The Magic Thiefby DraconequusInLoveChaptersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 4Chapter 3Chapter 5PrologueIt was a dark and stormy night in Ponyville. Well, not exactly stormy, but a with covering of clouds over the moon. So a dark and cloudy night. The colt's laugh echoed throughout the dreary attic. "Now, with my machine complete, Onyx Breeze will finally pay for bullying me!" He pulled a lever on the metal ray-gun-looking thing standing in the attic, and a beam fired at the drawing of a shining ruby pegasus whose wings seemed to be made of shadows. I opened my eyes. Wait, no. That's not right. My eyes were already open. How did they open? What was I doing here? Who was I? I had no memories, no idea of what I was doing here. I only knew that I existed. Raising a hoof, I stepped forward and collided with a machine, causing a blast of green magic to fire off and hit a wall of drawings. I could just barely see a green unicorn colt with a pair of safety goggles looking up at me with a mix of admiration and fear. My sight was still fuzzy, my eyes buzzing from just having been created. The world seemed strange, and I had a mix of belonging and strangeness. The colt began to speak- And I was overtaken by a massive wave of hatred. I felt like a monster. And suddenly I had a purpose. A single memory. Unfurling my wings I kicked, shattering a window and jumping out. My powerful wings beat the air as I soared, searching for one thing. A colt by the name of Onyx Breeze. The colt stared in amazement at where his monster used to be. "It really works..." He said, eyes shining. "It works!" He cheered, jumping up and down all over the attic. "It works." He said solemnly once more. The machine might work, but what could come of such a thing? The power to bring monsters to life... and it's already been used twice. Once to create the Voidwing, and again to create... whatever is currently sitting in the corner, whimpering. The bottom half of an eagle, the top half of a fox, and fur the color of smoke. She goes unnoticed by the colt as he slips out of the attic to sleep in his own bed, and once the room is clear of all others, slowly rises to her feet. "What am I?" Her voice is soft and smooth like a river of silk. Slowly, she approaches the broken window and her tail spreads out, the feathers forming a large platform. One claw is placed on the ledge outside, then another, and then she jumps, soars, and glides across the village toward a sprawling forest in the distance. The woods feel safe and loving. Slipping into them, her tail feathers close to become a straight line, a feathery arrow rocketing behind her. Claws crunching on fallen leaf litter, she walks through the forest. There is danger further in, but now, she is safe. Soon she comes to a cottage at the edge of the woods, and something smells delicious. Realizing it is coming from inside, she approaches and opens the door to reveal a house packed with critters of all kinds. Birds sleep in the eves, bunnies and racoons are nestled together in little beds, and all throughout the house is quiet save for the sound of snores. The fox-eagle hybrid advances through the house, climbs the stairs, and enters the bedroom where the smell is the strongest. There on the bed is a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. And she looks delicious. Unable to contain herself anymore, she jumps, her teeth sinking into the pegasus's leg. The contact draws out the horse's magic, taking it for herself. And one taste isn't enough. The monster goes on to hunt for other prey, stealing magic, hunting down prey, and eventually finding kin in the village of ponies as the Voidwing pegasus burns it to the ground. Together they leave the ravaged village, a group of monsters that have banded together. The thief, the red pegasus, and the unicorn colt with his machine. The Magic Thief A Tale of Monsters and Magic by Z Chapter 1Their battle shakes the sky. Long ago, the two alicorns forgot to raise the sun and moon. Long ago, the stars stopped shining and the sky went dark. Long ago, most lost hope. Blasts of bright light fill the sky as they have for nearly five whole years as the titans do battle with each other. As sister fights sister in a battle to escape their prison, it seems like one might finally win. Crouched in the grass below are several lesser monsters. Flying Foxes, or Magic Thieves, will steal the magic from whoever manages to win. And soon that winner will be announced. But not today. Today, the alicorns fight like they do every day, slowly getting weaker and weaker. The magic that they have is all but spent, and they can barely keep themselves from falling into the electrified forcefield surrounding them. They have no strength left to curse the one who forces this battle, no will left to fight the spell causing them to hurt each other. They can only fight. And hope that they don't kill the other. A day later, or as close to a day as you can get with no sun to mark the passage of time, one alicorn finally gives way. She falls, both in the sky and into unconciousness. For the first time since its creation, the forcefield splits open, allowing her the loser and winner to drop to the barren ground below. The winner feels relief wash over her as the spell is lifted, then dread as she realizes what she's done. "Sister..." is the only word she's able to get out before the Flying Foxes swarm the two, each of them hungry for a bite of alicorn magic. Among those is the first fox, the one known for aiding in the destruction of Ponyville and the beginning of this nightmare. Five years feels like a long time. For five years she's been trying to survive and figure out her place in this hellscape like all others. Of the twenty or so Flying Foxes who came to watch the battle today in hopes of finding a meal, only five manage to take a piece of magic for themselves. And once the two sisters are drained dry, one spends their last moments looking at the other's closed eyes. Five years is a long time to have survived this. They were among the lucky ones. Lucky. Nothing feels lucky about this. Xena, as she calls herself, for she feels like a stranger in this world, slowly left the site of the princesses' death. Since as far back as she can remember, Xena has been running. First from Ponyville's ashes, then from the machine, and finally from Magnum's twisted ideals. And now she breaks into a run, running from the deaths she was a part of causing. She runs for as long as she can before slowing to a jog, then finally a walk, then when she feels as though she can't go any longer and the sight of the dead alicorns is way past the horizon, she collapses. Barren earth beneath her fur and feathers, Xena breathes, trying to summon enough strength to find shelter. Nearby is a blackened and burnt copse of trees, and she drags herself over there, laying down in the darker shadows. She curls