as they processed what they had just heard.

“T-then you are mistaken.” Celestia breathed, her mind still trying to comprehend what her soul was telling her.

“You and I would both know, Celestia. We were both there for her reign!” Celestia and Luna’s eyes became as small as pinpricks as the information was dropped on them. Their interrogator could not care less.

“If it is her, I have to assume that she has made contact in some way. I want to know with whoom?” The shadow awaited their signs of pure confusion that each of the ponies shared before huffing in annoyance.

“We don’t know--” Celestia began only to be thrown off the pile of ponies she and her sister were protecting. The dark tendrils of the vengeful magic throwing the ponies off to the side as it dug into the pile in search of the answer.

“Then I’ll talk to somedrake who does know.” It’s target found, the tendrils removed the source of information from the protective cries of those around, Twilight’s parents trying desperately to help their adopted offspring.

The green and purple drake hung upside-down, held by the ancient force that the Shadow commanded around his tail. Leaning forward, the Shadow grinned at him in the kindest way that it could as the thick black smoke of magic parted to show a smiling mouth of pure white light. Mouth twisting into a sly grin, the pony features becoming slightly more pronounced.

“Now… what is Twilight’s plan?”