The Forgotten Elements: Shrouded Darkness

"What?" Corvix asked, having gone into the deepest corners of his mind to plot his revenge.

"Do you know why you are here?" King Sombra asked

King Sombra. The evil tyrant who had enslaved the Crystal Ponies, before being banished, taking the Crystal Empire with him. He was standing face to, well, the moving shadow of King Sombra. Corvix still couldn't see his facial features, although his green eyes stood out in the darkness, like a bear among rabbits. It terrified him those eyes, always fixed on him, never once blinking or looking away.

Corvix answered, his voice shaking, "No."

"Tell me, what Elements do you know of?"

A confused look came upon Corvix's face. What Elements there were? There was only the Elements of Harmony, wasn't there?

King Sombra saw this and sighed, "I see that the knowledge of my power was sealed away along with me." Having said this he moved to the other side of the room and pressed his shadow of a hoof against a stone in the decrepit wall, pushing it in deeper. A loud creaking noise came from the wall, when suddenly a portion of it, in the shape of a wall, opened out into a staircase, filled with cobwebs.

"Come." Sombra said as he descended down the staircase, not even disturbing the cobwebs he walked through.

What even is this place? Corvix thought to himself, as he walked over to the newly made doorway, observing the staircase. It looked like a regular staircase at first, if only that it was more old, and dirty than most. Than he noticed the shadows along the walls. They weren't like regular shadows, instead they were moving, traveling along the wall of their own accord. Occasionally they bumped into one another, and ended up morphing into a bigger shadow, before splitting off from each other again.

"Are you coming or not?" The annoyed voice of Sombra sounded from down the stairs.

"Sorry." Corvix said, thankful that Sombra wasn't there to see him blush with embarrassment.

Quickly following Sombra down the stairs, he made sure to not get caught up watching the shadows again, in fact so well he didn't even notice the shadows that had left their positions and were now following him, staying out of his line of sight. After a long walk of going down the stairs, he caught up with Sombra who was still going at a leisurely pace. Corvix silently hung back unsure of whether he was permitted to walk beside Sombra, or whether he was simply to follow and not speak.

"Have you heard of the Element of Darkness?" Sombra suddenly spoke up.

Corvix scrounged through his knowledge of history, trying to find a single reference to the Element of Darkness. He didn't think there ever had been, considering he had memorized the most important parts of history, so that he would know what somebody did and when, which was a part of infiltration. After a while of searching his memory banks however, he found that he had never heard of the 'Element of Darkness'.

"No." He said, unsure of where Sombra could have learned of such a thing.

"I thought so, not even the princess' knew of it." Sombra said

"If I might ask, what is the Element of Darkness." Corvix asked cautiously, making sure to not pry too much.

Sombra let out a resigned sigh, before saying"Listen closely, as it is quite an important story I am about to tell you...

One thousand years ago...

Purple Fire watched as her classmates ran out to their parents, before being scooped up into big hugs, causing the young colts and filly's to giggle with delight. She slowly walked out into the schoolyard, desperate to get away from all the love that was being given, and reciprocated among the parents and their children. She trudged along solemnly, knowing that a full out sprint to the front gate would simply draw attention to herself. She occasionally glanced at a parent, chatting with their child, and couldn't help but want to simply disintegrate them for being so happy.

"How was your day sweetie?" A mother would say to their colt or filly.

"It was amazing mother! I played with my friends and learnt lots of stuff!" The colt or filly would reply.

It sickened her, no matter what anypony said, it was disgusting to see all that lovey-dovey stuff going on around her. Thank goodness she didn't have parents to do that to her. Most ponies would have been desperate for a parent, but not her. She was perfectly content with being alone, and fending for herself. After all she had been like that for her entire life. Granted she didn't have friends, but she was perfectly content with that, as friends only served to drag you down. She was now on the main street of Ponyville, vendors shouting their goods to all the ponies that walked past. She ignored them all as she made her way to the little alleyway she called home.

"Hey Purple." A passing pegasus greeted her, raising a hoof in greeting.

"Hey Cloud." She responded, also raising a hoof.

The pegasus' face grew worried, "Prancer wants his bits."

"Prancer can get his bits if he is patient for a few couple of days." She said in an exasperated tone.

