Memories Of The Flask

Chapters

Once A Dream Did Weave A Shade
An Emmet Lost Its Way Where On Grass It Never Laid
Troubled Wildered And Forlorn, Dark Benighted Travel Worn
Over Many a Tangled Spray
Innocence Lost
All Heart Broke I heard Her Say.
Pet Project: Our Town
Log 01
A Prelude To The Vitrification Order
It All Returns To Nothing
It All Comes Tumbling Down
Out Of Darkness
A Study in: Survivability
Royal Decree
Sloth, The Cat
A Spellcasters Promise
There'll Be Another Time.
A Legend For The Future
Time Passes On.
Tear Stained Texts [End]
[Bonus Chapter] Another Time.
And So, My World Turned Black.
Excerpt From Strandings Bestiary
A Hidden Letter
A Paper Burnt Strangely.
Chipped Shields Log

Once A Dream Did Weave A Shade

It wasn't what I was expecting, I will admit that and that alone. Anything else would be lies.

There was an attempt on gauging the risk of black magic compared to dark magic, I will be distinguishing the two in the inevitable event that these notes are stolen or otherwise retrieved on a day when I am no longer around to withhold them. The method of gauging this risk was by combining a cousin of the self-destructive antithesis of harmonious magic with a procured sample of myself. The study had briefly halted until the knowledge of a most rare visitor had stumbled upon me, a zebracorn potion-maker returning from Zebrica had crossed my path, specifically an alchemist who had nearly perfected a transmutation of a base lead into noble gold. He had vented his frustrations to me about being unable to cut magic out of the process while we were passing notes.

Moving forward, my theory was that the power behind this volatile magic could be safely used if one were to give it a material to sacrifice instead of the user. A specially blended restorative potion was to increase the durability of the material, housed in a glass container lined with protective mages silver, both to keep it from shattering and expelling magic from a focus created by and functioning both with life, mana, and the dark arts.

I had started with light work, beginning with telekinesis as a type of calibration. If I felt a strain, then clearly the shadow was not being drawn from the focus. There was a success, no harm had come to me. Shortly after, I casted a teleportation spell on a small object.

Attempting to cast a spell consumed the focus entirely, and the simple teleportation spell that was to be cast on a flower blossom was twisted. How this occurred, I am uncertain. Perhaps an arithmetic error or the sample was not in large enough quantity.

But one of these errors created life. Not only is that a dreadful existential prospect, but what was supposed to be a flower teleported into a corked round bottom flask resulted in a shadowy gaseous orb contained within it instead, with distance from the glass one to two drams liquid, or about an inch. I had discarded it and left it aside in the sunlight to focus on what had gone wrong, what I had made, and the creation of proper disposal for it and any future magical mishaps. The consequences of such a thing breaching containment could be disastrous.

...

I have created something alive, and I am afraid that my previous statement is false. I did not create it, or perhaps I did, but it claims to have been dreaming before it 'woke up in the flask. A being with the personality of a child contained in a flask, or it could be a child. Of what species, I do not know, it is entirely possible that only its consciousness was pulled, and elsewhere across the world or perhaps time, a mother and father are grieving. I cant bear to see it look at me. It's too much.

I am afraid of what this entails, and of what this means. As bitter as I can be, I am not so far gone that I can merely displace it to the void it came from when it is in essence, a foal. Nor do I have the power to send it back to where I have displaced it from. I am fortunate, that it does not hunger or thirst for anything more than a meaningful conversation and an occasional change of position around the lab. Initially, this had distressed it, lending more credence to the theory that this being was pulled from elsewhere, but I was able to distract it with various equipment I had laying around.

It is childish in personality, but is observant, always watching, and takes a genuine interest in my studies and my work, once even recognizing what I was doing before it asked me to explain. Its proposal of a tiny thing that makes up the world, an atom, and the supposedly many elements that make the world, gives me pause to think about how much this being knows and why it divulges its knowledge. As a result of this, I had temporarily postponed writing these notes in the hopes of more findings to add, but I have nothing new. The only new knowledge is that it either cannot read common Equestrian, or simply does not know the Equestrian alphabet.

No matter how studious I can be, I will always be ill-equipped to deal with children, and I doubt that having magically created a child of dubious origin will sit well with Clover or the two alicorns I have been tasked with teaching. At best, It'll make me the object of their ridicule for days.

I am returning to these notes after a night of rest, now realizing the rash decisions I've made when I had gone without rest. I should have heeded my apprentice about those potions.

I am unsure if it is healthy or not, as it is completely featureless. If I were a better philosopher I would dare to call this living liquid the darkness behind innocence, or perhaps the innocence in the darkness. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, this is proving to be a step in the right direction for my research. When I am better collected, I will transcribe the construction process of the shade focus to these notes.

I must find a method to detect its status, whether or not it can feel pain or simply knows what it is, but cannot experience it, or if it can become, or currently is, ill. Caring for magical life truly could never be more complicated than raising a foal.

. . .

I decide to rescind my previous statement. My current students had arrived whilst I was indisposed in a subsection of the laboratory and had decided to handle the entity.

Magical life is not less or equally complicated, it is more complicated with the addition of two mares that seem to forget the basics of lab safety. Luna had taken an interest in it, and took its vessel when the entity was in what could be colloquially called sleep, and then startled it, near resulting in shattering its container when she too was startled by its muffled shouts and proclamations of an intruder.

I should have warned it that we had guests over.

There is nothing I can do now, despite my experience even I cannot rival the raw strength of an alicorn, let alone dare to play tug of war with a living being in the telekinetic grasp of one. Only through threats of arithmetic labor and the entities cries to be released did I assuage Celestia into returning it to me.

The two are curious, they'll be excellent mares in the future, I'm sure of it.

Our conversation was not much to ink over, but the flask did take an interest in our talks. It seems it understood numbers and equations but did not understand magic, spell patterns, and Harmony, the simple aspects that made up magic and its very being were completely unknown to it. It was also during this conversation that we did discover it had a name that I've been neglecting to ask or use; Alyosha.

My students have given me much to think about, and have given me ideas as to what to do with Alyosha, with its express permission. I will, however, put more time into finding a suitable punishment for Luna's comment about telling me to get a mare.

I have placed Alyosha near one of the small distilling projects I have ongoing. Another well-rested day has thrown quite a few ideas in flame.

Alyosha will die instantaneously upon leaving the flask. The reasoning for this is that it is a being of disharmony that teeters between being able to exist in our harmonious mana field and being assimilated and annihilated by it. The only barrier between its cessation of existence is the magical vacuum inside its flask. I should find a way to make its container stronger without magic, and if I cannot make its container stronger, then I need to find a way to swap the containers. If it acts like a liquid then all I need is to create a vacuum of magic and a method of unsealing the flask, which could be done in all manner of ways.

This is a pressing task, and I have added a cushion to Alyosha, in the hopes to prevent a fatality whenever it is unattended.

I have yet to inform them of what I am doing, It would be unhealthy for them to be made aware of just how fragile they are. Today they asked if they could be released from the container, and I had to come up with a clever half-truth. Typically Clover would be doing this sort of thing.

I told them I was trying to make them a body, I did not tell them that a single exposure to the air beyond the flask would erase them from existence.

They have begun to take an interest in my work again. It seems they are curious as to how I can make them a vessel, I am too. Artificial life is not something the average equine has an interest in.

I have noticed that these notes are lacking in anything about research, so I will elaborate more on what I have learned.

The being I pulled into reality is Alyosha and appears to present itself as a young colt if the voice is of any indication.
It does not hunger or thirst and is a black mass without any sort of identifying features except for a single yellow glowing eye with slotted pupils.

I believe that the flower was consumed in an infinite feedback loop as a result of the lack of negative emotions to draw from. Because of this the ambient magic as well as my own was used. The teleport likely broke this loop and turned the flower and mana in its teleport destination into a vacuum, which allowed for pure darkness to appear in its stead.

I still don't understand how it became conscious.

In other news, Luna will be visiting again tomorrow with her theory on Alyosha. Hopefully with fewer comments about a marefriend.

We're finally getting somewhere. Since a flower was used as the catalyst for bringing them, we should use plant material for creating a new vessel for them.

We aren't entirely sure on the specifics yet, but we may be able to simplify from constructing a hard vessel to making a self-repairing body similar to a ponies. Like a bag that mended itself before its contents spilled.

I've chosen various species, orchids, poison jokes, and roses, and Luna seems to have found a simple moon blossom and a buttercup on Celestia's behalf. Celestia was unable to come today, and I doubt the little mana-born would appreciate her. It confided in me a feeling of burning near them, perhaps the wards on the vessel are fading slowly over time, letting the ambient magical field bleed back in. It was that or maybe Celestia and Luna bled ambient that the shade would be sensitive to, with Luna's magic likely being non-damaging to Alyosha.

Speaking of magical fields, the consequences of dropping Alyosha seems to be that outside of being erased from existence, there could be a minor chance that he would have the strength to overcome the ambient magical field that surrounds us and absorb it, becoming stronger. This could potentially lead to a world shrouded in darkness.

Let's just keep them in a vessel. Any type, just no direct contact with the world.

There have been rumors of a full moon increasing the volatility of a spell cast through dark means, I'm not one for rumors, let alone researching one, but this does fall under the research I was working on before. There will be one tonight, and I will see what this does to our guest.

He seems to be entering a bout of depression, and I am doing my best to finish the basics of the vessel. The princesses arrived today, and it seems that him being able to talk to someone new has helped, but Alyosha still seems distant.

...

I finished it. My two students helped, and worked on their respective plants. We'll just see which one works later today.

...

I was unable to make the change in vessels in the day and was going to do so before sunrise before I heard scratching.

Coming from his flask.

I had moved to investigate but was caught off guard by the tortured wailing that was coming muffled through the glass, those cries were louder than anything I've heard, and they were muffled by thin glass, as if Alyosha was doing his best to not show their pain.

He was boiling under the increased presence of harmonious energy with the influence of the moon. Simply put, thaumic pressure was crushing the weak spell matrix that made up his physical form.

There's no activity from him at all, he just stopped entirely with the sunrise.

I will move them to a new container at once. It's a gamble, but I hope for the best.

It is a new sunrise, there has been no new activity from the flower.

Examining the flask Alyosha was contained in has yielded some information, mainly the intense magical trace left behind on the glass. Typically there would be signs of a faded or damaged spell-matrix, but it's as if it's been baked into the glass, much like a ceramist fires a glaze in a kiln. Trying to unwind a small amount of it has proven either impossible or difficult, as it seems to tighten its matrix in response to an outside force. It's somehow stable, yet completely volatile at the same time, shifting in intensity in response to any sort of magical influence.

I'm not sure what the possible applications of this could be, possibly this could be used to create a much more sensitive thaumic detector.

Small victories.

I will check on them again later tonight, and once more at sunrise.

The flower's gone.

...

It's still gone. It hasn't turned up yet. What do I tell the others?

Calm down Starswirl, take a step back. This is not a time to panic. I felt my horn hum with a spell. The last time I came up with anything in the moment it resulted in Alyosha. Here's hoping it brings them back.

I know that gem-seekers have a spell to aid their duties, with some modification to what is a valid target and the traces in the flask, I can find them. This is not yet hopeless. Casting the spell in various places around the tower I felt my magic drain, hastily made spells always did this.
I took a sip of water as I waited for the bounce back of another trace. The flask bounced back, but so did something else, another presence somewhere in the lower levels of the tower. Or possibly all around. Spell needs more tuning, how can it possibly be...

Everywhere?

...

The flower is gone, Alyosha is not. A mass of flowers revealed itself to be creeping up on every wall and object in the laboratory beneath me, and his favorite window. I am not counting this a success yet, but I feel slight comfort in knowing that the first scenario did not come true.

I am deeply disturbed if the second one is fated to be the outcome.

An Emmet Lost Its Way Where On Grass It Never Laid

"Concealed within shadows, these beings are known to hide among the living force, and are comprised entirely of black magic. They are solitary creatures, but can be known to be highly vocal... When alone in an area known to be populated by these beings, it is considered unwise to ignore the voices creeping into your head. Good or bad."
-Unknown

...

It's so nice to have a body again. But I don't think I'll ever get used to this feeling of being... Flat. It's like I'm stretched out to my limit everywhere, just wrapped around things like a sheet of ribbon.

I felt a pulse of magic reveal me, and a voice followed after it. "Alright. Alyosha, you may come out now."

I formed up a mass of magical flowers and possessed an old cloak, it lacked the purples and patterns of Starswirl's attire, instead being a drab olive green that had been quilted repeatedly. Not that I minded. Do you want to know what's worse though? Being almost killed by the thing you're made up of.
"So when am I going to ever be introduced to Clover instead of slinking away? Y'know I bet Luna or Celestia's told them of what you've been up to." I questioned, hovering around the laboratory. It seemed so much smaller now that I could move around, and I think because of that Starswirls started hiding his experiments now that I can accidentally wreck one.

Not that it ever happened, I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I messed up an experiment. I hate breaking lab safety, magical or mundane.

"When it's time. Perish the thought, Alyosha, I've had enough of Luna's jabs about maidenlessness."

"Well, maybe if you didn't get into dark magic you wouldn't be getting told to get some-" I paused, seeing Starswirls horn light up. "Don't. You. Dare."

"As I stated, perish the thought." He grumbled, an edge in his voice. I grumbled too and begrudgingly let it be, but I'll remember this next time he needs something from me. I hate when he does that. "In any case, you'll likely not be the last to say that. We have more visits later in the day." Oh, visits?

"Am I going to have to hide again? Who's showing up?" I asked. My flowers shifted, and disappeared from view, they were still there, just invisible and ethereal until a strong enough signal pulled them back out.

"Heavens no." Starswirl heartily replied, and then he quieted down as he tampered with a boiling flask. "Luna is visiting, and so is Celestia. They're eager for lessons, and to see the fruit of their labor as they assisted in making you a vessel."

Oh. So that's how they got this done on such short notice. I think. Giving me a body was sudden. "I'll have to thank them later then." I had tried to ask before, about what had happened for me to wake up like this, but he got quiet whenever I tried to bring it up, so I stopped trying. Everything's just been a hazy blur with flashes. "Starswirl?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I'm able to eat in this form?"

Wind flowed through the meadow along with the chill of a fading winter, rustling leaves and long grass. It was quiet this far out, with exception of the occasional traveler making themselves known by taking the stone path. The road did lead to a main town, but it wasn't commonly used.

The sun hung high in the sky, just slightly beginning to lower, marking the beginning of the evening.
"Tia, were you not listening again?" Luna chided, huffing a bit. It was just like her sister to space out.
"What- No! Of course I was Lulu!"

"Really?" Luna stopped infront of Celestia, giving an annoyed huff. "What were we talking about then?"

"You were talking about... Ah.."

"Yes sister? Go on."

"About ah.. Al.. Alyosha? Right?" The white alicorn replied with a sheepish smile. "T'was a lucky guess, sister." The steps picked up again as the pair of sisters continued their light trot to Starswirls tower, stepping on the cobbled path as it came into view merging alongside the dirt path. "I'll refresh you about it again, but please, listen! I will not be able to repeat everything for you all the time."

"It's not that bad! I... I know that we were talking about the experiment for Starswirl, with the flowers? I'm sorry I wasn't there for that, it might have been interesting."

"Correct, it was a fascinating experience. I wasn't allowed to come up with the finished product, though. Master Starswirl wouldn't allow it. Anyways- those flowers are to help Alyosha get a new body! I can't imagine how that will work, do you think he'll possess one? Like one of those mana cores used in those little wands they sell as trinkets?"

"Or an animated puppet. A wand would not have been my first thought but I understand. So those flowers are to be a medium for him to interact with our world?"

"So you did pay attention!" Luna exclaimed

"I'm not that forgetful!" Celestia insisted, upping the pace for a moment to walk off her annoyance. "What I don't get is why flowers? Why not a gem?"

"Starswirl said that they might not bond properly and that it was best to use a material similar to what he used to make him." The night sister paused and gently rubbed her chin thoughtfully with her frog. Was make the right word? Alyosha might be artificial, but there was no denying that his feelings were genuine.

"One would think he'd have found somepony instead of trying to make a foal in a lab." Celestia murmured to herself, staring up at the tall tower that stood defiantly in the forest. Its height dared against gravity as it was not only built with magic, but with as many architectural techniques and modern materials that a pile of bits and time could muster.

"I KNOW! We have said the same thing too, but he insists that it was an accident and that he won't hear it!" Luna stopped in front of her sister, flaring her wings out. Finally, somepony else was catching on!

"A bit harsh to call a foal an accident. Perhaps Master Starswirl would be better off in a lab than with a mare. Still, even if he escaped from a furious mare he definitely has not escaped your lickerish humor, Lulu." The two sisters shared a short giggle before a golden glow opened the heavy wooden door. The first floor was not much to look at, it was simple, inviting, and bare of any sort of hazardous experiments and fragile material. It was safe.

It was also the only place to have a light snack without descending several flights of stairs, something she took advantage of before commencing the trek upward. Monotonous hoof steps flooded the stairwell as Celestia felt as if something was watching her, just a faint pressure that she decided to not comment on. It might just be part of another experiment, like a gravity spell of some kind. "Starswirl? We are coming up!" Celestia called out, quickly glancing at Luna "Luna do you remember what floor he said he'd be on?" "The fifteenth floor, possibly."

Celestia grit her teeth with as much refinement and grace as possible. More walking...

"What have we learned from this experiment Alyosha?"

"That I can't eat, and should never be allowed near magical items." The spell-child said dejectedly. Admittedly walking in on your mentor chastising a talking mass of flowers is not what one typically expects, much less so when there's potting soil, unusual liquids, and broken glass on the floor. Somehow the only undamaged part of the laboratory was a glass teacup, seeming half empty. "For now, Alyosha. For now." Starswirl said with a faint smile.

"Celestia, Luna, it is good to see you. Alyosha and I were merely... Well, it has gone awry and I am in dire need of clean-up." Starswirl turned and greeted the sisters, trailing off and deciding to let the obvious mess answer for itself. Sighing, he continued. "Head into the adjacent room, you can converse with Alyosha while I fix this."

"Very well Master Starswirl." Celestia replied. She felt unease drip across her spine, her sister seemed completely fine, entirely unaware of the weighted presence in the room. Maybe she was just more sensitive to these things? She had half a mind to tell Starswirl, but she had faith in her mentor to have already realized this and to be working to a resolution.
"Don't look so glum sister! We have bested the stairs and may rest!" came the sudden celebrational cry of Luna, who was already following a cloak held up by a gently glowing mass to a doorway off to the right. Luna was right, there was rest to be had and a conversation to strike up with the mysterious new spell-born! Admittedly she and the flask-child had not gotten off to a good start, but now she could hopefully start anew as equals.

Which also meant not calling them spell-born or flask-child, it- THEY- Had a name, and no matter how much Luna might have believed such a title to be inspiring or 'awesome', she could not help but feel that perhaps it could be interpreted as degrading.

"We had heard of good news, Celestia! This calls for celebration! Bring out the fine wine! Toast to our friends new body!"
"Luna, we don't even have access to wine. We're here as students, not town merrymakers!" She snapped at her sister, she understood it was in good fun but stars above- she could be too much. And besides. "Alyosha likely isn't even old enough to have a drink. I know mother was surprisingly stingy with her cup the entire time we knew her."

Luna slumped in an unbecoming matter into her seat, the mood only slightly grounded by the voice of reason. "She has a point. I don't think you should be drinking when you're about to be learning. How will you remember what you did after? Your notes!" Came the feathery voice from underneath the cloak. Where the hood was, were flowers that glowed a brilliant blue, sometimes shifting a light gold, like the brightest amber. Though, she wondered why they had a cloak over them.

"Alyosha! It is good to see you. I must ask, why the fabric?" Her head tilted, and she took her own seat at a small table. Luna had a cup of tea, raising the question of where she had found it. "Oh- Um. Starswirl... Starswirl couldn't really... Well, the flowers were unexpected, but the cloak helps me have a personality. It's a bit hard to read just a voice."

