elementus
by thatguy45
Chapters
10'000 years
Ezekiel sat on his throne, long over taken by vegetation. He could have moved, and left his steel tomb, left for the outside world which had long forgotten of him. He didn’t. The world had no place for him; they didn’t need his influence anymore. He thought to when he was human. He was a soldier in a crusade to take a holy city. He had forgotten its name. Something with a J. a priest promised him eternal life if he completed it. The irony made him sick. He wanted nothing more than to die. But that was impossible.
He did die once.
He remembered that he died halfway to their destination. It was horrible. He felt sick, and fell right as the sun reached its peak. He remembered as his fellows pulled him into a tomb, in the middle of the desert they were trekking though. They must have thought they were doing him a favor. They prayed over him and left, left him to his fate. He remembered blacking out for a spell and hearing the words for the first time. They were cold, and he felt compelled to follow them.
“You are mine, knight of flesh”
He awoke shortly afterwards. He saw his body lying, dead, on the ground in front of him. His body was now of steel, soul, and magic. He screamed. He screamed long after a normal human would have stopped. He screamed for what felt like days. He finally stopped when he realized it was fruitless. He was a creature of blasphemy, a dead man who was not. This was directly against the Holy Scriptures. He could not cry, could not eat, could not sleep, and could not be saved. It took a while, but he calmed down. He looked around. The walls were covered in arcane letters and symbols. Looking through the eyes of his armor, he realized he could read it, even though he never saw any of said symbols or letters in his lifetime. The roof of the tomb had a large bunch of symbols that were bunched together and the entire left side was unreadable, destroyed long ago. He could still read the rest of it. There was a large bunch of words, in perfect English, above the bunch of symbols. It said, ‘periodic table of elements’. He spent a good amount of time staring at the curious ‘table’, long enough to take it entirely to memory. The left side of his tomb had rather intricate carvings that appeared to be the history of the armor. It said that a spell caster that died in this very tomb made the armor. That made a lot of sense. The right side of the tomb had a list of things that were apparently in alphabetical order, albeit missing a few letters:
Air
Blood
Clockwork
Death
Earth
Electricity
Fire
Gravity
Hands
Ice
Life
Light
Monetary vices
Norse winds
Pestilence
Radioactivity
Rock
Souls
Sand
Space
Sound
Time
Uru
Water
War
He was openly confused about what he should do about this list but that was when the voice spoke up again.
“ Concentrate on one of the words on the list ” he was compelled to follow the voices commands. He focused and concentrated on the word, ‘electricity’ he felt nothing at first, but after a few seconds he was engulfed in blue light that wound around his body like a serpent. Normally Ezekiel would have been terrified. But he only felt more intrigued, and the voice urged him to experiment more.
Over the next few days? Years? It didn’t matter. No matter what Ezekiel did the door didn’t budge. He assumed it was similarly enchanted like the armor. On the other hand, the experiments went well. It was easy to figure out what a few of them meant, like fire and ice. Others, like sound and Norse winds, required more than a little experimentation. He purposefully chose to avoid the ones that seemed blasphemous, like life and death. Eventually, the boredom got to him. He sat down on the throne that the armor originally was on, and found it was surprisingly comfortable. Must be because he could no longer feel DIScomfort. He sighed and waited.
Nothing happened for a really long time. Ezekiel had no sense of time, but his biological clock was still working. He could tell that it had been at least 100 years. He sighed. And waited some more.
It was agonizing. It had been at least 1000 years by then. He was starting to lose his sanity, which he didn’t have much of in the first place. Waking up as a suit of armor was pretty traumatizing. He sighed again, and waited some MORE
He was no longer bothered by the fact that he would spend eternity sitting on a throne in a long forgotten desert. On the bad side, his sanity was wearing extremely thin. He could almost hear voices…wait a moment! Those were voices! There were people on the other side of the door. He concentrated on sound and he heard them clearly.
“This is a priceless artifact! The queen must know of this!”
But sir, the Persians believe that this is not yours to take. They believe that it is a part of their cultural heritage, and holds the bodies of their ancestors.”
