The Bearer of the Apocalypseby StormKingNexusChaptersThe Dragon King's returnLost HistoryWhat Lurks In The DarkThe Closet of Cursed Skeletal KnowledgeThe Dark King’s RevivalDarknessEarthland's Darkest ShadowThe Fallen KingdomThe Dragon King's returnThe Dragon Lands of Equestria was, given its name, inhabited by dragons. The wasteland and lava pools are what they called their home, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Although, for as powerful as they were, they too had someone they responded to, and that was Dragon Lord Ember. Currently, she was away from her land for a small meeting with one of the princesses of Equestria, that being the Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle, to establish a relationship between dragons and ponies. Even choosing, more like forcing, to bring Smolder with her. She was a small orange dragon and was brought along so that Ember could try and introduce friendship to her and eventually the rest of the subjects. However, dragons were prideful and greedy, although it was mainly pride, and as such not many were interested in having a friendship with ponies. Garble was one of those dragons. He didn’t hate ponies, he just had a superiority complex over them. He knew that dragons were superior to them, and he had even heard stories that some of the elder dragons had once fought with Celestia and Luna. Although even he knew of the power the two alicorns possessed, and while Garble would never admit it, he was slightly intimidated by them. Not scared, but intimidated. He knew there was a difference between the two. Currently, as Garble had been flying around the land for the past hour in search of his friends, he knew that something was wrong. The land being quiet wasn’t uncommon, but the silence that surrounded the kingdom like a dense fog sent a brief chill down his scales. Despite how far out he was from the rest of his kin, Garble knew he should’ve at least seen one other dragon by this point. He continued to fly around, in search of any dragon at this point when he heard the sound of fighting. Smiling to himself, and allowing a sigh of relief, he quickly flew towards the dragon fight. He didn’t know why he felt a sense of dread, but he didn’t care, knowing that a good dragon fight would make him forget about it. As he drew closer, the fighting grew more intense, seeing breathes of fire and—- “…What the hell?” Garble quietly spoke to himself, frozen mid-flight as he could see the countless corpses of dragons across the land. He unconsciously tuned out the fighting, seeing the mangled and mutilated corpses of his kin, smashed dragon eggs, and even his dead friends; who were missing limbs and splattered against the rocks. He was completely speechless, not believing what was clearly in front of his eyes. BOOOM!!! The explosion snapped him out of his stupor, and Garble turned his head to see former dragon lord Torch fighting against a black dragon. The black dragon was about the same size, if not bigger than the former dragon lord. The black scales were decorated by spiraling, blue markings. Its entire lower body, from its chin to its inner tail, was gray; and the dragon possessed white beady eyes as well. His wings were as big as a mountain, casting a large shadow over the land. And what completed the dragon’s menacing appearance was its spiked tail. The fight was not in Torch’s favor. The dragon was being outstrengthened, and the numerous wounds he had gained were not helping him. He started to think that it would take an army of the strongest of elder dragons to just hold this beast back. Although, with countless corpses of dragons that littered his homeland he knew it would’ve been more of a death sentence. “For what reason do you have to slaughter your own kind you atrocious monster!?” Torch roared, as he demanded to know the black dragon’s reasonings. Instead, he received an angry snarl, as if it had taken offense to something Torch had said. Seeing that he would not be getting an answer, Torch headbutted his opponent before releasing a large and powerful fire blast to the dragon’s chest. Torch flew back, wanting distance between him and the unknown dragon. Through the smoke, the black dragon remained unharmed, and with a sinister smirk, it released its own breath attack. Unlike Torch’s breath attack, there was no fire, and seemed more like magic than anything else. Either way, it traveled for a few seconds before slamming into Torch’s chest. The former lord’s armor was shattered as he was sent hurling back, blasting through a multitude of large rock formations and even a few hills before he came crashing to a stop. “T-Torch!!” Garble yelled in fear as he raced over to him. Through the smoke, he could see that Torch was still breathing, but the gashes that were all over his body made breathing far more difficult. Blood was going down Torch’s body like a flowing river, and Garble couldn’t do anything to stop it or help him with the other dragon still here. “R-Red one…you must flee.” Torch started before coughing blood. “Warn Ember, warn the Alicorns…I shall hold him off until you’ve escaped.” The large dragon ushered out before getting to his feet. Torch knew that he wasn’t going to last much longer, and he needed to warn his daughter and the rest of Equestria of this major threat. He gave one last look to Garble before he gave a gesture with his head, telling him to leave. While it took a few seconds to register in his mind, Garble gave a weak salute before he flew off. However, he never made it very far when a spiked tail slammed into his body, breaking most of his bones as he went flying through the sky before barreling into a forest. RAAAAAAWWWWWRRRR!!!!! The black dragon’s roar sounded like raging thunder, tearing apart the rock formations and flattening the land; echoing through valleys and mountains as it took pleasure in swatting down Garble like the vermin he was. Torch’s rage skyrocketed, and with newfound strength, he burst forward into the sky. He roared at his opponent as it roared back, accepting the challenge as they both flew at each other at high speeds. Torch couldn’t allow this monster to remain unknown as it went around slaughtering dragons, and he refused to allow Ember to be added to the list. As they drew near, Torch opened his mouth and gathered his final breath of fire. He needed to either try and take the dragon down with him, or try and maim him; to give the world a chance to end this monster. Seeing how close they were, Torch released his breath attack, blinding the black dragon before he outstretched his arm. BAM! The two collided, and Torch knew he had lost. He couldn’t feel his arm or part of his midsection, for it had been obliterated. He could feel his teeth cracking and falling out of his mouth, and as he fell out of the sky, he gave a side glance to the black dragon. He couldn’t even take its arm. Torch crashed into the ground, creating a crater and sending other corpses flying elsewhere. He managed to hear a thud and looked up with his eyes, seeing the dragon blocking out the sun with its body. It stared at him with a glare and condescending eyes, as if daring him to get up. The dragon continued to stare, never speaking before roaring in victory. Then it blasted off into the sky and flew off, vanishing into the clouds. Torch watched him fly off, his vision gaining black spots with his breathing starting to slow. “Ember…I’m sorry. I failed to stop him, but if the red one managed to survive, then Equestria may have a chance. Ember, you are to be a far greater Dragon Lord than myself…and know that no matter what happens, I Torch, will always be proud of you.” Those were Torch’s last thoughts before dying. The Dragon Lands, once filled with powerful and prideful creatures, was now a massive graveyard with one survivor. Deep in the forest, where the ground was torn up and trees decimated, Garble groaned in pain as he was laying against a large rock. He started waking up, having gone unconscious from the tail smack he received and crashing through the forest. He struggled to get to his feet, feeling that his right leg was broken, his wings popped out of place, and a large gash on his back that had a great deal of blood flow. Seeing that he couldn’t fly, Garble used the rock as support to steady himself before he looked around and grabbed a sturdy branch off the ground. With his walking stick in his hand, Garble started to limp away from his home, heading towards a place that he despised, but the place that would help him the most. Ponyville Smolder, much like her brother, didn’t want anything to do with friendship. Unlike him, she didn’t hold herself above the ponies, she just didn’t see the point of being friends with them. There was also the fact that Ember had forced her to come along, which annoyed her even further. Her attitude, however, had changed since she had been there. Outside of meeting another dragon, which was Spike, she learned that some of the ponies in the small town had some things in common with her. The fast flier known as Rainbow Dash was very competitive and boasted a lot about herself, much like a dragon. The farmer known as Applejack took great pride in her farm, similar to dragons with their hoard or their strength. Then again, she also learned that there was much more to being friends than similar personalities between ponies and dragons. Still, Smolder did enjoy her time in Ponyville, and she wasn’t going to admit that to Ember. Knowing how smug the Dragon Lord would get, she kept quiet as she and Ember were walking out of Princess Twilight’s home, ready to head home themselves. “Thank you Twilight for agreeing to meet with me. While I know that most dragons might not be very keen on this at first, especially the elders, I think it will benefit us in the long run.” Ember proudly spoke as Twilight told her to think nothing of it. The trio continued their walk, idly chatting until a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane crashed to the ground in front of them, scaring the daylights out of them. “Fluttershy!? You scared us, you need—“ “I’m sorry but It’s an emergency! Princess Ember! Twilight! You need to come to the hospital immediately! ” Fluttershy raised her voice as she beckoned them to follow her. Ember and Twilight nodded before quickly flying after the Pegasus as Smolder, not wanting to be left out, flew alongside them. For whatever reason, she got a sick feeling in her stomach, but Smolder figured that she should tag along to get rid of it. Twilight knew that Fluttershy was not someone who spoke at a regular volume. Speaking so quietly that she made a mouse sound louder than her, Twilight knew that this was something serious. Especially if it involved Ember and the hospital. “Can you explain to us the situation? And why does it involve Ember?” “It-It-It was horrible! I was taking care of my animals when one of them told me about a severely injured dragon. So I grabbed my medkit to go help it, but when I got there, the wounds looked too severe for me to do anything, so I took him to the hospital.” Fluttershy grew quiet, not being able to describe the dragon’s wounds, which she knew were far worse than what was on the surface. Twilight knew that Fluttershy would care for any creature she came across, and despite her fears, that included dragons. Although she doubted that Fluttershy was an expert in dragon biology, or even knew the basics about them; Fluttershy’s medical expertise was the best in Ponyville, aside from the licensed doctors and nurses of course. “Do you know who the dragon was?” Ember asked as the group sped across the sky. Fluttershy responded that she didn’t, but she gave her a description. The eyes of the three next to her widened, knowing that it was Garble who was in the hospital. Smolder, however, sped ahead of them, using her nose to find her brother's scent before taking off. “Smolder! Wait up!” “Let her go Twilight. Garble is her older brother, so she’s far more worried than we might be.” Ember quickly replied as Twilight and Fluttershy were shocked but understood Smolder’s worries. If it had been their brothers, they’d have reacted in the same manner. Smolder flew across the streets of Ponyville at blinding speeds. Following the scent of her brother’s blood, which fueled her resolve to find him, she maneuvered her way around ponies and stalls. Although she had knocked some ponies senseless as she knocked them out of her way or barreled through their wagons of good. “My cabbages!!!” This pony was one of them. “Dammit Garble! What kind of trouble did you get into?” Smolder worriedly thought to herself as she burst through the doors to the hospital. The staff was startled by the dragon’s entrance before the others entered as well. Twilight stepped forward and asked for the dragon that Fluttershy had brought in, and Doctor Horse told them to follow him. They walked in silence for a few minutes until they arrived at Garble’s room. The doctor said nothing as he opened the door and walked inside with the four following him who were speechless upon seeing the dragon’s condition. His torso was covered in bandages, as were his wings which were in a cast as was his right leg which was being held in the air. Smolder kept her eyes on her brother before asking the doctor one question. “Tell me Doc, how’s my brother doing?” “Quite frankly, he’s lucky to be alive. His right leg was broken, his wings dislocated, and a large gash across his back. Numerous bruises and broken bones, three infections which were thankfully nothing serious, and a good deal of blood loss.” Dr. Horse replied as he picked up the clipboard hanging at the edge of the bed. “He’s also had a few broken ribs, but the main concern was the gash on his back. We were worried that it tore through the muscles that allow him to fly and that we would need to amputate them to prevent any problems that could occur, but as you can see that wasn’t necessary.” He finished before setting the clipboard down. “It was also a good thing that we’ve had Spike’s blood on hoof as well, should he have ever needed it. But enough of that, I’ll give you all some time with him.” That was all he said before he left the room, leaving the four in silence. They only stared at Garble’s form, with the only sound coming from the heart monitor next to him. Smolder sat down next to him, unable to speak any words because she didn’t know what to say. “…Ember, I-I don’t know what creature could have done this. Even though he’s a teenager, dragons are very durable. Spike is still a baby and he can endure some things; but this…I don’t think I’ve ever heard of injuries like this done to a dragon.” Twilight calmly explained, unable to recall any event where a dragon had such injuries. Of course, she was only starting to get into dragon culture and wouldn’t know everything that had happened in their history. “A-Actually, Twilight, th-there are a few creatures…that could fight a dragon.” Fluttershy spoke up and was heard due to the quietness of the room. The three looked at the timid Pegasus, who hid behind her mane at the sudden attention but continued with her explanation. “One of them would be a Hydra, although Garble might not be here if it was. An-Another could be an Ursa Minor or Major, but they mostly sleep unless disturbed. But the one that I think was most likely was…a—“ “Another dragon.” Smolder finished for her, her fierce and sharp tone caused the pony to hide behind the alicorn. Smolder gave her brother one last look before she got up and walked towards the door, but she was stopped by Ember before she could leave. “Where do you think you're going?” “To find and beat the dragon senseless for what they did to Garble.” “No, you’re not.” “Excuse me?! Don’t you see what’s happened to Garble? The dragon that did this—“ “The dragon that did this is far stronger than you!” Ember roared, silencing the young dragon. “While I doubt an elder dragon did this, it's clearly a fully matured dragon. Garble isn’t smart, and pretty arrogant as well, but he’s not a dumbass; he knows better than to accept or challenge a dragon that would be out of his league.” Ember explained as Smolder let out an angry sigh. She knew that Ember was right, but she was still pissed that she couldn’t do anything. “Smolder, if I may?” Twilight calmly spoke up, gaining the young dragon’s attention. “I know you feel like you can’t do much to help your brother but trust me when I say that being by his side is the best thing you can do. He loves you a lot, right?” Twilight asked before Smilder nodded. “Good. Then I doubt he would want you to go and fight the dragon that did this to him; because he wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” Twilight finished with a smile that caused the rest of them to smile as well. The heartfelt moment was interrupted by Garble’s groaning. “Ahh…where am I?” Garble groaned to himself before feeling a heavy weight on his chest. “Ow! You’re dead if you—Smolder?” Garble paused, realizing that it was just his sister. She gave him, from what she understood after being with ponies for a few hours, a tight hug. Garble didn’t know what she was doing, and while it felt awkward to him he was somewhat enjoying it. “If-If you're here, then where’s Ember?” “I’m right here. And so is Princess Twilight along with Fluttershy, the one that brought you here.” Ember explained and made way for the two ponies. The two greeted him with a warm smile as Twilight grabbed his sister with her magic and placed her on the ground next to her. “Oh, uh, thanks.” “It’s not a problem. Although, we’re all curious as to what happened to you. If you don’t mind telling us, that is.” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her mane as Garble gained a grim look on his face. They all noticed this and grew concerned, realizing that what had happened to him was much worse than they thought. “Garble…What happened to you? We deduced that it was most likely another dragon, but we need you to tell us.” Twilight asked as gently as she could but knew that she couldn’t force Garble to tell her. Well, she probably could, but it would’ve been morally wrong to do so. Not only that but forcing him to speak of what he saw would've been even worse on his mental state. “It was a dragon…but it was far more powerful than any dragon I’ve ever heard of. And I didn’t fight it…It swatted me away like a yak’s tail does to flies. It saw me as a pest.” Garble started to explain, although there was a brief crack in his voice. “Th-The Dragon Lands were completely silent as if no dragon was there. Then I heard fighting, so I flew over to check it out…but when I got there, Torch was fighting this black dragon. And he was losing.” Garble continued, and he would’ve kept going before Ember interrupted him. “My dad was losing!? What happened to him!? Actually no, I’m going back myself. If my dad was losing then who knows what happened to him and the other dragons.” Ember quickly set off for the door, intending to check in on her subjects and her father. “There’s no point…” Garble’s voice caused Ember to stop. The emotionless tone he used froze her in place and sent a chill down her scales as she and the others all suddenly grew nervous. A sense of dread filled the room and Ember looked back at him, her expression growing with concern. “What do you mean, ‘There’s no point’, Garble?” “It-It’s like I said…there’s no point…because every dragon in the dragon lands is dead,” Garble replied, and he gave out a low chuckle. “Every dragon from all age groups, slaughtered like cattle, every egg was smashed, and the worst part…some of them were alive.” The reality had settled in on Garble, and his chuckle turned to laughter. He held his face with his claws and hysterically laughed, scaring those around him, especially his sister. “Calm down Garble! It’ll be fine! We just need to warn princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence so we can stop this guy.“ Smolder tried to reason with him and did her best to calm him down. While Garble ceased his laughter, his chuckle didn’t, and the pupils in his eyes had shrunk. Smolder had taken a step back from him, seeing how mentally unstable her brother was becoming. “It won’t be fine! That dragon…that monster killed every dragon in our home and Torch is most likely dead! And-And we’re next! Me, you, Spike, and Ember along with every other dragon in Equestria!” Garble roared at his sister, nearly breathing fire before he was forcibly put to sleep by Twilight’s magic. Smolder, refusing to be in the same room as him, flew out the door and down the hall. Tears stained the floor where she flew off, and Twilight quickly told Fluttershy to go after her and make sure that she remained in Ponyville while she stayed with Ember and the now-sleeping Garble. The pegasus did as she was told, mostly because she no longer wished to remain in the room either, and followed after the dragon. Twilight and Ember were silent, not knowing how to start the conversation after Garble’s mental breakdown. Still, this was an issue that needed to be addressed, and breaking the silence that had plagued the room numerous times was the start. “Ember, I think the best course of action is for me to contact Princess Celestia, and for you to remain in Ponyville. I know you don’t have to listen to me, but we don’t know if that dragon is still there, and if it is and you encounter it, then I don’t think that you’ll survive. Like I said though, getting to Princess Celestia first to see if she has any information on it is the best option we have.” Twilight quietly explained but was loud enough for her to hear. Celestia had ruled Equestria for over a millennia, and it was very much possible that she had either heard of or encountered this dragon before; assuming that it didn’t appear out of nowhere and simply chose to slaughter its kin. Twilight couldn’t help but shiver. She still couldn’t get over Garble’s claim that the dragon lands were now a graveyard full of unburied corpses. She wasn’t calling him a liar, seeing his mental breakdown happen right before her eyes, but she couldn’t help but doubt it. The logical side of her saw it clear as day; it would be impossible for a single dragon to kill all the others of its homeland without being taken down with them or killed during battle. Let alone going head to head with former Dragon Lord Torch and surviving, who was a powerful dragon in his own right, especially if this black dragon had indeed killed and survived the onslaught of the other dragons. Twilight couldn’t make any sense of it nor could she remember anything in any history book she’d ever read regarding a black dragon. And on the off chance that Celestia didn’t know, then who could? Discord was an option, but knowing the lord of chaos he would either answer cryptically, not know, or not answer it all. Going through Starswirl’s old books and scrolls could help, but she knew that a good portion was based on spells and not so much on creatures lest they intrigued him. Snap! Snap! “Equestria to Twilight! Hello!?” Ember slightly shouted, snapping her fingers in front of the alicorn’s face who blinked and shook her head. She blushed slightly and chuckled before apologizing for spacing out. “It’s fine, I was just saying how you’re right. The risk of that dragon still being there is a major problem, and quite frankly, I don’t wanna go home alone. So, I was wondering during your letter to Celestia, if she would be willing to accompany me to the Dragon Lands or someone else that’s suitable.” “That’s not a problem. I think I’ll send Starlight with you. I trust her to watch your back in case of any danger and to get herself and you back here if that dragon is there.” Twilight confidently replied as she prepared a spell. “Once I get word back from Celestia we can take another step forward. And I’ll inform Starlight of her new assignment with you.” With that she teleported to her castle, leaving the dragon lord with her wounded, now mentally unstable subject. “Don’t worry Garble, we’ll make sure that this dragon pays for what it’s done to you. But until then…” Ember placed her palm on Garble’s snout before she started to leave the room. Ember gave him one last look as she left the room, the closing door making a small echo. “...You need to stay strong.” Princess Celestia, one of the co-rulers of Equestria with control over the sun had lived through many things; and had seen and heard many outlandish things in her long life. Some of them were that her magic was something that one could learn through hard practice, another being that her sister, Princess Luna, was actually a dragon due to her ferocity during a war. But the letter that she had received from her student was by far the most preposterous thing she had ever heard. Well, if she were to be honest nothing could ever take her number one, which was when ponies thought that she had once dated the spirit of chaos Discord. And that the chaos he causes is to get back at her for whatever happened between them. Those were a few ‘good’ years. But this took second or third, for the dragons in the Dragon Lands had been killed. There was only one survivor, and he was currently in Ponyville Hospital and was forcibly put to sleep through her student’s magic after having a mental breakdown. What had killed them was a large black dragon, but for the life of her, she couldn’t recall ever hearing about a black dragon, let alone any dragon strong enough to kill a former Dragon Lord. For a brief moment, she thought it was a cruel joke played by the draconequus, but she quickly disregarded it. Not even he would do such a thing for a mere joke, aside from the chaos it would certainly create. Still, for the Dragon Lands to now be vacant of any living dragon due to a mass slaughter was severely unnerving. But she couldn’t think of any creature that could simply wipe out the dragons without taking any life-threatening injury, even another dragon. “Sister, you have been in deep thought for a while. Surely thou don't believe that there was only one survivor from the Dragon Lands?” Luna, younger sister to Celestia and ruler of the night and dreams, asked with doubt in her voice. Torch was powerful, and on a good day he could give Celestial or herself a good fight, but for him to be slain by a single dragon was ludicrous. “Alicorns are the only immortal creatures in Equestria, aside from Discord and Tirek. While it would be difficult, Torch being killed is a possibility, albeit a low one. And if the other dragons are dead, then this is a villain with the same morals as Sombra.” “Which is none.” “Precisely.” “Then what shall we do Tia? Aside from the rest of the dragons that inhabit the world; Spike, Dragon Lord Ember, her escort, and the one named Garble are the only ones that we know are alive. If this dragon has indeed killed the ones in the Dragon Lands, then they will be next.” Luna argued as Celestia looked out a window. A genocide of this scale hadn’t been heard of since the days of Grogar, tales that two of them hardly knew due to his reign being ended before the two became the rulers of Equestria. Although they had been alive since the tyrannical rule of King Sombra, and they had seen first hoof of the atrocities he had done. They had never heard of a black dragon before, and Celestia’s choice for belief was that it either awakened from a very long sleep, or it had existed before they were born. The latter seemed to be the most likely option, but then it meant that there were only two beings with a good knowledge of history that existed before the two Alicorns. Although, one of them was in Chaosville. Which left the only choice. “I have a plan.” In Twilight’s castle, Spike was silently making lunch. After being told by Ember, and assured by Twilight, that a good portion of his kin was dead he had kept to himself. What was once as simple as breathing, sending that letter to Celestia was far more of a task than he would’ve thought. Sure, he knew the weight of what he had been briefly told, but to hear his elder sister, practically his mother, speak it and have him write it down were two separate things. So much so that halfway through the letter she decided to write the rest on her own, visibly seeing him start to shake with each word he attempted to write. That was only fifteen minutes ago. Still, Spike remained in the kitchen, mindlessly making everyone some food when he suddenly belched green fire. The sudden belch caused him to fall over and hit the ground with a thud, and then a scroll hit his face. Before he could even stand, Twilight had appeared and grasped him in her magic and was spinning him around to see if he had any injuries. “Twilight! Put me down before I throw up!” Spike yelled, his face turning green as he was slowly and gently placed onto the ground. He wobbled a bit before regaining his balance, and as soon as he did, he glared at the lavender pony. “What the hay Twilight!? I’ve fallen off bigger heights and taken hits from Rainbow Dash and Derpy and been completely fine. Why are you so worried about this when I can swim in lava!?” Spike snapped at her, frustrated that he became dragon spin-top. Twilight’s wings ruffled in slight anger, but she managed to calm herself down as she solemnly stared at the young dragon. “Because I was worried for you, that’s all. I heard you fall, and with recent news, I assumed the worst.” Twilight explained, which caused Spike to lose his glare and was replaced with a sorrowful look. Seeing this, Twilight gave him a bright smile. “But it’s fine, Spike. Knowing that you’re safe is all that matters to me.” Twilight finished as she nuzzled his head and he returned the gesture. As they finished Twilight looked over at the counter to see a scroll with a sun insignia sealing it shut. “It’s from the princess. She must’ve made a plan.” Twilight murmured to herself, although it was also aimed towards Spike. Levitating it over, she opened it and began to read its contents. Dear Twilight, I must say that it brings me great sorrow to learn of the genocide that had taken place in the Dragon Lands. I hope that Dragon Lord Ember has, somehow, taken the news well, along with Spike and her escort Smolder. And I send my best wishes to Garble, hoping that he gets better physically and mentally. However, in regards to this black dragon, neither I nor Luna have any idea as to where it came from. Although we do believe it must have existed since before we were born, our memories of history before those times are nearly nonexistent. As such, I have decided that the only beings with that sort of knowledge would be Discord or Tirek. Although with Discord in his home, Tirek is the quicker option as opposed to trying to summon Discord and waiting for him to respond, assuming that he does respond. With Tirek being imprisoned in Tartarus, it will make questioning him far easier and quicker. I wish for you and Lord Ember to accompany me to Tartarus, leaving Luna in charge of Equestria. As for what you have suggested in your letter, I agree that it would be best to investigate the Dragon Lands rather than keep away from it entirely. However, while I do not doubt Starlight’s prowess, I would have more peace of mind if she were accompanied by Discord, who is in Chaosville and will return within the day. As such, when he does return, have Fluttershy inform him of the events that have transpired. After that, Discord, Starlight, and Shining Armor, who is currently on his way to Ponyville, are to go and inspect the dragon lands. While I wish I knew more about this dragon, about this new terror that plagues the world, I do not. However, once we’ve gathered enough information, we will go out and banish it to the depths of Tartarus. I shall be in Ponyville within twenty minutes by the time I’ve sent the letter to retrieve both you and Lord Ember. See you soon, Celestia Twilight finished and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. “Alright Spike, you know what the princess has planned, so me and Ember will be gone for the rest of the day. I want you to go find Fluttershy and Smolder and tell them what Celestia wrote. Shining will be here soon, and I can guess that he knows as well since he’s tagging along with Discord and Starlight. I’ll go tell Ember what’s happening, while you head off to find Fluttershy. Got it?” Twilight asked after summarizing the letter to her assistant. The young dragon nodded and gave a salute before running out of the kitchen…until he came back in, grabbed his sandwiches, and then left the castle. Twilight giggled before running off to find Ember. If Princess Celestia believed that Tirek had the answers about the dragon, then she would fully trust her decision. However, that still meant that the dragon was out there, hunting down its kin. But she knew that she and her friends would overcome it, just like they always did; together as friends with their friendship. After all, what was stronger than the magic friendship? … … … If only she knew… In the Badlands of Equestria, the black dragon descended from the sky, its abyssal black wings darkened the land as it perched itself on a small hill. It surveyed its surroundings, knowing that a dragon was hiding somewhere. It sniffed the air once and snapped its head towards a cave that went underground. Now that it knew where it was, the dragon’s fate was sealed. Suddenly, a bright light encased it, and it soon died down revealing a new creature. The dragon became a dark-skinned, muscular bideal figure. His sharp gaze and the black circles around his eyes made him look even more menacing. His dark blue hair matched his high-collared black cloak and baggy pants; the rising winds revealed familiar blue markings on his skin. Around his neck was a necklace made up of dragon claws, a sash around his waist, and two gold rings on each arm that were tightened around his upper arms. He moved forward towards his destination, intending to continue what he had done in the dragon lands. He suddenly stopped in his stride, smelling and quickly seeing that more dragons were heading directly to him. They must’ve heard of the deaths he had caused, and seeing him transform into this form put two and two together. He realized that they were all coming to him, and he couldn’t have felt more pleased. A sinister grin made its way onto his face. The hunted were coming to the hunter. The lambs led themselves to the slaughterhouse, making it all the more easier. “Let the Dragon King’s festival begin.” Lost HistoryThe frail centaur known as Lord Tirek paced around his cell in thought. Scheming his next plan at not only escaping the accursed place known as Tartarus, but also getting revenge against Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Until he could even escape, Tirek would comply with getting his revenge in his dreams; assuming that Luna would choose to bother someone else's dream instead of his own. After all, villains do have dreams and goals. Just because world domination didn’t fit into the agendas of Equestria didn’t mean he’d have to change his. “Tirek!” The centaur turned to the entrance of his cell to see Princesses Twilight, Celestia, and Ember. He was very surprised, knowing that they were quite angry when he had stolen their magic and turned Discord against them. Well, he never got to the dragons due to being defeated, so he honestly didn’t know why the new Dragon Lord was here. “Well, to what do I owe the pleasure? It’s not every day that one meets royalty, well aside from when I had taken your magic, but I’m sure that’s in the past.” Tirek taunted, feeling some amusement in seeing the brief flash of anger go across Celestia’s face. However, instead of a retort from her or her friends, the white alicorn summoned her magic and moved him to the back of his cell while creating a table with tea and a few cookies. “I would recommend sitting down, Tirek. You may have answers to a threat that runs amok in Equestria, and considering what has recently happened, I’m not in the mood for games.” Celestia’s stern tone, one that was reserved mainly for Discord when he got out of control, told him that he didn’t have a choice. He walked towards his chair and reluctantly sat down as the three walked in and sat across from him. Tirek could see that Ember was getting impatient, about what he didn’t know, but considering that they had come to him for answers he knew that he held some of the cards. “What is it that you wish to know? By coming to me it means that it involves something that neither you nor Luna know of. Something that can’t be found in a book somewhere or isn’t inscribed in stone.” Tirek took joy at the shots he had taken at Twilight and Ember. The two gave him a hard glare, but Celestia calmly sipped her tea before speaking. “First things first, I thought that I should let you know that all of the dragons in the Dragon Lands, save three, have been killed.” Celestia broke the ice by getting straight to the point. Tirek gave her his full attention with a bewildered look on his face. Surely she didn’t believe that he had killed them? He had been imprisoned here for quite a while, nor did he have the power to do so. So who could have— An eerie, cold shiver went down his spine. Tirek managed to hide his sudden discomfort by eating some of the food that Celestia had graciously brought. He couldn’t still be around, could he? Tirek had heard the rumors from all those years ago, he assumed them to be true because there had been no sightings of him. Shaking his head, he swallowed his food before speaking. “I’ll have you know that it wasn’t me who—“ “We are well aware that it wasn’t you. Beings such as you, and even King Sombra and Chrysalis, realize the folly of ruling a kingdom with no subjects to rule over. We have a basic idea of our culprit, but we don’t know where or who he truly is.” Celestia interrupted with the knowledge of how most villains of Equestria had been. While she knew that they weren’t above killing to get what they wanted, with Discord being somewhat of the exception, killing everyone would leave a kingdom full of corpses. Nothing to rule over except animals and their soldiers. Tirek quietly drank his tea and ate his snack. While he savored the flavor, with this being the best meal he’s had since being here, he couldn’t truly enjoy it as the coldness worsened. Memories from years ago started to surface, but he forcibly pushed them back down and locked them away. Tirek was doing his very best to ignore it, and most importantly, to forget. To forget that day entirely. “And for what reason do you believe that I possess that answer?” “Because you’ve been alive longer than Celestia. You’ve met Starswirl the bearded when he was a young unicorn, and you might know about the black dragon that killed its—“ “WHAT!?!?” Tirek roared, shattering his cup as he stood to his hooves, bucking his chair across the cell as it shattered against the wall. The three stared at him with widened eyes, completely surprised at the reaction. Twilight went to speak again, but Tirek was quicker. “The black dragon…Acnologia still exists!?” Tirek asked again, still shouting in pure terror. Out of the three, Ember was the most curious, seeing as the dragon may have been a historical figure for her people. To the princesses surprise, they heard the other creatures in Tartarus whimper and howl at the dragon’s name. They too were afraid of him, and they were all silenced when Celestia slammed her hoof on the floor; sending echoes throughout the prison as Ember spoke. “Who is he? And why is slaughtering his fellow dragons!?” Ember demanded before slamming her talons into the table. Tirek managed to calm himself down as he momentarily stared at her, and then his face grew serious. He stared directly into her eyes before doing the same to the Alicorns. “Acnologia…was the world’s first Dragon King.” This revelation caused them to gasp. “No one knows where he came from, but he was by far one of the most, if not the most, strongest beings on the planet. Very few could challenge his might, and those that couldn’t did, were erased.” Ember and Twilight shuddered at his tone. Celestia’s gaze hardened, which told the centaur to explain more. “Long ago, when I was a child, my father once told me a story; a story of how powerful dragons were. He told me how dragons could level mountains, create valleys, and were very adept in elemental magic.” Tirek’s story left Ember’s jaw hanging. Dragons couldn’t use magic, with the exception being Spike, and to hear that they once could was mind-breaking. “But the Dragon King topped all of that. He could destroy islands, destroy forests with just a roar, and flatten towns just by descending to the ground. But the most destructive thing he’s done during my time was obliterating a country.” The princesses couldn’t help but be silent. The black dragon was powerful, absurdly so. Destroying a country by himself was horrifying enough, not only pushing his power further but proving why he was the first King of Dragons. They could only ponder Acnologia’s destruction and his reasoning behind it, but couldn’t fathom any reason for killing his subjects. “I must admit that while the history of the dragons is very interesting, it does not explain why the first dragon king is killing his subjects. It also raises other questions; such as why is he not mentioned in history? Why has he been gone so long? Why has he appeared now?” Celestia stacked question onto question, wanting to know more about the first Dragon King. Ember was more curious than her, hearing the tales of how powerful dragons once were. “There are a few things that I cannot answer. One of them being why he kills dragons. No one, not even the dragons themselves, knew why he killed his kin. Acnologia vanished after some time for unknown reasons, and Discord may have the answer to that question. He knows more about the world than myself, along with its many secrets as well. But what I do know is this…” Tirek replied before he focused solely on Ember. “…He will stop at nothing until all dragons have been eliminated. And that includes you.” “You’re wrong!” Twilight shouted, drawing attention to herself. “Sure, he’s killed dragons recently and in the past, maybe doing so as we speak, but me and my friends will stop him. Just like with you, Sombra, Chrysalis, and every other villain we’ve faced, he’ll be stopped.” Twilight boldly stated as Celestia and Ember smiled at her proclamation. Celestia could tell that she had matured greatly since she had been first sent to Ponyville, and her status as a princess boosted that. “Hehehe…Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!!” Tirek’s sudden laughter gave him attention. He slammed his hands on the table and used it for support as he held his stomach. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought Twilight to be the Princess of Comedy. “Something Funny?” Ember growled out, her anger starting to grow with Tirek’s antics. “Most certainly! Acnologia isn’t like every other villain, because he doesn’t care to rule Equestria or Earth Land. He craves death and destruction, and there isn’t a single creature currently alive that can oppose him. Even then, when I was young, once again, hardly anyone could match his power. Why, I myself believe it would take the likes of Grogar, Discord, the four Alicorns, and King Sombra to even be some kind’ve challenge to him.” Tirek explained his amusement while telling them his honest opinion on what it would take to fight the Dragon King. “You mean to tell us that even with all of the people that you’ve listed, that we’d only be able to become a challenge? Not only that, but that his one goal is to bring destruction to the world?” Celestia asked as Tirek nodded. Any theories that Celestia could have come up with were suddenly dismissed by Tirek’s claim. What dismissed her theories was Acnologia’s reasoning. And the reason didn’t exist, because he had no desire to rule. No desire to bend the alicorns to his will, to take the magic of the land, or even enslave any creature as far as the eye could see. Still, hope existed to stop him, and there was still another group currently going to learn more about Acnologia. Starlight’s group should already be on their way to the Dragon Lands, and Celestia hoped and prayed to Faust herself that Acnologia had chosen to leave. Tirek would have no reason to lie about his strength if he feared him too, and she was now more worried than ever about Equestria…no, Earth Land itself. As for Tirek, well, he was perfectly content with remaining in Tartarus. With the Dragon King running amok he wasn’t concerned about revenge or escaping, as far as he was concerned, he was in a very safe place. After all… He wasn’t about to fight the Arcane Dragon and think that he would escape as the victor. Not again. He once thought that before and paid for it, and he wasn’t going to make that same mistake again. Tirek spaced out at those thoughts before regaining his focus and seeing the three staring at him with confused and even worried looks on their faces. “If that is all, then you can leave. I have no business in dealing with Acnologia, and staying out of his way is the best chance of survival, unless you're a dragon. Even so, if he sees you as something that he wants to destroy, or even worse, a threat, then he’ll leave nothing left of you.” Tirek finished as he vanished into the darkness of his cell with his plate of food and drink. Celestia watched his figure before she sighed and removed the furniture that was within his cell. Then she teleported herself, Twilight, and Ember out of Tartarus and into the throne room where Luna was seated and waiting. “Can I assume that things have gone well sister? Or at the very least gotten some useful information out of him?” “I cannot say that it was well, considering the information, but we’ve certainly gained very useful information. While I will give you a brief summary, we should wait for Starlight’s group to return so that we may all have the same information. And with Discord there…” “…He may find more than meets the eye.” “Ah! I just love the dark side of the moon!” “What are you talking about?” Starlight turned her head to the chaos god, wondering what nonsense he was talking about this time. “It’s the middle of the day.” “True, but the dark side of the moon is filled with many fun mysteries, but Luna won’t let me near ours. Besides, the Fallen is someone that Celestia wouldn’t like. Destroying suns and ending the lives of civilizations, you know how it is.” Discord replied before he created metal spines on the side of his face as his eyes suddenly glowed a bright red. Starlight sighed and shook her head, deciding that she was going to save herself the headache. Despite being reformed, he still had his mischievous tendencies, and those tendencies would work Starlight’s nerves. “We’re almost at the Dragon Lands. Although, I’m still nervous about actually being there. When Twilight told me what happened, well, I was a little hesitant about going. But seeing as she’s trusting me on this I couldn’t refuse her.” Starlight admitted as her ears folded back. She felt very unnerved about leading this expedition, even more so when she was interested in what had happened. But she also felt very honored that she had been chosen to be the leader instead of the spirit of chaos or the pony with actual military experience in leading others. “Trust me, being nervous for something like this isn’t uncommon. Quite frankly, I’d be more concerned if you weren’t feeling nervous. Twilight wanted you here because she believes you are capable of handling yourself, and with me and Discord here, we have nothing to worry about.” Shining calmly said as he trotted alongside her with a small smile. Starlight gave a confident one back, now knowing where Twilight got her confidence from. “Come along now! While I’m sure that the speech was inspiring, I can assure you that the land of the dead that we are at will crush it.” Way to ruin the moment Discord. “I try my best.” Anyway, the group arrived at the dead land and could already smell the putrid stench of rotting corpses. The sun that had been beating down on them made it even worse, so much so that Discord snapped his fingers and created three nose plugs for them all. But while the nose plugs blocked out the scent, they couldn’t block out the horrifying sight that was before them. “I know the princess said that it was bad according to the survivor, but it was worse than I imagined.” Shining stoicly said as he made his way towards the land. He entered into military mode, knowing that he needed his nerves calmed so that he could calm down the others if need be, mainly Starlight. Starlight was frozen in place, for as far as the eye could see, she saw countless mutilated corpses. Many were littered on the ground, others were pasted on the side of rocks, and others were completely unrecognizable. Starlight audibly gulped before following Shining. “C-C’mon Discord. We won’t know anything until we get more information.” Silence was what she received. “D-Discord? Let’s go already, what’s the matter?” Starlight turned and asked, but what she saw caused her to pause mid-stride. Discord’s face was one of terror, although she could see how uncertain he looked as he viewed the landscape. “I need to confirm something. Let’s go!” Discord quickly said before snapping his talons and teleporting himself, Starlight, and even Shining in an area where there were no corpses. The prince was briefly disoriented before she shook his head and glared at the draconequus, but he couldn’t get a word out before he snapped his talons again and vanished. “What is wrong with him? Chaos he may be, even Discord needs to have some reasoning to him.” “He has reasoning every now and then, but that’s like trying to place some form of logic onto Pinkie Pie. But actually, I think the reason is that something spooked him.” Starlight countered as she examined a nearby corpse. “Whatever has Discord worried, makes me wonder if it has to do with this black dragon. No, it has to do with it, but what that is I’m not entirely sure.” Starlight explained as steeled her nerves before walking around. Shining did the same as they each took a separate direction. The prince of the Crystal Empire was trying to see if there were more survivors, despite how low those chances were. As for Starlight, she was trying to figure out what had shaken Discord. She had done numerous magical scans on different dragons, and each scan remained the same but something was missing. Starlight continued her scans, desperately trying to figure out what was missing, or what may have been taken. She had gotten so focused on scanning the dragons that she tripped over a rock and fell into a crater. She rolled down for a bit before landing with a small splash, which greatly confused her as water was quite scarce in the dragon lands due to its climate. However, she suddenly had a metallic taste in her mouth before realizing what she was in. A small pool of blood. She went to get up and get out of the blood when her eyes fell upon the dragon that created the blood. Torch lay on his side, his empty eyes staring into her own. Starlight immediately screamed and teleported out of the red liquid. Starlight furiously shook herself, wanting to remove every drop of blood on her fur. Even as Shining and Discord appeared, she didn’t stop as shook off her saddle bag and used her hooves to try and remove the blood. However, she only accomplished smearing the blood on her hooves and her body, and upon remembering that she had also tasted the blood made her gag. Before Shining could try and calm her down, Discord snapped his talons. Instantly, Starlight’s body glowed as her frantic breathing and movements slowed down. Now she was far calmer, and with another snap of his talons, her fur was clean and shiny. Even sparkling as the sun beamed down on her. “I thought it’d be quicker to use a clean and calm spell on you.” Discord answered the question within their minds, knowing what they were probably thinking. “I've managed to confirm my suspicions, and I was hoping to be wrong.” “What did you find? I’ve been scanning the dragons and they’re missing something, but I can’t figure it out.” Starlight explained as Shining agreed. He found that, outside of being dead, the dragons looked pale. Their scales were faded in color, and some of their eyes had a white hue over them. “Yes, I confirmed that—Actually, I think it’s time we head back.” Discord interrupted himself as the two ponies looked at him in confusion before protesting. Even though their hopes of finding any more survivors were shattered seeing the state of the dragons, they felt that they could find more useful information. “We just got here. I think we can explore the caves and dens of a few dragons before leaving. More so the elders to see if they have anything regarding this black dragon.” Shining argued as he could see that Discord wasn’t pleased. He was assigned to search the Dragon Lands to find anything of importance, and he wasn’t about to leave with so little information. “Shining’s right Discord. We’ve hardly done a deep search, and I think looking into the caves of the Elder Dragons is a great idea. And once we’ve gathered more information, we can leave and share it all with Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.” Starlight explained as both she and Shining stood their ground. They knew that the chaos god could forcibly take them back if he wanted, but they could see that he was thinking over their argument. “Fine then, we can stay longer.” Discord relented as his companions smiled. “But no more than an hour. I do have places to be, chaos to create, and so much more. Believe it or not, I do have quite the busy schedule.” Discord met in the middle as a scroll appeared that rolled itself out into a long list. The ponies didn’t care, knowing that the draconequus complied with their wants as he started to walk alongside them. “So he’s left, despite the fact he wasn’t here very long. Either he’s only come to see the damage, or wondered what we’re doing here. Mmm, well so long as he’s gone then it doesn’t matter how long we stay unless he comes back. Not that they need to know that.” Discord thought to himself as he hummed a tune. Deciding to withhold the information that he possessed for the time being, the spirit of chaos followed leader Starlight into the first of many caves. The group’s trespassing into the homes of elder dragons proved unfruitful. Many of them possessed gold, trinkets, and what Starlight assumed to be magical artifacts. Although, said artifacts were either broken, useless, or oozed dark magic. For whatever reason the elders possessed objects containing dark magic, were better left to the unknown, and Shining swore that one of the objects was calling out to him. But none of them possessed any knowledge of Acnologia, not that the ponies knew the black dragon’s name. Discord told them that it was time to leave as Starlight reluctantly nodded, disappointed that she didn’t find anything of importance. As she was leaving, Starlight spotted another book out of the corner of her eye. What separated this book from the others was that it was black with dark blue swirls and bold dark purple initials on the spine, although the initials were faded. She couldn’t make out what the letters were and the author’s name had faded as well, meaning that she couldn’t tell who wrote it either. Still, something about the book made her very curious, and she stared at the book for a few moments before hearing Shining’s voice. “Starlight! Come on we’re leaving!” “S-Sorry! I’m coming!” Starlight replied as she stored the book in her saddle bag. She had a feeling that it would be, somehow, useful. Unbeknownst to her, something had dashed through the cave and collected the books and other magical artifacts that had been cursed with dark magic. It hid itself as it watched Starlight leave, its eyes focused on her saddle bag before it sunk into the shadows. The small group’s sudden appearance in the throne room startled those present, consisting of the Elements of Harmony, the co-rulers of Equestria, the current Dragon Lord with Smolder, and Spike. Discord found it quite amusing as he chuckled a bit before he appeared next to Celestia. “So Lightbringer, what did you learn from your trip to prison? I assume that Tirek and the others were very hospitable when you graced them with your presence.” “For the last time Discord, stop calling me that. I get a strange feeling from that nickname, and the prisoners hospitality made themselves known when Tirek screamed the black dragon’s name in terror.” Celestia replied as she forcibly teleported Discord next to Fluttershy. He shrugged his shoulders before snapping his talons, creating tea and cookies for himself and the pegasus next to him. “No disrespect o’ nothing princess, but how in tarnation does this dragon’s name scare Tirek of all creatures?” Applejack asked as Rainbow Dash agreed. She couldn’t see any reason why someone should fear a name, almost as if forgetting the names of powerful villains they had all once faced with one of them being in the same room as her. “Names hold meaning, but certain names hold power. In certain places, these names go a long way. Whether the name strikes fear or calmness into the hearts of those who hear it depends on the creature behind the name. As for the prisoners of Tartarus, Tirek especially, the name Acnologia holds a great deal of meaning and power.” Celestia calmly explained as she noticed the looks on their faces. Confusion at first before turning to concern with Tirek’s name in the same sentence. She understood the reason for concern, with Tirek nearly taking all of the magic in Equestria and almost becoming its new dictator. “According to Tirek, Acnologia was the very first Dragon King, albeit it was self-proclaimed. Even so, he was the King of Dragons with the power to back up his claim. However, he was no benevolent ruler, nor a ruler at all for he slaughtered dragons. The reason is unknown, but he killed any and all dragons until one day he vanished. Tirek claims that no one had seen him, and no one knew where he had gone or why he vanished. But now he’s returned, and he must be stopped before he kills all dragons.” Celestia summarized the history of Acnologia and she allowed them all to soak in the information. Twilight’s friends were a mixture of emotions. Fluttershy was unsurprisingly shaking in place, being completely terrified of Acnologia while softly crying about the deceased dragons. Rarity was worried for Spike and her sister due to the attacks that Ponyville faced from its villains. And if she needs to, she won’t hesitate to send Sweetie Belle to her parents here in Canterlot for her own protection. And while she didn't want to admit it, Rarity knew that there was very little she could do to protect Spike, knowing that she had no power against a fully matured dragon along with not having a clue as to where to send him. Applejack and Rainbow Dash felt similar to their siblings. The difference is that Applejack would force her family to move out to Appaloosa to live with Braeburn and extended family whether they wanted to or not, and Rainbow Dash would send Scootaloo with her parents to Cloudsdale. Neither of them were going to take any chances, especially after hearing the carnage that Acnologia had left behind in the ancient past and present times. The resident dragons of the group didn’t know what to think. Ember had been present during Tirek’s explanation of the first Dragon King. She knew that the rulers of nations were vastly different throughout history, but she doubted any of them were as cruel as Acnolgia. She wondered how insane he must’ve been to declare himself the ruler of dragons when he had also be killing them. Smolder and Spike, while sharing the same emotions, possessed very different thoughts on the matter. Spike was far more distressed than before, knowing that he was now on a targeted list and would soon join an ever-growing list of dead dragons. He had faith that Twilight and the others would stop him, ending his horrible goal before he could claim the lives of any more of his kin, but his fear of being brutally killed rivaled that faith. It rivaled the faith and bonds of his mother’s friendships, and he felt angry with himself that he was doubting it. As for Smolder, she was now feeling very dejected. She was ready, regardless of Ember’s order, to challenge Acnologia. But then she heard his atrocities, his vast power, and suddenly gained overwhelming fear. None of them in the room had ever encountered him in person, but she could only imagine how intimidating his presence would be. How absurdly powerful he was with having no one to rival him. “Tirek even gave a list of people that he believes is what it would take to defeat him.” Twilight gained everyone’s attention as she repeated the listed names. “The problem is that he included Sombra, and Grogar. One of them is dead, and no one knows what’s even happened to the last, not like he could be trusted either. He’s probably been banished to some unknown place where he couldn’t be found, and while I hate to say it, Cadence isn’t much of a fighter. We also don’t know all that much about Acnologia, so we’d be fighting blind while not knowing his magical prowess.” Twilight deduced as she held her hoof to her chin. Compared to the former villains, Acnologia’s existence was shrouded in mystery. No one knew where he came from and the only thing he wanted to was kill every dragon on Earth Land. “What about you Starlight? You guys must’ve found something in the Dragon Lands. Right?” Rainbow Dash asked as all eyes were on her. Starlight, as much as she wanted to give them some form of hope, couldn’t as she gave a weak sigh and shook her head. “Aside from books containing dark magic, crumbling magical artifacts, and cursed objects, no we didn’t. Also, out of respect for Ember, we chose not to look into Torch’s den, so there might be some stuff in there that’ll help us. Aside from that, me and Shining discovered that something was wrong with the dragons, like something was missing from them. I scanned every one I came across and got the same results but I couldn’t figure it out. Shining said that their scales had