“Followers of the holy night and shunners of the oppressive sun, rejoice! For tonight is the night that our triumph is at hoof!” the changeling proclaimed in a tone loud enough to be mistaken for a roar.

Or, it would have, had he not been a few decibels off.

He almost reminded me of myself a decade ago, back when ‘making eardrums explode’ was my modus operandi. Had my hooves not been shackled by ethereal chains, I would have given him my most sarcastic applause. So, I instead opted to roll my eyes and give him a flat stare.

“Remember this night, followers of Tambelon, for tonight is the night of promise! Tonight is the night of destiny!”

The dozens of hooded and masked equines shook the walls of the roofless chamber with their cheering. Why was it that villains needed minions, even if the minions did nothing but bumble and look pretty?

Whatever the answer was. It didn’t matter right now.

The changeling's name was Gorgan. No, no, that’s not right. Was it Gangrel? Gargamel? Gilgamesh? I mean, he shouted his name right before abducting me, but I wasn’t paying attention, on account of the whole being abducted thing.

“—and I, Grogar, will help usher in this new age!”

Ah, that’s it: Grogar.

Grogar really didn’t look like any ‘ling in recent memory. Probably because of the blue mane and beard; three horns, two of which were ram-like, with the third being a twisting mockery of a unicorn horn; ruby eyes with draconic pupils; and lack of holes.

Perhaps more worrying than his looks was his magic. It felt stronger than even the most studied of sages from that one school everyone important has gone to at least once in their lives. In fact—and I hated to admit it—he was more powerful than either me or Celestia under normal circumstances. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was captured by a ‘king’ changeling.

My curiosity was far too high for me to simply keep my mouth shut. “Hey! You there. Changeling with the robe and crazy voice!”

The changeling ‘king’ turned to face me. He looked to his sides and back, as if to make sure he was the one being addressed.

With no convenient objects to bash my head against, all I could do was groan. “No, no—the other crazy changeling who leads a cult and has me tied with magical bindings like a rodeo bull—YES, YOU!”

The changeling’s brow furrowed. “Yes?”

“You’re a changeling, right?” I didn’t wait for the guy to give me an answer. “Are you a king or something? Is Chrysalis your wife?”

The changeling’s eyes widened as he took a step back, looking as if he had just been slapped with an iron-clad hoof. “W-why I’d never!” he hissed, bared his teeth, and ground them loud enough that I heard the scraping.

He stomped his left forehoof as a bright glow erupted from his horns. Seconds later, I was levitated off the ground and yanked forward, hooves scraping against the floor with such speed that my eyes teared up from the exposure. By the time I had blinked to clear the haze, my nose was pressed against his snout.

“Y-You! You will not put me and that, vile wench, in the same category!” He let me fall on the ground as he turned to his dozens of followers. “Chrysalis is a fool who believes that power can be gained only by absorbing emotion. She fails to realize the true power that lies within magic!” He turned back to face me. “Yes, I may have been a changeling once, but that was millennia ago! I no longer have the need—nor desire—to feed off emotion, for I have far surpassed that petty limitation!” He put a hoof on his chest and grinned, his teeth sharp and pearly white. I noticed he had no pronounced canines like most changelings did, his entire denture being evenly sharp instead.

I cocked an eyebrow at his vague ‘reply.’ “So, if you aren’t a changeling, then what the Tartarus are you?”

The not-changeling sighed. “Must I explain this everytime I try and do something important?” He cleared his throat and leveled his horns at me. For a second, he appeared ready to attack. Instead, a red aura enveloped his whole being, lifting him into the air as he spread his forehooves like a child expecting a congratulatory hug. “My name is Grogar of Tambelon, and I am a necromancer supreme!”

I snorted. “First of all, you’ve already told me your name. Secondly, ‘Necromancer’ is not the name of a race or species. It is a title awarded to students of the arcane after years of trials and tribulations.” I grimaced. “And finally, would you get down? You look absolutely stupid!”

Grogar snarled, the magic enveloping his body fading as he slowly set himself back down. “Necromancers are an ancient and powerful race that predate even the oldest of recorded historical records! Certainly a lot more powerful and ancient than a ‘pretty fluffy alicorn princess’!” He leaned forward and tapped me on the horn, giggling in a way that I could only describe as ‘childish.’

I gave him a smirk, opting to save my energy in case he said or did something even more idiotic down the line. “You wouldn’t be singing that tune if you didn’t have me bound like I am right now.”