up into a ball and shivers. The world is always cold, but today it feels colder than usual. After a short nap, I'll find a better resting place and plan my next meal, she tells herself. She falls asleep and dreams. But without Luna to moderate them, almost all dreams turn to nightmares. An azure blue Voidwing pegasus slowly trots across the blank earth. She passes ashy tree stumps, scorched rock, and crumbling black grass. Her eyes see perfectly in the obsidian black environment, and so it is no surprise that her vision catches a Flying Fox resting in a copse of trees. Flying Foxes. The bane of all magical creatures. One of the more dangerous species in the apocalypse, fighting one was a sure trip to the afterlife. You'd exhaust yourself fighting them, they'd drain your magic, and you'd be left to die, miles from the nearest friendly face. But this one didn't seem dangerous. No, Comet! Don't let its appearance fool you! She internally chides herself. She was on a mission, to find a new place to live. Maybe one where she could meet ponies who could cure her. And a Flying Fox's head might help with that goal. Slowly Comet creeps over to the fox-eagle hybrid. She raises a hoof, preparing to bring it down and strike, when the fox's eyes suddenly fly open. Xena lets out an involuntary yip. "Who are you?" She asks in surprise, jumping to her feet. She's slightly shorter than the Voidwing, her black eyes narrowing at her attacker. "I don't have to answer to you, fox. Now tell me who you are and what you're doing out here." The pegasus answers, bringing her hoof down on one of Xena's claws. "Jerk," she mutters, pulling her claw away before Comet can stomp on it. "I'm trying to find a place to live, for your information. However, I am getting hungry. And you look like you might make a good source of magic." While this may not be true, Xena could always use a meal. Especially since she didn't know when the next one might arrive. Comet's eyes widen and she backs away. "Okay, okay, I'm going. No need to-" her words are interrupted by a loud thud and a growl behind her. Turning to look, she sees a massive blood-red dragon. "D-dr-dragon!" She exclaims. "You're sharp," Xena mutters. "Now run." She turns and sprints across the copse of trees and out the other side, Comet hot on her heels and the dragon close behind. There aren't many obstacles she can use to distance them from their pursuer, but she runs anyways. The dragon is slowly catching up, and she's slowly tiring out, and- Without warning, the two go tumbling headfirst off a cliff. Chapter 2The cliff isn't too tall, only about a hundred feet. Below is a collection of sharp rocks and more dry ground. Their pursuer opens his wings and lazily floats down, waiting for them to break their bones on the ground and become easy prey. Xena spreads her tail feathers to slow her fall, and notices that the Voidwing isn't doing anything similar. Instead, she's screaming her head off. "Help! Fox! Help!" She manages to choke out. Closing her feathers, Xena dives for the pegasus. She latches on to Comet and reopens her feathers. They spiral down to the ground and land in a heap, faces close and breathing hard. Comet shrieks and scrambles out from underneath Xena. "Well. that's one way to treat someone who saved your life," Xena remarks. "Why can't you fly?" Before Comet can reply, a blast of fire scorches her back and she screams, twisting away from the flames and falling to the ground. The dragon growls and readies another blast of flame before an arrow lodges into his underbelly. Approaching from behind a rock is a lavender unicorn with a navy, pink, and purple mane. She has a quiver of arrows on her back and a bow in her hoof. Quickly, before Xena or Comet can react, several more arrows find their way to the dragon's wings and head. She seems to not have noticed the two smaller monsters and continues firing away until the dragon has retreated. Once it's gone she looks directly at Comet and Xena and holds an arrow in the bow. "You have five seconds before I fire." "Please don't hurt us!" Comet throws herself on the ground and covers her head with her wings. "We were just running from the dragon! We didn't know there were ponies nearby!" Xena rolls her eyes. "It's almost like you're not a monster at all," she mutters. "Look, uni. I'm gonna be honest with you. Either you run along back to your hovel, or you get drained." The unicorn stares defiantly at her, then turns and trots away. "You should go. Monsters aren't really welcome where I live." That was a surprise. Xena thought. Ponies don't usually just go... especially without a fight. "Well, at least tell us your name," she said, running up to the unicorn. "Twilight Sparkle." She replies. "But please. I don't want you to get hurt if you follow me. You seem nice, so for both our sakes, stay alive." "Come on, Uni!" Comet says, coming up on the other side of Twilight. "I don't care about the fox, but I need a place to live." "Yeah, come on. We can hunt and work and be helpful." Xena adds. "Just give us a chance." "I don't need you around," Comet snarls. "Try and survive without me," Xena scoffs. "Stop it." Twilight puts in. "If you really want to come, you have to promise. By your death will you defend ponykind and promise never to hurt a pony again in your life?" She stops walking and turns to look at them both. "I promise," Xena says, placing a paw to her heart. "No ponies of yours will be drained by me." Comet rolls her eyes. "Seriously, can you trust a fox?" "I am willing to try. In this age, trust is long and little between. We all must try." The Voidwing snorted but put in her word that she would never harm a pony. Twilight still seemed skeptical, but she led the two monsters through the rocks alongside the cliff. Soon they came to a corner, and as they turned, she warned them to stay out of the village while she went to talk to the settlement's leaders. "They'll listen to me, but there's no need to cause a panic." Xena and Comet obliged, but as Twilight entered the small collection of boulders they were confused. Then when she seemingly disappeared into one they realized. It was some kind of illusion, protecting the ponies from the monsters that roamed the wastelands. There were a few tense moments as the two waited, then Twilight came back out. "You're free to live with us, but first you have to pass a trial." She told them, approaching the two. "It will take place in the forest over there." She pointed to a collection of ashy trees. "You are to fall asleep there." "Well, this is strange," Xena says. The two were lying on their backs in the forest, black trees spiraling up to the blank sky above. "I wonder what the trial will include." "We'll find out if you shut up and let us go to sleep," Comet mutters. Xena sighs and curls up, her back pressed against Comet's for warmth. Chapter 4"Now, that's a name I haven't heard in a