Chapters "Oh, hey, look. We got another shooting star in the sky. Make a wish, Crimson."
"A wish? Sure. Why not, Indigo? I wish... for our family to last till the end of reality."
The snow blazed throughout the cold northern mountains of Equestria as a looming darkness spat on the nighttime air. There, in the cold snow, surrounded by red-tinted snow, were five Dragons. All were unmoving, and most were not even drawing breath. They had gone into the mountains for a private migration, splitting off from their flock of flying, fire-breathing reptiles in search of a new home they could reside in with peace and tranquility. Hearing about a cave that led straight to an underground, and unoccupied, hot spring, the family of five knew where to go, and how rough the journey was going to be. However, they didn't expect for it to kill them in the end.
They were not expecting it at the time. A presence of uneasiness was felt, sure, but they chopped it up to chills from the weather, especially with the blizzard coming in, but that notion was quickly dashed when they were all stabbed through the middle, slaughtered and killed without mercy by a force completely unknown to them. It was as if the shadows had jumped them, and were looking for blood to spill. Unfortunately for the family, they were some of the few unlucky enough to be in the shadows' line of sight, and were targeted as it passed them by.
Now, they all lay there, dead in the snow. Alone, and never to find the home they longed for.
*cough-cough...*
One of them, however, the youngest of the family, was still alive. He was but a baby Dragon, only just barely into his teens. His scales were given a bluish-purple tint, and the row of spines that ran from the top of his head down to the tip of his needle-edged tail were colored a radiant sapphire blue, which seemed to glow in the moonlight that cast through the blizzard, almost unnaturally. His body twitched and writhed as this Dragon, one who was known by the name of Indigo, clutched to the remaining specs of his life. His breathing was hoarse, and his silver eyes stared forward with a lack of a living light within them. Looking upwards, his gaze fell upon a dark-red Dragon near him, whom had his arms torn off and his head attached by only a few strands of meat. He coughed out a pool of blood as he used all his strength to reach out to him.
"C-Crimson... Brother..."
The snow continued to beat down on him, pushing him further into the ground. His claw fell when his strength left him, his cheek buried in the snow as he began to close his eyes, the light coming to take him away.
"He took your brother, Indigo."
Indigo blinked his eyes back open as a smooth voice cooed in his mind, one that vibrated with a low echo. It was feminine, and authoritative.
"He took your parents..."
His shoulder flinched as he had a rush of newfound strength, but only just enough to push him up a little, resting on his arms. His head turned forward past the corpses of his family, seeing a cobalt blue helmet made specifically for a pony sitting upon a rock. Call it an instinct, but he felt as if the voice was coming from it.
"And he took your life..."
Indigo squinted before collapsing again, grunting as the feminine voice chuckled.
"King Umbra Sombra. He took it ALL, and the only thing you have left now is your soul."
He heard the faint sound of lips being licked sensually.
"And that belongs to me.~"
He panted out as he reached out, clawing at the snow and pulling himself forward, drawn ever so closer to the helmet by an unseen force. Closer and closer he came as the helmet seemed to... morph. By the time he reached the base of the stone it rested upon, it had changed to a draconic helmet, with several holes aligning the top for his scales to poke out of.
"Who am I, you may be asking? Well... let us just assume that I'm God; YOUR god, or at least, the only one that's even listening right now..."
The voice lowered to a whisper, which felt to be right next to his ear.
"Your family doesn't need to die for nothing. What do I want? Mm, the same thing you do, I suppose, as well as a little faith, because without faith, without loyalty, I am nothing, and without me..."
The voice growled as his brain had a sharp sting rush through it.
"You join your brother and parents in Tartarus."
Indigo gritted his teeth as he placed a claw on the rock, using it to reach up and grab the helmet.
"I can help you. I can heal your wounds and give you the power you need. We can't save your family, but we can save other ones if only you show me a little bit of faithful loyalty, if you trust me..."
He rolled over onto his back, holding the helmet above him, and slowly pulling it towards his head.
"If you PUT ME ON."
As soon as Indigo managed to slip the helmet on over his head spines, the thing felt as if it secured itself to his head, and fused with his scales. The next moments could only be described as unbridled and agonizing pain and torment, both physically and mentally. His body thrashed and writhed even more intensely than before, the feeling of pain registered into his nerves once more as he cried out rigorously. A dark-blue coat of starry aura engulfed him, traveling down to his stomach and bursting into four snakes around the wound Sombra had inflicted upon him. Indigo yelled out again as they bit into the sides of the hole in his gut, slowly pulling it back together in the most gruesome display any outsider could withstand. His body began to grow as well, turning from a baby Dragon to that of a teen growth-spurt. The power of the helmet seeped into his very bloodstream, tearing his tissue, only to reattach stronger, and breaking his bones, only to reform sturdier. His scales ruptured as he tried to stand, falling when his leg snapped in two. His arms and legs pulsated with muscle before returning to a natural shape. His chest burst forward with pecs and abs, then sank back into him. The blood around him, in the snow, and in his loved ones flushed into his body, slinking in as if he were a magnet for it.
"Oh, quit whining like a foal. Did I claim this was going to be enjoyable?"
Sparks began to fly from his body as he doubled over onto his front as his body began to slowly inflate with the muscle again, his claws digging into the ground past the snow as his eyes began to pulse, changing not only color, but in shape as well.
"You're gonna have to learn to love the night, little drake, for there will be a lot more of it to come."
Indigo's teeth all sharpened past the norm for a regular Dragon. Instead of just two sharp draconic canines on his upper and lower jaws, ALL of his teeth could be considered canines now. As he reopened his eyes, the transformation and near-death resurrection had finally been completed.
Hunched on his knees, he panted as he was knelt in front of a frozen lake, which was just only past the rock. Looking at the ice, he saw the reflection of his face. His body had grown about two or three feet, looking about a head or so taller than a normal teenage Dragon of his kind. Hell, with this height, he stood about a head more than the monarch of the sun herself. His body, while not entirely prominent, showcased the muscle he had before. It wasn't very noticeable from a bird's eye view, but if you stood close enough, you could very well see that this baby Dragon, under normal circumstances, had been working out. His claws were sharper, and when the pain faded, a morbid feeling of strength and power replaced it. Closer examination in the ice found his eyes baring a glowing silver shade of color with his iris made into a slit sharper than a Dragon's. It almost made him look feral.
