Chapters "Do not be a fool. Yield to my power, and we could rule all of Equestria together!"
Shield panted as he stared down the other stallion and the scores of shadows at his command, his armor shattered and broken, his body covered in cuts and lacerations, yet still, he stood in defiance, refusing to yield to the villain, “So long...as I draw breath...I will not yield to you filth!” He spat, lighting his horn once again.
Sombra smirked as he stepped away, “Pity. Tear the flesh from his bones.” He commands his minions, who rush forward in a mob to do just that, eager to taste blood yet again.
Shield let out a war cry as his hooves were wreathed in holy magic, charging headlong into the shadows as his eyes burned with white light, “FOR THE LIGHT!!!!”
The stallion fought valiantly, tearing the shadows apart with his bare hooves, but eventually, he was overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. As they pinned him down and tore into his flesh he screamed in rage and pain, his entire being rippling with power as he gathered every drop of mana he could before his body exploded in a gigantic blast of holy magic that burned away the shadows and threw a shocked Sombra through the oak doors behind him, splinters digging deep into his skin.
Shield laid still, seemingly dead. Only to take in a shuddering breath as his eyes snapped open, the orbs still glowing with holy light. His sacrificial spell had changed him, turning the stallion into a conduit for the holy magic he had trained his entire life to wield.
His eyes fell on the dark crystal pony that was staring at him with rage etched into his face, “Impossible!!” Sombra spat as he extricated himself from the rubble, “You should be dead!!!”
“YES. I SHOULD BE.” Shield spoke in a booming voice unfitting for his body as he started to levitate upwards, feathery wings made of holy light growing out of his back, “BUT FAUST HAS SMILED UPON ME THIS DAY. FOR SHE HAS GIVEN ME THE POWER TO DESTROY A DARK STAIN UPON THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF PEACE. YOU.”
“No! You are nothing to me!” Sombra shouted in anger, gathering the shadows and blasting them at the stallion.
Shield watched passively as the blast neared him, lifting his hoof as a divine halberd materialized and split the blast, “PRINCE SOMBRA. YOU ARE FOUND GUILTY OF HIGH TREASON AGAINST EQUESTRIA. HOW DO YOU PLEAD?”
“SHUT UP AND DIE WORM!!!”The tyrant yelled, his entire being exuding darkness as he intensified the blast for naught.
“DEFIANCE NOTED. THE PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR CRIMES….IS DEATH.” The paladin proclaims, releasing a blast of holy magic that burned away the shadows and impacted the stallion, cleansing the willing host of the parasitic dark magic living within him.
The fallen prince screams in unimaginable pain as he is executed, his body eventually burning away, leaving no trace of his existence.
Shield hovered passively, “SUCH IS THE FATE FOR ALL WHO WILLINGLY CONSORT WITH THE FORCES OF DARKNESS. DEATH WILL COME TO THEM ALL.”
"The end," Cadence says, closing the book detailing these heavily censored events, the legend mostly forgotten by even those who most revered him, and now a popular children's book series. She looked down at Twilight with a smile, "Did you like it?”
"I loved it!" Twilight said as she clapped her hooves.
“What do you want me to read next?” Cadence asks, sliding the book back into the shelf.
“This one!” Twilight holds up another in the series, depicting The Burning Light’s battle against an evil Zebrican Shaman.
“Alright,” Cadence smiles, opening up the book, “But this is the last one for tonight, okay?”
The filly nodded eagerly, settling in for the story.
Meanwhile, in the castle, Celestia was reminiscing about the legendary Paladin, wishing she knew where he was. She was staring at an innocuous-looking hand mirror on her desk, her only way to contact him.
She levitated it over, staring into its perfectly shined surface as she considered whether or not to use it, “......Why did you leave Shield? I’m so lonely without you and Luna….so lonely….”
Tears slid slowly down her cheeks as her mind wandered once again to her lonely fate. She was quite possibly the only immortal left in Equestria, all of the others were either banished, exiled, or dead.
“...please come back to me Shield…..please….” She whispered as she fell asleep, the mirror clutched in her hooves.
