Twin Suns: Heart of the Empire
Chapter 009.5 - Born in Light, Forged in Darkness.
Previous ChapterNext ChapterA few months prior to the events in the Crystal Caverns, somewhere in the icy wastes on top of the Crystal Mountain Range, nighttime...
She was being hunted again, she could feel it on the back of her neck. That sensation of being stared at, being toyed with. But each time she looked back, there was nothing there aside from the looming crystals and the freezing snow. Only an echo of a childish giggle could be heard over the ghastly wail of the ice-cold wind. If she hadn't been born a pegasus, she feared she would have long since frozen to death.
Not that that would have changed much, she mused with a frightened shiver. The umbrum were going to get to her, no matter what she tried to do. There was no way out of this for her, she knew that with perfect clarity. The portal was closed, she had been too late to return to her Queen and now she was going to pay the bitter price of failure.
Her only hope was trying to make it back to Unicornia and beg Queen Gold Bar for aid, but... even if she tried to flee now, the umbrum had her surrounded on all sides already. Alas, even her wings wouldn't be of much help anymore, stiff as they were from the relentless cold. While the rest of her limbs still carried her onward, she feared even that wouldn't last much longer. The cold, icy grip of death was coming for her and slowly but surely, she started to understand the crippling fear her Queen had of the inky black darkness and the unending cold that seemingly stretched on forever. She could feel her end approaching and she dared not think what the umbrum would do with her soul.
It would not be a pretty fate, of that, she was certain. If only there was a way to get rid of the umbrum and return home safely, Gentle Breeze mourned. She knew her Queen would blame herself for 'abandoning' her like she was so wanton to do with things that were in no way her own fault. She only hoped Orchard and Prince Amore could give her the support she needed, she didn't want her Queen to shut herself away because of a stupid mistake she made, trying to gather the ice underneath the snow further up the mountain.
She knew now that the risk was not worth it. The yield would have been only slightly better had she just filled up her cart with snow like her Queen insisted they do. In the time she could have gotten her cart full, she would have barely managed to free one block of ice with her tools. Tools she had to discard as well as the cart because of the imminent sense of danger lurking around the corner.
Breeze let out a pained gasp as something tore into her side and felt her wing go entirely limp. One of her legs, too, for that matter. Her pale yellow eyes met the gaze of empty blue glowing eye sockets, the saber-like teeth in the form of icicles bared threateningly at her while the snowy paws and claws of the great snowcat were painted red with her lifeblood.
Just her luck, Breeze thought weakly. Instead of the umbrum getting to her first, she would end up the meal of Mother Nature's gift to the world. If one could call an ice elemental hungry for the flesh of ponies a 'gift' to the world, that is.
Before the predator could pounce on her and tear into her again with its razor-sharp claws (or suns forbid, those vicious teeth), the world seemingly... stopped, time crawling to a complete standstill.
"Now, then," a deep voice whispered while at the same time sounding like it came from all around her. "Look at what we have here. The cat got the itsy bitsy mouse. Or should I say 'little pony'? How droll this cold irony can be."
“...what the..?” she whispered weakly, trying to find the one speaking to her, only for two ominously glowing yellow eyes to greet her. There was only one thing worse on this damn mountain other than the ice cats. And they were right there, regarding her with an odd glee. An umbrum.
The being made out of smoke and shadows walked around the frozen scene, unconcerned by the hungry cat that had been so close to ripping into her flesh. "That's not how I would prefer to go out and I suspect you wouldn't want that either, now do you?"
"Who... who are you?" Breeze asked, her breathing shallow and strained. The tears in her eyes stung fiercely, but that didn't stop her from glaring balefully at the monster in front of her. A true monster, at that, not one born of nature's primal forces like the snowcat. The animal that attacked her only did what it did for the sole reason of survival... the umbrum in front of her, on the other hoof? She could only hope that, whatever they had in mind for her, it wouldn't turn out to be worse than death and eternal torment.
"Ah. Such a good question that is, isn't it? Mhh, yes... who am I, indeed," the odd being nodded almost absentmindedly. They seemed to be more interested in the snowcat if anything. Or rather the blood it took from her, she realized. "Some have called me a monster, some a savior, a few even knew my name before... forget it. Let's just say that I like to consider myself to be a trader of sorts."
"A trader?" she asked, confused. What was all of that about, she wondered. Certainly, ‘monster’ fit the umbrum to a tee, but who in their right mind would consider one of them as their savior? Ridiculous, that's what it was.
"Oh, you know, for favors and all that good stuff," they replied, grinning a twisted grin. "For you see, I don't like how things are run downstairs, if you catch my drift. Such nasty business, you see. Mother is a fanatic that would do anything to please Zovaal like the good little pet dog that she is. A true shame, if you ask me. She could have been so much more than that, but alas, she wastes her potential playing lapdog to a mad tyrant. I’d rather not get involved with their version of a ‘better’ universe. Which brings me to you..."
"...what are you going to do with me?" Breeze asked, afraid. There was no way that there were 'benevolent' umbrum, it was such a ludicrous idea to even consider.
"Now, don't give me that look, my little pony~," they laughed in gleeful amusement. "I'm not here to hurt you, I promise. I'm a trader, like I said."
"I'm not giving you my soul," Breeze sneered, trying to wiggle away from the abomination in front of her.
The being in front of her snorted before they burst out in laughter. "Oh... Oh, damn. That's good. Hah! A classic, really! But also wrong. I don't want your soul, you pathetic, dimwitted mortal. What would I want with one tiny, useless soul like yours, anyway? There are plenty of those where I came from and I don't fancy going back. No, I want something far more useful than that..."
"What..?" she muttered, blinking in incomprehension. "But... what do you want, then? I don't have anything else you could possibly want."
"Oh, you naïve little pony, you," they said with a gleeful, skeletal grin as they approached her. Uncomfortably close, at that. The umbrum in front of her hovered one of its spindly legs over her injury and some droplets of blood began to float up into the air. "Oh, how much I crave to know the feeling of pain and suffering. The primal rage and unbridled fury you mortals are far more capable of than even we are. No, I don't want your soul... I want that body of yours!"
"Never!" Breeze grunted and spat it in the face, only for the umbrum to be unaffected by it.
"I'm afraid you don't have much choice," they said mockingly. "I will grant you safe passage to an afterlife of your choice in exchange for that body of yours. The offer only stands for as long as your heart continues to beat within that soft, fluffy chest of yours. Tik tok, my little pony~. Tik. Tok."
"And what if I die?" she shot back challengingly. "What then?"
"Then I take your soul and drain it of all energy before the kyrian can even think to look for it here," the umbrum giggled with a mad gleam in their eerie eyes. "It's only a minor inconvenience to me, really. I'll figure something out with that sack of flesh you inhabit. Hmm. It can't be too hard to reanimate it. After all, if those brutish, idiotic necromancers can make rotting corpses walk, I can do one better and bring it back to life, right?"
She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, Gentle Breeze realized. There was no way out of this for her, was there? Still, even thinking of so much as accepting that horrendous offer was out of the question. There was no way that these monsters would ever honor their word and this one she doubted would actually grant her a 'nice' afterlife out of spite for being such an inconvenience to them. Definitely not with their siblings prowling around searching for her.
