Fractured Darkness

Fractured Darkness
Chapter 15: First Flame

By: Major Frostwing

"Princess Luna

Supreme Commander of The Equestrian Special Forces

It all happened so fast. The attacks came like lightning and before the thunder even settled the settlements were gone. We sent our first response teams as fast as we could but it didn't matter. Each scene brought more of what we already knew. Giant sections of the town seemed to have been touched by the sun it self. And there was always a small group of black armored creatures not to far off that were inspecting the devastation. Any attempt to contact the squad resulted in an immediate retreat. They did not want to be identified.

Signed,

Major Carbon Fiber"

Luna finished reading over the report letting out a tired sigh before passing over the report to her fellow Princesses. "This threat is taking more and more of our towns and killing off more of our ponies." Luna stated rubbing her eyes with a thumb and forefinger.

"How are we supposed to combat a threat like this? They attack with no warning and from our other reports it is always at sunrise." Cadence said pulling up a separate report. "And these black armored soldiers that are always there before us." She pulled out a photo of the entities tossing it on the table. "Ponies, minotaurs, diamond dogs, griffins, and dragons. But they seem to be of the same army. They could be the enemy inspecting the damages to report back to their leader." She jabbed a finger at the photo annoyed. "An unknown that we can't place."

"And Celestia is still missing." Twilight said letting out a tired sigh.

"And no word from Jon..." Dash said staring at the tactical map with no idea it really meant.

"It will be ok. Jon is most likely keeping tabs on this entire situation. But Jon going dark as long as he has is worrying." Nova pointed out before Luna lost her fragile hold on her frustration.

"DAMMIT ALL!" Luna slammed her fist down on the table shattering the wood into splinters. "How did my sister deal with this? How did she keep everything from falling apart all that time?" Luna was losing it. She was scared and frustrated and stressed to her breaking point. If Jon did not have her nightmare she most likely would have fallen once again.

"Luna calm down. We will figure this out but we can't panic." Twilight said sternly as Luna finally sat down in her seat taking a few deep breaths. "We are all at our breaking points but we have to remain strong. For our ponies." Twilight was the most level headed of them all but that was only due to her gaining control over her stress by managing it as efficiently as possible.

A letter flashed into existence landing in the splinters of the destroyed table. The Princesses all stared at the letter with worry. They had received these letters several times before but they were all handed to them by a guard. Never teleported. Cadence floated the letter over opening it and reading it swiftly before she let out a gasp of shock. Everyone stood rushing over to read the letter.

"My Fellow Princesses,

We have a situation. Activate the teleportation circle on this letter.

Princess Celestia."

Under the letter was an intricate teleportation seal not charged but at the ready. None of them even dared to second guess the letter because the seal had a few key runes that could only be created by the princesses and one other. The girls looked to each other before they each channeled their magic into the seal activating it. In a bright flash they all arrived in a dark cavern and immediately they heard several weapons aim at them. They were completely surrounded by the black armored soldiers. Each of the girls charged their magic ready to fight but a single snap and all the weapons were holstered each of the black armored warriors stood at attention and didn't budge.

"What the devil is going on?" Luna asked as she kept her magic active.

"Apologies Princesses but we were not expecting anyone to arrive in our headquarters so suddenly." A female voice said and as one the Princesses all snapped their attention to the voice. A black armored mare walked up to them her helmet under her arm and hood pulled back. "Mythril. A pleasure to see you all once again." She said with a bow. "Now is not the time though. Follow me Jon and Celestia are waiting." She turned swiftly on her heel making her way towards a building in the distance.

"Wait. Where are we? And how long has Celestia been here?" Twilight asked taking a step forward in a threatening manner. A few weapons raised towards her stopping her. She let out a small "Eep." from the warriors sudden almost instant movement.

A second snap echoed out and they returned to their statue like state. "Those who just broke a hold order run the obstacle course twice." The ones who had moved gave a silent salute before rushing off towards a large training area behind them. "They will answer your questions now follow me. I won't ask again." Mythril stated with all the warmth of a frozen hammer to the nerves. The Princesses decided it was wise to follow her without angering the statues of armor.

The building they entered was massive by comparison to the rest of the complex. A large map was sitting against the wall with several points lit up in red. The Princesses didn't have to think about it long to realize that each point was a settlement that was attacked. "Recall squad Seven, Eight, and Twelve. Send out Squad Twenty-Two to cover the north-eastern sector." A voice barked orders as a few of the black armored soldiers saluted before running off to carry out their orders. "Scrying team anything to report?" The voice asked.

"Nothing new sir." Another voice said as a table flew across the room.

"FUCK!" The original voice said before walking to the large map on the wall.

The Princesses all stopped when they saw Celestia standing in front of the map glaring at it's angry red lights. "How many have we lost?" Celestia asked with a sigh.

"Sister?" Luna asked as Celestia turned to see them. "What is all of this?" Luna asked as Celestia gave them a weak smile.

