Rise of the Swarm Lord

As the corridor softly gave way to a grand staircase, Custos looked down, hearing the voices much more clearly now. One was sobbing and apologizing for something, while several others were talking excitedly, their voices still far off, but echoing quite nicely off the old castle walls. "Hmm...they sound female....hopefully they won't be like....those others", he said, shuddering at what happened with the first two females, then with that one from earlier.

Although....she hadn't actually been that bad, sure it was still rape, but she had seemed.....dainty, almost, when compared to Eclipsa and her mother Crescent. Shrugging, Custos started forward again, his mind suddenly brought to a panic as a lone, solitary howl erupted from behind him, along with the crashing of several pillars in front of him, effectively blocking the way. "Gggrreeeattt", Custos said, gritting his teeth in anger and nervousness as he turned to look behind him, his jaw dropping as he stuttered out a few words. Slowly approaching him, was essentially, a giant version of the wooden wolves from earlier, only this one seemed much deadlier. Sporting six glowing vapor like eyes, and 2 mouths, the creature reared up on its' hind legs, before erupting with a roar that blew Custos backwards, his back slamming into the rubble.

"Uggghhh", he said, shaking his head as he hit the wall behind him, his body falling to the floor in a lump, "This is getting to be the new norm for me", he muttered, slowly picking himself back up, a wet feeling dripping onto his cheek as he touched his head, feeling a dampness, as he saw he was bleeding. "Oh man, this is not good", he thought, beginning to look around frantically, "Think man....there has to be something here I can use", he said, as he saw several rocks behind him. Hefting one of the larger ones up, he hurled it at the giant wolf, hoping it would at least hurt it enough to back off.

Sadly, the giant simply opened its jaws, crunching the stone to bits as easy as tearing a piece of paper. Gnashing its tree-like teeth, it chewed the stone until it was fine dust, eyeing Custos as it began to advance, slowly picking up speed. "Oh geez.....This is going to hurt", he said, trying to hurl several more smaller stones, before crouching behind a pile of boulder sized ones, the giant wolve smashing into it all, propelling the blocked off rubble, and Custos, outward, as he sailed thru the air, the steps below him falling away as he landed at the bottom, blood spewing from his mouth as he quickly fell limp, the last thing he heard, being the surprised shout of several voices, as they all reacted.

*Purple Pony Perspective*

What is the name of Equestria is that?!", she said, looking down at the hairless creature before her, her eyes furrowing in confusion, as she looked up, "WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA IS THAT?!", she said, seeing the giant wolve like creature propel thru the air, landing at the other end of the giant room, eyeing them up as it howled again, several smaller wooden wolves appearing from it's back and inside its' body.

"Ah'm not sure ah reckon ah know what that there creature is Twilight", said the orange hued gal, as she gestured down at Custos' form on the floor, even as a yellow hued girl with pink hair rushed to his side, listening for a pulse. "But that there thang over there is a Timberland Wolf, it's like a bigger badder version of regular Timber Wolves, they tend to be the alphas of their pack", she said, clenching her teeth as she cracked her knuckles. "Ah don't think we're gonna be gettin' outta this without another fight girls", she said, readying her fists.

Twilight, the purple skinned girl, shook her head, "But....it's gigantic! I've never even seen a creature like that in my books before", she said, looking back nervously to her teacher, who was watching from the background, a protective arm slung around a smaller, dark blue girl, her form lithe, and her steady breathing an indication of her own unconciousness. "Twilight....I need to tend to my sisters wounds....Nightmare Moon may have possessed her, but the body was still Lunas' more or less.....she needs treatment", the pure white skinned female said, her form towering over even the other girls, whom each was at least a good foot or so taller then Custos.

"Yes Princess Celestia, I understand", Twilight said, her head nodding as she bowed to her teacher, "We should be able to handle this from here.....maybe the Elements of Harmony can work on this creature like with Nightmare Moon.....", she said, still nervous as the Timber Wolves were being made short work of, by the orange and blue skinned girls.

"Don't worry my faithful student, I'm sure you and the rest of the girls will be able to handle this....although I do not believe the Elements will work as sufficiently with this creature as they did with my sisters dark side.....Be careful Twilight, and stay safe", she said, as she and Luna slowly popped out of existence, having teleported away.

Turning back to where the rest of her friends stood, she gave a silent nod to the other two friends standing with her, one pink, the other a more vibrant white then Celestia. "Fluttershy? Can you stay here with that pony? Make sure he doesn't get more hurt?", Twilight said, looking down at the yellow girl that was caressing Custos' head in her lap, as she applied bandages to his head.

"Oh...u-um...I think so, don't worry Twilight, I'll keep him safe", Fluttershy said, nodding firmly as she picked up Custos gently, moving farther away as Twilight and the rest of the girls charged at the Timber Wolves, the Timberland Wolve in the background merely watching them as it continued to spawn more and more.