"Now then, what is it going to be, my little pony?" the monster posing as a 'friend' asked while leaning uncomfortably close to her face with an eager smile on their skeletal face. "I won't be able to prolong this moment for much longer and I'd rather prefer my new body to stay in one piece. I am by no means a vain creature, but chew marks are so last season..."
If accepting was most certainly not an option and letting them get her soul was equally as bad an option, what could she actually do? Running wasn't going to work, even if she somehow managed to lose both her pursuers and the frozen snowcat. In the end, she would without a doubt succumb to her wounds and then either this monster would find her in the afterlife or one of their many siblings would.
There was no winning against them, was there? That was the simple truth of the matter and she hated having to admit that to herself. She could only pray her Queen would find a way to defeat these abominations and prevent more from coming to their world. At what cost that would come, she couldn't tell, but anything was better than constantly having to live in fear of those monsters attacking them.
Not winning against them wasn't the same thing as getting beaten by them, though. No, Gentle Breeze realized, there always was some choice to be made even when one was literally on the doorstep to death. And she was very much willing to fight to the bitter end. She couldn't be out of options, she simply refused to believe that. There must be a way out, she knew that, she just had to find one... somehow.
Thinking about it... really thinking about it... the umbrum were weak to love magic, right? Maybe she could use that nugget of information to her own advantage. Question was, how was she going to do that? She doubted that 'hugging' the umbrum to death was a viable option to choose from (not that she would do that, even if it was possible).
If only she had a horn so that she could channel... well... anything through it, really. The only thing she had were her feathers and the last hopes that her Queen would come to her rescue and make everything magically better, as unlikely as that possibility was.
Well, she was a crystal pegasus, a being remade by the Crystal Heart, wasn't she? Ever since they beat back the umbrum on that fateful day, every crystal pony has felt a connection to it. It was still there, she could feel it. If only there was a way to use that connection...
Slowly, she noticed time begin to resume its proper path as the snow falling from the sky crawled through the air. The predatory great cat was using its 'muscles' to spring into action as it began to pounce and the umbrum frowned at her as she refused to give... him(?)... them an answer. She had little time left to come up with an answer that would save her not only from the umbrum but also the hungry cat.
Something inside of Gentle Breeze snapped at that moment and her body went completely on autopilot, instincts taking over as if possessed by a ghost. She had no idea what she was going to do, but if she was going to go down anyway, she would make damn sure to drag the umbrum down with her. Even if it was only a giant 'fuck you' to the face, anything was better than nothing, really.
Sometimes, in one's greatest adrenalin-fueled need, miracles do happen. Her desperate cry as she threw herself at the smoky monster was answered not by a supreme god or a benevolent benefactor (or even her Queen), but by her own will.
The blood rushing through her veins and arteries caught on fire, her muscles aflame with exertion, while her mind was alight with the sheer need to survive.
Her pegasus magic answered her wish, granting her the freedom she so desperately craved. The crystal magic that slumbered in each one of her fellow crystal ponies heard her call, fortifying her body and her mind against the intruder that suddenly found themself trapped in a pony-shaped cage, unable to escape or even curse the one responsible for such a humiliating fate. And her newfound magic repaired the damage done to her as if she had never been wounded in the first place (not that she took note of that).
Suffice to say, the predatory great cat was reduced to a pile of snow as its prey suddenly proved itself too much for its fragile body.
Although, to say that Gentle Breeze came out of this encounter completely unharmed was quite an understatement. Before she could celebrate the unexpected turn of events, a loud and cavernous crack sounded out underneath her hooves before the snow-covered ground gave out with a mighty rumble.
Crystals and mountains of snow alike fell through the hole left behind in the unstable ground, making her fall limply head over tail before she even realized what had happened all of a sudden. Unfortunately for her, she hit the bottom of a huge chamber with a resounding thud before she was quickly buried along with the rest of the falling debris.
Time passed on unhindered, leaving no sign of life behind, and, eventually, the umbrum gave up the search for their latest prey, instead prioritizing the disruption of a certain Queen's effort to open portals to the mountain at random times and places for the purpose of gathering enough snow and ice for water.
But forgotten Gentle Breeze never was. Her death was just the first of many to come, but... what everypony thought to be the first loss turned out to be something far more... sinister than that. For it was not the end of Gentle Breeze, but the rebirth of a being born in light and forged in darkness.
A shadow of an entirely different kind reawakened on a seemingly unassuming day, finding herself changed in ways she could not yet fully comprehend. Her mind struggled to understand her new situation as she dragged herself out of the snow in the cave, hissing in pain at the glare of the twin suns as they peeked through the opening far above her.
Not only was her vision blurry, but her eyes burned at the brightness around her, more so than usual. She had to squint harshly against the sharp glare in the hopes of finding a place to hide away from it. Preferably one where no light could pierce the veil of shadows.
With weak stumbles, the newly resurrected pony trudged further into the caverns until the throbbing pulse within her skull ceased enough for her to formulate (somewhat) clear thoughts again.
Horrified eyes gazed at the damage wrought to her recently brought back-to-life body, and with gritted teeth, she pulled a sharp and long crystal shard out of her side.
No blood oozed from the gaping hole, much to her surprise. And, where she once had feathery wings and a crystalized coat, only membranous wings remained with dull, dark grey fur covering the rest of her body. Even her mane and tail had turned much darker, changed from a sky blue color to that of a two-toned sensual deep violet and purple.
Far more important to her, though, was the burning sensation within her throat and the fact she could feel a set of very sharp fangs poking her lips as she breathed in heavy exhaustion. Freeing herself from her impromptu tomb had taken a lot more out of her than she thought, letting herself sag to the ground while a thousand questions raced through her head.
Just... what happened to her? And why was her throat so... raw? How did she even survive a fall from a height like that, in the first place?
"W-what do you mean?" she asked, recognizing that voice. For some reason, though, she knew the malicious specter couldn't harm her anymore. That still begged the question of where their voice had come from.
"Tell me what you did to me, you monster!" she growled, sitting up despite the fact that her vision spun around her. "Show yourself!"
"I..." she said while her ears kept flicking toward every sound around her. It felt like everything was of an almost deafening volume, making it hard for her to focus on anything in particular. "W-what happened? What did I do that makes you so resentful towards me? I should be the one blaming you for everything! You had no right to make those demands of me!"
"W-what do you mean?" she shuddered, her gaze landing on the crystal next to her as a drop of water fell down on it, making her ears wilt at the booming thunder echoing through the cave. For that matter, not only was her sense of hearing heightened to a ridiculous degree but so was her sight. Her vision was remarkably good, considering the only source of light came from the tunnel going back to the place where she woke up. Or rather, where she was turned into this horrific caricature of a pegasus. "Why is everything so... ugh!"
She just nodded her head, a whimper escaping her. It hurt, listening to so many sounds at once that had no right to be so... noisy. Loud. Deafening.
"I'm not weak!" she snorted, glaring at nothing in particular but hoping the damn thing within her would feel her indignation.
"And what makes you so sure you won't cease to exist once I die, huh?" she asked them, raising a brow challengingly. "The way I see it, you are bound to me like a very annoying personal demon."
"You didn't answer my question," she stated, slowly smiling to herself. To think a monster like the umbrum would belittle others for being the monster. What a sad irony that was. "Could it be that you are afraid~?"
