Anger from the Shadows

A normal day was what the ponies of Canterlot would've wanted. With Celestia and Luna out on diplomatic duties and Twilight in Ponyville at the moment, the guards were the only defenses.

"Just got back from patrolling the gardens. Anything out of place here?" One guard said to another.

"Everything is fine. Just 'cause Celestia is gone don't mean the world is going to end."

Shadows surrounded the two guard ponies. A bipedal cloaked figure was seen closing his hand into a fist. His hand was surrounded by the same shadow. Upon closing it, the two were seized by shadows and dropped their weapons. Before they could say anything, the figure let out a black fireball. The two were killed instantly. More guards came to inspect the damage. The figure jumped the first one he saw and stabbed his claw straight into his neck. Bringing it out, he splattered the blood onto two other ones; temporarily blinding them. Another black fireball was shot out and blew one of the guard's head clean off.

"Banish from this Earth!" A guard stabbed his spear into the figures chest. Blood slowly came out but the figure threw his cloak onto the guard revealing a dragon.

"What's a dragon doing here?" The guard captain said. "Sound the bells. We must evacuate as much as we --

The dragon stabbed his claw straight into his eyes. Then, using his other claw, slashed his throat. The other guards ran in fear as the dragon spewed flames into the garden. The fire slowly spread, turning the vibrant green into a scorched black. He walked into the castle and proceeded to burn everything in sight. From the tapestries of Celestia to the pillars that weren't connected to the roof. Priceless statues and glasswork destroyed by simple movements of the claw. The interior guards were no match either. Those that attacked, died. Some were spared a gruesome death just by losing their head or getting stabbed. Others had the honor losing two or more of their legs. The dragon left one of them to bleed out, all four limbs off and his own spear stabbed into his lower torso. The blood of his friends was used to paint the halls red. The word left behind, slowly drying, read Spiritus.

"Get word to Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight." Another guard captain said. "We require additional aid. Dragon attacking. Squad Delta, get the citizens to the caves beneath Canterlot. It's the only safe location."

The guards followed the orders. Breaking down doors and funneling the ponies through the street. Donut Joe was dropping his donuts left and right as he was forced from his store. The bakers and boutique owners were separated from the other ponies. The captain looked at the remains of the castle. It was consumed with growing black flames and holes were everywhere. The dragon could be seen flying through the sky, spreading his flames across the buildings. Flying in the sky, he changed his direction and headed for the civilians' path. The captain ran towards them but got there too late. Upon arrival, the dragon was just finishing off the last civilian. The guards lay lifeless around the street, one impaled on a broken window. Civilians were unrecognizable. Their bodies were scorched to the bone and the color and life was gone. The dragon looked at the guard captain. His red eyes, surrounded by a dark flame, were etched into the captain's memory.

"I think I'll let you live." The dragon said. "You'll get the fun part. You continue to live but watch everyone else die; unable to stop me." He flew off towards the skilled workers (bakers, boutique owners, artisans, etc.). The captain knew he was right, but followed after him.

"If anyone can hear me," the captain yelled. "Disperse. He can't kill everypony if we are far away from another. All guards, scatter." It was his last effort to save some lives.

Every direction he ran, nothing but corpses. Walls were paved in blood and shadows. The sun started to set and death was everywhere. Some guards were left to bleed out, spears stabbed into them, helmets used to hold blood. The captain couldn't hold tears forever. He decided to get to the caves and see if anypony survived. There were some civilians and a hooffull of guards. "Did you see any other guards on your way here?" the captain asked.

"I'm sorry." One answered. "We went after civilians but came up with only a few. Thankfully some medical staff were left alive. I put them to work, but --

"We must remain hidden as long as possible." The captain said. "If we are to survive, we mustn't draw attention to ourselves. That dragon must be terminated. Do we still have the weapon?"

"Sir, you can't possible be talking about --

"Do we have it?"

A long time ago, Celestia and Luna feared that dragons would attack them. Starwirl the Bearded was told to create a spell to prevent it but thought that it wouldn't be enough. "To defeat a dragon requires something more than magic" he'd say to the princesses. Starswirl decided to take the plan up to another level. With the help of the blacksmith Hayphaestus, he created a sword that could penetrate through a dragon. The magic was imbued to protect one from the fires they could spread. It was known as "Lumen Tenebrae". It could take the light or darkness from the wielder's soul and transform it into an aura surrounding the blade. In order to properly use it, one needed to be balanced in their mind and soul. Celestia had it sealed away not only for its power but also for the requirements to wield it. If one wasn't strong enough, it would use the aura and burn the user's life force.

The dragon flew towards the waterfall coming from the mountain. Inside the cave, he saw something glimmering. Walking closer he saw a blade locked away by a field of magic. He pulled a stone from his coat pocket and threw it at the field. A rune appeared and dispelled the field. "Lumen Tenebrae," he said. "I thought it was only a legend. Good job concealing it Celestia." He grabbed it and the blade was surrounded by a black aura. "Now, let's see how powerful this blade is." With a single motion, the blade let out a wave of dark magic and sliced the waterfall in half. Even though it formed together, a layer of dark magic remained on the top layer.

He flew out the mountain and held it in the sky. "For the dragons of ancient past," he said. "I fight for thee. I kill for thee. I wield the Lumen Tenebrae and nopony or dragon will stop me. I thank you, Starswirl the Bearded. You've allowed me to end your species and take over the Dragonlands." Another aura was swallowed by the sword. It burst into the sky and spread a layer of darkness over Canterlot.

"I pray that Princess Twilight will help us." The captain said. "She may be the only one to have any chance."