Malevolence

Chapters

Chapter Six.
The Prologue
Chapter One.
Chapter Two.
Chapter Three
Chapter Four.
Chapter Five.

Chapter Six.

Chapter Six:

Our Sickness

The cool evening air wrapped around me as I stepped out of the cave tunnel, greeted by the last whispers of daylight. The sky, a deep purple canvas, was streaked with tendrils of pink and orange, the sun’s dying light battling against the encroaching night. The meadow before me was a serene tapestry of soft hues dotted with firefly lanterns that cast a warm, inviting glow. Their light flickered against the faces of the gathered thestrals, their expressions ranging from concern to outright fear. Beyond the meadow, the forest loomed ominously, its ancient trees casting long, grasping shadows that reached towards us like specters in the twilight. The peaceful ambiance was abruptly shattered as the thestrals broke into a panicked frenzy. High-pitched squeaks filled the air as they clustered around Lily and the elder at the center of the clearing. Some darted about, gathering vines and foliage in a desperate attempt to camouflage the entrances of the upper caves, while others hurried to dim or cover the firefly lanterns, their soft glow quickly vanishing into the gloom. I moved purposefully through the chaos, my presence parting the crowd until I stood before the elder. His wise and weathered eyes met mine with a mixture of relief and urgency. "Ah, Lord Tenebrae, your timing is impeccable," he said, his voice steady despite the turmoil around us.

I nodded curtly. "What's the situation?" My tone was sharp, cutting through the noise like a blade.

"A party of Arachne slavers followed the trail your group left through the woods," the elder replied, his voice tinged with worry. "They’re standing outside the gates as we speak." I let out a slow, deliberate sigh, annoyance flickering in my chest.

"Is that so?" My gaze drifted towards the gate, where I could faintly hear the grating voice of one of those accursed griffons barking out threats.

"I'm so sorry, grandfather!" Lily's voice broke through, trembling with guilt. "This is all my fault. I was so focused on getting everypony home safe and speaking with Lord Tenebrae that I didn’t even think to cover our trail." The elder placed a comforting hoof on her head, his voice softening. "Hush, child. You did what was most important: ensuring everypony’s safety. That’s what matters." As he consoled her, I strained my ears towards the gate, catching snippets of the griffon’s taunts. They were crude, colorless, and utterly predictable. I turned back to the elder, my patience fraying.

"How many?"

"About thirty or so," the elder responded, his concern deepening.

"Only thirty?" I mused, a dark edge to my voice. "Then their thirty corpses will serve as a warning to others." Without waiting for a reply, I started towards the gate.

"Lord Tenebrae!" Lily’s voice rang out, startled. She shrank back under my icy gaze.

"These slavers have interrupted a critical discussion with the young goddesses," I said, my voice as cold as the creeping night. "They will not live long enough to regret their interruption." I strode through the crowd, the urgency in my chest intensifying with every step. My heart pounded, not out of fear but from the gnawing need to return to the princesses. The thought of crushing the hearts of these slavers brought a grim sense of anticipation. The act may calm my own restless one. The gatekeepers, two thestrals, fluttered down from their posts as I approached. The elder of the two, a grizzled silver stallion, clutched a crude bow, his quiver shaking slightly as he saluted me.

"Lord Tenebrae, thank the night princess you’ve come," he said, his voice tinged with relief. "That griffon out there is making all sorts of threats, demanding we hand over the one responsible for killing his brother named Chopper."

"Brother?" I echoed, a bitter chuckle rising in my throat. "Ah, yes, I remember. I turned that one to dust. Facing certain death for some vain notion of avenging a fallen brother... how nostalgic." My chuckle grew into a deep, resonant laugh that echoed across the meadow, only to die away in a sneer of disgust. "And utterly worthless." The gatekeepers exchanged uneasy glances; the younger, a dark blue mare with rose-colored eyes, finally dared to ask.

"Are you alright, Lord?"

"I'm perfectly fine," I replied, my voice calm and steady. "Just reminiscing." I glanced at the gate, then back at them. "Open it."

"But, Lord Tenebrae," the older stallion began hesitantly, "if we open the gate, they’ll rush into the town!" My gaze hardened, baring my fangs.

"I said open the gate." The two thestrals faltered, glancing at each other with uncertainty. The mare opened her mouth to protest again, but a commanding voice cut through the air before she could speak.

"You heard his majesty, open the gate!" Fang Seeker emerged from the shadows, flanked by ten other thestrals. A few of them strode past the gatekeepers, beginning to work the pulley mechanism with practiced ease. As the gate creaked open, Fang Seeker gave me a deep bow. "Majesty," she addressed me, her tone filled with deference. Majesty? I thought, a flicker of curiosity passing through me. But there was no time to dwell on it. I pushed the thought aside and stepped through the gate. The Arachne slavers were waiting on the other side; a motley group spread out in a line with the griffon leader at the center. His beak clicked with barely contained fury as I emerged. "Well, well, well," he sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "You must be the shit stain that killed ma’ little brother." I looked over the slavers, noting their positions, their stances. They were spread out just enough to make this easy.

"Yes," I replied, a slow, sinister smile spreading across my face. "And soon, I’ll be the one to kill the rest of you." I readied my spell. The griffon opened his beak to speak, but I surged forward with lightning speed before he could finish. My hoof pierced through his chest with a sickening crunch, obliterating his heart. His eyes widened in shock, his arrogant words forever silenced. The slavers gasped in horror as I lifted his lifeless body, still impaled on my hoof, up to my face. “Hmph, pathetic,” I muttered, disdain dripping from my voice as I tossed his corpse aside like a broken doll. The body thudded to the ground, limp and useless. The slavers had only a moment to process the gruesome scene before I unleashed my spell. The earth beneath them shuddered as jagged spears of stone erupted from the ground, skewering them in a gruesome display of power. They were lifted into the air, suspended on the stone spikes like grotesque marionettes. Most died instantly, their bodies limp as blood poured from their wounds. But a few unfortunate souls clung to life, their hooves twitching as they feebly tried to grasp at the stone impaling them. Their bloodied bodies adorned the tips of the spears, crimson trails streaming down, pooling in the dirt below. The meadow fell silent once more, the cries of the dying slavers fading into the cold night. I stood among the carnage, surveying my handiwork. The griffon’s body lay at my hooves, his expression frozen in a twisted mask of arrogance… an arrogance that never had time to comprehend death. I sighed into the silence, wiping the blood from my hoof on the grass before returning to the gate.

“By the goddesses…” The elderly gate guard’s voice was a mere whisper, his eyes wide with awe and fear. His younger counterpart trembled visibly, her terror palpable as she clutched her bow, trying to steady her shaking hooves.

“Close the gate,” I ordered, my tone sharp. The mare flinched, bolting toward the pulley mechanism. She nearly tripped over her own hooves in her haste to comply. I turned to the elderly guard, my gaze piercing. “Inform the elder that the danger has passed.”

“R-right away, Lord Tenebrae!” He stammered before galloping off toward the fountain where the elder and Lily stood, surrounded by the frightened thestrals. As I passed through the gate, Fang Seeker appeared at my side, a wet towel offered in her hoof. The group behind her whispered amongst themselves, but I paid them little mind. My focus was on cleaning the blood from my hoof; the crimson smears were a stark reminder of the violence I had just unleashed.

“Well done, Your Majesty,” Fang Seeker said, her voice filled with admiration and respect. “You made quick work of those slavers.” As I took the towel, she and the others behind her dropped to their knees, bowing deeply. “But I wouldn't expect anything less from an ancient war god.” I narrowed my eyes at her, a low growl rumbling in my chest.

“Eavesdropping, were we?” My voice was laced with irritation, but she remained unflinching, her pose submissive but confident.

“Not intentionally, Your Majesty,” she replied calmly. “I wanted to speak with you before you retired but overheard your conversation with the princesses.”

“I see.” I closed my eyes briefly, my mind turning over the implications. “I must admit I’m impressed you managed to listen in without me detecting your presence. Not many could accomplish such a feat.” Or perhaps I was so engrossed in the conversation with the sisters that I had simply let my guard down—a rare but not impossible occurrence.

“Your words honor me, Your Majesty.” Fang Seeker lifted her gaze slightly though she kept her bow. “We thestrals possess unique abilities that set us apart from our kin. One such ability is our highly sensitive hearing; we can hear and communicate in frequencies too high for others to comprehend.” So, that explains the high-pitched squeaks I’d initially assumed were merely signals. They were speaking to one another in a language I hadn’t understood. Interesting.

“Just how much did you overhear?” I asked, my voice cold. “And who else knows?”

“Only those present, Your Majesty, I made sure of that,” Fang Seeker answered, her eyes briefly flicking toward the thestrals behind her. Some were the same ones who had been consoling Lily in the clearing earlier—likely her friends. “A few others and I only caught the first half of your conversation with the princesses.” I sighed, tension coiling in my chest. This could become a problem if word spread.

“And?”

“And what, Your Majesty?” Fang Seeker asked, genuinely confused.

“What do you intend to do now that you know my identity?” I asked, my tone dangerously low. “What do you hope to gain? Are you planning to reveal my secret?”

“Certainly not!” Fang Seeker exclaimed, rearing up on her hind legs in a frantic gesture of denial. “Rest assured, we have no intention of saying anything about this!” The others nodded fervently, echoing her sentiment.

“Let’s say I believe you,” I said, my voice steady but with an undercurrent of threat. “Why reveal this to me? Depending on your answer, I may have to kill you or erase your memories to keep my secret safe.” Fang Seeker visibly tensed, her composure faltering for the first time.

“I-I understand Your Majesty,” she stammered, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “But we have a favor to ask of you.”

“A favor?” I repeated, my interest piqued. “Then out with it.” Without hesitation, she and the others fell into a more profound bow, their faces pressed against the dirt.

“PLEASE TEACH US HOW TO FIGHT!” they cried out in near-perfect unison. Though hidden by my helmet, my eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“You want me to train you in the arts of war and death?” I asked, masking my surprise with a stern tone. Fang Seeker looked up from the dirt, her eyes filled with determination.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” she affirmed, her voice unwavering.

“Why?” I demanded. “Tell me your reason for wanting to become warriors.”

“Because we’re sick, Your Majesty,” Fang Seeker began, her voice trembling with a mixture of anger and desperation. “We’re sick and tired of being weak! Of having everything we know and love taken from us! Sick of watching our loved ones be captured, beaten, tormented, and used for profit and amusement by heartless creatures—while we remain powerless to do anything about it!” Her voice rose with each word, her body shaking with barely contained rage. “And because… because…” She hesitated, her fury giving way to a softer emotion. “Because our beloved princess shouldn’t have to bear this burden alone.” Her last words struck me, catching me off guard. The fire in her eyes, the desperation in her voice—it was something I hadn’t expected. I stood there, momentarily silent, contemplating her plea. The silence stretched on as I weighed my options, the forest around us eerily still in the wake of the slaughter.

“So, you would follow the path of war and become killers—monsters, even—for her sake? No matter how much suffering and pain it would cause you?” My voice echoed in the silent clearing, carrying a weight that made the thestrals before me tremble. Fang Seeker, though, held her ground, her voice barely a whisper as she responded.

“Yes.” I felt a spark of curiosity ignite within me. What has Little Luna done to earn such unwavering loyalty? I closed my eyes for a moment, gathering my thoughts. These ponies were undoubtedly our grand descendants, but it may very well be these thestrals who are worthy of such an honor.

“Before I answer, are you all certain about setting upon this path?” I asked, my voice stern. “There will be no going back once you walk the path of a warrior; you will live as a warrior and inevitably die as a warrior. You will be pledging yourselves to the equine god of war. Your fate, your very souls, will ultimately belong to me; your past, present, and what you will become will all be mine. Are you truly ready and willing to make such a decision?” The group finally rose from their bow, exchanging glances. Some showed uncertainty, their eyes flickering with doubt. But Fang Seeker was the first to step forward, her voice unwavering.

“If it means I can acquire the strength to protect those I love and care about, then yes. If I can ensure that nopony else would ever have to suffer the way I did, then my soul would be a small price to pay for such a thing.” Her words hung in the air, heavy with conviction. Before I could respond, she raised her hoof, her gaze locked onto mine. “However, Your Majesty, make no mistake—even if you do own our very souls, even should we give you everything we are in exchange for the strength to stand against our attackers and protect what we treasure most—we will never betray our princess of the night or her trust.” The others nodded in agreement, their determination clear. I couldn’t help but allow a slight smile to curl at the corner of my mouth.

“A fine response,” I acknowledged, closing my eyes once more in thought. “Very well, then. If you are certain, I will teach you the ways of a Courser.” They immediately dropped to their knees again, bowing deeply.

“Thank you, Your Majesty! We won’t disappoint you!” Fang Seeker’s eyes sparkled with hope as she looked up at me, replacing her earlier fear with fierce determination.

“For now, I must return to the princesses; your training will begin soon after I hear what Night Weaver has to say.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” they chorused, their voices filled with a renewed sense of purpose.

~~~

I approached the modest wooden door of the room where Celestia and Luna awaited and squeezed through, the hinges creaking softly. “I have returned,” I announced, my voice low and measured.

“Oh, welcome back, Tenebrae,” Celestia replied warmly, lifting a delicate porcelain teacup to her lips. The sisters had brewed tea while waiting, and a small pot of steaming liquid was sitting on the table between them. The gentle aroma of herbs and honey wafted through the air, mingling with the faint scent of parchment and ink. I maneuvered around the table, my armor clinking softly, and sat across from them. Little Luna was already refilling her cup, her magic steady as she poured another, which she then floated over to my side of the table.

“Was everything okay?” she asked, her eyes filled with concern as I accepted the cup.

“Yes, just some stray spiders that needed to be crushed,” I replied, sipping the tea. The overly sweetened taste flooded my senses, starkly contrasting the violence that had just transpired outside the gate.

“You mean Arachne!?” Both sisters exclaimed in alarm, nearly spilling their tea in their haste to react. I raised a hoof, signaling them to calm down.

“They have already been dealt with,” I assured them. “And before you ask, yes, everypony is safe. They never made it inside the gate and couldn’t cause any damage.” The tension in the room dissipated as they sighed in relief.

“That’s good to hear,” little Luna said, her voice soft with genuine concern. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her remark, the sound rumbling in my chest like distant thunder.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“Nothing,” I replied with a slight smile. “I just find it amusing that you would still worry so much despite knowing what I am.”

“I know it’s still hard to believe,” Luna admitted, her gaze dropping to her cup. “But I still can’t help but worry about the thestrals, especially after everything they’ve already been through.”

“They seem to care for you as much as you do for them,” I noted, my voice thoughtful. “Their devotion to you appears rather absolute from what I’ve witnessed. I do wonder what you did to earn such love from them.” Luna’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, embarrassment creeping into her expression. “Perhaps you can tell me about it another time,” I suggested, my tone lightening. “Shall we continue our history lesson?”

“Yes, please!” Celestia’s voice was eager as she leaned forward, her eyes shining with anticipation. She poured herself another cup of tea, adding far more sugar than necessary. I chuckled softly, watching her with amusement.

“I can see that, but first…” I cast a sound barrier across the room, ensuring our conversation would not be overheard again.

“What was that for?” Luna asked, her curiosity piqued.

“A barrier to prevent any more ponies from listening in on our conversation,” I explained.

“Any more? Wait… you don’t mean…” Luna’s eyes widened in realization. I nodded, confirming her suspicion.

“Yes, some of the thestrals overheard a part of our conversation.” Luna shot up from her chair, her expression panicked.

“You didn’t kill them, did you!? Or mess with their memories or anything, right!?” I chuckled again, shaking my head.

“It’s a fair question to ask, given what I told you about Sandy Digs. But rest easy; they are perfectly fine.” Luna let out a sigh of relief, sinking back into her chair. “I admit I was surprised when they approached me asking for a favor after I had dealt with the slavers. It was quite brave of them to gather together and approach the god of war in such a manner.” I sipped the remaining tea, the warmth soothing the lingering tension in my body. Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, curiosity, and concern mirrored in their expressions.

“What did they ask for?” Celestia inquired, her voice laced with intrigue.

“They asked me to teach them how to fight,” I replied, setting the empty cup on the table. Both sisters looked at me with wide eyes, their surprise evident.

“And… did you agree?” Luna asked hesitantly.

“I did,” I answered simply. “They are willing to give everything for the strength to protect what they hold dear. I see potential in them a fire that, if properly nurtured, could turn them into formidable warriors.” Luna’s expression softened, her eyes reflecting pride and concern.

“I just hope they know what they’re getting into…”

“They do,” I assured her. “They made their choice and are prepared to face the consequences. I will guide them, but the path they walk is theirs alone.”

"Now, picking up where we left off," I began, my voice measured and deliberate. "After the news of Razekel's destruction at the hands of a mortal race of Bicorns spread throughout the known world, my father, Malacar, quickly sprang into action. He rallied the supporters he had carefully cultivated over the ages, spurring his fellow Bicorns—who were under the tyrannical rule of a primal known as Charron—to revolt. The war for their freedom was long and bloody, with untold millions perishing in the fight against Charron's artificial metal monsters and grotesque magical abominations. Five hundred years of unrelenting bloodshed and horror passed before my father defeated Charron and claimed victory. The streets were filled with the bodies of the fallen, yet the survivors shouted cries of triumph, celebrating amidst the devastation." I paused, my gaze distant as the memories stirred within me, the weight of our history heavy on my shoulders. "But Malacar did not join in their celebrations. He was devastated by the cost of victory, cursing himself for the countless lives lost. These Bicorns were not warriors or fighters; they were workers, farmers, bakers, librarians, miners, and simple folk thrust into the horrors of war. My father realized that to continue his fight and free all the Bicorns, he needed true warriors—beings of unmatched might and ferocity capable of standing against the primals' monstrous creations. He needed the Coursers, but they were half a world away, with several kingdoms and primal-ruled domains between them. My father could not be everywhere at once, and there was no guarantee that these war-loving Coursers, whom he knew little about, would even consider joining his cause. So, after much thought, he decided to use his special talent, what he called soul-forging, to create a powerful being to act as both a general and an extension of himself." Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, their brows furrowed in curiosity. "Using his talent, he took the soul of Charron, rewrote it, purified it, reshaped it, and mixed it with a shard of his own soul to create a new Bicorn. Thus, his first child, his first Deustrier, was born—Ophanix Chariot, a Manafray, and my elder brother."

"Wait, wait, wait," Little Luna interrupted, waving her hooves as if trying to grasp the concept. "I thought you said you were the firstborn, Tenebrae."

"I am," I replied calmly.

"But you just said Ophanix was first," she insisted, her confusion evident.

"I did." Celestia, who had been quietly absorbing the story, finally spoke up, her voice tinged with disbelief.

"But that doesn’t make any sense. How can you be the firstborn if Ophanix was before you?" I couldn’t help but chuckle at their bewilderment.

"Yes, I suppose it does sound confusing. As I said, my father's special talent allowed him to take a living or recently deceased creature's soul and reforge it into something completely new. They essentially become family by using a fragment of his own soul during the process. It's similar to how offspring are created, with a shard of both parents' souls fusing, creating the newborn’s." The princesses' expressions constantly shifted, their minds racing to understand the intricacies of soul-forging. Watching their young, pretty faces struggle with concepts far beyond their years was amusing. "Ahem," I continued, simplifying it for their sake. "My father had nine colts, nine Deustriers, or divine children. I was number six out of the nine, but I was the only one not created from a defeated primal's soul using his ability. I was the only one who was naturally born; hence, I am the firstborn."

"Alright," Little Luna said slowly, trying to piece it together. "So, you’re saying you’re the sixth Deustrier out of nine, which makes you the sixth divine child of the God-Emperor, who is a Courser and worshiped by Bicorns as their god of war?"

"Yes, that's correct," I affirmed, nodding. "And it may interest you to know that I was also the only Courser Deustrier." Luna rubbed her temples, clearly still processing the information.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense. It’s weird and convoluted, but I think I understand… I think." Celestia, ever the thoughtful one, tilted her head and asked,

"So, out of all nine of the God-Emperor's children, you were the only one with a mother, Tenebrae?" I nodded, my expression growing somber.

"Yes, but she died during childbirth." Their faces softened with sympathy.

"Oh, I’m sorry to hear that," Celestia said gently, her voice laced with concern.

"Don’t be," I replied, trying to keep my tone even. "It’s not like I knew her, and honestly, I didn’t even know I had a mother for a very long time…" Their confused expressions returned, and Luna was the first to voice the question.

"What do you mean, Tenebrae?"

"It was quite the secret at the time," I explained, my voice tinged with a hint of sorrowful nostalgia. "One of the only lies my father ever told… a lie that almost brought us to ruin." Luna leaned forward, her eyes wide with concern.

"Tenebrae, are you okay?" I shook my head slightly, clearing the thoughts that threatened to cloud my mind.

"Never mind that for now. It’s irrelevant. Let’s get back on topic." I could sense their curiosity, but I wasn’t ready to delve into that part of my past just yet. Instead, I pressed on with the history lesson. "With my father’s victory over Charron proving that it wasn’t only the Coursers capable of defeating a primal, his rebellion grew substantially. Bicorns from every corner of the world flocked to join him in his fight. Armed with everything he had learned from his five-hundred-year campaign and with his new Deustrier by his side, it wasn’t long before another primal fell. One by one, the primals began to fall, and with each victory, another Deustrier rose to join the now-celebrated God-Emperor of Bicorn kind’s pantheon. Finally, he reached the shores of Ilieh." The mention of Ilieh seemed to capture their full attention, their eyes wide with anticipation. "He would go alone to meet with the Coursers despite the objections of his generals and Deustriers. My father knew that if he brought his army or his children, the Coursers would perceive them as an invading force and attack them. He needed this meeting to go well, for at that time, his fight against the elder primals, the oldest and most powerful of their kind, was starting to lose ground and suffering immeasurable casualties. Without the Coursers, he knew they would eventually lose the war. He walked upon Ilieh’s black shores and into the island's interior, hoping to be granted an audience with whoever ruled the Coursers. As his hooves touched the black sand, he knew they were watching him. He could feel their gaze with every step he took through the dark and unforgiving wilderness. He traveled for ten days through poisonous valleys, battling fierce monsters and evading traps, perhaps remnants of Narmu’s failed invasion. At last, he reached the Coursers’ home: a large blackened star-point fortress made purely from the fabled Adamantium—the material that had sparked his rebellion." I raised my hoof, mimicking the proud stance I imagined my father must have taken as he approached the fortress. "‘I am Malacar Aeonsovereign, the leader of the Bicorn rebellion against the primals on the mainland. I wish to speak with the ones in charge!’" I declared, my voice booming in the small room. Little Luna and Celestia burst into laughter, the tension in the room dissolving into a shared moment of delight. Their laughter was infectious, and I couldn’t help but smile as well, though the story's weight still lingered in my mind.

“I don’t think he would sound like that, Tenebrae,” Celestia giggled, her voice light and teasing but with an undercurrent of sincerity. I arched an eyebrow.

“Hmph, how would you know? You’ve never met my father or heard how he sounds.”

“That’s true,” Celestia conceded, still chuckling, “but it seems like you’re making fun of your father with that cute little pose and that accent.” I leaned closer, a mischievous glint in my eyes.

“Oh, you think I’m cute, huh?” Celestia’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she stammered, “I-It’s just a turn of phrase, is all I meant by it!” She quickly looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment, but I saw the shy smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Liar,” Luna mumbled under her breath, her voice barely audible as she faced away. It's amusing how often they forget about my heightened senses, making these little exchanges all the more entertaining.

“Regardless,” I continued, letting them off the hook, “I don’t think a Courser has ever been described as ‘cute.’ But let’s move on, shall we?” My tone became more serious, drawing them back into the story.

“Yes, let’s,” Celestia agreed.

“Very well,” I resumed, my voice carrying a weight that pulled them into the ancient past I spoke of. “Now, after stating his intention to talk, the massive blackened doors swung open to a sight my father was unprepared for. Standing at attention were rows upon rows of fully armored Courser warriors, their blackened steel armor gleaming ominously in the dim light. They flanked both sides of the cobblestone street, forming a path that led to the large dome in the center of the fortress. They stood as still as statues, their gazes fixed straight ahead, saying nothing as my father passed between them. The Courser warriors, formidable and silent, were like guardians of a forgotten world, their presence both awe-inspiring and intimidating. He followed the path to the central dome, ascending a grand staircase. The stairs led him to a set of towering silver doors, intricately carved with scenes depicting the events following the Scarlet Dawn. These doors, engraved with battles and victories, showed the defeat of Razekel and the rise of the Coursers. When the doors opened, they revealed a vast hallway, its walls adorned with trophies of countless beasts, their heads mounted as grim reminders of the Coursers’ prowess. Crimson carpets lined the floors, leading to the throne room at the end. The room was as grand as it was foreboding, with high ceilings and pillars carved from the same blackened Adamantium as the fortress. A massive silver throne at the center loomed, adorned with black spikes and rubies that seemed to pulse with a sinister light. The Courser warriors flanked the room, their eyes tracking my father’s every move, their silence echoing in the cavernous space. My father approached the throne, but three colossal Coursers emerged from behind it before he could ascend the steps. These were not ordinary warriors; they were the Courser champions, their bodies adorned with battle scars and armor that had seen countless conflicts. The first one stepped forward, his voice deep and resonant as he spoke.” I shifted my tone.

“‘He said one like us would come, yet not like us would seek to rule us.’” The second champion’s voice followed, rough and commanding.

“‘That we would be needed in the conflict that he would spawn in his brilliant blaze.’” Finally, with a voice like gravel, the third champion stepped forward, his weapon gleaming in the dim light.

“‘We knew you would come, and we have been waiting.’”

“A test of strength, my father thought, and these three were the Courser champions. Though he did not understand who ‘He’ was at the time, he understood their words and what he must do: victory or death.” Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, their eyes wide with anticipation. The air seemed to thrum with energy as they waited for me to continue. “One by one, my father fought the Courser champions; though he felt it was a waste of such talented fighters, he had no choice but to kill them, for that was the only way to prove himself. The battles were fierce, and even with the strength of divinity on his side, my father barely emerged victorious. When the last champion fell, he ascended the steps to the throne, but to the surprise of the gathered Coursers, he did not sit upon it. Instead, he bowed before it and proclaimed that while he would rule them, however, this throne was only fit for a Courser worthy of Tenebris’s legacy. The Coursers, impressed by his actions and words, accepted him as their leader. They gifted him their most treasured artifact, the Codex-Maledictium.” Little Luna interrupted, her curiosity piqued.

“That’s the Courser holy book you mentioned before, right?”

“Yes, The book Tenebris himself penned with the blood of those who had fallen in the Scarlet Dawn. It detailed the new truth and social doctrine the Coursers would take. Essentially, Tenebris’s philosophy outlined his view of a perfect societal structure and belief in the true balance of all things. I won’t go into too much detail, as the book itself is… let’s say, extensive, and we don’t have the time for it tonight. But know this: my father was beyond impressed with its teachings and agreed with most of them. As I mentioned before, he would ultimately adapt the Codex-Maledictium to incorporate all the Bicorn species and use it as the groundwork for his imperium. Now, fast forward a little; after the Coursers joined Malacar, their rebellion’s momentum increased, and the elder primals fell one by one. With each defeat, a new Deustrier would rise until finally, after nearly five thousand years of war and bloodshed, the primals were no more. Malacar Aeonsovreign, the now god-emperor of Bicorn kind, claimed a vast portion of the continent and established his Imperium, leaving the rest to the other races who had been enslaved or oppressed by the primals. Thus began a golden age of peace and prosperity for Bicorns.” As I finished, both sisters applauded, their hooves enthusiastically clapping against the stone floor.

“That was an incredible history lesson, Tenebrae,” Celestia said, her eyes shining with newfound knowledge. “I can’t believe so much had happened in our ancient history that we knew nothing about.” She nearly knocked over the sugar jar in her excitement, catching it just in time.

“Indeed!” Little Luna agreed, her journal now filled with notes and sketches. She made another of those adorable squee sounds that never failed to amuse me. “And thankfully, I had just enough space in my journal to fit it all!”

“We’re not done yet, you know. That was just act one of our little history lesson.” I smirked, watching as little Luna’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Only act one!?” she exclaimed her voice a mix of astonishment and dread.

“Of course,” I replied with a grin. “The next part will cover how our imperial society functions and its intricate structure.” Little Luna’s gaze darted to her journal, flipping through the pages frantically, searching for any remaining space. Finding none, she let out a defeated sigh, her ears drooping.

“Celestia, can I please use yours for this next part?” she pleaded, her large eyes shimmering with the innocence of a filly. Celestia sighed, rolling her eyes in affectionate resignation.

“Fine, but no peeking at anything I’ve already written. I mean it.” With a delighted squee, Luna’s horn lit up, levitating Celestia’s journal from beneath the table. She flipped eagerly to a blank page, her quill at the ready.

“Thank you, dear sister!” she chirped, her excitement palpable.

“Your enthusiasm is awe-inspiring, little Luna,” I chuckled. “But let’s continue. Our society was structured around a caste system. The Manafrey were our researchers and developers, leading the way in all things magical and technological. The Drudcey were the builders, farmers, and workers responsible for infrastructure. And the Coursers, of course, were our military. Think of it as our magic, builder, and warrior caste. These three castes formed the base of our society. All were equal in rights and were bound by the same laws, regardless of race.” As I spoke, I could see little Luna’s quill darting across the pages, capturing every word. The soft scratching of the quill was a comforting sound, grounding the intensity of the topic. “Above these castes,” I continued, “was our Noble caste. Unlike your nobles, ours weren’t born into their titles. Instead, nobility had to be earned. To become a noble, a Bicorn had to graduate from the educational systems of all three castes. This may sound trivial, but remember, our lifespans are incredibly long. It took millennia to graduate from all three. The reasoning behind this was simple: one cannot govern a race without understanding it deeply. Without knowledge of their customs, how would you know their needs or wants, especially when dealing with multiple races?” Celestia’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully, her hoof gently tapping the edge of her teacup.

“That’s… quite ingenious. By ensuring that nobles truly understood the people they governed, you likely reduced corruption and ensured only the most qualified individuals held power.” I nodded, impressed by her insight.

“Exactly. The consequences for negligence or abuse of noble status were severe. If found guilty, the entire noble household was eradicated, with no exceptions.” Celestia’s expression tightened.

“That’s brutal… but effective.” A pause lingered in the air as they both absorbed the weight of what I’d said.

“Now,” I resumed, “above the nobles was the rank of Paragon, the highest any Bicorn could achieve. The Emperor chose Paragons from the nobility, selecting those who contributed significantly to the Imperium. For example, Paragon Heartfelt, who created our healing potions, or Paragon Phazor, who developed the Phazon Shield technology. These were not just titles; they were earned through monumental achievements.” Little Luna looked up from her writing, her brow furrowed in concentration.

“And I’m guessing that even you and your brothers had to go through these educational systems?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Although we Deustriers were gods, we were not exempt from this process. Each of us had to learn from the other castes and each other. Our father hoped this would bond us as a family.” Celestia smiled softly.

“That’s rather sweet.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at her sentiment.

“My father was anything but sweet, Celestia. Some of the lessons we learned, particularly from my brother Su’thur, were… questionable, to say the least.” Luna tilted her head, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

“Su’thur? He’s one of your brothers?”

“Indeed,” I confirmed, a shadow of a grin playing on my lips. “The third Deustrier.” Celestia leaned forward, her interest piqued.

“Why were his lessons questionable?” I cleared my throat, choosing my words carefully.

“Let’s just say he was the family's wild child and leave it at that.” They exchanged skeptical glances, but I could see they weren’t going to press further, at least for now. Little Luna turned back to her writing, but after a few moments, she hesitated.

“I… I have a question,” she began, her voice softer, more hesitant than before.

“Of course,” I said, intrigued. “What is it?” She glanced nervously at Celestia, then back at me.

“I was curious about… your customs for… a special somepony.”

“A special somepony?” I repeated, genuinely confused. “I’m not familiar with that term. Could you elaborate?” Her cheeks flushed a deep red, and she tried to hide her face behind her quill.

“You know… like spouses, potential marriage partners… things like that.” Understanding dawned on me, and I laughed, causing her to blush even more.

“Ah, I see. Are you asking about the customs for Bicorns in general or for the Coursers specifically?” Celestia, who had been silently observing, now spoke up.

“What do you mean? Are they different?” I nodded, leaning forward as the firelight danced across my face.

“Yes, they are quite different. Manafrey and Drudcey's customs are very similar to yours here in this age,” I began, my voice calm but commanding. “The only significant difference lies in their final rituals…their marriage rituals, to be precise. Manafrey marriages culminate in a ceremony where the bride and groom complete a special magical contract, binding them together for life. In contrast, Drudcey marriages end with the pair creating something together—a piece of art or a crafted object—or they paint together, symbolizing their union.” Celestia nodded thoughtfully while little Luna’s quill paused mid-air.

“Interesting,” she mused, “and it fits with how you described them earlier. Now, what about the Coursers?” I took a moment, letting the silence stretch just enough to build anticipation before answering.

“Courser customs were entirely different from the other two. The most significant difference was that Courser stallions had multiple spouses, whereas the Manafrey and Drudcey typically took only one.” The sound of the quill dropping onto the table was loud in the room's stillness. Little Luna’s eyes widened, her expression turning unexpectedly sharp.

“They what?” she asked, her voice laced with an uncharacteristic edge of anger. I met her gaze evenly.

“Courser stallions would take multiple spouses,” I repeated firmly. “Don’t make me repeat it.” Both sisters glared at me, their eyes flashing with disapproval as if I had committed some grievous offense. Their expressions made it clear they were not pleased, but I wasn’t about to let their misunderstanding go unchallenged. “Don’t give me that look,” I said, my tone steady but slightly irritated. “It’s not what you think.”

“Oh really?” Celestia’s voice dripped with skepticism as she and her sister crossed their hooves, waiting for an explanation.

“Yes, really,” I responded, my voice now carrying an edge of frustration. “It was done out of necessity.” Celestia raised an eyebrow, her tone becoming even more confrontational.

“How so?” I sighed, knowing that the explanation would not be an easy one.

“Look, following the death of Razakel and the detonation of the soul bomb, the birth rate for Courser fillies and colts changed dramatically. The ratio became thirteen to one, with far more mares being born than stallions. Whether this was due to the Coursers’ proximity to the soul bomb’s energy or some final curse from Razakel, I don’t know. Not even the Manafrey could determine the cause after millennia of investigation. But as you can imagine, such a disparity, especially in a warrior culture like ours, where only males fought, wasn’t conducive to a growing population. So, it became common for Coursers to take multiple mares as spouses.” Their tense expressions softened slightly as the reality of the situation dawned on them. Little Luna’s anger faded into a reluctant understanding.

“I… I guess that makes sense,” she conceded, though her voice still held a trace of poutiness. But then, her curiosity got the better of her, and she asked, “Wait, just how many mares did you have then Tenebrae?” The room seemed to grow colder as both Celestia and Luna fixed their eyes on me, their gazes now filled with a different kind of intensity. I looked away momentarily, the weight of my past pressing down on me. After a long, weary sigh, I answered.

“None.” The shock on their faces was palpable. They had clearly expected a different answer.

“None?” Celestia echoed, her confusion evident. “That doesn’t seem right. Given your status as a Deustrier and the only Courser among them, I figured you would have had quite a number of them.” I shook my head slowly, feeling the old regrets bubbling up to the surface.

“I never had the time to select any. It may sound strange, but even though we took multiple spouses, we were very selective about who we chose as mates. And to be honest… the mares feared me upon my return to the Imperium.” Little Luna’s eyes softened with concern as she leaned forward slightly.

“What do you mean by your return?” she asked gently. I closed my eyes, the pain of the memory tightening in my chest.

“Nothing,” I said, dismissing the question with a wave of my hoof. “Forget about it. Let’s move on.” Little Luna looked disappointed, but she nodded, respecting my reluctance.

“Alright,” she murmured, her voice tinged with sadness. “I won’t pry.” After a few moments, Celestia adjusted her sitting position, breaking the tension.

“I have a question of my own, Tenebrae,” she said, her tone curious but cautious.

“Go ahead,” I commanded, my voice once again steady.

“You mentioned earlier that you were in the middle of a battle before being awakened from that block of ice. I have to ask… what exactly were you fighting?” Her voice was calm, but I could sense the weight of her curiosity. “After everything you’ve told us, I find it hard to believe anything could pose a threat to the Bicorns, especially after the war with those primals.” I felt a surge of emotions, anger, regret, and an overwhelming sense of loss.

“And you would be correct in thinking that… If only things had gone differently.” My voice began to rise with anger. “If only my father hadn’t planted doubt with one lie… If only my brothers had kept their faith in his vision… If their resolve had been stronger!” I slammed a hoof on the table, causing the sisters to flinch. “If they hadn’t allowed their minds to be taken by those FUCKING SOUL PARASITES! If I hadn’t fallen into that void! If I had been stronger….” The words came out in a torrent of rage and sorrow. Celestia and Luna had started to back away from the table, their expressions a mix of fear and concern. Only then did I realize what I had done. My war blade was buried deep in the stone beneath the table, the air around me crackling with the energy I had unconsciously summoned. I let out a long, shuddering sigh as I retracted my blade, forcing myself to calm down. “I think that will do for our lesson tonight,” I said coldly, trying to regain my composure. “It’s far past midnight, and you two must rest.”

“A-alright,” Celestia stammered, her voice small and shaken. “I’m sorry if we upset you, Tenebrae.” I sighed again, softer this time.

“It’s fine. It just brought up some old, unpleasant memories,” I said, placing a hoof against my breastplate, feeling the painful throb where my ravaged heart lay beneath. “I’ll be fine now. Go and get some rest. There will be much work for us tomorrow.” They both hesitated before heading to the door, their movements shaky, the weight of the evening’s revelations pressing down on them. But just before they left, they turned back to me.

“It may be a little late to say this,” Celestia began, her voice filled with sincerity, “but thank you for telling us all of this, Tenebrae. We appreciate learning about our lost past and are grateful that you trust us with this knowledge.” She gave me a small, respectful bow, which little Luna quickly mimicked, though her eyes still held a trace of worry.

“You’re both welcome,” I replied, my voice softer than before. “Now, get some rest. We’ll talk more later.”

~~~

The underground theater was a cavernous space, with rows of stone benches rising in tiers along the curved walls. The air was cool, and the echoes of Lily's hooves against the stone floor reverberated softly. Above, a giant globe filled with fireflies emitted a warm, steady light, casting soft shadows on the carved stone. The light was cleverly amplified by reflective surfaces strategically placed around the cavern, giving the space an almost ethereal glow. The chalk lines, meticulously drawn and nearly pristine, traced intricate paths on the ground, circling the center of the room where the seats converged. As I surveyed the area, the silence was only broken by the gentle flutter of Lily's wings as she flew up to clean cobwebs from the firefly globe. Her movements were graceful but tinged with a sadness that seemed to cling to her as she gently wiped away the dust of disuse. "Will this place serve your needs, Lord Tenebrae?" she asked, her voice carrying a mix of respect and lingering sorrow as she descended back to the floor. I nodded, my gaze still taking in the vastness of the space.

