MLP FIM: Season 4 Rise of the A.M. (a what if story)

Chapter 14: A King No More

Deep in outskirts of the mountains outside the Sapphire Kingdome, where no one dared to venture without proper gear; near the peak of one of the tallest summits lied a cave with its mouth open to the outside world. The inside was dark, damp and cold. The only light source were torches and a small fire that its only inhabitants had set up in their stay. A pare of earth ponies were making one of their daily strolls down into the caverns when one of them noticed that the cave’s tunnels continued to grow. With curiosity now in place, the two planned to lead a larger group with them during their next expedition; this time they would bring more torches and start to make a map.

“You do know that Night Blade will want to hear about this?” said one of the unicorns they had brought down with them.

“I know that,” said an earth pony with great effort as he was holding a quill in his mouth and made another line with a tilt of his head. “For now let’s just see what we can find.”

The team ventured forward stopping every now and then to allow the map to be updated. Once or twice they stumbled on a dead end and had to back track. Finally they stopped when the number of torches they had brought with them had run out.

“We should head back,” suggested a Pegasus.

“Not likely,” said a unicorn using his magic to light his horn. “Come on, we’ve come this far haven’t we?”

“Yes, but who’s to say we won’t come across more paths and get lost?” asked the Pegasus unsure if they should continue their expedition.

“A fine question indeed,” said a voice from behind making them all jump.

Turning around they saw standing in both the light form the last torch and unicorn’s light was the last person they would ever want to be trapped down there with. An earth pony, Grey Wood, his green tale seemed to flinch whenever he was suppressing rage and his fake calming attitude made things worse. A strong chill went down the group’s spines as each of them opened their mouths about to say something but only faint gargling was all they could master up.

“Come now, surly you can all proceed seeing that not one but a couple of you are unicorns.”

“Uh… Of Course Grey Wood,” replied the unicorn with his horn lit. “Of course we can. W... well, shall we?”

The herd went deeper into the unknown, not sure if the tunnels would ever end until the unicorn stopped in his tracks. The followers moved aside allowing Grey Wood to come to the front. The tunnel had ended and in front of them was a hole. Grey Wood kicked a loose rock lazily down the hole with his hoof and waited to hear a sound. A splash was heard not to long after.

“Hmmm. It’s not that far down, but we’re not sure how deep the body of water is below,” said the unicorn.

“If I’m not mistaking, you unicorns can teleport.” said Grey Wood thoughtfully.

“Yes we can, but… AAAAAaaaaahhhhhh!”

The next thing Grey Wood heard was a popping sound and the echoing enraged voice of the unicorn he had just pushed down the hole.

“I would prefer if you asked next time! The water is just a couple inches deep!”

“Can you see anything else?!” asked Grey Wood not taking in a word that had just been shouted at him.

“I… Wait, I can feel a breeze coming from up ahead!”

“Follow it and see where it leads!” ordered Grey Wood.

The Unicorn below them muttered angrily under his breath and galloped off, the light from his horn brightening his surroundings. The water splashed around him as his hooves kicked up numerous drops. He came back huffing and in a state of amazement. He teleported back up and approached his awaiting herd.

“I think we found exactly what Night Blade wants.”

The Grey Pegasus sat in his part of the cave admiring the Alicorn Amulet he wore proudly around his neck. His plan for it had worked out perfectly so far. No other ponies other than unicorns had ever tried on the amulet before. Fear of would or might happen prevented that, however, superstitious nonsense like that didn’t scare him away. He would not allow such a weakness like fear take control. To him, it was fear that made him an outcast in the first place. All those years of being judged for not being like everyone else were about to change. A surge of hatred flowed through his vanes allowing his eyes and the amulet to glow red. An approaching A.M. member cleared his throat before speaking.

“My king,” he began. “I think we found our way into the kingdom,”

“Show me,” said Night Blade.

His escort led him to the path his team had discovered. With an evil smile, Night Blade investigated further. Once he had reached the outside he breathed in fresh air and had a look at his surroundings. He was standing outside an abandoned cave looking down at the city in the distance. It wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for, but it was close enough. Even the City looked closer than ever as he reached out his hoof. The cave was directly outside the city entrance. This was to be the place where he would begin the assault. All these years of waiting and planning were at long last going to pay off.

“So, Sullivan, have you and the rest of this miserable city learned anything since I was here?” he said to himself. “Letting your sister in even though you know what she is just shows me how much of a trusting foolish unicorn you are. I will lead this kingdom into a new era, just you wait.”

When he had returned to his awaiting followers their expression was nothing short of fear.

“What has you in such low spirits?” he said showing no concern what so ever. “Come soon, we will take back the kingdom,”

“That’s great sir, but I have news to report,” said a nervous earth pony. “It’s about Swift Blaze… He never came back with the princess…”

“Well, why isn’t anypony out there looking for them?” asked Night blade dangerously.

