Wings of Roaring Flames

Chapter 23 (part 1): the Crystal King's darkness...

I woke up and stretched my legs out over the edge of the bed yawning, before I looked over to see Twilight sleeping soundly. I slowly slid out of bed, heading to leave the room until I heard Twilight groan, making me look back, to see her looking at me. “Blaze…? Where are you going….? The meetings for the changeling-pony treaty finished a week ago.”

I walked back to the bed and kissed her forehead. “I know. I was going to see how they were setting in at the old castle in the Everfree, since they were staying in the Everfree before they invaded anyway.”

“I’m surprised the princess gave them that castle as their home. But why do you have to go now? The princess doesn’t raise the sun for another hour.” I looked out the window to see the night sky.

“Well, of course. Changelings are usually nocturnal. Right?” I looked at Twilight as she blinked looking like she was thinking and nodded telling me to be careful. I chuckled a bit and got my saddlebag on heading out and clicked the strap on as I left the library flying towards the Everfree forest.

I landed at the castle and looked up at it to see it looking like a normal castle rather than a crumbling ruin like the last time I was here. I headed towards the front entrance surprised at the speed they worked, and got stopped by two changelings clicking at me angrily. I felt a slight burning at my neck as they stopped clicking and looking confused, before opening the doors.

I headed inside watching behind me until I felt a pair of hooves wrap around me in a hug scaring me for a moment before looking up at Chrysalis. “It is so good to see you again my friend. I never got to properly thank you during the meetings, so…thank you…for everything you have done for me and my subjects. We owe you so much more than we could ever repay.”

I just smiled as she let me go. “It was no problem. I’m just glad that incident didn’t have to end in lives lost, or anything like that.”

Chrysalis began to laugh which freaked me out with how her voice had a secondary echo right behind it. “My changelings have never taken another beings life, not even by overfeeding.” She blinked as she began to look sad. “I usually tried to keep my hive away from killing…but I guess the starvation of my subjects…and myself the most…kind of clouded my mind.”

I put my hoof on her shoulder gently, shuddering from the feel of her chitin. “I-I understand…you just did what you had to for your hive…I remember when you mentioned how bad you and your kind were starving…how the princesses reacted…I’m even shocked at what Celestia said…I can still hear it in my head now because it’s so…absurd for her to even think like that to me…’I would do the same, if I were in your place’…the thought alone…it scares me.”

Chrysalis chuckled looking at me. “Like how you are scared of us…?” I flinched, hearing her say that. “It is alright, I understand why. It isn’t really…us exactly, it’s our…appearance. Being so insect like, correct?”

“Yeah…it’s a phobia of mine, but I guess this is a good time…to break myself of that phobia right…?” she smiled. “Oh…I noticed you have pretty well fixed the castle…externally anyway.”

She nodded as we began to head up some stairs. “Oh most definitely. We changelings have magical capabilities of an adult pony while we are just getting our armored layer, so even our younger ones who want to help can. Many of them have joined in helping fix our new home, which has incredibly sped up the repairs.” We entered what looked like a bedroom with a large bed with a green screen hanging from the ceiling around it. “Princess Celestia said it would take some time for my kind to be accepted as they originally are.”

She walked to the window and looked out as I joined her to see many changelings moving stones and using magic to cut wood, and holding them into certain places as the stone was set and magically binded together. “She’s right, especially with how your kind feed off other beings as you do, but with what I suggested, that should no longer be the case.”

I looked at chrysalis as she sighed. “It feels odd you suggested such a thing…even if it is for a short time. I know Princess Cadenza is still mad at me for what I did, even if she understands why I did, I could sense her anger.” She looked at me looking perplexed. “but, why would you offer to come by every once in a while, for me to stockpile love for me and my subjects until the princesses can enchant something to produce a limitless amount of love for us to feed off of?”

I shrugged. “Because it’s the right thing to do, so you don’t starve, and go nuts again.” I saw her flinch, which made me feel bad. “I-I’m sorry that wasn’t right to say…”

“No, it’s alright ser knight. You are right; I don’t want that to happen again. I want us to keep this peace, and to be able to help you, with whatever it is I am needed for in the future.” She smiled a bit looking out the window watching her subjects work.

