Eclipse

Chapter 10: Evil

Feeling betrayed, Luna ran away into some of the underground ruins left where the Crystal Empire used to be. Magnus followed her but could not catch up to her. Venturing deep into the dark tunnel, the visions that had assaulted him before returned. Magnus' mind went back to the time long ago right after Prowess had defeated the dragon at Technotropolis and saved princess Pretty Posh. His mother was missing for several days and he felt his father was hiding something, but he only got upset if Magnus inquired too much.

Later, his mother returned seemingly unharmed, but there was something strange about her. Magnus could feel that she was very different, like a living doll who looked and acted like his mother but was not her. Then came a dreadful day when everything was destroyed. He tried so hard to forget that day, but he never could. The images would haunt him forever. The young Magnus quietly walked to his parent's room. The door was only just an inch open, a line of light coming from within into the dark hallway of the house.

"Recharge mode," his father spoke and his mother, or at least a creature that looked like her reacted. The pony shaped doll's eyes glowed with unnatural light and she took a cable in her mouth, the other end plugged into the wall. Magnus thought about calling out to her. What she was doing made no sense; she could electrocute herself like that, but he stopped, silent. That wasn't his mother at all, it was an android built to look and act like her.

The ring tone of a cell phone pierced the silence and Magnus' father levitated the small device over. He held it with his magic near his ear as he accepted the call. Magnus heard the name of a local robotics expert being spoken and caught bits and pieces of one side of the conversation through the haze of his shock. "I know they're not the same." "He's too young; I'll tell him when he's older." "No, this isn't for me, of course I miss her, but this is for my son!"

Just as silent as he arrived, young Magnus stepped back. His heart was beating fast, his breathing felt uneven and his pace quickened as tears escaped his eyes. He ran out of the house and towards the main street as the sun set and made the city landscape glisten in shades of orange. He rushed to the castle at the end of the street and was not halted by the robot pegasus guards. He stopped anyway and looked at the guards; they had no fake fur covers or anything to make them look like real ponies, their metal bodies showing exactly what they were. The light on the guards' eyes focused on Magnus, but they said nothing.

Taking the chance to venture deeper into the castle grounds, Magnus made his way inside the massive structure. He thought he would have to sneak in, but this was even better. Maybe it was his destiny to be there, maybe King Prowess knew he was coming. Following the dragon disaster many things happened. Princess Pretty Posh married Prowess and they ruled Technotropolis as king and queen. The army had been growing and while before Prowess' coronation the trend had been less ponies and more robots, now it was the opposite.

Rumors about the magical powers of an alicorn invaded the city and all sorts of crazy stories surfaced. It would have seemed hard to believe for most, but for a desperate young colt, it was hope. Magnus wanted to find King Prowess and ask him to bring his mother back to life. The memory was bitter for him, it was a foolish notion, thinking that could be possible, yet at the time Prowess was his hero. The hallways were deserted, save for the robots that looked at him absently as if responding to the perceived movement, but did nothing. They were acting very strangely, as if they were there as mere decorations.

Magnus finally reached the throne room and opened the doors only a little. He peeked inside and saw the king and queen having a discussion. "Are you sure it's safe to deactivate the robots' defense protocol?" Pretty Posh inquired.

"Of course it is, my dear, besides, I don't trust those things. Live soldiers are better, soldiers that I can influence with my magic and have under my control," the alicorn king replied.

"But that's..." the words died on the lips of the beautiful unicorn as she looked away.

"It's what? Wrong? Does it matter? I thought our agreement was clear. I would be your husband and keep you safe and happy and you would let me handle everything. I'm sure you won't miss a few ponies, not with all the luxury I can bring into your land. You'll be the queen of this whole continent after my plans are done," Prowess laughed evilly.

"As long as your plans don't involve brainwashing any more dragons! I was scared out of my mind; I still haven't forgiven you for that entrance. That beast ripped that earth pony guard mare apart before my eyes and that's not something I wanted to see! You better be a good husband and give me all the riches and gems I want and be the perfect alicorn every pony thinks you are in the public eye. I'd die of shame if any pony found out you were behind that attack!" Pretty Posh scolded.

Prowess disregarded her concern. "Sometimes I wonder if I should have just left you in ignorance about that. Keep your pretty little head still, you were never in any real danger at the time and you're perfectly safe now. You'll be sheltered, protected, rich and admired, you'll have your perfect alicorn husband to brag about and I'll rule the whole continent and later the world."

Magnus' whole world, or what was left of it, finished falling apart completely. He was so desperate that he dashed away full speed. The robots didn't stop him, most of their programming was deactivated to a point where they were little more than statues.

Yet the sound of rushing hooves alerted Prowess of an uninvited presence. He saw that the throne doors were slightly open and immediately knew. "We have a spy!"

"Oh no! I told you it was a bad idea to deactivate the robots. But you're still a powerful alicorn; you can solve this, can't you?" Pretty Posh panicked. "Oh my reputation, my reputation would be ruined!" Prowess ignored his wife's dramatics and hurried out of the throne room.

Driven by panic, Magnus had already turned the corner at the end of the hallway and sped away, out of sight. He had not been seen, but he knew he had little chances of getting away. As he ran away trying to get to the nearest exit, he bumped into Cannon Shot. "Where are you going in such a hurry, Mech? You look like you saw a ghost!" The pegasus was in his uniform, having already been allowed into the guard a little earlier than former age restrictions required.

