True hate never really dies. It will simmer, it will fade, it will boil and pop and reduce until it is nothing more than a forgotten memory, but it will always be there. It will be a phantom in the world, a whisper in the wind, a ghost in the room. Echoing on through lineages for all eternity, it will always be in the back of a pony's mind. It was the reason they didn't have a brother or sister, and the reason their parents never had a happy childhood. Its scars would always remain, even if they never knew it.
When magic is involved however, hate can take a more... material form.
Far beyond the edge of Equestria, and beneath the canopy of an enchanted forest, there lay a hole. Like a festering wound in the gaping earth, the sickly-sweet scent of rotting flesh wafted out of it. It was a pit, tunneling deep into the earth. The further one went, the darker it got. It got darker and darker until it was nothing more than an abyss.
Then, something broke that darkness. A green glow from below.
Luminescent green sludge lay in a pool at the bottom of this pit. A horrible stench emanated from it, as if it was some sort of concoction of rotted flesh and acrid poison. Flies buzzed around it, some landing on the bones sticking out of the pool. One such fly landed on the horn of a long-dead unicorn.
Then, in a blur of black, the fly was snapped up by something. Swallowed whole, its body was already digesting as it was drawn back to its source.
Sitting in the center of this cursed pool, was a single tree. It was a malformed thing, with a squat bottom and thick roots that disappeared into the sludge. The tree was black as sin, adorned with thorns and carnivorous snapping jaws like those of a flytrap. One chewed on the fly it had caught, squeezing the life from it. Thick branches tapered off to thin claw-like ends, like the tree had given up on growing them halfway through. These claw-like branches reached towards the heavens, as if seeking salvation from this accursed place.
Past the tree there was a shore of sorts. A stone passage carved by water led into this large foul-smelling chamber before leading further into the earth. This naturally created a small shore at the edge of its pit. If one sat on this shore and listened for a long time, they may have heard something.
At first, they would have heard nothing more than the bubble and pop of whatever this blighted goo was. They would have heard the buzzing of flies as they landed on the scattered bones. They would have heard all of that. Then, they would have heard one last thing...
"Why Crystal! You look different today! Did you get your mane done?" A phantom voice whispered over the corrupted pool.
The pool went silent then. The flies stopped buzzing, freezing in their tracks. The pool quieted, its bubbling and popping receding to a low simmer.
"Really? You noticed my name, Star?" Another echoing voice asked, more feminine this time. The skull of a unicorn in the pool shifted. Its hollow eyes stared out from its half-buried place in the goo.
"Of course I did. You know I always have my eye on you." A different skull this time, one more stout and masculine seemed to vibrate slightly.
"Oh please, you're just saying that because I'm a princess. Why don't you bother my sister instead?" Crystal's giggle was melodious. It didn't fit quite right in this place.
"I'm saying that because it's you." Star whispered.
There was another giggle, then everything went silent once more. Yet, the flies still didn't move, the goo didn't bubble. The tree, however, began to reach its roots into the goo. They wrapped tighter around the skulls and bones they held. One of them touched a large masculine skull. The skull of a unicorn stallion.
"My daughter. Surely you cannot plan on marrying that fellow. He is a prince but..."
"I will marry whoever I please." Crystal's voice echoed. "He loves me."
"I'm just worried. You know that he has been talking to your sister as well? I don't trust him. You must be careful."
"It's better if he is friends with my sister. It's going to be okay father; I know how to handle myself."
There was a brief pause in the echoing voices.
"I know that you are grown up now, and I am proud of you. You are strong, gifted in enchantment magic, and are kind and caring. You will make a fine queen. Maybe I am worrying too much."
"I will be an okay father. As long as Star loves me, I will be okay."
Wind whispered over rock, a gentle breeze from an unseen place.
"Did you know that when you were born, the very forests whispered your name to me? These woods are enchanted by an old spell, and if you listen closely, they will tell you a piece of the future. They told me a piece of yours, Crystal."
"What did they say?" Crystal's voice echoed.
The voices cut off again.
From one of the stone passages, there was the distant rattle of a cart. It had not arrived however, and the voices continued once more.
"You love me, don't you?" Crystal's voice echoed.
"Of course I do."
"Then I will teach you the spell. You are not a unicorn though, why would you want to learn it?" Crystal asked.
"I just want to get to know you better." Star said.
"Okay darling, then here is how it goes. To transform into another pony, it takes a bit of enchantment magic and... The voice paused. "What was that? Is there somepony outside the door?"
"It must be the cat darling. Who would dare spy on the future queen of not just your kingdom, but mine as well? Our wedding is soon, the guards would have caught any pony trying to spy."
"...You're right. Listen closely, because I will only explain it once. Or as many times as you want me to explain, darling."
The cart rolled closer, and the voices faded. The clattering of bottles full of alchemical substances filled the wooden cart. Foodstuffs lay in sacks which bounced with each rock the wheels rolled over. At the head of the cart was a unicorn stallion. His coat was gray as stone, and his eyes a faded blue. A large white beard hung from his face, and the rest of his mane spilled out from beneath a large blue wizard hat adorned with bells and crescent moons. His robes trailed behind him.
He hummed as he walked before curling his nose as a foul scent reached it. "What is that foul stench?"
