Rise of Shadow

You've probably heard the saying: 'Even the worst person can achieve redemption if they just try.'

But of course, every wise sentence has it's own counterpart.

Frisk, with the power of friendship and her friends, may have been able to stop the attacks of the darkness several times in the past, and brought peace to the land she loved, she somewhat still feels her mission isn't complete yet.

But sadly... She may never be the one finishing it. Not after this experience.

It was not long after Astell and Lunar became a couple (The end of the previous episode), when everyone seemed alive and well. Seeing the kingdom continue to prosper and grow along with the human race, Twilight and the princesses were very happy.

However, you all know the drill. When this happens, something bad is always just right around the corner.

And this, is exactly what Frisk is thinking about.

Although Frisk has always been a strong legend, she has never won on her own. It's her friends that helped her, no matter directly or passively. Never has she ever won a battle on her own.

Because of this, she started to have a feeling- Something that, the former empress of Britannica, the saviour of Equestria, the person who ended the conflicts of the two wars, never thought she would have.

Fear.

One day, the sun was setting, and Frisk was looking over the land from the Canterlot Castle, after she had finished doing some things with the princesses.

The view was magnificent- But she knew it's only a matter of time before the darkness strikes again.

'(Sigh) I hope this place would be alive and well...' She sighed.

Seeing her motionless, Celestia wanted to talk to her.

'What's the matter, Frisk? You seem worried about something,' She asked.

Frisk turned to her.

'I'm just worried about the kingdom's safety, that's all,' Frisk replied.

'Why? I believe our last potential villain has been reformed,' Celestia enquired. 'At least no one seemed to be a villain yet.'

'Just yet,' Frisk chuckled coldly. 'That's the problem.'

'Why so?'

Frisk sighed, and started to explain.

'I wanted to learn how dark magic works, seeing it's the main thing making people evil. So, I turned to Gromiz. He was a villain before, after all.' She said. 'I analysed the effects of this magic, with help from Starlight and Starswirl, so we can hatch a plan to launch the resistance to defeat the dark once and for all. And why we can do that, you might ask? That's because he somehow still has a spot he could teleport to for some reason in the dark's palace.'

'Your plan's goal is a bit... Far-fetched, don't you think? You are going up against the god of the dark if you do this,' The princess continued asking.

Frisk just stood there.

'This is the only way I currently have to stop all of this massive chaos. There's another way to do it though, we need to-'

Suddenly, she stopped, and heard a voice.

'Don't reveal them about me,' It said.

Celestia was confused. 'Excuse me?'

'Sorry, my mind went astray for a minute.' Frisk responded. 'But, I will agree this plan is pretty hard to execute... Without me.'

'What? What do you mean?'

Frisk sighed. 'When I analysed dark magic, I figured out the process of how people turn evil. From my findings, I believe the leader of the dark chooses the elites to kill us, the defenders of harmony. Dark magic would slowly devour the prey's soul through negative beliefs, such as hatred, jealousy, violence... And once it gets strong enough, it controls that person. But I fear there has to be more than that.'

'I'm listening.'

'There was that huge tank of dark magic at the end of the war that we saw, right?' Frisk asked, Celestia nodded. 'If all that energy is able to infect the whole world... There is no doubt that stupid leader is going to... To...'

She stopped, and a tear rolled down her eye.

'You'll be...?' Celestia is starting to understand the consequences.

Frisk turned around, with a frown on her face.

'The next person he'll target...'

She pointed to herself.

'Are you telling the truth?' Celestia was worried now.

'There's no proof to back this up, but I'm certain this could be his next plan. I just need to wait for-'

She stopped again.

'Okay! Okay! I'll stop it, master!' Frisk said in her mind.

The voice sighed. 'Be careful, please. They can't know about me before I return.' She warned.

Frisk turned back to the princess.

'Sorry, went astray again...' She sighed.

'Never mind,' Celestia replied. 'Do you think there is a way to cure you if this is indeed true?'

'There is, but with such a powerful person like me... I fear there's no way to take me down when I'm fully controlled. It's the same way how we cured Felix and Gromiz. But I can assure you all, that this cure will not win against me if all that dark magic is focused onto me.'

Both of them went silent.

'Frisk Dreemur, I've been through these situations many times before. I have fought against my own people and friends. Even Starswirl has. But if the situation is as bad as you just said... The only thing I can tell you, is to stay determined and never give up hope that your friends will save you. I know they will.'

Frisk just sighed again.

'I was destined to be a saviour of the light and harmony... I don't want my reputation to be gone at an instant!'

'You might want to talk to your friends about it, if that's what you're worried about,' Celestia suggested. 'Through our understanding, if you get plagued, we might be finished. We need to help you in every way to stop this plague from getting to your head, but if we can't...'

She stopped, and looked down.

'I guess you all don't have a choice once I start to turn on you all,' Frisk replied. 'Hopefully this won't be the case...'

The legend turned into a pony and flew away.

Frisk got back to the castle, and it was already late at night. She was going to sleep, when she thought of something that she has never thought of before.

'I'm so afraid...' She cried, shivering. 'What do I do?'