The Maskby VortixChaptersThe BreachTake OverExplanationsBreatheInterrogationThe BreachStarswirl the Bearded sat at the table, cup of tea in hand, as he listened to the conversation in front of him. Said conversation was currently between Princess Celestia, his old student, and Twilight Sparkle, the purple alicorn that had freed both the Pillars and Stigian. He smiled slightly to himself as he sipped his tea. 'I taught her well.' He thought to himself. The current topic of the conversation was something to do with what to do with the returned Pillars, as they had been imprisoned for over one thousand years. Any family they had would be long dead, and while saddening, it did give them a chance to live an actual life other then the hell they had experienced fighting Stigian constantly, never aging or winning the battle. He frowned as an old memory began to resurface at the mention of one thousand years. What exactly it was though, he couldn't place it. Getting up and excusing himself, he walked out, racking his old brain for this seemingly important memory. He suddenly stopped, eyes widening in horror and fear. 'No' He thought, stepping back before turning around, running toward the balcony. Reaching it, he charged his horn, preparing a spell that he hadn't had to do for years. Hopefully he wouldn't be too late... _________ Meanwhile, an alternate Earth... _________ The ruins of Auckland lay around him, a once sprawling city reduced to rubble. He walked through it, kicking small pieces of rubble out of his path. After countless years, this was the best he could get out of this world, what with almost everybody dead. It was quite boring in fact, but it wasn't like he had a choice. Yep, he was stuck on this godforsaken rock. He spotted a decrepit restaurant, looking more intact then the rest. Shrugging he walks over, the smell of dead bodies failing to penetrate his gas mask. He remembered when he wasn't like this. Back when he was just normal like the rest of them, until that one day. He didn't even remember his own name, having no need for it if there was no one to talk to. He had been lonely for quite some time, the seals on the planet, still imprisoning him here, forever cursed to wander the wastes. Looking up a faint glimmer catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning towards it he gazed up at the source of the light, revealing a purple glowing crack. Curious he watched as it began to spread, slowly but surely until the light from the cracks all combined caused him to shield his eyes. As he did, he began the process of flying up towards the cracks, their intensity increasing as he approached. Now almost at the original crack he reached forward, his gloved fingers lightly touching it. An explosion shook the world as he felt himself launched back, only managing to stop his fall by teleporting quickly down to the floor. He watched in shock as the cracks expanded, covering the entire sky before a sound like glass shattering boomed across the Earth. A weight in his chest was lifted, like an anchor around his heart had been cut loose. His eyes widened behind the gas mask, as he realized what had just happened. The seals were broken, their accursed enchantments no longer affecting him. Flying up he reached the point on which the barrier usually rested. Cautiously reaching a hand forward he came on nothing but thin air. Waving it back and forth through the no longer existing prison, he smiled in glee. Free. He was finally free. Memories came flooding back to him, each one broken and shattered, yet there was one memory that stayed strong. He grit his teeth in anger and rage, as he looked up to the approximate position of that fucking planet. 'Equis.' He thought, beginning to shake with rage. He was cut off though as what looked like a blue wave came from the position of Equis, causing him to tilt his head in curiosity. What was that? Why was it coming at him? And why did it feel so familia- Oh. So they want me back in there? Like fuck that was gonna happen. _________ Twilight froze mid word as a huge burst of magic from the castle came, bringing all the unicorns in the room to avert their attention to the burst. Getting up she sprinted out the room. 'How was there that much magic, the only one who can have that much magic other than I and Celestia is...Starswirl.' She thinks in panic, as she locates the source soon enough, finding the bearded wizard himself, standing on the balcony, a large blue beam streaming out of his horn. He was clearly struggling however, sweat pouring down his face staining the blue wizard robe. "Starswirl!" She yelled, causing Starswirl's eyes to flick to her before flicking back to whatever he was shooting at in horror. A visible shockwave shot down the beam into Starswirls horn, pushing him back slightly. The shockwaves increased in speed and intensity, as Twilight could only watch in confusion. Snapping out of her trance she rushed to his side, bracing him as another shockwave shot down. "Starswirl! What's going on!" She yelled, grunting as another shockwave pushed both back more. "Twilight!" He yelled, struggling to speak from the amount of pressure building on his horn. "I need help!" He managed to get out as another shockwave pushed them back even more. Seeing the look of desperation on his face, Twilight complied, charging a support spell before shooting it into Starswirl's horn. She gasped as she felt something pushing against his magical beam, sending it's own blasts towards them. What was this thing? She thought to herself as she soon began struggling as much as Starswirl, her horn aching from the amount of sheer magic she was putting into her support spell now. Another shockwave came again this one being stronger then the others, sending her and Starswirl into the stone floor of the balcony. Her support spell fizzled out as Starswirl lost focus, cancelling out the spell. "Oh no." He said, looking up in fear and horror as a yellow ball of fire appeared in the sky, heading straight toward Canterlot. Confused, Twilight crawled over to Starswirl, tapping him on the shoulder causing him to jump. "What was that?" She asked, her voice mixed with curiosity and fear at the sheer power of...whatever they were fighting against. Before he could answer though, the door to the balcony slammed open, revealing a panting Celestia and Twilight's friends. A look of worry and relief came over her face as she spotted the pair on the balcony. Her gaze then drifted upwards towards the ever growing ball of fire headed towars them, eye's widening in shock. Before anyone could do anything to explain or ask questions, a golden aura surrounded everyone, bringing them tightly against Celestia as she stepped back into the hallway, a shield was summoned around them. Just in time too, as the meteor suddenly crashed into the balcony sending dust flying everywhere as it coated the shield, and hall around them. Opening her eyes, Twilight watched as a figure from the balcony, that should have been destroyed, stood. "I'm back fuckers." Author's Note Sorry that pacing is weird, I honestly just wrote this one cause it was an idea. Take OverHe had failed. The one thing he could have prevented, and he had neglected it. They were all doomed now. Shaking in fear he shrunk back even more into Celestia's shield. He had let Stygian turn into the Pony of Shadows, and every other monster he had tryed to seal away had returned in one way or another, endangering even more lives then back then. And the one monster he could have prevented coming back had returned. The last order he had gotten as an apprentice was to keep it sealed. And he failed. What sort of archmage was he that couldn't keep monsters at bay. Who was he kidding, he had failed in almost every aspect of his career, even if they were slow failures. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear the thoughts he looked back up to the monster, not even noticing he had been looking at the ground in the first place. They needed the Elements of Harmony... _________ Rage was all he felt at the moment, with a bit of murderous glee mixed in at his chance for revenge against them. Glancing over them all, he studied their magical signature before staring at the old pony on the ground, a star covered cape around him. He was the one who tried to trap him. Him and the purple one. His rage boiled to the brinking point as he clenched his fists. They would all die. Everything on this damn planet would feel the pain he felt over the course of a millenia. No one would be spared. But now it was time to make his captors pay... _________ Celestia stood firm, eyeing the monster in front of her up and down. In truth she had no idea what this thing was, but reasoned that it had to be a monster if Starswirl had tried to keep it sealed up. In truth it's whole visage was creepily scary, like the fact that there was no visible skin on the creature, with a mysterious mask covering it's face. It's gaze creeped over all of them, lingering on Celestia for the fraction of a second before continuing. It was when it's gaze landed on Starswirl and Twilight that it reacted. It's fists immediately clenched, a feeling of pure rage basically radiating off of it. In truth the amount of anger it had scared her, yet she couldn't be now. She had to protect her ponies. "What are you creature?" She said in an attempt to sound intimidating. The creatures glare flicked to her, long buried instincts screaming at her to flee from it. Gulping, she summoned a sword in her hand, not having to do so for hundreds of years. The creature suddenly shot towards her, drawing it's machete. Reacting quickly she brought up her sword, eyes widening as it smashed through her shield, swinging it's machete. The blades clashed, Celestia grunting from the sheer force behind it. Teleporting behind it she slashed down, only to meet thin air. Turning around she once