Megalovania

by Gale the Anarchist

First published 28th of December, 2015

Most ponies know of the Mare in the Moon. After all, it was a popular story to scare foals into sleeping at their bedtimes for years. What few remember, however, is that the legend is incomplete.

Everypony knows the legend of the Mare in the Moon. Someponies know about the Lord of Chaos. A few know about the Lost Empire, and one or two swear by Celestia that they've seen black bug-like ponies the change in green fire.

But nopony, nopony knows about Celestia's biggest regret.

This legend... it was caused by all the others. The person in the legend supposedly helped seal the Lord of Chaos, worked to free the Lost Empire, he was even friends with the Bug Ponies.

But the Mare in the Moon... started his downfall.

Now, Celestia is alone. Not in the literal sense, but in the fact that she has none from her past. And for the first time in a millennia, she looks to the sky not with the serene smile known by her subjects, but with a grimace, almost a grim acceptance for what is to come.

But... what is coming?

---

* Are you ready to have a B A D T I M E ?

Mystery, Thy Name Is...

Twilight Sparkle sighed happily as she reclined in her folding chair, staring out the large bay window of the Canterlot Library where she worked and lived. An incredibly expensive, high-powered telescope sat just at her side, positioned perfectly to catch sight of the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon she was about to witness just as it began.

“Spike!” she cried, glancing over her shoulder to the small set of stairs leading to their shared bedroom. “Are you sure you don’t want to watch this with me!?”

“No thanks, Twilight,” Spike, her younger dragon brother, replied, sticking his head out into the hallway. “You know how I feel about the Gaster Comet. It gives me the creeps.”

“Oh, Spike,” the mare chuckled, shaking her head. “You know it’s not a real skull hurtling through space, right?”

Spike paused, turning to glare at her lightly. “One, this coming from the mare who still believes that the Mare in the Moon is real?” he sniped. “And two, it’s not just a skull - it’s a Dragon skull the size of this library. How can that not creep you out just a little?”

Twilight twitched, rounding on him and jabbing a hoof in his direction. “First off, there is plenty of scientific evidence behind the Mare in the Moon being a true tale!” she shrieked, catching herself seconds later and taking a deep breath. “And second, it fascinates me more. What circumstances could have made the comet take such a form?”

“Someone killed a Dragon and sent its head into orbit.”

“Spike!”

“What?” the drake cried defensively. “It could’ve happened!”

Twilight just groaned, smacking her hoof to her forehead in exasperation. “Just… if you’re not staying up with me, then at least keep it down. Seriously, you’ve been making weird noises at night lately and I want them to stop.”

Blushing profusely, Spike turned tail and sprinted back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Twilight sighed, turning back to her telescope and peering through it for a moment. She squealed with glee when a white object surrounded by powder-blue flames came into her view, soaring slowly across the night sky.

“The Gaster Comet…” the mare breathed, staring at the spectacle in awe even as her quill and notepad floated over in a lavender glow of magic, the quill scratching away seconds later. “Interesting, it seems all the documents are true. It is shaped like a large Dragon skull.”

Twilight watched the comet as it crossed the sky, noting down observations the whole time. After a while, she decided to try and zoom in more, focusing her gaze on one of the ‘eye sockets’ of the skull-shaped hunk of what was clearly just a large clump of space rock.

“How peculiar…” Twilight muttered, frowning slightly and zooming in a little more. “It seems as though the comet is hollow… but if that were the case, it would have broken up a long time ago purely from its continued reentry into various atmospheres. I wonder how- GAH!” The lavender mare let out a loud yelp of surprise, scrambling away from the telescope. She fell backwards, landing heavily on her flank and gasping for breath as she attempted to process what she had seen.

“Was…” she gasped, finally managing to regain control of her breathing a second later. “Was there somepony… in the comet!?” Thinking it over for a few moments, Twilight shook her head, climbing to her hooves. “No, no, that’s preposterous! How could somepony even survive inside of a comet hurtling through the vacuum of space?”

Twilight laughed at the absurdity of the idea. Surely, if somepony had figured out the solution to space travel, Ponies would have already flown out to investigate the surface of the Moon, or even the next planet over! No, she was obviously just imagining things - Spike’s stories must have gotten to her at some point, that was it.

“Honestly,” Twilight chuckled, climbing into her chair once more and re-positioning her telescope from where it had landed, having been knocked over in her panic. “The idea of a Pony traveling in a comet is just ludicrous.” She smiled, giggling to herself as she once again pressed her eye to the lense. As she thought, the figure within the comet was gone, clearly just a figment of her-

“Okay,” Twilight deadpanned. “Either Spike is playing an incredibly convoluted prank on me, or the comet now has a gigantic, glowing, powder-blue eye staring back at me.”