Cloud shook his head, "He wants it now." He looked over Purple's shoulder, signalling that Prancer was behind her.

She turned around to come face to face with a bulky pegasus. Although he was about her age, Prancer was almost twice her size, and twice her width, as well as much stronger than her. Prancer was basically the mini crime boss of Ponyville, having been an expert at lending and collecting money from people. As such almost everypony owed him money. Including her.

"Just hold on and I will get you your money." Purple said, getting desperate for a way out.

A devilish smile spread across his face, as if he had his enemy cornered and simply had to deliver the final blow. "Oh yes you will." He finally said the smile still on his face. He signaled to the other pegasi behind him with a raised hoof, springing them into action as the approached Purple, who was now backing up. She caught the eye of Cloud, who silently mouthed 'I'm sorry.'

They were soon hovering over the Everfree Forest, the sounds of animals and birds could be heard, even from the height they were flying. They were discussing whether or not, she would be killed from this height, as that was clearly what was intended. Purple however, had fazed out and was now, like her captors contemplating her chances of survival from this height. She came to the conclusion that while she would still have much broken bones, she would not be killed. Unfortunately her captors had come to the same conclusion as they slowly flew higher and higher, until Purple could see Manehattan in the distance. She then began to contemplate if the ponies in Manehattan would hear her scream from this height, so deep in thought that she ignored the conversation above her. A cold breeze, suddenly came, causing her to shiver as she did not have any protection from the cold whatsoever. She then felt the grip of one of the pegasi release as a deafening scream came from the other one.

Slowly she looked at the foreleg that one of them had released, to find it soaked in blood. She screamed as she held that arm away from her noticing the body of the pegasus falling into the Everfree, its head falling just a few feet beside it, before it was enveloped by the forest. She then noticed that she was moving along the clouds, looking up she found her second captor flapping his wings furiously as he was trying to get away from whatever was chasing him. Gulping she looked back to see what was chasing them, this only caught the attention of the pegasus who realized he was still holding the unicorn he was supposed to have deposed of. Deciding his life was more important then hers his gripped immediately loosened as he flew off as fast as he could, leaving the screaming filly to fall into the Everfree.

Purple screamed with all her might hoping that somehow a pony would hear her and come to the rescue, as her blond mane whipped in her face. It was useless however, as she collided with the blanket of trees, hitting branch upon branch as she fell. She then landed on the forest floor with such an impact she coughed up blood, and as she lay down on the earth, broken and bleeding, she wished and wished that a pony would come charging through the trees to rescue her. Her eyes slowly closed, not having the strength to keep them open anymore, no matter how hard she fought to keep them open. She lost consciousness, soon after spotting a moving object in the forest.

Well, guess i'm dead... she silently thought to herself.

The black sphere of darkness approached the broken filly that had just lost consciousness. It was hard for some shadows to believe that this filly, was the key to their survival, but no one dared to argue with Tymolic, the oldest and wisest shadow. he had been at The Creation, and managed to survive for centuries, evading the other elements, and only killing when required. Therefore no one questioned his decisions, no matter how crazy they were.

"It doesn't matter anymore, she's dying, and even we can't heal that." A shadow sighed.

"She was supposed to be our last hope, but I guess not." Another shadow agreed

Soon shadows were agreeing that she was indeed dead and that they were doomed to die out. Some began to leave, others looked at Tymolic who simply stared at the limp body. Everybody was now moving disappearing into the forest. The few shadows that had stayed behind realized that for once Tymolic had given up. As they made to move, Tymolic did first. The old shadow slowly slithered along the ground towards the now dead filly and now sat in front her. Tymolic's shadow suddenly expanded, spreading into the filly, the remaining shadows gasped they realized what he was doing. The fillies broken legs began to move, fixing themselves until they were fully repaired and straight, the bones in her head and body were next as they righted themselves, the shadows watching with a mix of sadness and awe, as Tymolic's shadow slowly disappeared into the pony.

"We will miss you dear friend." A shadow at the front of the group said, the others nodding sadly in agreement, as they continued to watch the filly, until her chest began to slowly rise and fall.

