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The night sky of Equestria was ablaze, twinkling streaks of brilliant blue and golden yellow flies across the air as small meteorites and star dust began to colour the night sky in a brilliant display of light. Like a brilliant artwork it was dazzling to view. And the ponies of Equestria, having finally been freed from Discord’s ruthless reign, were cheering and partying all night.

Discord had recently been defeated, well if you count a year as recently, turned into stone by the Elements of Harmony utilized by the two Alicorn sisters Luna and Celestia. The two sisters had been ascended by their mother while still foals themselves, around thirty years ago, although during Discord’s reign it was hard to keep track of time. But their mother barely had time to grant them a few basic lessons and knowledge of their Alicorn bodies when Discord made her disappear.

They had spent those three decades working, training and researching while constantly hiding from the draconequus’ chaotic sight. They had several close encounters with him and his minions but in the end they managed to not only discover a way to defeat Discord but to restore the disorder he had made of the world. But in the end they couldn’t find a way to bring back their mother from her banishment, for the elements to do so they would have to affect her personally and they didn’t even know where, or when, she had disappeared to.

While it had been almost a year since Discord was petrified had Equestria not stopped cheering whenever they could. The Castle of the Royal Sisters Sisters had been completed in three months after Discord’s defeat. Once the location of their home as little fillies, which was destroyed by Discord when he banished their mother, now it was a majestic castle of spires and towers with a fast growing town on the other side of the ravine separating the cliff upon which the castle reside from the rest of the Everfree Forest.

And since it is the day of their victory over Discord had the princesses decided to make this day of cheering extra special by making the day dashingly warm with a gentle breeze while the night turned into a beautiful artwork of falling stars.

Upon the western balcony of the central keep of the castle stood Luna, watching with a smile as her little ponies cheered and danced throughout the night. Life was wonderful. Although she would have enjoyed it more had they managed to save their mother as well. With that in mind her smile fell flat and her eyes turned sad as she looked up at the crescent moon she had prepared for this special night.

“Mother. . . where art thee?” Her question carried itself out into the breeze of the summer night as her mind traveled back to the past when her family was whole. As the young alicorn let her mind travel to the distant past of her foalhood was a something ominous happening

Up in the outer atmosphere of the planet Equera, just at the edge before the endless expanse of space, had a vortex emerged out of nowhere. It was a dimensional maelstrom, its warping structure breaching the very fabrics of reality. After but mere minutes after it first emerged it seemed to grow unstable, shrinking, and then something flew out of it, just before it collapsed into itself, restoring reality to its former state.

The object flew down towards the planet below, and as it did was its structure put alight in green fire. It was as if the very planet was trying to reject the object from its very air, trying to push it back into the void. Yet the object fell faster, and faster.

Soon a green meteor was taking shape, falling down amidst the star dust created by Princess Luna, its only difference being its size and green colour. And as it grew closer towards the planet, began some of the ponies below to notice the growing falling star and its green glow.

It began with some stargazers admiring the green star, glowing beautifully in the night sky. Then came the little children making noises of admiration of the pretty green star. Those who noticed next were the active guards, admiring the work of the night princess. And finally Luna herself noticed, and instantly felt that something was wrong, for that was no star fall made by her.

The alicorn first felt shock then she felt anger and she glared at the green star fall as she stomped on the stone floor of the balcony, shouting out her anger. “What is that? That is no star made by Our magic! Who would dare to interfere in Our night sky!?”

Luna then realized something, she could not sense the star. It was as if that speck of stardust was not part of the sky at all. And yet she could sense it. Just not like it was a star. “No... wait... that star hath no presence in mine sky... It does not feel like a star at all. It dost feel… alive?”

It then hit her as to why she could sense the star, yet not as if it was part of the sky, with a single sensory spell cast upon the night sky she narrowed her eyes. The star had a life sign, it was no star at all. Something alive was falling towards the planet. “It truly dost feel alive... We better wake sister up before We do anything, this could be nothing, and yet it could mean disaster.”

Swiftly the night princess ran into the castle, her metal covered hooves making loud noises as she moved towards her sister’s tower. She almost ran into Starswirl who was moving in the hallway with a book. “Sorry Starswirl! We need to wake sister!”

Starswirl was an old unicorn and some may say that he was getting senile but when he saw the concern in Luna’s eyes and the panic in her voice he started to follow her, his old joints as springy as ever. “What is happening princess?” He asked calmly as they ran up the spiraling stairs towards the Solar Tower.

“A strangeth star hath fallen from the void!” Luna shouted as she slammed up the doors at the end of the stairs with a blast of magic. “It hath no part of Our magic and it hath no presence in the sky! It dost hath a life sign within it! We need to wake Our sister in case this be another outsider like Tirek!”

