LostVagabond

"You think I care about those mindless puppets?" Morax shot back at Herobrien. "I dreamt greater and more terrible creations aeons ago." He smiled as his blast of magic blindsided Techno, reducing him to ashes in the blink of an eye. "But it seems I will have no use for them. The alicorn is no more. I'm free!" Morax tried to summon his magic and teleport away, but something was keeping him rooted to the spot, preventing him from leaving. His eyes remained fixed on the point where Techno had evaporated. Then, before his very eyes, he watched as the alicorn reformed from nothing, seemingly untouched by the blast. Morax's jagged smile melted into a confused frown. "My magic should have destroyed him...how is he still alive?" His eyes widened slightly. "Unless..." The spirit focussed back on his conversation with Herobrien. "You and your army had best get a move on. I tire of having to do everything myself." The dark genie then forced apart the trees camoflaging him from the pony camp, rising to his full height as his serpent tail curled beneath him. He swept into the camp like a purple wave, and stood like a mountain in the middle of the camp. "Despair, for I am the End of Days, you miserable creatures!" Morax roared, brandishing the blade-like talons tipping each digit. "Your puny resistance ends here!"

With a pained yelp the Alpha eventually stumbled and collapsed, withered down by the overwhelming damage inflicted upon it. With its defeat, the rest of the pack lost their coordination and began breaking off from the main group, attacking alone rather than a unified force. Morax ignored the howls of the creatures and focussed on summoning his energy. They were merely the first wave - footsoldiers sent to test the waters. He still had many tricks left to pull. For now, though, he would be satisfied with dealing with Techno. The spirit consolidated his energy and focussed it into a single swirling sphere in his giant hands. He let it cackle and spark for a moment before directing it towards the flying alicorn and releasing it. A cone of purple magical power surged towards the pony, capable of reducing a typical creature to dust upon contact.

Morax grimaced as he felt Herobrien's voice in his head. "You have an army, do you not? Perhaps you should focus on using it," he retorted, as he drew close to the fighting. "And I am not afraid of a few bolts of cloth. No pony can harm me!" The spirit pushed aside the last of the trees, forming an opening through which he could watch the battle. He could see Alpha begin to weaken and stumble as minor wounds began to accumulate from the numerous ponies attacking it. Up above he spotted Techno hovering over the battle wielding powerful magic, and decided to hold back and gather his own power before making his presence known.

The Garmr were far from simple beasts, and despite their ferociousness they took the time to evaluate their opponents and focussed on the weak and injured. They leaped out of harms' way whenever possible, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce on their prey. Even so, many were cut down by physical weapons or blasted apart by magic, to which their purple bodies began to melt away and dissolve into nothing. In the chaos of the battle, one of the creatures towered above all the others. Clearly the Alpha of the pack, it easily swatted away anypony that got near and left a trail of destruction wherever it went, shrugging off blasts of magic and blades of steel like they were mere annoyances. It seemed to bark the occasional command to its companions, keeping them from overextending or getting cut off from the main pack. Meanwhile, Morax slowly slithered his way through the forest towards the sounds of combat in the distance, ripping up the occasional tree to clear a path for himself and throwing it deeper into the undergrowth.

His patience wearing thin, Morax turned away from the ponies and disappeared further into the forest. If Herobrien won't act, I'll just have to deal with them myself... Once he had retreated to a safe distance, Morax reverted back into his physical form, smiling wickedly as creatures that had been stalking him from the shadows turned and bolted at the sight of his true self. Almost as tall as the trees themselves, Morax drew himself to his full height and raised his arms out at his sides, feeling a burning sensation in his chest as he harnessed his more powerful magic. Once he had drawn as much power as he could wield, Morax suddenly slammed his hands together, causing the ground in front of him to rumble and crack in a large radius, like the centre of an earthquake. "It is time to see what these ponies are truely capable of," Morax said to himself, as the initial cracks began to expand and form large fissures in the forest floor, and from the darkness beneath, a bright light began to shine. Then they appeared. Dark purple wolf-like creatures, called Garmr, clawed their way out from the magical caverns he had created. Tens - no, hundreds of them, dripping a strange tar-like substance from their skin, they roamed around the genie like a pack of hyenas - a very hungry pack of hyenas - baring their teeth and snapping their jaws expectantly. Morax studied the feral creatures for a moment, then turned back the way he had come. "Now the real war begins," he decided, before flicking his hand back down the forest trail. And as one, Morax's horde of monsters turned and bound back into the forest, their deafening, ravenous howls carried by the wind back to the Equestrian camp as they closed on their prey.

Content with what he'd learnt, Morax rose from his seat and quickly walked away, dissolving into a purple fog once more when out of sight. Watching from high above, the spirit plotted his next move with a bright purple grin.

Morax made sure to avert his eyes when Techno looked towards him, pretending instead to be focussing on something behind the alicorn before shrugging to himself and turning back to his sword. He made sure to suppress the magic within him while he waited.

Morax rolled his eyes dismissively, immediately put off by the pony's poor attitude. He was beginning to remember why he hated ponies so much already. "Yes, yes. Thank you," he replied, with a voice devoid of genuine appreciation. Turning away from Mist he began to walk towards the tall alicorn in the distance, although angled himself so that he ended up watching the commander from the side. Seems busy. I should wait until the next attack before making my move - a distraction will make things go much smoother. Morax continued to study Techno from a safe distance, eventually sitting down at a nearby bench while pretending to sharpen a sword he found. Perhaps while he waited another pony would arrive to give him further insight into the situation.

