Dark Fragments

Stark Kairos gazed over the burning buildings of Canterlot as the sun set on the horizon. The shattered windows, crumbling roads, the smoke rising above the clouds, all of these details pleased him.

'Glorious' he thought maliciously. The invasion he had started 4 months ago had been more successful than he had thought it would be. After he imprisoned Celestia and drained her powers, Canterlot fell quickly, along with Ponyville, Cloudsdale, and  Las Pegasus. He had hoped to capture the other princess, Luna, but she escaped. And Stark hasn't seen her since.

'Doesn't matter' he thought, 'everything is going as I planned, I just... need to find it'

He had created wraiths using Celestia's powers to help search for the artifact he started the invasion for.

'Once i have it, nothing can stop me.'

Stark's thoughts were interrupted. "Sir," said a voice from behind, "they're awake."

Stark turned around quickly and saw his close friend, Lucid Coltmera. The stallion had piercing red eyes and a blue and black body, with a red and black mane. with his three horns (one unicorn horn, the other two were twisted spikes) and his wings folded at his sides, he looked fearsome.

"Lucid! It is nice to see you again, my old friend, how long has it been? 3 days? Man, that's a long time! What news have you brought for me?" asked Stark, delighted to see his friend again.

"Um, they have escaped from the Island of Dreams," Lucid replied, "It happened about ten minutes ago."

"Who? Oh, the ones from the Alliance! It's about time, it was getting very boring without a challenge. Where are they now?" Stark asked.

"But sir, they will start to delay our mission as they did before they were sent to the island." Lucid said, ignoring his question.

"That doesn't matter, They can't make up for the time they lost. More of Equestria is falling under my rule as we speak! It's not like they can take back four cities in a matter of days, now is it? Stop worrying, Lucid, lighten up, and enjoy the battles we are able to participate in. Or at least, the battles I get to experience, you just stand back and mess with illusions and nightmares. But, that makes you a very valuable asset."

"But can't you just use your power to defeat everyone? You have the power to level Equestria, and the rest of this world!" Lucid exclaimed.

"But that would ruin the fun of killing. I want to be able to feel my knives slash through the necks of my enemies. I want to feel their blood on my hooves. There is no fun in just killing everyone with magic. Now, answer my question: where are they now?" Stark was getting impatient.

Lucid was slightly annoyed at Stark's tone of voice, but answered in a calm manner, "They are currently in the middle of the battle south of Las Pegasus, you might be able to find them if you head there now."

Stark smiled wickedly,"Good, good, and what did you make them experience on the Island of Dreams? Spiders, monsters, torture? I want to know."

Lucid paused for a moment,"... Only the worst nightmare imaginable: the feeling of isolation, and not remembering a single thing about who you are, I felt it was appropriate for them."

The smile on Stark's face vanished. "Hmmm, not the kind of nightmare i would've wanted for them, but as long as they suffered, I'm fine about it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to speak with our... Friend." and with that, Stark walked into the castle.

Lucid let out a sigh of relief. 'That was close' he thought, and looked over the burning city.

'Everything is going as planned'

***************************

Princess Celestia sat in a cell in the dungeons of her own castle. With her eyes closed, she tried to gain some of her power back. She felt weak after being defeated by Stark Kairos. Celestia chuckled to herself; he had only defeated her because she was still trying to recover from her encounter with the changeling queen. She has been sitting in this cell for four months, with very little food and water. She was constantly using the energy she gained just to keep herself alive. How could this happen to her?

'He caught me completely off guard' she thought bitterly. 'He walked in, disguised as one of my personal guards, stole my remaining power, and escorted me to the dungeons. A simple yet effective plan, that i should've foreseen.'

"Good evening, Princess!" Celestia looked up to see Stark Kairos, standing on the other side of the iron bars that imprisoned her. "I see that you are still trying to recover your energy to escape. But, unfortunately for you, that can't be allowed." His horn glowed, and Celestia could feel her energy being sapped from her body. She squeezed her eyes closed, and her breathing got heavier. It took everything she had to keep herself from losing consciousness.

Stark laughed,"You always have a remarkable amount of energy within you, it has come in handy when I need to do some dirty work." Stark became slightly more serious, "It seems as though your so called 'rescuers' have escaped the Island of Dreams. And you know what that means; i get to start looking again. You're not the only one I have the pleasure of taking energy from."

"You won't get away with this, Stark!" Celestia said defiantly.

Stark laughed again, only this time it was a fake laugh, "Oh, but I already have. You say this every single time I come down here to have a simple chat with you." Stark frowned, "I really wish you and Lucid would lighten up a little and have some fun for a change. I guess i better go. You were never really fun to talk to anyways, and I feel I should pay a visit to my old enemies that have returned" Stark started to walk away.

" You won't be victorious. They will rescue me. They will save Equestria, and they will send you to the depths of Tartarus.You haven't seen what my subjects are capable of!" Celestia exclaimed.

Stark smiled, "They haven't seen what I'm capable of either." There was a flash of light, and Stark Kairos was gone.