Dark Spectrum

I lay back against a tree, hanging in the shade, trying to relax. I’ve been here for hours; I’m not quite sure how much time has passed. It’s difficult trying to relax. Yes, the tree provides enough shade against the blistering heat created by the sun, and I am surrounded by a serene scene, on the edge of a mystical and mysterious looking forest, and a calm and luscious plain. I can see off in the distance a small town. The dirt path I am near leads straight to it. The leaves of the trees flow through the wind in a rhythmic pattern, as if the wind was conducting the leaves. Everything seems so perfect. It’s a pity that I will have to befoul this land with the harshness that is about to commence.

I use a spell to change the configuration of my eyes, allowing them to reject light. These self-configuration spells used to be incredibly painful, as it is always. Experiencing your body violently shifting for the first time is never a peaceful experience. However, these spells are usually my favorite, discovered by my father.

I gaze up at the sun, needing to determine what time it is. Even with the alteration of my eyes, gazing into the sun still burns a little. It seems that today the sun shines brighter, making it especially hot and uncomfortable out. It seems that Celestia is resorting to her god-like powers to get the upper hand on me. It’s good to see that she still remembers who I am.

I feel off. I am excited to finally accomplish my goal, to finally get revenge against the person who took everything away from me, yet I’m not that excited. I don’t know why, but I feel that I don’t want to hurt her.

I quickly get rid of that feeling. I remind myself that this has to be done. She is not only the person who destroyed everything I care about, but it also seems that her power has surpassed her sister’s. This means that her existence is causing an imbalance in the world, as positive energy is overtaking negative. She didn’t just kill my family, she is even ruining the balance they, we, strove for.

I look up into the tree I’m laying against, staring at Puff. I can see Puff suspended in air, peaking out from the branches to see the dirt path. It is acting as an outlook, waiting to inform me if anyone approaches. It’s been hours, yet we are both wide awake. The current circumstances have led us to anxiously wait for them to come.

I hear Puff squeak to me. It’s starting. I want to jump up to see for myself, but I stay cool. Instead, I look through Puff’s eyes, to see exactly what I am dealing with.

Up the dirt trail, leading out from the town and into the forest, I can see figures approaching. The first things I see are six royal guards, their golden armor gleaming in the sunlight. Their straight faces make it hard for me to identify what they are feeling, leading me to believe that these guards are highly trained. They seem to all be unicorns, no doubt sent to counter my abilities. Leading five of them is one in the same uniform, only purple, with golden outlining. His bulk seems to make him appear dominant against the five other guard, causing me to assume he is probably their leader, if not head of the entire royal guard. I’m touched.

Trailing behind them is the face of the enemy, the one I came here for, Celestia. She hasn’t changed a bit from since I last met her, probably due to the fact that she is un-aging and immortal. Her impressive build seems to stand out from the rest of the landscape, almost making her seem godlike. If I didn’t know better, I would say she is a god. However, I know better than to think that. Even through her immense magical power and fancy title, she is still a pony. And like every pony, they have their strengths and weaknesses.

Now, I knew Celestia wouldn’t play fair, but what I saw was something I never thought would happen. In front of Celestia were 6 other ponies, that were obviously civilians. This made me confused. What purpose could these ponies possibly serve to defeat me? I must ignore the fact that they are not trained, and remember that they are sided with the enemy.

Their presence is… unnerving. I’m not sure what it is about them, but they seem strangely calm. Well, most of them. The yellow one is barely keeping up with them, and is extremely scared. I’m not sure what is up with her, or why they would even bring her. I mean, why they would bring somepony who is too scared to fight. And the pink one. She is smiling, hoping her way up the path. She is so… unusual. But the worst one is the purple one. Something about her, she seems to radiate positive magic. She could possibly be a problem. I’m not sure what is going on with them, but they are confusing me.

They now approach the edge of the forest, right on time. Their mach ends with a final stop at the edge of the forest. The royal guards survey the landscape, not yet seeing me, even though I’m only a little ways away.

“Be wary, my pupils, we don’t know what we are dealing with,” says Celestia.

“Alright!”says the head of the royal guard, proudly.

“Uhh… excuse me but… um… maybe we shouldn’t… um… be here,” the yellow pony says, seeking shelter behind those amongst her.

