The game had begun.
Beelzehoof took a moment of self congratulation. Not only had he set up Celestia's student with a spellbook of his choosing, but also got back at Cadance. It was a great day for him so he decided to take time to explore Canterlot Castle. If anypony knew of his return home he would never have a chance to relax; thus he kept to the shadows. The shadows were kind to those who knew them and their ways.
He left the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the library scoffing at its existance. They remember Starswirl to be some great stallion. He was a drunken fool who would beat his students and sometimes had moments of brilliance. This is what is fondly remembered in Equestria?
Beelzehoof walked through the garden thinking about what mischief to cause. Cadance had closed the borders to the Crystal Empire, not that it mattered. Meddling with the safety and well being of the Crystal Empire was foolish and even Beelzehoof would not do it. Twilight would also be the only magical student he would mess with. Despite being evil Beelzehoof could bring himself to mess with the young minds. He himself remembered what it was like to be a young unicorn eager to learn magic. Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was safe from his meddling.
Beelzehoof wandered over to Celestia's private chambers. They were the same chambers the Watchmaker used so many years ago. Upon entering the room for the first time in thousands of years he was met with all kinds of memories of the Watchmaker. There were the happy ones, such as being chosen with his sister to be one of the Watchmaker's private students. There were also the painful ones of the various tortures the Watchmaker performed on his students for his experiments. All the mutilations and brandings; the poisons and potions. Beelzehoof's Cutie Mark and wing burned at the mere memory.
Beelzehoof wandered around the room looking for the switch that would lead to the Watchmaker's old lab/dungeon. He had to be sure nothing had been disturbed. The fireplace moved aside and the clockwork raised the elevator that leads deep into the crystal caves beneath Canterlot. His heart races as the elevator started to descend. It felt like the descent was into hell itself. A hell where Beelzehoof had no power.
The lab had been used. Beelzehoof could tell even before he got off the elevator. There was a subtle heat given off by residual magic from spells cast within the last week. Beelzehoof started scrambling to find which studies had been reopened. Upon reaching the archive he instinctively checked to see if the Restrictive Talents file had been reopened, not that there was any more work to be put into that project. The restrictions of Cutie Marks were a complete success, but their intent was a failure. Cutie Marks were one only of the things that lead to the Watchmakers downfall. Ponies of that day did not like being restricted to a single life calling like the ponies of today. Beezlehoof didn't hate being evil, but his Cutie Mark didn't give him a choice. Damn you Watchmaker! he cursed.
The file had not been opened and Beelzehoof moved on. He came across one that had and pulled it out. It was a self transformation spell used to make oneself much more powerful at the cost of one's identity. Beelzehoof opened it up to study notes and found that an entry had been added just over a thousand years before then. He read:
"I have finally gotten preparations completed. The spell shall be performed tomorrow before the dawn that will never come. I will be loved. I will be respected. I will be my sister's worst nightmare."
-L
Beelzlehoof smiled. The entry was written by Princess Luna the night before she became Nightmare Moon. Beelzehoof put the file back and continued looking through the archive. A file is missing, he concluded after looking through it three times, and I bet I know where it is. He walked over to the pedestal and confirmed his suspicions. His wings were aflame when he read the label on the folder. Pain tremored his entire being with the memories of the transformations and mutations. This was a natural reaction to reading the title of the project for one who knew it first hoof.
Project Alicorn
I should destroy it. Do now what I should have done in the first place. This evil should not continue to exist. He did not destroy it however. Instead he started to read it. Reading it was like reading through his entire foalhood, and a reminder of the Watchmaker's insanity.
"Project Alicorn begins today. I have chosen thirteen talented foals as subjects. They are eager to learn and incredibly bright. They will make excellent pawns in this game to bring pegasi and earth ponies under unicorn control. Each has their own distinct character trait..."
Beelzehoof cracked a smile at the first individual mention of himself, "Subject Six surprised me today with his reading ability. I had given all subjects a twenty volume series on the inner workings of magic, and he comes up to me the next day telling me he has read it all! At first I did not believe him but when quizzed he answered all questions correctly. He even read the Beginners Guide to Clockwork I gave them. The other subjects are barely halfway through the first volume. I have decided to teach Subject Six how to make watches while the other subjects catch up. In other project advancements I have found a place for the lab..."
