To Be Malevolent

by The Bannerlord

7 - Conflict

Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria was afraid. She was worried, not just for herself, but her subjects. Those which she had dedicated her entire life to protecting, to nurturing. Equestria was prosperous under her and her sister’s reign. Threats to Equestrian peace came from all directions. Despite the effectiveness of Equestria’s army, evil still lurked in the shadows.

Such evil, she felt reside within her. Wandering the halls, she felt lost, a stranger in her own castle. Many servants dared not to approach her, lest they face her wrath. She lost her temper often, mane and tail bursting into flame, quite literally. She supressed the thought of burning her home down, though it always came back.

Occasionally, she felt as if she had lost control entirely, her subjects stared at her with horror in their eyes after a period of extraordinary rage. Attempts to calm herself had ended in naught, progress seemed to halt after the first few days.

Upon her throne, she was fuming. The prisoner had already escaped, merely a day after capture. Gritting her teeth, she summoned every single guard in the entire castle to the throne and hid away all servants. This was going to be a night to remember.

Moonlight shone down onto the crimson carpet that decorated the Everfree Castle halls. Battered iron glistened, plates clashed and reverberated. A low hum followed by a rasp, a hiss and a cough. The night was bitter, chilling down to bone marrow. Wind howled and screeched, cloud dominated the skies. The moon itself hung high above the Everfree, gazing down, enlightening the usually dark and unforgiving wilderness.

Architecture as archaic as the Everfree Castle was breath-taking, especially for the Unicorn. Studying antiquated constructs, armaments, lifestyles and general information was a favourite of his. Occasionally, he halted, basking in the hall’s glory. All the intricacies, the ornaments, the Equestrian castle was equal in beauty to a Cathedral. An aroma of exotic flora collected from all across Equestria clouded it.

Eventually, the metallic horse shoes struck carpet once more. The Unicorn had an important task at hoof, he was to bridge the gap between him and the ruler of Equestria. That bridge would be built over a ravine of distrust and pain, of scars and terror. There were no guards present, no servants scrambling in the halls, it was blissful. Silent bliss, but the next trot would become cautious, with that, total silence.

A door stood between him and his destination. Beyond it, the throne room. There could be an entire legion of guards including the Princesses awaiting him. Breathing in and out, he calmed, expression twisting and contorting into a neutral form. Emotionless. Placing a hoof onto the door, it slowly creaked open. The sound of fire crackled in the chamber; the moonlight was most prominent here. The bitter cold creeped in, the wind roared louder than before.

There, on the throne sat the Alicorn of the Sun, flanked by elite guards adorning heavy armour akin to 12^th-13^th century plate, decorated lavishly in ornaments and gilded to the extreme. Mane flowing illustriously, face dominated by serenity, the Solar Alicorn herself was donning gilded armour, albeit less armour and more decoration. This moment would’ve been perfect if she had a royal swan to stroke.

“Chaos, we hath been expecting thee.” She gave the Unicorn a glare of damnation, rising from her throne, staring down at the dark Unicorn. The Solar guards marched to the sides of the room; more guards approached from behind. They had completely encircled him, all lights, spears and horns pointed at him. There is no escape.

“Respite, your highness, I have come to parley.” He kneeled down, supressing a sigh. He could hear the Sun approaching, this made his heart almost leap out from inside and hang itself.

“Oh? Why is that, pray tell?” There was amusement in her voice, her guards closed in, ready to strike at a simple wave of the hoof. She had noted a difference in speech, not archaic like hers, unlike before his `torture`. His coat was also lighter, unlike the charcoal from before.

He stood up; eyes directly pointed towards the alabaster Princess. “For a century, we have fought against one another. At least, that is from your perspective, your highness. You have not fought me, but rather the dark magic which puppeteers my body.” He points to his eyes. “There is no war, there is merely battle.”

“Pray tell, why shalt we trust thee? This proof may be a trick.” She examined the brown eyes, attempting to find any trace of the malice from before. Nothing. The Alicorn began circling, suspicious, this has been one of the most evasive and elusive foes she’s had to face. Now, he was asking for peace?