“We have to do this Fluttershy, or else horrible things may happen,” says the purple pony, showing determination.

“I agree with Twilight, we can do this! This is no different than the time we defeated Discord!” says the flying blue Pegasus.

Now this is interesting. I now see their purpose. If they defeated the lord of chaos, then they must hold unlimited power. That’s when it hit me. The jewelry they are wearing, it makes so much since. I recognize their symbols. Honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty, and magic. These are the spirits of harmony, the bearers of the power that defeated my family so long ago! No wonder this “Twilight” character was radiating positive energy. She is the spirit of the most powerful element of harmony, magic! This may be harder than I think. Let’s see what they can do.

“Well, it’s nice to see that you made it Celestia.” I say.

They all immediately grow tense, jumping to their feet and looking around frantically. The yellow one, Fluttershy, quietly shrieks and runs away, only to be brought back by Twilight.

“Show yourself!” the head of the royal guard says.

I step out of the shadow, standing on the dirt path, facing the enemy. They all focus on me. I can see the worry in their eyes. They weren’t expecting me to be so mellow, so relaxed.

“Now, let’s see who you all are,” I say, using a magic spell.

Black light beams from my horn, and reaches the head of the royal guard and the spirits of harmony. It quickly runs around their brain, (which is much less painful then you would think) and quickly the beams of light retract back to my horn.

“Very interesting setup you got here, Celestia. Using the royal guard elite and the physical embodiments of the elements of harmony, I’m impressed.” I say, sporting a devilish smirk.

“Uhh… can we just go.” says Fluttershy, terrified.

“No, we can take him on!” proclaims Rainbow Dash.

“His mane is an absolute mess.” comments Rarity.

“Well, they’re two of us ‘m one of him, I reckon this will be a piece of pie!” says Applejack, proudly.

“I love apple pie!” says the bouncing pink pony known only as Pinkie Pie.

“Alright, let’s do this, for Celestia, for Equestria!” says Twilight Sparkle, confidently.

“A proud statement, but a useless jester. Both Celestia and I know that this is a quarrel between the two of us! It’s a pity that she sacrifices her own subjects to prolong her life a little bit more.” I say.

“He’s right, I have to do this myself.” Celestia says, moving towards me.

“Stop Celestia!” Shining Armor says, reaching his hoof out in a gesture to stop her. “We have all sworn loyalty to you, and will gladly give our lives for you.”

“You don’t know what you’re…” Celestia says, right before I cut her off.

“You’re loyal to that pathetic excuse for a princess, eh? Prove it!” I say, smiling the whole time.

Just as I hoped, the elite guard charge at me, charging up their horns to attack me. This is pitiful. They cannot hope to stop the power of a demon, not to mention an angry one. They leap in the air, and aim their horns at me. They make it too easy. I use a dark shield spell. Around me, a shield of pure dark energy forms. The six elite guards hit face first into the wall, and bounce back, almost hitting the spirits of harmony. They get up, stumbling, preparing for a counter attack. They run at me, and I use a spell my aunt taught me, a rotting spell. The spell hits the guards, the guards immediately feel the effects, and drop to the ground. Their commander, Shining Armor, got the closet to me, landing at my hoof. I then watch as they scream in pain, squirming on the floor. In front of me, I see them start to rot, their flesh becoming old and crusty. Their muscle starts to melt away, leaving only strands of connecting tissue. Their bones rot down, making them virtually immobile. Their organs become old and weary, disintegrating, barely sustaining them. Their blood slows and thins, making them weary due to lack of oxygen. I literally watch as the guards rot before my very eyes, and become helpless. They are on the verge of death. I look at the others, and they are awestruck. Even Celestia cannot believe the gruesomeness and brutality that she is witnessing. It is worse for the spirits of harmony, who have never been exposed to this. Watching Celestia suffer, as her best pupils become lonely husks is amazing, and rejuvenating.

“Big Brother!!!” Twilight Sparkle screams.

“You monster!” Celestia says to me.

“I didn’t kill them, I just incapacitated them. If I were to kill them, I would be just like you, a murderer. And that would make me a hypocrite. Imagine it, a monster trying to kill a monster.”

“You will pay for this!” Celestia says.

“Let’s do it!” Rainbow dash says.