Purple Fire's eyes shot open, and she gasped as she sat up. She looked around her surroundings, unsure if what she had experienced was a dream or not. What she found was a dark forest, and a myriad of broken branches around her, and, after looking up confirmed that she had indeed fallen, as there was a large hole in the forest trees, sunlight shining through it, almost blinding her. Slowly she stood up, checking if any bones were broken, bouncing around a bit. The most confusing part of it was that she was completely fine, not even a slight twinge as she continued to hop around, in fact she felt better then fine, as if she was given the strength of ten ponies. She then noticed the small grouping of shadows on the ground, and while she couldn't tell why, she definitely knew they were very sad about something.

One of the shadows suddenly moved away from the group and started moving towards her. She slowly backed away at first, unsure as to his intentions.

His? She had somehow assigned a gender to this shadow, even though she didn't even know who he was.

Who he was? He was just a shadow. She thought still backing away. How was she supposed to escape this thing, and why was it approaching her. She quickly turned prepared to sprint into the forest, before freezing as a cold voice tinged with sadness spoke.

"Wait."

She didn't know how he had said it, but the shadow behind her had spoken. She gulped as she turned around, to face the shadow which had now stopped and was facing her.

"You have been chosen." He said, the other shadows behind him snapping out of their stupors, and lining up beside him.

"What?" she asked incredulous, as to the fact that she was speaking with shadows.

The shadows answer was not what she had expected, as they soon began to chant, their voices getting louder and louder until she had to cover her ears with her hooves at the noise. She felt her consciousness slipping away once again, as her eyelids closed she could spot more and more shadows appearing out of the woods, also chanting. Her knees buckled, not having the strength to support her, she opened her mouth to let out a scream, but all that came out was a dry cough. She looked in horror at what she had coughed up, a splotch of black gunk, which was now moving around the floor, squirming in every direction.

"What did you do." She managed to get out before losing all consciousness, collapsing on the floor, breathing raggedly.

"Was that really necessary? Tipix asked Mylix, looking with a worried look on her face at the once again unconscious filly.

"She never would have accepted, you know it." Mylix replied, trying to keep from looking worried as well.

Was it too much? He silently thought to himself.

Still looking at the pony, he announced, "The Bearer has been chosen, and the Element accepts. All who do not wish this to be The Bearer, transform into a griffon." Of course they weren't actually going to be a griffon, more like the shadow of a griffon that has been given form. "And all those who wish this to be The Bearer, transform into a pony." He watched anxiously, as the shadows transformed into their selected forms. Many had turned into a pony, yet there was still a few who were griffons. After counting the creatures present, he relaxed immensely as the majority showed ponies. Making himself serious, he announced the result, "It has been decided that this filly shall be the The Bearer, may she lead the Darkness back to life." This was immediately echoed by the surrounding shadows.

"And so the Transformation shall begin." At these words the shadows leapt onto, and then into the pony, who was now absorbing them. Of course not every shadow was liked that a pony was their Bearer, after all the ponies were the reason they were in need of a Bearer once again. The ponies had been hunting their Bearers, until their had been no other suitable candidate. He understood that most ponies are afraid of the dark, but hunting it down, as if it was some sort of game, was completely baffling. And it was all because of that one pony that had been obsessed with order since she had been chosen as the Bearer for the Sun.

Princess Celestia. He thought to himself with disgust, that pony had killed off most of the other races that had once dwelled within the land called Equestria, simply because they were not under her banner, and abided by their own laws. The Element of Darkness' main source of Bearers had been wiped out in the process so that they could not fight back. The shadows did not blame the Element of The Sun, they were more mad at Celestia who was obsessed with order. Hopefully her younger sister, Luna would not be so obsessed with order as Celestia. He slithered over the ground toward the pony known as Purple Fire to also be absorbed.

He marveled at all the hate that the young filly had inside her. Most ponies only had a small amount of hate built up, but this one was full of hate, so full that there was almost no love stored in her. He observed her reactions as more and more shadows entered her body. Not even a flinch, where most ponies would have been screaming and trying to run away, sometimes even resorting to bashing their head against a nearby object.