again brought her sword against the monsters blade. "Get to the Elements!" She yelled behind her, spurring the shocked crowd into action as they sprinted out. Unfortunately this changing of focus left her guard down for a split second and a red glow was her only warning before being sent flying into the wall behind. Gasping for air, she shakily stood back up to face her opponent, grimacing from the searing pain in her stomach. The monster charged again, not giving her a moment of rest, as it's free hand started glowing red. She had to attack first. Shooting a stunning spell, she shot forward, aiming to take advantage of her foes confusion. She didn't get to though, as instead of temporarily blinding her foe, it was unfazed as it continued it's charge. As they both charged the monster suddenly went low, headbutting Celestia's stomach and wrapping it's arms around her waist before promptly using her as a battering ram to breach the wall. Breath rushing out of her lungs Celestia was helpless as it continued to bust through the walls. Finally it stopped before throwing her down a completely different hallway. Struggling to breathe, she sat up with the support of her arms, a terrible pain signalling several broken bones. She was losing. It didn't matter though, she just had to hold it off long enough for the Elements to banish it. It was at this point that she noticed the dozen or so shocked guards surrounding them, looking form the creature to her, then back to the creature again. It also seemed that the creature noticed them, head turning ever so slightly to look at each one of them. "Protect the Princess!" One of them yelled before charging at the monster, spear raised. She didn't have time to shout at him to stop, as a bolt of lightning shot from the creatures hand, penetrating the guards armor with ease and exiting out the other side. Shocked, the guard looked at the now gaping hole in his chest before falling backwards, his spear dropping to the ground. "Die you bastard!" Another screamed in anger, charging forward before meeting the same fate as his fallen comrade. She could only watch in horror as the other guards followed suit. She just couldn't stop it though, her body being broken and worn. She couldn't even order them to stop. Soon tears flowed down her face at the prospect of not being able stop this thing from killing her little ponies. She had failed them as a protector. She had realized this some time ago, with the Elements of Harmony having to step in and save them from certain doom. Eyes blurry from the tears, she noticed that the screams of the dying guards had dissipated, leaving only the sounds of her sobbing. The monster than slowly walked toward her, the colour of red visible on it's once grey clothing. It stopped in front of her, looking through the lenses on it's mask right at her. Wiping away the tears, she then saw something she hadn't seen before. Eyes. This creature had a pair of eyes beyond the mask, and they were staring right at her. Another thing she noticed was the pure rage and malice visible in it's eyes. It was so intense that she shivered slightly. "Now you know my pain." It said, shocking Celestia. She knew it's pain? What did that mean. "But that is not enough. I need to find the one who imprisoned me." It continued before a hand shot around her neck, squeezing tightly. She would have struggled but she knew the futility of it. Lifting her up until her feet were dangling just above the floor, it continued to stare at her. "Where is Sombra..." _________ Twilight gasped as she rounded the corner to find a bloodbath. Strewn across the halls was the bodies of dozens of guards, each with a multitude of wounds, their blood coating the corridor. The faint sound of vomiting came from behind her yet she paid it no mind, her main focus being on the pair in the centre of it. There, held in the air by the monster, was Princess Celestia, blood dripping down her form, whether it was hers or not was unknown though. Her gasp caused both heads to whip around to her, Celestia looking to be in physical pain from doing so. They had to act now, or else more would die. "In the name of Friendship and Harmony we will strike you down!" She yelled shakily, activating her Element, sensing the others doing so as well. The monster then threw Celestia against the wall, eliciting a scream of pain from the solar diarch. Slowly her eyes filled with white, blinding her vision. Yet it wasn't uncomfortable, in fact it was quite the opposite. It felt...reassuring, like she was doing the right thing. But something was wrong. A faint red blot was pulsing in the centre of the white, and she could feel something pushing against her. It was fighting back. Despite the fact that they were winning against the monster it was still quite worrying that it had the power to resist Harmony. Thankfully however, it slowly decreased before an earsplitting scream sounded shocking her and the others. As the white cleared from her vision, she spotted nothing except for the creatures strange mask on the floor where it stood. Then there was the other matter to attend to. Turning around she spotted her target, walking towards the disheveled looking wizard. "Starswirl, we need to talk." Author's Note honestly a bit skeptical of the quality of the chapter so please point out any continuity errors or mistakes I may have made ExplanationsEveryone had assembled in the throne room, including Princess Luna who was sitting on her designated throne. The Elements stood just in front of her, facing the wizard in front of them with mixed expressions. Twilight had a combination of suspicion and curiosity, questions begging to get out of her head. Fluttershy was hiding behind her long head of hair, stroking it shyly but glancing up every now and then. Applejack shared the same suspicious curious look as Twilight although leaning a bit more towards suspicion. Pinkie Pie simply stared straight ahead, her once poofy mane deflated severely, the images of those dead guards still fresh in her mind, with hwe seemingly being the only one bothered by their deaths apart from Rarity. Then there was Rainbow Dash who seemed the most hostile out of all of them, glaring at Starswirl as if he had caused this whole situation. Rarity looked like she was about to pass out, her face turning slightly green as well. The only notable absence was Princess Celestia who currently resided in the hospital, her wounds being the most severe from the battle. "Well Starswirl, I think it is time we got some answers." Luna said, the serious look never leaving her face. Gulping, Starswirl sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, sweating visibly, "W-Well, I can tell you what I know." He said, confusing Twilight greatly. What he knew? Surely he was the one who had sealed the monster away and knew what exactly it was. "And no, I was not the one to originally seal him away. That achievment goes to my teacher." He said, sensing Twilight's question. "But we'll get to that later." He said dismissively, halting Twilight's questions which had now reached critical mass. Taking a deep breath, Starswirl began to explain, "As far as I can tell and remember, this creature is a god that once ruled over these lands thousands of years ago, back when ponies were only just starting to civilise. After a while, the ponies began to form their own nations, bringing about the age of feudalism. I can't remember exactly how it started, but I do know that one of the pony nations ended up annexing the creatures land. What happened next was...horrible." He paused, shivering slightly at the memory of not what had happened, but what they had found. "Every living being in the nation died overnight, with every city that belonged to them had been razed, their populations exterminated. That was over 10,000 ponies." He paused once again, still shaking, the others looking at him in shock, expressions of horror on their faces, "I personally saw the damage when I was travelling with my teacher. It was...terrible. At that moment, my teacher swore to avenge the ponies that had died. So he made it his mission to defeat the creature, locking himself in his tower for weeks at a time. "Until finally he had found a way. A way to banish the creature. Send him so far away from Equis that he wouldn't be able to harm anypony again. Unfortunately he couldn't do it alone so he asked every other nation to assist him. And in that moment, the first sense of unity among ponykind was felt. No longer were they bickering among themselves over land, but were united against a terrible threat. And so, each nation raised their armies while sending their best mages to assist my teacher. And so they marched to the creature, ready to end it once and for all. What followed was the bloodiest battle in pony history. It went by many names, but in these now modern times it is most commonly known as the 'Battle of Charnon.'" This elicited a round of gasps from everyone assembled. "But that doesn't make sense, the Battle of Charnon was against the Kingdom of Griffonstone, every history book says so. Heck, even griffon blades and armor were found at the battlefield. If it was this monster then there would have been an entire book dedicated to it!" Twilight said, throwing her hands into the air in disbelief. "You have one thing right Twilight, there were griffons there." Starswirl said, once again confusing Twilight, "But theay weren't Griffonstonian troops. No, they were the subjects of the creature, and were also fanatic loyalists. In fact, they were the most brutal fighters I have ever encountered, managing to take down ten ponies for each one of their own. It was a miracle we won in the first place." He said, sounding both relieved at the ponies victory and terrified at the memory of the griffons. "Moving on, my teacher had gathered every mage in the land, and led them against the creature. In