Prologue
Infernal
By Unicron and Nodd, the Blind Horse
Prologue
Andros.
This is the world from which Humanity first evolved. The planet was hospitable to them, allowing the species to quickly become the most dominant it had ever seen, with a rapidly growing population. In time, the humans developed a Grand Council to control the population, and the planet. For millennia they ruled, and lived in calculated, drone-like unison, but also in misery. Their technology advanced for millennia, but there was little change in the homogenous society, or the emptiness in their hearts. That is, until one man named Praxis sought out change and freedom.
Praxis was strong of will, and he abhorred the treatment of his people, but he was just one man, and he could not take on the great empire by himself. Any attempts to form a resistance would also be fruitless. The Grand Council’s stranglehold on the proletariat was too strong, for they had been bullied into submission for over thousands of years.
So Praxis secretly left his world in search power, in hopes that it would help him tear down the heartless shackles of autonomy that oppressed Andros. For years he searched for the masters of wisdom and power. His journey took him out of his own galaxy of Andromeda into the neighboring Milky Way galaxy, where he found powerful beings, the Alicorns. He looked upon these creatures, which were much like his own, differenced only by strange anatomy and females being the dominate sex. In hopes that these beings could aid him in his journey, he gained counsel with Planet Alicornia’s Empress Xena.
Xena, who sympathized with the terrible plight on the inhabitants of Andros, shared many secrets with Praxis. She told him of magic, a powerful force that existed even before existence itself. She explained that it was a primordial and fundamental force of the universe, and those who wielded it were capable of great things, but she also warned of the dangers of corruption that followed the user, and the consequences to befall those who abused the gift. Praxis, in his sorrow over the treatment of his people, did not heed Xena’s warning, and he absorbed the magic, knowing fully that his intentions were violent.
After years of tireless learning and training, Praxis learned how to use magic to slow his body growth, and extend his lifespan to eons. He learned how to channel magic, and bend it to his will to give him great strength. He knew that he was now capable of saving his people from the corrupt council, and he left Alicornia to reunite with his own planet in Andromeda. His journey for power was over, but this would not be the last time Praxis would see the Alicorns.
When Praxis arrived back on Andros, it was the same. The Grand Council still oppressed the hearts and the minds of his people. Face to face once again with the product of his rage, he was compelled even further to put an end to those whom he saw as his enemies. He summoned his magic, and took flight in the direction of the tower of the councilmen.
Once there, Praxis burst into the tower. Surrounded by an aura of pure hatred, the energy he emanated brought the councilmen to their knees with fear. They had never seen anything so awesomely powerful. He let loose all of the anger that was in his heart. His emotion, which he saw as the essence of his very humanity, had been taken from him for all his life, but no more. It was primordial, elemental, and it roared like the hot blue sun in the Andromidan sky. This is the price the Council would have to pay. Praxis saw it only fitting that these tyrants fall by the very subject of their tyranny. The councilmen begged for his mercy, but there was no hope for them. In only a matter of seconds, Praxis had exterminated the entire council.
Before the entire planet, Praxis announced his defeat of the oppressive council, and declared himself ruler of all Andros. For the first time in history, things would change for the Andromidian people. All rejoiced at the fall of the cruel empire that had plagued them. They bellowed joyous songs of their freedom and praised their God King. The people of Andros were in high spirits, but this would be short lived.
In the beginning, Praxis ruled benevolently and the people of Andros were free, but as time passed, Praxis became corrupted by the power of his magic and his crown. He began to abolish old laws that promoted freedoms, and institute new laws which promoted limitation. In his quest for power, his taste had become insatiable. He started to attack innocent nearby alien planets, executing and/or enslaving the population, processing their planet’s resources and space for mankind’s escalating population.
As Praxis pulled planets into his empire, his descent into darkness grew deeper. He was the most powerful being in the entire galaxy, he had everything he could ever dream of, and he began to fancy himself a god. He constructed a sword, which glowed bright orange, matching his own aura. He cast aside royal robes and clothing, dawning one black robe, and in time he cast aside all other parts of his former self, including his own name. By now, the entire Empire knew him by one name only: the Infernal One.
For eons Mankind branched throughout the galaxy, and soon other planets that had been inhabited by creatures of all shapes and sizes were now inhabited by the same two legged figure. The Infernal One had an entire galaxy at his disposal, yet he was still not satisfied. He needed more, for himself, and to expand his ever growing empire. The once bright blue star of Andros now glowed with the deep red of an ending cycle. The Infernal one required magic for it to burn, and the only place he knew to acquire that magic was Alicornia.
This would not be an easy task. He was powerful, yes, and he had conquered many planets, but the inhabitants of those worlds were not like the Alicorns. The Alicorns were like him, or, quite possibly, even more powerful than him. This was not a plan to be taken lightly, so he summoned an armada of humans from all across the Andromedan Empire to aid in his conquest of the Alicorns’ magic.
