Author's Note

I am soooooo sorry for the BS promise I made in the last chapter. Life unfortunately can consume a lot of one's free time. But now I have some time on my hands and I'm going to try to make the most of it with this story. Also if you noticed I took down the mane six tag because after thinking it over my character isn't really going to be hanging with them a lot but he will have some familiar pony companions later on. For now though I'll leave it a surprise.

Anyway read, enjoy, like, comment and have a good day.

The Unwanted Confrontation

15 Minutes Earlier

Chaos Capital of the world AKA Ponyville

“I’ll tell you what we’ve learned, Discord.” Twilight Sparkle stated as she and her friends stood facing Discord who sat on his throne. Each one wearing their Element. “We’ve learned that friendship isn’t always easy but there’s no doubt it’s worth fighting for!”

Discord merely gagged at her claim and went up in her face. “Fine, go ahead, try and use your little Elements. Friend me.” He then teleported back on his throne. “Just make it quick. I’m missing some excellent chaos here.”

The mane six readied themselves for the finale. “Alright ladies, let’s show him what friendship can do!” With that said, the magic within the Elements began charging as magical symbols of each pony’s cutie mark flew in random directions.

Discord noticed how this was different from the first time they tried this. “Huh? What’s this?”

With the eyes of the six turning white with light, they started levitating as a magical rainbow out up into the air and then back down to Discord.

“No. No. NOOOO!” The rainbow impacted on Discord and starting from the bottom he began to slowly turn to stone.

“You lose Discord!” Shouted Twilight with a confident smirk.

With his head still free, Discord said “You…may have…defeated me….but….you won’t….beat….my old roommate so easily.” Those were his last words before he was completely incased in stone.

However the magic of the Elements wasn’t done there as the rainbow turned into a magical dome that expanded all over the land and restored everything back to normal.

Discord was defeated.

But the mane six, thanks to Discord’s final message, weren’t celebrating just yet. In fact they were left confused.

“So does anypony know what he meant by ‘old roommate’?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight tried to think of an answer as she rubbed her hoof against her chin but nothing came to mind. “I don’t know but it doesn’t sound good.”

Just then a bright ball of light appeared in the sky nearly blinding the six friends. The light descended down to the ground and when it ceased, revealed to be both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

The mane six gasped in surprise by the sudden appearance of their beloved rulers.

“Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!” Twilight shouted as she and her friends bowed to their princesses.

The alicorn sisters walked up the element bearers. “Rise, my little ponies.”

Twilight and her friends did as told.

“And congratulations. You were victorious against Discord and you have restored harmony to the land. Equestria is once again indebted to you.” Celestia proudly announced with a smile as did her sister.

“Well what did you expect? We’re just awesome.” Rainbow Dash boasted with chest puffed out.

“Yeah! But it would be nice if could’ve kept the chocolate rain.” Said Pinkie Pie with her usual Pinkie-ness as her friends giggled at her antics.

Twilight then went up to her mentor with a concerned expression on her face. “Princess? There’s still one thing.”

Celestia noticed the look on Twilight’s face became somewhat concerned herself. “What is it my faithful student?”

“Well just as we were sealing Discord, he said something.” The lavender explained. “He said even though we’ve beaten him, we won’t beat his ‘old roommate’ easily. What did he mean?” She asked.

Both princesses took a moment to contemplate the meaning of the message.

“What could that fiend possibly mean by ‘old roommate’?” Luna questioned.

“I’m not sure.” Celestia replied. “Discord didn’t have anypony at his side when he ruled Equestria all those years ago. Nor when he was defeated and we placed him in the Royal Gar-“

At that moment both princesses eyes widen in realization and horror. They looked at each other and knew the other came to the same conclusion.

“No….it can’t be.” Luna muttered.

“It shouldn’t be……unless…..Discord….” Celestia muttered back.

The mane six looked at each other in concern as they wondered what could make their powerful immortal rulers so frightened.
Twilight decided to speak up. “Princess, what’s wro-“ However she was unable to finish because without warning, the princesses teleported themselves, the six and Discord’s stone form to the Royal Canterlot Castle Garden.

