Kalfu stood there as he looked up at Celestia for what felt like ages. It wasn’t until he shrugged that he answered her finally “Well, it would be kind of impossible for me to have even been remotely involved. Considering I was the one putting on tonight's performance and you saw me dancing with one of my friends on the dance floor the whole time.” he said as he stared up at Celestia with a straight face before leaning against his door’s threshold. “However…you should look deep into those two and their past dealings. Perhaps a thorough search of their residence may reveal why they befell such a horrible fate. After all, burning down orphanages while letting children be burnt alive in them is a pretty grave sin. I can only imagine what your subjects will think when they find out that after all these years, nothing was done to put it to an end.”.

Celestia was about to protest his words when they hit her. He was right. While she and her sister had no idea this was going on, ignorance was no excuse for what had happened if what Kalfu was saying was true. She had always assumed that the past fires were simply accidents as her soldiers had found no signs of foul play. And because of the lack of evidence, nothing could be done. And just as he said, he was in full view of her the whole night on the dance floor. So there is no way he could have anything to do with it…right?

Kalfu shrugged his shoulders as he saw she was at a loss for words. He stepped back into his house before grabbing his door “I will say this though. I feel no remorse for their fate. After what they have done, it is a shame that whoever did it didn’t further prolong their suffering. To end the life of not one, but many children is an unthinkable sin one can never repent from. Death weighs heavy on the soul, after all. It slowly tatters and eats away at it until there is barely anything left. I also noticed the sign that the murderer had left behind. I believe it to be a warning of sorts. Maybe the nobles at the party saw it and might think twice. But..that is just my optimism hoping that is the case.”.

Kalfu started to close the door before Celestia put her hand against the solid wood, stopping him from doing so “How do you even know about all this in the first place? You seem rather well informed on what those two were accused of. They were both pillars of the community, loved by so many ponies.” she said as she looked at him suspiciously again. Without missing a beat, Kalfu had an answer for her right away. He held his palm out before a large spider crawled out of his sleeve and rested in the middle of his palm, while a large gecko climbed out of his other sleeve and rested upon his shoulder “I have eyes and ears all over this land by now, princess. And folks tend to spill their secrets when they think no one is watching…dark secrets that they think will never come to light. Some harmless, but most too vile to even fathom.”.

Celestia reeled back a bit once she saw the creatures appear out of nowhere on Kalfu. She did notice the rather curious black and glowing green markings and eyes on them. But, Kalfu could easily turn them into just plain solid black looking animals if he so wished. Always keep the opposition on their toes. “If that is all, I’d like to get some sleep now. This evening has been a rather eventful and tiring one and I need some sleep. So I bid you a good night, princess.” he said before shutting the door, effectively pushing her back out in the process. While that didn’t please her to be shoved out so rudely, he did have a point. It was late in the evening and she did drop by unannounced.

Later that night, Kalfu woke up after a brief slumber before sitting up in his bed. He looked over at his desk which his the book that he had been writing all his voodoo and hoodoo knowledge before he stood up and walked over to it. He picked it up and began flipping through the pages before closing it and looking out his window. “Why should I concern myself with this world’s problems? My goal here has always been to become the voodoo god of this world and spread the teachings of which I was taught,” he said before placing the book back on the desk.

At that moment, he had made up his mind. While he hadn’t been here long, it was time to set the wheels in motion. He threw on his normal clothing along with a heavy cloak with a thick fur collar before grabbing his book, latching the chain around his waist after running it into the book’s spine as he normally carried it on his hip. He slides on a scarf, wrapping it around the lower half of his face before putting on his hat. Where was he going all bundled up like this? Why, to the highest point in the kingdom. He wanted all of Canterlot and the lands below to witness this. It was time.

Kalfu carefully but gradually made his way towards the mountain top that stood even higher than Canterlot castle. Then icy cold wind whipped against his form as he held his book close to his chest for fear of it being blown away while he held his other arm up to block the wind from blowing on his face. Once he finally made it to the top, he planted his feet firm as he looked down at the land below, his cloak bellowing out behind him as he took in the view “This will do just fine….” he said as he brought the book up in front of him, the wind blowing the pages to and fro.

As he closed his eyes and held out his free hand, fiery green energy started to swirl around him as his hand started to shake, the snow around his feet starting to melt rather quickly as the magic he was building up was gathering more and more. His book started to glow brightly as he then slowly started to raise his hand in the air as more and more fiery energy swirled around him like a tornado, the wind that was once blowing around him being countered by the reversing current of his magic.

And with a sudden thrust of his open palm into the air, he let out a scream of power that sounded rather ethereal as it echoed over the howling wind as a fiery pillar rose into the air before dispersing in every single direction imaginable, sending magically produced and protected copies of his accumulated wisdom on the winds to every part of Equestria and beyond. The books being carried by spectral ravens were conjured up by his sheer will alone as he used up all the power he had at that moment to make sure that the teachings he had held so dear made it as far as they could.