Twilight took a step away from her telescope, standing and trotting up to the large bay window of the library’s second floor. She squinted, glowering up at the comet that one could just see the vague shape of in the sky… which had stopped its flight, slowly turning to point in her direction.

“...Spiiiike?!” Twilight called unsurely, starting to sweat nervously. Her breathing became erratic as she watched the comet, which merely sat in the night sky for a time, watching her back.

Twilight watched in horror as the ‘mouth’ of the comet opened, the lower jaw splitting in half as a white energy began to build. She backed up quickly, overstepping the top of the stairs and tumbling down, all while her horror grew each time she caught a glimpse of the growing ball of unstable-looking energy in the comet’s gaping maw.

“SPIIIIKE!!!” the mare cried, turning and galloping towards the door just as the comet’s eye seemed to flash, the energy being released in a concentrated beam heading straight for the library. Momentarily forgetting her magic, Twilight slammed bodily into the door, being denied her exit by the simple fact that the library had been locked for the night.

Turning back to the window, Twilight gulped as she saw the energy closing in rapidly. ‘Goodbye Spike…’ she thought to herself, tears in her eyes. ‘Goodbye Princess Celestia… Goodbye Mom, Dad, Shiny…’

Closing her eyes tightly as the energy tore through the large bay window, slamming into her and continuing on through the floor of the library into the mountain itself, one final thought passed through Twilight’s mind. One that made her final moment one of pure, SOUL-crushing despair when she realised what it truly meant.

‘I never even made any friends…’

Twilight shot up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily as she glanced hurriedly around her bedroom.

“This…” the mare breathed, eyes wide. “This isn’t right… I…” Pausing for a second, Twilight gripped her head in pain as the events of the previous night rushed through. She let out a soft whimper, huddling up just as her bedroom door flew open and the pain subsided. Spike strode in, smiling brightly and carrying a tray full of pancakes.

The drake paused when he saw his sister, setting the tray down and rushing to her side. “Twilight?” he asked in concern, placing a claw on her shoulder. “Twilight, what’s wrong? Tell me, please.”

Twilight froze, focusing on the comforting presence as she calmed down. Slowly, she came out of her little ball, looking up to the emerald green eyes of her brother. “Spike…” she muttered, before throwing herself at him, wrapping her forehooves around his neck in a tight embrace.

“Woah!” Spike cried in response, managing a small chuckle as he hugged her back. “You okay there, Twi?” he asked, the concern returning.

Twilight sniffled, pulling back and dropping to her hooves again as she wiped her eyes. “Y-yes, just…” she replied, pausing as another image flashed in her mind, one of a short, bipedal, skeletal figure with a single glowing blue eye. “Just a bad dream.”

Spike was silent for a moment before his normal, beaming smile exploded on his face. “Oh, good!” he said, returning to his tray and bringing it over. “You seemed really tired this morning so I made you breakfast in bed!”

Twilight managed a soft chuckle as she climbed onto her bed again, her brother taking a seat next to her. “Thanks Spike, you’re the best,” she said, her magic flaring as she rolled up one of the pancakes and brought it to her muzzle, taking a large bite. “Mmm, chocolate chip! My favourite!”

“Heh, I know,” the drake chuckled, nudging her as he took a pancake of his own. “That’s why I made them.”

The siblings sat there for a time, chatting and laughing as Twilight slowly shoved the dream to the back of her mind.

Up in the rafters of Twilight’s home, however, a short, stocky figure sat, leaning against a support beam with one skeletal leg pulled up. His two pure-white eyes watched the mare intently, a slight frown on his ever-smiling skull.

‘She shouldn’t remember…’ the figure thought to itself, it’s frown increasing as is shoved its bony hands into the pockets of its blue hoodie. ‘Not even in a dream… I need to keep an eye on her.’

Turning to the open air above the two, the figure waved its hand, conjuring a small, Dragon-like skull with a pair of tiny white dots for eyes, not unlike itself. “Watch them,” the figure said with a deep, masculine voice. The skull nodded, turning to go before the figure spoke again. “But don’t be seen!”

Nodding again, the skull floated into another of the rafters, settling down and hiding there. Nodding in satisfaction, the figure simply leaned to the left, allowing itself to fall…

Only to vanish as it passed out of it’s own creation’s line of sight.

From Above, They Once Fell...

Starlight Glimmer chuckled to herself as she stepped into her home, kicking the door shut seconds before her magic flared. A cotton ball flew to her flank, wiping away the dull grey sign of ‘equality’ she had all but branded her latest ‘resident’ with.

“Idiots,” the fuschia mare laughed quietly, being careful that none of the residents of ‘Our Town’ would hear her by accident. She couldn’t have them getting smart, after all. “That’s… five, now, I think? Double Diamond… what a stupid stallion.”

*...

