Umbral Souls

Under most circumstances, Star Swirl would have been just content to teleport to a location he was already well familiar with. But in light of the tragedy most unforeseen, by him or anypony, this time he chose to withhold haste out of respect. As such, he’d only transported nearby and walked the rest of the way down the dim hallway and gently nudged open the grand door, to the dwellings of Celestia.

Ever since whatever had befallen his greatest students, both Princesses had been relocated to the room of the elder one for ease of monitoring. Currently both of them lay on their royal grand beds set side-by-side, each them entirely motionless: Even the ethereal flow of their manes had become uncharacteristically halted, and as if they’d become dulled in tone, especially noticeable on the elder Celestia. Looking over the alicorns was a familiar blue earth pony mare with a tall, winding cone of a dull red and rust hued mane, adorned in traditional, if slightly out-of-date by proxy, swamp folk attire of linen wraps and a green skirt.

“Friend Meadowbrook,” called Star Swirl softly, “how fare your efforts with our Princesses?”

The blue earth pony healer looked up from her current administrations to Celestia, her soft, gentle eyes the epitome of concern. She glanced back at Celestia, having placed some form of vapor-expelling vial near the comatose Princess’ snout, no doubt intended to inhale said vapor, before turning back to Star Swirl.

“It’s the darndest thing, Star Swirl,” said Meadowbrook, her voice carrying a mixed tinge of bafflement and despair. “Ah’ve tried everything I know regardin’ such ailments. It ain’t sleepin’ sickness, nor is it anythin’ like, say, the snooze moss outbreak in Ponypei. It’s quite obvious; they ain’t got no moss anywhere.”

Holding back the shudder from that particular imagery in his mind, Star Swirl trotted up to the equally prone Luna: The dark blue Princess of the Night looking like her coat had darkened and greyed, and her mane barely even wafted the way it normally would through the sheer power her body normally generated on a regular basis. The old unicorn could not help himself as he placed a hoof softly to his former charge’s forehead.

A sense of regret ran through his mind, how he was unable to help the younger of the two when she succumbed to her fears and insecurities, resulting in a thousand years of lone banishment. All the while he and his fellow Pillars were stuck in limbo. The same could be said about poor Celestia, whose regal white form and lack of flow in her mane made her and her sister side-by-side look almost as if they were subtly monochromatic, like the color had drained from them as much as their consciousness and liveliness.

Hesitant as he was to leave during this utmost moment of crisis, tidings from Ponyville called for him. “Do not blame yourself my friend: I’ve yet to make any progress on my part either, even with all the help I have down in the royal archives. All I ask is you continue watching over them until I get back.”

“Where are you going?” asked Meadowbrook, putting a cork into the mouth of the very much useless vapor vial.

“To Ponyville. Princess Twilight made a discovery using one of the mirrors. She suspects whatever is happening on the other side might be connected,” he stated, looking over his former students in sadness before his horn glowed with energy… Only to stop, looking apologetically between the Princesses and Meadowbrook, before showing himself out of the sisters’ chambers, then proceeding to power up his teleportation.

As he’d done times unaccounted, with a booming spark of power, he was out of the dimmed halls of Canterlot in an instant… And subsequently found himself on the balcony of the Castle of Friendship. Making a mental note to get better acclimated with the place, lest his pride be wounded, and with an adjustment, he transported himself to the tall front doors underneath. Much more dignified, he opened the doors with telekinesis and let himself in.

What he found once he’d managed to navigate himself to the library he did not expect. Both Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her own protégé Starlight Glimmer were sitting outside the library, at a seemingly deliberate distance away from the doors. Both mares seemed troubled, especially how Starlight Glimmer seemed to be shivering, sitting on her haunches, almost coiled inward on herself. Seeing this made Star Swirl consider that he had felt an uncharacteristic nip in the air. Surely it might have just been the castle, as crystal, in his many years of experience, was not the most efficient insulator.

“Princess Twilight? Miss Glimmer?” Star Swirl called out, announcing his presence and bowed graciously. “What is going on? Hast something happened since our communication?”