"Yes, but what is this place used for?" I asked, curiosity piqued by the unusual setup. Lily’s expression softened with a hint of nostalgia as she responded,

"It used to be our town meeting hall, and it also served as our modified Hoofball court." She let out a small sigh as if the memories were a weight she bore silently.

"Hoofball?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow. The name was unfamiliar, but it clearly held some significance to these ponies.

"A sport we enjoyed in happier times," she replied, her voice tinged with sadness as her hooves touched the ground lightly. Her gaze drifted over the room as if she could still see the ghosts of those joyful moments etched in the walls. I glanced around again, noting the absence of any signs of past conflict, bloodstains, or shattered armor, nothing to suggest the kind of ‘sports’ my race might have partaken in.

"I see," I said, my tone thoughtful. "I may have to make a few adjustments. I hope that will be acceptable." My mind was already working on the modifications I would need to transform this space into what I required. Lily nodded without hesitation.

"Make any changes you want, Lord. I don't know what you intend to use the space for, but please use it however you like." Her trust was unexpected but not unwelcome. I gave her a brief nod in return.

"I shall. Inform me the moment Night Weaver returns, I will be here." With another respectful nod, she turned and headed back out through the tunnel, her hoofsteps fading into the distance. As the cavern's silence enveloped me again, I focused on my task. "Now, to make the crucible for my new recruits," I murmured to myself. My magic surged as I began to reshape the stone, molding it to fit the rigorous needs of what was to come. The theater would be transformed, its purpose reborn, just as I intended my recruits to be.

~~~

The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and the soft rustling of leaves as we stood near the settlement's central fountain. The gentle trickle of water was the only sound breaking the afternoon's stillness, save for the occasional murmur of voices from the nearby dwellings. The water shimmered in the sunlight, a small oasis of calm amidst the turmoil gripping these lands. Night Weaver, a thestral with a lean build and eyes that spoke of years of hardship, splashed water onto his face. The cool droplets clung to his fur, offering a brief respite from the tension that had settled over us all. He shook his head in disbelief, his wings twitching as he processed the reality of the situation. "I can’t believe the princesses themselves have come here to aid us in our plight," he muttered, wiping his face with a foreleg. His voice carried a mixture of awe and weariness. "Or that they’ve employed an actual warrior strong enough to beat not only an entire Arachne Bliss operation but also kill an Itzalwurm." His gaze met mine, filled with a mix of respect and curiosity. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun hung lazily in the sky, casting long shadows across the settlement. Night Weaver and his group had just returned, looking haggard but relieved to be back. Red Veil had apparently come across them on their way home, filling Night Weaver in on the rescue of his kin and our return to Blossom Heights. The elder, a figure of quiet authority, stood beside us, his expression solemn as he listened to our exchange. Little Luna and Celestia had greeted me warmly when I arrived, but I could see the weight of our previous conversation lingering in their eyes. The knowledge I had shared was not easy to digest, and the burden it carried was evident in their somber expressions. Still, they stood resolute, their presence a testament to their determination. Night Weaver, after offering a deep bow to little Luna, an act that seemed to come from a place of genuine reverence, turned his attention back to me. "I’ll answer whatever questions you have, Lord Tenebrae, if it’ll help bring those heartless bastards down." I nodded, appreciating his willingness to assist.

"Tell me about Hammer-Hoof," I said, my voice steady but laced with underlying tension. "We need to know everything about the port and its operations if we are to strike effectively." Night Weaver's expression darkened, and he took a deep breath as if preparing himself to relive painful memories.

"Hammer-Hoof is a port town, heavily fortified and crawling with Arachne. They control everything: the docks, the markets, and most importantly, the mines on the outskirts. Those mines... they're where they force countless slaves to work, extracting silver and iron to fuel their greed." As he spoke, the image of the town began to form in my mind: rows of dilapidated buildings, the stench of saltwater and sweat, and the oppressive presence of Arachne overseers looming over the enslaved. "I was fortunate enough to escape," he said, his voice tinged with bitterness. "But not before witnessing the horrors they inflicted on my kin. Arachne... they don't just use physical force to keep the slaves in line. They employ a dragon, a massive, terrifying beast that answers to them like a loyal dog. Its name is Vahlok, and it's the main enforcer of their will. Any sign of resistance, any whisper of rebellion, and they unleash that monster to make an example out of us." At the mention of the dragon, my blood began to boil. The very idea of such a noble and proud being used to terrorize the helpless stirred a deep, seething rage within me. Had they devolved to such a state as well? My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt the familiar, primal urge to strike, to rend flesh and tear apart all who would dare defy me. The sisters noticed the shift in my demeanor, their eyes widening in concern as they took a cautious step back.

"I will tear its fucking heart out," I growled, the words escaping through gritted teeth. The promise hung in the air, heavy with the weight of my wrath. Night Weaver, though visibly shaken by my outburst, nodded in agreement.

“Don't underestimate it, Lord Tenebrae. Vahlok is as cunning as he is powerful." I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

"Night Weaver," I said, my voice now controlled but still carrying an edge, "can you draw a map of Hammer-Hoof and the mines? We'll need every detail if we're to take them by surprise and be successful in our attack." He nodded, already moving to retrieve a piece of parchment from his satchel.

"I'll do my best to recall everything I can. The layout, the guard patrols, the entrances to the mines…whatever you need." I glanced at the sisters, their expressions of determination and concern. With Night Weaver’s map and the knowledge he provided, the pieces were slowly falling into place. The time to strike would come soon, and when it did, Arachne would learn the true meaning of fear. But first, I gazed towards the tunnel entrance leading to my new crucible, where I had Fang Seeker and the others standing by.

“Let's see if you thestrals are truly worthy as our grand descendants,” I whispered to myself.

The Prologue

Malevolence

Prologue

Tenebrae walked upon the snowy battlements shrouded in a cold fog, ensuring every soldier was in their assigned positions, that the magic artillery squads were primed to fire on command, and what little remained of the Magitech Machina were activated and ready to serve their purpose, for there could be no weak links in their final defense. As he strode past the soldiers, he noticed how eerily quiet it all seemed even as the loader machina hoisted and stacked the heavy artillery shells against the Blackstone walls ready to be used by the nearby batteries, as Commodores barked orders to their units to fortify the walls with whatever they could find be it tables, chairs, large stones, destroyed vehicles, empty fuel tanks, and metal plates stripped from destroyed machina, even the usually loud hum from the airships stationed overhead seemed to be dampened by the falling snow. He knew this quite well, for he had heard it most of his life serving in the imperial army as its Primarch or supreme commander, for it was his divine duty as crown prince of the Bicorn Imperium. This quiet was a deep breath before the plunge into the hellfires of war, but no, this time, it was different. Rather than a deep breath, this was more akin to a dying gasp, yes... the last gasp of a dying world.
“My lord Tenebrae, all battle preparations are complete, and according to the astrologist, the fog and snow should be clearing soon.” Tenebrae turned to the source of the voice that had broken the quiet that vexed him but a moment ago.

“Excellent work as always, Commodore Bluestar; that’s good news. It’ll give the artillery batteries and airships a clear line of sight to fire upon the enemy.” Commodore Bluestar was an ashen gray bicorn with a forest green shortcut mane and tail; his horns curved back like a goat or ram and were a soft metallic gold; he was also much shorter than the primarch but so was every other bicorn as was expected Royals were always quite a head taller than others often with longer horns and wings respectfully.

“Thank you, my lord, but I am unworthy of such praise.”

“Nonsense, you have stood by my side in battle for many centuries, and not once has your loyalty or conviction wavered. And seeing as this may be our last fight, you are at least worthy of some praise.” Although the Commodore kept his composure, Tenebrae could see the light beaming in Bluestar’s eyes at his praise.

“Then I humbly accept it, my lord.” He gave a deep bow to the Primarch. “So this is it, huh? The end of the world and the Imperium?” Bluestar looked around at the last gathering of the once mighty Imperial Army that had at one time conquered the world with its insurmountable strength and size of tens of millions, now reduced to barely over a hundred thousand troops using patchworked machina and the last remaining airships which numbered barely twenty half of which were retrofitted civilian airships that are to be used as suicide bombers loaded with as much ordinance as they could find.

“I don’t know, Commodore. My father, our holy emperor, ordered all remaining legions of the Imperial Army to muster and gather here to hold the Winterburn Gates no matter the cost.”

“I can understand the reason, my lord, seeing as it’s the only path into the Imperial Capital; this gateway acts as an excellent chokepoint for any invading force.” The Commodore was correct in this, as the Imperial Capital City of WintersHowl was surrounded by a massive mountain range with sheer cliffs, often referred to as the Rim-Of-Heaven. With one natural canyon (now the fortress gate of Winterburn) acting as a path to the valley where the city resides, it was a magnificent natural fortress.

“But what I don’t understand is why now? After all, wasn’t the purpose of the Howling Spire to end the war? Why send us to face the horde and hold this position at all costs? Shouldn’t we activate it? That’s why the worker caste spent centuries building it, didn’t they?” Tenebrae turned and looked back towards the canyon that leads to the capital, where in the distance could be seen the truly colossal Blackstone tower rising from the center of the city even at this distance. It was indeed a sight to behold, for it was the largest project in the long history of the Imperium; it took nearly 600 years to build by the command of the holy emperor. Every available resource and worker was ordered to build it in secret, and several facilities and towns that would have been vital to the war effort against the horde were completely stripped or abandoned to create it. It was so tall it ascended well beyond the Rim-Of-Heaven and even above the clouds themselves, but despite the sheer magnitude of the project, no one knew what its true purpose was other than the emperor. Not even he, the crown prince, knew of it. Some, like the Commodore, believed it to be some super-weapon; others said it was a magical conduit or beacon of some sort, and there were even heretics that claimed it was nothing more than a pretty palace that the emperor wasted valuable resources to build to fuel his ego.

“I don’t know why, but It's not our place to question the emperor's will only to obey it, Commodore. If our holy emperor ordered us to hold this gate at all cost, then that’s what we, as the last legion of the Imperial Army, will do.” Commodore Bluestar bit his lip but said nothing as he bowed to the Primarch.

“Understood, my lord. I'll return to my unit.” He turned and headed back towards one of several artillery emplacements that stretched across the wall. Tenebrae turned to face outwards towards the fog-shrouded frozen plains and smashed his black armored hoof against a large rock situated on the edge of the battlement, ready to be dropped to any unsuspecting foe below. It shattered into small pieces.

“Damn it, I hope you can forgive me for my dishonesty Bluestar. I hope you all can.” Although he didn’t know the specifics of the Howling Spire, he knew why the last remaining forces of the Imperial Army were sent here to hold the line no matter the cost. “All to buy time.” He muttered under his breath for the last week every magister and imperial mage left that wasn’t part of the artillery units were being secretly summoned to the spire for some unknown purpose, once they entered none came out even his father the emperor who had not been seen since its completion was undoubtedly somewhere inside. Something significant was about to happen, and those things could sense it; that’s why they were all heading straight for the capital. Every horde suddenly changed direction, all to converge here, and why we were all sent out here, to hold the line at the gates to die and buy as much time as we could for whatever purpose the spire held.
All he knew was whatever it was, they were afraid, and they were coming for it. The snowfall eased, and the fog began to dissipate. Tenebrae stood atop the wall, looking across the frozen plains as the fog lifted to reveal the horror that hid within it. There they were, all of them like silent ghosts there they were. Tenebrae stood on the wall above, looking down at an endless sea of distorted, twisted flesh. There were millions, not hundreds of millions, if not billions, of the horrid creatures. They had no end past what he could see on the horizon. Quiet... the quiet again as he stood there staring at the endless maw of the great enemy who consumed all in its wake; all was quiet. It was as if time had stood still in that moment before the end... Suddenly all at once, the endless maw opened its great jaws, and what followed could only be described as the wet, tortured chorus of the damned. Tenebrae screamed his royal voice as loud as he could.

“NO MATTER THE COST, WE CAN’T TAKE A SINGLE STEP BACK. IF WE FAIL HERE, IT WILL BE THE END OF EVERYTHING; ALL FORCES OPEN FIRE!!!!!!”

Author's Note

just a quick prologue new to this so im testing the waters

Chapter One.

Chapter One

Discovery

The train rolled steadily along the tracks on its way to the Crystal Empire as Sandy Digs gazed out of the windows towards the morning sun. She was a light brown earth pony mare in her early thirties sporting a tan explorer hat with a yellow mane and short-cut tail; her light pink eyes had dark circles from a late night. Though she seemed at ease calmly sipping her coffee the stewardess had brought, her head was swimming with ideas and possibilities at what awaited her. She had been summoned to the royal palace late in the night by the Princess of Friendship herself for an important mission to the Crystal Empire. An unknown ruin of some sort had been discovered by one of the crystal scouts far to the north of the frozen wastes above the empire shortly after an intense storm had caused an avalanche. According to the scouts' report in the letter Princess Twilight received from her brother Shining Armor, who is the husband of the ruling regent of the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadence, the description of the ruins from the scout does not match any known architecture of any kind. There was also nothing found in the Crystal Empire or the Canterlot libraries regarding any historical mention of a species living in that region. Her hoof silently tapped the seat in anticipation as she pondered the implications. Could this mean the discovery of an entirely new civilization or species? Or perhaps this could be the origin point of the crystal ponies? How amazing would it be if this were the long-fabled home of the alicorns? Now, wouldn't that be exciting!?
“Excuse me, Miss. Would you like more coffee?” Sandy Digs was startled by the voice of the stewardess standing next to her.

“Oh, umm, yes, thank you, but you shouldn’t sneak up on your passengers like that.” The purple unicorn carefully lifted her cup with magic and poured the coffee into it.

“Apologies, but I had asked you four times before you responded.” Sandy blushed out of embarrassment; she must have been lost in thought. The stewardess put the filled coffee cup back onto the passenger tray. “We’ll be arriving at the Crystal Empire shortly. Might I suggest finding a hotel when we arrive? You look exhausted, miss.”

“Thank you for your concern but I have an important meeting first that I must attend.” The stewardess gave a polite nod and continued down the train car. She gazed out the train car window once again and saw the city just starting to come into view. “I hope the excavation team I'm supposed to meet with is competent. I'm not a fan of snow and freezing wind.” She said quietly to herself it will still be an hour or so until we pull into the station. I suppose I should take a quick power nap. After all, it would look unprofessional to look like a complete zom-pony when meeting the team. She awoke with a start at the sound of the train's brakes squealing against the tracks they must be arriving at the station.

“Attention all passengers, we’ve arrived at our destination. Please don’t forget your luggage when disembarking.” The voice of the train's conductor boomed over the speaker. Sandy gave a loud yawn before grabbing her saddlebags and following the other passengers out of the train. She stepped off the train onto the platform and took in her surroundings at the bustling train station. This was her first time here. She had heard about the shiny architecture of the crystal ponies, but this seemed excessive; the entire floor gleamed like a mirror despite all the hoof traffic it endures daily, and the columns appeared to be carved from pure crystal leading up the sides of the building, and the beautiful stained-glass window also seemed to be made from crystal though it must act as a special filter for the sunlight otherwise this place would be blinding. She was supposed to meet with somepony upon arrival, a historian pony who was to accompany the team and act as her guide in the city.

“Excuse me, are you Sandy Digs?” Sandy turned to the direction of the speaker.

“Umm... yes, I am, and I'm assuming you’re the historian I was supposed to meet?” The stallion she was speaking to was a short older unicorn, possibly in his late fifties, with a bright red mane and long tail. He peered at her with violet eyes through his gold-rimmed spectacles.

“Why yes, I am. My name is Paper Record. I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Digs. The rest of the expedition team is awaiting us at the Crystal Love Laboratories and Research Center. Please follow me.” He waved a hoof for her to follow him as he turned toward the exit.

“Of course, lead on, and I'm not a miss, so please just refer to me as Sandy. Mr. Record, was it? May I ask how many ponies have gathered for the expeditionary group? I heard that the ruins are quite far to the north and that the ruins themselves are buried deep within the ice. Will we have sufficient pony power and supplies to mount such an expedition?”

“But of course, Her Royal Majesty Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has given her full support for this expedition. She, too, is quite interested in what we find. As for the teams' size, we have about forty-three members, including yourself.” We had exited the train station and were making our way down the beautiful crystal pathways toward the palace that lie in the heart of the city.

“Excellent, that should be more than enough to begin our little incursion. I must admit I'm very excited to start. I can't even begin to hypothesize what we’ll find.”

“Excited, are you? I'd say tired is more like it.” He chuckled to himself. “I haven't seen baggy eyes like that since my college days. But I understand you were summoned late in the night as well, weren't you? We had turned off the main street and headed down a side path that seemed to head into the academic section of the city. “You see that large dome-shaped building in the distance there?” He stopped for a moment and pointed upwards in front of us where, indeed, there was an exceptionally large dome shape that could be seen cresting above the other buildings. “That's the Crystal Love Laboratories and Research Center. It's about a fifteen-minute walk from here. It was newly constructed as Her Majesty Princess Twilight Sparkle made a declaration to increase academic learning and research, both magical and technological, throughout Equestria. It's become fairly popular amongst the crystal ponies since they were gone for over a thousand years.”

“Changing times, I'm still getting used to the idea of the twin goddesses stepping down and the Council of Friendship, along with Her Majesty the Princess of Friendship, being the new ruling government. Although I do agree with many of their reforms as of late to increase the education of all creatures and ponies in Equestria, I can't help but be concerned about all the newcomers to our kingdom. I fear it may cause more trouble later down the line.” Sandy said as we continued down the bustling street of ponies.

“Yours is a sentiment shared by many of the older folk.” Paper Record grumbled under his breath. He clearly did not agree with them.

“Is this the place? It's much larger than I would have thought.” We were standing before a large gate that marked the entrance to the research center. I could see that the large dome I had seen in the distance was just the center of the facility. Dozens of smaller buildings connected to the dome in a wide arc across the grass; the entire place was surrounded by a large crystal wall, and several guard ponies could be seen patrolling the lawn and gatehouse. Paper Record walked up to the gatehouse guard and handed him a scroll.

“Yes, we’ve arrived; the others are waiting for us.” We were escorted through the gates by two crystal guard ponies and herded directly to the far-left building. The building itself was one of those large rectangular ones you would find on an academic or college campus filled with classrooms and individual labs branching out to many different subjects. After entering the building, we were led through several corridors past many ponies and creatures wearing the attire of students. They all gave friendly waves and smiles as we passed. We entered through a large double door that led to an auditorium where eight ponies were all sitting around a table where dozens of charts, maps, and papers were scattered all around them as they argued.

“We need to bring dynamite and blasting equipment; otherwise, we will be spending the first few months just digging out the ice trying to find the entrance to the place.” said a white earth pony mare in her twenties with pink streaks through her mane and tail.

“And I told you, Swirly Rose, for the hundredth time, we can’t use explosives. We don't know the structural integrity of the ruins, not to mention the hazard of starting an avalanche and burying ourselves alive.” Retorted a brown unicorn stallion in his sixties with a bright red mane and tail wearing a formal-looking suit and reading glasses.

“Not if we place them carefully, Mr. Smokey, you may be a celebrated language major or whatever, but my crew and I are experts in mining and excavation. We know how to work explosives safely even under hazardous conditions.” ‘Swirly struck the table with her hoof.’ “And I'm not sure about you, but I, for one, am not looking forward to spending eight months in a frozen wasteland digging through what could be miles of solid ice to some unknown ruins that could be empty for all we know, you old goat.”

“OLD!? How dare you!? I'm still in my prime, little missy. Just because I'm more intelligent than some backwater earth pony who most likely dropped out of middle school and likes watching rocks explode does not make me old.” Swirly Rose narrowed her eyes and puffed up her chest. She looked like she was about to tackle the older unicorn.

“Let's all calm down and ask our team leader her opinion.” A noticeably young-looking light green crystal pony mare with a silvery mane and short cut tail gestured towards me as we approached the group. Everypony went quiet and turned their gaze to me and Paper.

“Well, well, well, look who finally showed up to our little team meeting. Took your sweet time fetching our esteemed leader, did we, Paper? What, did you take the scenic route telling her about the fascinating history of the Crystal Empire? Oh, oh, did she know that the Crystal Empire is protected from the snow because of the crystal heart? Or that Princess Cadence is the current regent of this place?” A very cynical-looking red earth pony mare with a dark blue mane who was not even twenty yet said as her deep brown eyes narrowed at me.

“Ah, just as fiery and impatient as ever, I see Red Candy. You know as well as I do I am well ahead of schedule in getting here. It's not my fault you and the rest of the team decided to start an hour early without us. Perhaps it would be fruitful to spend a year digging in the ice; just might cool that young blood of yours.” Red Candy glared at him but said nothing. “Anyways, if you're all done acting like foals arguing in the cafeteria over who gets the last of the hay fries, allow me to introduce Sandy Digs, who will be leading this expedition by royal command of Her Majesty Princess Twilight Sparkle.” They all looked expectantly at me, sizing me up. I would imagine, of course, it was like being in a room filled with angry timber wolves. I cleared my throat and stepped up to the table.

“Now, as you all know my name, before we make any decisions, I'd like to know who my team is for this expedition, so we will go left to right. When it's your turn, please state your name and what role you're fulfilling. Afterward, we will discuss strategy with you first, please.” I gestured to the fiery red earth pony next to me. She flared her nostrils and spat on the floor.

“Fine, my name is Red Candy. I'm a mountaineer and expert hiker. It's my job to lead the wagons of equipment safely through the snow to the dig site. Next was the white earth pony with the pink stripes.

“My name is Swirly Rose. I'm the leader of the dig crew, and an explosive expert should be pretty self-explanatory about what I'm in charge of doing, boss. She was still glaring at the brown unicorn across the table.

“Greetings everypony, my name is Arctic Sapphire. I'm the scout who discovered the ruins on my patrol after a heavy storm blew through the northern wastes. I'll be your guide along with Miss Candy to the ruins. He was a handsome, bright azure crystal pony with a white mane and tail that had a black stripe through it, wearing the common armor the guard uses. After he finished speaking he gave a firm salute and stood at attention.

“And my name is Amethyst Smooch. I'm also a member of the Crystal Guard. Even though I'm a pegasus, I will be fulfilling the role of communications. It'll be my job to ferry messages and reports back to Shining Armor. As well as making requisition requests should we require additional resources glad to be working with you all.” She was cute for a pegasus; she had a ruby red mane tied off with a blue bow and had a light white coat and gave a firm salute as she stepped back from the table. Next was the older brown unicorn who was arguing with Swirly when we first entered the room.

“Mr. Smokey, language expert extraordinaire. I have several degrees, and I'm an expert linguist. I've studied almost every known form of communication and ancient language known in the world. It's my extreme pleasure to oversee the translation of any form of writing we discover in the ruins. He gave a courteous bow as Swirly made a gagging motion at him from across the table.

“I believe it's my turn now, mares and gentle colts?” the light green crystal pony who had pointed out our entrance earlier stated as she cleared her throat. "Emerald Snow, I'm a nurse from the Crystal Hospital, and I'll be taking care of any medical problems that arise during our trip, so please come to me if anypony gets hurt or has an ache they want me to take a ‘close’ look at.” She said as she gave an obvious flirty wink to Arctic Sapphire, who went a little red in the cheeks and turned away quickly.

“I'm Little Metal.” said a large gray earth stallion with a dirty blonde mane and scraggly-looking tail sporting an old beat-up top hat that had been patched many times from wear and tear.

“And I am Big Spice, the prettier, smarter, and stronger sibling of the Spicey Metal Transport Company, or SMTC for short. Me and my little bro here will be pulling the equipment wagons for y’all through the snow.” Said a not noticeably big light gray earth pony mare with the same dirty blonde mane done up into pigtails with freckles covering her face and a bright red bow on her tail with a plain-looking cow-pony hat. “Pleased to meet y’all.” She tipped her hat to me as her brother just gave a blank stare at the table.

“Excellent introductions, everypony! You all know me already, but I’ll introduce myself again. I’m Paper Record grand historian of the Royal Canterlot Library sent here by Her Majesty to act as the logistics expert and aid with any historical knowledge that may help identify these unknown ruins.”

“Perfect and as stated before I am Sandy Digs, I'm an archeologist in service to Her Majesty and a prized student to the one and only Daring Do. I've led many expeditions in the past to dangerous parts of Equestria and beyond, from the Endless Storming Isles to the Badlands, and I've been put in charge of this expedition to the frozen north. Now, down to business, as I understand it, you should have all received and reviewed the initial report of this discovery, correct?” Everypony shook their heads in acknowledgment. “Very good now, Arctic Sapphire. Is there any additional information you can give us that was not included in the report?”

“No, ma’am, I realized how important this discovery could be when I first found it, so I made sure I included everything I saw in the report to Her Majesty.”

“Alright, then, a quick review: approximately two weeks ago, an intense storm swept through the northern wastes and caused an avalanche that revealed a large ruin that doesn’t match any known records buried deep within the ice. From the initial report provided by the crystal scout who discovered it, ‘I gestured towards Arctic’ The ruins themselves seemed to be intact and made of some kind of unknown jet-black stone. From his observations, the structure seems to at one time have been some kind of tower or way castle of some kind. Everypony on board so far?”

“Yes.” they all said in almost perfect unison.

“Good now. We have been selected by Her Majesty Princess Twilight Sparkle and her sister-in-law Princess Cadence to excavate and explore this unknown ruin, recover important historical artifacts, and learn all we can from it and the species that built it. Dig crew leader Swirly Rose, when Paper Records and I first arrived, you were discussing using explosives to clear the initial ice to find the ruin entrance. Could you please elaborate?”

“Yes, boss, based on the report, the ruins could be quite large with no visible entrance inside. I recommend we use controlled explosions to break up the surface ice so we could locate the entrance quickly as that would give my team a focus point for our excavation efforts. It would also reduce the time it would take for us to start making discoveries as well as increase our available resources should we hit a snag deeper in the ruins later on. Not to mention we could set up base camp within the ruins themselves should there be a large area inside, it would provide us with additional shelter from the extreme cold.”

“Hmm… a sound argument. I could see how that would be beneficial, and Mr. Smokey, you were against this idea? Please explain why?”

“Of course, I'm against using explosives because although the ruins may appear to be intact that could easily be explained by the ice that incases it as well as light infraction. It could very well be brittle and just frozen in place for all we know, and as you said, this ruin does not match any known records. If we start blasting it just to get inside, it may cause large parts of the structure to collapse and destroy many potential artifacts and important findings. We’ve been given a very generous budget for this expedition we can afford to take our time to ensure we don’t damage anything.” He gave Swirly a know-it-all kind of smirk. “I was calmly trying to explain that this discovery could be the find of a lifetime for Equestria, and we shouldn’t risk damaging it just because some ponies don’t enjoy the cold when you arrived.”

“Well, excuse me, Mr. Goat Licker, if I don’t enjoy freezing my flank off just so you can embezzle the budget we’ve been given to enjoy tea and biscuits while sitting in a nice warm tent for eight months while I and my team dig through solid ice.” She snapped at him.

“WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?” He yelled, “How dare you speak to me like that, you inbred filly of a...”

“ENOUGH!!!” I yelled at both of them. “This is how supposed experts in their fields act because you don’t agree on something?” They both looked away from each other, still scowling. “You both make good points so we will act and behave like proper adults and compromise, Paper Record do we have any geologist on the team?”

“Yes, two, actually. They should assist the dig crew in loading the supplies into the wagons.”

“Good, so this is what we will do when we arrive: have both geologists survey the ice and surrounding mountains. If they both agree that it would be safe and stable, we will use controlled explosives to break the surface ice, as Miss Rose suggests.” Swirly Rose stuck her tongue out at the linguist. “However, if they disagree or find the area unstable, we will instead go with Mr. Smokey's suggestion and take it slow. Is that understood?” Smokey gave a coy smile.

“Yes, an excellent idea Miss Digs. I'm glad our team leader is more capable of listening to reason than some ponies.” He straightened his jacket and gave a smug look to Rose.

“Whatever you say, you’re the boss after all.” Swirly gave the linguist the dirtiest look she could manage.

“All right, everypony, pack whatever else you need to take with you on the expedition. We leave in two hours. If you're not at the wagons when times up, you will be left behind. Am I clear?” They all gave acknowledgment and headed out of the auditorium.

“You handled that very well, Sandy. I'm impressed. I can see why you were selected for the role of team leader now.” Paper Record said as he began rolling up all the disorganized papers and charts that littered the area around the table.

“Thanks, but I hope those two don’t argue throughout the entire assignment; otherwise, I might age a few more years faster than I should.” He chuckled.

“So, what are your plans for the next two hours, our esteemed leader?”

“I’m going to go pass out and sleep in the back of one of the wagons until it's time to leave,” I said as I headed out of the auditorium.

Two weeks later...

“Arctic Sapphire, how much further to the site?” I yelled through the howling wind. We had been traveling through the deep snow north for a few days now after leaving the safety of the Crystal Empire; thankfully, the first two days of our journey were uneventful, besides a broken axle that the siblings had quickly repaired before the snow could pile up to prevent us from traveling for what little daylight we had out here. However, the wind and snow had started to pick up suddenly as we started our descent into a deep valley of snow and ice that edged the nearby mountains.

“We are almost there. It's just up ahead at the base of those two large mountains.” He called back while pointing to twin peaks that rose in the distance. “Just a bit further, I marked the area with a red flag the last time I was here.”

“Good thinking; that’ll be a tremendous help, assuming the wind hasn’t blown it away.” I retreated into the wagon, where several ponies, including Paper Record, were huddled together under a blanket and trying to keep warm. “We’re almost there everypony just another hour or so, and we can set up the tents and get the portable heaters going.”

“Thank the goddesses for that! I feel like my tail is so frozen solid I could dip it in ink and use it like a quill.” Paper said while shivering under the blanket, and several other ponies agreed with him. "I heard how cold it was up here, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

“Just a bit further, and then we can get out of this cold and make history,” I assured the freezing ponies and went back up to the front, where Little Metal was pulling the wagon along through the deep snow. He was pushing a snowplow while pulling the wagon, making a trail for the several other wagons in our convoy to follow. “How are you not tired yet, Little Metal? You’ve been at this for at least five hours now; we can take a break if you need it.”

“Not tired.” was all he replied while continuing to trudge along.

“Okay, but aren't you at least cold? It’s not exactly temperate weather out here, and the deep snow is freezing.” I began to worry for our driver's health and safety.

“Don't feel cold, I have a good hat.” Again, nothing but a short unhelpful reply.

“I highly doubt that a patched work top hat is enough to keep you warm in this weather, Little Steel. Can I at least get you a blanket or something?”

“No blanket, I'm good.” What was with this stallion? Does he just not feel anything or something?

“Don't mind, m’ah brother Sandy, he’ll be fine always is as long as he has his favorite hat on. Other than that, he’s a bit slow if you haven't noticed, but he never complains about anything.” Big Spice said from underneath the blanket in the back of the wagon.

“I’m not sure that’s healthy, but I'll trust your judgment, seeing that he is your sibling. You’d know better than any pony.” A little over an hour later, we came across a pole with a frozen flag stuck into the ice.

“We’ve arrived.” declared Arctic Sapphire. “Look over there against the rock face.” He pointed towards a large rock shelf on the mountain where, sure enough, a very black tower-like object could be seen jutting out; it was easy to spot because of the contrast it had with the pure white snow. It rose from the desolate frozen landscape like a great black talon trying to grasp the heavens themselves. The curious thing about it, though, was, at least from what could be seen from this distance, that there were no windows or any visible openings into the tower. Not to mention its sheer size it went more than halfway up the opposing mountain side of several hundred feet at least. “We’ll most likely need to clear away the snow that has piled up on the top since I was last here to get a better look at what we’re dealing with.”

“All right, everypony listen up; Rose, have your crew start unloading the wagons and setting up base camp for the night; Paper, have the geologists start their survey of the area; Spice, have your team line up the wagons after they are unloaded on the opposite side of the area, we’ll use them as wind brakes to help with the cold. Arctic, Amethyst, and I will head up to the tower and look around the area. Everypony else can help Rose with unloading or clearing away an area to set up base camp.” Everypony started carrying out their assigned tasks while we three headed up the cliff face towards the exposed tower. About 20 minutes later we were up the rock face approaching the strange black tower. “I'm amazed this structure seems fully intact. I expected it to be rather worn down from the inclement weather.” As I examined the strange Blackstone, I noticed it was smooth to the touch and appeared to have a hexagonal pattern to it, but even more strange was that the snow seemed to just slide off it instead of sticking like it normally would for any equestrian structure.

“Remarkable,” Arctic whispered as he came up beside me and placed his hoof against the Blackstone. “It's not even cold to the touch; how's that possible?”

“I have no idea. I've never come across anything remotely like this. We should break off a sample and have the geologists look at it. Maybe they can figure out what type of rock this is made from. Amethyst, let me see that pickaxe of yours.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She pulled out the pickaxe from her saddlebag and handed it to me. I took it in my mouth and made sure I had a tight grip on it.

“Take a step back just in case,” I mumbled around the pickaxe in my mouth. After they stepped back behind my left, I took a full swing at the Blackstone only to have my swing come to a complete stop, and the force from it rattled back through the pickaxe and into my teeth. I dropped the pickaxe and fell back on my haunches. “Owwwwww holy sweet Celestia, that bucking hurt.” I cursed as I spat a little blood into the snow.

“Are you alright?” Arctic asked me as I stood myself back up.

“Yeah, I'm ok I didn't break any teeth or anything, but wow is that stuff dense look at that I didn’t even make a mark on it.” I inspected the area where I had struck and there wasn’t any sign that anything had hit it, I picked up the pickaxe and checked it to find the tip had completely flattened. “Well, we won't be digging our way through that's for sure, seriously what is this stuff made of?" At the very least, hitting it with a pickaxe designed for mining boulders, I should have left a scratch on it. "Let's head back and see what the situation is with the survey because I'm thinking we may need those explosives." We headed back down the rock face to see about four wagons had already been unloaded and several tents had gone up with ponies starting campfires and stacking crates under an awning on the far side of the camp.

“Ah, Sandy over here.” Paper Record beckoned us over to one of the campfires, where he was sitting with two others. “You're back just in time. I just finished going over the geologists' survey of the area, and according to both of them, it should be safe to use explosives. That storm that blew through that initially revealed the ruins has already caused most of the loose snow and rock to fall, so as long as we’re careful and don’t use too much, it’ll be fine.”

“That's very good news since there's no way we’re digging through.” I tossed the now blunted pickaxe to him, where he caught it with his magic and inspected it. “Took a full swing at that Blackstone tower and didn’t even leave a mark on it; whatever creatures built this place were master architects. Honestly, I'm not confident dynamite will fare any better, but we may find an open entrance deeper in the ice; that’s the hope anyway.” I gave him a brief report on our observations of the Blackstone.

“It's extraordinary if it's that tough. It would explain how it's still intact after all this time, of course. We still don’t know exactly how old this place is yet.”

“And that concerns me greatly from my experience. Ancient ruins are seldom undefended. I can't even begin to guess what kind of traps are awaiting us in there. We will need to be extra cautious when exploring the ruins, assuming we find a way inside.” I sat next to him, warming my hooves by the fire. “Arctic, find Swirly Rose and have her come here. I need to speak with her about those explosives afterward and help Emerald Snow set up a field hospital in one of the extra tents we brought, just in case we need it. His cheeks went a little crimson at the mention of Emerald Snow's name.

“Yes, ma’am.” He gave a salute and trotted off.

“You called boss?” Swirly Rose came walking up to the fire, chewing on a toothpick a few minutes later, and sat across from us.

“Yes, Rose, I need to speak with you about those explosives we brought.” She gave a wide grin.

“GET CLEAR!!!” BOOOOOM!!!!! Went the explosives in unison shaking the ground with a muffled thunderous roar from the sound of ice shattering. After explaining the situation to Rose the previous day, she and her team marked areas around the dig site and drilled holes down into the ice to place several bundles of explosives in a chain, much to the complaining dismay of Mr. Smokey. After all the water vapor produced by the explosions settled down, we were greeted with a massive Blackstone wall we previously couldn't see connected to the tower, and towards the middle of where the explosives had gone off was a giant doorway flanked by rearing statues of very pony shaped creatures with dual horns facing each other.

“Just as I suspected, not even the dynamite would affect the Blackstone structure, and what luck, we actually found an entrance inside,” I said as we all took a closer look at the massive structure before us.

“SUSPECTED!?" Came the wailing voice of one very disgruntled Mr. Smokey. “I can't believe you decided to use how many pounds of explosives because you suspected the Blackstone would be fine. Couldn't you have at least tested it on the tower before making such a rash decision?” Swirly Rose was visibly smiling with glee at the terribly upset brown linguist.

“I assure you, Mr. Smokey, I made sure we took every precaution to not damage anything inside the ruins. My team of experts and I placed the explosives far enough away so that only the shockwaves would cause enough force to make the ice shatter. And thanks to our expertise, we found an entrance inside because we’re just that good at our jobs.” He shot Rose a dirty look and was about to say something.

"Enough both of you, we have more important things at present. Mr. Smokey and Paper Record get whatever supplies you will need to enter the ruins I want you to follow the initial team in at a distance and begin cataloging our surroundings. Arctic, Amethyst, and Candy, you're with me. We will enter the ruins first. I do not doubt that there will be traps, so follow closely behind me and do exactly what I say, got it?

“Yes, ma’am,” said the two crystal guard ponies in unison.

“Oh, I can't wait to follow our fearless leader into a dark death-trapped ruin. I'm sure everything will be fine.” Came the sarcastic response of Red Candy.

“Thank you for your confidence, Candy. Now, Rose, I want a member of your crew to go with Paper and Smokey. I'm sure there will be several areas hidden underneath ice further in or collapsed sections, so it would be helpful to have a member of your crew along to help mark areas for excavation.”

“Great idea, boss. I'll send my second with you. HEY CRYSTAL GET OVER HERE!” She yelled at a group of ponies who were inspecting the wall where a pegasus mare came running over after being called. She had a bluish-gray coat with an anakiwa blue mane and tail sporting an aquamarine ribbon. Her cyan eyes were filled with wonder from the structure, and I could see she had a crystal heart for her cutie mark, although it looked nothing like the artifact from the Crystal Empire. “You're following the boss inside along with two eggheads. She wants you to mark future sites for excavation; you know what to look for.”

“I won't let you down, Big Rose. I'll go grab my gear and stand ready at the entrance for the eggheads.” She turned and trotted toward the supply area.

“Big Rose, huh?” I gave the dig crew leader a quizzical look as she shrugged.

“Just a nickname some of the crew came up with anyway. Don’t you have more important things to worry about?”

“Right, let's go make history.” About fifteen minutes later, we entered the ruins. We were in a corridor made entirely of the same Blackstone as the outer wall, but the difference was these strange blue lights that pulsed through the walls, temporarily illuminating our path with each pulse.

“This is a bit creepy; it's almost like a heartbeat with its rhythm.” Came the whispering voice of Amethyst from behind me.

“Yeah, maybe we are inside some stone giant's stomach, and any second now, it's going to come alive and digest us.” Red Candy said as her response while she spat on the wall.

“Please don’t say things like that. I already have goosebumps from how quiet this place is. It's like not even sound can bounce off the walls.” Candy just snickered at her.

“Such a brave member of the crystal guard. I'm glad we’re so well protected from the scary empty ruins.” Amethyst looked ready to buck her upside the head.

“Enough, both of you.” Arctic chimed in. We’re in the middle of something completely unknown to us. Danger could be just around the next corner, so keep quiet and pay attention.”

“Oh, ho, look at who's being all professional and stoic just because he got a blowjob from that slut of a nurse last night," Candy said as she gave a deep-throating motion with her hoof.

“Wha... what!? No, I did not. I was just helping her move some of her medical equipment around, that's all.” He stammered, his cheeks flush red with embarrassment.

“Uh-huh, sure you were, late at night after everypony had turned in for the night. My tent is right next to hers you know I heard everything to do about that ‘examination’ she gave you.” His eyes went wide, and his cheeks burned even redder.

“Quiet! Not only would I rather not hear about that, but there's a room coming up, so stay on guard.”

“Whatever you say, miss boss lady,” Candy replied as she rolled her eyes while Arctic gave a sigh of relief that we were off this topic. We entered a large room that seemed to be a study. Large bookshelves flanked the sides of a wide desk, with many strange items and blackened books scattered about. The room was illuminated by a round orb-like object that seemed to float just below the ceiling.

“Wow, we hit the jackpot. Look at all these books.” Said Amethyst picking up one of the strange black books and opening it.

𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌷𐍉𐌿𐍄 𐍄𐌷𐌴 𐌳𐌰𐍂𐌺, 𐍄𐌷𐌴𐍂𐌴 c𐌰𐌽 𐌱𐌴 𐌽𐍉 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌷𐍄,

𐍅𐌴 𐌰𐍂𐌴 𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍈𐌴

𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌷𐍉𐌿𐍄 𐍄𐌷𐌴 𐌻𐌹𐌴, 𐍄𐌷𐌴𐍂𐌴 c𐌰𐌽 𐌱𐌴 𐌽𐍉 𐍄𐍂𐌿𐍄𐌷,

𐍅𐌴 𐌰𐍂𐌴 𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍈𐌴

𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌷𐍉𐌿𐍄 𐍄𐌷𐌴 𐍅𐌰𐍂, 𐍄𐌷𐌴𐍂𐌴 c𐌰𐌽 𐌱𐌴 𐌽𐍉 𐍈𐌹c𐍄𐍉𐍂𐌸,

𐍅𐌴 𐌰𐍂𐌴 𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍈𐌴

𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌷𐍉𐌿𐍄 𐍄𐌷𐌴 𐌳𐌴𐌰𐍄𐌷, 𐍄𐌷𐌴𐍂𐌴 c𐌰𐌽 𐌱𐌴 𐌽𐍉 𐍃𐌰c𐍂𐌹𐍆𐌹c𐌴,

𐍅𐌴 𐌰𐍂𐌴 𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍈𐌴

𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌷𐍉𐌿𐍄 𐍄𐌷𐌴 𐌷𐍉𐍀𐌴 𐍄𐌷𐌴𐍂𐌴 c𐌰𐌽 𐌱𐌴 𐌽𐍉 𐍄𐍉𐌼𐍉𐍂𐍂𐍉𐍅,

𐍅𐌴 𐌰𐍂𐌴 𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍈𐌴

𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌷𐍉𐌿𐍄 𐍄𐌷𐌴 𐍃𐍉𐌿𐌻 𐍄𐌷𐌴𐍂𐌴 c𐌰𐌽 𐌱𐌴 𐌽𐍉 c𐌸c𐌻𐌴,

𐍅𐌴 𐌰𐍂𐌴 𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍈𐌴

𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌷𐍉𐌿𐍄 𐍄𐌷𐌴 𐌴𐌼𐍀𐌴𐍂𐍉𐍂, 𐍄𐌷𐌴𐍂𐌴 𐌹𐍃 𐌽𐍉𐍄𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌲,...

𐌰𐌽𐌳 𐍅𐌴 𐍅𐍉𐌿𐌻𐌳 𐌷𐌰𐍈𐌴 𐌽𐍉 𐌻𐌹𐍆𐌴

“Uh... anypony have an idea of what this says?” Amethyst asked while holding the book to us.
“No idea but Mr. Smokey may he is our linguist after all, let's wait for them to catch up. Something here may help with navigating this place.”

“Unbelievable, this is absolutely incredible.” Smokey kept mumbling as he flipped through several books. We had waited about twenty minutes when Paper, and they joined us in the study.

“Well, do you have any idea what language this is, Mr. Smokey?” I asked as Paper gave me the rundown of what they had found on their way here. Apparently, from what he has observed, there is absolutely nothing in our known history that is even close to matching this place's architecture, and he theorizes the pulse we keep seeing in the walls is from some type of magical energy source that is powering this place.

“Nope, in all my years, I've never seen a language like this. It's beautiful and elegant yet refined.

“Can you decipher it?” He was pacing in front of the desk while flipping through the pages of one of the books.

“Hmph, of course I can. What a stupid question to ask of one of the best linguists in the world. Although admittedly, this will take a while. This language is extremely complicated, and it may take weeks to decrypt their alphabet. I'll begin immediately. Oh, how exciting, an actual challenge for once.” He stated as he pulled out some ink and blank scrolls. “Leave me to my work. I require a quiet workspace.”

“All right, we’ll leave you to it. Come on, everypony, let's continue deeper in.” We had walked carefully through several corridors that had rooms lining the sides, each complete with a desk, bookshelf, chairs, and cupboards, all made from the same Blackstone. There was also a strange large rectangle indent on the floor on the side of the rooms. Each one we passed was completely identical to the previous ones.

“These remind me of the barracks at the palace or, rather, the captains' quarters,” Arctic said as we investigated one of the rooms. “I can't say what that big indent is for though maybe a slot for a bed?”

“I agree. That’s my impression, too, that we are in the barracks of this place. We'll have some others comb this location more thoroughly. Let's move on.” We traveled through the halls for about 35 minutes before we came into an exceptionally large room with a curved ceiling. The left half of it had collapsed, and a layer of ice coated the room from the holes in the ceiling, exposing the room to the outside elements. But what drew my attention was the massive double door on the far-right side; it was frozen in a thick layer of ice. “That looks like it leads to something important.”

“I brought several bundles of dynamite with me.” Crystal piped up from behind us. “It’ll only take a few minutes for me to set them up against the frozen door so we can continue.”

“That's a bad idea. This room doesn’t seem as structurally stable as the previous ones, as evidenced by the collapsed section.” Paper Record said as he carefully stepped out onto the icy floor.

“I agree with Paper. It's too dangerous to use explosives here. We'll have to mine through it manually.

“If you say so, boss, but judging from how thick that ice is, it'll take a while to get through it.”

“That's fine. It'll give us time to explore this section more in-depth while the dig crew is getting through the ice. All right, we haven't found any dangers so far. Let us return to camp, report our findings, and plan our next move.

One month later...

“This is incredible, truly fascinating. It seems an ancient pony-like race who were called Bicorns built this place.” As exploration continued of the ruins and the dig teams working on that frozen door who were getting close to removing the last of the ice, I and Paper Record were called into the study we had found previously, which was now Mr. Smokey's quarters and workspace. He had been hard at work deciphering the ‘Bicorn’ language night and day for the last month, and he had finally made a breakthrough. “From what I've managed to gather from deciphering these books, the Bicorns constructed this way-fortress gate to defend an important pathway through the mountains, most likely an important trade route; I'd wager." Paper Record was listening intently while copying what Smokey said onto a scroll.