"Ok girls!....LETTEM HAVE IT!", Twilight shouted, unleashing a blast of purplish energy as they dove right into the heart of the enemies. The orange skinned girl from before, attacking with massive leg strikes, her muscular torso twirling as finely as a ballerina as she kicked the wolves apart, each one only taking 1 hit before collapsing. "Hey Rainbow Dash! Up atcha!", she said, kicking up one wolve to the Cyan colored girl in the sky, setting her up for a spike.

Pummeling the wolve with multiple fast strikes, before slamming it back down with a two handed strike to the head, Rainbow Dash laughed, looking down at the girl below. "Haha, thanks Applejack, that was awesome", she said, before diving into the rest of the wolves, spinning fastly as she created a small vortex of wind, causing several Timber Wolves to be sucked in, and blown away.

"WHEEEE! This is so much fun!", shouted the pink girl as she twirled continously in a circle, a giant hammer seemingly coming out of nowhere as she proceeded to bash the enemy apart, not even bothering to stop, as her laughter and snorts filled her area of the room.

"Really Pinkie....Such a lack of grace", said the white skinned girl, as she calmly walked away from several wolves, having had them tied up, somehow, in what appeared to be several pieces of thick garment.

"Don't be such a downer Rarity, it'll take more then this to stop our awesome selves", said Rainbow Dash as she looked down at Rarity, chucking another Wolves falling apart body to the side, as she dived below to join in with Applejack.

"Ugh, really Rainbow Dash, I can't help it. Being a refined lady such as myself, I simply try to be delicate in these types of matters.", Rarity said, walking forward calmly, several more pieces of fabric flowing from her body and clothing, as if they were being puppetered by her somehow, to constrict the enemy.

"Uhhh, not that ah mind the chitchattin' girls....but we need ta finish off dat big'un, or else these little fellas are gonna keep comin'", Applejack said, suddenly stomping the ground, causing a gash to appear as it scared off the wolves a bit, giving the girls a bit of breathing space.

"Right girls....all together now!", Twilight said, as she sent a spark to her crown, triggering the other 4 elements with her, as they each sent off a wave of energy, same as with Nightmare Moon before. However, upon striking the Timberland Wolf, the energy disappated, leaving the giant none the less for wear.

"Wh-why didn't it work?", Twilight shouted, shocked at the ineffectiveness of the elements?

"Prolly cause this here thing may be a nasty critter, but it's not evil, just followin' in its instincts and like", Applejack said, "Course, Fluttershy ain't with us neither, so maybe we need all 6 to work?", she said, narrowly dodging a swipe from the giant creature.

*Custos Perspective with Fluttershy*

As his body was caressed by the soft minstrations of Fluttershy, Custos visibly relaxed, his body seeming to fall into a more natural sleep while he laid in her lap, his mind beginning to dream.

*Dream/Flashback*

"Hey G-Pa?", Custos said, walking out of the shower, toweling off as he slipped his t-shirt back on, "Mind if I ask ya a question?", he said

"Sure sonny....but come over to this side, my left eye ain't so good no more", his grandfather said, leaning forward in his lazy boy, his hands holding onto a gnarled wooden cane for support.

A few years having past since the incidents from before, Custos smiled at his relative. Despite being his great grandfather, the old man had been as spry as a man half his age, and to Custos, whose own grandfather had died, this man had taken that spot relatively easy for him. "See grandpa....couple of the guys from school were talking about pooling money for a spring getaway this year. One of them asked how much my necklace was worth, cuz of this gem in it. But I've never seen or read one like this before, do you have any idea about it?", he said, looking up with confusion in his eyes.

A stoney cold silence took hold over the old man, as he suddenly shot up, his arms throwing the cane aside as he grabbed his great grandson by the collar. "Listen here boy!", he said, his tone harsh and voice serious. "You better get rid of those thoughts right now, that charms been in our family for a long time, and it's important to us. Don't you EVER think of getting rid of it, or else badness will follow you to the end of your days!", he shouted, his knuckles holding onto Custos' shirt so hard his entire hand was shaking, turning white from the exertion.

"Geez, ok grandpa, just relax, calm down, I won't do it then", he said, gently helping the older man back into the chair as he relaxed.

"Good sonny....good, that necklace has mystical properties to it, our family has always believed.....Course, if that was truly a thing, ya think the thing could do more then just look pretty.......My daughter, your grandmother, God rest her soul, was the only one that ever truly seemed to care enough to investigate. Course, being a Wiccan and all, she might've actually had a chance of figuring something out about it before she.....she....", he said, his eyes tearing up at the rememberance of the past events.

"Hey now....common g-pa.....you said it yourself when I was a kid, there wasn't anything anyone could've done to stop him....They're in a better place now", Custos said, hugging the older man tightly, his frame filling out, thankfully, due to the excellent sports department at his high school.

Feeling the dream as almost a memory into the distant past, the image seemed to darken, overtaking it before swallowing it whole.

"Huh?...W-where am I?", Custos said, his body floating in the inky blackness as he twisted around, feeling nothing and seeing nothing in any directions. Calmly floating along in the inky black void as he frantically tried to figure out where he was.

Slowly, as he floated for several more minutes, a quiet laugh could be heard emanating from what seemed to be all directions at once. "He was wrong you know.....", the voice said, the image of Custos as a high schooler hugging his elderly great grandfather appearing once again.