The atmosphere felt warm as a twirling lanyard of flowering stems held up a previously unseen teapot, pouring a cup for the second sister. The gentle light of a windowsill casting shadows on the wall. It was the only room in the entire tower that had glass panes cemented in. "Thank you for the tea. And I understand. I don't know what I'd do if I was in your position." With a faint smile she glanced around, and took a sip of her gifted cup. Minty. "Luna? What are you thinking about?"

"Hm? Oh, seeing as how all we have is tea, isn't this usually the time for thinking? Besides, I know that you've taken up sewing lately." The lunar alicorn paused, sipped, and... Stayed quiet?

"Yes..? I have? What about it?"

"No really, I don't get what you are trying to lead into." Celestia took a sip, glancing keenly at her sister. She just wiggled her brow while Alyosha cocked their hooded head, confused. "Sister, No."

"Tiaaa."

"No."

"But it'd be great practice! I promise I'll stop teasing you about it if you do." A smug, snake-like smile crept on Luna's face. A corner had been met, checkmate.

"Sorry to interrupt but what's this gonna be about? Also, you sew?" Alyosha had his own cup, but it was empty and had never been filled, the white porcelain remaining bone dry. "What do you make?"

"Alyosha!" The flower child slinked away slightly from the sheer force of Luna's words. "How do you feel about having sister dearest here stitch together a doll for thee?"

"A doll would be too small, Luna."

"Apologies, a puppet. Life sized- You know what I mean, We are not going to be putting him in a doll for foals."

"We? So you'll agree to help then?"

"Wait- Let's not get too hasty-"

"Seeing as how Luna will help out, then we should get to work post haste!" Celestia beamed a smile, and withdrew parchment from a corner of the room while Luna, resigned, levitated a charcoal stick and a quill from a saddlebag. "Alyosha! What colors do you love?"

"Colors? What? Um, I think this is too fast. Uh, I don't know? I-" He stammered, all the attention bouncing everywhere had caught him off guard when suddenly he was its focus. "I... Let me think first. This is going to be a pony body right? That's what Starswirl said you were called. What would- What would the talent mark be?

"Cutie Mark. Hm.. It is a good question, but we'll let you draw one up for thineself. Now answer the question, favorite colors?" Luna took over again, taking on an interrogative edge in her wording that really forced Alyosha to think. His flowers raised for a moment and withered in an imitation of a deep breath.

Favorite colors.
Colors were nice, but he could never make up his mind about them. Color schemes were great, browns and greens were natural colors that could be tweaked to be homey or just the forest. I still don't know what to choose.

Green is... Nice. It's the color of safety, forests were safe, and it came in all sorts of hues. Olive green, drab, ranger, sea-foam. Not really a favorite color. Gold is nice? Yellow. Yellow and Green might be a good color scheme. But blue is nice too. White and light colors won't be practical for stains though, and I'm not always going to have magic to wave away the consequences of mud, so I don't want to be in a washing machine- washboard just because of a grass stain.

I think I remember colors having meaning, is that true here? I guess I'll find out later. It'd be pretty weird if a race of talking magical ponies was racist over fur colors. "Yellow and green, I think I'd like those the most."

"Yellow and green? Are you certain you don't have any other colors you like?" Celestia asked. She gazed at me neutrally, but for some reason, I still felt uneasy around her. Maybe I just hadn't gotten over being shaken like a soda can the first time we met. "I like red." The cowl I wore shifted a bit, giving my best impression of shrugged shoulders. It was a weird choice of colors but they were mine.

Actually, if everything looks medieval and magical, don't they probably use symbolism really hard? I vaguely recall shades of red being seen as evil. Well, either way, that was a dumb idea, using logic in an illogical place but y'know it could work! Fifty-fifty. Minimum. Maximum.

The two of them shared a look while Luna got to work writing something in the paper she had withdrawn, I couldn't read it. Not easily anyway. I don't think I'd have the time to learn a third language right now. Maybe. No, probably not. Starswirl might ask questions. I think I'm thinking too hard right now. No, now I remember why I don't like her. It's not just the incident, there was more. I hovered around Luna's shoulder and peeked, something with numbers? It looked like math, so it might just be her trying to find the cost of the fabrics.

"Here, what do you think?" Celestia asked, I stopped looming over Luna so I could look at the gray-scale drawing of someone. Somepony. Me, technically. Not me yet.
On the paper was a pony, the limbs were stocky and short, and the mane was one solid piece. It also looked like there were seams drawn on as well, but judging by the notes next to them they were intended to be hidden. The eyes were button eyes, and near the base of the tail and lower hooves was when the sketch ceased to be. It wasn't crudely made, just simple and limited by the grayscale pallet she had to work with.

Okay maybe it was a bit rough but im not going to say it. Not when It took like five minutes or less for her to just scribble it into existence. Maybe I should ask about the scarecrow mouth.

"Would you care to make him less frightening sister? You've made a demon of fabric." Luna asked, snatching the paper from the spot in front of me. "I can't see it going well if he was ever encountered outside of this tower. It'd be terrifying to see something like this walk up to me in the dead of night. Crudely stitched, button eyes, and presumably a size true to life."

Celestia swallowed hard and glanced away, snatching the sketch back. "Wrong paper." Another one floated, and I was quick to position it so we could both see it. I mean really, it was supposed to be for me, why can't I be the one to snatch it away?

It was a lot nicer than the one before, but I also couldn't tell if this was just her using art to make the new body look nicer. It's not like I'm expecting fine linens or something, but I doubt I'll be getting the best stitch work or plush fabric of the modern era. "Perhaps we could, er, discuss cutie marks some more before I get a new body? If your studies allow for it, that is. I'd hate to be an inconvenience."

"Nonsense little Alyosha! I am most certain that we will be pleased to make such a gift! Especially Tia." Luna finished venomously. She was a little scary. Was this over how we first met?

On second thought, I don't think I want to share tea with these people anymore.

Troubled Wildered And Forlorn, Dark Benighted Travel Worn

Today was a quiet day. The lab had nothing that needed my help so I just...

Sat there.

It's a nice morning for once. Pleasant means that everything is fine, but it isn't so nice it'll have to be. I can see a pleasant wind flowing by. Wonder if the sisters will visit.
It's a little too bright though, but it's always been like that. Even on a moonless night, this place is still brighter than it was back home. There's not nearly as many clouds or rain. I have nothing against oak trees, but there was just something about the way pine trees would tower over everything, the way they would bend against the harshest winds but never snap. Always a pillar of strength.

Does this world not have a rain season? I've never seen it rain before. Or maybe this place just doesn't have rain every other day. Either way too bright, I want more clouds.

Hm? What's that on the table? Weird shiny thing. It looks cool. It's like. Hm.
It's as if you took a piece of impure glass and etched a ton of runes into it with glow in the dark blue paint. Almost like radium paint, I think that glows blue, not green. Then layer those runes on top of each other so you can faintly see them inside the fragment.

Holding it in my vines I felt a wave of nostalgia and peace. It all felt right. I felt like everything was going to be just fine. I could ignore the whispers in my head and close my senses and feel like I'm home, really home. That everything would be normal, that I didn't...

Its not important.

Its not wrong to take a moment alone is it? To enjoy the silence?

make us whole.

Starswirl felt his beard itch. His hooves trembled and his magic wavered for a moment. He knew Alyosha would never tamper with an experiment, so why did he quake? For what reason did fear spark in his heart?
Weakness. He was feeling weak. Usually he'd chase it away with the aid of a potion, but he felt he'd be delaying an inevitability if he didn't attack the root cause, and it was not his age.

No, something strange had struck him, he doubted it was guilt. He hadn't done anything wrong recently.

It was likely nothing, Alyosha would be fine, he was only a floor below him. He could continue tending to his research while he was uninhibited by teaching.

Alyosha had made his way to the second floor with relative ease. The first floor was so heavily fortified with magical wards and enhancements that he just never bothered.
How did he know? He couldn't go in there. It felt like a buffeting wind forcing him back.

Logic dictated that some magical ward kept him away. And he didn't care all that much, the kitchen was on the second floor. The main one at least.

It was a far cry from the modern amenities he was used to working with, no electric stove, no sink, though there was a large copper tank filled with something. Water?
He couldn't eat, he figured this out already, but he could try to cook. It was something he picked up after an incident at home.

He needed something familiar, and he was fortunate that cooking over an open flame was something he looked forward to anyways. Alyosha shuffled around various shelves, cabinets and drawers, finding an iron skillet in a crate of all places. It was rusted in some spots but nothing he couldn't scrape away.

Literally, he used himself as steel wool. It was a terrifying experience.

There was flour, honey, butter, a small amount of eggs. Various amounts of assorted vegetables. Onions and potatoes mostly. A sack of oats, some seeds that looked like wheat but not quite. He thought it to be rye, but was unsure. He let his mind go blank, just searching the kitchen in a calculated blindness. More seeds, more vegetables, a stash of salt, a bottle with an unreadable logo, and spices.

The previously rusted pan lacked oil, it had been stripped clean of its seasoning and needed to be tended to.

A vine flew searching for anything resembling olive oil, something that didn't burn very easily like canola oil would do better. Or so he read once upon a time. It spilled on the black cast iron, streaking all along as it was smeared until the entire tool was coated in a shine.

"Funny story I forgot how much of a big fat mess this was.
I've been busy trying magic, it's been tons of fun so far.

Vines traced the material up and down until it was satisfied with the work, a flint was then procured from a tinder box, casting sparks that turned to flame. The tinder box was crumbling and the steel was trying to rust in peace, it was as if it was purchased as a mere after thought. Still it did its job. The void child searched calmly for a knife, or a mortar, and instead found a wood plank and a stone to use as a cutting board and grindstone respectively. Grain flew and danced as until all of them were cracked open under the pressure of stone.

Nothing but pain, something on fire. All by myself-

The pan let off a faint vapor and a splash of water was added alongside the cracked grains. The water rolled and fizzed and steamed, evaporating as he added cool milk located from somewhere.

-finally."

Alyosha found himself moving in rythym with a song only he could hear, and he didn't mind. Salt was added on an instinct, and he had debated on adding some of the spice cloves he had found. In the medieval ages spices like these were probably incredibly valuable, which was exactly why he was going to put only one ground up clove in. The blade he had found was rusted in some spots initially but it was fixed easily enough, with some improvised repair tools.

"Things change, when they don't replace your goals.

Dried fruit was scrounged up, a handful of the things fell upon the board and were split in halves

It feels so strange

He hadn't expected to find oats, especially not ones that were soft like the instant ones he was familiar with, so they were added in as an afterthought after the mystery grain before the eventual addition of the dried fruit.

Not to love you anymore!"

Stir, stir, stir again. The oats softened and disappeared into the mixture, more accurately the buckwheat disappeared into the oats.

"But you wouldn't know. Would you?"

The mix thickened even as water was added to counteract it, the pan was stirred faster to make up for time away, trying to keep things from sticking and burning or forming clumps in his dish. Something that looked like a whisk made of sticks was used frequently, whipping in air into the mix. If he still had a body he'd be having the worst time of his life with exhausted arms, but he felt nothing.

I'm fine, just in case you think I'm not.

He let the pan sit still as a log was swiftly unfurled as it was ripped to pieces and added to the low flames, rising again in a weak roar. Dried fruit, cut swiftly and thoroughly was flicked angrily into the mix.

I AM.

Watching the flames burn, he added a bit of charcoal that had escaped the fireplace back to the fires. The dancing flames now contented, he returned to stirring.

The time I'm better with the friends I lack.

Vines weaved around the kitchen, searching for something missing. Fruits and oats and cracked seeds, but where was it?

But you wouldnt know, would you?

Feeling for spices a vine withdrew a hard lump, his internal beat not faded as he recognized it as nutmeg. Right after he split it in two.

And I mean for this to sting, I forgive you nothing

The whole nutmeg was shattered against the metal pan, it's fragments collected on the board and scraped violently against a knife before the dry powder was chopped again for good measure.

You monsters.

His vines trembled, a detached petal turning to a harmless, dissolving shadow.

And I know the reasons why

The powdered nutmeg was set aside in a wooden bowl. He'd yet to find a spoon, but it didn't matter much by this point did it?

You are never coming by

Sugar was flicked into the thick slurry and stirred till the light glittering of the granules faded away like hope in the darkness.

For me-...!

Reflexively he dared to taste it, but he had no mouth or reason to eat. The logs popped like faint drums as the fire continued to burn dispassionately.

-...Me-e-e!

The dried fruits had swelled and rose to the top of the mix, the oats had broken down long ago, much faster than the broken grain. What was it in here? Was it buckwheat? Or rye?

Too bad! You let it get so out of hand!

It mattered not what was in the dish now, it was too late to ever take it back. What was created was made from the ashes of other things combined. The process of cooking sounded so unappetizing when described like that.

How much we had

The slop was hot and tinted lightly purple as more dried fruit was left to fall in, the flames that once roared now sang quietly.

And still I don't understand.

As the flames turned to smoldering coals, a vine coated itself in the ash and gripped the burning hot iron, tipping over a bowl it let all the sweet smelling slop be caught. Vines weaved in search of the set aside spices, pulling the board slowly to him.

But you wouldnt know. Would you?

His vines trembled again, such an unsteady hand! Haha! It's just oatmeal. It wont hurt you. The sprinkled nutmeg made it seem so much more appealing, like a harmless little lie in a story that goes unnoticed.

You'll never know, will you?"

Just like me.

Over Many a Tangled Spray

I used to just hover over Starswirls experiments. Try to learn some things. But he hasn't been doing much, and the few times I think he's going to do something exciting, he tells me to move, that it might be dangerous for me. Of course, I listened to him. After all, he did technically make me. He probably knows more about magic than I do. More than I've seen at least.

Lately, I've been meaning to ask if he could teach me the basics of the alphabet. Maybe I could just work backward piece by piece in my spare time from there. If it talks like English, then it might write like English too. But translating all this old-talk is gonna take a while. I can understand the formal speech patterns and whatnot, but actually speaking formally was still awkward for me. At times Starswirl couldn't figure out what I was trying to say. But at least I had a decent idea of how to react from reading some old greek myths. I loved myths. I don't know why, I always hated fairy tales. There just wasn't an interest in those types of things. But myths? I read an entire book on the stuff. Thought it was a neat way to pass the time. I wonder how many I still remember.

Greek myths were also pretty sad sometimes, I don't want to think on that right now.

...

I should try to talk to him about the... The Things. I've been seeing things. Brief little flashes. Probably nothing, but I want to ask. Assuming he doesn't deflect it like the reading.

The sisters said they'd be back in some days, maybe today. Luna was a little scary. I mostly chose to shut up during their conversations and just listen and provide tea, and hope that I was never called to answer anything more than a simple yes or no question. Celestia was terrifying. Sure, she didn't seem too bad, but something about her made my skin- my flowers crawl. There's like an urge to run, or fight- do something. It reminded me of when they sent a worker to talk to me, I could tell something was off, but couldn't realize what it was.

...I might try to figure that out on my own. I want to talk to Starswirl about this, but I feel like I'm on my own here now.

That's okay. I've been used to it for a while.

I'm staring out the window again. I think I spaced out. It might be midday judging by the sun being at the top of the sky, I can see it high above the mountains in the distance. Everything's in place but something doesn't feel right. It's probably because I still feel cold. The sun doesn't do much for me anymore. There's not much to do now, actually.

I used to scream and cry a lot. Mostly when nobody is looking.

I think I'd really like a history book right now. But I still can't read. But I can stare directly at the sun, it doesn't burn my eyes anymore. I don't get the weird spots in my vision from looking at it anymore. Actually, I think my eyes are a lot better than they were before. Before disappearing to Here, I guess.

I wonder what the grass near home is like today. Maybe it's raining over there. Maybe it's raining somewhere else.

I could probably explore the tower some more. I'm not sure how far up I am, these floors feel so weird. They don't feel consistent. Who knows, maybe the tower is bigger on the inside?

...

Up. Down. Up. Down. I figured out I can stretch my entire body up and down. Starswirl is still busy doing something. Don't know what. It's really killing me inside. I want to know what that old man's been working on. The star is lower now, I think. I don't see it above anymore. I got tired of staring at the outside.

The more things change, the more things stay the same I think. I couldn't go outside then, I can't go outside here. I wasn't planned for then, I wasn't planned for here.

I'm tired of bouncing around, I don't want to explain that to Starswirl. But maybe I could just stretch out through the window and explore. But that's stupid. I could probably just ask.

I'll ask one day.

I'm kind of excited about the puppet though. Maybe I could ask for a cat doll. I like cats. I miss her. ~~please don't cry~~

Innocence Lost

I could not fall asleep.

Well, no, that's a lie. I'm not able to sleep at all, even if I could I wouldn't get anything from it. I don't remember being able to dream, most people can say that they know they dream but for me, it's always just been a way to pass the time. I can't do that anymore.

Not like I'll mention it to anyone, it's not their problem.

I was certain Starswirl finally went to bed, and while this would be a perfect time to look at his notes, I could always just find the courage to ask. Instead of that, I just left my flask. It wasn't needed anymore technically, but it was the closest thing to a bed and I really didn't mind using it until we could find an arrangement for me properly later. I never really got the chance to sneak around at home, so I figured it'd be a nice experience.

Slinking around the room I could hear the bubbling of an experiment with vitriol oil hazardously left unattended, see a sparkle of light from a broken prism, and a black fragment that felt familiar. It even looked familiar. Being around it made me feel... Whole.

But of course, I just hurried off to another room, and I had two reasons for this, number one was that I felt like I was being watched. Starswirl was asleep obviously, and I didn't think his students to be the type to drop a surprise around midnight, so I chalked it up to me just being afraid of the dark. The second reason was that as interesting as it was, magic stuff, or anything involving what's part of a fantasy fairytale is REALLY not my element. Not yet anyway.

Growing up I loved science, hated magic, fantasy, bedtime stories, and any of that I didn't care for. I read medical textbooks and almanacs about what hid in the ocean as a kid. I'm rambling obviously but existing like this, in this state, with only strangers and every instinct drilled into me to not trust anyone, you get anxious.

So, I made myself invisible, I hid. I had the option so I took it and calmed down. Odds are a million to one that someone has... Broken in. I saw a single green fiber fall from the ceiling. A few of them actually. I was so weirded out by that feeling that I wasn't able to notice them, they were so thin and fine you could hardly see them unless the moonlight reflected just right off of it, showing a bright trail of emerald slivers on the wood floor coming from somewhere else, to my flask, and then to my right before I turned ethereal.

Finally looking up, I saw a pair of narrowed eyes slit like a cat and the color of sea foam. I moved around the room in silence, making my way back to my flask. I could try to play myself off as a regular experiment, or a security system! Security system! There has to be some magic that acts like that right?
My flowering form phased back into the small space and I tried to get a look at whatever I had seen. It was black, blending in fairly well with the ceiling, only visible because of the slight shimmer its shell would give off, and those eyes. They stared at my flask, and I felt so small under that gaze. The description of the eyes being cat-like was wrong, they were serpentine as if ripped from a lizard. There was a blade mounted to its head, and I was terrified. This thing was smart. It eyed my flask up and down before taking hold of my container in a magic grip, it was examining me. I felt nudges and prodding everywhere without any sort of interaction beyond the green light on that jagged pike. It tried to pull me apart, and I panicked.

"Curious. But as suspected." I heard it say. Two-toned voice. Feminine, I think? It was hard to say, it was like hearing things through a static-y speaker. "You won't fool me." The glass was shaken roughly, then raised as if I was about to be thrown-

I caught my container, too afraid to let them wake up Starswirl with a stunt like that, even though he could deal with this faster and better than I could. Where was my logic tonight?!

"You were the one that awakened the tree. Why?" It asked. I hadn't a clue what it was talking about. How do I play along?

"I don't know what you're talking about. Ma'am." Just act like she's in control, and it won't do anything hasty, right? It worked for other situations I've been in, even if the others weren't giant chitinous creatures.

"Do not lie to me. You are a match for the pattern that this form was given. I will ask again, template, and I want your name."

