The Forgotten Elements: Shrouded Darkness

8 years ago, 1 day before the Royal Wedding...

"Waahh, waahh. Corvix is a cry baby!" One of the changelings laughed mockingly.

"Ha ha, crybaby." Another one said.

Corvix lay on the ground, his head buried in his hooves, crying.

"HEY!" A changeling in the distance yelled, clearly angry.

The changelings surrounding Corvix quickly scattered into the holes in the ground, and walls, before you could blink. Corvix still lay on the ground crying, a puddle of his tears now on the coarse, dry floor. The older changeling that had scared the others away slowly approached the crying changeling. Sighing, he knelt next to Corvix simply observing him.

The older changeling put his foreleg around the crying Corvix, causing him to flinch at the sudden touch.

"I'm sorry." Corvix suddenly said.

"What for?" The changeling replied.

"For showing emotion." Corvix explained, now wiping the tears out of his red eyes.

That was also a unique thing about him, his blood red eyes. Nobody knew how, or where he had gotten them, except it had been like that since he came out of his egg.

"It's fine, even changelings ha-" The changeling began, before being cut off

"Tix! Where are you!" A familiar voice shouted, echoing down the maze of tunnels.

Tix sighed, before getting back to his hooves to address the voice.

"Down here Nox!" He shouted back, amplifying his emotions toward Nox, allowing him to find Tix easily.

"Queen Chrysalis wishes to see you." Nox said, looking slightly worried.

Corvix, who was observing silently, began to become worried at the thought of his brother going to see Queen Chrysalis. The only time the queen would see simple drone like his brother, was when she was mad and wanted to take it out on a expendable drone.

Nox, now only just noticing Corvix lying on the ground, frowned slightly at the sight of the small puddle of tears below Corvix. It was strange for a changeling to show much emotion, especially as much as Corvix showed. He brought his attention back to Tix, signalling that the queen wanted him now. Sighing, Tix turned back to his brother, giving him a look that said he would be back soon. Corvix may have had a lot of emotion, but that allowed him to recognize different feelings better then other changelings.

Nox was already heading into the labyrinth of tunnels, leading the way to the queens chambers. The tunnels would be impossible to navigate if you weren't a changeling, unless you had a changeling guide to lead you. As they headed down the tunnels, Tix began to silently prepare himself for death, as it was the most likely reason he was summoned to the queens chambers. They soon came upon a almost transparent silk, that covered the entrance to the queens chambers.

"You may come in." Queen Chrysalis said, sensing their presence.

They entered together bowing as they did so, although after a look, it was clear that Nox was not supposed to be in here. Understanding, Nox gave his friend a sympathetic look, before leaving via the entrance they had come through. The room, while a mess, was better then the other rooms in the hive. With stalagmites jutting out from the ceiling, which was quite high, and the mess of a bed that was considered a luxury to changelings, lay tattered with a thin lining of silk on it, it looked more like a haunted house as the ponies said.

"Do you know why you were summoned here?" She suddenly asked.

"I do not my queen." Tix answered, bowing lower.

What sort of question is that. He thought now confused.

"You have a brother do you not?" She questioned further.

He froze at that.

What does she want with Corvix? He thought, silently panicking.

"Yes I do my queen." He answered.

"He is different is he not?" She continued.

"Yes my queen." Tix answered, not liking where this was going.

"From what I am given to understand, he has much more emotions than the other changelings, is this true?" She asked.

"It is my queen." He said now worried what would happen to his brother.

"So in theory he would be able to understand ponies feelings, and know what to do, better than other changelings?"

"I believe so my queen."

She appeared to be lost in thought for a moment before saying. "Interesting. Bring him here please."

"Yes my queen."

He slowly made his way down to where he had left Corvix, still marveling at the fact that he had gotten out alive. He frowned at the thought that his brother may not be so lucky, as the queen had a history of severing the weak links from the hive, so that the rest would survive. Soon finding his brother sitting exactly where he had left him. It was clear that his appearance had startled Corvix, as he did not expect him to come out alive.