He also noticed a new addition on his back. Feeling the joints in them, he spread out two pairs of wings. One was his own, a scaly silver pair of Dragon wings that extended further than his own height, and a pair of midnight black bat-pony wings behind his natural two. Looking down at his dark grey underbelly scales, he felt the power of this helmet coursing within him, as well as the aftermath of the nightmarish assault on his psyche.
"W-... What have you... What have you done to me...?"
He felt himself as his nerves were screaming at him, and his overall essence no longer felt purely Dragon. It scared him, even if it did save him.
"What... What am I...? What AM I?"
"You're mine, Indigo...~"
A blue gust of aura seeped out from his shoulder, snaking forward before turning around to him. At the end of that stream, the magic formed the face of a pony, an evil and malevolent mare with the same eyes as his, though they were tinted a turquoise color. Her coat was pitch black, and the stream of magic that came from his shoulder was tied to her mane. She grinned as she and him were near face-to-face.
"Until we avenge your parents and your brother..."
Her mane slithered around his body as she licked her lips once more.
"You're MINE...~"
Chapter 2: Not You, Not Me; Only Us
"What have you done to me...?"
Indigo looked down at his claws as he saw the blue smoke swirl around them, the head of the mare circling him and analyzing him up and down.
"I feel... different... like I have a power that isn't even mine."
"That's because you do."
He looked up at the dark mare as she tapped her horn against his head.
"And it's no longer just you, or me. You're wearing me, and I'm inhabiting you. We're a team, now, young drake."
She wrapped herself around his neck, making him gag as she licked his ear.
"You help me get what I want, and I'll help you get your little payback.~"
"Hey! I see somepony! Over there!"
The two of them turned to the direction of the voice they heard, seeing several ponies walking towards them.
"Aww, how adorable.~ Those Crystal Ponies are sending their guards to scour the Frozen North. Guess they got word their dear old King was free.~"
The ghostly mare sank back into Indigo, but her smoke remained, wrapping around his arms and legs and seeping into his muscles from there. Indigo shivered as he felt tingly all over, almost as if his body was contorting again. Feeling his muscles push against his scales, he slowly took on a hulking figure as his mind was being pushed aside, making way for another to take control.
With his confusion and bewilderment, it wasn't hard for the deity of the helmet to assert herself. His scales became as black as her coat, his underbelly was made dark purple, and his row of spines burst into wild candles of blue fire. The deity's smoke wrapped around his chest, his arms, and his legs, hardening into gloves, leg guards, and a chestplate made of some unknown material; or at least, a material all the bits in the world would cost. On the forefront of the chestplate was a light-blue crescent moon surrounded by a purple blotch that looked like an infectious smudge stain on the armor piece. Closing his eyes tightly, he gripped his head as the last of him was shoved to his subconscious.
"What the f*** is going on...?!"
"Ooooooh, language, young drake.~ Swear like that, and you might convince me you not as innocent as you appeared when I first saw you."
He grunted as his eyes opened, both of them now bearing the turquoise hue and menacing shape of the mare that took him over. No longer able to move his body, she did instead. Stretching out, she let out a relishing sigh as she spoke from his mouth.
"Oh, it is so good to FINALLY be FREE...!"
Looking back at the approaching guards, she grinned as she flexed her new claws, which were sharpened and made just slightly longer by the gauntlets she bore.
"Come, my beautiful host. Let us commence the slaughter. It's been too long, and I'm feeling rusty.~"
"Sir? Sir, are you alri-"
The Crystal Guard that approached the possessed Dragon first didn't even have a chance before several lines of blue, smoky tendrils snatched him up from the snow, ripping him to the deity as as she opened her new maw. Snapping it shut around his head, it didn't take much effort at all to tear half of his face off. Indigo reeled back in his mind as the deity threw the corpse away, now having attracted the hostility of the other guards.
"Sword Smith, no!"
"What the hell is that thing?!"
Several magical shots were fired at the deity as she flinched, humming at the familiar feeling of pain that she hadn't felt for a long time. Doing little to deter her, the guards threw their spears at her. She leaned away from a few, but caught two of them in a single claw, crunching them in half with a squeeze of her grip. She bit down on another as it flew past her head, splinters flying everywhere as she moved back into the blizzard, hiding herself from the guards. Moving around them with surprisingly stealthy movements, she began to pick them off violently and quietly, using her ghostly tendrils to rip them away from the group and splatter their inners into the snow.
When they finally realized where she was, she had two of them in her grasp. Jumping up into the air, she spun herself and threw the guards away, sending them either into a ravine or into rocky spikes sticking out from a mountain. Disappearing into the blizzard again before they could even retaliate, she appeared behind two guard mares in the back, tackling one as her tendrils wrapped around the other's face. The deity tore the forehooves of the guard in her grasp clean off while the whiplash of the tendrils yanked the second guard's head right out of the his neck. Seeing a stallion rushing towards them, the deity lunged at him, front-flipping over his back as her claw wrapped around his throat. Throwing him over her, he went crashing through rough pile of icy snow that was attached to the mountain. Watching him fall into the ravine behind it, she turned to the last guard, smirking as he trembled before her.
"Aww... How adorable.~"
She grabbed him by his mane, hoisting him up to stare her in the eyes.
"Yet another sun-loving peasant..."
Swiping her other claw past his barrel, she tossed him away as he became a blood sprinkler, spraying his dead comrades as he slowly died right then and there. Looking down at her claws, she giggled with glee as she tightened them into fists.
"Ah... You never forget your first kill.~"
She giggled again, only to gag when a part of her chest burst open, a scream of pain eliciting from Indigo within the subconscious. The deity clicked her tongue as she fell to her knees.
"Hmm... A little too much for your body to handle, I'd reckon. You mortals are so fragile..."
She receded from the forefront of Indigo's conscious, shoving him back forward into control as the transformation reversed, allowing Indigo to take on his first form yet again and absorb the armor back into his body.
"You're still weak from the... prior events. We will have to remedy that on the way."
"On the way? To where?"
"You distant or stupid, drake? We're going to Crystal Empire, to settle the score."
"The score..."
Indigo looked down at the bodies of the Dragons, kneeling down in front of his mother and brushing her light purple scales with his enlarged claw.
"Mom..."
