670803

The Jabberwock blinked his bulging eyes as he stared at the newcomer. His terrible incisors were further exposed as he smiled.

"A galumph would be a fine thing, I think," he replied, "I recommend you hold on tightly, for I'm about to go a-whiffling." No sooner had he spoken when his wings unfurled, and with three sharp flaps he was airborne. The Jabberwock whizzed through the air like a rocket, his body seeming to slither like the tail of a kite. He spun and swerved in a display of surprising agility as he circled the mare, who was still a bit dazed from the newcomer's attack.

The Jabberwock suddenly opened its jaws, letting out a hissing stream of the burning liquid. It hit the mare with the force of a fire-hose, sending her tumbling across the floor.

670854 / 670803

The flames coating her body grew and sizzled as the flaming liquid was absorbed . Using the dragon claws to stop the tumble, her tendrils whipped towards the creature. A few missed their mark as they pierced the stone ceiling, but the ones that hit were devastating. The Jabberwock struggled weakly as the tendrils held his bleeding form aloft. He choked and coughed as the stream of molten liquid flowed from his jaws as more poured from the gaping hole in his throat.

"You'll have your turn, the foal believes I can be mocked", Echidna said as a keening noise came from some runes on her body.

One of the claws on her hooves disappeared as it was plunged into the ground. The high pitched noise continued as thorns of stone grew around her. There was a small grunt of pain as they pierced the stranger before her and two more invisible figures.

671116 / 670854
"AGH!"
The stranger's body exploded as well as one of the invisible figures, but the last one simply cried out in pain. The stranger, now impaled on several stone spikes, began to attempt to wrench himself free. After a few seconds, he became visible.

"Ahegh..... you're smarter than... ergh.... the last person I fought......" he said, looking at Echidna. "Just how old ARE you, by the way?" he asks. "I'm not so sure if you should be calling me a foal."
The stranger blinked longer than normal again, and Echidna felt an energy beginning to gradually gather in the air around the room.

672272
"Now why would a sacrifice need to know such things?" Echidna said while defiantly walking to the creature and grabbing chin. "Perhaps you wish to delay your assimilation for a few brief seconds like the rest of the pitiful creations that came before."

Standing next to him, the keening noise became painfully loud as the stranger stuck in place by the stone thorns.

676676
"Heh.... gehehehhhhhhh" the stranger wheezed. "What are the limits of your assimilation? In me you'll find naught but cloth and emptiness!"

The stranger shifted and a thorn ripped a bit further through his body. Indeed, the black void inside of him wasn't just a trait of his decoys: he was empty of flesh and blood.

"Besides, what's a little information between foes? It's not like neither of us is going to walk away from this in one way or another....."

The energy in the air grew slightly in power: it didn't seem to be drawing from the stranger.

676806
"You mistake my intentions, you're not even worth my time..." a sadistic grin crossed her face as she saw the open wound. "...but your power shall become one with the Fallen."

Saying her bit, her muzzle opened wide as she prepared to consume the creature of the void.

676880
"Ohohoho," says the stranger as the energy in the room disperses. "I find the power of friendship to be quite bitter when eaten."

Echidna hears something heavy hit the ground behind her near the still-alive Jabberwock. It takes a few steps towards her: four legs.
A beast somewhat resembling a huge lion leaps at her, and she moves out of the way as it collides with the stranger and smashes through the stone thorns with ease. It turns to her, revealing its eyes to be yellow globes and its mouth to be little more than a horizontal opening with multiple rows of needle-like teeth. Its neck was extremely long and it was mostly hairless save for the brownish-grey mane near its head, the rest of its mottled grey body left bare.

The stranger stood as the tears in his body began to slowly close on their own.
"Sorry for the cheesy line, I simply failed to come up with anything more fitting. Now then, would you care for an introduction to my friend Frear here?"

The beast let out a low, deep breath.

676920
Echidna responded in kind while feeling an odd connection to the beast. It felt like a warped connection, similar to one of her creations.