Princess Twilight looked up from her spot on the floor. As the young alicorn rose up properly on all fours, a pronounced shudder raced down her entire body, ending in an involuntary flick of her streaked tail. Her eyes belied something being very much amiss. “S-Star Swirl…” she hiccupped, shaking her head vigorously as if to shake off the informality she portrayed. “That is… Yes. Something has happened and we…” Twilight eyed the door to the library warily. “We have no idea what it could be.”

Despite having known her only for a short time, Star Swirl was more than want to adhere to the newest princess’ warnings. Princess Twilight was inexperienced for certain, but her intuition and sense of faith made up for much despite any failings in the past on her path of growth. After all; it was this faith that allowed Star Swirl and the Pillars to return from Limbo after all this time, on top of mending the deepest of wounds.

“In that case I very much should assess the situation,” said Star Swirl, walking up to the doors to the library, readying a telekinetic push to open the doors, when the nip in the air intensified to a flesh-biting chill before he had properly realized.

On opening the doors, a chill grew into a bone-chilling sensation, almost as if the harshest of winds was pushing against the skin of his face, yet it did nothing so much as to even make his beard waft. Starlight Glimmer uttered a horrified squeal, unable to move, and Princess Twilight seemed scarcely capable of keeping any semblance of composure.

Of course, Star Swirl was not deemed the greatest wizard of his time for nothing: Despite the sudden drain on even his fortitude, he focused a spell through his horn, projecting a sphere of power which radiated a golden hue over him, as well as the other two ponies present. The strange force permeating the castle collided against this hue, outlining it as a domed field shielding the three. When you’d spent so long trying to vie for control over the sun like him; he’d learned much about Celestia’s assigned heavenly body and how to harness it.

“This should protect us,” he declared, his light barrier having dispersed the unnatural presence from affecting himself, the Princess and her protégé. “Now, let’s see what we’re dealing with…”

With Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer sticking close to remain under the tentative protection of his spell, the three entered the library. Despite the sheer intensity of whatever force was spreading itself through the Castle of Friendship; the place was undisturbed: Nothing had fallen, broken or been forced out of place. It was perfectly orderly. All except for the unworldly lack of vibrance.

Approaching the table pointed out by Twilight, everything upon it undisturbed. Physically at least. Star Swirl trotted over to examine the impromptu laboratory setup. A basic energy siphon and distil, elementary, even during his time, but ever effective. Inside the distillation flask, properly shielded, was where the anomalous disturbance was at its strongest, almost as if the immediate color around it had been drained away.

An inky mass of blackness writhed and swirled suspended inside the flask. Though he’d never seen its like in the material world; it did feel similar to what he had witnessed before. It was very much like the unworldly presence given off by the Pony of Shadows, but at a much grander scale. Instead of emanating the very essence of hatred, spite and all the other antitheses of what Equestria stood for, it was something much more… primal.

Focusing on the enigma within the vial, he would not be able to pry deeper without lowering his protective barrier. “Princess, Miss Glimmer, I need you to lend your power to maintaining my barrier. I’m going to see if I can take a closer look into whatever this… thing is.”

“Is that wise, Star Swirl?” asked Twilight in clear trepidation. “You can see what it’s already doing from simply being here.”

“I am fully aware of the dangers it poses and appreciate your concerns, Princess. You need not worry; the moment I feel something amiss I’ll break away,” he declared with confidence.

With evident reluctance, the two mares silently agreed with one another to his request. Focusing their respective powers through their horns, they formed connections to Star Swirl’s light barrier spell, maintaining its integrity, thus freeing his own horn for further use.

Such an option as he was undertaking would undoubtedly spark controversies, but given the current circumstances, especially if this aberration was in any way connected to the Princesses’ current states, it was a necessary evil. Mindreading had always been a frowned upon, if not outright heretical form of magic, but during the dark times past the age of Grogar, Star Swirl believed understanding of such taboos was necessary to safeguard the realm from any other evils. He focused the figurative lance to pierce through whatever possible sentience this thing might have had. If not, it would result in nothing being picked up and he would simply move to the next option.