He laughed. “Maybe. But the fact that you are under my bondage shows just how powerful I am compared to you!” His features contorted with a smile that threatened to break free of his mouth’s confides to encompass his ears.

I rolled my eyes. Again. “Look, are you, or you not going to tell me what you are?”

Grogar pouted. I didn’t even know he had that capability. If he had sounded childish before, now he outright looked it.

He gazed sideways and groaned. “Fine. Yes, I was a changeling.” He put a hoof over his mouth. “And in some ways, I still am...” he said in a muffled voice. “I did start out serving under that excuse for a queen before realizing she was more interested in petty conquest than the true quest for knowledge and power.” He extended his left forehoof. “Leaving was a wise choice on my part too, as you can probably see.”

I gave him a nod. “No holes means you weren’t at the siege of Trot.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Cheeselegs and her cronies got their flanks kicked so hard by Celestia that it gave new meaning to the phrase ‘slap you so hard your kids will feel it’.”

Grogar groaned and replied to my quip by smacking me in the back of the head.

“Hey!” I shouted, rubbing the spot with my wing.

And yes, against all logic, he had not tied my wings down along with my hooves. His excuse? ‘No need to have you so tied up, princess. You can’t escape with most of your magic drained anyway!’ Insert annoying cackling.

“As I was saying,” Grogar resumed, ignoring my outcry. “After I parted ways with my kin, I went on sabbatical. Came across countless wonders of forgotten magic, not to mention the ancient ruins holding all that arcane wonder! Among those ruins was the lost city of Tambelon. There, I found the necklace I now wear. It belonged to the elder arch daemon goat, Grogar.”

“But... aren’t you Grogar?” I asked.

“No. I’m just carrying the legacy,” Grogar replied.

“Then what’s your real name?”

“Bray,” He replied nonchalantly.

“‘Bray’?” I stopped to consider my next question. “Is there... more?”

“No. Just Bray.” He replied. “But I’m not ‘Bray’ anymore. I’m Grogar of Tambelon. Understand?”

“Grogar... Tambelon?”

“No. Grogar of Tambelon,” he repeated, his brows starting to furrow.

My ears ears flattened and my face sank. I could practically hear my brain cells screaming as they died horrible little deaths. I blinked a few times to get my mind going in another direction. I set my eyes on his trio of horns, beard, eyes, and strange bell necklace. “I take it the horns, mane, and tacky beard are somehow related to that awful piece of jewelry around your neck?”

Grogar’s smug smile split into a devilish grin as he leaned in. “You are a perceptive one!” He transformed his right forehoof into an eagle’s claw just so he could run the digits through the blue goatee. “While I had started to change the instant I got away from that stupid little nymph, it wasn’t until I put on the necklace that my power multiplied a thousand fold! I gained my fabulous trio of horns, developed my fearsome ruby eyes, grew my magnificent beard, and my mane became ten times as fabulous! All signs that I was chosen to inherit the ancient and powerful magic of Grogar!”

I cocked my eyebrow. Again. “So, you had a mane before the changes? I thought changelings were bald.”

Grogar curled his lips upwards. “Changelings grow manes too! Most shave it off because it helps with being aerodynamic.”

I pointed my wing at his head. “So, why do you not shave off your mane? Don't you too have to be aerodynamic?”

Grogar’s ears flattened as he averted his gaze. “That’s besides the point! All that matters is that my mane is a symbol of my distance from what I once was!” he gleefully laughed.

I flatly looked at him. “You still haven’t answered me yet. Why don’t you shave your mane off?”

He scowled, dark—er… darker—spots appearing on his coat. “I-I d-doubt your mind can comprehend the answer anyway, so I won’t bother. Instead, I will tell you something more useful.” His scowl turned into a smug smirk, his ears perking up again. “Such as what changelings really are!”

He conjured a cushion from parts unknown and sat upon it. He even used his magic to sit me upright and on my flank, but only after easing some of the pressure the ethereal chains binding my hooves together. He then fixed me with a look more befitting of a little colt granted the honor of telling his teacher all about his two-week vacation to Haywaii than an evil overlord. The only thing he was missing was the giddy trembling.

No wait. He was doing that too.

“Changelings came about because of a miracle of magic! Our womb was an old carnivorous tree that took root in a pool of concentrated unicorn magic that formed deep within one of your many pony cemeteries! Its magic unleashed thanks to your ancient sage, Starswirl the Bearded!”

I inwardly winced at that. Yeah, Star… not one of your brightest ideas, sticking a sign on that tree.