"Oh! Uh...yes, that is good news indeed," Morax replied uncertainly, caught off guard by Mist's sudden appearance. "Sorry, I'm not really from around here. Conscription - you know how it is." He pretended to look around the camp, as if looking for somebody. "I don't suppose you know where I can find somepony named Techno, by any chance?"

Flying quickly south alone, Morax wasted little time in leaving behind the frozen wasteland that was his home, and soon the long sheets of ice and snow gave way to rolling hills of green. It had been 1000 years since he had last been in this land, and even he could no deny its peaceful allure. "How tragic it is, that it is inhabited by creatures of such greed and avarice," he said to himself, as he took a moment to take in the sights. Admittedly, it hadn't changed much since he was last here, but it was still a refreshing change in scenery. Continuing onwards, he soon found himself travelling past villages and small towns - many of which seemed largely deserted, and the ponies he did see looked anxious and tired. The expressions of those weighed down by war, most likely, the genie thought, being careful not to be seen. The alicorn's wish had been for him to take care of a certain pony named 'Techno', who from what he understood held some large degree of influence over Equestria - that much he knew. Besides that, the kingdom remained rather foreign to him. Time to do some research. Heading towards the greatest concentration of magic he could find, Morax soon came across what he remembered to be the Everfree Forest, where there seemed to be a gathering of ponies of all types. Primarily, however, he noted that most of them appeared to be soldiers from their armoured uniforms. Perhaps they might have been an impressive sight to behold, had most of them not been dented and caked in mud. No doubt they had been fighting for quite some time already. Considering his options, Morax eventually decided to bide his time. While he was contractually bound to forfill Herobrien's wish, he was in no rush to return to his ruby prison either. Instead, he condensed his shadowy body and reformed himself into that of a pony, complete with Equestrian armour and several wounds to make himself appear convincing. Content with his disguise, Morax began wandering aimlessly around the camp, looking for a pony that wasn't doing anything whom he could pry for information.

A vague wish, Morax thought to himself - his jagged smile widening. The best kind. The spirit could feel a rush of magic return to him at Herobrien's words, enough to free him from the spells that trapped him. It was a indescribable sensation he hadn't felt in years. He felt as if he could level cities with a swing of his arm, or rip forests out ground with his mind. But instead he merely chuckled slightly at his newfound freedom. "If that is what you desire, then it shall be done. I shall 'deal' with this 'Techno' for you, Invader. And Equestria will tremble with your arrival." Morax's silky-smooth voice gave way to deep, cruel laughter as his body began to disintergrate and return to purple shadows. Within moments the giant creature became little more than a swirl of purple that circled the ruby, which burned as bright as a star as the magic it contained leeched out. "You had best prepare yourself quickly, for I wait for noone," he said in parting, as the cloud of mist that was Morax flew towards the mouth of cave, and out into the cloudy winter sky.

At Herobrien's touch, the ruby burned with fierce, blinding light, and a moment later the icy cave was filled with thick, purple shadows, which circled the alicorn like a slow tornado. The dark fog continued to expand as the seconds passed, engulfing the glowing gem as they grew until Herobrien was surrounded on all sides by the shadows. And then from the darkness, two bright purple eyes opened. They watched the newcomer with terrible curiousity, before a large jagged mouth appeared, smiling at him. "I never lie," Morax greeted, in a deceptively smooth, mesmerising voice. The face glided around Herobrien in a circle, taking in the sight. "But you would do well to word your one wish to me carefully." Suddenly, the shadows dissipated, and in their place was Morax in all his dark glory. Where there had once been walls of shadow were now a giant snake-like tail, longer than several carriages parked end-to-end, which had coiled in a loose circle around Herobrien. A monstrous torso loomed over the alicorn, complete with two long, muscular arms with hands tipped with talons as long as swords. So large was the spirit that he had to hunch over in order to squeeze into the small cave. "Free me if you desire. I cannot deny a request, even if I wanted." Morax continued, hunching down low so that his blazing eyes were on Herobrien's level. "But know that I hold no love for ponies - good or evil. Now then, ask me of your wish, and I shall grant it."

1000 years is a long time to wait. But waiting was something Morax had grown used to. The spellbound spirit stirred from his patient slumber - his awakening causing the bright red ruby that was his prison to glow faintly in the dark, frozen cave that hid him from the harsh winter outside. Something - or someone - grew near. He could sense the traces of magic from miles away, but whatever was the source was growing closer and closer with every passing minute, and was seemingly heading straight towards him. But even when he had not been imprisoned in ice and stone, Morax had never sensed such power before. Not even in the one that had defeated him all those centuries ago. Since that time, several had come seeking his gifts. But they were mostly greedy merchants and desperate, mundane ponies. Hardly beings of great power, such as himself. As Morax fully awoke the ruby shone brightly, but the spells that locked him kept him trapped in the gem. Until a creature touched the crystal he would remain little more than an alluring piece of jewellery. Until then, he contented himself with imagining what he would do when released. Morax was, after all, nothing but patient.