“Your son is… uh… you see… he’s...”

Night Blades Eyes flash red as he glared at the cowering ponies in front of him.

“He’s what?” he asked coldly.

“He’s joined the princess and her friends my king!” said the earth pony so fast that he thought for a moment that his leader didn’t hear him.

He was sadly mistaken. For the next thing anyone heard was Night Blades calm and scary voice say, “Who told you this?”

The ponies dispersed to bring a Pegasus into view. Night Blade approached the newcomer slowly and looked down at him.

“Are you telling me that my son, Dark Heart, my heir to the throne has deserted us?”

“I…I’m afraid so, my king,” said the Pegasus.

A strong wave of mixed emotions came over Night Blade. He felt a surge of anger, a feeling of great sadness and then nothing. When he opened his eyes, he found himself alone in the tunnel. His head was throbbing and when he reached to rub his forehead he touched something long and sharp. His eyes felt strange as if they didn’t belong to him. He made his way slowly back to the main part of the cave where those around him stared in bewilderment. One of his followers gave him a mirror and when he looked into it he saw that his eyes had changed completely. They were now solid red and when he opened his mouth to scream he saw that his teeth were sharp. The pointy thing on his forehead he had felt from earlier was a long black horn. Trying to remember what had happened his horn glowed black and the mirror cracked. A shocking realization hit him. He remembered how angry he had felt and he was sure that he had been crying and then…

“The Amulet,” he said to himself ignoring those around him and pointed the levitating mirror to his chest where the Alicorn Amulet hung around his neck. His anger from earlier had resurfaced as he remembered exactly what was the cause of it. His son had betrayed them and he knew who was to blame for it.

“Get the rest of my army ready,” said Night Blade in a threatening tone.

“What already?” asked one the baffled spectators. “I thought we were supposed to wait until Swift Blaze came back,”

Night Blades new horn glowed again and the pony who spoke up was lifted off the ground.

“Swift has been apprehended my faithful servants! We will not let this moment slip away from us! Now, I suggest you all get ready to leave on my command!”

He lifted the spell and let the pony fall on his head. Rubbing the lump that was undoubtedly forming, he along with the rest of the A.M. galloped off to prepare them selves for the kingdoms take over. Night Blade only had to put on his black cloak that almost hit the ground. The Alicorn Amulet was hidden behind the black curtain. The red ruby poked out of the cracks every so often. Admiring his new power, he wanted to find out what else he could do with his new horn. His mouth opened showing off his sharp teeth and he pictured the top of the mountain in his head and closed his eyes. In what would take hours by foot or half the time by flying, he reached the peek in a matter of seconds. The sky was going black. The sun was just about to disappear in the horizon. Black strings that resembled lightning crawled up his horn as he looked up at the sky. With one last push, his horn became a rod as he shot up a black beam of magic. It was as if the weather obeyed his every command as the night sky that was once clear with stars, was now being enclosed by storm clouds that began to spread across the Sapphire Kingdom. The wind began to pick up. Night Blades cloak danced in the strong breeze but he remained stationary. When he released the spell, he teleported back into the cave where his followers were waiting patiently. Some like him wore eager expressions while others were emotionless. Without any speeches given, he led his army of mark less ponies to the new exit of the cave. Once there they noticed how cold the night had become. The moon along with the stars had been blocked by the heavy forecast and that would work out just fine.

He ordered his flyers to stay hidden in the clouds while he and the rest moved up on foot. The nightlife in the city of the Sapphire Kingdom was booming with ponies. The streetlights were on along with the neighboring lights from the shops and houses. The royal guard patrolled the streets and castle grounds as usual. Although the night was one of many overcast that came over the kingdom the citizens thought nothing over it. The guards watched over the grounds in the towers of the castle. They had turned on lanterns to help them see in the mist. Even if the light only carried a small distance, it was better than nothing.

“Another overcast and we just had to be chosen to be stationed up here,” said a guard miserably.

“Relax,” replied his companion. “At least we’re not stationed at the entrance of the city.”

“I’d rather be there than here,” said the frustrated guard.

“Really?” questioned his partner. “You’d rather be patrolling an area where noting ever happens instead of being in a high spot where you can see for miles?”

“In this weather? Not a chance.”

“What?!” exclaimed the second guard in alert.

“What is it?” asked the first looking around.

“I thought I saw something in the clouds,” said the second looking up at the sky. “Hey, Unicorns over on the west wing shine your light up there!”