while," Xena says, trying to stay calm, but on the inside she's burning with fear and worry. How did she find her? "What did you want with me, Sulien? Feeling nostalgic?" Lord Sulien scowls. "You know exactly what I want, Athanasios. I want what belongs to me." "And that includes those ponies you've bound and are about to torture?" I point to Twilight and the ponies she's with. "You know what I mean." Sulien growls. "The machine is mine, and by extension, everything it has created." "What does she mean?" Comet whispers in Xena's ear as ponies and foxes alike look strangely at Sulien and Xena. "You belong to the Lord of Monsters?" Xena sighs. "Technically, yes. But I do not follow those laws. I do not obey the principal of the machine. And I will not be forced back into serving her." She annouces loudly, pushing her words over the crowds of ponies and foxes. Xena strides forward and in one swift motion, slices the rope binding Twilight Sparkle. "I am not your puppet, Sulien. I am my own fox." Sulien nods. "You are allowed to make your own choices. But all choices have consequences..." And lunges at Xena, her teeth bared and ready to sink into her throat. The two fall to the ground, clawing and pushing. Finally they break apart, Xena covered with scratches and bruises and Sulien barely touched except for some dirt on her coat. "Pathetic. I really expected better from you, Athanasios." Sulien shrugs and turns to her guard foxes, who have recovered the ponies and taken Rainbow Dash into captivity as well. "Take them all into captivity. The ponies to the farms, and the monsters to me." The foxes nod and pick Xena up, loosly binding her and pushing her into a wheel-less wagon. Comet soon joins her, along with several other Flying Foxes, and the Voidwings at the front take off. The ride to Sulien's domain was long and boring, and both Xena and Comet fell asleep. When they wake up, they find themselves to be in seperate dungeon cells deep below the surface of Equestria. Xena bolts upright and springs to her feet. "Comet! Wake up!" Comet yawns and slowly rises to her hooves. "What is it, fox." "I know how to get out of here, get to where they're keeping Twilight, and get away." "And how would you know that?" Comet asks, suspicion evident on her face. "Because I used to work here. Now let's go." Xena pulls at the iron cell bars while also sliding in just the right way that they shift. Purposeful design flaw, but it can only be executed by Flying Foxes. She opens her and Comet's cells and leads them up out of the dungeon, through a surprisingly large and seemingly abandoned palace made of black stone, and out into a massive glass dome. Inside is a small village surrounded by ponies farming small patches of barren land and being watched over by Flying Foxes. Along one side is a line of ponies and Flying Foxes, the foxes draining the ponies of their magic. "It's a farm." Comet whispers. "And the ponies are okay with this?" "It's this or die, so yeah. Most are." Xena leads Comet through the small farms and clouds of ponies farming them to where she knows new arrivals will be. Twilight and her friends are over there in a crowd of ponies, most of which are from the village Xena caused to be destroyed. I did this, didn't I? She thinks. "Twilight, Rainbow, come here." She says in an official voice, the voice she used to use when she worked here. Rainbow glares at her and separates herself from the crowd to confront Xena. "If you want her magic, you'll have to go through me." Xena shrugs. "If you don't want help, continue on like that." She whispers so that only Rainbow and Comet can hear. "Okay, but you need to include all my friends," Rainbow says, pointing to several ponies in the crowd: a white unicorn, a yellow pegasus, and two earth ponies, one pink and one orange. Nodding, Xena points to the ponies Rainbow pointed out. "And those." The ponies look at each other and trot over to Xena. "Rainbow, who is this?" The white unicorn says to her friend. Twilight introduces the other ponies. "Now, what is it you wanted with us?" "Silence prisoner," Xena says with a wink, then leads the six ponies and one Voidwing out of the farm and into a small closet nearby. "Now we can talk." There's a way to make all this go away... but it would kill us. "I can get you all out, but... that won't solve anything long-term." "As long as foxes need magic, ponies will always be in danger," Comet says. "If it was possible to get rid of that desire..." "Or get rid of Flying Foxes entirely." Rainbow put in. "Rainbow might be onto something. Foxes are the largest source of danger for ponies and the main thing preventing us from living like we used to." Twilight says. "If we had the Elements of Harmony we might be able to do something about it, but none of us know exactly how they work." "Elements of Harmony?" Xena asks in surprise. "I know how to get to them. But what would they do?" "Restore harmony silly!" Pinkie says, swinging a hoof around Xena's shoulders. "The world would go back to normal!" Xena nods. "I know what to do." She leads the group out of the closet and through several empty hallways, all the while briefing them on the plan. They arrive at a room made to look like the Canterlot Palace throne room, only with many more guards and shades of only black. Throwing the doors open, Xena strides in. "Attention everyone! There is an urgent emergency. Lord Sulien-" "Knows exactly what you're doing." The ruby Voidwing, Lord Sulien, descends from the ceiling. "Seriously, Athanasios. You thought I wouldn't know?" With a tilt of her head, the doors out are closed and locked, and Xena is locked in with her savior... and her worst enemy. Chapter 3As they wake, the two monsters immediately know something is wrong. The forest is silent and still, but even more so than usual. They stand up and look around, searching for a hint as to what is wrong, when through the trees shine several pairs of eyes. A low growling comes from the creatures behind the eyes. "Timberwolves." Xena whispers. The wolves slowly approach, surrounding the two. Comet tenses up and charges forward, opening her wings and flapping, trying to leap over the canines but failing and falling onto a timberwolf's back, her face near its butt. The timberwolves lunge at their pack member, trying to reach Comet. "Fox! Help!" She calls out, twisting away from the snapping jaws as the timberwolf she's on twists and tries to buck her off. "My name is not 'Fox,'" Xena mutters, leaping up onto the backs of the timberwolves and running across to Comet. She helps the pegasus up and pulls her into a nearby tree. Together they scramble to the top. "It's Xena." The two try to recover their breath, panting in the darkness, the growls of the timberwolves loud below. Comet shivered and looked at Xena. "What are we going to do?" "Run." This has to be part of the trial. "And hope we survive." She looks grimly at