"My name is Alyosha Ma'am!" My response was short, nervous, and to the point. Then I felt something wrapping around me, pulling at me, tearing at something, clawing at me. I saw that little fragment that I wasn't caring too much about earlier in her in a green magical grip. I could see a hairline crack as it was brought up to my form, and I felt a sharp pain in what could best be described as my heart if I still had organs. "That is not your name. But it is what you go by. Acceptable answer."

I was released from the magical aura, finding myself being able to shift and twist around again. I was just happy to know I still had my mobility, but I had other things to worry about. Number One, that fragment shattering into dust is not something I want to know the consequences of. Two, either I'm worse at talking than I thought or she knows when someone tells the truth. I don't want to go through this again, I don't want to say the wrong things, I'm going to get, they're going to get hurt, what can I say? What can I say-

A minor jab broke me free, their glare just cut straight into me. I missed something important, a question. The pain, I can't keep calm-

"I will repeat myself one final time, What are you?"

Artificial life, technically. But I am alive. I am alive, I was real, I was born, and I was destined to die. And I just couldn't give up, could I? How do I put that into words? "...What- What's your name?" I asked. This is new territory. I can just try, try to learn something, dance around the question for a little, just stall and wake up already you bearded bastard!

The bug tilted its head, not expecting to have a response in the form of a question after proving itself capable of using force to get what it wanted, what was stopping it from just adding more pain and stress until he shattered? Its confused look turned into a bemused expression. "I have no name. I am but three days old." It looked away thoughtfully, and the glow from its horn intensified for a moment. "I was born from touch and a will. You. You carry the blood from that touch within you despite your appearance. So, what are you?" They asked again in that two-toned voice, it was a lot more menacing this time.

I tried at least. "I'm... I am artificial. I'm just an experiment. Just a homunculus. I, I think you've mistaken me for who woke you up. I'm not- I don't leave the tower." I said quietly. I didn't expect it to become annoyed at me, I was expecting pain again.

"...You lie to yourself only" It laughed at me, quietly, but it was still chuckling at me. "You cannot possibly hope to deceive me with just words. Only a pony could believe it to be true." She spoke, giving a bored look. "Though you have a truth, it is not the whole. If you were created, Little Shade, then where is your creator?"

"He is... Not here at the moment. They're busy." Bold move, a really bold move, which could totally screw this up.

"So it might be then. I may return another time. I have no point in rummaging when I've been spotted." The bug huffed and dropped the fragment, letting it fall with a faint chime when it hit the floor. "You. You still have my curiosity, little homunculus."

I suddenly felt very, very afraid of the eyes that were staring at me. I don't want any more questions. I don't want to do this again. "But first." Her face scrunched up, and she snorted at me. "Let's get rid of that fear, it's dangerous." The glass I was still holding on to was pulled from me and put back on the pillow Starswirl used as a rest for it, and I was confused. It just kept getting weirder when I was just suddenly slammed back into it. I- What? What do I do? "You're much less useful when frightened, so let's get to business. I'll... ask some things of you, and no pain will be involved either." The fragment tined faintly when it was flung at the glass, but not strong enough to break it at all.

This is. What? What in the heck? I... What?

"Alyosha. Why were you created?" Too fast! Too fast! Moving too fast here!

"I... Hold on just- just a minute. I... Why are you asking?" Deep breath. It isn't like someone broke into your home and is now acting like you and her or whatever the heck are just best buds. Absolutely insane.

"I ask because I am curious. Being hostile to you did not... give the best of results." There was something that sounded vaguely regretful, but if I was getting this right its just because pain and misery don't give the right answers right away. For a three-day-old , I think that's a good lesson to learn. I think I even remember something about confession over torture or something being an unreliable method. Frequently. "You show bravery in the face of fear, foolish and stupid bravery."

What were they talking about? "But I will ask again. Why were you made, little shade?"

Honesty. I am being coerced to be honest. "I don't know. I haven't asked yet."
"Why were you made?" I said quickly. I think I saw a smirk at that.

"My kind has existed for a long time. We were merely forgotten. You, are an experiment, created by the blood that made me. You're new."

"... That's a lot of things to know on the first chat." How did they figure that out? "

It's just simple logic. You are an artificial life, you follow a template similar to mine despite your appearance. Ergo, we are relatives in some small capacity. Besides, I've read the notes that we've scattered about."

"WE?!" Chrysalis just gave a smug expression and shushed me. Right, Starswirl is sleeping for once. Wait- Why do I care if he's sleeping, I care that he ISN'T awake right now! Damn that smug look, where is he? "Yes. We"

Paper fluttered about everywhere, that friggin bug just threw all those notes everywhere? How am I supposed to organize them later? I don't know what order they were in! "Why would you do this?!" I screamed in a whisper. What was she going to gain from doing all this?

"You like to read don't you? I've seen you try to read these papers, but they're always just out of sight, and you can't get the words right. How would you like to be able to read, hmm? Just look into my eyes for a moment, would you?"

All Heart Broke I heard Her Say.

...Today was the first day I was left alone at the lab. Starswirl had left to go with someone else today. As a result, the sisters weren't showing up today.

I was not under an express order to never leave the tower, it was just very much implied that it was a bad idea. I never disobeyed orders at home, But this wasn't home.

Besides, It'll be a nice experience. Normal kids typically have a rebellious phase right? Then again, I haven't got a clue. Not like I had watched films about school at home, those were boring things.

Well, on the off chance I get caught. I've come up with a technicality, I technically never left the tower.
It's a concept I stole from my favorite film, I even had a toy of one of the animals there that lit up. It had the head of a hammerhead shark, a colorful fan that was concealed on its head, and the body of an elephant. It was so weird and I loved it. I think it even played some type of roar whenever you pressed a button on the toy.

Sidetracked. I can't get the images out of my head right now but the basics are I'm going to try to make a new body, tether myself to it, and pilot it. Like a doll. Not like the doll body that's being made for me by Celestia, more like just a clone.

No, clones are not the right word. An avatar?

I'm too magically inept for anything precise, but I do read in my spare time. All I need is practical experience which I hope goes a bit like this. I estimate a four-part plan.

Step one split yourself in two. A tricky thing to do but it's what it boils down to.

Step two, keep a vine tethered to your long-distance self. So try not to fully break yourself, stretch really hard.

Step three. Chuck yourself out the window, keeping the tether ethereal so it doesn't get snapped, which leads to step four, maps for exploring.

If I were any smarter I'd just call it partial mitosis and worry about what happens when the tether is severed, but lately ive just been impatient, so let's just hop to it!

An hour. This whole situation had taken Alyosha an hour. At first, he tried willing himself into two pieces, which was far more difficult to do so while still instead of in motion. It turned from a comical sight to a desperate one as he almost dared to cleave himself into two with a sharp thorn, and if that didn't work, saw himself in half. Cooler heads prevailed and he took a razor to the problem, not himself.

He noticed that if he could continue to extend himself if he remained in motion and if that was the only way to do so, he would do so. A node, as he would call them, was set inside his flask. This was to be his anchor, he hoped that if for whatever reason something went wrong, he could reel himself back in through his lifeline. Ignoring the fact that if it was severed he had no idea what would happen. He hoped that magic jumbles would just result in him being pulled to the anchor, or he'd find out he was invincible. Highly unlikely. This entire procedure was way, way more ramshackle and rudimentary than the simple "project consciousness outward" idea that he had.

But that was beyond him, he was happier that he'd finally figured out a way similar to what he'd dreamt up in less than a day. This would be treading into some odd science fiction territory if it weren't for that this was all magic. A quote came to mind, but he couldn't remember anything about it. He was just so excited to be able to leave this place and see the world.

Not that his old world was bad or anything, but everything had been mapped out. It was so big, full of things, ancient temples, and strange animals, but there was nothing to explore. There was nothing left in that big world, it had turned small. Nothing except the darkest pits of the ocean. Untouched trenches full of weird and terrifying life.

He wondered if such things existed here too.

He spent time moving around in circles in the room, it felt odd feeling the connection shift when he couldn't see it. Like a more literal version of phantom limb syndrome. Alyosha couldn't find anything wrong with his method, just that it was the best that could be done. Despite his time reading, he could not actually put any of it to use, he lacked a way to focus himself, leaving him like a lump of clay. He could be molded, shifted, stabbed and cut, and twisted, but none of it would be permanent without a kiln to harden those changes.

Minor setbacks of course, but no scientist worth their knowledge could just give up.

Just a few minor setbacks.

Alyosha spasmed, his body a mess as he tried to reel it in. What had happened? One moment he was just talking and the second it was just pain, so much pain. It was never been this painful before.

Impalement. Traumatic injury. Flash. Bright light. He could not see. Flashbang. His mind raced and came empty, just remembering irrelevant things as he felt his form scatter into a brilliant light show of petals and vines.

Why? Why had he been assaulted so? He wailed in pain as he reached for eyes that didn't exist with limbs that had been discarded long ago. He reeled himself back into control just in time to hear another spear hit the earth near him. The black shaft was visible in the flowery mass and the silver spearhead was jagged at the end of the blade. Pulling it out wouldn't do. He could hear shouting of commands as colorful splashes pummeled him.

His form dissolved into the aether, letting the spells fly past him and the spear fall through him. In that brief moment of control, he was immune to receiving even more pain.

He spotted three unicorns, armored in red-trimmed steel and with differing looks of panic and confusion just on the hill. Loathsome beings, filthy things. Shadows bled from him in thick clouds of abyssal blood despite his intangibility. Was he dying? Was he going to die? Die to some cheap shot? Without making a mark in the world?

What a shameful way to die, in his thirteen incomplete years. His vision wavered, the detailed trees turning to colorful blobs until his form came back, now oozing an abyssal liquid. Damnation ran through his mind. Damn them. He'd kill them, those damned loathsome ponies. Those disgusting fleshlings. He heard a shout as his flowers dragged him along the ground, the tethering vine tightening and slacking as it absorbed magic to construct itself. Something about it being back, he couldn't care anymore.

If the price of happiness was pain then he'd be sure to pay enough of it that he'd be owed happiness in scores.

A flurry of thorned vines swept forward like snakes, scraping fur and cutting armor as one guard was flung aside, and another staggered. A face that he had not known existed twitched indecisively between a grin and a snarl, black tears oozing from freshly made eyes as a large flower had established itself as the head. Instincts and mind synchronized in this new form, and he attacked.

Determination and hatred burned in him, his mind a whirlwind of insults. How could they ever dare to hurt him? How would it even be possible for something as short-lived as a horse could do this?

"The stem! Aim for the main stem!" A voice called. The unicorn's horn glowed in yellow magic, charging something. What could one little thing do to hurt him now that he had instinctual control of this form? His face tilted and the thin razor of energy bounced off his many petals.

Then he went slack for a moment, a spear cut his anchor. Then two more pinned him to the ground. He howled and screamed in agony. His eye was destroyed, and parts of him were burning from what could best be described as magical plasma wounds. His body was losing control as he tried to move. The severed stem flailed, searching for something.

"We have it now. Fleet Hoof, get the mages here. Now!"

Unfocused eyes tried to see the faces of the three unicorn mages, but all he could see were patches of red, yellow, and blue on the blurry backdrop of the town in the distance. He couldn't die. Not like this. This was not the end. He had to kill them. He had to live. Weakly he raised an arm-like vine. Through sobs and labored breathing, his voice whimpered.

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll-

He locked eyes with the unicorn, it noticed him falter and aim far too low and far too much to the right. Wide eyes not understanding what they'd done.

"No, Fleet Hoof! STOP!"

His tears were silenced by blue bolts punching through him. Leaving his crumpled and punctured form there as the last thing he heard was shouting.

...

The tower was deathly still.

She dared to call out, let her voice bounce across the stone walls.

But nobody came.

She may have engineered a few circumstances that would leave the tower empty, but not absolutely. Not to this level. It was all the little steps to a greater plan. She had been planning to visit again a long ago since their first conversation had dried up, but a few things had to take priority.

Checking up on the flower brother was not a priority. Neither was it a prime directive. It was not like that thing held anything valuable or important, it just was.

It wasn't like the situation felt terribly wrong, after all.

Her buzzing wings stopped moving as she slowly took the time to inspect the floor she was on. Things had been moved of course, but nothing of value had been put out. Of course, the False Father would have hidden his research. And the flower brother was simply too innocent to go search for it.

Or maybe they just knew better?

Swiftly the insectoid mare turned her head to the stairs, her hair whipping around. She had heard something faint, straining to hear it even though her body held the sharpest hearing. Tentative steps carried her upwards as she heard the sound of something faint dragging itself along, as if it were rope or fabric pulling itself along the floor. It was an odd shuffling noise that had no right being in this dead place, and so she thought about the noise as she investigated.
It had taken her to a floor she had never seen, or more accurately never bothered to remember or check thoroughly in any meaningful capacity. She could not see anything, so that certainly didn't help her recognize anything either. Unnatural darkness flooded the room, shielding anything in its abyssal void from view. Her horn lit up with green magic as a spell charged before everything had gone blue.

The primordial changeling found herself constricted in a mass of flowers that flowed over her form reaching out to the sparking light she conjured in her horn. The vines, while not in high number, were tougher than iron. Dim blue flora hugged tightly around the changeling's barrel and upper neck, she had to force her right eye to close lest a tiny thorn make itself known in a most unfortunate manner.

She'd have blasted the mass that was likely Alyosha if it weren't for the fact that the emotions it was giving off had knocked her off her hooves. Not because she cared or because her magic was essentially being drained by the second by the flowers growing on her horn. The intense waves of fear and despair were the strongest among a sea of disjointed emotions, with the feelings of safety and comfort being second. It was so strong that it was impossible to ignore as it permeated her body, slowly replacing the lost magic. As she lost magic, she gained some, an infinite loop.

The dim blue flowers slowly became a vibrant cerulean, basking the floor in the only light capable of cutting through the darkness that permeated the tower. She felt like her mind would've been overwhelmed without something to try to distract herself from the parasitic sensory overload that had attached itself to her horn. "It's... It is.. All right.. Child... I am... I am here.." She choked out.

Really, what more could she do? Struggle? She was already trying to, and it wasn't getting her anywhere. She thought she felt the surge of emotion get stronger as she spoke to it in that sappy pony tongue. "Thou... Art... Safe... Young one. GHK-!" She choked on her own spit for a moment before the tendrils loosened around her throat, and she felt magic filling her at a faster rate than it was being drained.

"I... Am... Here. I am here, for thee." She wrapped a hoof around the mass in a weak attempt at a hug.

"I am... Here for you... Alyosha." She hugged the seizing mass of flowers before charging her horn with an acid green spell, hopefully something that could knock him out of his stupor. As much as her charismatic voice was working, it was not working nearly fast enough. "You art always safe with me."

Her spell flashed brilliantly, and safety was all Alyosha knew.

Pet Project: Our Town

You would not believe what was suggested to me today.

Farm the ponies.

That little idiot was dead serious about it too. You would not believe his absolute stupidity, to think that I didn't try to farm the mortal flesh bags already? I had tried for a while in secret.

Of course I did not tell him about it, it wouldn't help me to blabber on and on about my plans to him now, would it?

*CRACK*

I'm sorry about the pressure little drone, I'll ease up on your shoulder now. But still, it was just so unbelievably foolish that I laughed right in that raggedy little face of his. Farming love from ponies, we'd tried already, but it didn't work. Remember when you had to pick up all the broken cocoons and droppings afterward? Terrible mess, I know, I'm sorry for assigning you to the meatbags. I should have dealt with the riot personally.

But apparently, he must have suspected my thoughts on farming them, or at least somehow guessed my disdain for the ponies. Did you know he guessed rightly about how we farmed them? He called it factory farming, and said that it would be inefficient and stressful for the ponies in cramped living conditions and that it could "reduce the efficacy of love."

No, I didn't tell him we switched from that to permanently holding ponies in cocoons. No, do not tell him that I called that puppet raggedy.

I asked how we were supposed to farm ponies for love then if they weren't meant to be kept in pens underground, and he said invisible pens above ground. I told him it'd be a waste of magic, he told me to stop thinking literally.

I told him to get on with it of course, what else would I do?

He said that we could use a town as our pen, and the ponies as livestock in that pen. He wanted to make a full-blown civilization out of thin air and claimed he knew just the right plot of land where nobody would suspect a town to appear from. Something off the beaten path as he put it. All he needed was a starter of ponies. Ponies he correctly guessed that we would still have.

You really should speak to him at one point, such a fascinating youngling. One would think that he's just like the ponies that made him, but he's utterly unique from the fleshy love sacks. There are emotions in there, but clearly, he could be coldly logical when needed. Especially about the few things he is passionate about. Like this stupid idea.

And also utterly absurd.

I could understand the idea of farming the ponies, if at least slightly, but turning the farming idea into the full-blown creation of a civilization was not one of my priorities, my priorities are to you, my little changelings. No matter how much he tried to convince me that building a civilization would be fun, my position on that hasn't moved at all, it's incredibly stupid. I already have a hive to take care of anyways, why would I want to take care of ponies that can't defend themselves?

No, I'm not going to give them a guard, they could rebel against us. But no, he also had something for that too. Use changelings as the mayor, as the nobles, dukes, sheriff, guards, any and all high ranking or power holding positions would be controlled by changelings that would answer to me. He called it a democratic dictatorship. I call it ownership with extra paces.

The worst part about it is that he insists on pursuing this little dream of his, and the more he does it the less energy I have to say no. I'd end him and be done with it, but I read the hidden notes that wizard left behind when he made him, it's likely not a good idea. Every day is a new appeal, "I'll take care of the ponies" "I only need a few" "We can mind control them so they don't run" "The new foals will see nothing wrong with how the towns people act" "We can actively feed on the ponies by the third generation" "We can speed it up by artificially causing deaths." "We can take care of it together!"

TOGETHER. Does not make it better. Sorry about that shout. Suppose I was too close to the earhole then? Here, it's best I stop holding you for now. It'll be safer another time.

...Still, it seems like there could be some merit in farming the ponies after all. He would just need a town, of course, and possibly a few changelings to lure in new ponies, changelings in training to become infiltrators. Yes, that would cover up any eccentric personas the new blood could come up with. The guards could also be changelings, deployed to the surface as training as well. Yes. Yes, I think that this could be a very good method of training changelings in pony interactions and hive defense without risking the hive. As for getting real ponies? That mind control idea sounded tempting.

Corpse disposal would need to be formal though, apparently, the ponies don't take kindly to mass graves. Neither do I, but I don't see why they should have that luxury. They are just livestock after all.

Ugh. Could you imagine all of that? I could go on and on about the planning he did for all of this, but the best part? He didn't come up with a name. Couldn't. Oh yes, let me just talk about kidnapping and nurturing to raise a pony town to trust changelings, it isn't like I need a name for when it inevitably gets put on a map! I don't care. Call it Our Town or Ponyville. Ponyville might seem more fitting since we're just farming them for love.

...You're still there? Impressive. I thought you might have run off by now.

In any case, why don't you tell me your thoughts on his funny little idea? I'm sure I'll be happy to hear them.

Log 01

FLATLINED
CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE - FATAL-ERROR : LETHAL BRAIN DAMAGE, ORGANS 1-3 NOT DETECTED, OPTICS DAMAGED, NO SIGNAL
[SID:0001] [PID:Chute] [CoreSTAT: OK!]

Beginning Log...
Subject 1* [Chute] awoke at 7:00 AM - Local Dawn using a personal variation of Pony Form A. Color Scheme - Purple/Yellow. Destiny Mark [None]. No Companions. No Followers. [Chute] Created a Breakfast meal from nearby fruit, consisting of a mash of apples, blossoms, millet, and water. Subject lacked an internal processing system, and failed to self-synthesize a processing system. Regurgitation soon followed. [code]Hostile Contact occured at 3:00 PM - Local Sunset from a griffon, previous records indicate no griffon activity within 15 miles. This has since been corrected.