The light show certainly didn’t go unnoticed below, as it lit up the sky as the northern lights would do so. Ponies opened up their windows, awoken from their sleep by just how bright it was while the night ponies stopped and stared as they walked the streets or leaned outside of the nightly establishments they were in. Even the children waking from their dreams leaned out of their bedroom windows to see what was going on.

Celestia and Luna even made their way outside of where they were as the guard ran in to inform them of what was happening above the kingdom. They both run out to the nearest balcony before turning their gaze up to the bright fiery light that now filled the sky. It was such a release of power that even the clouds were pushed away in all directions.

“By the sun…”

“By the moon…”

They both said at the same time, bringing their hands up to block the light from their eyes as it continued to fill the night sky. They both take flight and fly towards the source of the light. However, as they get closer, they feel that same amount of power that Kalfu is exerting push them back over and over, no matter how hard they push their wings to fly forward “Sister, what is this power?! We can’t get close and I can’t tell who it is from here!” shouted Luna as they both stopped in mid-flight, holding their position as they look on.

“I am not sure, Luna! Whatever or whoever it is, they don’t want us getting any closer! But, never before have I felt so much magic power being dispersed in such a way!” she said as she turned away slightly to shield her eyes again, Luna doing the same. After what felt like a good twenty minutes, the magic had finally died down enough to the point where they could both start moving in closer.

However, Kalfu wasn’t about to let himself be seen. With the last bit of his power, he falls back into a dark portal that opens up behind him before it closes up in the nick of time, the portal vanishing just as the two sisters can get the view of the top of the mountain. Kalfu falls out of his portal directly onto his bed before slowly starting to fade away due to his exhaustion. A sleepy smile formed across his face as he began to fall into a heavy sleep “The teachings…have been dispensed…” he said before finally falling into a deep slumber.

Over the next few days as Kalfu slept to regain his power, thousands upon thousands of his books were already being discovered and examined thoroughly by ponies, griffons, diamond dogs, and all matter of the sentient beings that inhabited all of Equis. It would seem that he had dispensed enough magic power to have sent many of his books world wide. Not only that, but it seemed that many of those who stumbled upon his teachings had gained a great interest in them and had begun the process of becoming a follower of the religion, some unknowing, others going into it fully aware.

Normally, he would have been asleep for a few more days had no one started following the religion. But it seems that with his new worshipers, he was gradually gaining more power as he recovered in his sleep. Soon enough, he slowly opened his eyes before sitting up and letting out the longest yawn he had ever made in his life before slowly rising to his feet and groggily making his way to his bathroom for a morning shower. He turned on the water to its hottest setting before making his way toward the mirror. He sleepily games into the mirror, just then remembering that he no longer had a reflection…but now seeing that he no longer casts a shadow too “...You know what? I don’t even care anymore.” he simply stated before slipping into the shower, lazily leaning against the wall as the hot water fell upon his body

After an hour of running hot water, he finally makes his way out of the shower before getting dressed and making breakfast for the day. As he went about his kitchen, he noticed that he was now able to reach higher shelves and access things he normally had to levitate to get to. It took him a moment before he looked down at his hands, noticing they had increased in size before he reached up and felt at his face. Was that….stubble?! Did he have facial hair again? At this point, having a reflection again would be nice so he could see his maturing form. Finally, they couldn’t treat him like a child anymore!

Kalfu continued to examine himself the best he could. Suddenly he remembered that he had a camera he had bought a while back sitting on the living room shelf. He quickly makes his way to the device before setting it up to take a self-photo of himself before the camera flashes and spits out a Polaroid photo of him…only to reveal nothing but the background behind him. It would seem that not even cameras could capture his image at this point it seemed.

“I know damn well I am not a vampire…I just ate breakfast for fuck’s sake! And I don't remember drinking from someone’s neck!” he said as he threw his hands up in frustration. Little did he know, however, that while he was resting, his power had grown evermore. It would seem that since he expended nearly all he had, his reservoir grew bigger as it refilled. And the more that he would use, the bigger it would continue to get as it refilled over and over. And one of his new powers was now reanimating corpses, making them any kind of form of undead. While he indeed wasn’t a vampire, he could create them if he truly wished. Not that he was aware of this ability….yet.

As he was getting ready for the day, he had to make some adjustments to his clothing so that they’d fit him properly and increase the size of his cane slightly so he could walk with it. With all these new changes to his body, he had to get used to being in an adult form once more, even though he had just finally gotten used to being in a more youthful form. But, he wasn’t going to be upset for long. After all, he now had the form that reflected him mentally. And that was plenty good enough for him.

As he made his way out the door, he noticed that he was floating a few inches off the ground as he traversed through the forest, as if he was just levitating instead of using his feet to carry himself. And he didn't even realize it. While he could maintain flight while thinking about it and focusing, it was as if levitating was second nature to him. All these changes were mere peanuts compared to what was going to happen in the future, however. As the number of worshipers grew, so would his power and the things he could do.

Not sure why I chose Arkham City theme for that scene. It just seemed right for the situation as it was something big. And the sounds from the music just fit right. Especially with the build up as he casts the sends out all the books.

May the darkness grant you peace.