"Aww, don't weep for your mother.~ There will be many more families to befall the same fate soon enough. Now get moving. Time is extremely precious in our circumstances."
Indigo looked up from the corpse of his parent, looking towards the tracks in the snow. Several streams stemmed from the massacre, heading through the hoofprints left behind by the guards. Standing up, he began the long journey, going southeast as he followed the steps. As he did, he tilted his head.
"Say... who even ARE you? WHAT are you? I've never seen, nor heard of anything like you before."
"You do not recall the incident of the neverending moon three years ago?"
"Neverending moon? I'd heard about that, but my family was still in migration around that period, and were traveling through rough weather, so we wouldn't have known."
"Hmm, interesting. Well, I suppose I already know your name, so you can refer to me as Nightmare Moon. The only thing you need to know about me is that I saved you, and now you are in my debt, just as I am to you when you chose to free me into your body."
Indigo huffed as he jumped across the ravine, his natural traits in strength still showing proudly, and then some with this new body.
"Somehow, I don't believe you."
"And yet, somehow, I do not care. Believe me what you want, but you and I have a shared goal."
"And what if vengeance isn't what I want?"
"Then you'll want justice, because if we don't stop King Sombra, more families will wind up like yours, as I've stated before."
"Nngh... True..."
Indigo said nothing more as he continued on, watched over by Nightmare Moon as he made his way off the paths through the mountains, looking to take it more directly than safe. This made the deity within him look upon his choices in surprise. Given his purity, she didn't expect him to be a thrill-seeker, but that influence may have come from his brother in the past. Now that he had the extra strength to push him forward, it gave him confidence, which was good. Nightmare Moon did not want a weakling for a host. Landing off of a spire of icy rock, he made to keep going, only to stop when he saw more guards up ahead.
"Hold it right there, Indigo..."
"What? It's just more-"
He was stopped when a blast of bubbling purplish-black magic. Leaning to the side, he watched it fly by him, eviscerating the rocks he'd traversed.
"Guards? Is that what you were going to say?"
Looking back forward, he found these ponies to be different than the ones Nightmare Moon tore apart. They all bore strange helmets, ones that the deity herself recognized.
"Those helmets... Seems like the King is hard at work already. Be careful. I cannot attain control again without hurting your body. Kill them. Show no mercy."
Despite being hesitant, something in his new power gave him a push to do just that. Clenching his fists as the mind-warped guards galloped towards him, he lifted up his foot and kicked one through the squad with enough force to match the strongest of Earth Pony bucks. Jumping over the rest of them, Indigo landed in front of the dazed guard and kicked him into a small cavern, bashing his head on the wall and denting the helmet. Zipping in after him, he took the guard by his throat and threw him to the ceiling. Reeling back a fist, he punched the pony into literal pieces, splattering him everywhere as his blood coated Indigo's arm.
"Yes! An excellent display!"
Nightmare Moon's approval ushered him to continue the small spree. Looking back at the possessed guards, he blocked a hoof strike and wrapped his enlarged arm around it, whirling the mare guard around violently and splitting her in two on the corner of the cave's mouth. Seeing a sword in the next guard's mouth, he punched it out and used it to cleave off half of his head. Throwing the blade to the last guard, it stuck her in place as Indigo took the half of the head flying through the air and rammed it into her esophagus. Nightmare Moon giggled with glee and excitement at the display.
"Well done! Very well done, my host!"
Indigo took his hand out of the mare's throat as he backed up, looking down at the carnage before him.
"Yes... Gaze upon your work, your masterpiece. Think of all that you can conquer with this kind of power and strength."
Nightmare Moon's voice was but a whisper in his ear, alluring him to kill more and see the color red as the only source in the palette, but he knew he was stronger than that.
"No... No one's conquering anything."
He shooed Nightmare's essence from his shoulder.
"These ponies were long gone if Sombra got to them. There are more patrols out there. There's no way there isn't. If he's gotten his shadows on them like he did my brother and parents, there's no hope saving them. The Empire itself is our main concern."
Nightmare frowned before nodding.
"Yes. Well said. You did well to elude my manipulation. Congratulations."
Indigo blinked as he looked up at her when she formed just above him.
"Congratulations? But... I don't understand."
"That was a test, young drake, to see if your will was a strong as your body turned out to be. There will be more temptations, I assure you, but as long as you do not falter, our goal will be accomplished a lot sooner. Now, go. We must continue our journey."
Indigo watched her sink back into him before walking back out into the cold. Shivering slightly, he turned and rushed through the snow, jumping from rock to rock to avoid going around obstacles and wasting time. As they kept going, he could see more of those possessed guards on the ground. Preferring to evade a fight for now, he kept to the top of the rocks.
'Can't afford to stop and fight these guys. I'll deal with them later. Gotta get to the Empire...'
He grunted as he landed on a ledge before the peak of a mountain.
"I just hope they're alright..."
"Listen, drake. I have a thirst - call it a passion."
Indigo looked up from the campfire as he tossed another log into it. Still attached by her smoky tendrils, Nightmare Moon had given herself a transparent image of a body, which lay in front of the flames. The journey throughout the day was rough. More guards had come to try and kill the two of them, possessed and otherwise. Nightmare Moon had explained to him, when he had sustained some injuries, that she can regenerate his wounds, but only such. Anything too lethal will kill them both, apparently. If he dies, she dies with him now that they've bonded both physically and mentally.
Once night had fallen, Nightmare Moon had practically forced him to stop and set himself up to rest in a nearby cave. As much as he didn't want to, she had reasoned that if he kept going, he'd be too tired to even fight, which he could agree on. Still bothered by the fact that Sombra would get even more ahead of them, he relented, grabbing sticks and logs from the forestry of the Frozen North and allowing the deity to start the fire with the embers of her power. Now sitting before it, they had passed the time talking.
"When it comes to the night, the stars, and moreover; nightmares, I'm something of a... connoisseur."
"Connoisseur?"
"You see, I was once part of somepony. A shadow of her mind brought to life by rejection and loneliness. When she gave in, I was given flesh, and our goal was to coat the world in eternal night."
"So... the neverending moon?"
"It was my second attempt after spending ten centuries trapped in the moon, but unlike the first, I had little to no power to spare. I could only morph my body into the blue smoke that you see now."
Indigo glanced down at the fire, taking in her words as Nightmare Moon continued.