“What pathway? This place is literally nestled against a giant mountain and in the middle of nowhere.” I said, interrupting him.

“I'm getting to that be patient while the genius speaks.” I rolled my eyes as he continued. “I imagine there used to be a pathway that went between these mountains, but extreme shifts in the continent closed that pathway and covered these ruins. The last time there was a major shift that could have been done would have been over thirty-five thousand years ago.” Both Paper Records' jaw and mine dropped.

“Thirty-five thousand years!? That’s insane! The oldest historical records we have of any civilization are only from around seven and a half thousand years ago, and you're saying this ruin is over four times older?" Paper Record asked, his mouth agape in disbelief.

“That is exactly what I'm saying and there's more if you’ll be quiet. Ahem, these Bicorns had a remarkably similar appearance to us modern ponies apart from having two horns and being larger in their stature, from what I could tell they were highly advanced in both magic and technology. They were a large, very imperial type of civilization that served and revered a ‘God-Emperor’ whose word was absolute law. They used some kind of caste-based system for their society apparently, depending on the shape of a Bicorn's horns at birth it would determine which caste they belonged to.

“Wow, this is truly the discovery of the century, nay of the millennium! I cannot even begin to imagine what else we will discover in this place. Is there anything else you’ve found?” I asked.

“No, this is as much as I've gathered so far. I'll continue deciphering these books and let you know when I've discovered more.”

“Please do. I'm very curio-” A loud rumble could be heard as the whole ruins shook.

“I’d say that’s from the dig crew; you should go check if everypony is ok. I'll stay here and transcribe Mr. Smokey's discoveries of the Bicorns.”

“Right, keep me posted,” I said as I exited the room and began galloping toward the large room where the dig crew was. I skidded to a halt when I reached it to find chaos: ponies running around the edges hoisting crates out of the water, and some were swimming through the freezing water that now covered the lower section, dragging others to the edge where teams were pulling them out and getting them wrapped in blankets. Swirly Rose herself was standing on a large Blackstone chunk that sat above the water's edge, barking orders.

“CRYSTAL, HAVE YOUR GROUP PULL OUT THE PONIES WHO ARE STUCK IN THE WATER OR ARE INJURED! BLUE TEAM GET THOSE CRATES SECURED AND OUT OF THE WATER, YELLOW TEAM CLEAR THE LARGE DEBRIS AWAY FROM THE DRILLS!" I jumped up beside her.

“What in the hay happened, Rose?” She turned to me with a sour look on her face.

“We had an accident with one of the supply crates boss somepony miss-marked a crate full of dynamite instead of extra drill bits. One of the teams' drills struck the wall when clearing the ice, producing sparks that caught a fuse that was sticking out of the miss-marked crate, and well, I'm sure you can figure out what happened next.”

“Sweet Celestia, is everypony okay? Were there any casualties?”

“So far just some scrapes and bruises, fortunately, although some did get knocked out by the force of the explosion.” I gave a sigh of relief.

“Thank the goddesses for that. I'll have a word with the supply ponies to triple-check the crates. I do not want another accident like this to happen.”

“There is one bright side to this.” She said, pointing her hoof towards the giant, now ice-free door. “Seems the sudden heat and force of the explosion took care of the remaining ice. We're also lucky the roof didn't collapse from the force.” Crystal's team had finished pulling out the ponies in the water and were loading them up on stretchers and their backs.

“Crystal, after you get the injured back to base camp, have Arctic, Amethyst, Candy, and Little Metal join me here. We’re going to take a look through the door.”

“Yes, boss,” she said as the injured were being carried out of the room and followed.

“EVERYPONY PUSH!” I shouted to the team of about twenty ponies from the dig crew who had joined us in our attempt to open the door. I had thought Little Metals' strength would have been enough, but I was greatly mistaken. With us all working together, the massive door finally gave and slowly swung open, leading to a colossal Icy cavern. Giant icicles hung from the ceiling, reflecting the light from a giant light orb that was mostly frozen over inside the upper cavern wall. A giant frozen pond or lake dominated the center of the cavern. There were frozen paths leading around the edges of it, the blue pulse faintly shown through the icy walls. Several dark objects were frozen and half sunk into the frozen water, but we were too far away to see them clearly. We all entered the cavern and spread out, marveling at its icy beauty.

“That's it? Just some stupid cave that was behind the door we spent a month getting through; what a rip-off!" Red Candy complained as she trotted across the frozen water near a few of the objects that I had assumed were just Blackstone debris. How wrong I was in my assumptions. After a month of exploring the ruins and checking every room I could, there wasn’t a single trap to be found. It made me grow complacent in my caution.

“ZZZZ....𐌹𐌽𐍄𐍂𐌿𐌳𐌴𐍂 𐌳𐌴𐍄𐌴c𐍄𐌴𐌳....ZZZZ.” A very synthetic distorted voice came.

“What was that?” Candy asked as one of the black objects turned to face her. It was a giant insectoid hexapod-looking thing resembling a cross between a spider and prey mantis with a triangular-shaped head with a large red eye in the center. The eye began to glow a sickly bright blue color.

“CANDY RUN!” Too late, I screamed as a blue bolt of energy released from the thing's eye and traveled right through Candy's chest, blood spraying the nearby ice in a crimson hue. She didn’t even scream as her body dropped dead immediately from the attack, the look of confusion in her lifeless eyes.

“EVERYPONY TAKE COVER NOW!” I screamed as loud as I could as I dived into cover behind a Blackstone chunk just as a blue bolt struck where I had previously been but a moment ago. I heard another bolt fire followed by a pony screaming in agony and several others in terror. “Celestia, damn it.” I cursed as I peered over the Blackstone to see the things head tracking another pony who was running for the door as its eye began to glow again, oh no you don’t. “Hey, ugly over here,” I yelled as I threw a large chunk of ice, striking the side of its head. It instantly switched its target to me and fired. I barely ducked in time as the bolt washed over the Blackstone wall behind me, leaving a large blue scorch mark against it. “What in Equestria is this thing?” I mumbled to myself as its shots hit the other side of my hiding spot.

“Sandy, are you alright?” Came Arctic Sapphire's voice from my left. I couldn't peek out to see at the risk of getting killed, but I assumed he was nearby from the sound of it.

“Yeah, for now anyway, is everypony else in a safe location?”

“From what I can tell, yes, but that thing got two others besides Candy before they were able to get into cover.”

“Goddesses, damn it.” I cursed under my breath; it was my job to make sure this kind of thing didn’t happen.

“Listen Sandy I got a good look at that thing, the left side of its body is trapped in the ice it can't move from what I can tell. Good thing, too; otherwise, I think we’d all be dead. It has some wicked-looking sickle claws that were glowing blue as well, and its legs looked sharp enough to impale armor.”

“Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm even if it is stuck. Three ponies are dead, and we’re pinned down by it. And considering the range and accuracy of its attack, I doubt we could get away fast enough without more casualties.” We needed a plan and fast. “Hey, Arctic, can you get its attention real quick? I need to check something out about it.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I heard the sound of horseshoes hitting the ice in a full gallop. “Over here, spider-butt bet you can't hit a running target.” I'm fairly sure it could, but I had to trust that Arctic would be safe as I carefully looked over my cover. Sure enough, the thing was stuck, three of its spike-like appendages were stuck in the ice, some blue sparks were coming from its neck and torso area, the insectoid-like creature was most likely some kind of magical construct like a robot of some kind. As I got a better look, I noticed it wasn’t actually black but a very deep purple color. It was firing wildly at Arctic who was barely dodging its attacks. I then saw some small pieces of ice fall from above it and saw that a massive Icicle was hanging directly above the construct. Bingo, I thought.

“I'm done get into cover Arctic! I have a plan!”

“Thank Celestia. I was almost out of stamina from running around so much,” he replied as he dived over my cover and took the space next to me as a blue bolt raced overhead. So, what's the plan?” he asked, panting for breath.

“There is a giant icicle hanging above it; we’re going to distract it while Amethyst flies up and attaches a stick of dynamite to it."

“So the explosion drops it and crushes that thing? Good plan; just give me a moment to catch my breath.”

“Amethyst, are you behind the door with the dig crew?” I called out.

“Yes, ma’am, almost everypony is taking cover back here besides a few still hiding behind the debris out there,” I explained the plan to her and asked if she could handle it. You bet, ma’am, it's easy flying.”

“Alright, I’ll give the signal. Be ready.” I looked to Arctic. “Are you ready for this?” He nodded his head.

“On your word, ma’am.”

“Run out the opposite side after I go.” I took a deep breath and then sprinted out from my cover. Instantly, the construct started firing at me. I could feel the heat from the bolt as it barely missed my flank.

“Over here, too ugly,” Came Arctic's voice as it switched targets, taking a few shots at him before switching back to me.

“Go now, Amethyst, while we have its attention,” I shouted as I ducked my head just in time before a bolt struck it. I didn’t dare look to see if she had heard me. If I trip or make a mistake, I'm dead. After about a minute of running in circles dodging this thing’s attack constantly, I was almost at my limit when I heard a very welcomed voice.

“Ten seconds to explode, take cover, you two!” I immediately dived behind some debris and covered my head. I hope Arctic did the same. BOOOOOM! The explosion rattled the entire cave as the icicle fell and landed directly on the construct's torso, crushing it. The force severing its head from the body sent it sliding across the frozen water.

“WOOOOOHOOOOOOHHHHH.” Came the excited yells of ponies now that the construct was destroyed. I crawled out of my cover, heaving for breath.

“Thank the goddesses, it's over, finally,” I said as I walked over to join the others. The force of the icicle hitting the frozen water had caused a bunch of cracks to appear across the ice, but thankfully, it still held.

“Let's never do that again,” Amethyst exclaimed as she landed next to me and Arctic.

“Agreed, that thing was extremely dangerous even while it was stuck in the ice and damaged. I don’t even want to think about what a fully intact one would be able to do.” Arctic was shaking off some ice that had covered his armor. “Honestly, what in the seven levels of Tartarus was that thing?”

“An ancient defense construct I believe, a sentry designed to attack any it perceives as an intruder perhaps. We will need to write a report and request more guards from the Crystal Empire ASAP. And inform them of the casualties.” I ended with a somber look.

“More guards, huh? I understand why, but I really hope there aren't any more of those things. I will take care of reporting the casualties, Sandy.

“Thanks, Arctic, please do. I'm halting any further exploration and digging until we have more security.”

“Understood, ma’am. I'll get started on the report right away. Both guard ponies gave me a salute and started heading towards the door. I looked over to see a group of dig ponies kicking the head of the construct around out of anger for their fallen friends, I'd guess. One picked it up and held it in his hooves.

“Not so tough now, huh, you son of a mule,” he said as he looked into the eye with a group of 5 other ponies around him....

“ ZZZZ......𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌽𐌹𐌽𐌲 𐌰𐌻𐌻 𐍀𐍂𐌹𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌸 𐍃𐌸𐍃𐍄𐌴𐌼𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌴𐌳..... 𐌻𐍉𐌲𐌹c c𐍉𐍂𐌴 𐌼𐌰𐌻𐍆𐌿𐌽c𐍄𐌹𐍉𐌽𐌹𐌽𐌲..... 𐌹𐌽𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌽𐌲 𐍃𐌴𐌻𐍆 𐌳𐌴𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌿c𐍄 𐍃𐌴𐌵𐌿𐌴𐌽c𐌴....ZZZZ.” Said the distorted synthetic voice of the construct. Its eye blazed back to life, glowing brightly and making a loud whirring noise.

“What the?” The dig pony had barely managed to say before he and the others around him were engulfed in a blue light as the head exploded in his hooves, causing a bright purple-blue flash that blinded me temporarily and made my ears ring. I was knocked back from the force of the explosion, I heard screaming and yelling as my hearing started coming back, my vision slowly focused as I stood back up. As my vision cleared, I was greeted with a horror scene. The explosion had blown apart all the ponies nearby, their organs and body parts flung all over the ice. I saw intestines and eyeballs draped over some of the Blackstone rubble and ice. I vomited instantly from the scene, combined with the disgusting smell of burning flesh and hair. My hearing finally came back as I finished throwing up over the ice to several voices yelling at me to run. I looked back at a crowd of ponies at the edge of the frozen water yelling at me to “RUN!” and “GET OFF THE ICE!” while beckoning me with their hooves. I was about to ask why when I heard the sound of glass breaking in mass, I looked back and saw that the ice was shattering and falling from the center point of the explosion. I ran as fast as my wobbly legs would go as the ice fell directly behind me, the others all screaming for me to run faster. I was almost to the edge when an icicle fell in front of me shattering the path forward, I jumped hoping to clear the gap... I missed. I awoke aching all over my body after I stood up with much effort on my part and quickly checked my body. I was bleeding from several cuts, and my bones ached and hurt when I moved, but I was alive. I checked my surroundings and looked up. I saw a few ponies far above me peering carefully over the edge. I must have fallen several stories. It's a miracle I'm alive.

“Are you ok, boss!?” the voice of Swirly Rose came drifting down to me.

“Yeah, somehow!” I called back up to her, “My entire body bucking aches, but I'm still alive!”

“You’re one tough pony to have survived that fall, boss; stay put. We’ll get you out of there.” I think I heard her call for somepony to get a stretcher and rope.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I'm not going anywhere,” I mumbled as I sat down on the ice. I gave a heavy sigh. “I'm taking a nice long paid vacation when this is all over, oww,” I exclaimed after poking a very tender rib. That is when I noticed a shape behind the frozen wall on the side that hadn't collapsed. I carefully got up and went over to the wall and wiped a bit of the condensation from the ice, and peered in. “Holy sweet mother of Celestia,” I whispered as I saw what could only be described as a massive black pony-like creature with two forward-facing silvery horns frozen within the ice. It was obscured by the ice as I could only really make out its shape and the horns. I started laughing despite my ribs protesting in pain as Amethyst landed down behind along with another pegasus carrying a stretcher.

“Uh, are you okay there, Sandy?” asked a worried Amethyst as she approached behind me.

“We found one. We really found one.” I said, not looking back at her.

“Found one? Found one what?” She asked. I turned my head smiling despite the pain.

“A Bicorn.”

Author's Note

For those who see square boxes its a custom text I used to show that the bicorns speak a different language and it usually gives you the square errors if your viewing from mobile.

Chapter Two.

Chapter Two

Awakening

The shining buildings of the Crystal Empire passed me by as our taxi rolled through the streets on our way to the Crystal Love Laboratories and Research Center. It had been three months since our discovery of the frozen Bicorn and the casualties of fighting that magical construct. After the fight, I sent our report of the incident and discovery to Her Majesty, as well as requesting additional security if we were to continue the dig. Her Majesty and council had decided it would be best to hide the real cause of death for our casualties and instead claim they died in an excavation accident when we were removing ice from the ruins. I am not sure exactly why they would choose to hide the truth of their deaths, but I assume it had something to do with not wanting to cause a panic or to hide the fact of how advanced these Bicorns were to dissuade espionage. Whatever the case, they had approved our request for additional security and sent two squads of the royal guard to the excavation site, and after the initial shock of losing some of our team members, we began to excavate the frozen Bicorn we had found buried under the ice. It wasn’t easy, but we finally managed to extract the Bicorn from the ice after two months and sent him to the research center for further examination. We had made several other discoveries further in the ruins during the extraction of the Bicorn, including some kind of door blocked by a magical energy field we have yet to figure out how to get past or deactivate, but that does not matter right now as I was on my way to assist Doctor Glow Hooves with the frozen Bicorn. The professors and researchers at the laboratories want to thaw the bicorn out of the ice in a controlled environment to better examine it as well as take hair and blood samples for further experiments, and since many of them are busy with our other findings from the ruins, they are a bit short hoofed and asked for my assistance with the examination. I agreed to help, if only to get away from the extreme cold I have had to endure these past few months. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I wanted to take a hot bath and defrost for several hours, which I plan to do immediately after the examination. The taxi finally came to a stop outside the gatehouse entrance to the research center, where my escort was waiting. I paid my fare to the taxi pony and followed my escort towards a large building on the far-right side of the dome. As we approached the front entrance of the building, I saw Paper Record waiting by the door. “Hey, Sandy, about time you got here. I’ve been waiting for a while, you know. I'll show her the rest of the way from here.” He waved the escorting guard away before opening the door for me.

“It's good to see you again, Paper. I'm glad the incident didn’t scare you off completely.” He had transferred back to the research center shortly after we halted the dig to give our report to the princess.

“It’ll take more than some ancient robot thing to scare me away from the discovery of a lifetime.” He chuckled. “Although I'll admit I'm glad they accepted my proposal to help catalog our findings here, even if it means working alongside Mr. Smokey, still, it's better than staying in those frozen ruins. My body doesn’t appreciate extreme cold very much.”

“Agreed, I'm glad to be out of the cold as well. I can't wait to be finished with this examination so I can take a very long hot bath!” He smiled as we walked down the corridors toward the lab they had set up at the far end of the complex. “I'm not sure why they need my help with it though I'm not exactly a mortician, but I am glad they gave me an excuse to be back here.”

“You're quite welcome for that, Sandy. You see, they needed an extra hoof to write down their observations while they concentrated on removing the ice from the Bicorn without damaging it. And since everypony is so busy with our other findings, I suggested you'd be glad to help since you’ve hit a snag in the excavation with that door you found, and since you’ve spent quite a bit of time in the ruins, you may add some helpful insight to the examination.”

“I could kiss you for that.” I joked as we came to the end of the corridor, where a large double door with frosted glass panes awaited us. I could see the icy air from the magical temperature-controlled room bleeding through the bottom of the door.

“I’d prefer you didn't. I doubt my wife would find that very amusing. Anyways here we are. Doctor Glow Hooves is waiting inside, getting prepped for the examination. I need to return to my own little project, but it was good seeing you again. We will have to catch up another time."

“Likewise, see you later.” We both waved our goodbyes, and after he had disappeared around the corner, I turned my attention back to the frosted doors. “Great back into the cold I suppose,” I mumbled to myself as I pushed open the cold door and stepped through. I entered a semi-large circular room with high ice-covered ceilings and walls where several unicorns and a lone pegasus were moving about the room, all busy with their assigned tasks. Some were moving equipment around between the various tables that dotted the room, others under the direction of the pegasus were casting ice magic to keep the room's temperature under perfect control, and there in the center was our greatest discovery from the ruins thus far. The frozen bicorn was perched in the center like a silent sentinel towering over the unicorns attending its frozen tomb. It was still encased in the thick ice from when we pulled it out of the ruins, and as such, we still could not get a particularly good look at it save for its massive blurry outline within the ice. An incredibly old-looking unicorn, probably in his early eighties, was overlooking the frozen bicorn. He had a very wavy metallic orange-looking shortcut mane and bushy tail with bronze spectacles over his dull reddish eyes. He was giving directions to the unicorns attending the bicorn before he noticed me looking around the room.

“Ah, you must be Sandy Digs, correct?” He waved me over after dismissing a few of the attendants. “Did Mr. Record fill you in with what you’ll be doing?”

“More or less, he said I'm supposed to help with your observations Dr. Glow hooves I presume.” I joined him over by the frozen bicorn and shook his hoof.

“Quite so, simply put, you are to write down everything I say once we begin with the observations of the subject.” He adjusted his spectacles. “And before you ask why we needed assistance with this, even with the other members of my team here. It is because they will be busy with maintaining the climate here as we slowly thaw the subject. We need to be slow and methodical with it so we do not cause any damage during the thawing process. And I, of course, will be doing the examination, and it's much easier for me to say my observations aloud and somepony writing them for me so I can continue without pause.”

“Understood, Dr. Hooves. I’m ready to begin whenever you are.”

“This will be a lengthy process so stand by with the notebooks over on the table there.” He pointed his hoof to the table behind me to the right. “I'll be making observations as we slowly melt the ice and more features of the subject become apparent. Be sure to write down what I say word for word understand?” I nodded my head in acknowledgment. “Good, let's begin, everypony to your assigned positions, we will now begin thawing the bicorn subject.”

Slow and methodical was right; they stopped every four minutes of the thawing to readjust the temperatures. It took nearly three hours before enough of the ice melted away for the bicorn to be seen more clearly within the ice, and wow, was the long wait worth it. “Alright, Sandy, I'm going to begin my observations at this juncture. Be ready.” I quickly opened one of the notebooks and put the quill in my mouth, and began writing. “This is Dr. Glow Hooves of the Crystal Love Laboratories and Research Center beginning my observations of the frozen bicorn that was recovered in the frozen lake within the ruins. Three hours have passed since the start of the thawing process, though we still have a way to go until enough of the ice has melted away that we can begin seeing the features of the subject. Even through the ice, it's quite apparent the bicorn is much bigger than an average pony and even bigger than an alicorn. I'd estimate the bicorn stands quite a head taller than Her Majesty Princess Celestia and easily twice, no, perhaps three times as wide. The bicorn also appears to be in full armor although the ice is still too much to properly make out the details of it. That will do it for now Sandy, we will now continue the thawing process.” Two more hours had passed, and finally, most of the ice had melted away, revealing the right side of the Bicorn's head and upper body, though the left side and lower body were still encased in ice. We could see most of its upper features now. “This is Dr. Glow Hooves continuing my observations on the frozen bicorn. We are now five hours into the thawing, and we have finally melted most of the ice to see the subjects' head and upper torso features. Its right side of the face is now completely exposed though we still cannot make out much of its real face due to the helmet it wears. It does appear to be very equine in nature save for the two forward-facing goat-like or perhaps dragon-like horns, indicating it is capable of magic. As for the helmet and armor itself, it's very eerie in its appearance and seems to have damage from many battles covering it. Battles against what exactly, I cannot say, but if their architecture is any indication of how well adept the Bicorn's craftsmanship is, I would wager this armor is incredibly strong and durable. The helmet resembles an almost canine-like skull with elongated fangs shaped like daggers and strange saw-like teeth towards the back. Its neck is fully plated with talon protrusions holding the armor in place along the sides. The body is also covered in full plate armor over what appears to be chainmail and has strange blue gemstones resembling eyes that cover the chest and body armor. The legs are protected by plates that sit just below the knee and end in small claws just above the horseshoe. One thing I forgot to mention is the entire armor is made of a blackish almost obsidian-colored metal with a dull silver for the chainmail. We do not know exactly what this metal is, but it is safe to assume it's unlike anything we currently have. After our examinations are done and we remove its armor to better examine the bicorn and take blood samples we will be sure to test the metals properties thoroughly.” The doctor walked behind the bicorn. “It's hard to tell because of the armor, but due to the size and apparent muscle mass, I believe this bicorn is a male of the species.”

“Helloooooo everypony!!!!” We all stopped in surprise and looked at the source of the very high-pitched voice which was of a flamboyant unicorn stallion barreling through the doors. He was noticeably young by the looks of it, maybe early twenties; he had a white milky coat with a vibrant bubblegum pink mane done up with a green bow; the sparkling stickers on his face just below his cyan eyes shimmered in the lights of the room as he carried a large tray full of drinks in his magic. “I brought your coffeeeeeee!!!!” He sang in his high-pitched voice, which caused a part of the icy wall to crack.

“Damn it, Sparkle Glam, how many times have I told you when you enter during a delicate operation? Do so QUIETLY!!!!” The Doctor yelled at the flamboyant stallion. “Do so again, and I’ll ensure you're fired regardless of your family ties to the director. Do you understand me?”

“Sorry, doctor. I'll try to be more careful.” He lowered his head in remorse for a split second before popping back up with his energetic, high-pitched voice. Now, who wants coffee? They have whipped cream and sprinklesss!!!” He yelled; the poor doctor looked like he was about to have an aneurysm.

“Maybe we should take a break, doctor, and go over the notes I took to make sure they're accurate? We have been at this for several hours. It might be good to take a breather,” I suggested to the agitated doctor.

“Fine, we’ll take a fifteen-minute break, then it's back to the thawing process, understood?”

“Yes, doctor.” Several of the unicorns said in almost perfect unison as the others just nodded their heads in agreement. We all stepped towards the flamboyant unicorn to take a coffee, except for the doctor, who was looking at the notes I took. As I reached out to take a coffee, Glam gasped and dropped the tray, spilling the remaining hot brown liquid all over the icy floor. Before I could say anything, the doctor yelled in rage at him, calling him quite a colorful array of names and saying that he was going straight to the director to have him removed immediately. I noticed how Glam's eyes were wide with fear and staring not at the doctor but something past him. I followed his gaze as the doctor continued his verbal rampage and saw what had Glam so spooked just behind the doctor, his face still half frozen in the ice was a slitted radiant golden eye with pure black sclera staring right at us.

“How dare you ignore me, Glam, you don’t deser-”

“DOCTOR!!!!” I screamed, pointing behind him with my hoof.

He turned around and saw what everypony was now looking at. The bicorn's golden eye focused on the doctor who had ceased his verbal assault of Glam to gaze at the now apparent still living bicorn. “By the goddess’s, it's still alive.” He whispered in non-belief as he started backing away from the large, mostly frozen bicorn. Then, to all our surprise, the exposed horn started glowing a deathly black color, and, in an instant, a black shock wave erupted from the bicorn, shattering the ice from himself and expanding outward, knocking us and everything away from him. As I flew back, I heard the ice from the walls and ceiling shattering like glass around me as I landed on top of another pony. My vision was blurry, and my head hurt from the impact. I tried to stand up, but my legs were too wobbly from the force, and I fell back down instead; I tried to focus my vision, and after a few moments, I was greeted by the sight of a massive, armored hoof just in front of me I looked up into the eyes of the bicorn and noticed that his left eye did not match the other. Like the golden eye, this one had pure black sclera and was slitted but was a deep moonlight silver, he was staring down at me. I couldn't read his expression because of his helmet but my whole body screamed that I was in danger, and I needed to get away. Before I was able to try and haul myself up onto my hooves and run, the bicorn spoke his voice was deep and powerful.

“𐌸𐍉𐌿𐍂 c𐍉𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌲 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌷 𐌼𐌴 𐌻𐌹𐍄𐍄𐌻𐌴 c𐍂𐌴𐌰𐍄𐌿𐍂𐌴 𐌸𐍉𐌿𐌻𐌻 𐌱𐌴 𐌿𐍃𐌴𐍆𐌿𐌻 𐌹𐌽 𐍀𐍂𐍉𐍈𐌹𐌳𐌹𐌽𐌲 𐌹𐌽𐍆𐍉𐍂𐌼𐌰𐍄𐌹𐍉𐌽 𐍄𐍉 𐌼𐌴 𐍅𐌷𐌴𐍄𐌷𐌴𐍂 𐌸𐍉𐌿 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐍄 𐍄𐍉 𐍉𐍂 𐌽𐍉𐍄.”

My body would not move I felt cold and heavy like a great weight was holding me in place. I could hear voices and sounds that I did not recognize I tried to open my eyes and found that my left eye would not move at all but with significant effort, I was able to open my right eye. It took a moment to focus my vision, but when it did, I saw a strange, icy room filled with strange, tiny-looking creatures that resembled my kin but were wrong. Apart from their small stature, some had only a singular horn adorning their heads. One other had strange feathery wings like a bird, and some had neither wings nor horns. What is this place, and how did I get here? The last thing I remember is that I was leading the defense at the Winterburn Gates against The Maw. The battle had begun, and then... Wait something's wrong I cannot remember anything after the battle had started it is like there are memories that were removed or purposely blocked in my mind. The only being left strong enough to do that to me would have been my father but how and why would he have done so? Irrelevant, right now, my priority is to escape this place and these creatures. Afterward, I will return to the capital and ask my father about it. I looked around again and saw a faint reflection in the icy wall and saw that most of my body had been encased in ice by the look of it. There were also several tables around the room filled with what seemed like laboratory equipment, but as I looked around at my surroundings, I heard a loud crash that drew my gaze toward the group of creatures and saw that one had dropped a tray of what I assumed to be refreshments of some kind and was staring in fear at me. Damn, he must have noticed me peering around at the surroundings. I will need to deal with these creatures quickly. As I thought of which spell to use to escape another of the one-horned creatures who looked close to the end of its life cycle that was near me exploded into anger at the other who had dropped the tray. I focused on the angry little creature as it yelled at the other in hopes that I would recognize their language or accent and get a clue as to where I was, but it was unlike any I had heard before. Strange that bears investigation at a later time of course, right now it is time to escape, I decided to use a low-powered radial pulse it should be adequate to free me from this ice and stun the creatures. As I was about to use the spell, another of the creatures pointed at me, which caused them to turn their attention towards me, including the fleeting one that was near me. His eyes locked with mine and went wide with disbelief and fear; he said something in a faint voice as he backed away that I could not understand. I cast my spell before they could react. The pulse radiated from my horns, freeing me from my frozen restraints and shattering the ice from the walls and ceiling as the creatures flew back against them. I stepped towards them as I shook off the remaining ice from my body. I will need to do a proper system check of my armor once I am in the clear, but for now, my automap function seemed to be working as several locational names I did not know popped up. The Crystal Empire? Impossible there are no other empires besides the imperium, not even before the Great Maw broke containment. I will worry about that later; however, I approached the collapsed creatures as one of them tried to stand up I should take one of them with me for questioning if these creatures have survived on their own against the Maw, they could have valuable intel the imperium could use. The one who had attempted to get up fell back onto its stomach. It was one of the younger hornless and wingless ones. Its coat was a light brown color, and it had a yellow mane and was wearing a strange hat. Its pink eyes stared into my own with fear. “You're coming with me, little creature. You'll be useful in providing information to me whether you want to or not.” The frightened creature said something in response with a trembling voice, but I could not understand it. I focused my magic and cast a sleep and paralysis spell to subdue it. Its eyes went wide at first before closing into a deep sleep and going rigid on its side. I lifted the creature onto my back and secured it with magical binds. As I finished securing the creature onto my back, a few of the others had regained their balance and were fleeing the room yelling, raising an alarm, I would guess. Time to move...

I went through the now shattered door and followed my Automaps mini display at the corner of my vision towards what I believed to be the exit. The hallways were narrow and a bit cramped for my liking, but that was to be expected from these small creatures. I continued down a few of the hallways before I heard voices and hoofsteps coming from around the corner. I decided to slip into a nearby room and let them pass, and I was met with the sight of several tables filled with bicorn tomes, reports, and fragments of one of our Mark II Magitech combat sentries. I walked around the tables and studied the contents of them and found dozens of notes and documents written in what I assume to be the creature's language. They seem to be studying our technology and gathering information on us. I picked up one of the imperial missives that were supposed to have been bound for the capital. How could these creatures have intercepted them in such a brief time? Somethings not right here regardless as per imperial directive seven-one-six-three I cannot allow these creatures to keep possession of stolen imperial intel and tech. Until more is known about these creatures, I will follow imperial doctrine and carry out my duty and destroy this facility and treat them as enemies. “You're lucky, my little unconscious passenger, had I known your fellows were in possession of stolen imperial intelligence. I would have not shown mercy after freeing myself from that icy prison. However, now I must purge this facility to deny your kind's potential threat to the imperium and to punish you for interfering with the defensive effort against the Maw. Lucky you to be spared from this purge as your potential to provide me information has extended your life and usefulness for now.” I turned back towards the door, where the voices I heard moments ago sounded much closer than before. “Now, let us begin.” I kicked the door, sundering it from its hinges and sending it flying and smashing into two of the creatures who were trotting by. The force crushing them against the opposing wall, their blood running down and pooling underneath the splintered door as I emerged into the hallway to the terror-ridden faces of three other creatures wearing extremely poor thought-out armor and brandishing small spears. Before they could react, I lifted two into the air with my magic and smashed them into each other with tremendous force before dropping their shattered bodies; the third creature screamed in terror and dropped its spear as it turned to flee. I grabbed it and the spear in my magic and brought them closer to me. The creature was shaking like mad, trying to get away as it was crying, no doubt pleading for its life. I held the creature and brought it to meet my gaze. “Disgraceful, what kind of warrior drops its weapon and flees in terror when faced with an enemy? Does avenging and honoring your fallen not matter to you? What about your pride as a warrior?” The creature ignored my words and kept thrashing and desperately begging for its life. “Hmph, even if you cannot understand me, know that I show no mercy to my enemies, especially to cowards who run when faced with death.” I took the creature's spear and rammed it into the floor so the point was facing upwards before lifting the creature and impaling it through the chest up into its bottom jaw, stopping just shy of entering its brain. “Stay there and rot, coward, as you die slowly and painfully choking on your own blood for your dishonorable action,” I said as I walked past the gurgling creature. This structure is made from weak and burnable materials. I should find a centralized location and use a crimson lightning spell to decimate the entire facility at once. I brought up my automap and marked a path that led to a large dome-shaped building that seemed to be at the center of the facility.

As I made my way toward the domed building, I began a system check of my armor. Phazon shields were disabled due to a drained power core, as was my ARK scanner; both war blades were missing from my front hooves, and void communications were operational; however, there was no reply on any channel, including emergency and royal lines. My automap and heartbeat sensors were functional but limited in range due to low power. “I’ll need to resupply once I return to the capital and make my report of these creatures.” As I continued my path through the corridors, my HB sensor detected seven of the creatures heading towards me from around the next corner. I readied an area of effect implosion spell and cast it as they turned the corner towards me, immediately five of the creatures in the radius were sucked together; their bones and bodies snapped and twisted together as they contorted into a ball of flesh, screaming in agony before exploding into a pile of gore, the blast sending their blood and bone fragments painting the walls and the remaining two creatures in the gooey mess of their comrades. They stood frozen as they gazed at the flesh and blood covering their hooves and faces. Pitiful, it's like these creatures have never seen blood or death before. Just what kind of warriors are these supposed to be? They did not even move as I approached them; they just kept staring at the gore as I took one of their spears from them and secured it on my back alongside my passenger. I didn’t even bother killing them as I walked past through the gore leaving bloody hoofprints in my wake. Their fragile minds seemed to be broken from a little death. Besides, they will not escape my crimson lightning regardless. “These creatures seem so weak it's astounding to think they’ve survived this long on their own against The Maw,” I said to myself as I neared a large double door that led into the domed building. My HB detected numerous life signs on the other side, at least thirty or forty of them. I kicked the double door, breaking it from its hinges, and entered the dome to the sight of several dozen of the creatures in some kind of assembly, all staring at me in disbelief as I made my entrance. The dome was decently large with rows of seats stretching all along the walls on both sides with a raised platform in the center made of a crystal-looking material. As I walked towards them, I noticed that these ones were not warriors but rather seemed to be more researchers judging by their white lab coats and some carrying clipboards. Most of the creatures’ eyes were wide, not with fear but curiosity, as I approached their little meeting. Suddenly one of the creatures stepped forward with a concerned expression: it was elderly looking with violet eyes behind golden glasses with a red mane. It pointed to the one upon my back that I had taken prisoner and said something that I could not understand, then it pointed to itself and started making strange gestures with its hooves. How curious was it trying to communicate with me? Then it spoke slowly in an awfully bad and broken bicorn accent.

“Me...am...Papers...why...take...friend...we...no...harm...you?” How amusing this creature was trying to speak to me. Too bad its life was about to be forfeited, but I'll indulge it for a moment before casting my spell.

“Harm or no, you creatures are in violation of imperial law, and as per directive seven-one-six-three, you and all stolen imperial assets are to be purged immediately to prevent a possible threat to the imperium and intel being leaked to the great enemy. I have taken this one prisoner to be interrogated upon my return to the capital and to be evaluated by the mendicants for possible contamination immunities to the Maw to better explain how you’ve survived outside imperial jurisdiction.” The creature looked completely dumbfounded by my words. It said something back to the others, who began whispering and talking to each other in hushed voices.

“We...don't...understand...medicals...imperial...jaws...contaminate...enemy?” Its translation and understanding did not seem to be quite accurate, not that it matters they will all be dead in a moment anyway. As I moved more towards the raised platform in the center of the room the creatures backed up a little from me.

“It matters not, little creature. As Primarch of the imperial army, I will perform my duty and purge this place. Rejoice, as I will ensure your fragile flesh and knowledge are not taken by the Maw,” I said as I stepped upon the platform. The creature said something again to the others as they all looked up at me, continuing with their whisperings.

“What...is...Primarch...cleansing...and...you...name? The creature asked as one of the others finally noticed the bloody hoofprints that I was leaving behind and, with his widened eyes, pointed it out to the others. They immediately stopped with their hushed talking, and all looked to what he was pointing at their eyes now, going wide with fear and confusion as the one calling himself Papers slowly turned back to face me with a panicked expression. My horns began to glow with increased intensity and a reddish underglow.

“My name is Tenebrae Draconis Moonfallen as crown prince and Primarch of the mighty Bicorn Imperium I hereby sentence you and your fellows to death! May you find peace and forgiveness in the eyes of our holy god-emperor as I incinerate your flesh and return your mortal souls unto the abyss.” The creatures started to flee as I unleashed my spell, the deep red lightning bolt striking through the roof of the dome, filling the sky above with a dark and sinister-looking cloud filled with blinding crimson lights, scattering throughout the dark cloud before expanding outward, encompassing the entire facility and several hundred yards beyond. Some of the creatures ran in a panic others stood still while staring in awe at the sight of the blackened cloud with crimson bolts darting within. I cast my shield spell over myself and my captive as the entire sky flashed with a blood-red color before dozens of the massive bolts struck their targets below, followed by a deafening roar of energy, the bolts instantly vaporizing everything they struck. Flesh, wood, stone, grass, and metal were first illuminated by crimson death, followed by his grand chariot, then there was nothing but blackened ash and dust. I lowered my shield spell after the effect had ended and stepped off the platform into the familiar silence around me, my spell had devastated the surrounding area of the facility nothing but a scorched plain filled with the ashen silhouettes of the creatures that had either tried to flee or had stood in awe at the spectacle. The wind would occasionally blow, erasing a few of the silhouettes as their ashes were carried away. I gazed upon the gleaming city of crystal that lay beyond that scorched field. “Remarkable; perhaps these creatures were more capable than I originally thought. They must have defenses in place against the Maw to allow them the time to build such grand structures.” I said as I took a moment to appreciate the creatures' architectural skills course, they still paled in comparison to our own mastery, but it was impressive nonetheless. Then, the silence was broken as I walked through the ash toward what I assumed to be the courtyard, judging by the black remains of what looked to be a fountain. I heard many cries and screams in the distance. No doubt, the initial shock had worn off from those who had observed the spell effect outside of the target area and were now coming here to investigate what had happened. “I need to leave quickly before I'm seen. I'd rather not have to carve my way through the populace of this place.” I noticed a melted circular object that was poking out from the scorched ashen floor in front of the fountain area. I wiped away the ash and found the warped remains of a metal disk that looked similar to a sewer access hole that was commonplace before the Great War. I tore the melted cover off and confirmed my suspicions that, indeed, it was a sewer access, as it was evident by the smell and the small shaft that led down. “This will suffice, I suppose.” However, the opening was too small for me to fit through, especially with my armor, so I reared up on my hind legs and brought down my front hooves on the edges of the opening, smashing it wide enough to barely squeeze through. I removed the magical binds on my captive and lifted them from my back with magic, and lowered them after me as I squeezed through the opening. After I was through, I re-secured the captive upon my back and used magic to repair the wide hole I created to fit through and placed the melted cover back over it. I began walking through the muck, following my automap towards what seemed to be an exit outside this Crystal Empire's city limits.

I came to the drainage exit after about an hour of walking through the sewers and kicked open the grate that was covering it, and emerged into a familiar frozen and snowy area. I gazed back behind me and saw the crystal city far in the distance, barely shining through the snow. “Interesting, they must use a special barrier to keep the weather out; perhaps that same barrier is what keeps the Maw at bay. Either way, I need to return to the capital as quickly as possible and report to my father. I hope my absence from the Gate hasn’t compromised our defense efforts.” I walked for several hours through the deep snow following my automap, but it was odd the nearest imperial locations I had on my map were no longer there upon my arrival. Not that they had fallen to the Maw or had been destroyed but seemed to have completely disappeared as there was no trace of their existence at all I found nothing but ice and snow, more over it seemed that the entire topography had changed somehow. According to my map, I should have been on the main northbound Silver-Speaks trade road passing through an imperial observation post, but again, there was nothing but ice and snow covering an unfamiliar landscape. The more I thought about it, the stranger everything was that Crystal City was easily in imperial territory and barely off the main imperial roads, not to mention it seemed to be fairly large with possibly several hundred thousand living in that city; there is no way we would never have seen it especially with our long-range sensors and airships constantly patrolling the area. And what's stranger still is the fact that even though it is clearly a large city, the Maw was nowhere to be seen. Even if they could not get in through that barrier, they should have been swarming on the outside as they were drawn to large gatherings of life. None of this makes sense. Something is very wrong with all of this. However, it was starting to get dark. I should find shelter and have a nice long chat with my passenger. I hiked through the snow for about another hour before I spotted an area underneath an overhanging cliff that would provide adequate shelter from the constant snow. After clearing a small area underneath and using the snow to create a small wind block, I unloaded my captive and set to building a fire from some of the frozen twigs and debris I had found when clearing the area. I ended up using that flimsy spear I had taken as kindling after breaking it apart and finally got the fire going. I decided it was time to interrogate the creature. I made sure its hooves were still bound in my magic before using another spell to wake it up. After a few minutes, it started to stir, and groggily sat up with a little effort. It tried to rub its eyes and found its limbs restrained. The creature looked around in confusion for a few moments before its gaze settled on me. Its eyes went wide, and it tried to back away from me and fell into the cold snow with its ass. The creature jumped in surprise at the sudden coldness and ended up tripping on its own hooves since they were still bound and went tumbling into the snow further. It was quite amusing to watch, but I did not wake it up for entertainment. I grabbed the creature in my magic and lifted its shivering body as it complained about the cold, I assumed, and placed it next to the fire, much to its relief. It said something to me as a thank you, I’d guess, but I wasn’t sure. I need to learn these creatures’ language as quickly as possible if I am to be successful in acquiring intel from it. I pointed to the fire and made gestures with my hooves, indicating I wanted it to speak and say what it was. It was confused at first, but after a few minutes of me pointing to the fire and making speaking gestures, I think it caught on to what I wanted it to do.

“Fire? That is Fire.” It said and I mimicked the movements quietly with the way its mouth and vocal cords seemed to move when it spoke. I pointed to the snow and made the same gesture. “Snow.” Then I pointed to the pile of sticks I had near the fire. “Stick or sticks?” Good, it understands what I’m doing. I continued to point at different things in the surrounding area, each time mimicking the movement its vocal cords made. After pointing to several things like rocks, cliffs, clouds, etc., for about an hour of listening and mouthing the words and mimicking the sounds, I started to get a grasp on the language. Their alphabet was rather simple compared to our own, which in this situation was rather fortunate for me, so I finally pointed to the creature itself. “My name is Sandy Digs.”

“Sandy Digs? Name of self or species?” I asked as I put a few more sticks onto the fire.

“That’s my name. Our species are typically referred to as ponies, but there are a few subspecies. I myself am what’s called an earth pony, and I’m a mare, in case you were wondering. It’s remarkable that you're able to understand me in such a short time; how did you do that?” A mare, huh? That means it is a female of their species since we have a similar word. She looked both curious and impressed at how quickly I picked up their language.

“I listened.”

“You listened? That’s it? How does that work?” She was confused by my response.

“I listened to the sounds you made and observed how your vocal cords and mouth moved when you spoke and mimicked it with my own cords. It is the reason I had you repeat certain words by pointing to them again, like the fire, for example. Your language is much simpler than our own, so it was not that difficult to figure out after focusing on it for a bit. Course I will still need practice in reading and writing your language but being able to converse will do for now.”

“What an incredible skill you have, now if you don’t mind me asking what is your name? And why am I tied up and in the middle of the frozen wastes? What happened at the Crystal Love Laboratories after you put me to sleep?"

“You may call me Tenebrae. As for your other questions, I took you captive and brought you with me after following imperial directive seven-one-six-three. We are currently inbound to the imperial capital, where you will be questioned and interrogated thoroughly, after which we will hold a council meeting with the God-Emperor and decide the fate of you ponies for both trespassing and building a large settlement within our borders as well as stealing imperial technology, intel, and obstructing defensive efforts against the Maw.” Sandy looked absolutely confused and stunned by my words.

“Umm, I’m sorry, Tenebrae, but I don’t understand who is the God-Emperor? What do you mean by obstructing defense efforts against the Maw? The only settlement other than the yak tribes that has ever been up here is The Crystal Empire which has been here for an exceptionally long time. Well, it did disappear for a thousand years, thanks to King Sombra, but it has been back for a few years now after the princess and her friends defeated him. And we did not steal anything, we excavated it out of some ruins that were discovered a few months ago which is where we found you by the way.” Now it was my turn to be confused.

