Land of Confusion

by CorvusGhost

Rating: mature
Tags: Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance, Sex, King Sombra, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Dark, Human, Sad, Anthro, Main 6
Length: 6354

After his sacrifice, a human appears in an anthro Equestria and rules it as the Afterlife, little knowing that his arrival wasn't an accident. A Power is rising. One that Death itself answers to, and our 'ambassador' is the only thing in its way.

In a post-apocalyptic Earth one former professor finds himself in another world after sacrificing himself to save his comrades. However, waking up surrounded by anthropomorphic equines wasn't what he expected to see on in Other Side. After the predictable freak out he is issued under care of one Twilight Sparkle by the Solar deiarch. After living in what he now knows is Equestria he tries to fit in by living as normally as possible, not knowing that his arrival wasn't just a glitch in the Matrix. A force far darker and sinister than all of Tartarus itself is at play, and our human happens to be the only one to rise against. Confusion ensues. You have been warned . . .

(Contains Rule 63 Sombra)

Published 2015-06-25 19:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-04 04:54:28 UTC

Prologue: So It Begins. . .

Author's Note

NOTICE! REQUESTING REPAIRS ( editor needed)
Well, with that out the way, GREETINGS!!! This is my first fic so if you will, all feedback is requested. Just don't try to make me cry. Because I won't. Real quick this is how the Siren and Titans looked - http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/deadfrontier/images/0/0a/Siren.png/revision/latest?cb=20130729200356 / http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/23/22628/Titan.png - again, first time submiting to this site, have NO idea how to input images in text and stuff. Next chapter will appear HOPEFULLY within 2-4 weeks. Seriously, just this prologue took a month. Again, thank you for your feedback ALSO REALLY QUICK! Cover art is of Disturb's The Guy and the zeds belong to Neil Yates and his MMORPG Dead Frontier. Check it out, it's free. Ghost gone.

Prologue: So It Begins. . .

Prologue

The sky was a dark gray with thunder clapping now and then. A wind blew empty cans and papers through a street filled with puddles, abandoned vehicles, and corpses in various stages of decay. The once living city of Fairview was now a dead zone, just as every other human settlement. The eerie stillness was broken by the sounds of footsteps echoing on the wet pavement as four men cautiously made their way through the street in diamond formation, clad in military gear and armed to the teeth with assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, and various blades and explosives.

"Hey Carl any movement?" the man in the lead whispered to the man to his right.
"Nothing, all's dead here." Carl, a sturdy young man in his early twenties, whispered back.
"Hey," the man in the back quietly laughed, "nice pun asshat." Carl shot the man a look before flipping him off.
"Yeah why don't you stick that up your pussy" The rear man quipped.
"I swear to God. . ." Carl sharply turned and made a swing with the butt of his SKS at the offender only for it to be caught mid-swing by the man in the left.
"Hvatit! Enough!" He hissed. The offender grinned at Carl with smugness written all over his face.
"And vat are you leffin et, ah?" The senior man glared at him, instantly swiping all the smugness from his face.
"If you two keep fighting ve vill all die. Do you understand!?!" The silence was only broken by the rustle of some fluttering papers and skidding tin cans. Carl looked at the offender for a few more seconds before closing his eyes and letting out an exasperated breath.
"Yeah. I understand. My bad." He slightly tugged on his gun, showing the old Russian he calmed down. The Russian let go of the rifle and flicked the backside of the offender's head.
"Hey what the hell man!?" The man hissed, grabbing his injured area.
"Thets for ecting like little sheet," The Russian answered in his thick accent,
"Now zatknis end pay attenshion."

The man in the lead silently shook his head and checked his wristwatch as he let the previous moments transpire.
"Hey chief ya alright?" Carl whispered to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get a move on, we don't have much time left to get to the Stockade before nightfall, and we don't want another run with that again do we?" The listening three men slightly cringed at the unpleasant and terrifying memory, just the thought of it sent a chill down their spines. "Alright let's move."