gotten paler, as if they lost some of their colors, and their eyes had a white hue over them. But Discord managed to learn something, and now’s the best time to tell us.” Starlight grimly replied before staring at the chaos god for an answer. She had decided to refrain from telling them of the book she had taken, wanting to examine it herself due to being more versed in dark magic than her friends. Excluding the princesses and Discord of course. Everyone looked at him to see him changing Fluttershy’s mane color and style, from having a spiky silver mane that curved off to the left side, to then having black spiked hair that stuck out in all directions that also defied gravity, to finally possessing long silver hair that flowed down to the end of her flank as he also changed her coat to be completely white with her one of her wings turned black. “Oh, I think I like this one. What do you think my dear?” “Oh! Uh, I-I think it looks nice, although I feel uh, I-I feel like I shouldn’t look like this. Can you change me back, if you don’t mind, that is?” “True, the original look is better and we wouldn’t want you to try creating the power of supernovas now, would we?” Discord snapped his talons and Fluttershy returned to normal. “Now then, you wanted to know something?” “Y-Yes. What had you looking concerned?” Starlight reminded as Discord stroked his goatee. Trying to remember what she was talking about before snapping his talons, appearing coiled around Starlight’s neck with a grin. “Ah yes. I’d nearly forgotten.” Discord replied with a grin on his face, and then it disappeared. He uncoiled himself and appeared floating in the air with a serious expression on his face. “You and Shining were correct about something being wrong with the dragon's corpses. They were indeed missing something, and that something was their soul.” The draconequus could see them all get visibly pale. He was ready to snap his talons to calm them down, but he decided against it this time. “Thou can’t be serious? Surly the dragon king doesn’t possess the ability to reap the very souls of living creatures? More specifically towards dragons?” Luna asked, not wanting to believe what she had heard. Discord’s face, however, never changed. He remained serious as he stared into her eyes before speaking again. “I can assure you all that it’s the truth. He’s taken a portion of their soul, leaving any one of them alive in a half-dead state. Not that it matters since they die anyway, but that is my discovery.” No one had a response after that. How could they? Hearing that he possessed the power to reap souls was horrifying, and the only ones who could have any defense against it would be the elements of harmony, the Alicorns, and possibly Discord. “You mean to tell me that this guy can destroy a portion of our soul!? If he can do this to a dragon then he could rule over Earth Land!” Rainbow Dash yelled as her concerns just skyrocketed. Some of the others agreed with her, mainly Smolder and Spike. “Maybe if we throw him a really super duper awesome big party he’ll stop his destruction!” Pinkie happily yelled with confetti exploding behind her. No one questioned where it came from, having grown used to her antics. Pinkie noticed everyone’s expression and knew that a party wasn’t going to solve the problem as much as she wanted that to be the solution. “I think a party would have a better effect on Tirek than Acnologia.” Ember dryly said before she sighed. “The issue is that there’s no dragon or creature on Earth Land that knows he’s going around committing mass genocide or even who he is. He has an unknown form of magic that allows him to kill an entire land full of dragons, reaps their souls, and has been alive since Tirek was a kid.” “So what are yer saying exactly? That the feller has like…Dragon Slayer magic?” Applejack questioned the Dragon Lord, raising a brow at her demeanor. “Even if he does, I find it mighty hard to believe that no one would know about it, or that it wasn’t written down somewhere.” Everyone shivered at the name Applejack had given the magic. The ability to possess the magical power to slay dragons, and possibly other creatures as well, was terrifying. “Sounds more like Soul Reaper magic to me.” Rainbow Dash commented as she was given a side look from Applejack. “Oh come on! You can have your ideas on this guy’s magic, and besides if he can take, destroy, or consume souls wouldn’t my name for his magic sound much better?” “I don’t think it matters which name sounds better since either way it’s being used to cause mass genocide. It also concerns me just how in depth you made this form of magic out to be.” Starlight dryly said as Rainbow Dash huffed and looked away. As amusing this would have normally been, everyone sighed at her attitude towards something so insignificant. “Maybe there’s something in the Royal Library that mentions his magic? Or something that Starswirl has written down or maybe Tirek knows more than what he’s said.” Spike offered as Celestia considered everything that had been said. There were many books and tomes that even she had not gone through, and the possibility of finding something was certainly there. Tirek was a lesser case, seeing as he feared Acnologia, and with that in mind, she believed that he wouldn't try escaping unless Acnologia was defeated or had finished his conquest and vanished once again. “There are many possibilities and considerations for the Dragon King’s magic. Whether he does possess, as Applejack and Rainbow Dash have said, Dragon Slayer or Soul Reaper magic or not remains unknown. And Tirek withholding information is a possibility as well. For now, I will have a team scour the library for anything that mentions a black dragon, no matter how minuscule. I will also have another team that will be used to track Acnologia and report his location. During this, I want you all to continue about your lives until called upon. I can understand if you’re frustrated or angry with my decision, but hunting down Acnologia with so many uncertainties is a death sentence that I will not be giving. My decision is final.” Celestia sternly explained as she saw them all nod. Off to the side, Ember explained the same thing to Spike and Smolder, even though Spike was more under Celestia’s rule than Ember’s. “Well, if thou friends have nothing else to add, then you are free to leave. We hope that the next time we meet will be with more information on the Dragon King.” Luna dismissed them as they all started to leave. Starlight was quite surprised that she wasn’t called out for the book of dark magic in her saddle bag, but she was very glad that she wasn’t. She had doubts that her friends had fully forgiven her and was wary that if she was found with this book they would forsake her. “…free me…” Starlight shivered and looked around her. No one else heard the cold voice except her, and she knew that no one had spoken. And yet, in the silence of the throne room, a voice spoke to her. She slowly realized where it came from and gave a small glance to her saddle bag, knowing that it was the book. She waited for the voice to say anything else, but the book remained silent as she internally sighed. “Great, not only does the book contain dark magic but something is sealed inside it. I better prepare some spells and wards, just in case opening the book unleashes whatever’s sealed in it.” Starlight thought to herself as she brought her gaze back up to her friends. None were speaking as they walked out of the throne room, all in their thoughts to fully digest what they had been told. But Starlight was good at reading others, and she could tell they all had similar feelings. Anger Frustration Stress Anxiety “...And Fear.” What Lurks In The DarkIt had been a few days since the group was essentially told to wait for anything new concerning Acnologia. Small things happened, but nothing could take their minds off of the black dragon. They hadn’t even seen him and they knew just how terrifying he was. They had all gone about their business as usual, either working or somehow managing to relax during all this. Rainbow Dash was the master at relaxation. As for Starlight? She blocked off a small section of Twilight’s castle and she riddled that section with numerous wards and spells to prevent anyone other than herself from entering. Naturally, Twilight was curious as to what she was doing that required a section of her home to be closed off along with so much magical protection. Starlight responded that she needed the large space for some spell practices that she wanted to keep secret. Knowing how intrusive Twilight could be when it came to magic, Starlight kept what she was doing as vague as possible. She wasn’t trying to be mean, she just didn’t want to answer the inevitable question as to why she had a book containing dark magic. She herself didn’t have an actual reason other than it intrigued her. But Starlight was going to examine the book anyway to see if it contained any useful spells that she could use against the Dragon King, within great reason of course. Going off of current knowledge, along with her own assumptions, Acnologia’s scales should be as durable as one of Shining Armor’s strongest shields. As such, Starlight figured that the spell book could contain something that would pierce his scales, or at the very least deal some damage to him. The downside is that it was dark magic. Starlight had no intention of being corrupted and becoming the next King Sombra, even though she had dabbled in dark magic before. Shaking her head the unicorn made sure that the spells and wards were secured and the section of the library she was using was locked off so that Spike or Twilight didn’t accidentally wander in. And so something else couldn’t escape. Starlight sighed as she levitated the book over and prepared herself. Once she opened the book, there would be no going back, but Starlight had the foresight to know that it would take everything to stop Acnologia’s carnage. Tightening her resolve, Starlight opened the book, and the moment she did, the room considerably darkened. The book glowed an eerie dark blue before settling down, revealing the blood-red text to Starlight. Well, it revealed the text to her, but she couldn’t understand it. Starlight squinted her eyes, as if doing so would make the text readable. Deciding that it was a waste of effort, she flipped through the pages to see if there was anything that she could actually read. “Having trouble, my little pony?” Starlight’s eyes turned to pinpricks at the sudden voice in her ears. She swerved around with her magic ready to attack whatever had come out of the book. No one was there. Starlight had her eyes narrowed as she took a few steps away from the book to find out where the being was, and she knew that it was in the room with her. “Where are you? Show yourself!” Starlight demanded as the entity chuckled. “As you wish.” The being replied as dark blue mist appeared around Starlight’s hooves. It went past her and started to take form, building itself into a large pony, resembling Celestia in height. However, Starlight narrowed her eyes and could see that the large pony was an alicorn. Despite the misty appearance, Starlight thought that the alicorn looked familiar. “Princess Luna…?” Starlight questioned herself, but the alicorn heard her and snarled. Starlight immediately felt a power press down on her, trying to force her to her knees. Summoning her magic, Starlight wrapped herself in it as she slowly resisted the Alicorn’s power, and she suddenly knew who she was dealing with. “Nightmare Moon!” The power receded. Starlight gained her breath back as she glared at the demonized version of the princess of the night. Nightmare Moon glared back, but it was more reserved than Starlight’s. Her condescending look was replaced with one of indifference, not caring for Starlight’s gaze as she hummed. “If I didn’t need you, I would squash you like an insect. However, at my current power, I can’t escape my book. And that’s where you come in.” Nightmare Moon snarled at her explanation, hating to admit that she needed Starlight’s help. As for the unicorn in question, she narrowed her eyes at the dark alicorn. Starlight had no idea what Nightmare Moon had planned, nor did she know why she was needed for her escape but she wanted no part in it. “What makes you think that I’ll help you in any way? And what’s preventing me from telling Princesses Celestia and Luna about this book you're in?” Starlight countered, but the nightmare laughed. Her cackle echoed throughout the room, making Starlight glad that she had soundproofed the room so that no one could hear what was happening inside. “True, that would pose a problem for me. But how would you explain yourself when you took a book containing dark magic? Moreover, containing me sealed inside it?” Nightmare Moon countered as Starlight’s breath hitched, realizing that she was right. “I see you’ve realized the double-edged sword that you wield. Like I’ve said, I can’t escape this book on my own, but you can’t read its text. It’s far too ancient for you to understand. However, I can help you understand the book, and in exchange, you shall allow me to place some of my essence in you.” Nightmare Moon offered as Starlight stared at her like she was crazy. Oh wait, she was crazy! Making a deal with Nightmare Moon was definitely not on any of Starlight’s lists for the day, much less encountering Nightmare Moon in the first place. “What are you talking about? Your essence? Like are you going to implant your magic, a piece of your mind or soul, or something similar? What’s the purpose of that and what makes you think I would even consider it?” “Because you wish to assist your friends in the defeat of Dragon King Acnologia. Correct?” Nightmare Moon asked, even though she knew the answer. Starlight’s eyes widened, wondering how the nightmare could’ve known that. “Don’t look so surprised. Just because I was sealed in my book does not make me ignorant of the world. I heard your conversation with the princesses, and I must say that you were lucky that they didn’t sense me, Luna more so.” Nightmare Moon revealed as Starlight remained silent and did her best to properly form thoughts and analyze everything that she just heard. The nightmare had overheard everything, meaning that she knew of Acnologia and everything else that was learned from Tirek. Although Starlight did question her age. If she existed before Equestria was even a thought, then it would explain her knowledge of the ancient texts of the book that she was sealed in. Which was a question in itself as to what she actually was. That aside, Starlight knew that making a deal with Nightmare Moon was the equivalent of making one with Queen Chrysalis. There was a scheme that the alicorn was planning, and she needed Starlight for it. The unicorn didn’t know what she was needed for, but she would learn where she stood if she accepted. “Seeing as you are taking your time, you must be doubting me.” Nightmare Moon suddenly spoke, breaking Starlight from her thoughts as she nodded. “I thought so. Here, just to show you that I want to be free…” Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed a soft blue as did Starlight’s body before dying down. “There, now flip to a page and it will be translated into modern Equish.” Starlight did as she was told as she turned her attention back towards the book. Even though she eyed Nightmare Moon carefully, she couldn’t deny that the contents of the book outweighed her suspicions and more into her interest. As such, she walked back to the book and read from the page she was already on. “Nightmare Sphere. The user casts a sphere, its size depends on the user’s magical power, and whoever is caught within this sphere except the caster will experience horrific nightmares whether they are awake or asleep. The spell can last as long as the user puts magical energy into the sphere, although it will last no more than twenty minutes on its own. This is because the spell will have already done its job the moment it’s activated; causing untold fear which can be amplified via two different spells that are listed in the subsection. Those under its effects can escape by a third party, magic that counters this, through strong willpower, or negating the spell itself. Depending on how severe the nightmare is, the person under its effects can develop severe mental trauma, memory loss, insanity, and in the worst case, death.” Starlight read off as she regained her breath. She wasn’t expecting to read such a spell, much less learn it. Starlight suddenly realized that this was one dark spell within an entire book, and was almost glad that she and the rest of Equestria couldn’t read its contents. Starlight wondered if Luna knew the spell, or if she knew of this book at all. There was still more to the page, but the text returned to its original scripture, meaning that Nightmare Moon canceled her spell. At the same time, something told Starlight that there were far deadlier spells in the book; and various forms of unknown magic that would make the gifted Starswirl himself jealous. “As you can see, I can hold true to my word. Should you decide to accept my deal, you know where to find me. And if you do accept, then you will have a book of spells at your disposal that not even Twilight Sparkle or Celestia themselves would know of.” Nightmare Moon finished as she transformed into blue mist and returned to her book. Starlight watched the book for a few moments before she closed it and sealed it shut. Wrapped in her thoughts, Starlight made her way towards the door, deciding to think over the nightmare’s offer as she weighed the pros and cons. Quite frankly, she shouldn’t have been considering it all. Starlight knew what Nightmare Moon was capable of, but she knew that no one could read the scriptures in the book except Nightmare Moon. The only other option was Discord, seeing as the draconequus could easily translate the book with a snap of his talons. Starlight knew that he would have questions and possibly report her to the princesses for being in contact with Nightmare Moon unless he chose to keep it a secret for whatever reason he might have. “This is a bad idea, but I’ll have to sleep on this. Once I have my mind clear to think straight, I’ll make my decision.” Starlight muttered to herself as she replaced the wards and spells on her new study place before heading to her room. This new, powerful information had given her a bit of a headache, and Nightmare Moon’s presence had worsened it. Still, once she had gained enough rest, she would make her decision. Twilight Sparkle was up late into the night reading through countless books on dragons. She knew that she had nothing on Acnologia, but she decided that reading about dragons in general would help her understand Acnologia’s motives or find a weakness to exploit. As it currently stood, she found no weakness. Aside from enchanting the ballistas that Equestria possessed for times of war, Twilight had the same assumptions as Starlight, dragons were nearly invincible. Dragons could somewhat resist magic with their scales, although powerful magical attacks could easily bypass them. Twilight continued her self-induced studies, tuning out the world around her as she simultaneously took notes while reading. “TWILIGHT!!” The alicorn jumped into the air with an “eep!” before crashing onto her desk, sending her notes and books all over the floor. Twilight’s eyes rolled around her skull before she shook her head and glared at her assistant. “Spike! How many times have I told you not to scare me while I’m studying!?” “You’ve told me over a thousand times, literally! I was trying to get your attention for the past twenty minutes. Starlight came out of her new study area looking like she saw a ghost, completely exhausted before going to her room.” Spike explained as Twilight’s face softened and grew concerned for her student. Starlight had been very vague as to why she wanted a section of her castle for herself, but Twilight decided to give it to her since she felt like Starlight wanted whatever she was trying to accomplish to be a surprise. “Well, if she’s in her room then she most likely went to sleep. And I don’t want to invade an area that I gave her for privacy…”Twilight replied before trailing off. She hummed in thought before smiling. “...I’ll just ask her in the morning. I won’t ask what she’s doing, but I’ll make sure that she’s not pushing herself too hard.” “You should follow what you preach. It’s almost midnight and you’ve piled notes on dragons make a summary, and not to be rude, but it’s still not that much.” Spike rebutted as Twilight found her floor to be quite interesting. The two shared a chuckle before Twilight organized everything and neatly placed it all back onto her desk. “Fair point. I guess it is pretty late, but there are a few things about the dragons that don’t make sense.” “What do you mean?” “Well, Tirek’s father told him that dragons used to be capable of wielding elemental magic. Assuming that it’s true, the question is what happened? If there was a dragon that could wield and breathe lightning for example, how come its hypothetical offspring didn’t inherit or learn how to do it? Why and when did all of them start breathing and only breathe fire? There’s a mystery involving magic and dragons, and possibly magic itself.” Twilight explained as Spike slowly nodded. Now he understood her thoughts, and the questions were certainly interesting. Spike suddenly grinned and chuckled, wondering if he could— “No Spike. You can’t start breathing lightning because you can already breathe fire.” Twilight interrupted his thoughts as Spike blushed and nervously chuckled. The young dragon soon went to his room, now wondering just how powerful his ancestors were to be able, presumably, to breathe lightning or other forms of elemental magic. Twilight had similar thoughts, although she was more fascinated by the aspect of undiscovered magic. Sure, she might not be able to breathe elemental attacks for numerous reasons, but the discovery would change history. As she slowly fell into the realm of sleep, a sudden thought occurred to her. “Did Discord ever…give us any information on Acnologia?” The Sun had risen and Twilight was slowly waking up. Her dreamless sleep was well welcomed as she didn’t want to overstress herself, again, with Acnologia’s existence. Being well rested Twilight stretched before opening her curtains and smiled at the beautiful bright day that awaited her. Everything was fine with not a problem in sig— “AHHHHHH!!” Well, it was going fine until Murphy’s Law made itself known. Twilight immediately left her room and sped off to Starlight’s room. She didn't know what was happening or why she was screaming, but Twilight was going to protect her student. Along the way, she grabbed Spike and placed him on her back, who had already been running for Starlight’s room. “What’s going on? Why is Starlight screaming?” “I don’t know Spike, but we’ll find out soon enough.” Twilight replied before halting in front of her pupil’s bedroom. She didn’t hesitate to slam the doors open with her magic, but what was happening left her and Spike greatly confused, and amused at the same time. Starlight was being chased around by, what Twilight knew to be, a black phoenix. The phoenix had white eyes with the upper part of its face being white as well. The tip of its tail feathers and wings are dark gold in color with circles of the same color on the side going down in a v-shape to the black tips. Starlight turned around and attempted to catch the bird with her magic, but it flew over her head and landed on her back. Even though it didn’t dig its talons into her, she didn’t want it on her and tried to shake it off. This failed and tired her out as she succumbed to fatigue and fell to the floor, allowing the phoenix to fly onto her head and caw in amusement. “You’re mocking me, aren’t you?” Starlight begrudgingly asked as it cawed again. This time she heard giggling and laughter, looking at her door to see Twilight and Spike respectively finding her situation quite funny. “So glad to know that my struggling to get this bird under control was amusing to you.” “Oh, it’s not like that. Besides, we were concerned when we heard you scream, but seeing the phoenix made us a little confused. Speaking of which, was this what you were doing? Trying to summon a phoenix or a familiar?” Twilight asked as she knew the only other pony to own a phoenix was Celestia. Summoning familiars was a forgotten practice, with very few magically talented creatures being able to actually summon something without having it backfire on them. It was, in all honesty, more troubling to summon a familiar. If you wanted something specific, then you needed specific items for what you wanted and the right amount of magic to be poured into the spell as well. “Uh, yup! That’s exactly what I was trying to do! But there’s still a few more things that I want to do, so I’m still going to need the space.” Starlight decided to lie, although it was really a half-truth as she gave a wide grin. While she didn’t summon the phoenix, she still needed the space. “Oh, well, it’s amazing either way! So what’s its name?” “His name!? Uh right! His name is…” Starlight trailed off as she quickly flickered her eyes around her room, trying to find something that would make sense without being too weird. Despite looking around, an unknown word came to her and she decided to go with it. “…His name is Kuro. Kuro the phoenix!” Twilight and Spike gave her a questioning look. They didn’t know where she got the name from, but a look at the phoenix told them that he didn’t mind. As Spike was admiring the phoenix he suddenly noticed that Kuro’s eyes seemed cold, even though he turned his head to view his surroundings he never kept his gaze on something for more than a few seconds. Despite how amused he was when he was chasing Starlight, Spike could’ve mistaken him to be emotionless if he hadn’t seen the small grin on its face. Suddenly being caught in Kuro’s gaze, Spike felt himself becoming quite small. Not physically, but Kuro became more intimidating. He felt as though Kuro had become a Manticore while he became a little filly, piercing through him and staring directly into his soul. Before he could say something, Twilight blocked his view of the phoenix with a worried look on her face. “Spike, are you alright? You got into a staring contest with Kuro before spacing out. We didn’t notice that you were spacing out until Kuro made some noise.” Twilight explained as Spike blinked in confusion. When did Kuro make noise? As a matter of fact, how could he have broken eye contact with him to alert the girls while Spike knew they had both kept their gazes on each other? “Uh yeah, I’m fine. I guess I was so good that I didn’t even notice I had won.” Spike chose to be ignorant and praise himself as he nervously chuckled. He wasn’t about to admit that Kuro started intimidating him, and Spike internally decided that Kuro had taken the staring contest a little too seriously. “I was gonna continue my studies, but I think I’ll head over to Fluttershy’s house to see if she can give me some tips on taking care of a phoenix. After that, then I’ll continue my studies.” “Actually Starlight, I was wondering if you use today as a rest day.” Twilight interjected as her student looked upset. “Don’t be like that. Spike told me how he saw you last night, and while I won’t ask what you’re doing, I will ask you to take a break. Get some fresh air and walk around town before locking yourself away. Trust me, it will do you some good.” Twilight persuaded as Starlight sighed and nodded. Starlight figured that she could use the time anyway to think over her decision of indulging in Nightmare Moon’s offer and essentially powerful dark magic. “Fine. But what about you? You aren’t going to tell me to take a break while you lock yourself in your room to do exactly what you were doing last night, are you?” Starlight gave an accusing look as Twilight gave a light chuckle in response. “No no, that’s not what I had planned at all. I have another plan in mind.” Twilight admitted as she used her magic to place Spike next to Starlight. “What I have planned, more like Ember’s plan, is to head back to the Dragon Lands and go through her father’s den. She appreciates that you guys didn’t go through it, but she wants to see if Torch left anything behind that she wants to keep as a memento.” Twilight explained as her friends understood what she was doing. At that moment, Ember peered into the room before walking in. “Hope I’m not intruding on something here. You ready to go?” Ember asked as Twilight nodded. The alicorn told them that they wouldn’t be gone for very long, and for Spike to either hang out with Starlight or Smolder as she wasn’t comfortable with leaving him alone. They were wished a farewell before Twilight teleported herself and Ember to the Dragon Lands. Kuro stared for a few seconds before making some noise, making Starlight and Spike aware of him as the unicorn decided to head over to the animal expert of Ponyville. Spike gave a glance to Kuro, but the Phoenix paid him no mind as he was constantly checking his surroundings. He never kept his gaze on one thing for more than a few seconds before switching to another thing to watch, almost as though he was looking for predators that may have been lurking around the library. “Calm down Kuro. There’s nothing in the library that can harm you that I can’t deal with.” Starlight assured her new pet, seeing as he wasn’t her familiar and had no obligation to listen to her, as she trotted out the castle and into the streets of Ponyville. As she did so, neither she nor Spike noticed how Kuro’s demeanor changed. Going from constant watched to a more calmed, laser-focused look as he eyed the mare that was walking by them. “AH!” The mare suddenly tripped and fell on top of Spike. Starlight immediately turned around to help them, getting Spike and Bon Bon to their feet. Shaking her face of her distortion and rubbing her muzzle, Bon Bon gave an appreciated look to Starlight while an apologetic one to Spike. “Sorry, Spike. I should’ve been more careful.” She apologized, gave him a piece of candy, and quickly went to the train station. Kuro watched Bon Bon leave before huffing and started resting on top of Starlight’s and going to sleep. Starlight gave a quiet sigh, pleased that Kuro had calmed down and had chosen to sleep. “C’mon Spike, we need to get to Flutteryshy’s place while there’s still daylight and then get whatever supplies we need for Kuro.” Starlight explained as she used her magic to place Spike on her back and picked up the pace. She wanted to get this over with so that she could go back to Nightmare Moon. Hearing what Twilight and Ember had planned made her remember what had transpired a few days ago, and she wasn’t going to allow another mass slaughter to happen if she could gain the power to prevent it. No matter the price Princesses Celestia and Luna were currently sitting on their thrones waiting for the guest they had called. One had been retired for quite some time, while the other had finished their undercover mission for the assistance of another kingdom. While they wanted the two to relax for the work they’ve done, this was a matter of National Security that would’ve affected the world if they didn’t start coming up with solutions. The doors to the throne room opened with two mares entering, both having a serious look on their face. One of them was Bon Bon, otherwise known as Agent Sweetie Drops. She had been urgently called by the Princess for an important mission, and she would be joined by Tempest Shadow, a broken-horned Unicorn who had been sent to infiltrate the Storm King’s army and take him down from the inside, which she had successfully done. “Agent Sweetie Drops, Agent Tempest Shadow, it is good to see you both. Forgive me for the sudden summons, but this is an important mission that needs to be executed at once.” Celestia seriously spoke as the two didn’t need to reply. While they weren’t told what they’d be doing, it was important nonetheless, especially when they were present before both rulers of Equestria. “It’s perfectly fine your majesty. However, does this mission have to do with why the Dragon Lord is staying in Ponyville? Along with her escort and the injured dragon at the hospital?” Bon Bon asked as Celestia nodded. Tempest Shadow, for her part, had been surprised to hear that the Dragon Lord and three of his subjects had taken residence in the pony town. Luna saw Tempest Shadow’s confusion and explained. “Torch is no longer Dragon Lord, that title belongs to his daughter Princess Ember. However, the matter at hoof remains the same, and the matter is that Lord Ember along with three of her subjects are the only survivors from the mass genocide of the Dragon Lands.” The ponies' jaws slightly dropped at the information. How the world, much less them, hadn’t heard of this was troubling. Still, they were being assigned a mission, and whether that was to track down the creature that did this and permanently put it down, or somehow cover all this up was what they would do. “Your mission is to track down the dragon that did this and keep an eye on him. Watch where he goes and what he does, and nothing more.” Celestia explained as she allowed a small grin on her face. Seeing the bewildered look on two of her best agents was amusing, and she knew the reasoning behind it. “So this is just a reconnaissance mission? And it was a dragon that did this?” “Yes to both questions. This dragon has vanished, and you both will find and follow him. It may sound tedious, but this is of great importance. I can assure you that this dragon would kill you both without batting an eye if you attempted to take him down.” Luna coldly spoke up as her tone sent shivers down of the agents spine. “Now then, our only description is that it could be bigger than Torch and possess black scales. And this is how you shall remain in contact.” Luna continued her explanation before summoning a teal-colored orb. She gave it to Tempest before Celestia took over. “That is a communications lacrima for long distances. Use this to inform us of his whereabouts and his actions. You must send a small magic signal once every three hours when Acnologia is found. Failure to do so…and we will have no choice but to assume that he has found and killed you both.” Celestia regretfully said as she could feel their fears. It wasn’t unwarranted, to be told to track and follow a dragon that killed its kin while also being told that there wouldn’t be a recovery team to collect their bodies. The two agents looked at each other before nodding. “We understand your highness. We’ll find and follow him, no matter what.” Tempest Shadow proudly said as Bon Bon nodded. The rulers of day and night smiled as they gathered their magic. “We believe that he has entered the Bad Lands, seeing as it would be the nearest place for dragons to live and that is where we will be sending you. Any more questions?” “No ma’am!” With their final words spoken, the Alicorns teleported them to their mission site. Celestia knew it was wrong, but she needed to be blunt with them so that they fully understood what their assignment truly meant. Because at the end of the day, Acnologia wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if he was given a reason to do so. …Not that he would need one The Closet of Cursed Skeletal KnowledgeTwilight and Ember appeared just outside the Dragon Lands. It was the place that everyone was visiting, the place they kept returning to. It was, after all, the epicenter for everything that was happening. From Garble’s mental breakdown to two agents being called to track down the culprit, and finally Starlight’s choice of choosing to take Nightmare Moon’s offer. Not that she knew of the last two, but she was growing more nervous as the days went on. Twilight audibly gulped as she surveyed her surroundings. She managed to swallow the bile that had been gathering in her throat, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t ready to throw up her breakfast if she saw something that broke her. Ember kept a stoic look on her face, managing to herself together as she pressed forward. “Come on Twilight. My Dad’s den isn’t too far from here, and we’ll get there faster if we fly.” Ember didn’t wait as she took off to the skies, forcing the alicorn to catch up with her. Twilight didn’t need to ask the dragon lord to know that she was just keeping up a mask. A mask that was hiding what she was truly feeling, a mask that she didn’t want to break, a mask that Twilight knew all too well. There had been a few times when Twilight had hidden her emotions or what she was truly feeling from others, not because she wanted to hinder them with her problems, but because she didn’t want to seem weak in front of her friends. Still, Twilight knew that there was a time and place for everything, but not now. The duo silently flew across the dead kingdom, doing their best not to be distracted by the corpses. However, they still had some good looks of them, looks that would haunt them for a few days as they continued their flight. Ember said nothing, choosing not to address the situation as she signaled for Twilight to descend. Following her, Twilight saw a large den that led underground. She figured that for Torch’s size, he would have chosen a place on top of a mountain to oversee the other dragons. Ember saw her confusion and explained that her father preferred being underground because it was closer to the lava, making his den warmer than most others. “Here we are. Don’t take anything without asking, put whatever you find back where you found it, and don’t touch his treasure.” Ember immediately laid out the ground rules as Twilight slowly nodded. She didn’t know why Ember thought that she would take things belonging to her deceased father, especially with Ember present, but she kept quiet and chalked it up to Ember dealing with the loss of her father. The two went in separate directions, entering different parts of the den as Torch apparently kept things separated. Twilight respected that as she entered his bedroom, while Ember inspected his treasure room. Exactly like Ember said, Torch’s room was warm, almost hot enough that Twilight could’ve fallen asleep if she really wanted to. But she didn’t, Twilight knew that she had a job to do and that was to find anything of importance or something that would seem out of place in a dragon’s den. Twilight lifted various objects and moved them around to find anything, even lifting Torch’s sleeping rocks but she came up empty hoofed. After putting everything away, Twilight sighed as she gave the room another look. Everything looked as though it belonged, nothing was out of place, and nothing screamed ‘I definitely don’t believe here’. Twilight was about to leave when the realization came to her, she was looking for whatever didn’t seem right instead of looking at what already existed. Smirking to herself, Twilight magically scanned the room, something she should’ve done in the first place, to search for any magical objects. And, just like she thought, she found something. What she thought to be a unique dark stone ball, was actually a lacrima that had a transformation placed on it. While she was happy that she found something, it suddenly struck her as odd how it could’ve been transformed for a few reasons. One of the reasons was that Dragons couldn’t use magic, and even if they could, transformation magic was very advanced, even for her. While she couldn’t have known how long Torch had this lacrima transformed, she was impressed that he knew magic in general. “Hey, Ember! Come in here I found a lacrima.” Twilight shouted as the dragon quickly flew in. She didn’t find anything in his treasure room, but she was confused after hearing and now seeing the lacrima. “That’s weird. Dragons have no use for lacrimas because we can’t use them for anything.” Ember explained as Twilight replied how she had found it. Now with both of them confused, Twilight grasped the orb in her magic and quickly figured out that this was a recording lacrima with footage. She turned and placed the orb onto the rock bed before giving a glance to Ember, who nodded as the alicorn turned her attention back to the lacrima and started to play its contents with her magic. Torch’s image appeared, staring down at whoever was using the lacrima before speaking. “To whoever finds this, although it should be my daughter Ember, I am going to tell you an ancient piece of history veiled in darkness, one that is no longer whispered, one that no longer exists in present times. When I first became Dragon Lord so long ago, I was told the tale of Acnologia, the first Dragon King, a being whose very existence epitomizes horror and atrocity, and embodies death and destruction beyond mortal comprehension. Long before the era of Equestria, perhaps even before the unification, in a world far removed from our own, Acnologia existed. But he was no ordinary creature; he was a dragon of unparalleled might and insatiable thirst for destruction. Acnologia's scales were as black as the void itself, and his presence instilled fear into anyone who encountered him. On Earthland, where magic flows like a river, Acnologia wrought havoc upon all creatures. His lust for destruction drove him to slaughter indiscriminately, leaving behind a trail of devastation wherever he went. With each village razed and each life snuffed out, Acnologia's name grew, becoming a nightmare whispered in fear-filled tones. But there was something that truly set Acnologia apart from other dragons, and it was his insidious nature. Unlike other dragons who revered their kin and, admittedly, somewhat respected the balance of the world, Acnologia harbored a twisted desire to eradicate all dragons, viewing them as nothing more than lowly vermin. With unparalleled ruthlessness, he hunted down dragon after dragon, reveling in their demise as he bathed in their blood and grew stronger with each dragon that he killed and consumed.” Twilight paused the recording as she turned to Ember, who had been trying to force down her anger. Twilight knew that the room had gotten warmer, and it wasn’t from the lava underneath them. “Ember, are you–” “Keep going! I want to hear what else he has to say.” Ember interrupted, causing Twilight to flinch before deciding to comply with her wishes. “Even those well-versed in magic couldn’t harm him, and everyone trembled at the mere mention of Acnologia's name. His strength knew no bounds, and his cruelty knew no mercy. Entire civilizations fell before him, their people scattered like leaves before a storm. For Acnologia, there was only joy in destruction and satisfaction in mass genocide. But then…he vanished, and there was no trace of him. No one knew what happened to him, not that they cared. Many optimistically thought that he was killed, that someone ended his reign of chaos and destruction, others thought that he grew bored and left Earthland itself, but it was never proven. But from what I could gather of this piece of dark history, of his overwhelming strength, it was that his power knew no equal, and his wrath knew no limits. Eventually, he seemingly faded from the world. By the time my daughter Ember was a little drake, Acnologia no longer existed. His name, power, and very being were gone from the mouth of every creature. How this came to be…I do not know. But for better or worse, no one would live in fear of Dragon King Acnologia again.” Torch finished his thought with a sigh of relief. While he may have been pleased with the outcome, Ember and Twilight weren’t. They were furious that Torch hadn’t informed anyone of Acnologia’s destruction or informed anyone that he once existed. “The moment the tale was done, once everything had been processed through me, I abolished the Dragon King’s festival for it had a different meaning, and changed my title from King to Lord. No one, not even the elders themselves, could force a reason out of me. And with the very little magic that I possessed, I wiped the memories of the younger generation while forcing the rest under an oath to never speak of it. None were too happy with my decision, but I knew that deep down inside them all, they were grateful. Grateful that no youngling would ever have to fear or learn the name Acnologia, to cower beneath his shadow as he flew across the skies, or most importantly, live in fear for when he would come and kill them. However, at the time this is being recorded, I have felt a disturbance in the balance of magic, a stirring of ancient powers. And with it comes the haunting specter of Acnologia's looming presence. He will soon find us, the remaining living elders know this, and they know that there isn’t much we can do to stop him. I have chosen to keep this a secret, for the sole purpose of ignorance. I’m well aware of the stupidity that this is, but sometimes ignorance is indeed bliss, and this is one of those times.” Torch paused with a solemn look on his face. The watchers could tell that even he wasn’t happy with the decision, looking regretful, but Twilight knew that leaders made the tough decisions because no one else could. Even if others don’t agree with it, it was a decision that Torch and Torch alone made. “Ember, my daughter, if you are watching this, I’m sorry for the secret. Knowing how you were as a little salamander, then as old as you probably are right now watching this, you’re probably containing your anger before burning down my den, and I’m alright with that. Just know that I’ve always loved you, and I always will.” Torch proudly spoke as Ember was slightly shaking, but she made no sound as Torch continued, this time sounding more serious with a look to match.“However, there is one more creature aside from Acnologia that you must be wary of, a creature whose darkness extends into every crack and crevice across the land and could swallow the world whole if given the chance to do so. He is one of the few creators of countless dark magic spells, a being who wished to conquer all of what would be Equestria and beyond. And that creature is—” The lacrima ceased its recording. Twilight went to figure out what was wrong with it and discovered that it had simply finished. “I guess it stopped recording when Torch ran out of magic to supply it.” Twilight spoke aloud, mainly to herself as she knew that Ember was going through a multitude of emotions. Ember couldn’t hide her sniffles as she requested Twilight to take the lacrima and leave the den, wanting to be alone. Twilight did as she was asked and left, deciding to get her own thoughts and emotions together. Twilight focused on her thoughts and ignored the sudden shouting, breaths of fire, and objects being destroyed. “Torch knew about Acnologia when he first became Dragon Lord but wasn’t alive during his reign. So it must’ve been a century or a little more after Acnologia vanished when Torch was at least born and at most a young teen, and only after another century or two did he become Dragon Lord.” Twilight hypothesized the beginning of Torch’s life as she heard the falling of a few rocks. She turned her head towards the sound and saw Ember coming out of the den. Despite her eyes being somewhat red she had calmed down considerably after her outburst. “Hey, Twilight. I-I wanted to say I’m sorry for giving you the colder shoulder and seeming rude earlier.” Ember started apologizing, as Twilight focused her attention on her. “I couldn’t handle seeing everyone here dead, and I didn’t know how to express that without breathing fire or challenging you to a strength contest. So instead, I reverted back to my old self, being closed off and not wanting to deal with anyone and focus on the task at hand.” Ember finished as she held her head down, upset about everything since they first arrived. “There’s no need to apologize. I understand that you’re frustrated and upset about everything, and I guess after seeing the recording that Torch left only amplified that. But bottling up your emotions doesn’t help you deal with them, it just keeps festering until you snap and it can affect you in so many different ways.” Twilight explained as Ember gave a slight smirk. However, it slowly faded as she placed her eyes on the lacrima. “So…what do you make of this? While my dad kept Acnologia a secret so dragons didn’t live in fear of him, he should’ve told Celestia at the very least. And I’ve never heard of the Dragon King’s festival, and if I had to guess, my dad changed his title so that he wasn’t associated with Acnologia. He’s proud like that.” “But that means that this festival was something that Acnologia created or was a part of. Although to hear that he’s ended entire civilizations wasn’t terrifying enough, Torch confirmed my suspicions that Acnologia is durable against magic. I don’t know how someone who has committed such atrocities could simply vanish off the face of the earth without a peep and then be completely forgotten to history with only Torch and few elder dragons being in the known.” Twilight replied as the two sat down in thought. They had gained a massive amount of useful information about the forgotten past, and just how much Acnologia had truly destroyed. “...There’s still one more big thing. My dad said that there was one more creature to be careful for. Some creature of darkness, one that has created countless dark spells. Know anyone that fits that description?” Ember asked as Twilight pondered on her question. While the candidates for known powerful users of dark magic were big, the creators of those spells weren’t. There was only one known creator of countless dark spells and he no longer exists on Earth Land. The others were completely unheard of, although Twilight knew that there was one pony who had truly gone into the deep end of dark magic. “The only pony that comes to mind is King Sombra. But not only is he currently dead, he couldn’t have been around from such a long time ago, and he would’ve needed to deal with Acnologia to be the ruler of anything…” “I sense a ‘but’ coming along.” Twilight smiled at Ember’s banter. “...But that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t have an idea as to who Torch is talking about. While it’s safe to assume that he’s self-taught, he must’ve had someone teach him a few things, and with how powerful Sombra is, his hypothetical teacher must be one of these creators. The two issues we have, however, is that we have no clue who this creature could be or if they’re even alive. And the second is that Sombra is dead, so we couldn’t ask him anyways, unless…” Twilight went quiet at her idea, and Ember picked up on it. She easily recognized that tone, one that suggested doing something pretty bad and idiotic. She had heard the same tone from her father from the lacrima, and Ember couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed at Twilight’s suggestion. “Twilight, you aren’t actually thinking that we should…revive King Sombra, right?” “Honestly, I don’t think we have a choice. Discord and Tirek may have been alive longer than Celestia and Luna, but neither actually uses dark magic outright. I can’t think of any other pony or creature that could help us while being so divulged in dark magic, but even if everyone else somehow agrees with me, I don’t have the power to bring him back to life, much less know-how.” Twilight explained as she sighed. This had been more stressful than she would’ve imagined, more so than she would’ve liked, but her life had been thrown for a loop since she came to Ponyvile. Reviving Sombra had more cons than pros, and this was based on the factor that not only IF Sombra had a master in the first place but if he would even tell them. “Ughhh!!! Why can’t any of this just make some sense!?!?!” “Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?” Discord’s voice echoed around the two as they jumped at suddenly hearing the Chaos God’s voice. Discord chuckled as a wooden coffin sprung up from the ground, with the casket falling to the floor revealing the draconequus. He stepped out and took a deep breath of fresh air before snapping his talons, making the coffin vanish before floating over next to Twilight “Reviving King Sombra? Now there’s an idea that would bring a good amount of chaos. If I hadn’t been reformed, then I might have gone and done just that.” Discord joked as he found even more amusement seeing Ember’s bewildered face. Even though Twilight had grown used to him popping in and out at any given time, he took great pride in getting the drop on her like he just did. “H-How long have you been here!?” Twilight asked as Discord replied since she found Torch’s lacrima. Apparently, he had grown bored hanging around Fluttershy’s house after Starlight, Spike, and Kuro showed up, and when learning where Twilight had gone to he decided to third wheel the adventure. “Wait a minute, you said that would revive Sombra for the chaos. So then…could you bring back King Sombra?” Twilight asked, still skeptical if this is what she really wanted, and Discord picked up on that. “While it wouldn’t take me long to revive him it wouldn’t be with a snap of my talons or paw. Even so, I think asking Celestia and Luna about this would be a smart decision. We don’t want to revive him and then he escapes, thus adding another major problem on top of Acnologia.” Discord explained as Twilight was dumbstruck at how well thought out Discord’s reasoning was. She had expected him to revive him and have her and her friends deal with him and the consequences that would obviously follow. “Y-You’re right. I shouldn’t just have you revive Sombra without some form of plan to contain him. And Princesses Celestia and Luna would be really angry with me if I did it without consulting them first.” “They still might be angry with you for even thinking about it. But Discord, if you could bring Sombra back to life then could you…” Ember asked before gesturing to the corpses around her. Her eyes were filled with hope, nearly getting on her knees and begging, pleading to the chaos god to do what was impossible… Bringing the dead back to life with no drawbacks, with no consequences. But Discord shook his head, his words shattering Ember’s hope. “I’m sorry but I can’t. It’s not a matter of me not having the power to do so, but it’s more complicated than you think. The first thing is that a portion of their soul is gone, if they were brought back they would be a shadow of their former selves. Others are their bodies, some are destroyed beyond recognition that I wouldn’t know how they used to look. And another reason is another matter entirely, but you get my point.” Discord explained, but Ember had tuned him out when he said he couldn’t. If a being like Discord couldn’t bring her subjects back, she knew they were gone forever. But she had accepted this, knowing that even if they could be brought back, Acnologia would just kill them again. For some reason or another, Twilight felt that something was wrong about Discord’s final unnamed reason. He loved being cryptic and keeping things to himself, which was quite normal for when he was scheming something, but this time it felt different. Like he was purposely trying to keep this reason hidden despite bringing it up. But she ignored it, for now at least, and focused on the matter at hoof. “C’mon then. Let’s go tell the princesses our idea and what we’ve learned.” “Ah! I’m so glad you used that noggin of yours and saw it my way…oh, and by the way, they’ve already been informed.” Twilight did a double-take at Discord’s words before her anxiety started settling in. She was frozen in shock as Discord chuckled, making the alicorn shake her head and glare at him as she snapped. “How!? This conversation just happened! King Sombra’s revival wasn’t even a thought until we saw Torch’s lacrima! So how the fuck could they know about it when this was just decided!?” Twilight roared, cursing at the draconequus as her magic flared, demanding to know the answer. Discord’s grin widened at her rage before outstretched his left hand, and with his right, he brought it down in a down like a curtain and revealed a live-fed lacrima. Twilight froze again, realizing that they had been watching the entire time. That had also meant that she had been heard cursing, which wasn’t wrong as she had done so a few times before, but she had never cursed in front of her mentor. “This, Twilight Sparkle, is how the ‘fuck’ we knew.” Luna seriously spoke with a cold glare as Twilight’s ears folded back and she gave a nervous chuckle. “We will be expecting you, Ember, and Discord in the throne room immediately. Where we will discuss Sombra, Torch’s secret, and the uncouth mouth of a young princess whose anger is unjustified!” Luna roared at the end, making Twilight flinch downward as she didn’t meet her gaze. What made it worse was Celestia’s silence, not speaking a word before she sighed. “Do not be late. And do not hold them up Discord, this secret that Torch has kept must be discussed at once.” Celestia finished before the fed ended. Ember gave a nervous chuckle, realizing that she was right about the two rulers being angry. She felt somewhat embarrassed since they had heard her throwing a tantrum and destroying her father’s den. “Well, at least they’ll hear you out, right?” Ember tried lighting the mood with a joke, but it fell flat as Twilight ignored her. She took great pride in making Celestia proud of her, but today wasn’t one of those times. Instead, she gave a defeated look to Discord who snapped his talons, teleporting them all to the throne room of the palace where Celestia and Luna had been waiting. “Pr-Princesses…nice weather we're having?” Twilight tried to start the conversation, seeing their stern looks but suddenly jumped at the sound of booming thunder. Taking a glance out the window, she saw heavy rainfall, with lightning dancing across the skies and thunder accompanying it. “No Twilight, the weather is not good. Twilight, for what reason did you yell and curse at Discord? I’m not disappointed about the cursing, just disappointed that you would do such a thing over a matter that we would’ve known about sooner.” Celestia asked as Twilight didn’t respond right away. She knew that she was stressed about everything, with Spike’s safety being one of her priorities along with dealing with Acnologia. “I’m sorry, and I’m sorry to you too Discord. It's just hearing Torch’s confession made me come to conclusions and ideas that I was ready to enact if Discord didn’t talk me out of it. And when he revealed that you had been watching alongside us, I guess I had a brief meltdown.” Twilight explained herself as Celestia and Luna were silent. Their gazes turned to Discord, who was sitting on a floating throne ignoring the situation as they looked at each other and nodded. “Well, seeing as how Discord doesn’t seem offended in any way I assume that he doesn’t care. While I don’t want to brush past your current stress Twilight, or your use of profanity during your outbursts, we need a plan of action. First things, first, is the supposed resurrection of King Sombra. Naturally, not only is this a bad idea, but Cadence and Shining Armor will be greatly opposed to this. Not unless we find a way that ensures his cooperation while still maintaining our morals.” Celestia opened the floor to suggestions as they all were in deep thought, except for Discord. As he lazily hovered in the air he noticed how Luna seemed conflicted, almost as though she had an answer but was unsure of it. “What’s got you troubled Luna dear?” Discord asked, appearing wrapped around her neck as he stared at her with puppy dog eyes. Luna glared and shook him off, but it was nothing but a ruse as she now had everyone’s attention. “Nothing troubles thyself, but thou ought to keep off of we less you prefer another Stone Age.” Luna snarled as Celestia narrowed her eyes. Luna had a habit of speaking in old dialect when she was nervous, angry, or upset. Even when she would correct herself midway through her speech, Celestia knew that she would need to be tactful in addressing her. “Well, Luna, do you have any thoughts on dealing with Sombra?” “…I do, but it requires Sombra to be present, and knowing what this entails and how Sombra is he won’t hesitate to agree with my plan.” Luna replied, knowing that this was Discord’s intention all along. She wouldn’t reveal what she had planned, she made that clear to everyone present before asking about where Sombra would be brought back. “Well he’s left a piece of his essence near the Crystal Empire’s cave systems. I could easily bring him back from there, but he will need to be contained, which is where Cadence and Armor come in. Just long enough for Luna to do what she intends to.” Discord explained as he drank the glass cup that contained chocolate milk before snapping away the solid-liquid. Twilight stared at him as she once again found something wrong with Discord’s ending response. She knew that he wasn’t omniscient, but Discord had always kept track of and knew about the events that took place in Ponyville. He also had a knack for knowing things that took place in the far future, but he rarely brought them up and when he did he never elaborated on it. This was the second time he brought something up and didn’t fully explain himself, but she couldn’t force an answer out of him until whatever he was talking about came to fruition. Despite his chaotic nature, Discord was far smarter than he made himself out to be, and sometimes Twilight wondered if he was more serious if he could take over Earth Land itself. “Since we have a plan, I guess we’ll need the others as well. We also need to convince the rulers of the Crystal Empire.” Ember spoke up as Celestia reluctantly nodded. That wasn’t going to be a smooth conversation, and she really hoped that Cadence and Shining would at least hear them out. The only problem they would have if they refused their current plan was making a new one, but it was more time that they were wasting while Acnologia wandered the land unwatched. “Let us be off then. We’ll get Twilight’s friends and then set out for the Crystal Empire. If we properly explain the gravity of the situation, they may be willing to take the chance. Court shall be suspended till our return, and Blueblood will need to be left in charge for the time being, seeing as he’s the only other royalty around and someone that’s capable of running the country.” “Is he really our only choice?” Twilight asked as she was now concerned for Equestria. Celestia assured that, despite his personality, Blueblood was certainly capable of running Equestria for a day or two while they were away. He did have the political skills to do so, although she would leave him quite restricted in what he could actually do and how much power his words could carry. “I guess there's no choice. I’m delaying us enough as it is with my anxiety over everything.” Twilight thought to herself as she nodded before Celestia summoned a piece of parchment and ink. She quickly wrote a letter and sent it away to Spike, briefly describing the details before she did the same thing but sent it to Cadence instead. “Alright, I’ve told Spike to gather everyone and be ready at the train station while informing Cadence that we’re heading over there. I’ll have Raven inform Blueblood of his temporary ruling of Equestria while we are away.” Celestia elaborated as she sat up from her throne and headed for the doors with everyone else following. Celestia had taken many chances in her life, some of them paid off while others hadn’t, with Discord’s reformation being one of the best gambles she had ever taken. But counting on King Sombra of all ponies to help them with anything would be the biggest gamble of her life, knowing full well that many things could go wrong with the Dark King’s revival. “Luna…I hope that you know what you’re doing with this plan of yours, because if it fails then Sombra will be another problem on the board. A board that cannot handle any more large pieces for there is a King that dominates half the board by himself with no army or allies by his side. Adding Sombra will not only break it…but it creates a power clash between two kings who have no problem with destroying the world.” The Dark King’s RevivalThe train ride to the Crystal Empire was a silent one. Celestia told everyone else that she would explain the plan when Cadence and Shining were present, not wanting to repeat herself and for everyone to be on the same page. She had even offered to Twilight to take the blame for the idea of Sombra’s revival, but she was denied for Twilight wanted to take responsibility. If someone was going to get yelled at for wanting the revival of a tyrannical king, then it was going be directed at Twilight Sparkle. The train soon arrived at the Crystal Empire as the large group departed and were greeted by the Empire’s guard. The head guard explained that Cadence and Shining had been busy with preparations for their arrival and had sent the guard to escort them to the palace. Celestia thanked them as they walked through the streets, passing by and greeting the crystal ponies who bowed in respect and smiled in awe at their presence. However, those fears were pushed aside when they noticed that Spike wasn’t with Twilight. While they wouldn’t know the reason, Spike had stayed behind so that he could help Starlight with something because she would be teleporting to the kingdom after finishing a small but quick project. Once again, she didn’t tell anyone what she was doing, but with so much on her mind, Twilight didn’t question her and simply told her to be at the empire with Spike the moment she was done with what she was doing. The group soon arrived at the palace where Cadance and Shining greeted them. The guards left as the rulers of the empire led them to a dining hall where Sunburst, who was joining them, had been waiting. They all sat down and had a few minutes of idle chatter before Celestia cleared her throat and slightly raised her voice. “While this has been a nice chat, I’m afraid we’ve all come here for a far more serious matter. And this time, while it doesn’t directly involve Acnologia, it does come around to him. However, this is all coming from Twilight, so you can start anytime you would like my dear.” Celestia became quiet and let Twilight become the center of attention as the young Alicorn gulped. This wasn’t going to go well, no matter how many times she replayed the current situation in her head Twilight knew that there was no win situation in this, but she was still going to try. “Thank you, Princess. As she said, this is something that requires serious thought. And I want you all to hear me out before interrupting me with objections because I know they’ll exist. “Twilight started as they all raised a brow, suddenly confused and worried about Twilight’s demeanor. “About maybe an hour ago, me and Ember returned to the Dragon Lands to her father’s den, it’s where we discovered a hidden lacrima where he gave a brief history lesson on Acnologia. And suffice to say, it was certainly something.” Twilight gave a summary of what she and Ember learned as everyone gained sick feelings in their stomachs. None were too happy with Torch’s decision, which was to be expected, but Sunburst pointed out the other threat that was mentioned aside from Acnologia. “I was just getting to that. You see, more creatures use dark magic than the known creators. Although, not even Discord is that well-versed in that form of magic, and there’s only one pony in known history who can be called a master of Dark magic. And that…is King Sombra.” The moment Twilight spoke his name, she could feel the room get colder. The guards that had been situated in the room had grown stiff and slowly started shaking, as did Fluttershy and Rarity. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were quite shocked, staring at Twilight as they started to wonder where she was going with this. As for Cadence and Shining, their shocked faces were slowly replaced with a harsh look. “And what does King Sombra have to do with this, Twilight?” Shining coldly asked as Twilight shivered. He rarely used her actual name unless he was being serious or was angry at her, and the latter was quite rare. And the tone that he spoke in was something that Twilight found a little intimidating. “W-Well, we know that Sombra couldn’t have been alive during Acnologia’s reign, so he couldn’t be one that Torch was talking about. And a-assuming that Sombra has a master who taught him his magic, a possible creator, well I was thinking that we could…have Discord revive Sombra.” Twilight’s spoke in the same manner that Fluttershy normally does, nearly being unheard. But she was heard, everyone who hadn’t already known heard her, and they all were deathly quiet. Despite their ears devouring Twilight’s words, their minds didn’t fully process it until Cadence slammed her hooves on the table. “YOU WHAT!? You want to revive one of the most dangerous beings in existence on a mere ASSUMPTION!?” Cadence roared with the royal voice as she glared hard at her sister-in-law, who currently had her ears folded back. Before she could properly explain herself, Cadence continued. “This isn’t just some experiment! This is a pony who has killed this nation’s first ruler, enslaved the crystal ponies, and sealed them away for a millennium! A pony whose dark powers rival both Celestia and Luna, a pony who’s so cunning and schemes so brilliantly that not even Chrysalis could outsmart him! And what’s even worse is that you believe that King Sombra would help us! He’d sooner bring back the first ruler of the Crystal Empire than help us!” Cadence finished as she was breathing quite heavily. The table itself had gained a few cracks from her shouting, and a few other objects had shattered due to the brief release of her magical power. Even though she wasn’t all that much of a fighter, Cadence still possessed an absurd amount of magical power because she was an alicorn. Cadane’s rage wasn’t unwarranted, as Twilight’s friends gave her a disappointed look. This was, in their eyes, the stupidest thing that she’d ever thought of. Twilight would always think things through, it was one of her best qualities, although they wondered if she had even heard herself “...L-Look I-I know how it sounds. But there’s no other creature who’s adept in dark magic like Sombra is. And there’s no book I can read that’ll tell me who Torch was talking about. He’s our only choice, and Princess Luna has a plan to keep him in line. Isn’t that right?” Twilight explained as she looked over to Luna, hoping for some assistance. Luna knew that she would be brought up, but now she was needed to calm things down and help take the raging flames off of Twilight’s flank. “Indeed. However, not only would we like your approval for his revival, but Sombra himself would need to go along with what I have in mind. We would also have you and Shining Armor to keep him confined to an area to prevent his escape. And, as you have said with his intellectual prowess, he wouldn’t have much of a choice but to go along with what I have planned.” Luna explained as Cadance released a breath. She was not in the mood for this, and her anger only slightly went down with Luna’s plan. Still, she needed Twilight to know just how seriously angry she was with her. “You wish to bring back someone who has caused nothing but pain and suffering to my subjects. Someone who will not hesitate to do and use whatever means necessary to win. I thought you were smarter than this, Twilight.” Twilight looked towards the cracked table as she wiped the forming tears in her eyes. She knew it wouldn’t go well, but this was far worse than she imagined. Being berated by her former foalsitter was new, but Twilight couldn’t let this get to her, not now anyway. “Please, I need you both to trust me. Sombra isn’t going to be able to break free of a shield spell from both of you, especially if me, Celestia, and Sunburst help you strengthen it. I don’t like it as much as you do, but Sombra is our only choice to figure out who Torch was referring to. And once we figure out who it is, we can prevent them from ever appearing and then properly deal with Sombra. I’m not asking you as a family member, but as another Princess of Equestria and on behalf of every creature who Acnologia has killed. Please, don’t let him add any more creatures to this massive death list that he’s created.” Twilight tried her hardest to convince them to trust her with this. Their expression remained the same, angry and cold. While she wasn’t giving up, she felt dejected as she excused herself from the table and left. Twilight walked the halls by herself as she let her body go on autopilot. She was heading to her room to be alone and escape everyone. She knew that her friends and family wanted some time to discuss and think about what she had proposed, and it would’ve been better without her there, she knew it. Twilight hadn’t felt like this since Celestia had threatened to return her to Canterlot for the Want-It-Need-It spell incident; losing her friends, the best thing that had ever happened to her, was one of her worst fears. Another fear was disappointing and failing others, and right now, she felt like both of those fears were slowly coming true. Soon enough the young alicorn arrived at her room and threw herself onto her bed. She didn’t cry, but Twilight felt exhausted. Deciding to get some rest, Twilight went to sleep and hopefully, by the time she woke up, Cadence and Shining would have agreed to follow her plan. Agents Tempest Shadow and Sweetie Drops traversed the Badlands in search of Acnologia. They were quite surprised when they couldn’t find the black dragon given that he was supposedly larger than Torch. But they knew that they were on his trail, it wasn’t that hard when his trail of bread crumbs was a trail of dragon corpses. “By the way, did you get any useful information out of that dragon in Ponyvile Hospital? I think his name was…Gabe or something.” “His name is Garble, and no I didn’t, more like I couldn’t.” Bon Bon replied as the two kept walking at a brisk pace. Feeling her partner’s eyes, Bon Bon continued. “I couldn’t get any information because he was transferred to the psych ward. He scarred a nurse with his talons when her tail brushed him. Probably PTSD from the dragon’s tail smacking him. He also scorched parts of his room when he saw a large shadow, thinking it to be Acnologia when there’s nothing there or places that he’s already burned. Finally, he nearly gouged out his eyes after experiencing hallucinations of seeing, according to him, a shadowy figure with red eyes looming over him with an outstretched limb reaching towards him. While not connected to Acnologia, it was enough for them to bind and muzzle him before throwing him into a padded room.” Bon Bon explained as she jumped over a dragon's tail. Tempest whistled and grimly chuckled, wondering how bad it was for Garble to experience first hoof. “Bad case of trauma for sure, but not the worst one I’ve heard. Either way, he’s gonna be there awhile until he’s mentally sane enough to recognize where he is.” Tempest replied as she pointed out a nearby cliffside. She suggested that they gain the high ground and use that to get a better view of the area. Her partner agreed and made their way over there, silently paying their respects to the murdered dragons they passed. The two climbed their way until they reached the top, choosing to take a break while surveying the vast area. No sighting of the Dragon King as Bon Bon sighed, wondering how they couldn’t find this dragon. He had no point in trying to hide himself, seeing as he had made his presence greatly known already. At the very least, she was going to appreciate the small break they were taking. “How are we supposed to track him? Now that I think about it, who’s to say that he hasn’t already flown away? If we assume that he has killed every dragon in this land already, then he could have already left for another part of Earthland and we wouldn’t know.” Bon Bon spoke as she pulled out some food and started eating. She shared some with Tempest who thanked her as the two ate in silence, wondering what they would do if Acnologia had left these cursed lands. Tempest turned her head to the outskirts, intending to start a new conversation when something strange caught her eye. “...What is that?” Bon Bon turned her head to where Tempest was looking and raised a brow at the cloaked bideal creature. They assumed it to be a young minotaur, but the lack of fur, horns, tail, and hooves had thrown that assumption out the window. Even the height difference was notable, as the creature they were staring at was just a few inches shorter than even a teenage minotaur much less a grown adult. But no matter how long they stared at it, the answer never came to them, although they did wish to see how it properly looked underneath its cloak. “Never seen anything like that before. Have any idea as to what it could be?” Tempest asked as Bon Bon narrowed her eyes before pulling out binoculars, trying to get a better view. As she watched it, she was grateful for the strong wind that passed by them, and the creature in turn, which revealed dark skin with blue tattoos and a muscular upper body. Even with the new image, she couldn’t think of any creature in Equestria that she could definitely say that this is what he was. The longer she pondered on him, the more she examined his features, and she slowly started realizing what was before them. “...Human.” “What was that?” “It’s a human. L-Lyra, my marefriend, is always talking about them, and then there was that incident with Princess Celestia’s former student Sunset Shimmer when she took Twilight’s crown and left for the human world. It matches Lyra’s descriptions of them and Twilight’s report on her brief trip there. But humans don’t exist in Earthland unless they were just never discovered.” Bon Bon explained as the two simply watched him walk in the wasteland. They wondered who the hell he was, where he came from, and if there were other humans in the world. Still, it was quite strange that he was on a leisurely stroll in these lands, regardless of what creature he was. At that moment, the human stopped and suddenly around, forcing the two agents to hide themselves. Tempest had, despite her broken horn, quickly casted a camouflage spell to blend in with their surroundings. Even so, the human continued to stare at their hiding spot, almost as though he knew where they were hiding rather than seeing the activated spell. The agents slowed their breathing and returned the stare, and they immediately felt something wrong. “This doesn’t feel right. It’s like he knows exactly where we are, but he’s deciding if engaging us is worth his time.” Tempest whispered as Bon Bon agreed. They hoped that the human decided that they weren’t worth his time, not wanting to stray away from their mission to deal with an unknown creature with unknown abilities. However, to their surprise, a dragon had flown over them. The dragon created powerful rushing winds as it blasted past them, nearly sending them over the edge downward and into the wasteland below. The dragon had closed in on the human, releasing a powerful breath of fire on it. The two ponies had revealed themselves as they watched an undiscovered species being burnt to ashes. They were ready to do something when they were surprised to see the flames dispersing, seeing the human blocking it with one hand as he coldly glared at the dragon. Before they could blink, the human had torn the dragon in half. The ponies stared with their jaws open, not comprehending what had happened before them. Bon Bon snapped out of her shocked state first and slapped Tempest with her hoof, getting her back to her senses as she cast the camouflage spell once again. This time, however, they knew that the human couldn’t have known they existed as the dragon completely blocked them from the human’s sight. “What the hell was that?! I’ve never seen such brutality or monstrous strength from any creature in the world! He wasn’t even affected by the fire that was thrown at him; he shrugged it off like it was nothing!” Tempest yelled, having cast a soundproof spell, and Bon started recalling all the nonsense Lyra had constantly talked about. While she had never fully tuned her out, Bon Bon could admit that she wasn’t always fully giving her marefriend the attention she wanted when talking about humans. Yes, it was always a little much when she got on that train ride, but she loved her all the same. Turning her attention to the land below, Bon Bon needed to– Her heart skipped a beat. “...Te-Tempest, where’d he go?” Bon Bon whispered, stuttering for the first time in her life as an agent of S.M.I.L.E. The unicorn snapped her head to see what she was talking about, and low and behold, the human was gone. Sweat slowly poured down their faces as they felt a murderous presence behind them, being caught in what they knew to be the human’s shadow. He had found them. They didn’t know how, but he did, and now they started wondering what to do. The easiest solution was to kill him, uncaring for the newly discovered species for their lives were far more important. However, they didn’t know if that was feasible, at least for them, due to his durability against dragon fire and superior strength. Fear started creeping in for the first time in their lives, and they could feel his dark glare. “To think that there are creatures who still harbor dragons, and even live alongside them. How repulsive.” The human disgustingly spoke as Tempest decided to cease her spell, knowing that there was no point in keeping it up when he was addressing them. The ponies turned to face him, ready for a conversation, but it was a mistake as they found themselves unable to move. It took a moment, but the two realized that they were frozen with fear. There was no magic involved, this was nothing more than his overwhelming evil aura, and matters were made worse when he raised one of his arms and pointed a finger at them. Nothing else was said as he gathered his magic at the tip of his finger, making them aware of his intentions and the need to flee. But before they could, he released his charged spell, and their world turned black as they were blasted off the cliffside. Starlight had burst into the Castle of Friendship as she set her newly acquired phoenix care package off to the side and headed to her private study. It had taken her quite a bit of time to get everything on the list Fluttershy gave her, but she managed to get everything written down for her. She had set her sleeping Phoenix on top of his new perch while she thought over the day's events. Along the way, Starlight and Spike ran into Smolder, who hadn’t been herself since Garble’s admission into the psych ward. Her fiery personality had diminished to Fluttershy levels of timidity and quietness, as she had confined herself to the Crusaders clubhouse. She hardly ate, barely doing so even when food was brought to her, she also had never left the clubhouse either; gaining her brother’s fear of the Dragon King but not losing her sanity. Despite their vastly different fear levels, there was still enough for Smolder to hide than at least walk around the community of friendly ponies. Starlight had brought her along and placed her in Spike’s care while she finished up her plan. Nightmare Moon was the only known way, as of this moment, to give her the power needed to stand against Acnologia. Yes, Starlight knew the downsides to this, but she was powerful in her own right, and if Nightmare Moon’s powers amplified her own to be able to contend with Acnologia then she would get the nightmare under control as well. Starlight walked into her study and sealed the door shut. Nothing was getting in or out without her knowing or something forcefully breaking down the runes she put up; which were quite powerful. Starlight walked over to the book containing Nightmare Moon and opened it, letting the demon out of its home. The alicorn manifested itself in front of Starlight through dark blue mist, having a knowing smirk on her face. “Well well, I suppose you’ve come here for your decision, correct?” Nightmare Moon asked as Starlight narrowed her eyes. She was spot-on, but her smirk and the tone of her voice told Starlight that she already knew. Deciding to temporarily ignore that for now, she stared at her new power source and nodded. “Yes. When Twilight and Ember said that they were heading back to the Dragon Lands, it made me remember and truly realize what was happening. Acnologia is far stronger than we realize, and maybe even with the power you give me, it wouldn’t be enough to match him. But, if I can at least deal damage to him, it would be more than enough for everyone else to defeat him or seal him away.” Starlight confidently responded as Nightmare Moon raised a brow. She was impressed by how willing she was to delve into darkness if it meant helping others. It was also quite revolting as well, but she could look past that if it meant helping herself. “So be it then.” Nightmare Moon explained as she gathered a good portion of her magic. She promptly told her new host to gather her own magic and channel it to the tip of her horn. Starlight did as she was told as the room glowed a bright cyan blue and dark blue with Nightmare Moon casting a spell onto herself and Starlight. The dark blue glow slowly vanished as Starlight’s magic faded away, causing her to collapse to the ground. Starlight’s breath was slightly labored, but she was otherwise fine, at least that’s what she told herself. She got to her hooves and looked around, no longer seeing Nightmare Moon within the room nor did she sense her magic. Starlight became far more alert and went into a panic attack, knowing that Nightmare Moon was gone and it was completely her fault for trusting her. “What am I going to tell Twilight and the others!? That I thought trusting Nightmare Moon was a good idea!? And the reasoning was literally for more power, they’ll think I’ve turned on them and become evil again!! …WHAT WILL PRINCESS LUNA DO TO ME!?!?” “QUIET YOU BLUBBERING BAFFON!!” Starlight screamed as she stumbled over her hooves and fell back onto the floor. Shaking her head, Starlight looked around, expecting to see the alicorn somewhere in the room when she heard a snort. From her mind. “Ar-Are you–?” “Yes, I’m inside your mind. I’ve cast an ancient spell, in reverse with some modifications, and made you the host of myself.” Nightmare Moon explained as Starlight created a mirror. She was expecting to see some difference in her appearance, but she saw nothing until her eyes became cyan blue with slits, causing her to gasp. “Let it be known that I can manifest myself if I so choose, and even take control, although not only does the latter require me to have significant magic, but for you to have a weakened mind. Well, unless you give me control willingly.” “Which won’t be happening.” “I’m fully aware of that. But still, regardless, you will be able to use my magic while your magical power increases. For now, I will rest while you do whatever you please. Whether that be casting Eternal Night over the world or…helping Twilight Sparkle, is your decision.” Nightmare Moon finished as the slits from Starlight’s eyes vanished. The unicorn waited for her new tenant to say something else, but silence was what she was greeted with. As much as she wanted to experiment with her newfound magic, Starlight was needed at the Crystal Empire along with Spike. Starlight quickly turned to the doors and galloped out to find Spike and set out to the Crystal Empire for whatever Twilight had planned. From the mirror that was created, Starlight didn’t notice how her appearance flashed to a darker version of herself. And in time, she will know whether the choice she made was a beneficial or detrimental one. “TWILIGHT!!” “AHHH!!” Twilight screamed and fell out of her bed. She groaned in pain before glaring at Rainbow Dash, who had a sheepish grin on her face as she apologized. The pegasus didn’t let her get a word out as she grabbed her front hooves and started dragging her out of the room. “C’mon, you lazy bum! You’ve slept all morning and Cadence and Shining have decided, and you need to be present to hear it!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she lifted her friend off her hooves and flew off back to the dining room. Twilight stopped her struggles, although she managed to convince her friend to let her go as she flew alongside her. This was the moment she was waiting for, to see if they were going to be reviving one of the greatest dangers to help them deal with, arguably, a bigger threat. They entered the dining room, where everyone was waiting for them along with Starlight and Spike, who had teleported in a few moments before Rainbow had gone to retrieve Twilight. They had only been given a brief explanation of what was happening, and Sombra’s name made them pay attention to what was about to occur. Twilight, while nervous, confidently stood in front of her relatives and fellow rulers, ready to hear their decision. “Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and my sister-in-law. You’ve come here today with the notion that King Sombra’s revival, a tyrant who has enslaved the citizens of this kingdom, might be able to assist us with the possible knowledge of a being whose dark powers label him as a creator of dark magic and is on par with Acnologia’s destructiveness.” Cadence professionally re-explained and summarized as Twilight firmly nodded, taking into account how she wasn’t labeling anything as facts. “By Princess Luna’s account, she has a way of getting him to cooperate, although it is not a definitive victory for us. Still, I will give this the benefit of the doubt and say that Luna knows what she is doing. However, there is one thing that I want to hear from you, Twilight.” “Anything.” “Then I want you to solemnly swear, that you will take responsibility for keeping Sombra in line, with help of course, and watch what he does. You will also take responsibility in the actions he may cause, whether they somehow benefit us or most likely harm us, will befall on to you. Do you swear this, on your title as a princess and of royal status?” “I solemnly swear that I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and I alone, will take whatever punishment you choose for whatever crimes King Sombra commits.” Twilight swore as Celestia and Luna were silently impressed. While they had expected Twilight to promise this, they hadn’t expected such a royal swear to receive punishment from her own relatives. Cadence gave a quiet sigh, giving a small glance to her husband who smiled and nodded. “Then as Princess of the Crystal Empire, I, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, with her husband Prince Shining Amor, hereby allow the revival of King Sombra.” Cadence finished as she felt a tight hug from Twilight. She gave a soft smile and draped one of her wings over her, reconciling the hug as felt a few tears on her neck. She knew that she was a little harsh with her, and while justified, it had taken an unconventional emotional toll on her. “I’m sorry for earlier, Twilight. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, but hearing Sombra’s name and your plan made me see red and took it out on you. Again, I’m really sorry.” Cadence whispered as she wiped Twilight’s tears. She had forgotten how emotional Twilight could get when it came to authority figures, ones that she greatly respected, berating her for something she had done wrong. Twilight accepted as she got herself together, managing a smile as she looked at Discord. The draconequus gleefully smiled before snapping his talons, bringing everyone to a large cave system. He snapped his talons again, placing the ponies and two dragons in certain positions; such as Celestia, Sunburst, Cadence, Shining, Starlight, and Twilight near a wall. He then placed Luna right next to him, while placing everyone else behind a barrier. “Well, let’s get started!” Discord excitedly said as he held a stick in his hands, with no one knowing where he obtained it from, and drew a circle. The circle glowed a bright blue with runes that none of the ponies had ever seen before being on the inside edge he drew a straight line across before drawing an ‘M’, all of which glowed a brilliant blue. Immediately after, a dark crystal sprouted from the ground as a swirl of shadows followed it floating upward with a red horn emerging along with bright green eyes and purple wisps on the side. Discord suddenly waved his hand, warped the cave around them, significantly making it ten times larger, and placed those behind the barrier on their own little floating island. Then, for ponies that were going to contain Sombra, he separated them into different sections. With Celestia, Starlight, and Twilight on one side, with Cadence, Shining, and Sunburst on the other side. Despite their initial confusion, they all got on guard when Sombra appeared, maniacally laughing before setting his eyes on Luna. “Well well, now what do we have here? I wasn’t brought back to life for idle chatter unless you wish to have a rematch from 1,000 years ago?” Sombra taunted, not paying anyone else any mind before casting a glance at the two current rulers. “Hn, and to think that the current rulers would grace me with their love sickening presence. Along with so many new potential slaves, I am quite touched by the gifts you have given me upon my revival.” “My friends and family are not and never will be your slaves. And if I remember correctly, I won that battle between us before you sealed away the Crystal Empire.” Luna countered, but Sombra laughed. He wasn’t afraid of her, although, with the sudden barrier placed around them, he became very cautious. Despite his taunting, Sombra knew that there was a reason as to why he was brought back to life, and he was going to know why. “So then, why have you brought me back to life?” “You’ve been brought back for the sole purpose of helping Earth Land. According to a source, there is a being that can be considered to be a creator of dark magic, one who will engulf this world in darkness should he be released.” Luna started as she and Sombra started circling each other. The dark unicorn snorted, asking why he would help a possible ally for himself. “Because he could be your master. And even if he isn’t, you may know who he is due to your extensive knowledge of dark magic.” Luna finished as she ceased her movement, standing directly in front of her sister whereas Sombra stood in front of Cadence. Sombra had been conjuring a plan when he sensed a sudden shift in magic. Luna’s eyes gained a purple wisp to their edge much like his own, and he knew that she was using dark magic. However, it wasn’t that she was using dark magic that surprised him, it was the spell that she was conjuring. This, in turn, made him narrow his eyes as he gained a serious look on his face. “Princess Luna, ruler of the night, defender of dreams, and vanquisher of nightmares. Surely you aren’t challenging me to that, are you? I would hope you know the consequences should you lose.” Sombra questioned as Luna nodded. Everyone else, sans Discord, suddenly wondered what she was doing. Celestia didn’t know what dark spell Luna intended on using, and her concerns grew even further when Sombra addressed her by titles and even knew the spell she was using. “Indeed I am. I would not be doing this if I didn’t need to, but the stakes are too high. And this is the only surefire way to make sure you cooperate without stabbing us in the back.” Luna replied as her horn glowed dark blue, and the wisps on her eyes grew larger, turning dark purple. Sombra himself gathered his magic before he spoke, no longer talking down to her. “State your terms.” “Should you lose, you will assist us until Earthland is completely safe from harm. Your soul will be bound to me, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadence, and Celestia until otherwise. You will not harm us or anyone we consider family or friends, and I don’t need to tell you what would happen should you do so.” “Hn. I should’ve expected something as much. But I will agree nonetheless. However, should you lose, your very existence will be tied to me until otherwise. You will follow my orders without question or complaint, no matter what it is. And finally, you will lead me to the power source for the Elements of Harmony and give me the Crystal Heart.” Sombra declared his terms and was met with objections from everyone. Naturally, he ignored them and focused solely on Luna, waiting for her response. “So be it then.” Luna agreed as she was met with an audible gasp, but they were ignored. If Luna was being honest, this was far more tame than she expected, aside from leading the mad king to the Tree of Harmony. Still, Sombra had something planned, he always did and this was no different. At the same time, their glowing horns reached their peak, ready to begin playing the moment they both were ready. At that moment, Celestia realized her sister’s plan, but she was far too late to stop her as the competitors released their magic, and Sombra gave a dark smile before speaking. “Prepare yourself, Luna, for the likes of a Shadow Game of which you’ve never played!” Sombra roared as both he and Luna fired a beam of magic, with Sombra’s being crimson red and Luna’s a midnight blue. The beams clashed in the middle, causing a distorsion in reality as there was a swirling vortex in front of them. “Due to our terms, it is only fitting that we do battle with the power of our very souls!” “Princess, what’s a Shadow Game?” Twilight asked, whispering her question as if speaking at a normal tone of volume would interrupt the game. Celestia, however, didn’t respond, as she was afraid for her sister. A nudge at her side snapped her out of her trance, looking down to see her former student giving her a worried look. With a sigh, she decided to answer the question. “A shadow game is by far the most vile, twisted, and strongest form of dark magic to exist. There are only survivors, never any winners who choose to partake in such an act. And in most cases, the losers, are banished to the Shadow Realm, where they are erased from existence.” Celestia quietly explained as Twilight and Starlight gulped. That was not a fate they wished on their worst enemies, not even Sombra, and Luna was now risking everything to win. Despite how the battle wasn’t causing mass destruction with the powerful form of magic being used, it was quite taxing on Sombra and Luna. Neither had expected the battle to be this long, Luna more so due to knowing that Sombra hadn’t had as much to lose other than his life…again. Even so, Luna wasn’t losing, the option for that was non-existent as doing so would bring ruin to Equestria. At that moment, Luna started pushing Sombra back, using all her willpower to win as her beam shot forward to Sombra’s horn and sent him flying back into the barrier. “Ha! I’ve won the game! As the loser, you will head to my terms until I’ve stated otherwise. Less of course you wish to invoke a Penalty Game?” Luna declared as Sombra snorted he slowly got to his hooves and he gave a dark glare at Luna. Technically speaking, he was already in a penalty game, one that was very lieniet in the punishment. But he knew full well what Luna was implying, and it left him quite annoyed. “Hn. I feel insulted that you believe that I would invoke such a thing. A shadow game is strict with its rules, and its power is never to be underestimated. So, until deemed otherwise, I shall…help you.” Sombra shivered at his last statement, hating the fact that he had lost. This, however, only meant that he could plan for the future for his takeover of the Crystal Empire despite the surveillance he would be receiving. There were a few other things that he noted as well. One of them was the new threat to Equestria if these were the lengths they were willing to go to protect their kingdom. Another thing was the mare on the left of Celestia, Starlight. He could sense that she had a dark force within her, although something had been suppressing its presence from the others. “It’s certainly not the mare suppressing this power, but she must be aware of the power she has. Even so, what in Tartarus’s name is the true reason that possessed them to bring me back to life and use one of the most dangerous forms of magic to exist?” Sombra thought to himself as Discord snapped his talons and brought them all back together. The reason wasn’t as simple and only about this dark creator and saving Earthland, as the elements of harmony could be used to subdue this creature of darkness. Another being was at hoof here, and Sombra knew that he would get the full story while he helped his enemies. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed everyone’s eyes on him, causing him to put on a neutral look. “If you’re expecting me to give you an immediate answer for this problem then I’m happy to reveal that I don’t have one. So by all means, please enjoy your disappointment.” Sombra dryly said as he was glared at. He didn’t care as he enjoyed seeing the unamused looks on their faces. He also hardly had any evidence anyway, so he couldn’t tell them anything even if he was forced to. Seeing the awkward silence, Sunburst took this time to address something he discovered. “Well, now that this is all done and over with, I have something that could help us even more.” Sunburst pulled a book from his saddle bag and levitated it over to Celestia, whose eyes widened when reading the book owner’s name. “This is a journal from Starswirl!” DarknessEveryone was currently situated in Cadence’s throne room as Sunburst finished reading Starswirl’s journal. Having gone over how he and his fellow pillars united together to defeat the Pony of Shadows, a being that wanted to cast the world in darkness, and someone that they once called their friend. Twilight was fangirling as she questioned her former mentor if the journal was from the real wizard, and squealed in delight when it was confirmed. Sombra scowled in annoyance. How any of her friends found the willpower to tolerate such childishness was beyond him. He had been forced to change his appearance so that no one recognized him when he was within a mile of the kingdom. His coat was now a light gray as was his horn, his mane having a dark blue wave down the middle of black as his tail had the same color scheme. He had kept his red regalia, nearly invoking a penalty on himself after throwing Rainbow Dash across the cave for trying to forcibly take it from him. He was a king, and he was going to make sure that he at least looked like one while in this horrid form. “How is it possible that this mare figured out the location of the Crystal Heart when she gushes over a book from some old fossil?” Sombra muttered to himself, ignoring the fact that he was over a thousand years old. Before he could blink, Twilight was in his face with a dark aura around her. “Don’t you EVER talk about Starswirl like that again! He’s not only a far better and superior pony to you, but he’s also far smarter than you in magic!” “HA!” Sombra gave a brief laugh before shoving Twilight away. “Oh please, just because I specialize in dark magic doesn’t mean I’m ignorant of other forms of magic that exist. Starswirl the bearded and the pillars may have defeated the Pony of Shadows, but they never returned. If he’s as powerful as you claim he is, then what happened to him?” Sombra asked with an evil smirk, knowing that Twilight couldn’t answer him. The purple princess growled in anger but decided to leave him before turning back to the book in her hooves. “ANYWAY! If we start researching now, we may be able to find out what happened to them and where they are.” Twilight happily exclaimed, completely forgetting her little spat with Sombra as Sunburst agreed. Celestia and Luna’s horns glowed, alerting them all that they were going to teleport back as opposed to taking the train where a pony could see through Sombra’s disguise due to his recognizable glare. But before they did, Twilight quickly spoke up. “WAIT!!” Twilight shouted, causing Celestia and Luna to cease their spell. Everyone stared at her as she approached Spike, who suddenly became nervous. Twilight calmed him down with a small smile before she softly spoke. “Spike, you know that I love you very dearly, and that also means I care just as much, which includes your safety.” Spike suddenly grew concerned, not knowing where this was going, but Celestia certainly did. She sighed, knowing what Twilight was about to say, but this wasn’t her place to say anything and she knew that it would be for the better. “What are you saying Twilight?” “Spike, I want you to stay here in the Crystal Empire with Shining and Cadence. I talked it over with them before we summoned Sombra, and they agreed.” Twilight explained as she stared into his eyes, seeing all the emotions before settling on disbelief, but acceptance. “I’m really sorry Spike, but you’re far safer here within the barrier from the Crystal Heart than my castle. I don’t want you to see the Dragon Lands either, not until I know you’re mentally prepared for it.” Twilight firmly continued as Spike nodded. He understood what she meant, and knew that she wasn’t being mean either. “Ye-Yeah, I get it. Honestly, I wouldn’t be much help either, considering I can barely fight Garble much less an adult dragon. But don’t worry, I’ll help Cadance like I do with you. Once I’ve you know, figure out the layout of this place.” Spike joked as the two shared a chuckle. Twilight gave him a tight hug and whispered to him to be safe, and repeated the gesture before they broke away. Twilight walked back over where Celstia rubbed her back with her win before looking to Luna and nodded. The group gave one final look to the young dragon and rulers before vanishing and reappearing in the Canterlot throne room, where Blueblood sat on the throne and had been trying to order the guards to do his bidding. The guards remained quiet and stood at attention when Celestia walked past them, but she could easily tell how mentally drained they were listening to her nephew’s ramblings. “Alright Blueblood, your ruling of my subjects is now over.” Celestia calmly said as the prince told her that he, by his own proclamation, was doing an outstanding job serving the country. Even as Celestia was nodding and listening, she gave a glance to Raven who rapidly shook her head and promptly brought out a stack of various forms of documents and paperwork. Celestia internally started crying, she already had enough paperwork and now she needed to clean up whatever mess Blueblood created, hadn’t fixed, or refix whatever he tried to fix. Not wanting to have an outburst, she teleported him to his room as she and Luna took a seat on their thrones. “Well, since the government hasn’t gone to ruin and Canterlot isn’t in anarchy I suppose Blueblood did a decent job. As for the rest of you, you already know what to do. If we can bring back Starswirl and the Pillars, then we not only have a chance against this dark magic creator but against Acnologia as well.” “Acnologia?” Sombra asked as he turned to Starlight, who gave him a summary of the events that were recently taking place. Sombra whistled at Acnologia’s carnage, wondering why he possessed such a racial vendetta. The power he must possess to kill everything in the Dragon Lands must’ve been vast, especially if Torch is dead. Celestia confirmed Spike’s story and urged them all to be quick, not knowing when Acnologia could strike again if he hadn’t already. That had also reminded her that Bon Bon and Tempest Shadow had never checked in, meaning that they hadn’t found him, or they had found him and something happened to them. Regardless, she was going to check in on them once she had finished through her paperwork as those two were more than capable of handling themselves. Three days had gone by since the group, excluding Sombra, Discord, and Ember, had begun their research to figure out what happened to the pillars. And they found absolutely nothing about what happened to them, even with every reference they had tried. Sombra, like a foal, had been condemned to a room he had been given until he was needed with Starlight making sure that that’s the room he remained in. However, today he had tagged along with the host of Nightmare Moon to see if the others had something for him so that he could be released from his imprisonment. The two walked into the library to see them all sleep-deprived or already asleep. Rarity and Applejack had tried convincing Twilight to take a break, but she didn’t want to wait any longer before leaving her book as she couldn’t read Starswirl’s horn writing. Sombra walked up to the book and read the page that Twilight was stuck on. If anything, it was better than being confined to a room where even he had gotten bored from scheming. At the same time, he wondered if he was reading a newborn foal’s horn writing or the horn writing from a powerful wizard. “How intriguing. It seems as though Starswirl and the other pillars had their last stand against the Pony of Shadows at Ponehenge at the base of Fall Mountain.” Sombra spoke aloud, revealing the text to everyone as Twilight gasped. She slid next to him and demanded to know how he could read it, to which he shoved her away and yawned. “I’ve had many crystal slave writers, whether it be using wings, hoof, or horn to write things down for me. Naturally, they were so jittery that it was always sloppy, so I had learned to read such horrendous writing before using mind control.” Sombra calmly explained as he basked in their disgusted looks. Now choosing to ignore him, Twilight knew that this was where they needed to go to learn more. After that, they all went to the base of Fall Mountain, where they found Ponehenge. Twilight and Sunburst were the two that were most intrigued, with the latter finding magical runes that neither he nor Twilight could recognize. Sombra examined them as well, and while he did recognize these runes, they were far older than himself for him to understand fully. “Starswirl may have been adept in magic like Sparkle worships him to be, but to use runes from the time when I called them ancient is strange.” Sombra questioned himself as he noticed a few more runes written on other pieces of stone. The broken well in the middle had runes written around the entire base, although it had been corroded away with time, making the text unreadable. Fluttershy soon pointed out that even if everything was cleared away for proper research, they couldn’t figure out what happened here from a thousand years ago. Knowing this, Twilight was a little saddened as she hoped that all her answers would suddenly have a magical answer before placing Starswirl’s journal down. And sometimes, when you ask a question, the universe will nicely answer that question. The moment the book was placed onto a stone slab, it started glowing bright blue. Spike pointed it out and backed away from it as it floated and opened up as the pages flipped back and forth. Not long after, a blue vortex appeared, creating a sphere that manifested into Starswirl the bearded. “St-Starswirl! I’ve long since wanted to meet you. I can’t believe you’re here!” Twilight excitedly said as she ran up and stared at her idol. He, however, didn’t acknowledge her as Sunburst waved his hoof through him. “I don’t think he’s really here…or any of them.” Sunburst pointed behind the Princess as their eyes widened at seeing the rest of the pillars. They all manifested on different stone slabs as Starswirl made his move by casting a beam of magic at the well. The well suddenly produces a shadow before growing into a large ball. From the shadow ball, hooves came out as it transformed into a large pony with glowing white eyes and a long curved horn that got lighter as it reached the tip. “Hahahahaha!! You summon me at your peril Starswirl! Once I’ve defeated all of you, this realm will embrace the darkness, just as I did so long ago.” The Pony of Shadows roared as shadow tendrils shot out of him and ensnared the pillars. The Pony of Shadows laughed as the world started getting darker. “Drawing me here has only made me stronger. You can never defeat me!” “We didn’t summon you here to defeat you...” Starswirl started as his magic broke the tendrils. He levitated his book as it glowed a bright white, as a beam traveled from the book to the objects that the other pillars wielded as it freed them from their bindings as well. “N-No! What do you think you’re doing!?” “…We came to contain you.” Starswirl finished as they all started floating in the air. The Pony of Shadows found himself unable to move, screaming in defiance as he and the pillars vanished. The objects that the pillars wielded dropped onto their respective stone slabs and vanished. Starswirl’s journal, however, returned to the slab that Twilight placed it on. They all stared in shock and awe as Starlight explained that the pillars had banished the Pony of Shadows. As to where they all went was unknown, but Twilight was determined to find out. “A summoning circle, and magical runes that correspond to each pillar.” Sombra muttered to himself, although everyone heard him. “Indeed. Magical power of this magnitude would leave remnants of itself anywhere that it was used. ” “Regardless of that, bringing the book back here lets us see what happened all those years ago. And it looks like the pillars sacrificed themselves for Equestria.” Twilight solemnly explained before teleporting everyone back to the castle. Unbeknownst to them, something had been watching them from the forest, with the only thing noticeable was a glowing red eye. “Who would’ve thought that an old book in an antique shop belonged to Starswirl of all ponies.” Starlight commented as she walked by Sunburst to the cutie map room. What Sunburst had thought would have taken years to understand the spell that Starswirl used, Twilight had figured it out within a few hours. “I know right? But what about you, aside from summoning a familiar, something that no pony has done in centuries, you summoned a phoenix! I didn’t think that was even possible, although your phoenix is pretty unique.” Sunburst complimented as she stared at the top of Starlight’s head, seeing Kuro giving him a quizzical look before eating some of the food Starlight had brought. Starlight nervously chuckled and nodded with a smile, knowing that she had no idea where Kuro came from. He just appeared and decided to stick with her. The two soon arrived at the room where the Cutie Map was and where everyone else was waiting. The elements of harmony sat on their respective seats, except for Twilight, as Sunburst and Starlight were forced to stand along with Spike. As for Sombra, he created his chair from dark crystals that starkly contrasted the room's bright colors. But that had been ignored as Twilight burst into the room, screaming about the different variations of magic that Starswirl could’ve used to banish the Pony of Shadows. “And just what’s so great about what he’s done?” Rainbow Dash asked, annoyed at her friend’s inability to explain herself while she was excited about whatever this bearded pony had done. Twilight promptly responded by pushing the book in her face, explaining how the pillars had banished the Pony of Shadows to Limbo. According to Twilight, it was a timeless realm. Through a diorama, she created a ball of magic to represent Starswirl and the other pillars' magic that was used to open a portal between worlds before said magic destroyed her diorama. They all realized that the pillars had also been banished to Limbo as well, as they wondered how powerful the Pony of Shadows must’ve been if they thought that to be their only option. However, Sombra wondered if he could replicate that power on his own to banish Twilight and her friends once he was done saving Equestria from a genocidal dragon. Even if he couldn’t banish them to limbo, he could still banish them for a thousand years if he was given the opportunity. “But here’s the best part, I think I can get them all out of limbo.” Twilight proclaimed as Sunburst was shocked. He asked if she truly believed that she could save the greatest ponies in history, and Twilight confidently nodded. Starlight promptly added about her exploits of opening portals, reminding Twilight what nearly happened. “First of all, you opened portals through time. Time portals and World portals are two separate things. And second, this was Starswirl’s spell, and if he had been here he could have stopped it. Equestria will be far safer with him in it, we have to save him and the others.” Twilight lectured as she missed the flash of sorrow that went across Starlight’s face. Sombra didn’t as he saved that piece of sorrow for later, knowing full well that he could exploit it. Before anyone else could say a word, Starlight shrieked in pain. The cause of her pain was from Kuro, who had dug his talons into her head. Starlight was going to grab him with her magic and scold him, but his sudden hissing made her stop. Starlight didn’t know what had gotten him so riled up, but he was upset with something and was consequentially taking it out on her. Fluttershy instinctively flew over to the pair and tried calming the phoenix down, realizing that he was angry instead of feeling anxiety over something like she first assumed. “Okay Kuro, let’s calm down. While I don't know why you’re angry, you're hurting Starlight. I want you to calm down, and release your talons. Can you do that for me please?” Fluttershy calmly spoke as Kuro snapped his head towards her with a glare. Fluttershy gave a kind smile, although it wavered, seeing that Kuro’s eyes were now red. Still, the pegasus kept her calm, brave face as the phoenix continued its dirty look before easing up. Starlight sighed in relief as Kuro flew off her head and out of the room, intending to be by himself. Fluttershy checked on Starlight’s head and was glad to see that she wasn’t bleeding knowing how sharp Kuro’s talons are. “Kuro must’ve been so angry that he didn’t even tell me what was wrong. But I can’t even think of what could’ve angered him.” Fluttershy commented as Starlight agreed. The unicorn had no idea that Kuro could be this aggressive when angered, and like Fluttershy said, she didn’t know what could’ve set off that anger. And Fluttershy, for peace of mind, decided to keep the change in Kuro’s eye color to herself as she figured that since he was a summoned familiar he was possibly special in that regard. Despite how off-putting that situation became, Applejack got everyone back on track by asking how they were going to get them out in the first place. “Well, since Sombra said that each of those stones at Ponehenge had runes that corresponded to one of the pillars magic before Starswirl brought it together, we would need to find an artifact that’s related to them. And lucky for us, Starswirl took a lot of notes.” Twilight started to read off the notes that her idol had written, and as she did that, a bright light appeared over the Cutie Map with images of the artifacts that each of the Pillars wielded as they landed in certain places all over Equestria in front of the corresponding bearer of harmony. “Well, at least we know who gets what. You girls go and get the artifacts while me, Sunburst, Starlight, and Sombra head over to Ponehenge to get everything set up.” Twilight ordered as they all nodded and set out for their task. Sombra remained where he was, examining the map and the regions all over Equestria when he heard Starlight cough next to him. “Are you going to come? You’re bound by that penalty game or whatever, so you don’t really have a choice.” Starlight remained as Sombra scoffed. Starlight told the others to go on ahead while she dealt with the dark king, and while everyone was worried for her, she assured them that she would be fine. They all reluctantly left the two alone. Sombra’s gaze lingered on the Crystal Empire before snapping over to Starlight, who was glaring at him. “Listen here, and listen well. You’ve been strangely helpful back at Ponehenge, but even I know you’re still scheming. So you can come willingly, or I will take you by force.” Starlight threatened as she summoned her magic. Sombra stared at her before laughing. He continued this for a solid minute before sighing and giving her an amused smirk. “Oh please, you couldn’t defeat me even if you went all out.” Sombra spoke down to her as Starlight growled. “Although, I suppose you might stand a chance if you tapped into that dark power you possess.” Starlight froze at Sombra’s knowledge. She had no idea how he could’ve known that, but it was enough to get her not to do anything rash. “How do you know about that?” “It’s not that hard for a user of dark magic to sense another vile power. But even so, it raises the question of how Celestia or Luna couldn’t sense it. While it makes sense for Sparkle, it shouldn’t be the case for Equestria’s rulers. Not to mention the room in this castle that oozes dark magic.” Sombra explained as he got off his throne that he shattered into pieces. He walked around the table while eyeing the unicorn, his eyes narrowing before stopping a few meters away from her. “So, answer the question. What is this dark power? And how…or should I say Who is hiding it? Because I have no problem telling Celestia or Luna about your newfound dark powers.” Sombra asked as Starlight didn’t know what to do. It didn’t matter what she did as Sombra had easy blackmail over her, and if he knew exactly who she was housing within her it would make it worse. “Hahaha!!! How perceptive Sombra; and here I thought I had hidden Nightmare Moon’s magical power well. Oh well, it would seem that the alicorn is out of the bag!” Discord’s voice echoed throughout the room as the two looked around for him. It wasn’t long until their eyes settled on the map, seeing Discord sitting on the beach of the Sparkling Sea reading a book. He flipped to the next page before looking up and waved at them before snapping his fingers and appearing next to them. “I just love a good read! Although I do know a few books about places where Sea Kings cause havoc, and another where the afterlife is no longer an option should it be used, they are not my concern. Chaos is chaos after all.” Discord chuckled seeing their faces before floating on his back and continued to read his book. Starlight stared at him as her right eye started twitching, not comprehending what he said before shaking her head. “Wait a minute! You KNEW that I had Nightmare Moon sealed inside me!?” “Oh no no no! I've known since you picked up her book from the Dragon Lands! Since then, I’ve purposely hidden her magical signature and let Sombra sense that power, although I’m sure he could’ve figured it out on his own.” Discord revealed as his book suddenly vanished from his hand while chuckling at Starlight’s opened jaw. He closed it before landing on the ground, staring down at her as Sombra spoke. “So I was right in assuming that there was another force at work. But there’s a reason as to why, correct?” “Right on my evil pony! You’ve earned the prize…of something in the future.” Discord chuckled seeing Sombra’s bewildered look. Sombra expected literally anything to happen but was more surprised when nothing happened to him. “But yes, there is a reason. And that is because your current power level is… insufficient to fight Acnologia.” Discord suddenly gained some kind of device on his right eye before taking it off and crushing it. “That’s the exact reason why I went to her! I know what I’m doing makes everything Twilight did for me mean nothing, but sometimes you need to make the choice others wouldn’t.” Starlight boldly replied as Discord gave a small chuckle. He snapped his talons as a small purple glow appeared over Sombra, pulsing a bit darker before it faded away. “Alright then Sombra, I’ve just somewhat….lifted your penalty game. While you’ll still need to help Earthland and everything, you're no longer bound to all four princesses but instead just to Twilight. And you yourself still can’t harm anyone, friend or family.” Discord suddenly explained as he basked in the shock from Sombra and Starlight. They didn’t know why