Comet, then leaps from tree to tree, spreading her tail feathers. Comet follows behind her, albeit more clumsily. The two run away from the timberwolves as fast as they can, the pack following them in the darkness. Xena doesn't know where she's going, only that she needs to get away. Then suddenly the trees run out and they're bolting along open ground, wind streaming past them, sharp teeth just meters behind. The sky seems darker than normal and the stars fewer, but even so the outline of a pony is present ten meters on Xena's left. The pony's hoof seems to have been caught in a pile of rocks along the open ground, and as they struggle to break free the timberwolves change their course to slink forward towards the easier prey. As Xena and Comet run, they realize that they're no longer being followed. Instead, their pursuers have left them and surrounded the trapped pony. "Come on!" Comet yells, noticing that Xena has stopped and is staring at the pony. "Better her than us!" Xena shakes her head. "We should help." "Are you crazy!" Comet yells, but her cries fall on deaf ears as Xena is already bolting toward the timberwolves. She doesn't slow down and instead dashes through the circle of wolves, grabs the pony, and dashes out before the timberwolves can react. But the wolves don't remain stunned, and take chase, running after Xena and the pony. "Can you fly?" Xena asks, and the pony nods then takes off into the sky. Good, that just makes one of us now. But the wolves are after her again, and even though she escaped once, there's no trapped pony to save her. The sound of wingbeats overhead alerts Xena to Comet, flying clumsily in the air above her, and swooping down to taunt the timberwolves. "Don't worry fox, I gotcha!" Comet yells, flapping her large wings and pulling the focus off of Xena and onto her. While Comet makes herself known as the new prey, Xena scurries off to hide behind some rocks with the pony. Eventually, the timberwolves get bored with Comet's taunting and turn to look for their previous prey, but she's nowhere to be found. "Yeah, that's right, give it up jerkheads!" Comet flies around the head of the pack leader, then up into the sky to watch as the timberwolves finally leave. Once the danger has passed, she lands and looks around for Xena and the pony. From the shadows, Xena tackles Comet in a hug. "You did it! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Neither of them are used to this feeling, this... happiness, and it shows. Their hug is awkward, but heartfelt. However, the reunion is cut short by the pony trotting up to them. "Congratulations, you passed," she says. Now that they can see her clearly, it's apparent the pony has a similar sky-blue coat to Comet and a rainbow mane. "I'm sure you have questions, but right now, it's important we return to the camp." The pony turns and says, "I'm Rainbow Dash, by the way." As Rainbow Dash leads them back toward the pony camp, Xena is lost in thought. Why did I rescue her? I had the chance. I could've gotten away. But I rescued a pony. Nearby, Comet is having similar thoughts. Of all the trials, it had to be to rescue a pony? But why would they take that chance, especially if we might not have helped? Xena voices those concerns. "Rainbow, what would you have done if we hadn't saved you?" "Fly away, of course. What, you thought I would actually risk my life so you could save me?" She smirks and shrugs. "That'd be dumb." Xena and Comet glance at each other. "Are you serious-" Comet begins, before Xena cuts her off. "Why would you expect anything else? We're monsters, after all." A shiver goes up her spine. We're monsters, after all, Athanasios. The name she hasn't heard for years. The name she thought she left behind. As they walk, the small cliff in the distance gets larger as they get closer to the pony camp nestled at the base of it. But as they approach, the small group knows something is wrong. A horde of Flying Foxes have swarmed over the small town and captured the inhabitants, who are unable to resist due to having most of their magic taken from them. In the center of all that destruction is Twilight Sparkle and four other ponies, bound together and guarded by elite Flying Foxes. As Xena watches, a ruby Voidwing steps out from behind the bound ponies. "Hello, Athanasios." Chapter 5Lord Sulien lands on the floor and glares at Xena. "Why don't we tell the truth now, Athanasios? Everything." Xena shakes her head. "No. The truth is worthless here. The only thing now is for Harmony to be restored. Your little game has gone on long enough, Sulien." "Then why don't I give you one chance? One chance to restore this 'Harmony.'" Sulien strides over to the doors on the other side of the chamber and opens them, showing off what appears to be an old-fashioned camera on a tripod. "Do it. Do what you know will achieve this goal." Xena's breath catches in her throat. "You kept it?" "Of course. You know what would happen if it were to be destroyed." Sulien shrugs and steps aside. "One chance." "I- I can't." Xena hangs her head. "It's not my decision to make." Sulien waves a hoof and Twilight and her friends are seized and pinned down. "Very well. Say goodbye." "Goodbye," Xena says, then twirls and lunges at the fox holding Twilight and knocks them off. What follows next is a battle, with foxes and Voidwings all having different goals and being unsure how to proceed according to their lord's wishes. Only the ponies have a goal, which is to get to the Elements of Harmony, which are hanging behind the machine on the far side of the chamber. While all this goes on, Xena sneaks away to the machine and grabs it. This can't be used again. She takes the machine over to a window and is just about to jump out when Sulien tackles her and sends the machine flying. The two grapple with each other, both trying to keep the other from the machine. But all that stops when Xena realizes the sound of fighting has diminished to be just Xena and Sulien. Looking up, Xena realizes that the ponies have all been recaptured and Sulien was just a distraction. With a final lunge, Xena uses up all her strength to grab the machine and hug it to her chest. Sulien stands tall over Xena and looks at her guards. She nods. "Athanasios has shown where she stands. Deal with them all as traitors to the crown." Xena watches in horror as a guard prepares to snap Twilight's neck. This can't happen... She breathes in, one last time, lifts a claw, and smashes the machine. The change is immediate. Xena vanishes, the destruction of the machine keeping her alive destroying her. Sulien is the next to go, then Voidwings and Flying Foxes all around the chamber. As the effects ripple onward, all monsters made by the machine vanish into the air, as if they were never there in the first place. And soon the world is devoid of the forces that ruled it for five years. Twilight looks on in confusion and despair as she realizes what Xena did. "She... did it."