"The pony I was attached to, and created by, has lived longer than the exile. In fact, we BOTH were there when King Sombra met his first defeat. The Elements of Harmony were said to have banished him to these mountains, but that was a lie. Truth is, I was the one to finish him off. I killed off his physical form, and used my power to seal him in the earth beneath the Frozen North. That must have been when my back had a target as well."
"A... target?"
"Just like you, and your parents: Blitz and Quaker."
Indigo blinked as he turned back to her.
"W-Wait, how do you know...?"
Nightmare Moon grinned as she gave Indigo a hauntingly coy look.
"I'm inhabiting your body, mind, and soul. I know what your favorite meal is. I know where your favorite lava spring is..."
She giggled teasingly.
"I even know about that cute little mare you met in Canterlot on your migration travels with your family: Sunset Shimmer."
Indigo looked away, glaring into the fire.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oooooh, a closeted lover. You haven't told her how you feel, have you?~"
She snaked over to him, leaning up against his back with her hooves gripping his shoulders.
"Well, that's too bad. Now that you're mine, my power has made you into a beast. If she saw you right now, I don't think she would think of you in a positive light anymore.~"
She laughed as he bristled, shooing her away with a violent wave of his claw.
"Hey! Cut it out!"
His hand only his smoke as she faded from his vision, reappearing by the fire. He grumbled as she snickered, tossing yet another log in as Nightmare's ears flicked. Silencing herself, she looked deeper into the cave. Her sudden shift in emotions caught Indigo's eye.
"What is it?"
"Look deeper in the cave. What do you see?"
He followed Nightmare's instructions, turning his head to look into the throat of the cave. What he saw could be described as darkness, but it wasn't a natural darkness.
"What is that? It... It's like the walls are moving."
"That's one of King Sombra's shadows. It must be how all of his new guards are coming to and from the Crystal Empire."
"So, what? It's a portal?"
"Essentially. I remember seeing that on the battle field in the first war against him. Ponies he had under his will were always transferred using them."
Indigo walked towards it, stopping a few feet away.
"Think we can use it?"
"It won't be a simple jump, but it's faster than traveling through the Frozen North. I would say leave it for the morning..."
Nightmare Moon receded back into Indigo's body, humming as she put out the fire.
"But the shadows will leave upon daybreak, so we must act now. One thing you must know, however, is that hijacking a worm hole is... an adventure all on its own. We may end up in the middle of the Empire, or further away."
Indigo poked the moving wall.
"So, it's a crapshoot? We're basing this on a gamble?"
"I'd much rather base our chances on a gamble than be certain about our demise."
He gave her that. Continuing onward would guarantee they were getting somewhere closer to Sombra. Whether or not that entailed approaching the Empire as well, that was anyone's guess. With Nightmare Moon now back into his body, he pressed through the wall, falling in with rather surprising ease. Falling down several feet, he landed in some damp and dark place. It was like a stretch of grey, vacant land in all directions. Hitting the ground with a grunt, he blinked as he saw the weird void.
"What is this place...?"
"The void. A plain of space that exists where the boundaries and barriers of reality are weaker. If we're here, then we could be spat out anywhere in Equestria if we leave. If my assumptions are correct, we could even wind up in the distant past, or the far future if we misplace the destination."
Indigo looked back up at where he came from, then turned forward again. He jumped as the plain was no longer just empty nothingness. He was in a manor hallway of some kind, the colors still greyed.
"What the-?!"
"I am quite familiar with this place myself. After the Elements of Harmony stripped me of my previous host, I resided in the void through the helmet you wear now. I know my way around in here, and if we want to stay north of the Kingdom, we need to follow the corridor."
Glancing at himself, he took Nightmare's word and moved forward, first at a walk, then a jog. His movements were fast, but he knew his enhanced speeds would just crash him into a wall, and while that would be amusing to Nightmare, they had no time for jokes and gimmicks. Rounding the corner, Indigo decided to get more information.
"So, what exactly IS Umbra Sombra, anyway?"
"He's an old King that once ruled the Crystal Empire, right after the first Queen fell. Having used Dark Magic for so long, it's corrupted his mind beyond repair. His body has become everything and nothing, the many angles of a pony's shadow. He's unknowable, timeless, eternal. He inhabits darkness in itself, a corrupted darkness as opposed to my pure darkness. His horror is the gulf of what's said and unsaid. His mind has stemmed the Crystal Empire's suffering, and what's made it disappear for as long as my exile."
Indigo slowed down at that, widening his eyes as he placed his hand on a pillar.
"The Crystal Empire has been GONE for a thousand years?"
"When I defeated him, he took the Empire down with him. A cowardly act for sure. Remember when I said I had a target on my back? I meant it. Over the thousand years I've been away, Sombra's been extracting my power through nightmares, growing stronger as I grew weaker. The whole point of the second attempt at eternal night was to regain what power I'd lost. The night powers me, and the nightmares of my subjects make me stronger. We're one in the same with different purposes. I am the yang to my creator's yin, and Umbra Sombra is just a disease; unnatural, and heartless. If we want to survive..."
"... We have to kill him."
"Exactly."
The two finally reached the end, seeing another moving wall like the one in the cave.
"That essence... This is it."
"This is the portal? The one that will take us to the Empire?"
"It'll take us to Sombra, and if he's anywhere near the Empire, then yes."
"Then in we go, I guess..."
"No! WAIT!!!"
She didn't get the chance to warn him fast enough as something came down in front of Indigo, flinging him backwards and slamming him into the wall. Groaning from the pain, he pushed himself up, looking forward as something was blocking him from the portal.
"What the HELL was that?!"
"Language! And that, my dear host..."
Nightmare turned his head towards the way they came, seeing some sort of creature made from a cluster of shadows.
"Is one of Sombra's little pets, made in this void."
"That thing is a PET!? What sort of sick imagination does this guy have?!"
He jumped to the side as several spires of dark crystals erupted from the ground.
"Believe me. Even the most horrifying nightmares would pale in comparison to the mind of an insane tyrant."
The shadowy creature reimaged itself into a more corporeal form, taking on legs and arms all plated with a weapon or protection. The right arm was a long needle that spun like a drill, and the left was a spiked mace. Judging from its size alone, it could easily tower a two-and-a-half story building. Nightmare stared up at it as it looked down at them.
"So much suffering to make this creature... It's... It's... beautiful..."