The battle was short. The Infernal One and his vast army was no match for the superior power of the Alicorns. They were forced to retreat back to Andromeda where the Infernal One, defeated, and lamenting his dying sun, bitterly planned for his revenge.
In fear that the Humans and other outsiders would continue attempts to harvest their magic for immoral desires, the Alicorns travelled to the far corners of the universe, gathering their most sacred and powerful artifacts, and protected their energy within six separate crystals. To ensure no one could ever again use the power inside the crystals for evil, the Alicorns cast a lock upon five of them, and only those who were kind, generous, joyful, loyal and honest could activate the sixth and most powerful crystal of all, the crystal of magic.
Confident in their attempt to guarantee harmony in the forces of magic, the Alicorns launched their retaliation on Andros. Mankind was again no match for the magic of the Alicorns, who quickly invaded the heart of the Andromedan Empire, Planet Andros. The former empress of Alicornia, Xena, led a team of six Alicorns on the dying planet, each soldier with one of the crystals. Their mission was to fight the Infernal One face to face.
The team stormed the tower. The Infernal One was indeed there, waiting for the small squad of assassins. Xena was able to strike the first blow, but the Infernal One struck back. The Alicorns bravely fought the tyrant, waiting for the right moment to activate the crystals, but upon delivering what was to be the killing strike, the Infernal One blocked the magic with his sword. Much to his horror, however, the sword, which was a talisman for his own magic, reacted with the talismans of the others.
The orange glow of the sword grew bright white and the Emperor could feel the magic pulling him in. As he dematerialized into his blade, he spoke to Xena and the team of Alicorns…
“Do you think you have defeated me, Empress Xena? Did you think I had not calculated a plan since we last met? Well, let me assure you, Alicorns, I WILL be back!”
The blade dropped to the ground, still glowing white, but not as bright as before. Xena walked closer to it, and slowly reached out to hold it in her hooves.
“Your Highness…,” called out a concerned sounding Alicorn, which caused her to hesitate. Xena looked at her sternly, but she continued anyway, “Your Highness chose me for this mission for my honesty, so I absolutely must say that I do not think it is wise for Your Highness to touch that sword!”
“While it is correct that I did choose you specifically for your honesty, and while I do also appreciate your fervor, I will decide what is wise,” commanded Xena, keeping a firm hand on her personnel, while still showing them respect.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Xena reached out once more for the relic, but as she grabbed it, the light shifted orange once more, and burned her hoof. She winced and quickly tossed it aside. The other Alicorns gasped.
“My Leige!”
“Are you hurt?”
“I am fine,” said Xena, still holding her hoof, “There must be some kind of protection on--”
Just then, there was a bright flash from the sword. The Alicorns shielded their eyes, and took cover. They had no idea what kind of hexes the Infernal One may have put on the sword. Once the light had subsided, they all came out from shelter. Xena and the Alicorns walked toward the sword again, and when they got close, they saw that the swords glow was completely gone
So Xena’s army returned home, taking with them the talisman that held the Infernal One. They had won, and saved the forces of magic from succumbing to the cruel perversions of darkness. The Infernal One was imprisoned and all was harmony.
Infernal
By Unicron and Nodd, the Blind Horse
Chapter One
It was late evening. Luna sat in the cool grass. The field stretched out forever and met the mountains, obscured by the haze of distance. The sky was unnatural, glowing bright orange at the horizon, gradually shifting into deep violet as the spectrum reached the sky’s expanse. Luna sulked there, as tears rolled down her cheeks. She only stopped when she saw a creeping orange mist gather around her. Luna stood up in shock as the mist rose, and she could feel the life force from within it. Then it spoke to her.
“You seem upset today,” it observed.
“What do you want from me?” cried out the distraught Alicorn, “Why do you torment me like this?” Luna could bear the thing’s torture for no longer. This was not the first time it had found her.
The mist began to take shape. The being Luna saw stood upright on its hind legs, with its forelegs hanging completely down from its sides instead of front. Its head was small and round, and its face was flat. Luna had never seen a creature like this.
The translucent phantom loomed in on Luna. “Luna…oh, sweet Lulu…,” it fawned. As it spoke, more of the aberrant fog leaked out of the mouth, enveloping the Alicorn.
Lune screamed, “No! Get away from me!”
She was blinded in a sea of orange as the specter pulled at her face and limbs, and clawed at her soft underbelly. She struggled, but she could not get away. Its claws tightened around her crest and neck, cutting off her air supply. The seconds turned into minutes, and eventually time seemed to stand still completely.
When it was finally done, it dropped her on the ground in disinterest. Her body was in terrible agony. It felt like the life had been literally battered out of her. She was just about to close her eyes and pray for it to be all over, when she spotted a white blur through her tears. She opened her eyes wider, and saw that it was Celestia.