"Who's there? Show yourself!", Custos said, struggling to find the location of the voice.

"You let them die Custos.....their blood is on your hands", the voice said, in a taunting manner, as it flashed back to the earlier memories, the bloody image of his body, a bullet wound between her eyes as her blood pooled onto the floor. An image of his father howling with laughter as he turned and did the same to Custos' grandmother......and finally, the third image of the neighbor barging into the house, tackling his father and keeping him restrained until the police arrived.

"You could've done something, their deaths are on your concious", the voice whispered, drawing out each word syllable by syllable. Laughing as it echoed into the darkness.

"NO! I WAS A CHILD! There was nothing I could do", Custos said, shivering a bit as he began to feel cold.

"Nothing you could've done....nothing you could've done, nothing, nothing, nothingnothingnothing", the voice said, repeating itself.

"No......I couldn't have done anything........I couldn't have saved them....I.....I failed, I was just a punk kid, I let my family die", Custos said, his voice shrinking as the darkness began to coil around him.

"You will be mine!", the voice said, as it enveloped him in shadows, Custos form disappearing as his body was enveloped.

*End of Dream/Flashback*

Fluttershy, looking on fearfully as her friends kept back the tide of enemies, but were unsuccessful at defeating the main baddy, gasped as she suddenly saw a small black flame erupt from Custos chest.

Quickly scurrying to her feet, she backed up slowly, stammering out, "U-u-uh girls?", she said, reached out and grabbing Twilight by her tail, yanking on it slightly to get her attention.

As Twilight turned around, she let loose one final burst of energy, before giving Fluttershy her attention, "What's wrong Fluttershy?", she said, concern for her new friend keeping her from focusing.

"Th-that!", Fluttershy stammered, pointing back at Custos body as the black flame from earlier was beginning. Moving to hide behind Twilight as she shivered in fear.

"GIRLS! THAT PONY IS BURNING!", she said, the other girls turning to see, before retreating to a more advantageous position, as Twilight rushed over, using her magic to try and put out the flames, but ending up useless as the black flames simply ate her magic, it disappearing as quickly as it appeared. "WHAT?!", gasped Twilight as she stared in disbelief, "Inconceivable!", she said, the flame now burning brightly as Custos body was engulfed.

As the first burst spread quickly, the fire evaporated just as fast, leaving behind Custos' body, engulfed in black-purplish spiked armor. Slowly, the figure stood up, its' movements akward as it flexed its limbs, slowly moving its fingers, and turning around, before laughing, quietly at first, but building into a crescendo.

Twilight, slowly backing up, gestured to the other girls to do the same, unsure if this new entity was either friend or foe, as it slowly regarded them with a cold icey stare, it's eyes glowing with a purple glow as it turned towards the timberwolves, gesturing once, as several burst into different shades of purplish-black fire, their bodies disappearing completely.

Walking towards the large creature, the figure calmly regarded the giant creature with cold empathy, "You.....are nothing, disappear", it said, as the giant Timberland Wolf erupted into flames, burning just as easily as its smaller spawn did. Writhing around on the ground, the creature continued to burn, shrinking smaller and smaller until the giant was gone entirely, not even ashes left behind.

Standing atop the spot it was once in, the figure began laughing, the sounds echoing off of the walls as it reveled in the power it had demonstrated, enjoying the domination over its' enemies. Unfortunately, the moment of self enjoyment was its' downfall, as the creature fell to its knees, collapsing onto the floor as a beam of pure white electric energy slammed into its backside, causing it to lay unmoving.

Standing before the girls, as they turned to look at her, stood Celestia, gone was the soft demeanor from before, as she stood in stern beauty and severity, her body adorned in armor that seemed out of place, as her horn glowed with more untapped power, her hand holding a long sword out as she regarded the creature. "Looks like I made it just in time", she said, lowering the sword slowly as she calmly walked over to the girls, "Twilight....where did that creature come from?", she said, regarding her student with cold calculating eyes.

"I-I'm sorry Princess, I'm not sure. Fluttershy got my attention, and the next thing any of us knew, that creature came out of a burst of fire, surrounding that pony from earlier.", Twilight said, her eyes filled with fear as to what her teacher would do.

The flames, erupting again, devoured the armor, leaving only behind the form of Custos. Blinking, he slowly got to his feet, stumbling about as he was half blinded with blurriness. "Ugh...where am I?.....What happened?", he said, falling and stumbling around, unable to keep his balance.

"Twilight......take the girls back to Ponyville.....I'll deal with this here", Celestia said quietly, sheathing her sword as she nodded at her student. Walking forward, she began to walk towards Custos.

"Oh...um, ok Princess, see you later I guess", she said, waving to her back as she gathered her friends, explaining what the Princess had said, before walking out the front door.

"Now....little pony", Celestia said, coming up next to Custos, as he rubbed his eyes, staring at her through squinted eyelids. "You're going to tell me exactly where you came from....and how you know that magic", she said, kneeling down to give him a good look.