Deep in the frozen wastes, in a hidden sanctuary, the legend slumbers, waiting to be called upon. A small tribe of Yaks are the only ones who know of its existence. They make monthly offerings to the Lightbringer as they call him, for the light and warmth he exudes in his slumber creates an oasis of sorts for them. Allowing vegetation to grow and giving them a bastion from the biting cold that surrounds them.
Young males make the journey to the sanctuary alone as a right of passage, leaving their family's emblem at the door of the sanctuary. A single Yak each generation is chosen to be the caretaker, living within the sanctuary for most of their lives. Many of them go on to live longer than average life spans, perhaps from being bathed in the holy light of the Lightbringer.
One such caretaker stumbles out of bed, awakened by the pounding at the door. She grasps her hammer as she approaches the door, "Who wishes to enter?!" She shouts.
"Rockhoof son of Stonehoof!! I wish to see the Lightbringer!!"
"The Lightbringer is to be left alone! None are allowed to see him beside the caretaker except by order of the Chieftan himself!"
"Please Yuni!" He begs, "I've wished all my life to serve him, but you were chosen to be the caretaker! Please allow me to see him just once!"
".....do you swear by your ancestors you will never speak of what you see?"
"I will take the Lightbringer's secrets to my grave."
After a few moments, the stone door is dragged inwards, "Follow me."
Rockhoof eagerly slips inside, helping her push the door closed.
"Touch nothing," Yuni instructs him, leading him deep within the sanctuary. The deeper they went the brighter it got, to the point it was almost hard to look straight ahead, "The Lightbringer punishes those who look upon him for too long. You will need these. They will protect you for a short time."
She hands him what resembles a pair of welding goggles, slipping on a pair herself, ".....do you gaze upon him often?" Rockhoof asks as they approach the heart of the sanctuary.
"I leave The Lightbringer in peace. I only disturb his slumber when the Mirror calls for him." Yuni answers sternly, leading him into the chamber. Inside was a pool of calm, clear water. At the bottom was a sapphire blue stallion, golden wings folded against his back as his jet black mane flowed around him, his cutie mark indiscernible.
"Behold, the Lightbringer." The caretaker pronounces reverently, bowing her head in respect.
Rockhoof gaped at the stallion's form, absorbing every detail he could lay his eyes upon, committing them to memory,".....the legends do him no justice..."
Yuni allows this to go on for a few minutes, "...come, we have disturbed him long enough." She says, leading him away gently. The Yak doesn't resist, still dumbfounded by what he'd seen.
"..........I will never forget your face Lightbringer..." Rockhoof promises both himself and the stallion.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading! Any and all feedback you can give will be appreciated!
The Legend's Lineage Continues
Rockhoof sat in his tent, thinking about the Light's form. In front of him was a chunk of firewood and a knife. He tried to recall every detail, tried to force the wood to become what he wanted.
His failed statuettes were burning in the fire, cooking his broth. He groaned in frustration and put down the half-finished project after a few hours, "Ugh...why can't I do this….?" He laments, wiping his eyes.
Ever since he had returned from the Sanctuary, the Light's form had inspired him. And the need to do something with it was overwhelming.
His first idea was to paint something, but the ingredients necessary were a bit too rare. He had then considered sculpting but feared he would simply shatter the rock as opposed to shaping it.
He’d finally decided on whittling due to the abundance of wood. But for all his effort, all he had to show for it was a pile of useless statuettes and a sore jaw. Sitting up he decided that was enough failure for one day, and set his tools aside carefully.
Elsewhere, in Equestria:
Blueblood was a young Noble who despised his entire family. He hated everything they stood for, and by extension everything he was expected to stand for. He refused of course and rebelled against them whenever possible. Whether that was refusing to marry his sister to, as his father put it, “Keep the lines pure!” or leading protests against nearly everything the family tried to do.
The only reason he hadn’t been disowned is because of the fact that, by some Faust ordained miracle, he was the only fertile male in the entire inbred clan. Which only fueled the fires of jealousy in his cousins. He was the prize jewel of the family…or at least, he had been until now.
“In recent generations, the Bluebloods have forgotten where we came from! We have forgotten why our bloodline was even revered in the first place!” A teenage Blueblood pronounced to the press he had collected together, giving this speech not only in public but in the castle’s own courtyard.
