Corruption
#3 of Before Time Began to Flow
The world began to truly thrive under the influence of Arabus and Lavan as they sustained the world's ecosystem with their combined efforts. Word reached me within the depths of the Devil's Mountain that the quality of life had increased to new heights for my people, even if the world of darkness still left a constant grim atmosphere over them. There was little that could be done about the perpetual midnight.
In time, rumors began to swirl through the settlements and even through the ranks of my subordinates. Rumors of my destiny. It seemed that even among Sunflare and Orbash, speculations of the future circulated between my people. They felt that this time of eternal midnight was merely a temporary phase and that in time, I would guide the world out of the shadows and into an era of light.
Fools, all of them. Destiny is merely a term developed by the misguided and naive to instill hope and motivation in my people. A word without substance. To conform to one's destiny is to surrender your free will. There is no such thing as destiny as I have proven. There would be no end to the eternal midnight. My powers of darkness stem from it. I feel at ease in it. Empowered. The eternal night had become a symbol of my reign. And as my reign was absolute, so too would the Era Before Time Began to Flow continue. The world has proven itself capable of surviving with minimal light. There was no need to bring more into the world.
Even as my reign continued, progress continued to be made among my subjects. The earth ponies had begun to cultivate new breeds of crops to feed my people with. The pegasi had begun to grasp how to manipulate the weather to minimize and encourage rainfall as needed. And the unicorns had begun to experiment with their latent magical abilities. Pioneers in magic developed new spells with every passing year. I barely heard of the humans, however. Whatever they did mattered little to me. It was simply surprising that they continued to thrive along with the rest of the world.
While my people made progress in their own endeavors, I too became more adept in the manipulations of the miasma. It became like an extension of my will, responding to the dark magic within me. Anything that I exposed it to became a twisted corrupted shell of its former self that only increased the number of savage pets at my disposal. Discord remained as my court jester and reliably managed to illicit a chuckle from me, but I could see it in his eyes. Fear and disdain with every new creature I added to my collection. It was exciting to see the miasma engulf its prey as it struggled only to retreat back into its prison while leaving its prey a remnant of what this world used to be. Each and every one of them became loyal to me, responding to my orders without hesitation. So long as the source of their corruption was under my control, they belonged to me.
Word of the miasma's corrupting and twisting properties eventually spread throughout the world. The few of my subjects who actually witnessed it in use even came to refer to it as a "Rainbow of Darkness", apparently finding the subtle shifting colors in it reminiscent of the phenomenon that occurs when steam rises before a bright flame. A strangely fitting nickname for my pet, although it would always be the miasma in my mind. Rumors once more circulated across the world. Some suspected that it was a living demon I had captured in the distant past. Some claimed it is my very soul contained within the pouch I wear. Apparently some children even believed that it is my own stomach and that whatever emerges from it was what I consumed for a meal earlier. A foolhardy guess as I have never felt myself crave food for sustenance. But even more curiously, some have voiced suspicions that the miasma is an empowering cure-all, an entity that empowers that which it is exposed to. And to their credit, that rumor was not entirely untrue.
One such subject of mine eventually ventured deep into my haven and into Midnight Castle requesting an audience with me. When my guards escorted him down the hall until he stood before me, I was perplexed as to who this person was. A lowly goat with a blue pelt and thick curved horns that pointed forward. Discord promptly offered the lowly peon a can to munch on, though such a notion baffled the two of us. I commanded that he state his business. The goat claimed that his name was Grogar and that he had been drawn to me due to rumors regarding the miasma's properties. When asked what he desired, he claimed that he wished to become more proficient with magic. Capable enough to outdo even the most capable of unicorn mages.
Such a claim was absurd as goats have never been capable of using magic at all. And yet, he demonstrated what he learned. With a barely noticeable colorless aura surrounding his two horns, he struggled to levitate a mere pebble by his hooves. He claimed that envy had driven him to push himself to be able to perform magic. Envy of both the unicorns and even the humans. And I could sense it within him. A spiteful envy. With such ambition, he would truly be useful. And I was certain I could use my magic to influence exactly how and in what way the miasma would affect him.
I agreed to grant the lowly goat his wish much to his delight. I ordered him to remain still as I unleashed the miasma from its prison. He understandably panicked as it descended upon him. But as it did, I exerted the dark magic forces within my hand. The miasma engulfed the shrieking goat for only a moment before I called it back into its prison. He looked at himself, inquiring as to what had changed. I could certainly see a difference. His horns were no longer smooth and round, having become more crooked as they curved. His eyes now carried a red glow as they now consisted of equally red hues. But those were the only differences in him as I instructed him to try using his magic once more. And he did. Effortlessly. The pebble by his hooves flew across the room as he laughed in delight while the aura that engulfed his horns had become a dark purple, unmindful of the miasma's corruption having been planted within. With his envy driving him on, he would be of great use to me. He left with a smile, bowing and thanking me for my gift. Discord seemed surprised that I did not turn him into another one of my many pets, but I reassured him that he would return the favor someday. Grogar would return.