After spending a few seconds getting over the disorientation of the teleportation observing their surroundings, Rarity spoke first. “The Royal Garden?”

Applejack followed with “Why’d ya take us here fer?”

“Hey, look at this!” Pinkie called out waving at the others to come. She stood in front of a pedestal with a plague that read ‘Discord’. The only odd thing was that there was nothing on the pedestal say for a few pieces of stone.

“This must where Discord was held the first time he was turned to stone.” Twilight stated.

“Indeed it was.” Twilight and her friends turn their heads to the source of the voice. That being Celestia who, with her sister Luna, stood in front of another, more damaged pedestal. “After relocating from the old castle in the Everfree Forest, I had Discord placed here in the garden where we can keep a close eye on him.” She explained as the element bearers trotted next to her. “But he was not the only being we kept.”

Now able to get a better look being closer, the six friends saw the new pedestal nearly destroyed by something. There was a plague on it like Discord’s but they couldn’t make out what it said because some of the letters were missing.

“This is where we kept….HIM.” Celestia said with a hint of both anger and fear.

“Who?” Twilight asked. “Who did you keep here?” She noticed how her beloved mentor was giving a different reaction from when Discord was free.

Luna decided to answer. “The darkest sorcerer in equestrian history, Corruption.”

The five of the six mane looked at each other with somewhat confused expressions.

“Tha who now?” Applejack questioned.

Knowing her friends weren’t really much into history, Twilight enlightened them. “Corruption. I read about him. It was when Equestria was at war with the other races thousands of years ago. He appeared out of nowhere and nopony knew what he was since he wasn’t a pony, a zebra, a minotaur or anything. He was something entirely different and he used a different, dark kind of magic. A magic that can take the very elements of nature around us and turn them into weapons. Not only that, but Corruption also created an army of giant rampaging beasts that destroyed everything in their path.”

Her friends gasped in horror at the thought of such a dark and evil being.

“Oh my….he sounds…..scary.” Fluttershy said while trembling in fear.

“What an absolute brute he must have been.” Rarity threw in her two bits.

“Wait!” Luna called out to her elder sister as a thought occurred to her. “If Corruption has been out for as long as Discord, could that mean he’s found….?”

Celestia eyes widen when she realized what her sister was getting at. For a second time the Twilight and her friends were left confused.

Then once again, without warning, the eight ponies minus a statue were teleported to another location. This time inside the Royal Canterlot Castle, or the restricted section of the royal library to be specific. It took a bit longer this time for Twilight’s friends to get over the disorientation.

“Ah don’t think ah’ll ever get used ta that.” Applejack shook the dizziness out of her head.

“Oooo, everything’s all spiny.” Pinkie on the other hoof was enjoying herself as her eyes danced around.

Since Twilight was the only one of her friends that’s used to the effects of teleporting, she could see surroundings clearly. What she saw was a round room with several pedestals lined up against the wall. Each one holding some kind of ancient object. All except for one.

“Oh no.” Celestia said as she went up to the empty podium along with Luna.

The mane six came up behind them.

“What is it, Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked.

Princess Luna answered. “It is as we feared. Corruption has reclaimed Librom.”

“What’s a ‘Librom’?” Rainbow Dash asked the question on everyone’s mind. Not even Twilight knew and she dedicated a portion of her life to studying all of Equestria’s history.

“Librom is a grimoire.” Celestia responded. “A magical book that is the source of the dark sorcerer’s power. Anypony that reads from it can learn the same kind of magic Corruption wields.”

“Wait.” Twilight interrupted. “I never read anything about Corruption using a book.”

“Tis because we tried everything we possibly can to keep it a secret. After the sorcerer was defeated, we erased any knowledge of the cursed book’s existence and hid it away to ensure nopony could ever use its power again.” Luna revealed their secret.

“Now hold on ah moment.” This time Applejack interrupted. “If this here book is where this varmint’s power comes from, then why didn’t ya jus destroy it?”