Reaching forth, he used his horn to forcibly burrow into whatever semblance of a mind this thing had. At first, he wasn’t picking up anything, just his own focused thoughts; the princesses, and the need to protect his homeland being at the forefront of his convictions. It seemed whatever this strange anomalous thing within the flask was bore no sentience, unless…

No. No, there was something within. It was scant, not even on the level of the lowest of insects in terms of linearity. To call it a “mind” was overreaching. Attempting to focus on anything comprehensive, Star Swirl’s prying succeeded in uncovering a single thought, a speck of something surrounded by vast emptiness: An idea that has yet to properly form, but its most base foundation was there.

Consume.

-

Archers among the guardsmen and women who’d chosen to throw away their misbegotten loyalties aimed their nocked bows upwards, their assigned leader barking the command to unleash a flurry over the destroyed primary bridge to the cathedral square. Many arrows met their marks, embedding, whilst some bounced off, the eldritch mockery of humanity that was once Abacus Cinch, the self-appointed tyrant of Moonlink. Those that left their mark on the black sludge that might have passed as some unsightly skin over the skeletal abomination seemed to not even phase it as it reached out over from its side, like it was attempting to clambered over the canal into the market district.

This was hampered when a lightning infused arrow became embedded in a speck of muck adhering to the gangly limb, the monster reeling with an unholy wail as it nestled its hand underneath its inky webbed ribcage.

“Do not let it get across!” called Scootaloo, having assumed command over both the Hunters and guards as she nocked another arrow.

“Someone get some fire over here!” called the commanding archer. Not a bad option, thought Scootaloo, since any light, be it holy, lightning or just fire, would do more than just regular steel and arrows.

Starlight Glimmer, her silver wand in hand, mustered what little strength her starved and strained body had, held up the holy instrument, the light of the moon reflecting off its pristine surface: Reacting to the light of the pale lady, as her patron had ordained countless generations ago, the moonlight coalesced into the symbol at the tip, lighting it aglow with an intensity like a white sun. With a heave, she swung the wand, launching the light as a projectile in a slow-moving arc.

The spell stopped over the canal, still quite a way from having even reached the now corrupted Cinch. The veritable star of moonlight she’d conjured hung over the canal for but a moment, when a fusillade of smaller, equally radiant specks of light were released unto the monster, pelting it with a rain of stars that crackled and singed against its form. Cinch consciously had to “step” away on the massive arms it used as its only mode of proper locomotion.

Though seeing her light sorcery tearing and searing at her former captor brought unimaginable satisfaction, this feeling was short-lived as vertigo made her legs give way, sending her toppling onto the cobblestone street, if not for the loyal Archivist Neighsay to catch her.

“Milady, please; you are much too weakened to fight,” he said urgently, hefting her arm over his shoulder to keep the both of them steady.

“I know, Neighsay,” Starlight choked, shaking her head to clear away the wooziness. “But I swore an oath to watch over the people here. I can’t cower away just because I-” her voice was cut off as a twinge of further vertigo sent her swaying uncontrollably.

“Lady- uh, ma’am- that is to say…” one of the guards uttered by Scootaloo.

“What is it?!” barked Scootaloo, launching her well-aimed arrow directly into one of the Cinch abomination’s eyes, her aim landing true as it covered its face with its gnarled, muck-laden hands.

The guard stiffened in attention, “Ma’am, if that abomination figures out to use one of the other bridges?”

Scootaloo swore under her breath, “Maud! I need you to take out the outlying bridges to the temple! Start from the artisan district!”

Without a word, the taciturn Maud Pie hefted her impossibly large club against a shoulder and took off running along the canal to the north as fast as she could. Scootaloo was ready to release another arrow, when she was forced to dodge: Cinch’s distended arm swung down at her specifically, forcing her to dodge roll to the side, losing her arrow in the process. In revenge, with one fluid motion she unsheathed her sword and drove it into the muck and gaps of Cinch’s hand. As the enchanted lightning coursed into the unholy palm, the monster drew its hand back. The air rippled as it howled like an enormous, unsightly banshee into the skies, rearing back on its hands.