They all agree. I must admit, they have amazing willpower. They see those they care about rot right before their eyes, and they still try to fight. I admire this.

Tearfully leading them, Twilight Sparkle calls upon the elements of harmony. The six’s pieces of jewelry start to light up, as do their eyes. They rise up into the air, and unleash the awesome power of the elements of harmony. I blast as much magical power as I can into one concentrated beam of energy. It makes contact with the rainbow that originates from the elements of harmony, and the two forces clash. The initial impact sends me skidding back, my hooves grinding up against the dirt. The elements are strong, pushing my energy back. I feel the pain rush to my head, as if nails were hammered into my head, piercing my flesh, bursting through my arteries and impaling my brain. I cringe, as the pain is unbearable. The elements are overwhelming. A tear falls down from my eye, as I realize that I will meet the same destiny as my parents.

“Use your anger, your hatred. Use your pain to fight!” a deep voice says in my mind. It is not Puff, but something more… sinister.

Painfully, I channel all my energy into my rage. The rainbow is getting closer, so close to hitting my horn. That’s when I remember, Celestia took everything I loved away from me.

My pain flows through my head like a wild fire, and rushes to my horn. Suddenly, my horn bursts with dark energy, and a ripple of black light is unleashed. My magic shoots up against the elements of harmony, and collides with the six ponies.

I watch as they fall to the ground. They hit the dirt hard, probably gaining serious injuries. Rarity is probably the luckiest one, getting stuck in a tree. At least the leaves cushioned her fall. But she also disrupts the balance of the forest. I will have to fix that later. Right now there is a bigger task at hand.

Celestia looks at her subjects, moaning and rolling in the dirt. I have defeated everything she has thrown at me.

“Is that all you got!” I scream.

“You… you will pay for what you have done.” Celestia yells back.

“Let’s do this!” I say, confidently.

I use an configuration spell to summon a weapon. I channel my energy into my back. Violently, a black tendril shoots up from out of my back, making my blood burst out of my body, spraying in all directions. It is incredibly painful, but I’m used to it now. The tendril is made up of a bunch of intertwining strands of black magic, pulsing and moving about each other. Nerves form from my mind all the way up to the tendril, giving me full control of it. Finally, a large dark blade forms at the top of the tendril, making the form of a large scythe. I swing my tendril around, and then point it at her.

“Let’s do this!”

We run at each other, hoping over the bodies of her fallen companions. We leap up into the air. As I prepare my scythe to slice her, she charges up her horn, no doubt to use a solar beam. Before she has enough time to use it, we intersect, and I slash a deep cut into her left side. As I fall, I feel the air rush past me, as I run my way through the air, as if it lets me pass through.

I land on all four of my legs, and look back. I watch Celestia fall on her left side, allowing me to fully see that I have cut a huge gash in her left side. It runs almost the entire length of her body, going from hoof to hoof. It is as deep as muscle, and has cut layers of it down. She is obviously in pain. She lays there, trying to recuperate. I walk over to her in a long stride. I finally kneel right next to her face, and lean my head down so she can look into my eyes and see herself, so defenseless and pathetic. She may see a victim of a brutal beating, but all I see is a monster getting what she deserves.

“I’m… so… sorry.” Celestia says, weak.

“I didn’t come to hear your pleas of mercy. I came here to see you weep.” I say.

Using my magic, I grab onto her horn. She looks at me, both surprised and scared. She can’t believe what is going to happen. Using my magic, I do one quick swing of my horn, and her horn snaps right off. I slam it into the ground point first, right in front of her face.

“I’ll let you live, if only to give you exactly what you deserve. I watched as everything I loved died. Now, it’s your turn. Enjoy your last days as you live knowing that you didn’t have the power to save what you loved. You will know what it is like to be me.” I say.

I walk away, heading down the dirt trail to Ponyville. Looking around, I see all the destruction I have created, the rotten guards, the defeated spirits of harmony, and the powerless Celestia. It’s almost too good to be true. Next stop: Ponyville. After that: Canterlot. She will see everything burn at my hooves.

As I walk away, the voice reappears.

“You are doing good. Go, make this world burn so you may have revenge.”

As I walk into the distance, the sun plummets and falls over the mountains. Looking into the sky, all one can see is a black abyss.