“What are you talking about? How could you not know our holy God-Emperor, for his mighty Imperium spreads from the northern ghost seas all the way to the southern poles of Agmar? We control more than half of the globe's trade routes, and our vast military might is the only thing that has kept the great enemy at bay for over ten thousand years! We have sacrificed everything in the defense against their onslaught, and for you to have the gull to disrespect him and deny your kind has been stealing from us is appalling. What is worse is you lying about excavating the stolen imperial property and making up a wild story about whatever the fuck yaks were and that there is another empire within our own. No other empire has ever existed before our imperium, little pony!” My anger was apparent as Sandy shrunk back in terror while I loomed over her with accusing eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you or the bicorn's imperium in any way; it’s just that….”

“Just what!” I yelled at her. She took a deep breath and gulped before answering.

“I don’t know how to say this exactly as you wouldn’t know since you were frozen, but the bicorn imperium doesn’t exist anymore it hasn’t for over thirty-five thousand years. In fact, we did not even know bicorns were a thing up until a few months ago no creature did. We had discovered a previously unknown ruins buried underneath the snow that was revealed after an intense storm caused an avalanche. And I wasn’t lying about excavating the things you think we stole because I was the expedition leader to the ruins; I was the one who found you encased in the ice after we lost a few of our team to one of your sentries that was partially frozen.” I was at a complete loss for what she had said.

“Impossible, that's not true, it can’t be!” I said in disbelief as I stepped back from her.

“I’m sorry, Tenebrae, but it’s the truth.” I sat down next to the fire and took a deep breath. I did not want to believe it, but the more I thought about the situation and what had happened after I broke free from the ice, the more it made sense and explained everything I had encountered thus far. And this pony, Sandy Digs, had no reason to lie to me and seemed to be telling the truth.

“How and why could this have happened?” I sat staring at the fire while processing everything in my mind. The imperium, my home, everything I fought for, was just gone, and according to Sandy, no one even remembers us. I do not know how long I stared into the fire before Sandy finally broke the silence.

“Are you okay?” I looked at her with squinted eyes.

“Would you be okay if you dedicated ten thousand years of your life defending your people and your home from genocidal monsters to suddenly wake up the next day with no memory of what happened and find that everything was gone? That your people and home no longer exist? That the world has forgotten them and everything that we sacrificed to keep it safe? To wake up in a completely different world with everyone, you knew to be gone and not even know the reason?” She looked down at her bound hooves.

“No, I wouldn’t be sorry. That was a stupid question.” After a few minutes of collecting my thoughts, I finally asked.

“Were there any others besides me?"

“No, we didn’t find any other bicorns actually…” I looked at her with interest.

“Actually, what?”

“Well, I thought it was very strange when we were exploring the ruins, but we didn’t find any trace of any others. There were no bodies or skeletons of any kind, not even of small animals; it felt completely empty in that regard.” No bodies or skeletons? That is very concerning considering what our enemy was.

“And what of the Maw? How was it defeated?" She looked at me with that now familiar confusion in her eyes.

“You keep mentioning this Maw and a great war, but I have no idea what you’re referring to. Equestria has been at peace for well over a thousand years. And backing up a little to what you said before about fighting for ten thousand years, are you saying that is how old you are or how long that great war lasted?" I ignored her question and thought about how impossible this all seemed like how she could not know of the Maw, it was the greatest threat to all life upon this world. Nearly seventy-eight percent of the world and its populace had been consumed at the time we pulled our forces back to the Winterburn Gates. If we had lost, there should not be any life left, seeing as we were the only nation with the strength to fight against the Maw. Something is not right about any of this. There were too many questions unanswered and strange events that didn’t seem to add up. I needed to find answers about what had happened to my people and why my memories seemed to be removed about the events following our defense at the Winterburn Gates.

“Sandy Digs, If I release your binds, will you lead me to these ruins you said I was found in? I need to see it for myself.” The pony took a moment to think before answering.

“It’ll take a few weeks to reach the ruins, but yes, I’ll take you there. I remember the way mostly.”

“Excellent,” I said as I removed the binds from her hooves. Over the next few weeks trekking through the snow, I learned more about this modern Equestria from Sandy and about a few of the neighboring kingdoms. I also learned that similar to we Bicorns they too had different variants for certain tasks, The Pegasi were the ones with wings and had control of the weather why they denied the natural mothers blessing I did not know. Unicorns are the single-horned ones and are magical in nature, able to cast spells and the like. Lastly, the Earth Pony they were physically stronger than the others, were more in tune with nature, and were responsible for growing the nation’s food. I also learned that Equestria was ruled by Princess Twilight Sparkle and her Council of Friendship, which I thought was an idiotic name, but if this land is as peaceful as Sandy has said, I guess it made sense. The last thing I learned from Sandy is this Crystal Empire is actually a puppet state of Equestria and is ruled by Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, and his wife, Princess Cadence. I thought it strange that his wife was a princess and not a queen since she was married to the monarch’s brother, but whatever, perhaps I missed something in translation. We finally arrived at the excavation site just after the sun had set; we were on a snowy ridgeline that sat just above the valley where the ruins were located. I could see that the workers had set up a large encampment to the far-left side, away from the ruins, and that guards were standing near an entrance point to the ruins.

“There it is, we finally made it.” She shivered. “I never even got to take my hot bath before being back here.” She sounded disappointed in that, but I did not care; I had far more important matters at hoof.

“You mentioned a door you and your team haven’t been able to get past and was delaying progress, correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” She replied through chattering teeth. I looked again at the familiar Blackstone walls of the Winterburn Gates, even still mostly buried in the snow and ice. I could easily tell that this was one of the way-castles that were located on the outer walls.

“Take me to it.”

“Alright, I’ll be glad to get out of this freezing wind, but what about the guards? I’m still supposed to be at The Crystal Empire, and well, you’re not exactly conspicuous, you know.

“They will not impede us; now, let’s go.” We made our way down the ridge and hugged the Blackstone walls as we made our way towards the guards at the entrance. After a few minutes, we were just behind one of the statues that flanked the entrance with the two guards. They stood on the opposite side of each other, wearing heavy clothing and wielding those same flimsy spears. I did not want to raise any alarm, so I cast a sleep spell on the guards and moved inside with Sandy behind me. Once we were inside, I told Sandy to take the lead and followed her through several of the black halls until we passed through a large door leading into a large, cavernous room. Large icicles hung from the ceiling above a frozen pond that had cranes set up near the ledges. It seemed the ponies had been excavating the pond as several large blocks of ice had been removed and stacked nearby.

“This is where we found you, Tenebrae, frozen underneath the ice after our fight with that sentry I told you about and where we lost Candy and a few of our team.” She gave me a somber look as I approached the edge of the frozen pond. I looked closely at it and the surrounding room, and after a few moments, I recognized this place.

“I know this place. It was a courtyard we used for training and imperial exercises that was located just inside the western wall, but how is it underground now?"

“Well, a month after our initial exploration, one of our team members, Mr. Smokey, hypothesized that a major shift in the continent caused the nearby mountains to move together and buried this place and closed the pathway that had existed. He calculated that would have happened about thirty-five thousand years ago, which is where we got the number for how old the Bicorns were." She said as she joined me on the edge, looking down into the excavated frozen pond.

“I see.” But the question remained: how was I frozen in the first place, and how did I get from the main sector of the southern wall to here? The last thing I remembered was initiating the artillery teams to fire at will, then… AH, my head suddenly started to throb with intense pain when I tried to remember what had happened. I held my head with my armored hoof as I saw brief flashes in between the pain of fighting the horrors of the Maw, dragging wounded soldiers across the wall, and I think I saw a very brief flash of my father looking at me, but I know that cannot be possible as he was in the spire at the time.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay, Tenebrae?” Sandy was staring at me with concern.

“Yes, I’m fine Sandy, just a brief headache trying to remember what happened here.”

“You don’t remember?” She asked with a confused expression.

“No, it seems something is intentionally blocking my memory of what transpired here. Though it was more forceful this time.” I said, shaking my head to refocus. “Let’s continue to the door.”

“Interesting.” I heard her say quietly before we walked around the edge of the pond to the eastern side towards a door that had been frozen over but recently cut through. We walked down several more halls past the barracks section of the wall heading in the direction that I recognized to be the armory. “I’ve been meaning to ask what exactly this Blackstone stuff is made of. None of our tools or spells were able to damage it. Not even explosives left a scratch.”

“It’s mined from the Blacktail Plains in the dragon kingdom of Dragonia. We had a special alliance with the dragon king Felgore and trade agreements for the Blackstone where, after receiving it, we refined it within the grand forges of Morath and reinforced it with magical enchantments to further increase its strength. We mainly used it for construction purposes but in some instances, it was used for the creation of golems for the imperial army.” She stopped in the middle of the hall and looked back at me.

“The dragons had a king? Trade agreements and alliances? The Blackstone is enchanted, and Bicorns made golems from it? Grand forges of Morath? That’s more information than anything we’ve discovered in the four months of being here.” She looked absolutely stunned at what I said.

“How much further to the door?” I asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

“Oh, it should just be around the next corner to the right.”

“Then let’s proceed,” I said as I walked past her and turned to the right.

“Hey, wait for me.” She yelled, trotting to catch up to me. After another few minutes, we arrived at what I recognized to be the Magitech security door that led into the armory and communications chamber. It was a transparent blue door that had three overlapping magic circles with runes on the outer ring of the circles expanding from the large central circle.

“This is it. I’m assuming you know how to open it, right?”

“Of course I do. I'm the Primarch of the imperial army. My access codes supersede all others.” I said as I placed my hooves on the two outer magic circles and began imputing my security codes by spinning the circles to specific runes like a combination lock.

“I don’t know what a Primarch is, but it sounds like an important position.” I imputed the last of the runes before aligning the magic circles. Instantly, the door softly flashed before disappearing.

“Important indeed,” I mused as I stepped through, Sandy excitedly following behind me. After walking down the hall for a bit, we came to a branching path left that would lead into the communications chamber and, to the right, the armory. “This way, do not touch anything while we are inside; otherwise, you might die from the automated security systems.” I turned and followed the path left.

“Got it, don't touch anything, or I’ll die,” Sandy said quietly from behind me. We emerged into a circular room that looked mostly intact as the walls were lined with several consoles and communications stations, and the raised dais in the center where the comms officer would be stationed all seemed to function on emergency power as I could see many of the emergency lights flickering. I walked up the few steps into the central dais and sat in the comms officer chair and brought up the communications log on the translucent Magitech screens, and began looking through them, searching for any clues to what had happened. Meanwhile, Sandy seemed extremely interested in the Magitech screens and equipment around the room but was making sure she was careful not to touch any of them. I finally found the first log dated two weeks after where my memory was blocked. It was an audio log, so I played it back.

“This is communications officer Scythe Hoof, date twenty-one-sixty-three of the imperial calendar, making what I believe will be my last entry before rejoining the cycle. It's been two weeks since the Great Maw started its siege on the gates and his imperial majesty has been successful in defending the main entrance of the gates. Still, the enemy is too numerous and we are starting to lose ground on the western front even as I record this a large contingent of the enemy has made their way inside the way castle and is pushing through towards the courtyard Commissar Thresher is currently holding the line. Still, against these numbers, I have doubts we will last the night. Regardless, we will continue to fight until the end. I go now to join my fellow coursers in the defense effort. Praise be to the God-Emperor and glory to his imperium! This is communications officer Scythe Hoof signing off.” There weren't any other logs for four more days before I spotted another audio log by the comms officer. “Praise be unto the God-Emperor! This is communications officer Scythe Hoof. date twenty-one-sixty-seven of the imperial calendar, we are still alive, for our faith was rewarded by his imperial majesty, our holy Primarch, for he arrived just in time, bringing reinforcements in our hour of need. He arrived when the enemy had breached our last line of defense and were overrunning us; he brought crimson death to the main host of the enemy and is now fighting the enemy back inside the courtyard; it will not be long before he pushes them out and we can refortify our position thanks to the reinforcements and make repairs to the defense matrix. I am sending this message to all remaining garrisons: do not lose hope in our War. God is with us, and he does not abandon the faithful! This is communications officer Scythe Hoof signing off.” Strange, I do not remember bringing reinforcements here, but it does explain how I ended up in that courtyard at least. I continued looking through the logs. It seems there were two more after that one, but they had been deleted, which did not make any sense. Stranger still was that it seemed to have been deleted on my orders, but why would I have done that? Great I answered one question and got another in the process plus it still did not answer what happened to me or my kin.

“Hey, Tenebrae, what does this mean?” I got up from the comms officer chair and went over to where Sandy was. She was pointing to one of the communication terminal screens that was flashing due to the low power, where there was a line of imperial code that flashed in red along with the screen. I looked over her and read what it said and was stunned by what it was. On the screen was the imperial directive zero-zero-one-three directly authorized by my father the God-Emperor. I knew what it meant and what I must do so I went back to the comms officers' screen and looked up where the nearest data center location was. “So, you going to tell me what that was?” Sandy said as she stood next to me.

“It’s an imperial command directive that I must obey as it’s from the God-Emperor himself, a last order if you will.” Sandy shifted her gaze and rubbed her hooves together.

“Oh, I see. I remember Mr. Smokey saying that you Bicorns followed your God-Emperor's word as law if I remember it correctly.” I found the location I was looking for and downloaded it to my armor's automap. It was located near what used to be the western Dark Moon Sea. I hoped that when I arrived, I would find more answers there, but first, I had a duty to fulfill.

“Indeed we do. My father's word is absolute law in our society, as he was the one who created it, to begin with,” I said as I turned to leave through the door.

“Your father was the God-Emperor? Wait, does that mean you are a god too? And a prince?” She asked, following me through the door.

“Yes, I am Sandy. I was the crown prince of the imperium and its Primarch, which means I was in charge of the entire imperial army.” I said as we crossed the hallway towards the armory entrance.

“That’s incredible! I had no idea we discovered such an important individual in the Bicorns society, the things we could learn from you." She raved in excitement as we entered the armory. “What were you the god of, if I might ask?” I ignored her question for a moment as I approached one of the armory shelves that held two standard-issued war blades and picked them up, and proceeded to attach them to the back of my front hooves. Once they integrated with my armor systems, I gave an experimental psychic command to the left blade, and it instantly extended from its sheath. Then I gave the command to retract, which it did immediately, and then I did the same test with the right, which worked correctly as well. “What are those?” Sandy asked, intrigued at the small housings of the war blades.

“These are standard issue imperial war blades; they are a hoof-mounted retractable serrated blade that was used as our primary means of CQC or close-quarters-combat,” I replied before moving along the mostly empty shelves, but I saw a few things that remained. I picked up an imperial survival kit alongside a medical one, and imperial MRE’s not the tastiest but valuable as they had enough calories for several months if needed and never spoiled. I opened a small black portal and placed them inside, along with the kits.

“What kind of magic is that?”

“Storage magic it’s a spell that creates a small pocket dimension that’s personal and only accessible to the caster. It can hold small to medium-sized objects but nothing living as there is no oxygen inside the pocket dimension.” Sandy put her hoof inside it for a brief moment before pulling it back out and examining it.

“Incredible.” I continued to search the shelves, with Sandy following behind me, looking at everything with curiosity. after placing some healing potions, light sticks, and a small alchemy kit inside the storage dimension, I was satisfied with my resupplied equipment, though it was unfortunate that I did not find any power cells for my armor systems. Now was the time to execute imperial doctrine zero-zero-one-three. I made my way to the ordinance section of the armory, and after a few minutes of searching, I found what I needed. I used my access codes to open the security case and pulled out the cylindrical black container, and proceeded to carefully open the access panel on the side. I powered it on and saw the edges alight with a pure white glow, and began imputing the detonation sequence and timer. “Uh… what is that thing, and what are you doing Tenebrae?” I finished imputing the sequence and setting the timer for thirty-five minutes before answering her.

“It’s a Light-Nova-Bomb, and I’m following imperial doctrine zero-zero-one-three,” I replied, turning to face her in time to see her eyes go wide with horror.

“A BOMB!!!” She shouted in alarm. “WHY ARE YOU SETTING A BOMB!!!”

“I just told you why.” I looked down at the now panicking pony. “Imperial doctrine zero-zero-one-three dictates any and all imperial assets, which include weapons, transport vehicles, communication sites, military facilities, and industrial resources, to be destroyed immediately within the designated zone and all data to be sent to the nearest data center for archiving.” Sandy looked mortified by my words.

“But why would you do that? There is no reason to destroy everything. Whatever enemies you had are long gone, and that order you saw doesn’t matter anymore. It was sent long ago and clearly wasn’t followed since everything is still here. There is so much we can learn from your people and this place. Please reconsider!” She pleaded with me.

“I know you can’t understand, Sandy, but I must follow my father’s orders regardless of age.” Her eyes and ears drooped for a moment before she jumped to attention.

“I have to warn the excavation team and wake up those guards; we need to evacuate the area quickly!” She turned and started to run towards the exit, but before she even made it a few feet, I grabbed her with my magic and lifted her into the air. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I HAVE TO WARN THEM!!!” She yelled at me while trying to run in midair.

“I’m sorry, Sandy, but I must follow imperial procedure as ordered by my father.” I turned her back to face me as she squirmed in my magics grasp.

“NO, PLEASE, I HAVE TO WARN THEM. LET ME GO! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME GO? YOU’RE ALREADY FOLLOWING YOUR ORDERS BY ARMING THAT BOMB! PLEASE TENEBRAE!!!" I brought her to my eye level and gazed directly into them even as she continued to beg and plead while running in place.

“There is one other part to the imperial directive zero-zero-one-three, Sandy,” I said calmly as I gazed into her frantic eyes and cast the same sleep spell I used before on her. Her eyes went wide before starting to close, but just before they did, I said the words. “No witnesses.” After she was asleep I secured her on my back and quickly made my way out of the armory and headed to the exit. After leaving the ruins, I ran to the recommended safe distance about three miles away and stopped at a ridge up on the mountainside where you could barely see the lights from the pony's encampment and the moonlight reflecting off the Blackstone thanks to a break in the clouds in the distance. I looked at the clock in my internal visor and began counting down the last three minutes to detonation. I took Sandy off my back and put her down in the snow next to me as I sat down and watched waiting for the timer to end. “May you find solace, little ponies, as your souls return to the great cycle; I will honor your deaths by seeing you off this mortal plane personally,” I said into the quiet of the snowy mountains as my clock ticked to the final minute. Sandy began to stir and woke up in a daze a few seconds later before suddenly jumping to her hooves and running to the edge of the ridge just as the timer clicked zero. Suddenly, the wind roared, and the mountains howled in fury as a great white sphere began expanding out from the ruins, engulfing everything in a holy blinding light. The shockwaves from the sphere shook the ground with tremendous force as it expanded, devouring the encampment and snuffing out the lights that were once inside. Even at this distance, the shockwaves sent Sandy flying back past me and held her against the mountainside as I sat unmoving and unblinking from the force, determined to keep my promise to see these ponies off to the cycle. The blinding holy light continued to expand until it engulfed everything in its path every rock, every tree, every hill, even most of the mountain that buried the ruins itself was now completely enwrapped in its light; then, as suddenly as it started, the light went dark and everything was gone nothing but a crater in every direction for just over two miles from the detonation center. The mountain that once covered the western ruins of Winterburn Gate was now a massive crater carved through the solid rock in a sheer cliff from where the effect had ended. I stood up as the snow began to fall silently once again as I stepped towards Sandy and pulled her out of the snow she was buried in. She immediately ran to the edge once again before stopping and looking at the once snow-covered valley below, which was now nothing but a blackened crater of nothing.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” She screamed into the night as she fell to her knees and started to cry. “Why did this have to happen? Swirly Rose, Emerald Snow, Amethyst Smooch everypony, I’m so sorry.” She sobbed as I approached her. “Is this it? Are you going to kill me too?” She didn’t even look up as she continued to sob into her hooves.

“I will not apologize, Sandy, for fulfilling my duty and obeying my father’s orders. It had to be done.” She continued to cry uncontrollably. “And under normal circumstances, yes, I would kill you; however, you were invaluable in providing information to me after I had purged that facility I escaped from and giving me insight into this land of Equestria.” Sandy finally looked up from her crying with a horrified expression.

“What do you mean purged? Did you kill Paper Records, Doctor Glow Hooves, and all the others too?” She asked with a low, mortified tone.

“Yes, I did. Under imperial doctrine seven-one-six-three I used a spell to completely decimate that entire facility turning it and all who were inside to ash.” She started to back away from me slowly.

“You monster, how could you kill all those innocent ponies? They were just researchers and students! How can you feel nothing for murdering so many?” She looked at me with utter hatred and despair in her eyes.

“I do not expect you to understand my actions, Sandy. I doubt you ever could. Now, as I said before, since you were so useful to me, instead of killing you, I’m going to give you a gift.” I said as I took a step towards her, my horns beginning to glow.

“NO, STAY BACK. I DON’T WANT YOUR GIFT!!!” she shouted while backing up towards the cliff. But before she fell over, I grabbed her with my magic and brought her closer to me even as she tried to escape.

“Have no fear, Sandy. I’m going to take away all your pain and give you your life back by erasing your memories back to the point before you ever accepted to lead this expedition before you met any of your team members, before you suffered any loss.”

“NO PLEASE I DON’T WANT THAT I DON’T WANT TO FORGET MY FRIENDS!” I brought her to meet my gaze as she begged.

“You asked me once before what kind of god I am. I will now answer that question.” She went silent in my grasp. “I am Tenebrae Draconis Moonfallen, and before being the imperial Primarch, I was the bicorn god of war and death,” I whispered into her ear. Her eyes went wide with sheer terror, and as she opened her mouth to scream, I cast my spell.

Three weeks later, after I had left Sandy in a cave so she would be sheltered from the snow and wind, I had been following the mountains west and had come across a large, mostly frozen river. I began following it until I reached a large saltwater lake where I took a moment to rest on its shore when suddenly I felt the ground beneath me begin to tremble. On the mountain from the far other side of the shore, I saw an avalanche barreling down towards the salt lake. I knew I would be safe on this side, so I sat and watched as it crashed down into the water, sending mist high into the sky from the boulders and trees that had been swept down the mountain by the avalanche. However, as the avalanche was near its end, I saw a strange shape in the snow. It looked like a pony but was slightly larger than the ones I had seen tumbling in the avalanche, but I couldn’t be sure at this range. It crashed into the lake carried by the snow and did not emerge. I do not know why, but I couldn’t look away from where it had fallen into the water. I watched for several seconds as the rumbling ended transfixed on that same spot before something compelled me to jump in after it. I swam through the freezing waters towards it and dived down where I had seen it sink after about a minute. I saw its shape in the dark water and grabbed it with my hooves and headed for the surface and the shore. It was difficult to swim in full armor while carrying somepony, but I managed to reach the shore, where I immediately began to perform CPR on the pony. After a few minutes of trying to revive the pony, it coughed up a lot of water and its chest started to rise and fall in shallow breaths. I sat back and coughed up a little water myself. “Damn it! I had forgotten how much of a pain in the ass it was to swim in full plate.” Now that the immediate situation was over, I looked at the pony I had just saved. She was a dark blue mare with a horn much larger than what I had seen on the unicorns and had wings as well. Sandy hadn’t mentioned a fourth kind of pony, but stranger still was its translucent wavy mane that looked to have stars trapped within. I gazed in confusion down at the strange unconscious mare. “What and who are you?”

Author's Note

Apologies for taking so long with this chapter I was very busy with work and prepping to move.

Chapter Three

Divine Sister’s

I gazed down at the strange mare and noticed that the snow around her had begun to turn a dark crimson hue. “Damn it!” I cursed as I removed the orange jacket she had been wearing and discovered several lacerations and deep cuts. No doubt she had a few broken bones as well. Her breaths were shallow and weak as her body shivered; I needed to treat her quickly before she died from blood loss. I pulled out my medical kit and was about to use the healing bandages when the loud crackling sound of thunder caught my attention. I turned my head towards the sound and saw a massive storm blowing in from the mountains to the north. “We need to find shelter before that storm hits so I can properly treat your injuries, little pony,” I said as I put the bandages away and instead brought out a few tourniquets and cast a spell to help coagulate the blood to slow the blood loss. After applying the tourniquets, I looked around and saw a small opening at the base of the nearby mountain that looked like a cave. “That will have to do.” I carefully picked up the injured mare with my magic and made my way to the cave entrance. Once inside, I quickly cleared a spot on the floor and sat the mare down, and quickly started a fire with my magic for both light and warmth. I pulled out my medical kit and got to work cleaning the blood and wounds so I could better examine her injuries, aside from the lacerations I was correct on her having several broken bones including three broken ribs and a busted leg. I used my magic to mend her bones and more severe injuries then used my medical kit to suture and bandage the lesser ones after removing the tourniquets and cleaning the wounds so they would not get infected. This whole process took about two hours and night was falling fast but her condition was stable now, I suppose I could have used one of my healing potions but those were best saved for emergencies especially since I doubt these ponies had anything I could use to manufacture more of them. The storm raged outside as I laid out the mares’ attire to dry next to the fire when I noticed her shivering and breaking out in a cold sweat. “Damn it.” I walked around the fire over to her and placed my hoof on her head which burned to the touch. “Great, she has a fever now. Honestly, these ponies are so frail compared to us it’s a wonder they’ve survived for so long.” I said as I gazed down at the deep blue mare; she seemed so small and helpless. Normally, I would not care if a weak creature died. After all, the strong would survive, and the weak would be devoured by the strong, but something had compelled me to save her from drowning until I found out why… “I will not allow you to die, little pony.”

I spent the next two days looking after the sick and injured pony while the snowstorm outside raged in an endless white flurry, using what medical equipment I had to treat her fever and using my body as a windbreak for the cold breeze that occasionally funneled into the cave as well as to share my body heat with her. I still was perplexed as to why I was going to such lengths to keep her alive, but for whatever reason, I felt compelled to do so. Her breathing had become more stable, and the fever finally broke after another day, but she was still mostly unconscious and would murmur something about a sister every now and then. I knew I would have to get her to eat something to help with the recovery process. Luckily, I had gathered some mountain berries that seemed to be edible, as I had witnessed small animals eating them when I was following the frozen river and collecting firewood for later use. I pulled a few of them out of my storage space after throwing another log on the fire. They were large red-colored berries that came in a cluster of three on a white leaf with blue tips. I lifted them closer to my nose and sniffed; they had a rather bitter smell with a soft underlying hint of sweetness. “Alright, little pony, you need to eat to recover your strength quicker,” I said as I carefully lifted her head with my hoof and gently placed the berry in her mouth where, either by instinct or perhaps partial consciousness, her mouth started to subtly move in a vain attempt to eat. “Chew, little pony.” She gave a few more weak attempts before the berry fell out of her mouth onto the cave floor. “Really, you can’t even manage to chew a berry on your own?” She didn’t respond, of course, just kept softly breathing as I held her head, and after a few moments, I gave a long sigh…… “Can’t believe I’m doing this.” I closed my eyes and placed a few berries into my mouth, and started to chew them thoroughly; they were disgusting to me as I chewed them into a fine pulp. The berries were very bitter and left a grossly sour taste on my tongue. “I hope you understand how gross these taste to a carnivore little pony,” I complained around the mouthful of berries. After chewing them as fine as I could, I lifted the pony’s head more and pressed my mouth against hers. She moved slightly as my lips met hers but did not protest too much as I used my tongue to transfer the pulp between our mouths. Once I had moved it all to hers, I pulled my head back and kept hers at an angle as I moved my other hoof to stroke her throat to help coax her into swallowing the berry pulp. It took a moment, but she finally swallowed the berries. I pulled out my enchanted water pouch from my survival kit and gave her a small drink. “I’ll have to boil some water and herbs to get this sour taste out of my mouth after I’m done feeding you, little pony.” I continued looking after her in this manner for another few days before we finally shared words with each other. It was the dead of night as the storm continued to howl outside; I was attending the fire when I first heard her rustle from her long sleep. She gave an exasperated breath as she tried to sit up but quickly fell back down into the small nest I had made from what dry leaves I could find. clearly, she still needed to recover her strength, but it was a good sign that she had finally awoken.

“Whe… where am I? How’d I get here? Sister, is that you?” She had such a soft melancholy tone.

“You are in a cave, little pony, sheltered and safe from the storm raging outside while you recover from your injuries. As to your sister, I know not, for I only found you.” With some effort, she turned her head towards me. I saw her eyes focus and then go wide with surprise. Or Fear? I did not know.

“Who… what are you?”

“What am I?” I stood up from attending the fire and approached her. “That’s a rather rude question to ask to the one who saved your life, little pony, especially since I’ve had to nurse you back to health for the past week.”

“I… I’m sorry I did not mean to offend.” She held her head with a hoof as she groaned in pain. “My head is pounding, and I can’t think clearly.” I took the opportunity to pull out my water pouch and offered her a drink of the refreshing water, which she gulped down greedily.

“So, little pony, I have questions for you first and foremost; why are you in these mountains, and how did you get caught in an avalanche?” I asked as I took back the water pouch and sipped myself, which made her blush slightly for some odd reason.

“My sister Celestia and I were hiking through the mountains to reach the town of Snow-Hopper on the edge of Equestria for some ‘Excitement’ she calls it.”

“Excitement huh? What kind of excitement?”

“Snowboarding and mountain climbing, Snow-Hopper is a famous winter vacation spot for ponies, and my sister was getting bored with our nice, quiet, lovely retirement home in Seaward Shoals and decided we should go there for a change of scenery. And I, of course, as the little sister, got dragged along for the ride.”

“I see, but that doesn’t answer the other part of my question of how you ended up getting caught in an avalanche.” She gave me a rather guilty look as she laid her head back down.

“We… got into a fight over directions and how I didn’t want to come to the cold north to begin with, and in my anger, I stormed off into the snow. After wandering for a bit, I found a mountain peak and decided that if I could get to the top, I would be able to spot the town lights in the distance, but as I approached the summit, a storm blew in, and a lightning bolt struck the mountain which must have caused the avalanche taking me along with it as it crashed down the mountainside.” I looked at her like she was stupid.

“So basically, what you’re telling me is that you and your sister got lost in the snow, had a pointless fight, and you decided to wander off on your own instead of sticking with your sibling as a storm was approaching, and you were too angry to notice it?”

“I…If you want to put it like that, yeah… I guess that is what happened.” She tried to hide her embarrassed face in her hoofs with great effort. “Um, if I may ask, what happened after you saved me?” I spent the next half an hour filling her in on how I had pulled her from the freezing lake and nursed her back to health as I fetched out one of my rations and started to cook it in the fire, although I had never seen such a dark blue shade turn crimson red on a face when I got to the part about having to mouth feed her and share my body heat so she would not die from hypothermia caused by the bone-chilling wind. “Yo…. you did all that for me? I… had no idea I was so injured I would have died if you hadn’t been there to pull me out of the water ma…. may I know your name?” She asked, face still burning crimson.

“My name? My name is Tenebrae, little pony.” I said as I pulled my now-cooked ration from the fire and began eating it.

“Tenebrae, huh?” She gave a quiet giggle which resulted in a coughing fit that lasted about a minute.

“Something funny about my name, little pony?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“No… no It’s a lovely name I just thought it a bit ironic because of what my name is that’s all.”

“That being?”

“Luna, my name is Luna. And definitely not little pony.” She said with a delicate smile.

“You're all little ponies to me, but very well, Luna.” She started to fall back asleep, but our little conversation had sapped her still-recovering body.

“Tenebrae?” She softly whispered.

“Yes, little Luna?”

“Thank you for saving my life and I’m not little.” And just like that, she was fast asleep. I finished my ration as I sat there quietly thinking. No doubt she will have more questions when next she wakes. I do not like lying, but it may be beneficial to fabricate a story of being an adventurer or something of the like from a foreign land, as she may be more forthcoming with information that way and won’t be as suspicious of my questions about this Equestria or neighboring areas like the Crystal Empire. Dawn had come, though you would not know it as outside the cave opening, the blizzard continued to rage, and the wind's white symphonies continued to envelop the land in its whistling melody of frost when Luna next awakened. She was feeling better, but her body still needed to recover its physical strength.

“Here, drink this, it’ll warm you up.” I handed her a crudely carved but perfectly functional wooden cup I had made from a dead stump I found hidden in the corner of the cave last night.

“What is it?” She asked, carefully taking the crude cup in her magic. It was filled with a grayish steaming liquid.

“It’s a tea I made from the leaves of those winter berries mixed with other mountain herbs.” She gave it a cautionary sniff before taking a sip.

“A bit bitter but I prefer it to overly sweet.” She continued to sip the tea while I started to carve another cup from what remained of the stump. She eyed me cautiously when I extended my War Blade and got to work. “Tenebrae, if I may ask, where are you from exactly? I’ve never seen a pony like you before or wearing such frightening-looking armor.”

“North, and you’ve never seen a pony like me because I’m not a pony, though I suspect our species are related.”

“You’re not a pony? Then what are you? And what do you mean north, like from Yakyakistan?

“Further, much further north, and apologies that I cannot answer your other questions. Our laws forbid it.”

“Your laws forbid it?” She gave me a confused look as she sat her cup down on the rocky floor. “There aren't any other settlements or countries past Yakyakistan unless… wait, are you from the Unknown Regions?” Unknown? Perfect, so these ponies have not charted the northern providence above the Ghost Sea.

“Unknown to you, Equestrians perhaps, but yes, I am,” I answered back without turning to meet her gaze as I continued my carving.

“Really? If that is the case, you’re the first visitor we’ve had from there, to my knowledge. What made you travel such a long and dangerous way here to Equestria?” I dared glance over to her and saw her eyes filled with curiosity.

“I told you before our laws forbade me talking about it, and if you continue with your questions, you’ll wear yourself out again, like before. Your body is still recovering after all, so it's best not to strain yourself.”

“I’m feeling much better than I was yesterday, but thank you for the concern. Now, please, can’t you talk about it a little pretty please? I’m very curious.” I gazed into her curious blue eyes… her alluring eyes… damn them, I hate lying.

“Very well, though, I can’t tell you much.” She sat up as best she could to listen. “I’m an adventurer from an Island nation far to the north past what we call the Ghost Sea, and I’m searching for a long-lost ruin of importance to my people that I have reason to believe lies here in Equestria. That’s all I will say.” I went back to focusing on my carving as I could not bear to keep looking into those eyes.

“An adventurer from a far-away unknown land searching for lost ruins? Sounds exciting; my sister would love that.” Suddenly she got up quickly, nearly falling onto her face as she stumbled toward the cave exit. “MY SISTER!!! I HAVE TO FIND HER!!! I grabbed her in my magic and lifted her slightly off the ground, which she immediately began to struggle in.

“BUT MY SISTE-”

“Calm yourself, little Luna. If you go out in this weather before you’re fully recovered, you’ll only succeed in getting yourself killed. Not only that, but it would make the effort I put into saving you pointless and a waste of my time. Of course, if that was your true goal when you decided to run off on your own when you and your sister were lost, tell me now, and I’ll toss your blue ass back into the freezing lake myself.” She stopped struggling and gave me a look of pure disbelief as if I had just struck her across the face. “Well? Are you wanting to die?”

“No…” She whispered softly.

“Good.” I levitated her back to the makeshift nest and sat her down gently. “Now get some rest. The faster you recover, the better.” She just sat there staring into the fire looking somber for a long while as I finished my carving of another cup. I looked over at her and gave a long sigh… “As soon as the storm passes and you're recovered enough to move properly, I will help you find your sister and escort the both of you safely to the town of Snow-Hopper, alright? And I’m sure she’s fine and probably just sheltering away from the storm like we are before continuing to look for you.” She perked up a little at my words.

“Okay… thank you, Tenebrae. I’ll choose to believe that.”

We walked through the deep snow staying close to the rock face as we followed the mountain pass. It had been a few days since the storm alleviated its assault on the mountains, and my companion was well enough to travel again. “I think we’re getting close to the area where we had our disagreement, Tenebrae. It should just be over the next ridge.” Luna called out behind me as she followed my large hoof steps through the snow.

“Good I should be able to pick up her trail then from there,” I said as we crested the ridge overlooking a frozen plain surrounded by numerous mountains and hills.

“I don’t know how you’re going to find her trail after so long, especially since I’m sure the snow has completely covered it by now.” She replied softly, panting as she came up next to me.

“I’m exceptionally good at tracking, little Luna. Now are you sure this is the right place?” She looked at me with doubt in her eyes.

“Yes, I distinctly remember these plains with surrounding mountains.”

“Good.” I began clearing away a large part of the snow and began to sniff the frozen dirt beneath it.

“Uhh… what are you doing, Tenebrae?” I ignored her and kept my attention on the surrounding smells. Yes… there were two distinct smells that didn’t match the frozen environment faint but definitely there alright. One smelled of lavender and moon lilies that of my current companion ah… moon lilies how I missed those I wonder if that’s why I… Irrelevant, I need to stay focused. The other smell is strange to explain; it’s like a mixture of sunflowers and sugar, yet oddly warm. This must be her sisters; I took a deep breath… the strange smell continued to the north.

“She went that way.” I pointed north towards a path that seemed to cross the plains beyond the distant hills.

“Wha… how do you know that?”

“I have a very good sense of smell.” She didn’t look convinced. Sigh… lying again. “Where I’m from, the terrain is very uneven, and the air is muddled with many smells and sounds, not to mention the area is full of dangerous monsters, some of which can be very deadly and can disguise themselves by mimicking would-be prey like a lure. Being able to distinguish and separate them can mean life or death, so we train to do so at an early age.” This seemed to ease her doubt.

“Sounds like you come from a very dangerous place.” She warmed up her hoofs with her hot breath. “I hope Celestia is okay because that storm was pretty severe and sudden.”

“I’m sure she is little Luna. Now come, let’s get moving while I have her trail.” I started my descent down the ridge.

“I’m not little. How many times do I have to say that?” She complained quietly before following my path.

“We’re close to your sister now. These tracks and scent are recent.”

“Truly? Thank the stars. I was beginning to worry we wouldn’t find her, though it’s still a bit weird to me that you can follow by scent over such a distance. It’s like having a tracking dog or something.” We had been following her sister’s trail for about a day and a half now. Thankfully, the weather wasn’t too bad; otherwise, it would’ve taken far longer to trudge through the snow and wind to catch up.

“I am not a dog, little Luna.” I glared back at her. “We’re close; let’s see if we can find her before night falls,” I said, turning my attention to the path ahead. We were in a frozen ravine filled with ice-covered crags and hills twisting about like a maze. It'd be easy to get lost in such a place without a map or a good sense of direction.

“It was just a jest, Tenebrae. No need to be so serious about it. After all, you also make a good snowplow. I would be chest deep in the snow were it not for your grand trail through.” I gazed back to glare again, but seeing the road I had carved through the snow winding behind her through the ravine and rocks, I decided to turn back towards my purpose.

“Snow-plow indeed.” I mused, continuing my path. After trudging through the snow for another twenty or so minutes, we came across the remains of a campsite tucked under a rocky shelf of a crag. The embers of the fire still glowed.

“I’m sorry I doubted you, Tenebrae. It really does look like my sister came through this way.” Luna said as she approached the campsite, picking up a teapot with her magic that was near the fire. “This is definitely her teapot. I recognize the cute little animal on its side.” She touched it with her hoof. “Oww! It’s still hot!” As she put her hoof in the snow to cool it, I noticed something strange about the campsite: a pot and pan had been left in the snow near a partly buried saddlebag filled with numerous tools and utensils for cooking. A basket full of food and travel snacks lay tipped on its side with hoof prints leading away from it near an odd bump in the snow.

“Somethings wrong here, little Luna. Stay alert.” I walked over to the odd bump and began clearing away the snow to find a ruined tent that had been trampled with heavy clothing left inside. Luna had just begun to notice the discarded supplies in the snow and wore a look of worry.

“Oh no, Celestia. Please be safe.” She muttered quietly. “What do you think happened, Tenebrae?”

“Be quiet for a moment.” I focused my attention on the ruined tent and the path of the hoof prints. “It appears your sister was in the middle of prepping breakfast and had put some water on to boil before fleeing the camp with haste.”

“What makes you say that!?” She asked in alarm.

“Look around.” I gestured toward the fire’s embers. “Water still hot in the kettle, pots and cooking utensils left behind, discarded food, and this trampled tent I found beneath a patch of snow.” I pulled out a heavy red winter jacket from the ruined tent. “It appears that she left in such a hurry she forgot her jacket and had tripped over the food basket in trying to run away.” Luna grabbed the jacket from my hoof.

“What would have caused her to run in such a panic?” She hugged the jacket to her chest. “Tenebrae, if my sister is without her warm clothes and supplies.” She gave me a somber look.

“Don’t worry, little Luna, we’ll find her. I did track her this far, and this camp has only been abandoned recently, as evidenced by the glowing coals of the fire. We can’t be far behind her now.” My words seemed to alleviate her fear.

“Right, lead on.” She said, tucking the jacket away in her saddlebag.

“The trail goes this way. Come on; we can catch her before-.” Then it hit my nostrils: the smell of iron. No… I lifted my head as I sniffed the air. That’s fresh blood!”

“Blood!? What do you me…” I didn’t hear the rest as I ran in a full gallop towards the source of the smell, the same direction as the hoof prints.

As I turned the corner, I was greeted by the sight of billowing snow and open tundra. I skidded to a halt at the edge of a steep cliff and took in the sight briefly as I could hear Luna shouting somewhere behind me. I looked over the edge and saw about thirty-five meters below me a pure white mare with a translucent rainbow mane standing on a large boulder holding her bleeding wing. Something was off; why did she look so scared? From my vantage point, I couldn’t see or smell anything else in the vicinity, but then I felt it… a rumbling from the snow. Suddenly, the ground in front of the boulder exploded in a white flurry as something erupted from the ground beneath, and a putrid smell assaulted my nose. As the snow that was tossed in the air, creating a brief smokescreen, cleared from my eyes, I began to see the creature responsible. It was a massive white worm-like monster banded with deep blue feathers around the neck and a light blue pattern ringing down its body, its blackened beady eyes focusing on the small mare before it. It was easily twenty meters in size, I’d guess. From the exposed body rising from the ground, its tripartite maw lined with yellowed rotting teeth opened, revealing a sickly purple mouth with black tendrils writhing out from its throat, reaching for its prey… I jumped.

I extended my war blade and brought it to bear with my full weight and momentum directly into its eye. The creature recoiled in pain, shrieking like a dying banshee as its purple blood spewed from its pierced eye, coating my armor. It shook violently, trying to throw me off as I tried to force my blade deeper, hoping to hit its brain. It moved its body to thrash its head against the cliff edge, trying to crush me against it, but I was faster. Just before it hit, I retracted my blade and used the force of the impact to send me skyward. With one powerful beat of my wings, I redirected my momentum back downwards. The stupid beast had dazed itself with the strike. This time I aimed right between its eyes my blade piercing scale, flesh, and bone alike with its serrated edge as I forced it forward splitting its head apart down the back of its head. Brain matter and blood cascaded down upon me as the creature gave its final shriek, tumbling down into the purple-stained snow. I landed the fall without effort as its steaming dead carcass lay behind me. “What a worthless opponent.” I spat some of its purple blood from my mouth. “Back in my time, monsters like you would have given a far fiercer fight than that. At the very least, I won’t let your meat go to waste. I hope you taste better than you smell.”

“CELESTIA!!!” Came the panicked voice of Luna as she flew down from the cliff landing next to her dazed sister whose gaze seemed fixated on me. Can’t really blame her I suppose, judging based on how those pitiful soldiers at that lab reacted to the death of their comrades I must look quite the sight covered in purple gore. “SISTER, SNAP OUT OF IT! ARE YOU OKAY!?” Luna was shaking her sister, trying to break her from the daze. After a few moments, she seemed to wake up and recognize her little sister.

“LUNA!” She embraced her sister in a tight hug despite her injured wing. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried.” She hugged her sister closer. “I’m so sorry, Luna; I shouldn't have raised my voice like that.”

“I’m sorry too for running off.” They both began to weep softly for a brief time as I inspected the creature before Luna noticed the blood on her sister’s wing. “Sister, your wing is injured!”

“I’m alright just a sprain I promise.” Celestia, I think was her name, stroked Luna’s mane, trying to reassure her. But it didn’t look like Luna bought it as she prodded the injured wing causing her sister to wince in pain.

“You've always been such a bad liar, sister. Since when does a sprain bleed? Thankfully, my new friend here is quite adept at medicine and fighting Itzalwurms; it would seem.” She gestured towards me.

“He is?” She looked at my purple blood-stained armor with worry.

“You can trust him, sister I would be dead were it not for him.” She finally broke away from her sister’s embrace, wiping a tear from her eye. “He saved my life and now yours plus without him I never would have found you in this endless expanse of snow.”

