The Sword and the Spirit within/BOOK 2

After the loss of Mosa, Syrus blacked out. Nightmare Moon retreated taking Tana along with her aggressive minions.

Red and a bunch of Equestrian soldiers took refuge in the ruins of Ponyville and made a safe zone in the library. It was the only building that wasn’t damaged. They set Syrus down on the wooden floor and put a blanket over him and a pillow under his head. After he was set the soldiers left the library, Red stayed behind to watched over him.

Red laid right next to him and waited patiently for him to wake. He began to shed tears again and remembered what Mosa did to save him and Syrus. Aside from the crying the air was silent. It was no surprise to him.

Red held his front hooves together and hoped for a miracle. “Celestia, please. We need you now more than ever…”

(Scene Change)

Nightmare Moon retreated back to the old castle where she felt something that wasn’t possible.

“Why? Why did you make us retreat!?” Mena complained.

Nightmare Moon didn’t answer and continued looking at the floor while her right hoof was pressed on her chest. “Answer me!!! Why didn’t you kill him? Why retreat and bring his lapdog with you?”

“I… Didn’t bring her.”

“If that’s true, how is she here?” Randar asked.

Nightmare Moon took a heavy breath. “Bring her to the chamber where Celestia is, I’ll deal with them soon… Now… Leave me!”

Mena levitated Tana in the air and left, Randar following. He knew something was wrong, but it was out of his hooves. He left Nightmare Moon standing firmly at the top of the throne room, hearing a final line before he left.

“What’s happening to me? Why do I feel like crying?”

(The prison chamber)

Mena and Randar brought Tana to the chamber where Celestia was being held. “Hey princess, we brought you some-” Mena paused seeing that Celestia wasn’t there.

She quickly set Tana in the room and chained her. She rushed out of the chamber yelling.

“Make sure she doesn’t try to escape.”

(Back at Ponyville)

The pony soldiers were guarding the library, some believing in Syrus but most others thinking they still didn’t stand a chance.

As the night continued to cover all, one of the soldiers spotted a figure in the distance of the sky. “Enemy spotted!!!”

Red quickly got up and rushed over to the window. He looked out and saw the soldiers getting ready for an attack. The figure they saw in the distance looked like an alicorn. When it got closer it started to shine like the sun.

The glow coming from it was blinding the soldiers, but once it finally stopped they all heard a voice. “My loyal subjects, fear not. Our world has not met it’s end yet.”

They all heard and bowed down to the ruler of the sun. Red sprinting out of the Library over to her. “Celestia!”

Red flew up to her quickly hugging her around her neck. “It’s good to see you to Red, where’s Syrus?”

Red flew off of her and held himself in the air. “Celestia? We-We lost-”

“I know, I sensed her fade away. I’m truly sorry, if only I could have been there.”

“Don’t worry about that no more, in time we all have to accept what happens.” A random soldier spoke up.

“Now, where’s Syrus?”

Red moved out of her way and pointed his left hoof to the library. Celestia saw that everypony was bowing to her and didn’t even bother to stop them. She walked past them and entered the Library. Red flew over to Syrus, and Celestia followed behind him.

“So this explains it…”

“Explains what? What’s wrong with him?

She raised her head and continued to look at Syrus. “The blast Luna hit him with caused his body to endure pain. He was unable to get himself up, everytime he tried he’d feel pain rushing through him.”

“I don’t understand, he got back up after Mosa died.” Red stated.

“That’s because he ignored what was happening to him. He was filled with more pain after her death which made him collapse. Now he’s trapped in darkness. He may never wake from it unless I do something to help him.”

“Like what? What do you need?

Celestia continued to look at him. “I need you to leave the library and remain outside, this requires absolute silence.”

Red said nothing else after that. After he left, Celestia used her magic to raise Syrus in the air. “Syrus? If you can hear me, I’m going to enter your mind and try to bring you back.

She sat next to him and closed her eyes, her mind entered his and tried to bring him back.

*** In the Mind of Syrus ***

At first when she entered his mind, she could see nothing but darkness. “Syrus?!”