Purple Fire's eyes shot open, and she looked around without moving to see if the shadows were still their. The chanting had stopped, and the shadows were gone, leaving her to stare at the dark forest, sunlight still streaming down from the hole she had created on her way down. Slowly she stood up and silently stared at the hole. How did I survive that? Was it to do with those shadows? God my head... She rubbed a hoof against her temple, trying to massage the massive headache away. Looking up at the hole once again she wished she could just fly up through it and get back to Ponyville as that would be so much easier. She turned to walk back through the forest to attempt to find her way back only to find nothing but air and a forest top in her vision. She squealed and backed away, flapping her wings.

My wings? She thought in confusion. Gulping she looked back to find two wings made entirely out of shadow protruding from her back. Screaming she flew forward as if trying to escape her brand new wings. Flying up to a cloud she landed on it to find that, like a pegasus, she could walk on clouds, looking around in confusion, looking for something to tell her that this was a dream. A dark figure suddenly appeared before her, causing her to jump back in terror screaming.

"It's okay." The dark figure reassured her, taking a step forward.

Still backing away she stopped screaming, "What happened to me? What are you? Did you do this?" Anger filtering into her voice at this last question. She now glared at the figure, which she deduced to be a pony, without wings or horn, so probably an earth pony. Confused once again she looked down at the ground then back at the earth pony. Why is there an earth pony on a cloud? Gulping she once again scanned the pony for any wings or maybe even a horn. After her third scan she realized something. This wasn't a pony..

The dark figure chuckled slightly, "You are quick indeed." He said humor and amazement mixed into his voice. Somehow he had read her thoughts and was doing it at will.

"What are you?" She asked taking a combat stance, or at least what she thought was one.

"You are The Bearer of the Element of Darkness, and I am a shadow." He said somehow answering all of her questions at once. "You want revenge do you not?" He asked before she could reply. She thought for a moment, contemplating what he had just said. She did want to get revenge on Prancer for killing her. A dark smile crept its way onto her face as she imagined the ways she would make him pay.

"I'm listening." She answered, still imagining how he would scream.

Prancer shoved the young filly into the wall, growling, causing him to begin to shake with fear.. "I want my bits." Prancer growled, holding up a hoof, threatening to punch him. "You have been given plenty of time to gather up them up, and now that time is up." He spat, bringing his hoof down on the colts face sending several teeth flying. Turning to the two pegasi beside him he ordered, "Give him the Everfree treatment." A terrified expression came on their faces before being wiped away at Prancers look at them. Nodding solemnly, they grabbed the young earth pony by his forelegs and flapped their wings until they were so high above that Prancer could barely see them. Smiling darkly, he turned to the street walking towards it, only to be stopped by a solid wall in his path. Shocked he turned around, thinking he had somehow done a full three-sixty. He then came face to face with the darkened, shrouded form of Purple Fire.

What the hell? He thought with shock, slowly backing away.

"Hello Prancer." Purple said, stepping forward, "Long time, no see." A dark smile was creeping up on her face. She continued to step forward for every step Prancer took back, the darkness surrounding her intensifying. Prancer turned and sprinted away only to collide with the wall that had appeared, sending him on a direct path with the ground, causing him to groan with pain as he held his muzzle in his hooves. A tendril of darkness wrapped around his hind legs tightening, bringing Prancers attention to them, his eyes widening in horror as his legs snapped bending in unusual ways, bones sticking through his fragile skin, blood pouring everywhere. Prancer screamed in pain at this, closing his eyes not wanting to look at them anymore, the shadow now reforming his legs, not in the gentle way they had done with Purple Fire, but in a rough way that caused Prancer to only scream more.

Purple was now giggling with delight, although how somepony could enjoy this, Prancer could only guess. He reached his fore hooves in front of him pulling himself forward in a last ditch attempt to escape. He stopped dead as the shadows wrapped around his legs, pinning him to the ground. He struggled uselessly against them, trying to pull away, freezing at the touch of a hoof at his back. Slowly he turned his head as far as it would go to look at the darkened form of Purple Fire. She smiled as she pressed harder, and harder on his back, until a sickening snap came from it, inciting a scream in from his mouth once again. He felt the chill of a shadow spreading across his back before roughly snapping it back into place, giving Purple Fire another reason to press down again. This went on for a while, with much begging of it to stop, the shadows getting in on the act snapping all possible bones, then rebuilding them again.

"Please stop." Prancer begged tears running down his face, which was now distorted with scars, from the broken, and repaired bones in his face. He couldn't move or struggle as the shadows surrounding him pinned him.