"You think adding a loyal meat shield will protect you." she growled at the stranger.

In response, Frear lunged forward as Echidna chuckled in an intentionally open stance.

677201 / 676920

The Jabberwock arose, his body rejuvenated. He shook his head, and then turned his attention to the enemy. The mare was currently staring down a peculiar lion-like beast. Making sure to keep a fair distance away from the equine, the draconian beast began to lope in a circle around her. With a wheezing hiss he spat a small glob of the flaming liquid at her.

677380 / 676920
With a sidestep, she dodged the ball of liquid while Frear hit it mid-lunge.

He gave a roar of pain as he tried to clear the burning liquid from his face. That's when he heard a familiar clicking noise. Blinded by the ball of flame, he was confused when he heard the changeling language. The clicking slowly turned to a chuckle as a solid hit to his side sent him flying.

"To think she would give birth to such a weapon while I was sealed." Echidna covered her eyes with a hoof as she laughed in disbelief.

The stranger tilted his head slightly in confusion as Frear struggled to his feet. Meanwhile the Jabberwock hissed from a cautious distance in an act of defiance and hatred. Ignoring the two beings, Echidna casually strolled over to the beast before violently yanking his face towards hers.

So where have you been hiding little beast. Why would a 1st gen like you be hidden from me as my horde came to be ruled by that failure Chrysalis, the monstrous being heard her ask in his mind.

677380 / 677914
"You know, Echidna," the stranger says, addressing her by name. "My friend Frear here has a few things in common with me."

She ignored him and continued to stare into the beast's face. It began to slowly speak in a deep, growling voice.
"It is true...... I know some things he has taught me............"
"In fact...!" says the stranger, taking a step backwards, "I taught him of one of my favorite things!"

Suddenly, all Echidna saw and felt was intense fire that pushed her backwards away from the beast. When it stopped, she opened her eyes and was slammed by one of the great claws of the beast, ripping her chest open like paper and sending her flying again. When she stood, the beast stood at its full height and let out a roar that seemed to be a mix of lion, eagle, and something unidentifiable. It looked down at her and spoke.
"He taught me how to deceive....."
The connection she felt with him vanished.

679165 / 677914

The Jabberwock's eyes blazed bright as he saw opportunity present itself. The mare was wounded. And heading in his direction. Like a striking serpent, his long neck shot forth towards her tumbling form. His jaws opened wide, the horrific incisors gleaming like knives.

There was a quick, clean clap as they chopped together, shearing the mare's body in half. In another moment the beast spat her upper half across the room, lest he risk being wounded by the horrible tendrils.

679220 / 679165

Seeing the mare's upper torso go flying, the Jabberwock rose to give a roar of victory. When his body reared up he thought it was strange that the ground got closer. Before hitting the ground, he noticed the top half of the odd biped had been replaced. The black flaming torso seemed to grin as it flashed a razor thin foreleg.

The stranger had barely managed to see the attack as the flames reformed and made a clean slice through the reptilian throat. Mortal wounds won't affect this one, he reminded himself while tilting his top hat. From across the room Echidna picked up the massive head with ease as the Jabberwock's body fell with a crash

"You forget your place drake", the flame said in a voice like dry leaves. The Jabberwock's eyes spun in confusion as he watched his body fall. He felt something where his throat use to be as the mare's flames kept his head alive. "So what shall it be, will you kneel to my rule or die for your foolish act of defiance?"

683745 / 679220

The stranger's eyes grew slightly when he saw the Jabberwock's head in Echidna's hold. They remained that way, his mouth slightly agape, for several seconds before the outer corners of his eyes turned downward. Horror?
The stranger straightened his eyes and lowered his head and looked at her from beneath the brim of his hat as Frear turned to look at him. "You......" he said in a much lower voice than he had spoken before.

