Behind the Broken Hornby SasayakiYoruChaptersThe First OneRisky moveEverfreeDarknessThe First One“Do you it is possible? Never give up... see the light behind the darkness” Those words circled around Midnight’s mind the whole travel, the last words said it by his mom, before the entire group was forced to abandon Canterlot, another place where he and his companions had to turn their backs on ponies in danger and run away, all because they were apparently the only ones capable of stopping the madness. “You need to find him! Find the one who’s called Broken Horn!” That was Princess Amore’s instruction before she was captured inside her own crystal prison. The look in her face was not of fear; she only looked at them as if she already knew they would be victorious in the end. "I can’t believe that your father is an Umbrum "said Jade slowly plowing alongside the group, the deep layer of snow in the ground not enough to make him stop "and he is supposed to be the most powerful? Talk about family issues" "Just shut up Shards, Midnight is still trying to assimilate the idea" Says Zenith looking to Midnight with a worried frown, it had taken all by surprise but they had other option but to continue their travel, later on they could mourn or react more accordingly to that piece of news. “Who am I? What am I!?” Midnight continued asking himself those questions; feeling fear, trying to find an answer, some hope… "Don’t worry Shadi, we’ll find this Broken Horn, he’ll help us to save Equestria" Midnight felt a hoof over his back, he then looked at the owner of said hoof and finally smiled, Iron was the one that truly made honor to his name, having an indomitable will that helped them all. They only had a single clue about this Broken Horn, the so called Mount Everhoof. In some place of the snow mountain they would be able to find this enigmatic hermit and according to their Princess this hermit knew the secret about the Primordial Elements and how they could use them stop the Umbrum’s power and plans. "I Hope that we have enough time, if the Crystal Prison shatters we’ll soon see the fall of Equestria" again Whisper did as his name said, his feeble voice not high enough to heard over the snow and the wind. As they get closer to the summit of this Mountain Everhoof, the giant winter storm creeps deeper inside the Empire, the Crystal Heart losing power in consequence of the Crystal Ponies’ fear against the Umbrum called Noche. If they allowed this dark being regain his memories, his true form and his power, all Equestria would surely fall in panic before the dawn of the first day after. Princess Amore had successfully imprisoned him behind the Crystal Walls in Canterlot, but he wasn’t to be stopped with that action, they had already used the combined power of the Dragon’s Scepter and Crystal Heart once before but to no avail. They need something more powerful, new and unknown. "Are you sure about this? I mean, we don’t know if this Broken Horn is still alive, nopony has ever seen him in decades and, they simply call him Broken Horn? I swear there’s something wrong with this guy" No one answer Jade’s questions but except for Midnight, all of them have the same questions on their heads, they simply pray that this pony was still alive, and that he had answers about their current problem. The Crystal Empire rises over the horizon following the dawn, but it seems empty and cold now. They only could see snow and without the crystal heart, only the Tower could resist the wrath from winter’s storm, Midnight could even see some ponies petrified by the ice if he concentrated hard enough. The only thing that they could do was walk now; Quetzal couldn’t fly, no one could see more beyond of their noses and only with the combined magic of Whisper and Midnight could they continue walking through the Snow… "What are we even supposed to do here!? I can´t see anything! This is suicide!" Quetzal screamed, and due to the storm he was grounded; the pony that was the most proud of his own wings and long jade colored feathers was grounded and he hated that. The winds seemed to become stronger as they went up, almost is fighting them as they advanced on this perilous mission; even with the usage of magic their hooves began to freeze, the way becoming more difficult and dangerous with each step. For a few moments, they believed that they would find a frozen dead. "You are not supposed to be here". They heard a cold voice that came from anywhere and nowhere at the same time. A shadow appeared in front of them and extended a huge pair of wings. "Follow me if you want to live" Suddenly a hole appeared at the side of the mountain and the unicorns in the group couldn’t detect if it was either an illusion that hid the whole or if this pony had willed the hole into existence. With no other choice they only go inside the cave, at least they could be a little warmer. Once inside, they did in fact become to feel warmer and even a little safer. The only question that they had was who was their savior? "Why you came here? What are you looking for?" Asked the taller pony. "We’re looking for Broken Horn, we need his help" said Midnight. "I never liked that name" he said while he removing his hood, showing a stump of where used to be a horn "Please call me Sorrow, what do you want of me?" They couldn’t believe it, Broken Horn was still alive and in front of them, Whisper then broke the silence. "We need your help to stop Noche, the Crystal Heart and the Dragon’s scepter just didn't work." "He returned?" said Sorrow while taking off his coat covered in snow "This is bad, you just can’t defeat an Umbrum with the same power more than one, we need a new kind of source, a new element" Then, he started to move some of his stuff in one of the corners looking for something. They only could only wait while seeing the whole cave; an old broken mirror, a couple of staffs, a bookstand and a lot of papers… and in a glass stand there were the remnants of his horn. "How did you lose your horn? How did you become an Alicorn?" asked Jade with curiosity like every time. "That’s a long story and we don’t have time for that" Sorrow took a sheet of paper between his hooves for a moment then threw it away without paying attention where it landed "I fought him once in the past, when the Primordial Elements were created, after that I lost my horn" "You said New Elements, is that even possible?" ask Iron Hooves "The thing you call the Dragon’s Scepter is just one form of power, did you believe that is only that? A scepter? It is much more, a source of power and a weapon, but it is more than that, it will not be the only one" answered Sorrow” "Are you suggesting that we should create new ones?" Zenith asked him "Of course i am suggesting that" Answered again while he turn back to see them "If you were able to find me, you will be able to create it" "But... How?" Jade asked worriedly "I mean... are you sure about what you say?" "I will do my best" Midnight said without hesitation "I will defeat my father no matter the consequences!" "Did you say... father?" Sorrow couldn't believe those word; this colt, this unicorn, son of an Umbrum, something like him have never existed before... what will happen when the true nature of this unicorn came to light? Even with all his years and knowledge, Sorrow simply couldn't think about the consequences or the ramifications of Midnight existence. Risky moveFor the first time in a thousand years Sorrow felt fear, a terrible darkness arising in front of him, an age of devastation and death over Equestria. Noche was the ruler of the land, but he wasn’t alone, something that resembled an Alicorn was beside him but with dragon wings instead of the classical feathered ones of a pegasus, a tri horned head with clawed hooves and a dragon tail. “Sorrow, are you ok?” He heard an annoying voice “Hello! Equestria calling to Sorrow!? Did you have a Heart attack or something?!” In front of him was a crystal filly, her face extremely close to him, basically eye to eye “I think he’s dead” “Of course I am not dead yet pitiful Filly!” She screamed and jumped back, banging against the wall. “Jade, this is serious, don’t bother him.” “She wasn’t bothering me Mr. Iron and I must apologize to all of you, I was just thinking” Everypony was already