"Why." Purple giggled, clearly enjoying this, "Why should I spare you the pain." She pressed harder on his spine, breaking it once again. But this time she didn't rebuild it, and instead looked up at the no midnight blue sky. Sighing she said, "Well this has been fun but I think it is time for us to stop, after all I have a bunch of people I want revenge on, and I don't feel like wasting time on this bastard."

Who is she talking to? He silently thought to himself, before realizing that she intended to let him die. Sighing with relief, he didn't for a moment doubt that she would make it quick and merciful, and knew that it would be more painful than all those hours combined. Bracing himself, he was surprised when a quick slit to his throat was applied, causing him to bleed out slowly. He silently thanked her as he drifted off into the dark blackness that was death.

Sombra reached the bottom of the stairs, cutting his story off. Corvix stared in disbelief contemplating what he had just heard. There were more Elements? "So you were one of the Bearer of the Element of Darkness?" Corvix asked, needing confirmation.

"He's quick."

"I know,and Sombra didn't even mention himself in that story. It's impressive."

Corvix swung around, ready to face whoever was whispering behind him. He paused in confusion at the empty stairwell he was now looking at. His gaze shifted to the walls the shadows still moving unnaturally.

"Yes I was." Sombra answered, bringing Corvix attention back to him. "Although I was arrogant, and thought that I could match both of the princess'. I didn't even consider their power, and paid the price for it.". They were now in a dark chamber, darker than the stairwell, so dark that even Corvix's natural changeling vision in the dark could barely see. He could barely make out a small table in the center of the room with a small orb on it. Sombra approached it, Corvix following, trying to see what the orb was. They soon arrived at the table, Sombra signalling for him to touch the orb with a gesture of his hoof. Corvix obliged, raising his hoof to touch the orb. It was revealed to be a smooth glass, but too smooth for natural glass, with a almost slimy feel, with how quickly his hooves passed over it when he checked to see how large it was. His red eyes shined, throwing light onto the orb, showing a large mass of shadows swirling around his hoof. He backed away slightly only to have Sombra push him forward more. A sudden shot of pain caused him to gasp instinctively pulling his hoof away from the orb, with no complaint from either the orb or Sombra.

"What happened?" Corvix questioned raising his hoof to observe it for injuries, finding no immediate wounds. His gaze then searched for Sombra only to find an empty spot where Sombra had last stood. Searching the room, he then noticed that the stairwell had disappeared as well, and he was now in a dark area, seeing nothing except his own body. Strange that, how he could see himself perfectly but everything else was very dark. An image came to his mind, of a forest, particularly the spot he had landed.

His eyes slowly opened, revealing the view of the Everfree forest he had when he was blown away, into the dense forest. Slowly he got to his hooves, searching himself for injuries. None. Curiously, he raised his head to look at the hole he had torn through the dense forest trees, to be met with blinding sunlight. Taking a couple of steps, he looked to see if anybody was around, and if there were ponies he could simply change into something small like a fruitbug, allowing him to observe without being observed. Finding nothing but himself he moved through the forest in the hopes of deducing where he had landed. After a while searching he spotted a small village in the distance, ponies trotting about their day, clearly oblivious to the attack that had come on Canterlot. Changing his purple pegasus form, dubbed Void Runner, he approached the village looking confused and upset. His plan worked as a mare approached him, a worried look on her face, as she searched for any sign of the colts parents.

"Are you all right? You look troubled." She asked, kneeling down to eye level, still searching for his parents. Her gaze came down upon his face causing her to gasp. "What in Celestia's name..." She said, slowly backing away as if she now stood face to face with a lion. Confused, Corvix looked in a nearby puddle, curious as to what had caused the pony to fear him so suddenly. He found nothing unusual about his appearance other than his blood red eyes. Looking back up at the mare she suddenly yelled for help, catching the other villagers attention. They followed their gaze to the purple pegasus having the same reaction as they caught sight of his eyes. Half of the villagers screamed and ran back into their homes, while the other half called for the others to take up arms. Confused he looked around to see if their was something behind him. He then caught sight of his no longer feathery wings, that were instead turning black, with shadows moving of their own accord along the length of it. He gasped backing away from them, wishing that they would just disappear and he would wake up and this would be a dream.