Grogar’s smile faded. “Unfortunately, alongside the rest of us came that excuse for a leader. She was born looking more developed because she managed to absorb more of the magical energies from our surroundings.” His nose scrunched the instant he finished his words.

“Hold it,” I snapped, cutting him off from going further. “‘More developed’? You bugs have physical stages?”

Grogar laughed. “Oh, Luna, that’s funny!” He slapped me in the shoulder. I had to hold back a wince by biting my lower lip. “Changelings grow physically too! Though our growth rates are primarily dictated by magic rather than just physical advancement. The more magic we absorb—either via emotion harvesting or just plain magical acquisition—the older our bodies get.” He grimaced and slapped the back of my head again. This time, with his magic rather than his hoof. “Also, we are not bugs. You bigot.”

I rubbed the back of my head again and tried not to show the tear of pain that had threatened to leave my left eye. “Alright, you’re not bugs. Got it!”

He shook his head. “Didn’t they teach you all about changelings in school?”

I gave Grogar a flat look. “Changelings were believed to be an old mare’s tale up until Chrysalis tried and wreck my niece’s wedding.” I sighed and got the infuriating memory out of my head. “Alright. Changelings use magic for long-term survival, but you also still have physical needs.”

“Until a certain point. Just like everything else, changelings grow up, get more powerful, and continue developing until—” he put a hoof on his chest, “—we get to my level! I am the only changeling in existence that has reached this level of power. Age and time are meaningless; I no longer need to absorb emotion as I can draw magic directly from the cosmos; I don’t even require food!” He laughed like a mad stallion.

I hated that a part of me was genuinely paying attention to his ‘lecture’. Still, it wasn’t entirely for nothing. Aside from information I could use later, the longer I stalled him, the more time I gave Celestia.

The... idiot... had left a note on my personal guards—which he had only put to sleep without even bothering to tie them up. Wrote his name, where he was taking me, and a long gloating line about how he had claimed victory over me. My guard was probably already speaking to Celestia about my capture.

I almost felt sorry for the idiot in front of me once my sister burst in here with a mane of fire and the itch to kick flank.

Almost.

“So... you haven’t eaten anything in hundreds of years?” I said. A part of me looked for the nearest wall to smash my head against. What kind of idiotic question was that? I could have asked anything, but instead, I just had to ask about his food intake?

Grogar stopped laughing and coughed, covering his mouth with his hoof. “Actually, I had some donuts and coffee this morning!” He rubbed the back of his head and sheepishly smiled.

And he answered the question. The absolutely mad pony actually answered the question! Just… go with it.

I stared right into Grogar’s eyes despite his best attempts to keep his pupils from fixing on me. “So… if you are the pinnacle of your race’s evolution—” I had to pause to let the words I had just spoken out loud truly sink in. With a light exhale, I ignored the internal screams and continued. “—Why are you not the one leading the changelings?”

He sneered. “Because fate’s a very cruel mistress!” He spat his reply out like venom. “To think she was born with such power, only to squander it on petty goals!”

I bit my tongue. I cannot believe I am about to say this…

“What’s stopping you from kicking her flank and taking over?”

Grogar did not look at me, opting instead to set his gaze at my hooves. “My distaste for Chrysalis began when she took over Timbucktu and crowned herself our ‘queen’. My outright disgust for her boiled when she revealed her plans to conquer and destroy Trot and all of its great libraries. The instant she came up with that... idiotic... idea of the wooden horse, I knew she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. That’s when I left. And good thing too, as your dear sister came not long after and put her and the rest of my kind inside a volcano.”

That’s when it hit me like a mallet to the head.

“You deserted because you wanted to be more than just another conqueror...”

Grogar kept his expression eerily neutral. At least at first. That slowly deflated as his shoulders slumped. “I-I’ve never been one to try and force anything to do something they do not want to.” He set his eyes on me, and I could see something else in them. Something that was not pride. “I’m a seeker of knowledge. Of power. I want to experience all the magic this world has to offer. I-I don’t want to... want to…”

He sighed. Mournfully.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be a king or an emperor. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone; I would like to help everyone—if possible.” He stood up and turned away from me. “You were gone a millennium. During that time, I saw it all: conflict, prejudice, injustice; all brought about by greed and hate and indifference.”

He chuckled. It was bitter.

“Truth is that no matter what we say or do, we all want to live by each other’s happiness—not by each other’s misery.” He turned back to face me. “A-and that’s why I believe the world needs something to bring it together under one single banner that transcends race and ideals! That’s why I want to release you from your prison of flesh: so you can take your true form!”

