Shadows of Sins Past

Westwood kept his eyes on the king in front of him, "Luna. Just go. Your kingdom needs you more than it needs me." He spoke to Luna while watching his target.

Luna stomped her hoof down, "I will not abandon you Westwood!" She shouted to the dragon.

Westwood growled before shouting, "YOUR KINGDOM NEEDS YOU LUNA! JUST GO!" He shouted at the princess. His eyes were now focused on the alicorn, the look of determination in his eyes showed how he was feeling.

Luz chuckled seeing the instant that Westwood let himself become vulnerable. The next few seconds flowed as Luz had sprinted forward and grabbed the massive blade from the downed fire dragon and swung at Westwood.

Westwood barely heard the sound of the king picking up the sword before he was able to even see that Luz had swung the massive weapon. The weapon cut through Westwood's chest scales and up through his shoulder, deep crimson shot from the wound as the shade fell back.

Luna watched the event in horror. Her body unable to move, her voice unable to be heard. Luna knew what had happened, she knew that she was at fault for this, "wes-" the alicorn's voice started, "no." She continued as tears welled up in her eyes seeing the shade drop to his back with the wound spread through the black scaled dragon's chest.

Luz grinned at the crimson splashed onto his face, his eyes focused on the dragon as he dropped to the ground, "Kind of sad actually." He spoke as Luz stepped to the still shade, "I was hoping that this fight would be entertaining, but I suppose a win is a win whether it's fair or it's not." He spoke before thrusting the weapon down into the frozen drake's stomach.

Now that the weapon was planted deep into Westwood, Luz's attention shifted to Luna who he saw still paralyzed in fear and shock, "But since that's over." He spoke turning his gaze to Luna, "I'm sure that fool of an ambassador has told you our people's way. You keep what you kill. And judging by your look, I'd say that I've won a very interesting prize." He spoke.

Westwood was barely alive, the experiments that were performed on him as a human gave him that at least. His eyes however were blank and the world fell into darkness only to become the void he had grown to know.

"Woody. I can't believe you let a female get you exposed like that. You had no much promise." The familiar voice of Nox spoke as the smokey figure appeared in front of Westwood as the drake lay in the void, "But here you are, wounded and ready to die." The shadow then started laughing, "I just find it so funny that you let your time as a human soften you up with emotions like that. Your compassion for that female, even if she is quite the looker, made you expose yourself and now you have a sword in your gut."

Westwood tried to speak, instead all that came was a gargling sound with not a crimson fluid. The fluid that came out from his mouth was black and cold.

"Don't bother talking. In the real world you've got a gash going through your lungs and a sword in your gut. Trying to talk in that world would be useless just like here. Only here you're pretty much being kept alive by me." Nox spoke to Westwood running a smoke covered hand over the wound on Westwood's had on his chest then grabbing the sword by the handle, "But here's where I cut to the chase. Unless you let me take control for a few minutes, you are going to die and your mare over there is going to be repeatedly violated by that creature that calls himself a dragon." He spoke the wound on Westwood's chest closed to minimize air loss.

Westwood was gasping for air while he was stuck in the void, his lungs healed for the most part and the wound closed to keep his lungs covered. His mind focused on the ultimatum, that he would lose control of his body in order to survive.

"Oh don't think like that Woody. It will only be until that white bastard is dead. Believe me when I saw that I hate that bastard myself, if for a different reason from yours. He is the son of the bastard that ordered our kind to extinction." Nox spoke with his eyes shifting from the yellow tone to a deep and dark red, "Because our being different he thought that we were a blight. Because we had power that he did not, he wanted our species erased." Nox spoke, his anger even more evident in his voice as he shared the memories of his species, "And when they started losing more numbers than expected they begged for help telling them that we were monsters."

More passion began to flood from his voice, "He told those ponies that we were mindless beasts in order to have them assist the other dragon in a genocide!" The angry tone of Nox spreading throughout the void, "We are the only of our race because of a leader that wanted a strong species destroyed." Nox grabbed the blade that was trapped in Westwood's stomach, "I know all about how easy it is for you to heal from life threatening injuries like this. I only need your body for a minute so that I can personally erase that white stain from existence. I don't care about anything else right now. I want to murder that bastard in cold blood exactly how he murdered our entire race over a difference in power!" He shouted.

Westwood was stunned by the sentient shadow's true motives. He had taken Nox to be the snarky, sarcastic and unlikable being that had been plaguing his mind, but to find it was all Luz's fault he was in this position made him think, "One minute Nox, but on the condition that I can still see everything you do to that monster." Westwood spoke as he felt something flooding through the hole in his stomach. He looked down to see that Nox was sending his shadow covered body into Westwood again.