PrologueIt was a dark and stormy night in Ponyville. Well, not exactly stormy, but a with covering of clouds over the moon. So a dark and cloudy night. The colt's laugh echoed throughout the dreary attic. "Now, with my machine complete, Onyx Breeze will finally pay for bullying me!" He pulled a lever on the metal ray-gun-looking thing standing in the attic, and a beam fired at the drawing of a shining ruby pegasus whose wings seemed to be made of shadows. I opened my eyes. Wait, no. That's not right. My eyes were already open. How did they open? What was I doing here? Who was I? I had no memories, no idea of what I was doing here. I only knew that I existed. Raising a hoof, I stepped forward and collided with a machine, causing a blast of green magic to fire off and hit a wall of drawings. I could just barely see a green unicorn colt with a pair of safety goggles looking up at me with a mix of admiration and fear. My sight was still fuzzy, my eyes buzzing from just having been created. The world seemed strange, and I had a mix of belonging and strangeness. The colt began to speak- And I was overtaken by a massive wave of hatred. I felt like a monster. And suddenly I had a purpose. A single memory. Unfurling my wings I kicked, shattering a window and jumping out. My powerful wings beat the air as I soared, searching for one thing. A colt by the name of Onyx Breeze. The colt stared in amazement at where his monster used to be. "It really works..." He said, eyes shining. "It works!" He cheered, jumping up and down all over the attic. "It works." He said solemnly once more. The machine might work, but what could come of such a thing? The power to bring monsters to life... and it's already been used twice. Once to create the Voidwing, and again to create... whatever is currently sitting in the corner, whimpering. The bottom half of an eagle, the top half of a fox, and fur the color of smoke. She goes unnoticed by the colt as he slips out of the attic to sleep in his own bed, and once the room is clear of all others, slowly rises to her feet. "What am I?" Her voice is soft and smooth like a river of silk. Slowly, she approaches the broken window and her tail spreads out, the feathers forming a large platform. One claw is placed on the ledge outside, then another, and then she jumps, soars, and glides across the village toward a sprawling forest in the distance. The woods feel safe and loving. Slipping into them, her tail feathers close to become a straight line, a feathery arrow rocketing behind her. Claws crunching on fallen leaf litter, she walks through the forest. There is danger further in, but now, she is safe. Soon she comes to a cottage at the edge of the woods, and something smells delicious. Realizing it is coming from inside, she approaches and opens the door to reveal a house packed with critters of all kinds. Birds sleep in the eves, bunnies and racoons are nestled together in little beds, and all throughout the house is quiet save for the sound of snores. The fox-eagle hybrid advances through the house, climbs the stairs, and enters the bedroom where the smell is the strongest. There on the bed is a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. And she looks delicious. Unable to contain herself anymore, she jumps, her teeth sinking into the pegasus's leg. The contact draws out the horse's magic, taking it for herself. And one taste isn't enough. The monster goes on to hunt for other prey, stealing magic, hunting down prey, and eventually finding kin in the village of ponies as the Voidwing pegasus burns it to the ground. Together they leave the ravaged village, a group of monsters that have banded together. The thief, the red pegasus, and the unicorn colt with his machine. The Magic Thief A Tale of Monsters and Magic by Z
Chapter 1Their battle shakes the sky. Long ago, the two alicorns forgot to raise the sun and moon. Long ago, the stars stopped shining and the sky went dark. Long ago, most lost hope. Blasts of bright light fill the sky as they have for nearly five whole years as the titans do battle with each other. As sister fights sister in a battle to escape their prison, it seems like one might finally win. Crouched in the grass below are several lesser monsters. Flying Foxes, or Magic Thieves, will steal the magic from whoever manages to win. And soon that winner will be announced. But not today. Today, the alicorns fight like they do every day, slowly getting weaker and weaker. The magic that they have is all but spent, and they can barely keep themselves from falling into the electrified forcefield surrounding them. They have no strength left to curse the one who forces this battle, no will left to fight the spell causing them to hurt each other. They can only fight. And hope that they don't kill the other. A day later, or as close to a day as you can get with no sun to mark the passage of time, one alicorn finally gives way. She falls, both in the sky and into unconciousness. For the first time since its creation, the forcefield splits open, allowing her the loser and winner to drop to the barren ground below. The winner feels relief wash over her as the spell is lifted, then dread as she realizes what she's done. "Sister..." is the only word she's able to get out before the Flying Foxes swarm the two, each of them hungry for a bite of alicorn magic. Among those is the first fox, the one known for aiding in the destruction of Ponyville and the beginning of this nightmare. Five years feels like a long time. For five years she's been trying to survive and figure out her place in this hellscape like all others. Of the twenty or so Flying Foxes who came to watch the battle today in hopes of finding a meal, only five manage to take a piece of magic for themselves. And once the two sisters are drained dry, one spends their last moments looking at the other's closed eyes. Five years is a long time to have survived this. They were among the lucky ones. Lucky. Nothing feels lucky about this. Xena, as she calls herself, for she feels like a stranger in this world, slowly left the site of the princesses' death. Since as far back as she can remember, Xena has been running. First from Ponyville's ashes, then from the machine, and finally from Magnum's twisted ideals. And now she breaks into a run, running from the deaths she was a part of causing. She runs for as long as she can before slowing to a jog, then finally a walk, then when she feels as though she can't go any longer and the sight of the dead alicorns is way past the horizon, she collapses. Barren earth beneath her fur and feathers, Xena breathes, trying to summon enough strength to find shelter. Nearby is a blackened and burnt copse of trees, and she drags herself over there, laying down in the darker shadows. She curls up into a ball and shivers. The world is always cold, but