reality he only needed five to succesfully cast the spell, however said spell took time. A lot of time. What followed was the greatest loss to unicorns yet. It eventually came down to the unicorns having to throw themselves at it to slow it down. Thankfully, after what seemed like an eternity, my teacher cast the spell, banishing him to another planet entirely. After his banishment, the griffons were expected to surrender. However they ended fighting more ferociously then ever, continuing to fight until they had drawn their last breath." He ended, a sad look on his face. After a while of silence however, his eyes perked up a look that seemed as if he had thought of the greatest idea ever, "You mentioned how Discord is now reformed right?" He said, pointing at Fluttershy, who shrunk back slightly at the sudden attention but nodded nonetheless. "Well if so, then he is possibly the only other creature alive who can tell us more. After all, he was alive during that period." He said triumphantly, garnering nods from the ponies assembled. Luna, who had been silent during the whole ordeal suddenly stood up, pointing her finger into the air in a decisive way, "It is decided then. We shall go to Discord and get more information from him. " She said in a way that said there was no arguing about it. And it wasn't like anyone could, considering it was her sister that had been gravely wounded by the creature. Looking at Fluttershy with a stare that could stop a rolling boulder in it's tracks, "You will take us to Discord now." She said. Fluttershy continued to shrink back but nodded once again, beginning to walk out of the door, everyone following her As they were walking through the once pristine corridors that now had either their walls knocked down or several large cracks in them Twilight took this moment to ask a question that had been bugging her, "Who exactly was your teacher?" She asked, the look of curiosity overtaking the shaken one that had been on her face sense he had started talking of Charnon. Starswirl chuckled, as if reminiscing something, "I doubt you would have heard of him, he was quite the reclusive old mage." His happy look was suddenly replaced by a thoughtful one. "I never really heard what happened to him. He just sort of, disappeared a few weeks after the battle, saying he was heading to the Frozen North to investigate something about crystals or something like that." Twilight placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder upon seeing the saddened look on his face. "I'm sorry to hear that. Could I ask his name?" The smile returned to Starswirl, reminiscing again. "Sombra. Sombra Darkshade." The last thing he saw was a purple bolt of magic hitting him square in the face. Author's Note I have absolutely no idea what sort of shit I'm writing BreatheHe lay on the ground, every inch of his body aching as if he had been thrown to the moon and back. Groaning he-couldn't groan. Eyes widening he tried to say something, anything. He tried to breath in. He couldn't. Attempting to gasp he scrambled to his knees before face planting into the cold stone floor. Reaching behind him, he moved his hand everywhere, trying to locate his bag. His hand landed on the cool leather, calming him ever so slightly. That sliver of calmness disappeared however, when his vision began to fade, encouraging him to hurry up. Fumbling witht he strap, he eventually got it open, grabbing the mask hidden inside. Acting quickly he placed it on his face, not even bothering with the straps. He needed to breath. As the mask touched his skin the ventilators immediately got to work, pumping the fresh, much needed air into his lungs. He lay on the ground for a moment,closing his eyes while simply taking deep breathes to try to calm himself. After what seemed like hours yet was only a few minutes, he placed the straps behind his head, securing the mask to his face. looking around he noticed that he was in what appeared to be a large cave, a small pool of water positioned in the centre of it. Standing up, he winced at the pain coming from his arms and legs. Limping over to the pool he looked down into it, his vaguely familiar form in the reflection. Vaguely, due to the fact that the dust that had coated his clothes had disappeared, most likely due to the sheer force of the blast he had sustained. The blast. Rage entered his eyes as he screamed, shooting a red bolt into the side of the cavern, making a large crater in it, and also causing a few of the stalagmites to come crashing off the roof and it the hard floor, shattering on contact. He roared at this accursed world, echoing down the long halls of the cave. Still growling he walked over to the pool, ripples revebrating over it from the quakes he had caused. He stopped at the edge of it looking down into the clear water as it simply lay there calmly, seemingly unaware of the danger hovering above it. His reflection stared back at him, almost judgementally, as it frowned at him. For the first time in centuries he really looked at his appearance. He had ragged black hair, dirt coating it from years of being neglected. Next was his dark black eyes that had seen more things he would have cared for. He then had his mask, being different from his other one, with the top half of his face being left completely exposed. The mask he currently wore was his backup in case he somehow lost his old mask or it was destroyed. His hoodie had also remained the simple grey colour, despite the copious amounts of dust that had coated it before. His gaze flicked to the machete at his side, touching it with a hand as if to reassure it was there. Where had it all gone wrong. Things had been great. He was the ruler of a country, with thousands of loyal subjects that loved and worshipped him. He had friends. He had family. "I will kill those god damn ponies." He quickly hid behind a corner as it turned in his direction, that terrifying rage still present in those eyes. He held his breathe, only peeking around the corner to see if his attention had diverted. It was Now pacing around, muttering to itself. Taking his chance he shot to the entrance of the cave, flapping his wings lightly so as to gain speed yet not alert it. No one was going to believe this. King Guto sat on his throne, rubbing his temples with a claw as he read the latest financial report. The kingdom's debt had almost tripled in the last month, and poverty going to all new heights. He couldn't remember a time when the kingdom wasn't expperiencing economic collapse. His eyes flicked to the document located on his arm rest, detailing a proposal from Equestria to provide economic aid by using their pegasi to alter the weather. He should accept. But he couldn't. He had seen what the Equestrians had done to the Crystal Ponies. They had become completely reliant on the Equestrian pegasi, putting their economy in a stranglehold. He wasn't sure if the Equestrians even realized this, with all their preaching about friendship and harmony, it was hard to not trust them. Sighing he stood up, alerting his almost sleeping guards as they shot to attention, a serious look painting their faces. Looking to both of them, he walked to a nearby window, looking down at the shamble that was his kingdom. The once proud eyries that dotted the mountain had fallen into disarray, so much so that they were in no way habitable for anyone. The doors to his throne room slammed open, snapping his attention towards it. Standing in the entrance was a panting griffon, his light leather armor naming him to be a scout. His guards acted immediately rushing over to the griffon. It was clear he had flown quite a way. His eyes looked up, scanning the room before landing on Guto, "My king!" He said, making to move forwards only to fall flat on his face. Groaning, he stood up with the help of the guards, panting for a bit more before continuing, "My king." He repeated, managing a tired bow, "We have a...situation." He said, tapping his claws together nervously. Guto raised an eyebrow, "Worse than the one we have currently?" He replied jokingly. The scout gulped, extremely uncomfortable with how calm and relaxed his king was, "Well, while I was scouting around, I happened upon a cave. When I entered the cave to rest, there was...something else in there. I couldn't tell what it was saying exactly, but it used magic to blow a hole in the cave wall." He explained, unsure of how exactly to tell his king what he had seen. Guto stroked his chin in thought, "So it was a unicorn?" He guessed, blinking in shock when the scout shook his head in response. "That's the thing, it didn't have a horn and it still used magic." The scout said. Guto hummed in thought. A creature that could use magic yet didn't have a horn was unheard of. He turned around, walking towards the door that was situated beside his throne, still stroking his chin. He had a hunch, but was extremely doubtful. Not even bothering to turn back, he gestured for the scout to follow. He would need him. Moving through the door, he continued past the familiar dusty halls that hadn't been used for maybe ten years, multiple cobwebs calling the crevices in the stone home. Hurrying on, he opened another door at the end, the hinges creaking from unuse. The room beyond was a grand library, with shelves reaching almost ten times their height, books that contained knowledge that many thought lost lining them. Guto ignored all this and instead continued straight on, this time to a dull metal door. Opening this, a much less grand sight was beholden unto Guto, being that of a dark room, with much less impressive bookshelves. There was also multiple different display cases, the items they held not being visible from Guto's point of view. Turning back he hurried the gawking scout inside, shutting the door securely behind him. The scouts gawking immediately turned to confused nervousness as he