I blinked in shock expecting her to be annoyed with me. I looked out the window as well, seeing the sun rising in the distance. “I should start heading back to Ponyville. If you need me for anything, just send a changeling changed into a pony to Ponyville to contact me. I’ll come straight here.” I started to head out but felt magic grab me and pull me back.

I felt chrysalis wrap her legs around me in another hug. “Thank you again.” I heard her yawn as she used her wing to rub one of her eyes. “You are welcome here anytime. Healthy or sick, I will do whatever I can if you need me.” She let me go as I nodded wishing her sweet dreams. I then began heading back to Ponyville, landing a short distance from the library.

I headed inside looking around. “Twilight? I’m back!” I walked into the kitchen to see a note on the table. I looked at it to see it said to head to Canterlot, and to meet up with my friends at the train station there, and that they would explain what’s happening. I was about to leave, until I heard Mimzy meow from the counter by the fridge, with an unopened can next to her. “Ok, ok.”

I became my human self walking over and opened the can pouring the cat food into a small bowl for her, and headed to the main room locking the door. “Cynder, come on.” I saw my blue phoenix fly down and land on my shoulder as I smirked and teleported us to Canterlot's train station seeing my friends. I walked over sliding my hands into my jacket pockets relieved ponies accepted me like this…after I proved I was me anyway…or the princess did anyway. “Hey girls. What’s going on?”

Pinkie was the first to be in my face grabbing my cheeks tightly. “Twilight has a test with the princess, she’s been freaking out since she got the letter early this MORNING!!!” she was pulled back from me by Dash, as I rubbed my cheeks.

I blinked looking at them. “A test…? She’ll be fine, she’s smart. She’s powerful. There’s nothing she won’t be able to pass.” I saw Twilight heading over as she seemed off. “I bet she passed. Just probably not as well as she hoped, or expected.”

Twilight reached us as she looked at us. “We’re heading to the crystal empire everypony.” All the girls looked confused as I blinked in shock. I couldn’t believe what she was saying since I read in a scroll in the archives that the crystal empire disappeared long ago, when king Sombra was sealed away, and he took the empire with him.

We got on the train, heading four our destination. Twilight had taken a seat to one side of me, and Dash was in the other seat. Dash yawned and leaned against me falling asleep quickly which made me chuckle. Twilight looked at me than Dash before the others looked over and they all giggled/chuckled at the scene.

When Twilight mentioned we should be there soon I gently nudged Dash, until she woke up. When the train stopped we got off as the girls all put on scarves to keep warm. It wasn’t much longer that Armor came out of the blinding snow flurry.

“Twily!” Armor ran over and hugged Twilight before looking back than at us. “We gotta get back quick.”

I stepped forward wondering what was going on. “Why? What’s happening?”

“I’ll explain later, we need to move.” Armor began leading us through the blinding snow flurry. I began to feel an odd presence, and Armor must have as well, since we both looked back to see a black smoke. “Run! We have to get through the barrier!”

We all began to run, but when I looked back I saw spike lagging behind as the smoke was catching up to him. I slowed down until I grabbed him with my wing and I could see a barrier in the distance, but I kept my focus on how large the barrier was, that I tripped up on something stumbling feeling something wrap around my back legs.

I looked back to see the smoke having coiled around my rear hooves slowly moving up towards my waist. “dammit.” I looked forward wrapping my wing around spike, calling out. “ARMOR!” I saw him stop at the barrier as the girls all jumped through as his eyes went wide. “CATCH SPIKE!”

I threw spike towards armor, seeing him catch spike and fall into the barrier with him as I felt the coiling smoke reach around my body. I yelled, as I felt my body get pulled deep into the black smoke, and black out from the inability to breath within the smoke.

I felt a hard smack to the side of my head making my head turn. I groaned and slowly lifted my head to see a pair of green and red eyes with purple energy flowing from the outsides of the eyes. “Who…are you?”

The head pulled back as the neck down was just the black smoke from before. When he spoke he had a demonic growl to his voice. “Don’t you know…? I’m King Sombra. I bet those princesses made ME seem like the evil one…didn’t they…but it isn’t true you know…they use peace and kindness as a front, create bonds hidden behind goodwill to get what they want. And I wish to free you from their hold…”

I felt a sharp pain flow through my body from my neck down, then feel it move back up into my head leaving me coughing. “No…they would never lie…they care about their subjects…they only try to help others.”

