Back to the Past 01: Grave New World

From her throne the pink alicorn, Empress Eris Sceleste, gazed down scornfully upon a huddled group of gnolls. They whined, tails between their legs. One managed to yip, “Please, Empress! We’ve delivered as much crystal as we can from the mines, but it’s impossible to meet your quotas. Especially when food shipments coming to our camp are so sparse.”

The alicorn retorted. “Impossible? Who do you lazy canines think you are, to tell me what is or is not possible? Those crystals are a critical power resource. I’ve been told your kind have a special talent for digging. You’ll use that talent in my service and find a way to meet those quotas—or else!”

Another gnoll clenched his fists and yapped, “You monster, you can’t…”

He was grabbed, almost tackled, by the elder gnoll who blurted in a panicked voice, “I’m sorry, Empress! The pup is young and foolish. Please forgive his outburst!”

Sceleste glared, stone-faced, for a few long seconds, then golden light erupted from her horn, along with the distinctive sound of casting a magic spell. The light leapt out from the horn to the young gnoll, then flashed blindingly bright, and the older gnoll was knocked back. When his vision cleared he saw an incredibly detailed and lifelike marble statue where the younger one had been standing a moment earlier.

Sceleste said, “Perhaps the young one will learn respect in the future. Now return to your work, and don’t dawdle. Your quotas have been increased by ten percent.”

The older gnoll wept as his two remaining companions guided him away.

As they departed, a cloaked pony approached and then bowed in the quadrupedal fashion, stretching his forelegs before him and lowering his head. Then he stood and said, “A message for you, Empress! Vectra has new intelligence that it believes you may wish to review.”

The alicorn rolled her eyes. “Intelligence briefings, how I loath them! What could Vectra possibly have found that it can’t handle on its own?”

“I was only told that it involves an alicorn, Ma’am.”

Sceleste’s ears perked up. “An alicorn? It’s been ages since any foolish wizard attempted to create another alicorn to challenge me. I thought the required spells were erased from history. Perhaps I should take a look.”

Soon Sceleste followed her cloaked messenger down a bare, sterile corridor, most unlike the rest of her sumptuous palace. Her long tail swished impatiently as they approached a pair of enormous doors appearing as featureless plates of brushed stainless steel. The doors slid apart silently to admit them.

The chamber beyond was a pentagon in shape, with most of the illumination coming from five panels arranged around the perimeter of the ceiling. In the center was a circular dais with a massive silver orb hovering above it. Facing the dais was an equally massive, curved viewscreen that filled the bulk of the two walls opposite from the entrance.

Sitting upon the central dais was an equine form, a shape much like Sceleste herself, including wings and a horn, but with a body made of high-polish metal plates fitted together almost seamlessly. Its face was featureless save for a pair of camera eyes. Concentric circles of green could be seen in the depths of the lenses, but otherwise these appeared dull and inactive. The metal alicorn was as unmoving as any statue.

Sceleste ignored it and simply spoke into the room, saying, “Vectra, what is this so-called intelligence you wanted me to review?”

The silver orb pulsed with light that matched the cadence of its preternaturally calm and even voice. “Yes, Empress. I have identified an anomaly that may be of interest to you.”

The big viewscreen lit up, displaying aerial footage of an urban zone. It zoomed in on a particular neighborhood. The voice intoned, “This surveillance captures what appears to be an alicorn near the spaceport.”

The view switched to grainy drone footage following a battle taking place in some sort of ruined warehouse. A contingent of destroyer beetle drones were fighting with a motley assortment of creatures. Most notable was the large, black alicorn among them, casting powerful shields and kinetic attacks.

Sceleste’s eyes widened in surprise. She stepped closer to the screen, peering intently as if hoping to see through some trickery. “Impossible! It can’t be… Play it again, Vectra!” The footage replayed. Then Sceleste asked, “Do you have any better images of it?”

The video scrubbed, stopped on a still image and zoomed in. “This is the best I can extract,” Vectra said. This time the sigil on the alicorn’s hip was visible: a midnight blue heater shield with a subtle metallic flash across it.

Sceleste sucked air through her teeth and then growled. “No doubt about it, that is an alicorn, and one I recognize from long ago. That is Nyx, the little upstart my sister Luna tried to replace me with, all those eons ago! I remember turning that wretched creature to stone.”

Vectra intoned, “Unknown magics may have freed Nyx from her petrified state after a prolonged period. However, her actions appear erratic and confused in the surveillance footage. She is likely still acclimating to this era.”

Sceleste waved a dismissive hoof. “Gah! Nyx was never a real threat to me even at the height of her powers, and that was before I gained dominion over this entire world. Now she’s merely an anachronism, a relic out of her time. An annoyance at most.”

Vectra was silent, awaiting orders.

After pondering for a few seconds, Sceleste continued, “However, she might provide some amusement. Have your drones keep close watch on her. Dispatch any resources you need to monitor her movements. I want to know exactly what she is up to.”

“By your command, Empress. She will not escape my notice. Losers or conquerors, all flash past on my silver screen,” the orb intoned.

Sceleste nodded, satisfied. As she turned to depart, the massive metal doors swung open once more. The alicorn’s laughter echoed through the corridors beyond.

“Oh, little Nyx. You have no idea what you’ve awakened into.”