Starswirl’s mind was running a mile a minute at those words and he then spoke back. “Good thinking Luna, whatever is approaching could be very dangerous, best for both of thee to be awake when it arrives.” The elderly unicorn and the alicorn princess remained silent for the rest of the run towards the royal bedroom of the Solar Tower.

Celestia had been peacefully snoozing in her warm bedding, dreaming of wide warm sunny plains with trees growing with sweet pastries and handsome stallions picking said pastries before feeding them to her. Hey don’t judge her, she got her private fantasies and desires just like anypony. But sadly her peaceful rest would be disturbed by the sound of her doors being kicked open and her little sister shouting out in the Royal Alicorn Voice into her room. “Celestia!! Wake Up!!! We need Thy aid!”

Groaning Celestia looked up from her pillows and looked at Luna with tired eyes. “Luna thou better hath good reason-”, she got interrupted when Luna physically grabbed her and began to rush out of the room towards the royal armory, Starswirl following in a steady phase. The old unicorn was no slouch even at his old age.

“NO time sister! A green star most foul is falling from the void! We art unable to affect it with Our magic! It hath the feeling of life and magic sister! It could be an Outsider! Now arm up thou cake bloated flank!” Celestia’s eyes widened at those words and she righted herself as Luna threw her into the armory and landed perfectly on her hooves, used to her sister’s antics.

“Armour up thou own big flank then Luna! Starswirl warn the guards! Have them get Our ponies to safety!” Magical auras erupted across the armoury as gold and silver plated swirled around each of the two sisters, decorating their bodies in powerful enchanted armour forged from the strongest of enchantable metals.

Yet it would be too late.

The green star fall was now the size of the moon and ponies below were getting nervous. That nervousness was ignited into a panic as hordes of guards bearing Night and Day armour suddenly marched out of the castle and began to pull ponies towards the castle for safety.

Then the star detonated. In a sudden explosion of green light it shattered. It was torn asunder by the atmosphere of the planet and its fragments fell upon the soil of the Everfree Forest. The shock wave from the atmospheric detonation made by the fallen star's fragmentation was like the sound of a giant screeching bird of prey for the ponies below as they clutched their ears while windows and glass work shattered.

What followed would mark the start of a horrifying experience as the fragments struck ground. Each of the impacts caused a powerful fiery detonation of heat, green flight and pure kinetic energy. The amount of force behind the impacts was strong enough to make waves of burning soil up heave the lands around the city into an inwardly approaching wave of destruction.

The ponies who had been celebrating in a night of cheer and joy, were in such a short time, reduced into stampeding unruly herds of equines. Ponies began to run, teleport, fly and stampede towards the castle in randomly moving masses. Even as the burning waves tearing up the outer foundations of the city, mere seconds after the impacts.

The enclosing wave blew apart buildings and tents of the improvised town. With the force of full blown hurricane the very foundations were torn up from the earth itself, enlarging the mass of the wave as it tore up more and more of the town. Panicking ponies unable to escape the wave, would barely have time register the impact as their bodies were turn asunder before swallowed by the wave of dirt, grime, fire and debris.

It took but mere moments for the two sisters to become fully armed and armoured, their once beautiful and enchanting forms now looking like intimidating beacons of warfare. Sheathed on their sides are their personal arms. Celestia’s halberd the Solar Flare and Luna’s crescent shaped khopesh the Crescent Fang.

Looking at her younger sister Celestia took a step forward, the heavy step of her left front hoof marking the first of a march of war. “Let’s go sister.” Luna only nodded before following her older sister out of the armoury and down the hallways, their sprinting hooves carrying them towards the main gate leading towards the courtyard.

But as the two warriors rushed out of the open gates they were greeted by a group of massive explosions erupting outside the castle walls. The sky was filled with green light and a powerful shaking was making the entire castle groan in protest. Yet as the shaking stopped Celestia and Luna could only stare in horror at what they were seeing out of the open gilded gates in front of them. The Everfree Forest was moving towards them in a massive wave of dust, soil, trees, rock and mud, the entire thing burning with an eerie green flame. It was a wave of devastation swallowing up the panicking ponies outside their gates, dragging their poor fragile bodies into the destructive power of the wave.

Even the pegasus ponies who tried to fly out of range of the wave found themselves torn apart by the powerful shock waves following the wave. Even if they survived they would lose their flight capacity as the vacuum behind the wave would render their flight capacity null and void for several seconds, letting them fall down to their doom.