The Unicorn merely smirked, a small chuckle followed. Clapping his hooves, the metal contacting made a screeching sound, and soon, starting as a small rumble, laughter began to bubble. It came from seemingly everywhere; it dominated the chamber. Guards frantically looked around, searching for the origin.

“My name isn’t Chaos. That is what you know me by. A century ago, I went by another name, but now, I have none. You are here to speak with Chaos.” With that, mist rolled in and covered the floor. All of the windows were covered too, cutting off the majority of moonlight. The laughter grew maniacal, cackling away.

“My comrade has had opportunity to formulate a strategy against you. Pondering is a powerful tool when utilised correctly and to its fullest potential.” Shade ponies rose up from the mist, causing instant retaliation from the guards. As they were cut, they were re-integrated into the mist, only to rise back up. Not a single one fought back, only heading towards one destination.

Eventually, the mist arrived before the throne, where all of the shade ponies gathered. Celestia watched as her guards began surrounding them. All of the shadowy ponies joined into one, trotting up onto the throne. He turned and looked at the Solar Princess, white eyes staring down at her.

“We meet again, Princess Celestia. All ist well, we presume?” Mist began moulding into regalia, forming all over the shade pony. Guards rushed up the steps to the throne, but were blocked by a swiftly raised shield. “Nay, be patient, we shalt be with thee shortly.” He spoke, smirking.

“Chaos…” Celestia hissed, assuming a combat ready stance. Igniting her horn, she prepared something powerful enough to eviscerate the shade-pony. Behind, the Unicorn tapped her on the armour.

“Parley.” He whispered, stepping back to his original position afterwards, looking up at his companion.

“Parley.” The apparition echoed, stepping down from the throne. He noted that the Princess did not back down, neither did her guards. “Oh? Defiance, in a time of respite? Understand that we art not here to face thou, or thy guards, majesty.” The mist billowed, encompassing the entire chamber. “Defiance, thou aren’t the only ones who defy. We too defy. We defy a goddess, a divine being known for her power and grace, her radiance and her symbol.” Within the shroud, sounds of struggling and armour clashing conquered all.

Then, the miasma receded. Many of the Solar guard were now shade-ponies, taken by dark magic, twisted and contorted into the obedient soldiers of Chaos. They marched to flank their new Lord. Celestia was horrified, her ponies had once more been turned into abominations. To say she was angered was an understatement, she was absolutely furious.

“Thou wanted proof? Here we stand before a goddess. Unicorns facing an Alicorn. Here is thy proof!” He slammed his hoof into the ground, standing straight, head held high. Then, a beam of pure death and destruction came from the Solar Princess. On instinct, the apparition turned to mist, quickly dashing past the Princess and re-entering his main body. The shades took this as the order to retaliate, charging their horns and discharging at their former-comrades.

Chaos reigned in the throne room; the ensuing combat was a mess. Spells were shot in all directions, yelling from the remaining Solar guard and Equestrian guard, Princess Celestia attempting to shout orders and keep order. Chaos himself was enjoying the disorder, he wasn’t slinging much magic, waiting for his subordinates to take care of the minor annoyances.

Evading the Solar Alicorn had become a sport. Turning into mist at every occasion, Chaos retaliated with a bolt of dark magic or two. The shade ponies proved too much for the guards, having been enhanced by dark magic in addition to what they already had. The guards wavered, eventually breaking apart and retreating, leaving their Princess alone with an army of Unicorns renewed with the dark arts and arcane.

They all hissed at the Solar Princess, igniting their horns. Then, a hoof was raised, the apparition’s hoof. All of the shade ponies stood in place, awaiting orders. He chuckled, trotting towards the Sun Alicorn. “Respite. Parley. Now, shalt we begin?” To his amusement, Celestia snarled at this.

“Oh, do not fret mon cher, thy guard’s art all unconscious. Not one hath been slain.” Circling the Sun, Chaos had merely put on a grandiose display of power, he understood that the Princess was still magnitudes more powerful than him.

“So be it. Thou desired peace, yet you escalated to war. Thou hath turned a battle into conflict.” Celestia sighed, inhaling and exhaling. Igniting her horn, she scanned around for targets of highest priority besides the apparition. All shade ponies ignited their horns in preparation, staring down the Solar Princess. Chaos himself strut back towards his soldiers.