"Come on." Tix commanded

Corvix obeyed, doggedly following Tix down the labyrinth of tunnels to the queens chambers. As they came into sight of the queens chamber, Tix could feel Corvix begin to panic, as he recognized the certain luxuries only the queen would have outside the entrance to her chambers. He wished he could calm him down somehow, but knew that was impossible.

"Enter." A cold voice sounded from behind the drapes.

Tix entered, Corvix close behind, and both immediately bowed, in the presence of their queen.

"Rise." She said

They did her bidding, rising to their hooves, to face their queen.

Queen Chrysalis looked between both of them, her gaze lingering on Corvix eyes, for a moment.

"Tix you may leave." She said suddenly, her gaze still on Corvix eyes.

Hesitant in leaving his brother behind, with the queen, glancing between his brother and Chrysalis, as he slowly backed away.

Corvix was still watching where he had left, his mind so fazed out he didn't even notice Chrysalis speaking to him.

I'm going to die now. She will severe the weakness. He thought, solemnly.

"Corvix." A voice said to him, snapping him back to life.

"Yes my queen?" He answered, turning to face her.

"I believe it is time that you go on your first hunt." She said, a small smile on her face.

Corvix gulped. His first hunt. He didn't understand. Why would he be taken on a hunt, when he was much too young to even leave the hive on his own.

"On your own." Her smile growing ever bigger.

His brain died as the thought of being on his own on a hunt, when most changelings his age hadn't seen the outside world. It was clear there would be no argument as Chrysalis stared expectantly at him.

"You will leave now." She suddenly said

What? He thought for a moment

Chrysalis's horn suddenly became active, a green beam shooting beneath him a portal opening up, he gave a cry of shock as he fell through the portal, the laughter of the queen echoing as he fell. and fell. And fell.

His head suddenly connected with the ground causing his vision to blur and fade to black...

Corvix groaned as he raised a hoof to his head, wincing as he pulled it away to reveal a bright blue blood smeared on it. He slowly rolled onto his stomach, observing his surroundings. He appeared to be in a forest. Getting to his hooves, while silently checking to see if anything was broken, he looked to see if anyone had seen him, although it appeared he was in a place where there wasn't any ponies for a while.

A sudden movement in the bushes caused him to turn around taking a fighting stance against the advancing creature. A rabbit suddenly popped out of the bush he was now facing, freezing in its tracks at the sight of the changeling.

"Snowball!" A voice called out.

Recognizing the voice of a pony, he transformed into a quick disguise, as a pegasus with a light purple coat and dark purple mane. A yellow coated pegasus, with a blue mane jumped out of the bush in search of her missing rabbit.

Oh boy...

Buttercup jumped through the bush in search of her missing rabbit, freezing at the sight of a pegasus, in the middle of a clearing, Snowball at his feet. She stared for a while, at the pegasus, with him staring back, clearly as surprised at her appearance, as he was in a fighting stance, a cautious look on his face.

After a while, she noticed the myriad of broken sticks surrounding him, as well as a noticeable hole in the trees, where there should have been lush green leaves. It was clear that he had fallen from quite a height.

It's amazing how he survived such a fall. She thought marveling at the fact that he had no broken bones.

She gasped however, when she noticed the gash on his forehead, blood streaming over his eyes and onto his muzzle. She rushed over to tend to it, only to have the pegasus back away for every step she took. He moved quite quick going backwards. She slowed to a stop, trying to give him her best motherly look, which served only to make him back away even more.

"Your bleeding." She pointed out, still approaching.

"And?" He asked, as if he expected something more, while continuing to back away.

Why does he think this isn't a big deal? She thought

"Buttercup!" Her mother suddenly yelled.

"I'm over here mom!" She yelled back, keeping her eyes on the pegasus.

Panic suddenly filled his face, as if the thought of being discovered scared him very much. However she noticed his preparation to bolt, and jumped on him just in time, catching him off guard. Now on the ground, and well aware of what she was doing, he suddenly flipped over causing Buttercup to now be the one pinned to the ground. He flapped his wings a bit, preparing to fly off...