"You will put his head back on his neck. You will put his head back on his neck, or so help me--"

The stranger quickly extended an arm forward and opened his hand towards her and the Jabberwock. The black flames at the base of its head began to mix with a white fire, creating a small maelstrom of the mixing colors. A quick poking with her control over elements proved it to not be true fire: it was a manifestation of some other energy.

"OR SO HELP ME, I WILL CONSUME YOU AND THIS ENTIRE PLACE," the stranger yelled, his power over the Jabberwock's sustained life quickly equaling hers. He seemed to calm down for a second.

"You now have a choice. You may fight my power and attempt to finish what you were doing with the Jabberwock, and leave yourself open to my plans. Or, you can release him and let me have control over his life so as to fight back, in which case I will be the one open to attack. My power shields his life and body, such as it is, in which case he is impervious to further meddling without you first overcoming it."

As the stranger maintained eye contact with Echidna, Frear spoke: "It seems you've found one of the things he hates most: dismemberment. I wish you luck, as perhaps I am no longer needed here..." Frear's form disappeared in a small swirl of greyish-black smoke.

684050 / 679220

A rune on her hip glowed as the greyish-black mist started to move sporadically. The whistling of powerful winds could be heard as Frear was encased in a moving prison of air.

"You will remain there until I deal with your... 'friend'" Echidna said as a gust of wind nearly ripped the mist in two as Frear tried to escape.

Allowing the power struggle over the Jabberwock to continue, three tendrils lashed out from her form and quickly grabbed her amputated torso. The tendrils quickly absorbed the flesh and bone as her fleshless grin reappeared.

"I wonder which you will save." she said while staring at the stranger. A chuckle escaped her muzzle before she broke into a maniacal laugh.

As she laughed the white magic at the Jabberwock's neck took on an infected look. At the same time a rune on her cheek glowed as stone limbs pulled the stranger to the ground.

684141
The stranger couldn't move under the grip of the stone, but he could swivel his neck upwards towards Echidna. With a pained expression, he spoke.

"There are two things you need to know," he said, grating his voice. "First off.... that is not Frear. He is gone into the shadows, and that is what is left of his physical form when he does so..."

The smoke seemed to be dissipating over time as real smoke would, though it continued to move.

"And second... do you... remember when Frear breathed fire into your face? When you went tumbling..... ergh........."
The stranger's body exploded with a violent snapping noise. His voice came from behind her head.
"YOU TOOK YOUR EYES OFF OF ME."

She turned directly into a facebound punch that felt like it sent ripples throughout her body, and her mind went blank for a split second; the retaliatory tentacles were halted. He followed it up with an immediate uppercut that stunned her just enough to land an elbow into her neck and the smooth transfer of a punch into the motion, the force of which sending her across the room with the same ripples as before: the runes flickered for a second and her influence over the Jabberwock's head wavered and nearly failed, with the white flames resuming their brilliant look.
She looked up at him, ready to leap back but was stopped as he waved his arms backwards and then snapped them forward, sending a massive shockwave at her that knocked her back into the wall and cracking it, revealing what seemed to be a white void behind in the small places where holes had appeared. She could feel a force emanating from it similar to the power he was wielding now.

He stood with his arms still extended at her, breathing heavily: his breath sounded slightly unearthly, some strange sound she'd never heard before mixed with the passage of air.

684141 / 684159

"Damn," thought the Jabberwock, "Not this again." This was not the first time his head had been severed. It probably wouldn't be the last. But he hated it all the same, because each time it happened, he felt an insufferable amount of pain. It was hard to think straight through the agony of not being able to breath properly. But the burning hatred he felt for the mare was so great that he was able to do one thing while in her control.

One of the barbels that hung above his mouth lashed out at her form, its razor-tipped point slicing across her face.

There was no toxin more potent than that which belonged to the Jabberwock. He knew it would be unable to kill her--But it would make her wish that she could die.