Word of Grogar's endeavors soon reached me as the goat perfected spell after spell in such a short time lapse. His magic strength now surpassed even the most capable of unicorns, although it still only held a candle to the unparalleled magical might of Sunflare and Orbash. However, as the decades rolled by, the miasma's corrupting influence slowly ate away at him. While his envy remained, he became increasingly prideful. Arrogant in his abilities. He mastered more spells than anyone else I had even come to know, even the two alicorns of the world. His form began to alter as well while he aged, his teeth slowly becoming fangs. Many of my people even began to fear the old goat as he began to live much longer than he ever should have, the miasma having granted him unnaturally long life. And on a rare outing from Midnight Castle, he invited me to bear witness to the results of my gift to him.
I followed my devout follower to a vast darkened meadow as his horns were engulfed by his dark purple magic aura. And when he turned to face me, I noticed something hanging from his neck. A crystal bell that slowly swayed as he cast his spell. An artifact of his own creation. When asked as to what it was for as it chimed unnaturally deeply, his response was that its chime summons them. And I soon saw what they were. The ground ruptured around us as foul demons of bone and rotting flesh clawed their way out of the earth. Too many shapes to count as they rose around us. I was prepared to obliterate them as their blank glowing red eyes stared at us, but I was also quick to notice a thick musty stench in the air. The stench of the long deceased. These were not demons of any sort. They were corpses. And Grogar laughed as they stood around us. He declared his mastery over his most favored form of magic. Necromancy.
He had become a shepherd to the fallen. His undead minions reacted to his will as if puppets hanging from strings. A smirk formed upon my lips. Indeed, Grogar had become far more than what he once was. Twisted and prideful, a master of dark arts. And so I extended my hand to him, offering him a place at my side. With his vast wisdom and intelligence, he would serve as my immediate subordinate. An offer he all too readily accepted. Thus, Grogar became my first enforcer. Fear of him spread throughout the world as my subjects granted him a most fitting title. The Shepherd of the Dead.
During these long years, I pondered further uses for Lavan and Arabus. The Burning Mountain proved to be too unintelligent and slothful to be expected to act on his own, but word soon reached me of Arabus having developed a peculiar...appetite. Despite being little more than a cloud demon, I heard rumors of my subject's shadows no longer appearing in the glow of flames once Arabus had passed by. Those whose shadows had disappeared became sickly and weak and would remain so for weeks before new shadows would finally appear around them. It seemed that Arabus had become quite the glutton as he devoured any shadow he desired, but only from the common folk. He dared not target the shadows of my most powerful subordinates.
Once more, word involving the miasma's twisting properties reached the ears of one who desired its effects. But when this subject of mine was brought before me, I was left puzzled as it was an entity that I had never witnessed before in my life. A small gray creature that seemed to be a bizarre fusion of both pony and insect that seemed to possess traces of both unicorn and pegasi ponies. I demanded that it explain what it was as it stood before me only to hear it speak with the voice of a young woman. She hailed from a nameless race of creatures reviled by my people for their ghastly appearance in the shadows. Creatures with a most strange source of sustenance. While able to sustain themselves on food and water like most other creatures, she claimed the greatest source of strength for her kind was what she sought most. Love. A truly difficult thing to acquire for something as hideous as her. And with such a thing being vital to their survival, it was no small wonder she would seek me out.
The unsightly creature identified herself as Chrysalis and the queen of her kind, though while still swearing fealty to my authority. She pleaded with me to help her attain the beauty needed to no longer be reviled and accepted by a stallion who would love her and to grant her a means to allow her people to be loved and accepted by others. Her words of desiring love made me want to spit, but I still felt that a creature like her could still provide me use. I agreed to her pleas and would grant her the beauty befitting of a true queen. And so I unleashed the miasma from its shackles once more as Discord watched in silence by my side.