Only to be tackled to the ground, by her mother. Her mother, Sunshine Wind was careful to not hurt him as she held him there. Buttercup approached the downed pegasus, now squirming viciously beneath her mother. Curiously observing him, she noted his strange, blood red eyes.

"So who is this colt Buttercup?" Her mother asked, struggling to hold him down. "And why was he holding you down?"

"He's bleeding mother." She answered, causing Sunshine to notice the blood streaming down the pegasus' face, causing her to gasp.

"LEAVE ME!" The pegasus suddenly shouted, his red eyes shining.

The outburst caused her mother to back away in shock. The pegasus used this moment to get back onto his hooves, now in a fighting stance against them both. Sunshine put on her best motherly face, but once again this only proved to make him panic more.

A bear suddenly came out of the woods, behind Sunshine and Buttercup, Buttercup screamed and backed away. Her mother turned to face the bear yelling at her to run away. One of the bears claws suddenly streaked through Sunshine's face and down to her neck. Buttercup watched in horror as the bear approached raising one of its claws to finish the job.

A purple streak suddenly collided with the bears face, knocking it over onto the forest floor. The bear got up and swiped at the purple streak which was now doing circles around it. Suddenly the streak moved, hitting the bear in the muzzle again, causing its teeth to fall out, blood pouring from its mouth. Realizing however that it would lose, it quickly disappeared into the forest.

The streak slowed to a stop, revealing the pegasus. Without a glance at Buttercup he rushed over to Sunshine, and tended to her wounds.

Sunshine awoke confused, she looked around to find Buttercup and the pegasus conversing. She was in her home. She put a hoof to her face to find it bandaged.

So the bear wasn't a dream.

She lay down to rest, very tired, her daughter, who had noticed that she was awake quickly rushed to attend to her.

"Mother!" She yelled.

Pulling her in for a hug, Sunshine could barely believe her eyes, as she held her daughter.

"How did we escape?" Sunshine asked.

"Void Runner." Buttercup answered, gesturing to the pegasus.

"I should probably rest now." Sunshine concluded.

And we will need to get up early if we're going to make it to the wedding tomorrow. She thought before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Canterlot, The Royal Wedding...

Buttercup, marveled at the giant pink dome, surrounding the giant city. It was hard to believe that a single unicorn could summon such a huge shield. Buttercup weaved in between the crowd, making sure to keep close to her mother. Void Runner was also coming along, as his parents were traveling somewhere.

She was so fascinated by his red eyes. It was extremely unusual, for anypony to have eyes like that. Her gaze fixed upon a stand holding a large variety of sweets, and foods.

"Mother." Buttercup asked, tapping on Sunshine's shoulders."May we get so-" She was cut off as an explosion came from the Royal Palace, sending smoke billowing into the clouds.

The dome began to flicker, cutting off for a little while at a time, before disappearing completely. A huge black swarm was soon hovering above Canterlot, before diving into the screaming ponies, biting into them, and putting them into cocoons. Buttercup ran. She ran, and ran, confused and scared she didn't know what to do. A scream pierced the constant buzzing, causing Buttercup to look back at the source of the scream.

She turned in time to see a changeling dig its fangs into Sunshine's neck, before ripping them back out, taking the neck with it. Sunshine's now limp body, flopped to the ground, blood pouring onto the paved streets.

"NO!" Buttercup screamed, as she charged toward the murdering changeling, eager for revenge.

A purple magical burst suddenly shot from the ground, hitting the changeling causing him to fall to the ground, it's head, cracking against the street. She turned to find a purple unicorn, firing blast after blast into the changeling swarm. A rainbow haired pegasus, then came crashing down onto a changeling, obliterating it, into a bloody mass on the ground.

Several others were also taking up the fight, including a poofy, pink maned, earth pony with a giant party cannon. A pure white unicorn, with the most spectacular dress she had ever seen. And a cowboy dressed earth pony, that was kicking the changelings into nearby walls.