He glanced at her as she hissed.
"KILL IT..."
"With pleasure."
Indigo jumped to the side as it slammed its mace arm down, smashing floor in and taking them to another level in the void. Sliding down the crumbling side, he jumped onto the beast's arm before it could attack again. Hopping off onto its shoulder as it, too, slid down the folding grounds of the void, he raced across its back and up the needle arm, letting the giant fall the rest of the way as he cruised on down, hitting the next level of this void's mansion. Seeing the giant had fallen over when hitting the floor, he seized the chance. Flexing his arms in a boost of strength and adreniline, he jumped on top of the shadow monster. Making a spinning jump, he evaded the mace as it was swung over its knee. Grabbing the bottom of the weaponized appendage, he used it to vault over and onto the center of the creature.
"The heart's the key! All monsters have one, and it's buried behind its protective shadows. Tear it out!"
Complying with Nightmare's direction, Indigo let the creature swing on him, jumping out of the way just before it hit him. Smashing the shadows like glass around its central chest, he came back down on top of the shards, ripping them away with ferocity. Seeing the red, juicy flesh underneath, he gripped the pincers that guarded the ribcage, pulling them away and jamming his fist through the gap, Grabbing the heart, he squeezed with all his might, pulling it through the ribs and snapping off the tendons as he jumped away. A horrifying screech escaped the headless monster as Indigo landed back where he started, looking down at the creature as the floor gave way again. Tossing the heart down after it, he watched both it and the shadow monster descend deeper and deeper into this void before turning to the wall he was denied entry from.
Walking towards it, he was given applause from Nightmare Moon for defeating the creature, especially without her help. It seemed as if not only was Indigo getting used to this power, but he was less hesitant in taking a life, too. Still, though, as he went through, Nightmare had a question that plagued her mind.
"You still don't trust me, do you, Indigo?"
"You know the answer to that."
Nightmare huffed as they seeped into the wall.
"Well, that's too bad. Trusting me; that's the only chance you and the Crystal Ponies have now."
Chapter 4: The Crystal Heart
"WhoooOOOAAAA!!!"
Indigo yelled out as he fell from the sky, hitting something metal and moving as he landed. Grabbing a hold of it before he could fall off, he grunted as he realized it was a moving train. Climbing up over the side he fell off, he kept a tight grip on the edge of the traincar as it kept moving at high speeds through the snowy terrain. Brushing the blizzard from his eyes, he scoffed.
"Nice landing area, Nightmare."
"Hey, your testicles are not attached to your chin, are they? I consider this a successful trip."
"Where are we now?"
Nightmare's head appeared by his, looking forward at the train rails.
"You tell me, Indigo."
He looked around as she kept her gaze forward.
"Judging from the snow, we're still somewhere north of the Kingdom of Equestria, and those mountains. I'd say we're somewhere near Yaret Range, maybe even further into Mt. Everhoof."
"Very observant, but wrong. We're exactly where we need to be."
"What?"
He looked ahead, seeing a cyan dome up ahead.
"Give or take a few hours into the future, and a few dozen miles, we're back where we started."
"But, this train..."
"It's on the right track to the Crystal Empire. We ride it to the station and hoof it a few miles, we'll be inside the main capital of crystals itself."
*WHOOOO-WHOOOO*
Indigo looked down as the train was coming to a stop after seeing the station up ahead. When it reached a speed slow enough for him to jump, he hopped off the side, sliding through the snow and rolling to break his own fall. Pressing his hand at the side of the station, he worked his way around, avoiding contact with the ponies in fear of scaring them. Looking towards the dome of energy, he began his walk towards it.
"Seems like we beat Sombra here."
"I wouldn't say that."
"Huh? Why not?"
Indigo stopped when he suddenly felt a chill. Hearing screams behind him, he spun around, widening his eyes when he saw a tsunami of shadows drown the station.
"Remember where I said that portal would take us?"
The wave of shadows stopped when the whole station was engulfed, two green eyes looking through it straight at him. He knew those eyes anywhere, especially since those eyes were the last he saw before he nearly died.
"I wasn't lying."
"Oh no... What do we do...?"
"Considering our standing..."
The eyes swam up to the top of the wave, glaring down at him.
"We run."
Indigo didn't need to be told twice as he turned and pushed off towards the cyan barrier, pushing his limits and staying just a little bit ahead of the cloud of dark smoke. With Nightmare Moon's power fused with his own natural magic, he ran faster than any pony OR Dragon could muster. Making the last sprint to the finish, he dove through the barrier, evading that last second where he would have been caught.
Indigo was surprised to have hit grass instead of snow. Feeling the climate change as well left him alarmed. It was completely different inside the dome. Like Winter suddenly became Spring overnight. Looking back at the barrier, he saw that, unlike him, Sombra was rejected entry into the Crystal Empire. It was as if the barrier was specifically made to keep him out. Standing back up, he turned to the interior of the barrier, seeing a city made of crystals inside.
"Whoa..."
"Beautiful, is it not? A whole Empire centered around a single city made of minerals. Legend has it that when the Queen once ruled, you could see this Empire glow from any corner of the Kingdom."
"I believe it. It's... majestic in a way. Maybe my family should have come here..."
Indigo's expression fell when he mentioned his family, but shook his head.
"Why did you bring us inside the Crystal Empire? Aren't we supposed to fight Sombra and defeat him ourselves?"
"In the state he's in, my power won't last against his own. Thus, we have to find a different way. A relic that he'd hidden away in his time of rule."
"A relic? Like, an artifact of power?"
He began trudging down the dirt path towards town as Nightmare hummed.
"Ponies around here know it as the Crystal Heart. My host and her sister had yet to see it for themselves, so I haven't the faintest idea what it looks like, so use your imagination."
"Tsk, gee, thanks for the guidance."
"Look, I don't have ALL the answers, but word has it that it should be underneath the castle, right at the center of the city."
"Alright, then I guess we know where we're going."
He sped up to a jog, rushing past ponies that gave him an odd look, and some fearful, as they felt Nightmare Moon's presence off him. He didn't care so much as he wanted to save them, and keep that Unicorn King from hurting anypony else in this country. No one else needs to die. No one but him, and him alone. Indigo would make sure of that, and so will Nightmare Moon. As they ran in and out of the streets of the Crystal Empire, they noticed how... sullen the crowd looked. They were known as Crystal Ponies for a reason, and that was usually because they were the happiest and most welcoming ponies in the land. At least, that's what Nightmare Moon remembered before Sombra took over.