Another shock of pain flowed through me as he spoke. “Such a naïve Pegasus you are…I bet you think I am affecting your mind….I’m not…I am merely freeing you. It will take time, but you will be freed from their trickery. I will free you from your naivety.”

The pain began to intensify as I could see sparks of purple electricity flow over my vision as I screamed out from the searing, intense pain flowing through my body.

It felt like days…weeks….maybe even months passed since he brought me here. My mind feels so empty…my body feels so broken…I can’t focus anymore.

I felt my head be lifted as I saw Sombra’s face again. “Tell me what you believe now…”

I blinked slowly and coughed a bit. “I…don’t know what to believe anymore.”

I felt the pain fade from my body. “It seems their magic’s hold on you has been broken. Listen to my voice, and I will save you from the lies of those you knew.” I felt myself get lowered onto the ground gently, lying on what felt like a soft cloud as I relaxed. “The princesses had taken your mind into their hooves, and made you believe what you wanted to believe. The ones you have befriended are not your friends, but your watchers. That…marefriend of yours is nothing but the holder of your leash…or was that is.”

I saw images of Twilight and the girls flash before my eyes, as I bared my teeth. “They…lied to me…?” I slowly sat up panting. “They…used me…they knew what I was, and I was turned into their weapon, their TRUMP CARD?!”

Sombra slid closer to me. “Yes…but I have freed you from that fake life. I will help you in freeing many more in fact; I need you to help me overthrow them, so I can be the king Equestria rightly deserves. I need you to…act like the you they knew. Infiltrate them, weaken them from within.”

I nodded slowly standing up shakily. “Yes…I understand…” I began to leave but stopped. “Wait…going back as uninjured as I am now will bring suspicions will It not? They see you as a monster…evil…I need to be injured…bruised…”

Sombra rubbed his chin with some of the shadowy smoke. “That makes sense…” he looked at me with a smirk. “You are smart, for your age. I will do my best to cause the least amount of pain possible.”

I felt my body get wrapped in the smoke and felt some punctures on my side, and to my neck, and a tight tension around my chest, making me yell in pain as it felt like some ribs had popped. I felt myself fall and land on a cold plot of snow, slowly looking up to see the barrier.

“Get ready you backstabbing lier's….you’ll get what’s coming to you…” I slowly got up heading into the barrier seeing a city made of crystal, and in the center, a tall, large castle made of a giant crystal structure. I began to head towards the castle feeling the pain flowing through my body making me cough or stumble a bit.

I entered the castle and into the throne room to see everypony talking in there looking concerned as Cadence looked weak. It seems she’s the one creating the barrier. Armor’s horn had black crystals on it, which I felt Sombra’s power flow from. He stopped the magic flow with his own energies, to corrupt his horn.

Armor and Cadence saw me first as their eyes went wide, making the others look at me and gasp. I have to play the part, like Sombra wanted me to, so I decided to just smirk, trying to ignore the pain. “don’t tell me you all thought…he could hold me did you?” the girls all ran towards me tackling me in a hug, which made me gag a bit from my breath catching in my throat, and go into a coughing fit gasping harshly.

They all jumped off me saying they were sorry, and wasn’t thinking, because they were so happy to see me. It made me feel happy, but I knew how it was all lies now. “Don’t worry about it…Sombra was just a big push over…” I stumbled to the small patio looking around seeing how there was a festival going on, as Cadence, Armor, and Twilight joined me, while the others had headed out to keep the festivities going.

Cadence looked at me, seeming like she was about to pass out. “So…Sombra is…gone?”

I blinked and smirked looking at her. “Yeah. It was one intense bout between me and him, but I came out victorious.”

Cadence sighed in relief as she fell, the glow on her horn disappearing as the barrier faded. I knew Sombra had his chance to infiltrate the empire himself and reclaim his kingdom, to claim Equestria, and bring justice to the lying princesses.

I saw the black smoke rising up around the city, making the three with me gasp. The thing I didn’t expect that made me go wide eyed was Cadence reforming the barrier, and seeing Sombra colliding into the barrier. Armor glared at me angrily. “I thought you said you beat him! He doesn’t seem very beaten to me Blaze!”

