Solar Child: The Original Chapters

Solar Child

Chapter Twenty-Six

Written by Bakmah Genesis

        The six elements and Spike marveled at the beauty of the city that was the Crystal Empire.  It was almost hard to believe that only a thousand years ago it was taken over by Sombra.  Shining Armor broke Twilight out of her trance with a light tap on her shoulder and pointed to the Palace standing tall in the middle of the Empire.

        During their walk, Twilight noticed that every crystal pony had a dull sheen and looked depressed.  When she asked Shining he told her it was after affects of Sombra's rule as well as his presence outside of the Empire.  She sighed softly and kept walking.

         "Cadence!" shouted Twilight as she bursted through the throne room doors.  The two ran towards each other before doing their small dance.  Once finished, the two embraced.  Cadence winced as the Sombra attacked the field again.  It was then Twilight noticed the glowing aura around her horn that was constantly being used.

          "It's good to see you, Twilight." she said, visibly shaking as she carefully made her way to the crystal throne.  Shining stayed next to her the whole way and helped her down.

           "How long have you kept this shield up?" asked Twilight, concern coloring her face.  Cadence sighed in relief as Shining fed her a small amount of magic.

            "Three days.  Not once slept since Sombra won't stop trying to get in.  I'm not sure I can keep this up for too long." said Cadence.  As if to prove her point, Sombra attacked the shield again and Cadence leaned forward as if someone punched her in the gut.

           "Now, I doubt Celestia told you how Sombra can to be.  She probably wanted me to tell you.  I did start this." muttered Cadence.  She rubbed her temples where she was starting to get a very large headache.  She was going to need a bottle of painkillers once this is over.

          "Twilight, I sure you are very well aware that all alicorns have a demon side to them.  Your mother has one since I saw it twice before, Aunt Luna obviously has one, and Trixie more than likely has one but we just haven't seen her revert to it." said Cadence, sitting as straight as her body would allow. "And as for you, I saw it on the day we pronounced you dead.  These things feed off our negative emotions, the host's, and uses it to creates it goals.

             "Celestia, blood-thirsty rage.  Luna, revenge-hungry pain.  You, relief-searching fear.  Each one of these are what powers them." explained Cadence.

             "Couldn't we just remove the demon so it doesn't take us over?" asked Twilight.

             "No!" shouted Cadence, making everyone back away in shock.  "Greed.  That's what Sombra is.  I was stupid and removed him and ended up unleashing a full on demon upon the Empire.  Demons are more dangerous when without a host but can't go without one freely.

           "We were just lucky it was me who unleashed a demon. If it was Luna, Celestia, or even you, Twilight, then the world would burn in flames of hell before they are even content." said Cadence, finally settling back down.

            "Well how do we defeat a demon?" asked AJ.  Rainbow snorted and flew into the air.

            "Easy.  We go out there and kick his flank across Equestria!"

            "Rainbow, I love you but that plan is utterly stupid." said Twilight, not falling for Rainbow's attempt to impress her.  Rainbow Dash landed, deep crimson coloring her cheeks.  Cadence giggled, feeling the obvious love the two shared for each other.

            "Do you at least have an idea, Twilight?" asked Cadence, the smile on her face refusing to leave.  Twilight put a hoof to her chin and thought for a moment.

           "Well, we can try and find out how they defeated him the first time.  Girls, you can go ahead and ask around the Empire.  Me and Spike will head to the library and try to find a book there that has any information on the defeat of Sombra." said Twilight.  The others nodded and ran off.  Twilight and Spike went off to the Crystal Empire library, leaving Cadence and Shining alone in the throne room.

         "Let's hope this will work.  I can feel him getting stronger." said Cadence, looking out the window towards the direction of Sombra.

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          "Well, we're fucked." said Twilight.  The seven of them were lying down on the third floor of the library.  The others came back with the same story, amnesia.  Twilight and Spike faired no better.  She could not find one book that even mentioned Sombra's rule and nothing on what defeated him.  At hearing her foul language, Rarity sat up and crossed her hooves, glaring at her.

            "Twilight, such foul language!  And in front of Spike!" she said, covering said drake's ears.  Twilight gave her an unamused look.

            "Rarity, we have absolutely no information on how to save a whole empire with a demon ready to waltz right in.  There is also the fact that he will come after me.  The word fuck barely describes the situation but it gets pretty fucking close." said Twilight.  Rainbow laid there wide eyed.  She knew it was bad if Twilight swore more than once and didn't apologize for it.  Then what she said fully hit her.

             "Wait, what do you mean he will go after you?" she asked, grunting as she sat up.  "Last I checked, Cadence is the ruler of the empire so wouldn't he go after her and try to get back the city?"