Indigo slowed his pace as he also took notice of the carnival fanfare littering the streets. Confused, he approached one, taking a hat made of straw in his enlarged claw before putting it back.
"Why are they celebrating? Don't they know they're in danger?"
"Judging from the tone of their colors, they don't appear to be anything but scarred, and repressed. You take one look at them and you can see all they've witnessed and experienced. Famine, conflict, war, genocide; impurity to its most vile and disgusting degree."
"So they don't know he's back?"
"I don't think so, no, and it's best to keep it that way. Last thing we need is chaos and panic to slow us down."
"Right. Which way?"
"Down the street. The castle is just up ahead."
Turning to the side, he rushed past and jumped over ponies in the street, getting odd and fearful looks when they were supposed to be happy, considering every smile adds a new layer of brightness to their fur. Making his way to the base of the castle, he saw it standing upon four supportive beams of crystal. Looking underneath the airborne-suspended castle, he saw two mares trying shoo away the citizens.
"That must be it...!"
Nightmare Moon kept silent, a feeling of uncertainty in her essence as Indigo walked through the crowd, gently ushering them out of his way.
"Stop."
"Huh...?"
Nightmare Moon looked at the ponies of the crowd, seeing the two that were guarding it.
"Behind the supporting crystal, now."
He blinked at the urgency in her voice, but did as she said, hiding himself when the mares were distracted.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Those two mares in front of the Crystal Heart. They're two of the six Element Bearers that defeated me when I returned to Equestria."
Indigo looked past the pillar, seeing a white Unicorn with a curly purple mane and tail along with a farmpony with orange fur.
"The Element of Generosity and Honesty. If they know I've returned as well, they will turn on us. We can't be seen, not by them."
"So, what now? How do we get the-"
Indigo was interrupted when a pink Earth Pony, whom was putting on a show, fell off the beachball she was dancing on. Watching it hit the Heart and send it flying from its cover, he blinked when he saw it skid to a halt before the citizens. The Crystal Ponies confirmed his suspicions as they all gasped.
"This isn't the Crystal Heart."
The white Unicorn smiled nervously as she and the other two mares backed towards the center of the underside of the castle.
"Ahahaha!~ Well, of course it isn't. The real one is-"
"On its way!"
"I... was going to say 'being polished'..."
Indigo stared at the fake relic, cursing to himself as he looked out towards the city. The image of bright skies was flickering, and Sombra was getting closer.
"We need to find that heart..."
"Check the castle. It would be the one place where he would hide it. Nopony would dare enter it when he was in charge. They were too scared to."
"Good idea..."
Indigo waited till the Element Bearers had their backs to him, then made his move, finding a door that led inside. Pushing it open, he snuck in, seeing two corridors going either way.
"How do we know where to find this thing?"
"Follow your heart, Indigo. The Crystal Heart is powered by love and affection. Friendship, romance, empathy; all essences that it resonates constantly."
"Hmm..."
Turning his head upwards, he could feel such a presence coming from above. Rushing down the hallway, he made for the stairs and proceeded to where he suspected the Heart would be: the throne room. Only, when he got there, he found it empty, with a secret passageway leading into the floor. Looking into it, it seemed to be a stairway leading deeper into the stomach of the castle.
"Think it might be down there?"
"I'm thinking we're out of time."
"What?"
He turned to the throne as it burst into dark crystals, making him stagger back.
"Oh, crap..."
"You're right. There's no time to find the Heart. We have to do this without it."
He stepped back and prepped to jump out.
"Hey! Up here!"
He stopped himself and looked up, seeing another young Dragon, just a little smaller than him before the change, holding the Crystal Heart.
"Holy shit! That's it!"
"Move, Indigo! NOW!!!"
He turned and jumped out, using his wings to fly up a few feet before clasping onto the side of the castle. Watching the young Dragon run down the spire next to the castle, he peered out at Sombra as the barrier finally fell, hearing him roar out as he rushed towards the Crystal Castle with fury and rage.
"THAT IS MINE!!!"
His quick approached shook the ground as more spires and crystals erupted from the ground in his wake. Indigo widened his eyes as the young Dragon fell off, tumbling towards his death while the Heart slipped from his grasp. Pushing in on the castle, he lunged towards the Dragon just before he passed him, catching him and the Heart while his feet bucked forward, knocking a nearly-whole King Sombra back down the bridging crystals he used to ascend. Landing on the bridge himself, he put the young Dragon on his back as he gave him the Crystal Heart.
"Hold onto me."
The Dragon said nothing as he clutched his blue spines, looking down at Sombra as he climbed to his hooves. Snarling at Indigo, he recognized the tendrils that seeped out of him, and more so, the helmet on his head.
"Nightmare..."
He stomped his hoof on the crystal below him, jutting out a few more around his body.
"GIVE it to ME. Give me my Crystal Heart."
Nightmare Moon glared at him through Indigo before taking hold, this time being willful on Indigo's behalf. Transforming into the second form they attained when Nightmare Moon first took hold of Indigo's body, inhabiting it like a parasite, she growled back.
"No. These ponies, this Kingdom, are ALL mine. I will not allow you to harm them. Only I may torment these creatures."
Sombra let out a vicious snarl as his horn bubbled with dark magic. Firing it at Nightmare Moon, she lifted up her claw and smashed the magic away, jumping back when several sharp crystals shot up from under her. With the younger Dragon still holding on, he closed his eyes tightly as Nightmare landed, just barely dodging an airborne crystal that stabbed down into the bridge before her.
"HOLY SHIT!!!"
"Language!"
Nightmare Moon used her tendrils to pick up the crystal, using it as a shield to block another magical bolt. While it was successful, it was just only so. The bolt reflected off the shard, grazing Indigo's shoulder as Nightmare Moon looked back at it. Humming, she tossed the crystal away and snapped those same tendrils to Sombra's head, choking him out as she flung him over her and slammed him down into the other side of the crystal bridge. As he lifted his head to stand up, he was met with a tail quickly lashing towards his muzzle. Cutting up against his cheek as he was knocked onto his back, he growled, looking up at Nightmare Moon as she turned to him.