685714 / 684159
Glaring down at the jabberwock's head, her eyes gleamed in sadistic delight as she felt the toxin in the small cut. With the tearing of skin, a stone spear rose from the floor and pierced the bottom and roof of the reptile's protruding mouth.
"Pain does little to deter me." she told the drake as it slowly slide down the thorn.. Leaving it suspended on the thorn, as the two magics kept it alive, the mare turned to the stranger.

The white void flickered from behind the walls as shades of green and black mingled with the void.

The flames and tendrils receded into her body as she stepped forward. The ground cracked as her hoof landed and continued to do so as she strode forward.

Hearing each step the stranger experienced strange visions of violent deaths.

Her first step brought forth an image of thorns blossoming from his head Before the next step showed him an image of his body torn asunder by an obsidian blade. The next five steps made him see more deaths involving his body melting, suffocating in a vacuum of air, set ablaze from internal combustion and being crushed by an odd looking mace. The first few didn't worry him so much but the fifth step had shown him something horrendous.

Echidna grabbed him by the throat. Even as he attacked her with devastating physical blows backed by magic, black veins had started to spread from her grip. Where they showed, the stranger's body had started to break down as the white of his suit slowly faded. The duller it became, the more deflated his body became as his magic and life rotted away.

Seeing her raise her hoof, the stranger instinctively jumped back as a slight shudder ran up his form.

686938>>685714>>684159 Hello mortals.

685714 / 686938
The stranger got ahold of himself and straightened up his stance before speaking. "I would rather not experience any of those, thank you, I've died enough times over my life. That last one looked particularly painful, and I'm afraid that pain is a habit I've not been able to shake for any long period of time."

Undaunted by his foe's approach, which continued to bring more visions to his mind, he raised his hands. He snapped them downward and a weak shockwave was sent out from his position: enough to be felt, but did not affect her. When it hit the walls though, they and the ceiling disappeared into a shower of shards, revealing the abyss of now-mixed colors beyond. He waves his hands in several directions, occasionally stopping to perform odd movements with his fingers, weaving them together, twisting his wrists around, etc. Several moments of this went by, and by the end Echidna had long realized that she should've reached him by now.

Suddenly, he snapped his arms to his sides, palms outward. The abyss changed: no longer were they in an endless void of white, green, and black. Instead, they were now in an open field. Spots of brownish-green grass rose up in small spots from place to place but otherwise it was mostly barren dirt. The sky was a mix of dark clouds, blocking out the sun, leaving the environment feeling dim and foreboding. Lastly, it seemed that they were standing amidst the ruins of some sort of castle: nothing was left of it that was higher than one foot above Echidna's head.

"Now then, I suggest you see if you can finish this before I cast my next spell, or we'll test just how resistant to physical destruction you truly are."

688659

"AND YOU, fight or leave! We need no distractions!"

688975 / 688659 /685714

Seeing the stranger pause to berate the newcomer, her eye twitched in annoyance. A small ripple was felt by the three creatures involved before she appeared before the red cretin, her hoof mid swing.

As her hoof collided with the newcomer's face, the stranger noticed a slight writhing beneath his red flesh. Blood poured from half of the pseudo demon's face as his body crashed through a broken section of wall with the sound of shattering bones. Tendrils slowly receded back into her hoof as half of the demon's face fell from her grasp. Glancing to where she'd been standing, the stranger noted the buckled ground before his eyes returned to the dangerous mare.

"Shall we continue", she casually remarked as a pained gurgle could be heard from the other side of the wall.

A slight crackling filled the air as multiple symbols glowed on her body in an unearthly red glow. Feeling the increase in power the stranger finally recognized something about his opponent, she wasn't using her full potential.

689783
The stranger seemed to tilt his head partially sideways and backwards as he eyed her. He seemed to have seen something about her that he hadn't fully seen before.

"You...." he spoke slowly. "You...... there's no way you could..........."

He quickly tilted his head forward and held his chin in his hand, thinking about something. A few seconds later, he nodded to himself and looked back to his foe.