"A mess. One that we are trying to fix." Celestia turned her attention to Mythril. "Was their reception welcoming?" She inquired. Mythril for her part saluted.

"The soldiers were not expecting them so they went to full alert as we have been trained. None fired upon them but a squad did raise weapons after being given the 'Hold' signal. I made them run the obstacle course twice for disobeying a direct order. Sir." Mythril reported as Celestia only let out a sigh.

"Good. Oversee their punishment as you see fit Mythril. Dismissed." Celestia said with a wave of her hand.

"Sir." Mythril said before donning her helmet and raising her hood before jogging out of the building.

"Girls it is so good to see you once again." Celestia said once the room was cleared out. "As you can see Jon and myself have been rather busy. But we have much to discuss. Follow me." Celestia said as she motioned for them to follow.

"Celestia! What is going on? Where are we? And Where is Jon?" Dash demanded only for Celestia looked over her shoulder leveling a glare at her.

"I said follow me. We have much to discuss. Now hurry up!" Celestia shot back to the shock of all involved.

Celestia threw open the doors to a side room with the simple sign reading 'C.A.C.' The Princesses followed Tia only to see a large crystal of dark magic resting in the room and Jon hooked up to it. He looked positively ancient as he sat in a M.H.A.S. "Welcome to my base of operations." Jon said taking a wheezing breath. "I hope my army didn't frighten you." The girls looked at him in worry.

"Jon what has happened to you?" Twilight asked as he only looked away.

"Jon is not here... He is fighting a nightmare." He answered before taking another wheeze. "Celestia we need another core." He said smiling weakly to her. Celestia quickly retrieved a new core from her storage before moving to hook it up to the machine.

"Moon? What do you mean Jon is fighting a nightmare? You don't mean to tell us that he is fighting you right now." Luna said as Moon leveled a glare at her.

"Don't be so foolish Luna." Moon berated her. "Jon is fighting his own Nightmare. Something that was created so long ago and fragmented before it could mature. Jon is doing battle and has left me in control. The only problem is I don't have a perfect connection to him." Moon motioned to himself showing how old and decrepit he looked. "We are barely keeping this body alive on our barest of reserves."

"But that should be impossible." Twilight pointed out calmly. "Jon has been a magical dead zone since his body does not generate magic naturally. The only reason he has lived for this long or has even been able to use magic is because of your symbiotic relationship. Jon doesn't even have the correct magical pathways in his body to begin the process of magical production." Moon only smiled to Twilight.

"Thousands of years... Saturated every waking moment in magical energies. Harnessing the magic through artificial pathways created by yours truly. Augmenting his physical body to handle a heavier magical load without destroying his body. Jon very much has the ability to generate his own magic now but it has only been halted by not using his own magic." Moon explained as the machine let out a loud hum as Jon's body began to reverse it's aging returning him to his former glory. "Jon has only used my magic. Magic that was constantly fed by his emotions. And once his fight concludes his magic will activate. This raw heat will burn all that dare touch it." Moon warned as he leaned back into the pod letting the magic flow through him.

"You mean to tell us that Jon's Nightmare is stronger than you?" Cadance asked as Moon only nodded.

"It's powered by Jon's hatred. His own self hate fuels the magic." Celestia stated as she continued to look over the machine. "A hatred that burns through his very being." All the girls except Dash shuddered at the thought.

"I can feel the shock waves of their battle with each clash. It hurts. It severs my connection to him more and more. That is why we connected him to this machine." Moon stated calmly. "I just hope he can defeat this thing." Moon took a deep breath letting it out slowly. "His body is damaged beyond all form of repair and it is hitting it's limits. If he wins his body might finally be repaired of all the damage it has endured over the centuries. Jon would come back stronger than ever before." Moon closed her eyes letting the dark magic continue to keep the body stable. "I'm scared girls." Moon finally said what was really bothering her. "I'm scared what will happen to me. Jon's physical body can not handle two Nightmares and the only contingency that Jon has is Protocol 7. But the plan is all wrong. Everything is going wrong. Jon is supposed to be the one running The Forge not me and surely not fucking Celestia. Jon is not supposed to be wasting away in a pod trying to fight his own nightmare. WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LOSING!" Moon roared out as a magical surge escaped the containment of the M.H.A.S. The very temperature of the room skyrocketed slagging a few of the cables connecting the core to the M.H.A.S.

Celestia was quick to use he magic to repair the cables after the surge allowing the machine to continue it's designed operations. "Moon. You have to remain calm otherwise you risk severing your connection to Jon early." Celestia scolded as she looked over the machine making sure everything was running correctly. "This is the issue girls. Moon can't even leave this pod without the magical burn out killing both Jon and her. Jon's army is the best but without his guidance they aren't the best they can be. I am trying to run his army but that is the issue. Jon's army does not run on standard tactics. They were trained to be an unstoppable force but I can't willingly send them on missions that could result in their deaths. Moon who has spent the most time with Jon can't even make the call. They are running leaderless with us." Celestia said the stress evident on her face.

"Then why don't you have one of them run the army?" Twilight suggested only for Moon to shake her head.