looked at the much more disturbing room, the only light coming from a single candle in front of them. Walking to one of the shelves, Guto grabbed a particularly dusty book, opening it to reveal it's contents. Peering over the king's shoulder the cout could just barely make out 'The Great War.' on the first page, the author's name being smudged away. The king continued to flip through the book, showing several pictures that depicted battles yet were too smudged to discern exactly what was happening. Then he turned the page again. The creature he had seen in the cave was on one side, a strange sword in one hand, while being flanked by griffons dressed in black armor, each with their own swords. On the other side was a large group of ponies of all races, except instead of the similar unifroms the griffons had they wore a multitude of different armor, ranging from metal to leather, green to red, and even axe to bow. The were both charging at each other, marking it as a great battle. Guto noticed his attention and frowned. He pointed at the creature leading the charge, "Is this the creature you saw?" HE asked, silently hoping that he would say no. His hopes were crushed, throne into the garbage, than set on fire when the scout nodded. He was back. Guto silently closed the book, walking out of the room calmly, ignoring the confused scout. While he had an aura of calmness around him he was panicking massively inside. Despite this he managed to continue out to the throne room, sitting down on his throne as his guards went back to their positions on either side of him. The scout followed him out soon after, stopping in front of Guto. "Tell me where is this cave you speak of." Guto said, still struggling to stay calm. "It was just over the Arahno Ridge my king." He said, pointing out the window towards the ridge he spoke of. Guto sighed, sinking farther into his throne, "We are so fucked." Author's Note Just went into lockdown so you can expect chapters to come out like once a month. An improvement over one chapter every three months if I do say so my self. InterrogationStarswirl blearily opened his eyes, his vision blurry from being attacked. What had happened? One minute he had been talking to Twilight, the next she had smashed him in the nose with magic. Looking around as he blinked his lack of vision away, he attempted to rub it away with his hands only to be stopped by a tightened rope around his wrists that held his ahands hostage behind his back. Frowning he looked back at said rope, igniting his horn to undo it. Instead however, an aching pain shot throughout his horn, causing him to wince back in pain. So they had blocked his magic. Yet the question still remained. Why? Looking around he noticed that he was in a dark room the only visible source of light being a single light over a bland steel table. He looked down at his legs, having nowhere else to look, as he sighed. At least they had let him keep his clothes. Twilight looked out of the invisible window at the old wizard, a conflicted frown on his face. The conflict ended immediately when she remebered why he was in there. He had been trained by Sombra himself, and was clearly unbothered by it. Either he really didn't care that he was trained by one of the greatest villains Equestria had ever seen, or less likely, he simply wasn't aware of just how evil his teacher was. She was doubtful about the second one though, considering you would have to live under a literal rock to not hear about the tyrranical King Sombra and his brutal enslavement of the crystal ponies. "It is alright Twilight, I'm sure he will come clean." Luna said from behind her, placing a reassuring hand on Twilight's shoulder. Looking back over she smiled in thanks, "Thanks Luna." She said before turning into a troubled frown, "But I'm afraid I have doubts about him now. How can anyone trust him if he was trained by Sombra?" She continued, still slightly distressed at the recent revelation. Luna nodded sagely, " I understand Twilight but you must remember, Starswirl has saved Equestria more times than anyone can count. Don't you think if he wanted to follow in his masters footsteps he would have done so by now?" She reasoned, slightly brightening Twilight's thinking. She sighed dejectedly, "I guess you're right Luna." Twilight explained, "But I just can't look at him the same anymore. I adored him as a child and an adult, yet I don't think I can go back to that now." She admitted. Luna sighed at that. "Me too Twilight. Me too..." An invisible door opened somewhere in the darkness, followed by the footsteps approaching closer. The owner of the footsteps than came into view in the form of Twilight, the very one that had blasted him in the face. She walked into the light, taking a seat in the chair opposite him on the other side of the table. There was definitely some explaining to do. Before Starswirl could ask his questions however, Twilight spoke first. "What was your affiliation with King Sombra?" She said, a stoney expression on her face as she said it. Starswirl tilted his head in confusion, "King?" He said, unaware that his master was royalty. Twilight blinked at that for some reason before returning to her stoney expression, not a single emotion getting through, "Yes. King Sombra." She said, the second option becoming more and more reasonable. Starswirl shook his head, "Terribly sorry Twilight, I was not aware of his royalty. Tell me, what exactly was he king of?" He inquired, bringing out another blink of pure shock. "The Crystal Empire." She practically mumbled out as she continued to stare in shock. Starswirl frowned at that, "Tell me, if he was the leader of the Crystal Empire wouldn't he have been emperor instead?" He pointed out, unfortunately passing through one ear and out the other of the confused purple alicorn. "You really don't know do you?" She said, leaning over the table slightly, using her elbows to hold herself up. Starswirl raised his eyebrow at that, "What I don't know is why exactly you blasted me in the face with magic." He replied curtly. Twilight sighed in what seemed like relief, "So you don't know do you." She stated again, confusing Starswirl even more than he already was. Befoer Starswirl could press further Twilight's horn glowed, the rope around his wrists loosening before falling to the cold metal floor. She than stood up, beckoning Starswirl to do the same. And do that he did as he followed her towards the shrouded door in the darkness, opening it to reveal a smiling Princess Luna. Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration Starswirl spoke up, "So why exactly was I knocked unconscious, tied up, and interrogated?" He demanded, eyes narrowing accusingly at Twilight and Luna who were now both smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about that, it was just a precaution." Twilight explained, however only left Starswirl with another question. "A precaution against what?!" He said again, practically shouting this time. Twilight sighed, "You may want to sit down for this." "This doesn't make any sense." Starswirl said, Head in his hands as he sat in their new location of a spare living room Luna had. Twilight had spent the last hour explaining the events of King Sombra and the Crystal Empire. Apparently Sombra had appeared out of the blue and taken it over for no rhyme or reason, "Sombra would never do any of this." He pleaded, more to himself if anyone. Twilight placed a sympathetic hand on Starswirls shoulder, "I am afraid that whatever Sombra you knew is long gone." Starswirl, shook his head, trying to deny it but failing. Sombra, his oldest friend and teacher was long gone, being replaced by the apparent corrupted version of him. "Tell me, what happened to the other nations in the Frozen North? From what I've heard they simply don't exist anymore." He asked, remembering visting a couple of the kingdoms and principalities there. It was Luna that sighed and explained this time, "When Sombra came to power he set about expanding the Crystal Empire. Unfortunately in doing so he destroyed all the protective barriers that had been set up around these nations. What followed was known among the crystal ponies as 'The Great Freeze' In which the crystal pony population in the frozen north was halved from the amount of death and cold there was." Starswirl closed his eyes, focusing his willpower to try and form coherent thoughts. With a reaffirming nod he stood up and anounced his plan, "I am going to the Frozen North." Luna and Twilight stared at him in shock, yet couldn't get a word out before he continued. "I plan to find out what caused my teacher to be corrupted and see if I can cure it." He explained, making both of the alicorn's jaws drop. "You can't do that!" Twilight was the first to speak up, staring at Starswirl in disbelief, "If Sombra was as powerful as you said he was when he was uncorrupted than you won't stand a chance!" She shouted, frantically trying to deter Starswirls plan. Starswirl responded by holding up a hand to silence her, "If I don't do this I can never rest peacefully. Plus even if I do get corrupted I'll use this." He said, holding up a green vial he had pulled from his pocket. Twilight stammered away, attempting to find anyway to stop him from going that wasn't violence. She stopped as Luna's hand fell to her shoulder for the second time that day. Looking into Luna's eyes she saw the exact opposite of what she wanted to see. Luna agreed with Starswirl. Sighing Twilight walked toward Starswirl, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Make it back safe. The world needs more heroes like you." She said, pulling Starswirl into a hug that he returned. Releasing him, she watched as he exited the room, no doubt to find a train to the Crystal Empire. "I hope you find what you're looking for." She uttered out as he rounded the corner... Author's Note Why do the call it a carrot and not a long orange?