he did that, and Sombra had no idea that one could overrule someone else’s penalty game. “Well, I’ve been here long enough and I think some time in Chaosville will do me some good. Oh, and before I go, I wouldn’t tell anyone about this. I would love the chaos but admittedly, Celestia’s nagging would bore me to death. Have a good day, you two.” Discord opened a nonexistent door in the air and left, leaving the two unicorns alone once again. They were confused as to what just happened, which is quite normal when dealing with Discord. “He knows more than we think. No one just ‘lifts’ or changes the rules of a penalty game, I didn’t even know that was possible.” “He’s right about one thing though, we can’t let the others know. They find out about Nightmare Moon and your chains nearly taken off they’ll be hell to pay. Let’s just head over to Ponehenge to rescue the pillars and figure out who this dark creator is.” Starlight suggested as she headed for the door. “You wouldn’t happen to know any dark creators, would you?” “Aside from the father of monsters Grogar, no I don’t. Even so, you don’t live a long life like mine without gaining the instincts to know that we’ll meet this creator soon enough.” The group of unicorns was waiting at Ponehenge for the others. While Twilight, Starlight, and Sunburst talked about current events, Sombra analyzed the magical runes Starswirl used again. They were very complex, requiring either long years of study or having someone who was a master in the art of magic teach you. Although, even with long years of study, or even a teacher, Sombra knew that it would take even longer practice to use such magic. “He used a summoning spell to summon the Pony of Shadows before using the runes on the stone pillars to seal him away. But that would require an enormous amount of magical power, leaving Starswirl drained of his magic as they all banished themselves.” Sombra analyzed before he stopped moving. His ears twitched at the small sound of something slithering between the grass and the leaves. He knew it was no snake, as the serpent couldn’t have had a small dark aura to it. Whoever they were, they were hiding their magical presence well, but the small amount of magic they were using gave them away. Sombra walked around the well, pretending to look at the unreadable runes while he was trying to spot their stalker. But he couldn't find them no matter where he looked, and he was ready to call them out when Applejack appeared with Rockhoof’s shovel. Right after her came Rarity with Mistmane’s flower, then Pinkie Pie and Somnambula’s blindfold, and finally was Fluttershy with Meadowbrook’s mask. Rainbow Dash was still absent, which Sombra chose to comment on. “The prismatic pegasus that consistently boats about being the fastest in Equestria is the last one here? Seems as though being a pegasus fits her, seeing as she speaks nothing but hot air.” Sombra belittled as he took notice that the dark presence was gone. Against his better judgment, he decided to brush it off as nothing. “Watch it, buddy!” Rainbow Dash shouted as Flash Magnus’s shield was dropped onto his slab with her being a few meters away from Sombra. “I AM the fastest flier in Equestria! And I can prove it by beating the hell out of you so fast that you’ll never know what happened!” The speedster shouted as everyone, minus Sombra, was shocked at her sudden anger. Yes, she was boastful about her speed and defensive when someone questioned her about it, but this was different. “Calm down Rainbow Dash! I get that it’s Sombra but he insults everybody when given the chance! Why is this so different?” Twilight questioned as she couldn’t think of a reason for Rainbow Dash to take it this far, even with a villain. The pegasus didn't get a chance to respond as Sombra scoffed before chuckling, prompting the mare to fly up in his face. “Something funny!?” “You! If it weren’t for my loss to Luna I’d absolutely allow you to try it, only for you to fail as I clip your wings!” Sombra replied as Rainbow Dash nearly tackled him as Twilight and Applejack managed to restrain via magic and a lasso. The pegasus growled in annoyance at her restraints and grew more angry at Sombra’s smug grin, knowing that she wasn’t going to touch him. “Calm down Rainbow Dash! That varmint’s getting you worked up on purpose for a reaction and he’s gettin' it! Just let it go! He ain’t worth it!” Applejack yelled as she felt the struggling of her friend dying down, and she released her from the lasso as Twilight released the pegasus from her magic. Twilight was a little surprised that she needed to use a bit more magic than normal to restrain her friend, but she decided to focus on the current situation. “Anyway, hopefully, they can help us defeat Acnologia once we get the pillars back. He won’t get away with anything he’s done.” Twilight confidently said as the others agreed, but Sombra started to question Acnologia’s power. They continuously spoke about his vast power, but Sombra wondered if they severely underestimated the Dragon King’s unknown power. Naturally, he knew that the Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Heart were powerful magical artifacts that could be used against him, but there were always stronger forms of magic, and it wasn’t as though neither of those artifacts couldn’t be destroyed. As he thought this, Twilight signaled for Starlight and Sunburst to pour their magic into Starswirl’s book. As they did, it glowed a bright white before connecting to the other artifacts, which had promptly brought back all the pillars from Limbo. The girls saved all of them from being crushed by boulders, with Starswirl coming to his senses and rubbing his head with his hoof. “W-What happened?” Starswirl asked, mainly for himself, but was surprised when Twilight answered him. His surprise turned to horror upon learning that he and all the other pillars were brought out of Limbo, and even as he begged Twilight to send them all back, he was too late. The sky suddenly darkened as a black cloud came into existence before dropping down into a liquid of tendrils before solidifying and forming a large pony that started cackling. “Your attempt to imprison me has failed Starswirl!” The Pony of Shadows taunted as the wizard went to summon his magic, but as Sombra knew, he had none. Starswirl once again asked to be sent back to Limbo with the Pony of Shadows, and as Sunburst flipped through the pages of the diary to find that spell, their new enemy decided to ‘help’. “Allow me to assist.” Tendrils suddenly shot from the Pony of Shadow’s body, piercing the book and the other rocks. He sent balls of magic through each tendril immediately, destroying Ponehenge and effectively the only way to seal him away. “Without the power of Ponehenge, your banishing spell is useless!” “You’ve studied my writing! Surely you have another plan!?” Starswirl angrily asked Twilight who promptly denied having one. She didn’t know that this would happen, nor did she want it to as she just wanted to do Equestria right by their saving legendary heroes from the past. “Don’t worry my fellow equines. When I destroy the light and hope of this miserable world and bring forth the foulest shadow creature that your feeble minds cannot even fathom; you won’t be remembering this…or ANYTHING for that matter!” The Pony of Shadows roared before firing a beam of his shadow magic at Starswirl who summoned his magic to defend himself, but was surprised when Twilight protected him and shoved the Shadow pony’s magic back at him. “ARH! This one is almost as strong as you Starswirl. But even in my weakened state, she cannot overcome the might of shadows.” The Pony of Shadows threatened as he fired another beam of magic that Twilight countered. But this time they briefly stalemated before Twilight found herself being pushed back until Starlight assisted her and forced their opponent back. The Pony of Shadows growled in annoyance and was going to say something when he noticed Sombra. “YOU! A powerful user of dark magic dares to do nothing to aid someone who would bring ruin to the realm, who would have the same goals as one another!?” He roared in anger before calming down, staring down the dark king before smirking and releasing an amusing chuckle. “Oh, you must forgive me. I was unaware that you had lost a shadow game and are now dealing with its penalties. For a powerful user of magic that is similar to my own to lose a shadow game, I find you quite…pathetic!” “Mind your tongue less you wish for me to remove it. I’ve won thousands of games, and unless you wish to be banished back to the shadows of which you were born, you’d be wise to tempt me no further.” Sombra growled out as he summoned his magic, ready for a battle when Starswirl stepped in front of him. The wizard didn’t know who Sombra was, and Sombra was very annoyed at his movement, but he would get to him later as he dealt with his old enemy. “Know this FIEND! We will not rest until you are put back in Limbo!” Starswirl declared as the others gathered around him, fiercely staring down the Pony of Shadows who snarled at the old wizard’s declaration. “NEVER! Your days of glory under the sun are through Starswirl! My dark power will return, as you and this realm, will bow to THE SHADOW KING!” The Pony of Shadows roared before exploding into the sky, dispersing the dark clouds. Rainbow Dash and Flash Magnus flew up into the clear sky, seeing that their new adversary had vanished. “Uh, where’d he go? And who’s the Shadow King?” Rainbow Dash asked as they all wondered the same thing. Starswirl told them to disregard the last threat, believing that it was nothing more than a title he had given himself. Before any of them could say a word, Starswirl summoned the small amount of magic that had returned to him and held Sombra in place. “Release me at once you damned fossil!” “I think not. Your usage of dark magic has corrupted you beyond saving! And you will be dealt with accordingly.” Starswirl coldly spoke as he went to prepare another spell, but was pulled away from Rockhoof as a dark crystal nearly skewered him. Sombra, now freed from his magical binding, darkly glared at Starswirl as he gathered his magic. “You cannot hope to defeat someone who rivals both Celestia and Luna in power! Especially for one who has returned from a thousand-year-long imprisonment with hardly any magic to use!” Sombra yelled as he was prepared for another spell when Twilight and Starlight stepped in front of them. They too summoned their magic, making Sombra hesitate, knowing the consequences if he were to attack them. Sombra growled in anger before letting his magic fizzle out as Starlight and Twilight followed suit. “Aside from him, if we have truly been away for millennia, then my spell worked. Before it was mettled with, and the realm has been at peace.” Starswirl proudly said, side-eyeing Twilight for bringing back the Pony of Shadows. What he wasn’t ever expecting was Pinkie Pie appearing next to him with a book in her hoof. “Weeelllll!! We did have to save everyone from Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, King Sombra who’ve you met and is currently being forced to help us, and Lord Tirek. And then there was that one time when Starlight nearly destroyed the universe by traveling through time! But that’s in the past.” Pinkie Pie suddenly started listing off all of the villains they faced and defeated, also bringing over Starlight who weakly waved and nervously smiled before being shoved away as the wizard was baffled at the speed she spoke and her absurd energy levels. “I will…ignore this one. Anyway, the current problem is finding the Pony of Shadows. The realm is vast, and there are many dark places where he could go to regain his power.” “Sounds like you need a map, and luckily we have one.” Rarity offered as they started to leave. Sombra huffed in annoyance and followed after them before pausing mid-stride, he turned around and looked into the dense forest, thinking that something had just moved through the trees. He continued this stare until he snapped out of it by Meadowbrook. “Is everything…okay?” Meadowbrook asked, seeing the thousand-yard stare on the dark king’s face. Now, she wasn’t genuinely worried about him, but she at least wanted to make sure that he wasn’t in some trance placed by the Pony of Shadows. “Yes. Everything is perfectly fine.” Nothing was fine. Sombra didn’t know who or what was lurking around Ponehenge, but he had a feeling that it was the same creature that he first sensed when they first arrived at the place. But tracking it down would’ve been a waste of energy since he didn’t know what he was looking for. He never brought this up to the others either, not only because they would dismiss him, but because choosing to believe that he was lying wasn’t unwarranted. Sombra was currently walking around the castle, gathering all sorts of thoughts and dismissing many just as quickly as they came. But nothing truly concerned him, not even the dark presence that simply vanished from Ponehenge as he had a feeling it would soon turn up. Sombra continued his walk around the castle, heading over to the kitchen raid Twilight’s fridge when the representations of harmony, from vastly different generations, were in his way. “Is there something you need?” Sombra growled out as Twilight ordered him to get ready to head for Hollow Shades. Sombra nodded as he took notice of the Elements of Harmony, deducing that this was their plan for the Pony of Shadows. He gave a brief glance to Starswirl, already seeing the obvious plan of banishing the Pony of Shadows along with himself to Limbo to kill two Pegasus with one crystal spear. “Where’s Starlight? We need her to come along to help as well.” “In her private study. She’s trying to test a few new spells before the coming battle.” Sombra explained as Twilight teleported to her student’s study room to retrieve her. Now that he was left alone with the others, he felt Starswirl’s piercing eyes on him as he yawned. “If you wish to do something, then try it. With her gone, I’m not bound to punishment if I wish to kill you.” “How impudent! I see no reason as to why you are even needed when the Pony of Shadows is all we are defeating. This ‘Shadow King’ he has mentioned is nothing more than a title for himself as there is no creature with that title or named as such. You would merely use it to deceive us and distract us while you scheme in silence and unsupervised.” “Oh please! As if I need to use the title of some creature as a distraction. If you needed to choose between saving a town over stopping me and my future plans, you’d save the town. Besides, there is currently another threat you are more concerned about, right?” Sombra replied as Starswirl grit his teeth. He had never dealt with such arrogance before in his life, and what he hated the most was how right Sombra was. Luckily, before things could escalate, Twilight appeared with Starlight with a bright smile on her face as she trotted over to everyone. “Alright, let’s go stop the Pony of Shadows!” Twilight eagerly explained as everyone agreed, although it wasn’t as joyful as hers from what had just transpired. Even so, they gathered around her and Starswirl and teleported to Hollow Shades where they would face the Pony of Shadows. The Pony of Shadows, also known as Stygian, manifested in Hollow Shades. He took a look around the abandoned town until his eyes settled on a well at the center. He smirked and made his way towards it, with every step he took changing the land. The land got darker with black clouds blocking out the sun, and with pulses of magic, he uprooted the ground to create jagged mountains with howling winds accompanying them. “Foolish pillars. You may have the assistance of ponies on par with yourselves, but you couldn’t stop before and you will fail again! And once I’ve summoned him, there will be no force in the entire realm that will be able to stop us!” Stygian cackled as lightning boomed in the sky. He transformed into a shadow and leaped into the well with intentions of summoning another shadow creature, that was, by his own words, “the foulest shadow creature” ever to exist. However, Stygian himself would soon learn why you should never listen to or trust the voices from the shadows. They are good at hiding whatever may be lurking within it, and sometimes when people reveal the monster that was hidden away by the darkness, they would’ve wished that it remained there and continue to fear the unknown. The group wandered through Hollow Shades trying to find the Pony of Shadows. Sunburst commented on how the place looked nothing like what he’d read, to which Mistmane replied that it had been warped to their enemy’s twisted desire. As they walked through the abandoned town, Sombra knew that they were being watched, but now he had no idea from where. “Stygian! Show yourself!” Starswirl called out to his former friend and everyone heard a chuckle. As they all stood next to each other around a well, a shadow buzzsaw started cutting around them as they fell underground. They got to their hooves and noticed a strange mural in front of them. To them, it depicted a four-winged Alicorn with strong magic coming from its horn, although they all ignored it when shadows formed in front of it with the Pony of Shadows' maddening laughter. He soon formed in front of them as Starswirl cast a barrier around his comrades. Sombra narrowed his eyes as he ignored the shadow pony who spoke to the fossil and focused on the mural. He could see how they assumed it to be an alicorn, but the magical power that was being used resembled shadows to him, and the alicorn looked more like a dragon. What could’ve been four wings were most likely a large shadow over it, but dragons couldn’t use elemental magic, could they? Sombra suddenly tuned in to hear how Stygian listened to the darkness from the Well of Shades that granted him powers beyond his imagination. Stygian continued by explaining how he combined himself with the shadow to become stronger and cast the entire realm into darkness. “Well, looks like we found the one Torch was talking about.” Twilight muttered to her friends as they nodded in agreement. Sombra doubted this but chose not to speak as Stygian attacked the barrier before shattering it, prompting everyone else to banish him to Limbo. The shadow struck again, breaking the barrier as the twelve representations of harmony joined together and used the elements of harmony to open the portal to Limbo and started pushing the Pony of Shadows back. Sombra didn’t lift a hoof to help out, not only because he didn’t want to, but he wasn’t going to risk accidentally banishing himself to a timeless realm knowing that he wouldn’t return. He continued watching from the sidelines as he, Twilight, and Starlight saw the real Stygian trying to escape from the shadow's grasp. As Twilight went to save him, Sombra felt a sudden shift in the air, causing him to raise a brow and decide to take a look around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and nothing about the cavern changed. Sombra narrowed his eyes and started extending his senses and magic, trying to figure out what was the sudden shift, what had just changed. He looked around until he finally saw runes sketched into the ground. However, he was brought out of his thoughts by hearing Twilight’s, or as he calls her Sparkle, speech to Stygian about friendship alongside Starlight before he was dragged out of the shadow. But as for the shadow itself, he chuckled. “Fools! It matters not, for you’re already too late! But of course, I do hope you enjoy the new world order!” The shadow cackled before he was banished to Limbo. They all celebrated Stygian’s return from the darkness as Starswirl apologized to him and Twilight, both for separate matters. The wizard then turned to Sombra, who had been looking across the cave with a serious look. “Well, what is the matter with you? Why are you–” “So, how long do you intend to hide within the shadows? You can either come out or I drag you out. The choice is yours.” Sombra called out as everyone heard a deep chuckle. They followed Sombra’s gaze to a large shadow that wasn’t natural at the other end of the cave. To their surprise, the entire shadow traveled over to them and paused about halfway from where they stood. Then it began to take shape, condensing itself and building upward as a face was revealed to them while the rest of the bidel creature remained hidden behind shadows. “A-A human!? Who are you!? And how are you here!?” Twilight demanded to know as she summoned her magic. Starswirl and Starlight followed suit, with no one seeing how hesitant Sombra was before he too summoned his magic “Me? Hehehe. I…” The human started as he dropped the shadows and fully revealed himself. The human was decently tall, almost Celestia’s height with medium messy black hair, some of which was covering his left eye and another portion put up in a ponytail. He was adorned with a long dark-colored cape with tattered edges; while also wearing a long, dark jacket that appeared to be part of the cape ensemble, with the jacket having a high collar that was opened at the front, revealing a form-fitting, sleeveless black shirt underneath that showed off how muscular he was. The coat’s design had purple inner linings and dark purple feathers on the shoulders and upper arms, and around his wrist were purple arm guards that went to his elbow and split off with white lining around the edge. He sported loose-fitted dark grey pants that were held together by a black belt and tucked into his knee-high boots that were lined with a white color, much like his arm guards. He wore a sly grin as his red, right-slitted eye seemingly glowed before he spoke. “...I am Rogue Cheney, the Shadow Dragon Slayer, and the Shadow Dragon King.” Author's Note Here's a link to the outfit I used for Rogue in case it's hard to picture. It also credits the original artist as well. https://www.deviantart.com/celestialrayna/art/Shadow-Dragon-Rogue-926719456 Earthland's Darkest ShadowBon Bon groggily woke up as she groaned in pain. She opened her eyes and briefly looked around, seeing large rocks around her and a small pool of blood. She figured it was from herself, although the possibility of it being from Tempest Shadow was also there. Shaking her head, Bon Bon went to get up but released a small yelp as she went back to the ground. Turning her head she saw her back right hoof was dislocated and felt blood going down her hindlegs as she looked underneath herself and saw a small gash on her lower stomach. She groaned in pain and mild annoyance as she slowly got back to hooves and limped around to find her partner. She should’ve taken care of her dislocated hoof, but finding Tempest was more of a priority to her. She continued her slow walk around the rubble before her ears twitched to the right, hearing what she knew was Tempest Shadow groaning in pain as well. She turned her walk into a brief power walk as she saw Tempest’s hindlegs underneath a boulder. “Tempest!!” Bon Bon briefly sprinted but tumbled onto the ground as she remembered her dislocated limb. Growling in pain she got back up and looked around before seeing a small wedge. She nodded to herself before dragging herself to the small cluster of rocks and placing the dislocated limb in between them. She took a deep breath before twisting, relocating her hoof as she released a small squeak. “Heh. You’ve always been just as tough as me, I think that's why we’re good friends and co-workers”. Bon Bon turned her head to see Tempest staring at her with an amused, pained smirk. The earth pony returned the smirk before moving herself over to her friend. “You have to be in this line of work.” Bon Bon replied before moving to the boulder on Tempest’s legs. With another deep breath, she calmed down as her front hooves glowed brown before slamming them onto the boulder that broke into pebbles. Tempest whisted as the lightly yellow-colored mare sighed and rested beside her. “Well, I think we can officially say that we had our assess handed to us for the first time in our lives.” Tempest joked before coughing up some blood. Bon Bon knew that neither of them could remain here any longer as they both needed medical treatment. Knowing that she was better off, the earth pony pulled herself up and managed to put Tempest Shadow onto her back as she started walking. “You still have the lacrima Princess Celestia gave us?” “No. It’s lying around here somewhere. Let’s find it and–” BOOM!! The mares suddenly turned to see a dragon, well parts of a dragon, crash into the ground. Bon Bon hid the two behind a boulder as she peeked out to what was happening, and gasped as she hid themselves again. “What’s going on? Who’s out–” “Shhh!!! Acnologia is here!” Bon Bon whispered as the two became quiet. She peered out again to see the dragon king blasting a hole through another dragon, apparently making sure that it was dead. She made sure not to make any noise, but she whispered to Tempest about what she saw before hearing her whisper. “Since when could dragons use magic? Dragon King or otherwise, the closest thing to a dragon using magic is the scepter the Dragon Lord uses to summon them.” Tempest questioned as she felt her partner nod in agreement. Bon Bon continued to watch Acnologia, waiting to see if he would leave or figure out that they hadn’t died and come to finish the job. Instead, he stopped all movements and turned his head to face north. He seemingly focused on something, not moving as the mare concluded that he was thinking about something. A few seconds went by before he growled and blasted off into the skies, leaving the mares behind as Bon Bon left the hiding spot and narrowed her eyes. “Where the hell is he going?” Bon asked her partner who struggled to awake but agreed. Knowing that she needed to be quick, Bon decided to search for the lacrima. Even as she searched, her mind was on overdrive from everything that had recently happened. They saw a human tear a dragon in half before they were blasted off a cliffside by said human, a creature that shouldn’t have been on Earthland. Then they were not only severely injured, but the sudden appearance of Acnologia killing a dragon was strange. Not that strange considering what they knew, but the more she thought about it, the more strange it got. And then it clicked. “We need to find that lacrima! NOW!” Bon suddenly sprinted, ignoring the pain she felt as she desperately needed that lacrima. Tempest yelped at the sudden change in attitude as she asked what had gotten her so riled up. “It’s Acnologia! He’s not just a dragon from the past, but he’s the human that blasted us off the cliff! Don’t you think it’s weird that species aside, the human managed to rip a full-grown dragon in half? He also not only found us despite a camouflage and soundproof spell, but he knew where we were BEFORE the dragon attack! And now the dragon himself is here after the human nearly killed us?! There’s no way any of that is a coincidence! We need to hurry!” “But where the hell is he going!? Even if you’re right, we don’t know where he’s going to be!” Tempest shouted as Bon skidded to a stop. Tempest nearly yelled but held back after seeing the cracked lacrima on the ground. Bon didn’t care though, picking up the broken lacrima and channeled her magic into it, hoping to reach the princess of the sun. “Agen–zzt! What’s goi–zzt on?” “We have news on Acnologia!” Many thoughts ran through Twilight’s head as she stared down the human known as Rouge. One of the thoughts was wondering how this human had gotten to Equestria from the human world. She didn’t know anyone from the human world by the name of Rogue Cheney, and she doubted that Sunset or their counterparts knew anyone by that name either. Not only that, but he had confirmed Applejack’s guess; Dragon Slayer Magic existed and was based on elemental powers if Rogue’s proclamation was anything to go by. “...Hn. This isn’t good. If he truly is the Shadow King, or Shadow Dragon King I suppose, then we need to fall back and regroup for a plan. Staying here any longer means certain death.” Sombra told everyone else as they questioned his plan. They didn’t think that he would’ve wanted to retreat from someone who could’ve helped him. Starlight noticed his tone of voice and suddenly glared at him. “You knew about him, didn’t you? Even before the Pony of Shadows said his name, you knew of his existence?” “Yes, I did.” “You lied to me!!” “Of course, I lied to you!!!” Sombra roared back at Starlight as everyone else watched in silence, including Rogue who watched with a smirk. “Long ago, I had learned of the Shadow King’s name when I first delved into dark magic. At first, his name was shrouded in mystery to me, and I slowly learned that he was a creator of many dark spells. It was never a part of my plans to bring him into the world, mainly because I don’t know what happened to him. And quite frankly, he very much could’ve helped me. But seeing him now and sensing his power…” Sombra trailed off for a brief moment, seeing the outline of a menacing dragon behind Rogue with piercing-glowing red eyes. A bead of sweat went down his face before speaking. “...He doesn’t make allies, only servants to do his bidding.” Sombra finished as Starlight lost her glare. She knew Sombra long enough to know that he wasn’t the kind of pony whose resolve would waver over something like the presence of a powerful being. Everyone suddenly turned to Rogue who was chuckling before fully laughing. “You are all so amusing. I have no desire to kill you, not unless you get in my way. Even so, we will most likely be meeting again in the future. So–” Rogue suddenly paused as he stared down Starlight before flicking his eyes over to Stygian. “Well well, I’m surprised that take-over magic still exists. It makes me wonder what other forms of magic have survived throughout the centuries. And it would seem that I need to correct myself, for there is only one among you who will be dying.” Rogue finished as Stygian started shaking, figuring that he was the only one that Rogue could’ve been talking about. And he would be right. “Stygian. Long ago I created someone to give you the power to overcome those that betrayed you, and how do you repay my kindness? You allowed it to be banished while saving your fur like a coward.” Rogue’s voice grew colder with every word he spoke, and his killer intent grew along with it. Stygian was shaking with fear, never in his life had he felt such a wave of terror wash over him. “Although, I do suppose that’s how people, or ponies, in this case, act in those situations. Sometimes in life, cowards do survive. But the ones that survive, will never escape their past.” “Stygian is no coward!” Starswirl yelled as he stepped forward, protecting Stygian who watched in shock. “He would have never accepted that cursed power had we all been better friends. And he was no coward for abandoning that power! Instead, he showed great strength and courage in doing so. You will never lay your hands on our friend, especially while I still draw breath!!” Starswirl declared as everyone agreed, except for Sombra of course. Stygian couldn’t believe that one of the ponies he betrayed had come to his defense, making him realize that Twilight was right. “Oh, while you still draw breath you say? Well, that can certainly be arranged!!” Rogue yelled as he slashed the air, sending a wave of shadows towards the ponies. The group protected themselves with a barrier that was created by the unicorns of the group, withstanding the power being used against them before cracks started forming. Sombra fired a beam of dark magic towards the dragon slayer, breaking the barrier in the process as he intended to wipe the human off the face of Earthland. However, Rogue smirked and vanished before the spell reached him. The ponies gasped in shock as they looked around, trying to find him when Flash was slammed against a pillar. They couldn’t react to him as Somnambula was suddenly flung across the cave, they heard his dark chuckle as Applejack’s ears twitched to the right. “I got you!” Apple turned and bucked the area where Rogue should’ve been, but she hit the air as she felt his fist connect with her face. Applejack flew into a pillar as Rainbow Dash flew over to her friend to help, but was instead sent crashing into the ground. The ones that were standing didn’t know how he kept vanishing and appearing, not until Sombra caught a glimpse of a moving shadow. “He’s become a shadow!” Sombra roared before he spotted Rogue’s shadow form and became a shadow himself. He chased after him as the two clashed, which was not as epic as one would think, but the ones that weren’t attacked didn’t care as they rounded up their fallen friends. The two shadows that fought traveled around the cavern, curling around pillars and across the ceiling before making their way towards the others with Rogue exiting his incorporeal form; grabbed onto the shadow that was Sombra as he forcefully brought him out and punched him to the rest of the group. Sombra got to his hooves and wiped the blood from his muzzle. This wasn’t how he expected the fight to go, sure he knew that it would be difficult to fight against a creator of dark magic, but this was something else. They saw Rogue’s shadow form zipping all around them, none of them being able to strike him due to his incorporeal form as Twilight made a decision. “We need to get out of here! We stay any longer and we’ll all die!!” Twilight shouted to everyone as they agreed. Rogue suddenly appeared in front of them with a smirk on his face, making Sombra ready for another spell when he couldn’t summon his magic. Sombra growled in annoyance as he charged forward, only to slam face-first into an invisible barrier. The ponies looked around them to glowing purple runes that surrounded them and were ineligible to them. None of them knew what they were looking at, but it made no difference as they were trapped. “We’ve been had. And it’s been that way since the Pony of Shadows was released, hasn’t it, oh glorious Shadow King?” Sombra sarcastically spoke while everyone else wondered what he meant, prompting him to explain. “See that magic circle over there? That’s what was used to summon him, but it would seem that the Pony of Shadows needed magic, powerful magic that he didn’t possess from his weakened state. So, whether he planned to be sealed away is irrelevant, because while he had Stygian as a host, he foresaw the use of the Elements of Harmony, and decided to use their magic to summon Rogue.” “But that would be impossible!” Twilight countered as she was barely able to summon a small portion of her magic. “The Elements of Harmony represents literal peace and harmony as their given name. It wouldn’t be possible for them to summon anything remotely related to darkness, especially someone like Rogue!!!” “No, Twilight. Sombra…is correct.” Starswirl uttered before continuing, hating to admit that. “Normally that would be true, but the affinity of the magic doesn’t matter. What was truly needed was the power, the power behind the Elements of Harmony opening the portal to Limbo is what set him free.” Starswirl finished as Twilight was at a loss for words. It was only confirmed by Rogue’s chuckling, who manifested himself in front of them before he left it with an amused sigh. “Indeed. You are…almost, correct about everything. You or one of the other three Unicorns here could have released me had you used enough magic, but that is neither here nor there. Once Stygian has been dealt with I will leave you all in…relative peace.” Rogue calmly, but coldly, explained as he lifted his hand and pointed one of his fingers at Stygian. Dark energy gathered at the tip of his finger, and his smirk grew as Stygian sighed in sadness. He had just been accepted back by the friends he betrayed, and now he was going to be killed by the shadows he once accepted. There was a bit of irony in that, and in the back of his mind, he knew how right he was in how Twilight couldn’t save him even if Starlight confirmed how she was saved from her darkness. Only his was literal. Out of the corner of his eye, Stygian saw Starlight staring down at the runes with a quizzical look on her face before they returned to a regular gaze. He was about to ask what was wrong, seeing as he was about to die when she spoke. “Any equine creature within this barrier will be unable to leave or use magic until a unicorn has died.” Everyone suddenly stared at her, wondering how she was reading the runes. Rogue had dropped his hand and canceled his spell as he narrowed his eyes at her. How she knew such an old language was beyond him, but he was going to find out. “You there, the one reading the runes. How are you able to understand them? While I can somewhat accept that you possess take-over magic, reading dead scriptures from my time should be impossible.” Rogue questioned as he discreetly extended his shadow to the ones nearby. Rogue wasn’t scared that she possessed knowledge from long ago, but he didn’t want to take any chances that she could learn anything to become a threat to him. “That’s none of your business! But I’ll give you the chance to leave peacefully or else I’ll make you.” “HA!! With what form of magic?” Rogue countered as he gathered shadows in the palm of his hand. The shadow he had by the pillar narrowed itself to resemble a sharpened spear. Rogue decided that he had enough playtime, and he was going to kill them all. As for Starlight, she tried summoning her magic, but like the runes were written she was unable to do so. With no choices left, Starlight summoned Nightmare Moon’s magic as her eyes changed to cyan blue with slits, and her horn now glowed a dark blue. At the same time she did this, Rogue’s demeanor changed. He went from arrogance to brief shock before sending a large blast of shadows towards them. That power wasn’t magic; which allowed her to bypass his enchantment! Not knowing what she was about to do, Rogue knew he needed to strike first as he flung his shadow toward Mistmane while attacking everyone else. “WATCH OUT!!!” Stygian yelled as he shoved his friend out of the way and took the attack himself. Rogue’s shadow pierced through Stygian’s side before it retraced as the gray unicorn fell to the floor bleeding. Everyone gasped in horror as Starlight changed her plan from offensive to defensive as she summoned a barrier to protect everyone. The shadows bounced off and traveled around them as the enchantment slowly started dissipating. The moment Sombra felt his magic, he summoned a dark crystal sphere as an extra layer of protection. He sensed that the shadows that attacked them were corrosive, but as to what would happen to them should they come into contact with it he didn’t know nor did he want to find out. The shadows died down as Rogue growled at the cursed barrier before him. That was something he thought had been lost to time after the destruction of Tartarus. Well, it didn’t matter he supposed, seeing how he completely outclassed the mare that had no idea how to use such literal cursed power. She had become far more dangerous than he originally thought, but as Rogue stared down the cursed energy, he noticed how weak it was compared to the demons that originally used it. The smoke cleared as the crystal and cursed barrier dropped, Rogue looked past the two to see Stygian’s corpse on the ground. He got the little weasel, and as much as he wanted to kill the rest he was running low on magic as he started to walk away. “Where do you think you’re going!?!?!?” Starswirl roared as he glared at Rogue with tears streaming down his face. He had just gotten his friend back, someone he had wrongly betrayed, and now he was dead due to this monster. His anger grew even further when Rogue showed no interest in his emotions as he summoned dark magic. “Here is a taste of your own medicine!!” Starswirl roared, ignoring everyone else as he fired a blast of shadows from his horn. While none of them were surprised that the wizard knew dark magic, they were surprised that he’d use it. Rogue was perfectly calm at the magic being used against him, and he sighed as he realized that these fools had no idea just how powerful dragon slayer magic was; or perhaps magic in general. BOOM!! The shadows struck Rogue’s body and exploded around him. But then, everyone heard a swirling sound, much like a vortex, and they turned to see the shadows that Starswirl used being sucked into Rogue’s mouth. They were completely shocked as the Rogue fully swallowed the shadows before he gave them all an evil smile. “Fools!! It would seem as though anything related to Dragon Slayer magic, and Slayer magic in general, has been lost to time! Slayers of any sort of element cannot be harmed by the element they use; they instead replenish their strength when they devour said element! So, allow me the honor to show you the magic power that is capable of slaying dragons!!!” Rogue roared as he took a massive inhale. The ponies watched his cheeks puff out as Rainbow Dash shocked her head and snapped everyone else out of their stupor. “GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!” “Shadow Dragon King…ROAR!!!” Rogue yelled as he released a large breath of pitch-black shadows. The ponies all dove out of the way from Rogue’s attack as they heard the sound of a powerful dragon. The attack soon died down as everyone was buried underneath some rubble. Rockhoof managed to throw off some of the rubble from his back as he protected Rarity, Fluttershy, and Mistmane. Flash Magnus shoved his shield upward as Sunburst, Pinkie Pie, and Meadowbrooks also came out from their rubble. The rest were encased in a barrier created by Twilight, Starlight, Sombra, and Starswirl. Their barrier held up against the attack and whatever debris had struck it. As they all regrouped, Starswirl looked for Stygian’s body, wanting to bring it back for a proper burial. However, Flash pointed his hoof down the middle toward where the mural once was, as they saw Stygian’s corpse with multiple cuts and bruises and was missing his right hoof and his horn broken off. He lay on the mural underneath the dragon’s maw, almost as though he was being devoured whole while the shadows encased him. They all sorrowfully stared as some of them shedded tears. None of them had any words, especially the pillars as they knew they had failed their friend. They had wrongfully cast him out, forcing him into accepting a dark power that he never should have; and after Twilight saved him and cleared up the misunderstanding between them he was killed. Rogue watched with cold eyes before he turned around and started to leave. He had many things that he needed to do, the main thing being that he needed to know what the world was now like. He had never, properly anyway, seen how the world had changed ever since that spell was used. And it wasn’t long after that she had sealed him and his shadows away, and he wouldn’t waste any more time dealing with these ponies. Rogue reached the large hole his creation had made and stared out into the darkened sky, and he scoffed. “Figures that Acnologia is still alive. Although, it is odd that he is not coming here directly to me, much like he did to Fairy Tail at Tenrou Island, and is instead….” Rogue’s thought trailed off as he stared north from his position before he sprouted wings from his back and was about to take flight. Before he could leave, a blast of magic grazed his side as he jumped off to the right. He glared at Twilight who glared back, not afraid of the dragon slayer as she released a puff of air from her nose. “You monster!! How could you just kill someone over something so insignificant!? You had no justifiable reason at all!! You’re no better than Acnologia; and if this is all how dragon slayers are then maybe your magic was better off lost to time as we will stop you!!!” Twilight shouted as Rogue scoffed. “You worry about the wrong person. Even so…” Rogue flapped his wings as he blasted off into the sky. Twilight and Starswirl teleported everyone outside, along with Stygian’s body, to see Rogue floating in the sky; almost as though he was waiting for them. “...You don’t even know what this world used to be like, much less how powerful magic truly is. And with my power, no one will stand in my way, not even Acnologia. To which of course, someplace will be meeting very soon.” Rogue ominously finished as he disappeared into the skies, dispersing the dark clouds and allowing the sun to show itself. Twilight released a deep sigh as she turned her head to see Flash Magnus and Rockhoof making a burial place for Stygian. It was upsetting for everyone, especially herself after she promised him that he could be reformed. Still, at least no one else was killed, and as selfish as it sounded, she was glad that her friends were all still alive with her. Twilight sat on her haunches as she bathed in Celestia’s sun, feeling the warmth and brief amount of peace until Pinkie Pie made herself known. “No need to worry Twilight!–” “...That’s when I worry the most.” “---We’ll get through all this. We can have Sombra or one of the princesses fight Rogue while we deal with Acnologia. Elements of Harmony style! Besiiiiidesss, how much worse can this get?” Pinkie asked as Twilight didn’t have the patience to explain Murphy’s law to the pony that defied physics and had Murphy’s law as her magic. And as much as Twilight wanted to worry, she reluctantly decided to relax like Pinkie seemed to be. Despite how much worse Twilight knew it could get, she also knew that there were no benefits to worrying about something that wasn’t happening. And yet, she would greatly regret not listening to herself. In the Crystal Empire, the crystal ponies were celebrating the visit of their hero Spike the dragon. Crystal ponies in the streets celebrated with singing, drinking, and enjoyment of food. Spike watched from the balcony of the Crystal Castle, being ordered at some point by Cadance to relax and to stop putting her books in alphabetical order as she, by her own words, had a system. That didn’t stop him from his fun, but he was now watching the crystal ponies celebrate as he heard a pair of hooves behind him. “How are you enjoying the festival?” Cadence asked with Shining following as they sat next to him. Spike replied that it was fun, but the alicorn could tell that something was wrong. She pulled him into a side hug with her wing and asked what was on his mind. “Well, I guess I’m just worried for Twilight and the others. I know I’m here for my safety, at least keeping Twilight’s mind at ease, but they're going to be fighting some dragon that’s stronger than Torch! I know that most of the time they all see me as a baby dragon, and they praise me greatly or recognize my skills when they show. But I now feel more useless than ever.” “Don’t say that Spike.” Shining spoke up as he used his magic to place the dragon onto his shoulders. “You’re not useless. Twilight sees you like her own child, and she’s doing this because she cares. Aside from her friends, she depends on you just as much. After all, who’s going to make sure that she remembers to feed herself when she becomes a hermit to her books?” The trio laughed at the joke as they watched the fireworks in the sky. The snowstorm outside made it dark enough for them to be set off; although there was a certain spot that grew darker, and something broke through the barrier. The trio saw something small crash into the ground, and a member of the guard suddenly burst onto the balcony. “INTRUDER!!!” The Fallen KingdomTwilight and the others had returned to her castle for some much-needed rest. The alicorn, however, knew that she needed more information on Rogue and was already writing in a special book to Sunset Shimmer. Even if the chances were nonexistent that Sunset knew who Rogue was, she needed to take the chance to learn something about him, and perhaps Acnologia as well. “Hey Sunset, I know it’s been a while since we’ve last written to each other, and as much as I want to catch up I really need your help. Many things have happened recently, things that are too important to summarize and a little long to explain by writing; however, I need to know if you’ve ever encountered or heard of a human named Rogue. There’s one here in Equestria, but he’s a human, not a pony! He’s the Shadow Dragon King, and he uses Shadow Dragon Slayer magic. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of that form of magic, but the name speaks for itself, and he’s worse than Sombra! If there’s a chance that I get some free time, I might head over to talk in person or you can come to Equestria, whichever you prefer or is more convenient. I know that it’ll be a while before you see this, but hopefully, the enchantment I placed on the book works like those uh…phones, you girls have, is what I think they were called anyway. It’ll release a small magic pulse, so you should sense it. Anyway, get back to me as soon as you read this, because it’s not just Equestria, but all of Earthland is in danger. From, Twilight.” Twilight closed her book and sighed deeply, praying that Sunset would reply soon. She set it down and made her way to the kitchen to make everyone some food when a letter manifested from her horn and landed on the ground. She blinked in confusion before seeing the seal of Celestia’s cutie mark, and promptly picked it up and opened and read its contents. Twilight’s heart dropped at the one sentence in Celestia’s letter. “ACNOLOGIA IS IN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!!!!” The Crystal Ponies didn’t know how things ended up this way. One moment, they were celebrating their hero’s visit with a grand festival, and it had gotten better when Spike empowered the Crystal Heart and made the crystal ponies' coats shine even brighter. But now, their kingdom was under attack by a strange bideal creature that made its way to the castle. Anyone who got in his way was killed, and even then, he was destroying everything around him as he continued his way to the Crystal Castle with one goal in mind. At the same time, Twilight and her friends with the elements of harmony, along with the pillars, Sombra, Starlight, and Ember teleported directly inside Cadence’s throne room. While the princess was present, the prince wasn’t, which made Twilight even more worried as she glanced around the room and saw that Spike wasn’t present either. “Where’s Spike and Shining!? Are they alright? Celestia sent a letter and I got everyone as soon as I could.” Twilight gave a brief explanation as Cadence managed to calm her down and explain that she had sent some guards for Spike and Shining had gone to help the citizens and deal with the threat. “No! You have to tell them to back off! Acnologia isn’t someone the guard can fight head-on! He’s the Dragon King and he—“ “The Dragon King!? I told Celestia about this cloaked bideal creature that broke through the barrier of the empire and started attacking everyone.” Candace gave her explanation as the ponies and dragon gasped. Twilight’s only conclusion was that Celestia knew something about Acnologia before Cadence called for help. “Celestia told us that Acnologia was here, and if you’re being attacked by this unknown bideal then they could be the same being.” Twilight tried to explain until Starswirl said that it didn’t matter as they needed to deal with whatever was attacking the empire. They all agreed just as a small group of guards came in with Spike on one of their backs, and he hopped off and ran over to Twilight. “Thank goodness you guys are here! The guards are doing their best but they can’t hold this guy off.” Spike explained what he saw from his balcony before he was retrieved as Twilight scooped him in her hooves and gave him a tightened hug. Spike hugged back, although he tapped on her side to let her know that her strength was starting to hurt as he was brought down. “You're safe! Oh, I feel better knowing this. But you’re right, we need to go stop him.” Twilight confidently said before running out the door as everyone followed her, leaving Cadence and Spike in the throne room as they silently prayed for their safety. The group followed the sound of destruction and screams to take out the threat, running past scared ponies who paid no mind to Sombra as they soon stopped in their tracks by a large explosion in front of them. They all prepared for battle when a long, blue-haired bideal stood before them. The necklace of dragon claws he possessed made some of them shiver with fear and made Ember’s grip on the scepter tighten. Deep down, Twilight’s gut told her that this was him. This was Dragon King Acnologia. Acnologia ceased his walk as he stared down the group before him. Naturally, he was only interested in Ember and the dragon’s scent on Twilight, glaring at them both with disdain as he gave a brief glance at the Elements of Harmony and the strange power that Starlight had. Starlight’s strange energy was familiar, but he gave it no second thought just like he did with the elements. He turned back to Ember and audibly scoffed at the gold armor she wore along with the scepter she wielded. “I knew that dragons had grown weaker, but to think that there’s one who’s so pathetically incapable of defending themself that they need to wear armor and use an enchanted weapon. Hn, I suppose it’s only befitting for such fouled creatures.” Acnologia spoke down to her as none of them could believe what they were hearing. His hatred for dragons had no limits, insulting the current dragon lord who stood before him without a care in the world. Ember growled in anger as her grip on the scepter tightened, not feeling such disrespect since her father had forbidden her from participating in the Gauntlet of Fire because she was a small dragon compared to the rest of her now-dead kin. “Watch your mouth! Regardless that you're the first ruler of dragons, I’m the current Dragon Lord and the atrocities that you’ve committed warrant death!!” Ember declared as she slammed the spear onto the ground, summoning its magic specifically onto Acnologia in order to get him to submit and properly listen to her. Acnologia narrowed his eyes onto the scepter, sensing the familiar magic being used upon him as he did his best to remember what it could’ve been. Everyone else was surprised when Acnologia’s body didn’t glow like it should’ve and was instead analyzing what was being used on him. The magic that Acnologia felt was very familiar, and it felt like something that had been tried against him in the past. The more he lingered on it, the more he realized what it was, before finally knowing what the scepter had been enchanted with. “Hn, Dragon Supremecy magic. And here I thought that it had vanished long ago along with its creator.” Acnologia suddenly commented, earring a gasp from everyone at the new form of magic. “That scepter uses such a weaker version of the original magic that dragons aren’t even under the user’s control. Then again, you creatures are currently so pathetically small-willed that someone with the bare basics of mind control magic could control you with almost no effort. The number of dragons that I’ve come across that have begged for their worthless life is far higher than those who had any semblance of self-worth.” Acnologia continued to coldly speak foul of dragons, having no shred of subtlety towards his race as he spoke with unrivaled malice. Ember had no words for him, she couldn’t comprehend Acnologia’s mere existence as she and everyone else could tell that he hated dragons. Acnologia didn’t speak any further, instead giving them a malicious grin before pulling his arm back as he gathered an absurd amount of magical power in the palm of his hand. The ground shook as his opponents found themselves staring in fear at the power he wielded, even being lifted into the air before he pulled his arm forward with his attack. CRASH! To everyone’s surprise, they were protected by Shining Armor’s shield. However, blood flowed from his head as he had a swollen eye and laborious breathing. His shield had multiple cracks, showing Acnologia’s power as well as the strength of Shining Armor’s shield. But Sombra could tell that it wasn’t even Acnologia’s full strength, and if it had been any stronger then Shining, along with them, would’ve been obliterated. The prince collapsed to a knee as Twilight was at his side, completely worried for his well-being. “Shining! Are you alright!?” “I’m-I’m fine! Just take him down!” Shining ordered as Twilight nodded, to which Starlight, Sombra, and Ember took the initiative to attack. Twilight promptly told the others to get ready with the elements once there was an opening for them while Starlight, Sombra, and Ember fought. Starlight went first with a spread shot of magic that Acnologia dodged by jumping back. He noticed Sombra and Ember in the air as the duo rained down flamming crystal spears, forcing him to jump around with a grin on his face. He turned around when he sensed magic being gathered as Starlight once again tapped into Nightmare Moon’s magic, her horn glowed dark blue as she released a blast of darkness that sent Acnologia flying back to the girls. “Twilight! Do it now!” Starlight shouted as Twilight nodded as she and others joined with the other half of their respective element. The twelve of them floated into the air as they and the elements themselves glowed a very bright color before they blasted the dragon king with a powerful rainbow beam that completely enveloped him. “Hahahahaha!! Hahahaha!!” Any thought of celebrating had been dashed as Acnologia stood in the middle of the magical attack laughing like a madman before, to their complete and utter horror; started devouring the magic from the elements of harmony. Soon enough, the light died down as Acnologia fully swallowed what was thrown at him as he gave a maliciously arrogant grin. “Wait a minute…Wha-What’s his element?” Fluttershy fearfully asked as she ignored the liquid that went down her hind legs. Her fear completely obscured her embarrassment. This wasn’t how things normally went, villains were taken down once the Elements of Harmony were used against them, they always had a happy ending to these kinds of battles, but this was completely different. And as if Acnologia had been listening, which he had considering his advanced senses, he answered. “Element? I have no ONE KIND! I am the ultimate dragon! The Dragon of The Apocalypse and the devourer of ALL SORCERY!!!” Acnologia exploded with power as the ground ruptured and he was enveloped in a vibrant purple light. And it then vanished as everyone laid their eyes upon the Acnologia’s dragon form, scales as black as the abyss with blue markings like Garble had told them. He stared down at them, and his magical power had increased tenfold, and they all realized one thing. They weren’t killing him, and they sure as hell weren’t beating him in a fight. “I am the Arcane Dragon King…ACNOLOGIA!!” Acnologia roared as Twilight's pupils turned to prin picks and she unconsciously took a few steps back. Of all sorcery? It suddenly made sense as to why no one during Tirek’s time could harm him, why he was so resistant to magic, and it was because he was completely immune to it. Even Starswirl was horrified at the fact that there was a being capable of eating magic itself. Shining saw the fear in his sister’s eyes, as well as her friends and even Sombra’s. He heard his subjects' cries for help or the cries of those in pain. He didn’t know Cadence’s situation, but it wouldn’t be long until Acnologia made his way there and killed whoever was in his way to get to Spike, including her. He knew there was a decision to make, and with a strong resolve, he got to his hooves and channeled magic to his throat as he spoke. “EVERYONE IS TO EVACUATE THE EMPIRE AT ONCE! LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND! ALL GUARDS AND CITIZENS ARE TO FOLLOW EVACUATION PROTOCOLS!! THIS IS TO BE DONE IMMEDIATELY!!” Shining’s voice echoed across the entire kingdom, everyone was surprised by his orders, but the guard took action. They quickly got to work in getting the citizens to certain exit points in the empire where they would be evacuated, but the Dragon King chuckled at the actions. “You ponies will suffer for harboring…for worshiping a dragon!” Acnologia declared as he brought one of his arms up into the air, and right after an eruption of magic exploded from the ground. Not long after, multiple eruptions took place, shaking the entire kingdom as buildings fell and the ground split open. Fires were started as many of the crystal ponies had to fight for survival, with many not getting that fighting chance. “…Dragon of the Apocalypse certainly fits him.” Sombra was the first to speak as he watched the destruction take place in his kingdom. In normal circumstances, he would’ve fought the one that was doing this, and yet he knew that in the current moment, survival lay within doing nothing. “We should leave while we can.” “Leave…? You want to leave!?” Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the one yelling in his face. “How can you call yourself a ruler of the Crystal Empire, regardless of your “leadership”, and want to abandon the Empire and its citizens when it’s in such chaos!? You’re nothing but a damned coward!” Fluttershy criticized, mocking him as she used air quotes around leadership. Her friends stared at her in shock, not believing that she of all ponies would yell at Sombra. Sombra growled and glared with fury, never having been disrespected in such a manner by anyone, not even Celestia or Luna. “A damn coward!? I’m sorry, but what do you suggest I do against a being that DEVOURS MAGIC!?!? The Elements of Harmony used by twelve individuals didn’t even phase him! He literally laughed it off! And you want me to defend a nation from a being bearing the apocalypse as a part of a title!?” Sombra fired back, completely enraged as he flared his magic. Fluttershy had backed down almost instantly, her tail tucked between her legs as she cowered on the ground. “That’s enough!” Flash Magnus stepped in between Fluttershy and Sombra with a fierce glare. “Look, we can’t stop him but we can make sure that the civilians get to safety. Aside from helping everyone, we need to secure the princess and the dragon that Acnologia seeks.” Flash gave a quick and simple plan as Sombra scoffed but figured that he could escape at some point under the guise of helping out. “Don’t forget that he’s after me as well.” Ember reminded everyone, as Flash had taken that into account. It was a matter of which dragon he would try and kill first, and considering that Ember was beneath him she would most likely be targeted first. “It’s certainly a suicidal idea, but if you can fly fast enough to lead him back out into the snowstorm, you could lose him. Even so…” “Doesn’t matter. I’ll do it because I’m the Dragon Lord, and this is my responsibility. He won’t get away with killing his kin and threatening me or this kingdom.” Ember accepted her role and flew off into the sky, breathing purple flames in his face. Acnologia snarled in annoyance, the flames not affecting him at all before giving chase to the dragon lord who started flying to the edge of the empire “Quickly! We must use this time to assist the people!” Shining took control and ordered as he got to his hooves. Everyone nodded, except Sombra but did so anyway, with Twilight being the only one who remained behind. She summoned her magic and began slowly healing most of her brother’s wounds, although she now wished that she had given her healing magic more serious practice as she couldn’t heal him completely. “Thanks Twily. Had I known that Acnologia was attacking us, I would’ve evacuated the Empire sooner.” “You couldn’t have known that he could transform between a human and a dragon, none of us could’ve known. But what matters now is saving everyone we can.” Twilight’s words brought a small amount of comfort as the two set off for the palace. They galloped as fast as they could, instructing ponies along the way to leave and head for the empire’s emergency exits. “Hopefully Cadence and Spike are leaving as we speak and we run into them!” “Knowing Cadence, she’s probably helping the castle staff evacuate as well! Once we get there we can assist her and Spike!” Shining yelled back as he continued his charge forward and knocked the doors to the castle off its hinges. The decor be damned, saving everyone took priority, along with the fact that it was a warzone outside with one oppressor who was being led away by what he considered prey. “CADENCE! SPIKE! WHERE ARE YOU!?” Twilight yelled as she zipped around the castle, needing to find her family, needing to make sure that they were safe. Soon enough, she found Cadence and Spike helping a few maids who were trapped underneath some rubble. Twilight flew over and used her magic to lift and throw the crystal beams elsewhere, freeing those who were trapped as they ran by and thanked her. Spike and Cadence enveloped her in a hug just as Shining rounded the corner and found them. Cadence broke her hug to give Shining one before placing a kiss on his cheek. She gave a brief nuzzle before Shining quickly ordered them to follow him so that they could evacuate with the others. While she was against it, Cadence knew there was no other choice, especially when there was a personal reason as well that Shining would’ve wanted her to leave. The group ran to the front of the castle where Cadence questioned, and received no answer, as to why her doors were on the floor before they ran outside and met up with Flash Magnus, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. “Girls, and Flash! What’s going on? Has everyone been evacuated?” Twilight asked as Flash told her that mostly everyone, as far as he knew, was evacuated. There were still a lot of ponies that needed assistance, and the train leading out of the Crystal Empire started to fill up. However, before they could discuss anything further, a dragon roar echoed throughout the kingdom. They looked to the skies, trying to find Acnologia when Ember was seen crashing through multiple buildings before landing onto the streets. Blood flowed from her head as Ember knew she had multiple broken bones. She thought that this was what Garble felt when Acnologia had smacked him with his tail. Her body ached, and despite her nearly broken armor, she knew that it could’ve been far worse had she not been wearing it. Even then, something told her that Acnologia had purposely held back, just so that she could suffer more when he got his claws on her. Ember gripped the scepter in her claws, readying herself for another chase when a foot slammed on her arm, breaking the bone. “AHHH!!” Ember yelled in pain as Acnologia, who was now human again, stared at her with disdain. This was the so-called Dragon Lord? This was just a dragon believing herself to be great, that she was going to have some great legacy once she had passed the title to another. It was outrageous for this little thing to even think that she was worthy of any sort of title, let alone being a ruler. Flash had enough of this and flew over with great speed to knock the Dragon King off balance to save Ember, but stopped when he had seized her by her throat and raised her into the air. “Release her at once!” Flash Magnus demanded, but Acnologia paid him no mind. Twilight had started to shield Spike, but the young drake watched everything. He couldn’t afford to tear his eyes away, not when his friend was being manhandled by a monster. He wanted to help her but knew that the consequences would end in his death. Ember, even though she was being choked to death, spoke. “You’re…You’re not worthy…to be called Dragon King.” Ember managed to say as she slowly lost consciousness. Acnologia released his grip, only to allow enough airflow as she took in as much as she was allowed. Acnologia stared at her with an unreadable expression before it turned feral. “Worthy you say? I’m more worthy than anyone. And the reason why…”Acnologia suddenly raised Ember into the air and violently swerved her to the side. Still in his grip, she was brought closer as she changed to be on her side. In slow motion, everyone watched as Ember grew closer to him, unable to defend herself as he opened his jaw. Ember’s pupils grew smaller as she realized what he was about to do, but she couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t going to do it, surely he was just– CRUNCH!!! SNAP!!! Everyone watched as Acnologia snapped his jaw shut on Ember’s arm and armor. He bit right through her left arm and tore it off while also biting through her armor and into her side. The ponies that watched, plus Spike, covered their mouths in disbelief while a few citizens nearby threw up whatever they had or hadn’t eaten. Time became normal as he ripped some of her flesh before throwing her body over to the ponies, swallowing what he had eaten, armor and bone included, as he grabbed the scepter by the bloodstone. “...Is because I’m the strongest creature in this world!” Acnologia finished as he wiped the blood from his mouth, and then crushed the gemstone in his hand as the crimson glow vanished. Ember suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream, the pain suddenly registering throughout her body before using her other arm to hold onto what was brutally taken from her. Acnologia started maniacally laughing, his laughter echoing throughout the burning streets before he ceased and turned his head over to Spike. The young drake flinched underneath his stare and found himself unable to move, much like how he had been with Kuro, but this was vastly worse. “Rainbow Dash,” Twilight spoke quietly, still wrapping her mind around what she had just seen. “Rainbow Dash!!” “HUH!?!? Wha–What is it?” “Take Ember and fly to the station. Fly there as fast as possible. Don’t stop, and don’t look back.” Twilight ordered, but her friend found herself unable to move. There was far too much fear, the terror he had caused with his action left her and everyone unable to move. Twilight herself knew that the only way for Dash to follow that request was if she did not react to what had just occurred. Shining watched Dash quickly fly over to Ember and grab her before flying to the train station where the doctors and healers were, although he doubted that she was going to survive such wounds. He watched the Dragon King surround himself in magic as he entered his dragon form once again, flying into the air as he stared down the ponies. As the prince stared, he saw the barrier produced by the Crystal Heart with a dark pink glow, showing that the barrier was weakening, but he had an idea. “I have a plan, but I need you all to trust me.” Shining suddenly spoke, getting everyone’s attention. “Flash Magnus, Fluttershy, I need you two to take my wife to the station and defend her with your life. He doesn’t have an army, but that doesn’t mean he might not give chase or get in the way. Spike and Twilight, I want you to go as well.” Shining suddenly gave orders as Flash nodded and saluted before he motioned to Fluttershy as the two placed themselves at Cadence’s side. “Shiny you can’t be serious!? You want us to leave you alone with him!?” Twilight shouted, not believing what she was hearing. Spike was with him, saying how they should plan something together. The stallion shook his head, knowing he’d be met with opposition. Cadence looked to her husband who refused to look at her, or anyone, wondering what he was planning when Acnologia roared. “Go! Now!” Shining ordered as Flash barked at Fluttershy who squeaked before throwing Cadence onto her back as the two took off. Cadence protested, demanding to be taken back even though she could fly back herself. However, she figured that Flash would drag her to the station kicking and screaming because Shining had just placed her very life in his hooves. Still, she looked back at her palace, looking over her burning kingdom as she prayed to Faust that Shining would be alright. Twilight and Spike remained, refusing to leave him as Shining tacked them both away from Acnologia’s claws. The trio ducked into a building and ran as Acnologia destroyed it, searching for them but growled when he came up empty. He suddenly felt a blast of magic strike his back, but he wasn’t phased as he turned his neck to see a small militia of ponies with what he thought to be a magic cannon; if the condensed ethernano stored at the back of it was any indication. Acnologia changed targets and went after the militia as they fired more rounds of magic. As they did so, Shining watched and growled in anger, knowing that he had ordered all of the guards to help the citizens. Still, he had an important self-issued mission, and he couldn’t start it until Twilight and Spike were at the station safe and sound. “Listen you two! This isn’t up for discussion! I want both of your assess on that train, now!” Shining started yelling at them, making it known that he wasn’t in the mood for their stubbornness. Twilight and Spike’s resolve faltered, not expecting to be yelled at like foals. Twilight shook her head, refusing to show weakness at a moment like this, where her brother’s military side showed just how authoritative he could be. “No way man! We’ve seen how ruthless this guy is and you expect us to leave you here with him!?” Spike countered as Shining rubbed his temple. They were scared for him, he knew that, and rightfully so. Acnologia wasn’t a creature that could simply be defeated, but he needed to make sure that they all got out safely, and he suddenly knew that there was one way to make sure. “I’d be more surprised if you did leave me here without a second thought, but trust me. I Pinkie Promise that I will be with you.” Shining’s words made them gasp before an explosion shook their hiding place. A peek outside told them everything, the militia had failed, and Acnologia was starting to hunt down Spike again. He looked back at them, showing his concern, and saw Twilight deep in thought. “...So you pinkie promise that you’ll be with us? Always and forever?” “Yes. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Shining did the whole pinkie ritual, as he had dubbed it, while Twilight and Spike watched. The two shared a look before they nodded, sharing a weak smile. Shining hugged Twilight, feeling tears on his neck before separating and giving Spike a tighter one. They separated as Twilight flared her magic to teleport herself and Spike, giving her brother one final smile before vanishing. Shining sighed in relief, pleased they finally left as he stared at the palace. “Yes, I’ll always be with you, forever and always…in your heart and memories.” Pinkie Pie’s body started violently shaking. Shining had just made a Pinkie Promise, she always knew who made a Pinkie Promise, but something was wrong about this one. There was something else to it, something that she couldn’t place her hoof on since she didn’t know what the doozies could be until they happened. But what she did know was that it wouldn’t end well. The doozy had gotten worse when Twilight and Spike appeared, greeting everyone as Twilight noticed her friend shaking. “Pinkie is something wrong?” “My Pinkie Sense is going crazy! It happened when Shining made that Pinkie Promise and it got worse when you two showed up! I’ve only been shaking, and something horrible is going to happen!” Pinkie warned as Twilight and Spike shared a nervous look. The pinkie sense always had other twitches when a doozy was happening, but violent shaking had never happened before. Twilight looked back to the empire, wishing for her brother’s safety before returning to her friend. “Don’t worry about it. Shining said that he’ll be with us. So maybe it means something else.” Twilight hopefully said as she started helping the ponies around her. Pinkie knew there was something else to that promise, a deeper meaning that Shining hadn’t verbally said. Even so, knowing that there wasn’t much she could do about it, she reluctantly started cheering up the foals with her party tricks and giving out sweets. Cadence had been resting in her own cart, looking out the window of her burning home. Nothing could have ever prepared her for this, and the worst of all was her husband wasn’t here to help ease her stress. He was directly in the center of the chaos, something not caused by Discord, but by a being that was immune to magic. Someone who had caused the end of previous kingdoms as well, and was the cause of a multitude of mass genocides throughout the centuries. It made her wonder how many creatures had gone extinct because of his savagery. She looked across from her cabin to see healers rapidly working to stabilize Ember. When the Dragon Lord had been brought to the station on death’s door Cadence had used up most of her magic to keep her alive and breathing before the unicorns that were specialized in healing magic attended to her. The amount of blood that was on the floor and Rainbow Dash had sent chills down everyone’s spine, and the pegasus that brought her had secluded herself away from everyone. Cadence didn’t know if Ember’s pride would’ve preferred death over the state she would be in if she survived the encounter with Acnologia. However, before she could process anything else, the train lurched forward. “What the–!?” “Let’s go, everyone! We’re leaving immediately!” Cadence heard Flash Magnus yell as the crystal ponies were forced to find seats. She got up and opened her door and went to him, wondering why he was ordering the train’s departure when they were still waiting for Shining and any more Crystal Ponies who were still inside the empire. “Flash Magnus what is the meaning of this!? There are still ponies inside the kingdom and my husband is one of them! Stop this train immediately and go back!” Cadence ordered as Magnus didn’t meet her gaze. He sighed instead before calling over another guard, his descendent Flash Sentry, and he finally looked her in the eyes. “Forgive me Your Highness, but I cannot do that. According to Corporal Sentry, he had encountered the prince heading to the top of the palace where the Crystal Heart is located, and he was ordered to get here and leave without him. From what I can tell, he intends to either try and defeat him with the Crystal Heart’s magic amplifying his own...or hold him off until we’ve escaped.” Magnus explained as Cadence was speechless, her mouth slightly open before turning to Sentry and demanding to know if it was true, and her heart skipped a beat when he nodded. “Yes, he found me underneath some rubble before freeing me. Once I knew where I was he ordered me to come here and have us retreat.” Sentry explained as Cadence went to say something, but she fell forward, clenching her teeth in pain as the two guards were beside her, asking if she was alright. She nodded yes, but the unexpected cramps weakened any arguing she could’ve mustered. Sentry knew the reason for it and quickly ushered her inside her cabin. Magnus left it to him as he turned around and was greeted by the faces of the Elements of Harmony. “What do you mean we’re retreating!? Shining is still inside, and we have to wait for him!” Twilight yelled as Magnus couldn’t help but sigh. It was almost like war times from so long ago, with certain commanders and soldiers staying behind to allow everyone else a chance at life. Although he had never heard of the leader of the nation doing so before, even so, he supposed that the concept was the same. “I know you want to wait for him but we can’t! We have ponies who need proper medical care and Prince Shining Armor himself told us to retreat! We can’t go back for one stallion.” Magnus tried to reason with Twilight, but she didn’t want to hear it. She’d go back herself if she had to, she wasn’t going to abandon her brother. Just as she summoned her magic, someone shouted to look outside. They all looked out the window to see the crystal barrier had dropped, allowing the harsh blizzard inside. At the top of the broken palace was Shining Armor with the Crystal Heart on his back. Channeling the magic from the Crystal Heart into himself, which was in no way shape, or form a good idea, he amplified his magical ability. Summoning all the magic he could muster, Shining stared down the Dragon King before blasting him in the chest as he unleashed the magic he had gathered. Everyone watched in awe. It looked like Acnologia was being pushed back, making Shining gain a sliver of hope. He pushed more magic into the attack, forcing the dragon back and into the ground. Buildings fell on top of him as Shining collapsed to his front knees, trying to take in as much air as he could. Everything was still, the train wasn’t that far from the empire. The citizens looked on, hopeful that their prince had defeated the beast. Magnus had almost called for the train to stop and go back. Almost. BOOM!! Acnologia came out unscathed and roared as a show of his resilience. He looked no different than before and didn’t appear weaker either. Magnus promptly ordered the train to go faster, not to stop for anything or anyone. They watched as Acnologia flew above Shining and the entire Crystal Empire. And then, Acnologia took a massive inhale, drawing upon his magic for a breath attack. Shining gave a grim chuckle as the Crystal Heart fell to his side, the powering pink light was now dull. He rested on his stomach as he looked off to the side, seeing his kingdom burning and in ruins. He could still hear some calling for help, for him or Cadence, for Celestia or Luna, or anyone to save them. But he couldn’t, he just tried and failed, but he at least got most of the citizens, along with his family and friends on the train. That’s where he looked next, the departing train that was just about hidden by the blizzard. Shining’s life flashed before his eyes, from when Twilight was born, which was one of the best days of his life when he became an older brother, to when he first joined the guard. Then he was promoted to captain of the day guard, that was another good day, and then he met Cadence. His parents came to his mind along with his siblings Twilight and Spike. “Sorry Cadence, but I’m not coming back. And sorry for tricking you too, Twilight, Spike, but while it was the only way to get you to leave, I will be with you.” Shining started speaking to himself, watching the train with sorrowful eyes. “Mom, Dad, sorry for not talking or vising you all that much. And Cadence…please take care of Twilight and Spike. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. And Cadence, I’m truly sorry, for leaving you alone to take care of Flurry He–” Shining didn’t finish his sentence, as Acnologia blasted the tower he was on. Killing him and destroying the palace, but that wasn’t the end of it. The entire kingdom started to crumble, cracks from before completely split open, and buildings were swallowed whole beneath the earth. The escaping ponies watched with horror and sadness as their kingdom was destroyed, and Twilight and Cadence took it the worst. Twilight’s friends had to forcefully restrain her with Sombra sealing away her magic. The princess cried, kicked, and screamed for her brother; demanding to be released so that she could go after him, something that no one would allow. Rarity and Fluttershy helped her to a cabin while everyone sorrowfully watched, and Cadence had been silently crying. Sombra stared out the window at the large crater Acnologia left behind, and from the top of a mountain, a figure watched. “So, this is how it must’ve been at Tenrou Island all those centuries ago,” Rouge muttered to himself, seeing the destruction that Acnologia caused. He took a sniff of the air and released a breath, having caught a different yet familiar scent. “And all the old players of the world before have returned, and have mixed with the new ones. Now, there’s one question that remains…” Rogue turned and left in a veil of shadows, just as Acnologia flapped his wings and vanished into the blizzard. There were still too many dragons in the world, far too many for the king’s liking. And he was going to shorten it down to none. “…Who will remain standing?” The train arrived in Canterlot where the equestrian army had been waiting along with Celestia. They assisted the crystal ponies into different areas based on the severity of their injuries, while others had been instructed to head to the palace where Luna and her guard would assist them further. As Celestia helped she tried finding her niece, her former pupil and her friend, and the pillars. Applejack slowly came out and locked eyes with the princess before trotting over to her. She chose to ignore the cries of the ponies around her before sitting down in front of the princess. She took some time to gather her thoughts, and her words before speaking. “Listen yer highness, uh…there ain’t no easy way to say it, but the Crystal Empire was destroyed. Acnologia caused destruction on a level that not even Tirek could achieve; not even after stealing the magic of ponies like a snake stealing a bird's eggs.” Applejack explained as Celestia released a slow breath. She didn’t know it was that bad, it had been worse than she expected. “And where are the others?” “The girls are helping the guard with the ponies. Cadence is with her own medical team to make sure she’s calm, apparently, she’s pregnant, and they don’t want her too worked up to affect the foal. Spike hasn’t left Ember’s side since what’s happened to her…but Twilight’s takin the worst of it.” Applejack explained as Celestia nodded, having an understanding as to why. Celestia made her way to the train when Applejack said one final thing. “Oh right, uh Sombra wanted to speak with you as well.” “Understood. I will speak with him as well.” Celestia headed into the train and walked by the crystal ponies. The pillars assisted just the same, each of them giving a slight nod to her before continuing their tasks. She moved out the way as her ponies escorted Ember into proper urgent care with Spike following them. Celestia let him be, deciding that the conversation with him would have to be postponed. She walked past Cadence’s room and saw her sleeping, most likely put to sleep for her and the foal’s health. She continued her slow stride until stopping at Twilight’s cabin, and briefly hesitated to enter. She shook her worries away and entered to see Twilight absentmindedly staring out the window, not noticing her mentor’s presence. “Twilight, I want to talk with you.” “What’s there to talk about? My brother’s dead with nobody for a proper burial, his kingdom destroyed, and one of my friends is probably going to die. I…I have nothing to say.” Twilight briefly spoke with no emotion, but as she repeated everything that happened her eyes teared up. Celestia sat next to her and pulled her in for a hug and stroked her back with her wing, which was all it took to break Twilight’s facade and start crying. “It will be alright Twilight. We’ll all get through this.” “No, it won’t be alright! Sh-Shining’s dead and I-I need to tell my parents. Cadence is going to have a foal that won’t know who or how great her father was. Ember will be a shell of her former self if she survives, an-and Spike will be killed because I’ll be too weak to protect him!” Twilight screamed out, her tears soaking Celestia’s fur and the seats. She didn’t care, the emotional turmoil that Twilight was going through was far more important. “Who said that Cadence’s foal won’t know their father? If anything I think Cadence will make sure that her foal knows just how great Shining was. As for your parents, I will tell them myself. Not only as a professional courtesy but as a family one. Ember has a great resilience and strong will, but I won’t sugar coat it, her chances of survival are indeed slim. And you won’t be alone to protect Spike, you’ll have all your friends and us as well, you’re more than capable of protecting everyone when you put your mind to it.” Celestia calmly spoke as Twilight’s crying ceased, her eyes red and puffy but had calmed down. “Th-Thank you, I really needed that.” “It’s never a problem. You should never hold in your emotions, no matter how bad they might be. And if you need someone to talk to then you can always send me a letter.” Twilight gave another tight hug that Celestia returned, thankful for the moment as Celestia stood to her hooves. Twilight followed suit as they headed for the door. “Alright, now to see what Sombra wants.” Celestia grumbled as she left Twilight to help with the Crystal ponies. With this being her final pony to meet she wanted to make it quick and hopefully Sombra didn’t have any trivial matters during these times. When she entered his cabin, she was surprised to find him pacing back and forth. “I never thought I’d see the day where the mighty King Sombra was pacing back and forth like a colt getting ready to ask out a filly.” Celestia’s comment made him pause, but he gave no comeback. He simply exasperated and sat down. “As fun as it would be to have a back-and-forth, it can wait another day. There are far more pressing matters to discuss.” Sombra’s diplomacy made Celestia cautious. He was never one for idle chatter unless he benefited from it or was insulting someone, but it meant that he wanted this to be serious. “Okay then, what do you want to discuss.” “Tirek is the subject I wish to discuss.” Sombra got to the point as Celestia narrowed her eyes. “I can tell what you’re thinking, but there’s more to Tirek’s story than he’s revealed. He and Torch were alive during Acnologia’s reign and disappearance, and both say the same thing; Acnologia was a being that everyone feared. I’ve seen the lacrima that Torch left behind, and it’s clear that Torch was older than Tirek if he assumes Acnologia to be from before the unification. Which means one thing.” Sombra stared into Celestia’s eyes and the realization dawned on her. “Acnologia’s existed since the days of Grogar. But it’s impossible to think that those two didn’t cross paths, the land would’ve shown a fierce battle had taken place along with remnants of their magical power. It would’ve been recorded in history had they crossed paths. Unless of course…Acnologia is far older than even those dark ages and vanished before Grogar's reign.”
The Dragon King's returnThe Dragon Lands of Equestria was, given its name, inhabited by dragons. The wasteland and lava pools are what they called their home, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Although, for as powerful as they were, they too had someone they responded to, and that was Dragon Lord Ember. Currently, she was away from her land for a small meeting with one of the princesses of Equestria, that being the Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle, to establish a relationship between dragons and ponies. Even choosing, more like forcing, to bring Smolder with her. She was a small orange dragon and was brought along so that Ember could try and introduce friendship to her and eventually the rest of the subjects. However, dragons were prideful and greedy, although it was mainly pride, and as such not many were interested in having a friendship with ponies. Garble was one of those dragons. He didn’t hate ponies, he just had a superiority complex over them. He knew that dragons were superior to them, and he had even heard stories that some of the elder dragons had once fought with Celestia and Luna. Although even he knew of the power the two alicorns possessed, and while Garble would never admit it, he was slightly intimidated by them. Not scared, but intimidated. He knew there was a difference between the two. Currently, as Garble had been flying around the land for the past hour in search of his friends, he knew that something was wrong. The land being quiet wasn’t uncommon, but the silence that surrounded the kingdom like a dense fog sent a brief chill down his scales. Despite how far out he was from the rest of his kin, Garble knew he should’ve at least seen one other dragon by this point. He continued to fly around, in search of any dragon at this point when he heard the sound of fighting. Smiling to himself, and allowing a sigh of relief, he quickly flew towards the dragon fight. He didn’t know why he felt a sense of dread, but he didn’t care, knowing that a good dragon fight would make him forget about it. As he drew closer, the fighting grew more intense, seeing breathes of fire and—- “…What the hell?” Garble quietly spoke to himself, frozen mid-flight as he could see the countless corpses of dragons across the land. He unconsciously tuned out the fighting, seeing the mangled and mutilated corpses of his kin, smashed dragon eggs, and even his dead friends; who were missing limbs and splattered against the rocks. He was completely speechless, not believing what was clearly in front of his eyes. BOOOM!!! The explosion snapped him out of his stupor, and Garble turned his head to see former dragon lord Torch fighting against a black dragon. The black dragon was about the same size, if not bigger than the former dragon lord. The black scales were decorated by spiraling, blue markings. Its entire lower body, from its chin to its inner tail, was gray; and the dragon possessed white beady eyes as well. His wings were as big as a mountain, casting a large shadow over the land. And what completed the dragon’s menacing appearance was its spiked tail. The fight was not in Torch’s favor. The dragon was being outstrengthened, and the numerous wounds he had gained were not helping him. He started to think that it would take an army of the strongest of elder dragons to just hold this beast back. Although, with countless corpses of dragons that littered his homeland he knew it would’ve been more of a death sentence. “For what reason do you have to slaughter your own kind you atrocious monster!?” Torch roared, as he demanded to know the black dragon’s reasonings. Instead, he received an angry snarl, as if it had taken offense to something Torch had said. Seeing that he would not be getting an answer, Torch headbutted his opponent before releasing a large and powerful fire blast to the dragon’s chest. Torch flew back, wanting distance between him and the unknown dragon. Through the smoke, the black dragon remained unharmed, and with a sinister smirk, it released its own breath attack. Unlike Torch’s breath attack, there was no fire, and seemed more like magic than anything else. Either way, it traveled for a few seconds before slamming into Torch’s chest. The former lord’s armor was shattered as he was sent hurling back, blasting through a multitude of large rock formations and even a few hills before he came crashing to a stop. “T-Torch!!” Garble yelled in fear as he raced over to him. Through the smoke, he could see that Torch was still breathing, but the gashes that were all over his body made breathing far more difficult. Blood was going down Torch’s body like a flowing river, and Garble couldn’t do anything to stop it or help him with the other dragon still here. “R-Red one…you must flee.” Torch started before coughing blood. “Warn Ember, warn the Alicorns…I shall hold him off until you’ve escaped.” The large dragon ushered out before getting to his feet. Torch knew that he wasn’t going to last much longer, and he needed to warn his daughter and the rest of Equestria of this major threat. He gave one last look to Garble before he gave a gesture with his head, telling him to leave. While it took a few seconds to register in his mind, Garble gave a weak salute before he flew off. However, he never made it very far when a spiked tail slammed into his body, breaking most of his bones as he went flying through the sky before barreling into a forest. RAAAAAAWWWWWRRRR!!!!! The black dragon’s roar sounded like raging thunder, tearing apart the rock formations and flattening the land; echoing through valleys and mountains as it took pleasure in swatting down Garble like the vermin he was. Torch’s rage skyrocketed, and with newfound strength, he burst forward into the sky. He roared at his opponent as it roared back, accepting the challenge as they both flew at each other at high speeds. Torch couldn’t allow this monster to remain unknown as it went around slaughtering dragons, and he refused to allow Ember to be added to the list. As they drew near, Torch opened his mouth and gathered his final breath of fire. He needed to either try and take the dragon down with him, or try and maim him; to give the world a chance to end this monster. Seeing how close they were, Torch released his breath attack, blinding the black dragon before he outstretched his arm. BAM! The two collided, and Torch knew he had lost. He couldn’t feel his arm or part of his midsection, for it had been obliterated. He could feel his teeth cracking and falling out of his mouth, and as he fell out of the sky, he gave a side glance to the black dragon. He couldn’t even take its arm. Torch crashed into the ground, creating a crater and sending other corpses flying elsewhere. He managed to hear a thud and looked up with his eyes, seeing the dragon blocking out the sun with its body. It stared at him with a glare and condescending eyes, as if daring him to get up. The dragon continued to stare, never speaking before roaring in victory. Then it blasted off into the sky and flew off, vanishing into the clouds. Torch watched him fly off, his vision gaining black spots with his breathing starting to slow. “Ember…I’m sorry. I failed to stop him, but if the red one managed to survive, then Equestria may have a chance. Ember, you are to be a far greater Dragon Lord than myself…and know that no matter what happens, I Torch, will always be proud of you.” Those were Torch’s last thoughts before dying. The Dragon Lands, once filled with powerful and prideful creatures, was now a massive graveyard with one survivor. Deep in the forest, where the ground was torn up and trees decimated, Garble groaned in pain as he was laying against a large rock. He started waking up, having gone unconscious from the tail smack he received and crashing through the forest. He struggled to get to his feet, feeling that his right leg was broken, his wings popped out of place, and a large gash on his back that had a great deal of blood flow. Seeing that he couldn’t fly, Garble used the rock as support to steady himself before he looked around and grabbed a sturdy branch off the ground. With his walking stick in his hand, Garble started to limp away from his home, heading towards a place that he despised, but the place that would help him the most. Ponyville Smolder, much like her brother, didn’t want anything to do with friendship. Unlike him, she didn’t hold herself above the ponies, she just didn’t see the point of being friends with them. There was also the fact that Ember had forced her to come along, which annoyed her even further. Her attitude, however, had changed since she had been there. Outside of meeting another dragon, which was Spike, she learned that some of the ponies in the small town had some things in common with her. The fast flier known as Rainbow Dash was very competitive and boasted a lot about herself, much like a dragon. The farmer known as Applejack took great pride in her farm, similar to dragons with their hoard or their strength. Then again, she also learned that there was much more to being friends than similar personalities between ponies and dragons. Still, Smolder did enjoy her time in Ponyville, and she wasn’t going to admit that to Ember. Knowing how smug the Dragon Lord would get, she kept quiet as she and Ember were walking out of Princess Twilight’s home, ready to head home themselves. “Thank you Twilight for agreeing to meet with me. While I know that most dragons might not be very keen on this at first, especially the elders, I think it will benefit us in the long run.” Ember proudly spoke as Twilight told her to think nothing of it. The trio continued their walk, idly chatting until a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane crashed to the ground in front of them, scaring the daylights out of them. “Fluttershy!? You scared us, you need—“ “I’m sorry but It’s an emergency! Princess Ember! Twilight! You need to come to the hospital immediately! ” Fluttershy raised her voice as she beckoned them to follow her. Ember and Twilight nodded before quickly flying after the Pegasus as Smolder, not wanting to be left out, flew alongside them. For whatever reason, she got a sick feeling in her stomach, but Smolder figured that she should tag along to get rid of it. Twilight knew that Fluttershy was not someone who spoke at a regular volume. Speaking so quietly that she made a mouse sound louder than her, Twilight knew that this was something serious. Especially if it involved Ember and the hospital. “Can you explain to us the situation? And why does it involve Ember?” “It-It-It was horrible! I was taking care of my animals when one of them told me about a severely injured dragon. So I grabbed my medkit to go help it, but when I got there, the wounds looked too severe for me to do anything, so I took him to the hospital.” Fluttershy grew quiet, not being able to describe the dragon’s wounds, which she knew were far worse than what was on the surface. Twilight knew that Fluttershy would care for any creature she came across, and despite her fears, that included dragons. Although she doubted that Fluttershy was an expert in dragon biology, or even knew the basics about them; Fluttershy’s medical expertise was the best in Ponyville, aside from the licensed doctors and nurses of course. “Do you know who the dragon was?” Ember asked as the group sped across the sky. Fluttershy responded that she didn’t, but she gave her a description. The eyes of the three next to her widened, knowing that it was Garble who was in the hospital. Smolder, however, sped ahead of them, using her nose to find her brother's scent before taking off. “Smolder! Wait up!” “Let her go Twilight. Garble is her older brother, so she’s far more worried than we might be.” Ember quickly replied as Twilight and Fluttershy were shocked but understood Smolder’s worries. If it had been their brothers, they’d have reacted in the same manner. Smolder flew across the streets of Ponyville at blinding speeds. Following the scent of her brother’s blood, which fueled her resolve to find him, she maneuvered her way around ponies and stalls. Although she had knocked some ponies senseless as she knocked them out of her way or barreled through their wagons of good. “My cabbages!!!” This pony was one of them. “Dammit Garble! What kind of trouble did you get into?” Smolder worriedly thought to herself as she burst through the doors to the hospital. The staff was startled by the dragon’s entrance before the others entered as well. Twilight stepped forward and asked for the dragon that Fluttershy had brought in, and Doctor Horse told them to follow him. They walked in silence for a few minutes until they arrived at Garble’s room. The doctor said nothing as he opened the door and walked inside with the four following him who were speechless upon seeing the dragon’s condition. His torso was covered in bandages, as were his wings which were in a cast as was his right leg which was being held in the air. Smolder kept her eyes on her brother before asking the doctor one question. “Tell me Doc, how’s my brother doing?” “Quite frankly, he’s lucky to be alive. His right leg was broken, his wings dislocated, and a large gash across his back. Numerous bruises and broken bones, three infections which were thankfully nothing serious, and a good deal of blood loss.” Dr. Horse replied as he picked up the clipboard hanging at the edge of the bed. “He’s also had a few broken ribs, but the main concern was the gash on his back. We were worried that it tore through the muscles that allow him to fly and that we would need to amputate them to prevent any problems that could occur, but as you can see that wasn’t necessary.” He finished before setting the clipboard down. “It was also a good thing that we’ve had Spike’s blood on hoof as well, should he have ever needed it. But enough of that, I’ll give you all some time with him.” That was all he said before he left the room, leaving the four in silence. They only stared at Garble’s form, with the only sound coming from the heart monitor next to him. Smolder sat down next to him, unable to speak any words because she didn’t know what to say. “…Ember, I-I don’t know what creature could have done this. Even though he’s a teenager, dragons are very durable. Spike is still a baby and he can endure some things; but this…I don’t think I’ve ever heard of injuries like this done to a dragon.” Twilight calmly explained, unable to recall any event where a dragon had such injuries. Of course, she was only starting to get into dragon culture and wouldn’t know everything that had happened in their history. “A-Actually, Twilight, th-there are a few creatures…that could fight a dragon.” Fluttershy spoke up and was heard due to the quietness of the room. The three looked at the timid Pegasus, who hid behind her mane at the sudden attention but continued with her explanation. “One of them would be a Hydra, although Garble might not be here if it was. An-Another could be an Ursa Minor or Major, but they mostly sleep unless disturbed. But the one that I think was most likely was…a—“ “Another dragon.” Smolder finished for her, her fierce and sharp tone caused the pony to hide behind the alicorn. Smolder gave her brother one last look before she got up and walked towards the door, but she was stopped by Ember before she could leave. “Where do you think you're going?” “To find and beat the dragon senseless for what they did to Garble.” “No, you’re not.” “Excuse me?! Don’t you see what’s happened to Garble? The dragon that did this—“ “The dragon that did this is far stronger than you!” Ember roared, silencing the young dragon. “While I doubt an elder dragon did this, it's clearly a fully matured dragon. Garble isn’t smart, and pretty arrogant as well, but he’s not a dumbass; he knows better than to accept or challenge a dragon that would be out of his league.” Ember explained as Smolder let out an angry sigh. She knew that Ember was right, but she was still pissed that she couldn’t do anything. “Smolder, if I may?” Twilight calmly spoke up, gaining the young dragon’s attention. “I know you feel like you can’t do much to help your brother but trust me when I say that being by his side is the best thing you can do. He loves you a lot, right?” Twilight asked before Smilder nodded. “Good. Then I doubt he would want you to go and fight the dragon that did this to him; because he wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” Twilight finished with a smile that caused the rest of them to smile as well. The heartfelt moment was interrupted by Garble’s groaning. “Ahh…where am I?” Garble groaned to himself before feeling a heavy weight on his chest. “Ow! You’re dead if you—Smolder?” Garble paused, realizing that it was just his sister. She gave him, from what she understood after being with ponies for a few hours, a tight hug. Garble didn’t know what she was doing, and while it felt awkward to him he was somewhat enjoying it. “If-If you're here, then where’s Ember?” “I’m right here. And so is Princess Twilight along with Fluttershy, the one that brought you here.” Ember explained and made way for the two ponies. The two greeted him with a warm smile as Twilight grabbed his sister with her magic and placed her on the ground next to her. “Oh, uh, thanks.” “It’s not a problem. Although, we’re all curious as to what happened to you. If you don’t mind telling us, that is.” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her mane as Garble gained a grim look on his face. They all noticed this and grew concerned, realizing that what had happened to him was much worse than they thought. “Garble…What happened to you? We deduced that it was most likely another dragon, but we need you to tell us.” Twilight asked as gently as she could but knew that she couldn’t force Garble to tell her. Well, she probably could, but it would’ve been morally wrong to do so. Not only that but forcing him to speak of what he saw would've been even worse on his mental state. “It was a dragon…but it was far more powerful than any dragon I’ve ever heard of. And I didn’t fight it…It swatted me away like a yak’s tail does to flies. It saw me as a pest.” Garble started to explain, although there was a brief crack in his voice. “Th-The Dragon Lands were completely silent as if no dragon was there. Then I heard fighting, so I flew over to check it out…but when I got there, Torch was fighting this black dragon. And he was losing.” Garble continued, and he would’ve kept going before Ember interrupted him. “My dad was losing!? What happened to him!? Actually no, I’m going back myself. If my dad was losing then who knows what happened to him and the other dragons.” Ember quickly set off for the door, intending to check in on her subjects and her father. “There’s no point…” Garble’s voice caused Ember to stop. The emotionless tone he used froze her in place and sent a chill down her scales as she and the others all suddenly grew nervous. A sense of dread filled the room and Ember looked back at him, her expression growing with concern. “What do you mean, ‘There’s no point’, Garble?” “It-It’s like I said…there’s no point…because every dragon in the dragon lands is dead,” Garble replied, and he gave out a low chuckle. “Every dragon from all age groups, slaughtered like cattle, every egg was smashed, and the worst part…some of them were alive.” The reality had settled in on Garble, and his chuckle turned to laughter. He held his face with his claws and hysterically laughed, scaring those around him, especially his sister. “Calm down Garble! It’ll be fine! We just need to warn princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence so we can stop this guy.“ Smolder tried to reason with him and did her best to calm him down. While Garble ceased his laughter, his chuckle didn’t, and the pupils in his eyes had shrunk. Smolder had taken a step back from him, seeing how mentally unstable her brother was becoming. “It won’t be fine! That dragon…that monster killed every dragon in our home and Torch is most likely dead! And-And we’re next! Me, you, Spike, and Ember along with every other dragon in Equestria!” Garble roared at his sister, nearly breathing fire before he was forcibly put to sleep by Twilight’s magic. Smolder, refusing to be in the same room as him, flew out the door and down the hall. Tears stained the floor where she flew off, and Twilight quickly told Fluttershy to go after her and make sure that she remained in Ponyville while she stayed with Ember and the now-sleeping Garble. The pegasus did as she was told, mostly because she no longer wished to remain in the room either, and followed after the dragon. Twilight and Ember were silent, not knowing how to start the conversation after Garble’s mental breakdown. Still, this was an issue that needed to be addressed, and breaking the silence that had plagued the room numerous times was the start. “Ember, I think the best course of action is for me to contact Princess Celestia, and for you to remain in Ponyville. I know you don’t have to listen to me, but we don’t know if that dragon is still there, and if it is and you encounter it, then I don’t think that you’ll survive. Like I said though, getting to Princess Celestia first to see if she has any information on it is the best option we have.” Twilight quietly explained but was loud enough for her to hear. Celestia had ruled Equestria for over a millennia, and it was very much possible that she had either heard of or encountered this dragon before; assuming that it didn’t appear out of nowhere and simply chose to slaughter its kin. Twilight couldn’t help but shiver. She still couldn’t get over Garble’s claim that the dragon lands were now a graveyard full of unburied corpses. She wasn’t calling him a liar, seeing his mental breakdown happen right before her eyes, but she couldn’t help but doubt it. The logical side of her saw it clear as day; it would be impossible for a single dragon to kill all the others of its homeland without being taken down with them or killed during battle. Let alone going head to head with former Dragon Lord Torch and surviving, who was a powerful dragon in his own right, especially if this black dragon had indeed killed and survived the onslaught of the other dragons. Twilight couldn’t make any sense of it nor could she remember anything in any history book she’d ever read regarding a black dragon. And on the off chance that Celestia didn’t know, then who could? Discord was an option, but knowing the lord of chaos he would either answer cryptically, not know, or not answer it all. Going through Starswirl’s old books and scrolls could help, but she knew that a good portion was based on spells and not so much on creatures lest they intrigued him. Snap! Snap! “Equestria to Twilight! Hello!?” Ember slightly shouted, snapping her fingers in front of the alicorn’s face who blinked and shook her head. She blushed slightly and chuckled before apologizing for spacing out. “It’s fine, I was just saying how you’re right. The risk of that dragon still being there is a major problem, and quite frankly, I don’t wanna go home alone. So, I was wondering during your letter to Celestia, if she would be willing to accompany me to the Dragon Lands or someone else that’s suitable.” “That’s not a problem. I think I’ll send Starlight with you. I trust her to watch your back in case of any danger and to get herself and you back here if that dragon is there.” Twilight confidently replied as she prepared a spell. “Once I get word back from Celestia we can take another step forward. And I’ll inform Starlight of her new assignment with you.” With that she teleported to her castle, leaving the dragon lord with her wounded, now mentally unstable subject. “Don’t worry Garble, we’ll make sure that this dragon pays for what it’s done to you. But until then…” Ember placed her palm on Garble’s snout before she started to leave the room. Ember gave him one last look as she left the room, the closing door making a small echo. “...You need to stay strong.” Princess Celestia, one of the co-rulers of Equestria with control over the sun had lived through many things; and had seen and heard many outlandish things in her long life. Some of them were that her magic was something that one could learn through hard practice, another being that her sister, Princess Luna, was actually a dragon due to her ferocity during a war. But the letter that she had received from her student was by far the most preposterous thing she had ever heard. Well, if she were to be honest nothing could ever take her number one, which was when ponies thought that she had once dated the spirit of chaos Discord. And that the chaos he causes is to get back at her for whatever happened between them. Those were a few ‘good’ years. But this took second or third, for the dragons in the Dragon Lands had been killed. There was only one survivor, and he was currently in Ponyville Hospital and was forcibly put to sleep through her student’s magic after having a mental breakdown. What had killed them was a large black dragon, but for the life of her, she couldn’t recall ever hearing about a black dragon, let alone any dragon strong enough to kill a former Dragon Lord. For a brief moment, she thought it was a cruel joke played by the draconequus, but she quickly disregarded it. Not even he would do such a thing for a mere joke, aside from the chaos it would certainly create. Still, for the Dragon Lands to now be vacant of any living dragon due to a mass slaughter was severely unnerving. But she couldn’t think of any creature that could simply wipe out the dragons without taking any life-threatening injury, even another dragon. “Sister, you have been in deep thought for a while. Surely thou don't believe that there was only one survivor from the Dragon Lands?” Luna, younger sister to Celestia and ruler of the night and dreams, asked with doubt in her voice. Torch was powerful, and on a good day he could give Celestial or herself a good fight, but for him to be slain by a single dragon was ludicrous. “Alicorns are the only immortal creatures in Equestria, aside from Discord and Tirek. While it would be difficult, Torch being killed is a possibility, albeit a low one. And if the other dragons are dead, then this is a villain with the same morals as Sombra.” “Which is none.” “Precisely.” “Then what shall we do Tia? Aside from the rest of the dragons that inhabit the world; Spike, Dragon Lord Ember, her escort, and the one named Garble are the only ones that we know are alive. If this dragon has indeed killed the ones in the Dragon Lands, then they will be next.” Luna argued as Celestia looked out a window. A genocide of this scale hadn’t been heard of since the days of Grogar, tales that two of them hardly knew due to his reign being ended before the two became the rulers of Equestria. Although they had been alive since the tyrannical rule of King Sombra, and they had seen first hoof of the atrocities he had done. They had never heard of a black dragon before, and Celestia’s choice for belief was that it either awakened from a very long sleep, or it had existed before they were born. The latter seemed to be the most likely option, but then it meant that there were only two beings with a good knowledge of history that existed before the two Alicorns. Although, one of them was in Chaosville. Which left the only choice. “I have a plan.” In Twilight’s castle, Spike was silently making lunch. After being told by Ember, and assured by Twilight, that a good portion of his kin was dead he had kept to himself. What was once as simple as breathing, sending that letter to Celestia was far more of a task than he would’ve thought. Sure, he knew the weight of what he had been briefly told, but to hear his elder sister, practically his mother, speak it and have him write it down were two separate things. So much so that halfway through the letter she decided to write the rest on her own, visibly seeing him start to shake with each word he attempted to write. That was only fifteen minutes ago. Still, Spike remained in the kitchen, mindlessly making everyone some food when he suddenly belched green fire. The sudden belch caused him to fall over and hit the ground with a thud, and then a scroll hit his face. Before he could even stand, Twilight had appeared and grasped him in her magic and was spinning him around to see if he had any injuries. “Twilight! Put me down before I throw up!” Spike yelled, his face turning green as he was slowly and gently placed onto the ground. He wobbled a bit before regaining his balance, and as soon as he did, he glared at the lavender pony. “What the hay Twilight!? I’ve fallen off bigger heights and taken hits from Rainbow Dash and Derpy and been completely fine. Why are you so worried about this when I can swim in lava!?” Spike snapped at her, frustrated that he became dragon spin-top. Twilight’s wings ruffled in slight anger, but she managed to calm herself down as she solemnly stared at the young dragon. “Because I was worried for you, that’s all. I heard you fall, and with recent news, I assumed the worst.” Twilight explained, which caused Spike to lose his glare and was replaced with a sorrowful look. Seeing this, Twilight gave him a bright smile. “But it’s fine, Spike. Knowing that you’re safe is all that matters to me.” Twilight finished as she nuzzled his head and he returned the gesture. As they finished Twilight looked over at the counter to see a scroll with a sun insignia sealing it shut. “It’s from the princess. She must’ve made a plan.” Twilight murmured to herself, although it was also aimed towards Spike. Levitating it over, she opened it and began to read its contents. Dear Twilight, I must say that it brings me great sorrow to learn of the genocide that had taken place in the Dragon Lands. I hope that Dragon Lord Ember has, somehow, taken the news well, along with Spike and her escort Smolder. And I send my best wishes to Garble, hoping that he gets better physically and mentally. However, in regards to this black dragon, neither I nor Luna have any idea as to where it came from. Although we do believe it must have existed since before we were born, our memories of history before those times are nearly nonexistent. As such, I have decided that the only beings with that sort of knowledge would be Discord or Tirek. Although with Discord in his home, Tirek is the quicker option as opposed to trying to summon Discord and waiting for him to respond, assuming that he does respond. With Tirek being imprisoned in Tartarus, it will make questioning him far easier and quicker. I wish for you and Lord Ember to accompany me to Tartarus, leaving Luna in charge of Equestria. As for what you have suggested in your letter, I agree that it would be best to investigate the Dragon Lands rather than keep away from it entirely. However, while I do not doubt Starlight’s prowess, I would have more peace of mind if she were accompanied by Discord, who is in Chaosville and will return within the day. As such, when he does return, have Fluttershy inform him of the events that have transpired. After that, Discord, Starlight, and Shining Armor, who is currently on his way to Ponyville, are to go and inspect the dragon lands. While I wish I knew more about this dragon, about this new terror that plagues the world, I do not. However, once we’ve gathered enough information, we will go out and banish it to the depths of Tartarus. I shall be in Ponyville within twenty minutes by the time I’ve sent the letter to retrieve both you and Lord Ember. See you soon, Celestia Twilight finished and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. “Alright Spike, you know what the princess has planned, so me and Ember will be gone for the rest of the day. I want you to go find Fluttershy and Smolder and tell them what Celestia wrote. Shining will be here soon, and I can guess that he knows as well since he’s tagging along with Discord and Starlight. I’ll go tell Ember what’s happening, while you head off to find Fluttershy. Got it?” Twilight asked after summarizing the letter to her assistant. The young dragon nodded and gave a salute before running out of the kitchen…until he came back in, grabbed his sandwiches, and then left the castle. Twilight giggled before running off to find Ember. If Princess Celestia believed that Tirek had the answers about the dragon, then she would fully trust her decision. However, that still meant that the dragon was out there, hunting down its kin. But she knew that she and her friends would overcome it, just like they always did; together as friends with their friendship. After all, what was stronger than the magic friendship? … … … If only she knew… In the Badlands of Equestria, the black dragon descended from the sky, its abyssal black wings darkened the land as it perched itself on a small hill. It surveyed its surroundings, knowing that a dragon was hiding somewhere. It sniffed the air once and snapped its head towards a cave that went underground. Now that it knew where it was, the dragon’s fate was sealed. Suddenly, a bright light encased it, and it soon died down revealing a new creature. The dragon became a dark-skinned, muscular bideal figure. His sharp gaze and the black circles around his eyes made him look even more menacing. His dark blue hair matched his high-collared black cloak and baggy pants; the rising winds revealed familiar blue markings on his skin. Around his neck was a necklace made up of dragon claws, a sash around his waist, and two gold rings on each arm that were tightened around his upper arms. He moved forward towards his destination, intending to continue what he had done in the dragon lands. He suddenly stopped in his stride, smelling and quickly seeing that more dragons were heading directly to him. They must’ve heard of the deaths he had caused, and seeing him transform into this form put two and two together. He realized that they were all coming to him, and he couldn’t have felt more pleased. A sinister grin made its way onto his face. The hunted were coming to the hunter. The lambs led themselves to the slaughterhouse, making it all the more easier. “Let the Dragon King’s festival begin.”