She called out to him but couldn’t see anything. She decided to walk through the darkness hoping she could find him. As she continued to walk through the darkness, she noticed a small light in what looked like a far distance.

“Syrus?!! Is that you?!!” Celestia ran toward the light, and as she got closer and closer it seemed to get brighter and brighter with each step. Celestia stopped and seeing the light not getting brighter. It was coming right for her.

She took a few steps back, but she realized that with its speed, it was impossible to outrun it. She stopped moving and allowed it to engulf her.

Celestia was surrounded by waves of light moving around her like a twister. She closed her eyes to try to stop it. At first, her defence seemed to work. But it didn’t get rid of the light around her. Nothing was around her. Just the light.

The light faded gradually, leaving Celestia with a sense of vertigo. She was falling! Falling into a city! A city of heights and majesty that could only come from Syrus’s world. So this is what it looked like. Celestia landed on her hooves, but she fell back down, dizzy from the change in pressure.

She tried getting back up and noticed her hooves were hands and feet. And she was wearing clothing, a green shirt and white pants. “I’m in his world?”

She got back up and tried to stand on her two legs. She lost her balance. Regaining it she started to walk slowly. She looked around. ‘Noticed she was surrounded by grey brick walls and the only passage was a door with a sign. The sign said the words Pawn Shop. “Wait… This place, it can’t be.”

She opened the door and went inside the shop. When she entered, she noticed that the door behind her had vanished. She decided to ignore what she saw and proceed through it. But what she saw was nothing but an empty shop with nothing around except empty shelves.

Celestia looked around. “Syrus?”

“Who are you?”

She quickly turned around and saw him. “Syrus, I found you. Don’t worry I’ll get-”

“I’ll ask you again, who are you?”

“Syrus… It’s me Syrus, it’s-it’s Celestia.”

“What? That’s impossible, you can’t be her.”

“I know I don’t look like her, but I am her. I’m here to get you out, we must hurry before Luna comes for us.”

Syrus flinched and ran right at her with rage running through him. “Where is she!!? Is she here!!?”

Celestia put her left hand on his shoulder. “Calm down…”

He quickly shoved her hand off him and started to roar in her face. “Don’t tell me to calm down!!!”

“Syrus, please. This rage within you is destroying your destiny, the ponies of Equestria need you now more than ever.”

“Need me!? What about you, why can’t you put a stop to this!?”

“I can’t. I can’t hurt my sister.”

“You don’t have to. Lock her away and let her suffer for what she has done!”

“I can’t do that to her either!”

Syrus clenched his teeth, he took a step and slapped her in the face. “Wake up! The sister you once knew is gone! Dead! I don’t know! She’s killed other ponies! she plotted against you for months! And you still believe there’s hope for her?!”

Celestia didn’t answer him, she knew everything he said was true. “I understand what she did, and I promise she will be punished. Now please, we must leave.”

Celestia readied herself to return to her body, but Syrus looked at her with suspicion. Finally a door of light appeared, she turned her gaze to him and held out her right hand in his direction. “Come, you still have Red and Tana. They need you.”

“You mean, they need you.”

“I can’t defeat her alone…”

He didn’t try to reach for her hand, all he did was stand there.  “I’ll help, but on one condition…”

Celestia knew that it would come to this. “And that would be?”

“When we find her, she’s mine... I will kill her, and don’t you dare try to stop me.

The words he spoke caught Celestia’s ears. She stopped holding out her hand and walked right up to him. “Let me be clear with you. I know what she did was wrong. And she may deserve whatever punishment she gets. But you have no authority to judge her. So promise me…”

“What?”

“Promise me you won’t kill her. ”

“Why?”

“There is something there. Something not quite what she is now. Allow me time to figure it out, and if it is impossible for me to fix...you may have your revenge.”

Syrus narrowed his eyes at the ruler of the sun. He sighed. “Okay, fine. You win, Celestia.”

“Good…”

Since he promised, she reopened the portal. It flashed bright, and they covered their eyes. When they opened them, they noticed they were both in the library in ponyville. “Welcome back to the real world.” Celestia said.