The BreachStarswirl the Bearded sat at the table, cup of tea in hand, as he listened to the conversation in front of him. Said conversation was currently between Princess Celestia, his old student, and Twilight Sparkle, the purple alicorn that had freed both the Pillars and Stigian. He smiled slightly to himself as he sipped his tea. 'I taught her well.' He thought to himself. The current topic of the conversation was something to do with what to do with the returned Pillars, as they had been imprisoned for over one thousand years. Any family they had would be long dead, and while saddening, it did give them a chance to live an actual life other then the hell they had experienced fighting Stigian constantly, never aging or winning the battle. He frowned as an old memory began to resurface at the mention of one thousand years. What exactly it was though, he couldn't place it. Getting up and excusing himself, he walked out, racking his old brain for this seemingly important memory. He suddenly stopped, eyes widening in horror and fear. 'No' He thought, stepping back before turning around, running toward the balcony. Reaching it, he charged his horn, preparing a spell that he hadn't had to do for years. Hopefully he wouldn't be too late... _________ Meanwhile, an alternate Earth... _________ The ruins of Auckland lay around him, a once sprawling city reduced to rubble. He walked through it, kicking small pieces of rubble out of his path. After countless years, this was the best he could get out of this world, what with almost everybody dead. It was quite boring in fact, but it wasn't like he had a choice. Yep, he was stuck on this godforsaken rock. He spotted a decrepit restaurant, looking more intact then the rest. Shrugging he walks over, the smell of dead bodies failing to penetrate his gas mask. He remembered when he wasn't like this. Back when he was just normal like the rest of them, until that one day. He didn't even remember his own name, having no need for it if there was no one to talk to. He had been lonely for quite some time, the seals on the planet, still imprisoning him here, forever cursed to wander the wastes. Looking up a faint glimmer catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning towards it he gazed up at the source of the light, revealing a purple glowing crack. Curious he watched as it began to spread, slowly but surely until the light from the cracks all combined caused him to shield his eyes. As he did, he began the process of flying up towards the cracks, their intensity increasing as he approached. Now almost at the original crack he reached forward, his gloved fingers lightly touching it. An explosion shook the world as he felt himself launched back, only managing to stop his fall by teleporting quickly down to the floor. He watched in shock as the cracks expanded, covering the entire sky before a sound like glass shattering boomed across the Earth. A weight in his chest was lifted, like an anchor around his heart had been cut loose. His eyes widened behind the gas mask, as he realized what had just happened. The seals were broken, their accursed enchantments no longer affecting him. Flying up he reached the point on which the barrier usually rested. Cautiously reaching a hand forward he came on nothing but thin air. Waving it back and forth through the no longer existing prison, he smiled in glee. Free. He was finally free. Memories came flooding back to him, each one broken and shattered, yet there was one memory that stayed strong. He grit his teeth in anger and rage, as he looked up to the approximate position of that fucking planet. 'Equis.' He thought, beginning to shake with rage. He was cut off though as what looked like a blue wave came from the position of Equis, causing him to tilt his head in curiosity. What was that? Why was it coming at him? And why did it feel so familia- Oh. So they want me back in there? Like fuck that was gonna happen. _________ Twilight froze mid word as a huge burst of magic from the castle came, bringing all the unicorns in the room to avert their attention to the burst. Getting up she sprinted out the room. 'How was there that much magic, the only one who can have that much magic other than I and Celestia is...Starswirl.' She thinks in panic, as she locates the source soon enough, finding the bearded wizard himself, standing on the balcony, a large blue beam streaming out of his horn. He was clearly struggling however, sweat pouring down his face staining the blue wizard robe. "Starswirl!" She yelled, causing Starswirl's eyes to flick to her before flicking back to whatever he was shooting at in horror. A visible shockwave shot down the beam into Starswirls horn, pushing him back slightly. The shockwaves increased in speed and intensity, as Twilight could only watch in confusion. Snapping out of her trance she rushed to his side, bracing him as another shockwave shot down. "Starswirl! What's going on!" She yelled, grunting as another shockwave pushed both back more. "Twilight!" He yelled, struggling to speak from the amount of pressure building on his horn. "I need help!" He managed to get out as another shockwave pushed them back even more. Seeing the look of desperation on his face, Twilight complied, charging a support spell before shooting it into Starswirl's horn. She gasped as she felt something pushing against his magical beam, sending it's own blasts towards them. What was this thing? She thought to herself as she soon began struggling as much as Starswirl, her horn aching from the amount of sheer magic she was putting into her support spell now. Another shockwave came again this one being stronger then the others, sending her and Starswirl into the stone floor of the balcony. Her support spell fizzled out as Starswirl lost focus, cancelling out the spell. "Oh no." He said, looking up in fear and horror as a yellow ball of fire appeared in the sky, heading straight toward Canterlot. Confused, Twilight crawled over to Starswirl, tapping him on the shoulder causing him to jump. "What was that?" She asked, her voice mixed with curiosity and fear at the sheer power of...whatever they were fighting against. Before he could answer though, the door to the balcony slammed open, revealing a panting Celestia and Twilight's friends. A look of worry and relief came over her face as she spotted the pair on the balcony. Her gaze then drifted upwards towards the ever growing ball of fire headed towars them, eye's widening in shock. Before anyone could do anything to explain or ask questions, a golden aura surrounded everyone, bringing them tightly against Celestia as she stepped back into the hallway, a shield was summoned around them. Just in time too, as the meteor suddenly crashed into the balcony sending dust flying everywhere as it coated the shield, and hall around them. Opening her eyes, Twilight watched as a figure from the balcony, that should have been destroyed, stood. "I'm back fuckers." Author's Note Sorry that pacing is weird, I honestly just wrote this one cause it was an idea.
Take OverHe had failed. The one thing he could have prevented, and he had neglected it. They were all doomed now. Shaking in fear he shrunk back even more into Celestia's shield. He had let Stygian turn into the Pony of Shadows, and every other monster he had tryed to seal away had returned in one way or another, endangering even more lives then back then. And the one monster he could have prevented coming back had returned. The last order he had gotten as an apprentice was to keep it sealed. And he failed. What sort of archmage was he that couldn't keep monsters at bay. Who was he kidding, he had failed in almost every aspect of his career, even if they were slow failures. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear the thoughts he looked back up to the monster, not even noticing he had been looking at the ground in the first place. They needed the Elements of Harmony... _________ Rage was all he felt at the moment, with a bit of murderous glee mixed in at his chance for revenge against them. Glancing over them all, he studied their magical signature before staring at the old pony on the ground, a star covered cape around him. He was the one who tried to trap him. Him and the purple one. His rage boiled to the brinking point as he clenched his fists. They would all die. Everything on this damn planet would feel the pain he felt over the course of a millenia. No one would be spared. But now it was time to make his captors pay... _________ Celestia stood firm, eyeing the monster in front of her up and down. In truth she had no idea what this thing was, but reasoned that it had to be a monster if Starswirl had tried to keep it sealed up. In truth it's whole visage was creepily scary, like the fact that there was no visible skin on the creature, with a mysterious mask covering it's face. It's gaze creeped over all of them, lingering on Celestia for the fraction of a second before continuing. It was when it's gaze landed on Starswirl and Twilight that it reacted. It's fists immediately clenched, a feeling of pure rage basically radiating off of it. In truth the amount of anger it had scared her, yet she couldn't be now. She had to protect her ponies. "What are you creature?" She said in an attempt to sound intimidating. The creatures glare flicked to her, long buried instincts screaming at her to flee from it. Gulping, she summoned a sword in her hand, not having to do so for hundreds of years. The creature suddenly shot towards her, drawing it's machete. Reacting quickly she brought up her sword, eyes widening as it smashed through her shield, swinging it's machete. The blades clashed, Celestia grunting from the sheer force behind it. Teleporting behind it she slashed down, only to meet thin air. Turning around she once again brought her sword against the