“Sister!” cried Celestia as she galloped to Luna’s aid.
The mist materialized an axe in its hand and swung violently at the approaching white mare. Luna screamed with all of the strength she had left. She closed her eyes before she could fully see her sister die. As she hid her vision in the darkness of her own head, the frail Alicorn drifted off, unable to go on any longer.
Luna gasped loudly as she rose feverishly out of slumber. The dressings that adorned her bed were damp from sweat. Breathing heavily, she surveyed her surroundings, assuring herself that this was real, and the previous events were just a bad dream.
She saw Celestia, already by her side. Perhaps she had been talking in her sleep, she thought. She relaxed a bit as Celestia ran a hoof through her mane and coaxed her back into reality.
Luna had begun to cry, and she buried her head into her pillow. Celestia continued to pet her mane, comforting her, not letting on the she was also distressed.
“It’s okay, Luna. You’re safe,” Celestia reassured, “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Luna revealed her face from the pillow, and looked with sad eyes at her sister.
“I see,” Celestia confirmed. There was no doubt now what was bothering Luna. “So you are still having that dream. Is it happening often?”
“It happens every night,” Luna whimpered, “but it was different this time. The mist usually just surrounds me and I wake up, but tonight…”
Luna broke off and just stared sadly from her pillow. Her mouth quivered, unable to force out the words.
“Tell me, Luna. I would like to know what happened.”
So Luna retold the new developments of the dream to Celestia. As she listened, Celestia nodded her head. She should have expected as much.
“I must say, I’m confused. I wasn’t going to bother you with this, but it seems too important to keep hidden now. You see, I had the same dream as you, Lulu. Except in my dream, you were the one who…” the princess paused, rewording the sentence in her head, “tried to rescue me instead.”
Luna was puzzled. “What…what does this mean, Tia?” she asked.
Celestia could only shake her head and say, “I’m not sure, but I will tell you this, Lulu; This troubles me as well.”
“I don’t want to sleep anymore, Tia.” said Luna. The stress had rendered her wide awake.
Celestia suggested they go for a walk on the castle grounds and have a snack in the garden. Luna agreed, and they both left her bed chamber.
In the royal garden, beyond the stained glass doors to the castle hall from whence they had entered, the air was gentle and cool. The night animals croaked and cricketed from all directions as the two princesses trotted through the grass. The sky above was dark and cloudless, and only the vividly glowing full moon broke through the indigo.
They strolled down the pathway, surrounded by the un-bloomed flowers, still waiting for summer.
“Sometimes I think it looks more pretty here at night, Tia,” Luna mused as the gentle night air brushed her mane.
“I couldn’t agree more, Lulu. It truly is gorgeous,” Her sister agreed, more in an attempt to humor Luna, rather than in actual
agreement. She nuzzled Luna’s cheek in affection. Sometimes, Celestia thought, she saw poor, fragile Luna as more of her own daughter than just a sister.
“You know, Tia, there’s a big astronomical event happening in just a few days.”
“And what might that be, my little pony?” Celestia inquired, further entertaining her sisters interest in the stars. It wasn’t that she was particularly disinterested, just that the stars were so far away, and the real pressing matters of ponies’ lives were right here in the kingdom. She simply had no time to be amused in such things.
“A huge alignment! Starting with Equestria and ending with Alicornia, with many planetary bodies in between,” Luna spoke with great interest, “Isn’t it fascinating that Equestria will align with the original planet of the Alicorns, Tia?”
Celestia sat down and lowered her head on the grass. “Yes, Lulu, it is.”
Celestia is not as stoic as she believes, thought Luna. Her sister was clearly keeping something inside. She sat next to
Celestia and nestled close. “What troubles you, sister?” she asked with concern.
“You never mind that, Lulu. I am just very tuckered out” insisted the reserved Alicorn.
“But sister, I want to know—“
“That is enough, Luna. Don’t give in another thought.”
Luna thought for a minute, and formulated a plan.
“Well…,” she said coyly, “If you will not tell me, I will extract the information by force!”
Luna pounced on Celestia and began tickling her. Celestia burst into a fit of laughter as she struggled.
“Eek!” she yelped, “No tickling! Stop!”
“Not until you release the information I desire!” commanded the princess, in a rare power shift. The laughter seemed to be contagious.
“Yes! I will tell you, I promise!” she assured.
As Celestia was allowed to sit up again, the pink in her cheeks subsided back to their usual regal white. Luna inched in closer, anxious to hear what her sister had to say. It was not often her sister confided in her. That shoe was more often than not on the other hoof.
“The story begins with Grandmother Rhea…” she began. Celestia pondered the words as she started what was to be a lengthy and difficult tale….