He took a deep breath while getting up, hopping to his feet and turning to her. “Least I was only asleep for just a bit of time.”

“We don’t have enough time, we need to find Luna and stop her.”

“Right… Sure you will…”

(Scene change)

They both awoke slowly. Syrus was the first to get up, but Celestia was still weak from the spell. Syrus, though angry, knew she needed assistance.

He left the library and saw that all the ponies including his friend Red were waiting for him and her. Red smiled and ran right at him to hug him around his legs. “It’s wonderful to know you’re alright.”

“It’s good to know you’re alright too.”

 He looked at all the pony soldiers around him and Red. “The Princess needs aid! Trying to wake me made her tired and weak, she needs you all!”

Some of the pony soldiers went in the library to aid her, Syrus took Red off his legs and started to walk away from the crowd.

 “Guardian!” One of the soldiers called out to him. “You’re our best hope to defeat them, what is your command?!”

Syrus stopped and was surprised. He turned around and noticed they were still looking to him for hope. “You see bro, they need you now more than ever. They’ll follow you anywhere.”

Syrus understood their fortitude, and knew their will. But it would not be enough to strike down Luna. “I’m glad you all want me as a leader, but I don’t deserve it.”

One of the soldiers stepped forward to speak. “What are you saying? You’re not only a prince but you’re the new guardian. And if Celestia says you are, that’s makes you one of us.”

“I’m grateful for this, I am. But after tonight I… I don’t know if you’ll see me the same way, you see… I’m going there to end this whether my methods are right or not.”

Nopony seemed to care. Syrus noticed none of them tried to question what he planned to do. “Must I repeat myself? I’m going to-”

One of the soldiers interrupted him. “We know… And we don’t care.”

What was said surprised him. “What!?”

“You see, I want her dead.”

“Me too.”

“Same here.”

“We all share the same pain, and we’ve all lost ponies we care for.”

“My wife.”

“My son.”

“My uncle.”

“My father.”

“My daughter.”

“My sister.”

“My entire family.”

“My aunt.”

“My grandfather.”

“My Friends.”

Syrus was shocked to hear what they all lost. One of the soldiers walked over to him. “We all lost family and friends, and we all want the same thing.”

“But… What you’re saying is against everything you all stand for. Peace, Harmony, Friendship and-”

“Syrus?!” Red called out to him while running toward him.

“I want revenge too, I want Randar dead.”

Syrus sighed and tried to talk some sense into them. “What you’re all asking for… If Celestia knew about this, she would try to stop all of you.”

“She’s not in any position to give commands, that is why-”

Syrus looked down and sighed. “She doesn’t want us to kill anypony.”

“Things have changed. She’s killed everything we stand for, if killing her isn’t the option then what will be?!”

Surprised out of his mind, all Syrus can do is stand still. “All of you are really willing to risk destroying your ways of life?”

“Aye.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll do what needs to be done.”

“So will I.”

“Me too.”

“We all will, and with you leading us, we might still have a chance to defeat Luna.”

The pony in front of Syrus knelt before him. “We’re not asking you to lead us, we’re begging you to lead us.”

Syrus was overwhelmed, for the first time in his life. He was truly needed by more than he realized. Looking at them, he smiled. “Alright, I’ll help you bring back the light to your world.”

Syrus brought out his sword and held it in the air to shine like the sun. “Are YOU all ready to fight for the light?!!”

 Red ran over to him and jumped on his chest to hug him. He quickly jumped back off and presented his crown.  “You’re a prince and you should wear your crown for battle.”

He smiled and grabbed the crown Red presented to him. “Thanks buddy. By the way, where’s Tana?”

Red’s mood changed and looked to the ground. He pointed his hoof to the Everfree Forest while looking down at the ground still. Syrus turn to the Everfree Forest and immediately realized where she was. “She took her…”

Syrus held his crown in his hands and put it on his head where it belonged. He returned his gaze to the equestrian soldiers. “We all know what must be done! Tonight, we bring the light back to the world!”

He turned to the forest and pointed his sword at it. “The enemy is that way, to the old fortress!”