I widened my eyes as he finished his little speech. “Is… is that really your plan?” How did we go from gloating and simple villainy to… unity and—what. The. What?!

Grogar’s lip rose into a grin. “Of course it is! I’m no ruler, but I’m sure you are the perfect one!”

“Are… are you serious?”

“Never been more serious about anything in my long, long life!”

I kept staring Grogar, trying to get the gears in my head to turn faster than they already were. It didn’t matter how I tried, though, the result was the same.

I lowered my eyes. “So. You want me to become Nightmare Moon, because you believe I can usher in a true unified world?”

“YES! And with my collected knowledge over the last millennium, you will be able to rule as the true goddess you were always meant to be!” He put a hoof on his chest. “And I will be your trusted and loyal advisor!” He started shaking again, this time looking like a colt who had ingested a week’s worth of sugar. Or if Pinkie Pie had been given strong coffee and told she had to plan the world’s birthday party.

“A-aren’t you excited!?” he added, taking a step forward, eyes full of determination. “Y-you’ll soon be free!”

It started off muffled, my desire to maintain some semblance of posture overriding my current feelings. But with every attempt to staunch the flow, the dam broke little by little. It didn’t take long for the grin to form on my lips as my chortling gave way to laughter. Every breath only serving to increase the volume and ferocity of it.

Grogar’s reaction to it only added fuel to the increasingly overpowering comedic blaze.

“Y-you really…” I snorted, just barely keeping spit from flying out of my mouth. “Y-you think I am some kind of prison for—” I snorted again, shaking my head and using my wing to wipe away some tears in my eyes. “Oh! That’s... That’s. Just. Precious!”

Grogar took a step back. “Wha… what?”

I sucked in my desire to laugh further and fixed Grogar with a glare so intense that Fluttershy would have been proud. “Listen, and listen well. Yes, I was once Nightmare Moon, but I was never any good for this or any world. I became that fiend because of jealousy and hate for my sister! Gods only know what would have happened had I successfully taken over.” I pointed my forehoof at him. “Your plan is to set loose a daemon bent on conquest and tyranny: the very things you hate!”

Grogar flinched and took a step back, shaking his head. “No…! Y-you’re wrong! Nightmare Moon; s-she promised, everlasting peace a-and unity!” He fixed me with a glowing glare. Equal parts angry and confused. “Yes, she did plan to plunge the world into darkness! B-but I’m sure I can prevent that should she try it! I-I’m powerful. Enough to stop the sun and moon from moving if I want to!” His brow furrowed. “S-she—y-you—was… is—will be—i-incredible!” He grabbed hold of my right hoof. “Only she—YOU—can really make my vision real!”

I yanked my hoof and shoved him away. “No. I am not Nightmare Moon anymore, and I will never be Nightmare Moon again!”

He fixed me with a pleading look. His message was clear, but I would not answer it. I only shook my head in reply, not bothering to waste any more breath on the matter.

“I… I see.” Grogar stood once more, eyes set on the floor. “I guess… you. You don’t want to be Nightmare Moon. And here I thought… that all this time, you had just been biding your time.” He laughed. Though calling it a ‘laugh’ was a stretch; It sounded closer to a sob.

“I am afraid you and your followers have been wasting your time. Now, let me go, and I promise I will have you only arrested for being a nuisance,” I said. Seeing as you clearly aren’t any danger to anyone save the extremely sane, and gods know we don’t have enough ponies like that in Equestria.

He laughed again. This time, the sadness was supplanted by delight. I could feel my ears flatten at the tone.

“No! There is still one thing left that I can do! Something so ancient and powerful that few have even dared to attempt it!” He turned to face me, eyes full of desperation. “Don’t you see! Y-you won’t become Nightmare Moon again, and I won’t force you to. B-b-but that doesn’t mean she can’t come back!”

I got up and took a step backwards. “What are you—” Before I could finish my words, I felt what remained of my higher magics drain. I was left with just enough that, given weeks, I would recover.

I collapsed, the chains around my hooves vanishing. No doubt willed away by Grogar now that I was all but powerless. “W… what, did you… do to me?”

Grogar, his horns a mixture of my navy blue aura and his own red aura, reached out with his hoof to help me up. I didn’t have the energy to push him away as he gazed deep into my eyes, his own, wide and filled with newfound determination. I couldn’t help but recoil.

“I’m going to do the impossible! This world must be united before it tears itself apart!”

I gritted my teeth. “But there is nothing wrong with the world!” I snapped back. “This isn’t like the old days when ponies were divided into tribes! There has only been peace for a thousand years!”