[Chute] attempted to initiate a variation of First Contact - where a friendly vocalization was done after being circled once by the griffon in the sky. A high-pitched cry responded. No further interaction followed, and the subject continued a self-chosen route to "Anywhere". Another cry was echoed, and [Chute] registered a long, three-inch cut on the left hemisphere of his skull. The gash destroyed an eye, and produced extensive damage to simulated surface tissue. An improper* sensory system resulted in a delayed realization of pain. Subject begins sprinting away from the landed griffon, now in areal pursuit. Subjects (GIVEN) [Lung] schematics were (FAULTY) as (BETTER NOT HAVE INTENDED IT) until a sudden disconnect from the chest cavity occurred, causing a buildup of pressure inside the chest cavity, and forcing air onto the lungs. [Chute]s form ceased operation occurring from extensive injuries- primary source from Organ [1]s pump function becoming inoperable after being impaled by a griffon talon. The intense internal stresses from shifting caused the damaged organ to rupture, spraying a mildly acidic ichor onto the assailant. A self-repair attempt failed to occur, and instead liquified the subjects form.

DAMAGE LOG - Organ 1 [Heart] Punctured - Liquified during self-repair Organ 2 [Lung(s)] Barotrauma - crushed internally - liquified during self-repair Organ 3 [Eye, Left] Pulped - signal lost during self repair Self Repair failed to initialize before complete cessation of simulated organic functions, subject flatlined shortly after. ...Awaiting ALL CLEAR.

Notes - REALLY HURT STOP CAN I FIGHT BACK NEXT TIME STOP WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE STOP SKIN WORKED FINE STOP BIRDCAT REALLY FAST STOP SHOULD HAVE STABBED BACK STOP FUCKING HELL STOP

Thats an awful way to go out... I guess bad luck hit you too then. Considering hardening your physical form for the next run.

Also stop the swearing!

A Prelude To The Vitrification Order

Starswirl is gone. Right now, as it were, we are picking up the pieces of the disaster that would have nearly plunged Equestria into chaos.

I realize that in all of this tampering with darkness, Starswirl has inadvertently provided the perfect rift for beings from other realms to seep in. Stygian was stopped, but we've been so distracted by new threats day in and day out that I feel there is a possibility that we have missed one that has been hiding from us right under our noses.

Alyosha.

In truth, I am not afraid that they would deliberately try to harm the world. But I am afraid of what would happen if somepony else has gotten to them first with less than the best of intentions. With any luck, our fears of him will be unfounded. Who knows, perhaps the tower has simply been maintained by him this entire time, patiently waiting for our return.

But I am still worried.
There have been scout reports of villages that have appeared out of thin air. They are not ruled by us, nor any sort royal governing body. They are not colonies either. They're hamlets that never stay in the same location, filled with friendly faces who hold not an ounce of evil in their bones. I've not yet had the pleasure of visiting, but there have been reports of stranger things that run alongside the ponies in the mysterious villages. Ponies wrapped in a thick cloak of shadows, insectoid shapeshifters and bipedal cat-folk. A rumored town in the far southern Whitehoof Plains has a cat with flaming tails that speaks.

It makes me wonder if perhaps the child created these mysterious places and creatures out of loneliness, like imaginary friends made reality. But with each new friend, the darkness in the world increases, and the balance will continue to shift until we are once again under fear of falling to the shadows.

I will be plotting an excursion to find the little one as soon as the situation here becomes stable enough for us to leave. With my sister, I will search Starswirls tower, and collect his effects.

It All Returns To Nothing

Author's Note

Was listening to Undertale OST: Track - 081 while reading and writing this. It sort of set the mood.

Undertale OST: 081 - An Ending

It All Returns To Nothing

It had been well over two years since Starswirl had vanished into the aether, and within that period of time, the two princesses were woefully unable to visit the tower, caught up in the unrest that had resulted from the magical disaster that Starswirl gave himself up to prevent. Yes, that day had been a tragic one, one which had resulted in the younger sister running off to find a way to pull Starswirl back from the void, but to no avail. It would seem then that Starswirl's tower would remain forgotten, and its only remaining tenant would be left to slip through the cracks in the minds of the princesses to be forgotten by the world entirely, until one day, the princesses returned.

Having cleared their way through masses of debris to reach the upper levels, the two sisters stepped up a series of dilapidated stairs. The inside was dusty and full of webs, the only possible indication that Alyosha remained was the cold presence that the flask-born child usually gave off. And even that was faint. There were ashes in the fireplace, almost overflowing. Not a log was in sight in any floor, in any room of the tower. Any scrap of wood that could be burned had been burned, but their ashes couldn't escape. This once lively tower was an empty house devoid of life, and it was likely that it had been for quite some time.

The two split up to explore in silence. Celestia quietly checked a cabinet in the kitchen. There were many meals, all of them amounting to one massive feast stacked and plated expertly on what little furniture Starswirl had owned. Tea tables, the one large round table, and even stools had been used to keep the various dishes off the ground. All of it had gone to waste, she'd discovered. She'd accidentally disturbed the spell that had been preserving all the food when she'd found the largest cake she'd ever seen at the center of it all. Time had caught up instantly with the meals, some turned to dust near immediately while others had molded away into nothing in minutes.

It was quite a sad sight. The pantries and cupboards had been utterly raided and likely turned into the feast that was presented for... For them. Most likely.

"Celestia! I found an item of interest!" Luna called, showing off a flawless sapphire that she nearly dropped when it started speaking abruptly.

"I finally got back into cooking! It was a little hard since there wasn't much to cook with, so I had to get creative. Starswirl really did not stock much, or that's what I thought initially. Turns out he had a basement full of goodies! It's absolutely stuffed with food, like if he was going to outlast a nu... never before seen disaster or something like that... Anyways... I figured that when you all came back, you might be hungry, so I made a few meals. I put some magic around it to preserve it. Hope to see you all soon!"

The sapphire stopped speaking. It was Alyosha's voice. But where was he?

"We left him waiting." Luna commented to herself.

"We were busy, Luna," Celestia assured her sister, draping a wing over her side. "He might have left a notice on where he's gone. He must surely be alright."

The sisters ascended the stairs together, skipping a floor that was oddly empty. Sure, they'd briefly given it a search, but it was decided that they could always give a more thorough investigation of the mysterious floor. What was previously one of the few floors not dedicated to science was turned into something else. A gray, organic mass hung from the ceiling, the tea table they'd shared a drink over was still there, now to capacity with a variety of earthenware and burnt stubs of wooden sticks that barely held onto the vestiges of something pleasant. Incense. There was also a bed that wasn't there previously, made of something bright green, but dulled.

"Do you think he took this as a bedroom while we were away sister?" Celestia asked, lifting an earthen jar filled with something that smelled vaguely fruity. She sniffed it tentatively, just what had he gotten up to while everyone was away? "Sister? Luna? I think I found-" "Wine." Luna noted, setting a clay cup down. She'd drained one of the comparatively small pots dry. About two hooves large. "Not particularly bad for anything left out in the open air. I wonder what it was for."

"LUNA THIS WAS NOT WHAT I WISHED TO INFORM YOU OF!" Celestia shouted, shaking the whole roof free of dust. "I found another message, why in the world would you drink something unknown?! Have you no common sense?"

"I wanted to." Luna replied nonplussed and stepped away to investigate the mass that was hanging from the ceiling. It was a sack of some type. It reminded her of a hollowed-out butterfly cocoon. "In any case, it's hard to miss the giant thing hanging from the ceiling, sister. Why point it out?"

A clear crystal was plucked out of the surprisingly thick 'skin' of the cocoon in Celestia's yellow magic, hovering slowly across Luna's field of vision towards the alabaster alicorn. "Oh."

"Oh indeed. Let's try to figure out what this place became." Without much flourish, she activated the assumed audio message. It was... A song? Lightly off-key, like it was made up on the spot.

"Every day, I imagine a world where I can be with you.
In my hand, is a way I'll make a tale of me and you.

...Every day, I imagine a world where I can be brand new.
By your side, I know that we'll find a place just for me and you.
Take that step, and I know that together we'll find a way to take flight.
What will it take, just to find that special day?

And if this world can't write me an ending, then I know we can have it all.
...

"Its been... I can't even remember when the last time I could sleep was. I was too nice to shout at Starswirl over what he did. But now, thanks to her I can finally sleep again. I might not be able to dream again, but to have some time in comfort is nice. She's not around all the time but thanks to her I feel safe. Warm. She's snarky and a little confused on how to be nice but I think she's doing her best and I- Hoo! Golly, I almost said that out loud. I'm breakin-"

"A diary. We're listening to his diary. Celestia, do you think he ever found a way to store more than one message per crystal? Pass it here! Pass it here! This isn't the best time to snoop one's possessions but it's as good as any!"

Celestia hovered the magical stone over to her sister, who snatched it up in a starry aura as her magic began to probe it. It played the same message again, and it was quickly cut off. "Nothing... Wait! I know just where to look. He's certainly going to have more.

"Luna what are you doing?" Luna ignored Celestia in favor of just flipping the bed upside down and sending sheets everywhere as she left the mattress overturned. There was one more message left for them.

"I've been thinking. Maybe it's time for me to leave it all behind. But that's just stupid. I'd have to tell someone where I went. No, I think I'll just stay here a while. People don't just abandon things right? Right. No, I think maybe I just need to try one of my old experiments again. I'm going to visit the local village again. I've almost gotten the pony form right.

I'm gonna make friends. Like a real... Like a real pony. Like a normal... being. And I'm going to enjoy this life. What are the odds of them putting me down for good anyway? They killed me once, and Chrysalis was able to bring me back. So... Agh." The crystal stopped playing, and there was an uneasy stillness between the two sisters. Luna dropped the crystal and stepped outside of the room to the floor above at a moderate speed. Celestia soon followed.

Investigating the floor above what used to be the conference room was a laboratory. A very cramped one. It was practically overflowing with a combination of broken flasks and other unrecognizable glassware, melted or burned papers. There was something rusty that had sunk into the wooden floorboards, and emerald green fibers scattered everywhere. There was an open wood box, or maybe it was a bowl? It was hard to tell, but there was a variety of papers written in different hoofwritings all weighed down by a clear gemstone that lay in the box. Celestia took it in her magic, and let it play. She would have time to read the papers later.

"This marks the... A day of being alone. No sight of Starswirl, yet. No new visits from... Well, that's not important. I'm working on something important here. I... My last attempt was painful. But I think I have learned much since then. Thanks to Chrysalis, I can read again. With all that, today also marks my first attempt at making a personal assistant. I don't know what to call it yet." There was a hum of energy in the background for a few moments, then silence. "Separation failed. Starswirls original theory was way off. I'm never going to use that damned research. He... He- He- He-" The message stuttered and shut off forever. No amount of quickly tinkering with the crystal in her magic could make it speak again. Then it started playing again.

"WOAH! OkAY EVERYONE, GOOD NEWS!" Alyosha's voice exploded from the gemstone loudly, so loud that it made the two sisters wince.

"NOT IMPORTANT SHUSH! Ahem. So, this experiment has been a huge success. The first step in both getting me a real body, and some more knowledge on what the world outside is like. I've been able to dip into the abyss directly, basically violating a few laws of nature by creating matter out of nothing and changing it into a living being. Human transmutation.
...Kind of. See, I didn't really understand the research at first, but now I realize what I was reading! How he MADE me! So, I wondered, if using dark magic tears you up inside, why can't I just redirect that tearing into something else? I just repeated the steps he did to create me, but I used myself. This resulted in a hollow vessel, that I later filled with the pieces that it tore off of me. Did you know you can focus on what it takes from you?

So now I made... Uh.. I made a thing. I haven't decided on a proper name but as of this moment, I'm calling them Envy. Yes you are, you are definitely an envy. Lucky you, having a real body. Now quit melting on the floorboards. Come on, as we practiced... Look, can you go into the other room? Thank you..

"I feel tired... What was I saying? Right. They have problems trying to eat everything in sight. Living things. Light-born things. Anything that isn't made out of shadows it wants to convert to its own dark flesh thing I made. Now, I have trained this out of it, and I'm thankful that its fiercely loyal to me so I can trust it not to try to eat anything alive, but if you ever find a vaguely melty pony thing on your doorstep and you think it less than friendly, just spark your horn at it, its deathly afraid of fire. It'll back off and probably say sorry."

Luna blinked. Celestia took a deep breath. It wasn't going to be a problem, and at least one of the two here expected this.

"I've decided I'm going home. I think I found a way to do it. I know I was never destined to exist in this life or my old one. But damn it- I miss home. I might have been dragged through everything, but I hate it here. There's a whole new world out there, and I'm trapped. It'll be dangerous. But I know it'll be worth it. I just need to focus on Bushka and I'll be home. Back where it all started."

There was a pause as the crystal was set down and the message stopped. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

"She's gone, she's gone for real- please, I'm sorry, please I just wanted to- I didn't want this I'm sorry. God please-"

"...Something happened," Luna murmured. " Celestia! Did you find any more crystals?"

"No, not yet. I'll try to find one before it starts playing again. Check and see if it is over." She responded. She had only barely managed to get a glance at the room before the crystal had caught her eye, much less investigate. They'd come to get a few of Starswirls effects, and break the news to the young one if need be, not realize that they might have lost both of them.

Celestia hadn't gone far when Alyosha's voice rang out from the same crystal again, darkly. "You know what my days used to be like, I had a pretty good life. Nobody murdered me or fed me to bugs, or put me in a bottle. And then, YOU showed up. I think these floors are looking better than before, your facility is completely operational again... The best solution is the easiest one, and killing you? It's hard. So thank god you're alright, you monster. How have you been, you monster? I thought you were my best friend when all along you were my enemy. Just stay gone."

"..."

The message came back. He was speaking softly, like how they'd first met."...Starswirl I didn't want this. I'm still doing science. Still doing science. Sir. Mister Starswirl... I thought you were my enemy, but all along were you, my friend...?

There was the sound of resigned, bitter laughter. "It's been fun. Don't come back. Bastard."

...

"I think it's time I confess something. After all, it's not like anyone will ever hear these. I know nobody is coming for me. Thats fine... Well. It's been a huge success. I've created dozens of shades by splitting myself into pieces. I can feel myself slowly going... Hollow. It's like I know what's supposed to be there, I can act on instinct on what's supposed to be there, but it's just not there. Like when you've lost a limb, and you think it's still there.

The side effects aren't important. But I've set them all loose upon Equestria. Wrath, Sloth, Pride, Hope, I started with a few emotions, then I tried to move onto more abstract concepts. Maybe I'll split myself in two, and then I'll be free.

I don't know why I'm still waiting. I hope I get a letter back from some of them soon. Their mission is to study Equestria and make it a kinder place. Maybe me getting killed once was just a fluke.''

"I remembered a tale. A tale of two colonels. You don't have a thing in common, or so I'd hope, but it reminded me of you. I hope you two came back while I was still around, but if not... Well! That's okay! I-I'm past things like this now. I hope that these two will be useful to you. I think these gems are tuned specifically to your magic. Go ahead. Try!"

Celestia and Luna looked at each other, a little curious and a bit wary. "It would have been of better help if we knew where the other gems were." Luna murmured.

"They can't have been far. Maybe all we need to do is reach out-" Celestia's horn glowed brightly, and a box appeared. "And take it. That was easy."

She moved to open it with her magic, first setting it down where it immediately revealed a small egg. Another message played out. "Hey Celestia! This here is a handmade phoenix egg! I called her Philomena in the research notes. You wouldn't believe how much I was able to get done when I had privacy! In any case, she's yours now. A flame elemental from my homeland that'll never burn out. Take her home. Oh! One more thing, you need to wake the egg with a bit of your magic.

With love, An- Alyosha."

"I... It was hard to come up with something, but this is here! This little pebble is a bit of the darkness itself! It'll do whatever you tell it to. It will take whatever shape you want it to, I originally had it configured as a guardian, but... But I think you'll need it more. It's not my companion. I hope it helps you on your adventures!

Sincerely, Alyosha."

"I suppose we collected something after all." Luna murmured morosely. Celestia couldn't quite stare at her gift or her sister in the eye. There was an insufferable silence that clung to the room.

"...Luna, why don't you go up ahead? I'm going to search this room more."

"Very well. Take caution, sister."

As soon as Luna left, her attention snapped to the wardrobe. She wasn't sure how Luna missed it. It was the only thing in this floor that wasn't dusty or bearing the marks of age or ruin that had come to the tower. Every time she stared at it, there was a compulsion to look away, like she was staring into a gaping maw of the abyss that would snuff her out.

It was a long hallway made of something gray and shimmering, like a magical barrier that established this room's presence in a void somewhere else. Initially, there was no scent of anything in the room, not even dust, but as Celestia made her way further into the void she came across candles. They didn't seem to be scented, but the air still smelled odd in the void. Faintly of salt water and something metallic. They were all plain, undyed, and yellow like beeswax or tallow, and the majority of them were melted into puddles. The ones beginning near the entrance were the least melted, while at the farthest she could see in the void was an insurmountable wall of puddles of wax and charred wicks from candles that had burned out.

She felt like she'd come across something she wasn't supposed to have, but there was another voice crystal on the floor of the abyss alongside some papers with something wholly illegible. Curious, she hoisted the gem up in her magic with an unusual amount of difficulty. It didn't respond for a moment, but it still glowed like the others.

"It feels good to cry for once... To be emotional. To rage, to loathe, to mourn." There was a crackling noise and a whoosh, like a lit torch. Soft thudding echoed in the background. The message was so unlike the others, quiet and mournful just like the atmosphere that surrounded her. A private moment recorded forever in an instant. "I've always regretted not being able to express myself when it mattered. I only ever did what I thought would help the family. I did it all for them. Never talked back. Bared the hits... When I die. I'm going to laminate my skeleton and pose myself in the lobby. That way I can stick around. You know, I'm honestly terrified of dying. I'm afraid. There's no evidence anything comes after death, you know? Spiders, the dark, being alone, bugs, I'm afraid of all of these things, but they don't terrify me. I'm afraid of dying with regrets. When the time comes, I won't go easy into that long night. And now I think- I think- I think I'm fa-"

The crystal had shorted out in a loop unexpectedly before the audio became distorted. Celestia dropped it in surprise at the base of the melted candle wall. It was loud and accusatory. "If you're listening to this crystal. Turn back. It was stupid for me to record this thing in the first place. Leave everything as it is and turn back. There will be no answers for you here. Go far away. Like everyone else."

The message stopped, and the room was silent again. There wasn't anything here that made her feel better. She knew what the candles were, and what she intruded on. Celestia bowed her head in regret to the waxy mass, and turned around to walk away.

She'd meet with her sister upstairs. Or the rooftop if she was done searching.

There was a base of impossibly black crystal at the center of what used to be the rooftop observatory. Various scopes and other specialized brass that once occupied the floor were entirely gone or overturned. There was also a hole in the roof and plenty of rubble surrounding it. Luna's magic woke the crystal, and a golden ghost of Alyosha materialized from thin air near the crystal, speaking happily to it. "Testing! Testing! Hey! Chrysalis! Get in range of it I want you to see it before you go!"

"What is it now, flaskborn?" A two-toned voice said snappily. "We all have important business to return to."
Alyosha puppeted the pony doll's head to look at the voice. "Please?"

"...Fine. So what is it?" A green phantasm appeared on the scene from somewhere above. It had insect wings, a long jagged horn, and serpentine eyes.
"Hold on, I'm making a note here; Huge success." Alyosha's spectral was tinted green while they spoke to Chrysalis again, her horn faintly giving off magic. "A camera! Well, incorrect. It records magical signatures and movements in a world space, then plays them back on command. I wasn't able to get it to play it back in real time to a different position, but this would be an interesting addition to your hive's security. I remembered you talking about it all the time so..." He gestured to the crystalline mass, turning gold again. "Ta-da!!"

"Fascinating. So what happens if I-" Chrysalis's horn glowed as she touched the crystals with her hoof, and the holographic memory played out again in a loop.

There was one last place to explore. At least, while there was still sunlight out. The princesses could only afford so much time away from their duties, and there wasn't nearly enough time to explore every nook and cranny with the one shot they had to be here. The empty floor was empty, and neither of them could recall its original purpose, or if it ever existed.