The men continued their stealthy trek down the haunting street, jumping at every sudden loud bump a can would make.
"Hey fellas," the rear man grabbed everyone's attention,
"I don't like this one bit, I mean, it's been already like five whole minutes that we haven't seen a single zed." unease was clearly evident in his tone.
"It's ok Collin. I guess we can take this as a blessing of sorts." The leader said in a calming voice, hoping to ease the poor man up a bit.
"Yeah? Back at Dogg's the eggheads said some crap about some super-mutants that are highly territorial and the first signs are lack of zeds." The team stopped in their tracks and looked at Collin.
"Vhat?" The Russian was the first to speak. Collin glanced around before talking,
"Back at the Stockade I overheard some scouts being briefed by the eggheads about the new strand of infected. They referred to them as the 'Titan' and according to eyewitness reports the things are mutated to three sizes of a person and encased in massive bony armor with spikes and claws and enough strength to shred tank armor."

Every man looked at one another with tense expressions.
"Well if that's the case then we'll have to be even more quiet." The leader spoke. His comrades nodded in unison and continued their journey, this time aiming their guns at whatever made a sound. The team continued their stealth move until Carl suddenly broke the silence.
"John, zeds up ahead, two o' clock!" Carl addressed the leader. John, the leader of the group, was a tall well built man of 22 with medium length golden-brown hair, brown eyes and a stubble of a goatee, and taught history at a community college before the shit hit the fan.

The group dropped to a knee and aimed in the reported direction. Their sights landed on a small horde of infected, their clothes, mouths, and hands caked in blood.
"What we doin chief?" Collin anxiously bounced in place, his finger tapping the trigger.
"Not a sound, they'll most likely shuffle out of here, c'mon everyone behind that car now!" John ordered and they quickly crouch-walked behind a blue rape van with its side windows busted.
"Ok, Seriy do you see any covered paths we can take?" The Russian shuffled to the front of the van and peeked around, his gray eyes scanning for a safe passage. "Uhhh, blin, nothing yet."
"Shit." John took a quick glance around and sat back against the van, trying to figure out a way past the horde.
"Chiiief. . ." Collin's 'oh shit' tone broke him out of his mental state and he turned his head to look at Collin, noticing his left arm was pointed away from them. Following his arm John's heart dropped in his chest. Standing there, staring right at them was a Siren. Everyone froze in their spots, praying to Anyone out there for the inevitable to not happen.

The ear-splitting screech forced the men to grasp their ears and shake their heads to clear the dizziness. Once the ringing subsided their ears instantly picked up the sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps and the snarling of the hungry undead. "Incoming!" Carl yelled as they stood up, slinging their guns to the ready. No sooner had they done so the infected swarmed from around the car and the men simultaneously squeezed their triggers. The infected screeched and snarled as the bullets tore through their bodies, shredding the flesh in bloody splatters. As the last zombie hit the ground John quickly lowered his empty AK-12 and pulled out his Sig-Sauer and aimed it at the Siren, pumping out two bullets, each making it between each head's eyes. The heads lurched backwards and the Siren stood still for a second before falling back with a sick thud.

"Nice aiming there Chief." Collin praised. John holstered the pistol and reloaded his AK.
"Zhey hev heard us. Ve must move before more arrive." Seriy spoke as John cocked one in the chamber.
"Yeah let's move, c'mon no more stealth maneuvers." His companions nodded and they took off down the remainder of the street. Rounding a corner they noticed infected slowly emerging from a few surrounding buildings and looking right at them.
"Run 'n gun gentlemen!" John yelled and shot an upcoming zombie in the head. "Yeeeeaaaahhhh buddy!" Collin laughed and let loose streams of bullets into infected that stood in his way.