Celestia fired multiple bolts of lightning, all heading in the direction of the shade-ponies, whom all simultaneously raised their shields in defence, retaliating with their own bolts of magic. The Sun Alicorn easily evaded her former-guards’ magic, weaving past and subduing them with paralysing spells. A concentrated blast of dark magic then struck her armour in the rear, sending her zooming in the throne room, hitting one of the walls.

Chaos merely observed the Alicorn, seeing her crawl back into the throne room. It was entertaining, gratifying in fact, to know that he could face a goddess, a being considered divine in the eyes of many. Even his Unicorns were doing better than suspected.

The Solar Alicorn had enough, she was going to cut the serpent’s head clean off. Summoning a magical blade, she teleported directly next to the arrogant Unicorn and struck at him, only for him to instantaneously rear, manifesting a weapon of his own, a halberd. “En garde.” He smirked once more.

The two locked their blades in fierce melee combat. Celestia, being an Alicorn naturally had more strength than any regular Unicorn wielding dark magic, but this one was beyond regular. She struggled to gain the upper-hand. This surprised the Unicorn himself, perhaps it was the adrenaline, the will to survive, or maybe, humorously, he was just too angry to die. Of course, that prospect would’ve been false, he kept quite a calm attitude despite the constant head pain he suffered, though it had significantly lessened the darker magic he absorbed and created.

The clashing of magical blades eventually ceased as the Unicorn took his opportunity to blast Celestia at point blank range with the darkest magic he could muster. Un-chivalrous, but necessary. The Solar Alicorn once again flew, this time however, her armour was scorched, her wings were burning and she was in agony. As she regained her senses, she immediately checked for damage, realising that the armour in which the beam had contacted was melting away, so was her coat. It felt like being dowsed in an incredible amount of acid.

“We do most sincerely hope thou enjoyed that. Tis’ something we hath invented; Decay, it is called.” Chains spurted from the marble palace floor; manacles attached themselves to the alabaster pony’s hooves. The Shade-Unicorns stood at her side, horns charged, they subdued Celestia and held her in place, preventing her magic with their own.

“Thou hath made us perplexed, perhaps thou weren’t prepared for this encounter?” The apparition approached her, looking down at the defeated Alicorn. “That is trivial, mine victory ist not.” He began his magic thieving. Siphoning away at the large amount of Alicorn magic. This is a prize beyond any Unicorn magic, this could last for decades. He found large traces of dark magic, many with his signature. Then, laughter followed. His laughter. But the Solar Alicorn laughed with him.

“Foolish Unicorn…” Celestia continued, her laughter becoming an almost cackle. The realisation dawned on the dark Unicorn; he had horrendously entangled himself in a situation where escape is a miracle. The eyes of the Solar Alicorn turned orange, to the Sun’s colour. Her mane and tail burst into flame, scorching the carpet beneath, melting her own regalia and armour and the chains that bound her, replacing them with new compatible pieces of armour. She rose on the spot, now towering compared to her own guards and the Unicorn. “Foolish little Unicorn. Prepare to burn, for thy existence we hath only one sentence; Immolation!”

However, the apparition foolishly stood his ground. “What is thy name, pray tell.” It wasn’t fear the struck him, it was a sense of panic, he knew that he was definitely outmatched. This was somebody he already knew, but required confirmation once more.

“Daybreaker…” In a flash, the entire chamber had lit up, the throne room was burning. The castle was burning. Tapestry symbolising the moon was charred and scorched, solar banners remained in their place. The Shade-ponies were all searing with flames, crumbling into dust and ash, their armour falling to the floor, melting. “Oh, we do love the smell of burnt flesh before dawn!” She was cackling madly. With one swift and almost effortless strike, she slapped the Unicorn to one side, sending him flying into the wall, landing directly into a pit of flame. “Dawn…Who requires dawn, there shalt be only day! Dusk will cease, dawn will cease. There shall only be noon and all ponies shall know me as their Empress!” The Empress continued her mad cackle, heading towards her throne.