"Your new host is strong."
Nightmare's tendrils bit into the wound on Indigo's arm, healing it as she hissed at the dark King.
"But he's even more vulnerable.~"
With a flash of his eyes, Indigo let out a scream inside of his body, catching Nightmare's attention. He was using his magic to show Indigo his worst fears. Still in control, she had no way of helping him, not out here. She had to keep fighting, while he toiled with his own demons.
Inside of his mind, Indigo was thrown into the cold side of his mind, where everything was near-freezing. Landing on his hands and knees, he gulped down the knot in his throat as he panted.
"Nightmare...? Nightmare?"
He stood up, looking around.
"Indigo..."
He perked up as his name was called in a hush whisper. He knew that voice.
"M-Mom...?"
He turned around as the whisper came again, seeing what appeared to be a mirror, but was really, it was a window, and on the other side was something that horrified him. It was his brother, strapped to a chair and bound with magic-concealing braces. All around him were ponies that looked like they'd crawled out of their own graves. They all lumbered towards him, their jaws hanging or limply snapping shut. Indigo placed his hands on the mirror before bashing at the glass, trying to break it, but each crack he made was fixed in a single instance. He could do nothing as he watched his brother get torn to shreds by teeth and hooves.
Hearing moaning from another mirror beside him, a light came on, showing his mother getting brutally molested and raped by other Dragons. They all were laughing hysterically, genuinely and morbidly enjoying their time toying with her. It was enough to boil his blood and tense his nerves. Looking behind him as another light came on, he found one more mirror, which had his father walking away with King Sombra, abandoning him and his family to die as he lived on as Sombra's personal Dragon.
The morphed drake gritted his teeth as he watched all three of these play again and again, tears leaking from his eyes as he faced one final mirror, one that was meant for his own nightmare. All that stared back was himself, now made a monster from Nightmare Moon's transformation. He turned away, not able to bear looking at himself any longer, but the reflection did not copy his movements. Instead, it continued to stare at him before punching its way through the glass and pulling him through.
Nightmare Moon flipped and glided along the bridge as Sombra continued to blast at her and the drake on her back. Landing far from Sombra, she dug her tendrils into the crystal, she wrapped them around Sombra's hooves before a single one went around his chest, pulling him to the bridge's floor violently and cracking a tooth when his face collided with it. Lunging at him as he recuperated, she sent him upwards with a vertical hook, watching him fly before reeling back her claws and sending both fists forward at once. With the force of the punches hitting Sombra square in the chest, Nightmare Moon's extra power buff on Indigo's changed body rammed the King straight through the castle, throwing him all the way across the Crystal Empire. She watched him go, then seized the moment.
Taking the drake off her back, she plucked the Heart from his claws, jumping off the bridge and sailing towards the base of the castle. Kicking up some of the ground as well as a ton of dust, Nightmare Moon stepped out of the small crater she made and rushed towards the bottom of the castle. Dropping the small Dragon, she held the Crystal Heart over its pedestal, letting it float from her hands. She watched it as it glowed a bright aura, then sent a small pulse through the Empire. She grunted as the light irked her, but ignored it as she turned to the ponies around her.
"Quickly, my ponies. The Crystal Heart has returned to you! Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not return with the relic!"
The ponies all glanced at each other before gazing at the Crystal Heart, gathering around it and finding... happiness, and... peace within its magic. One by one, they all began to smile, regaining not only a layer of their crystalline coats, but all of it entirely. Nightmare Moon stepped back as the floor below her began to glow the same cyan blue as the Heart, the power of the relic spreading to every inch of the Kingdom.
"NO!!! STOP!!!"
She looked back up at Sombra as he was charging straight for the Heart. Stepping in front of it, she prepared to fight once again, but didn't have to as the Heart released another pulse, one that was filled with the love and empathy of the ponies it protected. Nightmare let out a cry of her own as it did more harm than good to her, frying Indigo's scales as it crystallized every creature around her, even the infant drake behind her. She fought through the pain as she felt herself weaken, glaring ahead at Sombra as he felt the brisk power of love more than she did. His wails and cries soared as vastly as the pulse, and as his body cracked, she slowly stormed towards him.
"You... thought you had found an ally in darkness..."
Sombra looked down at her as he stood on his hind legs, his body continued to crack as he watched her approach him. This monologue, it was... familiar.
"Do you comprehend the powers you were gifted with? The same powers I was BORN into? Where do you think the shadows all go to hide from the precious light? Who do you think stands against them?"
That's right. These were the same words she spoke when she had slain him over a thousand years ago, when the Crystal Empire fell the first time.
"What you possess is a mere fraction of their might... and you, Umbra Sombra, have taken more than you can handle."
"I-Impossible... I am the most powerful... pony in this land...!"
"No... Not you, not me, but a smaller, more honest soul. Our power never stands against unity, and today, I unite the Crystal Ponies against you, and take back my power..."
She shoved her claw into his chest, making it leak a stream of shadows that had a totality of darkness. Sombra gagged as his power, the power he'd been draining from deities like her each and every day for the entirety of his exile, was leeched before his eyes, seeped back into the helmet of his equal, his rival, and his enemy.
"Now, I will show you why we called the dungeon's punishment room... the Slaughterhouse..."
As a bright flash engulfed the two, she snapped at him, her teeth being the last thing he saw before his vision went black, and his body was no more. Outside of their confrontation, the power of the Crystal Heart had channeled itself to the peak of the Crystal Castle, sending it all upwards and flaring it throughout Equestria, evaporating and destroying all of Sombra's shadows and crystals. Those that were under his control were freed, their spirits able to leave their deceased bodies and move onto the Aether.
When the power had diminished, Nightmare Moon's hold on Indigo faded, and she once again, receded into his subconscious as the horrors he was dragged into spat him back into reality. He staggered back as his scales were smoking, seared by the Crystal Heart's power. With his first form reattained, he looked around, seeing smiles and cheers surrounding him. The crystal bodies of the ponies, and the real skies now vacant of the orange hue and black clouds... He knew right then and there that the entity of darkness itself, of nightmares, had pulled through for these ponies. Still though, the power, the pain; it would never sit right with him. He rubbed his claws as he felt a hoof tap on his side. Looking down at his right, he saw a pink Alicorn staring back at him, her coat and mane shining brightly with the crystal texture.
"You... You must be the new ruler of the Empire."