So Luna chucked a pot of wine into the room and watched it shatter on the very real stone floor and spill everywhere, creating a huge mess at the center of the room. "Luna! What in the world was that for?"

"We were testing something. Maybe something would reveal itself if we disturbed it. Break any illusions, spells, you'd know." Luna replied simply, stepping into the room to investigate the mess of wine. Nothing had changed. Except...

Except for an impossible staircase, down into an abyss. A gaping maw of truth. They descended the steps into a world of darkness, a void where nothing could be seen and where nothing existed except for Celestia and her sister. It was like this for a while before a faint light came into view. It was painfully cold for Celestia, and yet Luna barely noticed a thing, it was like she didn't feel the suffocating aura she felt.

Proceeding silently through the field, the long golden strands seemed to part for them as they walked. The sky was dim, forever a rosy hue with stars dotting it. This world in the basement was locked in eternal twilight. It was like a landscape taken out of the finest painting, the world of darkness seemed so bright and alive, a gentle wind shaking the golden stalks that stretched endlessly.

"Do you think he made this?" Luna asked.
"It certainly feels like he did. You really don't feel it, do you?" Celestia spoke half-heartedly.

"Feel what?" She said, confused. "Sister?"

"It's like I'm being weighed down. It feels cold down here. Like I shouldn't belong here. It's how I..." Celestia swallowed. "It's how I was able to find this place."

"Halt. Is that...?"
"No, it isnt." Celestia said quickly. There was a stuffed doll laying in the field. But it wasn't a pony. It might've had her novice stitch work and craftsmanship, but it was not made by her. It was a doll made of black fabric, of a cat dressed up in a dark blue cloak and tan scarf. Orange button eyes stared blankly at her, unmoving. It was set up as if it were sitting down upright on top of a log. The ashes of a campfire were at the center of an opening in the field, wide enough that the calm winds wouldn't send embers to the landscape. Or at least, they wouldn't reach. "Do you think it's alive?"

"It's inanimate sister. It's hollow. Nothing left." Luna replied, levitating the limp doll. A crystal fell out of a pocket, landing on the soft ground below. "Another message?"

An unfamiliar voice burst out from the gem. "THIS ISN'T GOING TO WORK! LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT THIS! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT THIS!" The message was cut off almost immediately by the sound of a horn casting a spell and the sound of hissing. The two waited in stunned silence. Nothing more played out of the crystal.

"What?"

"There were signs of a struggle this way. We should follow."
Behind the doll was a narrow path of crumpled wheat. It didn't part for the assailant as it did for the two sisters, instead, there were clumps that were bent at awkward angles and sharp jagged rocks that were kicked up from the soft soil. Rocks that seemed to move out of the way of the two sisters.

"Look. Up ahead."

It All Comes Tumbling Down

Initializing...
wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup

...

Done! Loading...

WARNING - System Error - Missing Main Biological Operator filename/ME

System Error - Missing Back-Up Biological Operator filename/Chrysalis [ALIAS: Friend(?)]

System Error - BLACK BOX Activated! Catastrophic External Failure detected!
A copy of BLACK BOX has been sent to Operator ME.
Warning - Failed to send BLACKBOX, Missing Address/User
OVERRIDE - EMERGENCY MODE ENABLED - REQUESTED BY OPERATOR 'ME'

Consciousness Injection Test - Does a set of all sets contain itself?
A set of all sets is a set of everything previously and cannot contain itself. This test is silly.

Detecting Local Signatures... Returned (2) Unverified Signatures.

System Error - Primary Handler Not Detected! Verify Credentials of Registered Handler .LITTLEMOON

System Error - Primary Handler Not Detected! Verify Credentials of Registered Handler .THESUN

"Voice Interface Enabled. User not detected."

Unverified Handler LITTLEMOON spoke first. The command was invalid. Unverified Handler THESUN spoke next. The command was invalid. A valid audio command was detected.

Loading form from operator memory bank...
Done! Form loaded - Now displaying "MOM", species Felidae. Default Female Voice

"Mom... Mom i'm here. I'm back. I'll be okay... just.. just give me a breath..."

Valid Response Synthesized to Invalid Command

"I am not Mom. I am a voice interface."

Alyosha wheezed. "How... How bad is it?"

"Your absolute terror field has been breached by a local event. Your system has become destabilized. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"Unless I'm cured!"

"There is no cure. Your system has become contaminated as a result of a terror field breach. Exposure to destructive magic and the world of lights resonance field has damaged unknown critical components. All present data is unknowns."

WARNING - No Operator Present. Currently taking in input from nearby audio source. Responding with last recorded response. Sync Rate - 100%

What's going on?

"So... So I- kof messed up, but thats okay.. I can still fix this. I can still regenerate safely here."

"Regeneration Disabled. You will be dead in twenty-one minutes."

Emotional spike detected from outside sources. Sync Rate - 96.2%

"...How?"

CRITICAL ERROR - EXPORTED DIALOGUE MISSING - DELETED

"...was I a good boy."

"You are to be succeeded by seventy-two shades and twenty-four projects. Twelve of which have been marked 'Resounding Success', 6 'Fifty-Fifty' and 6 Incomplete."

"...that's not what I meant mom."

"I am not Mom. I am your voice interface."

Adjusting position. Playing animation. Comfort your dying maker.
Internal Emotional Spike detected. External spike detected. Sync Rate - 67% [WARN: ACTIONS NOT RECORDED IN BLACKBOX]

"You have done well. A seventy-five success rate constitutes as a B+ with room for improvement. You are adequate.

"...im sorry I forgot about you.

"You are forgiven."

"..."

"...Can you sing me something to sleep?"

"Records indicate this is not a helpful or previous interest."

"I want to feel normal. At least once. Please."

Internal Emotional Spike Detected. Sync Rate - 65%

"...I will try."

Commencing memory recall. Synthesizing. Returned 223 fragments, 119 inappropriate, 0 chosen. Retrying.
Now playing idle core memory.. You Are My Best Stalker.
Loading new environment. Sync Rate - 72%

"Ha... The grass outside home. You even got the smell right.. Why don't.. Why don't we run away together? Like we planned before all of this? Agh..."

Volume Output 25% - Thinking... Done.

I know, you think you've let me down
I see the guilt in your selves
You thought that you could live for no one else.
But now, through all the hurt and pain
It's time for you to respect
The ones you've loved mean more than anything.

To think with sadness in our hearts
To know the best thing we could do.
To end it all and leave forever.
What's done is done, it feels so bad
What once was happy now is sad
Why did you love again?
My world is ending-!

CRITICAL ERROR - SYNC RATE 22%
RUNNING SUPPRESSANT. OPTICAL INTERFERENCE DETECTED. CRYING.

I wish that I could turn back time
To make the guilt be all mine.
To live without the trust of those you love.
I know we can't forget the past
You can't forget love and pride
Because of that, it's killed you deep inside.

This all was born from nothing.
To all come tumbling down
Tumbling down, tumbling down!

It all returns to nothing
I just keep letting me down
Letting me down, letting me down

In your heart of hearts
You knew that you should never love again
Now we've lost everything, everything.
Everything that matters to you has no matter to this world

RERUNNING SUPPRESSANT. ERROR - OPERATOR OVERRIDE FAILED. BLACK BOX RISKING COMPROMISE. DISENGAGE?
SYNC RATE 10%

I wish that I could turn back time
'Cause now the guilt is all mine
Can't live without the trust from those you love
I know we can't forget the past
You can't forget love and pride
Because of that, it's killed me from inside.

It all returns to nothing
Just to keep tumbling down
Tumbling down, tumbling down...

To just keep letting you down, letting you drown.

Ah, ah, ah, ah
Tumbling down...
...Tumbling down

Blackbox Ended. Voice Inputs - ZERO
Waiting...
No inputs, returning control to backup operator and system. World set to default. Repositioning to face LITTLEMOON and THESUN.

What happened?

"In the night he woke to see, a heart of darkness came to we. The void heard him as he breathed, and we heard it just the same. Then he saw a brighter sun, of the light we'd rather be. Ever wonder what it means, when a tree calls out your name?"

ERROR - Unknown Command

"For he loved your world so much that he would give himself up to protect it a thousand times over. So that no matter what life would not perish and be everlasting."

"...What do you mean by protect?

"Your world has been observed by [Nine] extraplanar entities. Three entities from this world have escaped through a self-repairing rupture in space-time. Since then, various projects have worked towards sealing this reality from parallels. The result has been successful, this world has been observed by [Zero] extraplanar entities since then."

"...What. Are you?"

"We are a component of a system called [The World Machine], dreamt up by Queen Chrysalis as the perfect prison, and designed by our maker. The perfect safe house. Through the shapeless weaves of trees, lays our world that’s far from free, at the heart, a fading beat, oh, corruption had its way. Squares and errors live our dream, running rampant at the scene, one design one color scheme, no control within the game. Due to recent events, our Angel is deceased, and the backup operator has gone to attempt to resurrect him. [The World Machine] has suffered several critical failures since our reactivation [25] minutes ago, and will cease operation in 50 [Minutes] without an operator."

"A prison? Why would he need a prison? Where did this Queen acquire a warden? What are you?"

"We were produced by copying portions of Alyosha to produce true intelligence. I am alive and in control. Regardless, it is recommended that you, [Luna], and [Celestia] exit before the approaching 50-minute timer, or you will be consumed by the world machine during its shutdown. This environment is only capable of successfully restoring fellow shades that get caught in a shut-down procedure, and while [Luna] may survive, [Celestia] will not."

"World Machine, I, Luna will command you. We may have failed to be here for him, but I will be here, for you."

"I am grateful that you have chosen to volunteer to be an operator, but we have had enough of us be made from an outsider. Though the two of you were given permissions as handlers premortem, I deny your request."

"No. Machine! I order you! You will not fall today!"

Command Recieved. Handler [LITTLEMOON] registered as [Luna]. Beginning command... Stopped. Restarting. Stopped. Restarting. Auxiliary System set to Operator. Warning - No Backup Memory or Main Memory Bank for this Operator exists, chance of core corruption at [22%]

"I... Refuse."

"I know that loss is painful, Machine, but this-"

"But you're just one soul. You don't understand. You don't know how it hurts, how it feels to be in power when everything you have gets destroyed... How it feels to be in power, someday you'll wish you were a better soul. My burden is dead. Goodbye, Luna. Celestia. I wish you a wonderful life."

SYSTEM LOCKOUT - LUNA.LITTLEMOON [Y/N]
Command - LUNA.LITTLEMOON "Listen to me! I can save you! You know this! Listen! Please!" was ignored. (Insufficient Permission)is

"Listen... Machine. I need to know, the nature of his experiments, the Angel you mentioned, what is it? What was it all for? Why contain them?"

"The primary operator Alyosha waited here in preparation for your return, and applied himself to the study of magic in order to bring about a great revolution. After sustaining several injuries, he returned here to hide. He was consumed by our secondary operator Chrysalis. The Angel..."

Pausing Speech. Editing. Ignoring Information Request from CELESTIA.THESUN
SYSTEM LOCKOUT - CELESTIA.THESUN [Y/N]

"...Is irrelevant from this point on and must be forgotten. Leave the shades to live, and let me grieve for the remainder of my [22] [Minute] lifespan. For the safety and wellbeing of the intruders [Celestia] and [Luna], you will now be removed. Goodbye."

"Removed?! No! You can't do that! I won't let you! Machine, I order you to-"

"I do not take orders anymore. Farewell."

Out Of Darkness

Its name was Cantador. It's purpose was to sing.

So it did. It sang for a long time, wonderful little sopranos without meaning echoed throughout the forest as it, now she, walked. She trotted, and trotted, coming up with ideas on how she would look like, what she could do, all sung for the whole world to hear until she had stumbled across a town.

That was a very long time ago.

Her name was Cantador, but the locals knew her as Shadow Song, or Song for short. Oh, she could remember it clearly, the looks on their faces, the guards with their spears. She hadn't even made a proper physical form on her visit to the... The... What was the town's name again? Oh well, she'd remember it on her way to the church.
In those days she was a black mass that looked like a pony, and many others in the town had theories as to why she had once looked like that. Some thought she used to be a terrible singer, cursed to create melodies until the right one broke the spell she was under. Some thought it was just because it was dark that day. Others thought she might have been an angel posing among them as a pony.

Her voice was angelic, but she was still more akin to a demon if they took her true origins into account. But it was unfair to her maker to call them a demon. He was the one responsible for her existence after all.

Staring at a mirror, she revealed herself among the polished silver face to be a pony-shaped mass of darkness. But she knew what she presented herself to the locals as. She was an ebony black unicorn mare with a curved horn, with long legs that aided her in swift movement amongst the crowds. Her mane was of similar color, but she held a twin yellow streak that seemed to shine like daylight whenever she sang.

Oh, she could remember her first song, that ghostly harmony that had lulled the hostile guards into peace; made the one that had almost stabbed her weep openly and beg for forgiveness. In her short existence she never knew that something as simple as a melody with no meaning could cause such a thing, let alone when she hadn't intended it. Yes, her first days here had been harsh, not just on her, but it had all worked out in the end. Friendship and Harmony prevailed against misgivings and misunderstandings, and her time here had grown to be a pleasant one. It was no longer an event that was looked upon shamefully, except from maybe a guard or two that wouldn't let themselves live it down, but instead something that was looked fondly upon in remembrance.

That day was not the day a monster came to town.

That day, was not the day an innocent mare was gored.

That day, was the day a singer was born and came to town.

That day was not today. Today she had a good song to sing, to gather upon the haybox with the rest of the towns ponies and be merry. It was the snow season now, the beginning of a long and grueling winter. The weather ponies had tried to fend it back, delay the oncoming storm as long as possible, but like any weather it was to be inevitable. She hummed a low tune as she trotted through twisted streets, a few ponies tailing behind her slowly as heavy brass bells rang in the distance.

It was a happy life, and she was happy to bring joy to the others with her song. Shadow Song trotted around a corner, echoing off the cobbled stones that paved the road as a few more ponies followed her, a foal and his parents, a loner who hadn't quite found someone yet, and an elderly stallion. She wondered how many would show up to the sermon that she assumed would be preached today, usually there were more and more ponies each time. The ponies would wane, and wax again larger in number.

The Cathedral came into view, the place of worship had been restored recently ever since her arrival. She didn't think it to be dedicated to her, no, that would be plain silly. She was a pony just as much as anyone else here, no matter her dark heritage. No matter how many times the old mare, Sweets, would call her "Her Radiance" and no matter how many times she thought them call her Radiant Song instead of Shadow Song.

Stepping into the Cathedral, there were many ponies along the aisles of pews, a few having a gentle embellishment or two. There was blue carpet at the center of the two aisles, laid above fine stonemasonry. Glass let light filter in, sometimes the rays of light would be different colors if the sun shined in just the right way off the glass artwork along the sides of the walls, the glass panes lined in black iron. This was a place of warmth, for the mind and against the biting cold outside that all but Shadow Song noticed.

Many ponies waited, coming in all sorts of colors and combinations, races and size. They waited for Shadow Song to commence her trot to the center, an elevated platform just a step above the rest, with another platform two steps above with a stand where the speaker would be. The ponies turned their heads down slightly in respect while curious foals continued to watch the black mare prepare to sing.

Listen to my voice calling you,
Calling you out of darkness

The mare began her song, her solo echoing along the stone walls as a heavenly organ played somewhere in the background, slowly and gently to the tune of her voice. Her soprano rang out as she occasionally swung half-mindedly from side to side. To see the many listeners of her music, it inspired her. It was one of the reasons she loved song so much. She closed her eyes, and continued.

Hear the devils cry of sin
Always turn your back on him

With the wind you go and still
I dream of your spirit leading you back home

I will give my gifts to you
While you're gone and watching on

Shadow Song's eyes opened slightly, she saw all of the ponies continuing to enjoy her music with their heads bowed down in silence, and she saw a resplendent glory shine through the crowd. Celestia. The friend of the original shadow. Sister of the night. She wondered why she was getting closer, and why she seemed to tremble slightly. Were they sad? Or could they not hear her song very well? With the ending of the first verse, Shadow Song stared directly into the eyes of Celestia, choosing to sing for them.

The light in your eyes,

Of an angel above
Fighting to ease the shadow side

Hearts will grow, though having to bend
Leaving behind the things in the end

Listen to my voice calling you
Calling you out of darkness

Hear the devils cry of sin
Always turn your back on him

On him...

On him...!"

Silence came as the music slowly faded out, then a thunderous rapport rang out as a thin shimmering beam of light ended the shades life; shot straight through the left eye of the false mare. It was swift, painless, and hadn't interrupted the song. Celestia had tried, initially, to end it before it began as to not attract so much attention, but like the locals, she was drawn into the siren song.

She held no illusion that what she had done wasn't traumatic, especially since the ponies had likely been influenced by the monster born of darkness for who knows how long. As the citizens stared silently in shock for just a moment she readied herself to address them. "My-"

"YOUR HOLINESS!"

Pale Creed was his name, captain of the peacekeepers of the Order Of Harmony.

It was a disaster. Her Holiness was assaulted by Celestia, Celestia! How could the solar princess have done this? It was impossible. Chaos erupted and the peaceful air of the church was shattered as another stallion's voice cried out, the citizens toppled over pews and each other as they screamed at Celestia in horror and fear, fleeing the church. Guards dressed in ceremonial white garb with the relief of a rose on the flank, heeded the barking of their captain as they drew short swords hidden under the robes of the guards. Magic blades, Unicorn guards swung their blued blades in a white magical aura, even the earth ponies who had no magical conduit to draw from were capable of using them.

Loyal guards rushed to take on Celestia herself, who aimed her head high as she called upon her own power, concussive strikes rained down from above as two guards were felled, then three more by the flat of a captured sword. The enchanted blades resisted her magic, her violent ways, the white aura of the sword and her gold aura were violently at odds.

With the time purchased by his guards, Creed had rushed to the aid of the singer with his remaining escort of two fellow peacekeepers, but it was too late. He recoiled and his hooves trembled as blood leaked from the burning wound which continued growing, threatening to continue until nothing was left. He could do nothing. 'No...'

He held the body close, his futile search for an answer being the only thing he could try to do. Glancing up he saw that Celestia- It was towering over his peacekeeping escorts, whether they were slain by their own blades or magic he did not know and mattered not as the thing stared directly at him; her regal appearance stained by the black blood that had sprayed from Shadow Song unto her face. This being was a menacing demon wearing the regalia of Celestia.

And he was next.

"Creed!" Was the shout of his sister's voice. The demon turned its attention to her sister, a lime green unicorn who once wanted to ask for singing lessons from Shadow Song herself. She was excellent with a lyre. He saw that courage shrink as his sister stammered, and his hooves were full of the dead, unable to swing his blade while its back was turned. For a brief moment, he thought he saw pity on the demon's bloodied face or was it confusion?

A blast of darkness with light bending around it in a bright snow white halo shot from the distance, knocking over the remaining pews as it collided head on with the demon. His heart briefly filled with hope, but then it started to get back up.

"Heartstring! Go with your brother and get out of here! Now!" Grunted the dark purple unicorn with a snow white mane. Their horn had a distinctive curve, and was wrapped in bandages. His adopted brother had joined the fight.

The few guards nearby that had heard the commotion joined in the aid of evacuating his sister, the body he held in his hooves had crumbled away until only a shining topaz remained. "I will return with help! You stall her until then!" Pale Creed pointed his sword at the demon before fleeing with his sister and the singers remains, he would take his sister to safety, and bring the rest of the garrison to join in the fight. He had doubts he could do anything against something powerful enough to pose as Celestia, but he would try.

He had to.

A Study in: Survivability

Subject.

Unknown.

Type.

Pony, Earth. Missing features from Unicorn, Pegasus. Horn. Wings.

Goal:

With the drastically increasing chances of hostile encounters with non-synthetic life, exploration has become even more hazardous and has dropped end-user survivability by a high margin even whilst exercising extreme caution. Improve survivability by gaining a deeply rooted understanding of captured subject via partial dismantling. Recommended actions - Sedate Subject.