Suddenly, she reared back, her eyes flared wide, thrashing around. Her crown fell onto the floor. Eventually she ceased, the mane and tail no longer fiery, eyes magenta once more. Celestia had regained control, and she began the desperate fire-fighting to save her home.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the throne room, coughing. Pained groans, followed by more coughing. Many bones were shattered. “Ooooh…T-this is why…Why we,” Inhale “Why we don’t want to-” Pained groan “fight Alicorns.” Coughing. Then, he noticed the crown far away, or rather, its jewel. He forced a grin, getting up onto his hooves.

Celestia was busy flying around her castle extinguishing the flames that her completely mad fiery counterpart had manifested. She wasn’t extremely concerned about the Pony that was just given the slap of a lifetime.

The dark Unicorn had cradled the crown in his hooves, the dark magic began to tear its ruby jewel and place it into his own crown. However, he lacked time, so the prospect was saved for later. This would’ve been a perfect time for him to monologue, however, all he could manage as of this moment was a wheeze. Then, he made his escape through the front entrance, laughing through the daybreak into the Everfree.

Once more, the Unicorn was in his environment, the mystical Everfree forest. It was now dawn, the radiant sun dominated the sky, it was divine. He found a tree to lie besides, somewhere to collect himself, to rehearse the events of his day, or rather night. The immeasurable amount of power he had collected, it made him giddy with pure uninterrupted excitement. Quite uncharacteristic of him, but this moment, he cherished every second. He had his crown, a jewel and Alicorn magic. His dark magic even revealed itself as an entity know to be Daybreaker, though briefly.

Releasing control of the Unicorn, his shade-pony form held the crown in his hooves. The piece of regalia, it was not adequate, the Unicorn was still light years behind in metallurgy, though it was impressive that he managed to mould it. Then, he reshaped it, a crown truly fit for a king. For a true sovereign. Before he could bask in his glory, there was a certain Unicorn in the way.

“Let us count how many times we could’ve been incinerated, shall we?” Spoke the Unicorn sarcastically. Though, he was ignored. He stood up, examining the new crown and its jewel. “Listen to me…”

“Silence…” The apparition hissed, full attention on the crown and jewel. “We art about to achieve our full magical potential once more, aye…” He spoke in archaic; this silenced the Unicorn. With a crimson glow, the ruby crystal was now devoid of colour. A white crystal. It was placed neatly into the crown, where the magic bound together. Once more, Chaos had created an artefact of dark magic.

“Chaos? Are we-“

“Silence!” Yet another hiss. The shade manifested more mist, surrounding his Unicorn companion. He laughed, though, it was more of a rasp. He screeched, it sounded like a wild untamed beast. Still observing the crown.

“W-what is wrong?” The Unicorn was encased with panic, the apparition had never done anything such as this. This must’ve been the doing of the alicorn magic, it was too much. He watched as the apparition donned his crown. It collapsed and writhed, screeching in agony, hissing.

Chaos stood up, gasping and panting. The mist was dispelled, the two Unicorns were now a few metres apart. “Good, you didn’t interrupt. Shut- I meant, thank you. Apologies.” He frantically looked around, before slapping himself with a hoof, groaning in pain and annoyance. “That should be the end of that, I hope. As I was saying, good, you didn’t interrupt.”

Perplexed, the Unicorn merely observed his companion. His mind was attempting to piece together the situation, for instance; what happened? Why did he act so aggressive? Why was he so frantic? “What…Happened? Alicorn magic incompatibility?” The shade merely nodded, though quite hesitantly.

“We speak no more of this.”

Whistling, the buzzing of bees, the singing of birds, the trotting of Equestrian guards, the chatter of merchants and travellers. These were the sounds that frequented the bustling Everfree Castle main road. They use to speak of the benevolent Princess Celestia and the martial Princess Luna, spreading their achievements and glory. Now, they speak naught of the Lunar Princess and warily spoke of the Solar Princess, whom seldom left her Castle. They only spoke of flame, of their end, of the break of day.

The Sun still hung high, now it illuminated even the darkest corners of Equestria, its flames billowed occasionally, a flare that glistened in ocean water. With each passing day, the celestial body drew ever closer. Much evaporated, disintegrated by the scorching heat. Oceans seared. Griffons flew less and less. Pegasi dared not to ascend.