stressed, there was no way he would more to the long list of problem they already had. If Midnight embraced the path of his father soon Sorrow would see the end of Equestria. “And how are we even supposed to create these new elements? I don’t think that someone has a book of manual full of instruction or something like that, do you?” “The creation of a powerful magic like the Elements it’s not something that can be found in a book my dear Unicorn, you must believe it and the universe will do the rest” “Ok… do you remember how the Primordial Elements were created?” “It was an accident” Nopony could believe those words. The creation of the Primordial Elements was an accident? How were they then supposed to create new ones? From all of them only one still believed that they could create them. “It doesn’t matter if I die creating them, I will defeat my father!” “I hope so” Sorrow kept on thinking in how call him the transformation of Midnight. Umbricorn? Unicumbrum? “Master! The Crystal Prison! It’s shattering!” The voice came from the exterior but it resonated through the interior of the cavern but who could survive the snowstorm on the outside and how in the name of Tartarus could they see Canterlot from there? It all seemed like a nightmare to the six ponies. “I cannot understand this. Why did the princess would send us so far away to look for answers from someone who is giving us so little information? We’ll never reach Canterlot on time” Whisper’s word, usually as quiet as a mouse echoed through the cavern. “It was a risky maneuver and we felt right on it” Everypony immediately looked at Zenith who had been quiet this whole time. He had been analyzing their situation but there was still something missing on the equation “Sorrow, what kind of powers Noche had when you fought him?” “Well, all the usual abilities from an Umbrum, I mean, he can shape shift, materialize nightmares and even-” Sorrow stopped at that point knowing exactly what Zenith thinking “The Crystal Prison was not created to keep him inside… it was to keep us outside of the Canterlot!” Zenith’s words started to make sense now “That bastard was only playing with us! He wants the power of the Crystal Heart and the Scepter!” “Listen to me well my little ponies. You NEED to create the new elements and the only way they would be able to do it is if you stay united” “Yeah well, you told us you create the Primordial Elements by accident! That means you have no idea on how to it!” “I said they were made by accident not that I do not know how to create them. That time I was not alone. With me there were an earth pony, a pegasus, a dragon, a deer and I. We were fighting that terrible menace at the place where everything started and everything ends; The Everfree Forest. And we truly thought it would end there since Noche had already corrupted the forest, we were still too young then and without experience, but we all had the same objective in mind. Inside of each of us there was a spark of magic, elemental power, and even those that used brute force were capable of feeling them. That night the five of us combined the power inside and formed the new Elements and with them we expelled Noche from this world.” Everypony looked at each other and the words that Sorrow had said but there was something wrong. Haven’t he said that during that battle he had ascended and lost his horn? “I recognize those faces and I do know what you are thinking, didn’t I lose my horn then? And yes I did, but I was the one who broke it due to the great amount of power and information that it brought me. Just a few minutes with that kind of power pushed me to the brink of insanity. Now go, the answers you look for are in the Everfree Forest, because the answers you look for are in the Everfree and you must be nimble because the Crystal Prison will shatter and Noche will use all of Equestria against you. You six are the only ones that will be able to stop him. “No offense Sorrow, but I think you went completely insane” Jade was quick to say as she lightly tapped him on the shoulder with a hoof “the only one of us that can fly is Quetzal and his wings are basically frozen and unless you out that old horn back on your forehead and teleport us, U don’t see any way for us to… wait a second” Jade knocked both hooves as an idea appeared on her head as she turned to watch Whisper and Midnight “you two are unicorns and you’re supposed to know that kind of magic! We could have avoided this damn boring journey in that damn train!” The mentioned unicorns did indeed know that spell but the amount of energy that it would require the big teleportation jump was a little too much for them. Having to teleport six ponies could be extremely dangerous, but if there was a time in which they had to try it, it was now. Meanwhile, as the ponies tried to organize some kind of plan, a small unassuming box felt on top of Sorrow, and after a couple of seconds of being stunned, the box magically opened revealing a set of pure crystals. “Well, I don’t remember having those around but they will be useful” “How can you not even remember having them? Jade’s eyes were inquisitive. Her friends had never seen her like that before, almost as if she was blaming Sorrow for something. “As I said my little pony, I don’t remember even having them. One curse from being immortal is the sad reality of forgetting many things as the years pass. No matter, these crystals will work and in the Everfree you will use them to channel your inner magic. If Noche wants to beat you is because you six are the only ones that can beat him” Sorrow immediately turned around and began searching for something in a chest. After a couple of minutes he showed them a small map showing the area around the Everfree close to an unassuming village “In this point” The alicorn said, pointing a small clearing “there is an anomaly that allows for magical energy to be syphoned, is this energy that gets absorbed by plants and in the end travels around Equestria” “So is in that point where we can concentrate all the energy on the crystal! Alright then everypony, if Midnight and Whisper are ready we can start the next part of this adventure” “Whisper, you know I will try it with everything I have and I’m sure we’ll make it” “If Equestria ends tomorrow then nopony would be able to say that we didn’t try it. Right here, on this cold I am useless but with the energy among th Everfree there is nothing that will be able to stop my wings” “Noche won’t know what hit him!” “Then let the games begin!” “Shards, please, take things seriously” Zenith said slapping Jade on the shoulder. Jade was more than used to that kind of reaction to a joke but all of them knew how much her attitude relieved the group’s stress. They didn’t know it but Sorrow was afraid of what he had seen on that premonition. If Noche ended up corrupting his son then it would be the end of times, there was simply no other choice but for him to let all the pieces move around the board by themselves. He didn’t say a thing about his worried and he simply said goodbye to the young pony friends. And just like that, Midnight and Whisper concentrated and they all disappeared. Sorrow walked to the entrance of his cave to see the outside world for one last time for now before returning to his reclusion and self-imposed exile, once more ready to continue his research about all that was happening outside of their plane. “Are you sure they will make it? They are but so young” The voice that had been heard before was heard once more. Sorrow simply turned to look at his old friend, a silver dragoness that practically camouflaged with the snow and wind. “My dear Heaven, if Noche made such a dangerous maneuver on this game, then I don’t see why we cannot do the same. Now, if you excuse me I have some things that need to be done, I have no time to lose to be worried” “That way in which you can seal your own feelings has been as impressive as the first time we met Sorrow, and as bothersome as always, but for now I’ll keep on watching, there is more in play than just this world and soon thing everywhere will change” EverfreeBy coincidence or probably already written by destiny, the entire group appeared between Canterlot and Everfree Forest. Midnight could feel something inside him, a