“We used to be paladins of the highest order! We fought to protect our fellow creatures, as our ancestors would have wanted! And now…?” He paused for effect, looking out over them, “...now we wither away, refusing to even leave our mansions, barely sparing a thought to those less fortunate than us!
“We care for nothing but becoming richer and richer, trying to spread our influence like some sick parasite!” The stallion roars to the crowd, ignoring their attempts to question him, “And I will feed this parasite no longer!”
He spotted his father’s muscle pushing their way through the roaring crowd and towards the teen, no doubt to silence him and drag him away to the mansion, “Look amongst you! The parasite reaches out its tendrils in an attempt to silence me!” He yells, pointing out the massive stallions, the crowd instantly moving away from them, “My father would have me silenced and married to my own sister! My tongue cut out so I could no longer speak ill of him! Existing to do nothing but his bidding!”
“Will you allow them to silence me?! Allow them to continue to oppress you?!”
“NO!” The crowd roared in response, many of them throwing anything nearby at the muscle, who were not used to such things. Usually, all they had to do was look and sound tough, then whoever it was backed off. Not so here. Blueblood had succeeded in riling them up into a righteous fury, and numbers were assuredly on their side.
“Yes! Tear out the Parasite’s tendrils so they can harm you no longer!” He commended the crowd as the muscle huddled together in fear. This had gone even better than Blueblood had hoped! It couldn’t last though. The Guard would be here soon to break this up, and he would be arrested. Probably under charges of ‘Inciting a Riot’. He didn’t care, of course. The teen had made his point, and he’d happily suffer the consequences.
So he sat back and watched as the people rose up, summoning some whiskey to drink as he waited.
Celestia watched from her balcony, making no attempt to hide her pride, “Oh Blue...you remind me of him so much. I wish you could meet him…he’d be so proud~” She sighed, leaning on the railing.
Soon the Guard showed up and started arresting ponies, most tried to run, but her nephew just sat in his chair, drinking. She watched the Captain walk up and Blueblood offered him a drink.
“Would you like a glass? This is a very good year.” Blueblood remarked, holding a glass to the Guard, who mostly just frowned at him.
“More for me I guess.” He took the glass back and drank it, staring back at the stallion, “...You know you really should smile more. You look a lot better when you do. Frowning makes you look all...wrinkly,”
“.......get up.” He growls at the teen, who rolled his eyes and did so, holding his hooves out to be cuffed. Which they were quite swiftly, they’d learned the hard way that he couldn’t be trusted without them. Even though, as the Captain mused, with the way he smiled when they were put on...well he got a distinct feeling that if Blueblood wanted to escape custody, he would. Cuffs or no cuffs.
The teen looked up to the balcony high above, smiling at his aunt and waving as she did the same. “See you soon Auntie.” He says quietly as he’s led away.
Blueblood was led to a dark, dank cell in the dungeon where the guard tried to shove him in, failing spectacularly.
"...?" The teenage colt just raised an eyebrow at him before walking inside, the door closing rather quickly behind him. He looked around the cell and tried not to let his disgust at the filthy conditions show. It wasn't so much the ramshackle bed and hard floor as it was the smell from the corner of the room, a dirty hole the clear culprit.
"Considering that a clean cell is one spell away, this is just a cruel place to hold prisoners." He says to the guard clearly trying to ignore him.
"I mean really," Blue takes off his suit, laying it on the bed and sitting on it, "Even my father could perform the necessary spell, and his magical capabilities are abysmal."
The guard seemed unable to tune him out, his tail flicking in agitation. Even this small reaction satisfying the teen, who laid back and closed his eyes, managing to nod off.
Meanwhile, elsewhere:
Twilight Sparkle was sitting in her tower, reviewing possible candidates once again. Spike was curled up in the roaring fireplace, taking what was probably his third nap of the day.
The filly found herself drawn to the same file as always, a faint blush she tried in vain to banish adorning her cheeks as she opened it up again. Of all the candidates, they had the strongest connection to Him. They were headstrong, powerful, and refused to give up in any situation. The only problem was her emotions. She couldn't allow them to affect her decision, which was the reason she hadn't made it yet.
But they were undoubtedly the best candidate. So why hadn't she chosen them yet?
Twilight groaned, facehoofing the table and disturbing Spike, who yawned and stretched, "Hmm? Did you make a decision yet?