The men were halfway down the street before Carl called out,
"I'm empty!" Everyone stopped and faced their backs to him as he reloaded his rifle, holding off any incoming zeds. Suddenly a monstrous roar caused every man to curse in surprise.
"The fuck was that!?!" Collin yelled. No sooner did he, a sedan came flying from the air right at them.
"Holy sh-" before he could finish they all dove in different ways as the car crashed where they just were and skid down the road, crushing some infected and spitting sparks, glass, and loose debris everywhere.

John coughed and got up in a crouched position looking around. His men were seemingly uninjured and were getting up, shaking wet dirt off their jackets and gear.
"Chief you alright?" Carl asked as he picked up his SKS that fell from his grip. "Yomayo! Chto za chyort?!" Seriy said something in Russian as he checked his AA-12.
"Goddamn! Where the fuck did that shit come from?!" Collin cursed while adjusting his ammo belt. A second roar made the men jump and raise their weapons in its direction. Before anyone could say anything a massive monster leapt onto the roof of a city bus about 150 feet away, the thing's weight forcing some windows to shatter and the roof to cave in a bit. The thing was roughly three sizes a regular man and was encased in a bony red and white exoskeleton with spines protruding from its shoulders and elbows and huge claws on its hands.
"Oh my dear sweet Lord. . ." Carl said in a shocked voice.
"It's a Titan!" Yelled Collin and began shooting his LMG at the beast.

The Titan roared again before leaping into the air and onto some cars, crushing them completely and charged at the men, kicking cars out of its way like they were cardboard boxes.
There is no way we can take on that thing. John thought and yelled
"Fall back! Run!" and began sprinting away from the monster. Seriy and Carl wasted no time in following their leader while Collin continued to shoot at the oncoming nightmare. John looked over his shoulder and shouted,
"Collin you fuck get out of there!" Collin let loose a few more rounds before turning and taking off. John saw that the Titan was more than halfway to them and getting closer. Dear God we're gonna die he thought as he faced forward again. As the men ran down the street the Titan zeroed in on Collin and with a quick swipe lifted him off the ground and stopped.
"OH FUCK! HELP ME!!!" Collin's cries were answered by the men by stopping in their tracks and turning around. To their horror they saw the Titan holding him like a doll before swinging him around like an angry child.
"Take 'im down!" John raised his AK and took careful aim not to hurt the swinging man before shooting, hoping to hit the monster's head. The two men next to him quickly did the same.

The Titan raised its unoccupied arm to shield itself from the barrage of bullets and roared in agitation.
"Keep firing!" John ordered and began making his way towards the creature in a flanking maneuver. The Titan decided it had enough and let loose the mother of all roars, forcing the men's ears to vibrate painfully. Suddenly the Titan reared back the arm with Collin and before the men could react, threw him with the speed of a highway car. Collin screamed as his body sailed through the air and with a dull thud and crunch crashed into the ground behind the three men, rolling for a few meters before seizing all movement.

"Collin!" Carl yelled and ran to the downed man. He threw aside his gun and knelt beside the body, turning it around. Collin's eyes were shut and his face was bloody and bruised.
"Come on man you can't die right now, come on man! Clara is due any day now and you have to be there for her man, come on!" Carl took Collin's upper body in his lap and shook him.
"Augh . . . that shit was unpleasant." Collin coughed, his eyes remaining shut.
"Oh thank God!" Carl let out a relieved breath.
"Hey are you alright? Can you stand?" He asked, concern all over his face.
"I-I can't feel my right leg, I think it's fucked." Carl glanced to said limb and clenched his teeth. The leg was swollen and bent out at a wrong angle.
"It's ok bud we're gonna get you outta here." He assured his injured companion.