             "Yes, but you got to remember his position.  He still has little chance with us being element bearers and Cadence protecting it.  He wants to gain an upper hoof and I provide it." she said, sitting up amd turning to face them.  "As natural to demons, they can sense each other.  I can sense mothers, I can sense Luna's, I can sense Trixie's, and I can sense Sombra.  If I can sense them, they can sense me.

              "He may be at full but knows he is nowhere near powerful enough to face me if I were to unleash my demon.  With this in mind, he will try to befriend it and use it to his advantage."  she sighed and rubbed her temples.  "For once, I wish I didn't have the ability to plunge Equestria and the world into utter destruction."

            "Then you wouldn't have met us, silly!" said Pinkie, sitting up with a grin.  Twilight raised an eyebrow at the pink pony.  "Well, you were sent to Ponyville because you were the princesses daughter, but you still could go there.  But you said that you didn't want to decide the fate of Equestria and that would mean not fighting Nightmare Moon and we all became friends because of that." she said with a grin.  Twilight shook her head and smiled a little.

              "You truly are amazing, Pinkie." she said.  Pinkie started hopping around them.

              "Of course!  Who wants to be normal?  Then everypony already know what you are going to do and there is not much fun in that and who would make all the super-awsome parties in Equestria?  Somepony has to."  Twilight shook her head at the mare.

            "So what do we do know." asked Spike, sitting on a pile of books.  He then shifted his gaze to Pinkie who was still bouncy around the library and was now trotting happily on top of a bookcase.  He shook his head and turned his attention back to Twilight.

           "Well..." said Twilight as she looked away from the hyperactive mare.  "The best place to search is in the Palace itself.  I saw something on the throne and I would like to check it out.  My and Spike will check it out, meanwhile you guys try and keep the citizens calm and protect them without killing yourselves if he breaks through.  I would like a second date with my marefriend." she said, looking at Rainbow.  Rainbow smiled sheepishly.  "Now go."

           "What are we going to do at the Palace, Twi?" asked Spike as the others left.  He hopped onto her back and held on as she ran towards the door.

             "Try something stupid, dangerous, and could possibly plunge the world into chaos.  Just the normal Tuesday."

              "Oh, my favorite time of the week." said Spike with a roll of his eyes.

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              Twilight and spike stood in front of the crystal throne and all it's glory.  It looked like it was just a large cluster of crystals if it wasn't for the seat cut into it and the heart set into the top.  This crystal heart was actually the center of Twilight's attention.

           She could see the faint glow of dark magic in its depths, meaning it was hit with it constantly.  At first, she threw the possibility of it meaning something aside, setting it as an affect from Sombra's rule but she noticed none of the other crystals shared its same properties.

          "What are you going to do, Twi?" asked Spike as he saw her horn start to glow.

            "Like I said, something really bucking stupid."  Her horn started to glow black with dark magic.  She screwed her eyes shut, trying not to let it get an upper hand on the internal battle waging inside her.  Her eyes gained a green tinge as the magic builded up inside her, ready to be released.

           The bolt of dark energy raced from he horn and hit the heart, turning it a dark black.  Twilight released the magic and gasped, trying to refill her lungs.  After taking a few deep breaths.  She looked up to see a dark stairway in place of the floor I front of the throne.  She looked around then down at herself and nodded.

          "No demonic creatures, no dark coat, lengthened height, red cutie mark or any other demon related signs.  So far so good." she said, walking towards the steps.  She tested them with a hoof before starting her way down, using her horn as a light source.

         The dark staircase spiraled down into darkness, not showing signs of a floor anywhere close.  Twilight shuddered slightly as she walked, taking into account of the unpleasant feeling that was seeming to seep into her.  The entire place poured dark magic and she could sense it, having used dark magic herself and being a host for a demon.

          She gave a sigh of relief as she finally reached the bottom, coming to stop in front of a dark colored door, black iron keeping it secured.  Twilight carefully walked over to it before opening the door, trying to find what was behind it.

          Twilight was in Sweet Apple Acres, ontop of the same hill she chased Rainbow to and confessed her feelings for the other mare.  The tree itself that was on top was covered in red and orange trees as summer gave way to fall, painting the landscape beautifully.

             Rainbow was standing with her back to her.  Her wings were fully erect, feeling the autumn wind blow through her feathers.  Rainbow turned to her.  Twilight was taken aback by the cruel grin that she was giving her.

           "It's totally not going to work, Twi.  I got my bits from AJ and I no longer need to pretend to love some egghead like you."  she said.  Her face was of some sort of self-achievement.  Somewhere, she could hear her rational side yelling at her that it wasn't her, but she didn't listen.  She was too stunned.

             "No!" she shouted, trying to catch the mare as she took off.  Rainbow disappeared into the sky, leaving behind a rainbow trail that left her like its owner.  "Please, Rainbow.  Please."  Twilight sobbed, laying in the grass under the tree.  She curled into a ball and hugged her knees, crying to herself.  "Please."