"No Spike, I hav…buck it. Yes I have." She says, a sudden feeling of confidence filling her. They were the best choice, there was no denying it.
"Finally!" The drake says, climbing out of the fire, "Are we gonna go pick him up?"
"Yes we are. There is no time to waste." Twilight threw her cape around her shoulders. It looked as if it was cut right out of the night sky, stars twinkling along its surface. But it seemed out of place to most ponies in this era, their views changing as technology started to replace the tried and true magic they had relied on for so long.
Spike climbed up on her back easily, "Let's go get your crush~"
"He's not my crush!" His caretaker yelled, blushing harder as they teleported, tiny whisps of shadow wafting up from where they were standing.
They reappear outside the dungeons, Twilight striding in past the guards, who made no move to stop her. Celestia had made it clear that her protege had the Alicorn's blessing to go where she wished about the castle.
In the dark, dingy environment of the dungeons Twilight almost seemed to disappear. She'd always been able to do this, disappear into the shadows. She had many theories as to why, but nothing concrete.
She didn't dwell on such things however, she had a mission here.
Blueblood's ear flicked as he heard approaching hoofsteps, assuming it to be a guard change.
"Open this cell. I must speak with him." A female voice commands.
"But I have strict orders not to-"
"My word is that of the Princess'. Open this cell."
"Y-yes ma'am!" The guard replies in a shaky voice, unlocking the cell.
"Thank you. That will be all." She strides inside.
"B-but Ma'am-!"
"I said that will be all. You are dismissed, guardsmen."
The stallion says nothing to this, trotting away and telling himself he wasn't afraid.
Blueblood stood up, offering a bow that the filly returned, "Lady Sparkle, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I have need of you Sir Blueblood. You and your skills."
"And your butt!" Spike says, "She loves it!"
"Spike!" Twilight hisses, blushing.
"*Ahem,*" He clears his throat, getting their attention, "As...flattering, as that is, I'm afraid I must decline."
"Bu-!"
The colt held up a hoof, "I'm sorry, but I already have a task I must complete. I have no time for diversions, whatever they may be."
Twilight said nothing as he sat back down on the bed, closing his eyes.
"Come on Twi, let's just go." Spike urges.
".......I believe you are a direct descendant of the Burning Light. I need your help to find him again. To bring him back."
Blueblood was silent, thinking, ".....and what if he doesn't want to come back?"
"Then we'll make him. A dark age is coming for Equestria, one fraught with peril. We cannot survive it without him." Twilight says every word with complete conviction.
"No one can make him do anything. If he left it was for a reason."
"Even if that's true, we have to try. Without him we can't possibly face…" She looks around, as if into the shadows, before whispering, "Grogar."
A shiver went up the colt's spine, also looking about the cell, "That's impossible! The Burning Light obliterated him! Destroyed the Demon's Bell!"
"Quiet!" She silences him harshly, looking nervous, "Names are powerful! Do not speak them so freely!"
Blueblood nods in understanding after a moment of silence, "If what you say is true, if I am His descendant, then how do we find him."
"Your magic. It will be connected to his, we can use the connection to find him."
"And Auntie? Does she support this endeavor?"
Twilight turned away, growling, ".....she believes it to be a fool's errand. She forbade me from pursuing this."
"Yet you defy her?"
"Yes! I know I am right! They aren't just dreams!" She almost shouts, losing herself a bit.
Blueblood took a step back in shock, not sure what to say.
".....I have visions in my sleep. Visions of the future. They aren't just dreams…"
"....what do you see?" He asks gently, stepping closer.
"Death. Destruction. Darkness... darkness so complete that light isn't even an idea." She shudders, tears slipping from her eyes as Spike hugs her, "I see...I see Celestia at the hooves of some...monster. Dead or dying...everypony I know...gone…"
She feels a comforting hoof on her shoulder, looking up to see Blueblood, "I will help you Lady Sparkle. We will not allow this future to come to pass."
More tears well up as she hugs him suddenly, sobbing into his chest, "Thank you...thank you for believing me…"
Unsure what to do, the colt hugged her back gently, "Worry not Lady Sparkle...worry not…"
Author's Note
I am so sorry for the wait my friends, but I finally finished the chapter! I hope you enjoy it!