“Alright, I will trust your judgment Luna, but I want to hear all about what happened after we were separated. I have quite a few questions.” She still had a bit of weariness in her eyes toward me.

“Deal but I want to hear your side too, here you must be freezing.” She pulled out the red jacket and wrapped it around her sister. I approached them. “Ah, but let’s do proper introductions first, Celestia. This is Tenebrae and Tenebrae; this is my older sister Celestia.” I bowed my head slightly in greeting. “Thank you for saving my sister from that Itzalwurm Tenebrae. I figured you’d be a strong fighter after what you said about your homeland, but I didn’t think you’d be able to defeat a monster like that without using magic. It was quite impressive to watch!”

“Was it?” I looked at the carcass of this Itzalwurm behind me with doubt. It is still difficult to wrap my head around how weak the beings of this era were. What could have caused such a tremendous difference in such a short time I wonder, granted if the information I received from Sandy is accurate it’s been about thirty-five thousand years since we bicorns walked holy Equus. Still, that’s far too short of time for such a dramatic decrease in power, both physical and magical, not to mention the lack of technology I witnessed in that lab during my escape. So many questions and no answers. I need to hasten my way to the data center, hopefully I’ll get some answers there.

“It was. I’ve never seen anypony take one down so quickly or rather kill one at all. Usually, they keep to their hunting grounds, and even when they do attack, they are just driven away.” Luna looked at me with curiosity instead of the weariness her sister had.

“If you say so, little Luna.” Before getting answers, though, I need to escort these two to the town Luna mentioned first. I gave my word after all, and a bicorn always keeps it. “Celestia, was it? Let me take a look at your wing. I need to treat it before it gets infected.” I cleaned my hoofs in the snow and pulled my medical kit out of my storage space.

“I’m fine; really, it’s just a sprain.” She kept up her façade while flexing her wing. “See only hurts a little bit.” The pain was clear as day on her face, and I wasn’t in the mood for games. I grabbed her in my magic and pulled her closer.

“Good, then I can examine it all the quicker.” I sat her in front of me and gripped the injured wing in my magic, unfurling it.

“Oww! Must you be so rough!?” She tried to squirm away, so I pinned her under my hooves. She may be bigger than her sister and about the size of an average bicorn, but I was still far larger and stronger.

“Cease your squirming and let me examine it already you’re acting like a filly. Honestly, aren’t you supposed to be the older sibling?” She continued squirming under me and trying to cover her nose for some odd reason. Meanwhile, Luna was trying her best not to laugh at her sister’s predicament, but I noticed she had moved further away from me. “Is something wrong little Luna?”

“No, there’s nothing wrong exactly.” She struggled to hold in her laughter as she covered her nose with her jacket. “But Tenebrae, you smell absolutely horrible.” I gave her a puzzled look before giving myself a quick sniff. Okay... that was quite the smell I had going from the blood and brain matter from the Itzalwurm that caked my armor.

“I see, so that’s why you’re squirming. Too bad, though, as you’re not getting away until I’ve patched up your wing, so quit struggling and hold your breath.” I found the source of the bleeding as I examined the back of her wing. There was a large gash near the Ulna bone; fortunately, it wasn’t too deep. Celestia started gagging beneath me. “I found your wound hold still so I can treat it. The quicker I finish, the sooner I’ll be able to wash my armor off, and you can get some fresh air.” She tried her best to keep still as I cleaned her wound and used a healing spell to close the worst of the wound. “All done.” I let her get up and join Luna’s side, gasping for air.

“Thank you for your help, Tenebrae.” Celestia gave me a polite bow after catching her breath. “You have saved both my life and my sister’s. How can we ever repay you?” Luna followed her sister’s lead and joined in the bow.

“Not necessary, but I would be thankful for some information.”

“Information? About what?”

“Tenebrae, if it wasn’t obvious, is not from Equestria sister. He came looking for something that belongs to his kind.”

“Really? Sounds interesting.” Celestia raised her eyebrow at her sisters’ words.

“Enough we can discuss this later, night will fall soon and the temperature is already dropping. Luna help your sister back to her camp and get a fire going. Tidying up the place would be helpful as well; you can catch up on recent events too.” Luna nodded her head in agreement. “While you do that, I’m going to clean this gunk off my armor, but first.” I approached the dead Itzalwurm and extended my blade. “I’m going to make sure this doesn’t go to waste.”

“What do you mean go to wast-” Lunas' words caught in her throat as I began skinning the creature. The sight and smell caused both sisters to recoil and gag in horror. “By the stars, Tenebrae, what are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I am skinning this Itzalwurm before I carve some choice cuts to dress for the road. It’s been ages since I’ve had some meat to eat.” Which considering I’ve been gone for thirty-five thousand years wasn’t an understatement. “Besides, its parts and hide could be useful materials later on.” They looked at me like I was insane.

“Come on, sister. We can talk about it later. Let’s go before I puke from the smell.”

“Agreed, Luna, let’s go.” And with that, the sisters made their way towards the camp. Now that they were gone, I used my magic to hasten the process of skinning it. After the hide was off and put to the side, I drained several vials of the beasts’ blood and placed them inside my storage space along with its feathers.

“Good, let’s start butchering this thing before using magic to dry the hide, so I have something to wrap it in,” I said to myself. I spent the next hour carving the meat from its body. I always enjoyed hunting in the Dark-Moon Forest near my territory, the magic beasts that prowled it made excellent materials for alchemy and armor crafting. Especially the more powerful ones they made for the perfect enchanted gear. “There all done now to clean my armor,” I said as I put the last of the Itzalwurms materials into my storage. It was almost pitch-black now, so unfortunately, I’d have to wash it with magic. I cast my spell, purging the stains and smell from myself. Shame there isn’t a hot spring around here. I would’ve loved to bathe in it and do proper maintenance on my armor and blades. “I wonder if that town little Luna mentioned has one, I should ask her when we arrive,” I said to myself as I made my way back to the campsite.

“I still don’t trust him, Luna. He killed that Itzalwurm without even hesitating and is now butchering it to eat. What kind of pony does that?” I was just about to turn the corner of the crag to the campsite when I heard the sisters speaking.

“I told you before, sister, that he is not a pony, just closely related, though I’ll admit it is a bit disturbing that he is a carnivore. Still, he saved both our lives, and that’s good enough for me.”

“I know, and I’m incredibly grateful to him for saving you. I had no idea you were so hurt, Luna. But I can’t shake this feeling that he’s hiding something from us.” I stepped around the corner into the light of the fire.

“Of course, I’m hiding something from both of you don’t be stupid.” They gasped in surprise at my sudden appearance. “I am a foreigner in a foreign land with little to no knowledge of your country, its inhabitants, or laws. The place of my origin is wrought with many dangers, we fight for our survival, and it should be clear that I’m a warrior, fighting is in my blood and has been for many generations.” I sat across the fire from them. I hate this lie, but I’ve no choice but to run with it for now. I turned my gaze on Celestia “And for the record, I never asked for your trust I am simply keeping my word to your sister. I promised to help her find you and escort the both of you to the town of Snow-Hopper. After that, we’re done.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Tenebrae I… I didn’t know you were back.” Celestia looked down, a little ashamed. “I didn’t mean to offend you or your kind, I know my sister and I owe you our lives. I just don’t understand how you can take a life so easily.”

“Tell me, Celestia, why do you think that creature attacked you?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me Celestia now answer I dislike having to repeat myself, especially for such a simple question.”

“I… because I was trespassing on its territory?

“Wrong, it was simply the law of nature.” I threw another log onto the fire

“What do you mean by the law of nature?” Luna asked, confused. Seriously, how controlling are these ponies that they would forget how nature works?

“Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, be predator or be prey.” I found a skewer in the saddle bag of cooking utensils. “That Itzalwurm attacked you because it was hungry, and you were prey, simple as that.” I opened my storage. “Unlike you, I am not prey.” I pulled out a good chunk of the creatures’ meat and pierced it onto the skewer. “Tracking you through the snow and fighting made me hungry, so the worm became my prey.” I held the skewer over the fire and rotated it slowly in my magic. “Bottom line, Celestia, had I not taken that Itzalwurms life, it would have taken yours. Are you truly trying to say you would have rather been eaten?”

“Well, no of course not I just don’t like killing.”

“Enough already, both of you.” Luna chimed in with a hint of annoyance in her voice. What’s done is done, sister. He saved both of our lives and is being kind enough to escort us to town. Just leave it at that. And Tenebrae, please stop with all the predator-prey talk; it's weird.”

“Very well little Luna, instead how about a change in topic? Did you catch up with your sister about the recent events?”

“Yes, we did, and it would appear my sister had hurt her wing when she tried to fly during the snowstorm and got stuck here in these crags. Which is why she wasn’t able to get away from that Itzalwurm.”

“I see, this Itzalwurm is it a common issue you ponies deal with?”

“No, attacks from them are rarer than their southern cousin, the Tatzlwurm. In fact, the last attack by a Tatzlwurm was when Twilight and Cadence were helping Discord get a flower to cure his supposed illness. Honestly, that Draconequus can be such a pain to deal with at times with his so-called pranks or tests.”

“Agreed, sister, but at least he’s reformed now…mostly anyways.” Interesting I wonder if this Twilight is the same as the monarch or just similar in name and what the fuck is a draconequus?

“So, these worms are a species with several variants then, what other types of monsters are commonly found here?” Over the next half an hour, as my meat cooked, Luna filled me in on the common monsters and intelligent creatures found in Equestria. Manticores, basilisks, sea serpents, chimeras, timber wolves, and many other monsters were common to the deep forest of the Everfree, which was a large, mostly unexplored forest that surrounded the central region near the capital. There were also many types of intelligent creatures that shared Equestria as their home ponies, griffons, buffalos, kirin, and yaks, but the last one she listed caught my attention the most.

“And dragons usually inhabit the badlands, but we’ve been on pretty good terms with them thanks to Spike and the school Twilight made in Ponyville.” I was glad to hear that dragons were still around. They were our closest friends and allies, even before the war our cultures were intertwined. I was often told as a colt to look to the proud and honorable dragons on how royalty should behave. I may have to make a detour in my quest to meet them.

“Interesting, this land seems mostly peaceful by the sounds of it.”

“It usually is, but we do have the occasional problem with criminals or the odd villain trying to take over or steal our magic, though truth be told, it has happened quite often this past decade.” Luna eyed me curiously as I took a bite of the meat I’d been cooking while Celestia did her best to look away.

“Very true, sister. It has been quite hectic these past few years, but thankfully, we had Twilight and her friends around to save the day. She more than earned the right to take our place. I’m proud of her and her friends’ achievements. The elements chose their bearers well.” I stopped midway through my bite.

“Wait, are you talking about the current regent of Equestria? And what do you mean take your place?” I looked at the sisters with a puzzled expression.

“Oh, right, I guess you wouldn’t know, being a foreigner to our land and all. I’m sorry, Tenebrae, for not realizing that sooner; we’re both so used to being recognized by everypony that it didn’t even cross my mind,” Luna said as she stood up from the fire and gave a polite bow. “My sister and I are the Princesses of night and day and the former rulers of Equestria, but we both retired and abdicated the throne to Twilight Sparkle.” I was completely confused by the dynamic of these ponies’ government system at this point. I mean, how the fuck does a princess retire, and what does she mean by the elements chose?

“You retired being princesses? That doesn’t make any sense to me at all. Is this Twilight Sparkle a member of your royal family and you chose her to rule instead?” They both giggled at my question.

“No, not at all. Twilight was my prized pupil when she attended my school for young fillies gifted in magic. I saw her potential as the bearer of the element of magic and set her on the right path to becoming a princess.” Celestia responded, seeming amused by my ignorance.

“The dynamics of this Equestria is more complicated than I thought.” I crossed my hooves in thought. “You said you were the princesses of night and day. Are those simply titles then?”

“We’re called that because I was responsible for raising the sun each morning.”

“And I for raising the moon at night though I did also watch over ponies in their dreams.” I was completely stunned by their words of raising and lowering the sun and moon. Why was that even necessary to begin with?

“Are you saying without the two of you, the sun and moon do not move?” They seemed a bit puzzled by my reaction.

“Well, yeah, I suppose so, but we did imbue an amulet with a small portion of our magic for Twilight to use to raise and lower the sun and moon when we retired, so we’re not fully needed for that anymore.”

“That doesn’t stop the ponies of Equestria from calling us the twin goddesses, though.” Luna chimed in, but I was lost in thought. How can this be possible? The sun and moon always moved on their own due to the magical gravity of the planet. “Uh… Tenebrae, you okay?” If they’ve stopped their orbit around the planet, that would mean the magic of the world had to have diminished severely or have disappeared completely.

“I don’t think he’s listening, sister.” Wait… if the magic of the planet has severely diminished that much to stop the natural orbit of the sun and moon, that would explain the dramatic decrease in the power of its inhabitants, but even if this is the case, that still doesn’t explain the cause or catalyst of it.

“TENEBRAE!” Luna was yelling in my face and trying to shake me out of my thoughts. I shook my head clear.

“My apologies. I was lost in thought.” Luna removed her small hooves from my shoulders and stepped back.

“Obviously, you completely clammed up on us and had a blank stare in your eyes.” She sat back down next to the fire. “We had called your name several times, trying to get your attention. What was that all about anyway?” I continued eating. I needed to change the subject quickly.

“I was just thinking about how there are three of us and only one tent and a rather small one at that compared to my size.” They both froze for a second and looked at Celestia’s tent that they had set back up on their return to the camp. It was a small winter camping tent designed for two maybe three normal-sized ponies at most. They then turned their gaze on me, looking over my massive, armored form a bit longer than was needed before slightly blushing. “Is there something on my face, little princesses?” The sisters quickly looked away from me.

“No, no not at all Tenebrae.” Luna refused to look back at me and gave a little cough. “I was just thinking you’re right; that tent is too small for all of us to fit inside comfortably.” How amusing that these mares would be so embarrassed by my little joke to change the subject.

“Agreed, sister, but it’s not like we planned for something like this to happen in the first place. Besides Tenebrae, why don’t you have a tent? I thought you were adventuring across Equestria and were used to camping in the wilds.” Another lie I suppose Is called for.

“I did originally, but I lost it when I jumped into the freezing lake after your sister, along with a few other items. It’s not easy swimming in full armor, you know, especially when carrying an injured mare.”

“Oh… I see. Wait. If you didn’t have a tent, then what have the two of you been doing in your search for me?” They both looked at each other, still slightly blushing.

“We usually found a cave, or I’d make a small igloo with my magic before it got dark. It’s fine, though. I was merely teasing the two of you. Go ahead and share the tent; it's best I remain out here anyway. After all, we may still be in Itzalwurm territory, so I’ll keep watch for the night.”

“Are you sure Tenebrae? I mean we could take turns on watch if you’d like.” Celestia suggested, finally composing herself, but before I could respond, Luna interjected.

“Tenebrae truth be told I don’t think I’ve actually seen you sleep once since I met you. You were always up tending to the fire or making breakfast by the time I was awake. Why is that?”

“You’re quite astute in your observations, little Luna and the answer to your question is simple. It’s because I haven’t slept since we met, and I won’t need to for a while yet. besides, I think I’ve slept long enough.” I ended that last part by crunching the bone from the meat to get at the marrow inside.

“But Tenebrae tha-” I raised my hoof.

“That’s enough, little Luna. You two go ahead and get some rest. I will keep watch as I said I would. There is nothing else to discuss about the matter.” I pulled out the Itzalwurms hide from my storage space alongside some tools and sat them next to me. “I will be fine; I assure you there’s no need for you to worry. There is some work I need to get done before we make our way to town. Besides, I quite enjoy the nighttime.” I finished up my food and got to work examining the hide.

“Alright, if you say so, Tenebrae, but please don’t push yourself. If you do get tired, please don’t hesitate to switch out with us. Come, sister, let’s turn in for the night. We have a long and very cold road ahead of us to town.” Luna made her way past Celestia, who seemed curious as to why I was examining the worm’s hide.

“Right; goodnight, Tenebrae.” She turned to follow her sister into the tent.

“Goodnight, little princesses.” Now, then, I think I’ll make a hooded cloak out of this worm hide. It seems to be highly resistant to the cold and would serve to conceal most of my armor and horns. I’ll need to be careful in the settlement. I’m sure word has spread about my attack on their research lab by now. And I’d hate to have to kill my new companions after spending so much time and effort saving them. Not to mention the information they have provided me with is invaluable plus I doubt the ponies would take kindly to me killing their I suppose ex-rulers.

“I must admit it’s still weird seeing you in that cloak Tenebrae. I hadn’t expected you to make clothing out of the Itzalwurm, but I cannot deny it looks professionally made. Especially in such a short time, even Rarity would be envious of such skill with a sewing needle.” Luna and Celestia were following my trail through the snow. It had been a few days since I reunited the sisters and was leading them to the town of Snow-Hopper using my armor's auto-map. Thanks to using the paper map Celestia had in her saddlebag, it was simple to chart our course.

“I don’t know this Rarity, nor do I care to; it’s just a hobby of mine, little Luna, and it's more useful than just being fashionable. The Itzalwurms hide is highly resistant to the cold environment though the main reason I made it to begin with was to help conceal my identity when we get to town. Speaking of which, we should arrive there shortly.”

“That’s good to hear, but why would you need to hide your identity?” Celestia asked. She took a moment to warm her hooves with her breath.

“In my experience of traveling, locals tend to have a problem with outsiders. They don’t trust them or try to lay blame if something should happen and some refuse to even allow passage. So, I think it’s best to hide my armor and horns to help dissuade the fact I’m a foreigner.”

“That’s good thinking, Tenebrae. However, your size and the fact that you’re wearing a cloak made out of a monster might not be very persuasive.” Luna chuckled.

“I suppose you have a point about that.” I stopped for a second to think of a solution. “Ah… I got it; if you don’t mind, little princesses, should anypony raise questions about me? Can I ask that you tell them I’m a mercenary that you two hired for protection?” I turned to look at the sisters.

“Oh, like a bodyguard? Sure, we could do that; it’s the least we could do as thanks for saving us, right sister?”

“I agree with Luna and it does make sense that we would have some sort of protection since we were traveling so far. I think once we get to town and the rumor about you being our bodyguard, Tenebrae gets around, ponies won’t be suspicious of you being an outsider.”

“I appreciate your understanding.” We continued up the path, and as I crested the slope of the hill, I could see lights in the distance. “The town of Snow-Hopper, I presume?” The sisters came up beside me and peered in the direction of the lights.

“Looks like it.” Luna sat down in the snow. “By the stars, the journey here was ridiculous and way more dangerous than I thought it’d be.” Celestia took a seat next to her sister.

“Agreed, the brochure had said the mountain views and natural hot springs were to die for, but I didn’t think it was literal.” She chuckled at her own joke.

“They have hot springs?”

“Oh yes, rumor is they are some of the best in the kingdom. Why do you ask? Do you like hot springs, Tenebrae?” Luna looked at me with a strange look of curiosity.

“I do very much. Soaking in a hot spring after a battle or successful hunt is a core part of our culture.”

“Really? Well, let’s not waste any more time getting there then. As our bodyguard, you must stay close to our side, right?” I shot her a puzzled look.

“I suppose that would be correct in this situation, given that’s the story we’re sticking to. Why do you ask?” She turned away from me.

“Because that means you have to escort us until we’re ready to leave.” She gave her sister a sly look. “After all, a bodyguard can’t just leave his charges in a remote town surrounded by dangerous creatures and unknown ponies. Isn’t that right, sister?” Celestia tried her best not to smirk at me.

“I do indeed agree, sister. Especially one we already owe our lives to.” I was not amused, which must have been evident on my face because Celestia’s expression quickly softened. “All joking aside, Tenebrae, what I and Luna are saying is we would like you to join us in enjoying some rest and relaxation in town as thanks for saving us. We’ll cover all expenses, of course, including the hot springs, so please, won’t you stay?” They both gave me puppy-dog eyes.

“I don’t know. I have my quest to consider, and I’ve already been sidetracked as is.” I tried to look away from their pleading eyes.

“Please, Tenebrae? I mean, think about it, we are the former rulers of Equestria and are popular amongst the ponies. We can get VIP treatment at any of the establishments. I can guarantee you’ll have a good time.” Luna said, moving into my field of view alongside her sister. Their eyes… damn them. I let out a long sigh…

“Fine, I’ll accept your terms, but remember what my role is when we are in public; otherwise, it may cause issues for me.” They both beamed at my response.

“Yes, of course, we promise!” They said in almost perfect unison. I looked at the town in the distance and felt an eerie feeling down my spine. Just what have I gotten myself into?

Author's Note

This last year has been crazy with everything going on as I'm sure most of you know. And that trend seems to be continuing this year so updates will be slow but I'm determined to finish the story.

Chapter Four.

Beauty And Rage

This place feels wrong to me. The air smells sweeter than it should, and the ponies' smiles and lustering eyes of joy seem artificial or perhaps absent. Like they aren't fully aware of it but don't care or maybe are unable to notice it. Ponies laughed and made merry as they enjoyed the attractions of Snow-Hopper. Everything from thrill rides like a roller coaster that twisted and spun around town to wild and wacky sideshows of parlor tricks and fireworks or enjoying the many street vendors selling knick-knacks and bizarre brightly colored foods. Screams of joy and excitement echoed from somewhere nearby as many others enjoyed more winter activities like skiing. Everywhere I looked, I saw nothing but ponies and a few other creatures the sisters had mentioned before, seeming to have the time of their lives. My heightened senses were screaming their warning at me. “Tenebrae, are you okay? You seem to be lost in thought again.” I turned my gaze down to the blue face of my so-called ‘employer’, who held a bright smile and curiosity in her gaze.

“I'm perfectly fine little Luna, I'm simply taking in the sights of this… wondrous tourist town.”

“Isn't it?” Celestia said, coming up to her sister’s side. “I must say the brochure didn't do this place justice. Just look at all the fun and exciting things to do! Not to mention all the yummy desserts being served!” She did a little trot of excitement which I found amusing.

“Easy, sister. There will be plenty of time to explore all the fun things to do, but first, we need to check into a hotel.” Luna did a quick little survey of the area. “If we can find one, especially since we’re weeks late for our reservations.” She was more composed than her sister, but I could see the excitement in her eyes. They both seemed rather excited for this place though I suppose they would be looking forward to such things after the ordeal of almost dying to get here. I’ll let them enjoy themselves for a time.

“I agree with your sister, Celestia; we should find a place to check in before it gets too late.” I turned my gaze back towards the distant mountain we had trekked down this morning. “It was quite the hike through the snow to get here after all.” They both snickered at my comment.

“It was, but fortunately for my sister and I, we had the best snow-plowing bodyguard in Equestria to make the trek easier for us.” Luna joked as she tried to hide her giggle.

“Agreed the best that bits can buy.” Celestia mused, turning her gaze away from me as mine narrowed at them.

“All jokes aside, I'm glad we didn't have too much trouble entering the town with such a uhh… unique bodyguard.” She cleared her throat. “I was expecting quite a few questions from the gate guard about you, or at the very least, I thought your ‘cloak’ would draw a lot of attention, but it seems we were worried for nothing.” She looked around at the ponies around us, who seemed blissfully ignorant of our presence.

“I guess everypony is having too much fun to care about the giant walking around wearing a cloak made from Itzalwurm skin,” Luna remarked.

“Yeah... lucky that.” The sisters started making their way through the crowds as I followed behind. I suppose I'll play the role of a diligent bodyguard and watch after them while they have their fun. After navigating our way through the crowded streets and Celestia getting distracted by one of the vendors selling cupcakes and other sweets, we finally found ourselves in the lobby of a hotel. I suppose it's rather nice for how primitive these ponies' architecture is, even if I had to duck to avoid hitting my head on the door when we entered. The lobby floor was covered in a deep red carpet with intricately carved columns lining the way to a set of equally intricate stairs leading to the upper floor with the check-in counter adorning the center between them. The walls were made of black and white marbled tile, and several works of art hung from it. Lamps of soft white illuminated the room well enough despite the natural light that flooded in from the large windows that gave a nice view of the mountainside.

“Welcome to the Winter Stable hotel and hot spring resort! How may I help you today?” The little white mare behind the counter beamed with a rather fake sense of over-the-top enthusiasm as we approached. She had a bright purple mane done up in what I suppose is a professional-looking bun for a place of business. Her sparkling empty blue eyes stared past us behind her gold-tinted reading glasses.

“Yes hello, we would like to check in if possible,” Celestia responded with a friendly tone.

“Of course. Do you have a reservation with us?” the clerk asked, bringing up her clipboard.

“Yes, we do, or rather, we did. A huge snowstorm delayed us considerably, however, and we’ve only just arrived in town. It was the large suite with two bedrooms and the private hot spring bath attached if I recall correctly.” She looked to Luna, who nodded her acknowledgment.

“Name, please?” The clerk asked, adjusting her glasses.

“It would be under Celestia.” The clerk started flipping through the pages of her clipboard.

“Celestia… Celestia…” She mumbled as she scanned the names. “Ah, here we go. I'm sorry, but it looks like you're well over your allotted week grace period for check-in. That room has since been rented out by another.”

“Yeah, I figured that would be the case.” Luna stepped up next to her sister. “Are there any other rooms available? We need at least two with separate beds and preferably one that has a private hot spring. I was looking forward to that.” Luna asked hopefully with a slight smile as the clerk flipped through her clipboard.

“I'm sorry it looks like we are completely booked at the moment.” The clerk gave a slight bow in apology.

“Aww, that's very disappointing to hear.” Luna's ears fell back in disappointment, her smile replaced with a subtle frown.

“I guess we’ll have to look around for another hotel then.” Celestia turned towards the clerk. “Is there any other hotel around here that you would recommend we try?” She asked, keeping her friendly attitude.

“I'm sorry once again but every hotel will have been booked up by now. It's the height of the tourist season, so even if I did give a recommendation, chances are very slim they would have any rooms available.” The clerk bowed again in apology.

“I… see thank you for letting us know.” Celesta sat back on her haunches, seeming to be at a loss.

“What are we going to do now, sister?” Luna asked, sitting next to her. “Not much of a vacation if we have nowhere to stay.” I decided to keep quiet and pretend to look at the nearby artwork even though I watched another employee speak to a fat-looking stallion in hushed whispers at the corner of my vision at the far end of the lobby. The fat one was doing a bad job at trying to hide his stare at the two sisters. Even at this distance, I could hear what they were saying.

“Sir that's the princesses that were supposed to arrive two weeks ago.”

“Yes, I can see that sweetie.” The fat one licked his lips.

“The mayor gave specific orders tha..”

“I know what the mayor said!” He hissed at the now frightened employee. “Go and find them a nice room with everything they asked for or one as close as you can.”

“But sir, we don't have any room..”

“Then make room!” He hissed while drawing the employee closer. “These are VIPS and deserve the best our resort can offer. Understood, sweetie?” He gave her a quick lick on the cheek, making her shudder in fear.

“Yes, sir, right away.” She quickly composed herself and approached us. “Please excuse me, but we may have a room available if I could please ask you to wait a few moments.” She gave a forced smile.

“Oh? I thought you were all booked up?” Celestia sat up, looking at the newcomer.

“We were but I was just told by our manager of some early departures that might not have been reported correctly.” She gave a bow. “I apologize for our lack of proper conduct. Please wait here while I go confirm with our well-trained staff and see if we do indeed have a room available.”

“Of course! Thank you so much for going to check.” Luna perked up immediately. The employee gave a knowing look at the clerk before disappearing upstairs. How very interesting I wonder if I should say something to them? I thought to myself as the sisters went to sit down on some chairs that were arranged near the large window while we waited. I let the thought linger for a bit before deciding to let things play out a little longer. This may prove advantageous to me in the end. We waited for about thirty minutes before the employee finally returned.

“Thank you for your patience. We do indeed have one room available, and it is being prepared now.”

“Truly? It looks like we’re going to be able to enjoy our vacation after all, dear sister.” Celestia said to Luna, her eyes beaming with delight.

“There is, however, a slight problem, which I'm deeply sorry for.” The employee bowed.

“What problem would that be?” Luna asked with a little bit of reluctance in her voice.

“The only room that became available that has the private hot spring bath you requested is the honeymoon suite.” Both sisters froze, their eyes going wide as their cheeks flushed red.

“Th..the honeymoon suite!? Surely there must be another available!” Celestia stammered not daring to look towards me for some odd reason.

“I'm sorry, but no, this is the only one we have.” The employee bowed her in apology once again.

“I do not understand. Is there a problem with such a room?” I was confused by their reaction. The sisters both looked at me.

“Surely you jest Tenebrae. Of course, there is a problem,” Luna said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“I'm not,” I said with a hint of annoyance. “Should we not be thankful that any room was suddenly available for us to use?” I narrowed my eyes at the employee and gave a sly smile which seemed to unnerve her for a moment.

“Tenebrae, are you being serious? You don't know what a honeymoon is?” Celestia said, looking surprised. I turned to face her.

“No, I've never heard such a term before.” The sisters looked at me, confused but still slightly blushing. It was a strange moment of silence until Luna finally spoke up.

“Oh right, I forgot you're not from Equestria; how silly of us.” She coughed, clearing her throat. “A honeymoon is a special type of vacation that two ponies go on after becoming married.”

“Ah, I see… Now I understand. So the issue is the same as before then.” The sisters' blush deepened.

“What do you mean the same as before?” Celestia asked in a slightly panicked tone.

“Only one bed between the three of us,” I said with a sly smile once again. I couldn't help but tease them a little. After all, they made it so easy. Besides, It was quite amusing to see their flustered faces.

“Te…Tenebrae, that's not. We didn't. It wasn't like that!” They both stammered, speaking gibberish while waving their hooves frantically, their faces cherry red. I couldn’t help myself.

“Oh, I know what it was like, but just who are you trying to convince, I wonder?” I said as I lowered my head to look them in the eye. Their look of sheer panic was hilarious. The poor employee looked completely lost in what was going on. “Relax, I'm only teasing. Call it payback for the snow-plow jokes earlier.” That seemed to calm them down a bit.

“You're terrible sometimes, you know that.” Celestia huffed, looking away from me.

“I agree sister, terrible and cruel.” Luna stuck her little tongue out at me. I ignored them.

“That said, the situation remains the same,” I said, looking back at the horribly confused employee. “We will gladly accept the room.” The sisters looked at me, a bit flustered again. “We’ll just have to make do; we don't have another option.” They shook their heads in reluctant agreement.

“You're right, Tenebrae. It's not like we have any choice. We were lucky enough to get one at all,” Celestia said before turning to the employee. We will take the room; please go ahead and check us in for it.”

“O…of course.” She quickly got the form from the clerk. “Please sign here.” She held the form while Celestia and Luna signed it before looking at me with a hint of fear in her green eyes.

“Something wrong?” I asked, lowering my head considerably to look into the tiny employee's eye. She shrank back from me.

“I'm sorry I didn't think you were with the princesses is all.” She hid her fear well. “I don't mean to be rude but just what is your relationship to them?” I smiled.

“Why, I'm their bodyguard, of course. I'm here to ensure their safety during the duration of their stay here. After all, an unfamiliar town with unfamiliar ponies can be a very dangerous place to be for a pair of…” My voice trailed off for a moment as I looked the sisters over. “Such lovely inexperienced mares such as them.” I finished with a fanged smile at the employee, who shuddered a bit.

“I…see.” She gave a nervous chuckle and gulped quietly. “In that case, please sign here.” I took the tiny pen in my magic and signed. Great, that's everything. Please wait a moment while I get this filed and check on the room's readiness.” Lucky for me, the sisters had turned back to chatting with each other, so I decided to be a bit devious.

“Thanks very much... sweetie,” I said quietly as the employee turned to leave, which caused her to freeze up for a moment before daring to look back at me. Her eyes were wide with fear and worry. I gave her the nicest smile I could… one that showed my very sharp teeth. Before seeing her reaction, I turned and went over to wait by the sisters.

“Oh wow, just look at this place!” Celestia exclaimed as we entered the suite. The room was rather elegant in its design. The walls were a nice white color with a slight wavy design that matched the curtains near the fancy double-paned gold-trimmed windows that contrasted nicely with the dark oak floors. An intricate fireplace was placed near a sitting area with comfortable-looking chairs filled with pillows and a long sofa made from dark leather. The slightly lighter oak table had several snacks and a variety of tea types laid out on top. On the far side was another large door that led to the hot spring, I'd guess. Of course, it did not hold a candle to we Bicorns idea of luxury but it was nice enough I suppose.

“I agree they really know their stuff when it comes to luxury.” Luna joined in as she followed. We had ended up waiting another twenty or so minutes before being led to our room. “Oh, sister, take a look at this,” Luna said as she slid two large screen doors that revealed the bedroom that held a large window with a very scenic view of the mountains. The bed itself was rather large. It was a bright white color that matched the aesthetic with way too many pillows, in my opinion, but it looked to have real silk sheets and a nice-looking canopy for privacy, I assume, since this was for married couples. It still would not fit my size, though.

“I suppose it's nice enough,” I said, ducking to get through the door. “I'm glad most of the doors we’ve gone through so far are double-wide, but I wish they were a bit taller.” This seemed to amuse the sisters.

“We should be lucky of that,” Luna said, chuckling. “Otherwise, you'd be leaving quite the giant pony-shaped holes in your path.

“Think of all the bills we’d have for property damage!” Celestia mused joining in poking fun at my large frame. I glared at them.

“Not my fault you ponies don't think to be inclusive of other larger races in your architecture. Especially for a warrior of my stature.” I said removing my cloak and revealing my fully armored form.

“We’ll make sure to make a formal complaint for you then,” Celestia responded while they both continued snickering.

“Good, see that you do,” I said as I threw my Itzalwurm cloak at them causing them to trip over each other trying to get away. They managed to dodge it but fell flat on their faces now it was my turn to snicker. “What’s wrong? I thought you liked my cloak? Even said it looked professionally made if I recall.” I said, picking it up in my magic as they stood up.

“It may be professional looking but it's still made from the skin of a worm monster!” Luna exclaimed, rubbing her nose.

“I, for one, think it's gross and a bit morbid. Not to mention how stinky it must be since how bad the wurm smelled before.” Celestia said, sticking her tongue out while holding her nose.

“Oh, it's stinky, is it?” I said in a mocking tone. “My nose must not be working correctly then. Here, why don't you tell me if it is?” I started moving it closer to her with my magic. Her eyes went wide with panic as she tried backing up quickly.

“No! No! No! No! No! That's okay, I'm sure it's fine.” She turned and jumped over the couch to hide behind.

“Now don't be shy, just a quick whiff to confirm I promise it doesn't bite anymore.” I started chasing her with it around the couch as Luna tried hiding behind the screen doors to the bedroom, doing her best to stop laughing. After a few more laps, I switched targets. “Oh, little Luna, your sister is being rude and won't help me figure this out,” I said with a mischievous grin as I slid the screen apart suddenly. “Won't you be a dear and help me instead?” I didn't wait for an answer as my cloak whooshed in the air toward her. She quickly ducked as it went over her and rolled to the side.

“No, Tenebrae. It's fine; I'm sure of it!” she said, backing up against the wall.

“Funny, I could have sworn your sister said the same thing just a moment ago. But how do I know the two of you aren't lying to me?” Before her answer, I moved it towards her, and again she managed to dodge it and run to the side of the bed. I followed her with it, and she jumped on the bed and bounced to the other side; thus, our chase began around it. This was quite amusing, which was strange for me since when did I play around like this? After another lap, I ceased my chase. “Alright, I'll relent for now.” I threw the cloak into my storage space and chuckled as little Luna flopped onto the bed, her chest heaving.

“Thank the stars for that!” Luna said as Celestia came out from behind the couch and joined her on the bed. “I'm all sweaty now since I didn't get the chance to take my coat off!”

“Me too.” Celestia agreed, sighing. “I think we may smell as bad as that cloak now.”

“Should I bring it back out to compare?” I joked.

“No, that's okay!” They both said in almost perfect unison shooting up from the bed to attention. I chuckled.

“You truly are cruel, you know that?” Luna said, taking her coat off. Celestia soon followed her example and did the same.

“I'm only joking. Besides, you two started it, and I don't lose to any creature. It's a warrior's pride, after all.” I beat my hoof on my armored chest a few times.

“We should have guessed, but you could still go a little easier on us,” Celestia huffed.

“I agree; it's not very fitting for a bodyguard to tease his employers so much,” Luna said as she stood up from the bed. I was taught to take no prisoners and show no mercy when it came to combat, but I suppose this is different, and I am going a little far in my teasing of them.

“I will try but I make no promises. Now since you two are all sweaty and it's still relatively early, why don't you go for a soak in the hot spring for a bit? We can go out and see the sites and get some dinner later tonight.”

“That does sound like a good idea. I have no problems with that plan. What about you Luna?”

“No issues here, relaxing in a hot spring for a few hours sounds perfect to me.”

“Good, remember to rinse off before getting into the hot spring. It's bad manners if you don't,” I told them as they started for the door when little Luna stopped suddenly.

“Wi…will you be joining us Tenebrae?”

“Join you? In the hot spring, I'm assuming?”

“Yeah, you said you enjoyed them and we did say we’d cover any expenses as a thank you for saving us.” She eyed her sister who was about to say something, making her keep quiet. I thought for a moment it had been a while since I removed my armor and properly cleaned it and myself. Over thirty-five thousand years to be exact.

“Very well go ahead and I'll join you in a few minutes,” I said after a moment.

“Great, we’ll see you in a bit. Then come, sister. Let's rinse off and get in before he joins us.” She said with a slight blush before continuing out of the bedroom with Celestia in tow. I gave a long sigh before beginning to remove my armor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I can't believe you invited him to join us, Luna,” Celestia said as she found a good position to lay back in the hot spring.

“Well, he did save my life and yours. I figured this would be at least a good start in thanking him, considering he said he likes hot springs.” I found a similar position next to her, taking in this gorgeous private bath. They really tried their best when designing it to make it seem like a natural hot spring as it sat in the middle of an artificial bamboo forest, complete with a rocky path to and from the door. The water itself came from a cleverly disguised bamboo tap that hid the pump that fed into it. The bath itself was very large and could easily fit at least eight ponies inside, with plenty of hoof room to move about. The floor of the bath was a smooth stone with small bumps for grip and had a shallow side with a large stone as a sitting area.

“I know that, sister and I'm not opposed to thanking him in the slightest.” She shifted her position to look at me. “But still inviting him to join us while we’re still in the bath is a little risqué, especially from you.”

“It's nothing like that!” I said quickly, blushing. “I just thought it'd be a good opportunity to talk and get to know him better.” She eyed me with suspicion. “I heard that it's a popular custom with some of the eastern areas where several ponies would spend time together in hot springs to strengthen friendships.”

“I've heard the same; they say something about the relaxing hot water or sulfur. Let ponies talk about stuff they normally wouldn't.”

“Exactly! Since he is rather mysterious and from a faraway land, I thought we could learn a bit more about him and the land he’s from by inviting him to join us.”

“Well, I'll agree with you on that. He is rather strange and mysterious.” She said, sinking a bit further into the water before popping back up. “Alright, let's use this opportunity to learn more about his tribe and the land he comes from.”

“Agreed,” I said, then I heard the door slide open and heavy hoof steps go towards the side that had a small area with a shower for rinsing off before proceeding to the bath. The bamboo obstructed our vision, but I was sure it was him. I heard the shower turn on and, after a few moments, shut off, and then the same heavy steps came toward us. When he did emerge from behind the bamboo neither I nor my sister were ready for the sight that awaited us as we both gasped at what we saw. A large, ashen black stallion with his twin silvery horns seemed to shine from the water that dripped from them. Without his helmet, we could see that his silver eye held a large three-claw-like scar across it. The dark gray mane matted down from the shower revealed his strong facial features and pearly fangs. His large body was covered head to tail in numerous scars with massive taut muscles that glistened in the light from the water, and though he had a towel covering his flank, it almost seemed his cutie mark could be glowing ever so slightly beneath it. Even covered, I could tell his flank was just as perfectly toned and muscled as the rest of him. As he stood there basking in the light for a moment, he was truly quite a sight to behold.

“Something wrong, princesses? You're staring.” His deep voice boomed.

“Oh… wow.” I heard Celestia whisper under her breath from somewhere beside me.

“No… not at all…” I said as my eyes kept drifting over his form like I was in a daze. “It's just…” I couldn't stop staring at his taut muscles or hovering over his toned flank, and I got the feeling my sister was doing the same.

“Just…?” he asked, but I was so enamored with his form that I couldn't think straight.

“This is the first time we’ve seen you out of your armor,” Celestia said after clearing her throat, which seemed to break my daze for a moment.

“Yes, that.” I stammered, trying to hide the burning sensation I felt in my cheeks.

“Yes, I suppose it is.” He said as he started walking again towards us and the bath. Again I couldn't take my eyes off him. With every step in his stride, I could see the power of his muscles as they flexed. Each one filled with absolute confidence and purpose, like with every step, he was challenging the world itself to try and stop him. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't even realize he had reached the bath and was stepping in. I was taken off guard as he laid down in the deeper end, causing the water to displace from his large body, causing me to lose my balance and go under for a moment. I emerged coughing and sputtering.

“You okay, sister?” Celestia asked, reaching out her hoof to help steady me.

“Yeah, I'm okay. I just wasn't prepared for the water to suddenly rise like that.” I coughed the last bit of water out. At least the sudden plunge broke me from my stupor, and I could think more clearly. Or so I thought before Tenebrae let out a surprising coo sound as he settled in the water.

“Ah… I never tire of this feeling. The hot water does wonders to relax my muscles.” He flexed them for emphasis, which made me stare longer than I should have. “You're both staring again, you know.” I tried to quickly look away to hide my embarrassment and saw my sister do the same. Tenebrae chuckled. “It's okay. I'm sure you're both just curious about my battle scars but feel it's rude to ask.” He chuckled again. “Don’t be most are symbols of pride for a warrior such as myself.” That caught my attention, and it gave me a good excuse to change the subject.

“Most?” I asked, turning back to face him. He nodded his head slightly to confirm as he brought his giant hoof up and started tracing some of his scars with it.

“Some are trophies of a glorious battle.” He said as he traced the clawed scar over his eye. “Others are memories.” His hoof continued to the scar on his neck. “Sacrifices.” He looked over to a scar on the side of his hoof. “Betrayal.” He said with obvious scorn as he traced over the large scar that was across where his heart would be.

“You've been through a lot, then?” Celestia asked curiously, finally regaining her composure. He nodded his head.

“More than you’ll ever know.” Tenebrae sat up in the water, revealing more of his scars. “These scars are proof of what I overcame… what I survived. They show my life, my sorrows, and… my sins.” He looked rather somber for a moment. I couldn't help but move closer to him and place my hoof gently on one of the larger scars.

“Do they still hurt?” I asked with a hint of concern as I looked up at him.

“Sometimes, but I've grown used to the pain. I know my demons, and they know me just as well,” he said cryptically. Celestia also had come close enough to place a hoof on him and was not very subtle about prodding at his rock-solid muscles. He chuckled. “If the two of you are done touching me, I'd like to lay back down in the water.” I hadn't realized I was prodding at his muscles, too, and quickly stepped back.

“S…sorry about that I stammered.” Celestia backed up as well but said nothing. She was just as flushed in the face as I was and probably praying that he didn't notice the same as me. He had laid back down in the water and had his eyes closed, for which I was thankful as I tried to regain my composure.

“I am curious about something.” He said as he opened his eyes and looked at us.

“Go ahead.” I sat down, thankful for the change in subject.

“Would you mind telling me about your family? I find it strange that you two are the only true royals, and the new ruler was a student of yours rather than a family member related by blood. Or is it a case that you have no other family members who could take the throne?” I wasn't expecting him to ask about our family. Thankfully, Celestia took charge and answered.

“Not exactly. We do have some relatives, but they aren't direct relatives.” He looked at my sister curiously.

“Not direct relatives?”

“Yes. As an example, we have a nephew, Prince Blueblood, but he's only our nephew through our mother's side and is over fifty generations removed.”

“Ah, I see. So it's like a very great grand nephew then?”

“Yeah, that's a good way to put it.” I chimed in.

“How interesting… It explains quite a bit about your behaviors, then.” I looked at Celestia, confused.

“Our behaviors?” She asked. With a sly smile, he answered.

“You’re both still virgins, aren't you?” My face was immediately set on fire with embarrassment, as was Celestia’s.

“W-why do you say that?” I stammered.

“Please it's obvious with how red the two of you get when I tease you, not to mention those wandering eyes of yours when I joined you in here.” I couldn't bear to look at him. “It's nothing to be ashamed about and well… I don't mean to be rude, but the stallions of you ponies are rather small and weak compared to me. I’m sure the sight of such an exotic warrior is… let's say, interesting for you.” I felt like my head was going to explode like a volcano, with how much it was burning up in embarrassment. A quick glance towards Celestia revealed she was the same.

“Ma-maybe it is?” Celestia managed to say after a moment. “Maybe it isn't?” She took a few deep breaths. “Who can really say?” He chuckled at the two of us.

“I understand Celestia.” He kept chuckling for a few more moments. “I’ll cease my assault for now out of gratitude for inviting me to join you.” Wait…

“You were just teasing us again?” I said with a hint of anger. He chuckled again.

“Maybe maybe not, who can really say?” He smiled at me.

“So cruel…” I huffed as I laid back in the hot water, trying to relax.

“My apologies, little Luna and Celestia. It's hard not to since you two make it so fun.” I sat back up and was about to say something when Celestia spoke up first.

“You find it fun to tease us?” She asked with a hint of embarrassment. For some weird reason, Tenebrae seemed taken aback by that question.

“I do?” he seemed to ask himself more than answering the question. “I wonder why…?” he said softly. However, before either of us could press the question further, he suddenly stood up. “My apologies, but I'll be getting out now.”

“What? Why?” I asked. He turned to me.

“I still need to clean and polish my armor before we head out into town.” With that, he headed out of the hot spring, the towel he had around his flank now stuck to him from the water. He disappeared behind the bamboo, and a moment later, I heard the door open and close. I turned to my sister.

“That was weird.”

“Agreed, but I doubt we’d get an answer if we brought it up again, at least right now.” She rolled over in the water. “Let's enjoy the hot spring for a bit longer.” I sighed and laid back.

“So much for learning more about where he came from,” I muttered quietly to myself.