The royal sisters glanced at each other. Luna sighed before continuing. “Because we can’t. The consequences of doing so could be……disastrous.” This left all the ponies except Celestia confused. Why couldn’t they destroy the book? Was it indestructible or something? Why was it so dangerous to try?

Celestia decided to enlighten them by sharing a little of their past. “Long ago, during one of the few encounters we had with Corruption, we managed to tear out one of the pages of Librom. We then burned it believing it would weaken the sorcerer…...we were wrong.” She paused for a moment remembering how badly their actions backfired. “Within the book is not only magic but memories. And the magic of the book can allow one to journey into it and experience those memories. However, should it be destroyed, even a single page, then the memories within would be unleashed. When we burned the page, a gigantic beast came out and the environment was changed to that of a twisted nightmare. The monster was so powerful we had no choice but to join forces with Corruption to defeat it.”

Twilight and her friends were shocked to hear that their powerful princesses had to team up with their enemy to stop a monster. For something like that to happen, the beast must have been incredibly strong.

“It took everything we had but eventually we managed to defeat the beast. When we did our surroundings turned back to normal and the creature reverted back into a page. But since we were left so exhausted, the sorcerer was able to regain the page and disappeared before the royal guard came.” Celestia concluded.

Luna continued with “After that experience, we theorized that within Librom lie memories of a whole world filled to the brim with monsters. If burning one page can caused such mayhem….then destroying the whole book will unleash Tartarus on Equestria.”

This told the ponies that this sorcerer was essentially walking around with a doomsday device.

Celestia stepped up to the six. “I know this is a lot to ask for, especially after the trial you were forced to go through when facing Discord, but now Equestria needs you again. You must find Corruption and stop him before he can wreak havoc upon the land.”

“Don’t worry Princess. With the magic of friendship on our side, he won’t stand a chance.” Twilight stated with conviction. “Right girls?”

“Yeah!” Her friends shouted in unison.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Celestia said with a smile. “However I must warn you.”

The six ponies listened closely.

“Corruption is not someone who will try to divide or trick you. He is someone who will fight you head on. If you are not careful, he will not only kill you….he will take your very soul.” The white alicorn warned.

“What do you mean by ‘take our soul’?” The rainbow maned pegasus questioned.

Now Luna stepped forward. “That is one of the dark sorcerer’s abilities. He can take the souls of other living beings and use those souls to increase his power.”

The element bearers were once again shocked and gasped at this revelation. For someone to have such a power would have to be truly evil.

Twilight was definitely scare of the thought of having her soul taken but she wasn’t about to let that stop her. “Not to worry Princesses. With of all us together there’s nothing we can’t handle.”

“Then we both wish you good luck.” Celestia said with her sister nodding in agreement.

Twilight turned to face her friends. “Alright, let’s go girls.” She then charged onward with the rest in tow.

Present Time

Thanks to the mess Corro left behind with his morph spell, Twilight was able to deduce where the sorcerer would be. So they got down the mountain and went to search the area Twilight said would be the likely spot they’ll find him. It wasn’t long before they encounter the supposed darkest sorcerer in equestrian history.

“This can’t be happening.” I thought as sweat was beginning to come down my pores like a waterfall.

This is exactly the confrontation I was trying so hard to avoid. But now standing not far from me was the Mane Six. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Most of which were now staring me down with determination in their eyes. Fluttershy however was trying to hide behind her mane the second I made eye contact with her and Pinkie Pie just kept an innocent smile on her face.

I however was thinking a mile a minute, trying to figure out how they could have found me so quickly. “How is this possible?! How could they’ve found me so fast?! Discord should have kept them distracted long enough for….!” My thought slowed down as I began to put the pieces of the only logical explanation together. “Wait….Discord….” My eyes widen as it finally clicked. “OH THAT SON OF A BITCH! HE RATTED ME OUT!”

It was the only explanation. After all, villains are always sore losers. Whether he wanted me to get vengeance for him or he simply wanted to have a roommate again, I was going to have to deny both requests. Because one, no way in hell was I going to spend a few more thousand years as stone statue standing next to the most annoying creature in the land.