“Bah, what do those savage desert dwellers know? They are members of the British Empire and if I say that it is transported to England, it will be transported to England!!!
There was a pause. “Yes sir.”
Ezekiel had heard enough. It was good that England was still around, but it sounded that these people were much more militaristic than he remembered. He still sat on his throne, because he knew that they would not be able to open his tomb. What felt like a few days passed, and he felt the tomb move. Huh, so what the person on the other side meant by, ‘take’, he actually meant take the entire tomb. He sat back and chuckled silently to himself. He was going to have a fun time watching them try to open the tomb. It was better than just sitting there, he supposed.
{======}
This was worse than just sitting there. The people who took the tomb, obviously not knowing what was in it, decided to take it back to Brittan by boat. Ezekiel could not get sick, but he could still feel like he was getting sick. His tomb, and, to an extent, Ezekiel, were sliding every which way and he could feel a few dents in his armor forming.
{======}
He survived the initial trip, which he assumed took a few weeks. He wasn’t broken (thankfully) and sat back down in his throne. He had nothing else to do. There was a lot of shouting and he could feel his tomb moving. If the royalty hadn’t moved the castle, then that’s where he would be going. He knew the British. They tried to bring anything they found in some obscure country to the royals so to curry favor. He knew that he was once one of them, but he wasn’t now, and he hated thinking about what he should do if they did open the tomb. Play dead? Try to convince them that he wasn’t some Satan spawn that was imprisoned there for a reason? Destroy them? He couldn’t figure out what to do.
He wasn’t in the castle. From the voices he heard he assumed that he was in some sort of university or museum. There was a lot of clapping and praise being given to someone, presumably the one who stole the tomb. He concentrated.
“Congratulations are in order, Elrond. I did not expect you to come back with such a prize.”
“Thank you, director joseph, it is good to be back at the university. Anyway, I am assuming that you all want to know what this is inside of this… this thing, from the desert. Well. Horace!”
Another voice picked up. “Yeah boss?”
“Get the dynamite, we will blast this infernal door to oblivion, and plunder the riches inside!”
Dynamite? Ezekiel assumed that that was some sort of explosive, and was somewhat surprised that they were using such measures to open it. Oh well, when (if) they open the door, it will be nice to see the sun again.
‘ When they open the door, destroy them .’ Ezekiel shook his head to get those horrible thoughts out of his head. He would not hurt his countrymen.
‘ You will pay for your treachery, knight. ’ The voice was obviously quite angry that he had disobeyed him. While he was having a mental debate with himself, he had forgotten that dynamite was being placed all around the door. The boom was big enough to get him out of the trance though.
The dynamite did nothing. There were a few more angry shouts and another boom, but the door didn’t budge. He was honestly surprised when the third boom was so big it tipped the tomb over. But the door didn’t move an inch. He decided to just wait.
{=====}
It had been a really, really, really long time. He had spent so much time in that tomb that he had forgotten how to speak. He hated it. He hated his unholy life, he hated this infernal tomb, and he especially hated the horrible people who couldn’t open the door. It festered over the decades into a burning hatred of all living things. He wanted to destroy every living thing he came across, brit or whatever else might walk across his path. But he was still rational. He knew that it would still take a while before humans could open the door. His time in the tomb, however, gave him good amount of time to experiment with the powers, as he started to call them (cliché, I know, but what would you call them?). He had mastered most of them, but there were still a few that he had yet to understand.
{=====}
It had roughly been 5000 years since he died. He had learned how to speed up time, but he chose not to do anything with it. It seemed a blasphemous. He heard a large rumbling and an explosion that would have destroyed his eardrums if he had any. This explosion was much louder than anything he had heard before. And the explosion was certainly large. It ripped the door right off the tomb, and Ezekiel saw sunlight for the first time in thousands of years. And it was instantly consumed by fire. He left the tomb and saw what appeared to be a gargantuan, black skinned, floating leviathan, tearing in to the earth with beams of light from its mouth. There were what appeared to be metal birds attacking it, but the creature shrugged the attacks off and kept blasting at what appeared to be large stone structures. Ezekiel was impressed. He had never seen such destruction. He was in what appeared to be a building, or what was left of it. Everywhere was dead and charred bodies. He grimaced (or whatever) and went back in his tomb. There was nothing for him up there anymore, and he was a sure as the sky was blue not facing down one of those things.