"Get 'im up and get to the Stockade! It's right down four blocks! You'll have to detour around the block though!" John shouted to Carl and sprayed more bullets at the beast. The Titan acted like an aggravated gorilla, snarling and beating it's chest.
"Aim for the ankles, it's veaker over dhere.!" Seriy called to John. John instantly brought the sights down lower and shot at the ankles with instant results. The Titan roared and stumbled to its knees, seemingly losing use of its legs. John took the beast's handicapping as a time to shoot a glance back at the men.
"Dammit Carl can he walk or what?!" Carl turned his head sideways and called back, "He's not opening his eyes and his right leg is busted!"
"Damn!" John cursed and thought of a solution.
"Seriy help Carl carry Collin back to base, I'll hold this fucker off!" Seriy paused his shooting and stared John in the eyes.
"Are you sure comrade?"
"Yes!" John answered, reloading his AK. Seriy and Carl exchanged looks then looked at John, who looked back and forth between them, and back at each other, at Collin, back on each other and nodded. "Stay strong comrade." Seriy quickly ran up and grasped John's shoulder, giving it a firm shake.
"Don't die you three." John patted the Russian's own shoulder. Seriy then ran up to Carl and they both lifted Collin up, who was more gone than there.
"Hey chief!" John turned his head back, his gun traced on the beast, which crawled closer and closer, growling like a rabid tiger. "Don't take too long." Carl gave his leader one last nod and the trio began shuffling away.

John closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before slowly turning to face the Titan. Exhaling sharply he opened his eyes and ran arpund the beast, leading it away from the retreating trio all the while screaming profanities.
"Come on you fuck!" *BANG BANG!*
"Come here!" *BRATATAT* The Titan roared with rage and doubled its speed after him, easily shoving cars out of its way. John kept this up for a good while, leading the monster farther and farther in the opposite direction. Halfway through John was amazed the thing wasn't dead even with about a good 400+ rounds in it.
"What does it take to kill your fat ass huh?" He asked it.
*SNARL!*
"Really? Well thanks for the heads up." The Titan crawled a few more feet before suddenly collapsing, loud gurgling breaths heaving it's torso up and down.
"Wha- you're . . . exhausted!?" John was surprised, "Well that's a first. A zed getting exhausted. What's next? A cure?" A deep familiar growl behind him shut his brain in lock as the deep vibrations passed through his body.
Well fuck . . . John slowly turned himself around and came face to face with another Titan no less than five feet away, he had to crane his head all the way back just to see its head.
How in this hell did you manage to creep yo fat ass up like that? was the exact thought that ran through his head before the beast launched him through the air. As he sailed rag-doll style he couldn't help but be glad that he was wearing military armor and helmet as the ground rapidly approached him.

The impact took the air out of his lungs and rattled every bone in his body as he rolled across the pavement and slammed with his back against a car.
Oh God everything hurts. . . John tried to move his head but was horrified when he couldn't move a single muscle.
OK this is NOT good this is NOT good! John managed to force his right hand to his belt and unclipped a frag grenade as the Titan's footsteps shook closer and closer. John felt his windpipe get crushed as the monster grabbed him by the throat with its massive hands and lifted him into the air, no oxygen entering his body. The Titan held him above its head like a trophy, all the while growling like a dinosaur.
Well this is how I die John barely forced his left hand index finger to wrap around the grenades pin as the Titan opened its mauw, revealing two rows of blood-stained sharp teeth, and began bringing him closer to itself.
John pulled the pin and couldn't help but replay his favorite movie scene and gapsing out,
"Surprise motherfucker!" as everything exploded and his world fell into a pitch black void.

Equestria

Fluttershy's Cottage

8:36pm

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, causing the shy and timid Pegasus known as Fluttershy to 'eep' and drop her cup of tea and spill it all over her floor.
"Oh goodness" her soft voice filled the room,
"Quite the doozy Dashie's team organized." she stooped over to pick up the cup, her D cups squeezing together in her yellow V neck.
"Oh dear, I've made quite a doozy myself." she placed the cup on the table and walked over to a counter, taking a napkin and returned to clean the mess. A sudden low noise like magic charging up made her sit up in confusion.
"Now what could that be?" Her question was answered by a sudden bright purple flash coming through her front window, forcing her to shield her eyes with her wings and releasing another 'eep'. After a few moments she left the sanctuary of her feathery fortress and looked to the window. The purple glow was still there, pulsing brighter and dimmer , but not as bright as before. The strange sound was replaced by another noise which sounded like a soft whirring. Fluttershy timidly stood up and shakily inched her way to the window and peeked outside.