The equestrian soldiers charge in the forest, while Syrus stayed behind to speak to Red.

Red tried to follow into the forest but Syrus jumped in his way to stop him. “No, I need you to stay with Celestia.”

“What? But, Randar, he-”

“I know, I made a promise. And tonight, I fulfil it. Just stay with her and keep her company till I return.”

“But I want to fight!”

“After what happened to Mosa, I can’t put you in that position anymore.”

Syrus turned around and twitched. He began to run in the direction of the old castle, leaving Red outside the forest. He narrowed his eyes and decided to ignore Syrus, following him to the old ruins.

(Back at the castle throne room)

Mena, Randar, and Nightmare Moon were all in the throne room. “It would seem she escaped while we were dealing with that human parasite and his friends.” Nightmare Moon said.

“What can we do now, my queen?” Randar asked.

“Without Mena’s Amulet, you no longer control an army. I on the other hoof do.”

“Wait, you’re not serious about using those bat ponies?” Mena questioned.

“How will we defend ourselves if you don’t have an army to offer. So I shall use my personal army to repel any force. Now, Randar. Leave us.”

Randar nodded his head, leaving the throne room. “I think it’s time we unlocked the power I’ve given you. Since your anger for the human has started to consume you, we can now use it.”

Nightmare Moon got up and walked towards Mena. “What will it do to me?”

“It will make you the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. Use this to exact your revenge on Syrus! Feel the anger running through you! Now unlock it!!!”

Menas horn glowed black, the darkness around the horn began to crawl around her entire body. Changing her mane to a dark purple color, her fur turned from black to dark blue, her cutie mark changed to a black heart with a sword stabbing it, and her eyes changed to yellow.

With her transformation was complete, the Mena that everypony once knew was reborn into a monster. “The power… I can feel it…”

“Yes, now. That unicorn that was with the human and his friends. I think it’s time we used your new found power to it’s max. Manipulate his friend Tana, and turn her against him.”

“I will, my queen…”

(Back to Syrus, following the assault on the old castle)

Syrus was running along the ground along with other earth ponies. After going a great distance, they finally see the castle. At first there seems to be nothing guarding it, till new dark ponies started to swarm in the air and attack the invading forces. Syrus readied his sword and continued to run right at the dark ponies along with Unicorns to back him up.

Pony after pony collided in battle, Syrus began charging magic into his feet to get more speed and slice his way to the castle. He noticed that these ponies weren’t the same one he’d seen before, they had bat wings on them. He didn’t care what they were, all that mattered to him was two things. As he continued to run toward the castle, he pointed his sword in the direction of the castle and created a ball of light.

He began to use speed to make it to the castle, but before he could even reach it, a powerful blast hit him and caused him to fall near the entrance of the castle. Even though he landed pretty badly on the ground, the ball of light he was in protected him from the impact and no damage was done.

He slowly raised himself back on his feet and was surprised to know he wasn’t hurt. “What the hell was that..?”

He looked up in the air to see if there was anything that might have caused it. Besides the air battle going on above him, he noticed his sword was right below him. He bend down to grab it with his right right hand and tried to flap his wings to get into the air and resume his course to the castle.

But he noticed that the entrance was only across a wooden bridge not to far from him. “I’m really surprised, I thought these wings would be hard to handle. I guess that’s one of the perks Thunder Wave gave me. BUT CAN”T THEY LIKE SHINK!!? IT’S BAD ENOUGH I NEED THEM TO FLY!!!

“What the fuck am I saying!? I got a job to do!!!”

“Temper bro, that’s the kinda stuff that make ponies go insane!”

Syrus stopped and didn’t even bother turning around to know who was behind him. “I thought I told you to stay with Celestia.”

“Hey! I want to avenge my family, and I’m not staying behind to let you do it.”

Syrus turned his gaze to Red. “What about my promise? I said I would make him pay and I’m going to do it tonight. Now go back to Ponyville, NOW!!!”

“You’re not my father…”

“I may not, but I can’t put you in any danger. You saw what happened to Mosa, what she did for me and you. ARE YOU GOING TO DO THE SAME THING!!?”