It had been another 4000 years. The earth had recovered, and plants had taken over the tomb. The carvings on the walls were completely obscured by roots and trees reached high over the hole that was once the door to his prison. He STILL sat on his throne, waiting for something. The voice had all but fizzled out, and he had nothing to think about or talk about. But, as stated before, he could not sleep, and was forced to just watch the sun move over the sky. It was somewhat maddening.
(Finally, I get to pony!)
Luna was troubled. You see, she has a power to see into the dreams of any living thing in equestria. She could not enter the mind of someone awake, and what troubled her was that way to the far right of the dreamscape, was a mind that never slept. It had been there for as long as she could remember, and it was starting to scare her. She decided to talk to Celestia about it. She waited until morning court was over, long after she usually went to sleep, and walked out to see Celly, who was sitting on her throne going over documents. Celestia looked up and instantly saw the look of discomfort on her face.
“Luna, what troubles you?”
“Tia, I must speak with you about something…”
the suns envoy's
“What did the princess say?” the thestral, black torment, asked the 12 other ponies. There were 4 more thestrals, 4 of princess Celestia’s personal guard, and a changeling, in advanced guard armor. He was answered by hundred battles, the leader of the group.
"the process said that there's an anomalous thought pattern in the east. we have to check it out." he shrugged. "so that means about a month or so on a boat.
affirmations
Ezekiel wasn't really sure why he ran away. At first he believed that it was the voice, or the fact that that sword of light had cut through his arm like nothing. But it wasn't that. The truth was, he was afraid. Afraid of being destroyed by those creatures. He picked up his severed arm and reattached it. After a few seconds, he roared into the forest, for no real reason. He grabbed a tree trunk and, in his rage, snapped it in twain. He swiveled on his heel, and stared in the direction they had flown off in. squinting, he saw what appeared to be a castle. Grunting, he conjured up a powerful air current, powerful enough to lift him of the ground, yet controlled enough so that they wouldn't see him coming. Flying off towards the castle, he conjured a halberd made out of lightning. Gripping his spear, which he christened the 'St. George', he yelled into the ether, to no one in particular, announcing his intentions to god. Refocusing on the castle, he willed the air to carry him to the ones who injured him.
----------
Celestia was sitting in the royal war room, with her sister and the three survivors of the scouting expedition, black torment of the night guard, hundred blades of her personal guard, and sally, a changeling soldier given to her for good will. The five sat in silence for a few minutes, then hundred blades started.
"This... creature, whatever it is, is much stronger than most guards, i saw that from the first attack. It has obviously had military training, although for what army, i don't know. Sally said it looks like annihilation armor, but for a much different frame. But it is obviously destructible. The only problem, however, is that it can shrug off most blows, and obviously it can use magic. It is truly something to be reckoned with." hundred blades sighed at the end of that monologue.
Celestia moved on to the to lovers, black and sally. She always liked a romance story about to lovers who survived under impossible odds. Smiling slightly she said, "black, sally. Any thing to add?"
Sally perked up and said, "I-i don't know much about annihilation armor. It was designed only for the changeling king, and supposedly it is indestructible. So it's either a knockoff, or it's something else entirely." Celestia nodded to her, then looked to black, which shrugged.
"I don't know what to tell you. The only thing i noticed was that it was using elemental magic. Fire, earth, water, that kind of magic. It seemed to know what to do, and with minimal effort." he shrugged again and wrapped his wing around sally, who looked slightly happier in his embrace.
She sighed and said. "You are dismissed."
