An Equestrian Lifestream Corrupted and Manipulated

The barrier was holding back the onslaught carried out by the changeling army. This didn’t stop the ponies inside it from worrying, though. They watched as the figure disguised as Princess Celestia revealed its identity to be none other than Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen. She continued her maniacal laughter while the ponies watched on.

“You foolish ponies! We will have the Crystal Heart before the day is through! Surrender it now or we will take it by force!” said Chrysalis in an almost mocking voice of the barrier separating the changelings and their goal.

“We have defeated you before, monster, and we will do it again!” Cadance shot back.

“Oh! On contraire my dear, I hold a bargaining chip!” Chrysalis stepped aside to reveal a figure lying on the ground behind her being drained by three changelings.

“Shining Armor!” both Cadance and Twilight screamed his name at the same time.

“You see?! How much you lose today depends on the choice or, shall I say, sacrifice you’re willing to make!” said Chrysalis bursting out into another fit of laughter.

Cadance and Twilight’s group didn’t know what to do. Either they let the barrier fall giving entrance to the monstrous army or let Shining Armor die.

“Ok, I’ll drop the barrier. Just stop hurting him,” Cadance said almost immediately.

“What!?” Twilight interjected her response.

“It is ok Twilight. We can defend the Crystal Heart, but I’m not going to leave my love behind. Just get the guards ready for the attack,” Cadance whispered to Twilight. Twilight didn’t agree with this but promptly set off with her friends to make sure the city’s protectors were ready for a fight.

Cadance lowered the shield as promised. However, Chrysalis predictably ordered the continued attack on the Crystal Empire. The changelings marched into the empire making beelines for the Crystal Heart. For the meantime their advance was halted by the defending forces. Chrysalis moved past Cadance with an insidious smile crossing her lips. She didn’t touch the Crystal Princess but rather demonstrated her dominant position in the matter. Cadance watched Chrysalis walk away with many changelings following her and then ran to Shining Armor’s side to make sure he was ok.

A loud noise resounded through the empire making Cadance look up in time to see a rocket come out of the sky. She watched as it landed right on the outskirts of the empire. A hatch on the side opened and a ramp lowered to the ground. Exiting the flying machine a silver-haired man wearing a long black coat and silver pauldrons stepped out onto the ground below. The plant life beneath his feet withered and decayed. He continued an elegant walk in the direction of the empire with his face covered the whole time.

Cadance watched as this man simply walked through the fight around him without flinching and only the occasional weave and dodge. When some changelings attacked him, it looked as though he snapped their necks and threw them aside like rag dolls. It was like watching a phantom glide through the middle of a battlefield oblivious to the event. Even Twilight had a chance to look up from her fights to see the man approach the center of the empire. Twilight was the first to notice the intention in his path – the Crystal Heart.

The guards around the Crystal Heart had set up a barrier around themselves and the heart. The changelings couldn’t get in but kept pounding the barrier’s wall. As the man got near to the barrier, he crushed the necks of the nearby changelings and placed his left hand on the barrier.

“Halt! Stay where you are!” ordered the guards.

“I can feel it. I can feel everything. ‘Mother,’ now comes the moment to claim what is rightfully ours. Never again will the puppets of this life keep me from ascending. All will know pain, misery, and despair. Only death awaits you all. But do not fear. For it is through death that new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of me – and through my will alone.”

The man extended his right arm to the barrier but did not touch it. He then raised his left hand into the air. As the shine of the Crystal Heart faded, the empire itself lost its vibrant color. Life in the surrounding area seemed to be progressively decaying. The heart took on a dark look much like an onyx stone blacker than the midnight sky. In the man’s left hand materialized a sword longer than the man’s height.

The guards gave out a gasp but, before they could react any further, were killed instantly in a sweeping motion of the elongated sword. At the same time, the barrier fell and the nearby changelings took the opportunity to obtain the heart. They too were cut through falling to the ground in pools of blood. The man walked forward placing his hands on the blackened Crystal Heart as though admiring it.