"He's going to kill me!" Magnus blurted out in a panicked rush. "Prowess is evil, he wants to brainwash every pony. He's coming!"

"I knew there was something strange about him..." Though the accusation would be unbelievable to most, Cannon Shot had never doubted his best friend. The sound of hoof steps that did not sound metallic was heard. Thinking fast, Cannon Shot forced open up a vent and shoved Magnus into it just in time.

"Hold it right there!" Prowess' thundering voice sounded so evil that it made Cannon Shot freeze. "What's this? The vent's cover has been removed? You were trying to escape, weren't you? You were the spy! Little pony, you have heard too much!" His horn glowed a bright red as hi body eradiated power. "Good bye, my little pony..." His sinister whisper hung heavily in the air as the red beam from the alicorn king horn hit its target point blank.

Cannon Shot let out an earsplitting wail of agony and was reduced to nothing but a pile of ashes. With a quick flap of his strong wings, Prowess blew the ashes into the ventilation system, not realizing that Magnus was there. The young colt remained paralyzed as the ashes fell on him, staining his yellow fur black. The cover for the ventilation shaft was placed back on and Prowess' hoof steps became more distant until they were inaudible.

Magnus waited a while, not because he was waiting for the opportunity of a safe escape, he was too disturbed to think of that, but he simply couldn't move. He trembled in place, the feeling of the ashes sticking to him drilling the idea into his head that Cannon Shot's blood was on his hooves. Then, when he finally mustered the will to move, he absentmindedly pushed the loose vent cover off and ran home on unsteady legs.

Magnus didn't know how much time had passed since he left his house up until the time of his return, but his father was displeased. "Mech, where were you? I was about to go looking for you. What in the world are you covered in? Mech? Son? Why are you crying?" The older unicorn hugged the young colt tightly. "What happened? I've never seen you so terrified!"

Through broken sobs and terrified tears, Magnus told his father everything, he even confessed to knowing his mother was dead. She was killed by the dragon who was controlled by Prowess. She had died believing she was doing the right thing protecting Pretty Posh. Yet that selfish royal mare was unwilling to protect her ponies. She only cared about riches and the grand status she obtained by being married to the only known alicorn in the land.

Magnus' father went on to start the rebellion that would eventually destroy Technotropolis. He knew that Prowess was strong, but the alicorn knew nothing of the digital magic that was being developed, a type of magic that interacted with machines. He believed it was his only hope, the only hope to take back his home and give his son a future. The thirst for revenge and anger eventually consumed him and caused him to unleash his weapons to wreck havoc on the city. Most ponies died in the massive destruction that ensued as the robots destroyed everything in their path.

Yet it was not that destruction which did in Prowess. Fearing that everything was already out in the open, Pretty Posh decided to claim she was innocent and pretend she was being threatened and controlled by Prowess. Looking to be seen as a great heroine superior to even an alicorn, she caught her husband completely off guard. She approached him with the pretence of affection and sunk her horn into his heart. Her golden tiara was knocked off her head as she pushed her horn in with one swift stab, putting every ounce of strength she had into it. She pulled her head back in a stumble, her temples pounding with a headache and the blood that was not hers, staining her mane and running down her forehead and face.

No one had gotten remotely close to harming Prowess when his magical defenses were up, but he thought he had nothing to fear from Pretty Posh. In one last rush of power, Prowess killed Pretty Posh, causing her to burst out in flames, her charred remains found and identified later.

As for Prowess, there was nothing but a pile of ashes left near Pretty Posh's corpse with the king's crown on it. The few survivors of Technotropolis concluded that Prowess' final attack to kill Pretty Posh was too much for him in his injured state and his own body turned to ashes. Yet no pony ever knew for sure.

Magnus, his father, the imitation of his mother and a few robot ponies left the broken land that was once the prosperous Technotropolis. With the ambition to conquer the far away continent on the other side of the dragons' domain, they journeyed across the sea towards the land that Magnus would later learn was called Equestria. Magnus Mecha had seen his best friend being murdered, he had seen his mother replaced with an imitation and witnessed as his father descended into a furious insanity that knew not friend from foe.

Magnus was the only one to survive the expedition across the sea. He never knew if the few survivors of Technotropolis tried to rebuild their society or if they just gave up and became food for the dragons after the commotion died down. He didn't want to go back anyway, he couldn't. His father was known as a madpony and his wild rampaging battle robots had claimed many lives. Magnus had nothing to look back to and nothing to look forward to.

He washed up on the southern shores of the continent where Equestria made its home and was found by buffalo. They took the injured colt back to their village where he had a difficult time adapting. In the end, he was unable to accept his past and simply tugged it away in the darkest corners of his memories, refusing to acknowledge it ever happened. Eventually he journeyed to Canterlot and found a new focus in Starswirls' teachings.

After he met Luna, things started to change. Maybe it was because she was a beautiful princess, like Pretty Posh, or maybe it was because she was a dark colored alicorn like Prowess, but something in his subconscious snapped. Yet Luna had been kind to him, so he didn't make the connection right away. Now it was too late to put up a mental defense. Luna, Pretty Posh, Prowess, they were all the same to him.

To be Continued

I purposely left Prowess' fate ambiguous. You can conclude that he's dead if that'll make you sleep easier, but I wanted to leave his fate hanging in case I or someone who wants to contribute to this story, decide to throw the mane six into a whole new adventure with an evil alicorn as the main villain.

My thoughts on unicorn magic: h t t p: SLASH SLASH mikaristar DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH journal SLASH Unicorn-Magic-369937945