“She’s gonna jump it!”

Indeed, Cinch started running on her hands, each strike of bony hands against stone sending thunderous claps against the ground. A beam of concentrated while light flashed across the broken bridge, striking Cinch square in the ribcage, somehow causing enough of an impact to knock her over with another wail, the skeletal abomination going prone. All the while High Priestess Starlight Glimmer collapsed to her knees; her breathing strained from the sudden exertion.

“Milady!” Neighay cried out, huddling over the gasping priestess.

“I’m fine, Archivist,” she choked, attempting to stand back up, but in her weakened state she collapsed to the ground.

Seeing the High Priestess collapse as a result of Cinch’s abuses, a seething anger welled up inside Scootaloo. Seeing Cinch prone, but writhing as she… No, it, recovered from the magical blast, it was now vulnerable.

“Fire!” Roared Scootaloo, nocking another arrow, eliciting the other archers to do the same. “Fire! Let her have it! Don’t give that monster an inch!”

Unleashing another salvo, headed by Scootaloo’s more direct lightning arrow, which struck somewhere inside Cinch’s ribcage, while further arrows embedded into her. This caused the monster to cringe and roll onto its front. Before anyone could see what it was doing, it retaliated by tearing a large chunk of the inky substance that passed for its flesh and flung it across the canal.

The squad of archers scattered to avoid the incoming attack, but two of them stumbled into one another, and caused a third one to stall, and the umbral muck struck, engulfing them. A triad of agonized screaming followed from them writhing and trying to crawl out of the substance. All everyone could do was watch and listen as their bodies contorted, unnatural cracking and twisting overtaking their forms, until the light of life left them. What remained in the dissolving pool were three lifeless black husks, their eyes overtaken by the lifeless white. The three new Umbra-Touched lurched out towards their former comrades.

Scootaloo turned her arrow towards them, knowing it as her only option. “I’m sorry…” she uttered, and her shot found its mark in the head of one of them, a vicious spark from her enchanted weapon making it spasm before disintegrating into black motes and dust that faded into the winds.

It didn’t take long for Night and Maddie to dispose of the other two with their enchanted blades. Unavoidable, but the sting of Cinch causing three further victims due to her madness would linger for a moment longer.

“Milady, you cannot keep this up,” came the voice of Neighsay as he supported High Priestess Glimmer. “If you exert yourself like this, we might lose you!”

Scootaloo could hear the High Priestess’ labored breathing, though she adamantly refused to release her grip on her wand, “Dammit, Cinch need to be stopped! I can’t leave you all unprotected.”

“In all due respect, Starlight, maybe for the moment you worry about your wellbeing, and let us do the protectin’?” came that most odd accent, but Scootaloo welcomed it as Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie arrived on the field of battle, with Rarity bearing a crystalline glass vial aglow in the light of the celestials.

“How’s Twilight?” asked Starlight with a weary gasp. “Is she… Is she still with us?”

“She’ll be fine, I just know it,” said Rainbow Dash with iron confidence. “Sunset and Fluttershy are looking after her, and I think you should go to them.”

“I… I cannot-”

“Starlight, listen,” said Applejack putting a firm hand on the High Priestess’ shoulder, like they were on the most familiar of terms, “Ah’ get you wantin’ to protect everyone; trust me: Ah’d stand with my friends through thick ‘n thin and then some. But you’d done your share for now; go rest up and let us have a turn, alright?”

“Lady Applejack is right,” Neighsay concurred. “The people of Moonlink are going to need your leadership now more than ever. Let the Scions and Hunters deal with that harpy while you recover.”

“I…” Starlight slung her head down, “I understand. Go with the Divines’ blessings, my friends.”

Applejack smacked the front of her shield with her axe whilst firmly nodding, “You got it.”

“Incoming!” Shouted Lyra from the bridge, when another black globule of inky flesh came hurtling towards them.