She nodded, a smile stretching across her face.
"That is correct. My name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but, uh... Please, just call me Princess Cadence."
He tilted his head as she stepped back, composing herself before bowing.
"I wanted to extend my gratitude to you, young Dragon. You have saved the Crystal Empire from the hold of an ancient and evil Unicorn King that had plagued this land for over a thousand years."
The Crystal Ponies behind her bowed to him as well, all showing the same thanks before cheering for him, something he wasn't accustomed to. Cadence smiled up at him as she stood by his side.
"You must be very proud."
Looking around at all of them, he turned his attention down to his claws, flexing them as Nightmare Moon's voice came in a hush and weak tone.
"Proud...? Oh, very much so...~"
Nightmare Moon grinned as she snickered at her satisfied victory over Sombra.
"You can watch stars burn out and civilizations rise and fall..."
Indigo panted as he brushed his claws past his cheeks, closing his eyes tightly as he tensed up a couple times. His mind no longer registered sound or presences around him. Not even the Element Bearers caught his eye. Right now, there was only one thing he had on his mind, one thing he wanted to do.
"But when that vengeance finally comes around, there is not a single moment of all that time spent in exile that hadn't been worth it...~"
Indigo reached up to the helmet, his flesh sticking to it as he began to pull it off of him.
"Hey, HEY! What do you think you are doing?! We have a pact, remember?!"
Nightmare Moon used her remaining strength to snap the helmet back onto Indigo's head, making him stumble backwards and collapse onto his knees.
"Let me GO!"
He punched the ground in front of him.
"It's OVER! Our deal was to destroy King Sombra! He's dead, now! The Crystal Empire is safe!"
The ponies around him gave him curious and worried looks, wondering whom he was talking to, and what he meant by a deal. The leader of the Elements, Twilight Sparkle, narrowed her eyes as she watched the scene.
"You sure our deal is fulfilled, Indigo...?"
He lessened his glare in confusion as his eyes moved from the ground, staring forward in thought.
"You never stopped to wonder whether or not the Crystal Heart was actually capable of destroying the darkness that invades the Kingdom it protects, did you?"
He perked up at that, looking towards the Crystal Heart as he stood up.
"What are you talking about?"
He rushed over to it, brushing past Cadence and a white Unicorn stallion. Gripping the heart, Indigo looked into it, seeing the events seconds prior play out, only through the Heart's vision. It... It didn't destroy King Sombra. No, it only repelled him, and from where he stood when in range, he was blasted south.
"No..."
"We still have work to do, young drake. King Sombra is still out there."
Indigo gritted his teeth as he rested his forehead against the Heart, his hopes of the end of the deal dashed and putting him in an emotional state of disrepair once more. He thought he was home free, to truly live a life his parents and his brother would be proud of. He WANTED to be free. He WANTED to live.
"I want this nightmare to end... I want my family back..."
In a fit of rage, he punched the relic, cracking it as he roared out.
"F***!!!"
Nightmare Moon scoffed as he calmed himself, sighing heavily as he knew this all was never going to end just like that.
"Reality is harsh, little fool. You will never see your parents or your brother again, but that won't mean you can't live up to their expectations. Have faith in their morals as you have had faith in me, because if you're either dead or rebellious, you're useless to me."
He growled as he spun around, glaring at Nightmare Moon as she appeared as a head behind him, attached to a tendril. The Element Bearers jumped back as Cadence took a few steps away.
"Useless?! To you? I gave you my body, you ungrateful mare! I helped YOU!"
"And I saved you, little drake. I am your goddess-"
"You are nothing more than a wisp, a tiny flame created by sheer negativity that can't do a damn thing in this world without someone like me! You're NOT a goddess, and you're no NIGHTMARE. All you are is a vindictive mare who wants nothing but blood to all that stand before her!"
She hissed in his face as she snapped her jaws at him.
"How DARE you! I gave you a second chance at life and you show me disrespect?!"
"I gave you as much of a chance as I did! We're EVEN, Nightmare Moon! I owe you NOTHING."
He grasped the helmet again, trying to peel it off.
"Now get off of me! Get out of my body! Get out of MY HEAD!!!"
"NO!!!"
It snapped back onto him again, squeezing his skull tightly as he growled at the pain.
"When that lowlife of a King was draining every ounce of power from me, it was a nonstop burning ache I could never rid myself of! No matter where my moon was, I could never escape that pain! You want to know what I want out of this partnership, drake?! I want him to feel the exact same torture! I want VENGEANCE for an ETERNITY of AGONY."
Her face contorted slightly, looking more like a demoness from Tartarus as she hardened her wicked glare, freezing Indigo in place as her tendrils wrapped around his throat and forced him to look her in the eye.
"I want the corrupted ponies like him to fear me. I want them to know that it was ME that stopped them. Denying them their privilege to conquer will deliver the pain I felt when my chance was stripped from me by the False King. I chose you as my weapon, my shield, because there is no other like you to do this bidding for me."
She wrapped around him, entangling him as she began to sink into his body.
"No mere pony would be able to withstand my power and retain their sanity. My last host was broken with sorrow and despair, and gave me life to stand in her place as she locked herself away in her heart. You have the same sadness in your heart, but still push forward. You have an indomitable will, young drake. That is why I appeared before you with a choice to live or die."
He took in a breath as she disappeared into him, staying there for a moment before looking up, seeing the ponies in front of him. Glancing back at the ground, he sighed as he pushed himself up to his feet, rubbing his throat.
"So I'm nothing but a tool for you, eh...? Figures. Any dark pony like you would only look out for herself."
Nightmare Moon's aura both writhed and saddened at his words.
"Think what you will, Indigo the Dragon. It matters not what you believe me to be, or what my motives are. I am here, harboring your body now, and I am not going anywhere anytime soon."
Indigo huffed as he looked back at the heart, seeing the cracks heal quickly. Sighing in relief, he turned his attention to the sky, seeing the true sunny day beaming throughout the Empire.
"So... what now?"
Nightmare hummed in his mind as she calmed herself, relaxing her aura and taking the image of her more pleasant appearance once more.
"We live, Indigo."
He looked down at the ponies before him.
"Until our fated rematch with King Sombra arrives, we live..."
She grinned as she purred, making his heart vibrate as she whispered into his ear.
"With you bearing my curse.~"