"Notable group dynamics have began to unfold. Apparently Subject Six and Subject Nine are already acquainted. This seems to have stunted their bonding with the other subjects as they mostly only communicate with each other. They are outsiders where they should be harmonious with the rest of the group. Jealousy has also appeared amongst the group. As I feared Subject Six's reading abilities has put him farther and farther ahead of the group in terms of theory. Subject Ten has shown remarkable ability in mastering new spells and Subject One resents the entire group as she is always the last to do anything. I must find a way to bring this group together if Project Alicorn is to succeed. Subject Seven has..."
"Today I introduced the subjects to the lab. All of them had mastered their studies much quicker than expected. They have divided themselves up based on their talents to maximize productivity. This was unexpected, but saves time as I do not need to do it myself. All of them have their own watches they made themselves. I have assigned them all projects to work on to get them accustomed to the lab. Soon we will see..."
"The group dynamics have really advanced since first noted. Subject Six and Subject One have moved really close in the past few days. It started where Subject Six took Subject One under his wing figuratively speaking (hopefully not for long) to help her out. Now it seems as though the two have gotten romantically involved. Subject Nine seemed disappointed by this development and almost in spite she started getting involved with Subject Thirteen. This gives me an idea for a possible breeding program should we succeed..."
The Watchmaker never was good at picking out behavioural patterns. He didn't notice them until they were wiping their ass with his face. Even then he could not identify what was really going on. It was the other way around.
"Subject Six is advancing his work onto Project Alicorn before intended. He and Subject One have recently chosen a research topic involving the biology of pegasi and their wings. He wants to know why they have wings and if it is possible to replicate them onto a non-pegasus. She has aided him in every project thus far and seems to be good at discovering the overlooked detail. They have outsourced to Subject Nine and Subject Thirteen for help. Playtime is over. It is time to begin our work on ruling Equestria."
"Tragedy and success. Today we succeeded in transforming all the test subjects into alicorns. Subject One solved the problem we were having with the amount of magic required for the spell. She purposed I use the spell from the Restrictive Talents project to focus her magical ability. She would also draw energy out of the magical crystals used in the Tartarus portal to truly maximize her magical output. It seemed logical. She cast the spell successfully but its sheer energy destroyed her. Now we need more magical crystals to power the portal."
A tear fell from Beelzehoof's face as he read this passage. There are some nights he gets the nightmares.
His back burns as he grows new limbs and his horn feels as if it is going to explode. It all subsides and twelve of them have grown wings. One didn't. He runs up to embrace his one love but she is empty. The spell consumed her. All that remains is a shell that turns to dust. The one His love is gone. His sister tries to comfort him but all that escapes his lips is a sustained scream filled with his agony. His soul left him in that scream...
Beelzehoof went on reading. The next few pages were bland to him. They told of the difficulties and side effects the twelve had to live with. He was mention less frequently in this stage of the project. Eventually he came across an interesting entry, the birth of Celestia.
"Subject Nine and Subject Thirteen had their foal today. To my delight she was born with wings and a horn. The wings seem to be natural and no side effects. This shows promise for the future of the alicorn race, and the sustainability of unicorn control..."
Eventually he reached the final entry by the Watchmaker.
"Project Alicorn was a success, but unicorn control is a failure. Only Subject Six and the offspring of Subject Nine and Subject Thirteen remain. Subject Six is leading an open rebellion against me. I have been branded a monster. My attempts to control Subject Six have failed. Even marking him for chaos with Restrictive Talents spell did not stop him. I have successfully bound everypony in Equestria with it. That will be my legacy, as I disappear tomorrow when I meet the rebellion face on. In a year or so Project Discord shall be unleashed. If unicorns shall not rule Equestria then chaos shall. My only regret is that I won't get to observe how Subject Six will react."
Beelzehoof turned the page to see that more entries had been written. The first of the new entries was dated to be ten years after Luna's discovery of the lab.