"I can promise that." Nox spoke as he flooded his entire form into Westwood's body in the void.

It was back in the real world. Luz had been advancing on Luna though his attention was pulled away when he felt something seemed to flood through his body. The ominous feeling made Luz look back to see that the body he left behind was now getting up. The sword he drove through the opposing drake was being pulled out of the ground as well which when Westwood was finally on his feet, the blade protruding from the black dragon's back.

The shade grabbed the blade and began yanking the massive weapon out from his stomach to toss it aside. The gaping hole in Westwood's stomach was quickly closing up and the dragon's shadow began swirling about the drake.

Luz watched the previously deceased shade rise once more, his body rigid, "What the hell are you?" Luz spoke watching the wounds close quickly.

Westwood turned to look to Luz, his eyes were black and lifeless, "You should know. Your father pretty much executed my entire race because we were different." Westwood spoke with an echo in his voice, "And to you. You can call me Nox is only for the minute you are alive." Westwood's body smoke as the shadows at his feet vanished. Seconds later the shadows that had wrapped around the body of the shade.

Luna watched the supposed resurrection of Westwood to see that what seemed to be an entirely different entity was in his place. It was then she regained her senses, "I'll be back for you." Luna spoke before flying away like how Westwood had told her to do before and he had been attacked due to her actions.

The shadows around Westwood's body then formed the shape of a set of highly aggressive looking armor. The flat black color of the artificial metal covered his chest, stomach, legs and upper arms all while leaving his forearms exposed for the curved, ethereal blades to be ready for use on top of the rest of the dragon's armor, "Now Luz. We will settle the last hundred years." Westwood spoke using his wings to boost himself forward quickly to grab the king's face and threw him into the wall leaving a crater in the wall.

Luz grunted when he impacted the wall behind him, his lungs took a major hit as the air was pushed from his lungs leaving the white dragon out of breath and gasping for air. He fell from the crater in the stone and landed on all fours while he caught his breath. The next thing he saw was the shade in front of him, his hand then being slammed by the black dragon's armored foot. Even out of breath, a scream of pain echoed through the chamber as the white dragon's bones cracked and fractured under the force and weight of the shade.

Westwood took his foot from Luz's hand and kicked the king in the face, the king's crown flying away from Luz's head and clattering on the stone ground, "You were the king? How could such a being like you be considered a threat?" The echoed voice of Westwood and Nox's voices spoke to the white dragon who was clenching his hand. Westwood then reached down and grabbed the king's head and dragged him to the edge of the balcony and to the subjects who had been waiting for the result, "This is your ruler. The son of a dragon that was afraid of a race. MY race." He spoke with Luz hanging over the edge to the crowd, "Do you want a ruler that may attempt to erase your existence if you look like a threat?" Westwood called before dropping  the king into the crowd below.

Luz was disoriented by both the impact of Westwood's armored leg as well as the impact of being thrown into the stone wall that was previously behind him. His body fell from the balcony only to impact the ground several stories below. The white dragon brought himself to his feet after a few seconds. He looked up seeing the armored shade, on inspection he could see that the black color in Westwood's eyes was slowly fading away into the glowing yellow color he had seen before. The king could also see that the armor that Westwood had on his body was fading as well, "Can only have that state for so long?" He asked Westwood with a laugh as his tongue explored spaced in his mouth to feel that a few of his fangs were now missing.

Westwood spread his wings and dropped to the ground, the crowd spreading out to give the two drakes their space as though the two were going to start a fight. Now that the armor was gone,  deep scars in his stomach, back and chest were present, "Just long enough to recover, but that was my agreement with Nox. He has control of my body for a minute and it seemed he wanted to see you in pain and humiliated before your peers instead of killing you outright. Probably would have killed you if I gave him more than a minute." Westwood spoke cracking his knuckles, but now that there is nothing distracting me I can finish that."

Luz listened to Westwood and started to laugh as he recovered from what he thought was the first concussion he ever experienced, "You know. That was the first time I had ever been hit like that." Luz spoke spitting out blood from his mouth and what looked like some pieces of his fangs as well, "Then again I don't have any other subjects that would dare to attack me." He spoke chuckling and watching his subjects spread to give the two dragons room to battle.

Westwood kept his eyes on the white dragon in front of him, "Then they obviously don't see that you are not as strong as they think you are." Westwood spoke to the king.