{===========}
Ezekiel looked down on the castle. It was beautiful. As large as a city, and probably had just as many people running it. He frowned internally. He had been there for at least thirty minutes, and he was tired of waiting for them to come out and challenge him. He gripped his halberd in both hands, and, raising it to the sky, clouds circled around his location. Concentrating, a lightning bolt seared through the sky, and wrapped itself around his spear. Bringing the spear up to his head, he angled it with one of the spires of the castle. Putting all of his godlike strength behind it, he hurled it towards the spire. His aim was true, and he split in half.
{========}
Celestia was not expecting this. She had expected a calculated revenge attack. Not this. A massive lightning bolt hit the eastern tower, and cut it like butter. She looked above it, and saw a huge bipedal creature, decked out in armor. He was exactly 300 feet in the air, looking down upon the devastation with utter indifference. She growled, and teleported to the armory. The ponies working there knew what to do. They had all heard the explosion, and they started fitting her with armor. A few minutes later, and she had all the weapons and accessories she used in the sealing of discord. Holding her war hammer, she took in a breath, her eyes closed. Then she teleported.
{=======}
Ezekiel hasn't really expecting to be teleported behind, then hit by a war hammer. But that was what happened. He gripped his dented helmet, which repaired itself with little concentration, and looked at the offending party. It was the one who hurt him earlier, carrying a hammer that looked a little to big for her, and had a look of determination in her eyes. A look that said that she didn't want to, but she would kill him if she had to. Those were the eyes of his fellow soldiers; they were the eyes of one who had made peace with god. He shook his head to get those thought out of his head. That was past, and the past was past. Stopping time, he forged a blade and shield of pure wind, and walked behind her. Starting time up again, he was almost happy to see the fact that she noticed him almost immediately. Catching her war hammer on his shield, she recoiled, which was enough time to bring his sword down on her wing. Screaming in pain, she fell from the sky.
{========}
Celestia teleported at the last second. Instead of the harsh stone of the courtyard meeting her, the rather coarse feel of the rug lining the floor of the medical room immediately embraced her. The doctors wasted no time tending to their princess. Luna was they’re trying to console some of the ponies there, which she did regularly. This time however, she watched in horror, as her sister, bloody and broken, was being pulled away by a host of doctors. She hated seeing her sister like this. The ponies in the infirmary are terrified. If something could do that, then what hope did they have?
{=======}
Ezekiel was hungry. For no reason, a great hunger had consumed him. He looked down upon the people; no that was wrong. Ponies. he looked down upon the ponies, and felt a hunger. A hunger for their deaths. For their blood to run down the streets. He gathered two balls of green energy in his hands, and tossed them down to the streets below. They exploded the second they reached the ground. Considering that the ponies were just standing there looking at him, the first ball of energy sent them screaming.
{========}
Luna heard the screams, but could do nothing. She had to look over her sister. But that wasn't what her heart told her to do. It told her to save them, however possible. She closed her eyes, and begged whatever entity she could call upon to help her.
I hear you, alicorn. Come to my sanctuary.
She opened her eyes and instantaneously teleported. To where, she didn't know. (We do!) She looked forward, and saw a tree. Not a normal tree, but a tree with six gems imbedded in its branches. She was enthralled, and stepped forward. The tree glowed with power, and six beams of energy washed over her, and she heard a voice.
Hello, princess of the moon. I have heard your cries.
Trying to move, or open her eyes, she found that she couldn't. 'W-what are you?'
I am the traveller, the envoy of the elements of harmony. They have heard your cries, and will help you.
'Thank you, i-'
Under one condition. They will use their awesome power to save your people, but in return, you shall become the host of the dark magics that fuel this monstrosity.
Luna thought. She wanted to protect her little ponies, but to do something this drastic? She was needed to help rebuild. She didn't want to be evil. No. She was putting it off. She already knew her answer.
'I accept. On one condition.'
Oh?
'I want you to banish me from this planet, so that i don't try to finish what that thing started.'
... very well.
{=====}
The castle glowed, and a rainbow of pure power spiraled out of the depths. It struck Ezekiel, who screamed in agony. He could feel the magics that kept him alive dissipating. He screamed futilely, and watched as the voice, the one who had directed him, was ripped from him and he was scattered.
reforming
Ezekiel was in pain. He was literally torn to pieces, and scattered around the courtyard. But he was in no way dead. Broken, yes. Ripped from the only influence he's had for 10000 years, yes. But dead? No, not at all. It would take a while, but he could reform. So he watched the ordeal in front of him.