And two, even I know how invaluable these six are to this world. Should anything happen to these girls, then Equestria would be left defenseless against the future villains that will appear. Of course, that’s not counting my own demons but those were my problem not theirs. If these girls tried to go against the archfiends themselves, they would be torn to pieces. That was something I couldn’t allow to happen.

But first, I need to deal with the current situation.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but awkward silence. That is until I finally raised my hand and said “Uhh hi?”

I immediately regretted that action as a pink blur ran up to me and I was face to face with the bubbly party mare herself. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! So you’re the dark sorcerer the princesses told us about! You don’t look so evil! How do youmakeyourclothesglowlikethat?!Heywhathappenedtoyourarm?!Whyisitallblackandstuff?!Isitbecauseyouusedarkmagic?!HeyIhaveagoodideadoyouwanttobefriends?!Icanthrowthebestestbestpartyyouever-“

“PINKIE!!!” Her five friends screamed out for her attention. Clearly they were not happy about Pinkie’s antics.

Realizing what she was doing, Pinkie said “Oopsie, sorry.” She then ran back in another blur beside her friends.

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed before continuing from before. “Corruption! By order of Princess Celestia, you are under arrest!” She declared.

I simply tilt my head at her choice of words. “Funny, I thought only the Royal Guard can say that. And by the looks of it you’re not Royal Guard. But judging from the jewelry you’re all wearing, I’d say you’re the new bearers to the Elements of Harmony.” Sure I already knew who they were but I couldn’t let them know that.

“That’s right.” Twilight replied proudly. “And with the magic of friendship on our side, we will stop your evil ways.”

I threw my head back and groaned. “Okay, allow me to make one thing clear: I. Am. Not. Evil!”

Twilight and her friends were taken back a bit by my declaration.

“What happened all those years ago was a big misunderstanding.” I stated.

“Yeah right.” Rainbow scoffed at my remark. Not believing a single word I just said. “What’s there to misunderstand about you sending a bunch of monsters to attack Equestria?”

“That was an accident!” I shouted in fury. I really hated being accused of doing that on purpose. But then I saw I had frighten them a little with my outburst, I realized I needed to calm down. I took a deep breath before carrying on. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was just trying to…..” I paused. Truth be told, I didn’t like talking about it. It just brings back memories of those who suffered because of my decisions. “Look, I don’t have all day so why don’t we just pretend this meeting never happened and go our separate ways.”

Twilight then gave me a suspicious look. “And where do you plan on going?”

On instinct, I answered. “Tartarus.” Then I immediately realized how stupid it was to give away my destination and the fact it was too late to correct it.

“Ah ha!” Twilight pointed her hoof at me. “Isn’t Tartarus where your monsters are being kept?” She narrowed her eyes with her friends following suite realizing where she was getting at.

“Technically they aren’t my monsters but yeah. But I-“

“So you’re going there to them free!”

“In a way yes but not-“

“And you’re going to use them to conquer Equestria and overthrow Celestia!”

“What? No I-“

“And you’ll take the souls of anypony that gets in your way!”

Kill a few bandits and they never let you hear the end of it. “I guess the princesses told you about that pow-“

“Well that’s not going to happen! If you think we’ll just sit by and let you terrorize our home, think again!” Was Twilight ever going to stop interrupting me?

“It’s not what you think. I just…..you know what forget it.” My patience was wearing thin and I didn’t have all day to argue. If there was one thing I remember from the show, it’s that to the ponies Celestia is always right. I’d just be wasting my time trying to convince them I’m not the dark sorcerer the princesses claim I am.

“Come on let’s just show this creep how awesome we are!” Rainbow Dash boasted.

“Ah’d say it’s about time we hogtie this varmit!” Applejack said.

“I concur. For crimes against fashion, we simply must stop this fiend.” Rarity shared her more personal reason for this.

“Alright, altogether now!” Twilight commanded her friends. They followed and readied themselves into position.