monsters blade. "Get to the Elements!" She yelled behind her, spurring the shocked crowd into action as they sprinted out. Unfortunately this changing of focus left her guard down for a split second and a red glow was her only warning before being sent flying into the wall behind. Gasping for air, she shakily stood back up to face her opponent, grimacing from the searing pain in her stomach. The monster charged again, not giving her a moment of rest, as it's free hand started glowing red. She had to attack first. Shooting a stunning spell, she shot forward, aiming to take advantage of her foes confusion. She didn't get to though, as instead of temporarily blinding her foe, it was unfazed as it continued it's charge. As they both charged the monster suddenly went low, headbutting Celestia's stomach and wrapping it's arms around her waist before promptly using her as a battering ram to breach the wall. Breath rushing out of her lungs Celestia was helpless as it continued to bust through the walls. Finally it stopped before throwing her down a completely different hallway. Struggling to breathe, she sat up with the support of her arms, a terrible pain signalling several broken bones. She was losing. It didn't matter though, she just had to hold it off long enough for the Elements to banish it. It was at this point that she noticed the dozen or so shocked guards surrounding them, looking form the creature to her, then back to the creature again. It also seemed that the creature noticed them, head turning ever so slightly to look at each one of them. "Protect the Princess!" One of them yelled before charging at the monster, spear raised. She didn't have time to shout at him to stop, as a bolt of lightning shot from the creatures hand, penetrating the guards armor with ease and exiting out the other side. Shocked, the guard looked at the now gaping hole in his chest before falling backwards, his spear dropping to the ground. "Die you bastard!" Another screamed in anger, charging forward before meeting the same fate as his fallen comrade. She could only watch in horror as the other guards followed suit. She just couldn't stop it though, her body being broken and worn. She couldn't even order them to stop. Soon tears flowed down her face at the prospect of not being able stop this thing from killing her little ponies. She had failed them as a protector. She had realized this some time ago, with the Elements of Harmony having to step in and save them from certain doom. Eyes blurry from the tears, she noticed that the screams of the dying guards had dissipated, leaving only the sounds of her sobbing. The monster than slowly walked toward her, the colour of red visible on it's once grey clothing. It stopped in front of her, looking through the lenses on it's mask right at her. Wiping away the tears, she then saw something she hadn't seen before. Eyes. This creature had a pair of eyes beyond the mask, and they were staring right at her. Another thing she noticed was the pure rage and malice visible in it's eyes. It was so intense that she shivered slightly. "Now you know my pain." It said, shocking Celestia. She knew it's pain? What did that mean. "But that is not enough. I need to find the one who imprisoned me." It continued before a hand shot around her neck, squeezing tightly. She would have struggled but she knew the futility of it. Lifting her up until her feet were dangling just above the floor, it continued to stare at her. "Where is Sombra..." _________ Twilight gasped as she rounded the corner to find a bloodbath. Strewn across the halls was the bodies of dozens of guards, each with a multitude of wounds, their blood coating the corridor. The faint sound of vomiting came from behind her yet she paid it no mind, her main focus being on the pair in the centre of it. There, held in the air by the monster, was Princess Celestia, blood dripping down her form, whether it was hers or not was unknown though. Her gasp caused both heads to whip around to her, Celestia looking to be in physical pain from doing so. They had to act now, or else more would die. "In the name of Friendship and Harmony we will strike you down!" She yelled shakily, activating her Element, sensing the others doing so as well. The monster then threw Celestia against the wall, eliciting a scream of pain from the solar diarch. Slowly her eyes filled with white, blinding her vision. Yet it wasn't uncomfortable, in fact it was quite the opposite. It felt...reassuring, like she was doing the right thing. But something was wrong. A faint red blot was pulsing in the centre of the white, and she could feel something pushing against her. It was fighting back. Despite the fact that they were winning against the monster it was still quite worrying that it had the power to resist Harmony. Thankfully however, it slowly decreased before an earsplitting scream sounded shocking her and the others. As the white cleared from her vision, she spotted nothing except for the creatures strange mask on the floor where it stood. Then there was the other matter to attend to. Turning around she spotted her target, walking towards the disheveled looking wizard. "Starswirl, we need to talk." Author's Note honestly a bit skeptical of the quality of the chapter so please point out any continuity errors or mistakes I may have made
ExplanationsEveryone had assembled in the throne room, including Princess Luna who was sitting on her designated throne. The Elements stood just in front of her, facing the wizard in front of them with mixed expressions. Twilight had a combination of suspicion and curiosity, questions begging to get out of her head. Fluttershy was hiding behind her long head of hair, stroking it shyly but glancing up every now and then. Applejack shared the same suspicious curious look as Twilight although leaning a bit more towards suspicion. Pinkie Pie simply stared straight ahead, her once poofy mane deflated severely, the images of those dead guards still fresh in her mind, with hwe seemingly being the only one bothered by their deaths apart from Rarity. Then there was Rainbow Dash who seemed the most hostile out of all of them, glaring at Starswirl as if he had caused this whole situation. Rarity looked like she was about to pass out, her face turning slightly green as well. The only notable absence was Princess Celestia who currently resided in the hospital, her wounds being the most severe from the battle. "Well Starswirl, I think it is time we got some answers." Luna said, the serious look never leaving her face. Gulping, Starswirl sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, sweating visibly, "W-Well, I can tell you what I know." He said, confusing Twilight greatly. What he knew? Surely he was the one who had sealed the monster away and knew what exactly it was. "And no, I was not the one to originally seal him away. That achievment goes to my teacher." He said, sensing Twilight's question. "But we'll get to that later." He said dismissively, halting Twilight's questions which had now reached critical mass. Taking a deep breath, Starswirl began to explain, "As far as I can tell and remember, this creature is a god that once ruled over these lands thousands of years ago, back when ponies were only just starting to civilise. After a while, the ponies began to form their own nations, bringing about the age of feudalism. I can't remember exactly how it started, but I do know that one of the pony nations ended up annexing the creatures land. What happened next was...horrible." He paused, shivering slightly at the memory of not what had happened, but what they had found. "Every living being in the nation died overnight, with every city that belonged to them had been razed, their populations exterminated. That was over 10,000 ponies." He paused once again, still shaking, the others looking at him in shock, expressions of horror on their faces, "I personally saw the damage when I was travelling with my teacher. It was...terrible. At that moment, my teacher swore to avenge the ponies that had died. So he made it his mission to defeat the creature, locking himself in his tower for weeks at a time. "Until finally he had found a way. A way to banish the creature. Send him so far away from Equis that he wouldn't be able to harm anypony again. Unfortunately he couldn't do it alone so he asked every other nation to assist him. And in that moment, the first sense of unity among ponykind was felt. No longer were they bickering among themselves over land, but were united against a terrible threat. And so, each nation raised their armies while sending their best mages to assist my teacher. And so they marched to the creature, ready to end it once and for all. What followed was the bloodiest battle in pony history. It went by many names, but in these now modern times it is most commonly known as the 'Battle of Charnon.'" This elicited a round of gasps from everyone assembled. "But that doesn't make sense, the Battle of Charnon was against the Kingdom of Griffonstone, every history book says so. Heck, even griffon blades and armor were found at the battlefield. If it was this monster then there would have been an entire book dedicated to it!" Twilight said, throwing her hands into the air in disbelief. "You have one thing right Twilight, there were griffons there." Starswirl said, once again confusing Twilight, "But theay weren't Griffonstonian troops. No, they were the subjects of the creature, and were also fanatic loyalists. In fact, they were the most brutal fighters I have ever encountered, managing to take down ten ponies for each one of their own. It was a miracle we won in the first place." He said, sounding both relieved at the ponies victory and terrified at the memory of the griffons. "Moving on, my teacher had gathered every mage in the land, and led them against the creature. In reality he only needed five to