My words went on deaf ears. Grogar was absolutely filled with stubborn determination.

“I’m going… I’m going…” He giggled, releasing me and turning towards a large empty part of the roofless chamber. “Words will not do it justice. Only actions can!” His three horns erupted with light. The amount of magic forming on them was… Not since Tirek banished me, Cadence, and Celestia to Tartarus have I felt such power in a single being. No. It’s getting even stronger!

A wind picked up as the very clouds began to swirl ominously overhead. My body instinctively began to tremble as the very ozone filled with raw electrical power. My coat felt as if any second, it would burst into magically induced flames. The power now swirling within Grogar’s being emanated with something that could usher forth life itself.

And that’s when it hit me like a train going a hundred miles an hour. “Y-you’re going to attempt Sourcery?!”

Sourcery: the very arcane force that the elder gods had wielded at the beginning of time to breathe life into the cosmos. So called because all magic sprang from it in some way, shape, or form. It was a power feared and revered by mortal and immortal alike, for if entropy was the Omega, Sourcery was the Alpha.

As I gazed upon Grogar’s figure, I could feel myself shrink with the first feelings of genuine fear since before my ascension. Somehow, someway, the changeling who had forsaken his queen in order to obtain power and knowledge had achieved a level of might only dreamed about by all other would-be conquerors and tyrants that had come out of the woodwork to harass Equestria over the last ten years.

Grogar allowed all the charged up magic to form into a sphere of pure white energy before him. As the sphere grew more refined and stable, I could feel a great heat emanate from it. Only when my eyes had adjusted did I spot the containment field surrounding the orb. The parts within the field had already turned to magma. Had that field not been present, the orb would have continued to grow by absorbing everything around it, until it had become another full-sized star.

I felt myself gulp in horror. “Y-you made a SUN!”

Grogar chuckled and turned to face me. “Stars are the foundry for all life in the cosmos. Besides, it’s not just any plain sun.” His grin grew even wider. “It is your sun! I made it using all the magical power I borrowed from you. I only had to apply the necessary sculpting.”

I almost didn’t want to ask my next question. “A-and wh—”

“What is my plan?” Grogar said, finishing my question. “Like you said earlier. I’m going to perform Sourcery.” He conjured a magical dagger. “But in order for it to work, there needs to be some form of biological basis.” He placed the small blade over his right forehoof and ran it across the fetlock. The resulting wound dew a great deal of blood before it closed just as quickly as it had been formed. “You provided the magic. I will provide the biological basis. Together...!” He put both hooves together, once more using his magic to levitate off the ground. “Isn’t it wonderful? I call it a ‘star womb’!” he snickered.

Without another word, he levitated the blood and packed it into a crystalline form. He shot the shards into the miniature sun without another word. Soon as the crystals had entered into the celestial body, the whole orb turned a navy blue color and cooled considerably, enough that Grogar dispelled the barrier, allowing some of the still warm magma to splash on to the sides.

Grogar set himself down and sighed, stretching his neck to the sides until several audible snaps rang out. “Now then, it’s just a matter of waiting. Of course, I still have to regulate the womb to ensure that it doesn’t implode on itself. If everything goes well, new Nightmare Moon will be born within the next few minutes!”

I shook my head. “So. You wanted so desperately to bring back Nightmare Moon that you went so far as to create life?”

Grogar tapped a hoof on his chin. As if he had to think about it.

AS IF HE HAD TO THINK ABOUT IT!

I put a hoof up and stopped him from speaking. “Doesn’t matter what you say. You already did it. Somehow, you tapped into a power only the elder gods could use, forged a miniature sun here on Equus without frying everything in the process, and turned said sun into a surrogate womb for your child!”

Grogar’s face turned pale at my words. “M-m-my c-child!?” His eyes widened to the size of small plates. “N-no, no, no, no, no! You misunderstand me! I-I’m not having a child! I’m creating life!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My whole body trembled as rage built up in me. I just wanted to scream and rage and kick something. Anything!

“You mean to tell me that… that—” I placed a hoof over my face and tried to hold back the desire to smack the fool in front of me as hard as I could—which given my lack of magic, wouldn’t really be that hard. I took a deep number of breaths; one of Cadence’s old tactics for getting her nerves under control. “Okay. Question,” I started, trying to keep my tone as neutral as possible. “Do you know where babies come from?”

“Wha…?”

I took an even deeper breath, ignoring the dying squeals that were my neurons. “Do. You. Know. Where. Babies. Come. From!?”