Twilight and her friends were too preoccupied with the changeling army to do anything about the changing events. They had a hard enough time keeping track of each other as the changelings were taking on other ponies’ forms. Cadance stayed with Shining Armor watching her world fall apart. She heard movement behind her and noticed a group of people approaching carrying a somewhat large container. She got up ready to defend her loved one.

“Relax, we’re not here to fight you. We’ve come for a silver-haired man. Have you seen someone like that?” the spiky blonde man asked while raising both arms to signal no harmful intentions.

“Do you mean that man over there?” Cadance looked in Sephiroth’s direction.

“What the hell is that he has in his hands?” Barret asked.

“It is the Crystal Heart which protects this empire. We were attacked by the changeling army and now this man walked right in and took it effortlessly,” remarked Cadance in a sad tone.

“Sephiroth,” Cloud muttered almost speaking to himself, “how many times are you going to bring pain to others for your own selfish desires?”

“Excuse me, who is this ‘Sephiroth’?” Cadance asked.

“He’s a man who used to be a top-ranking SOLDIER and hero. But now he only covets power and control. Stay away from him. Sephiroth's strength is unreal. He is far stronger in reality than any story you might hear about him.”

“What does he want with the Crystal Heart?” Cadance was confused more than ever.

“I don’t know but it might have something to do with this planet’s lifestream considering the change in the landscape. The souls of the dead return to the planet. Not only humans…or ponies, but everything on the planet. In fact, all living things in the universe are the same. The spirits that return to the planet merge with one another and roam the planet. They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream.’ Lifestream... In other words, it is a path of energy of the souls roaming the planet.” Cloud explained.

“I don’t imagine the Crystal Heart could have that much of an effect,” Cadance was unsure about the crystal’s power, “however, it directly influences the empire and its surrounding environment…so maybe it does.”

“Sephiroth just needs an access point to the planet’s lifestream and he can begin to corrupt and control it…Cid, are you okay now? We have a situation here,” Cloud took out a radio and spoke into it.

“Of course I’m not !#$#!#@ okay!! That bastard killed my entire crew save four of them and…my wife!!” audible crying could be heard.

“I know Cid…we all know. We all had to watch Sephiroth do that in our sleep. I know it is hard but please we need help before Sephiroth continues this harm.”

“Harm!?! That’s more than @!@$#! Harm, boy!...wait,” deep breaths could be heard now. “Ok, ok, I think I’m all right for now…I’m reviewing the video logs now…give me a moment…” There was a pause for a couple of minutes. “It looks like after he turned off autopilot and slaughtered the crew…and my wife…he stood over your body, cut his arm, and…dropped some blood in your mouth?!”

Cloud was freaked out to hear this. He even felt like disregarding information as disturbing and weird as that. But needed to hear the rest, “...Cid, what happened next?”

“Well, he returned to the cockpit, checked the radar for mako readings, and was attacked by our two stowaways. They had quite the tussle and broke some equipment which is what veered the ship from its course. The fighting continues until the ship enters something that looks like a wormhole. The video log stops there.”

“Thanks, Cid. Watch over the ship until we get back. If those two stowaways wake up, let us know.”

Cloud looked around and noticed the sunlight dimming and a thick black fog settling in. They could barely make it out but a pair of green eyes with red irises made its way to the empire. Cadance gasped remarking that it shouldn’t be possible that the being was still alive.

Sephiroth absorbed the Crystal Heart flexing his right hand experiencing a power rush flowing though his body. He turned around and looked up to notice the enigma in the black fog gliding his way. He didn’t flinch and went back to admiring his increased power and control.

“Slaves,” King Sombra growled looking at all the ponies he passed on his way to the empire’s center. The fighting in the empire stopped as all present looked upon King Sombra’s entrance with fear. He brought his attention to the silver-haired man standing among a mess of bodies and pools of blood. Undeterred, King Sombra approached the man sensing the heart within him. “Crystal Heart. Give it to me or I will kill you in the most painful way imaginable.”

Sephiroth stopped admiring himself, calmly looked up with a smile, and said, “Come and try.”