"Whatever that's supposed to mean, you aren't scaring me," she lied, subconsciously rubbing her leg in discomfort. Secretly, she had to admit to herself that her appearance... it was unlike her, the total opposite. It was unsettling and monstrous and... and it scared her so very much. But she had to be strong right now, she couldn't let that... thing... in her get to her.
And, as her 'roommate' had oh-so-kindly promised to her, she did find out in which ways they were similar to each other now. She really wished she didn't have to, but... alas, it was but an inevitability.
As it turned out, she was now a creature of darkness, through and through. Any strong source of light felt like it burned straight through her coat, cooking her flesh while searing her eyes even while closed.
Her wings took some getting used to, as well. Same thing for her ears, for that matter. It was like she had been turned into a hybrid between a bat and a pony while throwing in some cat for good measure. While her coat had lost its shiny crystal luster, it was quite a lot fluffier now than it was before. It was honestly a mystery to her how this transformation happened in the first place, considering the umbrum weren't quite the... ahem, 'prettiest'... bunch out there.
As it stands, all of that paled in comparison to the thing that made her into a true monster. While she had been wandering the caverns for who knows how long, avoiding the surface world out of fear that the light of the twin suns would burn her to ash if given the chance, she stumbled upon what looked like the aftermath of a great battle. If a great battle was raged between a huge monster and a few ponies, that is.
Her silent steps led her towards a smell so enticing, she almost lost all control of her body as the alluring smell beckoned her over, promising her a feast unlike any other.
Although, as she found the source of that heavenly scent, she flinched back in horror while her constant shadow laughed their flanks off in the background of her thoughts.
The back half of a half-devoured body greeted her eyes, the blood oozing from it kept her gaze transfixed on it while she wanted to do nothing more than puke her guts out.
But... the longer she stared at the poor crystal pony that had lost their life not too long ago, another thing made itself known. The fire in her throat returned with a vengeance, demanding of her to quench it with the readily available lifeblood in front of her. Unbidden, her hooves crept forward, bringing her ever closer to the... the delicious morsel that...
Before she knew what was going on, she drank greedily from the corpse, smearing blood all over herself as she moaned in pure delight at the taste that hit her tongue.
The copper-like taste was akin to a five-course meal, and with a feral frenzy, she tore through the drained flesh to find more of it. Only for her mind to finally reassert itself as no more blood continued to pour down her throat.
It took her weeks to come out of the depressed haze that she found herself in after she realized what she had done. The crime against ponykind she had committed was nothing short of barbaric. She had seen the remains of one of her fellow ponies as nothing more than a bag of blood, waiting to be drained dry. And she knew the craving would come back, eventually. It was inevitable.
Her hunger was sated for quite a while, though, much to her appalled relief. She didn't need to 'eat' too often, either. A minor blessing at best in the face of the terrifying ramifications. She was a predator now, one of the worst kind. She fed off of her own species like a damn cannibal. She would have been less bothered by this had the corpse been an animal incapable of speech or even an unrecognizable mess, but... no, she desecrated a fellow pony, a being capable of complex emotions and thought, able to speak their own mind (while they were still alive, that is).
Unlike her Queen, though, she actually hurts those she feeds on (assuming she ever does so again since she very much intended to starve herself from that point onward). She was a monster, there was no denying it. She had desecrated the memory of... whoever that actually was... tearing into their body with... w-with a fucking moan of all things! She deserved whatever fate her Queen would see fit for her, such an act was... reprehensible! Monstrous! Evil!
...it tasted so good, though. A small part of her in the deepest corners of her mind wondered what it would be like to drink straight from the source while they were still alive, to tear into their throat to get as much of it into her stomach as possible, as fast as possible. To rip the heart out of their chest and squeeze every last drop of blood out of it. To feel the warmth of life again.
She never acknowledged those thoughts of hers, those dark desires that threatened to make her squirm in pleasure as her unholy blood rushed to her wet nethers. She knew with perfect clarity that, if she were to attack a fellow pony and drink from them, she wouldn't be able to stop herself in time before she drained them completely dry. She wouldn’t be able to keep herself from moaning in delight, getting excited by the mere act of consuming her involuntary chosen drug.
And so, she stayed away from not only the gigantic worm living in these caverns but also from the few times when she knew her Queen sent ponies down here in the hopes of finding water. She wanted to help them out and give them a hint as to where to find that lake she occasionally took a bath in, she honestly did, but... she didn't trust herself to not lose her control around them. To not drag an inattentive pony away by their throat... letting them struggle futilely all while she gorged herself on their life-giving liquid. That delicious, warm liquid...
It was a battle she fought valiantly with herself and her constant companion. But... in the end, it was all for naught. The hunger returned, and this time, it was even worse than before. It gnawed on her, driving her into a maddened haze as she desperately did everything to hide away from the ponies exploring the caverns with unicorn magic and torchlight.
She could faintly remember during that time that she felt proud of them as they dealt with the threat of the worm in a surprising turn of events, collapsing half a tunnel down on it, but... the struggle got harder and harder as time continued on. She had been this close to decimating a group of ponies making a supply run for water, so she kept herself isolated in her makeshift 'home' within the tunnel that led to a seemingly dead end.
It wasn't until the scent of blood reached her nostrils once more that she left the confines of her safe haven, flitting down the steep cliff with frantic haste to reach her food before it decided to leave and never return.
Her eyes were locked on the pegasus-shaped food washing off a scrape in the lake and a plan quickly began to form in her mind as to how to lure it into an ambush where it couldn't fight back against her.
Her plan worked, almost perfectly even when one ignored the sounds of struggle and the way she had to tear into her food to make it stop doing that. It was one of the best meals she ever had, taking large gulps from her food as her strength slowly but surely returned to her in even greater quantities. She felt almost invincible.
Only when nothing came forth anymore did she even register that her 'food' was a pony and that that pony was now most assuredly dead, drained of all life and warmth.
"W-what have I done?!" she cried in despair, the dead gaze of the pegasus pony staring accusingly back at her.
"D-don't... don't call me that," she said, shivering in fright and horror as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "I don't deserve that name anymore, I'm... I'm a monster. A murderer. I... I should turn myself in, I-I don't deserve to live anymore."
"Don't talk to me like it is normal! Like it is completely natural! It's not!" she snarled while angrily wiping her tears away with the back of her bloodied fetlock. "This is your fault! You did this to me! I'm not a fucking predator! A cannibal! I'm a... I'm a pony, I..."
"Fuck you, Shadow," she spat. "I hate you."
"What could you do that would be of any help?!" she growled. "He's... he's dead! Because of me! Because of you."
"W-what..?" she stammered, bewildered. "As in... undead? Are you mad?!"
"That's what undead means, doesn't it?" she pointed out, raising a brow as some crazy, idiotic part of her started to consider the stupid scheme just so that she could feel better about... you know... not being a murderer. Does it still count if the murdered victim is resurrected?
"I'm not dumb, Shadow," she scowled, pouting slightly. "And for that matter, you are always there making snide comments, I'd be glad to have you gone."
"I'm not going to conquer the world, Shadow," she reprimanded the nuisance that was her constant mental companion. "And I don't even know your name, idiot."