"Nevermind. We shall see if I am correct soon enough. Now then.....!"

The stranger rose into the air and began gesturing widely with his arms to the ruins about him, loudly chanting an incantation.

"CASTLE MINE, HOME OF THE PAST.
ROOMS SO SPACIOUS AND STONE STEADFAST--
GARDEN VIBRANT, BRAZIERS ABLAZE,
TAPESTRIES EXQUISITE, GUESTS ALL AMAZE--

SERVE ME ONCE MORE, MY FOE TO FELL,
YOUR MASTER HAS CALLED FOR ANOTHER STORY TO TELL!"

A white sheen came over the stones that made up what was left of the castle as they began to move. Some rolled while others rose and flew, but they all converged in the area behind the stranger. With the bigger stones forming the torso and legs, the entire castle had become an absolutely colossal humanoid golem-like creature. The white energy surrounding the rocks made them seem as though they weren't there when the mare idly poked at it with her control over earth but didn't seem to offer any other protection.

Castle Alive
GRAND RUIN

The stranger flew to the top of its faceless head and stood on it before calling back down. "The Story Teller's lair is a thing to behold, is it not? Have at ye!"

Grand Ruin swung its arm downwards towards Echidna, its fist easily big enough to have covered the room they were in before four-fold.

689799

If your going to bring such toys to a fight...", a smirk appeared on the mare's face as she continued, "...be sure they won't break." Grand Ruin's fist loomed mere feet above Echidna as the Story Teller watched.

An ear piercing noise came from her body as the runes glowed fiercely. Seeing her leap at the descending fist he lost sight of her, but heard the cracking of a collision, before the fist created a crater in the earth.

At the same time, a massive portal surrounded by thorns opened to the left of Grand Ruin and the story teller. Barely fitting through, a dragon clad in golden scales with crimson tips and black eyes unfolded his wings outside of the portal with a fearsome battle-cry. Finishing his roar, he sat on the ground waiting for his masters order with a regal stance.

Giving the dragon a wary look, the Story Teller glanced at the crater as Grand Ruin pulled its fist back and slowly turned to the newcomer. His red mouth seemed to express glee as he noticed no sign of the mare he'd been battling left in the crater.

692538
"Yes, yes, it may be just as I thought!" the Story Teller said, still smiling. "Wherever she went... it seems to appear so! But first, I must see about this dragon..."

Grand Ruin turned to the dragon at call of the Story Teller's waved hand, the living castle standing at attention as he spoke.
"I do not recognize what sort of dragon you may be. However, exactly what type you are does not matter: what does matter is who brought you here, and if that factor has anything to do with what you are capable of."

The Story Teller pointed to the dragon before him. "Grand Ruin! Mess it up!"
On cue, Grand Ruin suddenly lurched towards the dragon with startling speed for its size (at least from the viewpoint of someone of normal stature), aiming to grab at the dragon's throat or shoulders.

692579
Noticing a rumbling beneath him, the Story Teller looked down as the stone beneath his feet as it shattered, As Echidna rose from the stone, the ear piercing noise was heard again as she lunged at the Story Teller with one hoof mid-swing. Dodging as she tried to hit him, he noticed the air around her body shimmering as her hoof grazed his shoulder. The attack seemed weak but it caused Story Teller to go flying from Grand Ruin's head in an uncontrollable spiral before crashing to the earth. His arm landed shortly after with a clean cut sheared through the arm and cloth.

Glancing at her servant Echidna smiled before saying, "destroy the rock and prepare the shackles, Nidhogg."

Walking off the golem's head, the dragon quickly sprung into action as both of his front claws gripped Grand Ruin's descending arms. Cracks appeared around his powerful grip as the arms trembled to a stop. The dragon's maw glowed brightly as its head lunged forward repeatedly, tearing chunks of stone loose before dropping them in a growing pile of magma.

Meanwhile Echidna landed near the Story Teller as he reached for his severed arm.