I blinked staring at the barrier wide eyed. “I…I didn’t…”

Twilight hurried to get between her brother and me. “Armor stop, he might’ve planned this to get the barrier down, it isn’t Blaze’s fault!”

I looked back to see Armor step back and look down. “You’re right…I’m sorry I just…I gotta find the crystal heart immediately.”

Twilight walked up to him looking serious. “No, I’ll find it. Cadence needs you. I’ll be back with it in no time.” I saw Twilight run off, as I just looked at the barrier again staring in shock and annoyance that the princess was able to reform the barrier in her condition.

I heard the last two head back into the castle as I grinded my teeth. I quickly calmed down and went to get up and coughed holding my chest. “Dammit…I can’t do much in this condition…all I can do is force myself to act when I’m really needed.”

It took some time, but I just watched the area, until I saw the barrier fall and heard spike yell from above seeing him holding a heart shaped formation of crystal. The next thing I noticed was him trip and fall as Sombra went towards him which I forced myself to fly up and turn into my human self near spike catching him by the back of his neck and grab the crystal heart landing on the ground hard enough to make it crack beneath me standing up fully holding spike up looking at him as Sombra appeared behind me quite a distance away, and my ‘friends’ ahead of me. Cadence smiled weakly at me. “Blaze, give me the heart, quickly.”

I looked at spike and tossed him making him roll into a piece of black crystal, and smirked looking at the Crystal, hearing Rarity gasp. “Blaze, how could you just throw Spike like that?!”

I just chuckled. “Scales should be fine…” I looked at Rarity with an angry glare. “The ones in the wrong here are you…all of you…the ones I called my FRIENDS!” they all looked at me wide eyed. “Lies…ies…and MORE LIES! YOU ALL HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT USE ME AS A SHIELD, A SWORD, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!” I started walking backwards till I was at Sombra’s side. “I’m free from the lies that was forced into my head.”

Armor stepped forward. “Blaze, we never lied to you. Think about what you’re do-“

“SHUT UP!” Armor flinched and Cadence looked weak and tired. “I am SICK of these lies!” I heard a pop, seeing Twilight appear, as I scoffed. “And looky here…the biggest liar of all…” Twilight looked at me with a ‘huh?’ as she went wide eyed seeing me next to Sombra. “love…caring…I’m free from your lie Twilight…you never loved me…you saw protection…a pet…that you could control to have under Celestia and Luna’s control. None of you care about me; you are all just like my old friends. You use me...pull me close with lies of happiness, and acceptance, but I’m nothing to you.”

Twilight gasped as her eyes began to flow with tears. “Blaze…I would never lie to you…” she walked halfway up to me. “Please, see that I’m telling the truth…please…”

I walked up to her slowly looking at her, holding the crystal heart against my waist. “Shut up Sparkle.” She gasped as I picked her up by her neck/jaw line not choking her as she wrapped her forelegs around my arm. “It’s over…”

Twilight tried to struggle, but never bucked me, even when I knew she could easily kick me away, which is what I expected, but she never did. “Blaze…please stop…this isn’t you…I know you…” I heard her sniffle which made my heart tense up in my chest. “P-please Blaze….”

I heard Sombra’s voice behind me as he chuckled. “Show her you won’t fall for her lies. End her…break the cycle of lies, and show them true justice.”

End her? He wants me to kill her. I looked at Twilight again as she just let her head droop against my arm closing her eyes. “I guess…I can’t get through to you…I’m sorry Blaze…”

I blinked seeing memories flash by my eyes, of me and her curled together on the couch reading a book together from a few days after the gala. Me and the girls at a restaurant laughing, and talking. And memories of all the adventures we had went on together.

I shifted my hand to make her look at me. “I have one last request to make of you Twilight…before I end all of this…”

Author's Note

ALRIGHT! here is part 1 of 2 of my newest chapter!!! dear god, i just love the twist i gave this, as well as the cliffhanger. i will say part 2 will take quite some time to finish, since i want to start the herd in a specific way.the pony is already chosen as well, as well as do a long overdue introduction of a certain character.

:twilightoops: WHY?!?!

its good as a cliffhanger. will blaze kill her, or will he turn back? or will he turn back AFTER he's killed her? it may seem obvious, but who knows at this point.

:duck: did you really have to go that far?