Lost HistoryThe frail centaur known as Lord Tirek paced around his cell in thought. Scheming his next plan at not only escaping the accursed place known as Tartarus, but also getting revenge against Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Until he could even escape, Tirek would comply with getting his revenge in his dreams; assuming that Luna would choose to bother someone else's dream instead of his own. After all, villains do have dreams and goals. Just because world domination didn’t fit into the agendas of Equestria didn’t mean he’d have to change his. “Tirek!” The centaur turned to the entrance of his cell to see Princesses Twilight, Celestia, and Ember. He was very surprised, knowing that they were quite angry when he had stolen their magic and turned Discord against them. Well, he never got to the dragons due to being defeated, so he honestly didn’t know why the new Dragon Lord was here. “Well, to what do I owe the pleasure? It’s not every day that one meets royalty, well aside from when I had taken your magic, but I’m sure that’s in the past.” Tirek taunted, feeling some amusement in seeing the brief flash of anger go across Celestia’s face. However, instead of a retort from her or her friends, the white alicorn summoned her magic and moved him to the back of his cell while creating a table with tea and a few cookies. “I would recommend sitting down, Tirek. You may have answers to a threat that runs amok in Equestria, and considering what has recently happened, I’m not in the mood for games.” Celestia’s stern tone, one that was reserved mainly for Discord when he got out of control, told him that he didn’t have a choice. He walked towards his chair and reluctantly sat down as the three walked in and sat across from him. Tirek could see that Ember was getting impatient, about what he didn’t know, but considering that they had come to him for answers he knew that he held some of the cards. “What is it that you wish to know? By coming to me it means that it involves something that neither you nor Luna know of. Something that can’t be found in a book somewhere or isn’t inscribed in stone.” Tirek took joy at the shots he had taken at Twilight and Ember. The two gave him a hard glare, but Celestia calmly sipped her tea before speaking. “First things first, I thought that I should let you know that all of the dragons in the Dragon Lands, save three, have been killed.” Celestia broke the ice by getting straight to the point. Tirek gave her his full attention with a bewildered look on his face. Surely she didn’t believe that he had killed them? He had been imprisoned here for quite a while, nor did he have the power to do so. So who could have— An eerie, cold shiver went down his spine. Tirek managed to hide his sudden discomfort by eating some of the food that Celestia had graciously brought. He couldn’t still be around, could he? Tirek had heard the rumors from all those years ago, he assumed them to be true because there had been no sightings of him. Shaking his head, he swallowed his food before speaking. “I’ll have you know that it wasn’t me who—“ “We are well aware that it wasn’t you. Beings such as you, and even King Sombra and Chrysalis, realize the folly of ruling a kingdom with no subjects to rule over. We have a basic idea of our culprit, but we don’t know where or who he truly is.” Celestia interrupted with the knowledge of how most villains of Equestria had been. While she knew that they weren’t above killing to get what they wanted, with Discord being somewhat of the exception, killing everyone would leave a kingdom full of corpses. Nothing to rule over except animals and their soldiers. Tirek quietly drank his tea and ate his snack. While he savored the flavor, with this being the best meal he’s had since being here, he couldn’t truly enjoy it as the coldness worsened. Memories from years ago started to surface, but he forcibly pushed them back down and locked them away. Tirek was doing his very best to ignore it, and most importantly, to forget. To forget that day entirely. “And for what reason do you believe that I possess that answer?” “Because you’ve been alive longer than Celestia. You’ve met Starswirl the bearded when he was a young unicorn, and you might know about the black dragon that killed its—“ “WHAT!?!?” Tirek roared, shattering his cup as he stood to his hooves, bucking his chair across the cell as it shattered against the wall. The three stared at him with widened eyes, completely surprised at the reaction. Twilight went to speak again, but Tirek was quicker. “The black dragon…Acnologia still exists!?” Tirek asked again, still shouting in pure terror. Out of the three, Ember was the most curious, seeing as the dragon may have been a historical figure for her people. To the princesses surprise, they heard the other creatures in Tartarus whimper and howl at the dragon’s name. They too were afraid of him, and they were all silenced when Celestia slammed her hoof on the floor; sending echoes throughout the prison as Ember spoke. “Who is he? And why is slaughtering his fellow dragons!?” Ember demanded before slamming her talons into the table. Tirek managed to calm himself down as he momentarily stared at her, and then his face grew serious. He stared directly into her eyes before doing the same to the Alicorns. “Acnologia…was the world’s first Dragon King.” This revelation caused them to gasp. “No one knows where he came from, but he was by far one of the most, if not the most, strongest beings on the planet. Very few could challenge his might, and those that couldn’t did, were erased.” Ember and Twilight shuddered at his tone. Celestia’s gaze hardened, which told the centaur to explain more. “Long ago, when I was a child, my father once told me a story; a story of how powerful dragons were. He told me how dragons could level mountains, create valleys, and were very adept in elemental magic.” Tirek’s story left Ember’s jaw hanging. Dragons couldn’t use magic, with the exception being Spike, and to hear that they once could was mind-breaking. “But the Dragon King topped all of that. He could destroy islands, destroy forests with just a roar, and flatten towns just by descending to the ground. But the most destructive thing he’s done during my time was obliterating a country.” The princesses couldn’t help but be silent. The black dragon was powerful, absurdly so. Destroying a country by himself was horrifying enough, not only pushing his power further but proving why he was the first King of Dragons. They could only ponder Acnologia’s destruction and his reasoning behind it, but couldn’t fathom any reason for killing his subjects. “I must admit that while the history of the dragons is very interesting, it does not explain why the first dragon king is killing his subjects. It also raises other questions; such as why is he not mentioned in history? Why has he been gone so long? Why has he appeared now?” Celestia stacked question onto question, wanting to know more about the first Dragon King. Ember was more curious than her, hearing the tales of how powerful dragons once were. “There are a few things that I cannot answer. One of them being why he kills dragons. No one, not even the dragons themselves, knew why he killed his kin. Acnologia vanished after some time for unknown reasons, and Discord may have the answer to that question. He knows more about the world than myself, along with its many secrets as well. But what I do know is this…” Tirek replied before he focused solely on Ember. “…He will stop at nothing until all dragons have been eliminated. And that includes you.” “You’re wrong!” Twilight shouted, drawing attention to herself. “Sure, he’s killed dragons recently and in the past, maybe doing so as we speak, but me and my friends will stop him. Just like with you, Sombra, Chrysalis, and every other villain we’ve faced, he’ll be stopped.” Twilight boldly stated as Celestia and Ember smiled at her proclamation. Celestia could tell that she had matured greatly since she had been first sent to Ponyville, and her status as a princess boosted that. “Hehehe…Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!!” Tirek’s sudden laughter gave him attention. He slammed his hands on the table and used it for support as he held his stomach. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought Twilight to be the Princess of Comedy. “Something Funny?” Ember growled out, her anger starting to grow with Tirek’s antics. “Most certainly! Acnologia isn’t like every other villain, because he doesn’t care to rule Equestria or Earth Land. He craves death and destruction, and there isn’t a single creature currently alive that can oppose him. Even then, when I was young, once again, hardly anyone could match his power. Why, I myself believe it would take the likes of Grogar, Discord, the four Alicorns, and King Sombra to even be some kind’ve challenge to him.” Tirek explained his amusement while telling them his honest opinion on what it would take to fight the Dragon King. “You mean to tell us that even with all of the people that you’ve listed, that we’d only be able to become a challenge? Not only that, but that his one goal is to bring destruction to the world?” Celestia asked as Tirek nodded. Any theories that Celestia could have come up with were suddenly dismissed by Tirek’s claim. What dismissed her theories was Acnologia’s reasoning. And the reason didn’t exist, because he had no desire to rule. No desire to bend the alicorns to his will, to take the magic of the land, or even enslave any creature as far as the eye could see. Still, hope existed to stop him, and there was still another group currently going to learn more about Acnologia. Starlight’s group should already be on their way to the Dragon Lands, and Celestia hoped and prayed to Faust herself that Acnologia had chosen to leave. Tirek would have no reason to lie about his strength if he feared him too, and she was now more worried than ever about Equestria…no, Earth Land itself. As for Tirek, well, he was perfectly content with remaining in Tartarus. With the Dragon King running amok he wasn’t concerned about revenge or escaping, as far as he was concerned, he was in a very safe place. After all… He wasn’t about to fight the Arcane Dragon and think that he would escape as the victor. Not again. He once thought that before and paid for it, and he wasn’t going to make that same mistake again. Tirek spaced out at those thoughts before regaining his focus and seeing the three staring at him with confused and even worried looks on their faces. “If that is all, then you can leave. I have no business in dealing with Acnologia, and staying out of his way is the best chance of survival, unless you're a dragon. Even so, if he sees you as something that he wants to destroy, or even worse, a threat, then he’ll leave nothing left of you.” Tirek finished as he vanished into the darkness of his cell with his plate of food and drink. Celestia watched his figure before she sighed and removed the furniture that was within his cell. Then she teleported herself, Twilight, and Ember out of Tartarus and into the throne room where Luna was seated and waiting. “Can I assume that things have gone well sister? Or at the very least gotten some useful information out of him?” “I cannot say that it was well, considering the information, but we’ve certainly gained very useful information. While I will give you a brief summary, we should wait for Starlight’s group to return so that we may all have the same information. And with Discord there…” “…He may find more than meets the eye.” “Ah! I just love the dark side of the moon!” “What are you talking about?” Starlight turned her head to the chaos god, wondering what nonsense he was talking about this time. “It’s the middle of the day.” “True, but the dark side of the moon is filled with many fun mysteries, but Luna won’t let me near ours. Besides, the Fallen is someone that Celestia wouldn’t like. Destroying suns and ending the lives of civilizations, you know how it is.” Discord replied before he created metal spines on the side of his face as his eyes suddenly glowed a bright red. Starlight sighed and shook her head, deciding that she was going to save herself the headache. Despite being reformed, he still had his mischievous tendencies, and those tendencies would work Starlight’s nerves. “We’re almost at the Dragon Lands. Although, I’m still nervous about actually being there. When Twilight told me what happened, well, I was a little hesitant about going. But seeing as she’s trusting me on this I couldn’t refuse her.” Starlight admitted as her ears folded back. She felt very unnerved about leading this expedition, even more so when she was interested in what had happened. But she also felt very honored that she had been chosen to be the leader instead of the spirit of chaos or the pony with actual military experience in leading others. “Trust me, being nervous for something like this isn’t uncommon. Quite frankly, I’d be more concerned if you weren’t feeling nervous. Twilight wanted you here because she believes you are capable of handling yourself, and with me and Discord here, we have nothing to worry about.” Shining calmly said as he trotted alongside her with a small smile. Starlight gave a confident one back, now knowing where Twilight got her confidence from. “Come along now! While I’m sure that the speech was inspiring, I can assure you that the land of the dead that we are at will crush it.” Way to ruin the moment Discord. “I try my best.” Anyway, the group arrived at the dead land and could already smell the putrid stench of rotting corpses. The sun that had been beating down on them made it even worse, so much so that Discord snapped his fingers and created three nose plugs for them all. But while the nose plugs blocked out the scent, they couldn’t block out the horrifying sight that was before them. “I know the princess said that it was bad according to the survivor, but it was worse than I imagined.” Shining stoicly said as he made his way towards the land. He entered into military mode, knowing that he needed his nerves calmed so that he could calm down the others if need be, mainly Starlight. Starlight was frozen in place, for as far as the eye could see, she saw countless mutilated corpses. Many were littered on the ground, others were pasted on the side of rocks, and others were completely unrecognizable. Starlight audibly gulped before following Shining. “C-C’mon Discord. We won’t know anything until we get more information.” Silence was what she received. “D-Discord? Let’s go already, what’s the matter?” Starlight turned and asked, but what she saw caused her to pause mid-stride. Discord’s face was one of terror, although she could see how uncertain he looked as he viewed the landscape. “I need to confirm something. Let’s go!” Discord quickly said before snapping his talons and teleporting himself, Starlight, and even Shining in an area where there were no corpses. The prince was briefly disoriented before she shook his head and glared at the draconequus, but he couldn’t get a word out before he snapped his talons again and vanished. “What is wrong with him? Chaos he may be, even Discord needs to have some reasoning to him.” “He has reasoning every now and then, but that’s like trying to place some form of logic onto Pinkie Pie. But actually, I think the reason is that something spooked him.” Starlight countered as she examined a nearby corpse. “Whatever has Discord worried, makes me wonder if it has to do with this black dragon. No, it has to do with it, but what that is I’m not entirely sure.” Starlight explained as steeled her nerves before walking around. Shining did the same as they each took a separate direction. The prince of the Crystal Empire was trying to see if there were more survivors, despite how low those chances were. As for Starlight, she was trying to figure out what had shaken Discord. She had done numerous magical scans on different dragons, and each scan remained the same but something was missing. Starlight continued her scans, desperately trying to figure out what was missing, or what may have been taken. She had gotten so focused on scanning the dragons that she tripped over a rock and fell into a crater. She rolled down for a bit before landing with a small splash, which greatly confused her as water was quite scarce in the dragon lands due to its climate. However, she suddenly had a metallic taste in her mouth before realizing what she was in. A small pool of blood. She went to get up and get out of the blood when her eyes fell upon the dragon that created the blood. Torch lay on his side, his empty eyes staring into her own. Starlight immediately screamed and teleported out of the red liquid. Starlight furiously shook herself, wanting to remove every drop of blood on her fur. Even as Shining and Discord appeared, she didn’t stop as shook off her saddle bag and used her hooves to try and remove the blood. However, she only accomplished smearing the blood on her hooves and her body, and upon remembering that she had also tasted the blood made her gag. Before Shining could try and calm her down, Discord snapped his talons. Instantly, Starlight’s body glowed as her frantic breathing and movements slowed down. Now she was far calmer, and with another snap of his talons, her fur was clean and shiny. Even sparkling as the sun beamed down on her. “I thought it’d be quicker to use a clean and calm spell on you.” Discord answered the question within their minds, knowing what they were probably thinking. “I've managed to confirm my suspicions, and I was hoping to be wrong.” “What did you find? I’ve been scanning the dragons and they’re missing something, but I can’t figure it out.” Starlight explained as Shining agreed. He found that, outside of being dead, the dragons looked pale. Their scales were faded in color, and some of their eyes had a white hue over them. “Yes, I confirmed that—Actually, I think it’s time we head back.” Discord interrupted himself as the two ponies looked at him in confusion before protesting. Even though their hopes of finding any more survivors were shattered seeing the state of the dragons, they felt that they could find more useful information. “We just got here. I think we can explore the caves and dens of a few dragons before leaving. More so the elders to see if they have anything regarding this black dragon.” Shining argued as he could see that Discord wasn’t pleased. He was assigned to search the Dragon Lands to find anything of importance, and he wasn’t about to leave with so little information. “Shining’s right Discord. We’ve hardly done a deep search, and I think looking into the caves of the Elder Dragons is a great idea. And once we’ve gathered more information, we can leave and share it all with Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.” Starlight explained as both she and Shining stood their ground. They knew that the chaos god could forcibly take them back if he wanted, but they could see that he was thinking over their argument. “Fine then, we can stay longer.” Discord relented as his companions smiled. “But no more than an hour. I do have places to be, chaos to create, and so much more. Believe it or not, I do have quite the busy schedule.” Discord met in the middle as a scroll appeared that rolled itself out into a long list. The ponies didn’t care, knowing that the draconequus complied with their wants as he started to walk alongside them. “So he’s left, despite the fact he wasn’t here very long. Either he’s only come to see the damage, or wondered what we’re doing here. Mmm, well so long as he’s gone then it doesn’t matter how long we stay unless he comes back. Not that they need to know that.” Discord thought to himself as he hummed a tune. Deciding to withhold the information that he possessed for the time being, the spirit of chaos followed leader Starlight into the first of many caves. The group’s trespassing into the homes of elder dragons proved unfruitful. Many of them possessed gold, trinkets, and what Starlight assumed to be magical artifacts. Although, said artifacts were either broken, useless, or oozed dark magic. For whatever reason the elders possessed objects containing dark magic, were better left to the unknown, and Shining swore that one of the objects was calling out to him. But none of them possessed any knowledge of Acnologia, not that the ponies knew the black dragon’s name. Discord told them that it was time to leave as Starlight reluctantly nodded, disappointed that she didn’t find anything of importance. As she was leaving, Starlight spotted another book out of the corner of her eye. What separated this book from the others was that it was black with dark blue swirls and bold dark purple initials on the spine, although the initials were faded. She couldn’t make out what the letters were and the author’s name had faded as well, meaning that she couldn’t tell who wrote it either. Still, something about the book made her very curious, and she stared at the book for a few moments before hearing Shining’s voice. “Starlight! Come on we’re leaving!” “S-Sorry! I’m coming!” Starlight replied as she stored the book in her saddle bag. She had a feeling that it would be, somehow, useful. Unbeknownst to her, something had dashed through the cave and collected the books and other magical artifacts that had been cursed with dark magic. It hid itself as it watched Starlight leave, its eyes focused on her saddle bag before it sunk into the shadows. The small group’s sudden appearance in the throne room startled those present, consisting of the Elements of Harmony, the co-rulers of Equestria, the current Dragon Lord with Smolder, and Spike. Discord found it quite amusing as he chuckled a bit before he appeared next to Celestia. “So Lightbringer, what did you learn from your trip to prison? I assume that Tirek and the others were very hospitable when you graced them with your presence.” “For the last time Discord, stop calling me that. I get a strange feeling from that nickname, and the prisoners hospitality made themselves known when Tirek screamed the black dragon’s name in terror.” Celestia replied as she forcibly teleported Discord next to Fluttershy. He shrugged his shoulders before snapping his talons, creating tea and cookies for himself and the pegasus next to him. “No disrespect o’ nothing princess, but how in tarnation does this dragon’s name scare Tirek of all creatures?” Applejack asked as Rainbow Dash agreed. She couldn’t see any reason why someone should fear a name, almost as if forgetting the names of powerful villains they had all once faced with one of them being in the same room as her. “Names hold meaning, but certain names hold power. In certain places, these names go a long way. Whether the name strikes fear or calmness into the hearts of those who hear it depends on the creature behind the name. As for the prisoners of Tartarus, Tirek especially, the name Acnologia holds a great deal of meaning and power.” Celestia calmly explained as she noticed the looks on their faces. Confusion at first before turning to concern with Tirek’s name in the same sentence. She understood the reason for concern, with Tirek nearly taking all of the magic in Equestria and almost becoming its new dictator. “According to Tirek, Acnologia was the very first Dragon King, albeit it was self-proclaimed. Even so, he was the King of Dragons with the power to back up his claim. However, he was no benevolent ruler, nor a ruler at all for he slaughtered dragons. The reason is unknown, but he killed any and all dragons until one day he vanished. Tirek claims that no one had seen him, and no one knew where he had gone or why he vanished. But now he’s returned, and he must be stopped before he kills all dragons.” Celestia summarized the history of Acnologia and she allowed them all to soak in the information. Twilight’s friends were a mixture of emotions. Fluttershy was unsurprisingly shaking in place, being completely terrified of Acnologia while softly crying about the deceased dragons. Rarity was worried for Spike and her sister due to the attacks that Ponyville faced from its villains. And if she needs to, she won’t hesitate to send Sweetie Belle to her parents here in Canterlot for her own protection. And while she didn't want to admit it, Rarity knew that there was very little she could do to protect Spike, knowing that she had no power against a fully matured dragon along with not having a clue as to where to send him. Applejack and Rainbow Dash felt similar to their siblings. The difference is that Applejack would force her family to move out to Appaloosa to live with Braeburn and extended family whether they wanted to or not, and Rainbow Dash would send Scootaloo with her parents to Cloudsdale. Neither of them were going to take any chances, especially after hearing the carnage that Acnologia had left behind in the ancient past and present times. The resident dragons of the group didn’t know what to think. Ember had been present during Tirek’s explanation of the first Dragon King. She knew that the rulers of nations were vastly different throughout history, but she doubted any of them were as cruel as Acnolgia. She wondered how insane he must’ve been to declare himself the ruler of dragons when he had also be killing them. Smolder and Spike, while sharing the same emotions, possessed very different thoughts on the matter. Spike was far more distressed than before, knowing that he was now on a targeted list and would soon join an ever-growing list of dead dragons. He had faith that Twilight and the others would stop him, ending his horrible goal before he could claim the lives of any more of his kin, but his fear of being brutally killed rivaled that faith. It rivaled the faith and bonds of his mother’s friendships, and he felt angry with himself that he was doubting it. As for Smolder, she was now feeling very dejected. She was ready, regardless of Ember’s order, to challenge Acnologia. But then she heard his atrocities, his vast power, and suddenly gained overwhelming fear. None of them in the room had ever encountered him in person, but she could only imagine how intimidating his presence would be. How absurdly powerful he was with having no one to rival him. “Tirek even gave a list of people that he believes is what it would take to defeat him.” Twilight gained everyone’s attention as she repeated the listed names. “The problem is that he included Sombra, and Grogar. One of them is dead, and no one knows what’s even happened to the last, not like he could be trusted either. He’s probably been banished to some unknown place where he couldn’t be found, and while I hate to say it, Cadence isn’t much of a fighter. We also don’t know all that much about Acnologia, so we’d be fighting blind while not knowing his magical prowess.” Twilight deduced as she held her hoof to her chin. Compared to the former villains, Acnologia’s existence was shrouded in mystery. No one knew where he came from and the only thing he wanted to was kill every dragon on Earth Land. “What about you Starlight? You guys must’ve found something in the Dragon Lands. Right?” Rainbow Dash asked as all eyes were on her. Starlight, as much as she wanted to give them some form of hope, couldn’t as she gave a weak sigh and shook her head. “Aside from books containing dark magic, crumbling magical artifacts, and cursed objects, no we didn’t. Also, out of respect for Ember, we chose not to look into Torch’s den, so there might be some stuff in there that’ll help us. Aside from that, me and Shining discovered that something was wrong with the dragons, like something was missing from them. I scanned every one I came across and got the same results but I couldn’t figure it out. Shining said that their scales had gotten paler, as if they lost some of their colors, and their eyes had a white hue over them. But Discord managed to learn something, and now’s the best time to tell us.” Starlight grimly replied before staring at the chaos god for an answer. She had decided to refrain from telling them of the book she had taken, wanting to examine it herself due to being more versed in dark magic than her friends. Excluding the princesses and Discord of course. Everyone looked at him to see him changing Fluttershy’s mane color and style, from having a spiky silver mane that curved off to the left side, to then having black spiked hair that stuck out in all directions that also defied gravity, to finally possessing long silver hair that flowed down to the end of her flank as he also changed her coat to be completely white with her one of her wings turned black. “Oh, I think I like this one. What do you think my dear?” “Oh! Uh, I-I think it looks nice, although I feel uh, I-I feel like I shouldn’t look like this. Can you change me back, if you don’t mind, that is?” “True, the original look is better and we wouldn’t want you to try creating the power of supernovas now, would we?” Discord snapped his talons and Fluttershy returned to normal. “Now then, you wanted to know something?” “Y-Yes. What had you looking concerned?” Starlight reminded as Discord stroked his goatee. Trying to remember what she was talking about before snapping his talons, appearing coiled around Starlight’s neck with a grin. “Ah yes. I’d nearly forgotten.” Discord replied with a grin on his face, and then it disappeared. He uncoiled himself and appeared floating in the air with a serious expression on his face. “You and Shining were correct about something being wrong with the dragon's corpses. They were indeed missing something, and that something was their soul.” The draconequus could see them all get visibly pale. He was ready to snap his talons to calm them down, but he decided against it this time. “Thou can’t be serious? Surly the dragon king doesn’t possess the ability to reap the very souls of living creatures? More specifically towards dragons?” Luna asked, not wanting to believe what she had heard. Discord’s face, however, never changed. He remained serious as he stared into her eyes before speaking again. “I can assure you all that it’s the truth. He’s taken a portion of their soul, leaving any one of them alive in a half-dead state. Not that it matters since they die anyway, but that is my discovery.” No one had a response after that. How could they? Hearing that he possessed the power to reap souls was horrifying, and the only ones who could have any defense against it would be the elements of harmony, the Alicorns, and possibly Discord. “You mean to tell me that this guy can destroy a portion of our soul!? If he can do this to a dragon then he could rule over Earth Land!” Rainbow Dash yelled as her concerns just skyrocketed. Some of the others agreed with her, mainly Smolder and Spike. “Maybe if we throw him a really super duper awesome big party he’ll stop his destruction!” Pinkie happily yelled with confetti exploding behind her. No one questioned where it came from, having grown used to her antics. Pinkie noticed everyone’s expression and knew that a party wasn’t going to solve the problem as much as she wanted that to be the solution. “I think a party would have a better effect on Tirek than Acnologia.” Ember dryly said before she sighed. “The issue is that there’s no dragon or creature on Earth Land that knows he’s going around committing mass genocide or even who he is. He has an unknown form of magic that allows him to kill an entire land full of dragons, reaps their souls, and has been alive since Tirek was a kid.” “So what are yer saying exactly? That the feller has like…Dragon Slayer magic?” Applejack questioned the Dragon Lord, raising a brow at her demeanor. “Even if he does, I find it mighty hard to believe that no one would know about it, or that it wasn’t written down somewhere.” Everyone shivered at the name Applejack had given the magic. The ability to possess the magical power to slay dragons, and possibly other creatures as well, was terrifying. “Sounds more like Soul Reaper magic to me.” Rainbow Dash commented as she was given a side look from Applejack. “Oh come on! You can have your ideas on this guy’s magic, and besides if he can take, destroy, or consume souls wouldn’t my name for his magic sound much better?” “I don’t think it matters which name sounds better since either way it’s being used to cause mass genocide. It also concerns me just how in depth you made this form of magic out to be.” Starlight dryly said as Rainbow Dash huffed and looked away. As amusing this would have normally been, everyone sighed at her attitude towards something so insignificant. “Maybe there’s something in the Royal Library that mentions his magic? Or something that Starswirl has written down or maybe Tirek knows more than what he’s said.” Spike offered as Celestia considered everything that had been said. There were many books and tomes that even she had not gone through, and the possibility of finding something was certainly there. Tirek was a lesser case, seeing as he feared Acnologia, and with that in mind, she believed that he wouldn't try escaping unless Acnologia was defeated or had finished his conquest and vanished once again. “There are many possibilities and considerations for the Dragon King’s magic. Whether he does possess, as Applejack and Rainbow Dash have said, Dragon Slayer or Soul Reaper magic or not remains unknown. And Tirek withholding information is a possibility as well. For now, I will have a team scour the library for anything that mentions a black dragon, no matter how minuscule. I will also have another team that will be used to track Acnologia and report his location. During this, I want you all to continue about your lives until called upon. I can understand if you’re frustrated or angry with my decision, but hunting down Acnologia with so many uncertainties is a death sentence that I will not be giving. My decision is final.” Celestia sternly explained as she saw them all nod. Off to the side, Ember explained the same thing to Spike and Smolder, even though Spike was more under Celestia’s rule than Ember’s. “Well, if thou friends have nothing else to add, then you are free to leave. We hope that the next time we meet will be with more information on the Dragon King.” Luna dismissed them as they all started to leave. Starlight was quite surprised that she wasn’t called out for the book of dark magic in her saddle bag, but she was very glad that she wasn’t. She had doubts that her friends had fully forgiven her and was wary that if she was found with this book they would forsake her. “…free me…” Starlight shivered and looked around her. No one else heard the cold voice except her, and she knew that no one had spoken. And yet, in the silence of the throne room, a voice spoke to her. She slowly realized where it came from and gave a small glance to her saddle bag, knowing that it was the book. She waited for the voice to say anything else, but the book remained silent as she internally sighed. “Great, not only does the book contain dark magic but something is sealed inside it. I better prepare some spells and wards, just in case opening the book unleashes whatever’s sealed in it.” Starlight thought to herself as she brought her gaze back up to her friends. None were speaking as they walked out of the throne room, all in their thoughts to fully digest what they had been told. But Starlight was good at reading others, and she could tell they all had similar feelings. Anger Frustration Stress Anxiety “...And Fear.”
What Lurks In The DarkIt had been a few days since the group was essentially told to wait for anything new concerning Acnologia. Small things happened, but nothing could take their minds off of the black dragon. They hadn’t even seen him and they knew just how terrifying he was. They had all gone about their business as usual, either working or somehow managing to relax during all this. Rainbow Dash was the master at relaxation. As for Starlight? She blocked off a small section of Twilight’s castle and she riddled that section with numerous wards and spells to prevent anyone other than herself from entering. Naturally, Twilight was curious as to what she was doing that required a section of her home to be closed off along with so much magical protection. Starlight responded that she needed the large space for some spell practices that she wanted to keep secret. Knowing how intrusive Twilight could be when it came to magic, Starlight kept what she was doing as vague as possible. She wasn’t trying to be mean, she just didn’t want to answer the inevitable question as to why she had a book containing dark magic. She herself didn’t have an actual reason other than it intrigued her. But Starlight was going to examine the book anyway to see if it contained any useful spells that she could use against the Dragon King, within great reason of course. Going off of current knowledge, along with her own assumptions, Acnologia’s scales should be as durable as one of Shining Armor’s strongest shields. As such, Starlight figured that the spell book could contain something that would pierce his scales, or at the very least deal some damage to him. The downside is that it was dark magic. Starlight had no intention of being corrupted and becoming the next King Sombra, even though she had dabbled in dark magic before. Shaking her head the unicorn made sure that the spells and wards were secured and the section of the library she was using was locked off so that Spike or Twilight didn’t accidentally wander in. And so something else couldn’t escape. Starlight sighed as she levitated the book over and prepared herself. Once she opened the book, there would be no going back, but Starlight had the foresight to know that it would take everything to stop Acnologia’s carnage. Tightening her resolve, Starlight opened the book, and the moment she did, the room considerably darkened. The book glowed an eerie dark blue before settling down, revealing the blood-red text to Starlight. Well, it revealed the text to her, but she couldn’t understand it. Starlight squinted her eyes, as if doing so would make the text readable. Deciding that it was a waste of effort, she flipped through the pages to see if there was anything that she could actually read. “Having trouble, my little pony?” Starlight’s eyes turned to pinpricks at the sudden voice in her ears. She swerved around with her magic ready to attack whatever had come out of the book. No one was there. Starlight had her eyes narrowed as she took a few steps away from the book to find out where the being was, and she knew that it was in the room with her. “Where are you? Show yourself!” Starlight demanded as the entity chuckled. “As you wish.” The being replied as dark blue mist appeared around Starlight’s hooves. It went past her and started to take form, building itself into a large pony, resembling Celestia in height. However, Starlight narrowed her eyes and could see that the large pony was an alicorn. Despite the misty appearance, Starlight thought that the alicorn looked familiar. “Princess Luna…?” Starlight questioned herself, but the alicorn heard her and snarled. Starlight immediately felt a power press down on her, trying to force her to her knees. Summoning her magic, Starlight wrapped herself in it as she slowly resisted the Alicorn’s power, and she suddenly knew who she was dealing with. “Nightmare Moon!” The power receded. Starlight gained her breath back as she glared at the demonized version of the princess of the night. Nightmare Moon glared back, but it was more reserved than Starlight’s. Her condescending look was replaced with one of indifference, not caring for Starlight’s gaze as she hummed. “If I didn’t need you, I would squash you like an insect. However, at my current power, I can’t escape my book. And that’s where you come in.” Nightmare Moon snarled at her explanation, hating to admit that she needed Starlight’s help. As for the unicorn in question, she narrowed her eyes at the dark alicorn. Starlight had no idea what Nightmare Moon had planned, nor did she know why she was needed for her escape but she wanted no part in it. “What makes you think that I’ll help you in any way? And what’s preventing me from telling Princesses Celestia and Luna about this book you're in?” Starlight countered, but the nightmare laughed. Her cackle echoed throughout the room, making Starlight glad that she had soundproofed the room so that no one could hear what was happening inside. “True, that would pose a problem for me. But how would you explain yourself when you took a book containing dark magic? Moreover, containing me sealed inside it?” Nightmare Moon countered as Starlight’s breath hitched, realizing that she was right. “I see you’ve realized the double-edged sword that you wield. Like I’ve said, I can’t escape this book on my own, but you can’t read its text. It’s far too ancient for you to understand. However, I can help you understand the book, and in exchange, you shall allow me to place some of my essence in you.” Nightmare Moon offered as Starlight stared at her like she was crazy. Oh wait, she was crazy! Making a deal with Nightmare Moon was definitely not on any of Starlight’s lists for the day, much less encountering Nightmare Moon in the first place. “What are you talking about? Your essence? Like are you going to implant your magic, a piece of your mind or soul, or something similar? What’s the purpose of that and what makes you think I would even consider it?” “Because you wish to assist your friends in the defeat of Dragon King Acnologia. Correct?” Nightmare Moon asked, even though she knew the answer. Starlight’s eyes widened, wondering how the nightmare could’ve known that. “Don’t look so surprised. Just because I was sealed in my book does not make me ignorant of the world. I heard your conversation with the princesses, and I must say that you were lucky that they didn’t sense me, Luna more so.” Nightmare Moon revealed as Starlight remained silent and did her best to properly form thoughts and analyze everything that she just heard. The nightmare had overheard everything, meaning that she knew of Acnologia and everything else that was learned from Tirek. Although Starlight did question her age. If she existed before Equestria was even a thought, then it would explain her knowledge of the ancient texts of the book that she was sealed in. Which was a question in itself as to what she actually was. That aside, Starlight knew that making a deal with Nightmare Moon was the equivalent of making one with Queen Chrysalis. There was a scheme that the alicorn was planning, and she needed Starlight for it. The unicorn didn’t know what she was needed for, but she would learn where she stood if she accepted. “Seeing as you are taking your time, you must be doubting me.” Nightmare Moon suddenly spoke, breaking Starlight from her thoughts as she nodded. “I thought so. Here, just to show you that I want to be free…” Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed a soft blue as did Starlight’s body before dying down. “There, now flip to a page and it will be translated into modern Equish.” Starlight did as she was told as she turned her attention back towards the book. Even though she eyed Nightmare Moon carefully, she couldn’t deny that the contents of the book outweighed her suspicions and more into her interest. As such, she walked back to the book and read from the page she was already on. “Nightmare Sphere. The user casts a sphere, its size depends on the user’s magical power, and whoever is caught within this sphere except the caster will experience horrific nightmares whether they are awake or asleep. The spell can last as long as the user puts magical energy into the sphere, although it will last no more than twenty minutes on its own. This is because the spell will have already done its job the moment it’s activated; causing untold fear which can be amplified via two different spells that are listed in the subsection. Those under its effects can escape by a third party, magic that counters this, through strong willpower, or negating the spell itself. Depending on how severe the nightmare is, the person under its effects can develop severe mental trauma, memory loss, insanity, and in the worst case, death.” Starlight read off as she regained her breath. She wasn’t expecting to read such a spell, much less learn it. Starlight suddenly realized that this was one dark spell within an entire book, and was almost glad that she and the rest of Equestria couldn’t read its contents. Starlight wondered if Luna knew the spell, or if she knew of this book at all. There was still more to the page, but the text returned to its original scripture, meaning that Nightmare Moon canceled her spell. At the same time, something told Starlight that there were far deadlier spells in the book; and various forms of unknown magic that would make the gifted Starswirl himself jealous. “As you can see, I can hold true to my word. Should you decide to accept my deal, you know where to find me. And if you do accept, then you will have a book of spells at your disposal that not even Twilight Sparkle or Celestia themselves would know of.” Nightmare Moon finished as she transformed into blue mist and returned to her book. Starlight watched the book for a few moments before she closed it and sealed it shut. Wrapped in her thoughts, Starlight made her way towards the door, deciding to think over the nightmare’s offer as she weighed the pros and cons. Quite frankly, she shouldn’t have been considering it all. Starlight knew what Nightmare Moon was capable of, but she knew that no one could read the scriptures in the book except Nightmare Moon. The only other option was Discord, seeing as the draconequus could easily translate the book with a snap of his talons. Starlight knew that he would have questions and possibly report her to the princesses for being in contact with Nightmare Moon unless he chose to keep it a secret for whatever reason he might have. “This is a bad idea, but I’ll have to sleep on this. Once I have my mind clear to think straight, I’ll make my decision.” Starlight muttered to herself as she replaced the wards and spells on her new study place before heading to her room. This new, powerful information had given her a bit of a headache, and Nightmare Moon’s presence had worsened it. Still, once she had gained enough rest, she would make her decision. Twilight Sparkle was up late into the night reading through countless books on dragons. She knew that she had nothing on Acnologia, but she decided that reading about dragons in general would help her understand Acnologia’s motives or find a weakness to exploit. As it currently stood, she found no weakness. Aside from enchanting the ballistas that Equestria possessed for times of war, Twilight had the same assumptions as Starlight, dragons were nearly invincible. Dragons could somewhat resist magic with their scales, although powerful magical attacks could easily bypass them. Twilight continued her self-induced studies, tuning out the world around her as she simultaneously took notes while reading. “TWILIGHT!!” The alicorn jumped into the air with an “eep!” before crashing onto her desk, sending her notes and books all over the floor. Twilight’s eyes rolled around her skull before she shook her head and glared at her assistant. “Spike! How many times have I told you not to scare me while I’m studying!?” “You’ve told me over a thousand times, literally! I was trying to get your attention for the past twenty minutes. Starlight came out of her new study area looking like she saw a ghost, completely exhausted before going to her room.” Spike explained as Twilight’s face softened and grew concerned for her student. Starlight had been very vague as to why she wanted a section of her castle for herself, but Twilight decided to give it to her since she felt like Starlight wanted whatever she was trying to accomplish to be a surprise. “Well, if she’s in her room then she most likely went to sleep. And I don’t want to invade an area that I gave her for privacy…”Twilight replied before trailing off. She hummed in thought before smiling. “...I’ll just ask her in the morning. I won’t ask what she’s doing, but I’ll make sure that she’s not pushing herself too hard.” “You should follow what you preach. It’s almost midnight and you’ve piled notes on dragons make a summary, and not to be rude, but it’s still not that much.” Spike rebutted as Twilight found her floor to be quite interesting. The two shared a chuckle before Twilight organized everything and neatly placed it all back onto her desk. “Fair point. I guess it is pretty late, but there are a few things about the dragons that don’t make sense.” “What do you mean?” “Well, Tirek’s father told him that dragons used to be capable of wielding elemental magic. Assuming that it’s true, the question is what happened? If there was a dragon that could wield and breathe lightning for example, how come its hypothetical offspring didn’t inherit or learn how to do it? Why and when did all of them start breathing and only breathe fire? There’s a mystery involving magic and dragons, and possibly magic itself.” Twilight explained as Spike slowly nodded. Now he understood her thoughts, and the questions were certainly interesting. Spike suddenly grinned and chuckled, wondering if he could— “No Spike. You can’t start breathing lightning because you can already breathe fire.” Twilight interrupted his thoughts as Spike blushed and nervously chuckled. The young dragon soon went to his room, now wondering just how powerful his ancestors were to be able, presumably, to breathe lightning or other forms of elemental magic. Twilight had similar thoughts, although she was more fascinated by the aspect of undiscovered magic. Sure, she might not be able to breathe elemental attacks for numerous reasons, but the discovery would change history. As she slowly fell into the realm of sleep, a sudden thought occurred to her. “Did Discord ever…give us any information on Acnologia?” The Sun had risen and Twilight was slowly waking up. Her dreamless sleep was well welcomed as she didn’t want to overstress herself, again, with Acnologia’s existence. Being well rested Twilight stretched before opening her curtains and smiled at the beautiful bright day that awaited her. Everything was fine with not a problem in sig— “AHHHHHH!!” Well, it was going fine until Murphy’s Law made itself known. Twilight immediately left her room and sped off to Starlight’s room. She didn't know what was happening or why she was screaming, but Twilight was going to protect her student. Along the way, she grabbed Spike and placed him on her back, who had already been running for Starlight’s room. “What’s going on? Why is Starlight screaming?” “I don’t know Spike, but we’ll find out soon enough.” Twilight replied before halting in front of her pupil’s bedroom. She didn’t hesitate to slam the doors open with her magic, but what was happening left her and Spike greatly confused, and amused at the same time. Starlight was being chased around by, what Twilight knew to be, a black phoenix. The phoenix had white eyes with the upper part of its face being white as well. The tip of its tail feathers and wings are dark gold in color with circles of the same color on the side going down in a v-shape to the black tips. Starlight turned around and attempted to catch the bird with her magic, but it flew over her head and landed on her back. Even though it didn’t dig its talons into her, she didn’t want it on her and tried to shake it off. This failed and tired her out as she succumbed to fatigue and fell to the floor, allowing the phoenix to fly onto her head and caw in amusement. “You’re mocking me, aren’t you?” Starlight begrudgingly asked as it cawed again. This time she heard giggling and laughter, looking at her door to see Twilight and Spike respectively finding her situation quite funny. “So glad to know that my struggling to get this bird under control was amusing to you.” “Oh, it’s not like that. Besides, we were concerned when we heard you scream, but seeing the phoenix made us a little confused. Speaking of which, was this what you were doing? Trying to summon a phoenix or a familiar?” Twilight asked as she knew the only other pony to own a phoenix was Celestia. Summoning familiars was a forgotten practice, with very few magically talented creatures being able to actually summon something without having it backfire on them. It was, in all honesty, more troubling to summon a familiar. If you wanted something specific, then you needed specific items for what you wanted and the right amount of magic to be poured into the spell as well. “Uh, yup! That’s exactly what I was trying to do! But there’s still a few more things that I want to do, so I’m still going to need the space.” Starlight decided to lie, although it was really a half-truth as she gave a wide grin. While she didn’t summon the phoenix, she still needed the space. “Oh, well, it’s amazing either way! So what’s its name?” “His name!? Uh right! His name is…” Starlight trailed off as she quickly flickered her eyes around her room, trying to find something that would make sense without being too weird. Despite looking around, an unknown word came to her and she decided to go with it. “…His name is Kuro. Kuro the phoenix!” Twilight and Spike gave her a questioning look. They didn’t know where she got the name from, but a look at the phoenix told them that he didn’t mind. As Spike was admiring the phoenix he suddenly noticed that Kuro’s eyes seemed cold, even though he turned his head to view his surroundings he never kept his gaze on something for more than a few seconds. Despite how amused he was when he was chasing Starlight, Spike could’ve mistaken him to be emotionless if he hadn’t seen the small grin on its face. Suddenly being caught in Kuro’s gaze, Spike felt himself becoming quite small. Not physically, but Kuro became more intimidating. He felt as though Kuro had become a Manticore while he became a little filly, piercing through him and staring directly into his soul. Before he could say something, Twilight blocked his view of the phoenix with a worried look on her face. “Spike, are you alright? You got into a staring contest with Kuro before spacing out. We didn’t notice that you were spacing out until Kuro made some noise.” Twilight explained as Spike blinked in confusion. When did Kuro make noise? As a matter of fact, how could he have broken eye contact with him to alert the girls while Spike knew they had both kept their gazes on each other? “Uh yeah, I’m fine. I guess I was so good that I didn’t even notice I had won.” Spike chose to be ignorant and praise himself as he nervously chuckled. He wasn’t about to admit that Kuro started intimidating him, and Spike internally decided that Kuro had taken the staring contest a little too seriously. “I was gonna continue my studies, but I think I’ll head over to Fluttershy’s house to see if she can give me some tips on taking care of a phoenix. After that, then I’ll continue my studies.” “Actually Starlight, I was wondering if you use today as a rest day.” Twilight interjected as her student looked upset. “Don’t be like that. Spike told me how he saw you last night, and while I won’t ask what you’re doing, I will ask you to take a break. Get some fresh air and walk around town before locking yourself away. Trust me, it will do you some good.” Twilight persuaded as Starlight sighed and nodded. Starlight figured that she could use the time anyway to think over her decision of indulging in Nightmare Moon’s offer and essentially powerful dark magic. “Fine. But what about you? You aren’t going to tell me to take a break while you lock yourself in your room to do exactly what you were doing last night, are you?” Starlight gave an accusing look as Twilight gave a light chuckle in response. “No no, that’s not what I had planned at all. I have another plan in mind.” Twilight admitted as she used her magic to place Spike next to Starlight. “What I have planned, more like Ember’s plan, is to head back to the Dragon Lands and go through her father’s den. She appreciates that you guys didn’t go through it, but she wants to see if Torch left anything behind that she wants to keep as a memento.” Twilight explained as her friends understood what she was doing. At that moment, Ember peered into the room before walking in. “Hope I’m not intruding on something here. You ready to go?” Ember asked as Twilight nodded. The alicorn told them that they wouldn’t be gone for very long, and for Spike to either hang out with Starlight or Smolder as she wasn’t comfortable with leaving him alone. They were wished a farewell before Twilight teleported herself and Ember to the Dragon Lands. Kuro stared for a few seconds before making some noise, making Starlight and Spike aware of him as the unicorn decided to head over to the animal expert of Ponyville. Spike gave a glance to Kuro, but the Phoenix paid him no mind as he was constantly checking his surroundings. He never kept his gaze on one thing for more than a few seconds before switching to another thing to watch, almost as though he was looking for predators that may have been lurking around the library. “Calm down Kuro. There’s nothing in the library that can harm you that I can’t deal with.” Starlight assured her new pet, seeing as he wasn’t her familiar and had no obligation to listen to her, as she trotted out the castle and into the streets of Ponyville. As she did so, neither she nor Spike noticed how Kuro’s demeanor changed. Going from constant watched to a more calmed, laser-focused look as he eyed the mare that was walking by them. “AH!” The mare suddenly tripped and fell on top of Spike. Starlight immediately turned around to help them, getting Spike and Bon Bon to their feet. Shaking her face of her distortion and rubbing her muzzle, Bon Bon gave an appreciated look to Starlight while an apologetic one to Spike. “Sorry, Spike. I should’ve been more careful.” She apologized, gave him a piece of candy, and quickly went to the train station. Kuro watched Bon Bon leave before huffing and started resting on top of Starlight’s and going to sleep. Starlight gave a quiet sigh, pleased that Kuro had calmed down and had chosen to sleep. “C’mon Spike, we need to get to Flutteryshy’s place while there’s still daylight and then get whatever supplies we need for Kuro.” Starlight explained as she used her magic to place Spike on her back and picked up the pace. She wanted to get this over with so that she could go back to Nightmare Moon. Hearing what Twilight and Ember had planned made her remember what had transpired a few days ago, and she wasn’t going to allow another mass slaughter to happen if she could gain the power to prevent it. No matter the price Princesses Celestia and Luna were currently sitting on their thrones waiting for the guest they had called. One had been retired for quite some time, while the other had finished their undercover mission for the assistance of another kingdom. While they wanted the two to relax for the work they’ve done, this was a matter of National Security that would’ve affected the world if they didn’t start coming up with solutions. The doors to the throne room opened with two mares entering, both having a serious look on their face. One of them was Bon Bon, otherwise known as Agent Sweetie Drops. She had been urgently called by the Princess for an important mission, and she would be joined by Tempest Shadow, a broken-horned Unicorn who had been sent to infiltrate the Storm King’s army and take him down from the inside, which she had successfully done. “Agent Sweetie Drops, Agent Tempest Shadow, it is good to see you both. Forgive me for the sudden summons, but this is an important mission that needs to be executed at once.” Celestia seriously spoke as the two didn’t need to reply. While they weren’t told what they’d be doing, it was important nonetheless, especially when they were present before both rulers of Equestria. “It’s perfectly fine your majesty. However, does this mission have to do with why the Dragon Lord is staying in Ponyville? Along with her escort and the injured dragon at the hospital?” Bon Bon asked as Celestia nodded. Tempest Shadow, for her part, had been surprised to hear that the Dragon Lord and three of his subjects had taken residence in the pony town. Luna saw Tempest Shadow’s confusion and explained. “Torch is no longer Dragon Lord, that title belongs to his daughter Princess Ember. However, the matter at hoof remains the same, and the matter is that Lord Ember along with three of her subjects are the only survivors from the mass genocide of the Dragon Lands.” The ponies' jaws slightly dropped at the information. How the world, much less them, hadn’t heard of this was troubling. Still, they were being assigned a mission, and whether that was to track down the creature that did this and permanently put it down, or somehow cover all this up was what they would do. “Your mission is to track down the dragon that did this and keep an eye on him. Watch where he goes and what he does, and nothing more.” Celestia explained as she allowed a small grin on her face. Seeing the bewildered look on two of her best agents was amusing, and she knew the reasoning behind it. “So this is just a reconnaissance mission? And it was a dragon that did this?” “Yes to both questions. This dragon has vanished, and you both will find and follow him. It may sound tedious, but this is of great importance. I can assure you that this dragon would kill you both without batting an eye if you attempted to take him down.” Luna coldly spoke up as her tone sent shivers down of the agents spine. “Now then, our only description is that it could be bigger than Torch and possess black scales. And this is how you shall remain in contact.” Luna continued her explanation before summoning a teal-colored orb. She gave it to Tempest before Celestia took over. “That is a communications lacrima for long distances. Use this to inform us of his whereabouts and his actions. You must send a small magic signal once every three hours when Acnologia is found. Failure to do so…and we will have no choice but to assume that he has found and killed you both.” Celestia regretfully said as she could feel their fears. It wasn’t unwarranted, to be told to track and follow a dragon that killed its kin while also being told that there wouldn’t be a recovery team to collect their bodies. The two agents looked at each other before nodding. “We understand your highness. We’ll find and follow him, no matter what.” Tempest Shadow proudly said as Bon Bon nodded. The rulers of day and night smiled as they gathered their magic. “We believe that he has entered the Bad Lands, seeing as it would be the nearest place for dragons to live and that is where we will be sending you. Any more questions?” “No ma’am!” With their final words spoken, the Alicorns teleported them to their mission site. Celestia knew it was wrong, but she needed to be blunt with them so that they fully understood what their assignment truly meant. Because at the end of the day, Acnologia wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if he was given a reason to do so. …Not that he would need one