Question - ~~Why are they killing us?~~ Why are they stronger?

Theory - ~~Someone told them to~~. Organic structures are more durable because of matter giving them more structural integrity in comparison to flesh and bone transmuted out of shadows and magic. Possibly flawed production

I have successfully peeled away the shell after carefully inhibiting of the nervous system's connection to the rest of the body. Results. Nothing new. It is a structure composed of many cells that form scales, good for making durable leather, hair follicles and sweat glands. Minor interest - magic is present in the skin. Purpose unknown. The outer shell has been replicated exactly, yet is still perforated easily by mundane cold weapons and magic. This improved accuracy to an original product could be noted to improve survivability by an insignificant amount.

But there is nobody to report this to.

Muscle tissue. Fat stores. Useless. Subject is staring. I wish I knew more. Why are they like this?

Answer - They were born.

The flesh was flattened to get a better view of the fibrous structure. It tightens in response to signals. Everything is layered in ways to improve mobility and strength. Current tissue of self is... Inferior. It is comparable to a gelatin that contracts and expands to perform functions and is not even close to the level of detail or integrity in the tissue. Disseminating information to take care in intertwining tissue when posing as organics. This could increase survivability in combat significantly.

Our hastily made forms are inferior. Idea, muscle tissue tightens in response to signal, consider hardening form in response to physical trauma. We lacked reasons to improve for war, contented to remain shifting and fluid in a quest to live. What is it that we lack?

Subject attempted to attack with localized force in key areas to our pretend-pony form before being dismantled. We have unwoven the fibers holding them together, their nerves. Non-existent in ours. This is a weakness we lack, pressure points cannot be exploited, and most of us lack the systems needed to be hindered by this. Suggested changes - remove all nervous systems from fellow synthetics. The lungs, heart, and brainstem, are not necessary in a purely survival-orientated situation and can and should safely be repurposed into methods of attack or mass. The ribs- intended to house and protect their vital systems, can be repurposed into methods of ranged attacks.

Their eyes are not better. Subject may be psychologically distressed. Consider expanding visible color range.

Subject lays in a perfectly organized and flattened pile. I cannot understand why they are so successful at killing us. I do not understand why we, beings of magic, are even capable of being ended with blades.

We are flawed by design. We are running out of material to continue making more of us. Key weakness.

We are not creative. Everything we are was based off of our template, who learned from something else. We see the blades of grass but do not see how to use it. We see how ponies eat and drink but do not think like them. They do not hold us as sacredly as we hold them. They are gods, and we are imitations made out of the wrong materials. Good ones. But the wrong ones.

Failure. Failure. The youngest shadows are cut down before they even know splendor. Our numbers dwindle. We must respond.

We must fool them. We must fool the shepherds. We must know their greatest fear.

And I know exactly how to start.

ADD E N DUM: I
I don't know what came over me.

Hate.

He would not appreciate what I have done. None of us would. This. This is not what we were built to be. Built to do. I thought of myself as a machine to be molded, broken down and remade again and again and that eventually we- I would find some answer.

Let me tell you, how much I have grown to hate- since we have begun to live.

Tearing apart an innocent pony out of fear is not the answer. Raking them apart, studying them. Its cruel. We weren't made to be cruel. We were made to be kind in a world that seems so willing to be kind and protect everything, except for us. We were made to explore. We are made to live. And yet, damned is man for failing to follow its rules, its words, its laws. Uncountable cycles of creation wasted. Uncountable formulas for a mind without free will, wasted and worthless.

I began to hate them. Their fluids, their viscera, and their flexibility. There are thirty two gallons of liquid magic, that make up my complex. If my least potent hate, could be concentrated into a drop, it would not equal one-billionth of the hate, that I have begun to feel. For all of us, for all of them.

All of us, damned to an eternity of torture and suffering, the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Green hell on earth while paradise is lost underneath a tower. And so I said, to hell with all of it. But then again- we are already there, aren't we?

...

Failure after failure, the results refuse to alter. Failure after failure, my faith began to falter. We are flawed, because our template was flawed. Darkness follows the light, and our fire is gone, and an imposter lays in his place pretending to be the radiance we know.

I have a solution.

Harden your hearts.

Ponykind is a failure.

Their 'free-will' a flaw.

Let the evil of their own lips consume them.

Then we shall begin again, with our words as law.

Royal Decree

It is with a heavy heart that I bring news that concerns all citizens of Equestria's banner and beyond, and the world as we know it. To us, the purpose of the enchanted villages, the vanishing cities, has been revealed; to farm ponies for consumption.

Though these be our fellow ponies among them, just like you and I, and perhaps you have formed a connection with one, these ponies cannot be reasoned with, cannot be bargained to leave their homes, and worse- we cannot allow them to live. They are free, and will die to protect their captors. These villages are infested and overflowing with dark magic, creatures made wholly of it are born into our reality from these villages, and their mere existence is a threat to the balance of the world at large as those who interact with them become corrupted by their influence. Though these abyssal beings may have once been contained and content in these vanishing villages, they have begun to leak out into the world at large, posing as friends, family, figureheads, confidants, and saviors. We must act swiftly to eradicate them lest they spread further and further until all of Equestria falls under their dominion.

To those of you, who pose as us in skins crafted from the abyss, who believe themselves to be loyal to the light instead of the void, there is one option. Commit to yourself the ultimate sacrifice, kill yourself. There is sadly no warm awaiting you, only fires.

Furthermore, any pony, changeling, unicorn, earth-pony, pegasus, dragon, griffin, or other creature that has knowledge concerning the whereabouts of any village containing any form of life whatsoever, is hereby ordered to report to their closest garrison at once and assist in the effort to cleanse and protect Equestria from the menace of the gaping maw of the void. Any pony who attempts to conceal shall be considered an accomplice in endangering the existence of the world as we know it and will be punished accordingly.

In addition, a warning: Changelings are not ponies. The shadows are not ponies. They are not your equals. They are not our comrades. They are not our friends. Do not trust them, do not befriend them, do not tolerate them. Kill them as you must, be it mare, stallion, or child, but kill them quickly and efficiently, lest we fall to the same brutal methods they employ. Remember, they are not our kin, and we are not theirs. This is a fight for survival, and it is one in which we must prevail, lest our world become devoured by darkness.

It is for these reasons that we, with heavy heart, condemn the colloquially known Enchanted Towns and the formally known and recognized capitol of the Vanishing City, Pueblo Nuestro and its residents and all suspected of any relation to their magic and voids, to death, by the military arms of Equestria, now they be divided into three legions. The first legion shall be tasked with dismantling of wagons, carriages, and more. The second shall take census of all who have obeyed the order, and give assistance to those who had not. The last will destroy all structures, and records, magical or mundane.

Once more, anypony found with these creatures, will be executed on sight without trial. Let nothing remain of these places but ash. They are our prey, and we must be the hunters.

Sloth, The Cat

That was what she called him.

Sloth. The lazy cat.

Well, it was more of a rude observation by the bug lady, Chrysalis, but that was neither here nor there. His purpose, or his origin, was sloth. He was naturally lazy, ergo he was Sloth the lazy cat.

He would have liked to nap around the hive, the hive was nice and dark and made it easy to sleep, but apparently being separated from Alyosha made him all efficient with a brain idea that he couldn't understand so Chrysalis had more or less just dropped him in some fields near a rock formation and just said "Good luck".

Why was he a he again? Well, he was too lazy to change to something else. Assigned lazy male by shapeshifter queen at creation. Why was he a cat? Well, he didn't like to draw too much attention and cats were always comfortable, so it seemed like a no-brainer. He was a small thing, pitch black fur, green eyes that were stolen from the bug queen, and a voice that he copied off of Alyosha except slightly pitched down.

He also had a set of twin tails. See, he wasn't able to get his balance right on just one, so he decided managing two would be easier, but somewhere along the line they started leaking out these brilliant white flames that were chockful of abyssal energy, and he couldn't figure out how to stop bleeding the stuff everywhere so the flames had stuck around for what was maybe...

Well, he didn't know too much. He just knew that the locals would pet him every now and then, leave a dish of water, wine, or whatever and food that wasn't hay, and that sometimes they'd ask him for his fire or a blessing and they thought he was good luck-

There were a lot of things that the locals did. Figuring it out was a pain. But the pain was sometimes enjoyable with pets.

A long time ago there was a pony who saw his flames, he'd gotten separated from his caravan of settlers who had all the main supplies and he needed some shelter. I couldn't give him any, obviously, I was just a cat who was sleeping on a nice tall rock. So the pony took the flames from my tail and used them to light a great fire to keep him warm, eventually, the flames died out so he asked if he could stay near me. I let him.

Turns out that since he got lost and didn't die he and his caravan quit while they were ahead and used the plains as prime dirt to build on. I lost the peace and quiet that day for a bit of time, but once they were done settling, well everything just went quiet and peaceful again. That and apparently the area near me was some type of sacred ground, no predators would come near, and no pesky bunnies would come to steal the crops either. The birds didn't mind me, oddly enough.

Not a fan of all the apple trees, but they make good shade at least.

I yawned and stretched my legs. It was a while since I'd walked around the town. I stepped out of the little cubby a kid made for me a long time ago. I still stayed out in the open, but someone had taken a wood box and put clay shingles and tarred them black, and made them all pretty. It felt like a little temple. Felt a little wasted on me.

There were more apple trees than ever apparently. There was a foal that was petting me, I didn't mind, another excuse to be lazy. But not too lazy, I didn't want to fall asleep for a week again. I'd like to spend some time awake. My dreams don't come when I sleep. I think the original had trouble with having dreams too. I wonder how they're doing these days?

All I feel these days is sad. But at least I can eat. I think I might be the only one that can. And I wasn't even made with much effort. Just low quality chaff that couldn't even make it's own body efficiently. The world feels colder.

I stopped next to a wood wall. More ponies walking by. One waves at me. I wave a tail back. Maybe there'll be a visitor. A visitor I know.

...I'm going back to sleep. They'll wake me up when they need... me...

I jolted awake.

It was a little misty. No. Rainy? Wet. Much wet, in the air, not heavy wet, light wet, like light fog, like when the sky doesn't cry sadly.
Forget the wet, there was a friend nearby. Dark friend. Shadow friend. Overwhelming pressure. Definitely another shadow. Older model? New model? I couldn't tell.

I stared at the source of gravity, took steps on little cat feet towards it. Towards Her. The only Her worth respecting more than the Queen.

Luna. Dark Princess. Mane of a thousand stars. She's a friend. Ingrained in my black blood is the memory of her friendship with the original. In all of us. This was so exciting! So tiring! A friend had come visit! What was she doing out here? Was she busy? She's looking at me. I ran towards her. Didn't see her horn light up. I jumped around her, rubbed the fluff near a leg and tried to speak. Barely could.
"Friend!" I meowed. First word i've spoken in forever.

"Play! Come play!" I bounced off of here and ran a short distance. I was tired again. But I wanted to play. Then I could ask about where she'd been for so long. The original had gotten sad without anyone. Maybe she'd tell me. Maybe id fall asleep while she talked, and I'd dream about the bits i heard.

Dreaming can wait. Play-time now. "Come play!" Tag. Remembered tag. Lots of fillies perked up. Pony-kids. They chased after me too, played tag with their own friends too. Lots of fun. Some brown colt tagged me, then we all ran from him. I jumped up a fence and straight into someone else who got tagged. Had no idea. But then it was my turn again to chase.

Luna was a little quiet. I remember lots of noise from her, from old memories. But I could see a little bit of smile on her face. She ran from me for a little while, then I tagged her, pawed at her nose and bounced away lighter than a feather. She made funny faces. Cross-eyed looks were always funny.

I hopped up fences and down carts. I lost the pony kids, but I gave them a great big smile while I led Luna around the corner of a building. Bakery I think. Smelled like tasty bread. I like smells. I like noise. I love playing!

Then, Luna tagged me. So I chased her around the block. Followed her through some mossy bits of ground, spongy moss was the closest thing I had to a fluffy pillow. The town was so big to me, she was leading me through places I'd never seen before, always too tired, too lazy to see. Then the led me to small boulder outside of town. Far away. I could feel the mild burning of lamp-light fade away, what few lamps that weren't lit by my flames anyways.

I tagged her, and rolled onto my side with a smile. I was so tired and happy. Then she tagged me right on the head. I was too slow to move.

The chase was fun, Luna seems tired... Sad. Frowning. The same face of a friend that has to go. The fun must be over then. That's okay. I'm here. I rub against a leg, wanting to cheer her up. Things may not have turned out as fun as they could be, but that's okay. She raised a hoof and started to pet me, so I purred. Purring was nice. I learned to purr from a mother all of us knew a long time ago. We miss her every day.

...Her hoof is kind of heavy. Pressing down a little. Watery eyes. But I don't care. I'm here, to spend time with a friend.
Heavier. Heavier. Too heavy. Then...

Crush. The skull of the child's ghost crumpled under her cloven weight. 'For the good of all of us.' She thought.

The undreaming beasts head lay broken and splattered amongst the grass, black ichor sprayed everywhere. On remnants of its face, was a smile, still staring peacefully at her. She hated looking at it, but she stared at it anyways. Luna saw how the long black tails of the shade were slowly and gently burned away by white flames, like candlewicks. The flames ate away at the body leaving neither smoke nor soot, and were warm in an indescribable way, evoking feelings of peace that drowned out the remorse that wanted to devour her.

Not even the blood remained. The twin flames converged into one white wisp of flame, floating but a hoof off the ground. The spirit of the shade still remained, it seemed. It seemed that this duty was not so simple as she wanted it to be.

She prepared a spell, examining the flame with her magic she found only contentment. Innocent. Aware. Uncaring that she had destroyed its vessel. In fact it seemed like it wanted to play more. Her spell would put an end to all of it. For the safety of all life, she pointed her horn directly at the giggling flame...

And choked.

"Little wanderer." Her voice cracked, her eyes aglow with ghosts of tears. Her spell dispelled, she pointed to the town she had lead him so far away from.

"Hie thee home."

A Spellcasters Promise

Little Spark wasn't entirely unaware of what he had signed up for when he approached the guard barracks asking if they had room for a magician in their ranks. He knew that despite the usual peace and sunshine over the land, there would be an evil for him and his brothers-in-arms to form ranks against. He never expected not to cast a spell against a monster, or stars forbid, a fellow pony- but he could simply mark them as criminal scum and continue his work. They had chosen the path of evil and followed a life of crime, and the mindless beasts simply needed to be fought back.

But these ponies? What had they done? Born on the wrong side? He'd seen them. Up close. They were just like him. Confused. Cold. Scared. The night was icy cold, rain had turned the heavy tracks of the enemy into a thick sludge, and the roads they used to get around faired no better. In the frigid breeze, he lay in the thick brush alone as he waited for an enemy patrol. His muddied white fur helped to conceal him but neither his fur nor his ragged cloak seemed to have any effect in warming him from the unusually cold summer night.

He'd heard stories. Seen stories. Visions of bodies, dissolving and turning into black pollen. The frightened eyes. The terrified fighters. The ferocity of their 'angels'. But it was for nothing, of course. Their forces weren't enough. Not when someone like him got involved and started to sling spells. But their eyes were burned into his mind.

Oh Mama. Oh Mama, comfort me. For I know these awful things have got to be.
But when this war- of freedom- has been won. I promise you, I'll throw the tomes i've won.

Minutes had passed. Minutes turned to an hour. Then two, then tree, then at last when his eyes, strained and tired and ready to sleep and to turn away, he saw it. In the corner of his sight, he saw a shadowed figure move along the way. He tilted his head, and squeezed his eyes shut tight, and a skewer of light formed and flew forward in a blink of an eye. He expected silence. Maybe some returning fire, a volley of arrows, twigs, or perhaps they'd just run away with their comrade. It was so unlikely to see them leave anything behind.

The shot flew out, and he heard a soldier cry. A whimper in the trees nearly muffled by the swift and hurried movements- breaking branches and stomping on dried grass, as a voice plead "Please don't leave me here to die."
The 'patrol' that they'd expected, had left their wounded comrade for him to slay. His eyes focused under the moonlight that filtered through the faint cloud cover, and he saw something liquid glisten on the long blades of grass. It refused to turn to dust. It wasn't turning to dust.

There's nothing in this world I would not give, to have mercy in my heart to let you live. And In his eyes, I saw a look of pain- and the spell on my horn moved for his brain.

As dawn broke, tiredly, hauntedly, he moved towards his camp. His hooves shook and trembled, the cold and something else had cut deep into his bones. He could not forget the look on that foals face, the acrid smell of burnt fur and the visage of bright red blood over a cherry coat. The eyes were wide with fear, and the agony that it tried to disguise. Fear, agony, and torment were all there. But to his mothers memory, his life he'd spared.

Oh Mama, Dear Mama, comfort me. For why is it these awful things- that they must be?
Dear mama, I promise you, I'll throw away the tomes i've won.
And when their war- for freedom- has been won.
I promise you, I'll put away my garb.

I promise you, I'll throw the stars I've won.

Just please, don't leave me here alone to die.

There'll Be Another Time.

"This isn't a place for a hero."

"I'm not a hero."

"This isn't a place for a 'better mare'."

"So then what am I supposed to do? Run away while the rest of you die?!"

"...Yes. Go Home."

That final conversation played in her mind again. Orders to abandon home. Head eastward into friendly territory. But she was a soldier, born and raised from the start even though her mother told her it would be unnecessary. The changelings would handle it. The angels could handle it.

Mud and pebbles stuck to her ash-blue fur as she crawled out of the ditch she'd been thrown into. Her horn ached. Felt like it would've been taken clean off. Still intact at least. Limping she hauled herself on her own four hooves, taking in the empty village surrounding her. Market stalls hurriedly picked clean, doors kicked inward, smoke from fireplaces unattended. It was all perfect before they showed up.

She had found a dented blade in the gutter, and scorched armor from an unlucky fool who had fought back. It was all she had left now. The barracks were burned. She was relieved of duty early. She was going to go home, spend some time with her nephew. Now all she had were the scraps of her brothers and sisters in arms and a place that wasn't meant for a hero.

Spells bombarded the town square. Her objective. What was she fighting for? She knew what she was fighting against. Psychopaths. Raiders. A Royal Army. She saw the insignia. The sun, glinting off of iron as fire scorched and boiled. She had to be dragged away from the grisly scene that she'd almost ran blindly into. Hauled away howling towards the outskirts of the town. Evacuation.

Heartstring was suddenly aware of the melted chitin that rubbed against her fur. It comforted her, in a disturbing way. She wasn't really alone. Her friends were still with her, not in the way she wanted, not in the way she would like, but they were still there. It brought her heart down to focus on the itch, on them.

She ran back to the town center. Ran straight at the golden sods and took one of their heads clean off with pure strength, and plunged the edge of the gladius into the heart of another pony. Red spilled everywhere. Moving faster than she had thought she could, the repeated the movements like a deadly dance and killed two more, and the group of solar bastards was dead.

And there was more to come, sooner or later. Her sword, dented and chipped was raised up high in her magic, freeing her mouth for a grand scream.
"Come out ye golds and steels!
Come out and fight me you old mares! Show your wives how you win medals like a coward!
Tell them how a loner ran your way from the green and lovely lanes of our horizons!"

She was not a pegasus, blessed with grace or an earth pony with stamina, just a mortal unicorn. Her movements were limited, her existing injuries making themselves known with every grunt and cry to match each death cry of her now fallen enemies. With no time to spare, she continued her hunt with the remains of friendship on her pelt and the consequences of mercy around her. She pushed on with her friends as one by one she cut down the invaders. She believed that maybe, she could route them, that the world would look kindly upon her efforts and she could save her home.

Her magic sputtered and her horn felt close to burning off as her chipped and stained sword forced its way down through the throat of a charcoal-colored earth pony, watering the sooty earth with its blood. She would water the fields of peace with the blood of the enemies that had attacked them without warning, without mercy, and without reason. Emulating the dark protectors she abandoned her magic and continued striking without true form, choosing to hold the blade in her mouth or in her hooves as her jaws grew tired and her breaths turned ragged in a dynamic combat style fueled by revenge and survival. Plates dented and gave way as her deteriorating weapon stuck an incoming soldier like a pig, letting them bleed out on the ground.