~~~

“Oh, why don't we eat here? Something smells good inside,” Little Luna said, pulling Celestia towards a small restaurant off the main path of the town.

“Alright, it does smell good, but please stop pulling me, Luna. Are you okay with this place, Tenebrae?” I nodded.

“If the two of you want to eat lunch here, it's fine since I won’t be eating.” Little Luna stopped in her tracks and looked back at me.

“You're not eating? Why?” I stepped closer to her and lowered my head so they both could hear me.

“Because I'm a carnivore, remember? We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves if we can avoid it. And right now I'm playing the role of your bodyguard while the two of you are out and about enjoying the town. We need to keep up that appearance while in public.” I whispered to them.

“But that seems a little unfair to you.” Little Luna whispered back.

“It's what we agreed on. I'll be fine, I promise.”

“Alright but do let us know if you see something you’d like to do.” She whispered back. I nodded my head. Took a bit for them to get their food due to the crowd and admittedly a little difficult for me to cast my magic on their food and drinks without them noticing but I managed. After their lunch of some kind of soup and flower sandwiches, they ended up going on a few of the attractions while I stood by at the platform since I was too large and heavy to fit on them. They ended up dragging me to several of the sideshows of mundane parlor tricks, and little Luna, for whatever reason, wanted to see some play they were performing in the central park. Something about a dragon stealing an artifact or something from a crystal pony which I found very offensive. As if any dragon would damage their honor with thievery. By the end of the play, it was starting to get dark, and they were discussing what to do about dinner when we were approached by a messenger pony.

“Excuse me, princesses, but I have an invitation for you.”

“An invitation? What for and from who?” Celestia asked, raising her brow in curiosity.

“It's from Mayor Butterfield.” He pulled out a letter from his satchel and handed it to her. “He wants to invite you and your sister to his manor for dinner tonight as an apology for not greeting you when you arrived.”

“Oh, I see. That's very kind of him, but it wasn't his fault since we arrived much later than scheduled.” She said, looking over the invitation. “Still, it would be rude not to accept, and we were just discussing what to do about dinner.” She looked at me and little Luna.

“I'm fine with it, but do we have time to stop by our room? We should get properly dressed if we’re eating at the mayor's manor.” Little Luna replied.

“According to this, we have a few hours.” Celestia put the invitation away. “Well, Tenebrae?” I closed my eyes for a moment to think. I wonder what the mayor is planning since it's clear he’s the ringleader here, judging by what I overheard earlier…

“Very well, I will escort you.”

“My, what a gentle colt.” Celestia mused. I rolled my eyes and followed them back towards the hotel.

“We’re almost ready to go.” Little Luna's voice came from behind the sliding doors of the bedroom. Honestly, why do mares always take so long to get ready for something as simple as dinner? It's been almost two hours since we got back and they're just now almost done getting dressed.

“I'm in no rush,” I replied,, even though I was bored from sitting on the couch. After a few more minutes, I heard the door slide open.

“How do we look Tenebrae?” Celestia said as they both came through the door and struck a little cutesy pose. I looked at Celestia first. She wore a purple and pink frilly dress with gold embroidery that draped over her flank, her mane was done up in double braids and she wore light red lipstick with matching blush and eyeshadow. I then turned to little Luna. She wore a blue dress that had a spiral star pattern that had a veil over her flank with black trimming. Her mane was rolled up into a bun with two small loops, and she had black make-up similar to her sisters but with some added sparkles under her eyes. Thankfully they couldn't read my expression under my helmet as I stared at them.

“Well, what do you think?” They both asked in almost perfect unison.

“You both look admittedly… very lovely.” I couldn't help but trace their forms with my eyes as the sweet perfume they both wore assaulted my nose.

“What's that supposed to mean? Admittedly?” They challenged me. I cleared my throat.

“Sorry, your perfume assaulted my sense of smell and made me lose my train of thought for a moment. I meant to say you both look very beautiful, and I would be happy to escort the two of you for the evening.” I gave a little bow with my head. They looked a little embarrassed by my words.

“O-oh right, you have a heightened sense of smell compared to ours. We’re sorry for that, Tenebrae.” Celestia said a little apologetically.

“I told you we used too much.” Little Luna whispered to her sister.

“It's fine; I've adjusted already; shall we go?” They nodded their heads in agreement, and I led them out.

“This place is truly beautiful!” Celestia exclaimed as we approached the manor doors. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a pair of servants who led us through the wintry garden surrounding the front of the mayor's manor. A large fountain adorned the front entrance, where two dolphins had been carved from ice, seeming to jump and splash over it.

“I’m glad you think so.” Came a posh voice as the manor doors swung open. A small stallion wearing a dark green suit and top hat with a gold monocle stepped out and opened his hoofs wide. “Welcome to my humble abode. I am Dandy Butterfield, mayor of this wondrous town! Though most ponies just call me Mayor Butterfield or simply The Mayor.” He was a light grayish stallion in his midlife with a dark golden mane and a small mustache.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mayor Butterfield. Please allow me to thank you for inviting my sister and I for dinner.” Celestia gave a polite bow, as did little Luna.

“The pleasure is all mine; you two look truly stunning tonight.” He bowed back and gave a small wink to her which angered me for some reason. “Admittedly, I thought I had offended your majesties in some way. When I heard you’d be making a visit to my lovely town, I had prepared to greet you personally and hold a banquet to welcome you, but you didn't show.”

“We’re very sorry about that. We got delayed by a terrible snowstorm on our way here. We did not know you were planning such a generous welcome for us; otherwise, we would have sent a letter in advance explaining our delay.” The sisters gave an apologetic bow.

“It's water under the bridge now. Please let us go inside. It would be rude to make you continue talking out here in the cold.” Celestia and little Luna went inside at his suggestion, and I started to follow but was stopped by the two servants. I looked down at them with murder in my eyes, causing them to gulp audibly.

“It's okay. He's with us.” Little Luna said to the servants who then looked towards the mayor.

“You heard her. After all, it would be rude to refuse anypony that was part of the princess's escort.” With that, the servants bowed and let me pass. “Please excuse my servants; they were only doing their jobs.” He gave me a friendly smile, which I did not return. Before I could say anything, Celestia spoke up.

“And please excuse our bodyguards' behavior as well. He takes his job very seriously and doesn't say much when on duty.” She gave me a knowing wink. Fine, I'll play the part.

“Oh, I see, the strong silent type then?” I looked down at him and simply said.

“Yes.” He backed away and cleared his throat.

“Right this way, please; dinner is almost ready.” He then led us through several corridors, each one lined with artworks ranging from sculptures to large canvas paintings, chatting up the princesses as we went. The interior of this place was mainly made of fine wood walls with fancy molding around the edges with expensive red carpets. It wasn't until the last hallway that led to the dining room itself that I paused to look at the overly large paintings that took up entire sections of the wall. Eight in total perfectly symmetrical down the hallway with accompanying statues of ponies in armor. Such amateurs, I thought to myself as I cast my spell. Thankfully it went unnoticed by the group.

“Everything okay, Mr. Bodyguard?” The mayor stopped and looked back at me.

“Just admiring the… beautiful artwork,” I said.

“Ah yes, beautiful and expensive.” He chuckled at his own comment before continuing the way. “Here we are.” He opened the intricate door that had a flowery pattern revealing a grand dining hall. Several crystal chandeliers hung above a large rectangle dining table that seemed to be made from cherry wood. It had enough seats for at least thirty guests and stretched past three separate fireplaces made of marble. The windows had deep red curtains that contrasted well with the wooden floor.

“Your home is very beautiful, Mayor Butterfield. I imagine it was quite expensive to build and furnish with all the lavish artwork and marble.” Little Luna commented. The mayor pulled out two chairs towards the head of the table.

“Thank you for your kind compliment. It's a testament to how successful our town is. It was hard work turning this once impoverished town into one of the most luxurious vacation spots in Equestria.” The sisters politely took their seats.

“I can believe it. Nearly every building we went into had gorgeous decoration and art. Even a lot of the architecture was beautifully designed.” Celestia said, admiring the room.

“I'm glad you noticed.” The mayor took his seat at the head of the table. “I take great pride in my town's prosperity and the well-being of its ponies!” I almost laughed at that but managed to hold it in. I took position near a window behind little Luna. They continued their pointless banter for the next twenty minutes discussing the town's history and prosperity in recent years. Finally, the food arrived; several servants wheeled out carts full of silver platters and arranged them on the table. Afterwards, they removed the lids revealing a wide assortment of delicacies for ponies and a lot of sweets. Platters full of varying vegetables and fruits blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, salads made of lettuce, carrots, and garnished with apple slices, even four different types of sandwiches. Several pies and cakes, including a large one that was reminiscent of a wedding cake, were wheeled out in a second wave of desserts, including many types of cupcakes and apple-based desserts.

“Wow, this may be a little much for just the three of us!” Little Luna said as a giant plate sat in front of her filled with many types of apples surrounding a cut pineapple in the center. The mayor chuckled.

“Like I said, we wanted to prepare a banquet to welcome you to our humble town.” He threw his hooves open. “Please eat and drink to your heart's content.”

“Thank you for such a generous meal, Mayor Butterfield. We will gladly partake,” Celestia said, grabbing several desserts and a salad. Luna followed by selecting multiple apple dishes and berries. Thankfully, I didn't need to use my magic on the food this time since the mayor himself was eating. They ate and made small talk for about forty minutes when a servant brought a bucket of ice with a curious single large bottle inside. Another followed with four fancy glasses.

“Ah, finally, it's here.” The mayor rubbed his hooves together.

“What's here?” Celestia asked curiously.

“Only the finest cider I can offer. It's made right here in Snow-Hopper, using the water from our hot springs to boil and filter the winter apples into this bottle of pure Bliss! Oh and don't mind the odd smell that's just from the sulfur water. I assure you it's perfectly safe to drink.” He explained with enthusiasm as the glasses were distributed and filled with the golden liquid.

“Oh my, what a lovely color.” Little Luna said, examining the drink. After theirs were poured, one of the servants filled the last glass and brought it to me. I grabbed it with my magic and smelled the vile liquid.

“I get one too?” I asked innocently.

“But of course! It's one of the finest refreshments we make here in Snow-Hopper and it just wouldn't do to not offer it to the princess's bodyguard. It's my way of saying thank you for keeping our beloved twin goddesses safe from harm. Now let us toast to new friendships!” The sisters had raised their glasses in tandem with the mayor and were just about to drink, but I stopped them right before with my magic.

“I'm sorry for interrupting the toast, but I'd like to ask you a question first, Mr. Mayor.” The mayor's eyes twitched slightly, but he kept the friendly façade.

“Of course, I'd be happy to answer it.” I bowed my head politely.

“Tell me just what were you planning to do?” He looked confused but I could see him starting to sweat under his hat.

“What do you mean?” He asked as innocently as he could, keeping his fake smile.

“After we drank this heavily drugged cider, I mean. What were you planning to do with us?” I asked as my smile widened, revealing my fangs. The mayor froze, his face breaking out in a cold sweat.

“What are you talking about Tenebrae!? He’s our host!” Celestia shot up in her seat, seeming to be angry with me. “If this is your idea of a joke, it's ver-”

“Sister!” Little Luna snapped, catching her off guard. “Let's allow Tenebrae to explain himself before jumping to conclusions.” She glanced at me. “Tenebrae?”

“Very well.” The mayor stayed frozen in his seat as I approached one of the servants who were standing by. “Drink this.” I shoved the glass in her face. Her eyes immediately went wide with panic, and she started to back up. “What's wrong? Don't like cider?” I grabbed her in my magic, pulling her close. “This is supposed to be the finest drink in Snow-Hopper. I insist you try it!” I forced the drink down her throat as she struggled in my grasp before dropping her to the floor. She gagged and heaved desperately, trying to vomit the drugged drink before the effects set in. Too late, a few seconds later, she started convulsing and foaming at the mouth before going limp.

“What is the meaning of this!?” Both sisters stood up in anger from their seats and looked at the mayor.

“I don't know, I swear! I don't have any idea of what's going on!” He panicked, trying to jump out of his chair to run, but I caught him in my magic, causing his hat to fall off, and restrained him before he could.

“Trying to flee so soon after pleading your innocence? Not a good look, you know.” His face was priceless.

“Guards! Guards! Help me! I'm being assaulted!” He shouted, making me smile with delight.

“We didn't see any guards around the manor,” Celestia said, confused. I gagged him with my magic.