voice or an amalgamation of several whispering something impossible to understand. Close to him, poor Whisper felt unconscious “Is he ok? He looks pretty bad!” a sweet voice asks them. Iron was trying to wake up Whisper while Zenith and Quetzal couldn’t believe that they were looking at the Sky,From all the friends only Jade noticed in what condition was Midnight; his eyes were gleaming, they looked almost haunted; there was a sense of dread emanating from them like from a Nightmare Stallion, just like… his father. He started to breath quickly; the voices inside his head were starting to become annoying to Midnight. “Are you ok?” Asked again that sweet melodic voice. Midnight turned around, that annoying voice was coming from that little filly with Pink mane. The little one took a step backwards after seeing his eyes, it was clear that she had become terrified of the half breed. “Midnight!” Jade screamed at him making that awful glowing disappear from Midnight’s eyes and he then fell unconscious too. Running to his side, Jade noticed that the other pony was breathing regularly. Maybe he had been affected by the long distance teleportation; at least that’s what Jade hoped for A giant cloud covered the sky over Canterot and the crystal wall was breaking slowly. They needed to find that strange place in Everfree right now but the little filly… Jade took a look and understand that she didn’t come alone. She reached the conclusion that a small group of ponies escaped from Canterlot successfully. “Sorry sweetie, my friend has some troubles controlling his magic.” “It is ok, neither can I, my teacher told me that I’m still too young, what are you doing here by the way?” she asked them. “We just appeared here, we need to reach the Everfree. Do you know what happened in Canterlot?” A unicorn mare then trotted to the side of the little filly “Celestia, please go with you sister.” “Ok mom.” The Unicorn took a look to Canterlot behind the barrier and breathed deeply “A nightmare happened; The Royal guards, The Princess, all of them were corrupted by Noche, and now he is trying to take the power of the scepter to destroy the Crystal Prison and corrupt the Crystal Heart.We were some of the few lucky ones.” “Mom! Luna started crying!” The Unicorn apologized and walked in the direction of her daughters. It was something bizarre, probably a feeling that Jade had once or twice before. It first came to her as she saw a painting of the Equestria founders, then when she met midnight for the first time and now with this filly. Something was telling Jade that these little fillies were destined for something great but sadly she could not stay and watch that kind of life, it was more important for them to defeat Noche. Quetzal and Zenith put Midnight and Whisper on Iron’s back carefully, then started their journey to Everfree, never realizing what exactly the had Midnight could feel his whole body going numb; he couldn’t hear anything except those whispers again but this time he could understand them. That voice was calling for him and just one voice, there were dozens of them. “Come with us… Join us…” He opened his eyes and his blood froze inside him; uncountable eyes were looking him. All of them immersed into an infinite void. In the middle of them all he could hear an evil laughter, his father… a giant shadow with a fearsome look. “You are so foolish my little boy; do you really think that you could stop me? Your existence has only one purpose, you belong to me! You are the Umbrum with physical form that will destroy everything that I want!” Something happened to his whole body, a terrible pain, his front hooves slowly and painfully started to change until they became claws. Giant pair of dragon wings emerged from his back growing quickly and unfolding due to the pain; but the worst of all hadn´t happen yet. Midnight started to scream in pain as the worst headache ever made him lose his footing falling to the ground -or what passed as ground in the empty void-; his horn grew and another two goat horns emerged from his head piercing the skin and letting a flow of blood splatter around the void and Midnight’s coat. His eyes were glowing again with a nightmarish look and he started to laugh as if everything was a simple joke, or maybe he had just gone insane. “Midnight… are you ok?” a very familiar voice finally woke him up. A very bothering voice “I think he is dead; just look at him, he is so pale!” “Just shut up Shard… I am not dead yet, but you’re probably kill me if you keep on screaming in my ear!” Midnight finally opened his eyes finding the rest of his friends around the clearing. A dense forest covered all the sky and a fire was in front of him. All his friends were there. He just had a Nightmare… “Were are we? How long I stayed unconscious?” “Look around Midnight, we are inside Everfree Forest, and I think you were out approximately six hours” Zenith answered him never taking his eyes away from the sky “the cloudare growing still, almost covers all of Everfree. It won’t take long before the clouds would be the only thing we see when we look up.” “And what happened with…” “The crystal prison? Haven’t broken yet” Answered Whisper, he seemed so quiet now; it was obvious something changed him, like he was waiting for something… “The wall will brake at midnight and the chaos and fear will destroy everything but, I have a good feeling, I just need to follow you and we will win if we believe in ourselves.” “I know that you have fear Midnight, I can feel it too, but we need to believe that this situation has a solution.” “Whatever you decide, I’m in, I made a promise and I will accomplish it.” “May be your father is strong, but he made the worst mistakes; he attacked me and my family, my wings are with you.” They didn’t know, but they were exactly where they need to be as inside the little box five of the six crystals started to glow. The only thing that they still needed was the energy of the six ponies reunited. “You will never win! Somepony will defeat you!” “Oh my dear and Sweet Princess, this is becoming so tedious, do you have any other lines beyond the classic ‘damsel in distress is not giving up’? Do you truly still believe in them? I would call it cliché by this point but I have seen the strange things you ponies can do. No matter, I know my son… he will become like me… an Umbrum, and when that happens I will enjoy how he kills those ponies that call him friend. That will be so funny and ironical.” “You are sick.” Noche just laughed for the answer of the Princess “Oh don’t be stupid my dear, I’m not sick… I’m mad. There is a clear difference between those two words.” The giant shadow slowly flew around the princess “I will become the Emperor of Destruction, and when that happen, I will need a Empress.” He looked the crystal princess with a mad smile –or at least what could pass as a smile for a dark fog- “You only need to let me inside you and you will see the world that I see; now, don’t got taking my words out of context, I have no intention of defiling you. I just want you to be like me… You will become my Empress in the new world that is about to begin.” “I will die first.” “That is an option in this situation, number four if I remember correctly.” A terrible scream emerged from Canterlot that was heard around all Equestria… then things went from bad to worse as the Crystal Prison finally shattered. Like a broken mirror, the awful noise came with Thunders. Noche was free again. Darkness“My dear beloved Princess… you are starting to annoy me.” Inside the throne room said Princess was barely alive and there was only one reason why she wasn’t dead after what she had through; she was an alicorn. Sadly, her wings would never allow her to soar through the air as they were broken beyond repair, the pieces scattered on the floor as if a crystal vase had been broken. All of that just because of a creature known as Noche wanted to see her scream in pain. Instead of the screams he was waiting for she was now just quietly sobbing in the floor of her castle, her back injuries sending jolts of pain but no blood from them showing how deep her Crystal Pony heritage was. “Oh, come on Amore, just say something, you know how much I love your voice. Tell me, where is your hope now?” She looked at