Starswirl’s voice broke the sisters from the shock as he stood outside the gates, using his magic to amplify his voice. It was not on par with the Royal Alicorn voice, as the sisters liked to call it, but it was still impressive. “GET INTO THE COURTYARD! DO NOT STOP! DO NOT FLY TOO HIGH INTO THE SKY! IT IS TOO DANGEROUS! IF YOU CANNOT GET TO THE COURTYARD GET INTO COVER!”

Luna quickly ran forward, followed by Celestia, towards their former mentor. “STARSWIRL GET OUR PONIES TO SAFETY! WE NEED TO ACTIVATE THE ELEMENTS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE! GET AS MANY AS THOU CAN INSIDE NOW!”

Starswirl looked grim but nodded, turning his focus towards the ponies outside he stood up on his hind legs and began to focus his magic even further. Hundreds of ponies who were lagging behind were suddenly picked up by the powerful magical grip of the old unicorn and they found themselves flying towards the castle.

The guard ponies called and guided to the best of their efforts even as some of them were lost to the wave. Time was running out and they could not save every pony, even though it tore at them for it.

As the waves were almost fifty meters away had the last pony in sight or reach been saved. The gilded gates were slammed shut and Celestia and Luna pressed their horns together and called upon the power of the Elements of Harmony.

Six gemstones emerged from the packs of their armours and began to swirl around them. A sensation of serenity and warmth began to fill the courtyard as powerful energies began to be given a purpose. To protect.

A massive light engulfed the sisters and expanded out into the very structure of the castle. Then a force field in all the colours of the rainbow covered up the castle in the last second before the wave struck.

The result? Calamity.

The wave engulfed the castle and struck into a central point that erupted like a geyser. The force field held the impact at bay, but the sound of the roaring debris, mass of earthly components and the burning green flames was grinding against the ears of the ponies beneath the magical shield. It was like the very earth itself was fighting against the powers of the Elements of Harmony. The ground was shaking, the sky above the force field was covered in a cloud of dust and green flames, darkening the world in green light and creeping shadows.

As if reaching out for the sky itself the pillar rose up and up. The rising dust clouds beneath it was making the world look like a murky brown ocean put on fire. As the gargantuan spectacle reached its peak it suddenly stopped, and then began to fall. Its shape collapsed and everything that had been part of it began to fall down.

The force field buckled and groaned as tons upon hundreds of tons of debris and dirt began to rain down upon it. It even shrank for about ten meters until it was stabilized. Ponies were hugging each other in fear and terror as their world was forever changed from its peacefulness by the calamity happening around them.

Then as the final stone struck down and the dust cloud began to drift away, letting the moon shine upon Equestria once more, the sisters released the force field.

The town was torn asunder, as if flipped over by a massive giant foal throwing a tantrum. Pieces of wood, rock, stone and fabric lay all over, a thick layer of dirt, earth burning in green fire covering most of the ground and what few buildings remained standing. It would take months, if not years, for the town to be repaired. This was not registered by the two princesses though as they were too busy recovering from forcing so much power out of the elements in such a short amount of time.

“Ar-are thou okay Luna?” Celestia asked in a strained voice as she leaned her side against her sister, who was doing the same. “A-aye, We think so sister.” The princesses seemed to sag with exhaustion and relief. But then they heard it.

A Thunk. A Thud. A Splat. A Crack: A Thump. A Splotch. A Chink. A Crunch. A Thock. And more and and more of such horrible wretched sounds.

Sounds that could only be described as flesh landing on earth, stone and metal. And it was all coming from behind them and upwards. The sisters looked up and their eyes widened in horror as they were greeted by an image that could only be described as a living nightmare.

Upon the spires of their castle, upon every tower, every wall, every balcony and flag pole, hung the broken bodies of animals and ponies alike, with even more raining down from above. Foals, adults, elderly, no pony was spared from the devastating power of the destruction brought by the star fragments, breaking even further upon the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Their beautiful home turned into a mocking display of death, carnage and despair as more and more pieces of their peaceful ponies landed upon it, like a mocking offering from the gods.

Luna’s mind was running rampage as she stared upon the horror in front of them. *Nononononononon! Please stop it! Don’t harm them anymore! They hath suffered enough!*

While Celestia’s mind was almost dead silent in shock as she watched the corpses of her subjects being skewered or broken upon her own home. “...This be too painful. Please, stop hurting our little ponies. We beg of theeu.” Was all she could choke out, barely a whisper, as tears began to build up and in her eyes and slowly trickle down her cheeks. Yet there was no remorse, no decline and no stopping of the rain of despair.

But the most painful sight had yet to come.