            "Twilight!"  A firm claw smacked the side of her face.  Twilight opened her eyes, tears still streaming, and found herself back in the dark stairway.  She slowly stood up and examined the door, trying to make sense of what had happened.  She found a similar crystal set above the door like the one back on the throne.

            Shooting another bolt of dark energy at it, Twilight watched as the door was surrounded by a black aura before flashing in a bright light.

           Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.  She sighed as she saw a identical room as the one they were just in, except white.  The stair way lead upwards and seemed to go on forever.

            "I'm starting to hate stairs." she said as she gazed upwards.

             "Same." said Spike as he followed her gaze.

              "What are you talking about?  I'm the one carrying you and walking up all of them.  You don't do anything." said Twilight, looking back at the drake.  He smiled sheepishly at her.  Twilight rolled her eyes and started up the stairs.

            After what felt like twenty minutes, Twilight noticed that they were getting nowhere fast.  She examined the stairs, trying to find a faster method.  She smiled widely when she did.

          "Hold on Spike!" she called out before lighting her horn.  Spike felt his stomach lurch as gravity was reversed, sending him and Twilight onto the ground above them.  She smiled back at him before sprinting forward.

         Within a few minutes their trip beared fruit as they came to a trap door.  Bursting through it, they found themselves on the top spire of the Palace.  They gasped as they saw that the field had already fell.  Sombra himself was just entering past the field. Twilight frantically searched the spire, hoping their trip wasn't for nothing.

          In the center was a Crystal heart, floating above the ground in a faint blue aura.  Twilight  dove into the depths of her mind, trying to find it.  She gasped in recognition.

            The Crystal Heart represented hope and love to the people of the Crystal Empire.  It went missing around Sombra's time and has been missing since.  Twilight connected two and two together and got a beautiful four.

             Without thinking, she stepped forward, her heart and the tile below her sinking in rythem.  Twilight cursed before running forward, dodging black crystals that shot out of the ground.  She hit the heart, successfully knocking it out of the crystals reach.  She looked up to find herself being surrounded by a cage of black crystal.

            "Twilight!" yelled Spike from the otherside of the crystals.

            "Spike!  Grab the Crystal Heart and run!  Cadence needs to get it in the town center!" shouted Twilight.

            "But..."

             "Spike!  Grab the heart and get the fuck out of here!  You can't let Sombra get to it first!"

             "Alright." said Spike, giving in.  She could hear Spike grab the heart and walk off to somewhere beyond.  "I will be back."  With that, he was gone, leaving Twilight in the crystal cage.  She didn't tell Spike but she was still fighting her demon, trying not to let it out.  The demon was starting to gain an upper as the dark magic from the crystals seeped into her.

               "Hurry, Spike." she whispered.

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                Spike swallowed and let go of the crystal.  He landed on the balcony, startling the seven ponies standing on it.    Spike looked up the way he came and whistled.  He travelled the whole way by jumping from crystal to Crystal before making it to the balcony.

              Remembering why he was there, he ran over to Cadence and held up the heart.  Her eyes widened in remembrance.

            "Is that?" she asked.  Spike nodded.

            "Yeah, we need to get this to town center, now.  Twilight said that it might stop him." said Spike after finally catching his breath.  Shining Armor stepped in.

             "Where is she?" he asked, worry in his voice.  He pointed a single claw upwards to the spire.

             "Staying nice and cozy in a crystal cage.  She yelled at me to get down here."  Shining sighed and shook his head.

             "That mare.  Alright, Rainbow Dash, can you get him down there?"

              "Wait why do I have to put it there?" asked Spike as Rainbow stepped forward to collect him.

             "Because you two are the only ones capable since Cadence is still weak and I can't leave her.  Now get on that Pegasus and get Sombra the fuck out of here!" said the Captain.  Spike sighed and climbed onto Rainbow's back.

             "Alright, hang on."  Rainbow lept forward, diving over the railing and down to the streets below.  Ponies were running and screaming as the cloud like mass of Sombra entered the edge of town and made its way to the Palace.

            Rainbow made a quick circle around he Palace before finding her target, a giant circle in the middle of the street underneath the Palace.  Spike jumped off and ran towards it.  He quickly threw the crystal into the air and watched it float towards the center in its blue aura.

            Once reaching the center, it slowly spun, gaining speed as the blue aura intensified.  The markings embedded in the streets glowed in the same blue aura, encircling the empire in its glow.  With a final pulse, a dome encased the empire.

            Sombra screamed as the wave hit him,dissolving the dark cloud and him with it.  The Empire gleamed in light as the spell woven from the heart took effect.

          Rainbow and Spike were suprised to find them selves made out of crystal when they looked down.

          "This better be temporary or I'm going to be so tempted to eat my hand." said Spike.  Rainbow laughed and picked up the drake.  The two flew off towards the Palace balcony as the citizens cheered for the defeat of Sombra.