"I have discovered this lab hidden beneath the castle. I do not know who it belongs to or when it was used. I found left out a spell that was performed ten years ago. Luna must have found this place and cast the spell she left out. I found this file beside it. My first instinct when I read this file was to destroy it, until I read about myself and my sister. I am curious as to who Subject Six is and what became of him. I assume Subject Nine and Subject Thirteen are Mother and Father since the description of their foal sounds familiar. This research concerns me. I must learn everything I can about it."
Princess Celestia had discovered the lab and used the file on Project Alicorn to store notes on her research into the project itself. It took her two years to discover that Subject Six was Beelzehoof. After that the entries got spaced farther and farther apart until there was a gap of three hundred years. The entry told of Celestia forming a magic school for advanced unicorns, and that she would not be following in the Watchmaker's footsteps. This was invalidated by her next entry three hundred years later.
"I have decided to take a foal under my wing as her private teacher. She has great power and much potential. She would make a fine alicorn. I have decided to reopen Project Alicron. My intentions are pure. I will not subject this foal to any of the tortures my parents went through. I will find another way."
The entries went of describe various achievements Twilight Sparkle gained, as well as various tweaks to the original formulas. There was also a disturbing entry detailing what Celestia used as test subjects. She would use criminals in the dungeon. There were even pictures of the results of her experiments. She did seem to be making headway, however. An entry dated a year after Nightmare Moon's escape written by Luna caught Beelzehoof's eye.
"Celestia has taken me back to the lab under the castle. I am not happy to be back here, and more shocked to see that Tia has reopened one of the projects. She intends to turn Twilight Sparkle into an alicorn like us. I am horrified by the contents in this file, but also comforted by the progress my sister made. Twilight won't suffer like Mother and Father. I can't endorse any project down here after what happened the last time I cast one of these spells. My aid in this project will be little. That said, what I suggest..."
Beelzehoof cast a spell to conceal his horn and disguised himself as a pegasus gardener as he went into the Royal Canterlot Garden. The time was six o'clock and the sun was still high in the sky. He stopped in a clearing in front of a statue and began doing the exercises he needed to do ever since he became an alicorn. If he missed one day his wings would fall off and the wounds would result in death via blood loss. The exercises also put him in a zen like state. Even the devil appreciates a little inner peace.
Upon finishing he decided to go back to the library. Something was driving him there. When he got the he found Celestia and Luna locked in an intense argument.
"The answer is no Luna. The sun is what protects from the night. I will not weaken it's intensity just so you can look out a freaking window!"
"But I am sick of staying constantly in the dark." Luna replied desperately. This argument was not going in her favour.
"Oh I am sorry. I thought you wanted eternal darkness. Have you decided it isn't to your liking?" Celestia replied cruelly.
Luna did not respond, only curl up on the floor as a foal might. Not getting a response Celestia left the library, and her sister to the darkness. Luna started to cry. She was overwhelmed with emotion. Her sister was increasingly hostile, and Luna had nopony she could talk to. She was alone. Another sob escaped her, and Luna felt a pat on her back comforting her. She looked up to see who it was, and even dared to hope it was her sister. Instead it was the last pony she wanted to see.
"And what the hell do you want! Enjoying the sideshow?" Luna screamed at Beezlehoof's face. Spit flew from her mouth in her rage. Beelzehoof made no effort to avoid the spray. He just sat down and remained silent. The silence lasted for about a minute. It was starting to make Luna feel uncomfortable so she repeated her question. This time he did answer.
"No," said Beelzehoof as he looked her in the eye. Beelzehoof's sudden burst of sympathy caught Luna off guard.
"Ok, I am not in the mood for this right now. What is your game? Lets get it over with," she said exasperated.
"You," Beelzehoof answered, "you cry here alone in the dark. You have nopony to comfort you. You are lonely. I offer you a shoulder to cry on." Beelzehoof's word were entirely sincere. This left Luna lost. On one hoof she had a pony offering to listen to her and comfort her in this dark time. On the other hoof, this pony was Beelzehoof. Luna choose not to play this game.
"Why should I trust you. You are a killer, a liar and a cheat. You can answer me a question however. Why did you kill the guard last night. What did he do? Did he see you, or was he simply convenient." Beelzehoof chuckled to this. Ah, here is the Beelzehoof I know, thought Luna. She was not prepared for his reply.