today it feels colder than usual. After a short nap, I'll find a better resting place and plan my next meal, she tells herself. She falls asleep and dreams. But without Luna to moderate them, almost all dreams turn to nightmares. An azure blue Voidwing pegasus slowly trots across the blank earth. She passes ashy tree stumps, scorched rock, and crumbling black grass. Her eyes see perfectly in the obsidian black environment, and so it is no surprise that her vision catches a Flying Fox resting in a copse of trees. Flying Foxes. The bane of all magical creatures. One of the more dangerous species in the apocalypse, fighting one was a sure trip to the afterlife. You'd exhaust yourself fighting them, they'd drain your magic, and you'd be left to die, miles from the nearest friendly face. But this one didn't seem dangerous. No, Comet! Don't let its appearance fool you! She internally chides herself. She was on a mission, to find a new place to live. Maybe one where she could meet ponies who could cure her. And a Flying Fox's head might help with that goal. Slowly Comet creeps over to the fox-eagle hybrid. She raises a hoof, preparing to bring it down and strike, when the fox's eyes suddenly fly open. Xena lets out an involuntary yip. "Who are you?" She asks in surprise, jumping to her feet. She's slightly shorter than the Voidwing, her black eyes narrowing at her attacker. "I don't have to answer to you, fox. Now tell me who you are and what you're doing out here." The pegasus answers, bringing her hoof down on one of Xena's claws. "Jerk," she mutters, pulling her claw away before Comet can stomp on it. "I'm trying to find a place to live, for your information. However, I am getting hungry. And you look like you might make a good source of magic." While this may not be true, Xena could always use a meal. Especially since she didn't know when the next one might arrive. Comet's eyes widen and she backs away. "Okay, okay, I'm going. No need to-" her words are interrupted by a loud thud and a growl behind her. Turning to look, she sees a massive blood-red dragon. "D-dr-dragon!" She exclaims. "You're sharp," Xena mutters. "Now run." She turns and sprints across the copse of trees and out the other side, Comet hot on her heels and the dragon close behind. There aren't many obstacles she can use to distance them from their pursuer, but she runs anyways. The dragon is slowly catching up, and she's slowly tiring out, and- Without warning, the two go tumbling headfirst off a cliff.
Chapter 2The cliff isn't too tall, only about a hundred feet. Below is a collection of sharp rocks and more dry ground. Their pursuer opens his wings and lazily floats down, waiting for them to break their bones on the ground and become easy prey. Xena spreads her tail feathers to slow her fall, and notices that the Voidwing isn't doing anything similar. Instead, she's screaming her head off. "Help! Fox! Help!" She manages to choke out. Closing her feathers, Xena dives for the pegasus. She latches on to Comet and reopens her feathers. They spiral down to the ground and land in a heap, faces close and breathing hard. Comet shrieks and scrambles out from underneath Xena. "Well. that's one way to treat someone who saved your life," Xena remarks. "Why can't you fly?" Before Comet can reply, a blast of fire scorches her back and she screams, twisting away from the flames and falling to the ground. The dragon growls and readies another blast of flame before an arrow lodges into his underbelly. Approaching from behind a rock is a lavender unicorn with a navy, pink, and purple mane. She has a quiver of arrows on her back and a bow in her hoof. Quickly, before Xena or Comet can react, several more arrows find their way to the dragon's wings and head. She seems to not have noticed the two smaller monsters and continues firing away until the dragon has retreated. Once it's gone she looks directly at Comet and Xena and holds an arrow in the bow. "You have five seconds before I fire." "Please don't hurt us!" Comet throws herself on the ground and covers her head with her wings. "We were just running from the dragon! We didn't know there were ponies nearby!" Xena rolls her eyes. "It's almost like you're not a monster at all," she mutters. "Look, uni. I'm gonna be honest with you. Either you run along back to your hovel, or you get drained." The unicorn stares defiantly at her, then turns and trots away. "You should go. Monsters aren't really welcome where I live." That was a surprise. Xena thought. Ponies don't usually just go... especially without a fight. "Well, at least tell us your name," she said, running up to the unicorn. "Twilight Sparkle." She replies. "But please. I don't want you to get hurt if you follow me. You seem nice, so for both our sakes, stay alive." "Come on, Uni!" Comet says, coming up on the other side of Twilight. "I don't care about the fox, but I need a place to live." "Yeah, come on. We can hunt and work and be helpful." Xena adds. "Just give us a chance." "I don't need you around," Comet snarls. "Try and survive without me," Xena scoffs. "Stop it." Twilight puts in. "If you really want to come, you have to promise. By your death will you defend ponykind and promise never to hurt a pony again in your life?" She stops walking and turns to look at them both. "I promise," Xena says, placing a paw to her heart. "No ponies of yours will be drained by me." Comet rolls her eyes. "Seriously, can you trust a fox?" "I am willing to try. In this age, trust is long and little between. We all must try." The Voidwing snorted but put in her word that she would never harm a pony. Twilight still seemed skeptical, but she led the two monsters through the rocks alongside the cliff. Soon they came to a corner, and as they turned, she warned them to stay out of the village while she went to talk to the settlement's leaders. "They'll listen to me, but there's no need to cause a panic." Xena and Comet obliged, but as Twilight entered the small collection of boulders they were confused. Then when she seemingly disappeared into one they realized. It was some kind of illusion, protecting the ponies from the monsters that roamed the wastelands. There were a few tense moments as the two waited, then Twilight came back out. "You're free to live with us, but first you have to pass a trial." She told them, approaching the two. "It will take place in the forest over there." She pointed to a collection of ashy trees. "You are to fall asleep there." "Well, this is strange," Xena says. The two were lying on their backs in the forest, black trees spiraling up to the blank sky above. "I wonder what the trial will include." "We'll find out if you shut up and let us go to sleep," Comet mutters. Xena sighs and curls up, her back pressed against Comet's for warmth.