Green fire suddenly engulfed him and his dark purple coat was replaced by a dark black chitin, his strange wings still there. Oh boy. He silently thought, cursing himself for his stupidity. His gaze slowly swiveled back to the villagers, who had now formed a small militia of pitchforks and hatchets. He slowly backed away from them, watching for any sudden movements. Their fear of him had increased tenfold when he revealed his true form. He slowly backed away from them, unsure of how long the charade of him being dangerous would hold. His backing away returned some of the villagers confidence, as they moved forward for each step he took back. They suddenly charged forward their weapons raised high. Corvix closed his eyes bracing for impact, only to be greeted by screams and shouts of retreat. He opened his eyes to find black tentacles sprouting out of his back, smacking and impaling villagers, spurting their blood everywhere. The ones who chose to stand and fight were quickly cut down, their guts spilling on the earth, causing others to slip in their doomed retreat. The tentacles then smashed their way through the windows of the houses bordering the street. Screams were heard inside before being cut off by a slicing sound, or somebody being thrown out the window, face distorted with terror,before being impaled on a tentacle. The battle was over in seconds, blood splattered on the walls of once white cottages, and even more blood tainting the brown road that ran through the village.

What just happened. Corvix thought as he ran back into the dense forest, utterly terrified by what had just happened. he looked back at his new wings, which had now returned to their regular state of a moving shadow. He would have to find a way to control that. After he had traveled far enough to leave the village far behind him, he stopped, panting for breath.

"I have the worst luck ever." He said to himself shaking his head. Looking around at his surroundings, he once again deduced that he was lost again. Sighing he picked a direction and began walking...

Fleet Shield walked at the head of the patrol, peering into the forest on either side, eyes peeled for changelings. Somepony had seen one touch down near the Everfree, and their small patrol was being sent to a village based inside it. He still couldn't understand why anypony would want to live in that unnatural place.

"I still don't understand why we have to go to this place," Iron Shield said, also looking from side to side, although Fleet thought that he was just scared something was going to snatch him up. "Surely the changeling wouldn't be able to survive in this place."

"Maybe they'll pick us off one by one," Sharpest Sword said cheekily, enjoying Iron's shudder as his looking increased tenfold.

"Leave him alone Sharp," Fleet said looking back, "You know the monsters can easily take us on without separating us." He couldn't help but giggle at Iron's squeak of terror.

Iron noticed this and his terrified expression was replaced by a sour one, as he grumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

"Relax Iron, we're almost to the village." Fleet Wing said, "It's just over this hi-" He cut off as he caught sight of the village.
Or what was left of it. He heard the others behind him gasp, and Iron vomit, but that didn't matter now. "Search for survivors!" He yelled, rushing into the village, Sharp close behind. Iron yelled at them to stop before begrudgingly following. It was a massacre, blood everywhere, the limp, mutilated forms of what he could only assume were once ponies. Iron vomited more, as he joined them, cursing for every body he caught sight of.

"How many lived in this village?" He asked Sharp, his voice quiet as he mentally counted the bodies.

"About thirty-two sir." Sharp answered, as she looked at the briefing they had been given. "How much you found?" She asked back, her voice just as quiet, which was very rare, as she was one of the loudest ponies Fleet had ever met.

"Thirty-one so far." He answered, gulping and shaking his head at what they had just found. What could have caused such damages, and not lost anypony.

"Boss! Somepony's still alive over here!" Iron shouted from a small alleyway, urgency in his voice. They both quickly rushed over to the alley, to find a unicorn mare being cradled in Irons legs as he tended to the multitude of stab wounds and slices over her body. It was amazing how she had survived, as there was a lot of blood surrounding her, caking on her light blue coat. A black tentacle lay beside her twitching, as if trying to get back to somewhere.

The mare coughed, "Well took you long enough." She said with a slight chuckle before being cut off with a groan. "And I was just about to move out of this place."

Iron shared a worried look with Fleet and Sharp before turning back to the mare, "You're going to be okay." He reassured the unicorn, "What happened here?"

