The first sign was every sheep in every pasture in Equestria turning to face the same direction, lying down, and refusing to move for several hours. Fact-finding missions afterwards found that every sheep was facing the same point somewhere in the ruins of Hollow Shades. When asked why they did, almost all of the sheep refused to answer. All save for one black-fleeced ram, who said only two words:
“He comes.”
The second sign was the birth of a two-headed calf to Audumla of Ponyville. The calf lived for less than an hour, and both heads spoke continuously and monotonously in a full-grown bull’s deep voice for as long as they were able. Starlight Glimmer and Vinyl Scratch isolated the two speeches through a combination of retrocognition and audio editing, finding them to be a string of horrific yet contradictory prophecies.
After completing the project, Vinyl, whose sense of perfect pitch had withstood hundreds of hours next to booming speakers, checked herself into Ponyville General with tinnitus and bleeding ears.
The third sign was multiple, massive murders of storm crows. The living scraps of black cloud gathered in unprecedented numbers over cities around the world, leaving them in a state of perpetual dusk. The crows refused to disperse even under threat of lethal force. The normally docile creatures even lashed out at ecosystem managers with beaks and lightning.
Fluttershy, who led the Ponyville effort, couldn’t understand a word the crows were saying.
The fourth sign was a sort of mineral tumor found in the gem gardens of the Crystal Palace. Unlike Sombra’s signature jagged growths, the object was a dull, gray lump that folded in on itself, following no known crystal structure. It might have seemed like a common stone if it hadn’t sent out tendrils into the rest of the garden, forcing Mistmane to uproot an entire stand of crystalanthemums.
Dragonlord Ember, visiting the Empire for a potential trade deal, found the growth reeked of rot and filth to her nose.
The fifth sign was the simultaneous eruption of every volcano in the Dragonlands, creating the region’s first known flood. The ponies working on an embassy had to evacuate, thankfully without injury. The dragons themselves enjoyed the unusual event until one realized that their hoards might not have as much fun when inundated in liquid rock.
The draconic economy was nearly ruined, saved only by the fact that it didn’t exist.
The final sign came at the Well of Shade, and only moments before what it foretold. A pyroclastic flow bubbled out of the dread pit, flooding out into the ruined square and hissing with noxious fumes. A bubble welled up in the center of the lake of boiling ash, growing until it was the size of a yak before bursting.
And the demon spread his wings.
He was an immense and muscular figure, bipedal, though with arms that stretched past his knees. His batlike wings stretched in the night air, flapping a few times as they shook off the last bits of pitch. Four horns gleamed in the starlight, and four eyes glowed red as he took in his surroundings. He grinned, revealing a set of teeth somewhere between a shark and a paper shredder.
He walked across the still smoldering material, savoring the taste of innocence and hope in the air. The sweetness was almost intoxicating. It would be a joy to destroy it.
Then he walked facefirst into an invisible barrier that flashed brilliant white as he touched it.
The demon flinched back. “What?”
The answer echoed across the square: “With power, I bind your body.”
The demon’s eyes widened as he spotted the circle of runes inscribed around the Well of Shade, beyond which the ash had not spread, even bunching up against it. “No…” He turned back towards the steaming mound that was all that remained of the Well and spread his wings. Light streamed from the barrier, wrapped those wings tight against his body, and coalesced into shining chains. “No!”
“With silver, I bind your magic,” the unseen voice continued.
The demon dashed to the Well and started burrowing through the hardening ash with desperate swipes of his claws. “No, no, no, no, no!”
“With your true name, o Zargothrax, Supreme Spinebreaker of the 723rd layer of the Abyss, I bind your soul. Thrice bound are you, and so I command you. Now face me.”
Zargothrax’s claws went still. Jerkily, resisting every compelled motion with all his strength, he obeyed.
He beheld a purple horse, and she that sat on her was…
Actually, the only thing sitting on her was a golden crown. Though the horse herself had neither the triumphant smirk of a typical demonologist nor the unyielding hatred of a paladin. She had spoken the bindings with conviction, but she looked more annoyed than anything. The five others coming out from behind one of the ancient shacks had expressions ranging from fear to outright amusement.