"You're incorrigible," she muttered. "And now you're just trying to corrupt me again."
That... t-that was a good point, she had to reluctantly admit. Tempting, too. She could no longer deny it, the pull towards the life-giving substance was simply too strong for her to resist it for any length of time. The poor pony she killed in her frenzy to not starve was proof enough. She'd rather have some semblance of control over her hunger rather than let it control her.
That still didn't mean she would try to conquer the world, though. Or keep innocent ponies as her pets to sate her desires! While Shadow had a good point, it was far from a perfect solution to her plight. But... as she thought about it, an idea did come to her. And the solution was quite simple, too. Much like her Queen, she could build up her own community with like-minded ponies willing to help her out. They would have the choice of whether or not they wanted to donate some of their blood to her, she wasn’t about to take their rights of freedom away like Shadow clearly wanted.
Well, unless... criminals were fair game, right? Those that deserved it, not petty thieves and such. She would have no qualms preying on the wicked since they would rather do the same with her. A queen has to keep her subjects safe from those that would harm them, after all.
Hmm. Yes. She could create her own kingdom, living in harmony with... well, so far only her and her annoying 'roommate', but that wouldn’t have to stay like that for long. Shadow wasn't all bad, as reluctant as she was to admit that to herself. They just took some... getting used to. At best, Shadow was like a wolf with no teeth and a lot of bark, not really threatening at all. Aside from a few snide comments here and there, they were even willing to help her out despite her trapping them within herself, somehow (...she still had no idea how she had managed that feat).
Together with Shadow, she could accomplish many great things, couldn't she? She could be like Araneae and create a better future for ponykind. Maybe she really was a Gentle Shadow, after all.
Born in light and forged in darkness, indeed.
"Very well, then," she said, steeling herself. "What do I need to do, my Shadow?"
"Okay, easy peasy," she sighed, biting her lip softly. "And what do you mean by essence, exactly?"
"My b-b-blood," she stammered out. "Definitely my blood."
"Shut up," she grumbled back. "It's already awkward enough to not have any privacy at all, do you actually think I would let you watch?!"
"I'm not letting you watch," she threatened. "And that's final."
"W-w-what?!" Gentle stammered while Shadow laughed their flanks off. "What do you mean 'vampiric' estrus?!"
"My heart is still beating, though," she protested weakly. "And you still haven't answered my question, you know."
"O-oh," she gulped as realization began to set in. "So, I..?"
"Ugh," she groaned, blushing fiercely as she ringed with herself. "For the record, I hate you."
For some reason... that made sense, weirdly enough. For a creature born of hate and misery, they would express their... ugh... 'love' for each other in different ways than she would, wouldn't they? Oh, for the love of the moon, she didn't need to know that!
Suffice to say, the following few minutes were... awkward. Very awkward. The constant teasing words from Shadow didn't help in any way, either. Although... she had to admit that... their voice was kind of... hot as fuck, sounding so ominous and seductive that it was hard to admit to herself that she started to really like it.
It took her more than a bit of convincing to go through with it, struggling not to whine in disgust (both at herself and at what she was about to do), but... in the end, Shadow talked her into it. It was the only way to right this terrible wrong she had caused in her moment of carelessness. That was what she told herself, at least. It didn't make this any less repulsive, though.
She would have preferred to have used her blood for this purpose, but what Shadow had told her scared her immensely.
With each drop of blood that she gave away, she would become permanently weaker. And she knew that that was only ever an option for dire situations. If she became too weak, it would be easy for somepony to just overpower her and drain her of all blood for their nefarious plans to do... something that was surely pure evil. Not to mention, she was certain that, for whatever purposes they would use it for, the end result of that wouldn't be pretty.
There was no doubt in her mind that her blood was perhaps one of the most valuable resources in this world now. Clearly, she couldn't let it fall into the wrong hooves, ever. Nothing good would come from it, neither for her, the world, nor the one that decided to steal her lifeblood.
So, she did what she had to do with a heavily flushed face. She fluttered her eyelids closed while listening to the ever-present sound of Shadow in the background of her mind, slowly reaching out a hoof to stroke her labia. It took a few whispered reassurances from her companion until it actually started to become wet. Not enough that she could use that, instead, but just enough to help her along in her quest to reach perhaps the most forbidden orgasm she would ever have in the entirety of her however long life.
A soft moan escaped her lips as she imagined her hoof belonging to somepony else. Somepony like her, with yellow cat-like eyes and thin membranous wings, wild and fluffy fur, a soft mane and tail, ears that heard even the slightest rustle, a-and... and sharp fangs t-that... that sank without resistance into the neck of their prey. And, while she listened to Shadow, another image appeared entirely.
Glowing golden eyes appeared in front of her eyes, hiding nothing of their wickedness from the world. And, where there had only been dark smoke and shadows in their form before, an almost pure black coat of fur replaced their previous appearance, a curved needle-like horn jutting out of their forehead in an impressive length while skeletal wings sat at their side, torn tendons and flayed flesh holding them together, if barely. And their mane billowed like roiling storm clouds, the same for their tail. And behind those bewitching lips, there laid hidden a maw full of sharp teeth, waiting to tear their foe apart at the smallest perceived slight against them.
Shadow was a being of death, and it made her feel so very... warm... inside. They were worlds apart, and yet, they had found each other in the unlikeliest of circumstances. The ever-present cold that seeped into her being from housing such a damned soul in her was replaced by the reassurance that even a monster could learn to love.
To the umbrum, hatred was a twisted version of that very emotion that kept her going. What should have been an antithesis to each other balanced itself out in a fascinating way.
For the very first time, she learned to appreciate her new happenstance. Yes, she was a monster, perhaps just as bad as the umbrum could be. But that didn't have to mean she was bad. It was her nature now to not fall prey to those like her, it was her turn now to hunt the prey for their delicious blood.
She could decide the fate of not only the living but also those of the dead for Death was now on her side.
"Mhh~," she moaned, eyes twisting around beneath tightly shut eyelids. "Sha... Shadow, what... Ngh~... What is this about? Hah..."
they admitted, almost bashful. Shy, even.
“S-such as?” Gentle asked, thrashing around on the ground as strange feelings coursed through her body, mainly around her stomach and where she was currently abusing her marehood with reckless abandon. She could actually empathize with Shadow on that one, their time together had taught her many things. Even if those things were not things she ever wanted to be confronted with. Neither were they of a pure and innocent nature, for that matter.
“Mmph~!” Gentle lost against her body's desire, at last, succumbing to the orgasmic shudders spreading through her body while everything felt so fuzzy and warm for the first time in, like... forever. “Shadow, I... Ngh, I need a moment...”
“Right,” she breathed out, weakly getting back on her legs while only mildly embarrassed about what she had just done with a friggin’ corpse lying not too far away from her. Or the umbrum living in her head, for that matter. “So... what was all that about?”
“That’s... really sweet of you to say,” she mumbled faintly, blushing fiercely. “I’m glad you’re here with me, too, Shadow. Without you, I would have gone crazy a long time ago when all of this started.”
“Of course, Shadow,” she smiled before the smell of her naughty deed reminded her that there was a reason why she did... well... that, in the first place. “Anyway, back to... this. What do I do?”