The purple unicorn, shot a magical blast at a charging changeling, causing it to go flying up, then down, into a small house. Another scream, sounded in the air, but this one was not of fear, or panic, but instead of rage, and hate.

The she watched in horror, as Void Runner, flew through the hole the changeling had fell through...

Corvix watched, with a mix of both horror and confusion, as changelings suddenly attacked Canterlot. Multiple screams could be heard, as ponies were either killed, or cocooned. Blood was now spilling on the streets, as changelings bit into ponies, or knocked escaping ones out of the sky.

A familiar presence, suddenly came into his mind, a presence he thought he may never see again. Tix. She searched through the massive crowds of changelings, soon finding him in the air, charging at a purple unicorn. He rushed forward to call for him, freezing in his steps, when the unicorn shot a magical blast into Tix, sending him flying into a house, shattering the roof.

Corvix screamed. He flew as fast as he could into the shattered roof, frantically searching for Tix. A groan caught his attention and he moved to, displace the rubble that covered the groan. He let out a gasp, as he beheld the now impaled Tix, blood streaming down his chest, and onto the floor. He changed back into changeling form, so as not to startle him, and made to remove the object jutted inside him, blue blood sprayed all over it.

"No." Tix suddenly said, clearly struggling to even talk.

"We have to get out of here, brother." Corvix said back, ignoring the command.

"Not we." Tix corrected, a sad look on his face."You."

"Please. Don't leave me." Corvix said, tears streaming down his face, at the thought of losing his brother.

Tix held a hoof against Corvix's cheek. "I'll never leave." He said, a smile forming.

His breath became shaky, as his eyes glazed over, before finally stopping. He was dead. Tix was dead. The one brother he knew. Was dead. He exited the now destroyed building, trying to wake himself up. His face twisted with rage, at the memory of the purple unicorn.

She was going to die.

He sprinted, to where he had seen her, prepared to take his revenge. When suddenly a pink wave shot out of the Royal Palace, hurtling him back towards the Everfree Forest. He closed his eyes bracing himself, for the inevitable impact, but found nothing hitting him. He opened his eyes to see the damage, only to find a black ball surrounding him.

The black ball then promptly disappeared from beneath him, before appearing again, this time in front of him. Curiously he reached out with one of his hooves, wondering what it was. It backed away just enough to keep out of range however.

"What are you?" He asked

The black ball answered with a small act, of circling around him before heading deeper into the forest, signalling him to follow. He did the creatures bidding, walking after the black trail it left behind. Soon he came upon a graveyard of ruins, the black ball circling one in particular.

Corvix, not knowing what to expect, entered the ruins.

After Corvix had walked for a while, down the cold halls, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. It didn't help that every now and then a bat would squeal in fright, as if it was being attacked, and then abruptly cut off.

A cold voice sounded from the darkness, causing Corvix's instincts to go into a fighting stance.

The voice chuckled for a while, before saying "You'll do"

A darkness enveloped him, forcing itself into his mouth, as he desperately fought to keep it out. As it entered his system though, he found it comforting, as if his mother was hugging him, while praising him to be a good boy at the same time.

"Do you know what I am?" The darkness spoke.

Corvix observed the darkness, which was now taking the form of a pony. After a while, he recognized the dark form, as one of the most terrible tyrants Equestria had ever faced.

"King Sombra." Corvix answered, shock filtering into his voice at the fact that King Sombra was in front of him.

"You know your history I see." King Sombra continued.

"Yes I do, you're mentioned in almost every history book." Corvix said.

"Do you know of the Elements of Harmony?" King Sombra asked.

Corvix thought for a moment, racking his knowledge of Equestrian history. An image came to mind, a photo he had seen before, of a group of six ponies, all of them posing for the photo. Rage filled Corvix's mind as he remembered the center of the image. The purple unicorn stood at the front, smiling happily. Continuing the search in his memories, he remembered that below the ponies was a list of names, stating who each one was. But he didn't care for the others, focusing on the name that he would burn into his head, so that he would never forget.

Twilight Sparkle...