Zargothrax’s mind raced. “You did not summon me! The bindings do not apply!”
“You came willingly and unbidden,” countered the purple horse. “This is when the bindings are at their strongest.”
“An’ how d’ you know that, exactly?” said the orange horse, raising an eyebrow.
The pink horse (or, at least, horse-shaped entity) shushed her. “Don’t ruin the moment, AJ!”
Zargothrax thought for another few desperate moments before slumping in defeat. “How? How could you have possibly been this prepared?”
The horses shared confused looks. “He’s joking," said the white horse. "You’re joking, yes?”
“Your approach has been putting out signs and portents for weeks," added the purple horse. "Did you really think we wouldn’t notice?”
Zargothrax clenched his jaw, but the bindings forced him to answer honestly. “My evil has preceded me in the ruination of hundreds of worlds. None were prepared.”
The purple horse shrugged her wings. “Well, this is Equestria, sir. We take our portents seriously here. Especially when those of us in charge have already had our fill of vague warnings and saving the day at the last second.”
"You only have so many last seconds," noted the pink entity, who looked over Zargothrax like she was contemplating the taste of his soul, and what side dishes would best compliment it.
At least, that was what a smile that wide usually meant in the Abyss.
“Release me," he said, "and I will never trouble your realm again. I swear on my name.”
But the purple horse shook her head. “I’d just be inflicting you on some other universe. I’m not going to Star Swirl this one.”
“So does that mean we’re not going for Tartarus?" said the blue horse. "‘Cause he put Tirek there. Then Tirek broke out. And we’ve broken out. And I’m pretty sure a few things broke out while Rarity was giving Cerberus obedience training.”
The white horse turned up her muzzle. “I’ll have you know I was very careful.”
“Point is, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
The purple horse nodded. “I know. And I never planned on sending Zargothrax there. That’s just burying the problem.”
She turned to him. Devoid of context, her grin seemed much sweeter than the pink one's, the innocent smile of a child seeing their first rainbow. But Zargothrax could feel the malice behind it, impossibly alloyed with purest hope.
“I intend to solve it.”
Even for the endless horrors of the Abyss, the Acid Pits of the 775th layer were far from a tourist destination. A morass of corrosive mud, foul vapors, and grapefruit-sized fiendish mosquitoes, it was best known for the green pools ranging from puddles to vast lakes. The acid of the Pits was no specific chemical but the very idea of caustic dissolution given form.
The ruler of the layer, Xranglepurt the Bone-Drinker, laired in a citadel made from equal parts rusted iron and repurposed mortal flesh. The main entrance was guarded by scarred and twisted horrors eager to feast on whatever crossed their path.
Still, they were not demon lords. The approach of one made them scramble for their lives, even if the aura of darkness and chaos felt oddly muddled.
A clawed fist beat on the chitinous gates of the Forsaken Flesh-Forge. Xranglepurt did not open them, instead poking an eyestalk out from a crack made for that very purpose. “What?”
Zargothrax ground his fangs, feeling every silver link of his obligations pressing down on him. After a deep breath, he droned out, “Hello, sir, madam, or esteemed nonbinary individual. Have you heard the good news about Harmony?”
Twilight is awesome at preparation, when she has the time for it. Weeks is good.
It was so ominous with so many big events happening everywhere... I expected a more violent conclusion, but, as you said:
And that ending! I expected something in that direction, given the few possibilities of that last line, but nothing like that particular manifestation...
----
Typo:
Light
Wow. Poor Zargothrax. That's just cruel.
*Sees Indulgent Tormentor*
I would have done a Quest for the Janklord crossover somehow, lol.
Ah, the good old Fhjull Forked-Tongue solution. Definitely works up until something happens to the binder.
"Zargothrax"
Been listening to Gloryhammer lately?
The problem with heeding omens is false positives. There's always a sign of the apocalypse happening somewhere
"Sheesh, you do that one time..."
Yikes! That's some scary stuff, but Twilight figured out what to do and how to contain the situation. Her harmonizing the ever loving shit out of him to the point of him preaching it door-to-door in the Abyss like a Mormon on mission was perfect, though! How many blasts did that take? Five? Six?