Much like all before her, Chrysalis panicked and screamed as the miasma engulfed her. I weaved my magic to insure that my pet would not consume her entirely and would only twist her the way she desired. Once I called my pet back into its leathery cage, I was greeted by a most...titillating sight. The tiny creature was no longer so tiny and far from unsightly. She now stood tall as Sunflare herself with a long crooked horn upon her head and thin fluttering teal wings at her sides. Her nearly blank blue eyes had become large and expressive eyes akin to a pony and her barely existent mane had become long and flowing, granting her a truly womanly appearance. While some of the unsightly features of her previous form remained, she exuded a type of bewitching beauty, as did her noticeably distorted voice. An unexpected side-effect of being exposed to the miasma. Even so, she was quite satisfied with her new form and looked herself over constantly. Discord even made a brief attempt to woo her, though I quickly put a stop to that.
Before she could depart, I made clear to her that I had bestowed upon her a gift for her to share with her people. I asked her to imagine a mare of great beauty and will herself to share that appearance. And she did. Chrysalis was engulfed in green fire before the flames receded to reveal none other than Sunflare herself. Even her eyes and voice perfectly matched the mare of eternal fire. Ecstatic over such a gift, the queen was engulfed in green fire once more to reveal her new natural form before she left in a hurry to share my gift with her people. But I knew she would return to me in time. Like Grogar before, the seeds of the miasma's corruption had been planted.
Word reached me that Chrysalis had indeed shared her new shape-shifting abilities with her people upon returning to them, though I knew the miasma's corruption would remain with her and her alone. Her people gained the ability to mimic anyone they desired, though they lacked the ability to mimic bipedal creatures like minotaurs and humans. However, Chrysalis possessed this ability and used it to great effect. These shape shifters, which would come to be called "Changelings", would come out of the shadows and mingle with the rest of my subjects in the guise of whatever they chose to appear as. They never meant any harm, though I doubt my people would understand that if they saw what lied just under the surface.
Of course, the corruption planted within her slowly began to take hold as time went by. Chrysalis soon found that the more love she absorbed only bolstered her magic further with greater power. And in time, she began to supplant her desire for love with a powerful greed for the power that came with devouring more love. Furthermore, I found that with that greed came a powerful lust. Throughout the remaining time of my reign, she seduced countless men of varying races. Using only her body, she fed on the primal love and attraction they felt towards her. These hapless lovers sired her many broods as she increased the size of her hive, although the miasma's corruption that infested her was never passed on to her offspring. In time, she did return to me as yet another enforcer, although her allegiance was not nearly as absolute as with my other followers. It seemed that her primary concern was always her people, but I still got a fair amount of use out of my Changeling Queen. She never once tried to woo me with her wiles. There was never any room for love in my heart.
It seemed that my enforcers had done things outside of my court to cause my people to view the miasma as a source of corruption instead of power. That original rumor soon died out as my people began to fear me. Although in time, a group of ponies residing in caves finally came to me to ask the one request I would never grant. To bring about the coming of light to end the eternal midnight. And I merely replied that perhaps the reason they feared the night was because they were not as suited for the night as they were then. A problem I immediately rectified much to Discord's horror.
With a pull of the string of the pouch that hung from my neck, I released the miasma onto the pilgrims who had sought me out. But only half of them. They screamed and attempted to flee only for the miasma to descend upon them. I did nothing to alter its influence as their screams and calls became distorted growls and roars while their companions could only watch in fright. When the miasma returned to me, I recognized its victims immediately. They had once more become the mindless dark beasts that once roamed this world. The children of the remaining half of the group cried and called out for their mothers, fathers, and siblings, but they were now mine. I offered them a place beside my new pets, but they refused in tears and fled. Word quickly reached my subjects and the world descended into a constant state of fear. Discord could only turn away from the pack of dark beasts that gathered before my throne. My reign had become absolute.
Fortunately for me, Arabus proved himself to be an excellent scout. He brought word to me that talk of rebellion had begun to spread. Some of my people seemed to have grown weary of my despotic reign. Choosing to nip this potential nuisance in the bud, I sent a command to Lavan. I used my magic to watch from my throne as The Burning Mountain descended into the world's mantle, leaving only a lake of lava in his wake. I then watched the settlement where the source of Arabus' report had come from. And then, Lavan burst forth from just under the settlement and rose into the night sky as he let out a roar that echoed for miles. Once he departed through the lake of lava, nothing remained of the settlement and its inhabitants. I felt a grin of satisfaction spread over my lips, although I noticed that Discord had excused himself from my presence moments before Lavan could carry out his orders.
My subjects did not once consider rising against me again. My suspicions of my people attempting to overthrow me quickly faded as they cowered in the night, not daring to raise their hooves against the Lord of Midnight. Even if they would, my power alone would never be matched.
Little did I know that I had made my first mistake. Through my actions, I had planted the seeds of my downfall. My time on the throne was coming to an end.