"Well that was an accurate description of my character. I do lie, I do cheat, and I am most certainly a killer. These are not my only traits though. You make me sound like one who kills for killing sake. I did not kill that guard last night. I do not kill unless I have no other option."
"Why should I believe you?" Luna said with disgust. She found it hard to believe that Beezlehoof had any sort of code. Once again he surprised looked right into her eyes. His eyes told that he had just been insulted greatly. He looked dangerous and Luna was afraid of his retaliation. His retaliation was not with magic, but with words.
"Luna, listen to me," he said intensely. This was the first time he had called her by her real name. All doudts Luna had were washed away. "I don't kill for fun."
"I- I..." Luna started to cry yet again. It was all too much. Beelzehoof was furious with her. He could seriously hurt her without much effort. He didn't.
"It is ok. I don't blame you at all for not trusting me. Hell, I wouldn't trust me. Tell you what. Ask me anything, anything at all and I will answer truthfully," Beelzehoof said. Luna did want to talk to somepony. She admitted to herself that she did find his offer attractive but she decided to remain skeptical.
"What would I ask you?" Luna said. She still thought Beezlehoof had an agenda. She might as well play along.
"I don't know, Project Alicorn maybe?" he said.
"Ah-" Luna managed to squeeze out. She did not expect Beelzehoof to want to talk about that. He knows, she realized, now what does he want?
"Oh don't act so surprised or, god forbid, clueless. I know your sister reopened that project, and that you are working on it as well. Subject Six stands before you. Ask me a question. Ask me a question, and I will give you the truth. This is pretty low risk for you, Luna. What have you to lose?"
Subject Six? Yes, Beelzehoof was-is Subject Six. If he is Subject Six, than that means he must know-
Luna knew what she was going to ask, "You knew Mother and Father?"
"An interesting question. Yeah I knew them. I lived side by side with them for near fifteen years," Beelzehoof answered.
"What were they like?" Luna asked. She put some faith in Beelzehoof's promise to be truthful. She never knew her parents. They had both perished before her memory began to from. Celestia had told Luna stories about them. The stories were light on detail. Luna could tell that her sister didn't remember very much. She too had been young when their parents went away. Beezlehoof lived with them for fifteen years. He must be able to tell me more.
"Your mother," he began, "was a hell of a mare. She was kind, sensitive and beautiful. She was talented, powerful and strong willed. She was gentle, but also had a bit of a wicked streak in her. You remind me so much of her, Luna." he told fondly.
Luna was flattered. Beelzehoof had just told her she reminded him of a mare that was very important in the lives of other. He talked with a passion about her. He was sincere, and Luna started trusting his promise to tell the truth.
"What was father like?" Luna asked.
Beelzehoof hesitated a little bit, then answered, "I hated him. He was insensitive, arrogant and too proud to admit when he made a mistake. I have no idea what any mare ever saw in him. He was rude, loud and so up tight. I always said he needed to get laid. Maybe then he would have relaxed a little. But- I guess I am more aware of his flaws than anyone else."
"Why?" Luna asked. She was enjoying hearing about how another thought of her parents. It proved to her that they were actual ponies and not figures made up by her sister. It somehow made Luna actually feel like they did love her, and not Celestia telling her they did. They actually lived!
"I guess I didn't like the prick because he was banging my twin sister. That's not fair, let me try thatagain. Your mother and I were always very close and I guess in my mind he kind of stole her from me. I understand it is actually pretty common for a pony to feel this way when a sibling they are close to moves on and finds someone else. It feels invasive."
Silence fell for a few seconds.
"Your tw- twin sister? You and mother-you and mother are twins? You're my-" The news hit her like a stampede. Her uncle was evil. She started to cry again from the sheer weight of the revelation. She looked up at Beelzehoof expecting to see his laughing smile, but the nature of Beelzehoof's game continued to puzzle. He put his hoof on her back to comfort her again. He spoke softly and even had a little pain in his voice.