Out in the open just outside her door lay a stallion dressed in strange clothes with his back to her cottage. The purple glow came from a rotating energy orb several feet above him, the rain seemingly vaporizing in an umbrella shaped field coming from the orb. "Oh my!" Fluttershy's timidness was instantly replaced with concern for the well being of the poor stallion outside. She unbolted the door and rushed outside. The first things she noticed were that the air was comfortably warm and the ground was completely dry in a circular shape around the stallion in a seven foot perimeter. Kneeling beside him she turned him on his back and gasped. This was was no ordinary stallion. In fact he wasn't even a pony! She stared at the new creature and didn't notice her favorite white rabbit hopping up next to her. The rabbit stared at at the strange creature and brought a paw to his chin. After thinking he hopped up to it and gave it a test kick in the right arm. The creature groaned and stirred, the rabbit instantly flew backwards, while Fluttershy 'eeped' and skid away a bit, bringing her hands to cover her mouth. After the stallion didn't move again for a good minute she turned to her rabbit,
"Angel bunny could you please bring mama a quill, ink, and paper?" The rabbit saluted and zoomed into the cottage, returning with the requested materials and watched the creature while Fluttershy quickly wrote a note which read,

Dear Twilight, please hurry to my cottage as soon as you can because I came across a strange nonpony stallion who appeared out of a purple orb in front of my house. I will take him in and check for any injuries, hugs and kisses - Fluttershy.

P.S please hurry!!!

Fluttershy folded the note and gave it to Angel, who looked at it quizzically.
"Now Angel Bunny can you please do mama a big favor and deliver this to my good friend Twilight Sparkle? It really is very very important." Angel looked up at her with a look of pure disbelief as his ears drooped downwards. He rapidly pointed out into the downpour that was still raging out of the orbs field.
"Oh I know sweetie but can you please do this for me? I promise to bake you the best carrot cake tomorrow." The rabbit's ears perked up and he licked his lips eagerly. He turned towards the rain and was about to head off before halting mid-jump and turning back around, pointing a paw at her.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, now please hurry!" Fluttershy pleaded. Angel wasted no more time, his white fur disappeared in the night. Fluttershy turned her full attention on the still form underneath her and thought of how to get him inside.
Oh, he's awful big, maybe even bigger than Big Macintosh. Oh, I hope I can move him . . . She placed her arms under his armpits and tugged. . . . with no result. Huffing she took a deep breath and tried again, this time wildly flapping her wings. She wasn't making any progress and stopped to catch her breath. Once she done so she positioned herself again, wings extended and ready to flap.
"Come on Fluttershy you can do this! One, two, THREE!" She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth, grunting from the strain. For a second it seemed she would fail until she suddenly felt her drag him several inches. This discovery fueled her strength and she doubled her effort. Slowly but surely she managed to drag the unconscious creature indoors and onto the couch. Letting out a breath she collapsed to the floor, too tired to shut the door.
"Goodness *pant* that was *pant* much more *pant* difficult *pant* than expected *pant*" she gasped, slowly getting herself together. After she felt better she went over and shut the door before addressing the prone figure. Only now did she notice a dark red blotch forming on his chest.
"Dear Celestia! We need to fix you right away!" Her motherly instincts took over and she started a flurry of activities, removing the stallion's strange armor and shirt before attending to the gash underneath.

Outside the orb pulsed a few more minutes after the duo went inside before disintegrating into a black flame and vanishing. Lightning flashed and a hooded figure clad in black spiked armor and glowing red eyes and sharp shining white teeth stood in the clearing outside the reaches of the cottage's light. The being watched through the window as the yellow pegasus tended to the human. It's breath came out in frosty clouds, instantly freezing any raindrops that passed through, turning them to hail.
"So it begins . . ." The being's voice was dark and deep yet alluring at the same time.
The figure continued to watch for several minutes before a black/purple fire sprang up around it, and with another flash of lightning, was gone, leaving behind a spot of scorched smoking ground.