She squirmed only a little bit as she pried open the muzzle of the dead pegasus, gagging while shoving her slickened hoof into their mouth. It took her far more willpower than she cared to admit to not immediately rip her hoof out of there, making sure to thoroughly cover that limp muscle all while unconsciously holding her breath until she felt faint from a lack of air.
There definitely had to be a better way to go about this, but right now, she couldn’t think of anything but how disgusting this act was. If anything, she would have preferred not having to do this at all, but that would mean letting the corpse keep being a corpse instead of reviving them in the hopes of correcting her mistake.
“I... I hope so,” Gentle muttered, shuddering as she wiped her hoof on the soon-to-be ‘not-corpse’. That probably wasn’t the smartest thing for her to do, but she could have cared less about the feelings of... whoever that was, anyway.
They should be glad to get a second chance, anyway (even though it was kinda her fault they needed it in the first place). The stupid pegasus had the gall to bleed in the first place, so she couldn't really help herself. It was almost like they wanted her to bite them, advertising their wound like that.
Gentle shook her head and put an end to that line of thought. It wouldn't do to start rationalizing her own wrongdoings now so that she could live with herself (and get over the embarrassment of having to give a dead pony her 'essence' like a degenerate necrophiliac). Pretty soon, it wouldn't even matter anymore and she could go on living a life free of having to murder unsuspecting food... ahem, ponies, she corrected herself hastily.
Already, she got a bad feeling about this. Shadow might have rubbed off on her perhaps a bit too much.
Anyway! To say that the process was complicated was understating the true severity of her ‘actions’. They were, more or less, guided by Shadow, but still her own efforts. It felt like her soul was being stretched into a thin line as it took her a while to get it ‘just right’, fishing around in the dark for something that she had no idea how to look for.
Eventually, that line gave a tug and she did the only thing her frazzled mind could think of, rapidly tugging back with a startled whinny. Shadow laughed at her for a few minutes but hearing the ‘dead’ stallion let out a desperate gasp kind of made her forget about that. Despite Shadow having a change of heart, they still could be a massive bitch when they wanted to be. Or dick. She still wasn’t sure what gender Shadow preferred.
The gasp of shock from the stallion soon turned into pained growls as the previously cerulean eyes began to turn red, a glowing red at that. Their coat turned an ashen gray while their mane and tail changed to a dirty dark brown, every sign of age gone from them as they looked as youthful as they must have looked in their prime.
Next up were their wings as they lost the last feathers they had, ending up looking not too dissimilar to her own. They appeared to be just as agile and strong (if a bit bulkier), no doubt able to go faster than any regular wings their size would be able to go.
Lastly, their ears changed in a subtle way while their fangs poked imperceptibly out behind their lips. All of this happened while the wounds she had inflicted upon them began to heal rapidly.
Alas, things didn’t go quite as planned as the pony looked back at her in confusion and... the unending hunger she herself felt most of the time. “What the..? Who..?”
“It’s okay,” Gentle replied, slowly lifting a hoof to calm them down. They were clearly frightened, no doubt because of what she had done to them, but she hoped nonetheless that she could give them at least some form of comfort. “I’m sorry about what I did, I didn’t mean to. Please, you have to believe me.”
The stallion in front of her looked themself over, eyes widening at the things they saw. “I... I’m a horse.”
“Uh...” Gentle blinked, confused. “Shadow..? I think something went wrong...”
“I’m a damn animal! A filthy male horse, at that!” the thestral in front of her snarled, having noticed the obviously different genitals between their legs. “What did you do to me?!”
“‘Pony’, actually,” she corrected, flinching back at the scathing glare directed her way. “I... I was trying to resurrect you? Well, the one that I accidentally... uh...”
“Oh, right... I’m a male 'pony', instead,” the probably-not-a-stallion grumbled, sneering at her. “Because that makes it so much better now, does it? That's just bloody brilliant! You disgusting little animal will return me to my old body at once, or else...”
“I...” Gentle mumbled, biting her lip anxiously. Great, now what? This day couldn’t get any worse than it already was, could it? She should have just... lived with her mistake, learned from it, and moved on. But no, she just had to mess things up even further.
This is what ponies called karma, isn't it?
“How am I going to do that, then?” Gentle asked, intrigued and confused at the same time by Shadow's inane rambling. She mainly intended to address her friend with that, but judging by the outraged snarl on their lips, the thestral in front of her took her question as a personal insult.
“Do I need to tell you how to do your freaky voodoo magic, as well?!” they hissed, baring their fangs at her as they stalked their way forward on unsteady legs. Not that that stopped them from doing so, quickly getting used to their unfamiliar body due to the muscle memory of their unfortunate predecessor. “Just... undo this! Send me back right this instant!”
“A-alright,” Gentle gulped, her voice so faint, she hoped only Shadow heard her. She didn’t want to give the recently resurrected pony false hopes, even though they were quickly becoming more than a nuisance to deal with. Perhaps ending their misery would be a better option? “I... um... what do I tell... her? Them?”
“You really think I’m going to believe some... some weird bat pony thing?!” the pony in front of her growled. “Do you even know with whom you are messing?! I'll have you executed for this... this insult!”
“I don’t need to know, neither do I care. What I do know is that your soul would have been damned to an eternity of repentance in the realm of Revendreth. That is, if you are so lucky to not be beyond redemption.”
“Your fancy words won’t save you from my wrath!” they screeched back, winding up their right hoof for a vicious strike. Gentle squeaked, shutting her eyes while falling back on her haunches in fear, waiting for the pain that was sure to come.
Hesitantly, she did what her companion told her to do, only to see the hoof of the thestral in front of her approaching her face. Before it could connect, though, it slowed down, and the huff of frustration from her ‘opponent’ managed to make confusion well up within her. Again, the hoof tried to strike her, barely coming within reach of her like the last time they tried to do so. Not that that stopped them from trying again. And again.
And again.
“Are we quite done yet?” Gentle asked, trying not to smile too much in relief as she began to relay Shadow’s words again. “You can either accept this ‘gift’ or you can accept your ‘fate’ in the Afterlife. Either way, you won’t be getting back to your old body, so I suggest you come to terms with that sooner rather than later. I’m sorry about... well, the change in species and... uh... sex, I guess, but... you get eternal youth?”
“Eternal... youth?” they asked, eyes changing to that of a brooding nature. “What else? Where’s the catch?”
“Well,” Gentle grimaced, still not entirely having come to grips with that herself. “You need to drink blood or you will go into a frenzy. That’s what led me into this mess, in the first place.”
“So, let me get this straight,” they grimaced, frowning. “I’m not going to die of natural causes but I’m a vampire?! A male pony vampire, at that. Eternal life doesn’t even begin to compensate for this slight against my person. And, on top of all this, I cannot even avenge myself!”
“Who... who were you, if I might ask?” Gentle asked as her ear suddenly started twitching towards the edge of her little hideout. Judging by how the eyes of the pony in front of her narrowed into thin slits, they heard it, too. “Don’t. Focus on my voice. You must resist this temptation before you do something stupid. Now, answer my question!”
“I... ugh...” they grunted and Gentle knew, the burning in their throat was this close to turning them into a slave to their own hunger. “My name was... was... ngh! What’s that damn noise?! It sounds... it sounds like a... a heart beating. Ngh, I... I-I need it. Mmh, the smell, it's... so... good...”