Noche, crying, hopeless, with no reason to continue fighting against the monster that wanted full control of Equestria. Suddenly, she felt her body get up from the floor and start levitating to the ceiling. Noche’s magic around her body moved her there and dark chains twisted around Amore’s body until she was secured to the ceiling as a glorified chandelier. “You are a bother Amore,” Noche said as he destroyed the remaining pieces of the princess’ wings “but I’m not going to kill you, you see, I’m just going to wait until my son arrives, then he will torture you and will kill his friends! I’m going to take every ounce of hope that you and the rest of what’s left of your mighty kingdom and I will shatter it! After that, well, I will tear you apart piece by piece. Now, don’t go anywhere, the best part is going to start!” And like that, the Umbrum disappeared, leaving Amore broken mentally and physically, looking at the crystal cell on the throne room and what was left of the pony she loved the most in the world thrown inside; turned into a nightmare, a monster without a mind and she began to cry anew. Storm clouds continued to advance through all of Equestria, but there was a supernatural silence coming from all cardinal points; nothing could be heard, not even the whispers of the wind or a cricket’s song, only the crumbling wood that the six ponies had used to ignite a small campfire. Those six were probably the craziest ponies in Equestria to try camping inside The Everfree Forest, close to a cliff waiting for some kind of divine sign to stop what seemed to be the end of Equestria. With what they had to live through they had forgotten the crystals inside the box Sorrow had given to them not too long ago. Inside the box they continued pulsing as they were part of a heart, except one, one that showed no sign of being activated. “Oh come on! Somepony say something! I think I’m going to go insane if no one starts talking!” The small crystal pony all but screamed while she threw several berries into the fire. This time nopony answered to her, her voice was not powerful enough to make them stop thinking about what had happened and how useless their actions so far had been in stopping Noche. “He’s coming, I can feel him” the dark pony sitting in front of the fire said while holding his head. “Midnight, are you alright?” Whisper asked seeing his reaction while the eyes of Midnight began to glow with green power behind them. He didn’t even react to her words as he turned his head to the dark horizon. He could hear nothing except the dark whispers of voices coming from his head. “I think we lost him” the earth pony said still feeling as if something was watching them but surely that was only his imagination. “Oh, of course you lost him, I mean, there is no such thing as blood magic or filial bonds, right Midnight?” A voice that made the fur of every single pony stand up resonated through the forest as everypony excepting Midnight began to watch around in search of the Umbrum as the darkness began to creep more and more around them “although, in this case, it would be dark ties.” “Midnight, if you are going to use that creepy weird magic this is the moment!” Quetzal screamed as the shadows made a circle around them trapping them around the campfire. Even after his father’s arrival, Midnight stayed on his own world, trying not to listen to the voices and their promises of power. Noche appeared out of nowhere from inside the darkness, the figure barely visible as it surrounded the ponies, only the dark green eyes served and what seemed like a mouth full of serrated teeth made up his face. Whisper, the only other unicorn in the group, held the box containing the crystals close to his chest. “You will never win Noche, we will stop you!” he said trying to fight back the terror he felt at the instant “Oh, please my Little pony, saying those things knowing full well that everything is lost already, noteven with the words of ‘Broken Horn’ you could findan answer. By the way, how’s old Sorrow these days?” As he continued talking with Whisper, a dark magic tendril carefully touched Whisper’s back making the unicorn jump in fright, one more amusing show to the Umbrum. “We will not fall to your tricks Noche, we know you fear our combined power” The brace pegasus Quetzal said trying to shoo away the shadows on his own tail. “Excuse me, I just need to confirm this part, did you just say fear?” The shadow tendrils suddenly grew spines and dark chains shot from the ground with such strength and speed that the poor pegasus was pinned to the ground. “You know what’s my favorite game? ‘Pluck the wings form the pegasus’, is so simple to play; whoever makes the pegasus scream the hardest wins, let’s practice shall we?” Noche said with everypony not knowing if Noche was using his usual jokes or he was serious this time “but not today, after all, I don’t want to dirty my hooves with blood.” “But you don’t have hooves…or legs… or body… or anything really, I mean, you are just a floating ball of gas that flies around as if it were a helium balloon” Said the most irritating voice in Noche’s opinion making him look in the pony’s direction. Meanwhile Iron tried to help Quetzal get free from those chains. Behind him Whisper and Zenith were caught as dark crystals appearing form the ground made a jail cell around them and Midnight… he was still not reacting. “You know what? I’ll make an exception with you” Noche said holding up Jade with one of tendrils “Your voice is so annoying, from the first moment I met you, even with my older corporeal body it was so impossibly annoying!” Noche screamed as one tendril reshaped itself into a long needle. “And you are just a big fart!” The small crystal pony was completely terrified but more than anything she felt pity for Noche, knowing that inside him there was only a dark and rooted wish to destroy everything around him. A voice began to grow in intensity as all the ponies -and Umbrum- turned around on its direction. Midnight had finally reacted and Jade smiled, then a flash and Jade fell to the floor. Midnight’s eyes glowed with dark green energy, his pelt, once spotted was now completely darkand his horn became twisted like dead tree. “Well, I need to be sincere; I didn’t see this coming so soon. My own son taking his first life, I could cry in joy and pride… if I had tear conducts that is. He even killed a Crystal Pony first, I’m pretty sure that is almost a rule at this point. Now finish the rest, just, slower this time, I need to watch this and enjoy it.” “Shut… UP!” The whispers and voices kept becoming stronger inside his head “SHUT UP EVERYPONY!” Zenith used Noche being distracted to get out from his prison and got closer to Jade’s body, and then he felt relief. “She is alive.” The words from the pony made Noche rage. At that moment the box opened up and six crystals felt upon the ground; each of them shining brightly with power inside them, but one was cracked. “If I must fall into the shadows to defeat you father… then I will pay that price a thousand times!” Midnight kept on walking in Noche’s direction, his head bleeding from the exertion of using so much dark magic and directing it through his new horn. His eyes were filled with so much darkness and rage that they were the exact copy to those of the Umbrum “if only darkness can beat darkness, then so be it” Around midnight the rest of his friends began to react. Jade woke up and she was helped up by Zenith; Whisper and iron stood watching in shock while Quetzal wasn’t sure of how things had turned so dire as the dark chains retreated from around his body. “You are such a fool my boy, you are truly selling your soul to dark magic because you want to destroy me? Are you going to throw away the chance that I’m giving you to turn Equestria into our own playground?!” “Equestria? I don’t care about Equestria! I just want to beat you! This land be damned, there is no place for the two of us in here!” Midnight screamed but as the six ponies were ready to activate the crystals floating around them, the voice of the now dark pony seemed to come from far beyond, as if someone else was talking through his voice. Unbeknown to them, only one creature witnessed the battle; one that under its white hood knew that the world as everypony knew would never be the same after the battle.