There was a low flutter in the air, a sound of something falling, and then a small shape struck the ground, breaking it's broken shape even further. Like a rag doll thrown to the ground. It was a little filly, a unicorn, both of her eyes torn apart, her hide flayed, her legs mangled, her spine snapped, her guts hanging out from a big rip in her barrel, and her horn snapped in half.

As the broken body of the filly hit the ground in front of the sisters the ponies around them screamed in utter fear and despair as more and more bodies hit the ground. Some were unlucky enough to be hit by a body. Starswirl called out for the guards to get the ponies inside or under shields. And they scrambled to do so, even as bodies and pieces of ponies and animals kept raining down.

Even as all this happened had Celestia and Luna not been able to stop staring at the little filly in front of them.

They knew her. Her name was Clever Clover, she was a promising little filly with an ambition of becoming a great spellcrafter like Starswirl. Starswirl himself had even spoken of her talent for thaumaturgy. She had a hatred of carrots, a love for apples, she also made some pretty hoofmade sketches for the princesses’ birthdays. So full of life and promises, so happy and cheerful. Now, a broken wretch of bones, meat and blood, broken like an egg on the ground.

Sitting by her own personal desk was the Princess of the Night trying to solve the runic cluster she was working on. It was needed for the armour of the guards to keep their physical identities hidden. The blue alicorn threw up her forelegs in frustration and shouted out in frustration. “Oh glue this bucking nonsense!”

Suddenly a bar of soap hit her on the head from the doorway. Turning to glare at the intruder she was surprised to see a little filly wearing a big patchwork hat that was similar to Starswirl’s, glaring at her. “Hey! No potty mouth languages! Mum say not even princesses be allowed to talk potty! Or their dirty mouths be washed with soap!”

Blinking in shock the princess’ lips suddenly twitched until a grin spread across her muzzle and she started giggling. The filly looked at the princess with a crooked head and a confused look, making her ridiculous hat wobble like a pile of fabric shaped pudding.

Finally Luna fell off her chair and collapsed into laughter.“Bwahahahahahahaha! The hat! Ahahahaha! Oh by Our moon! Ohahahahahaha! It be outrageously humorous! Hahahahahaha!”

“Hey! Stop laughing! My hat be not out rockerly tumorous! It be the most awesomest hat, ever!” Little Clover shouted in frustration. Only managing to make Luna laugh even harder.

Swish! Shing! Clink! Click! That was the repetitive sound of a sharpened edge being moved in a draw, slice and sheath motion. Out in the courtyard of the Castle of the Two Sisters was Princess Celestia trying to work out how to handle her new sword, given to her by one of the Crystal Ponies. It looked like a curved wide scimitar made out of yellow crystal with a green handle.

The weapon was a bit uneven and strangely balanced but had a decent sharpness. But Celestia couldn’t help but think that something was strange about the gift. It was nagging at her brain since she received it, yet she couldn't quite put her hoof as of why.

“Ooooh! That be one pretty banana!” Came the young voice of a filly nearby.

Sheathing her blade Celestia looked around to see a little filly wearing a truly ridiculous wizard’s hat. Not one to laugh openly at other’s fashion senses the princess just smiled kindly at the little filly and asked in a warm voice. “Terribly sorry Our dear little filly. What did thou say?”

The little filly smiled and pointed at her sheathed blade with her little hoof. “That be one pretty banana! It look kind of silly with those ball shaped leaves but it it sparkles real pretty like though.”

Celestia’s mind went numb for a second, then she slowly unsheathed the blade, and gave it a long and criticizing look. Her eyes went wide as she finally registered the phallic shape of the blade and the odd ball like green cross guard. It looked like a penis out of the sheath!

“...We… We… Oh dear gods… We think... We art going to have a ‘talk’ with blacksmith Pounding Gladius about his... generosity and creativity… of this… ‘banana’ shaped blade...” As she spoke her eyes slowly went from shock to horror and finally to cold burning fury. She then slowly began to march towards the castle, muttering under her breath as the guard ponies quickly retreated sensing their sun monarch’s fury.

“‘Be sure to handle your blade properly’? Well, well, well Our dear Gladius, We shalt show thee how well we ‘handle’ your ‘blade’. Up thy own sheath.”

The little filly had been such a sweet little thing, to warm their days of boredom and work with her childish protests, silly hat and innocence.. Celestia had promised to take her flying, Luna had offered her a visit to Starswirl’s workshop. Both promises now forever lost along with her life.

Then suddenly and without warning, Celestia scooped up the broken body of the filly and hugged her to her chest, murmuring through tears and sobs how sorry she was. Luna was not far off, she warped her own forelegs around the filly and began to bawl into her sister’s mane.