Dark Rising

Author's Note

The amount of distractions I encountered during the making of this chapter was too damn high!

Anyways I will most likely not be able to write the third chapter for about two weeks due to me being a sports instructor at a camp. Maybe I will but most likely won't. After all I didn't buy spearfishing gear for nothing right? Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter, don't forget to hit that hate button erm I mean LIKE button, and as always, *Russian accent* Hev nice day.

Ghost gone

Dark Rising

Dark Rising

Eight months later. . .
Location - Unknown

A dark red sky swirled with black clouds, forming a tornado-like vortex above a dead landscape, giving everything a reddish hue The ground was a burned black and gray with dead trees scattering the scene. In the distance volcanoes burned, lava rivers flowing from them, creating a sense of despair and death. A dull hot breeze blew through the land, making dead branches and twigs rack against one another, some breaking and falling to the charred ground.

In a tree before a clearing, a large raven with jet black feathers sat perched on a branch. It's six red eyes darted around the area, searching for any signs of danger. A sudden humming of energy caused the raven to crouch and freeze, wings semi-open, ready to spread and flee from the threat. In the clearing a purple/black portal swirled into existence, sending the raven cawing into the skies, leaving a few feathers behind slowly fluttering to the ground.

The portal swirled vertically a foot above the ground like a misplaced whirlpool when a noise like running water sounded and out of it shot a misty shadow. The shadow hovered in the air for a moment before settling on the ground and materializing into a strange creature. This creature was female and had a black coat and grey set of skimpy armor that barely covered her nether region and bountiful bosom. She stood in a crouched stance which allowed her to be both bipedal and quadruped. On her back was a pair of leathery bat wings. The face had a feline appearance and two small fangs poked out of her mouth and on her head were long pointy ears. Her mane was a silver color and was loose to the shoulders. Small spines stuck out from the mane and ran through the center from the forehead to the neck. Her eyes were red and slitted and from her plump rear went a long lions tail with extra fluff at the end.

The creature shook herself and stretched her wings. She looked around the clearing then up at the black mass of clouds. The swirling vortex seemed to hypnotize her as she didn't stir for a good five minutes.

The portal behind her suddenly collapsed on itself with a loud CLAP! She squeaked and jumped forward, wings flared out. She turned, pupils the sizes of pinpricks.
Seeing nothing she closed her eyes and placed her left hand on her heart, breathing deeply, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Why can't he fix the stupid portal problem already?"

She said to no one in particular in a sweet voice.

And to think he's so high and mighty yet can't even provide decent portal crystals for his subordinates.

She shook her head and after a few minutes took to the darkened skies. The warm wind felt nice through her mane and she couldn't help but close her eyes and smile, enjoying the feeling on her fur.
A blast of wind to the face broke her moment of bliss and she looked around the dreadful landscape.

*sigh*

Why can't things be like they are in Equestria?
She thought to herself.
Everything is so green, so beautiful, so . . . full of life.

She continued her train of thought until the air around her dropped from a pleasant warm to a teeth-chattering freezing and the atmosphere became even more dark and sinister.
Her fur stood on edge and she crossed her arms as close as possible to preserve some heat, her double Ds bulging outwards, threatening to escape from their prison.

And another thing. Why do we have to wear these skimpy outfits? The only thing these things can offer are hungry horn dogs!

Lightning cracked disturbingly close and she quickened her pace, dropping to a lower altitude. Soon visibility was as dark as a moonless, starless night and everything lost all color into a dull black and gray. She strained her eyes trying to reflect as much light as she could to help navigate in the gloom.