One of the unicorns in the wing beside them made light shine out of his horn and started to aim it where the east wing was indicating. The clouds were so thick that nothing could be seen; the beam of light staid in one spot for a couple moments before moving on. A black-cloaked Pegasus staid hidden in the clouds above the castle holding his breath. When he saw that the small dot of light moved away, he gave out a sigh of relief and signaled the rest of his unit to continue following him. In the forest outside of the city Night Blade looked around before ordering his followers to approach the entrance of the city. Slowly a cloaked unicorn watched for the guards ahead of him to move away before he preceded any further. At the city gates, two guards stood at attention unaware that four intruders were flanking them from the sides. They didn’t have to signal each other for it to happen they had practiced their stealth in the mountains for years and with perfect execution the two guards were hit with beams of blue light and they crumbled to the ground unconscious. Hiding the bodies, the A.M. members waited until the returning patrol returned. The team came into view and with in a few seconds they were all stunned. Back in the towers cloaked Pegasi landed gently on each of the roofs and in unison they crawled down to the patrol on watch. As each one had spotted their targets they lifted off the roofs and dove into the small shelters, knocking out their pray. Inside the castle, Safire saw what had happened and grinned with satisfaction. A shocked gasp made her realize that she wasn’t the only one who saw what had just happened. As the alerted guard started to gallop away she cast a stunning spell. His helmet slid across the tile floor with a loud scraping noise. A few more guards came dashing over to investigate when she galloped toward them. One of them was hit in the face by her front hoof while the rest were swooped off their hooves with a long line she had conjured up. One of the terrified guards managed to escape shouting as he fled.

“Alert! We have a lone a attacker in the castle!”

His cries of fear and the sounds of spells snapping echoed throughout the castle halls. This was it… The assault starts now!

“Get behind her!” shouted a guard on the steps.

Safire smiled wickedly at her approaching challengers. Did they honestly think they could take her on? Her horn glowed as she avoided spells being cast at her. Safire had known that her cover was blown, but she didn’t care. She was done pretending to be nice and caring to her former kingdom, she was at last alive again as she levitated an armored earth pony and tossed him into a nearby pole where he fell to the floor and didn’t get back up. The A.M. Pegasi that were once hiding in the clouds were now swooping down on the city, aiding their allied unicorns and earth ponies. The surprised guards rushed into the fight telling the citizens to get to safety.

“Your Majesty, we have to get you to safety!” Mark said urgently coming into the king’s bedroom with Crimson Shield following close behind.

“I understand your concerns Mark. But I am needed here to confront him when he comes.” said Sullivan, his blue cape and royal vest were on and he wore a serious look.

“That won’t happen if she does you in first!” said Crimson Shield, looking outside the room making sure that no A.M. members had broken into the castle yet. “King Sullivan, if we don’t hurry your sister…”

“Will not lay a hoof on me,” Sullivan finished for her. “You two should go help the others outside. I will meet my sister where ever she is and if I must I will fight her.”

“No way!” said Mark. “We’re not…”

“She’s coming!” yelled Crimson backing up and slamming the door behind her. “King Sullivan, get behind something!”

Both Mark and Crimson stood at the ready by the bed. Mark’s horn glowed while Crimson spread her wings. The sounds of guards screaming were heard. Wings outside the room flapped and spells were cast; then all was quiet. Mark approached the door cautiously and opened it. He poked his head out, scanning the empty hall. Before he was about to give the all clear a rope wrapped around him. Crimson could only watch as Mark’s body was lifted off the ground and tossed out of sight. She hurried to door only to be snatched by Safire who pinned her against the wall by her throat.

“Hello my dear,” said Safire wickedly.

“We trusted you!” said Crimson through gritted teeth.

“I know,” said Safire adding force to her captive’s neck. “But you’re king should’ve banished me when he had the chance.”

Crimson Shield could barley breath as she struggled to get away from Safire. A yellow beam of light hit Safire in the side making her drop Crimson. As she gasped for air, Safire avoided a second streak of yellow light that was aimed at her head. Taking this moment, Crimson Shield spread her wings and tackled Safire wrapping her in her wings as they soared out of the king’s bedroom. Sullivan galloped after the fighting mares to find that upon reaching the stairs Mark was dueling several cloaked earth ponies with a sword he had conjured up.

Before his eyes, he spotted Night Blade in the fighting crowed. He was casting aside guards with ease as he made his way to the stairs. When his red eyes found Sullivan’s orange ones, his mouth edged in a smile.

“Sullivan,” he said in a low growl. “How I longed to see you again,”

“The feeling remains neutral,” said Sullivan eyeing his friend’s appearance.

“Don’t be like that,” said Night Blade sarcastically. “After all, I came all this way to see you again. Is this how you greet somepony you used to know?”

“If your intensions were different then I would have been more polite,” said Sullivan, he observed his lost friends new features and frowned. “What have you done to your self?”

“What, this? It’s not so bad once you get used to it. In fact I haven’t felt as powerful as this than I do right now,” said Night Blade.