The Closet of Cursed Skeletal KnowledgeTwilight and Ember appeared just outside the Dragon Lands. It was the place that everyone was visiting, the place they kept returning to. It was, after all, the epicenter for everything that was happening. From Garble’s mental breakdown to two agents being called to track down the culprit, and finally Starlight’s choice of choosing to take Nightmare Moon’s offer. Not that she knew of the last two, but she was growing more nervous as the days went on. Twilight audibly gulped as she surveyed her surroundings. She managed to swallow the bile that had been gathering in her throat, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t ready to throw up her breakfast if she saw something that broke her. Ember kept a stoic look on her face, managing to herself together as she pressed forward. “Come on Twilight. My Dad’s den isn’t too far from here, and we’ll get there faster if we fly.” Ember didn’t wait as she took off to the skies, forcing the alicorn to catch up with her. Twilight didn’t need to ask the dragon lord to know that she was just keeping up a mask. A mask that was hiding what she was truly feeling, a mask that she didn’t want to break, a mask that Twilight knew all too well. There had been a few times when Twilight had hidden her emotions or what she was truly feeling from others, not because she wanted to hinder them with her problems, but because she didn’t want to seem weak in front of her friends. Still, Twilight knew that there was a time and place for everything, but not now. The duo silently flew across the dead kingdom, doing their best not to be distracted by the corpses. However, they still had some good looks of them, looks that would haunt them for a few days as they continued their flight. Ember said nothing, choosing not to address the situation as she signaled for Twilight to descend. Following her, Twilight saw a large den that led underground. She figured that for Torch’s size, he would have chosen a place on top of a mountain to oversee the other dragons. Ember saw her confusion and explained that her father preferred being underground because it was closer to the lava, making his den warmer than most others. “Here we are. Don’t take anything without asking, put whatever you find back where you found it, and don’t touch his treasure.” Ember immediately laid out the ground rules as Twilight slowly nodded. She didn’t know why Ember thought that she would take things belonging to her deceased father, especially with Ember present, but she kept quiet and chalked it up to Ember dealing with the loss of her father. The two went in separate directions, entering different parts of the den as Torch apparently kept things separated. Twilight respected that as she entered his bedroom, while Ember inspected his treasure room. Exactly like Ember said, Torch’s room was warm, almost hot enough that Twilight could’ve fallen asleep if she really wanted to. But she didn’t, Twilight knew that she had a job to do and that was to find anything of importance or something that would seem out of place in a dragon’s den. Twilight lifted various objects and moved them around to find anything, even lifting Torch’s sleeping rocks but she came up empty hoofed. After putting everything away, Twilight sighed as she gave the room another look. Everything looked as though it belonged, nothing was out of place, and nothing screamed ‘I definitely don’t believe here’. Twilight was about to leave when the realization came to her, she was looking for whatever didn’t seem right instead of looking at what already existed. Smirking to herself, Twilight magically scanned the room, something she should’ve done in the first place, to search for any magical objects. And, just like she thought, she found something. What she thought to be a unique dark stone ball, was actually a lacrima that had a transformation placed on it. While she was happy that she found something, it suddenly struck her as odd how it could’ve been transformed for a few reasons. One of the reasons was that Dragons couldn’t use magic, and even if they could, transformation magic was very advanced, even for her. While she couldn’t have known how long Torch had this lacrima transformed, she was impressed that he knew magic in general. “Hey, Ember! Come in here I found a lacrima.” Twilight shouted as the dragon quickly flew in. She didn’t find anything in his treasure room, but she was confused after hearing and now seeing the lacrima. “That’s weird. Dragons have no use for lacrimas because we can’t use them for anything.” Ember explained as Twilight replied how she had found it. Now with both of them confused, Twilight grasped the orb in her magic and quickly figured out that this was a recording lacrima with footage. She turned and placed the orb onto the rock bed before giving a glance to Ember, who nodded as the alicorn turned her attention back to the lacrima and started to play its contents with her magic. Torch’s image appeared, staring down at whoever was using the lacrima before speaking. “To whoever finds this, although it should be my daughter Ember, I am going to tell you an ancient piece of history veiled in darkness, one that is no longer whispered, one that no longer exists in present times. When I first became Dragon Lord so long ago, I was told the tale of Acnologia, the first Dragon King, a being whose very existence epitomizes horror and atrocity, and embodies death and destruction beyond mortal comprehension. Long before the era of Equestria, perhaps even before the unification, in a world far removed from our own, Acnologia existed. But he was no ordinary creature; he was a dragon of unparalleled might and insatiable thirst for destruction. Acnologia's scales were as black as the void itself, and his presence instilled fear into anyone who encountered him. On Earthland, where magic flows like a river, Acnologia wrought havoc upon all creatures. His lust for destruction drove him to slaughter indiscriminately, leaving behind a trail of devastation wherever he went. With each village razed and each life snuffed out, Acnologia's name grew, becoming a nightmare whispered in fear-filled tones. But there was something that truly set Acnologia apart from other dragons, and it was his insidious nature. Unlike other dragons who revered their kin and, admittedly, somewhat respected the balance of the world, Acnologia harbored a twisted desire to eradicate all dragons, viewing them as nothing more than lowly vermin. With unparalleled ruthlessness, he hunted down dragon after dragon, reveling in their demise as he bathed in their blood and grew stronger with each dragon that he killed and consumed.” Twilight paused the recording as she turned to Ember, who had been trying to force down her anger. Twilight knew that the room had gotten warmer, and it wasn’t from the lava underneath them. “Ember, are you–” “Keep going! I want to hear what else he has to say.” Ember interrupted, causing Twilight to flinch before deciding to comply with her wishes. “Even those well-versed in magic couldn’t harm him, and everyone trembled at the mere mention of Acnologia's name. His strength knew no bounds, and his cruelty knew no mercy. Entire civilizations fell before him, their people scattered like leaves before a storm. For Acnologia, there was only joy in destruction and satisfaction in mass genocide. But then…he vanished, and there was no trace of him. No one knew what happened to him, not that they cared. Many optimistically thought that he was killed, that someone ended his reign of chaos and destruction, others thought that he grew bored and left Earthland itself, but it was never proven. But from what I could gather of this piece of dark history, of his overwhelming strength, it was that his power knew no equal, and his wrath knew no limits. Eventually, he seemingly faded from the world. By the time my daughter Ember was a little drake, Acnologia no longer existed. His name, power, and very being were gone from the mouth of every creature. How this came to be…I do not know. But for better or worse, no one would live in fear of Dragon King Acnologia again.” Torch finished his thought with a sigh of relief. While he may have been pleased with the outcome, Ember and Twilight weren’t. They were furious that Torch hadn’t informed anyone of Acnologia’s destruction or informed anyone that he once existed. “The moment the tale was done, once everything had been processed through me, I abolished the Dragon King’s festival for it had a different meaning, and changed my title from King to Lord. No one, not even the elders themselves, could force a reason out of me. And with the very little magic that I possessed, I wiped the memories of the younger generation while forcing the rest under an oath to never speak of it. None were too happy with my decision, but I knew that deep down inside them all, they were grateful. Grateful that no youngling would ever have to fear or learn the name Acnologia, to cower beneath his shadow as he flew across the skies, or most importantly, live in fear for when he would come and kill them. However, at the time this is being recorded, I have felt a disturbance in the balance of magic, a stirring of ancient powers. And with it comes the haunting specter of Acnologia's looming presence. He will soon find us, the remaining living elders know this, and they know that there isn’t much we can do to stop him. I have chosen to keep this a secret, for the sole purpose of ignorance. I’m well aware of the stupidity that this is, but sometimes ignorance is indeed bliss, and this is one of those times.” Torch paused with a solemn look on his face. The watchers could tell that even he wasn’t happy with the decision, looking regretful, but Twilight knew that leaders made the tough decisions because no one else could. Even if others don’t agree with it, it was a decision that Torch and Torch alone made. “Ember, my daughter, if you are watching this, I’m sorry for the secret. Knowing how you were as a little salamander, then as old as you probably are right now watching this, you’re probably containing your anger before burning down my den, and I’m alright with that. Just know that I’ve always loved you, and I always will.” Torch proudly spoke as Ember was slightly shaking, but she made no sound as Torch continued, this time sounding more serious with a look to match.“However, there is one more creature aside from Acnologia that you must be wary of, a creature whose darkness extends into every crack and crevice across the land and could swallow the world whole if given the chance to do so. He is one of the few creators of countless dark magic spells, a being who wished to conquer all of what would be Equestria and beyond. And that creature is—” The lacrima ceased its recording. Twilight went to figure out what was wrong with it and discovered that it had simply finished. “I guess it stopped recording when Torch ran out of magic to supply it.” Twilight spoke aloud, mainly to herself as she knew that Ember was going through a multitude of emotions. Ember couldn’t hide her sniffles as she requested Twilight to take the lacrima and leave the den, wanting to be alone. Twilight did as she was asked and left, deciding to get her own thoughts and emotions together. Twilight focused on her thoughts and ignored the sudden shouting, breaths of fire, and objects being destroyed. “Torch knew about Acnologia when he first became Dragon Lord but wasn’t alive during his reign. So it must’ve been a century or a little more after Acnologia vanished when Torch was at least born and at most a young teen, and only after another century or two did he become Dragon Lord.” Twilight hypothesized the beginning of Torch’s life as she heard the falling of a few rocks. She turned her head towards the sound and saw Ember coming out of the den. Despite her eyes being somewhat red she had calmed down considerably after her outburst. “Hey, Twilight. I-I wanted to say I’m sorry for giving you the colder shoulder and seeming rude earlier.” Ember started apologizing, as Twilight focused her attention on her. “I couldn’t handle seeing everyone here dead, and I didn’t know how to express that without breathing fire or challenging you to a strength contest. So instead, I reverted back to my old self, being closed off and not wanting to deal with anyone and focus on the task at hand.” Ember finished as she held her head down, upset about everything since they first arrived. “There’s no need to apologize. I understand that you’re frustrated and upset about everything, and I guess after seeing the recording that Torch left only amplified that. But bottling up your emotions doesn’t help you deal with them, it just keeps festering until you snap and it can affect you in so many different ways.” Twilight explained as Ember gave a slight smirk. However, it slowly faded as she placed her eyes on the lacrima. “So…what do you make of this? While my dad kept Acnologia a secret so dragons didn’t live in fear of him, he should’ve told Celestia at the very least. And I’ve never heard of the Dragon King’s festival, and if I had to guess, my dad changed his title so that he wasn’t associated with Acnologia. He’s proud like that.” “But that means that this festival was something that Acnologia created or was a part of. Although to hear that he’s ended entire civilizations wasn’t terrifying enough, Torch confirmed my suspicions that Acnologia is durable against magic. I don’t know how someone who has committed such atrocities could simply vanish off the face of the earth without a peep and then be completely forgotten to history with only Torch and few elder dragons being in the known.” Twilight replied as the two sat down in thought. They had gained a massive amount of useful information about the forgotten past, and just how much Acnologia had truly destroyed. “...There’s still one more big thing. My dad said that there was one more creature to be careful for. Some creature of darkness, one that has created countless dark spells. Know anyone that fits that description?” Ember asked as Twilight pondered on her question. While the candidates for known powerful users of dark magic were big, the creators of those spells weren’t. There was only one known creator of countless dark spells and he no longer exists on Earth Land. The others were completely unheard of, although Twilight knew that there was one pony who had truly gone into the deep end of dark magic. “The only pony that comes to mind is King Sombra. But not only is he currently dead, he couldn’t have been around from such a long time ago, and he would’ve needed to deal with Acnologia to be the ruler of anything…” “I sense a ‘but’ coming along.” Twilight smiled at Ember’s banter. “...But that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t have an idea as to who Torch is talking about. While it’s safe to assume that he’s self-taught, he must’ve had someone teach him a few things, and with how powerful Sombra is, his hypothetical teacher must be one of these creators. The two issues we have, however, is that we have no clue who this creature could be or if they’re even alive. And the second is that Sombra is dead, so we couldn’t ask him anyways, unless…” Twilight went quiet at her idea, and Ember picked up on it. She easily recognized that tone, one that suggested doing something pretty bad and idiotic. She had heard the same tone from her father from the lacrima, and Ember couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed at Twilight’s suggestion. “Twilight, you aren’t actually thinking that we should…revive King Sombra, right?” “Honestly, I don’t think we have a choice. Discord and Tirek may have been alive longer than Celestia and Luna, but neither actually uses dark magic outright. I can’t think of any other pony or creature that could help us while being so divulged in dark magic, but even if everyone else somehow agrees with me, I don’t have the power to bring him back to life, much less know-how.” Twilight explained as she sighed. This had been more stressful than she would’ve imagined, more so than she would’ve liked, but her life had been thrown for a loop since she came to Ponyvile. Reviving Sombra had more cons than pros, and this was based on the factor that not only IF Sombra had a master in the first place but if he would even tell them. “Ughhh!!! Why can’t any of this just make some sense!?!?!” “Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?” Discord’s voice echoed around the two as they jumped at suddenly hearing the Chaos God’s voice. Discord chuckled as a wooden coffin sprung up from the ground, with the casket falling to the floor revealing the draconequus. He stepped out and took a deep breath of fresh air before snapping his talons, making the coffin vanish before floating over next to Twilight “Reviving King Sombra? Now there’s an idea that would bring a good amount of chaos. If I hadn’t been reformed, then I might have gone and done just that.” Discord joked as he found even more amusement seeing Ember’s bewildered face. Even though Twilight had grown used to him popping in and out at any given time, he took great pride in getting the drop on her like he just did. “H-How long have you been here!?” Twilight asked as Discord replied since she found Torch’s lacrima. Apparently, he had grown bored hanging around Fluttershy’s house after Starlight, Spike, and Kuro showed up, and when learning where Twilight had gone to he decided to third wheel the adventure. “Wait a minute, you said that would revive Sombra for the chaos. So then…could you bring back King Sombra?” Twilight asked, still skeptical if this is what she really wanted, and Discord picked up on that. “While it wouldn’t take me long to revive him it wouldn’t be with a snap of my talons or paw. Even so, I think asking Celestia and Luna about this would be a smart decision. We don’t want to revive him and then he escapes, thus adding another major problem on top of Acnologia.” Discord explained as Twilight was dumbstruck at how well thought out Discord’s reasoning was. She had expected him to revive him and have her and her friends deal with him and the consequences that would obviously follow. “Y-You’re right. I shouldn’t just have you revive Sombra without some form of plan to contain him. And Princesses Celestia and Luna would be really angry with me if I did it without consulting them first.” “They still might be angry with you for even thinking about it. But Discord, if you could bring Sombra back to life then could you…” Ember asked before gesturing to the corpses around her. Her eyes were filled with hope, nearly getting on her knees and begging, pleading to the chaos god to do what was impossible… Bringing the dead back to life with no drawbacks, with no consequences. But Discord shook his head, his words shattering Ember’s hope. “I’m sorry but I can’t. It’s not a matter of me not having the power to do so, but it’s more complicated than you think. The first thing is that a portion of their soul is gone, if they were brought back they would be a shadow of their former selves. Others are their bodies, some are destroyed beyond recognition that I wouldn’t know how they used to look. And another reason is another matter entirely, but you get my point.” Discord explained, but Ember had tuned him out when he said he couldn’t. If a being like Discord couldn’t bring her subjects back, she knew they were gone forever. But she had accepted this, knowing that even if they could be brought back, Acnologia would just kill them again. For some reason or another, Twilight felt that something was wrong about Discord’s final unnamed reason. He loved being cryptic and keeping things to himself, which was quite normal for when he was scheming something, but this time it felt different. Like he was purposely trying to keep this reason hidden despite bringing it up. But she ignored it, for now at least, and focused on the matter at hoof. “C’mon then. Let’s go tell the princesses our idea and what we’ve learned.” “Ah! I’m so glad you used that noggin of yours and saw it my way…oh, and by the way, they’ve already been informed.” Twilight did a double-take at Discord’s words before her anxiety started settling in. She was frozen in shock as Discord chuckled, making the alicorn shake her head and glare at him as she snapped. “How!? This conversation just happened! King Sombra’s revival wasn’t even a thought until we saw Torch’s lacrima! So how the fuck could they know about it when this was just decided!?” Twilight roared, cursing at the draconequus as her magic flared, demanding to know the answer. Discord’s grin widened at her rage before outstretched his left hand, and with his right, he brought it down in a down like a curtain and revealed a live-fed lacrima. Twilight froze again, realizing that they had been watching the entire time. That had also meant that she had been heard cursing, which wasn’t wrong as she had done so a few times before, but she had never cursed in front of her mentor. “This, Twilight Sparkle, is how the ‘fuck’ we knew.” Luna seriously spoke with a cold glare as Twilight’s ears folded back and she gave a nervous chuckle. “We will be expecting you, Ember, and Discord in the throne room immediately. Where we will discuss Sombra, Torch’s secret, and the uncouth mouth of a young princess whose anger is unjustified!” Luna roared at the end, making Twilight flinch downward as she didn’t meet her gaze. What made it worse was Celestia’s silence, not speaking a word before she sighed. “Do not be late. And do not hold them up Discord, this secret that Torch has kept must be discussed at once.” Celestia finished before the fed ended. Ember gave a nervous chuckle, realizing that she was right about the two rulers being angry. She felt somewhat embarrassed since they had heard her throwing a tantrum and destroying her father’s den. “Well, at least they’ll hear you out, right?” Ember tried lighting the mood with a joke, but it fell flat as Twilight ignored her. She took great pride in making Celestia proud of her, but today wasn’t one of those times. Instead, she gave a defeated look to Discord who snapped his talons, teleporting them all to the throne room of the palace where Celestia and Luna had been waiting. “Pr-Princesses…nice weather we're having?” Twilight tried to start the conversation, seeing their stern looks but suddenly jumped at the sound of booming thunder. Taking a glance out the window, she saw heavy rainfall, with lightning dancing across the skies and thunder accompanying it. “No Twilight, the weather is not good. Twilight, for what reason did you yell and curse at Discord? I’m not disappointed about the cursing, just disappointed that you would do such a thing over a matter that we would’ve known about sooner.” Celestia asked as Twilight didn’t respond right away. She knew that she was stressed about everything, with Spike’s safety being one of her priorities along with dealing with Acnologia. “I’m sorry, and I’m sorry to you too Discord. It's just hearing Torch’s confession made me come to conclusions and ideas that I was ready to enact if Discord didn’t talk me out of it. And when he revealed that you had been watching alongside us, I guess I had a brief meltdown.” Twilight explained herself as Celestia and Luna were silent. Their gazes turned to Discord, who was sitting on a floating throne ignoring the situation as they looked at each other and nodded. “Well, seeing as how Discord doesn’t seem offended in any way I assume that he doesn’t care. While I don’t want to brush past your current stress Twilight, or your use of profanity during your outbursts, we need a plan of action. First things, first, is the supposed resurrection of King Sombra. Naturally, not only is this a bad idea, but Cadence and Shining Armor will be greatly opposed to this. Not unless we find a way that ensures his cooperation while still maintaining our morals.” Celestia opened the floor to suggestions as they all were in deep thought, except for Discord. As he lazily hovered in the air he noticed how Luna seemed conflicted, almost as though she had an answer but was unsure of it. “What’s got you troubled Luna dear?” Discord asked, appearing wrapped around her neck as he stared at her with puppy dog eyes. Luna glared and shook him off, but it was nothing but a ruse as she now had everyone’s attention. “Nothing troubles thyself, but thou ought to keep off of we less you prefer another Stone Age.” Luna snarled as Celestia narrowed her eyes. Luna had a habit of speaking in old dialect when she was nervous, angry, or upset. Even when she would correct herself midway through her speech, Celestia knew that she would need to be tactful in addressing her. “Well, Luna, do you have any thoughts on dealing with Sombra?” “…I do, but it requires Sombra to be present, and knowing what this entails and how Sombra is he won’t hesitate to agree with my plan.” Luna replied, knowing that this was Discord’s intention all along. She wouldn’t reveal what she had planned, she made that clear to everyone present before asking about where Sombra would be brought back. “Well he’s left a piece of his essence near the Crystal Empire’s cave systems. I could easily bring him back from there, but he will need to be contained, which is where Cadence and Armor come in. Just long enough for Luna to do what she intends to.” Discord explained as he drank the glass cup that contained chocolate milk before snapping away the solid-liquid. Twilight stared at him as she once again found something wrong with Discord’s ending response. She knew that he wasn’t omniscient, but Discord had always kept track of and knew about the events that took place in Ponyville. He also had a knack for knowing things that took place in the far future, but he rarely brought them up and when he did he never elaborated on it. This was the second time he brought something up and didn’t fully explain himself, but she couldn’t force an answer out of him until whatever he was talking about came to fruition. Despite his chaotic nature, Discord was far smarter than he made himself out to be, and sometimes Twilight wondered if he was more serious if he could take over Earth Land itself. “Since we have a plan, I guess we’ll need the others as well. We also need to convince the rulers of the Crystal Empire.” Ember spoke up as Celestia reluctantly nodded. That wasn’t going to be a smooth conversation, and she really hoped that Cadence and Shining would at least hear them out. The only problem they would have if they refused their current plan was making a new one, but it was more time that they were wasting while Acnologia wandered the land unwatched. “Let us be off then. We’ll get Twilight’s friends and then set out for the Crystal Empire. If we properly explain the gravity of the situation, they may be willing to take the chance. Court shall be suspended till our return, and Blueblood will need to be left in charge for the time being, seeing as he’s the only other royalty around and someone that’s capable of running the country.” “Is he really our only choice?” Twilight asked as she was now concerned for Equestria. Celestia assured that, despite his personality, Blueblood was certainly capable of running Equestria for a day or two while they were away. He did have the political skills to do so, although she would leave him quite restricted in what he could actually do and how much power his words could carry. “I guess there's no choice. I’m delaying us enough as it is with my anxiety over everything.” Twilight thought to herself as she nodded before Celestia summoned a piece of parchment and ink. She quickly wrote a letter and sent it away to Spike, briefly describing the details before she did the same thing but sent it to Cadence instead. “Alright, I’ve told Spike to gather everyone and be ready at the train station while informing Cadence that we’re heading over there. I’ll have Raven inform Blueblood of his temporary ruling of Equestria while we are away.” Celestia elaborated as she sat up from her throne and headed for the doors with everyone else following. Celestia had taken many chances in her life, some of them paid off while others hadn’t, with Discord’s reformation being one of the best gambles she had ever taken. But counting on King Sombra of all ponies to help them with anything would be the biggest gamble of her life, knowing full well that many things could go wrong with the Dark King’s revival. “Luna…I hope that you know what you’re doing with this plan of yours, because if it fails then Sombra will be another problem on the board. A board that cannot handle any more large pieces for there is a King that dominates half the board by himself with no army or allies by his side. Adding Sombra will not only break it…but it creates a power clash between two kings who have no problem with destroying the world.”
The Dark King’s RevivalThe train ride to the Crystal Empire was a silent one. Celestia told everyone else that she would explain the plan when Cadence and Shining were present, not wanting to repeat herself and for everyone to be on the same page. She had even offered to Twilight to take the blame for the idea of Sombra’s revival, but she was denied for Twilight wanted to take responsibility. If someone was going to get yelled at for wanting the revival of a tyrannical king, then it was going be directed at Twilight Sparkle. The train soon arrived at the Crystal Empire as the large group departed and were greeted by the Empire’s guard. The head guard explained that Cadence and Shining had been busy with preparations for their arrival and had sent the guard to escort them to the palace. Celestia thanked them as they walked through the streets, passing by and greeting the crystal ponies who bowed in respect and smiled in awe at their presence. However, those fears were pushed aside when they noticed that Spike wasn’t with Twilight. While they wouldn’t know the reason, Spike had stayed behind so that he could help Starlight with something because she would be teleporting to the kingdom after finishing a small but quick project. Once again, she didn’t tell anyone what she was doing, but with so much on her mind, Twilight didn’t question her and simply told her to be at the empire with Spike the moment she was done with what she was doing. The group soon arrived at the palace where Cadance and Shining greeted them. The guards left as the rulers of the empire led them to a dining hall where Sunburst, who was joining them, had been waiting. They all sat down and had a few minutes of idle chatter before Celestia cleared her throat and slightly raised her voice. “While this has been a nice chat, I’m afraid we’ve all come here for a far more serious matter. And this time, while it doesn’t directly involve Acnologia, it does come around to him. However, this is all coming from Twilight, so you can start anytime you would like my dear.” Celestia became quiet and let Twilight become the center of attention as the young Alicorn gulped. This wasn’t going to go well, no matter how many times she replayed the current situation in her head Twilight knew that there was no win situation in this, but she was still going to try. “Thank you, Princess. As she said, this is something that requires serious thought. And I want you all to hear me out before interrupting me with objections because I know they’ll exist. “Twilight started as they all raised a brow, suddenly confused and worried about Twilight’s demeanor. “About maybe an hour ago, me and Ember returned to the Dragon Lands to her father’s den, it’s where we discovered a hidden lacrima where he gave a brief history lesson on Acnologia. And suffice to say, it was certainly something.” Twilight gave a summary of what she and Ember learned as everyone gained sick feelings in their stomachs. None were too happy with Torch’s decision, which was to be expected, but Sunburst pointed out the other threat that was mentioned aside from Acnologia. “I was just getting to that. You see, more creatures use dark magic than the known creators. Although, not even Discord is that well-versed in that form of magic, and there’s only one pony in known history who can be called a master of Dark magic. And that…is King Sombra.” The moment Twilight spoke his name, she could feel the room get colder. The guards that had been situated in the room had grown stiff and slowly started shaking, as did Fluttershy and Rarity. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were quite shocked, staring at Twilight as they started to wonder where she was going with this. As for Cadence and Shining, their shocked faces were slowly replaced with a harsh look. “And what does King Sombra have to do with this, Twilight?” Shining coldly asked as Twilight shivered. He rarely used her actual name unless he was being serious or was angry at her, and the latter was quite rare. And the tone that he spoke in was something that Twilight found a little intimidating. “W-Well, we know that Sombra couldn’t have been alive during Acnologia’s reign, so he couldn’t be one that Torch was talking about. And a-assuming that Sombra has a master who taught him his magic, a possible creator, well I was thinking that we could…have Discord revive Sombra.” Twilight’s spoke in the same manner that Fluttershy normally does, nearly being unheard. But she was heard, everyone who hadn’t already known heard her, and they all were deathly quiet. Despite their ears devouring Twilight’s words, their minds didn’t fully process it until Cadence slammed her hooves on the table. “YOU WHAT!? You want to revive one of the most dangerous beings in existence on a mere ASSUMPTION!?” Cadence roared with the royal voice as she glared hard at her sister-in-law, who currently had her ears folded back. Before she could properly explain herself, Cadence continued. “This isn’t just some experiment! This is a pony who has killed this nation’s first ruler, enslaved the crystal ponies, and sealed them away for a millennium! A pony whose dark powers rival both Celestia and Luna, a pony who’s so cunning and schemes so brilliantly that not even Chrysalis could outsmart him! And what’s even worse is that you believe that King Sombra would help us! He’d sooner bring back the first ruler of the Crystal Empire than help us!” Cadence finished as she was breathing quite heavily. The table itself had gained a few cracks from her shouting, and a few other objects had shattered due to the brief release of her magical power. Even though she wasn’t all that much of a fighter, Cadence still possessed an absurd amount of magical power because she was an alicorn. Cadane’s rage wasn’t unwarranted, as Twilight’s friends gave her a disappointed look. This was, in their eyes, the stupidest thing that she’d ever thought of. Twilight would always think things through, it was one of her best qualities, although they wondered if she had even heard herself “...L-Look I-I know how it sounds. But there’s no other creature who’s adept in dark magic like Sombra is. And there’s no book I can read that’ll tell me who Torch was talking about. He’s our only choice, and Princess Luna has a plan to keep him in line. Isn’t that right?” Twilight explained as she looked over to Luna, hoping for some assistance. Luna knew that she would be brought up, but now she was needed to calm things down and help take the raging flames off of Twilight’s flank. “Indeed. However, not only would we like your approval for his revival, but Sombra himself would need to go along with what I have in mind. We would also have you and Shining Armor to keep him confined to an area to prevent his escape. And, as you have said with his intellectual prowess, he wouldn’t have much of a choice but to go along with what I have planned.” Luna explained as Cadance released a breath. She was not in the mood for this, and her anger only slightly went down with Luna’s plan. Still, she needed Twilight to know just how seriously angry she was with her. “You wish to bring back someone who has caused nothing but pain and suffering to my subjects. Someone who will not hesitate to do and use whatever means necessary to win. I thought you were smarter than this, Twilight.” Twilight looked towards the cracked table as she wiped the forming tears in her eyes. She knew it wouldn’t go well, but this was far worse than she imagined. Being berated by her former foalsitter was new, but Twilight couldn’t let this get to her, not now anyway. “Please, I need you both to trust me. Sombra isn’t going to be able to break free of a shield spell from both of you, especially if me, Celestia, and Sunburst help you strengthen it. I don’t like it as much as you do, but Sombra is our only choice to figure out who Torch was referring to. And once we figure out who it is, we can prevent them from ever appearing and then properly deal with Sombra. I’m not asking you as a family member, but as another Princess of Equestria and on behalf of every creature who Acnologia has killed. Please, don’t let him add any more creatures to this massive death list that he’s created.” Twilight tried her hardest to convince them to trust her with this. Their expression remained the same, angry and cold. While she wasn’t giving up, she felt dejected as she excused herself from the table and left. Twilight walked the halls by herself as she let her body go on autopilot. She was heading to her room to be alone and escape everyone. She knew that her friends and family wanted some time to discuss and think about what she had proposed, and it would’ve been better without her there, she knew it. Twilight hadn’t felt like this since Celestia had threatened to return her to Canterlot for the Want-It-Need-It spell incident; losing her friends, the best thing that had ever happened to her, was one of her worst fears. Another fear was disappointing and failing others, and right now, she felt like both of those fears were slowly coming true. Soon enough the young alicorn arrived at her room and threw herself onto her bed. She didn’t cry, but Twilight felt exhausted. Deciding to get some rest, Twilight went to sleep and hopefully, by the time she woke up, Cadence and Shining would have agreed to follow her plan. Agents Tempest Shadow and Sweetie Drops traversed the Badlands in search of Acnologia. They were quite surprised when they couldn’t find the black dragon given that he was supposedly larger than Torch. But they knew that they were on his trail, it wasn’t that hard when his trail of bread crumbs was a trail of dragon corpses. “By the way, did you get any useful information out of that dragon in Ponyvile Hospital? I think his name was…Gabe or something.” “His name is Garble, and no I didn’t, more like I couldn’t.” Bon Bon replied as the two kept walking at a brisk pace. Feeling her partner’s eyes, Bon Bon continued. “I couldn’t get any information because he was transferred to the psych ward. He scarred a nurse with his talons when her tail brushed him. Probably PTSD from the dragon’s tail smacking him. He also scorched parts of his room when he saw a large shadow, thinking it to be Acnologia when there’s nothing there or places that he’s already burned. Finally, he nearly gouged out his eyes after experiencing hallucinations of seeing, according to him, a shadowy figure with red eyes looming over him with an outstretched limb reaching towards him. While not connected to Acnologia, it was enough for them to bind and muzzle him before throwing him into a padded room.” Bon Bon explained as she jumped over a dragon's tail. Tempest whistled and grimly chuckled, wondering how bad it was for Garble to experience first hoof. “Bad case of trauma for sure, but not the worst one I’ve heard. Either way, he’s gonna be there awhile until he’s mentally sane enough to recognize where he is.” Tempest replied as she pointed out a nearby cliffside. She suggested that they gain the high ground and use that to get a better view of the area. Her partner agreed and made their way over there, silently paying their respects to the murdered dragons they passed. The two climbed their way until they reached the top, choosing to take a break while surveying the vast area. No sighting of the Dragon King as Bon Bon sighed, wondering how they couldn’t find this dragon. He had no point in trying to hide himself, seeing as he had made his presence greatly known already. At the very least, she was going to appreciate the small break they were taking. “How are we supposed to track him? Now that I think about it, who’s to say that he hasn’t already flown away? If we assume that he has killed every dragon in this land already, then he could have already left for another part of Earthland and we wouldn’t know.” Bon Bon spoke as she pulled out some food and started eating. She shared some with Tempest who thanked her as the two ate in silence, wondering what they would do if Acnologia had left these cursed lands. Tempest turned her head to the outskirts, intending to start a new conversation when something strange caught her eye. “...What is that?” Bon Bon turned her head to where Tempest was looking and raised a brow at the cloaked bideal creature. They assumed it to be a young minotaur, but the lack of fur, horns, tail, and hooves had thrown that assumption out the window. Even the height difference was notable, as the creature they were staring at was just a few inches shorter than even a teenage minotaur much less a grown adult. But no matter how long they stared at it, the answer never came to them, although they did wish to see how it properly looked underneath its cloak. “Never seen anything like that before. Have any idea as to what it could be?” Tempest asked as Bon Bon narrowed her eyes before pulling out binoculars, trying to get a better view. As she watched it, she was grateful for the strong wind that passed by them, and the creature in turn, which revealed dark skin with blue tattoos and a muscular upper body. Even with the new image, she couldn’t think of any creature in Equestria that she could definitely say that this is what he was. The longer she pondered on him, the more she examined his features, and she slowly started realizing what was before them. “...Human.” “What was that?” “It’s a human. L-Lyra, my marefriend, is always talking about them, and then there was that incident with Princess Celestia’s former student Sunset Shimmer when she took Twilight’s crown and left for the human world. It matches Lyra’s descriptions of them and Twilight’s report on her brief trip there. But humans don’t exist in Earthland unless they were just never discovered.” Bon Bon explained as the two simply watched him walk in the wasteland. They wondered who the hell he was, where he came from, and if there were other humans in the world. Still, it was quite strange that he was on a leisurely stroll in these lands, regardless of what creature he was. At that moment, the human stopped and suddenly around, forcing the two agents to hide themselves. Tempest had, despite her broken horn, quickly casted a camouflage spell to blend in with their surroundings. Even so, the human continued to stare at their hiding spot, almost as though he knew where they were hiding rather than seeing the activated spell. The agents slowed their breathing and returned the stare, and they immediately felt something wrong. “This doesn’t feel right. It’s like he knows exactly where we are, but he’s deciding if engaging us is worth his time.” Tempest whispered as Bon Bon agreed. They hoped that the human decided that they weren’t worth his time, not wanting to stray away from their mission to deal with an unknown creature with unknown abilities. However, to their surprise, a dragon had flown over them. The dragon created powerful rushing winds as it blasted past them, nearly sending them over the edge downward and into the wasteland below. The dragon had closed in on the human, releasing a powerful breath of fire on it. The two ponies had revealed themselves as they watched an undiscovered species being burnt to ashes. They were ready to do something when they were surprised to see the flames dispersing, seeing the human blocking it with one hand as he coldly glared at the dragon. Before they could blink, the human had torn the dragon in half. The ponies stared with their jaws open, not comprehending what had happened before them. Bon Bon snapped out of her shocked state first and slapped Tempest with her hoof, getting her back to her senses as she cast the camouflage spell once again. This time, however, they knew that the human couldn’t have known they existed as the dragon completely blocked them from the human’s sight. “What the hell was that?! I’ve never seen such brutality or monstrous strength from any creature in the world! He wasn’t even affected by the fire that was thrown at him; he shrugged it off like it was nothing!” Tempest yelled, having cast a soundproof spell, and Bon started recalling all the nonsense Lyra had constantly talked about. While she had never fully tuned her out, Bon Bon could admit that she wasn’t always fully giving her marefriend the attention she wanted when talking about humans. Yes, it was always a little much when she got on that train ride, but she loved her all the same. Turning her attention to the land below, Bon Bon needed to– Her heart skipped a beat. “...Te-Tempest, where’d he go?” Bon Bon whispered, stuttering for the first time in her life as an agent of S.M.I.L.E. The unicorn snapped her head to see what she was talking about, and low and behold, the human was gone. Sweat slowly poured down their faces as they felt a murderous presence behind them, being caught in what they knew to be the human’s shadow. He had found them. They didn’t know how, but he did, and now they started wondering what to do. The easiest solution was to kill him, uncaring for the newly discovered species for their lives were far more important. However, they didn’t know if that was feasible, at least for them, due to his durability against dragon fire and superior strength. Fear started creeping in for the first time in their lives, and they could feel his dark glare. “To think that there are creatures who still harbor dragons, and even live alongside them. How repulsive.” The human disgustingly spoke as Tempest decided to cease her spell, knowing that there was no point in keeping it up when he was addressing them. The ponies turned to face him, ready for a conversation, but it was a mistake as they found themselves unable to move. It took a moment, but the two realized that they were frozen with fear. There was no magic involved, this was nothing more than his overwhelming evil aura, and matters were made worse when he raised one of his arms and pointed a finger at them. Nothing else was said as he gathered his magic at the tip of his finger, making them aware of his intentions and the need to flee. But before they could, he released his charged spell, and their world turned black as they were blasted off the cliffside. Starlight had burst into the Castle of Friendship as she set her newly acquired phoenix care package off to the side and headed to her private study. It had taken her quite a bit of time to get everything on the list Fluttershy gave her, but she managed to get everything written down for her. She had set her sleeping Phoenix on top of his new perch while she thought over the day's events. Along the way, Starlight and Spike ran into Smolder, who hadn’t been herself since Garble’s admission into the psych ward. Her fiery personality had diminished to Fluttershy levels of timidity and quietness, as she had confined herself to the Crusaders clubhouse. She hardly ate, barely doing so even when food was brought to her, she also had never left the clubhouse either; gaining her brother’s fear of the Dragon King but not losing her sanity. Despite their vastly different fear levels, there was still enough for Smolder to hide than at least walk around the community of friendly ponies. Starlight had brought her along and placed her in Spike’s care while she finished up her plan. Nightmare Moon was the only known way, as of this moment, to give her the power needed to stand against Acnologia. Yes, Starlight knew the downsides to this, but she was powerful in her own right, and if Nightmare Moon’s powers amplified her own to be able to contend with Acnologia then she would get the nightmare under control as well. Starlight walked into her study and sealed the door shut. Nothing was getting in or out without her knowing or something forcefully breaking down the runes she put up; which were quite powerful. Starlight walked over to the book containing Nightmare Moon and opened it, letting the demon out of its home. The alicorn manifested itself in front of Starlight through dark blue mist, having a knowing smirk on her face. “Well well, I suppose you’ve come here for your decision, correct?” Nightmare Moon asked as Starlight narrowed her eyes. She was spot-on, but her smirk and the tone of her voice told Starlight that she already knew. Deciding to temporarily ignore that for now, she stared at her new power source and nodded. “Yes. When Twilight and Ember said that they were heading back to the Dragon Lands, it made me remember and truly realize what was happening. Acnologia is far stronger than we realize, and maybe even with the power you give me, it wouldn’t be enough to match him. But, if I can at least deal damage to him, it would be more than enough for everyone else to defeat him or seal him away.” Starlight confidently responded as Nightmare Moon raised a brow. She was impressed by how willing she was to delve into darkness if it meant helping others. It was also quite revolting as well, but she could look past that if it meant helping herself. “So be it then.” Nightmare Moon explained as she gathered a good portion of her magic. She promptly told her new host to gather her own magic and channel it to the tip of her horn. Starlight did as she was told as the room glowed a bright cyan blue and dark blue with Nightmare Moon casting a spell onto herself and Starlight. The dark blue glow slowly vanished as Starlight’s magic faded away, causing her to collapse to the ground. Starlight’s breath was slightly labored, but she was otherwise fine, at least that’s what she told herself. She got to her hooves and looked around, no longer seeing Nightmare Moon within the room nor did she sense her magic. Starlight became far more alert and went into a panic attack, knowing that Nightmare Moon was gone and it was completely her fault for trusting her. “What am I going to tell Twilight and the others!? That I thought trusting Nightmare Moon was a good idea!? And the reasoning was literally for more power, they’ll think I’ve turned on them and become evil again!! …WHAT WILL PRINCESS LUNA DO TO ME!?!?” “QUIET YOU BLUBBERING BAFFON!!” Starlight screamed as she stumbled over her hooves and fell back onto the floor. Shaking her head, Starlight looked around, expecting to see the alicorn somewhere in the room when she heard a snort. From her mind. “Ar-Are you–?” “Yes, I’m inside your mind. I’ve cast an ancient spell, in reverse with some modifications, and made you the host of myself.” Nightmare Moon explained as Starlight created a mirror. She was expecting to see some difference in her appearance, but she saw nothing until her eyes became cyan blue with slits, causing her to gasp. “Let it be known that I can manifest myself if I so choose, and even take control, although not only does the latter require me to have significant magic, but for you to have a weakened mind. Well, unless you give me control willingly.” “Which won’t be happening.” “I’m fully aware of that. But still, regardless, you will be able to use my magic while your magical power increases. For now, I will rest while you do whatever you please. Whether that be casting Eternal Night over the world or…helping Twilight Sparkle, is your decision.” Nightmare Moon finished as the slits from Starlight’s eyes vanished. The unicorn waited for her new tenant to say something else, but silence was what she was greeted with. As much as she wanted to experiment with her newfound magic, Starlight was needed at the Crystal Empire along with Spike. Starlight quickly turned to the doors and galloped out to find Spike and set out to the Crystal Empire for whatever Twilight had planned. From the mirror that was created, Starlight didn’t notice how her appearance flashed to a darker version of herself. And in time, she will know whether the choice she made was a beneficial or detrimental one. “TWILIGHT!!” “AHHH!!” Twilight screamed and fell out of her bed. She groaned in pain before glaring at Rainbow Dash, who had a sheepish grin on her face as she apologized. The pegasus didn’t let her get a word out as she grabbed her front hooves and started dragging her out of the room. “C’mon, you lazy bum! You’ve slept all morning and Cadence and Shining have decided, and you need to be present to hear it!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she lifted her friend off her hooves and flew off back to the dining room. Twilight stopped her struggles, although she managed to convince her friend to let her go as she flew alongside her. This was the moment she was waiting for, to see if they were going to be reviving one of the greatest dangers to help them deal with, arguably, a bigger threat. They entered the dining room, where everyone was waiting for them along with Starlight and Spike, who had teleported in a few moments before Rainbow had gone to retrieve Twilight. They had only been given a brief explanation of what was happening, and Sombra’s name made them pay attention to what was about to occur. Twilight, while nervous, confidently stood in front of her relatives and fellow rulers, ready to hear their decision. “Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and my sister-in-law. You’ve come here today with the notion that King Sombra’s revival, a tyrant who has enslaved the citizens of this kingdom, might be able to assist us with the possible knowledge of a being whose dark powers label him as a creator of dark magic and is on par with Acnologia’s destructiveness.” Cadence professionally re-explained and summarized as Twilight firmly nodded, taking into account how she wasn’t labeling anything as facts. “By Princess Luna’s account, she has a way of getting him to cooperate, although it is not a definitive victory for us. Still, I will give this the benefit of the doubt and say that Luna knows what she is doing. However, there is one thing that I want to hear from you, Twilight.” “Anything.” “Then I want you to solemnly swear, that you will take responsibility for keeping Sombra in line, with help of course, and watch what he does. You will also take responsibility in the actions he may cause, whether they somehow benefit us or most likely harm us, will befall on to you. Do you swear this, on your title as a princess and of royal status?” “I solemnly swear that I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and I alone, will take whatever punishment you choose for whatever crimes King Sombra commits.” Twilight swore as Celestia and Luna were silently impressed. While they had expected Twilight to promise this, they hadn’t expected such a royal swear to receive punishment from her own relatives. Cadence gave a quiet sigh, giving a small glance to her husband who smiled and nodded. “Then as Princess of the Crystal Empire, I, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, with her husband Prince Shining Amor, hereby allow the revival of King Sombra.” Cadence finished as she felt a tight hug from Twilight. She gave a soft smile and draped one of her wings over her, reconciling the hug as felt a few tears on her neck. She knew that she was a little harsh with her, and while justified, it had taken an unconventional emotional toll on her. “I’m sorry for earlier, Twilight. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, but hearing Sombra’s name and your plan made me see red and took it out on you. Again, I’m really sorry.” Cadence whispered as she wiped Twilight’s tears. She had forgotten how emotional Twilight could get when it came to authority figures, ones that she greatly respected, berating her for something she had done wrong. Twilight accepted as she got herself together, managing a smile as she looked at Discord. The draconequus gleefully smiled before snapping his talons, bringing everyone to a large cave system. He snapped his talons again, placing the ponies and two dragons in certain positions; such as Celestia, Sunburst, Cadence, Shining, Starlight, and Twilight near a wall. He then placed Luna right next to him, while placing everyone else behind a barrier. “Well, let’s get started!” Discord excitedly said as he held a stick in his hands, with no one knowing where he obtained it from, and drew a circle. The circle glowed a bright blue with runes that none of the ponies had ever seen before being on the inside edge he drew a straight line across before drawing an ‘M’, all of which glowed a brilliant blue. Immediately after, a dark crystal sprouted from the ground as a swirl of shadows followed it floating upward with a red horn emerging along with bright green eyes and purple wisps on the side. Discord suddenly waved his hand, warped the cave around them, significantly making it ten times larger, and placed those behind the barrier on their own little floating island. Then, for ponies that were going to contain Sombra, he separated them into different sections. With Celestia, Starlight, and Twilight on one side, with Cadence, Shining, and Sunburst on the other side. Despite their initial confusion, they all got on guard when Sombra appeared, maniacally laughing before setting his eyes on Luna. “Well well, now what do we have here? I wasn’t brought back to life for idle chatter unless you wish to have a rematch from 1,000 years ago?” Sombra taunted, not paying anyone else any mind before casting a glance at the two current rulers. “Hn, and to think that the current rulers would grace me with their love sickening presence. Along with so many new potential slaves, I am quite touched by the gifts you have given me upon my revival.” “My friends and family are not and never will be your slaves. And if I remember correctly, I won that battle between us before you sealed away the Crystal Empire.” Luna countered, but Sombra laughed. He wasn’t afraid of her, although, with the sudden barrier placed around them, he became very cautious. Despite his taunting, Sombra knew that there was a reason as to why he was brought back to life, and he was going to know why. “So then, why have you brought me back to life?” “You’ve been brought back for the sole purpose of helping Earth Land. According to a source, there is a being that can be considered to be a creator of dark magic, one who will engulf this world in darkness should he be released.” Luna started as she and Sombra started circling each other. The dark unicorn snorted, asking why he would help a possible ally for himself. “Because he could be your master. And even if he isn’t, you may know who he is due to your extensive knowledge of dark magic.” Luna finished as she ceased her movement, standing directly in front of her sister whereas Sombra stood in front of Cadence. Sombra had been conjuring a plan when he sensed a sudden shift in magic. Luna’s eyes gained a purple wisp to their edge much like his own, and he knew that she was using dark magic. However, it wasn’t that she was using dark magic that surprised him, it was the spell that she was conjuring. This, in turn, made him narrow his eyes as he gained a serious look on his face. “Princess Luna, ruler of the night, defender of dreams, and vanquisher of nightmares. Surely you aren’t challenging me to that, are you? I would hope you know the consequences should you lose.” Sombra questioned as Luna nodded. Everyone else, sans Discord, suddenly wondered what she was doing. Celestia didn’t know what dark spell Luna intended on using, and her concerns grew even further when Sombra addressed her by titles and even knew the spell she was using. “Indeed I am. I would not be doing this if I didn’t need to, but the stakes are too high. And this is the only surefire way to make sure you cooperate without stabbing us in the back.” Luna replied as her horn glowed dark blue, and the wisps on her eyes grew larger, turning dark purple. Sombra himself gathered his magic before he spoke, no longer talking down to her. “State your terms.” “Should you lose, you will assist us until Earthland is completely safe from harm. Your soul will be bound to me, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadence, and Celestia until otherwise. You will not harm us or anyone we consider family or friends, and I don’t need to tell you what would happen should you do so.” “Hn. I should’ve expected something as much. But I will agree nonetheless. However, should you lose, your very existence will be tied to me until otherwise. You will follow my orders without question or complaint, no matter what it is. And finally, you will lead me to the power source for the Elements of Harmony and give me the Crystal Heart.” Sombra declared his terms and was met with objections from everyone. Naturally, he ignored them and focused solely on Luna, waiting for her response. “So be it then.” Luna agreed as she was met with an audible gasp, but they were ignored. If Luna was being honest, this was far more tame than she expected, aside from leading the mad king to the Tree of Harmony. Still, Sombra had something planned, he always did and this was no different. At the same time, their glowing horns reached their peak, ready to begin playing the moment they both were ready. At that moment, Celestia realized her sister’s plan, but she was far too late to stop her as the competitors released their magic, and Sombra gave a dark smile before speaking. “Prepare yourself, Luna, for the likes of a Shadow Game of which you’ve never played!” Sombra roared as both he and Luna fired a beam of magic, with Sombra’s being crimson red and Luna’s a midnight blue. The beams clashed in the middle, causing a distorsion in reality as there was a swirling vortex in front of them. “Due to our terms, it is only fitting that we do battle with the power of our very souls!” “Princess, what’s a Shadow Game?” Twilight asked, whispering her question as if speaking at a normal tone of volume would interrupt the game. Celestia, however, didn’t respond, as she was afraid for her sister. A nudge at her side snapped her out of her trance, looking down to see her former student giving her a worried look. With a sigh, she decided to answer the question. “A shadow game is by far the most vile, twisted, and strongest form of dark magic to exist. There are only survivors, never any winners who choose to partake in such an act. And in most cases, the losers, are banished to the Shadow Realm, where they are erased from existence.” Celestia quietly explained as Twilight and Starlight gulped. That was not a fate they wished on their worst enemies, not even Sombra, and Luna was now risking everything to win. Despite how the battle wasn’t causing mass destruction with the powerful form of magic being used, it was quite taxing on Sombra and Luna. Neither had expected the battle to be this long, Luna more so due to knowing that Sombra hadn’t had as much to lose other than his life…again. Even so, Luna wasn’t losing, the option for that was non-existent as doing so would bring ruin to Equestria. At that moment, Luna started pushing Sombra back, using all her willpower to win as her beam shot forward to Sombra’s horn and sent him flying back into the barrier. “Ha! I’ve won the game! As the loser, you will head to my terms until I’ve stated otherwise. Less of course you wish to invoke a Penalty Game?” Luna declared as Sombra snorted he slowly got to his hooves and he gave a dark glare at Luna. Technically speaking, he was already in a penalty game, one that was very lieniet in the punishment. But he knew full well what Luna was implying, and it left him quite annoyed. “Hn. I feel insulted that you believe that I would invoke such a thing. A shadow game is strict with its rules, and its power is never to be underestimated. So, until deemed otherwise, I shall…help you.” Sombra shivered at his last statement, hating the fact that he had lost. This, however, only meant that he could plan for the future for his takeover of the Crystal Empire despite the surveillance he would be receiving. There were a few other things that he noted as well. One of them was the new threat to Equestria if these were the lengths they were willing to go to protect their kingdom. Another thing was the mare on the left of Celestia, Starlight. He could sense that she had a dark force within her, although something had been suppressing its presence from the others. “It’s certainly not the mare suppressing this power, but she must be aware of the power she has. Even so, what in Tartarus’s name is the true reason that possessed them to bring me back to life and use one of the most dangerous forms of magic to exist?” Sombra thought to himself as Discord snapped his talons and brought them all back together. The reason wasn’t as simple and only about this dark creator and saving Earthland, as the elements of harmony could be used to subdue this creature of darkness. Another being was at hoof here, and Sombra knew that he would get the full story while he helped his enemies. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed everyone’s eyes on him, causing him to put on a neutral look. “If you’re expecting me to give you an immediate answer for this problem then I’m happy to reveal that I don’t have one. So by all means, please enjoy your disappointment.” Sombra dryly said as he was glared at. He didn’t care as he enjoyed seeing the unamused looks on their faces. He also hardly had any evidence anyway, so he couldn’t tell them anything even if he was forced to. Seeing the awkward silence, Sunburst took this time to address something he discovered. “Well, now that this is all done and over with, I have something that could help us even more.” Sunburst pulled a book from his saddle bag and levitated it over to Celestia, whose eyes widened when reading the book owner’s name. “This is a journal from Starswirl!”