"Equestria can never really be freed of chaos. Chaos will always exist. Chaos will always find you. You can't choose your family. No longer can anypony chose to do multiple things. Their whole life constricted to one calling. You can't stop a loved one from dying. You can't control their decisions. All you can do is live and ever curse the chaos."
Drip Drip Drip Drip Drip Drip
This was the sound of Beelzehoof's tears. He was no openly sobbing but he made no attempt to hide them. Luna was again faced with a dilemma. On one hoof Beelzehoof had laid his soul out before her to gain her trust (and it worked) but on the other this could all be a trick and Beelzehoof had found a new low.
I am going to believe him, she decided, at the risk that this is some cruel joke. "Do what to hear what is bothering me now?" she whispered in his ear. Beelzehoof seemed relatable now that Luna had seen him vulnerable. He didn't say anything but gestured to the affirmative. Luna tried to think of what to say. It felt awkward to talk about what's bothering her to anypony.
"Um, well, lets see here. I am bloody sick and tired of being in the dark. My sister refuses to lessen the sun so I won't get burned every bloody time I walk near a bloody window. I am fed up with her bloody attitude and moral superiority. Like she is so bloody perfect! My subjects are going to be slaughtered tonight and every bloody night for the foreseeable future. I am the reason for their pain. I almost bloody well killed the Element of Generosity. My only bloody friend in all this is you. Right now though, none of that is bothering me so bloody much. The worst bloody thing in my life is that I am hungry." Luna was no longer sad. Talking about her problems let her see the injustice in it. Now she was angry.
"Well that certainly was an interesting choice in words there Luna," Beelzehoof replied. His eyes were now dry and so was his smile. He was back to his regular temperament.. Most of it, "Let me help you out with some of that. Don't get your hopes up for anything drastic. Our deal still stands, but I can do a slight alteration to your curse and, I can help you with the hunger issue. Lets go for a walk to your new grocery store." Beelzehoof got up and started moving toward to the library door.
"I will burn up. This sun is still shining through the windows!" Luna shouted.
"Oh I think not. Your curse has been altered so that now you can look out a window. Your sister I am sure is in for a midnight tan when she looks at the full moon tonight."
Luna caught what Beelzehoof meant. Good, she thought, serves the bitch right. Luna followed Beelzehoof into the hall and he motioned to go in the direction that lead opposite the throne room. Luna did not ask where they were going. The thought had occurred to her that perhaps Beelzehoof was manipulating her but she didn't care. They passed by a room where raised voices could be heard inside. Shining Armour and Cadance were having an intense argument. The door burst open and Shining Armour came storming out. Luna panicked because she did not want to be seen with Beelzehoof. Fortunately he had disappeared and Luna relaxed. Cadance came out of the room shortly after Shining Armour. The two went opposite ways down the hallway.
"Yikes," Luna heard Beelzehoof say.
Wait. Where does Cadance fit in to Project Alicorn? Luna wondered. Beelzehoof materialized behind the door that had been flung open and Luna asked him.
"She doesn't," he answered when asked, "as far as Project Alicorn goes Cadance is not a real alicorn. She flys alright but she can barely cast a spell that doesn't involve emotions. Her 'Cutie Mark' is also too old for her. Based of the magical signatures it gives off I would say she got it around the same time the Watchmaker cast the Restrictive Talents spell on the Crystal Empire."
"The what?" Luna asked. She had no idea what he was talking about.
"Next time you are in the lab read the file called Restrictive Talents. It was your parents masterpiece. Read it with caution. Anyhow back to Cadance's 'Cutie Mark.' She got hers two months after you got yours, and a week before your parents were executed."
"Executed? Wha-why!" Luna asked. Nopony had ever told her that her parents were executed. I bet Celestia knew and never told me!
"It is a long story. One that will take lots of time and preparation to tell- ah shit! Quick, do you remember the spell you used to mist yourself when you were Nightmare Moon?" Beelzehoof asked.
"Umm, yes," Luna answered, "why?"
