//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Immortality // Story: A Bronzed Moon // by Eric Longtooth //------------------------------// Chapter 9: Immortality By Eric Longtooth “Wear your best for your execution and stand dignified. Your last recourse against randomness is how you act - if you can't control outcomes, you can control the elegance of your behaviour. You will always have the last word.” - Nassim Nicholas Taleb :=:=:>{ Princess Celestia }<:=:=: The coils of magic whipped and strained against the ivory bounds of Celestia’s horn, contrasting deeply with the burning tendrils of burning sunlight, as, not unlike a troublesome foal, the sun fought her guiding hoof. It would be so easy… to burn the corruption from our lands… With another flex of her arcane will, the burning ball began its trip around the planet once more. And, as it cast its glowing light with the rising dawn, the herald of light turned her gold-sodden hooves to return back into the candlelight of her room.  An intruder amongst the heavens… taking a freedom stricken from I… ‘What? An intruder?’ Her hoof paused upon the shadow of her bedroom door.  Indeed, indeed… a silver orb has taken a host, and comes to take the day… In haste, the snow-white alicorn turned to gaze upon the horizon, right in time to see the moon embark across the sky. Its silver glow turning to a cold black as it bathed the world is darkness, a halo of angry golden light highlighting it as the sun disappeared.  Insolent blasphemies! I shall turn this fool to ash under my holy light! “Luna…” She whispered, wincing at the baleful telepathic volume of her burden as her mane moved to shroud her face. It would not do for her little ponies to see her worry… ~`^v>|<{OOO###]###@$%% “A mind as one, whole once more, an avatar of harmony.” The words slipped from her lips and froze upon the cold air, a harmonious chorus of a thousand voices speaking as one. A hundred different languages mixing together behind the firm ‘leader’ of the choir, each as slippery as ice as they play with the ears of any listening.  For a moment, it had been day, with the sun glaring a hole into her retinas as it cast the world in ungodly heat. But it was easily fixed, and once more she was shrouded in a veil of darkness, with it, she had transformed into something much more fitting. Were she once stood in the shadow of her sister, she would now look down upon her, even if only just. Her wings grew to better fit her new size, and gained a white highlight at the tips of her feathers. Her horn, similarly grew whilst gaining a permanent aura of un-light, whilst her mane turned to deep blue fire that was freezing to the touch. Finally, her eyes turned to orbs of black, as they appeared to turn into the cosmos itself. Stars of all colours dances across them as they take the night air that danced across her vision.  The strings of reality swayed in the breeze and wrapped around her as they greeted the her. It was as harmonious as anything, with patterns and symmetry, each playing with the laws of the land and daring not to interrupt the grand design.  But as always, it could be so much more.  “You have done much to break my factory… I would have thought you would have left this place as soon as you could.” A cruel voice called from behind her, its voice sounding like a whisper, but it caught one’s ears more like a yell. She didn’t need to turn to know  the despicable sneer on its face. “And yet, here we are. Stood right at the gates, waiting for me. Or perhaps you have just been caught up in your transformation?” “A transformation suggests a change. This is simply the evolution of this instance of Our existence.” The Goddess of the Moon replied coolly as she spread her wings and straightened out before turning to face her foe. “As a being of chaos, you should know all about evolution, or at the very least, your imperfect variation of such a thing.” There they stood, an avatar of the moon, of harmony itself.  And the abomination that started it all. It was tall, looming over her form even after her transformation. Its limbs were of deathly skin and bone, almost as white as the moon itself, and covered in thick, angry veins. It was impossible for it to stand with such little muscle mass, and yet, there it stood. Slouched over as it wore nothing but a smith’s smock and a tattered orange jumpsuit.  Its arms ended in long nailed hands, each strand of hardened keratin being as long as her horn and as black as her night. They had grown so long, that they appeared to have thickened to maintain their strength, as instead of only resting upon the tops of its fingers, they had taken the entire tip of each finger.  Finally, there was the head. She had expected at least this to be replaced with metal, but it seemed not. It stood there, flesh sunk into its skull with barely a hint of hair as the base of its chin. It smiled at her, an ugly, toothy smile. It had appeared to have elongated its teeth, before having filed them to points. Leaving a fang-filled jaw to compliment the beedy, sunken red eyes that glared at her. One of her past lives had once met such a creature as this, at least, what it once was. A human.  Such a disgusting species, each even more chaotic than the last. “Your own evolution isn’t very hamonous either, was it?” The beast emitted a sound not unlike the grinding of gears and knives. “I for one, am glad you remained within close proximity. Our sensors had a field day with all the data we collected off of you.” It began to stalk over to her, each step jerky and unnatural. A split second of hesitation between each movement, joined by a faint, yet noticeable, grinding of bone and metal.  “One would think that what I am doing would be right up your alley. Each cog and peice working together with mathematical precision… each moment optimised to the millisecond… It sounds like harmony to me.” And then, before the ‘e’ had even left its jaws, the beast lurched forward with an arm outstretched. Claws bared, and glistening in the moonlight as they attempted to split the alicorn’s head from her body. The look of amazement and anger as the talons met only smoke was… delectable, If she did say so herself. Her form exploded in a flash of smoke, before consolidating a few meters behind the beast. Shimmering for a moment, before returning her to a solid state.  “A low blow, but not an unexpected one.” She commented, drawing magic into her horn as she prepared a counter-attack. “A lesson in harmony then, as it seems you have a flawed understanding. Harmony can only exist when there is nothing left. Only when the stars themselves die, and existence itself returns to its beginnings, shall there be true harmony.” She let loose a lance of blueish white energy that quickly cut through the head of the creature. Leaving a smoldering hole the size of a pencil, directly in it’s forehead.  Quick, cheap, and effective.  At least, until the flesh around the hole grew back, leaving the bald dome of its head completely unmarred. “Interesting… that one was nearly at negative two hundred and ten! Very impressive.” It mocked with another ‘chuckle.’ “Though, in relation to the harmony definition, why do you squander such power? If harmony can only be achieved when there is nothing left, why do you defend these ponies?” The Moon Goddess bit back a growl as she glared at this creatures smug face, instead, she made a point to lower the ambient temperature just a bit more. After all, who says she can’t fight in comfort? “Non-existence must be cultivated, harmony is more then just order, it is the balance of order and chaos. And although all will become perfectly harmonious in the end, the cycle must be preserved.” Another lance, this time a trio of base-ball sized bolts, flashed through the frigid air. Only to be blocked by a previously invisible automata that jumped in the way, its form freezing and shattering against the concrete only a moment later. “You are not part of the cycle, you are in interloper, and thus must be destroyed.” At her comment, the beast’s face opened. Revealing a bloody metal skull with two, seemingly organic eyes glaring at her. And, in turn, it opened its fanged maw further then should be biologically possible and released a swarm of micro missiles that, after clearing the creature’s body, turned invisible.  A neat parlor trick, in fact, she is certain she hadn’t seen anything like it befor- Wait no, one of her selves perked up and pointed out an archaic minotaurian invention. Sure, it was arrows instead, but it wasn’t too different after one removed the ‘biological horror’ part of it. At least the invisibility was new.  With a quick jab of her hoof into the ground, the Lunar Goddess’s shadow formed a sort of forcefield that, after a few seconds, absorbed the incoming projectiles.  “It seems to be that you have spent your… lives, in servitude to harmony. I have to wonder where that will lead once you are deemed too… chaotic.” It commented as its face clicked back into place with a fleshy squelch, leaving no sign of the attack other then the blood staining its neck. “In the end, cold iron hold more certainty then flesh.” “Says the one hiding behind the aforementioned flesh.” She shot back, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. After all, she needed to see the attack to stop it… at least, mostly. “Even your creations maintain a level of reliance on flesh, the irony amuses me greatly.” Whilst the comment didn’t gain as much of a reaction as she hoped, the blazing fury behind its eyes were nearly has entertaining. Perhaps, it was time to up the ante. Reaching her magic into the night sky, the Goddess called her children.  ###^!>%<[ ALPHA O.S. ]>% ‘Magic’ radiation peaking.  >> 43% Increase of base statistics for ‘ALICORN^2’  >> 324% Increase of base statistics for ‘ALICORN’  > Previous Attack Statistics:  >> Attack 1, 1.85% Increase (‘ALICORN^2’)  >> Attack 2, 2.01% Increase (‘ALICORN^2’)  - Conclusion -  High-Yield Attack inbound. His servos made minute adjustments within his warframe whilst he maintained his glare, this ‘goddess’ wouldn’t even notice the change.  > Ping from ‘CTRL-TOWER-1’  >| ORBITAL COMMAND FWD MESSAGE  >| MICROSTAR-#5722 DISPLACED.  >| MICROSTAR-#5722 HAS SHATTERED. NEW MICROSTAR-SHARDS-#1-153 LOGGED.  >| WARNING, ASTRONOMICAL ANOMALIES (‘MICROSTAR-SHARDS-#1-8’) ON COLLISION COURSE WITH FACTORY.  >| AUTOMATED DEFENCES DEPLOYED  >| AUTOMATED DEFENCES ARE UNABLE TO GAIN TARGET LOCK  >| SPEED EXCEEDING NATURAL PLAUSIBILITY  >| PLASMA SHIELDS LAUNCHED.  >| WARNING, ALPHA CORE IS OUTSIDE OF PLASMA SHIELDS.  >| AWAITING INPUT.  > Message end. ‘> Data request: Absolute locations of impact / ETA.’   > Sending Hex Co-ords.  > 28% Lethality detected with preventative measures.  > Evacuation of Alpha Core recommended. ‘Negative.’   > 54% Lethality detected.  > Good luck. ~`^v>|<{OOO[ Lunar Goddess ]OOO}>|