“He’s calling for those assassins he had hiding behind the large paintings in the hallway.” The sisters looked at me, stunned. “Sorry, Mr. Mayor, but I doubt there’ll be any help to you since I already took care of them earlier.” His eyes widened with fear.

“When!? How did you know!?” Celestia shouted. I smiled at her.

“Why when we first entered the hallway and I stopped for a moment to admire the art.” I walked over to the mayor and lowered my gaze to meet his. “You know, if you're going to do something cliché as assassins hiding behind something, I'd suggest using an odorless poison. The one they were using had quite the smell.” The sheer terror in his eyes was delicious. “Celestia, little Luna, would you please go and make sure those assassins are retrained?” I took a large coil of rope from my storage space and floated it to Celestia. “I placed a long-lasting paralysis spell on them, but better safe than sorry, and do be careful with the poison they have on their weapons.” She took the rope in her magic. They both still held a look of disbelief.

“Wha-what are you going to do in the meantime?” Little Luna stammered.

“I'm just going to have a nice little chat with the mayor here about what's going on in this town of his.” I smiled sweetly at her.

“Al-alright, come, sister.” The moment they left I casted an area of effect noise damping spell on the dining room.

“There now, we won't be disturbed should you start screaming.” The mayor tried to struggle and yell in terror, but it was futile. I steadied him in my magic before looking to the other servant who had been cowering and whimpering next to their fallen fellow. I held a hoof to my mouth. “Shhhhhhh. Please be quiet while I work. I need to concentrate. Otherwise, there may be… permanent damage.” The servants' eyes widened before stuffing a hoof in their mouth. “Good,” I said before turning back to the mayor. “Now I’m not one to take pleasure in torture…” At the mention of torture, the mayor started shaking violently and screaming through his gag. I started to move behind him. “Unless it involves traitors then I could delight in that for years, centuries even.” My horns started to glow, and two clawed, ethereal hands appeared at the sides of the mayor's head. “Lucky you, I'm in a hurry since I don't know when my lovely companions will return.” The hands moved closer to his head. “So, rather than torturing you for information.” The clawed hands grabbed the sides of his head, holding him still and raising the thumbs. "I'M JUST GOING TO TAKE IT!!! The thumbs then passed through his skull and into his mind causing him to writhe in both terror and pain. “YOUR FIRST KISS!!! YOUR GRADUATION OF BUSINESS SCHOOL!!! THE TIME YOU WET YOURSELF AT A FRIENDS HOUSE!!! ALL OF YOUR MEMORIES!!! EVERYTHING YOU ARE, I WILL HAVE!!!” I shouted as the mayor's memories flooded into my head. “EVERY SECRET, EVERY LIE YOU EVER TOLD, EVERY SIN YOU’VE EVER COMMITTED I WILL KNOW IT ALL!!!” He thrashed about wildly, screaming in absolute pain and horror as I took everything the mayor was in his pathetic life. After the last of his wretched memories entered my mind, I ceased my spell. The mayor was weeping, heaving for breath. It took barely a moment for my brain to process the information from his short life. At the end, I was filled with rage. “YOU TRULY ARE UNWORTHY OF LIFE!!!” I screamed, extending my war blade, severing the mayor's head from his body, sending blood arcing through the air and staining my cloak and surrounding floor. The head rolled towards the terrified servant, making them scream through the hoof still in their mouth as their eyes rolled back before fainting.

“TENEBRAE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” I turned to see the sisters staring in horror from the opened door. My rage must have been apparent in my eyes since they shrank back away from me. After a moment, little Luna was the first to speak.

“Y-you killed him… You killed a pony, Tenebrae.” I turned my gaze away from them.

“That wretch was no pony and deserved a far worse fate for his sins.” I hissed in anger before going over to one of the fireplaces and pressing the hidden button behind it. The fireplace slid to the side revealing a hidden staircase going down.

“I don't understand what is going on Tenebrae. Why did you murder the mayor? And what is that secret passage?” Celestia asked as she and little Luna approached me cautiously.

“You are under the illusion that this bright and colorful kingdom of yours is a gentle place where all can find happiness and do no wrong,” I replied, turning my gaze to them. “You have no idea of the true darkness that infects it and has been for a very long time.” I pointed my hoof down the staircase. “Down there is but a glimmer of the truth of your beloved Equestria’s shadow.” They looked past me down the darkened stairs.

“Tenebrae, you're not making sense! Please just tell us what's going on!” I sighed.

“I will show you, follow if you want but know this.” I turned and started to descend the steps. “If you do, only pain awaits you.” I was about halfway down the steps when I heard hoof steps from the top. I hope you can forgive me for showing you the horror you’re about to witness, I thought to myself. Once at the bottom, I opened a heavy wooden door revealing a large stone room filled with varying cages and shackles. The floor was covered with patches of straw and fresh bloodstains; several of the cages held small fillies and colts, their eyes empty, no doubt pumped full of the drug that plagues this town to keep them compliant. To my right was a truly disgusting sight: three small fillies shackled to the wall, their flanks bloody as they stared empty and dead inside at the stained straw beneath them. A fourth lie lifeless in the corner, tortured and raped to death. It truly was a deplorable sight.

“By the stars…” I heard little Luna's voice from behind me. Turning around, I saw that both sisters had decided to follow me and were stepping through the door to this horror show. Their eyes filled with disgust and pain. Upon seeing the fillies chained to the wall, little Luna gagged and threw up on the spot. Curiously, Celestia didn't say anything. She just stepped towards the dead filly and fell to her knees. “What is all this?” little Luna asked after emptying her dinner on the straw.

“Arachne,” I replied. “A vast criminal underworld that expands not only Equestria but the neighboring kingdoms as well. They control the drug trade, smuggling, illegal gambling rings, larceny, and slave trading, amongst other things.” I ended, looking at the caged children. Little Luna held her hoof to her mouth. The horror was evident in her eyes. “They have operated for nearly two centuries pulling strings from the shadows and establishing many bases of operation like this one.”

“Like this one?” I nodded at her.

“This whole town is a cleverly disguised drug and child slave operation. They produce a drug called Bliss in several hidden locations scattered around town. This holding area is connected to many of these areas forming a web of tunnels for them to operate unnoticed. The drug is then distributed by splicing it into the local food and drinks; there is even a small amount that is pumped into the air from vents hidden throughout.” She looked mortified by my words.

“But how is that possible without anypony realizing? And why were we not affected?”

“To answer your second question, it's because I've been using my magic to covertly purge the drug from your food and drink without your notice.” She looked down at her hooves.

“How? When did you know?”

“The moment we arrived, of course.” I pointed to my nose. “Heightened senses, remember? I smelled the drug in the air and knew something was wrong immediately with this place.”

“Why… why didn't you say anything to us?”

“Would you have believed me? That some kind of drug was being pumped through the air and in all the food and refreshments? That they made room for us when we arrived at the hotel by removing guests?” She looked down guiltily before shooting back up with concern.

“Wait, what do you mean they made room for us at the hotel?” I pointed my hoof at a tarp that lay at the end of the cages. Cautiously, she approached it, removing the tarp with her magic, revealing the corpse of a young unicorn stallion and a unicorn mare with gold rings still on their horns. She recoiled, holding her nose from the stench. “No… no… no…” She started vomiting again. I quickly gazed back to check on Celestia, who was now holding the dead filly in her hooves as gently as she could. I couldn't see her face since she was turned away from me but I did see the tears falling to the stained floor.

“Now, to answer your first question.” I turned my focus back to Luna. “The reason nopony has realized what's going on here is because all the locals are on Arachne’s payroll and due to the effects of the drug Bliss. It's a highly addictive drug that causes extreme euphoria and relaxation of the mind making it pliable to external suggestions. They plan it all out, with the entire populace in on it, which allows them to identify their targets with ease. For example, let's say a family of three arrives a couple and a young filly to enjoy a winter vacation for a week or two. The moment they arrive, they are exposed to the drug, making them feel excited and happy to be here. They then check into their hotel and go out to enjoy the attractions and get dinner. With every meal or refreshment they consume, they become more and more affected by the drug until they are ripe for the taking. The hotel steward or hostess informs the slavers, who then abduct the family with ease since their minds are so malleable. They then bring them down to one of these rooms and pump them full of even more of the drug until they're in a state like these children.” I tapped the bars of one of the cages with my hoof. “They cage the young filly then spend several hours or even days convincing the couple they came here alone and never had a filly to begin with. After they are satisfied with the brainwashing, they release the couple and keep the filly.”

“Wh-what happens to the filly?” Little Luna asked, trying her hardest to compose herself.

“They are sold off to the highest bidder as slaves or sex slaves, depending on the buyer. Sometimes the filly comes out from the drug's effects sooner than expected and tries to escape or fight back.” I glanced back at the chained fillies. “And are taught a lesson.” I then looked to Celestia, who was still cradling the dead filly. “Some don't survive the ordeal.” Little Luna’s face was contorted with disgust and horror.

“A-and the colts?”

“Usually sold to underground arenas to fight to the death for the amusement of its patrons or fed to exotic pets.” She fell to her knees. “The mayor was the one who raped that filly to death,” I said, causing Celestia's ears to straighten. “Apparently, he had a thing for small fillies.”

“That's why you killed him…” I heard little Luna say quietly to herself.

“Yes… well, one of many reasons.” I replied then noticed Celestia gently putting the dead filly back down, her body was shaking.

“You know the ones responsible for this?” Celestia finally spoke her voice barely a whisper.

“Yes…” I said.

“Then may I ask a favor of you? Just this once… please?”

“What is it?” I asked. She looked back at me, and her eyes… though tears fell—were filled with rage and a hatred I hadn't expected to see in the young princess.

“Kill… them… all…” Her voice was shaky, her body quivering with rage and sadness.

“Are you certain? Do you understand the full ramifications of what you are asking me to do?” I asked, looking down at her. She steadied herself as she stood up and turned to fully face me.

“Yes.” I closed my eyes for a moment.

“Very well, then, I will do this for you.”

“Oh… sister.” I heard Little Luna whisper from my side.

“See about freeing these children and take them to the fountain in the courtyard and wait for my return. Trust nopony, not even the town guard understood?” Celestia nodded her agreement, as did Luna after standing back up. “Good, I will return soon.” I took my bloodied cloak off and placed it into my storage space before walking past little Luna, heading towards the door at the far end that led deeper into the tunnels.

“Sound the alarm! We're being attac-!” My blade separated the stallion's head from his body as he opened the door. The blood sprayed against the wall, his head landing on a nearby table in front of a mare in a white coat mixing ingredients for Bliss. I emerged from the doorway as the mare screamed; dozens of ponies in white coats sat at tables filled with beakers, tubes, flasks, and other alchemical tools filled with a vile yellow liquid. The scream, along with my appearance, caused them to panic, running towards the exit.

“Too slow.” I cast a barrier over the door, preventing their escape. Some beat their hooves against it, trying desperately to get through as I approached. A few turned back towards me, and one tried to speak.

“Please, we’re jus-” My blade cleaved the top part of his head off above the jaw, his bottom teeth and tongue exposed as his throat gurgled. The group of ponies screamed in horror. I cut the next three in half as they tried climbing over their fellows in a vain attempt to get away from me. The others dispersed, trying to run to the door I came through as I tore another's limbs off in my magic.

“Not so fast!” I cast another barrier blocking the way the front pony slammed into it at full speed, knocking herself unconscious. Now that they were on the other side of the room, I sent a blue fireball to the nearest table. It ignited instantly, causing the yellow chemicals to explode and spreading the fire. I dispelled my barrier momentarily so I could walk through. The fire continued to spread igniting the chemicals as it went towards the group. I stood and watched through my barrier for a few moments as the flames consumed them; their screams of pain no doubt echoed through the tunnels. One had run right at me, slamming into the barrier as the fire melted their flesh. They screamed, bashing their head and hooves against the barrier desperately in a futile attempt at escape. After a few moments, they slumped against it sliding to the floor. The entire room was ablaze. “Excellent.” Igniting these drug labs will cause the fire to spread throughout the tunnels and ignite the key facilities in town. With luck, it’ll burn the entire place to ashes. “I'll remove the barrier and ignite the other labs when I'm ready to return to the sisters,” I said turning away from the blaze towards my purpose.

“There he is! Fire!” Shouted a gruffled voice as I entered a large carved-out room filled with crates, boxes, and empty cages. Several ponies wearing leather armor armed with primitive crossbows appeared from behind the crates firing at me. I just stood there while the bolts bounced harmlessly off my armor.

“As if your primitive little weapons could harm me!” I shouted, sending out a wave of black energy. It cut through everything in its path, including the archers, their bodies and limbs sliding from the cut, spilling blood and organs all over the stone floor alongside more of that vile liquid pooling from the crates. I see, so this is a storage area. The few that had been standing on the crates had their legs and hooves separated; they fell screaming in agony into the broken vials below them. More arrived from the adjacent passages armed with axes, spears, and daggers in their mouths, wearing that pathetic excuse for armor I witnessed when I was first thawed from my icy prison. They rushed at me, shouting and yelling. I couldn't understand them since they shouted around the useless weapons in their mouths, but I'm sure it was something amusing. I lifted a few of the larger crate pieces and sent them flying with my magic at the charging enemies. They crashed into the front ponies, making them fall and obstruct the others' path, halting their momentum.

“What are you idiots doing!” Shouted a slightly larger-than-average stallion arriving with reinforcements from another passage. He had a gray mane covered mostly by his helmet and beard to match. An eye patch covered his right eye; he seemed to have some combat experience based on the formation of the other guards behind him. I guessed he was the captain of the town guard. “Get into formation and surround this foal!” At his command the guards fanned out to my flanks, the others picked themselves off the floor and joined the formation moving to encircle me; there were around forty or so of them. I let them do so.

“I figured the town guard was also on these criminals' payroll.” I mused as they completed their little circle pointing their weapons at me.

“I don't know who you are, stranger, but you got some big ones on ya for attacking an Arachne operation.” He laughed, stepping forward from the crowd. “Either that, or you're completely insane.” The guards laughed at their captain's joke. “Not that it matters now; you’ll be dead in a moment anyway.” How amusing, these pathetic sacks of meat think they have me beaten simply because I allowed them to surround me. “No pony or creature goes against Arachne and survives, especially ones that damage or destroy their property and interrupt business.” He grinned at me. I started laughing out loud, my deep voice causing it to echo and reverberate through the room. The guards looked at each other confused. The captain kept his grin but backed up a bit. After my brief laughing fit, I grinned back at the captain.

“It's idiotic mortals like you that remind me how fun it is to slaughter such deserving enemies and pitiable scum who believe themselves to have power and authority over others. It truly is amusing that even after all these millennia, there are still fools like you and this Arachne organization around to alleviate my boredom.” The captain's grin started to fade. Before he could react or give orders, I reared up and smashed my hooves against the stone floor, causing a tremor. The force of it rattled the room and knocked the guards off balance. As they tried to recover, I jumped forward, my weight and power snapping the worthless captain in two upon my landing. Red lightning surged from my horns, incinerating those in front of me. A few had recovered and charged me with their frail weapons from behind. I turned, arcing my war blade, cleaving through five of them in a single swing. I caught the other's axe blade in my mouth, biting down shattered it into iron scraps. My horns pierced his body, blood seeping across my helmet and face as I swung his body around, sending it into the next foe. Fangs tore through the closest enemy's armor, ripping his throat out as my blade skewered another. The few pegasi grabbed their dead comrades' crossbows and took to the air, shooting down at me. My horns glowing, casting my anti-flight spell as I separated two more guards from their heads. The black pulse spread throughout the room immediately the pegasi fell to the ground.

“What the hay!?” One shouted in frustration as he tried jumping, flapping his wings to get airborne once again to just end up doing a little hop. The others attempted as well, but to no avail. It was quite amusing to see them hopping around like a bunch of frogs, some slipping on the blood or spilled Bliss.

“It's no use mortals.” I taunted them while cutting through a mare's spear, taking her torso with it. “I've removed your ability to fly while in my gaze.” I grabbed one of the primitive crossbows in my magic and fired it into the jaw up into the brain of one of them as they made another little hop. “You're now nothing but a bunch of flightless birds in my presence.” I grabbed two of them with my magic ripping their wings off before smashing them into the wall. They crumpled to the floor in bloody heaps. The few remaining guards rallied together.

“What kind of monster are you!?” A stallion shouted in terror. The moment he blinked, his head rolled to the floor, and his body stood there for a few seconds, spraying blood from his neck onto the nearby guards before falling to the floor.

“Run! Retreat! We can't beat him!” The few remaining guards fled towards the door. Red lightning chained between them, reducing them to ash before they reached it. I started laughing, standing amongst the carnage.

“Yes… how I've missed this!” I looked down at my gore-stained hooves. “This feeling of bloody warmth, the ecstasy from battle!” I reared up, spreading my wings, letting the blood drip from them. “I demand more!” I roared, my bloodlust echoing from the walls. After a few moments reveling in the gore, I turned my sights towards the door the captain had come and continued on my way.

“Please spare us!” The workers groveled at my hooves. I had made my way through several more passages, killing as I went, coming to a massive cavern that had been formed from the large body of hot water bubbling from nearby. Arachne had turned this large underground hot spring into the central drug lab and the source point for spreading the drug throughout the town. Large vents cut into the ceiling of the cavern siphoning a yellowish fog that sprouted from vats underneath them. Taps from the vats dripped more yellow liquid into tubes carrying the drug to several bottling stations. A pump hooked up to the hot spring supplied the vats with water. Catwalks connected the vats and held a series of large mixing devices near the exposed tops with crates of supplies and chemicals nearby. “They forced us to work for them. If we didn't, they’d have us killed or go after our families!” I looked down at the dozens of workers who had thrown themselves down at my hooves when I had entered. They were terrified of me, no surprise I guess since I had butchered every guard or thug they had sent so far including that worthless captain.

“Which one of you is in charge of production here!?” I shouted. A scared blue stallion wearing a yellow-stained lab coat with an orange mane shakily stepped forward.

“I-I am, sir.” I narrowed my gaze down at him.

“There is far too much Bliss being produced here for just this town alone. Tell me, where does the rest go?” He swallowed hard before answering.

“We ship it out to Hammer-Hoof, it's an Arachne-operated port on the edge of the unexplored west but that's all I know I swear!” A port, huh? Interesting.

“Now tell me, is this all the workers?” I gestured to the others, still groveling.

“Y-yes, it is. The guard captain ordered us all to gather here so he could take the other guards with him.” I cast my barrier spell on all the exits.

“Good at least he was useful for something, saves me the trouble of hunting the rest of you vermin down.” The stallion threw himself to the floor as my horns started to glow.

“PLEASE, I BEG YOU!!! I HAVE A FAMILY!!!” He screamed, pressing his face into the floor. The others started doing the same, all whining and pleading pointless reasons for me to spare them. I ignored them, sending a blue fireball at the nearest vat. The fire quickly consumed it, igniting the chemicals and vapor. The massive explosion caused by the chain of vats igniting rumbled the cavern. Rocks and debris rained down as fire flooded the room. Some of the fools tried jumping into the water to escape it; however, the chemicals had already begun to mix with it creating a lake of fire. Screams and the smell of putrid chemicals and burning fur assaulted my nose regardless. I sat there watching the sight. “ARE YOU MAD!? YOU’LL BURN WITH US!!!” screamed the forepony. I started laughing as the flames slithered towards us.

“Please, as if such paltry flames could burn me,” I replied calmly after my laughing fit. The forepony screamed in agony as the wave of fire washed over us. I sat there enjoying the warmth of the fire while I waited for the rest of the workers to burn and the screaming to stop. Once I was satisfied, I removed the barriers, allowing the flames to flow from the room. “Now, to make my way back to the sisters,” I said, standing up and wading my way through the fire.

I emerged from the now burning manor; smoke and flames could be seen throughout the entire town, and the sound of ponies screaming and panicking could be heard from the sudden chaos. The sisters sat there in front of the fountain along with the now-freed fillies and colts. The children stared blankly at the flames, still too far gone from the drugs in their systems to register the danger. Celestia hugged the children close within her wings, still weeping openly. “It's done,” I announced, approaching them. Celestia looked up with tears in her eyes.

“Good.” Was all she said, the pain and hate still within her gaze. Little Luna looked mortified and had been crying, too, by the look of it. I put my hoof on her shoulder.

“It's time to go.”

“Right.” She whispered quietly, sitting up.

“What about the children? We can't just leave them here like this. Not with the entire town burning.” Celestia said. I went over to her and raised her head with my hoof.

“It's okay now. The children will be safe here in the fountain. It won't take long before those less affected by the drug snap back to reality, and I'm sure measures are already being taken to combat the fire and evacuate ponies.” I assured her.

“You promise the children will be safe?” I nodded, removing my hoof. She took a deep breath. “Okay… I trust you.” She said her goodbyes to the children hugging them one more time before joining me and little Luna as we made our way towards the gate.

We had walked in silence through the cold night snow for nearly two hours. Not a word had been spoken since we left that accursed town before little Luna finally spoke up when we had stopped on a hill, the flames still illuminating the horizon behind us. “What do we do now, sister?” Little Luna looked to the somber-faced Celestia, who sat down, staring at the glow.

“We can't allow such horrible evil to continue.” Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying. “No matter what it takes, we have to end Arachne. I'll send a letter to Twilight and her friends informing them of the situation. We'll gather in Canterlot and discuss our course of action.”

“Do that, and you’ll only succeed in getting yourselves killed along with your precious student,” I interjected.

“What do you mean?” Little Luna asked, sitting down in the snow beside her sister.

“I told you before that Arachne has been operating from the shadows for over two hundred years. They have spies and operatives everywhere the palace had been infiltrated long ago, not to mention much of the nobility take bribes from them.” Celestia started shaking either from the cold or anger; I couldn't tell since their backs were to me. “Try and go public about Arachne and rest assured an accident will befall you and any involved.” Celestia shot up, turning to glare at me.

“WE CAN'T JUST DO NOTHING!!!” She screamed at me with an abnormally loud voice that echoed for several seconds. I just stared at her and little Luna both. “We can't just do nothing…” She said softly, falling to her knees. Little Luna came over to her side and embraced her.

“We’ll think of something, sister, I promise.” Little Luna assured her crestfallen sister.

“I left no survivors of Arachne like you asked, so they won't know who was responsible for destroying their operation.” I walked over to their side, my hoof steps crunching the snow. “I suggest you use that to your advantage.” Little Luna and Celestia both looked at me, ending their embrace.

“You're not coming with us?” I shook my head.

“I have my own mission, remember? I've been delayed long enough as it is.”

“Right.” She said with sadness in her voice. After a moment, she straightened up. “In that case, thank you for everything, Tenebrae. Not only did you save our lives when we were lost in the snow, but now from whatever cruel plan that disgusting mayor and Arachne had for us.” Celestia bowed, followed by her sister. “I doubt we’ll ever be able to repay you.” I turned away from them.

“I doubt this will be the last time we meet little princesses.” I started to walk away.

“Wait!” Luna called out. “Where will you go now?” I turned my head to look at her.

“To the unexplored west. There's a port on its shores under the control of Arachne.” I saw both their ears straighten at the mention of that. “And I just so happen to be in need of a ship.” I smiled at them. I started walking away again as they both turned to each other as if they were contemplating something. After a few steps down the hill, I heard them galloping through the snow to catch up to me.

“Wait! We’re coming with you!” Celestia called out before skidding to a halt past me alongside Luna. I looked down at them.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you're right, Tenebrae, we can't drag the others into this without risking their lives as well as our own. As you said, Arachne won't know what happened in Snow-Hopper, which means they won't be after us just yet.” Celestia said, wiping some snow from her muzzle.

“And if you're going to a port town owned by them, it makes sense for us to go with you.”

“How so?”

“Because we can't just do nothing. The evil we witnessed in that room can't be allowed to continue. So my sister and I will help you on your quest. When it's done, we want to officially hire you to aid us in our fight against Arachne.” Little Luna asked, her blue eyes pleading. I tried my best to look away.

“The truth is, Tenebrae, your incredibly strong senses and ability to identify those in league with Arachne would be indispensable in routing out this corruption in Equestria. Your experience in combat as well would be a great help to us.” Now Celestia was pleading alongside her sister, damn their gorgeous eyes. I took a deep breath.

“Are you both certain? You may learn things about me you don't like along the way you may even come to fear or hate me.”

“We won't, Tenebrae,” they said in unison. Little Luna stepped forward, placing a hoof on my armor where my heart was.

“I know you have a good heart, Tenebrae; otherwise, you wouldn't have saved our lives or protected us from that mayor's plan.” I chuckled at that.

“A good heart, huh?” I removed her hoof. “I'm going to kill a lot of ponies and other creatures in that port, little Luna. Dozens or perhaps even hundreds are going to die. Will you still say that even after I slaughter them?” She nodded her head.

”Wretches like that don't deserve to live.” Celestia said from behind her.

“Very well, if you're certain, then you can come.” They both smiled, the first I'd seen them do since entering that room. It was a sincere smile that warmed my suffering heart. “Let's go. The next stop is the slaver port of Hammer-Hoof.

Author's Note

As a side-note I went back and re-edited the previous chapters fixing punctuation and other spelling errors.

Chapter Five.

Chapter Five:

Bloody Truths

“Stay quiet and follow me,” I whispered to the sisters. “Something’s going on up ahead.” We had been traveling south-west from that accursed town for two weeks. After the sisters had made a stop in a town named Tall Tale to resupply, we made our way through the Smokey Mountains and entered the unexplored west a few days ago. There were no roads or signs of civilization so far as we had hiked through the dense wilderness making camp in whatever clearings we could, luckily for us, it seemed the beasts that prowled these woods were wary of me and had kept their distance. The sisters crouched and crept behind me as I made my way behind a large overturned tree. Peering out, I saw a large clearing and several caged wagons grouped in the middle. I could see that they were filled with several ponies, but they were unlike the ones I had been informed about. Strangely enough, they almost looked like smaller bicorns without horns. They had the same proportions as the other ponies but had slitted pupils, protruding fangs, and bat-like wings. Iron collars and chains bound them to the floor of the wagon.

“Is that all of them?” Called a creature I assumed was a griffon hovering above the wagons down to a group of earth ponies and two unicorns wearing the same black leather armor as the ones beneath the manor.

“Arachne slavers,” I said quietly in disgust. The sisters' ears perked up, and they found a few holes in the fallen trees' bark to peer through.

“Bat ponies?” I heard Celestia whisper.

“Yeah, boss!” A unicorn responded. The griffon flew down, inspecting the cages.

“More than enough to fill our quota.” He eyed a young bat pony mare with a purple mane and yellow eyes who was crying and shaking in fear. That one.” He pointed a talon at her. The slavers nodded and entered the cage. Once free from the iron ring of the wagon's floor, they dragged her out, kicking and screaming.

“What are they going to do with her?” Little Luna asked quietly from my side. As I watched, one of the unicorns pulled out a large pair of shears from his saddle bag. The other spread her wings with his green magic as the earth ponies restrained her; she screamed and pleaded desperately, trying to get away. “Tenebrae we have to-” Too late a blood curdling shriek filled the air as the shears cut the mare's right wing off. Little Luna recoiled in disgust and anger. The griffon started laughing uncontrollably.

“The cries you slaves make are hilarious.” He approached her, wiping a tear from his eye. “Soon, you’ll wish it was only your wing being the thing cut off.” He started laughing again before grabbing her by the mane and picking her up. “But lucky you, I'm in the mood for some sport, so we’re going to play a game.” He smiled, gazing into her eyes. “I'm going to give you a thirty-second head start to run before coming after you. If you manage to get away, you'll be free with only a missing wing to tell your tale.” Suddenly, he threw her hard against a tree, bruising her side. She tried to stand up, holding her side. “But if I catch you…” One of the unicorns floated over a meat cleaver to him, gripping it in his talons and licking the blade. “I'm going to cut you up into little itty bits before feeding you to that bloodsucker there.” He pointed the cleaver to one of the caged wagons with a sole passenger inside. A dark, almost black bat pony stallion with a bright red mane that appeared identical to the others but was slightly larger in stature; however, the most distinguishing feature he had was the red sclera around his dark purple pupils. The mare tried to run but was caught in the magic of one of the unicorns. “Tsk tsk tsk.” The griffon clicked his beak. “I didn't say start.” He motioned to one of the earth ponies, who held a large wooden club with a ball of iron at the top. “You’ll need to be punished for trying to cheat.” Before the mare could respond, the earth pony swung his club, cracking it against one of her back legs. The sound of bone splintering echoed through the trees, along with another shriek of agony. The mare fell to the ground screaming in pain. “Start!” The griffon, laughing through tears, began counting. “One… Two…”

“Tenebrae, you-” Celestia started, but to my surprise, it was little Luna who acted first. She burst out from behind our cover, firing a few bolts of aura-blue magic at the slavers. Her aim was pretty good; her magic struck the griffon sending him tumbling through the grass along with the unicorns.

“GET AWAY FROM HER YOU MONSTERS!” She roared with what I now know is the sister's Canterlot voice. I would have been proud of the little princess had the magic bolts been lethal, but they seemed to have only had a knockdown effect. Honestly, what a waste of a surprise attack.

“Princess Luna!?” The slaver earth ponies held a look of disbelief as their boss recovered.

“Well, well, well, if it isn't the night princess.” The griffon laughed. “Here to save your little bat ponies?” The unicorns had recovered as well and smiled wickedly as they started to flank her, reading their crude daggers. The earth ponies spread out near the cages with their bludgeons. “Quite a few years too late, in my opinion, but hey, I've never played with a princess before. Now be a good little princess and surrender. It'll make this a lot easier for everypony. I promise to treat you real good!” The griffon licked his cleaver, his grin growing wider.

“You really think a bunch of scum like you can best an alicorn? You're a fool for thinking I'll simply surrender just because you asked.” How amusing little Luna seems to have gotten lost in the moment and forgotten about us.

“Oh, I know you will because if you don't.” He signaled to the earth ponies where one dragged a small filly out of the cage, holding his bludgeon to her neck, ready to snap it with a twist.

“You would use a child as a hostage!?” Luna seethed. It was interesting to see that both sisters could harbor such burning hatred in their eyes. I've stayed idle long enough.

“Ha, they're just products, and we can always find more.” The griffon started to laugh before being cut off by a blood-choked scream. In the blink of an eye I had teleported behind the earth pony who held the filly. My blade shoved through the back of his head, exiting through his mouth. I lifted his corpse up and threw it against the closest slaver, the force knocking him against the cage rendering him unconscious. I gripped the remaining earth ponies in my magic and snapped their necks before rushing the unicorns. They fired bolts of magic that pinged harmlessly off my helmet. My horns impaled the first through the chest as he tried to jump away. I threw it aside as the second had rushed me, slashing his dagger at my face. I grabbed the blade with my teeth, biting down, shattering it. I braced my front hooves and spun my body around to kick the very surprised unicorn. The force of my buck crumpled every bone in his body, nearly tearing him in half as his lifeless body went flying across the grass. “Oh fuck this!” The griffon took off as fast as he could into the air, dropping his cleaver.

“As if I'd allow you to escape.” My horns glowed, and red lighting erupted from them, crackling through the air towards him. He didn't even get a chance to scream as he turned to ash billowing through the air.

“Red lightning?” I heard Celestia whisper from somewhere behind me. I turned to face her. She had started making her way towards me as Luna went to the mare, sobbing and holding her destroyed knee.

“Is something wrong?” I asked her, and she cleared her throat.

“No, I've just never seen or heard of a red-lighting spell before.” I walked past her towards little Luna.

“I see.” As I approached little Luna, she turned to me with tears in her eyes.

“Tenebrae, please, we have to help her!” I lowered my head examining the injured bat pony who seemed to be too lost in her pain to notice me.

“Fine, it’ll be a simple fix anyway.”

“Simple!? Tenebrae she has a shattered knee and severed wing. How is that a sim-” My black aura lifted the severed wing and enveloped the stub it was sheared from. In an instant, fresh nerves, blood vessels, and sinew wove over the protruding bone, reconnecting the wing to the body and sealing the wound as if it had never happened.

“Incredible.” Little Luna said quietly, observing my work. Once the wing was done, I moved onto the mare's knee. Within my black aura her leg moved back into proper position as the bone mended. In a few moments, the mare's injuries and pain were gone. The mare stopped crying and stood up slowly in disbelief; she gave a few flexes of her reattached wing and softly stamped her back hoof. She finally seemed to notice us; she shrunk back a little at the sight of me but fell into a deep bow when she saw Luna.

“Your majesty!” I turned to little Luna.

“I was not informed about a fourth species of pony, tell me what purpose do these serve?”

“They are Thestrals,” Celestia answered, trotting up behind us. “Most commonly referred to as bat ponies, they are mostly nocturnal and feed on fruit mainly. As for purpose, well…” She looked away with a hint of shame. “They don't really have one since the majority left after my sister's banishment, and the few who did return after her own serve as her guard… or work in factories.”

“Banishment?” I asked, confused, but before Celestia answered, little Luna interrupted.

“We can talk about that later. Right now, we need to free the rest of them and see to any injuries.” She looked back down at the bowing bat pony.

“Very well, little Luna, Celestia tend to the frightened filly while I free the rest.” With that, I walked over to the unconscious earth pony and searched him for the cage key. After rummaging through his saddlebag, I found it. “I’ll deal with you in a moment.” I quickly bound him in magical restraints just in case he woke up. The thestrals seemed a bit scared when I approached but that quickly faded as I opened the cage and started removing their collars and chains. Once they were out, cheers and cries of joy filled the clearing, along with most of them going to bow to little Luna and thanking her as if she was their savior, but I didn't mind. These thestrals seem to have a deep affinity and sense of loyalty to the young princess. I'll have to ask about that at a later time. I started heading towards the last cage, the one that held a solitary prisoner the griffon had referred to as a bloodsucker, however I was stopped by two of the thestrals on my way over to it.

“Hey, um, mister, thank you for saving us. Those slavers would have taken us to Hammer-Hoof if it weren't for you.” Spoke one of the two thestrals, a pale blue stallion with a light golden mane and tail. He had slitted sky-blue eyes which looked at me with gratitude and a bit of fear.

“Yeah. I didn’t want to be sold off and be a slave for the rest of my life while my foals grow without a mother to raise them.” Spoke the other, a short purplish mare with a blue mane and short-cut tail. Both were standing in my path and blocking the way to the cage that contained the last prisoner. Underneath their slitted pupils and words of thanks I could see the uneasiness they both had.

“Yes, you're both very welcome. Now, why are you barring my path to free your fellow?” I asked with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

“Ah well… are you sure about freeing him? I mean, he is a Bloodthirst.” The stallion tried to muster a convincing smile behind his fragile confidence.

“Bloodthirst? I’m not familiar with that term, but then again, this is my first time hearing about you, Thestrals, as well.” They both looked a little confused.

“They’re dangerous!” The mare suddenly burst out. “There are stories about their kind eating the flesh of equines and sacrificing other creatures in perverse blood rituals!” The mare’s body began to tremble. That is when the bloodthirst inside the cage let out a genuine but bitter laugh.

“Your worries are understandable, fruit-eater, but my kind does not eat the flesh of those with intelligent minds. We 'bloodsuckers' do not encourage cannibalism.” He said casually before smiling at them. I pushed them aside and approached the cage inserting the key into the lock.

“But, mister!?” Cried the two thestrals.

“Do either of you have any evidence or proof that these stories are true? Have you ever witnessed this bloodthirst’ eating another pony or sacrificing them?” They both looked at each other for a moment before softly shaking their heads and looking down. “Then be silent. Your superstitions and bigotry do not concern me.” I opened the lock and stepped in, ducking my head as I approached the bloodthirst to look him in the eye. “If he does turn out to be dangerous like you believe, then I’ll simply kill him like I do all my enemies. Is that understood?” I said as I unlocked his restraints.

“Perfectly.” He replied, rubbing the markings on his hooves from the restraints.

“That's Good. Now tell me what your name is,” I said as he followed me out of the cage.

“It's Red Veil, sir, Red Veil Bloodthirst.” He gave me a proper bow. “Thank you for releasing me. I'm glad some ponies don't buy into the rumors and wild stories about us.”

“I am no pony, Red Veil, but I am curious to know what the difference is between you and the other Thestrals.” I glanced at the two that had tried to stop me from releasing the bloodthirst who now cowered slightly from a distance away. Continuing to eye him with fear and suspicion.

“Of course, it's the least I can do.” Just then, the sisters trotted over to me.

“Is that everypony Tenebrae?” Before I could respond, both Celestia and little Luna noticed the red sclera of the bloodthirst eyes and gasped in surprise.

“By the stars, are you okay? Are you suffering from some kind of illness?” Little Luna said with concern and worry. Interesting, neither the night princess nor Celestia seem to know about this subspecies.

“With the exception of being half-starved by those slavers, I'm in perfect health, your majesties.” He bowed respectfully.

“But your eyes?” Little Luna protested.

“Are perfectly fine, I assure you. I’m a Bloodthirst Thestral. The red sclera is completely natural for us.”

“Bloodthirst Thestral? I've never heard of your kind before.” Celestia said with a curious tone.

“Neither have I.” Little Luna added.

“I had just asked about what the differences between Bloodthirst and normal Thestrals were when you trotted over.”

“Yes, that's correct. I was just about to give an explanation to Tenebrae, was it?” He eyed me curiously and strangely, without fear as most of these ponies do. The sisters sat down on their flanks next to me.

“Continue,” I said.

“Right, my kind are known as Bloodthirsts, a Thestral sub-species who are carnivorous by nature and whose distinguishing feature is our eyes' red sclera. I was taken while I was out hunting for food to bring back to my tribe in Meadow Woods. I was ambushed by these slavers and thrown into this cage, unfortunately the slavers do not fear us unlike the majority of those living near our territory who believe we are vicious predators lurking in the shadows waiting to eat them.” He glanced over to the group of thestrals, who seemed to be having a discussion of their own now that little Luna was occupied.

“How fascinating,” Celestia said, leaning closer to look at Red Veil's eyes.

“Indeed, sister.” Little Luna smirked and looked at me. “Guess you're not the only pony species to eat meat then Tenebrae.” I rolled my eyes.

“Again, I'm not a pony, little Luna.”

“And I'm not little.” She stuck her little tongue out at me.

“Cute,” I said, ruffling her mane with my massive armored hoof.

“Cut it out!” Cried the little princess as she moved to get out of my reach. I turned my attention back to Red Veil.

“That aside, do you know how far we are from Hammer-Hoof?” Before Red Veil could answer my question, we were interrupted by an agonizing scream accompanied by a loud cracking sound. I turned my head toward the source of the commotion.

“Fang Seeker, what are you doing!?” Near the cage was the now very much awake earth pony slaver crying in pain from his shattered knee as a rather angry-looking lavender purple mare with magenta eyes stood over him. Her purple and pale striped mane was splattered with blood; the slaver's own now bloodied bludgeon fell from her mouth as a few others jumped on her to restrain her.

“GET OFF ME!!! She cried desperately, trying to launch herself at the whimpering slaver.