The unicorn coughed, blood coming out, before saying, "I...I...I don't know." She said much to the surprise of the surrounding guards, "It was...A creature we had never seen before. at first it was a pegasus, but instead of the feathery wings of a pegasus it had...Some sort of dark shadow as wings, then it turned into a bug like creature. We didn't know what it was so we attacked." She winced as Iron began to patch up her wounds. "Then these things," She continued, gesturing to the black tentacle beside her, which still wiggled. "Sprouted out of its back and began to fight back." Her face scrunched up at the memory of it, which Fleet could only assume was as equally horrifying. "We didn't stand a chance against it, it ended in seconds. I managed to cut this one off and hide in this alley. Considering you came here unharmed, I'm gonna say it's gone now."

Fleet Wings eyes widened, "Sharp!" He suddenly yelled causing Sharp to jump, Fleet turned to face Sharp, fear and urgency on his face,"Head to Canterlot, and summon a full regiment, and inform Princess Celestia of what we have discovered, tell her that it is a code Element. Do not tell anypony of what was found here, except for the regiment. And make sure they don't tell any other pony of what is here. Do you understand!" He finished with a yell.

Sharp saluted, confusion in her face, "Yes sir!" She yelled before flying as fast as she could toward Canterlot.

Princess Celestia listened to the guard before her concern making its way onto her face with every word out of the guards mouth. At the word of code Element her eyes widened, and she immediately stepped towards the guard and touched her horn on the pegasus' head, causing her eyes to flash a brilliant yellow, before returning to their normal state. Te\he guard blinked in confusion before noticing that she was standing in front of the Princess of The Sun. She immediately dropped into a low bow, muttering greetings and apologies for being so close. Celestia walked over to her throne and pressed a small button on its side, sending out a small wave summoning all loyal guards, that would do anything for their Princess. Even kill other ponies.

Soon a group large enough to call a regiment was formed in the royal hall. "There is a small village east of here in the Everfree." She waited a moment for the word Everfree to sink in, the guards not even flinching. Satisfied Celestia continued, "I am also given to understand that there are still survivors of an attack on this village. Kill them as well, we cannot allow them to spread dissent and chaos of this attack." Looking over each of her guards to see if anypony was having second thoughts came up with a determined look on each ponies face. She smiled slightly. She had chosen well. "Your orders have been assigned, I will join you shortly after. Contain anything dark, or black, even if it is just a coat. Understood." She said.

A sharp salute came from all the ponies, their hooves raised in the air. In perfect sync they turned and marched out of the hall, and as soon as there was no roof above them they took flight in formation toward the village. Ponies on the ground pointed up in awe at the flight of guards above them, their armor glinting in the sunlight, unaware what their real job was...

Iron Shield saw a glinting in the distance, possibly that of royal armor. "Captain! Over there! Looks like Royal Guards!" He yelled at Fleet Wing who was inspecting a nearby body, Iron pointed at the glint catching Fleet's attention. Fleet Wings eyes widened and then saddened, but why he was sad Iron could not tell. "Are you okay captain?" Iron asked, concerned for his well being.

Fleet then turned to Iron looking on the verge of tears before saying, "I serve the princess." Fleet Wing hefted his spear into its small holster and charged at Iron. Iron quickly dodged out of the way, readying his own spear.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He yelled at Fleet who simply charged again. Iron made to dodge but could not as the pegasus as Fleet's spear dug into his armor, piercing it with the force of the blow. Iron let out a groan of pain as Fleet ripped the spear from him blood dripping of it. Iron held a hoof to the spot where Fleet's spear had penetrated, retreating backwards. Fleet charged him again, being stopped by a hatchet that was swung into his neck. Fleet gurgled and fell over his head almost separated from his neck, only being held together by the small amount of flesh that remained. Iron continued his retreat before collapsing from blood loss. His last view being that of the unicorn trying to drag him away before being cut down by more guards.

At least one traitor's dead. Why did this happen? Why Fleet? He thought, before trailing into the icy void that was death.

Corvix watched as the Royal Guards fought before the victor was killed by that unicorn, before both of them were killed by the Celestial Guard, a special unit that protects Princess Celestia. It appeared that they did more then just protect her. He stood from his perch on the cliff and switched to the purple pegasus, willing the shadow wings to hide. He was surprised when they obliged. It appeared that he was getting better at shifting his form. Taking one last look at the village, he took flight towards his new life...