Star-Swirl the bearded was his name, and it was a fitting one.
He stomped onward. He was used to adventuring in deep places, but never before had he smelled something so foul. There was the taint of dark magic in the air that was indescribable. He walked until he lay eyes upon its source.
"That... can't be good." Star-Swirl said as he looked at the cursed pool and tree.
A fly bit him on the head, and he winced, trying to swat it away. It flew a little way before being snapped up by the tree.
"Serves the little bugger right." Star-Swirl huffed.
Any other day he would have stopped and tried to figure out what was going on. However, he had a meeting with the lesser-known mole ponies which lived deep underground. Apparently, they had found evidence of an ancient civilization which once resided in the woods above. It would be unlike him to leave such an obviously cursed thing without doing anything at all.
So, he retrieved a few items from his cart and floated them to the tree with his magic. With a piece of chalk, he wrote a warning on a board, then he nailed it into the tree.
The sign read, "PROBABLY MAGIC... DO NOT APPROACH."
Then, just to let everypony know who had identified this problem (to give him credit of course) he wrote his initials at the base.
"There. Problem solved." Star-Swirl said. "Another victory the great and..."
He felt like he was saying somepony else's line. Strange. Perhaps another anomaly?
With a shrug, he turned on his hoof and left.
The tree remained silent for a moment. Then, the voices started up again.
"Sister, you aren't really seeing my fiancé, are you?" Crystal asked.
"Why would you even say that sister? You are marrying him in a couple days, is this really the time for doubting?"
"I know I'm being foolish but..."
"It's going to be alright. Just focus on your wedding, okay?
"Okay. You know I love you, right?"
"I know. I know..."
Then, the pool began to bubble once more. More ferociously, bitterly.
"Star? Why are you here so late at night?" Crystal asked.
"I wanted to see you darling, right before our wedding."
"Do you really think we should do that before we are married?
"Why not? Come here darling. I have something I want to show you."
There was an ethereal giggle.
"What are you hiding behind your back Star? Is it a present?"
There was a pause.
"Star?"
A spine-chilling shriek erupted from the pool. It boiled now, flashes of more and more bones beneath the pool revealing themselves.
"You stabbed me! Why did you-"
"You think I could ever love a pony like you? You are naive Crystal. You are stupid. I doubt you could ever tell a lie, much less see through one."
"Why..." A panicked; shallow breath could be heard in the air.
"Why rule as two over the kingdoms when I could rule as one? After I marry your sister, I'll kill her as well."
"She was..."
"In love with me as well. As if love was real. It doesn't exist darling. It never did. Now, close your eyes and when you wake up, I'm sure you will be in a better place."
There was one last shuddering breath. The pool receded to its former quiet state. For a long time, there was nothing. An hour passed, then two. Then, finally, there was one last conversation that could be heard.
"Do we really have to dump the bodies in a pit? They should at least be buried, don't you think?"
"With all the countless deaths from the war? This is all we have. Poor sods, Princess Crystal just had to kill her sister, didn't she? What a rotten mare. Now we have war between two kingdoms, and it looks like we are going to be swallowed up."
"Wait, is that..."
"It's Crystal, let's get the devil out of here before she gets here!"
"Who is she carrying?"
"Wait, that looks like Star, doesn't it?
"She really won?"
There was a slight pause, then the sound of hooves scurrying away. A moment later, there was the sound of a pony landing with a grunt.
"Star, Star, Star, you really thought you could trick me? I had you wrapped around my hoof, and you didn't even know it." A voice similar to Crystal's could be heard. "I suppose it's fitting that I drop you in the same pit you threw my sister in. How gullible you were.
There was an echoing sound of something falling. Then with a sudden crash, something hit rocks with a crunch.
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of our kingdoms."
For a long moment, there was nothing once more. Just the rot, the stench, and the bubbling of the pool. Then, it began to boil once more. Bones in the pool began to melt into the goo. Flies were snapped up in a frenzy, stone crumbled from nearby walls as the room shook.
The small crack formed when Star-Swirl nailed his sign into the tree began to widen. Black bark crumbled, and wood splintered. From high in the tree, pods began to grow, filled with green goo. Sores on the tree opened up, spilling with poison. Thick magic filled the air.
The blood of a powerful unicorn, a crack in the shell, it was all that was needed. From the sores, malformed and twisted forms crawled out. They skittered and seethed, their eyes glowing blue as crystal. Like giant flies, they buzzed on giant insectoid wings. Horns adorned their heads. They climbed out of the goo itself as well, ancient bones having found new purpose.
The main crack in the tree grew wider.
"What did the forests say?" Crystal's voice echoed.
"My daughter. I tell you this now because I believe you are ready. Your heart is full of the love our kingdom was founded on. You are wise, powerful, and truthful. When you speak, our people listen, and their hearts are lifted."
A black hoof extended from the crack in the tree. It grabbed the side to pull itself free, dripping with blight.
"I tell you this, because the forest gifted me with a vision of your future."
From the depths of the tree, two glowing green eyes ignited like twin flames of hate. Fangs glistened in the dark. The presence of dark magic was so thick it was palpable. This thing in the tree, it had been reborn. Reborn of curse and flesh and dark magic. It was born for one reason.
"When my time has come to an end..."
To hate.
"You shall be queen."