“You have to take the amulet off Night Blade!” pleaded Sullivan. “Look at what its done to you! If you continue wearing it…”

“Enough!” spat Night Blade, his newly formed horn glowing black. “I came here for one purpose! So, will you stand down or will I have to take the throne by force!”

Sullivan shook his head at his friend and sighed knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to convince him about the danger he was in. His horn also began to glow emitting blue light. At once the two fired their spells at each other. Even at his age, Sullivan moved swiftly down the stairs avoiding Night Blades attacks as they came to him mercilessly. A beam of orange light was a simple solution for Night Blade as he cut the spell in half sending them hitting two of his own followers behind him. Once Sullivan reached the main hall the two squared off circling each other before Night Blade made his move. He fired his dark magic while Sullivan casted his blue beam of light. The two collided and were immediately locked in mid air. The lines of black and blue stayed motionless as neither of the casters would allow the other to move the two spells to the opposing side. For a while the two were equally matched. Night Blade released his spell and shot out a ball of fame that swirled above his head. Taking aim he sent at Sullivan who stood his ground and with casting an invisible shield around him the fireball hit the shield and split apart. He quickly cast wall of red strings that shot out determined to wrap themselves around their target. Night Blade countered with black smoke, which took the form of a giant serpent. The red threads spread around the beast as it hissed and snapped at the strings wrapping around it. The mummified serpent wiggled around before it shrunk into nothing. Night Blade was beside himself focusing his magic. When he released his focus, a strong wave of magic was cast sending Sullivan and those around him crashed into the walls. Safire and Crimson, who were above the chaos, were slammed against the ceiling. Sullivan’s crown had fallen off his head, panting he got up on wobbly legs and faced Night Blade and his sister who teleported by his side.

“I missed you my queen,” Night Blade said stroking Safire’s mane with his hoof. “This won’t take long.”

Before Sullivan could react he was lifted off the floor and became Night Blade’s rag doll. He was lifted twenty then thirty feet up in the air before crashing to the ground. Night Blade laughed madly as Sullivan was sent to opposite side of the hall.

“Stop it!” cried Crimson who was supporting an injured Mark.

Night Blade and his mate, laughed even harder as the king came crashing to the tiled floor for a fifth time. The A.M. and guards stopped fighting to bare witness to what was happening. The A.M. cheered with triumph and stamped their hooves.

“Dear,” said Safire putting a wing on her mates shoulder. “Why don’t we give them a choice?”

“I thought you would never ask,” said Night Blade who slammed Sullivan to the ground again before his voice echoed harshly through the halls. “Listen up! I’ll offer you a choice! Leave the Kingdom and it’s citizens behind and I will stop!”

He paused for a brief moment before continuing.

“Or else you’re king can teach you one last lesson, by watching him die!”

The Guards stood in silence. Leaving the kingdom would mean abandoning the citizens and their king to the mercy of the A.M. Crimson and Mark glared at Night Blade. When no one answered Night Blade sighed.

“Have it your way,” he said and a cry of immense pain came out of Sullivan’s mouth as he rolled over on his back and rived under the might of Night Blade’s spell.

“Alright! Enough, please stop!” hollered Crimson, her voice cracking. ”We’ll go!”

“Crimson no,” said Mark, but she ignored him.

“Everypony, follow us, retreat!” and she added to Mark so that he could hear her. “We will come back, I promise.”

The A.M. watched them leave clearing a path. Sullivan stopped screaming but his body laid on the cold floor shaking. The citizens outside watched from the safety of their homes as the Royal Guard passed by them with their heads down. They didn’t dare to look them in the eye, to see their looks of disbelief and shock would be too much for them to bare. The A.M. shouted words of abuse and taunted them as they continued their slow retreat.

“You see?” said Night Blade “Your trust is what makes you weak, and now I will take back what is mine, and lead this kingdom into a new tomorrow,”

“Please Night Blade,” Sullivan croaked. “Don’t let the amulet control you,”

“Silence!” spat Night Blade. “You might have betrayed me, you might have taken the throne, you took my son from me! But I will not give in to your screams!”

“Your, sons decision was his own to make, not mine, or yours,” said Sullivan.

There was fire dancing in Night Blade’s eyes, as he levitated Sullivan and tossed him out of the castle, sending him hurdling backwards until he flew passed the gates and skid across the gravel road. His royal guard came to his aid. The gates behind them slammed shut while the A.M.’s cries of celebration and laughs filled the night. Inside the castle, Night Blade levitated the king’s crown and placed it on his head. A feeling of triumph filled him as he turned to his followers who bowed to him.

“My king,” said Safire sweetly and she too bowed. “Welcome home.”

Night Blade looked at her with a burning passion and took her hoof lifting her up as he said, “Now then my queen… Shall we begin?”