I simply sighed. “I guess in a way this was inevitable.” I then cast the evasive Falcon Feather (S) spell on myself and summon the Stoneaxe Edge in my hand. It’s funny how though this weapon spell had the word axe in it, it was more of a stone hammer. But it’s also one of the few spells have that’s not completely lethal. ‘Completely’ being the operative word. “Just remember, I gave you a choice. And you chose this.”

The girls were a little taken back about how I summoned a hammer made of rock from nowhere but they weren’t going to let that stop them.

“Phht, a hammer?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “You’re seriously going to go against the ELEMENTS of HARMONY with a hammer?”

I said nothing. I simply stood there waiting for the right moment. “I’m definitely going to catch Hell from Celestia for this but what choice do I have?”

“Nothing to say?” Twilight asked. “Fine. Girls…” She called out her friends. “Let’s show him the power of friendship.” She then lit up her horn and activated the elements. A little rainbow sprang from Twilight’s element and started to connect to the other elements thus activating them. The mane six began to float into the air as their eyes glowed with a pure white light.

I just stood there holding my spot with a stoic expression. Though I do have to admit, it’s quite the sight to see the elements in action. Almost makes me wish I had a camera. It’s just a shame I’m going to have to ruin it. Just have to make sure to get the timing right, otherwise I gonna end up spending another couple thousand years as a lawn ornament and I have no intention of doing that.

“Any last words?” Twilight asked a confident smile smeared across her face. Just then the magically rainbow shot out from the elements and up into the air.

“Two words actually.” I replied as the rainbow reached its zenith and began to decent directly towards me. Calmly I shifted my arms around to grip my brown stone hammer with both hands and held it in front of me. I closed my eyes and waited patiently for the right moment.

At this moment time seemed to slowed down. Though my eyes were closed, I was still able to somewhat see through my mind’s eye. I can see the souls of the mane six floating in midair, the magic of the elements surrounding them, and last but not least the massive amount of instant-statue magic that’s about to rain down on me. Once the rainbow was about a foot away from hitting its target, I made my move.

I shot and blink forward dodging the blast, letting it hit nothing but air and the ground I stood on and reappeared in the air in front of Twilight with the hammer raised above my head. The lavender unicorn and her friends gained a look pure shock at the fact that the ultimate magic of Equestria had just missed.

Though for Twilight, it was more because she can tell what was about to happen next and she had no time to react.

“I’m sorry.” I then swung down my hammer on Twilight’s head. She immediately fell to the ground with a thud and was knocked out. With the Elements of Harmony been interpreted, the other girls fell and landed on their rump as I dismissed my stoneaxe edge.

What followed was a moment of silence. For the girls, it was a moment of horror. Mouths hung open and they stared wide-eyed at Twilight’s unconscious form. For me it was a moment of regret. I don’t like harming someone who was innocent but when push comes to shove I will defend myself. It’s a good thing I held back on the swing otherwise I would’ve done more than just knock her out.

Now here’s the thing, I had somewhat played out how this was going to go in my head the moment the mane six began charging the elements. I already completed the first step which was to take down the leader. The next will likely be is to deal with whoever is the first to respond to an attack and the first is usually the fastest.

“YOU JERK!”

And what do you know it’s the predictable Rainbow Dash.

Seeing her friend sudden get beat down like nothing filled the cyan pegasus with rage. Acting on instinct, she quickly shot forward with the intent to as I believe she would put it ‘kick my flank in’. But I was already ready.

Raising my hand, I conjured the Thunderstone Lid shield offering. Various plates of grey stone with electrical markings engraved appeared between me and angry pegasus.

Not expecting the sudden magic wall to appear out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash crashed right into it. Since she was still on the shield I figured it was a good opportunity to put her out of commission. I sent a shockwave through the shield thus hitting Dash with both kinetic force and electricity.

“AAAAAHHHH!” She screamed.

Rainbow Dash was tossed back several feet and skid across the ground before coming to a stop. Needless to say, she was out cold.

2 down, 4 to go and I can already guess who’s about to go up next: the apple farmer herself.

“Why ya no good varmint!” Applejack shouted as she was getting ready to toss the lasso in her mouth. But like before, I planned ahead.