10306427 once? He's done it enough that I wonder if he uses dimensional portals as toilets.
I mean, he did telegraph himself pretty well. Do it like a pro and take a page out of Nyarlathotep's book: don't show any sign until you've so fully infiltrated the world that they have no chance of fighting back.
Also, good Gaia Twi. That's going too far!
10306443
I thought it was a little brainwashy for the show with that ending, but reading it again he's less a convert missionary than a parole required to do public speaking
How did Twilight know that? Because you have to know that sort of thing when you're a princess.
And Ember's working on the dragon economy. Give her time!
Isn't this the same job Tempest got? Although it seems less voluntary in this case.
Did the comics say why it was Rarity giving Cerebus obedience training?
also I notice that everypony else was a horse, but Pinkie was an entity
10306367
At least there's no Unicorn Invasion of Dundee.
Twilight is crazy prepared, Dash has a point, and Pinkie is scarier than any demon.
10306443
How many times did he use portals to banish evil creatures? He certainly created a lot of portals, but the only instance I can actually recall of him explicitly getting rid of a villain by making it another dimension's problem was the Sirens -- Scorpan he befriended, Tirek went to Tartarus, the Pony of Shadows went out of time, and I don't think he interacted with any other villain much. His other portal mishaps generally involved either things coming out from their side or someone else putzing around with it after the fact. On the EG side of things, Sunset went there by herself and the Memory Stone was Clover's doing.
10306427 You're right. It seemed like more, though I do wonder if Clover got the idea for disposing of the Memory Stone from Starswirl. He was her mentor after all, unless I'm really remembering that wrong. Maybe I've indulged in too much fanon, but you have to admit that the image of someone taking a shit into a dimensional portals is rather funny in a juvenile way.
10306743
out of time might be considered another dimension. Tartarus might be another dimension even.
10306693
Anyone familiar with the show understands.
10307157
Eeh. That's stretching it thin.
I mean, if we want to argue semantics it isn't. It's "between dimensions", or apparently a non-space where nothing happens and time doesn't flow. More to the point, there are no natives to inconvenience or time for any inconveniencing to occur in.
It definitely isn't. It's pretty clearly presented as a big cave in some corner of Equestria.
10307178
The Breezies home had an entrance in Equestria but was in another dimension
10306354
I did consider it, but I couldn't think of a good way to work in the scout as well. Maybe the Wheelmaster hangs out in Klugetown on his vacation days.
10306362
Ideally, the next time Luster Dawn has to save Princess Twilight, Zargothrax will be very far from Equestria indeed.
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I'm not saying that "The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee" directly inspired the demon's name, but I'm almost positive it influenced me subconsciously.
10306391
True, but they're usually lower-key. Most two-headed calves barely get out one garbled and easily misinterpreted sentence.
10306427 10306443 10307157
Star Swirl may not rupture planar boundaries quite as often as fanon likes to think, but he does tend to banish his problems rather than actually solve them.
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To clarify, he wasn't harmonized at all. He's forced to obey Twilight's commands because of the bindings she placed on him, but he definitely doesn't like it.
10306625
Hoardsmelting takes time, I know. Especially when the volcanoes beat you to it.
10306693
It was a case where Celestia asked somepony to step forward and volunteer... and everypony else took a step back.
10306741
All true.
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It is generally accepted that Star Swirl is responsible for the existence of the mirror portal in the first place. Clover may have been the one to place the Memory Stone there but Clover was taught by Star Swirl so he's kind of still responsible Tartarus and Limbo both qualify as well, in my opinion. Then in addition to the Sirens there's the time loop device whose name escapes me that appeared at the Star Swirl festival, and (troublesome) time magic has always been associated with him in canon so it's a fair bet he tossed that through at some point as well. Then there's the various portal shenanigans in the comics, both from the pre-Pillars Cook/Price comics and the post-Pillars Legends of Magic comics that shows Star Swirl using them pretty freely even though he knows it's a bad idea. And finally it was Star Swirl who tutored young Celestia, who carried on his unproud tradition of solving your problems by trapping them under a seal that will eventually break and leaving it as Future Equestria's problem
So all in all I think a running gag about using alternate dimensions as garbage bins is the least he's earned