“No! Stop! Listen to my voice, please! You have to control yourself! Snap out of it!” Gentle tried to stop them, but they surprised her with their unnatural speed. One moment, they stood right in front of her, salivating at the mere scent of prey, and the next, they were at the edge, fighting... fighting her Queen! “Oh, no, no, no, no!”
Her own heart gave a fearful skip as she saw her... well, her thrall, for all intents and purposes... punch her Queen over the edge with a mighty blow. She knew they inherited that strength from her, there was no other way for that to be possible because a pony simply wasn’t that strong to throw around somepony as large as Queen Araneae.
If that was the case, though, then surely she could do something to help defuse this precarious situation. A silent whisper from Shadow told her exactly the thing she needed right now, slowing the perception of time down to a fraction of what it was while at the same time cranking up her own reaction time by a thousand. Her mortal body strained against the physics in play but her newfound magic rose up to the challenge and told physics where to shove it as her body dissolved into a mist of dark red blood, essentially allowing her the freedom to move as she pleased.
It was enough time for her to save at least one of them. The question was, could she live with herself for choosing Araneae over Quartzite Rock?
“I’m sorry, My Queen,” she said as her body reformed, quickly taking hold of her former Queen. Her wings strained against the weight of Araneae, slowing down their fall enough to make sure neither of them would end up as a smear on the ground.
The same couldn’t be said about Quartz, though. The sharp sound of something hitting the ground at a speed that was beyond survivable reverberated through the caverns, lingering in her ears for much longer than that. The sickening crunch wasn’t the only thing that echoed through the cave, though. It was joined by the wailing sounds of a distraught changeling queen, disorienting her for a few moments longer than what she would have needed to recover from their not-so-gentle impact.
Viciously glowing pink eyes turned to regard her hatefully, bubbling with hissing tears of a sickly greenish-purple color as a mist of rage and hatred flared up around her Queen’s eyes. “You.”
Gentle gulped, fear replacing every thought in her mind while her muscles locked up. Even Shadow could feel the imminent danger to their very existence, feeling like a small foal in the presence of a fully-fledged changeling queen at her strongest. A changeling queen that was very much willing to take her grief and anguish out on those that had wronged her. And she was very much capable of destroying their soul utterly, even if she did not know it yet.
Before anypony could act, the ‘pony’ she had resurrected tried to fight for the right to the corpse and the heavenly scent of blood coming from Rock’s deceased body, only to find themself choking on the cruel vice-like grip around their throat, bubbling with dark magic. “You killed him.”
“I, argh!” they cried out, futilely reaching out to their throat in the hopes of loosening the grip Araneae had on them. “I... am... Queen... Ma-rghrglhh...”
“You fancy yourself a queen?” Araneae asked, tilting her head. Gentle could tell there was something different about her, though, and not only because of the dark magic. It was like she was... more harsh and vengeful... and she got a feeling that there was no stopping her from enacting retribution on her target of ire. It was so unlike the changeling Gentle had gotten to know prior to the events leading up to her resurrection that it was downright wrong, seeing her like that. This wasn't her Queen, that much was abundantly clear to her. This was an apex predator toying with their prey. “You... smell of a rancidness even worse than that of Gemstone. I would do my Queen and Empire a favor by ending your wretched existence right here and now.”
“Rghrghlmhhph,” the so-called ‘Queen’ gurgled while Gentle stood there, frozen still as a statue. This wasn’t how she thought things would go, definitely not with her botched attempt of bringing the poor, unfortunate soul she had caused the death of back to life. Instead, she got somepony that proclaimed herself to be a queen who was, apparently, a monster from where she came from.
“My Queen, I...” she started, surprising herself and the tall changeling mare. Those eyes full of hatred turned to her, daring her to say the wrong word and live with the consequences. “If you kill them, then... then you are no better than her. Please, don’t do this.”
“You assume I am a good pony, to begin with,” ‘Araneae’ spat back, although the bubbling dark magic lessened somewhat. There was yet time to change the outcome of this... this mistake. She could bring back Rock, she... she knew it. She just had to try. She would even use her blood on the off chance that it would make a difference. She owed at least that much to her Queen. A last, final apology in the hopes of earning her forgiveness. “What makes you think I’m going to forgive this rat for t-taking Q-Quartz away f-from... f-from...”
Slowly, Gentle stepped forward, offering her Queen a hug. The tears that threatened to spill from her eyes finally broke free and she collapsed against her, sobbing into her mane as she ensnared her in a tight grip, snot running freely from her nostrils as much as her burning tears did. Gentle bore the pain of them falling down on her, intent on comforting her Queen to the best of her ability.
“I... I could try to bring him back if that helps?” she proposed, feeling her Queen stiffen up.
“...how?” she asked, tense. She could feel how afraid her Queen was, how nervous and heartbroken. She was an absolute wreck, but that was something Gentle knew was pretty much a characteristic of her. Araneae didn’t deal well with loss. She could only imagine how hard it must have been for her when she didn’t come back through the portal.
“I... I can turn him, make him more like me,” she whispered, timid and afraid her Queen would react badly to that. “He would need to... to feed on blood and avoid direct sunlight as much as he can. I don’t know how the Crystal Heart would react to him, if it would see him as a threat to the safety of... of 'your' subjects, but... I could bring him back to life, heal him and make him stronger as long as he is well-fed.”
“There’s something you aren’t telling me,” Araneae stated, her magic grabbing her harshly. “Do not mistake me for a fool, mare. I know it when somepony is trying to deceive me.”
Gentle gulped, the grip her Queen had on her squishing her cheeks painfully. She should have known she would see straight through her. There was no way she could hide something so important from an empath, not that she intended to keep... ‘that’... a secret. “There’s a chance I might grab the wrong soul... again. And the pony I turn cannot hurt me since they would be my thrall. There’s also the... uh... the feeding frenzy, that... might cause him to attack an innocent pony if he tries to keep himself from feeding.”
“That’s how Secure Guard ended up like... that,” Araneae said, realization sparking to life in her magenta eyes. It confused Gentle mildly, seeing the change in color so suddenly. “I’ll have to tell her, Shadra. We can’t just lie to her, Orchard doesn’t deserve that.”
Her Queen’s eyes regarded the pony she had choked half to death, muttering darkly underneath her breath for a moment, not that that was enough to hide her words from Gentle’s sharp hearing. Before she could even attempt to stop her from doing something to the recently 'revived' pony, Araneae strode over to the barely conscious form on the ground, a vicious snarl on her muzzle. “Let’s see if you are able to handle this then, rat.”
Magic flared to life, lighting up their surroundings in a sharp glare of pink light, picking the abused ‘stallion’ off the ground. Gentle’s ears folded back as the lady trapped in a pony’s body began to screech in pain as if being burned. She had to squint against the stark glare, but she could make out blue-ish wisps of something... different... leaving her magic. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew it was the prime reason why her Queen’s magic was suddenly so bright to look at.
“Just as I thought,” Araneae muttered to herself, her voice cold and uncaring. “Well, that answers that then, My Queen. We can’t bring him back like that. He would be an outcast from the Empire. The heart would burn him to ash.”