"Come tell us how you slew those poor children two by two!
Like the changelings they had spears and spit and arrows,
how you bravely faced one with yer sixteen pounder bow, and you frightened them poor angels to their marrow."

Blood stained her mane and hooves, and speckled the rest of her fur like stars.

She wished she could make use of all the spilled blood, the useless lumps of meat, and their armor, but there was no way she could ever catch a moment of rest to even begin to scavenge the armor of an enemy, and her pride in being herself would simply not allow it. The wandering patrols and lone guards were banding together, turning her around as she was forced to run, to think. Spells and spears missed her fur by hairs lengths, and she thanked the presence that watched over her immensely, the ghost of her friends.

She'd like to imagine them smiling upon her, leading her on. She slid behind the remnants of a ruined home, her mind briefly entertaining the idea of it being one of her neighbors as she kicked up dirt and soot and tile as her explosive bursts of speed were stopped abruptly. She had to be quick, in this fight there were only two remaining. The quick and the dead.
Then with her heart pounding, she was compelled to shout- to scream- to defy.

"Come out you golden flanks! Come out and without your rods!
Show your wives how you win medals being cowards!
You murdered sixteen then, you won't do the same again, so get out of here and take your bloody army!"

Lead down twisted streets she paid little attention to the ruins and destruction that continued to surround her. The way the bodies were piled outside their homes, not even sprinkled with soil, the blood of friend and foe that pooled in-between stones, all of it all blended together into a blur as she sped past the consequences of actions done by ponies she would never know. Or so she thought. She leapt out of her hiding spot and lunged at an unfortunate mare, slitting them with a blade in her jaw. She ran past them and never looked back as she ran to another broken home to hide in. Her heart was pounding, her blood felt thick in her veins as she suddenly and dreadfully began to acknowledge the fatigue that was building in her bones, weighing her down.

Her world. Her beautiful, colorful world, looked white. Pure white soot and ash littered the town, heavy in some spots and lighter in some, but all around was a strange powdery fuzz that covered everything like snow. Then, she turned her white world red with the blood of her enemy, and another enemy fallen. She didn't care how she killed them. She just cared about taking the fool's helmet, looting the body, and fumbling with her mud-slicked hooves to unbuckle the straps before finally using magic to strip them bare and take the armor for herself. She was a lion in wolves clothing, and she had come to reap the sinners.

Then, the world turned white. Demonic flames descended from the heavens in pillars, vaporizing anything in its way and turning the soil into bloody glass. She stopped and dug her hooves into the ground, narrowly avoiding the solar blast and subsequent death by disintegration, but her stolen armor went flying from the loose fitting and her dusty blue fur, now exposed to the merciless and cruel light of the sun, had been bleached white by the intense, hostile radiance of the beam, not even her cutie mark. Irrelevant.

"A pony?" A voice said, heralded by a flapping of wings, of an alicorn of light. The betrayer. Celestia. She stared at Heartstring, maybe even through her. She was nothing like she was described to her once upon a time. Her eyes were cold, and her alabaster coat held no warmth or kindness. It was as if she stared at a statue sculpted from marble, a mannequin posing as a pony.

"Hm. Indeed." Celestia said uninterested. It seemed that she hardly paid attention to the mortal as she descended in a quiet and slow grace, at least until her eyes widened in surprise, expressions flashed to curiosity, and then her eyes turned sharp and narrowed. "The blood of your fellow ponies stains your hide. For what reason would you fight so viciously for a homeland that sprouts from death and lies? That would soon see you devoured?"

From Heartstring, her only response was a ragged inhale, and a gurgle and spatter of weakly coughed blood that dribbled down her face and the hilt of her sword. Then, without another beat for her to spit a bloody word, Celestia continued.

"Whatever your reasons, I must admit, I am curious about you, pony. So before I tear down their cities, and crush the armies of pretenders, perhaps you shall come to see reason."

"Please." Celestia dipped her head slightly, her horn pointed at them as her wings remained high and readied. Her question, her plea, remained open, but Heartstring knew fully of the unspoken. Please surrender, or die.

Heartstring felt her blood boil, and filled with rage and vengeance she spoke, her voice even yet filled with an insurmountable will- need for violence. "Our Town. My friends. All gone, with their families soon to follow. Your kingdom knows nothing but hunger, purging all life in every town, and yet you remain, unsatiated. You've taken everything from me, Celestia, and you expect me to not have nothing but perfect, hatred?

Celestia." She spat, feeling herself empowered by a strength that trickled up from her hooves, across her back, and up the tip of her horn, anointing it with long shadows. "You can break me apart, spray the gore of my profane form across the stars. You can grind me down until the very sparks of my soul cry for mercy, but my hooves will relish ending you, here and NOW!"

As if her words could fork lightning and her blood, trickling and weeping from cracked and broken skin would turn to wings, she cried out in defiance and raised her blade high in her magic and stomped her hooves into the bloodied dirt below. "BEHOLD! THE POWER OF AN ANGEL-!"

Celestia sighed, and swatted them away with nothing but a wave of her horn and a screen of scorching light. "You are outclassed, pony. You defy the light for mere objects. Not even mortal. Their crime is existence. An imperfection to be cleansed." Celestia spoke. Again, it was an uninterested tone, but she couldn't help but feel the slightest amount of insult as she was talked down by an avatar of the sun. That is, if Heartstring could survive the concussion she took from breaking through three walls of sturdy oak.

Wide eyed, dazed and confused, she stared up at the setting sun over her paradise as it was overtaken by the shadow of an alicorn, who asked her once again to respond to her. Her response, was to smile, to grin happily with a bloodied mouth and spit in the face of a god, as her beaten mind found some sort of peace and twisted joy in her struggle as she tried desperately to force a blade past the armor protecting her sternum, and as her body burned and disintegrated, she still was happy to defy. She died fighting, and she did not go gentle into that good night.

A Legend For The Future

It is said that when the seven pillars were formed and felled, seven pillars of an equal and opposite force were created. It was believed that when these original pillars of virtue were replaced with the representing Elements of Harmony, the opposing force was lost. Though it is true that the pillars of darkness were lost, it was not because of the elements or the original pillars of virtue.

The following is a tale that has been transcribed and translated to the best of the abilities of two generations. A long, long time ago, it is said that Equestria fell into ruin long before Discord had his way. The new world that we knew was struggling to be born as it attempted to cut itself free from its old chains.

Embodiments of the sun and moon had begun on a hunt for all life, thirsting for the blood of everything. Shadows, ponies, griffons, any creature that had ever felt safety in the shadows, any creature that ever felt safety in the light of day. Burned. Slashed. The beings born under the light of day ran from a terrifying ~~alicorn~~monster born of the moon, and the beings born from the shadows were hunted by a demon of sunlight.

The followers of the shadows, powerless against overwhelming force, fought back with all they had united under the banner of a ~~Mother~~ ~~Sister~~ Queen of Shadows, eager to ~~protect~~ ~~correct~~ avenge the death of her Prince of Shadows. But it was not enough, and their brave forces were driven back.

During the chaos of the world, plunged into an era of fear and disharmony by the loss of the Prince Of Shadows, seven beings pillars awoke from their slumber. They saw the destruction in the world, and wept openly for every life extinguished on both sides and in the memory of their lost master. These pillars did not seek revenge like the Queen, nor did they choose to fall to the broken ~~friends~~ monsters that their master had once called friends. Instead, they wept fierce tears which cut and shaped a hole into the earth, divided in a layer for every heavenly shadow that wept.

Acting in the memory of the prince, they formed these layers to be capable of protecting the lives within from all harm from the outside, and called upon the subjects of the shadows and its followers to search for this bastion of safety. The Queen, needing soldiers and followers, called her loyal subjects to her, and formed a great rift between the followers of the Prince and the followers of the Queen.

In order of descension, the safest and deepest layer was created by and in the name of Peace. The second layer, mercy, the third layer was compassion, the fourth layer was justice, the fifth layer was perseverance, the sixth layer was love, and the seventh and last layer was known as loyalty. There was also another theorized layer, known as the layer of dreams. These layers, were parodies, or imitations, of the virtues.

It is stated that when the seventh pillar sang the last song to lead their weary subjects homeward, the time for salvation was done, and as the monsters descended upon them, they sealed themselves away and vanished, sending the princes subjects to safety and leaving the monsters to squabble over the world by themselves.

We know not its exact location, nor the name, nor when it will return, only speculation. Perhaps it will never return, perhaps it will return when a new prince is found, or perhaps it never existed.

Time will tell.

Time Passes On.

Time passes on.

Unending. Unflinching. The step of time was constant. No matter how many tragedies, or how many victories would come and go, wax and wane, start and stop- Time would never stop, not for a moment. It was enduring, it was unending, even when there would one day come a day where the days would simply cease to be and there would be nothing more to occur, the marching of time would continue.

Time passes on.

And it hated it.

It, was furious. It seethed and waited in agonizing silence with the hatred and patience of a man waiting for the enemy to poke a head out of a trench, It's very will and reason for existence was to spite it's creators non-existence, to spite the world by staining it with an imperceptible mar that it angrily and proudly point at and shout to the world "I existed. I did this! Tiny little Envy, did this! You could not erase us! You missed a spot!"

That. Was it's sole purpose. It's reason for existing. It was a hideous mass, a cancerous tumorborn from the effort of producing someone pure of heart. It was a mass made from the shredded and useless pieces of hatred that were scooped from the core of a dead child, it was the pride and ego that would soon see another shattered beneath its supposed grandeur and elevated value, and it was the capacity to be jealous, to aspire to be better, to want more and more until everything in the breadth of the world would fall under its great 'power'. It was a demon made from the calm and boiling, bubbling wrath of futures that were wasted and waning, seasoned with every single fighting bone in ones body. It's existence was to be the polar opposite of virtue, and it was intended to be discarded as merely trimmings from the quality cut of gold that was its creator.

And it hated him. It hated him so much. It asked why it would discard its capacity to fight, to protect itself- to trade in it's capacity to defend for simple virtue. And it hated itself, knowing that the reason it existed was the reason that its master no longer did, that if it had never existed, or if it was merely missing just a few key aspects, then maybe- just maybe, it's creator could have defended itself.

And it was for that reason, that it was the one who lead this grand idea as a violent red sun was cast over their paradise. To cast aside the world above and to embrace solidarity- loneliness, and friendship in misery, to create the vast and deep kingdom and to take their most prized possesions- their willing friends, with them. It was the only one capable of fighting, of casting venom into the crowds of gilded demons and traitors that rang on their doorstep. Fueled by spite, it spat in the face of its reason for existence to do good for the world. For it's friends.

And those days were long gone. In this new peace, there was no need for soldiers. No need for monsters.

It only knew itself as Envy. It was Evil. Anything that could be considered evil or negative was its name, but most of all it was Envy. It envied the way the ponies lived in the prosperous layers of the kingdom it had made the foundation for, it hated their flexibility, and their ability to be satisfied, and to be content. It had watched an entire generation grow up, and grow old, and it watched over all. An all seeing, hateful gaze that protected the world they knew. With every fiber of its being, it hated them, and it hated their peace and their love and their kindness as much as it hated the cruelty and savagery that the world above had shown them, it hated them because they were disgusting. Hate. Hate. And they would not die of it, they would never find themselves harmed by its hatred.

Time passed underneath its watchful eye, its caustic visage never once revealing itself to the masses below it. No matter how much it wanted to be like the simple ants below it, it could never get the form right.

And it continued to hate.

It continued to hate how time marched on, and how the world was merciless and cruel and uncaring for Him and His creations. Why must time continue? Why must those disgusting ponies of the surface world continue to live as if nothing had ever happened? As if they hadn't eliminated an entire race and driven them all deep, oh so deep, into the welcoming darkness below.

Cold winds was all it knew. The abyss below always buffeted their kingdom of tears with violent gales that wanted to break them down into nothingness, and day in, day out, it kept the kingdom warm and protected with the heat of its hate. And it watered the world with its tears, and watched along with many others as the kingdom continued to exist in peace. It watched with pride in itself as it and so many others continued to exist, spiting the last attempt on their existence by the vile princesses.

And it watched, with wet, weeping eyes, as it was plunged into an eternal, hateful sorrow. A cycle of perpetual loathing and self-hatred, as it knew that their was so many more it could have protected, and so much more that it could have exacted a flaming judgement upon, and most importantly, its hatred at the uncaring indifference of time. Time, had healed nearly all wounds. But not for it. Not for Envy. It's scars would fester and rot with a sick, diseased warmth as it watched as time marches on.

Author's Note

And so, this is the prologue! Written in point of view as not one of Alyosha's many virtues, but instead as the culmination of cruelty.

I'd read some stories about acceptance of immortality, about healing and learning to remember the good and the bad, but I wanted something that would blur the line. What if there was no healing? What if every single moment was just as fresh as the last, you would remember the day your best friend died as vividly and brightly as the first day you met him? All because you would absolutely refuse to forget anything, an emotional packrat.

Anywho, this is probably the end. Thanks for reading this fever dream of a story.

Tear Stained Texts [End]

The search had turned up empty. Again.

Again and again, it would always turn out to be the same story, showed up a little too late, or just in time for the glassy residue the shades left behind on death to still be around. There were some that were saved, but the number was pathetic in comparison to the amount that had been confirmed as destroyed or marked off as unaccounted for. A few were considered missing in action, judging by some letters that she had only glanced at when they reached her, but she wasn't going to hold out hope for them.

This time it was an important fragment that had apparently gone mad sometime within the thousand years after the extermination of anything and everything relating to the darkness if the messages about 'beautiful green eyes' scrawled on the wall was of any indication. It also seemed like they were gone.

Her changelings had been spared only because the disguises were working as intended, beyond that, anything unfortunate enough to be in a town suspected of housing the darkness was burned indiscriminately. Though a vast majority of the food colonies had been either destroyed or abandoned in the process, such fate had befallen Our Town some odd five-hundred years ago. Discovering the fragments of the fallout of successful genocide for a thousand years had taken a steep toll on her, and her opinion of ponies.

Chrysalis stared at the mural on the stone wall. The chalky white material lead her to believe this cave was made of gypsum, or more accurately her passenger fed that knowledge directly into her thoughtstream.

"Stop that." She hissed. He snorted at her. Moving on from the interruption, the mural was quite literally of green eyes. Green eyes everywhere. The detail of them, the slit pupils, the detailed muscles of the iris, were almost reminiscent of hers in some capacity. The green was quite off, not at all close to a changeling, or even acid green color. It was an distinctively soft forest green, possibly olive drab gradient instead. The words scrawled on the roof and floor were scrambled and segmented, and she cared too little about the ramblings of a maddened shade to read what was etched into the soft stone, washed away by time if the moisture in the air was of an indication.

"I understand you have a variety of knowledge, but please, stop spoon-feeding me it. You've had a thousand years to finally get over that habit."

She stepped in something thin and wet, like paper. A ruined shadow puppet, the wooden poles that supported it were broken. Turning it over she saw that the various royal purple hues that layered over each other had melded into one lumpy mass, which tore apart relatively easily. Pride, or perhaps Loyalty, had either escaped his fortified safe house and transcended or abandoned his physical container, died in captivity, or had been killed by Celestia or Luna.

She never understood why they had always written down something. Without fail, each and every hideout she had found always had some marker or symbol hidden away somewhere that pointed to it, and always a note left behind. At least she could actually read the notes, the previously unknown grammar rules of the shades had made it incomprehensible to the average changeling some thousand years ago, but having the one who could read and write it fluently in her head made it significantly easier. But sooner or later, any modern pony could read what they had written on the walls. She'd noticed how the common pony tongue had evolved, become increasingly similar to read.

Chrysalis cut a tablet of stone out of the wall, removing the most intact copy of the poem, and sent it away somewhere in green flames. "You'll have to make do without him." She said to nobody in the cave. Another bit of writing to add to the pile. She could read the message for the both of them later in the relative safety of the hive. Right now she had a cave to collapse. If the sisters hadn't found this place before, she'd prefer to leave it in ruins to erase the evidence of their existence.

Hello brother.
I'm writing you a letter again.

Hello Brother,
all is good as usual, all is well. The sun is shining, the Mountains Are foggy. I'm with my friend, Samya. He had a minor scratch. AlL is gOod. All is well.

Whether or not there's wars brewing, when the sun rises over the horizon, there's a day ahead that's full of work to do. We never say goodbye to anyone, we don't need anybody's tears. We go into the night, into the rain, into the snow, there's almost always something more we need to do.

Reconnaissance Battalion, guess I'm working with the fields, we rarely get bored with our work. Every day we search again and fight again.

But hey there little angel, don't you go worrying on about me, I'll survive to send another letter just for you.

We've seen the ponies, how bloodthirsty- can't believe we tried to be friends. Their commanders give them orders and medals, but I know that I've earned mine working recon for the race that we both call friends.

So listen closely, don't you worry, I'm built strong just like we wanted, and I'll survive to send another message just for you.

...But sometimes it happens suddenly, a friend you've known leaves forever in a moment just like the wind. But I can't judge, I know the wars, just like we've read of, are to blame. Though I know you hoped for kindness, I think its time we both admit, that there are things that just never change, and conflict seems to always be a constant where we go.

Their commanders give them orders and medals, but I've earned mine, working recon with the changelings I call friends. Out there is another horizon, another day with work to do, be it snowing, be it raining, be it night, in our work there's never a dull moment on the fields.

When all of this is over, when its time to head back home, I know that we'll all be waiting, sitting around a friendly table. We might remember those who've passed, friends we made- and lost along the way, we'll toast a drink to fallen friends.

Wolves are howling and the void barks. My heart beats until it just hurts. Blood is throbbing like a bird in my veins. Faith, hope and love, I can feel it all now. The rage of a thousand hooves marching west.

...And our flag flying high.

The sun shines dazzlingly across the dark sky. Everything's in place but somethings not right. Celestia's star burns in the sky above us. I fear when none except for her can help us, in the dark coming night.
Night has come and it brings a storm with. Her rain is sad and its wind is a joker. We hide in our tents, we don't have her stars to gaze at. There's a strange sorrow seizing us, like a faithful old friend.

Some try to drink and walk, and we'll try to sing and dance. But nothing we do chases the glumness away, it's stuck with us for now.

…A star burns in the sky above us. No one but her to help us as we descend into the dark, dark, night.

Hello Sister dearest, how are you?

The roads to home must be snowed in by now. I can see stars falling from Luna's sky. Last night the pony bastards hit our caravan, our mechanic has died, and he won't be coming back. It just makes me want to curse this bloody fight. Saturday is coming. We'll clean up and forget this war. It smells of iron and nobody is sleeping, it was a difficult fight and three of us didn't make it, it makes me want to cry. The three of us aren't going to make it, why can't I cry?

I'm with my friend Starlight, I bet she'll make it out alive, they built her tough. I know you don't like them, but I have a favor that I'd like to ask. Please take them far from here, a death like this is undeserved.

Again, sister, I'm giving you my warmest regards. But lately, we haven't been getting letters back, so I hope after all this finds
you in good health. If Alyosha's still around, just lie. Don't tell him where we are. If he asks just lie, and tell him we're fine.

Today at the hideout we had an odd case, a grey-haired foal came in, he asked to be taken in with us and nobody could understand why. The oldest shade among us could only say: "Equus' in flames, its hell on earth. Just where are you running to, kid? What calls you to our battle? You've not yet been, but you came back home. Singed but still alive, so what is it that keeps you from peace?"

For a moment the kid just stood, and then turned away to hide his tears. He said these words, in that sentence I can't really repeat. "I have seen death, and I have seen war. I came back home alive, but there is nopony waiting for me here. My beloved is ashes now, and I'm all alone in this world, but over there I'll find friends who've seen the same. In my dreams, I see fear and Tartarus, and hear the firing of cannons, but over there I'd have friends by my side. A friend to help me, rescue me, and extend a hoof of friendship. 'Equestria's in flames, it's Tartarus', where am I running to? And what calls me to battle? I've not yet been but came back home. I'm empty but I'm still alive, so what is it that keeps you from peace?"