Before anyone had a chance to flee, a segmented barrier of diamonds formed into its path. But something was different: Instead of the faint whitish blue glow they gave off, they were awash with a golden radiance; the light of the Divines: The globule slammed into the shield, quickly dissolving, the light veritably burning the darkness away. Everyone’s attention switched to Rarity, who was looking at her hands, one still bearing the vial containing their accrued shards.

“It’s never done that before,” said Rarity, glancing between her hands and necklace.

“Ah’ think your magic got affected by the shards since you’re holdin’ ‘em,” Applejack surmised.

“That just makes it better for us,” said Rainbow Dash, when she turned to Scootaloo. “Hey, Scoot. You mind lending me your sword? I don’t think these cudgels are going to quite cut it.”

As if she could ever deny her role model, this other one having truly proven herself as the original Rainbow’s equal in bravery and loyalty, Scootaloo unsheathed her cruciform side-sword and tossed it hilt first for Rainbow to seize it.

“Alright, what’s our situation? Anything else we can use besides your arrows?”

“We’ve got fire now!” called one of the now turncoat guards, the lot having set up braziers further back. “We can offer fire support with oiled arrows if need be. Though I’m not certain how much use it will be.”

Scootaloo nodded, “Any light will be fine. Just mind the buildings and watch out if Cinch throws any more Umbra at us. I think Lady Rarity has that venue covered.”

“Alright, let’s hope we won’t burn the city down while we’re at it,” remarked the guard before rejoining her forces who were readying arrows.

Rainbow looked across the destroyed bridge, drawing Scootaloo’s attention, seeing the Cinch abomination skulking about as if it was scrutinizing their actions from its position. Perhaps the light of the celestials had it second-guessing, if Umbra-Touched were even capable of any thought besides consumption. It grew concerning when it appeared to begin stomping away, possibly for one of the outlying bridges. Before any further tactics could be discussed, Rainbow zoomed forth, leaping across the destroyed bridge in a rainbow blur and closing the gap with the monster in a blink.

She daringly leapt onto Cinch’s ooze-covered back and jabbed into the ichor before kicking herself off. Everyone around awed at the godly speed she exhibited, and no doubt her daring as she leapt over a sweeping attack from one of Cinch’s distended arms and easily ran around the overhead smash that followed, the monster earning another jab at its hand, once again cradling it underneath its mass. Rainbow was not relenting, as she rapidly jabbed the blade directly into Cinch’s eye socket with a vicious crackling of lightning, intense enough that what looked to be embers spilling out the orifice.

Rainbow’s next action was well calculated when the aberration spewed a rolling mist of Umbra from its dangling maw: Retreating back over the bridge to the clamor and triumphant hoots of the guards. Scootaloo herself was entirely convinced; she was just like her Rainbow Dash: Loyal, daring, skilled… and more than a little insane.

-

Sunset hadn’t moved from her spot beside the bed, her knees numbing against the hard, bare wooden floor, focused in her entirety on the prone form of Twilight who hadn’t so much as stirred since five of their band had gone off to aid in the battle against Cinch. Her hand clenched Twilight’s against the bedding, the soft radiance of the celestial shard shining through the gaps in between. Fluttershy sat at the edge, her own hand nestled atop the other two, and Spike lay there with her nudging at her cheek with his snout.

Twilight’s body had seemingly recovered: She was warm again; her heartbeat and breathing were stable. She just hadn’t woken up. Sunset’s hold on Twilight tightened fearfully. What if being in marginally prolonged contact with the Umbra-Touched Cinch had done something and they were too late to help her? Was her physical body undamaged, but her mind lost somewhere?

It can’t end like this… thought Sunset, almost unaware of the beating inside her chest and the feel of something wet sliding down her cheeks. “Twilight…” she uttered silently, reaching out with her free hand to stroke her head with longing affection, “Please… Please be alright…”

She barely heard the footsteps coming in from outside, roused only at the call of her name;

“Sunset,” called Starlight Glimmer, or rather High Priestess Starlight Glimmer, being supported by Applebloom against her shoulders as they came in, tailed closely by a slightly scuffed, but still dignified looking Neighsay. “How is she? Did you get her the- Oh, I see,” she noted, no doubt noticing the light emanating from between their fingers.