Glowing purple eyes suddenly turned back to her and Gentle stumbled back, shivering as they regarded her with a cruelty she had never seen in them before. “M-My Queen?”
“Who are you? Truly?” ‘Araneae’ asked, holding her in place. Her grip was a lot harsher this time, the same wisps from before wafting away from her magical grasp. Curiously, though, they only stung against her coat, feeling uncomfortably hot. “You don’t burn... how curious. This requires further experimentation.”
“I-I...” Gentle squeaked out, trying to get her muzzle working properly against the iron-like grip of her Queen. “B-Breeze, My Queen! I-I was Breeze. I’m only a Shadow of what I once was, though. I don't deserve to go by that name, anymore.”
“Gentle Breeze?” Araneae asked, letting go of her with a startled gasp, scrambling away from her, a haunted look on her face. “No. No, no, no! You died, I... I closed the portal. You died, I... I wasn’t t-there for you, you died because of me! You can’t be her! You c-can’t. You died! You died...”
“It’s okay, My Queen,” Gentle whispered, a pang going through her at the sight of her former Queen being so distraught over her loss. “I... I found a friend, they helped me survive.”
“A... friend?” she asked, blinking. Purple eyes gazed curiously back at her again instead of the magenta ones from before. “Who?”
“They... well, they weren’t a friend at first, per se,” she admitted, grimacing ever so slightly. “But we learned to live with each other, I guess? They are always here with me, we... we share a body now.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Araneae narrowed her eyes at her, suspicious. “Who are they? 'What' are they? And where did they come from?”
“They are my friend,” Gentle said, trying to avoid answering the question entirely. She knew how much hatred her Queen held for Shadow’s kind. She didn’t want to also end up on the receiving end of her ire, unlike Queen ‘What’s-her-name’. “Please, they are trying to be better. That’s all that matters, doesn’t it?”
“I... I suppose so,” Araneae backed down, looking... ashamed, almost. “Did your transformation into a vampire thestral come to be because of this ‘friend’ of yours?”
Gentle merely nodded, watching her Queen in apprehension. She could see the curiosity in her only grow stronger, but she really couldn’t give her more answers without risking her complete ire. Gentle knew that this was likely the last time she would ever interact with Araneae as her Queen, even without telling her who Shadow truly was and what had caused her transformation in the first place. She just wasn’t welcome in the Empire anymore, she had to face that truth eventually. Even if it wouldn’t hurt her, the Crystal Heart would cause her pain because of its nature. She still housed a damned soul in her body.
“If you turn Quartz into a vampire, will you take care of him?” Araneae asked, an odd glint in her purple eyes. “And any others that might find themselves being turned in a similar manner? Will you guide them? Show them the right way?”
“I will,” Gentle nodded.
“Good,” she said, giving a small nod to her while stepping away from Quartzite Rock's body. Before Gentle could move, though, a harsh pink glare stopped her. "If you ever step out of line, though... I will hunt you down like the pathetic rodent that you are, Breeze. Remember this warning well for I won't forget it."
"O-of course," she gulped, eyeing her Queen fearfully. She knew she had the power to back up a threat like that. Leaving a mark on an umbrum, one such as Mother no less, took a lot of energy. Shadow made it abundantly clear to her that Araneae was not to be trifled with.
"Go and do your thing, Breeze," Araneae told her, her eyes back to the gentle magenta ones she was familiar with. "I'll... I'll have to tell Orchard about this. I can't keep this from her. She doesn't deserve to be kept in the dark about this."
The sad gaze her Queen directed towards one of her best friend's remains sent a piercing hot stab of guilt through her heart, rendering her silent as she passed her Queen somberly by. And, the closer she got to Quartz, the worse the feeling of primal hunger in her became. She fought against it, though, having just recently had a 'meal' that did little to dissuade her body from thinking with her stomach, instead.
A shudder went through her at the thought of giving her own blood away, but she promised she would do everything in her power to guarantee that Quartz would return back to life. It still hurt her soul more than anything else as she bit down on her own fetlock, carefully coating his tongue in the substance that was trickling out of her in what seemed to be like slow motion.
Like before, her little ritual caught on to a soul lost in the darkness of the Shadowlands, slowly bringing it back to its rightful body. A body that began to crack and snap with horrifying sounds as the vampiric magic poured into it, reforming organs and bones while purging any and all effects the Crystal Heart had on it. Cold white fur turned ashen as every hint of grey in Quartz's mane and tail were gone, replaced by an almost black brownish red color. While all signs of age were seemingly gone, the previously brown eyes that snapped open with a screeching yell of pain leaving his muzzle were now a rust-red color.
Like a newborn foal, Quartz struggled to stand on his hooves, his eyes looking around wildly for the assailant that had taken his life. As they found Araneae, though, his posture began to gradually relax. That didn't last for long, though, as his eyes took in his surroundings, and much more importantly, his changed appearance.
Horror welled up within the stallion at the sight of his own body, still bloodied all over from his untimely demise. "What happened?!"
"I... I'm sorry, I only had the time to save one of you," Gentle whispered, ashamed. The big stallion didn't even recognize her and yet, she could see that he was eternally bound to her as an unwitting and very much unwilling 'servant', forced to obey her simply because she was the reason for his newfound vampirism. "I brought you back to life and... I'm sorry, but... you, uh..."
"You are a thestral earthpony, Rock," Araneae said, her mournful gaze turning sorrowful. "A genuine vampire, if I am not mistaken."
"W-what... What does that mean?" he asked, ears splaying back against his head in dread. "There's n-no s-such thing as v-vampires, right? Right?! Please, My Queen. Please tell me I am not what you said I am. I can't be, I... I..."—he let out a frantic breath, his breathing starting to pick up in an oncoming panic attack as his composure slowly but surely started to break down entirely, his eyes wildly searching for an escape from the inevitable truth, only to realize that there was no way to hide away from what he now was—" I'm a monster, aren't I? An abomination... a damn blood-sucking demon... there ain't no denying that, is there..? My life is over..."
"I... I cannot tell you 'what' you are without lying, my dear friend," she sighed, her own ears moving back in regret. "What I can tell you, though, is 'who' you are. You are still the big hunky Mr. Hulk I've come to genuinely consider a friend. You are still the valiant and strong stallion that Serene fell in love with. You..."
"...stop," Quartz muttered, the usually composed stallion shrinking in on himself while a lone tear slipped free from the corner of his eye. "Don't remind me of what I have lost, My Queen, I... I am a monster, there is nothing you could say that would change that fact."
"You are a monster as much as we are, then," she snarled back, her eyes glowing in a vicious hue of pink, magenta, and purple. "We leech of the emotions of others, breaking minds whenever we so wish, and loosen the inhibitions of the ponies around us with mere pheromones. If you think yourself lost, unworthy of those you love, what... w-what does that m-make us, then?!"
"My Queen, I..." Quartz started, intent on assuaging her doubts and insecurities, but no words followed. He couldn't say anything along those lines for he feared they would ring hollow like an empty promise. He knew with absolute certainty that he was a freak, a monster, an abomination... he couldn't lie to her because then he would have to lie to himself, too, and that? That he could not do. It would be easier to ignore the truth than to admit it by building a web of lies around it.