Chapter 4"Now, that's a name I haven't heard in a while," Xena says, trying to stay calm, but on the inside she's burning with fear and worry. How did she find her? "What did you want with me, Sulien? Feeling nostalgic?" Lord Sulien scowls. "You know exactly what I want, Athanasios. I want what belongs to me." "And that includes those ponies you've bound and are about to torture?" I point to Twilight and the ponies she's with. "You know what I mean." Sulien growls. "The machine is mine, and by extension, everything it has created." "What does she mean?" Comet whispers in Xena's ear as ponies and foxes alike look strangely at Sulien and Xena. "You belong to the Lord of Monsters?" Xena sighs. "Technically, yes. But I do not follow those laws. I do not obey the principal of the machine. And I will not be forced back into serving her." She annouces loudly, pushing her words over the crowds of ponies and foxes. Xena strides forward and in one swift motion, slices the rope binding Twilight Sparkle. "I am not your puppet, Sulien. I am my own fox." Sulien nods. "You are allowed to make your own choices. But all choices have consequences..." And lunges at Xena, her teeth bared and ready to sink into her throat. The two fall to the ground, clawing and pushing. Finally they break apart, Xena covered with scratches and bruises and Sulien barely touched except for some dirt on her coat. "Pathetic. I really expected better from you, Athanasios." Sulien shrugs and turns to her guard foxes, who have recovered the ponies and taken Rainbow Dash into captivity as well. "Take them all into captivity. The ponies to the farms, and the monsters to me." The foxes nod and pick Xena up, loosly binding her and pushing her into a wheel-less wagon. Comet soon joins her, along with several other Flying Foxes, and the Voidwings at the front take off. The ride to Sulien's domain was long and boring, and both Xena and Comet fell asleep. When they wake up, they find themselves to be in seperate dungeon cells deep below the surface of Equestria. Xena bolts upright and springs to her feet. "Comet! Wake up!" Comet yawns and slowly rises to her hooves. "What is it, fox." "I know how to get out of here, get to where they're keeping Twilight, and get away." "And how would you know that?" Comet asks, suspicion evident on her face. "Because I used to work here. Now let's go." Xena pulls at the iron cell bars while also sliding in just the right way that they shift. Purposeful design flaw, but it can only be executed by Flying Foxes. She opens her and Comet's cells and leads them up out of the dungeon, through a surprisingly large and seemingly abandoned palace made of black stone, and out into a massive glass dome. Inside is a small village surrounded by ponies farming small patches of barren land and being watched over by Flying Foxes. Along one side is a line of ponies and Flying Foxes, the foxes draining the ponies of their magic. "It's a farm." Comet whispers. "And the ponies are okay with this?" "It's this or die, so yeah. Most are." Xena leads Comet through the small farms and clouds of ponies farming them to where she knows new arrivals will be. Twilight and her friends are over there in a crowd of ponies, most of which are from the village Xena caused to be destroyed. I did this, didn't I? She thinks. "Twilight, Rainbow, come here." She says in an official voice, the voice she used to use when she worked here. Rainbow glares at her and separates herself from the crowd to confront Xena. "If you want her magic, you'll have to go through me." Xena shrugs. "If you don't want help, continue on like that." She whispers so that only Rainbow and Comet can hear. "Okay, but you need to include all my friends," Rainbow says, pointing to several ponies in the crowd: a white unicorn, a yellow pegasus, and two earth ponies, one pink and one orange. Nodding, Xena points to the ponies Rainbow pointed out. "And those." The ponies look at each other and trot over to Xena. "Rainbow, who is this?" The white unicorn says to her friend. Twilight introduces the other ponies. "Now, what is it you wanted with us?" "Silence prisoner," Xena says with a wink, then leads the six ponies and one Voidwing out of the farm and into a small closet nearby. "Now we can talk." There's a way to make all this go away... but it would kill us. "I can get you all out, but... that won't solve anything long-term." "As long as foxes need magic, ponies will always be in danger," Comet says. "If it was possible to get rid of that desire..." "Or get rid of Flying Foxes entirely." Rainbow put in. "Rainbow might be onto something. Foxes are the largest source of danger for ponies and the main thing preventing us from living like we used to." Twilight says. "If we had the Elements of Harmony we might be able to do something about it, but none of us know exactly how they work." "Elements of Harmony?" Xena asks in surprise. "I know how to get to them. But what would they do?" "Restore harmony silly!" Pinkie says, swinging a hoof around Xena's shoulders. "The world would go back to normal!" Xena nods. "I know what to do." She leads the group out of the closet and through several empty hallways, all the while briefing them on the plan. They arrive at a room made to look like the Canterlot Palace throne room, only with many more guards and shades of only black. Throwing the doors open, Xena strides in. "Attention everyone! There is an urgent emergency. Lord Sulien-" "Knows exactly what you're doing." The ruby Voidwing, Lord Sulien, descends from the ceiling. "Seriously, Athanasios. You thought I wouldn't know?" With a tilt of her head, the doors out are closed and locked, and Xena is locked in with her savior... and her worst enemy.
Chapter 3As they wake, the two monsters immediately know something is wrong. The forest is silent and still, but even more so than usual. They stand up and look around, searching for a hint as to what is wrong, when through the trees shine several pairs of eyes. A low growling comes from the creatures behind the eyes. "Timberwolves." Xena whispers. The wolves slowly approach, surrounding the two. Comet tenses up and charges forward, opening her wings and flapping, trying to leap over the canines but failing and falling onto a timberwolf's back, her face near its butt. The timberwolves lunge at their pack member, trying to reach Comet. "Fox! Help!" She calls out, twisting away from the snapping jaws as the timberwolf she's on twists and tries to buck her off. "My name is not 'Fox,'" Xena mutters, leaping up onto the backs of the timberwolves and running across to Comet. She helps the pegasus up and pulls her into a nearby tree. Together they scramble to the top. "It's Xena." The two try to recover their breath, panting in the darkness, the growls of the timberwolves loud below. Comet shivered and looked at Xena. "What are we going to do?" "Run." This has to be part of the trial. "And hope we survive." She looks grimly at Comet, then leaps from tree to tree, spreading her tail