Red didn’t answer, he lowered his head and sat down. “I just… I just don’t want you to die…”

His eyes widened. Syrus sighed. He turned around and resumed his course to the castle. He raised his left hand and waved at Red to follow. Red gasped and smiled, using his speed to walk by his side once more and jumped up and down in the air while walking.

“Oh boy! The great Red Scale and his partner the Guardian are going to-”

“You’re pushing your luck Red, cut it out.”

“Okay.”

“And stop jumping, we’re in the middle of a battle and all you can do is cheer.”

They finally reached the wooden bridge noticing it still looked new. But instead of walking through it, they both decided to flap their wings and fly over the bridge to the other side. Syrus carefully walked through the courtyard and noticed the sky above them was clear. He waved his left hand to stop Red and push in back a bit. “Hey, what’s-”

“Quiet…”

Syrus listened, and out of no where a shadow blast was fired. Syrus acted quickly and picked Red up and dashed out of the way.  They heard a strange laugh.

They heard it but couldn’t tell if it was Mena or Nightmare Moon. “Show yourself you coward!” Syrus yelled.

Red held onto his right leg while Syrus was looking around their surroundings to find the source of this laugh. “I can feel it, yes…….. I can feel the rage running through you, are you truly that desperate to get revenge for her?”

“That’s not your concern…”

“But it is, you took something from me. Now…… I shall take something from you!”

A dark ball formed ten feet away from them, Syrus held his ground while Red was terrified. Syrus saw a dark blue hoof start to come out of the dark ball along with a head. When it fully came out of the dark sphere, Syrus realized who it was.

“Mena?”

“Hello… Syrus, and you brought a friend.”

Her new image surprised him. “My god… What has she done to you?!”

Mena smiled and looked up in the air. “Power! She has given me power to kill you! And I’ve also brought friends.”

Two more pony figures walked out of the dark sphere. One of them was Randar and the other was somepony Syrus couldn’t believe. “Tana!?”

Shocked to see Tana and also shocked that her eyes were dark as darkness itself. Red looked at Tana and was breathing heavily while tears began to form from his eyes. Syrus tightened his grip around the sword and built the power of light around himself. “What… Have… you… done… to… her?”

Randar stepped forward to speak. “A gift from Nightmare Moon, you may have sent the Amulet away but now she has magic of an alicorn. She has been infused with Nightmare Moons magic to become her weapon. Now she’s can control any pony in this world.”

Syrus gasped and put both hands on the sword. “You mean you’re controlling her!?”

“Precisely…”

Randar turned his gazed to Red who was also looking at him in anger. Syrus caught him looking at Red and pushed him behind his legs to protect him. Mena wasted no more time and began to charge her horn to attack. Randar spread his wings. Tana repeated Mena’s gesture in silence. “What are we going to do?” Red shaked.

“I’ll think of something…”

“Well you’d better hurry. Remember, we can’t hurt Tana.”

The odds were against them both. Syrus would have to battle all three of them. He couldn’t put his faith in Red to help, but then he had a thought. “I’ve got a plan, and I need you to listen very carefully.”

Syrus leaned over to Reds ear, while Mena, Randar, and Tana were waiting for them to make a move. After he was done, Red nodded yes and looked at Randar. “Are you two quite done?”

Syrus gave them the signal to wait. “Just give us-”

Syrus swung his sword and fired a blue blade beam at Mena. She expected a trick from him and teleported out of the way of his beam. “That was a dirty trick, now it’s our turn.”

Mena charged her horn and fired at Syrus, he created a shield around both him and Red. The blast that hit the shield was very strong. It cracked the barrier and nearly broke through. “Okay…… This is going to be a pretty hard fight…”

“What do we do?”

“Stick to the plan, I’ll handle Mena and Tana. You just make sure to stay close to me while you handle Randar.”

Red looked back at Syrus while shivering. “But, what if we fail..?”

Syrus closed his eyes. “We won’t fail…

He opened them and his eyes started to glow. “We can’t…”