The First One“Do you it is possible? Never give up... see the light behind the darkness” Those words circled around Midnight’s mind the whole travel, the last words said it by his mom, before the entire group was forced to abandon Canterlot, another place where he and his companions had to turn their backs on ponies in danger and run away, all because they were apparently the only ones capable of stopping the madness. “You need to find him! Find the one who’s called Broken Horn!” That was Princess Amore’s instruction before she was captured inside her own crystal prison. The look in her face was not of fear; she only looked at them as if she already knew they would be victorious in the end. "I can’t believe that your father is an Umbrum "said Jade slowly plowing alongside the group, the deep layer of snow in the ground not enough to make him stop "and he is supposed to be the most powerful? Talk about family issues" "Just shut up Shards, Midnight is still trying to assimilate the idea" Says Zenith looking to Midnight with a worried frown, it had taken all by surprise but they had other option but to continue their travel, later on they could mourn or react more accordingly to that piece of news. “Who am I? What am I!?” Midnight continued asking himself those questions; feeling fear, trying to find an answer, some hope… "Don’t worry Shadi, we’ll find this Broken Horn, he’ll help us to save Equestria" Midnight felt a hoof over his back, he then looked at the owner of said hoof and finally smiled, Iron was the one that truly made honor to his name, having an indomitable will that helped them all. They only had a single clue about this Broken Horn, the so called Mount Everhoof. In some place of the snow mountain they would be able to find this enigmatic hermit and according to their Princess this hermit knew the secret about the Primordial Elements and how they could use them stop the Umbrum’s power and plans. "I Hope that we have enough time, if the Crystal Prison shatters we’ll soon see the fall of Equestria" again Whisper did as his name said, his feeble voice not high enough to heard over the snow and the wind. As they get closer to the summit of this Mountain Everhoof, the giant winter storm creeps deeper inside the Empire, the Crystal Heart losing power in consequence of the Crystal Ponies’ fear against the Umbrum called Noche. If they allowed this dark being regain his memories, his true form and his power, all Equestria would surely fall in panic before the dawn of the first day after. Princess Amore had successfully imprisoned him behind the Crystal Walls in Canterlot, but he wasn’t to be stopped with that action, they had already used the combined power of the Dragon’s Scepter and Crystal Heart once before but to no avail. They need something more powerful, new and unknown. "Are you sure about this? I mean, we don’t know if this Broken Horn is still alive, nopony has ever seen him in decades and, they simply call him Broken Horn? I swear there’s something wrong with this guy" No one answer Jade’s questions but except for Midnight, all of them have the same questions on their heads, they simply pray that this pony was still alive, and that he had answers about their current problem. The Crystal Empire rises over the horizon following the dawn, but it seems empty and cold now. They only could see snow and without the crystal heart, only the Tower could resist the wrath from winter’s storm, Midnight could even see some ponies petrified by the ice if he concentrated hard enough. The only thing that they could do was walk now; Quetzal couldn’t fly, no one could see more beyond of their noses and only with the combined magic of Whisper and Midnight could they continue walking through the Snow… "What are we even supposed to do here!? I can´t see anything! This is suicide!" Quetzal screamed, and due to the storm he was grounded; the pony that was the most proud of his own wings and long jade colored feathers was grounded and he hated that. The winds seemed to become stronger as they went up, almost is fighting them as they advanced on this perilous mission; even with the usage of magic their hooves began to freeze, the way becoming more difficult and dangerous with each step. For a few moments, they believed that they would find a frozen dead. "You are not supposed to be here". They heard a cold voice that came from anywhere and nowhere at the same time. A shadow appeared in front of them and extended a huge pair of wings. "Follow me if you want to live" Suddenly a hole appeared at the side of the mountain and the unicorns in the group couldn’t detect if it was either an illusion that hid the whole or if this pony had willed the hole into existence. With no other choice they only go inside the cave, at least they could be a little warmer. Once inside, they did in fact become to feel warmer and even a little safer. The only question that they had was who was their savior? "Why you came here? What are you looking for?" Asked the taller pony. "We’re looking for Broken Horn, we need his help" said Midnight. "I never liked that name" he said while he removing his hood, showing a stump of where used to be a horn "Please call me Sorrow, what do you want of me?" They couldn’t believe it, Broken Horn was still alive and in front of them, Whisper then broke the silence. "We need your help to stop Noche, the Crystal Heart and the Dragon’s scepter just didn't work." "He returned?" said Sorrow while taking off his coat covered in snow "This is bad, you just can’t defeat an Umbrum with the same power more than one, we need a new kind of source, a new element" Then, he started to move some of his stuff in one of the corners looking for something. They only could only wait while seeing the whole cave; an old broken mirror, a couple of staffs, a bookstand and a lot of papers… and in a glass stand there were the remnants of his horn. "How did you lose your horn? How did you become an Alicorn?" asked Jade with curiosity like every time. "That’s a long story and we don’t have time for that" Sorrow took a sheet of paper between his hooves for a moment then threw it away without paying attention where it landed "I fought him once in the past, when the Primordial Elements were created, after that I lost my horn" "You said New Elements, is that even possible?" ask Iron Hooves "The thing you call the Dragon’s Scepter is just one form of power, did you believe that is only that? A scepter? It is much more, a source of power and a weapon, but it is more than that, it will not be the only one" answered Sorrow” "Are you suggesting that we should create new ones?" Zenith asked him "Of course i am suggesting that" Answered again while he turn back to see them "If you were able to find me, you will be able to create it" "But... How?" Jade asked worriedly "I mean... are you sure about what you say?" "I will do my best" Midnight said without hesitation "I will defeat my father no matter the consequences!" "Did you say... father?" Sorrow couldn't believe those word; this colt, this unicorn, son of an Umbrum, something like him have never existed before... what will happen when the true nature of this unicorn came to light? Even with all his years and knowledge, Sorrow simply couldn't think about the consequences or the ramifications of Midnight existence.