"But why?!"
The white princess, her wing in a sling watched as another, her sister he assumed, said calmly,
" There’s room for only one princess!"
With a blast of light, she disappeared. While the white one was breaking down and crying, Ezekiel personally didn't care. He was more focused on trying to figure out what to do. He sped up time about a week, and woke up in a box. Apparently, those ponies weren't stupid. They knew to put a potentially dangerous object in storage of some kind. Reforming took less than a day, since all of his pieces were in one, 10"x10" box. He sat there, and observed what was lost and what wasn't. He saw that his mass was significantly smaller than what it was earlier. Most of his power was also gone, which he assumed was a side affect, and the voice was also gone. Before, when it didn't talk, he was able to tell that it was there, but now it was gone. Like something had been ripped from his mind then left to fester.
He didn't like it. At all.
{=======}
A decade or so later and he had managed to punch his way out of his tomb. He had initially expected a reception full of spears and magic. But... nothing. Not a gasp, not a scream, nothing. Scratching his head, he shrugged and moved his way up around the castle
{=======}
The castle, and the surrounding village, had been completely abandoned. The village had all but disappeared, and the castle was in need of repairs. Badly. He looked around at the top of the castle, and saw something in the distance. A shining city, bathed in the light of the sun. He knew instantly where they had gone. The city was perched on a mountain, and would have taken a century, with humans, at least. It was either already in development, or they knew something he didn't. Sitting there, he had nowhere to be. He just watched that city, illuminated by the days dying sunlight. For some reason, he felt... good, watching all of the accomplishments they had made.
{======}
It was getting very boring, watching the city. There wasn't a lot to do, and he really didn't need to sit there. So he picked himself up, and walked back into the castle. Walking down to the throne room, he passed by a mirror, and was shocked by what he saw. He no longer was his humongous, rune covered, suit of armor. No, now he was thinner, lankier. His arms now almost reached the ground, and the jaw piece of his helmet was slightly more robust. The horns on his helmet were gone, and he was purple and grey. There were slight variations to his eyes, which used to burn an unholy red, were now the same shade of purple his armor now was. He didn't know how much time he had spent looking at his reflection, but it had to have been at least a day. Breathing a mighty sigh, which echoed across the corridors, he returned to his walk to the throne room, and it occurred to him that he had absolutely no idea where the throne room was.
{======}
He found it a little later, and looked at the two thrones. The one on the right was obviously for the white one, while the one on left was for the one he assumed disappeared, by the look of the mark. Sighing again. He decided to sit down in front of the thrones and do what he did best. Wait.
{======}
1000 years later
"Nononononono, your dead!"
The suit of armor, sitting in front of Celestia’s throne didn't respond, but the hatred was obvious in the glowing purple eyes. 'Wait, purple?'
Luna, ahem, i mean nightmare moon, walked cautiously up to the armor, and was shocked by what she saw. It wasn't the same monstrous creature she had sacrificed her freedom and sanity to destroy, but something else.
She grabbed her head. 'he is useless to us. Leave him be.' she nodded and turned around.
{======}
Nightmare moon screamed as the rainbow enveloped her. A few moments later and the nightmare were vanquished. All that was left was a cowering alicorn, trying to not act scared. Celestia came down, and comforted her sister. No pony saw the shadow seep through the door, towards the throne room.
{======}
Ezekiel breathed in. he felt his armor expand to compensate the power. Magic runes appeared all over his body, and his eyes regained their red glow.
'It’s good to be back.'
{======}
Celestia felt a chill. She looked back to the castle. Her mind wandered to that monster, the one who had tried to destroy her for no reason. Her wing twitched and she almost fell.
{======}
Ezekiel looked at the rapidly leaving chariots. He had never seen flying chariots before. He looked at his right arm. About half way up the forearm, it looked welded together, unnatural. He squinted and left the castle. No sense staying there.
PART 1 END