694962
"You know, cutting off a piece of me is normally grounds for sending me into a berserk state," he said as he grasped the arm and placed it against his shoulder. The threads began to weave together, and once he was sure it would at least stay put he turned his attention back towards Echidna.

"However, this is a special case. Echidna, you see your dragon up there, tearing Grand Ruin apart? Nidhogg, you called it?"

Echidna glanced back at the fight between the titans. Nidhogg was indeed easily winning the battle as previously described. Nothing seemed wrong.

"It should not be capable of doing that," the Story Teller noted. "That shield around the stones that you can see? That prevents them from being tampered with by outside forces such as your ability to control earth. However..."

The Story Teller paused for a second to inspect his arm, which was almost complete again. "However, the shield is also geared to at least partially prevent damage to the stones from non-exis-affected sources. You dragon is obviously having no trouble. What would that tell you?"

695339

"What does it matter if your golem remains animated, magma does little to affect my slaves skin." blue flames flickered on the edge of the noisy aura Echidna had before she continued. "Wonder how dangerous it'd be if it was turned into a solid rock instead of a moving creature."

She then chuckled as she turned back to Story Teller. He'd started to repair the arm, he soon noticed the difference in length. His arm was missing five inches of material as it gave him a lopsided look.

"One could wonder if you understand the extent of my planning." Giving a sly grin, her body flickered as Story Teller heard something behind him.

695557
The Story Teller sighed as his body exploded with a loud snap, though it was well out of range of doing any harm. He appeared a short ways on the other side of Echidna in his undamaged form.

"That actually hurts when I do that you know, and I was no referring to the fact that Grand Ruin--" The Story Teller looked back towards it. "...or what is currently left of it, is still standing. What I was referring to was the fact that your dragon is capable of destroying it because it meets a certain criteria. That criteria is unusual to be met, and the fact that it meets it was something I had suspected about you from early in our scuffle."

The Story Teller looked past Echidna and at her true form, which had appeared behind him before he detonated the decoy. "You meet the criteria, as it would be. You have more power than you realize at your fingertips. Er... hooftips? Hoofedges? BAH, grasp."

695576
"You seem to understand magic...", her two flickering images said, ignoring his second question. The two after images wavered before a third appeared before him with its hoof inches from his chest, "...perhaps a few more blows will give you the answer you seek."

Tapping his chest, he flew backwards in a spiral as a clean hole appeared through his chest where most humans had a heart. He skidded across the ground before rolling to a stop.

"Understand now or do you need another?" the third image said, with a grin, as the first two disappeared.

695598
"No no, I think I understand," The Story Teller said as he stood and inspected the hole in his chest. "You do seem to have quite the mastery of your magic, and some mastery of deception as well."

He looked towards Echidna as Grand Ruin fell backwards in the background, most of its torso and head lying in a molten heap where it had been standing. "However, there is more to you than even you think. As I keep stating, your dragon proved it. Tell me, exactly what would I be classified as? I evolved into my role as Story Teller from something else: what do you think the previous title was?"

695604
"The Masked One", she answered with a shrug. At this point she was getting bored with his constant monologging.

695613
"No, no, but it was a good guess," he said, noticing her seemingly bored expression.
"My previous title was Caster. Now, the title of Caster is special. And you have it. A Caster is one who is a being a step above what they should be: interdimensionally, to be more accurate."

The stranger straightened himself up as the hole in his chest just now began to heal. "If you wish, I would be glad to serve you as one with experience in the field, as any sort of servant role of your choice. Casters are truly rare among worlds. I could more easily alert you as to when those of significant otherworldly abilities enter your realm and possibly identify them for you. I could help guide your power whenever it breaks whatever limits you think you have. Or... I suppose we could simply keep fighting and you find out everything on your own eventually. What say you?"

695620
A smirk appeared on her face as she heard his response. He'd just proposed an interesting deal, one she planned to use fully to her advantage.

