#king artemis

[princemizu]

Some character designs!

[bladeobrona]

Leokumi is absolutely awesome!

Yes it is. It is a ship with a ton of potential. It can be anything. Rivals to lovers, pure platonic friendship, a bond built off mutual respect, intellectual... you name it they can have it in their relationship.

[discordswonderland]

“Let’s begin the finale, shall we?” Hannibal conjured a small orb of light, fluctuating in color, tossing it up to drift around above. And with a twirl of a claw, a storm rolled in, covering all of Equestria in darkness. “Everypony throughout the land will be watching today, whether they want to or not.” As the orb drifted around the room, an image as projected on the clouds of what it could see.

“Even those who sleep shall see...my Vision Sphere projects even into dreams...sorry Luna, but this is too important to let them sleep through it.” With the setup out of the way, he snapped his claws, and in two puffs of dark smoke, a pair of very large creatures appeared, worm-like dragons, with sandstoney scales, forcibly hovered in the air.

“These, are Dusty Fiends, a rare breed of dragon that makes their home in the Great Desert to the east. Their powerful scales render them immune to magic of all  kinds, as well as physical damage. But, as I’ve discovered, that while the outside they are protected, on the inside they are not. And when it comes to chaos, all you need is one small part to influence the entire being.” He waved a claw, causing the dragons to move around a bit.

“By planting a seed of chaos inside them, I can now do almost anything I want...except, sadly, kill them. Their brains and hearts are covered by a more malleable form of the same scales they have outside. And their regenerative capabilities are extraordinary. They still feel pain though, whenever I rupture an organ, over and over again as it repairs itself...they scream in agony.” He chuckled softly before going deadpan. “But I digress....”

“At one point I released them from their prison in the Pit, I thought that they’d wreak havoc on the land. But instead they simply dug a hole, filled it with sand, and stayed there...I guess too much time in the Pit has changed them...” The draconequus sighed, “But at least I can still use them for this....”

“You see, these two particular fiends, are the best kept secret, in all of Equestrian History. Eons ago, long before any of you were born, before Sombra, Nightmare Moon, Tirek, and my reign....while the Princesses were still young, this land was ruled by a King and Queen...something all but a few select books in the archives have omitted. And why? Because of a tragedy...during a diplomatic envoy to the Kirin Kingdom, the caravan was attacked, and all but one was devoured by these very Fiends....including the King and Queen. This forced the sisters to take control of the kingdom...and by advice of Starswhirl, the memory of the king and queen were erased, to prevent Anarchy....such a shame, Anarchy is so fun.”

“So why tell you this? Why show you the Fiends? Well this isn’t just a lesson you know...history isn’t a spectacular finale, no...” Hannibal swung the butt of his scythe to bash the guts of both the fiends. While the impact itself did nothing, it was just for show, as he used his magic for force them to regurgitate. From each dragon, a long horn was coughed up, one a dark blue, and the other a faded white.

“These here, are the horns of Alicorns, and they are such magnificent things. Like these dragons here, they are nigh indestructible...even if somehow, the body is destroyed, the horns of an Alicorn will remain until the end of time...and for what I have planned, they’re all I need.” Hannibal tapped his scythe on the floor, the horns lifting up and sparking with electricity. The sheer energy caused a cloud to form, sparking, crackling.

“Tonight, I’m bringing them back to life...while resurrection isn’t exactly my forte, as long as I have something, I can bring anything back. Whether it be, a piece of DNA or a magical imprint. These horns just so happen to have both....” Hannibal watched, the flash of light created by the arcs of electricity, showed shadows forming within the clouds. “Long Live the King and Queen...”

It took a few minutes, but eventually the spell was finished. “And without further ado, please welcome, back from the dead for the next twenty-four hours. King Artemis, and Queen Aurora1″ A wave of his paw blew away the two small storm clouds, revealing two large, and imposing Alicorn figures.

But, they weren’t exactly in mint-condition, not even close. The pair more closely resembled the undead. Pale, rotting flesh, chunks of which were missing, or hanging off their bodies. Bones were exposed, and in some places, holes right through to their insides. You could even see their hearts beating, and their lungs expanding and contracting, showing that they were in fact, properly alive...just in a very tattered state.

They tried to flap their wings by instinct, as a feathered creature would do, stretching to wake up. But the many missing feathers made it an exercise in futility. The draconequus strode over, petting them in their short, frayed and faded manes. Nothing like the colorful, flowing manes and tails normally befitting royalty.

“Now, I know they aren’t the best looking, but they are alive, and here for all of you for the next day. Sadly, they are a bit dumb...brains are very complicated things to rebuild...for the most part they are running on instinct. So, they’ll probably be wandering aimlessly...feel free to stop them and say hello. You probably won’t get a response though...”

Hannibal bowed, “And now I must be off, I have to return the Fiends to their pit...I’ll leave the King and Queen here for all of you ponies to enjoy...” In a flash, him and the two dragons vanished.