Risky moveFor the first time in a thousand years Sorrow felt fear, a terrible darkness arising in front of him, an age of devastation and death over Equestria. Noche was the ruler of the land, but he wasn’t alone, something that resembled an Alicorn was beside him but with dragon wings instead of the classical feathered ones of a pegasus, a tri horned head with clawed hooves and a dragon tail. “Sorrow, are you ok?” He heard an annoying voice “Hello! Equestria calling to Sorrow!? Did you have a Heart attack or something?!” In front of him was a crystal filly, her face extremely close to him, basically eye to eye “I think he’s dead” “Of course I am not dead yet pitiful Filly!” She screamed and jumped back, banging against the wall. “Jade, this is serious, don’t bother him.” “She wasn’t bothering me Mr. Iron and I must apologize to all of you, I was just thinking” Everypony was already stressed, there was no way he would more to the long list of problem they already had. If Midnight embraced the path of his father soon Sorrow would see the end of Equestria. “And how are we even supposed to create these new elements? I don’t think that someone has a book of manual full of instruction or something like that, do you?” “The creation of a powerful magic like the Elements it’s not something that can be found in a book my dear Unicorn, you must believe it and the universe will do the rest” “Ok… do you remember how the Primordial Elements were created?” “It was an accident” Nopony could believe those words. The creation of the Primordial Elements was an accident? How were they then supposed to create new ones? From all of them only one still believed that they could create them. “It doesn’t matter if I die creating them, I will defeat my father!” “I hope so” Sorrow kept on thinking in how call him the transformation of Midnight. Umbricorn? Unicumbrum? “Master! The Crystal Prison! It’s shattering!” The voice came from the exterior but it resonated through the interior of the cavern but who could survive the snowstorm on the outside and how in the name of Tartarus could they see Canterlot from there? It all seemed like a nightmare to the six ponies. “I cannot understand this. Why did the princess would send us so far away to look for answers from someone who is giving us so little information? We’ll never reach Canterlot on time” Whisper’s word, usually as quiet as a mouse echoed through the cavern. “It was a risky maneuver and we felt right on it” Everypony immediately looked at Zenith who had been quiet this whole time. He had been analyzing their situation but there was still something missing on the equation “Sorrow, what kind of powers Noche had when you fought him?” “Well, all the usual abilities from an Umbrum, I mean, he can shape shift, materialize nightmares and even-” Sorrow stopped at that point knowing exactly what Zenith thinking “The Crystal Prison was not created to keep him inside… it was to keep us outside of the Canterlot!” Zenith’s words started to make sense now “That bastard was only playing with us! He wants the power of the Crystal Heart and the Scepter!” “Listen to me well my little ponies. You NEED to create the new elements and the only way they would be able to do it is if you stay united” “Yeah well, you told us you create the Primordial Elements by accident! That means you have no idea on how to it!” “I said they were made by accident not that I do not know how to create them. That time I was not alone. With me there were an earth pony, a pegasus, a dragon, a deer and I. We were fighting that terrible menace at the place where everything started and everything ends; The Everfree Forest. And we truly thought it would end there since Noche had already corrupted the forest, we were still too young then and without experience, but we all had the same objective in mind. Inside of each of us there was a spark of magic, elemental power, and even those that used brute force were capable of feeling them. That night the five of us combined the power inside and formed the new Elements and with them we expelled Noche from this world.” Everypony looked at each other and the words that Sorrow had said but there was something wrong. Haven’t he said that during that battle he had ascended and lost his horn? “I recognize those faces and I do know what you are thinking, didn’t I lose my horn then? And yes I did, but I was the one who broke it due to the great amount of power and information that it brought me. Just a few minutes with that kind of power pushed me to the brink of insanity. Now go, the answers you look for are in the Everfree Forest, because the answers you look for are in the Everfree and you must be nimble because the Crystal Prison will shatter and Noche will use all of Equestria against you. You six are the only ones that will be able to stop him. “No offense Sorrow, but I think you went completely insane” Jade was quick to say as she lightly tapped him on the shoulder with a hoof “the only one of us that can fly is Quetzal and his wings are basically frozen and unless you out that old horn back on your forehead and teleport us, U don’t see any way for us to… wait a second” Jade knocked both hooves as an idea appeared on her head as she turned to watch Whisper and Midnight “you two are unicorns and you’re supposed to know that kind of magic! We could have avoided this damn boring journey in that damn train!” The mentioned unicorns did indeed know that spell but the amount of energy that it would require the big teleportation jump was a little too much for them. Having to teleport six ponies could be extremely dangerous, but if there was a time in which they had to try it, it was now. Meanwhile, as the ponies tried to organize some kind of plan, a small unassuming box felt on top of Sorrow, and after a couple of seconds of being stunned, the box magically opened revealing a set of pure crystals. “Well, I don’t remember having those around but they will be useful” “How can you not even remember having them? Jade’s eyes were inquisitive. Her friends had never seen her like that before, almost as if she was blaming Sorrow for something. “As I said my little pony, I don’t remember even having them. One curse from being immortal is the sad reality of forgetting many things as the years pass. No matter, these crystals will work and in the Everfree you will use them to channel your inner magic. If Noche wants to beat you is because you six are the only ones that can beat him” Sorrow immediately turned around and began searching for something in a chest. After a couple of minutes he showed them a small map showing the area around the Everfree close to an unassuming village “In this point” The alicorn said, pointing a small clearing “there is an anomaly that allows for magical energy to be syphoned, is this energy that gets absorbed by plants and in the end travels around Equestria” “So is in that point where we can concentrate all the energy on the crystal! Alright then everypony, if Midnight and Whisper are ready we can start the next part of this adventure” “Whisper, you know I will try it with everything I have and I’m sure we’ll make it” “If Equestria ends tomorrow then nopony would be able to say that we didn’t try it. Right here, on this cold I am useless but with the energy among th Everfree there is nothing that will be able to stop my wings” “Noche won’t know what hit him!” “Then let the games begin!” “Shards, please, take things seriously” Zenith said slapping Jade on the shoulder. Jade was more than used to that kind of reaction to a joke but all of them knew how much her attitude relieved the group’s stress. They didn’t know it but Sorrow was afraid of what he had seen on that premonition. If Noche ended up corrupting his son then it would be the end of times, there was simply no other choice but for him to let all the pieces move around the board by themselves. He didn’t say a thing about his worried and he simply said goodbye to the young pony friends. And just like that, Midnight and Whisper concentrated and they all disappeared. Sorrow walked to the entrance of his cave to see the outside world for one last time for now before returning to his reclusion and self-imposed exile, once more ready to continue his research about all that was happening outside of their plane. “Are you sure they will make it? They are but so young” The voice that had been heard before was heard once more. Sorrow simply turned to look at his old friend, a silver dragoness that practically camouflaged with the snow and wind. “My dear Heaven, if Noche made such a dangerous maneuver on this game, then I don’t see why we cannot do the same. Now, if you excuse me I have some things that need to be done, I have no time to lose to be worried” “That way in which you can seal your own feelings has been as impressive as the first time we met Sorrow, and as bothersome as always, but for now I’ll keep on watching, there is more in play than just this world and soon thing everywhere will change”