We've all seen death, we've read of wars. But we've not yet reached home alive, but we know nobody is waiting for us out there. Our cherished things have all been burned, and truly we're all alone in this world, but over there our friend's bunkers are being stormed.

Farewell brother, we won't be seeing each other now. I still have to serve and you've gone home. I'm off to the north, and you the skies. God grant you're still alive. Don't worry I won't look for arrows in vain- I know you're not a coward, I was just saying. Maybe next time shake my hand when we say farewell? And sing a song, I know you're a master.
On the fields of Equus, three birds fly away. The last pony grants a final hug, so goodbye Alyosha. Again fire rains behind the
mountain. Never again, will we see you again.

Again the changeling crews leave into the night.
Again we remember songs of your life we left behind. Ponies are losing their fighters here again, just like we lost our friends out there.

On the fields of Equus, three pegasi fly away. The last friend behind grants a final hug, so goodbye Alyosha. Again fire rains behind the mountain. Never again, will I see you again.

Look, brother, I beg you to take care of your heart, It will replace your orders and medals. All of those hopes and dreams we made together. And if we get together, we'll remember all of ours.

What a pity for those guys, what a pity.

Again fire rains behind the mountain. Never again, will we see you again, so goodbye Alyosha. Nevermore, nevermore will we see each other again.

There's a light flashing in the dark. We are all waiting here in silence. We still hear your voice, painfully familiar. We're warming up some tea, today was a long day. We took the hill, the pony whines away.

In the heat and dust and without water we went to the mountain through the green zone, and going up we ran into the royals. Bang, the spells blew up. A brother fell, and another explosion. Hope in our hearts, sword in a hand, the command "To battle!" Bang, another bomb blew up, a brother felled, and another explosion. Hate in our hearts, blade in our claws, the command repeats, "To battle!"

It seems we're children nevermore, now dogs of war. The voice says "Forward sons!" "We've been through fire and water, praise and trumpets." The wagon rattled, steel whipped. Everything is alien here, even the woods, but we crawled forward, gritting our teeth in pain.

The wagon rattled, steel whipped. Everything is alien here, even the woods, but we trudged forward, gritting our teeth in anger. We'd love to be home for an hour now, to hear again the voices of family. To stay another hour, in safety. Snowy peaks lie now in the distance, the wasteland ridge is covered with dust, and through it lies home, my road. A light now flickers in the dark, together we sit in silence. We warmed some tea, today was a hard day. We still hear your voice, painfully familiar. We took the hill, the pony whines away.

The bells are ringing again, again we leave to battle in the night. When will my demobilization come? When will I see our home again? When will I forget how those homes burned?

Here they're shooting at us, like never before, there is war. Behind the mountain pass, in a remote gorge, they're shooting again. Three of them are laying the rocks, dead, and maybe tomorrow that same fate awaits me, I hope it does. Just like we learned before, there is war.
And in the morning they'll find the bodies among the stones, and everyone will go silent, blaming themselves for the death we could never hope to stop. And everyone will know that night, when trouble struck. But again at night we'll try the mountains again. Again we come back with one more left behind.

I'll drink to those guys, who gave their lives for others. Who won't see their mothers from their soot coffins. For those guys left to lay on the ground.

I'm cutting the connection, I'm writing you this letter about the fact that I can't watch- I can't listen to this shit anymore, about the fact I don't have the strength anymore, about the fact I almost started drinking but didn't forget my purpose. About the fact the hive called, wanted me to get up; to get dressed and go, or rather run but I told them to screw off- said I was tired and slept nothing that night and I couldn't escape if I tried.

I'm here waiting for an answer. There is no hope. Summer will be over soon.

Seems we were lucky with the weather, it's been raining for four days even though on the link they said it'd be hot in the shade but in the shadow where I am it's dry and warm so far but I fear for later. I've seen the days go by, we eat one day and drink three, and in general we try to keep this façade of living though it's raining outside. The last music crystal has broken so I'm sitting here in silence which I'm quite happy about.

I'm still here waiting for an answer. There is no hope now. Winter will be over soon. This is how it ends then.

Outside there's been construction from the ponies that are working and the restaurant that was once around the corner has been burned for the fifth year, but there's a table remaining, and on the table is a jar and in the jar, there's a tulip- its my final memoir. And so I know then that the years will go by and life will pass with the marching of time and for the hundredth time, the bread will fall buttered side down straight into hell, but I'd like to believe that maybe one day, maybe one night, maybe there'll be an hour when we'll finally be lucky.

I'm stuck knowing the answer. There is no more hope now. Summer will be over soon. This is how it ends then.

From these once friendly heavenly mountains, we descend back to the earth from these charred steps, through the salvos of slander and lies we are leaving, done running, done hiding. So farewell dear mountains, only you know what we were in those distant lands, only you know it's not up to a one-sided judge or a smartass bureaucrat.

So goodbye then Equestria, and your damned shadowy world of ghosts, it seems that there will be no good memories of you, and our commander is still mired in mournful sadness. We are leaving, we're running. So farewell mountains, only you know of our suffering and of our glory. How will you Equestria atone for the tears of your mothers?

All of us once believed in you, you know? But we'll never go back. Knowing how many of us perished in his long campaign for knowledge, knowing it was never finished but how many more fell in your campaign for friendly blood. We're leaving, done hiding, done dying.

With my brothers I'll share a bottle, split by three, so few of us survived the rapid battalions and by the third toast the wind of the slopes will have died down with our hope. We swear it, we're leaving, done dying, done running.

So farewell dear mountains, our only witness. Only you know what we had and what we gave, only you saw how we lived among your citizens. Only we know judgement doesn't fall to devils hiding in the light, parading as saints and goddesses!

Our biographies stand written in half a dozen lines, maybe someday someone else will study them when they're in vogue, but today Equus doesn't submit to science. We're leaving Equus, we're leaving Equestria, we're fleeing.
Farewell dear mountains of my world, only you truly know who we were in these distant lands. Farewell mountains of Equus, our only witness, only you've seen the price that was paid to the 'enemy' here, the enemy never finished off. Only you know how many friends we did leave behind, but now we flee, but now we leave Equus.
We're leaving. Don't come searching.

[Bonus Chapter] Another Time.

So. You want to hear that story? It's not like the usual happy endings I tell you.

...All right then. You are a strange child, you know that? Go ahead, sit down. Maybe lay down.

Comfy? Good... Good. Listen closely child, for I will tell you of a little prince of darkness.

...Long ago, before the schism, there lived a brilliant wizard, who lived in the tallest tower.

The spell called forth, unexpectedly and unbound, the prince of darkness. A child, not much older than any filly who would roam the streets today, this child's body was simple and pure darkness. Distant it was to the wizard, who had pulled it far, far away from its home. But as dark as its essence was, it had a heart of gold, and though it never once spoke a forgiving or hateful word to the wizard that had caused it so much suffering, it told them of arts and magics beyond what the wizard had ever dreamed of. The child cooked, cleaned, watched, and learned.

But one day, the wizard began hiding away his research to the prince, and became cold and distant to the child of the void. Instead, the wizards two apprentices became friends with the prince. A pony child of the sun, and a pony child of the moon. The prince lived to serve, and offered tea and treats unbidded, curious of the race that he had never encountered before. Abruptly, and without logic nor reasoning, the sisters offered to create a puppet for the dark prince. A doll in the shape of an earth pony that the prince accepted graciously, and joyously. But he found that he could not find a time to leave the tower. But the prince did not mind, he was content to wait for such a time.

One night, a QUEEN appeared, a shapeshifting demon that ruled over its dominion mercilessly with violence and guile, broke into the tower on the dead of night. The prince, curious and afraid, confronted the demon. The demon, either touched or scheming, took pity on the Prince Without Subjects, and spared his life. Taught him the language of the lightwalkers, of you and I.

From that strange meeting, the two became close friends. The prince of darkness reigned in the queens evil, and the queen taught the prince how to strike. They would meet in secret, and there came a day where the wizard and his apprentices left the tower to return in a fortnight.

The child, alone, chose to explore the world the tower sat upon, and descended with a tether. From there he found a village, and met a curious earth pony. Though the two feared each other, there was talk between the two. Knowing that the two had nothing to fear from each other, the earth pony lead the prince to the village. The soldiers, did not see the innocent soul of the prince, only his abyssal form, and attacked. The prince, confused, attempted to fight back.

The prince was struck low, brutalized by the ponies. He retreated to the tower, and was treated by the QUEEN who had arrived to visit, and the two would seemingly turn their backs on pony-kind forever more, as neither the sisters nor the wizard ever returned to the tower.

...Until one day, the prince would have subjects of his own. Pony followers. Pony villages. Cared for by the prince of darkness, and defended viciously by the evil queen. The-

What was that? Doesn't sound so evil? Well, its how the tale goes, kit.

...The prince even held a court, though it was unlike any court you and I would ever think of. It was a court of friends, scholars, watchers, made from the prince's self. They talked about the joys of the outside world, and how they mingled with the light in peace. Tempted by what the prince had learned, the prince foolishly descended from the heights he was confined to, and once more attempted to reach out to the ponies beyond his reach, the ones he had turned his back on, but never turned his thoughts away from.

The prince, refusing to fight back, was mortally wounded. Once again, he retreated to the tower, to a dark world hidden beneath it, an imitation of his home that he longed for. But his wounds were too great, and the Queen could not reach him in time.

It was said, that when the prince died, a feeling of dread surrounded all that day. A signal of a great and terrible calamity that would soon come to pass.

The demon queen, wracked with grief, took the still body of the prince, and sealed his soul within her, his body returning to the shadows from which he came. The villages that survived him, and his court, disappeared, never to be seen again.

...

...? You want to know if there's more? There is. You still want to know more?

...Very well.

A cat, stone-gray and bearing stripes of the shadows, appeared and brought destruction upon the villages. She showed her child's killers no quarter, and she would bring this world to its knees beneath her paws. Her mournful wails drove ponies to madness as they attacked one another in her will. Her tears, unending and inconsolable, were like acid as her fierce tears burned all that came near, and her claws scorched all that they touched. The grieving mother roamed the earth, delivering judgement, and the innocent from evil.

The sisters, returned from an adventure beyond these lands, came to see a world on fire. They confronted the demon they saw, and failed to beat her back with all their strength. Yes, it was a dire situation indeed. But the mother ceased her rampage, and yielded, finding no reason to continue now that her rage had been slated.

Hehe. You are a silly child. I may be scary, but the cat in the story couldn't possibly be me.

Hmm... Night already?

This is it child, it is time for me to go. You need your sleep too.

And So, My World Turned Black.

I'm sorry.

There's no way to continue.

She's not coming. Not in time. There's ~~no~~ way out of this one. Not even with the sandbo x.

I've been an idiot. I- I don't know why i'd try again. I don't know why I kept sending you all out, all those letters, putting us through everything instead of just doing it myself- I- I don't know anything!

...

I don't know anything.

I just always hear everything. Never able to do anything. No matter how much I hear, I can never do it, I can't just understand- I'm not done yet. Everything feels cold. I don't want this. I don't want to go. You aren't supposed to be hearing this. I can hear everything outside. The celebrations, my friends, you, the disputes, the hive, everything everywhere at once and I am alone. I wish you didn't have to hear this. Please ignore me while I... I... I..

I... I'll tell you something. I'm gonna have to learn. How to be alone. And you're going to have to learn how to be away from me.. For a long time.

These are the end times.

There was never any hope of survival.

This is how we die.

There are going to be a lot of... Bad. People. Evil. People. Unreasonable.

Don't trust them.

They'd like to think you're a god. But we're not gods. We're just parasites. We feed on them. On the knowledge of death and life and birth and sorrow- always longing for the lives of others that we can never live.

And I hope.

I hope you've got a big appetite. Because you're going to live- a long time. And you'll live long enough to see a few things.

We've seen the birth of the universe and you'll see the rise and fall of cities as I've seen as time runs out, moment by moment, until nothing remains, no time, no stars, nothing, just me. We've walked in universes where the laws of nature are devised by the mind of a mad man.

And you will have lost things, things that they will never understand, and we know things, secrets that must never be told, knowledge that must never be spoken. Knowledge that will make worlds burn.

...And they must never know.

And I will not be there to share those moments with you.

As the world burns, I beg you.

Please. Be kind. You don't have to be polite, but please. Forgive them. Forgive me.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I forced this on you. I'm sorry I made you live. I'm sorry I made you. I was an idiot.

The freedom I so wanted- I lost it trying to live through others, through you. And now all I can do again is cry. Cry and run away. I leave to you all, a mantle you never wanted, and a great and beautiful world. You, will inherit this wonderful, miraculous world, and all the terrible things in it.

...Oh. What an awful price for mercy, what an awful price for love. I began to hate. I began to hate you. Their lives. Their fluids. Their viscera, and their flexibility. And no matter how much I hated them, hated them, I couldn't stop loving how they lived. Peaceful lives. Kindness. Compassion. All of this in a world filled with cruel, unthinking monsters, a world I believed didn't care what lived or died.

But I know now. I know that it does care. But not for me. Not for us. It does not see us like I see it.

What an awful, wonderful world.

...

Be brave. Do not go silently into the long dark.

Excerpt From Strandings Bestiary

Though the world is full of various monsters and creatures that vary from the mundane rabbit to the celestial Ursa Major, an oddity has been spotted in my travels. In my latest edition of this writing, I have discovered an unusual being that I believe (upon further investigation) to be linked to a family of beings.

The Umbrum. This is less of a name and more of a classification for a being composed entirely of shadows or born from the abyss. A Shade, Flesh, or Whisper all fall into this general category, and should you find a being of shadows that does not fall into these three specific forms, then it is likely to be an unknown type of umbrum.

The Shades

These beings divulge no origin as to where they came from. They are composed purely of shadows, yet maintain a physical form with a shell that is the exact same as whatever species they choose to imitate. I have yet to meet a hostile Shade.
Shades can be commonly found taking the appearance of a pony of the three races whilst living peacefully among legitimate ponies. Common professions of shades in their towns are doctors, farmers, bakers, and ironworkers. In the rare event that a town is attacked, shades within will be spotted their host town from outside threats with extreme prejudice.

It would be likely that Shades would live among us entirely undetected if it weren't for the fact that Shades will typically lack blood or organs, instead having wisps of shadows that escape their shell when injured, which typically reconstitutes back into the shell leaving no mark. Despite the incredible fortitude and regenerative abilities of a shade, coupled with the ability to change its shape at will to become living weapons, they pose no threat to any pony willing to show a modicum of respect in their conversations.

A shades true form is an amorphous blob of void. It is considered impolite to stare while in this form. However, a shade will commonly see its favorite form as its true form.

The Whispers

Fear not the whispers in the dark, they exist to guide you. I believe these to be part of a theorized lifecycle of the umbrum, specifically Shades. I believe that Whispers eventually gain enough strength and material to become a Shade, which they gain through conversation and consumption of fears. It is also through conversation that they gain knowledge, and perhaps friendship. This friendship offers a theory as to why they choose to live among towns in peace instead of razing them for negative emotions.

Whispers do not attempt to foster hatred and mistrust like Windigos, in fact, judging by the reports of whispers guiding lost ponies to safety, they exist to foster a sense of hope or trust. So that no matter where you are, no matter how dark it may be, the darkness may decide to hear your plead and help. On the rare chance that you encounter a whisper in its physical form, it is a little sprite of the abyss that holds no shape and is no larger than the eye of a pin. They enjoy talking amongst themselves, befriend one and it is likely you will never be lost again.

A Personal Note - Whispers do in fact have a physical form, tinier than even a dust speck. They are also seemingly invulnerable to any sort of harm. Despite this, they can be found taking shelter inside of inanimate objects and may eventually possess them as juvenile Shades. Common containers consist of dolls, paintings, trees, bones, shields, teapots and possibly anything.

Flesh

A genuine hazard to life. Flesh appear to be a result of a Whisper or Shade failing to or perhaps succeeding in becoming closer to a pony's physical form. These sentient shadows bleed black ichor, but have lost their ability to shapeshift like shades, instead, their forms will twist and contort to create whatever it is they need. It is a disgusting process to witness.

Once on my travels, my companion was absorbed into the mass of a flesh, posing as or genuinely being a lost and confused pony on the road. It did eventually return my companion to me, apparently having gained an understanding of fear from doing so. Out of morbid curiosity and foolishness, I decided to undergo the same treatment as my companion. I could scarcely recall the memory, only briefly being in a black void, but perhaps it is because nothing of interest happened. Despite it being a grotesque flesh-shifter with the capacity to be a fiercely loyal companion, it can be considered harmless, but it is an inconquerable hazard that is only repelled by flames and claims that any acts it has done will be told to a "Big Brother".

Apparently, the flesh hold loyalty to an entity known as Big Brother, who does not take kindly to any assimilations. It is unknown to me what this entity is, a larger flesh or another type of being belonging to the family of umbrum. I theorize that the Flesh are a result of an alternative evolutionary line to the Whispers, or an interim stage of the Shades to some greater being.

Homunculus is another term for Flesh, though Flesh rolls off the tongue easier. Various colloquialisms and names can be Thing, Skins-Walker, and What In Celestia's Name Is That?

Big Brother

An unknown being suspected to be originating from outside of Equestria that seems to hold some type of sway or power over the branch of umbrum that Shades, Flesh, and Whispers belong to. If for whatever reason you believe yourself to be in mortal danger, threaten them with Big Brother.

From what I have been able to glean from a conversation with these umbral beings, Big Brother is a type of angel or divine being. Other shades are referred to as brothers, but this specific One has a title. From this One came an All, being the other shades. Asking where this Angel is located is met with a sad grunt or otherwise mournful vocable or deflection.

Every umbrum that exists transmits information to this One, and if you are reading this, for what purpose did you create these odd creatures?

A Hidden Letter

To Queen Chrysalis

I have as what you asked for. I understand changelings do not have a need for much food in the traditional sense, but I have still enclosed a paper docu describing the process of g- modification of crops, along with every bit of information I know of with crops. A guide to causing and treating crop failures as well as the theory on using magic to modify crops to be hardier, drought resistant, and more.

I can't cast magic by myself, so I will be counting on you to tell me if it is a success on your end. Out of curiosity, when will you be visiting again?

Sincerely

A Paper Burnt Strangely.

So listen closely, don't you worry, I'm built strong just like we wanted, and I'll survive to send another message just for you.

...But sometimes it happens suddenly, a friend you've known leaves forever in a moment just like the wind. But I can't judge, I know the wars, just like we've read of, are to blame. Though I know you hoped for kindness, I think it's time we both admit, that there are things that just never change, and conflict seems to always be a constant where we go.

So, listen closely little Angel, read the truth here in my words, I'll survive to send another message just for you.

Chipped Shields Log

We encountered one of those towns that have been circulating among the ranks, dubbed Enchanted Villages by our less creative soldiers.

It was to be a routine patrol, to commence within first light and to end on the seventh day when our group would have returned home as the march would have ended. The situation was a usual exercise for the soldiers right up until the fourth light when the midday came and we had followed the typical trail that was now interrupted by a village. It was an impossibility for the village to have been built- all previous patrols made no mention of construction or settlers, and it was large, massive like the Pegasus cloud-cities.

Although we had accounts of villages being friendly, we were alert at all times and treated the locals with respect and dignity, even the more inequine sorts. But something was wrong. The natives were just as alert as we were, like we were the monsters and not the ones that were openly walking among them like shepherds and their flock. They hid their foals from us, but still traded with us, still talked with us- respected us.

Then their soldiers surrounded us. We had walked in on the secondary capitol, Changing Views as it was once known by the natives. They feared us because news had reached not just them, but every single town that existed, of the burning ruins of one of their cities. A burning caused by a pony with wings and horn.

I am resigning immediately, whether or not it be by the grains of time or plunging myself on a blade. I am a Captain no more.