Only the Equestrian guard ever saw their Solar Princess, yet it was only glimpses. She had ordered them to guard her personal chambers, where she could be heard wailing and screaming in agony. No one truly understood the magnitude of the situation, the calibre of terror she had to face. A perpetual burning sound emitted from the chamber.

On certain mid-days, there was a mad cackling bellowing from that accursed room, though it always ceased after a few minutes. Servants that enter her chamber are lucky to escape, those who leave unscathed speak of a horrifying new Princess, clad in orange armour with a flaming mane and tail.

Whilst her sister was busy in quarantine, Princess Luna had taken permanent residence in her observatory, located on a hill next to the Everfree Castle. It was less of an observatory and more a mansion and keep, with her court held within its confines. The Lunar Princess was rarely seen in her own court however, now she was defending Equestria from foreign invaders from Griffonia.

At the height of the moon, Princess Luna, donning heavy armour and accompanied by her Lunar guard was trotting through the Everfree. The Sun hadn’t been lowered; it was merely shielded by the celestial body orbiting the planet.

At this particular time of night, Ponies often disappeared for inexplicable reasons. At least, to the common folk it was an enigma. Stories were made, gossip was spread, myths were created. Luna knew the source, the evidence laid itself before her. Mist, shadowy figures, majority of sightings being vaguely Unicorn, glowing white eyes in the dark. She could not get a more obvious answer.

Solar guards who had previously fought the dark Unicorn had given her all the information she required. This wouldn’t require much effort; she would search and destroy. Then, save her sister from whatever black magic ailed her.

By instinct, she snapped her head in the direction of a horrible rasping sound. Metal grinding against more metal. A familiar shroud rolled in, her guards closed in, preparing to face whatever horrors the miasma brought with it. Within seconds, the shroud had encircled and completely consumed the ensemble of guards and Princess.

Spears raised, the Lunar guard surrounded their Princess, eyes constantly scanning the smog. A projection of the planet was shown, next to it, the Sun. The planet was completely desolated and ashen grey, once mighty forests were set ablaze, great oceans completely evaporated. The moon was split in half, a great ring surrounded it, and on it; an alicorn’s silhouette.

A shade pony walked through the projection, splitting the planet in half, the projection receded with the mist, revealing an entire legion of shade ponies adorning armour. Their eyes glowed bright in the darkness, they were everywhere, having completely encircled the Lunar soldiers.

The Princess and her loyal guards all took a defence stance and formation. Luna had handpicked elite Pegasi fliers of the Equestrian guard as part of her personal retinue, unfortunately, their foe consisted of purely Unicorns, all amplified and corrupted by dark magic. The Lunar Alicorn took deep breaths, she would do fine, she was the commander of the armies of Equestria after all.

“Oh dear, is somepony lost? we do believe so.” A voice as smooth as silk yet as dark as the midnight sky spoke, which the night Princess recognised as Chaos. Though, it was different, unlike his usual deep and dark voice. She glanced around the army, looking for him, but all she found was…Him. All Shade-ponies suddenly switched into his form; faux-regalia moulded from armour. “Sincere apologies for thine inconvenience.” They all spoke at once, hissing afterwards.

“Reveal thy true self, fiend.” Gritting her teeth, Luna manifested multiple blades, all pointing in a different direction, ready to strike. Her guards stood vigilant, spears raised, shields held, eyes darting.

“Worry not, for we already have.” Everything was a blur. Successive shots of dark magic were discharged, but none ever reached the Princess. At an instant, there was a clash, flash of blades and a hiss. Luna had deflected her opponent’s halberd by reflex.

The clash brough her back to reality, she was face to face with the monster. Moon against shroud, sword against halberd. Both combatants ignited her horns, blasting each other with their full might. Light and dark magic collided, bringing with them a bright flash, the concussive force obliterating many of the Shades and Lunar guards. Blood-curdling screams were heard all around.

Most swings of the halberd were parried, each strike was amplified by magic with every successful strike denting and decaying her armour. Luna felt her fur being burnt away; the pain was extraordinary, almost unbearable at times. She felt rising anger, not only for herself but for her loyal guards. In fury, she sliced the incorporeal halberd into pieces, hitting the stunned Unicorn with a great beam of light. She was rewarded an aggravated screech.