EverfreeBy coincidence or probably already written by destiny, the entire group appeared between Canterlot and Everfree Forest. Midnight could feel something inside him, a voice or an amalgamation of several whispering something impossible to understand. Close to him, poor Whisper felt unconscious “Is he ok? He looks pretty bad!” a sweet voice asks them. Iron was trying to wake up Whisper while Zenith and Quetzal couldn’t believe that they were looking at the Sky,From all the friends only Jade noticed in what condition was Midnight; his eyes were gleaming, they looked almost haunted; there was a sense of dread emanating from them like from a Nightmare Stallion, just like… his father. He started to breath quickly; the voices inside his head were starting to become annoying to Midnight. “Are you ok?” Asked again that sweet melodic voice. Midnight turned around, that annoying voice was coming from that little filly with Pink mane. The little one took a step backwards after seeing his eyes, it was clear that she had become terrified of the half breed. “Midnight!” Jade screamed at him making that awful glowing disappear from Midnight’s eyes and he then fell unconscious too. Running to his side, Jade noticed that the other pony was breathing regularly. Maybe he had been affected by the long distance teleportation; at least that’s what Jade hoped for A giant cloud covered the sky over Canterot and the crystal wall was breaking slowly. They needed to find that strange place in Everfree right now but the little filly… Jade took a look and understand that she didn’t come alone. She reached the conclusion that a small group of ponies escaped from Canterlot successfully. “Sorry sweetie, my friend has some troubles controlling his magic.” “It is ok, neither can I, my teacher told me that I’m still too young, what are you doing here by the way?” she asked them. “We just appeared here, we need to reach the Everfree. Do you know what happened in Canterlot?” A unicorn mare then trotted to the side of the little filly “Celestia, please go with you sister.” “Ok mom.” The Unicorn took a look to Canterlot behind the barrier and breathed deeply “A nightmare happened; The Royal guards, The Princess, all of them were corrupted by Noche, and now he is trying to take the power of the scepter to destroy the Crystal Prison and corrupt the Crystal Heart.We were some of the few lucky ones.” “Mom! Luna started crying!” The Unicorn apologized and walked in the direction of her daughters. It was something bizarre, probably a feeling that Jade had once or twice before. It first came to her as she saw a painting of the Equestria founders, then when she met midnight for the first time and now with this filly. Something was telling Jade that these little fillies were destined for something great but sadly she could not stay and watch that kind of life, it was more important for them to defeat Noche. Quetzal and Zenith put Midnight and Whisper on Iron’s back carefully, then started their journey to Everfree, never realizing what exactly the had Midnight could feel his whole body going numb; he couldn’t hear anything except those whispers again but this time he could understand them. That voice was calling for him and just one voice, there were dozens of them. “Come with us… Join us…” He opened his eyes and his blood froze inside him; uncountable eyes were looking him. All of them immersed into an infinite void. In the middle of them all he could hear an evil laughter, his father… a giant shadow with a fearsome look. “You are so foolish my little boy; do you really think that you could stop me? Your existence has only one purpose, you belong to me! You are the Umbrum with physical form that will destroy everything that I want!” Something happened to his whole body, a terrible pain, his front hooves slowly and painfully started to change until they became claws. Giant pair of dragon wings emerged from his back growing quickly and unfolding due to the pain; but the worst of all hadn´t happen yet. Midnight started to scream in pain as the worst headache ever made him lose his footing falling to the ground -or what passed as ground in the empty void-; his horn grew and another two goat horns emerged from his head piercing the skin and letting a flow of blood splatter around the void and Midnight’s coat. His eyes were glowing again with a nightmarish look and he started to laugh as if everything was a simple joke, or maybe he had just gone insane. “Midnight… are you ok?” a very familiar voice finally woke him up. A very bothering voice “I think he is dead; just look at him, he is so pale!” “Just shut up Shard… I am not dead yet, but you’re probably kill me if you keep on screaming in my ear!” Midnight finally opened his eyes finding the rest of his friends around the clearing. A dense forest covered all the sky and a fire was in front of him. All his friends were there. He just had a Nightmare… “Were are we? How long I stayed unconscious?” “Look around Midnight, we are inside Everfree Forest, and I think you were out approximately six hours” Zenith answered him never taking his eyes away from the sky “the cloudare growing still, almost covers all of Everfree. It won’t take long before the clouds would be the only thing we see when we look up.” “And what happened with…” “The crystal prison? Haven’t broken yet” Answered Whisper, he seemed so quiet now; it was obvious something changed him, like he was waiting for something… “The wall will brake at midnight and the chaos and fear will destroy everything but, I have a good feeling, I just need to follow you and we will win if we believe in ourselves.” “I know that you have fear Midnight, I can feel it too, but we need to believe that this situation has a solution.” “Whatever you decide, I’m in, I made a promise and I will accomplish it.” “May be your father is strong, but he made the worst mistakes; he attacked me and my family, my wings are with you.” They didn’t know, but they were exactly where they need to be as inside the little box five of the six crystals started to glow. The only thing that they still needed was the energy of the six ponies reunited. “You will never win! Somepony will defeat you!” “Oh my dear and Sweet Princess, this is becoming so tedious, do you have any other lines beyond the classic ‘damsel in distress is not giving up’? Do you truly still believe in them? I would call it cliché by this point but I have seen the strange things you ponies can do. No matter, I know my son… he will become like me… an Umbrum, and when that happens I will enjoy how he kills those ponies that call him friend. That will be so funny and ironical.” “You are sick.” Noche just laughed for the answer of the Princess “Oh don’t be stupid my dear, I’m not sick… I’m mad. There is a clear difference between those two words.” The giant shadow slowly flew around the princess “I will become the Emperor of Destruction, and when that happen, I will need a Empress.” He looked the crystal princess with a mad smile –or at least what could pass as a smile for a dark fog- “You only need to let me inside you and you will see the world that I see; now, don’t got taking my words out of context, I have no intention of defiling you. I just want you to be like me… You will become my Empress in the new world that is about to begin.” “I will die first.” “That is an option in this situation, number four if I remember correctly.” A terrible scream emerged from Canterlot that was heard around all Equestria… then things went from bad to worse as the Crystal Prison finally shattered. Like a broken mirror, the awful noise came with Thunders. Noche was free again.