succesfully cast the spell, however said spell took time. A lot of time. What followed was the greatest loss to unicorns yet. It eventually came down to the unicorns having to throw themselves at it to slow it down. Thankfully, after what seemed like an eternity, my teacher cast the spell, banishing him to another planet entirely. After his banishment, the griffons were expected to surrender. However they ended fighting more ferociously then ever, continuing to fight until they had drawn their last breath." He ended, a sad look on his face. After a while of silence however, his eyes perked up a look that seemed as if he had thought of the greatest idea ever, "You mentioned how Discord is now reformed right?" He said, pointing at Fluttershy, who shrunk back slightly at the sudden attention but nodded nonetheless. "Well if so, then he is possibly the only other creature alive who can tell us more. After all, he was alive during that period." He said triumphantly, garnering nods from the ponies assembled. Luna, who had been silent during the whole ordeal suddenly stood up, pointing her finger into the air in a decisive way, "It is decided then. We shall go to Discord and get more information from him. " She said in a way that said there was no arguing about it. And it wasn't like anyone could, considering it was her sister that had been gravely wounded by the creature. Looking at Fluttershy with a stare that could stop a rolling boulder in it's tracks, "You will take us to Discord now." She said. Fluttershy continued to shrink back but nodded once again, beginning to walk out of the door, everyone following her As they were walking through the once pristine corridors that now had either their walls knocked down or several large cracks in them Twilight took this moment to ask a question that had been bugging her, "Who exactly was your teacher?" She asked, the look of curiosity overtaking the shaken one that had been on her face sense he had started talking of Charnon. Starswirl chuckled, as if reminiscing something, "I doubt you would have heard of him, he was quite the reclusive old mage." His happy look was suddenly replaced by a thoughtful one. "I never really heard what happened to him. He just sort of, disappeared a few weeks after the battle, saying he was heading to the Frozen North to investigate something about crystals or something like that." Twilight placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder upon seeing the saddened look on his face. "I'm sorry to hear that. Could I ask his name?" The smile returned to Starswirl, reminiscing again. "Sombra. Sombra Darkshade." The last thing he saw was a purple bolt of magic hitting him square in the face. Author's Note I have absolutely no idea what sort of shit I'm writing
BreatheHe lay on the ground, every inch of his body aching as if he had been thrown to the moon and back. Groaning he-couldn't groan. Eyes widening he tried to say something, anything. He tried to breath in. He couldn't. Attempting to gasp he scrambled to his knees before face planting into the cold stone floor. Reaching behind him, he moved his hand everywhere, trying to locate his bag. His hand landed on the cool leather, calming him ever so slightly. That sliver of calmness disappeared however, when his vision began to fade, encouraging him to hurry up. Fumbling witht he strap, he eventually got it open, grabbing the mask hidden inside. Acting quickly he placed it on his face, not even bothering with the straps. He needed to breath. As the mask touched his skin the ventilators immediately got to work, pumping the fresh, much needed air into his lungs. He lay on the ground for a moment,closing his eyes while simply taking deep breathes to try to calm himself. After what seemed like hours yet was only a few minutes, he placed the straps behind his head, securing the mask to his face. looking around he noticed that he was in what appeared to be a large cave, a small pool of water positioned in the centre of it. Standing up, he winced at the pain coming from his arms and legs. Limping over to the pool he looked down into it, his vaguely familiar form in the reflection. Vaguely, due to the fact that the dust that had coated his clothes had disappeared, most likely due to the sheer force of the blast he had sustained. The blast. Rage entered his eyes as he screamed, shooting a red bolt into the side of the cavern, making a large crater in it, and also causing a few of the stalagmites to come crashing off the roof and it the hard floor, shattering on contact. He roared at this accursed world, echoing down the long halls of the cave. Still growling he walked over to the pool, ripples revebrating over it from the quakes he had caused. He stopped at the edge of it looking down into the clear water as it simply lay there calmly, seemingly unaware of the danger hovering above it. His reflection stared back at him, almost judgementally, as it frowned at him. For the first time in centuries he really looked at his appearance. He had ragged black hair, dirt coating it from years of being neglected. Next was his dark black eyes that had seen more things he would have cared for. He then had his mask, being different from his other one, with the top half of his face being left completely exposed. The mask he currently wore was his backup in case he somehow lost his old mask or it was destroyed. His hoodie had also remained the simple grey colour, despite the copious amounts of dust that had coated it before. His gaze flicked to the machete at his side, touching it with a hand as if to reassure it was there. Where had it all gone wrong. Things had been great. He was the ruler of a country, with thousands of loyal subjects that loved and worshipped him. He had friends. He had family. "I will kill those god damn ponies." He quickly hid behind a corner as it turned in his direction, that terrifying rage still present in those eyes. He held his breathe, only peeking around the corner to see if his attention had diverted. It was Now pacing around, muttering to itself. Taking his chance he shot to the entrance of the cave, flapping his wings lightly so as to gain speed yet not alert it. No one was going to believe this. King Guto sat on his throne, rubbing his temples with a claw as he read the latest financial report. The kingdom's debt had almost tripled in the last month, and poverty going to all new heights. He couldn't remember a time when the kingdom wasn't expperiencing economic collapse. His eyes flicked to the document located on his arm rest, detailing a proposal from Equestria to provide economic aid by using their pegasi to alter the weather. He should accept. But he couldn't. He had seen what the Equestrians had done to the Crystal Ponies. They had become completely reliant on the Equestrian pegasi, putting their economy in a stranglehold. He wasn't sure if the Equestrians even realized this, with all their preaching about friendship and harmony, it was hard to not trust them. Sighing he stood up, alerting his almost sleeping guards as they shot to attention, a serious look painting their faces. Looking to both of them, he walked to a nearby window, looking down at the shamble that was his kingdom. The once proud eyries that dotted the mountain had fallen into disarray, so much so that they were in no way habitable for anyone. The doors to his throne room slammed open, snapping his attention towards it. Standing in the entrance was a panting griffon, his light leather armor naming him to be a scout. His guards acted immediately rushing over to the griffon. It was clear he had flown quite a way. His eyes looked up, scanning the room before landing on Guto, "My king!" He said, making to move forwards only to fall flat on his face. Groaning, he stood up with the help of the guards, panting for a bit more before continuing, "My king." He repeated, managing a tired bow, "We have a...situation." He said, tapping his claws together nervously. Guto raised an eyebrow, "Worse than the one we have currently?" He replied jokingly. The scout gulped, extremely uncomfortable with how calm and relaxed his king was, "Well, while I was scouting around, I happened upon a cave. When I entered the cave to rest, there was...something else in there. I couldn't tell what it was saying exactly, but it used magic to blow a hole in the cave wall." He explained, unsure of how exactly to tell his king what he had seen. Guto stroked his chin in thought, "So it was a unicorn?" He guessed, blinking in shock when the scout shook his head in response. "That's the thing, it didn't have a horn and it still used magic." The scout said. Guto hummed in thought. A creature that could use magic yet didn't have a horn was unheard of. He turned around, walking towards the door that was situated beside his throne, still stroking his chin. He had a hunch, but was extremely doubtful. Not even bothering to turn back, he gestured for the scout to follow. He would need him. Moving through the door, he continued past the familiar dusty halls that hadn't been used for maybe ten years, multiple cobwebs calling the crevices in the stone home. Hurrying on, he opened another door at the end, the hinges creaking from unuse. The room beyond was a grand library, with shelves reaching almost ten times their height, books that contained knowledge that many thought lost lining them. Guto ignored all this and instead continued straight on, this time to a dull metal door. Opening this, a much less grand sight was beholden unto Guto, being that of a dark room, with much less impressive bookshelves. There was also multiple different display cases, the items they held not being visible from Guto's point of view. Turning back he hurried the gawking scout inside, shutting the door securely behind him. The scouts gawking immediately turned to confused nervousness as he looked at the much more disturbing