"Because this hallway is too sunny for you, and your sister is walking this way. The spell you need to cast is similar. Instead of focusing on turning to a vapour, focus on letting yourself be covered by veil. Good, very good now, cast the spell and yourself into that corner-No! Don't use so much magic otherwise you won't be able to release the spell! Try again. Ok you got it and ah-"
Luna was hiding in plain sight as her sister walked by. Celestia passed without any incident. After a minute Luna felt a hoof on the back of her neck.
"Now release," Beelzehoof whispered into her ear. She released the spell and it was if a dark cloudy lense had been removed that Luna had not noticed was there.
"What did I just do?" Luna asked.
"Hid in the shadows. Back to answering your question on Cadance. I believe she is older than she looks but she has only lived as long as she says she has. There were some weird magical experiments done in the Crystal Empire back in those days. I believe she got hit with some chronomancer's spell and got launched into the future." Beelzehoof explained.
"Chronomancy is a dead art," Luna exclaimed.
"Your welcome. It was dangerous. Necromancy is a levitation spell compared to it," Beelzehoof said sternly.
"You- nevermind. Back to what you were just saying. You have explained the inconsistencies with her Cutie Mark. I don't understand at all what you mean by that or why it is important, but moving on. Why does she have wings and a horn, and what does this have to do with her being from the far past?" Luna asked.
"I don't know. I have theories, but nothing solid," he admitted.
"Share one of them," Luna requested.
"Alright, this is the one I am leaning toward. Cadance is part changeling and part crystal pony. Her origins definitely stem from the Crystal Empire. When I probed her memories I found traces of the Crystal Empire as it was back in those days. She also has some traces of changeling magic in her and she does sometimes exhibit slight changeling behaviour out of what seems like instinct. Her appearance is also just a little too perfect. I believe she has grown up in a disguise her whole life. I don't think she is aware of this. Finally, I believe her mother was a changeling queen and her father was a crystal pony."
"You sure she isn't actually a changeling?" Luna asked.
"Naw, she could pass any changeling test you give her. I don't think she has enough changeling magic in her to revert to a true form she may or may not even have. Still, it does put a little irony on her wedding day."
"And you know all this, how?" Luna wondered.
"Well, I had to examine her up close several times. It wasn't actually too hard to do," Beelzehoof answered with a smile.
"So you and Cadance, that was just an excuse to examine her?" Luna asked him.
"Meh," said Beelzehoof passively. They reached a door. "We are here," Beelzehoof said.
The dungeon? Luna was starting to get the idea. They went down into the bowels of Canterlot Castle where the most dangerous criminals were kept.
"Who do you like?" Beelzehoof asked. "Take your pick. All these ponies are already dead. Thier fate is to be Project Alicorn test subjects. Give them a more merciful death." Beelzehoof said perhaps a little too bluntly.
"I-I," Luna did not know how to respond. She could kill and eat the prisoners sentenced to a worse death. Beelzehoof had a point. That's his game. He is going to help me get through this time, get me fed, but in the meantime make me the executioner. Seems like a fair trade. I can kill only those pony's who deserve death.
"One more thing, Nightmare Moon," Beelzehoof whispered into her ear, "Lets definitely do this again soon, but is a soul finds out we are done. Do you understand me?"
"Yes. I understand you, Uncle," Luna said. When she turned to face him he was gone. This no longer bothered her, for she now knows how he disappeared. She also had a meal to choose. She choose a pegasus who killed six ponies before he was caught. Equestria will be better off without you. It was seven o'clock when Luna finished feeding. She took her to savor the taste and the texture of her new diet. It was time for her to bring in the night. She slipped into shadow for the walk back to her chambers. It was a good day for her.
The same could not be said for Rarity. Sweetie Belle found her sister passed out at the kitchen table. Sweetie Belle called for help when Rarity would not wake up and she was rushed to the hospital. It was discovered she had lost a lot of blood; So much blood in fact that it amazed doctors Rarity was even alive at all. After multiple transfusions Rarity made an amazing recovery that amazed the doctors even more. She was released before noon. The trip home was uncomfortable for Rarity. Her coat burned the whole time. Once she got home she went to bed to rest and slept the day. In her sleep she kept tossing and turning but never once woke up until nightfall. When Rarity woke up she was changed. By the next morning her friends followed suit, but all in their own ways.
It was a hell of a night.