Fluttershy looked up from her spot on the edge. “She’s not waking up,” she sobbed distraught. “We gave her the shard, but she hasn’t budged at all.”

“What can we do?!” asked Sunset in pleading. “Were we too late? Is she…?” the thought made her choke on her words.

Starlight looked over the motionless bespectacled girl under woolen covers. With a pained grunt, she allowed herself to stand up from being supported by Apple Bloom, a notion that made Neighsay visibly fret, but the starved and frail priestess brought up a hand to dismiss his concerns. She shuffled up beside the bed before holding out the silvery wand they’d taken from Cinch.

“I may not be able to fight in my current condition,” said Starlight, the notion confirmed further by the unspeakable odor wafting from her unwashed, ragged and emaciated form, “but let there be no objections for helping my friends.”

The wand, so pristine it might as well have glowed even in the dimness of the room. That’s what one might have assumed at first glance, but the wand truly did bear with it a pristine whitish glow, perhaps with a hint of an ethereal tone of blue. It coursed up along the filigrees curling along its length in rivulets, coalescing upon the tri-moon heraldry at the very tip, lighting up the waxing, full and waning so the entire room was bathed in its radiance.

Sunset watched in amazement, Starlight muttering something in an airy whisper under her breath. She held the wand over Twilight, the light twisting and writhing against the normal laws of physics until they came to focus all on Twilight. The wand’s glow slowly died out, leaving the entire room in darkness, when the lighting inexplicably returned to normal. Twilight’s form bore this soft blue light, the light of the moon, much longer, until it too faded.

The spectacle was underplayed when the high priestess collapsed to her knees, Sunset, Fluttershy and Apple Bloom rushing to her aid. That was when Twilight’s lips let out a weary utterance. Sunset watched with bated breath as she stirred, her eyes beginning to flitter. This roused Spike from his saddened stupor, his tail beginning to wag and emerald eyes bright with overwhelming happiness.

“Twilight!” he barked overjoyed.
“Twilight!” Sunset and Fluttershy called out, sharing in their mascot’s relief.

As their previously comatose friend arose to the support of her elbows, a grateful smile met them in response, “Girls-”

She hadn’t a chance to finish when Sunset flung her arms around her, forcing Twilight right back down onto the bed, under Sunset’s must jubilant embrace, all the while Spike hopped around the two, barking happily.

“Sweet Celestia, I thought we almost…” Her hold tightened, once more choking back on those most morbid thoughts. “Twilight…”

Her relief was reciprocated as Twilight hugged her back, and said with soft comfort, “I would never leave you. Thank you, Sunset. You and everyone else.”

Sunset let out a soft, mirthful laugh as she at least allowed Twilight freedom, until it was Fluttershy’s turn, the animal caretaker being just as, if not more so, emotional as she wept out all the pent-up trepidations she’d held up to that moment. “I think Scootaloo and Rainbow should get most of the credit, seeing how it was they who freed and scooped you out of Cinch’s grasp.”

“Cinch…” uttered Twilight, her eyes hardening, even under Fluttershy’s clingier hug. “Where is she now?”

Neighsay politely cleared his throat, “Everyone else is currently engaging the hag as we speak. So far, they’ve managed to keep her secluded to the temple district, but I’m not certain how long they might manage. This Umbra-Touched seems to be of a particularly potent variety.”

“We have to go help them,” declared Twilight, though not to be so abrupt as to interrupt Fluttershy’s last bits of destressing.

“But you were just… You know,” uttered Spike. “Can you-?”

“I’m fine,” declared Twilight, when Fluttershy finally released her. “We still have a city to save. And we need to be together.”

As if there was any doubt in what was espoused; through whatever happened: They would always be strongest together. Sunset figured it was time they showed the monster formerly known as Abacus Cinch, and Moonlink, and Equis.