room, the only light coming from a single candle in front of them. Walking to one of the shelves, Guto grabbed a particularly dusty book, opening it to reveal it's contents. Peering over the king's shoulder the cout could just barely make out 'The Great War.' on the first page, the author's name being smudged away. The king continued to flip through the book, showing several pictures that depicted battles yet were too smudged to discern exactly what was happening. Then he turned the page again. The creature he had seen in the cave was on one side, a strange sword in one hand, while being flanked by griffons dressed in black armor, each with their own swords. On the other side was a large group of ponies of all races, except instead of the similar unifroms the griffons had they wore a multitude of different armor, ranging from metal to leather, green to red, and even axe to bow. The were both charging at each other, marking it as a great battle. Guto noticed his attention and frowned. He pointed at the creature leading the charge, "Is this the creature you saw?" HE asked, silently hoping that he would say no. His hopes were crushed, throne into the garbage, than set on fire when the scout nodded. He was back. Guto silently closed the book, walking out of the room calmly, ignoring the confused scout. While he had an aura of calmness around him he was panicking massively inside. Despite this he managed to continue out to the throne room, sitting down on his throne as his guards went back to their positions on either side of him. The scout followed him out soon after, stopping in front of Guto. "Tell me where is this cave you speak of." Guto said, still struggling to stay calm. "It was just over the Arahno Ridge my king." He said, pointing out the window towards the ridge he spoke of. Guto sighed, sinking farther into his throne, "We are so fucked." Author's Note Just went into lockdown so you can expect chapters to come out like once a month. An improvement over one chapter every three months if I do say so my self.
InterrogationStarswirl blearily opened his eyes, his vision blurry from being attacked. What had happened? One minute he had been talking to Twilight, the next she had smashed him in the nose with magic. Looking around as he blinked his lack of vision away, he attempted to rub it away with his hands only to be stopped by a tightened rope around his wrists that held his ahands hostage behind his back. Frowning he looked back at said rope, igniting his horn to undo it. Instead however, an aching pain shot throughout his horn, causing him to wince back in pain. So they had blocked his magic. Yet the question still remained. Why? Looking around he noticed that he was in a dark room the only visible source of light being a single light over a bland steel table. He looked down at his legs, having nowhere else to look, as he sighed. At least they had let him keep his clothes. Twilight looked out of the invisible window at the old wizard, a conflicted frown on his face. The conflict ended immediately when she remebered why he was in there. He had been trained by Sombra himself, and was clearly unbothered by it. Either he really didn't care that he was trained by one of the greatest villains Equestria had ever seen, or less likely, he simply wasn't aware of just how evil his teacher was. She was doubtful about the second one though, considering you would have to live under a literal rock to not hear about the tyrranical King Sombra and his brutal enslavement of the crystal ponies. "It is alright Twilight, I'm sure he will come clean." Luna said from behind her, placing a reassuring hand on Twilight's shoulder. Looking back over she smiled in thanks, "Thanks Luna." She said before turning into a troubled frown, "But I'm afraid I have doubts about him now. How can anyone trust him if he was trained by Sombra?" She continued, still slightly distressed at the recent revelation. Luna nodded sagely, " I understand Twilight but you must remember, Starswirl has saved Equestria more times than anyone can count. Don't you think if he wanted to follow in his masters footsteps he would have done so by now?" She reasoned, slightly brightening Twilight's thinking. She sighed dejectedly, "I guess you're right Luna." Twilight explained, "But I just can't look at him the same anymore. I adored him as a child and an adult, yet I don't think I can go back to that now." She admitted. Luna sighed at that. "Me too Twilight. Me too..." An invisible door opened somewhere in the darkness, followed by the footsteps approaching closer. The owner of the footsteps than came into view in the form of Twilight, the very one that had blasted him in the face. She walked into the light, taking a seat in the chair opposite him on the other side of the table. There was definitely some explaining to do. Before Starswirl could ask his questions however, Twilight spoke first. "What was your affiliation with King Sombra?" She said, a stoney expression on her face as she said it. Starswirl tilted his head in confusion, "King?" He said, unaware that his master was royalty. Twilight blinked at that for some reason before returning to her stoney expression, not a single emotion getting through, "Yes. King Sombra." She said, the second option becoming more and more reasonable. Starswirl shook his head, "Terribly sorry Twilight, I was not aware of his royalty. Tell me, what exactly was he king of?" He inquired, bringing out another blink of pure shock. "The Crystal Empire." She practically mumbled out as she continued to stare in shock. Starswirl frowned at that, "Tell me, if he was the leader of the Crystal Empire wouldn't he have been emperor instead?" He pointed out, unfortunately passing through one ear and out the other of the confused purple alicorn. "You really don't know do you?" She said, leaning over the table slightly, using her elbows to hold herself up. Starswirl raised his eyebrow at that, "What I don't know is why exactly you blasted me in the face with magic." He replied curtly. Twilight sighed in what seemed like relief, "So you don't know do you." She stated again, confusing Starswirl even more than he already was. Befoer Starswirl could press further Twilight's horn glowed, the rope around his wrists loosening before falling to the cold metal floor. She than stood up, beckoning Starswirl to do the same. And do that he did as he followed her towards the shrouded door in the darkness, opening it to reveal a smiling Princess Luna. Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration Starswirl spoke up, "So why exactly was I knocked unconscious, tied up, and interrogated?" He demanded, eyes narrowing accusingly at Twilight and Luna who were now both smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about that, it was just a precaution." Twilight explained, however only left Starswirl with another question. "A precaution against what?!" He said again, practically shouting this time. Twilight sighed, "You may want to sit down for this." "This doesn't make any sense." Starswirl said, Head in his hands as he sat in their new location of a spare living room Luna had. Twilight had spent the last hour explaining the events of King Sombra and the Crystal Empire. Apparently Sombra had appeared out of the blue and taken it over for no rhyme or reason, "Sombra would never do any of this." He pleaded, more to himself if anyone. Twilight placed a sympathetic hand on Starswirls shoulder, "I am afraid that whatever Sombra you knew is long gone." Starswirl, shook his head, trying to deny it but failing. Sombra, his oldest friend and teacher was long gone, being replaced by the apparent corrupted version of him. "Tell me, what happened to the other nations in the Frozen North? From what I've heard they simply don't exist anymore." He asked, remembering visting a couple of the kingdoms and principalities there. It was Luna that sighed and explained this time, "When Sombra came to power he set about expanding the Crystal Empire. Unfortunately in doing so he destroyed all the protective barriers that had been set up around these nations. What followed was known among the crystal ponies as 'The Great Freeze' In which the crystal pony population in the frozen north was halved from the amount of death and cold there was." Starswirl closed his eyes, focusing his willpower to try and form coherent thoughts. With a reaffirming nod he stood up and anounced his plan, "I am going to the Frozen North." Luna and Twilight stared at him in shock, yet couldn't get a word out before he continued. "I plan to find out what caused my teacher to be corrupted and see if I can cure it." He explained, making both of the alicorn's jaws drop. "You can't do that!" Twilight was the first to speak up, staring at Starswirl in disbelief, "If Sombra was as powerful as you said he was when he was uncorrupted than you won't stand a chance!" She shouted, frantically trying to deter Starswirls plan. Starswirl responded by holding up a hand to silence her, "If I don't do this I can never rest peacefully. Plus even if I do get corrupted I'll use this." He said, holding up a green vial he had pulled from his pocket. Twilight stammered away, attempting to find anyway to stop him from going that wasn't violence. She stopped as Luna's hand fell to her shoulder for the second time that day. Looking into Luna's eyes she saw the exact opposite of what she wanted to see. Luna agreed with Starswirl. Sighing Twilight walked toward Starswirl, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Make it back safe. The world needs more heroes like you." She said, pulling Starswirl into a hug that he returned. Releasing him, she watched as he exited the room, no doubt to find a train to the Crystal Empire. "I hope you find what you're looking for." She uttered out as he rounded the corner... Author's Note Why do the call it a carrot and not a long orange?