“Calm down, Fang Seeker, please It's not worth it!” The thestrals struggled to keep her down.

“NO HE HAS TO PAY FOR WHAT HE DID!!! LET ME GO!!! HE HAS TO!!! This Fang Seeker shrieked in a frenzied manner as another thestral joined the pile. Interesting, I wonder if…

“ENOUGH!!!” I boomed as I slammed my hoof on the dirt, causing the ground to shake in the area. The sudden tremor caused the thestrals to lose balance and fall. It frightened the majority of them, but now every pony's eyes were on me as they lay on the ground.

“A little warning would have been nice, Tenebrae; honestly, just how strong are you?” Came little Luna's remark as she and Celestia got back on their hooves and dusted off. I didn't reply as I approached the slaver and the group of thestrals.

“You, Fang Seeker, was it?” She looked up at me, tears falling from her eyes. The look she gave me told me everything I needed to know. “I understand.” I turned my head away from her to grab the remaining crude dagger in my magic that lay in the dirt a few meters away. I brought it closer to my face to examine it. The dagger was made of simple iron and had a basic shape with a mouth guard. I dropped it in front of the defiled thestral. “Take it.” Fang Seeker stared at the dagger that was stuck into the dirt before her.

“Tenebrae what are yo-.” I extended my wing to shush Celestia as she started to protest.

“Quiet princess, I don't expect you to understand, but this must be done.” All the thestrals stared in silence at me and at Fang Seeker. “Take it,” I said in a commanding tone. “Take it and avenge them lest you remain a slave to that memory.” My words seemed to rouse her ire as she stared intently at the dagger, her anger quickly overtaking her tears; she began to seethe and shake with rage. In a cry of pain and anger, she rose, snatching up the dagger in her mouth, and jumped onto the wounded earth pony. His screams filled the clearing as Fang Seeker drove the knife into his chest over and over again as all watched her, some in horror, others in stunned silence. She continued stabbing his lifeless corpse, each stab covering her face and chest in more blood as tears continued to fall. After a few more moments, the bloodied knife finally fell from her maw as she cried away the last of her pain. “Well done, Fang Seeker. You're free, and your family can rest now.” She looked to the sky and whimpered quietly. Little Luna went over and hugged her tightly.

“I'm so sorry… I didn’t know.” She said quietly, embracing the young thestral mare.

“How did you know Tenebrae?” Celestia asked softly as I turned away from the scene.

“Her eyes… I've seen that look before far too often… in the early days especially.” I strode past her.

“Early days?” I heard her whisper but didn't pay it any mind as I approached Red Veil again, who had stood back from the crowd.

“Now then, Red Veil, will you answer my question?” He stared past me for a moment at the scene I left.

“Of course, though, I must say you’re far more… well, draconian than I expected but strangely kind.” I chuckled at that. “I doubt any of us here would have allowed her to take vengeance in such a manner.”

“It needed to be done.” I took a look back as well. “Vengeance has a strange way of making an equine's resolve stronger and can heal even the most broken.”

“I won’t pry, but you sound as if you speak from experience.” I looked back at him.

“Perhaps.” He shook his head in understanding.

“It's about another three days to Hammer-Hoof. You’ll need to cross the Felt Tip River and go west through the mountains.” He pointed his wing north-west.

“Understood.” I started to turn away.

“Wait a moment, please?”

“Yes?” He cleared his throat.

“If I may ask, why are you heading to Hammer-Hoof? And in the company of the twin goddesses no less.”

“Why? I'm going there to kill them, of course, and commandeer a ship for my mission.” His eyes lit up. “Certain circumstances have led to the little princesses wanting to accompany me on my quest in exchange for my help against Arachne in the future.” Just then, a voice came from behind me.

“You’re going to fight them?” I turned to look at the speaker, a young dark purple thestral mare with a white mane and loosely braided tail who was accompanied by a few others.

“Yes,” I answered. They started to whisper amongst themselves for a moment before the mare spoke again.

“You’re clearly very strong and accustomed to fighting but do you truly believe you beat them by yourself? Even with the goddesses' help there are hundreds of Arachne slavers and hired mercenaries.” I laughed, my voice echoing through the forest.

“I am more than enough by myself regardless of their help.” They started whispering amongst themselves again. Celestia and little Luna trotted over to join us now that the situation with the one named Fang Seeker had settled down. Little Luna's eyes were a bit red from crying but held a certain determination in them.

“He speaks the truth.” She said, standing next to me. “Tenebrae is an exceptional warrior and has already destroyed an entire Arachne operation single-hoofed. I’ve no doubt he can prevail against these despicable slavers again.” Little Luna said with confidence. I don't know why, but her words gave me a sense of pride. Their whispering intensified.

“Can he really?”

“Even against that beast there?”

“The princess seems to think so.” I heard amongst their whispers before the mare spoke up again.

“Then please follow me back to our village.”

“For what purpose?” I asked.

“One of the elders in our village is an escaped slave who worked in the port a few years back and one of the very few to actually escape those Arachne bastards. If you're truly going to attack them, he may be able to provide you with valuable information.” I thought for a moment.

“It could prove to be beneficial since I won't be able to interrogate that earth pony anymore.” I quickly glanced at the corpse's direction. Fang Seeker was surrounded by a few thestrals who seemed to be comforting her nearby.

“We would also like to thank you properly for saving us. We’ll provide whatever supplies we can spare, but I can't promise much.” Little Luna motioned for me to lower my head so she could whisper something to me.

“Please let us accept their offer, Tenebrae; I want to help them as much as I can while we’re here.” She seems to care very deeply for these thestrals. I looked to Celestia, who nodded her approval.

“Very well, little thestral, we will accept your offer.” I looked at Red Veil.

“I assume you’ll head back to your tribe as well?” He nodded.

“Thank you again for your help.” He bowed to me. I think it's best I separate from the group anyway, but I owe you big time, so feel free to drop in if you find yourselves near Meadow Woods at all in the future. I’ll make sure you receive a warm welcome from my tribe.”

“Yeah, a warm pot to cook them in, I bet.” I heard the hushed whisper from somewhere in the crowd. I doubt anypony heard them, but I looked right at them, narrowing my eyes. They saw my gaze and shrunk back a little.

“Understood,” I answered, looking back at Red Veil. He gave a nod before heading off into the forest. “Lead on,” I said, turning my attention to the mare.

~~~

“So your tribe is named Midnight Lotus?” We had been escorting the group we rescued from the slavers for about three hours back to their village named Blossom Heights.

“That’s correct, Lord Tenebrae.” Ever since they found out I was on my way to destroy Hammer-Hoof and that the princesses were assisting me, these thestrals have taken to calling me Lord, which I suppose was similar enough to my actual title, so I allowed it.

“Including your tribe, just how many tribes inhabit this region?” I've been gathering information from the mare with the white mane, whose name I now know is Lily Night-Blossom, since my companions decided to bring up the rear. Celestia has had a strange look in her eyes since we left the clearing and seems to be trying to distance herself along with Luna from me but I was unsure why. Perhaps it had something to do with the banishment they had mentioned before.

“There used to be more than thirty tribes in total, but ever since Arachne arrived, that number has lessened considerably. Some tribes were completely wiped out by them and others had decided to merge for better protection.”

“I see; how many thestrals in total do you estimate remain then?” Lily almost tripped over a mossy rock.

“Why do you want to know that, Lord?”

“I am simply curious what the population of you thestrals is since it seems you're a rarity amongst your pony kin.” I lifted a large boulder with my magic and flung it with ease out of my path.

“Right… well, I'm not sure exactly, but I'd guess a few thousand? Maybe a little over three?”

“I see.” Glancing back, I could see the sisters past the other thestrals lagging a good distance behind, whispering amongst themselves but stopping once they noticed my gaze. Little Luna seemed rather perturbed by something Celestia had said. “Curious,” I said to myself.

“Something wrong, Lord?” I started turning back to Lily, and as I did, I noticed Fang Seeker staring but ignored it.

“No, it's nothing. How much further to your village?”

“It's just ahead beyond the next treeline.” She pointed her hoof forward.

“Good.” After a few more minutes trudging through the woods, we came upon a large wooden gate nestled between a rock face that had been obscured by the surrounding dense forest.

“Here we are.” Lily let out a chorus of high-pitched squeaks. Almost immediately, I saw a few heads poke out from above the gate armed with flimsy bows. They held a look of pure disbelief upon seeing our little group but, after a moment, let out a few squeaks of their own, signaling for the gate to be opened.

“Sister!” Cried out a smaller, ashy thestral who rushed out from the opened gate, all but flying into Lily’s embrace.

“Moon Dust!” She yelled in excitement at her sister's embrace as she knocked her to the ground.

“You’re okay! I feared the worst when you didn't return from foraging in the forest!” The two embraced each other, crying tears of joy before breaking away after a few moments. Moon Dust looked at the other thestrals as she dried her eyes. “And the others!” She rushed to embrace the next closest thestral. Celestia and little Luna trotted past them to join me. “Princess Luna!?” She quickly ended her embrace and bowed.

“We should head inside. I'm sure others are waiting to be reunited with their families.” Little Luna said to Lily as they joined us. Strangely neither she nor Celestia would look at me. I wonder if I have offended them somehow, or… perhaps it was something else?

“Of course, your majesty this way.” Lily led us through the gate; it was a narrow path but eventually opened up into a small valley. Homes and other dwellings seemed to be carved out from the surrounding mossy cliffs, with a few makeshift wooden and thatch huts in the clearing between them. A small fountain let out a steady trickle of water from the base of a statue that looked very similar to the young princess of the night towards the center of the valley where an elderly thestral stood. Cries of joy and celebration filled the air as thestrals descended from the cliffs reuniting with their returned kin.

“Welcome to Blossom Heights, your majesties.” The elderly thestral bowed upon our approach. “Thank you so much for rescuing not only our kin but my precious granddaughter from those slavers and returning them to us.” Lily stood next to the elder after giving him a quick hug. With how the others had followed her lead from the clearing I had already assumed she was in a position of leadership in some capacity.

“You are most welcome, elder.” Celestia politely bowed her head to the elder, as did little Luna. “It was quite fortunate we stumbled upon them during our journey through the forest.”

“I cannot thank you enough for your intervention, but if I may your majesties, just why are you in this neck of the woods? Of course, I'm extremely grateful that you were. I don't want to imagine what could have happened to my precious granddaughter or the others if you hadn't come across their group and decided to help them, but we’re a little more than just off the beaten path if you know what I mean. And who is the giant scary-looking armored stallion you have in your company?” He asked with a hint of fear in his voice, but Lily spoke up before my companions could answer.

“That is Lord Tenebrae, grandfather. He is an incredibly strong and gifted warrior in the employ of the princesses. He is the one who killed the slavers who captured us and is now on his way to Hammer-Hoof along with their majesties to bring an end to Arachne’s operation there.” The elders' eyes lit up with hope.

“Truly!? They’ve come to save us!?” The elder dropped into a deep bow. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” I could see from the crowd gathering around us that many of these thestrals were fairly malnourished and severely weakened. Arachne must have been operating in this area for quite some time if it's reached this point. I held up my hoof for a moment.

“Save your thanks for after our victory.” The elder stood up from his bow. “We were told there was a thestral here who had escaped from Hammer-Hoof and could provide us with information.”

“Ah, you must mean Ol’ Night Weaver. I'm sorry, but he’s not here.” I narrowed my eyes on him.

“What?” The elder took a step back before clearing his throat.

“He went out with the search party looking for those you have returned to us but they are supposed to return by tomorrow evening if they found nothing. Please, why don't you rest here in the village until they return?”

“We will gladly accept your hospitality, elder. We’ve traveled a long way and could use a break.” Celestia answered before I could speak. “Please prepare two separate rooms for us to stay in.”

“O-oh, of course.” The elder gave instructions to Lily, who headed off towards the cliffs. “There are plenty of rooms available within the caves… more so since Arachne arrived.” The elder looked somber for a moment. “Lily will have them ready for you in just a moment. In the meantime, I'd be happy to answer whatever questions you have to the best of my ability.” The sisters wasted no time in asking about the village and its inhabitants all the while doing their utmost to ignore me. I did not like the sudden change in their behavior towards me which puzzled me greatly, since when did I start caring about that? It didn't take long for Lily to return.

“They are ready for you now please follow me.”

~~~

It was quiet within the cave room I was led to. Simple rustic furnishings adorned the stone chamber, with a large carpet in the center underneath a small wooden table surrounded by a few chairs. A makeshift bed made from several mattresses pressed together to accommodate my large size lay against the far side in an alcove carved into the rock dimly lit by a few wax candles on the hanging shelf nearby next to a room divider. Above the small table hanging from the ceiling was the main light source comprised of large glass globes filled with fireflies that illuminated the central area. Though rustic and a bit small for me, it was cozy in its own primitive way. “I need to return to my grandfather and fill him in on recent events, Lord Tenebrae.” I turned back towards the entrance of the room I had to almost crawl through to fit where Lily was standing, holding the wooden door open with a wing.

“Very well, Lily. Please inform me the moment Night Weaver and his group return.” She politely bowed.

“Of course, Lord, let me know if you require anything else during your stay.”

“The sisters?”

“Down the hall, last room on the left.”

“Good, thank you.” With that, Lily closed the door, and I was left alone. It felt strange being alone like this, left to ponder my thoughts. I headed over to the alcove and sat on the bed's edge. The more I learn and experience in this current era, the more bizarre everything seems. The three now four pony races are almost akin to a poor imitation of us bicorns, like broken individual reflections of what we once were. Their souls are so small and frail compared to the average bicorn, as are the other creatures I've encountered thus far. My mind wandered for a while going over the recent events and what may come after should I find my answers within that crying city. If I am truly the last of my kind, what role would I play in this diminished world? I laid back on the bed with a heavy thunk. With the exception of Arachne and lesser criminals, this world seems frail but mostly peaceful. Is there even a need for a god of war or even just a warrior like me? After I help the sisters deal with Arachne as I agreed, what am I supposed to do? Then my mind stopped. “The sisters,” I said softly, sitting up. Celestia and little Luna, I don't know why, but after thinking about them at that moment, I couldn't get them out of my head, and how strange it made me feel knowing they were avoiding me. Once I had that thought I felt even more strange thinking about them and how we first met. My ravaged heart tightened. “What is this feeling?” I murmured. Guilt? Anger? Longing? Why do I feel like this? Just for lying to them? Or something more? I let out a long sigh. “Perhaps it's time to reveal the truth to them.” I closed my eyes in thought for a moment. “I should go speak with them,” I said, slowly rising from the bed when I heard a knock upon the door.

“Tenebrae, it's Celestia and Luna, may we come in?” Curious timing, I thought.

“Enter,” I said, opening the door with my magic. Celestia and little Luna stepped through, their expressions seemed rather serious as I closed it behind them.

“We need to talk,” Celestia said as she and her sister sat at the small table.

“Curious, I was just about to come speak with you as well.” I moved the tiny chairs aside so I could sit across from them. “I assume it's rather serious, judging by your expressions.” Little Luna let out a deep breath.

“Here it goes.” She said quietly to herself before looking me in the eyes. “Tenebrae, my sister and I have been talking, and well…”

“We want the truth!” Celestia interrupted.

“Truth? About what?” I asked, but I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

“About you, Tenebrae, and what your mission is.” Celestia gave me a pleading look before little Luna spoke back up.

“Please, Tenebrae, we need to know.” She joined her sister with those damn puppy dog eyes. I let out a long sigh.

“Perhaps it is time I reveal the truth to you. I was already contemplating it before you knocked on the door anyway. Judging how you two have been avoiding me lately, I'm assuming there's something you already want to ask, so go ahead.” I sat up straight and cleared my throat. “Ask your questions, and I will answer them truthfully, no lies, no tricks, but keep in mind you may not like the answer I give.” They looked at each other for a moment before Celestia took a deep breath before speaking.

“Tenebrae, you're the Bicorn that was found in the Frozen North, aren't you?”

“Yes, I am.” I stood up to my full height and spread my black wings out, nearly hitting the jars of fireflies above. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Tenebrae Draconis Moonfallen, firstborn colt of the God Emperor of equine kind Malacar Aeonsovereign, Primarch of the imperial army, chosen crown-prince of the Bicorn Imperium, and the one worshiped as the God Of War.” The sister's eyes went wide with surprise, and little Luna's jaw dropped. I couldn't help but tease them a little. “What's the matter, little goddesses? Have nothing to say?” It took a moment before Celestia responded.

“That's a lot to take in Tenebrae. I had my suspicions that you were the Bicorn that was found, but being a prince and a god? That explains why you're so strong, at least.” I laughed.

“What's so funny?” She asked with a hint of worry.

“Explains why I'm so strong? Please, even with my limited powers, you haven't even begun to see the extent of my current strength.”

“Limited?” Little Luna asked.

“Yes, limited.” I cleared my throat again. “Certain circumstances prevent me from using my full powers, and it must remain this way.” I did not like the curiosity in their gazes. Celestia was just about to speak when I interrupted her. “Don't bother asking what those circumstances are; it is a private matter and has nothing to do with me being a Bicorn or the current situation.” They looked crestfallen for some reason by that. I need to change the topic.

“I have a question of my own now. I must ask, what made you begin to suspect me of being a Bicorn? I know you’ve been suspicious of me since I rescued you from the Itzalwurm Celestia; however, you only recently started avoiding me and discussing it with little Luna.”

“When we stopped in Tall Tale to pick up supplies for the journey through the mountain while you stayed outside the city and waited for us. In one of the shops we visited, there were old newspaper clippings posted about a red lightning storm destroying the Crystal Love Laboratories.”

“Ah, I understand so when you witnessed me using red lightning on the slavers.” Celestia nodded her head.

“Yes, that's when I started to strongly suspect you were the Bicorn.”

“I see.” I bowed my head. “Allow me to apologize. It was never my intention to deceive you two in any way, and I never would have lied at all if these weren't such unique circumstances.”

“Speaking of which, would you please tell us why you did destroy the laboratory and kill all those innocent ponies?” Little Luna asked, her eyes looking a bit sad.

“Of course,” I explained everything to them about how I was in the middle of a battle and suddenly woke up mostly frozen in that lab surrounded by unknown equine creatures that I couldn't understand. About how I thought they were stealing important missives and our technology which prompted my attack. How I learned their language with the help of Sandy Digs, the pony I had taken for questioning, and had her lead me to the ruins I was found in. About my missing or blocked memories and the order that was left by my father. I told them everything up to the point of me diving in to save little Luna.

“Oh, thank the stars,” Little Luna said, letting out a sigh of relief, which Celestia followed.

“I'm confused. I thought you two would be upset or angry at me for what I did.”

“Don’t misunderstand us, Tenebrae. We are upset that you killed so many innocent ponies, but we’re relieved that you didn't do it out of malicious intent.” Celestia said.

“Agreed, sister; it was all a terrible misunderstanding. I was only gone for a thousand years, so I can't say I understand how you must have felt or how confusing everything must have seemed, but I'd like to think I at least have an idea.” I let out a sigh of relief of my own.

“I'm glad to hear that little Luna.” Celestia held up her hoof.

“However, Tenebrae, we want to know about your kind and its history.” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“For what purpose?”

“Even if you didn't do it out of evil intentions, you destroyed a very important laboratory and killed many innocent ponies and some of Equestrias' top researchers. You owe us some answers and explanation, at the very least, so we can better understand Bicorns and, by extension, you. Do that, and we will consider it as an apology since those researchers gave their lives to understand your race.”

“Not to mention, it's exciting to learn about our great equine ancestors!” Little Luna chimed in. Her sudden excitement threw me off guard for a moment.

“Fine, I suppose telling you about our society and history will be okay, but I will not reveal any of our technology or magical secrets. Is that acceptable?” They both nodded their heads. “Very well then, I will start by giving a brief overview of our history before going into more detail. I will try my best to use terms you can understand. After all, It's not going to be easy summarizing nearly a hundred thousand years of history in a single night.” Their jaws dropped.

“A hundred thousand!?” I nodded my head.

“Yes, now be quiet and listen. A long time ago, when the world was young, magic flowed in great abundance throughout the world, wild and untamed. Terrible magical storms blew across the globe, destroying or altering anything that lay in their paths. The beings born during this time were exceptionally powerful and immortal. These beings were the primordial gods; each one was an embodiment of power and chaos, a reflection of the world's savage self. They were selfish and arrogant, believing themselves the sole rulers of the world, and would constantly fight one another for dominance. Eventually, the primals grew bored of their stagnant war against each other and decided to create a great game to amuse themselves with and began to create lesser beings to use as pawns; this was the first of the mortal races to walk the world. The primals had siphoned the magic from the great wild storms in their pawns' creation, and over time, many of the storms receded, allowing for new life to begin, an unexpected side effect to the primals, but they simply viewed this new life as more fodder for their games. Among these new beings was the first Bicorns.” I paused for a moment. The sisters were completely enraptured by my history lesson with Celestia focused solely on me while little Luna had pulled out a notebook of some kind from somewhere I didn't see and was furiously writing down everything I said. “The primals wasted no time in subjugating this new race; some used them as hard labor or cannon fodder in their games, others simply used them as livestock.”

“That's horrible!” Celestia exclaimed.

“Indeed, to live during this time was to know nothing but fear, pain, and sorrow. Never knowing when you would be killed by the whim of uncaring gods whom many would torture and experiment on you for pure amusement. This was an age of strife and unending suffering. Now, before I continue with the history lesson, I must first talk about us Bicorns.” Little Luna quickly turned several pages ahead and readied her quill. “I don't remember saying you could record my words, little Luna.”

“But this is the lost history of the world! It could change everything we thought we knew about it and our own history!” Those damn pleading eyes again. “Please, Tenebrae, let me record this!” I sighed.

“Do as you will.” She let out a rather cute squee sound that I wasn't expecting. Clearing my throat. “Let's continue now; similar to you ponies, there are subraces that, as a whole, make up the Bicorn race. First is the Manafrey; they are scholars, scientists, and researchers and have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of all types, especially when it comes to magic. They are akin to your unicorns if that helps; they are distinguished by the shape of their horns.”

“Their horns?” Celestia interrupted.

“Yes, their horns. You see every subrace of us. Bicorns are easily identified by the shapes of our horns. The Manafrey have caprine or ram-like horns, for example, while the second type of Bicorn and the most numerous one, which are called Drudcey, have two unicorn-like horns, one stacked above the other, where the upper one was usually larger.”

“I see but what about your type then?”

“We will get to that, now the Drudcey are our working class. They are farmers, architects, craft ponies, if you will, and have a natural urge to want to build or tinker. As you might have guessed, they were mainly used as slave labor by the primals, whereas the Manafrey were mainly used as bureaucrats or priests in charge of sacrifices or other profane rituals to further empower their masters. At this time, it was believed these were the only types of Bicorns that existed; however, the third type, as well as the one I belong to, would be discovered much later and play an extremely important role in our history. But before we get to that, I need to talk about my father. Malacar Aeonsovereign, the God Emperor of equine kind, his exact origin, is unknown even to me, and several theories and ideas have persisted throughout the ages. Some believe he is a god born from the countless innocent Bicorns sacrificed who prayed and wished for salvation. Others think he was the result of a secret experiment performed by a Manafrey cult that mass suicided in an effort to merge their souls into a more powerful being. Some say Malacar was just a Bicorn born with a unique mutation. Whatever the truth may be, it is clear that my father was far more powerful than any other Bicorn and was destined for something great.”

“Fascinating, so the Bicorns don't know the exact origins of their own god?” Celestia asked as she adjusted her sitting position.

“Yes, that's correct, Celestia. However, believe it or not, my father always hated being called a god but accepted it nonetheless. He understood the need for faith amongst the mortal races, so he allowed himself to be worshiped as a god even though he himself disliked it.”

“Really? How strange.” I nodded my head.

“Moving on it wasn't just my father's power that set him apart from other Bicorns; his appearance as well was unique. He was easily twice my current height with four intricate golden horns that wove together like the branches of a tree and had a pure shining silver coat with a liquid gold mane that ebbed and flowed like a river. When in his presence, he had this aura that radiated both kindness and understanding. The lesser Bicorns always said that just being near him would ease their troubled hearts and soothe their minds.”

“So he was an empath?” Little Luna asked, looking up from her notes.

“That's one way to put it. Even with his incredible power, my father knew that he alone would not be enough to end the tyranny of the primals that enslaved his kind. So he hid his form and power, biding his time helping those he could in secret until the time was right. Next, I will regale you with the single most important event in Bicorn history and my homeland.”

“We’re ready.” They gave me their full attention.

“The Coursers, the third and final breed of Bicorn as well as the one I belong to. This is my race's history and our origin. Far to the north beyond the Ghost Seas, above the GlimmerWood, above the Azure Veil near the top of the world lies Ilieh a secluded island shrouded in near eternal darkness and fog as only certain areas would ever feel the warmth of the sun. It was protected by both a raging sea and mountain range a natural fortress nigh impossible to reach. The inhabitants of this island were the Coursers, a war-like Bicorn species that cared only for fighting, bloodshed, and survival of the fittest to the point where it may be called an obsession, but despite this, they also had a strong sense of honor and respect for the strong. Before the great revolt and the time of the Emperor, Ilieh was home to many different tribes of Coursers, who would war with one another, not for disagreements or resources, you understand, but purely for the sport of it to prove they were the strongest. Put simply we Coursers love to fight, it is our purpose, our passion, our very reason to exist! To outsiders, Ilieh was a death trap filled with dangerous monsters, flesh-eating diseases, and bloodthirsty tribes of savages in an inhospitable hellscape but to the Coursers who called Ilieh home, it was a glorious crucible a proving ground for the strong, a warrior's paradise. Ilieh remained a mysterious hostile land for many millennia, isolated and secluded from the rest of the world even as the primal gods enslaved and conquered the rest of mortal kind.” I paused for a moment to see little Luna furiously writing down my exact words, and Celestia’s eyes filled with wonder and curiosity.

“Most simply ignored the hostile island as it had been viewed as being worthless and did not hold any strategic value until a brave expedition from the enslaved nation of Narmu, a vast empire ruled through fear and pain, managed to land upon its shores and discover that Ilieh was full of an extremely valuable metal called Adamantium and that the Coursers had found a way to both mine and forge with it. This was significant because no creature, not even the primal gods, had found a way to harness this near-indestructible primal metal that could withstand even their power. The ruler of Narmu, the primal god known as Razekel, started making plans for an invasion. He would use his vast army of slaves to crush these Courser savages and force them to submit to his will and pry the knowledge of Adamantium mining and forging from them. However, Ilieh was not an easy place to reach, nor was crossing the Azure Veil, especially with an army. It would take much planning and time to scout and create the routes and ships necessary to cross, but he did not care. He had eternity and a disposable workforce. What was a mortal generation or two to him if it meant gaining the secret to Adamantium forging?” Amusingly, Celestia raised her hoof like a student to ask a question. “Yes, Celestia?”

“I have a question about this, Razekel. Just what kind of primal god was he?”

“Razekel, also known as the Puppet-Master or The Feasting Clown. He was a truly despicable being who took great enjoyment in tormenting mortals in every way imaginable before eating their souls and transforming the body into a twisted porcelain-looking abomination wearing a mask depicting the face of the victims' last moments. He also loved playing pranks on his unwilling subjects for his own twisted amusement, and by pranks, I mean horribly mutilating a family member or two down to just a torso and head or sometimes just the head before stringing them up with his magic threads keeping them from dying as he put on little puppet shows or force a child to play with the limbs of their parents in play-fights or causing mischief in the city that always ended with death. Or perhaps he’d throw a mysterious grand banquet where his guests would be the main course for his own appetite.” They both recoiled in horror. “I hope that lovely little explanation answers your question, Celestia,” I said with a bit of sarcasm, with Celestia reluctantly nodding her head. “Good, let's continue with the story.”

“And so his plan began, but unbeknownst to him, the Coursers had begun a plan of their own. You see, during the Narmu expedition, amongst the vast majority who had been killed by monsters or disease was a slave who had been used as a distraction for their masters during an attack. The slave was flayed open and forced to run into the woods to lure the monsters away but fortunately for the slave a band of Courser hunters were tracking the monsters for food and saved the slave, curious about this wounded outsider they took her before the tribal chief. The slave told him all about the outside world and how their kind were enslaved and forced to fight or work to death for thirsting god-like beings who kill or torment them for entertainment. About how these gods war amongst themselves for dominance and used the mortal races as cannon fodder in their bloody games and how the twisted god Razekel, who delights in pain and torment, would come for them with an army of slaves and porcelain monsters.”

“This is all just so much,” Little Luna said quietly, continuing her writings, which seemed to fill her remaining pages quickly.

“Though the coursers loved to fight, they were not fools and chose to trust this outsider's word as she swore to them as she died from her injuries about this cruel world and the god coming for them. An emergency meeting was called, and all the tribe chieftains gathered to discuss this threat. Weeks passed as they discussed and planned, and eventually, a solution was formed. All Coursers, every last stallion, mare, colt, and filly from every tribe met at dawn's light in a vast plain of rock and dirt. It was here that the spark of rebellion would be ignited, and the legacy of Tenebris would begin and my namesake.” Their ears perked up at that. “This event would later become known as the Scarlet Dawn. In order to defeat Razekel and defend their homeland a new kind of Courser was needed, to achieve this the Coursers of Ilieh would genocide half of their race in an all-out free-for-all to ensure that only the absolute strongest genes were passed on alongside a new philosophy and way of life. Specific instructions were given that day that once the purge was over, the most prominent warrior would become king, and all remaining Coursers would bow to them and follow their rule. It is said the battle lasted for nine days and nine nights, for on the dawn of the tenth day, the sun emerged, casting a pure scarlet sky upon the plains where untold thousands of Coursers lay dead. An ocean of blood staining the ground and sky at its center arose a mighty Courser, his blackened coat permanently stained from the blood of his fellows, his silver mane reflecting the blood-red sun stood above the rest as they waded through the blood and bodies to bow before him. For upon a throne of corpses, the first king of Coursers was crowned. His name is Tenebris.”

“That's insane. I can't believe they would willingly genocide half of their own race, including the children!” Exclaimed little Luna. “I-its…”

“Monstrous?” She nodded as I began to smile. “Exactly now, moving on. King Tenebris is the one who originally created the Codex-Maladictium, the Courser’s holy book, if you want to call it. Despite being the guide and structure for the Courser's new philosophy and society, it would later be adopted and adapted by the God-Emperor for his Imperium's own structuring. In the new Courser Kingdom, only stallions would be allowed to serve in the army due to their increased size, muscle mass, and martial prowess. To ensure that only the best and strongest genes would continue to survive, whenever a colt was born, it would be inspected by a veteran warrior. If the warrior found the colt to be too small, sickly, or malformed, the colt would be killed, and the mare who gave birth to it would be forbidden from breeding again. Though it was extremely rare in the beginning and non-existent later on, in the event of another mare giving birth to a worthless colt from the same stallion, an inquiry would be launched, and if the stallion is found to be at fault, they would be put to death.” The look of pure disbelief on the sisters' faces was quite amusing, but I stopped myself from laughing. “Should they pass the inspection the moment a Courser colt can stand, they begin their training in war and bloodshed. Nearly every hour of every day was spent in combat training or psycho conditioning to show no pain nor fear of any kind, their diet would consist of only meat and highly toxic poisonous mushrooms or monster parts not enough to be fatal of course but they would still continue training regardless of its effects. This was done to ensure both muscle growth and to build resistance against poison and toxins. Eventually, this practice would make Courser immune systems so strong that no sickness or plague could blight them in any capacity.” Little Luna had dropped her quill and shared her sister's dumbfounded expression. “Something wrong?”

“By the stars Tenebrae I don't mean to offend you or your kind but what in the actual name of Tartarus is wrong with Coursers!?”

“I agree with Luna. Just what was Tenebris thinking when he made this codex and made his subjects go through such horrible training and being in such a patriarchal society!?” I couldn't help but laugh.

“I’ll go into more detail about Courser society and patriarchy later. I imagine for such a matriarchal kingdom run by princesses the concept is rather baffling for you.” I said through my chuckling before getting serious again. “However, to answer your question about why King Tenebris would create such a society in the first place, the answer is rather simple. Unlike most, King Tenebris understood well that it takes a monster to stand against a god just as it takes a mortal to stand against a monster.” I let out another chuckle. “It's quite an amusing concept to think about, isn't it? A god fears a monster because they have rid themselves of all equinity and do not fear them where only a mortal can stand against a monster because of that same equinity and they fear the wrath of their god.”

“Tenebrae…” I shook my head slightly before continuing.

“It took nearly three hundred years for Razekel and his army to make their way to Ilieh. They reached its shores confident in a quick and decisive win, but by that time, it was far too late, for nothing could have prepared him for the nightmare that awaited them. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by King Tenebris himself standing above the black cliffs of the shore. He gave no warning, no threats, or demands he only gave them a message that even a mindless beast could understand. Death.”

“The moment the first wave set hoof on Ilieh’s shore, their fate was sealed in a sudden flash of thunder. The shoreline was alight in fire and madness. Screams and cries of terror echoed amongst the cliffs, drowning out the sounds of the waves, and the smell of burning flesh and fur filled the sea. The Narmu soldiers watched in both confusion and horror as giant black armored Bicorns walked unscathed through the flames. Their movements were perfect. Every motion brought death; they tore through the Narmu soldiers like a sickle through a field. That day, the sea ran red with Narmu blood and not a single drop of Coursers, but to the horror of the Narmu General, when the second wave hit the shore, they found no bodies or signs of where they had gone. Nearly three hundred thousand soldiers had been in the first wave. How could they all have been killed in a single night? And what happened to the bodies? What kind of monsters were they dealing with? These questions were on the minds of every Narmu soldier as they huddled in their tents that night. The second wave had cleared the shore and had set up camp further inland in the forest; their mission was to create a fort to use as a base and supply depot for the main force that was to arrive behind them. Suddenly alarms rang throughout the camp about an enemy attack, soldiers quickly equipped themselves and ran out from their tents to face the enemy but what they faced was a nightmare. The general emerged from his tent into the rain to the sight of his soldiers falling to their knees, screaming in sheer terror. The general was confused and tried to bark orders cracking his whip to get their attention; it only took a few moments to realize that what was falling upon his armor was not rain. He looked up; there in the trees above, as far as the eye could see, were the dangling corpses of Narmu soldiers. Every single one from the first wave was there before him, their blood creating a torrent of gore. Before he could collect himself, he heard the sound of heavy armored hoof-steps approaching, a column of Coursers burst through the camp lances impaling those in their path. Tenebris was a military genius and a master of sowing terror into his enemies. He knew that Narmu greatly out-numbered them a thousand to one, but most were mere slaves and unwilling conscripts. It wouldn't be long before they started fearing them more than Razekel whips.”

“This is all so insane,” Celestia said quietly, shaking her head in disbelief. I smiled.

“These were insane times. Now, what Razekel thought was going to be a quick, decisive win turned into five years of sheer hell. The Coursers had spent the three centuries molding the most perfect warriors this world had ever seen and turning Ilieh into a true crucible of death for any would-be invader. Traps, tamed monsters, poisoned water sources, hidden trenches and tunnels stretching for miles, barred routes, hallucinogenic fumes mixed with the fog, magical minefields, and sniper nests. To put it simply there wasn't a single moment the Narmu invaders were not under attack or dealing with some kind of obstacle. His generals lost every engagement against the Coursers losing tens of thousands of troops in every battle, he would take out his anger and rage on his failing generals through either execution or torture. This would continue for the duration of the war until Razekel had lost sixty percent of his entire military and only managed to kill maybe a hundred Coursers. He had never taken losses like this before, not even against other primals, and that a small group of mortal savages were responsible abhorred him. Finally, he could stand this insult no more and took to the field himself along with his elite guard called the Radiants, the mindless porcelain soldiers twisted and warped puppeteered by Razekel’s power. In this climactic battle, Tenebris challenged Razekel, and a fierce battle ensued. In this singular battle, thousands of Coursers would fall from both the overwhelming numbers and Razekels power, but for every fallen Courser, they took a hundred Radiant with them. Though Tenebris proved to be a match in skill, Razekels power was far greater and would strike a fatal blow against the Courser King. He pierced the King's heart and lifted him to his face to gloat, but to his surprise, Tenebris was smiling, for he had allowed the primal to pierce his heart, knowing he would drop his guard to gloat. Tenebris dug his hooked blades into the primals shoulders, knowing his instant regeneration would lock him to the god. Using his last breath as a shout of defiance directly into the god's face, he released the breath, keeping him alive when his heart was pierced, allowing himself to die. He stared directly into Razekel’s eyes as he did, letting him know he would be joining him.” The sisters' eyes were practically sparkling as they fully focused on me.

“During those five years of war, Tenebris had been preparing a weapon of immense power in order to slay the god. A soul stone forged from the very Adamantium the primal had sought would ultimately be his undoing, for Tenebris had used his own heart as the catalyst, infusing the soul stone directly into it. It had absorbed every soul and shred of terror Tenebris had killed or caused, building up more and more power until this fateful moment. A bomb filled with thousands upon thousands of mortal souls further enhanced by their terror was now locked to Razekels body. Tenebris’s death was the trigger. Searing blue filled the sky as the soul stone detonated, creating a vortex of whirling blue flames that could be seen for hundreds of miles, the blast searing away the gods' flesh and soul, erasing him from existence along with the Courser King. The pulse of energy released from the dying god rippled throughout the world, letting all know that on this day, a god had been killed by mortal hoofs. This ripple and the story of King Tenebris spread like wildfire igniting the flame of rebellion in the hearts of all mortals including the future God-Emperor, for it was this flame that showed him and the world that we could do it, we could win, we could be free.”

“Wow! Just wow, Tenebrae! I have no words for how incredible that story is,” Celestia said as little Luna beaming with excitement but held a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“All of this is incredible, but I never would have guessed our ancient history would be so bloody and gruesome.” Little Luna said as she let out a sigh. “I have so many questions to ask.”

“I'm sure you do but we’re not done yet with the history.”

“There's more!?” I chuckled.

“Of course, we’ve yet to finish the story of the great revolt, but I agree it is a lot to take in, and it's getting late, so I'll try my best to speed up the explana-.” The sound of a hammer hitting metal rang throughout the tunnels in a frantic rhythm.

“What's that sound?” Celestia asked, confused.

“Sounds like an alarm.” Little Luna said quietly. I rose from the table and headed towards the door.

“Stay here while I go see what's going on. We will continue when I get back.”

“But if it is an alar-.” Celestia started to say as she started sitting up before I interrupted her.

“Then I will deal with the threat, then return as I said.” She sat back down on her haunches. “This will only take a moment,” I stated as I headed out down the tunnel.

~~~

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long to release but its been a rough couple of months for me. Lots of family medical problems along with my dog passing away and I'm still dealing with a few things but I didn't want to end the year without releasing something so I decided to cut this chapter down a bit from its original length and upload it. Things are starting to look up again finally so hopefully soon I'll be able to focus on writing and be more consistent with updates.