Gentle, too, tried to speak up, but... it was like a suffocating cloud of misery surrounded their Queen. Even if she told her that she wasn't a 'leech' like she insinuated, she feared the changeling queen would not listen to her words. Not after everything that happened.
"I don't want to hear it, Quartz," Araneae muttered, beginning to turn away from them. "I... I failed you as your Queen, like... like so many others before you. I'll send Orchard your way. Do what you wish, but... don't return. I thought we were friends...”
“My Queen...” Rock tried, but she was having none of it. She was clearly hurt by his silence. By his refusal to support her.
Araneae let out a shaky breath. “Don’t come back, Rock. The heart will cause you discomfort, at best. At worst... its light will burn you to ash. Not like I care. You are no friend of mine..."
"How do you know that?" Quartz asked, causing Araneae to stop mid-stride.
"Ask your 'new' Queen and her pet demon," she shot back harshly. She didn't turn her head around, but both of them could hear the tears hitting the ground. Clearly, the betrayal of trust hurt her the most.
Gentle wanted to reply and tell her companion that that wasn't the case, but... clearly, she didn't know her Queen... no, not her Queen anymore, it was just Araneae now. Gentle didn’t know her as well as she thought she did. Maybe she really was unstable, the quick shifts in behavior and fluctuation of emotion did cause her quite a bit of concern, but... she knew that Prince Amore would be there for the changeling to keep her true to herself.
Even if Shadow was right about her being weak, she still possessed the means to end all of their existences. It would be in her best interest to keep the changeling queen from becoming a mad tyrant. And only Prince Amore possessed the key to her heart.
Emotions were the expression of the soul... and if she so desired, if she changed her mind about Gentle and Quartzite Rock...
"We should go," Miss 'Queen-What's-Her-Name' croaked out, rubbing at their neck weakly. "She will come back with more than that oaf's wife, I can guarantee it."
"Shut the fuck up, you moron," Gentle hissed, a glare sent towards the mare trapped in a stallion's body, not in the mood to listen to more of their 'smart' comments. Nothing but trouble, that one, she thought darkly in aggravation. At least they threw her out of her troubled thoughts.
After she was done putting the idiot in their place, Gentle turned back to Quartz, an apology on her lips, only to see him trotting away. "Quartz! I... Where are you going?"
"As far away from here as my hooves can take me," he growled back while directing a glare her way. "I don't want my flower to see me like this. I don't... I don't want to hurt her. Not like Ah hurt mah Queen."
"But running away won't?!" she challenged him. "What do you think that will do to her?"
"It's for the best," he grumbled, snorting derisively to himself. "I don't want her to end up like this, too. And it will happen if she were to stay near me, don't you try to convince me, otherwise. I know the truth. Ain't nothing I can do against it, so... let's just leave this place behind before I do somethin' even more stupid. She's better off stayin' with our cuddlebug and her Queen."
"Quartz, I..."
"It's okay," he said, smiling hollowly. "Where do you plan to go? Might as well make sure that one is kept outta trouble."
"Hey!" they exclaimed, only for their protest to fall on deaf ears. "I'll have you know that I am a queen!"
"Didn't I tell you to shut the fuck up?" Gentle grumbled, shooting the irritating thestral a glare.
"Y-yes, M-Mistress," they squeaked back, shrinking in on themself. "I-I'm sorry, Mistress."
Gentle Shadow groaned, a feeling of begrudging acceptance coming over her. This is just going to prove itself to become a major pain in the flank for her later, won't it? Ugh. At least they might prove useful for her ‘vampiric’ estrus. Not that she particularly enjoyed the idea of letting them anywhere near her body. Quartz, on the other hoof? His personality was at least bearable.
"I think it's time for me to finally return home," Gentle said, answering Quartz's question with a tiny fanged smile. "Are you sure you don't want to wait for your wife? You don't necessarily have to turn her if you start feeding from her, you know?"
The stoic stallion merely grunted and she let out a small, quiet sigh. She really hoped he was aware of what he was doing, abandoning his family like that. On some small level, she could understand him. If she ever has a lover, she wouldn't want to hurt them, either.
"Alright. Onward to Nighthaven, then."
After all, there was somepony there with whom she still had an open score to settle. And this time, her mother wasn't going to be able to sell her into slavery like she did last time...
For she was the first Dark Lady of the Night now, not the weak pegasus that couldn't fight back against the true monsters in sheep's clothing. She wasn't Gentle Breeze anymore and that's something she was going to make damn sure her so-called 'mother' would remember for eternity...
Shadow laughed with malicious glee in the background of her thoughts, very much looking forward to their reunion. And for once, Gentle didn't give them any reprimands whatsoever for their behavior. For better or worse, they would change the whole world.
The days of slavery would soon come to an end, beginning with the ones that wronged her and her little brother.
She wasn't one for vengeance, but if it meant avenging the only real family she ever had, then she would gladly do so. And there were so many ways to go about it, too...
Her mother wouldn't know what hit her until it was too late to fight back against her fate. Just like it had been too late for her and Lightning Speed. It would all come crashing down on her, that much Gentle Shadow promised to herself.
First, her mother. Then the slimeball that had her brother's life on their conscience. And then... then she would build her own nation on the backs of those that dared to treat their fellow ponies as their property.
What was it her companion had said about sinners and repentance in the Afterlife? Something about an eternity in the realm of Revendreth? It was going to take her half that time to absolve those that can be saved from themselves while making the world a safer place to live in by making sure that those that can't, won't be able to hurt anypony else ever again.
For those that have been forsaken by the light, her dark embrace will ensure that they can rest safely away from the true monsters in sheep's clothing. Her curse will become a gift to those that can't fight for themselves. It will lend them the strength to break these shackles fate has cruelly placed upon them and free themselves of the tyranny of their fellow ponies. And then, perhaps then they will be free to dream their own dreams again. Free of oppression and slavery. Free to make their own choices again.
But until then... Gentle would bleed those vile ponies dry of their dirty fortune and their life-giving essence.
Born in light, forged in darkness, indeed. A lot has changed, hasn't it? All of it thanks to one umbrum breaking the mold. Her Shadow.
A dark chuckle echoed in her mind and the crystalline tunnels at the same time. Yes... her Shadow. As was she.
Without either her or her companions noticing, purple void-like eyes disappeared deeper into the caverns below the Crystal Mountains, intent on watching these events unfold in due time. A little nudge here and there would ensure their little gamble would pay off in their favor. The worm has served its purpose as the lure for now. The time to set up the real bait was rapidly approaching... and preparations still need to be made.
Death has no claim on this world for their true master has yet to rise again. A grin full of needle-like teeth stretched their wolfish face open in glee while they rubbed their paws together. The Diamond Dog Empire shall stretch the whole world again under their guidance, just like it did before ponykind came along. And it shall be glorious! All will serve their true master!
No one heard the laughter akin to that of a hyena aside from a few irritated bats and insects making the caverns their home. And later, when a distraught changeling queen searched with their best friend for the whereabouts of a former friend and partner, there was no sign left of the mad dog's presence in the caverns.
Events have been set in motion that shall challenge every pony in the newly developing city empire. That, and the country that shall replace the previous pony nations with a land of harmony between all tribes. Even the one that would soon begin to bloom under the gentle light of the moon.
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