Darkness“My dear beloved Princess… you are starting to annoy me.” Inside the throne room said Princess was barely alive and there was only one reason why she wasn’t dead after what she had through; she was an alicorn. Sadly, her wings would never allow her to soar through the air as they were broken beyond repair, the pieces scattered on the floor as if a crystal vase had been broken. All of that just because of a creature known as Noche wanted to see her scream in pain. Instead of the screams he was waiting for she was now just quietly sobbing in the floor of her castle, her back injuries sending jolts of pain but no blood from them showing how deep her Crystal Pony heritage was. “Oh, come on Amore, just say something, you know how much I love your voice. Tell me, where is your hope now?” She looked at Noche, crying, hopeless, with no reason to continue fighting against the monster that wanted full control of Equestria. Suddenly, she felt her body get up from the floor and start levitating to the ceiling. Noche’s magic around her body moved her there and dark chains twisted around Amore’s body until she was secured to the ceiling as a glorified chandelier. “You are a bother Amore,” Noche said as he destroyed the remaining pieces of the princess’ wings “but I’m not going to kill you, you see, I’m just going to wait until my son arrives, then he will torture you and will kill his friends! I’m going to take every ounce of hope that you and the rest of what’s left of your mighty kingdom and I will shatter it! After that, well, I will tear you apart piece by piece. Now, don’t go anywhere, the best part is going to start!” And like that, the Umbrum disappeared, leaving Amore broken mentally and physically, looking at the crystal cell on the throne room and what was left of the pony she loved the most in the world thrown inside; turned into a nightmare, a monster without a mind and she began to cry anew. Storm clouds continued to advance through all of Equestria, but there was a supernatural silence coming from all cardinal points; nothing could be heard, not even the whispers of the wind or a cricket’s song, only the crumbling wood that the six ponies had used to ignite a small campfire. Those six were probably the craziest ponies in Equestria to try camping inside The Everfree Forest, close to a cliff waiting for some kind of divine sign to stop what seemed to be the end of Equestria. With what they had to live through they had forgotten the crystals inside the box Sorrow had given to them not too long ago. Inside the box they continued pulsing as they were part of a heart, except one, one that showed no sign of being activated. “Oh come on! Somepony say something! I think I’m going to go insane if no one starts talking!” The small crystal pony all but screamed while she threw several berries into the fire. This time nopony answered to her, her voice was not powerful enough to make them stop thinking about what had happened and how useless their actions so far had been in stopping Noche. “He’s coming, I can feel him” the dark pony sitting in front of the fire said while holding his head. “Midnight, are you alright?” Whisper asked seeing his reaction while the eyes of Midnight began to glow with green power behind them. He didn’t even react to her words as he turned his head to the dark horizon. He could hear nothing except the dark whispers of voices coming from his head. “I think we lost him” the earth pony said still feeling as if something was watching them but surely that was only his imagination. “Oh, of course you lost him, I mean, there is no such thing as blood magic or filial bonds, right Midnight?” A voice that made the fur of every single pony stand up resonated through the forest as everypony excepting Midnight began to watch around in search of the Umbrum as the darkness began to creep more and more around them “although, in this case, it would be dark ties.” “Midnight, if you are going to use that creepy weird magic this is the moment!” Quetzal screamed as the shadows made a circle around them trapping them around the campfire. Even after his father’s arrival, Midnight stayed on his own world, trying not to listen to the voices and their promises of power. Noche appeared out of nowhere from inside the darkness, the figure barely visible as it surrounded the ponies, only the dark green eyes served and what seemed like a mouth full of serrated teeth made up his face. Whisper, the only other unicorn in the group, held the box containing the crystals close to his chest. “You will never win Noche, we will stop you!” he said trying to fight back the terror he felt at the instant “Oh, please my Little pony, saying those things knowing full well that everything is lost already, noteven with the words of ‘Broken Horn’ you could findan answer. By the way, how’s old Sorrow these days?” As he continued talking with Whisper, a dark magic tendril carefully touched Whisper’s back making the unicorn jump in fright, one more amusing show to the Umbrum. “We will not fall to your tricks Noche, we know you fear our combined power” The brace pegasus Quetzal said trying to shoo away the shadows on his own tail. “Excuse me, I just need to confirm this part, did you just say fear?” The shadow tendrils suddenly grew spines and dark chains shot from the ground with such strength and speed that the poor pegasus was pinned to the ground. “You know what’s my favorite game? ‘Pluck the wings form the pegasus’, is so simple to play; whoever makes the pegasus scream the hardest wins, let’s practice shall we?” Noche said with everypony not knowing if Noche was using his usual jokes or he was serious this time “but not today, after all, I don’t want to dirty my hooves with blood.” “But you don’t have hooves…or legs… or body… or anything really, I mean, you are just a floating ball of gas that flies around as if it were a helium balloon” Said the most irritating voice in Noche’s opinion making him look in the pony’s direction. Meanwhile Iron tried to help Quetzal get free from those chains. Behind him Whisper and Zenith were caught as dark crystals appearing form the ground made a jail cell around them and Midnight… he was still not reacting. “You know what? I’ll make an exception with you” Noche said holding up Jade with one of tendrils “Your voice is so annoying, from the first moment I met you, even with my older corporeal body it was so impossibly annoying!” Noche screamed as one tendril reshaped itself into a long needle. “And you are just a big fart!” The small crystal pony was completely terrified but more than anything she felt pity for Noche, knowing that inside him there was only a dark and rooted wish to destroy everything around him. A voice began to grow in intensity as all the ponies -and Umbrum- turned around on its direction. Midnight had finally reacted and Jade smiled, then a flash and Jade fell to the floor. Midnight’s eyes glowed with dark green energy, his pelt, once spotted was now completely darkand his horn became twisted like dead tree. “Well, I need to be sincere; I didn’t see this coming so soon. My own son taking his first life, I could cry in joy and pride… if I had tear conducts that is. He even killed a Crystal Pony first, I’m pretty sure that is almost a rule at this point. Now finish the rest, just, slower this time, I need to watch this and enjoy it.” “Shut… UP!” The whispers and voices kept becoming stronger inside his head “SHUT UP EVERYPONY!” Zenith used Noche being distracted to get out from his prison and got closer to Jade’s body, and then he felt relief. “She is alive.” The words from the pony made Noche rage. At that moment the box opened up and six crystals felt upon the ground; each of them shining brightly with power inside them, but one was cracked. “If I must fall into the shadows to defeat you father… then I will pay that price a thousand times!” Midnight kept on walking in Noche’s direction, his head bleeding from the exertion of using so much dark magic and directing it through his new horn. His eyes were filled with so much darkness and rage that they were the exact copy to those of the Umbrum “if only darkness can beat darkness, then so be it” Around midnight the rest of his friends began to react. Jade woke up and she was helped up by Zenith; Whisper and iron stood watching in shock while Quetzal wasn’t sure of how things had turned so dire as the dark chains retreated from around his body. “You are such a fool my boy, you are truly selling your soul to dark magic because you want to destroy me? Are you going to throw away the chance that I’m giving you to turn Equestria into our own playground?!” “Equestria? I don’t care about Equestria! I just want to beat you! This land be damned, there is no place for the two of us in here!” Midnight screamed but as the six ponies were ready to activate the crystals floating around them, the voice of the now dark pony seemed to come from far beyond, as if someone else was talking through his voice. Unbeknown to them, only one creature witnessed the battle; one that under its white hood knew that the world as everypony knew would never be the same after the battle.