Starlight blinked as a shiver ran down her spine before shaking her head. “Weird…” she muttered, casting a spell that washed through her home. When there was no return signal from her magical radar, Starlight shrugged, climbing the stairs to her bedroom. “Must’ve been my imagination.”

*Yes… Imagination…

Starlight froze as the shiver ran down her spine again, frowning in a mixture of confusion and worry. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, waiting for her heartbeat to slow before opening them again. What she saw, however, caused her to let out a shrill scream, backpedalling until she felt herself hit a wall.

There was nothing around her, just a void of pure blackness, and yet it still somehow felt small. Enclosed. And she could feel it getting smaller, if the non-existent wall behind her forcing her forward was any indication. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t move back any more. Her magic failed her, only a small, pathetic spark of light-blue energy falling from the tip of her horn when she tried to teleport herself away.

“W-what is this!?” Starlight cried in fear, her breath heavy and ragged.

*...

Starlight froze, her eyes shrinking to mere pinpricks as, for the third time that day, a cold shiver ran through her, much more powerful than those before. Slowly, she was forced forward, until a figure no taller than a foal appeared from the darkness.

The mare blinked in confusion as her forced advance was halted. Yes, the figure appeared no older than a foal, but it looked almost ape-like. It’s face was flat, it had strange, stubby appendages at the ends of its forelegs, the only fur it seemed to be coated in was it’s short, messy brown mane, and it even stood on it’s hind legs like a Minotaur. A green sweater covered the figure’s upper body, a single yellow stripe crossing its torso, and it wore a strange brown piece of clothing to cover its legs.

“What…” Starlight muttered, eyes wide as she stared. “What are you…?”

*I… am Chara...

Starlight shivered again. The figure’s mouth had moved, but it's voice had not come from there. Instead, it was almost as though it had come from within herself, echoing throughout her mind.

*Starlight… Glimmer…

Starlight’s eyes widened further in surprise. “H-how did you…”

*I… know all… I live… in all…

Starlight’s heartbeat rose. The figure - Chara - stared at her. Into her. Through her. “W-what do you want?” she asked, trying to back up only to press against the invisible wall once more.

*I want… to help you…

That made Starlight pause, blinking in surprise. “You… what?”

‘Chara’ nodded, the whites of it's strange red eyes slowly flooding with blackness.

*I will help you… Starlight Glimmer…

“But… why?” the mare asked incredulously, her fear giving way to curiosity and boldness.

*Your goal… My goal… they are… the same…

“What are you talking about?”

Chara’s face slowly split into a sinister grin, the same blackness that had overtaken its eyes dripping into its mouth, staining the pearly teeth an inky

black.

*Equality in all… no pain… no sorrow…

Slowly, Starlight stepped forward, her unease at Chara’s presence forgotten as its words flowed through her. Something about this being seemed so… alluring…

Chara’s grin split its face as Starlight came to a stop before it. Its face began melting slowly, going unnoticed by the mare.

Up until he pounced.

Starlight let out a shrill screech of pure terror as the child leapt at her, its body melting into a viscous, black liquid that felt heavier than anything she could possibly think of as each drop landed on her body.

The first hit her left foreleg, forcing her to take a knee as the sheer weight of the substance threatened to shatter her bones under its weight. The next struck her barrel, forcing the breath from her lungs as she dropped bodily to the ground. More and more, the liquid that had once been child covered her body, coating her darkness until she had disappeared into the void…

And then she felt it beginning to sink in.

Faster than it had covered her, the strange substance began to seep into Starlight’s pores, entering her very being. Her blood became blackened with tainted essence, her bones coated and strengthened by what she was certain at this point was liquid evil.

Before long, the black that had stained her coat was gone, instead staining her very being. Struggling, she forced herself up, tired legs pushing against the nothingness to let her stand. Shuddering, Starlight closed her eyes, fighting against the tears brought forth from the pain coursing throughout her core…

And when she opened them again, she found herself back in her room. Shock ran through the mare’s eyes as she looked around, gaze tracing every minute detail in a desperate attempt to verify that she was indeed safe. Magic flared from her horn effortlessly once again, which she used to send pulse after pulse throughout the home, each one responding in silence.

Heart racing, Starlight let out a relieved, tired sigh. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she turned, staggering into the nearest bathroom and staring into her mirror.

“Thank Celestia…” she breathed, her heart calming as she saw herself staring back, the fear and anxiety on her copy’s face lifting as her own feelings settled. She stayed there for a time, staring at herself as she felt herself calming before her head dropped.

Horn flaring, Starling turned on her faucet, splashing water over her face. Wordlessly, she attempted to scrub away the liquid she could still feel dragging her down, before freezing entirely.

As the mare looked up once more, gleaming red eyes staring back out of the mirror. An unsettling grin split her face.

*All are equal in my eyes…

Turning, the mare ambled through the house, searching each drawer as she went.

*Now… where are the knives?