"The only one who could run this army we can't trust to do so. Mythril has a darkness in her after her defeat at the castle. Her failure has sparked revenge in her heart and it needs to be cultivated with care. If we gave her a position of power we would have to kill her. None of the others are qualified to run the army." Moon stated without any remorse. "Mythril is being groomed for greatness. We don't want to have her executed due to a misstep on our part."

"Jon will be back before we know it." Dash said with absolute certainty catching the attention of everyone in the room. "I might not know Jon as well as all of you nor have I known him as long as any of you but I know he will win. He will stomp his nightmare into the ground and will force it to kneel. He will never lose to something so weak." Dash leveled a glare at Moon who only gave her a sad smile.

"I just wish I could assist him in his trial." Moon said to the murmurs of the other princesses.

-9 Days After The Princess' Discussion-

Magic impacted magic with devastating effect as the two fighters continued their bout for dominance. Their blades were scattered across the field shattered and forgotten for a more versatile form of combat. Flames and shadows collided in mortal combat.

"IS THAT ALL YA GOT!?" Jon yelled out weaving the magical energies around him to create a devastating barrage of magical missiles.

Flare for her part matched the barrage with one of her own causing untold destruction as the magic detonated violently. "THERE IS ALWAYS MORE TO BURN!" Flare slammed her fists together unleashing a shock-wave of fire towards Jon. Jon only laughed as he stomped his foot causing black fog to rise up disrupting the fire.

"Devour my enemies. Cause their flesh to rot away. Swallow their fear and drag them into the abyss. GRANT THEM A SLOW DEATH! CERBERUS!" Jon roared out slamming his hands together as the fog shuddered. A howl ripped through the lull in the battle as dozens of dogs stepped free of the fog. "Fetch me her soul." Jon said a deadly chill in his voice as he pointed at Flare.

"Rip and tear. Shred their bodies asunder. Burn them to their cores. Incinerate them to ash. SHOW THEM TRUE PAIN! HELLHOUND!" Flare yelled out her own incantation before pointing at Jon. "Drag him to Hell." Dozens of holes ripped free in the void as several burning dogs clawed their way out of the portals letting loose their own howls.

The dogs rushed forward with reckless abandon snarling, growling, and barking. Their bodies collided with true violence. Jon and Flare stood glaring daggers at each other. This little show of magic was nothing more than that. A show. They both just needed a moment to prepare their next move. A single Hellhound broke free of the fight only to be shot dead by Jon.

A single thought struck Jon as he cracked a cocky grin raising a single hand. "Let me show you something Flare. Something even I didn't think was possible until now." Jon spoke as he prepared the single most complicated spell. "I don't even know if this will work but you showed me something wonderful." Flare only crossed her arms cocking her head to the side.

"And what pray tell is that?" Flare asked with a chuckle.

"You showed me I was using Moon's magic." Jon said before he reached with his left hand gripping the chain as if it was solid. "When I could be using my own." Flare looked down at the chain that connected them before looking up at Jon a flash of fear ran through her as her mind connected the dots. "LET'S REALLY CUT FUCKING LOOSE! KNEEL BEFORE THE ONE AND ONLY MOTHER FUCKER AND KISS YOUR DUMBASS GOODBYE!" Jon's hair shifted from it's smokey nature to suddenly ignite as if it caught fire. His skin retained it's black nature only with large cracks running through it glowing with raw orange heat and power. "IGNITE THE VERY AIR! CAUSE LIFE TO VANISH IN AN INSTANT OF FEAR! ABSORB ALL AS FUEL FOR THE END! BURN IT ALL ASUNDER AND SCATTER THE ASHES!" Flare raised her hand trying to use her magic to stop Jon only for nothing to come forth. She let out a yell of fear before trying to escape the destruction that was about to come. The void itself seemed to ignite from the heat of the spell Jon was weaving together. "FLASHPOINT!" Jon roared out as he activated his spell. The void went from black to pure white in an instant.

The spell only lasted a few moments before the void slowly dimmed back to it's dark nature. Flare layed on the ground motionless her entire being was smoking. Jon slowly walked forward his entire body still wreathed in it's new state of power. It didn't take Jon long for him to get to Flare's downed form. He glared down at Flare who slowly began to stir. "Are we done here?" Jon asked sounding like he wanted the fight to continue.

"Yes..." Flare whispered as she tried to get to her feet only to struggle to her knees instead. "I.." Flare began before stopping. She looked like what she was about to say hurt her more than the attack she just took. "I Concede to you." Flare said as Jon lowered his hand to her. Flare reached up gripping the hand tightly. "My magic is our magic. Use your hate to fuel us but you have your own pool of magic. Accept it. All of it." The entire void shuttered violently before falling away to reveal burning orange light. "This is going to hurt by the way." Flare said as the light rushed into Jon's body without warning. The ambient magic that surrounded his body that was never absorbed rushed to fill the void that was left from Moon burning his magic away. Jon screamed in pain as the heat seemed to never cease.