"Let us play a game then... you win and I'll accept your first offer, no matter what ulterior motives you may have." her smirk grew into a toothy grin as Nidhogg dropped an odd shackle at Echidna's feet. "If I win though, you'll wear this shackle while under my rule."

She waited as Story Teller seemed to debate about the different options presented to him.

695640
The Story Teller looked at the shackle for a few moments. It was obvious that this thing was enchanted or linked to her somehow: he'd heard her mention for her dragon to retrieve it earlier. He closed his eyes for several seconds and held his chin.

"Alright," he said as he raised his head and opened his eyes. "What game is this that you want to play?"

695645
"How about some trivia, if you awnser eight out of ten correctly, you win!" she held her forelegs out dramatically before continuing. "As a handicap you receive one pass, that counts as a correct answer. It can only be used before you've answered six questions correctly though." Lowering one hoof in his direction, Echidna waited for him to shake her hoof to seal their aggreement on the mentioned rules.

695664
The Story Teller stared at her hoof for a second or two before speaking. "Well that's remarkably civil of you," he said sarcastically before motioning to the place where the hole in his chest had been and laughing.

"Ah well, I've dealt with tricksters in the past and made worse choices. Fine," he said, and reached out to shake her hoof.

695673
Echidna smiled as his hand was placed In her hoof. A burning sensation was felt as a red rune glowed from within his hand.

"Just some insurance that you don't run away." she explained as he gripped his smoking hand.

"First question, what am I?"

695685
"Hm," said the Story Teller as he flexed his hand. "You're obviously not to be considered a pony anymore. I don't suppose general terms such as "abomination" or "undead" would suffice....... I guess my best guess would be that you are a Lich of some sort, though I'm sure I'm likely to be wrong, you seem to be something unique."

695687
"Wrong and correct. I'm no undead creature that has had it's soul bound to a frail frame, but I am rather unique. That's one strike." Echidna awnsered with a waving hoof. "Next question, what is one of my creations?"

695693
"Ah, I remember you mentioning something about having creations earlier. I'm going to assume Queen Chrysalis, is the creation you meant when you addressed Frear before?"

695700
"I'll accept that as correct. The changeling race are one of my creations. Chrysalis was one of the twins born as heirs to Hive Mind. Hive MInd was my pestilence and their race was a hybrid creation of dragon, and unicorn. Their parasitic aspects was a modified version of one of my powers."

Slowly circling Story Teller, she watched him with predatory eyes. "Next question, am I mortal?"

695711
"Well for all practical purposes, it would seem not. You said that your soul is not bound to a frame, and thus I would personally automatically consider you as immortal. Unless, of course, your soul happens to age and all that..... I suppose it all depends on how we classify the word "immortal". I'll assume you mean "can I be killed somehow", so I would say likely not."

The Story Teller raised his head in thought for a moment. ".....no. I mean no. And now that I think about that, perhaps it's best you have my knowledge of some other Casters at your disposal: The Judge and Rage can both kill things that are normally immortal."

695714
"Two correct and one wrong, a decent score. I also find it laughable that you think I have a soul or that two creatures could destroy me." she said with a chuckle.

"Fourth question, what is one of 'my' powers?" the way she smiled, he knew there was a trick to this question.

695728
"Ha, a trick question? I thought you would be so clever. From what I can assume, your primary or only power is to take those of others. You attempted to take my power, you are made up of pieces of what I assume to be other ponies, you are proficient with magic that... takes things apart.... indeed, it would seem that your most prominent power is to absorb those of others."

The Story Teller spoke to himself under his breath after a second of thought, "Wish you'd been around when the Greyt War happened...."

695730

"Excellent answer. The assimilation of other powers, through consumption, is one of my powers. Disintigration is something I gained after absorbing a certain foal of a creature though." leaning back, a throne of stone rose from the ground as she sat as pound footsteps signaled Nidhogg's approach. Collapsing with a crash, the massive dragon lay down behind the throne with his black eyes trained on Story Teller.