The assailant retreated into mist to lick his wounds. The Lunar princess took this opportunity to support her guard, but soon found herself unable as three faux-Chaos shades had encircled her. The three musketeers summoned blades of their own, lunging forward and slicing at the Alicorn’s armour. Luna was barely granted reaction time, though she managed to cut down two of the shades, whose charcoal pelt retreated to reveal their original untainted forms.

The azure-maned Alicorn looked at her fallen assailants in shock-horror, she recognised them as former guards. The final shade dashed at her, having turned back into its normal form. The Night Princess easily disposed of it, sword protruding through its head, it collapsed onto the ground and writhed until all dark energy was dispersed, there it lay motionless. She could hear a faint “Thank you…”.

The last of Luna’s custodians fought like starved hounds, they were fierce in resistance against the seemingly endless onslaught of shades. They were steadfast but winded, having slain twice their original number. But this was not to last, the mist once more consumed the battlefield, bringing with it their doom.

The apparition was in the midst of his miasma, every defeated guard was an addition to his retinue. The first Pegasi shades. Their lament echoed through the midnight, their torment everlasting. Luna was now the last to be taken care of, he wanted the magic. He licked his lips in anticipation.

Luna composed herself, keeping all of her emotions in order. Despite being surrounded by an entire army, she felt no worry for herself, only those who had been cruelly controlled by dark powers. Raising her weapon and igniting her horn, she noticed the shades forming a circular perimeter around. It was easier to distinguish the apparition from his warriors, as he trotted forth manifesting a new halberd.

“Congratulations, thou hath survived thus far.” He mockingly applauded, clapping his hooves. “We doubt that thou wilt be so effortlessly disposable like thine guards.” They were now metres away from each other. “Oh, and mine grand prize shalt be thy Alicorn magic.” He chuckled, receiving a growl from his opponent.

Once more, the two combatants locked into fierce melee combat. The sound of incorporeal metal clashing reverberated in the forest, each impacting with the force of a thousand enraged suns. Fissures of dark and light magic escaped both blade and halberd, hissing as they left. Despite both assailants being extraordinarily proficient in melee combat from a century’s experience, one from leading armies and the other from facing great beasts and legions of warriors, none could break the stalemate.

Seeing the battle as no more than energy consuming, the apparition unleashed a barrage of unrelenting dark magic, those which missed their intended target easily burned through trees and boulders, those which impacted the Princess scorched her armour, superheating it. Her shield was no match against the endless amount of dark magic. Luna screeched in agony, howling as the magic reached her pelt.

The battle-damaged armour pieces fell to pieces. Luna herself had collapsed onto the foliage covered floor beneath her, gasping and panting. She began mending herself, scanning around for her opponent at the same time. Everything was blurry and hazy. A constant ringing filled her ear.

Then, she froze in place. Eyes flaring open, mouth agape. A sharp pain like none other she had felt before. Unlike any battle damage she had ever suffered before. Unlike any superficial wounds. This was a thousand blades stabbing into her at once. What followed was an ear-piercing shriek loud enough to wake gods. Luna writhed on the ground, feeling large amounts of her magic being forcibly removed.

Then, she felt a foreign…No, malign magic being forced into her. The pain was beyond excruciating now. Realisation struck her. Celestia must’ve been corrupted by this magic. Her anger rose, a sensation beyond that of pain. Unrelenting, raw and untamed fury. Her pain eventually ceased. Whimpering on the floor. “We must do what is necessary…” Luna whispered to herself. A voice was heard in her head.

‘Come now Luna, tap into thine newly gifted power. Use it against its former master.’ Luna, wrought with hatred, took control of all her newly acquired dark magic. Her body moulded and grew in size. Her pelt turned a pure black, her mane becoming ethereal and dotted with constellations. Her eyes became draconic teal slits.

“My, my, isn’t she a beauty.” Chaos spoke, his voice still as smooth like silk. Luna snarled at this comment, blasting the armoured Unicorn with her newfound abilities. It was unfamiliar, a magic she had never dared to utilise, yet it was unfathomably gratifying. The pain she had felt from before was gone.

Her opponent slid back and screeched, grinning afterwards. “Untamed, inexperienced!” He turned into mist and sped to the midnight mare, delivering a powerful punch to her muzzle. The punch had sent the weakened Luna crashing into the trees, there she laid, too weak to continue fighting.