That single note infuriated Luz to the point that Luz had charged at Westwood with only his claws bared to attack. Westwood had easily grabbed the enraged dragon and threw Luz over the black dragon's shoulder to toss him several meters from where they had met. The enraged king scrambled to his feet and charged fruitlessly once again as the tyrant was then slammed hard into the stone at their feet. Westwood having kept his grip on the king's arm and twisting it to keep the white dragon's face pressed into the ground.

Small cracking sounds could be heard as the arm Westwood had grabbed began to fracture under the combined stress of Westwood's grip and the way Luz's arm was tweaked. Soon after a loud snap could be heard and Luz screamed in pain as the same arm that had its hand broken by Westwood and Nox's stomp was broken straight at the upper arm's bone. The crowd was stunned that their king was being beaten and in a brutal way to add.

Westwood took himself off of Luz then he stood up attempting to let Luz back onto his feet, even if the pain was too much for the white dragon to concentrate with his arm flexing in his upper arm in a was that was could be sickening.

Luz jumped to his feet, hesitant, but still got to his feet, "This is not over you creature. You should have perished with the rest of your race." Luz spoke in anger and grabbing at the complete break in his upper arm's bone, "You are all monsters. Beasts. Your kind showed it years ago when my father was still the king." He spoke trying to get the crowd on his side.

Westwood smirked hearing what Luz said, "You are trying to get your subjects involved in a manner that is a one on one fight? What sort of king are you if you will quickly put your subjects in the line of fire just to keep yourself alive." Westwood spoke taking a fighting stance towards the fallen king.

Luz growled at his opponent, "I will not be humiliated by a retched shade." Luz spoke taking his hand off his arm and charging at Westwood one last time.

Westwood planted his foot back and thrusted his hand forward with all his digits extended, his shadow stretched to his hand to form an ethereal blade to surround his hand, literally forming a knife hand. The digits then pierced through the charging king's chest. Blood sprayed from the back of Luz, the white dragon's eyes rolling into the back of his head.The white dragon fell limp on Westwood's arm. Westwood then threw the king to the side. The white dragon now had a large hole in his chest where the dragon's heart had once been. Blood poured from the now deceased king.

The world was quiet as the dragon watched their monarch die at the hands of a being that had formerly been an extinct species. After a few minutes of silence, the crowd separated into two halves. In the center was the older white dragon that had spoken so casually with Celestia when war had been declared, "You impressed me sha-I mean, Westwood. I had hoped that you would come and save your princess when I had spoken with her majesty. And now you have even taken the life of our warmongering king." Alabaster had then gone face to face with the black dragon. Shortly after he knelt down on one knee and held his right fist to his chest as he bowed.

Westwood was confused on the ambassador's actions only to see that many of the others that had been in the crowd had also began to bow before the shade, "What is going on? Why are you bowing to me? I killed your king!" He called out confused on what the situation was.

Alabaster chuckled hearing Westwood's questions, "My liege. There is a law of our kingdom. The term that was spoke before by our king, 'you keep what you kill'. You are a part of our laws being a dragon. You have killed our king so you now keep the position that he had." Alabaster then stood to his feet to face the warrior, "As ambassador of the dragon kingdom, I vest the right of royalty onto your shoulders." The white dragon spoke then turned to face the crowd, "All hail King Westwood the Shade!" He shouted. The shout was met with cheers as though the others had been waiting for this day to come.

Westwood looked around at the dragons around him, cheering for their new king. The feeling was overwhelming, the rush of pride and emotions flowed through his body like a raging river. Once he got himself under control he chuckled under his breath and shut his eyes, "If that is so Alabaster. Then I would like to have a message relayed to Princess Celestia and Luna. I want to see them here to see what has happened with their eyes." He spoke to Alabaster over the cheering of the crowd.

His gaze then went to the many subjects that he now had authority over, he however would not become the tyrant that Luz had been, "My subjects!" He called out with the cheering quieting down, "As your new king I decree that this war is over. No dragon will attack any of Equestria in an act of violence." The cheering as news pointed to the end of a war before it began drowned out the entire room.

Westwood then turned and looked up to the balcony, "Alabaster. When you see that crowd that your previous king had worn, I want it destroyed. There will be no trace of the actions taken by his bloodline. His violent acts will be remembered, but there will be no crown to show that oppressive power." Westwood spoke as he then began walking. Under the balcony there was what looked like a stone throne with dragon skulls on the arms of the throne as though a sign of intimidation. Westwood took his place on that throne, his back setting back on the hard stone.

He looked to the subjects and the new home he claimed in his act that nullified the war, "You keep what you kill." The dragon spoke under his breath. The tired dragon then closed his eyes and set himself to rest in the throne.