"That's three correct and one wrong. Next question. What, or who, are my four creations?"

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The Story Teller got a funny look on his face. "But didn't you already ask a variation of this question?" he asked. "You asked what one of your creations were, and now you are asking what all four of them are. Hm........ I do not know. Perhaps I shall use my free pass on this question," he pondered.

A few seconds later, he suddenly snapped his fingers. "FALLEN! You are The Fallen!" he said. "I remember hearing those words lingering in the air when I first got thrown in here! You are The Fallen.........." he said as he pointed a finger, following Echidna's path around him. Suddenly, he looked sort of disappointed. "Though I guess that wouldn't count now, would it? Hm...... *sigh*, alright, I use my pass on this question. Do I get to know the answer?"

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"It never broke any of our rules and that is a closer guess then before." she replied as she watched him with a knowing smile.

"The changelings were the by product of Hive Mind, my first creation. The next one I created was the reanimated unicorn king. Sombra thought he could avoid becoming corrupted by killing himself before the amulet took control of his mind. It simply brought him back as my conquest before he took over the Crystal empire with my power to inspire fear among his slaves and take the secrets of crystalline magic for me. You've already met my third creation. Inferno ruled the dragons before I took him as my personal slave." turning from Story Teller, she placing her hoof to Nidhogg's reptilian muzzle.

There was a screeching noise as she slowly gouged grooves into his scales while he lay still. A thin trickle of blood started to flow from one of the grooves as Echidna materialized a goblet from her throne.

"I broke his mind and had him wage war on the three realms as I controlled him from my lair." the goblet slowly filled up before she took a sip of the acidic blood. Most creatures understood the hazards of dragon blood but she easily drank the liquid like a rich red wine.

"The fourth creation were the windigos. They were my wraiths, breaking bonds and attacking ponies to increase their hardship." finishing her drink, she placed the goblet down.

"So it's four of five correct and you no longer have your pass." Echidna said with a snicker, "What do I enjoy more then anything?"

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By the pricking of my hooves, something wicked this way moves...

Something stirred in the shadows of the room. Its yellow eyes peered out at the two who uneasily spoke to one another, and the dead draconian beast that lay with its head severed.

He moved out of the shadows--A tall, lithe stallion, pitch black in color. As his sinewy muscles flexed, so did the numerous beasts crowding his skin. Snakes and eels writhed, bats flapped membranous wings, and dragons snapped their toothy jaws as the unicorn loped towards the two beings. He was a living, breathing tapestry, and it was only when he stopped in front of her that the two looked up at his face, the only part of his body that wasn’t adorned with inked images.

It was a long, hollow face, and his muzzle bore a small pointed beard and a well-kept mustache. His mane was as black as midnight, and seemed to pour out of his neck. Atop his head was a tall silk hat, and protruding from his brow was a long horn that shone as though it were made of jet.

The newcomer looked at the two and smiled.

"Hello," he said in a voice as cool and clear as an autumn night, "...The name is Dark..."

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The Story Teller looked between Dark and Echidna repeatedly for a few seconds.
".....*sigh*, can we finish this before we start fighting again?" he asked Echidna.

"Oh, and you enjoy pain. Pain, torment, trauma, those sorts of things, it wasn't hard to guess I think. Assuming I'm correct."

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"Disharmony and the like are correct. I prefer breaking insolent foals over killing them, but some need to know their place ", the sitting mare said a she glanced at the newcomer. A grin crossed her muzzle as she rose from her self made throne and strode towards Dark.

"Seems someone came looking for something or simply needed a lesson taught." Echidna cackled before whirling on the Story Teller. He'd started to say, "stop this", but she interrupted him with raised hoof to his jagged lips.

"That's five correct. Now how about explaining the power, or type of magic, I used to shear such a clean hole through your chest? Somepony is restless it seems..." she said before turning back to the unicorn.