Soon her vision picked up the silhouette of a huge castle resting in the midst of steep sharp cliffs. Soon she landed outside of the main gates and folded her wings. With quick motions of her hands she straightened her mane then made the rest of herself presentable and walked towards the gates, back straight chest out, perfect.

As she neared the gates she couldn't help but feel intimidated by the appearance of the palace. No matter how many times she returned she couldn't get used to the place. Up close it's sheer size and foreboding architecture set off every alarm in her head, screaming for her to turn and flee as far away as possible from the monstrous establishment.

The gates slid upwards with a long and extremely ear-splitting screech, forcing her to flatten her long ears as much as possible and cringe, shivers shooting through her every nerve. Once inside the courtyard she strut across, preparing herself for what was to come at the beginning of the steps to the main double doors.

She reached the steps and walked past two fifteen foot stone gargoyle statues flanking the steps. Her ears perked up as the sound of crumbling stone softly echoed behind her.

Wait . . .
She put more sway in her hips.
Almost . . .
She continued like this to the halfway point.
Now!

She spun around and stared straight at the two gargoyles, both with their heads turned and glowing green eyes on her lower region, biting their lower lips. The gargoyles jumped and stumbled over themselves to face forward again upon realising they were caught. She chuckled and called out to them,

"You boys enjoyed the view?"

The only response she got was some incomprehensible mumbling and some uncomfortable shifting. She put on a full blown grin and rolled her eyes, shaking her head and resuming her trip up the steps. She finally got there and waited. Silence. She tapped her foot and put her hands on her hips. Still nothing. Losing patience she crossed her arms and huffed, her tail twitching in agitation.

"Are you fr-"
she began but was cut off by the sound of the doors opening.
"Finally!"
She entered the palace and total darkness engulfed her. At the bottom of the steps the two gargoyles looked back at the now shutting doors then at each other. The two began conversing in a strange garbled language. One lifted its arms and made groping motions while flicking his tongue up and down swiftly. The other rolled its eyes and reached across, smacking the other upside the head. Said gargoyle grunted in a questioning tone, rubbing the sore spot. The assailant grunted an answer and both resumed their posts, both becoming encased in solid stone once again.

The feline navigated her way through the blackness by memory through corridors and great halls until she came to another set of large double doors. Stopping in front of them she took several deep breaths and knocked three times, each noise echoing eerily into the darkness.

The great doors slowly opened revealing a huge throne room. The place was illuminated in a dark purple glow from torches that emitted strange plasma particles instead of flames. Massive pillars stretched up into the darkness and in between each pillar crouched on their knees with their fists on the floor were more gigantic stone gargoyles, their heads facing down in a bowing posture. A dark purple carpet with black trimming led up to a large black throne that was decorated with glowing purple crystals. The armrests were made of two large dragon skulls and from the back came spikes that stabbed in every direction and a purple/black mist danced around like flames. But the most fearsome feature was the being seated on the throne. It's massive muscular arms rested on the skulls and its hooded head faced downward, no indication of open eyes or breathing.

She trembled slightly before getting herself back under control and walked up to the foot of the throne and taking a knee, her right knee on the floor, her left arm on her left knee, and her right fist in the carpet.

"Y-your Darkness First Novus Kittibra returning from reconnaissance mission."

She didn't dare look up or breath, her heart racing. This was her second time having a face to face encounter with the Lord of Darkness Himself. The figure on the throne opened his eyes, the orange/yellow torches burned into her head, causing her to squirm involuntary, and sat up, leaning back into the throne.

"Ah . . ."

His voice instantly paralyzed her, the deep dark vibrations dominated her every sense, making her feel like his slave, completely in his power.

"So, my new Novus, what does your harvest reap?"

"We- *ahem* well, t-the Equestrians a-are unsuspecting o-of anything. Their military forces are more focused on Canterlot due to a recent Changeling invasion."

"Good. This will only make things easier. Well done Novus! Your service to me is much admired. I am sure a promotion is in your near future."

"T-thank you Your Darkness."