feathers. Comet follows behind her, albeit more clumsily. The two run away from the timberwolves as fast as they can, the pack following them in the darkness. Xena doesn't know where she's going, only that she needs to get away. Then suddenly the trees run out and they're bolting along open ground, wind streaming past them, sharp teeth just meters behind. The sky seems darker than normal and the stars fewer, but even so the outline of a pony is present ten meters on Xena's left. The pony's hoof seems to have been caught in a pile of rocks along the open ground, and as they struggle to break free the timberwolves change their course to slink forward towards the easier prey. As Xena and Comet run, they realize that they're no longer being followed. Instead, their pursuers have left them and surrounded the trapped pony. "Come on!" Comet yells, noticing that Xena has stopped and is staring at the pony. "Better her than us!" Xena shakes her head. "We should help." "Are you crazy!" Comet yells, but her cries fall on deaf ears as Xena is already bolting toward the timberwolves. She doesn't slow down and instead dashes through the circle of wolves, grabs the pony, and dashes out before the timberwolves can react. But the wolves don't remain stunned, and take chase, running after Xena and the pony. "Can you fly?" Xena asks, and the pony nods then takes off into the sky. Good, that just makes one of us now. But the wolves are after her again, and even though she escaped once, there's no trapped pony to save her. The sound of wingbeats overhead alerts Xena to Comet, flying clumsily in the air above her, and swooping down to taunt the timberwolves. "Don't worry fox, I gotcha!" Comet yells, flapping her large wings and pulling the focus off of Xena and onto her. While Comet makes herself known as the new prey, Xena scurries off to hide behind some rocks with the pony. Eventually, the timberwolves get bored with Comet's taunting and turn to look for their previous prey, but she's nowhere to be found. "Yeah, that's right, give it up jerkheads!" Comet flies around the head of the pack leader, then up into the sky to watch as the timberwolves finally leave. Once the danger has passed, she lands and looks around for Xena and the pony. From the shadows, Xena tackles Comet in a hug. "You did it! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Neither of them are used to this feeling, this... happiness, and it shows. Their hug is awkward, but heartfelt. However, the reunion is cut short by the pony trotting up to them. "Congratulations, you passed," she says. Now that they can see her clearly, it's apparent the pony has a similar sky-blue coat to Comet and a rainbow mane. "I'm sure you have questions, but right now, it's important we return to the camp." The pony turns and says, "I'm Rainbow Dash, by the way." As Rainbow Dash leads them back toward the pony camp, Xena is lost in thought. Why did I rescue her? I had the chance. I could've gotten away. But I rescued a pony. Nearby, Comet is having similar thoughts. Of all the trials, it had to be to rescue a pony? But why would they take that chance, especially if we might not have helped? Xena voices those concerns. "Rainbow, what would you have done if we hadn't saved you?" "Fly away, of course. What, you thought I would actually risk my life so you could save me?" She smirks and shrugs. "That'd be dumb." Xena and Comet glance at each other. "Are you serious-" Comet begins, before Xena cuts her off. "Why would you expect anything else? We're monsters, after all." A shiver goes up her spine. We're monsters, after all, Athanasios. The name she hasn't heard for years. The name she thought she left behind. As they walk, the small cliff in the distance gets larger as they get closer to the pony camp nestled at the base of it. But as they approach, the small group knows something is wrong. A horde of Flying Foxes have swarmed over the small town and captured the inhabitants, who are unable to resist due to having most of their magic taken from them. In the center of all that destruction is Twilight Sparkle and four other ponies, bound together and guarded by elite Flying Foxes. As Xena watches, a ruby Voidwing steps out from behind the bound ponies. "Hello, Athanasios."
Chapter 5Lord Sulien lands on the floor and glares at Xena. "Why don't we tell the truth now, Athanasios? Everything." Xena shakes her head. "No. The truth is worthless here. The only thing now is for Harmony to be restored. Your little game has gone on long enough, Sulien." "Then why don't I give you one chance? One chance to restore this 'Harmony.'" Sulien strides over to the doors on the other side of the chamber and opens them, showing off what appears to be an old-fashioned camera on a tripod. "Do it. Do what you know will achieve this goal." Xena's breath catches in her throat. "You kept it?" "Of course. You know what would happen if it were to be destroyed." Sulien shrugs and steps aside. "One chance." "I- I can't." Xena hangs her head. "It's not my decision to make." Sulien waves a hoof and Twilight and her friends are seized and pinned down. "Very well. Say goodbye." "Goodbye," Xena says, then twirls and lunges at the fox holding Twilight and knocks them off. What follows next is a battle, with foxes and Voidwings all having different goals and being unsure how to proceed according to their lord's wishes. Only the ponies have a goal, which is to get to the Elements of Harmony, which are hanging behind the machine on the far side of the chamber. While all this goes on, Xena sneaks away to the machine and grabs it. This can't be used again. She takes the machine over to a window and is just about to jump out when Sulien tackles her and sends the machine flying. The two grapple with each other, both trying to keep the other from the machine. But all that stops when Xena realizes the sound of fighting has diminished to be just Xena and Sulien. Looking up, Xena realizes that the ponies have all been recaptured and Sulien was just a distraction. With a final lunge, Xena uses up all her strength to grab the machine and hug it to her chest. Sulien stands tall over Xena and looks at her guards. She nods. "Athanasios has shown where she stands. Deal with them all as traitors to the crown." Xena watches in horror as a guard prepares to snap Twilight's neck. This can't happen... She breathes in, one last time, lifts a claw, and smashes the machine. The change is immediate. Xena vanishes, the destruction of the machine keeping her alive destroying her. Sulien is the next to go, then Voidwings and Flying Foxes all around the chamber. As the effects ripple onward, all monsters made by the machine vanish into the air, as if they were never there in the first place. And soon the world is devoid of the forces that ruled it for five years. Twilight looks on in confusion and despair as she realizes what Xena did. "She... did it."