This would forever be known as the Night of Terror. And sadly enough, it had yet to end.

The soil was shifting at the centre of one of the craters. Rocks were loosened. Dirt began to pile up and then, something began to rise out of it. Then like a squirming mole or snake the thing beneath the earth began to borrow out of the crater.

As it reached the edge of the crater the burrowing thing erupted out of its confinement in a gush of green fire and melted stone. It was a bone, a rib, glittering like molten steel while covered in green fire. It flew like a spinning dagger through the air before it struck another bone that had erupted from the ground. The two metallic bones met with a loud clang, like the sound of a big old church bell being rung.

The sound seemed to vibrate through the air and the earth. And then more bones flew out to collide. It was like magnets being connected to one another. Each of the strikes ringing out into the world with the loud choir of a bell. And in this mad burning ruined town, it was like a ringing of funeral bells to the inhabitants.

A pair of legs flew out, the humerus connecting to the scapula on the front. While a pair of hind leg bones flew up and connected together to the pelvis bones by the femurs. Parts of the spine from the thoracic vertebrae to the caudal vertebrae connected together together. The connected parts then began to swim through the air in a twisted and swirled movement, similar to that of a sea serpent, before suddenly lunging forward between the scapula and the pelvis. With a loud clang were the hind legs and the forelegs connected to the spine.

Twisting and turning its headless and flesh-less shape in voiceless agony or death cramps the skeletal shape rolled down upon the ground, smashing through ruined buildings and debris as it twisted and turned around. Its powerful motions tearing up earth, shattering stone, breaking wood and crushing debris.

Erupting like javelins from the soil came the parts of the ribs, the cervical vertebrae, connecting like a mass of teeth mending themselves into the spine. Then the parts of what could only be described as bird wing bones jammed themselves into the middle of the spine connecting together into a large example of bird wing bones.

All parts but one connected the incomplete skeleton suddenly collapsed, going perfectly still. The green flames burning it's silent and still shape was the only thing that could be seen. And then, the screams could be heard.

They were muffled at first, like a voice buried beneath a mountain of cotton. Yet it grew louder and louder. Then like a phantom out of hell flew the screeching skull of a pony out of the earth and flew in a chaotic pattern towards the still bone pile.

With a loud clang the skull connected to the neck and the skeleton seemed complete. Yet something was missing for upon its forehead lay a hole meant for the horn of a unicorn, yet it lay bare. Revealing the boiling organic flesh of the brain within the skull.

The skeleton rose like a ghoul off the ground, its body moving like a badly made and damaged puppet until it stood up. It soon started jumping, bucking and thrashing around as if trying to kick off an invisible rider. Flesh began to grow upon its burning bones, organs began to heal. Eyeballs began to appear in the orbit, the orbits, the eye holes of the skull.

Yet as it regenerated the burning bones deteriorated the flesh and organs into rot and decay, as if the fires age as well as burns the flesh of its host. Pieces of burning organs, meat, hide, feathers and black ash like blood erupted like erupting boils from the skeletal alicorn. The eyes either popped into steam and bits or poured out like a liquid, making it look like the skeletal skull was crying tears made out of melted eyeballs.

And through this entire spectacle could the ponies hiding the castle only gape in horror at the terrifying sight in front of them. The two princesses had lost themselves in their sorrow and were not witnesses of the first part of the spectacle, too lost in their despair over Clover's death. Yet when the skeletal alicorn’s screams came and drowned out the sound of the burning and the dying they found themselves looking up with teary eyes before said eyes widened into a state of shock at the sight. The sisters could only stare in silent shock at the sight of the burning being in its endless torment, like a soul of Tartarus being punished for its sins. The fact that it was in the shape of an alicorn skeleton, a stallion from the shape of the bones, almost made it a mockery of their own ascended selves.

Finally the deteriorating and yet regenerating skeletal being found a momentum to its trashing and suddenly burst out into a rapid sprint, running over and through anything in its path without a hint of stopping. Its jaws were open agape, practically unhinged, and a rotting and regenerating tongue dangled from its flesh free jaws. With burst of ash, fire and rotten blood came echoing neighs out from the half shaped and half rotten throat of the undead being. The unnatural flames within its bones turned the already awful noises it was making into a ghastly screech of torment and agony. Its burning shape disappeared from the ruined town and disappeared into the hellscape that had been the Everfree Forest, leaving the ponies to recover from this ordeal even as its howling screams echoed through the night.

Nobody, pony or otherwise, would realize the truth behind that night. Not until a century later. And until then was the thing that came with the green star refereed to as the Stallion of Torment.