“Come to us when thou learn thine true prowess.” There was a certain venom in his voice. With those parting words, the entire shade pony legion turned to mist, retreating into the forest.

Silence. Blissful silence. Chaos watched his host body drifting into sleep, or rather the mindscape. The large makeshift tent they had constructed shielded against the constant hail of rain outside. It had been an exhausting confrontation for the young Unicorn. They had acquired Pegasi into their army. A legion of shades, created in the apparition’s image.

There wasn’t really silence, there never was. Perpetually beating hooves of the marching shades disturbed him, but fascinated him, gratified him. To the dark Unicorn, it was achievement, something to savour. To be basked in. But this was only the first stage, the building blocks to his height of power.

In front of him, inkwell, quill and parchment. Casting a deafening spell onto the entire tent, he levitated the quill. Documenting every single spell that he had invented. Their intended purpose, their effect. He had amassed an impressive list, having experimented like a mad scientist.

“Silence…” He muttered, glancing to his right and checking his companion. Still deep in slumber. “Shut it, now.” Hooves clutching his ears, he became very desperate to block out all sound. He felt as if he was reverberating words spoken by the Alicorns themselves. “Quiet!” His voice rose, but quickly he slammed a hoof into his mouth, desperately looking at the Unicorn.

His head snapped left and right; he was growling in annoyance. Once more, his hooves clutched at his head. The apparition had suffered more than a century of pain easily able to kill an Alicorn, but this, it was different. “Alicorn magic…” He screeched, storming out of the tent.

“Indeed, excellent observation, Chaos.” A voice spoke, similar to his own, yet it was bitter. It was venomous, yet still soft. Thrashing around, he looked for the voice, but found nothing. He had spoken those words. Calming down and staring at his parchment, he resumed work.

Sighing, he realised he wasn’t concentrating on the piece of parchment anymore. No, he thought of Alicorns. Yes. Ascension. Apotheosis. Every thought made him grin. Yes… Laughter boiled. A low laughter, somepony was still asleep.

Why have Alicorn magic as a Unicorn…When you can be an Alicorn instead…

“So, we have declared war on Equestria, both of its Alicorn rulers. You thought it was a bright idea to give both of them dark magic.” He could not plant his hoof any further into his face.

“I was overconfident and arrogant; I do believe you understand.” It had been many months since the great escapade. “I have always been erratic, somewhat. Now I am not the only one feared, I find it amusing.” Chaos was levitating yet another block of stone, placing it down next to its brethren. His recreated Shade-pony army silently toiled and laboured in the dreary conditions of the western Everfree. “Not all conquerors are omnipotent or omniscient, we make mistakes, we regret them in hindsight.” He sighed, looking at the Unicorn beside him.

“You punctuate that by following words you said a whole century ago. `If I can’t take a kingdom, then I will build one from the ground. ` You absolute madpony. Thou art out of thy mind.”

“Quite.” He snickered, receiving a gentle slap.

The Unicorn observed as hundreds of his counterpart’s minions levitated block after block. They were awfully efficient, since when did the apparition learn architecture? “When and where did you learn this?”

“Whilst you rest, I occasionally find a temporary vessel to reside in, for instance a shade pony, this allowed me to pry the minds of many Equestrians. I believe my legend is reinforced.” He chuckled, looking onward as the wall was near its completion. Grinning.

“You have utilised Alicorn magic well. Rather, converted Alicorn magic. That crystal is surprisingly useful.” This compliment earned him a smile. “Don’t perform another stunt like last time. I expect Luna to be accompanying the Princess-of-Burning next time.” Both of them laughed.

“Don’t worry, I believe we’ve taken care of that.” His grin became malicious.

A shade approached the duo, bowing. “Your lordship, there shall be war.” It rasped, still bowing. The Unicorn’s eyes were wide open. Chaos merely smirked and chuckled. He looked towards the sky, Sun and Moon both raised to their zenith. Constellations dotted one side; a crimson hue covered the other. The world lacked a palette of colour, only two dominated.

“There shall be war. Captain,” Motioning to one of his shades “Prepare the troops, the Solar-Lunar Eclipse shall begin soon.”