"It is well. Go, have your fill of meat and wine, for soon we shall make our existence known to all of Equestria."

"Y-yes Your Darkness."

Kittibra stood and bowed deeply to the Dark Lord and turned to walk out of the room. Suddenly not ten feet ahead a portal hummed into existence and a male creature emerged, clad in black and silver armor. He also had leathery wings but they were tattered. His physique was that of a drake with black and dark green scales and his eyes were also bright green and slitted, his red mane was spiked up in a mohawk and a long scaly tail came from his rear. Kittibra's face instantly soured and the drake's turned into a cocky smirk.

"Novus" He said in a haughty tone.

"Dick-anus" Kittibra replied, giving him her own smirk as his turned into a scowl.

"Its Decanus. You'd better start addressing me by my true rank title or there will be punishment. Is that understood, Novus?"

He hissed. Kittibra put on her bedroom eyes and sauntered over to him.

"Punish me . . ."

She whispered to him and walked past, leaving him blushing and flustered. As Kittibra exited the room the drake went over and knelt before the Dark One.

"Have you found her?" The Dark Lord's tone was deathly serious.

"Yes we have, Your Darkship. She is in the Crystal Empire. She rules side by side with the Alicorn of Love. Though she was recently reformed by the Elements, that shouldn't be a bigger issue than a slight delay."

A sinister grin spread across the dark face and a malicious chuckle escaped his lips.

" Excellent."

He stood off the throne and took three strides before turning to the still bowing drake.

"Rise my subject."

The drake stood straight and was a little taken aback. He himself was 6'4 and the tallest of his kind. The Lord of Darkness was a whole head and a half taller, standing at at least 7'7.

"Ready the Fallen. We move at the start of the solstice."

The drake bowed his head and headed out of the room. The Dark Lord watched him leave then went behind the throne, a hidden door opening and shutting behind him. He walked up a long spiraling set of stairs in pitch blackness. At the top he approached a wall and waved his right hand in front of it. A circular doorway melted and a room appeared. He walked through and the wall reformed itself. Inside the room was illuminated by the same plasma torches and a set of broken glass doors led to a balcony and a cracked window faced out into the black sky.. The place was furnished with a large black bed, black table, several bookshelves, and a glowing three-dimensional rotating holographic map of the planet.

Without wasting time he approached the map and pressed a continent. The map instantly changed form as it erupted in particles and reshaped itself into a flat three-dimensional map of Equestria. Tapping another location in the northern hemisphere the map zoomed in on the Crystal Empire, showing what was happening inside the city real time. He observed the casual atmosphere of the crystal ponies for some time before pressing the palace in the center. The palace grew in size until it took up the entire span of the hologram.

"Come out come out wherever you are, Your Highness."

The Dark Lord's fiery eyes scanned every inch of the rotating palace.

"Aha!There you are!"

He excitedly pressed upon a balcony and the map zoomed in on a mare that just walked onto it. The mare had a black coat and mane/tail. From her forehead went a reddish horn and a purple mist flowed from her red-green eyes. On her head was a black and silver tiara and a cape was wrapped around her slim figure.. The mare leaned on the railing and gazed out into the city. Closing her eyes and breathing in the pleasurable chilly air.

"Soon, Your Highness, soon you will learn it is impossible to escape your destiny. Especially if one like ME is involved in it."

The Dark One zoomed in on her face and reached out, stroking her mane. The mare's eyes shot open and she faced him, a surprised look on her face. The Dark Lord grinned and flicked her snout. She squeaked and scrunched up her snout, rubbing it with a hand. She looked around his area for a few more minutes but after not seeing anything turned and went back inside the palace.

"Sleep well your majesty, I hope all your dreams come true."

He stepped away from the map and headed towards the window, the map reforming itself back into the rotating planet. The Dark Lord crossed his arms and stared out into the distance, a wicked smile appeared on his face.

"Just remember that nightmares are also dreams . . ."