Grogar coughed a few times, his cheeks turning red. “O-oh course I do!” He cleared his throat. “When enough magic energy accumulates in a specific location, and a suitable biological sample can be used to imprint into the magical signature, the—”

“STOP!” I shouted, unable to contain my cold fury.

Here I was, standing in front of a being whose power equalled that of an elder god, yet he didn’t even know where babies came from.

Only in Equestria…

I stopped as another lightning strike threatened to shoot me right out of the sky. The wind had picked up, making it all but impossible keep a direct flight path. Already, the muscles in my wings felt as if they would burst into flames at any second. I kept on pushing forward ignoring my slowly cramping appendages out of pure sheer will. I was not going to let ten years of sitting on my rear from stopping me.

“Princess!” Twilight called out to me from below, her friends managing to keep up despite her flying speed. “It’s too dangerous to keep flying! You need to pull back and let us deal with this!”

I felt an anger rise in me. I bit my tongue and swallowed the words I had been forming. I am calm; I am caring; I am the wise and endlessly patient princess of the sun. For a thousand and ten years I have ruled fairly. Peace and prosperity have thus spread nearly the world over.

Yet. There was a time when I teetered close to the same edge that claimed my dear sister. Harmony may have chosen us once, but it abandoned me the day I neglected her wellbeing. The fury I had felt at my own failure, it boiled over.

So, for a time, I became a warrior. There was no altercation I could not solve by charging forward, loyal troops at my beck and call. But I changed. I saw the error of my way and became a kind ruler instead. I promised I would not allow myself to be controlled by such base emotions as rage and desire. I became a protector rather than a conqueror.

But would a protector allow herself to be defeated so easily on multiple occasions? The question buzzed in my head like a fly that would or could not be squashed. What have you accomplished as of late, ‘princess’? Whenever there is a disaster, it is not you who solves it, but your former star pupil and her friends. What makes you think that you’ll change that by leading this rescue party? You WILL fail. You always fail! You’re only good for sitting on that overly decorated throne of yours and looking pretty.

I furrowed my brow and snarled. I would not—could not—fail.

My body and mind stopped in their flightpath entirely. It took a few seconds for my brain to catch up. Even then, only a numbness replied my demands for an answer. At least at first. I got a real reply to my question via the ungodly power I could feel saturating the very air.

It was a power I had never felt before in the flesh, yet felt too terrifyingly familiar to wave it off as some kind of anomaly of the forest. Either by instinct of the very nature of arcane studies, I did recognize a part of the fabric of it, for it was the same one that made up the sun and all the stars above. It was primal life energy in its rawest form; the kind that could breathe sentience into even the barest of places in the cosmos.

“Princess!” Twilight said as she stopped right next to me. “Do you feel that as well?”

I… I could not form words, for I could taste that power. I could only stare forward, eyes wide. Despite my best efforts, my body would not stop trembling. Ice flowed through my veins as I realized that someone—or something—was harnessing a force that escaped my attempts at giving it a label other than ‘elder’, perhaps even ‘eldritch’.

I gritted my teeth and zoomed forward as fast as my wings could manage against the fierce winds, leaving everyone else behind despite a part of me screaming that it was a horrible tactical choice. Much as I would have loved the full support of the guard and bearers of harmony, there was no time to waste.

“Princess!” I heard Twilight shout, her voice growing ever fainter as I put miles between us.

I could already see the old palace. I lit my horn and willed my body’s magic to a razor-sharp focus. Light turned material as body armor I had not worn for nearly a millennium returned to me like an old yet faithful friend. This time, I was the spearhead. This time, I was my kingdom’s wrath. No more sitting on my flank and pointing others to fight.

I was once a warrior; it’s about time I started acting like one again.

Author's Notes:

Hey! Thank you for reading up to this point. If you are enjoying, you know what to do.

For those of you wondering why there are certain things mentioned in this story that don't line up with stablished canon yet choose not to use the "AU" tag, that's because many of the events mentioned occured in the comic book published by IDW. If it isn't already obvious, this story follows that a bit more than the show's cannon. The reason being that I find the comic more detailed in regards to lore.

Now, another thing some of you are probaby saying, is: "Hey Garnot! Only one prologue chapter? Where's the rest! I'ma gonna find you and choke you until you give me the rest!"

Well, I got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that that there is indeed more to this tale. The bad news is that due to the necessity of cleaning up things, I will be posting them one per week, each one on a saturday. So if you really like this story, you'll get your continuation next week.

For now, have a good weekend.