Dismissing my shield spell, I cast my Giant’s Arm offering. My right hand and forearm essentially became twice as big. The appearance looked something like freshly burnt wood with the skin becoming black char and being able see the inside through some cracks which was lit up like it was burning. There was also an odd pink strip running up my forearm, split into two paths just before the elbow, went around the joint and ended where the two meet again on the other side.

Anyway with my arm spell in place, I was ready for Applejack. She threw her lasso and just before the rope reached me, I grabbed it. Next I gave a ‘light’ tug and the orange mare flew towards me.

“WHOOOOOOOA NEEELLLY!”

I then step a little to the left and using my giant arm gave Applejack a clothesline. Of course I made sure not to apply too much force as I was only trying to incapacitate her, not punch her head off. Either way, she was now on the ground and was not getting back up soon.

Just as was about to consider which of the 3 mares left would attack next, two of them stepped up at the same time. How do I know two, because now I was being pelted by assorted pastries and small rocks.

I look over through my mind’s eye and see that Pinkie Pie had taken out her signature party cannon that is now firing all sorts of treats you would find in any bakery. The other pony was the white mare Rarity who was using her horn to magically pick any rocks she could find off the ground and flinging them at me. I on the hand was trying to make sure none of that crap hit me in the face with my giant arm.

“You uncouth, barbaric, unfashionable brute!” Rarity yelled as threw another rock.

“Yeah! Take this you Mr. McMeaniepants!” Pinkie fired her colorful cannon again.

"Enough of this." I thought. I dispensed my giant arm and then swung my hand forward to cast my Snowtree Root (Tri) homing spell. The way a homing spell worked is that depending on which element you choose, that element will spread across the ground towards its target in a trail. Kind of like a snake slithering towards its prey. And because it’s a homing spell, it’ll follow its target. Also the (Tri) part meant that the trail will divide into three paths. This cuts down the damage dealt but allows one to hit multiple enemies.

Anyway, this was a bronze level frost homing spell so a thin buildup of ice rushed at the two ponies. Two trails hit their mark encasing both Pinkie Pie and Rarity in ice while the third simply stopped since it couldn’t find a target.

5 members of the mane six were now down. This left the only one I was most concerned about because I wasn’t sure when she was going to do-

“YOU BIG MEEEANIIIIE!” The yellow pegasus flew up to my face with wide eyes.

That. I wasn’t sure when she was going to do pull out that. Fluttershy’s infamous Stare. I may not remember much but I do remember that even though Fluttershy’s usually a pacifist, if forced to do so she’ll use some sort of hypnotic gaze known as The Stare. Just about anybody caught in it will bend to her will and do anything she says.

At least that would be the case if it wasn’t for the fact this was the exact reason why I was using my mind’s eye the whole fight. To ensure that my real eyes never looked into Flutter’s. I didn’t know if her technique would work on me or not but I wasn’t in the mood to test it.

“I don’t care if you’re the darkest sorcerer in equestrian history, you’re going to unfreeze Rarity and Pinkie, pick up Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight, and you’re going to APOLOGIZE to them RIGHT NOW!” The yellow pegasus screamed in my face while intensifying her stare.

Unfortunately for Fluttershy, that wasn’t going to happen.

I stood there for a moment with a calm composure. Not even remotely intimidated. “As I said before…” I grabbed the back of her head with my right hand, pulled her down while driving my left knee into her gut. Fluttershy’s pupils became pinpricks and her mouth hung open gasping from pain. “…I’m sorry.” She then fell to ground clutching her stomach whimpering and tearing began to come down her eyes.

With each member of the Mane Six now taken care of, I disengaged my mind’s eye and opened my real eyes. Surveying my surroundings, I see Fluttershy at my feet crying in pain, Rarity and Pinkie are still blocks of ice. Applejack is still out cold though I can see a little blood dripping from snout. Oops. Rainbow Dash is a couple of yards away still unconscious and her fur and mane were a little frizzy. And last but at least I see Twilight Sparkle still in the same spot that I left her but I can also see she was beginning to stir.

The lavender unicorn slowly opened her eyes as she was regaining consciousness. She tried to get up but her body was still too weak after taking a hit from a stone hammer. At the moment Twilight remembered what she was doing and turned her head to check on her friends. It goes without saying that she was more than shocked to see all of her friends defeated and the only one standing was the dark sorcerer. Twilight tried her best to gather as much strength as she can for a magical blast but could only muster a few sparks out of her horn.

Seeing Twilight’s futile attempts to stop me I sighed. “I truly didn’t want this but you left me no choice.” I then began to walk past the fallen group of mares and towards the forest. “I certainly pray that our paths don’t cross again.”

I stopped just before the edge of the clearing. “Oh and one last thing.”

Though Twilight was listening, she was also trying and failing to get up.

“I prefer if I wasn’t referred to as Corruption or dark sorcerer.” I take one final glance over my shoulder and looked Twilight in the eye. “For now you may call me Corro.” I turn my head back. “Farewell.” Saying my good bye, I entered the forest and disappeared from Twilight sight.

And so my journey to Tartarus finally began. With me walking through woods to get around Canterlot and to the mountains to the east.

Of course what I did to the mane six still clung onto my mind. And even more regret filled up my chest. I guess this just adds to list of things I need to make amends for. “It’s true what they say.” I said to no one. “The path to redemption is never ea-“

THU-THUMP

“GAAAAAHHHHH!” As if I had just been struck by lightning, my entire right arm was racked with this burning intense pain. I fell to my knees and grabbed my arm with my left hand. My right appendage was uncontrollably shaking and my fingers were twitching. But this pain wasn’t foreign to me at all for I knew what it was.

It was the Blight.

The price all sorcerers in Soul Sacrifice had to pay for their magic. A price I had to pay ever since I became what I am now. As I said before, my cursed arm is always in pain but every once in a while the pain spikes.

However this was different. The pain was much worse than usual. It was like my arm was being shredded by barb wire, eaten by fire ants and poured on by salt at the same time.

The only time I can think of that the pain was this bad was when….. Was when I first arrived in Equestria.

This drew me to the only logical conclusion. “Damn it! Spending so many years as a statue…. So many years without feeling a spike. I’ve completely lost my tolerance to it!” I thought as I gripped my arm tighter after feeling another wave of pain. “I should’ve known better. Using that many spells when I just got out and when I’m still recovering.” Odd thing was that I expected to get most of my strength back when I reclaimed Librom but when I did I only felt some of it return. Of course I simply wrote it off as that I was still recovering and I just needed to stretch my souls’ legs. After all my power does come from my soul.

“I guess this means I’ll be spending several nights crying myself to sleep…..again.” Whatever. I got through this pain once before so I should be able to do it again. It just might take a while.

Still clutching my arm and gritting my teeth, I got up on my feet and continued my trek through the forest. Even if I’m in agony, I needed to get some distance between me and the hometown of the princesses.

“Doesn’t matter.” I thought. “I’ll endure any pain. I’ll do whatever it takes.

I swear to you all even if it’s the last thing I ever do, I will end your torment and set you free.

….My students”

A Few Minutes Earlier

What nobody knew was that at a far distance on a hill from where Corro and Twilight and her friends confronted one and other, two cloaked pony figures were hiding among the trees.

They watched as the element bearers failed to trap Corro and the sorcerer proceeded to beat them down. They paid close attention to how Corro took down each mare so easily and how it seemed he was barely putting any effort. They stayed silent up until they saw the dark sorcerer leave and disappear into the woodlands.

One pony turned his head to the other. “It’s him isn’t it?” the stallion asked.

“Yes.” answered the mare. “It is.”

The cloaked stallion looked back at the scenery. “Does this mean what I think it means?”

“Yes.” The mare turned her head slightly to her companion. “Send word to the others. Tell them….” A sinister smile slowly spread across her muzzle as she lifted one her right foreleg close to her face.

A foreleg with corrupted flesh and a glowing red Z on the sole of her hoof. “….it’s time.”