DarknessEveryone was currently situated in Cadence’s throne room as Sunburst finished reading Starswirl’s journal. Having gone over how he and his fellow pillars united together to defeat the Pony of Shadows, a being that wanted to cast the world in darkness, and someone that they once called their friend. Twilight was fangirling as she questioned her former mentor if the journal was from the real wizard, and squealed in delight when it was confirmed. Sombra scowled in annoyance. How any of her friends found the willpower to tolerate such childishness was beyond him. He had been forced to change his appearance so that no one recognized him when he was within a mile of the kingdom. His coat was now a light gray as was his horn, his mane having a dark blue wave down the middle of black as his tail had the same color scheme. He had kept his red regalia, nearly invoking a penalty on himself after throwing Rainbow Dash across the cave for trying to forcibly take it from him. He was a king, and he was going to make sure that he at least looked like one while in this horrid form. “How is it possible that this mare figured out the location of the Crystal Heart when she gushes over a book from some old fossil?” Sombra muttered to himself, ignoring the fact that he was over a thousand years old. Before he could blink, Twilight was in his face with a dark aura around her. “Don’t you EVER talk about Starswirl like that again! He’s not only a far better and superior pony to you, but he’s also far smarter than you in magic!” “HA!” Sombra gave a brief laugh before shoving Twilight away. “Oh please, just because I specialize in dark magic doesn’t mean I’m ignorant of other forms of magic that exist. Starswirl the bearded and the pillars may have defeated the Pony of Shadows, but they never returned. If he’s as powerful as you claim he is, then what happened to him?” Sombra asked with an evil smirk, knowing that Twilight couldn’t answer him. The purple princess growled in anger but decided to leave him before turning back to the book in her hooves. “ANYWAY! If we start researching now, we may be able to find out what happened to them and where they are.” Twilight happily exclaimed, completely forgetting her little spat with Sombra as Sunburst agreed. Celestia and Luna’s horns glowed, alerting them all that they were going to teleport back as opposed to taking the train where a pony could see through Sombra’s disguise due to his recognizable glare. But before they did, Twilight quickly spoke up. “WAIT!!” Twilight shouted, causing Celestia and Luna to cease their spell. Everyone stared at her as she approached Spike, who suddenly became nervous. Twilight calmed him down with a small smile before she softly spoke. “Spike, you know that I love you very dearly, and that also means I care just as much, which includes your safety.” Spike suddenly grew concerned, not knowing where this was going, but Celestia certainly did. She sighed, knowing what Twilight was about to say, but this wasn’t her place to say anything and she knew that it would be for the better. “What are you saying Twilight?” “Spike, I want you to stay here in the Crystal Empire with Shining and Cadence. I talked it over with them before we summoned Sombra, and they agreed.” Twilight explained as she stared into his eyes, seeing all the emotions before settling on disbelief, but acceptance. “I’m really sorry Spike, but you’re far safer here within the barrier from the Crystal Heart than my castle. I don’t want you to see the Dragon Lands either, not until I know you’re mentally prepared for it.” Twilight firmly continued as Spike nodded. He understood what she meant, and knew that she wasn’t being mean either. “Ye-Yeah, I get it. Honestly, I wouldn’t be much help either, considering I can barely fight Garble much less an adult dragon. But don’t worry, I’ll help Cadance like I do with you. Once I’ve you know, figure out the layout of this place.” Spike joked as the two shared a chuckle. Twilight gave him a tight hug and whispered to him to be safe, and repeated the gesture before they broke away. Twilight walked back over where Celstia rubbed her back with her win before looking to Luna and nodded. The group gave one final look to the young dragon and rulers before vanishing and reappearing in the Canterlot throne room, where Blueblood sat on the throne and had been trying to order the guards to do his bidding. The guards remained quiet and stood at attention when Celestia walked past them, but she could easily tell how mentally drained they were listening to her nephew’s ramblings. “Alright Blueblood, your ruling of my subjects is now over.” Celestia calmly said as the prince told her that he, by his own proclamation, was doing an outstanding job serving the country. Even as Celestia was nodding and listening, she gave a glance to Raven who rapidly shook her head and promptly brought out a stack of various forms of documents and paperwork. Celestia internally started crying, she already had enough paperwork and now she needed to clean up whatever mess Blueblood created, hadn’t fixed, or refix whatever he tried to fix. Not wanting to have an outburst, she teleported him to his room as she and Luna took a seat on their thrones. “Well, since the government hasn’t gone to ruin and Canterlot isn’t in anarchy I suppose Blueblood did a decent job. As for the rest of you, you already know what to do. If we can bring back Starswirl and the Pillars, then we not only have a chance against this dark magic creator but against Acnologia as well.” “Acnologia?” Sombra asked as he turned to Starlight, who gave him a summary of the events that were recently taking place. Sombra whistled at Acnologia’s carnage, wondering why he possessed such a racial vendetta. The power he must possess to kill everything in the Dragon Lands must’ve been vast, especially if Torch is dead. Celestia confirmed Spike’s story and urged them all to be quick, not knowing when Acnologia could strike again if he hadn’t already. That had also reminded her that Bon Bon and Tempest Shadow had never checked in, meaning that they hadn’t found him, or they had found him and something happened to them. Regardless, she was going to check in on them once she had finished through her paperwork as those two were more than capable of handling themselves. Three days had gone by since the group, excluding Sombra, Discord, and Ember, had begun their research to figure out what happened to the pillars. And they found absolutely nothing about what happened to them, even with every reference they had tried. Sombra, like a foal, had been condemned to a room he had been given until he was needed with Starlight making sure that that’s the room he remained in. However, today he had tagged along with the host of Nightmare Moon to see if the others had something for him so that he could be released from his imprisonment. The two walked into the library to see them all sleep-deprived or already asleep. Rarity and Applejack had tried convincing Twilight to take a break, but she didn’t want to wait any longer before leaving her book as she couldn’t read Starswirl’s horn writing. Sombra walked up to the book and read the page that Twilight was stuck on. If anything, it was better than being confined to a room where even he had gotten bored from scheming. At the same time, he wondered if he was reading a newborn foal’s horn writing or the horn writing from a powerful wizard. “How intriguing. It seems as though Starswirl and the other pillars had their last stand against the Pony of Shadows at Ponehenge at the base of Fall Mountain.” Sombra spoke aloud, revealing the text to everyone as Twilight gasped. She slid next to him and demanded to know how he could read it, to which he shoved her away and yawned. “I’ve had many crystal slave writers, whether it be using wings, hoof, or horn to write things down for me. Naturally, they were so jittery that it was always sloppy, so I had learned to read such horrendous writing before using mind control.” Sombra calmly explained as he basked in their disgusted looks. Now choosing to ignore him, Twilight knew that this was where they needed to go to learn more. After that, they all went to the base of Fall Mountain, where they found Ponehenge. Twilight and Sunburst were the two that were most intrigued, with the latter finding magical runes that neither he nor Twilight could recognize. Sombra examined them as well, and while he did recognize these runes, they were far older than himself for him to understand fully. “Starswirl may have been adept in magic like Sparkle worships him to be, but to use runes from the time when I called them ancient is strange.” Sombra questioned himself as he noticed a few more runes written on other pieces of stone. The broken well in the middle had runes written around the entire base, although it had been corroded away with time, making the text unreadable. Fluttershy soon pointed out that even if everything was cleared away for proper research, they couldn’t figure out what happened here from a thousand years ago. Knowing this, Twilight was a little saddened as she hoped that all her answers would suddenly have a magical answer before placing Starswirl’s journal down. And sometimes, when you ask a question, the universe will nicely answer that question. The moment the book was placed onto a stone slab, it started glowing bright blue. Spike pointed it out and backed away from it as it floated and opened up as the pages flipped back and forth. Not long after, a blue vortex appeared, creating a sphere that manifested into Starswirl the bearded. “St-Starswirl! I’ve long since wanted to meet you. I can’t believe you’re here!” Twilight excitedly said as she ran up and stared at her idol. He, however, didn’t acknowledge her as Sunburst waved his hoof through him. “I don’t think he’s really here…or any of them.” Sunburst pointed behind the Princess as their eyes widened at seeing the rest of the pillars. They all manifested on different stone slabs as Starswirl made his move by casting a beam of magic at the well. The well suddenly produces a shadow before growing into a large ball. From the shadow ball, hooves came out as it transformed into a large pony with glowing white eyes and a long curved horn that got lighter as it reached the tip. “Hahahahaha!! You summon me at your peril Starswirl! Once I’ve defeated all of you, this realm will embrace the darkness, just as I did so long ago.” The Pony of Shadows roared as shadow tendrils shot out of him and ensnared the pillars. The Pony of Shadows laughed as the world started getting darker. “Drawing me here has only made me stronger. You can never defeat me!” “We didn’t summon you here to defeat you...” Starswirl started as his magic broke the tendrils. He levitated his book as it glowed a bright white, as a beam traveled from the book to the objects that the other pillars wielded as it freed them from their bindings as well. “N-No! What do you think you’re doing!?” “…We came to contain you.” Starswirl finished as they all started floating in the air. The Pony of Shadows found himself unable to move, screaming in defiance as he and the pillars vanished. The objects that the pillars wielded dropped onto their respective stone slabs and vanished. Starswirl’s journal, however, returned to the slab that Twilight placed it on. They all stared in shock and awe as Starlight explained that the pillars had banished the Pony of Shadows. As to where they all went was unknown, but Twilight was determined to find out. “A summoning circle, and magical runes that correspond to each pillar.” Sombra muttered to himself, although everyone heard him. “Indeed. Magical power of this magnitude would leave remnants of itself anywhere that it was used. ” “Regardless of that, bringing the book back here lets us see what happened all those years ago. And it looks like the pillars sacrificed themselves for Equestria.” Twilight solemnly explained before teleporting everyone back to the castle. Unbeknownst to them, something had been watching them from the forest, with the only thing noticeable was a glowing red eye. “Who would’ve thought that an old book in an antique shop belonged to Starswirl of all ponies.” Starlight commented as she walked by Sunburst to the cutie map room. What Sunburst had thought would have taken years to understand the spell that Starswirl used, Twilight had figured it out within a few hours. “I know right? But what about you, aside from summoning a familiar, something that no pony has done in centuries, you summoned a phoenix! I didn’t think that was even possible, although your phoenix is pretty unique.” Sunburst complimented as she stared at the top of Starlight’s head, seeing Kuro giving him a quizzical look before eating some of the food Starlight had brought. Starlight nervously chuckled and nodded with a smile, knowing that she had no idea where Kuro came from. He just appeared and decided to stick with her. The two soon arrived at the room where the Cutie Map was and where everyone else was waiting. The elements of harmony sat on their respective seats, except for Twilight, as Sunburst and Starlight were forced to stand along with Spike. As for Sombra, he created his chair from dark crystals that starkly contrasted the room's bright colors. But that had been ignored as Twilight burst into the room, screaming about the different variations of magic that Starswirl could’ve used to banish the Pony of Shadows. “And just what’s so great about what he’s done?” Rainbow Dash asked, annoyed at her friend’s inability to explain herself while she was excited about whatever this bearded pony had done. Twilight promptly responded by pushing the book in her face, explaining how the pillars had banished the Pony of Shadows to Limbo. According to Twilight, it was a timeless realm. Through a diorama, she created a ball of magic to represent Starswirl and the other pillars' magic that was used to open a portal between worlds before said magic destroyed her diorama. They all realized that the pillars had also been banished to Limbo as well, as they wondered how powerful the Pony of Shadows must’ve been if they thought that to be their only option. However, Sombra wondered if he could replicate that power on his own to banish Twilight and her friends once he was done saving Equestria from a genocidal dragon. Even if he couldn’t banish them to limbo, he could still banish them for a thousand years if he was given the opportunity. “But here’s the best part, I think I can get them all out of limbo.” Twilight proclaimed as Sunburst was shocked. He asked if she truly believed that she could save the greatest ponies in history, and Twilight confidently nodded. Starlight promptly added about her exploits of opening portals, reminding Twilight what nearly happened. “First of all, you opened portals through time. Time portals and World portals are two separate things. And second, this was Starswirl’s spell, and if he had been here he could have stopped it. Equestria will be far safer with him in it, we have to save him and the others.” Twilight lectured as she missed the flash of sorrow that went across Starlight’s face. Sombra didn’t as he saved that piece of sorrow for later, knowing full well that he could exploit it. Before anyone else could say a word, Starlight shrieked in pain. The cause of her pain was from Kuro, who had dug his talons into her head. Starlight was going to grab him with her magic and scold him, but his sudden hissing made her stop. Starlight didn’t know what had gotten him so riled up, but he was upset with something and was consequentially taking it out on her. Fluttershy instinctively flew over to the pair and tried calming the phoenix down, realizing that he was angry instead of feeling anxiety over something like she first assumed. “Okay Kuro, let’s calm down. While I don't know why you’re angry, you're hurting Starlight. I want you to calm down, and release your talons. Can you do that for me please?” Fluttershy calmly spoke as Kuro snapped his head towards her with a glare. Fluttershy gave a kind smile, although it wavered, seeing that Kuro’s eyes were now red. Still, the pegasus kept her calm, brave face as the phoenix continued its dirty look before easing up. Starlight sighed in relief as Kuro flew off her head and out of the room, intending to be by himself. Fluttershy checked on Starlight’s head and was glad to see that she wasn’t bleeding knowing how sharp Kuro’s talons are. “Kuro must’ve been so angry that he didn’t even tell me what was wrong. But I can’t even think of what could’ve angered him.” Fluttershy commented as Starlight agreed. The unicorn had no idea that Kuro could be this aggressive when angered, and like Fluttershy said, she didn’t know what could’ve set off that anger. And Fluttershy, for peace of mind, decided to keep the change in Kuro’s eye color to herself as she figured that since he was a summoned familiar he was possibly special in that regard. Despite how off-putting that situation became, Applejack got everyone back on track by asking how they were going to get them out in the first place. “Well, since Sombra said that each of those stones at Ponehenge had runes that corresponded to one of the pillars magic before Starswirl brought it together, we would need to find an artifact that’s related to them. And lucky for us, Starswirl took a lot of notes.” Twilight started to read off the notes that her idol had written, and as she did that, a bright light appeared over the Cutie Map with images of the artifacts that each of the Pillars wielded as they landed in certain places all over Equestria in front of the corresponding bearer of harmony. “Well, at least we know who gets what. You girls go and get the artifacts while me, Sunburst, Starlight, and Sombra head over to Ponehenge to get everything set up.” Twilight ordered as they all nodded and set out for their task. Sombra remained where he was, examining the map and the regions all over Equestria when he heard Starlight cough next to him. “Are you going to come? You’re bound by that penalty game or whatever, so you don’t really have a choice.” Starlight remained as Sombra scoffed. Starlight told the others to go on ahead while she dealt with the dark king, and while everyone was worried for her, she assured them that she would be fine. They all reluctantly left the two alone. Sombra’s gaze lingered on the Crystal Empire before snapping over to Starlight, who was glaring at him. “Listen here, and listen well. You’ve been strangely helpful back at Ponehenge, but even I know you’re still scheming. So you can come willingly, or I will take you by force.” Starlight threatened as she summoned her magic. Sombra stared at her before laughing. He continued this for a solid minute before sighing and giving her an amused smirk. “Oh please, you couldn’t defeat me even if you went all out.” Sombra spoke down to her as Starlight growled. “Although, I suppose you might stand a chance if you tapped into that dark power you possess.” Starlight froze at Sombra’s knowledge. She had no idea how he could’ve known that, but it was enough to get her not to do anything rash. “How do you know about that?” “It’s not that hard for a user of dark magic to sense another vile power. But even so, it raises the question of how Celestia or Luna couldn’t sense it. While it makes sense for Sparkle, it shouldn’t be the case for Equestria’s rulers. Not to mention the room in this castle that oozes dark magic.” Sombra explained as he got off his throne that he shattered into pieces. He walked around the table while eyeing the unicorn, his eyes narrowing before stopping a few meters away from her. “So, answer the question. What is this dark power? And how…or should I say Who is hiding it? Because I have no problem telling Celestia or Luna about your newfound dark powers.” Sombra asked as Starlight didn’t know what to do. It didn’t matter what she did as Sombra had easy blackmail over her, and if he knew exactly who she was housing within her it would make it worse. “Hahaha!!! How perceptive Sombra; and here I thought I had hidden Nightmare Moon’s magical power well. Oh well, it would seem that the alicorn is out of the bag!” Discord’s voice echoed throughout the room as the two looked around for him. It wasn’t long until their eyes settled on the map, seeing Discord sitting on the beach of the Sparkling Sea reading a book. He flipped to the next page before looking up and waved at them before snapping his fingers and appearing next to them. “I just love a good read! Although I do know a few books about places where Sea Kings cause havoc, and another where the afterlife is no longer an option should it be used, they are not my concern. Chaos is chaos after all.” Discord chuckled seeing their faces before floating on his back and continued to read his book. Starlight stared at him as her right eye started twitching, not comprehending what he said before shaking her head. “Wait a minute! You KNEW that I had Nightmare Moon sealed inside me!?” “Oh no no no! I've known since you picked up her book from the Dragon Lands! Since then, I’ve purposely hidden her magical signature and let Sombra sense that power, although I’m sure he could’ve figured it out on his own.” Discord revealed as his book suddenly vanished from his hand while chuckling at Starlight’s opened jaw. He closed it before landing on the ground, staring down at her as Sombra spoke. “So I was right in assuming that there was another force at work. But there’s a reason as to why, correct?” “Right on my evil pony! You’ve earned the prize…of something in the future.” Discord chuckled seeing Sombra’s bewildered look. Sombra expected literally anything to happen but was more surprised when nothing happened to him. “But yes, there is a reason. And that is because your current power level is… insufficient to fight Acnologia.” Discord suddenly gained some kind of device on his right eye before taking it off and crushing it. “That’s the exact reason why I went to her! I know what I’m doing makes everything Twilight did for me mean nothing, but sometimes you need to make the choice others wouldn’t.” Starlight boldly replied as Discord gave a small chuckle. He snapped his talons as a small purple glow appeared over Sombra, pulsing a bit darker before it faded away. “Alright then Sombra, I’ve just somewhat….lifted your penalty game. While you’ll still need to help Earthland and everything, you're no longer bound to all four princesses but instead just to Twilight. And you yourself still can’t harm anyone, friend or family.” Discord suddenly explained as he basked in the shock from Sombra and Starlight. They didn’t know why he did that, and Sombra had no idea that one could overrule someone else’s penalty game. “Well, I’ve been here long enough and I think some time in Chaosville will do me some good. Oh, and before I go, I wouldn’t tell anyone about this. I would love the chaos but admittedly, Celestia’s nagging would bore me to death. Have a good day, you two.” Discord opened a nonexistent door in the air and left, leaving the two unicorns alone once again. They were confused as to what just happened, which is quite normal when dealing with Discord. “He knows more than we think. No one just ‘lifts’ or changes the rules of a penalty game, I didn’t even know that was possible.” “He’s right about one thing though, we can’t let the others know. They find out about Nightmare Moon and your chains nearly taken off they’ll be hell to pay. Let’s just head over to Ponehenge to rescue the pillars and figure out who this dark creator is.” Starlight suggested as she headed for the door. “You wouldn’t happen to know any dark creators, would you?” “Aside from the father of monsters Grogar, no I don’t. Even so, you don’t live a long life like mine without gaining the instincts to know that we’ll meet this creator soon enough.” The group of unicorns was waiting at Ponehenge for the others. While Twilight, Starlight, and Sunburst talked about current events, Sombra analyzed the magical runes Starswirl used again. They were very complex, requiring either long years of study or having someone who was a master in the art of magic teach you. Although, even with long years of study, or even a teacher, Sombra knew that it would take even longer practice to use such magic. “He used a summoning spell to summon the Pony of Shadows before using the runes on the stone pillars to seal him away. But that would require an enormous amount of magical power, leaving Starswirl drained of his magic as they all banished themselves.” Sombra analyzed before he stopped moving. His ears twitched at the small sound of something slithering between the grass and the leaves. He knew it was no snake, as the serpent couldn’t have had a small dark aura to it. Whoever they were, they were hiding their magical presence well, but the small amount of magic they were using gave them away. Sombra walked around the well, pretending to look at the unreadable runes while he was trying to spot their stalker. But he couldn't find them no matter where he looked, and he was ready to call them out when Applejack appeared with Rockhoof’s shovel. Right after her came Rarity with Mistmane’s flower, then Pinkie Pie and Somnambula’s blindfold, and finally was Fluttershy with Meadowbrook’s mask. Rainbow Dash was still absent, which Sombra chose to comment on. “The prismatic pegasus that consistently boats about being the fastest in Equestria is the last one here? Seems as though being a pegasus fits her, seeing as she speaks nothing but hot air.” Sombra belittled as he took notice that the dark presence was gone. Against his better judgment, he decided to brush it off as nothing. “Watch it, buddy!” Rainbow Dash shouted as Flash Magnus’s shield was dropped onto his slab with her being a few meters away from Sombra. “I AM the fastest flier in Equestria! And I can prove it by beating the hell out of you so fast that you’ll never know what happened!” The speedster shouted as everyone, minus Sombra, was shocked at her sudden anger. Yes, she was boastful about her speed and defensive when someone questioned her about it, but this was different. “Calm down Rainbow Dash! I get that it’s Sombra but he insults everybody when given the chance! Why is this so different?” Twilight questioned as she couldn’t think of a reason for Rainbow Dash to take it this far, even with a villain. The pegasus didn't get a chance to respond as Sombra scoffed before chuckling, prompting the mare to fly up in his face. “Something funny!?” “You! If it weren’t for my loss to Luna I’d absolutely allow you to try it, only for you to fail as I clip your wings!” Sombra replied as Rainbow Dash nearly tackled him as Twilight and Applejack managed to restrain via magic and a lasso. The pegasus growled in annoyance at her restraints and grew more angry at Sombra’s smug grin, knowing that she wasn’t going to touch him. “Calm down Rainbow Dash! That varmint’s getting you worked up on purpose for a reaction and he’s gettin' it! Just let it go! He ain’t worth it!” Applejack yelled as she felt the struggling of her friend dying down, and she released her from the lasso as Twilight released the pegasus from her magic. Twilight was a little surprised that she needed to use a bit more magic than normal to restrain her friend, but she decided to focus on the current situation. “Anyway, hopefully, they can help us defeat Acnologia once we get the pillars back. He won’t get away with anything he’s done.” Twilight confidently said as the others agreed, but Sombra started to question Acnologia’s power. They continuously spoke about his vast power, but Sombra wondered if they severely underestimated the Dragon King’s unknown power. Naturally, he knew that the Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Heart were powerful magical artifacts that could be used against him, but there were always stronger forms of magic, and it wasn’t as though neither of those artifacts couldn’t be destroyed. As he thought this, Twilight signaled for Starlight and Sunburst to pour their magic into Starswirl’s book. As they did, it glowed a bright white before connecting to the other artifacts, which had promptly brought back all the pillars from Limbo. The girls saved all of them from being crushed by boulders, with Starswirl coming to his senses and rubbing his head with his hoof. “W-What happened?” Starswirl asked, mainly for himself, but was surprised when Twilight answered him. His surprise turned to horror upon learning that he and all the other pillars were brought out of Limbo, and even as he begged Twilight to send them all back, he was too late. The sky suddenly darkened as a black cloud came into existence before dropping down into a liquid of tendrils before solidifying and forming a large pony that started cackling. “Your attempt to imprison me has failed Starswirl!” The Pony of Shadows taunted as the wizard went to summon his magic, but as Sombra knew, he had none. Starswirl once again asked to be sent back to Limbo with the Pony of Shadows, and as Sunburst flipped through the pages of the diary to find that spell, their new enemy decided to ‘help’. “Allow me to assist.” Tendrils suddenly shot from the Pony of Shadow’s body, piercing the book and the other rocks. He sent balls of magic through each tendril immediately, destroying Ponehenge and effectively the only way to seal him away. “Without the power of Ponehenge, your banishing spell is useless!” “You’ve studied my writing! Surely you have another plan!?” Starswirl angrily asked Twilight who promptly denied having one. She didn’t know that this would happen, nor did she want it to as she just wanted to do Equestria right by their saving legendary heroes from the past. “Don’t worry my fellow equines. When I destroy the light and hope of this miserable world and bring forth the foulest shadow creature that your feeble minds cannot even fathom; you won’t be remembering this…or ANYTHING for that matter!” The Pony of Shadows roared before firing a beam of his shadow magic at Starswirl who summoned his magic to defend himself, but was surprised when Twilight protected him and shoved the Shadow pony’s magic back at him. “ARH! This one is almost as strong as you Starswirl. But even in my weakened state, she cannot overcome the might of shadows.” The Pony of Shadows threatened as he fired another beam of magic that Twilight countered. But this time they briefly stalemated before Twilight found herself being pushed back until Starlight assisted her and forced their opponent back. The Pony of Shadows growled in annoyance and was going to say something when he noticed Sombra. “YOU! A powerful user of dark magic dares to do nothing to aid someone who would bring ruin to the realm, who would have the same goals as one another!?” He roared in anger before calming down, staring down the dark king before smirking and releasing an amusing chuckle. “Oh, you must forgive me. I was unaware that you had lost a shadow game and are now dealing with its penalties. For a powerful user of magic that is similar to my own to lose a shadow game, I find you quite…pathetic!” “Mind your tongue less you wish for me to remove it. I’ve won thousands of games, and unless you wish to be banished back to the shadows of which you were born, you’d be wise to tempt me no further.” Sombra growled out as he summoned his magic, ready for a battle when Starswirl stepped in front of him. The wizard didn’t know who Sombra was, and Sombra was very annoyed at his movement, but he would get to him later as he dealt with his old enemy. “Know this FIEND! We will not rest until you are put back in Limbo!” Starswirl declared as the others gathered around him, fiercely staring down the Pony of Shadows who snarled at the old wizard’s declaration. “NEVER! Your days of glory under the sun are through Starswirl! My dark power will return, as you and this realm, will bow to THE SHADOW KING!” The Pony of Shadows roared before exploding into the sky, dispersing the dark clouds. Rainbow Dash and Flash Magnus flew up into the clear sky, seeing that their new adversary had vanished. “Uh, where’d he go? And who’s the Shadow King?” Rainbow Dash asked as they all wondered the same thing. Starswirl told them to disregard the last threat, believing that it was nothing more than a title he had given himself. Before any of them could say a word, Starswirl summoned the small amount of magic that had returned to him and held Sombra in place. “Release me at once you damned fossil!” “I think not. Your usage of dark magic has corrupted you beyond saving! And you will be dealt with accordingly.” Starswirl coldly spoke as he went to prepare another spell, but was pulled away from Rockhoof as a dark crystal nearly skewered him. Sombra, now freed from his magical binding, darkly glared at Starswirl as he gathered his magic. “You cannot hope to defeat someone who rivals both Celestia and Luna in power! Especially for one who has returned from a thousand-year-long imprisonment with hardly any magic to use!” Sombra yelled as he was prepared for another spell when Twilight and Starlight stepped in front of them. They too summoned their magic, making Sombra hesitate, knowing the consequences if he were to attack them. Sombra growled in anger before letting his magic fizzle out as Starlight and Twilight followed suit. “Aside from him, if we have truly been away for millennia, then my spell worked. Before it was mettled with, and the realm has been at peace.” Starswirl proudly said, side-eyeing Twilight for bringing back the Pony of Shadows. What he wasn’t ever expecting was Pinkie Pie appearing next to him with a book in her hoof. “Weeelllll!! We did have to save everyone from Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, King Sombra who’ve you met and is currently being forced to help us, and Lord Tirek. And then there was that one time when Starlight nearly destroyed the universe by traveling through time! But that’s in the past.” Pinkie Pie suddenly started listing off all of the villains they faced and defeated, also bringing over Starlight who weakly waved and nervously smiled before being shoved away as the wizard was baffled at the speed she spoke and her absurd energy levels. “I will…ignore this one. Anyway, the current problem is finding the Pony of Shadows. The realm is vast, and there are many dark places where he could go to regain his power.” “Sounds like you need a map, and luckily we have one.” Rarity offered as they started to leave. Sombra huffed in annoyance and followed after them before pausing mid-stride, he turned around and looked into the dense forest, thinking that something had just moved through the trees. He continued this stare until he snapped out of it by Meadowbrook. “Is everything…okay?” Meadowbrook asked, seeing the thousand-yard stare on the dark king’s face. Now, she wasn’t genuinely worried about him, but she at least wanted to make sure that he wasn’t in some trance placed by the Pony of Shadows. “Yes. Everything is perfectly fine.” Nothing was fine. Sombra didn’t know who or what was lurking around Ponehenge, but he had a feeling that it was the same creature that he first sensed when they first arrived at the place. But tracking it down would’ve been a waste of energy since he didn’t know what he was looking for. He never brought this up to the others either, not only because they would dismiss him, but because choosing to believe that he was lying wasn’t unwarranted. Sombra was currently walking around the castle, gathering all sorts of thoughts and dismissing many just as quickly as they came. But nothing truly concerned him, not even the dark presence that simply vanished from Ponehenge as he had a feeling it would soon turn up. Sombra continued his walk around the castle, heading over to the kitchen raid Twilight’s fridge when the representations of harmony, from vastly different generations, were in his way. “Is there something you need?” Sombra growled out as Twilight ordered him to get ready to head for Hollow Shades. Sombra nodded as he took notice of the Elements of Harmony, deducing that this was their plan for the Pony of Shadows. He gave a brief glance to Starswirl, already seeing the obvious plan of banishing the Pony of Shadows along with himself to Limbo to kill two Pegasus with one crystal spear. “Where’s Starlight? We need her to come along to help as well.” “In her private study. She’s trying to test a few new spells before the coming battle.” Sombra explained as Twilight teleported to her student’s study room to retrieve her. Now that he was left alone with the others, he felt Starswirl’s piercing eyes on him as he yawned. “If you wish to do something, then try it. With her gone, I’m not bound to punishment if I wish to kill you.” “How impudent! I see no reason as to why you are even needed when the Pony of Shadows is all we are defeating. This ‘Shadow King’ he has mentioned is nothing more than a title for himself as there is no creature with that title or named as such. You would merely use it to deceive us and distract us while you scheme in silence and unsupervised.” “Oh please! As if I need to use the title of some creature as a distraction. If you needed to choose between saving a town over stopping me and my future plans, you’d save the town. Besides, there is currently another threat you are more concerned about, right?” Sombra replied as Starswirl grit his teeth. He had never dealt with such arrogance before in his life, and what he hated the most was how right Sombra was. Luckily, before things could escalate, Twilight appeared with Starlight with a bright smile on her face as she trotted over to everyone. “Alright, let’s go stop the Pony of Shadows!” Twilight eagerly explained as everyone agreed, although it wasn’t as joyful as hers from what had just transpired. Even so, they gathered around her and Starswirl and teleported to Hollow Shades where they would face the Pony of Shadows. The Pony of Shadows, also known as Stygian, manifested in Hollow Shades. He took a look around the abandoned town until his eyes settled on a well at the center. He smirked and made his way towards it, with every step he took changing the land. The land got darker with black clouds blocking out the sun, and with pulses of magic, he uprooted the ground to create jagged mountains with howling winds accompanying them. “Foolish pillars. You may have the assistance of ponies on par with yourselves, but you couldn’t stop before and you will fail again! And once I’ve summoned him, there will be no force in the entire realm that will be able to stop us!” Stygian cackled as lightning boomed in the sky. He transformed into a shadow and leaped into the well with intentions of summoning another shadow creature, that was, by his own words, “the foulest shadow creature” ever to exist. However, Stygian himself would soon learn why you should never listen to or trust the voices from the shadows. They are good at hiding whatever may be lurking within it, and sometimes when people reveal the monster that was hidden away by the darkness, they would’ve wished that it remained there and continue to fear the unknown. The group wandered through Hollow Shades trying to find the Pony of Shadows. Sunburst commented on how the place looked nothing like what he’d read, to which Mistmane replied that it had been warped to their enemy’s twisted desire. As they walked through the abandoned town, Sombra knew that they were being watched, but now he had no idea from where. “Stygian! Show yourself!” Starswirl called out to his former friend and everyone heard a chuckle. As they all stood next to each other around a well, a shadow buzzsaw started cutting around them as they fell underground. They got to their hooves and noticed a strange mural in front of them. To them, it depicted a four-winged Alicorn with strong magic coming from its horn, although they all ignored it when shadows formed in front of it with the Pony of Shadows' maddening laughter. He soon formed in front of them as Starswirl cast a barrier around his comrades. Sombra narrowed his eyes as he ignored the shadow pony who spoke to the fossil and focused on the mural. He could see how they assumed it to be an alicorn, but the magical power that was being used resembled shadows to him, and the alicorn looked more like a dragon. What could’ve been four wings were most likely a large shadow over it, but dragons couldn’t use elemental magic, could they? Sombra suddenly tuned in to hear how Stygian listened to the darkness from the Well of Shades that granted him powers beyond his imagination. Stygian continued by explaining how he combined himself with the shadow to become stronger and cast the entire realm into darkness. “Well, looks like we found the one Torch was talking about.” Twilight muttered to her friends as they nodded in agreement. Sombra doubted this but chose not to speak as Stygian attacked the barrier before shattering it, prompting everyone else to banish him to Limbo. The shadow struck again, breaking the barrier as the twelve representations of harmony joined together and used the elements of harmony to open the portal to Limbo and started pushing the Pony of Shadows back. Sombra didn’t lift a hoof to help out, not only because he didn’t want to, but he wasn’t going to risk accidentally banishing himself to a timeless realm knowing that he wouldn’t return. He continued watching from the sidelines as he, Twilight, and Starlight saw the real Stygian trying to escape from the shadow's grasp. As Twilight went to save him, Sombra felt a sudden shift in the air, causing him to raise a brow and decide to take a look around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and nothing about the cavern changed. Sombra narrowed his eyes and started extending his senses and magic, trying to figure out what was the sudden shift, what had just changed. He looked around until he finally saw runes sketched into the ground. However, he was brought out of his thoughts by hearing Twilight’s, or as he calls her Sparkle, speech to Stygian about friendship alongside Starlight before he was dragged out of the shadow. But as for the shadow itself, he chuckled. “Fools! It matters not, for you’re already too late! But of course, I do hope you enjoy the new world order!” The shadow cackled before he was banished to Limbo. They all celebrated Stygian’s return from the darkness as Starswirl apologized to him and Twilight, both for separate matters. The wizard then turned to Sombra, who had been looking across the cave with a serious look. “Well, what is the matter with you? Why are you–” “So, how long do you intend to hide within the shadows? You can either come out or I drag you out. The choice is yours.” Sombra called out as everyone heard a deep chuckle. They followed Sombra’s gaze to a large shadow that wasn’t natural at the other end of the cave. To their surprise, the entire shadow traveled over to them and paused about halfway from where they stood. Then it began to take shape, condensing itself and building upward as a face was revealed to them while the rest of the bidel creature remained hidden behind shadows. “A-A human!? Who are you!? And how are you here!?” Twilight demanded to know as she summoned her magic. Starswirl and Starlight followed suit, with no one seeing how hesitant Sombra was before he too summoned his magic “Me? Hehehe. I…” The human started as he dropped the shadows and fully revealed himself. The human was decently tall, almost Celestia’s height with medium messy black hair, some of which was covering his left eye and another portion put up in a ponytail. He was adorned with a long dark-colored cape with tattered edges; while also wearing a long, dark jacket that appeared to be part of the cape ensemble, with the jacket having a high collar that was opened at the front, revealing a form-fitting, sleeveless black shirt underneath that showed off how muscular he was. The coat’s design had purple inner linings and dark purple feathers on the shoulders and upper arms, and around his wrist were purple arm guards that went to his elbow and split off with white lining around the edge. He sported loose-fitted dark grey pants that were held together by a black belt and tucked into his knee-high boots that were lined with a white color, much like his arm guards. He wore a sly grin as his red, right-slitted eye seemingly glowed before he spoke. “...I am Rogue Cheney, the Shadow Dragon Slayer, and the Shadow Dragon King.” Author's Note Here's a link to the outfit I used for Rogue in case it's hard to picture. It also credits the original artist as well. https://www.deviantart.com/celestialrayna/art/Shadow-Dragon-Rogue-926719456
Earthland's Darkest ShadowBon Bon groggily woke up as she groaned in pain. She opened her eyes and briefly looked around, seeing large rocks around her and a small pool of blood. She figured it was from herself, although the possibility of it being from Tempest Shadow was also there. Shaking her head, Bon Bon went to get up but released a small yelp as she went back to the ground. Turning her head she saw her back right hoof was dislocated and felt blood going down her hindlegs as she looked underneath herself and saw a small gash on her lower stomach. She groaned in pain and mild annoyance as she slowly got back to hooves and limped around to find her partner. She should’ve taken care of her dislocated hoof, but finding Tempest was more of a priority to her. She continued her slow walk around the rubble before her ears twitched to the right, hearing what she knew was Tempest Shadow groaning in pain as well. She turned her walk into a brief power walk as she saw Tempest’s hindlegs underneath a boulder. “Tempest!!” Bon Bon briefly sprinted but tumbled onto the ground as she remembered her dislocated limb. Growling in pain she got back up and looked around before seeing a small wedge. She nodded to herself before dragging herself to the small cluster of rocks and placing the dislocated limb in between them. She took a deep breath before twisting, relocating her hoof as she released a small squeak. “Heh. You’ve always been just as tough as me, I think that's why we’re good friends and co-workers”. Bon Bon turned her head to see Tempest staring at her with an amused, pained smirk. The earth pony returned the smirk before moving herself over to her friend. “You have to be in this line of work.” Bon Bon replied before moving to the boulder on Tempest’s legs. With another deep breath, she calmed down as her front hooves glowed brown before slamming them onto the boulder that broke into pebbles. Tempest whisted as the lightly yellow-colored mare sighed and rested beside her. “Well, I think we can officially say that we had our assess handed to us for the first time in our lives.” Tempest joked before coughing up some blood. Bon Bon knew that neither of them could remain here any longer as they both needed medical treatment. Knowing that she was better off, the earth pony pulled herself up and managed to put Tempest Shadow onto her back as she started walking. “You still have the lacrima Princess Celestia gave us?” “No. It’s lying around here somewhere. Let’s find it and–” BOOM!! The mares suddenly turned to see a dragon, well parts of a dragon, crash into the ground. Bon Bon hid the two behind a boulder as she peeked out to what was happening, and gasped as she hid themselves again. “What’s going on? Who’s out–” “Shhh!!! Acnologia is here!” Bon Bon whispered as the two became quiet. She peered out again to see the dragon king blasting a hole through another dragon, apparently making sure that it was dead. She made sure not to make any noise, but she whispered to Tempest about what she saw before hearing her whisper. “Since when could dragons use magic? Dragon King or otherwise, the closest thing to a dragon using magic is the scepter the Dragon Lord uses to summon them.” Tempest questioned as she felt her partner nod in agreement. Bon Bon continued to watch Acnologia, waiting to see if he would leave or figure out that they hadn’t died and come to finish the job. Instead, he stopped all movements and turned his head to face north. He seemingly focused on something, not moving as the mare concluded that he was thinking about something. A few seconds went by before he growled and blasted off into the skies, leaving the mares behind as Bon Bon left the hiding spot and narrowed her eyes. “Where the hell is he going?” Bon asked her partner who struggled to awake but agreed. Knowing that she needed to be quick, Bon decided to search for the lacrima. Even as she searched, her mind was on overdrive from everything that had recently happened. They saw a human tear a dragon in half before they were blasted off a cliffside by said human, a creature that shouldn’t have been on Earthland. Then they were not only severely injured, but the sudden appearance of Acnologia killing a dragon was strange. Not that strange considering what they knew, but the more she thought about it, the more strange it got. And then it clicked. “We need to find that lacrima! NOW!” Bon suddenly sprinted, ignoring the pain she felt as she desperately needed that lacrima. Tempest yelped at the sudden change in attitude as she asked what had gotten her so riled up. “It’s Acnologia! He’s not just a dragon from the past, but he’s the human that blasted us off the cliff! Don’t you think it’s weird that species aside, the human managed to rip a full-grown dragon in half? He also not only found us despite a camouflage and soundproof spell, but he knew where we were BEFORE the dragon attack! And now the dragon himself is here after the human nearly killed us?! There’s no way any of that is a coincidence! We need to hurry!” “But where the hell is he going!? Even if you’re right, we don’t know where he’s going to be!” Tempest shouted as Bon skidded to a stop. Tempest nearly yelled but held back after seeing the cracked lacrima on the ground. Bon didn’t care though, picking up the broken lacrima and channeled her magic into it, hoping to reach the princess of the sun. “Agen–zzt! What’s goi–zzt on?” “We have news on Acnologia!” Many thoughts ran through Twilight’s head as she stared down the human known as Rouge. One of the thoughts was wondering how this human had gotten to Equestria from the human world. She didn’t know anyone from the human world by the name of Rogue Cheney, and she doubted that Sunset or their counterparts knew anyone by that name either. Not only that, but he had confirmed Applejack’s guess; Dragon Slayer Magic existed and was based on elemental powers if Rogue’s proclamation was anything to go by. “...Hn. This isn’t good. If he truly is the Shadow King, or Shadow Dragon King I suppose, then we need to fall back and regroup for a plan. Staying here any longer means certain death.” Sombra told everyone else as they questioned his plan. They didn’t think that he would’ve wanted to retreat from someone who could’ve helped him. Starlight noticed his tone of voice and suddenly glared at him. “You knew about him, didn’t you? Even before the Pony of Shadows said his name, you knew of his existence?” “Yes, I did.” “You lied to me!!” “Of course, I lied to you!!!” Sombra roared back at Starlight as everyone else watched in silence, including Rogue who watched with a smirk. “Long ago, I had learned of the Shadow King’s name when I first delved into dark magic. At first, his name was shrouded in mystery to me, and I slowly learned that he was a creator of many dark spells. It was never a part of my plans to bring him into the world, mainly because I don’t know what happened to him. And quite frankly, he very much could’ve helped me. But seeing him now and sensing his power…” Sombra trailed off for a brief moment, seeing the outline of a menacing dragon behind Rogue with piercing-glowing red eyes. A bead of sweat went down his face before speaking. “...He doesn’t make allies, only servants to do his bidding.” Sombra finished as Starlight lost her glare. She knew Sombra long enough to know that he wasn’t the kind of pony whose resolve would waver over something like the presence of a powerful being. Everyone suddenly turned to Rogue who was chuckling before fully laughing. “You are all so amusing. I have no desire to kill you, not unless you get in my way. Even so, we will most likely be meeting again in the future. So–” Rogue suddenly paused as he stared down Starlight before flicking his eyes over to Stygian. “Well well, I’m surprised that take-over magic still exists. It makes me wonder what other forms of magic have survived throughout the centuries. And it would seem that I need to correct myself, for there is only one among you who will be dying.” Rogue finished as Stygian started shaking, figuring that he was the only one that Rogue could’ve been talking about. And he would be right. “Stygian. Long ago I created someone to give you the power to overcome those that betrayed you, and how do you repay my kindness? You allowed it to be banished while saving your fur like a coward.” Rogue’s voice grew colder with every word he spoke, and his killer intent grew along with it. Stygian was shaking with fear, never in his life had he felt such a wave of terror wash over him. “Although, I do suppose that’s how people, or ponies, in this case, act in those situations. Sometimes in life, cowards do survive. But the ones that survive, will never escape their past.” “Stygian is no coward!” Starswirl yelled as he stepped forward, protecting Stygian who watched in shock. “He would have never accepted that cursed power had we all been better friends. And he was no coward for abandoning that power! Instead, he showed great strength and courage in doing so. You will never lay your hands on our friend, especially while I still draw breath!!” Starswirl declared as everyone agreed, except for Sombra of course. Stygian couldn’t believe that one of the ponies he betrayed had come to his defense, making him realize that Twilight was right. “Oh, while you still draw breath you say? Well, that can certainly be arranged!!” Rogue yelled as he slashed the air, sending a wave of shadows towards the ponies. The group protected themselves with a barrier that was created by the unicorns of the group, withstanding the power being used against them before cracks started forming. Sombra fired a beam of dark magic towards the dragon slayer, breaking the barrier in the process as he intended to wipe the human off the face of Earthland. However, Rogue smirked and vanished before the spell reached him. The ponies gasped in shock as they looked around, trying to find him when Flash was slammed against a pillar. They couldn’t react to him as Somnambula was suddenly flung across the cave, they heard his dark chuckle as Applejack’s ears twitched to the right. “I got you!” Apple turned and bucked the area where Rogue should’ve been, but she hit the air as she felt his fist connect with her face. Applejack flew into a pillar as Rainbow Dash flew over to her friend to help, but was instead sent crashing into the ground. The ones that were standing didn’t know how he kept vanishing and appearing, not until Sombra caught a glimpse of a moving shadow. “He’s become a shadow!” Sombra roared before he spotted Rogue’s shadow form and became a shadow himself. He chased after him as the two clashed, which was not as epic as one would think, but the ones that weren’t attacked didn’t care as they rounded up their fallen friends. The two shadows that fought traveled around the cavern, curling around pillars and across the ceiling before making their way towards the others with Rogue exiting his incorporeal form; grabbed onto the shadow that was Sombra as he forcefully brought him out and punched him to the rest of the group. Sombra got to his hooves and wiped the blood from his muzzle. This wasn’t how he expected the fight to go, sure he knew that it would be difficult to fight against a creator of dark magic, but this was something else. They saw Rogue’s shadow form zipping all around them, none of them being able to strike him due to his incorporeal form as Twilight made a decision. “We need to get out of here! We stay any longer and we’ll all die!!” Twilight shouted to everyone as they agreed. Rogue suddenly appeared in front of them with a smirk on his face, making Sombra ready for another spell when he couldn’t summon his magic. Sombra growled in annoyance as he charged forward, only to slam face-first into an invisible barrier. The ponies looked around them to glowing purple runes that surrounded them and were ineligible to them. None of them knew what they were looking at, but it made no difference as they were trapped. “We’ve been had. And it’s been that way since the Pony of Shadows was released, hasn’t it, oh glorious Shadow King?” Sombra sarcastically spoke while everyone else wondered what he meant, prompting him to explain. “See that magic circle over there? That’s what was used to summon him, but it would seem that the Pony of Shadows needed magic, powerful magic that he didn’t possess from his weakened state. So, whether he planned to be sealed away is irrelevant, because while he had Stygian as a host, he foresaw the use of the Elements of Harmony, and decided to use their magic to summon Rogue.” “But that would be impossible!” Twilight countered as she was barely able to summon a small portion of her magic. “The Elements of Harmony represents literal peace and harmony as their given name. It wouldn’t be possible for them to summon anything remotely related to darkness, especially someone like Rogue!!!” “No, Twilight. Sombra…is correct.” Starswirl uttered before continuing, hating to admit that. “Normally that would be true, but the affinity of the magic doesn’t matter. What was truly needed was the power, the power behind the Elements of Harmony opening the portal to Limbo is what set him free.” Starswirl finished as Twilight was at a loss for words. It was only confirmed by Rogue’s chuckling, who manifested himself in front of them before he left it with an amused sigh. “Indeed. You are…almost, correct about everything. You or one of the other three Unicorns here could have released me had you used enough magic, but that is neither here nor there. Once Stygian has been dealt with I will leave you all in…relative peace.” Rogue calmly, but coldly, explained as he lifted his hand and pointed one of his fingers at Stygian. Dark energy gathered at the tip of his finger, and his smirk grew as Stygian sighed in sadness. He had just been accepted back by the friends he betrayed, and now he was going to be killed by the shadows he once accepted. There was a bit of irony in that, and in the back of his mind, he knew how right he was in how Twilight couldn’t save him even if Starlight confirmed how she was saved from her darkness. Only his was literal. Out of the corner of his eye, Stygian saw Starlight staring down at the runes with a quizzical look on her face before they returned to a regular gaze. He was about to ask what was wrong, seeing as he was about to die when she spoke. “Any equine creature within this barrier will be unable to leave or use magic until a unicorn has died.” Everyone suddenly stared at her, wondering how she was reading the runes. Rogue had dropped his hand and canceled his spell as he narrowed his eyes at her. How she knew such an old language was beyond him, but he was going to find out. “You there, the one reading the runes. How are you able to understand them? While I can somewhat accept that you possess take-over magic, reading dead scriptures from my time should be impossible.” Rogue questioned as he discreetly extended his shadow to the ones nearby. Rogue wasn’t scared that she possessed knowledge from long ago, but he didn’t want to take any chances that she could learn anything to become a threat to him. “That’s none of your business! But I’ll give you the chance to leave peacefully or else I’ll make you.” “HA!! With what form of magic?” Rogue countered as he gathered shadows in the palm of his hand. The shadow he had by the pillar narrowed itself to resemble a sharpened spear. Rogue decided that he had enough playtime, and he was going to kill them all. As for Starlight, she tried summoning her magic, but like the runes were written she was unable to do so. With no choices left, Starlight summoned Nightmare Moon’s magic as her eyes changed to cyan blue with slits, and her horn now glowed a dark blue. At the same time she did this, Rogue’s demeanor changed. He went from arrogance to brief shock before sending a large blast of shadows towards them. That power wasn’t magic; which allowed her to bypass his enchantment! Not knowing what she was about to do, Rogue knew he needed to strike first as he flung his shadow toward Mistmane while attacking everyone else. “WATCH OUT!!!” Stygian yelled as he shoved his friend out of the way and took the attack himself. Rogue’s shadow pierced through Stygian’s side before it retraced as the gray unicorn fell to the floor bleeding. Everyone gasped in horror as Starlight changed her plan from offensive to defensive as she summoned a barrier to protect everyone. The shadows bounced off and traveled around them as the enchantment slowly started dissipating. The moment Sombra felt his magic, he summoned a dark crystal sphere as an extra layer of protection. He sensed that the shadows that attacked them were corrosive, but as to what would happen to them should they come into contact with it he didn’t know nor did he want to find out. The shadows died down as Rogue growled at the cursed barrier before him. That was something he thought had been lost to time after the destruction of Tartarus. Well, it didn’t matter he supposed, seeing how he completely outclassed the mare that had no idea how to use such literal cursed power. She had become far more dangerous than he originally thought, but as Rogue stared down the cursed energy, he noticed how weak it was compared to the demons that originally used it. The smoke cleared as the crystal and cursed barrier dropped, Rogue looked past the two to see Stygian’s corpse on the ground. He got the little weasel, and as much as he wanted to kill the rest he was running low on magic as he started to walk away. “Where do you think you’re going!?!?!?” Starswirl roared as he glared at Rogue with tears streaming down his face. He had just gotten his friend back, someone he had wrongly betrayed, and now he was dead due to this monster. His anger grew even further when Rogue showed no interest in his emotions as he summoned dark magic. “Here is a taste of your own medicine!!” Starswirl roared, ignoring everyone else as he fired a blast of shadows from his horn. While none of them were surprised that the wizard knew dark magic, they were surprised that he’d use it. Rogue was perfectly calm at the magic being used against him, and he sighed as he realized that these fools had no idea just how powerful dragon slayer magic was; or perhaps magic in general. BOOM!! The shadows struck Rogue’s body and exploded around him. But then, everyone heard a swirling sound, much like a vortex, and they turned to see the shadows that Starswirl used being sucked into Rogue’s mouth. They were completely shocked as the Rogue fully swallowed the shadows before he gave them all an evil smile. “Fools!! It would seem as though anything related to Dragon Slayer magic, and Slayer magic in general, has been lost to time! Slayers of any sort of element cannot be harmed by the element they use; they instead replenish their strength when they devour said element! So, allow me the honor to show you the magic power that is capable of slaying dragons!!!” Rogue roared as he took a massive inhale. The ponies watched his cheeks puff out as Rainbow Dash shocked her head and snapped everyone else out of their stupor. “GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!” “Shadow Dragon King…ROAR!!!” Rogue yelled as he released a large breath of pitch-black shadows. The ponies all dove out of the way from Rogue’s attack as they heard the sound of a powerful dragon. The attack soon died down as everyone was buried underneath some rubble. Rockhoof managed to throw off some of the rubble from his back as he protected Rarity, Fluttershy, and Mistmane. Flash Magnus shoved his shield upward as Sunburst, Pinkie Pie, and Meadowbrooks also came out from their rubble. The rest were encased in a barrier created by Twilight, Starlight, Sombra, and Starswirl. Their barrier held up against the attack and whatever debris had struck it. As they all regrouped, Starswirl looked for Stygian’s body, wanting to bring it back for a proper burial. However, Flash pointed his hoof down the middle toward where the mural once was, as they saw Stygian’s corpse with multiple cuts and bruises and was missing his right hoof and his horn broken off. He lay on the mural underneath the dragon’s maw, almost as though he was being devoured whole while the shadows encased him. They all sorrowfully stared as some of them shedded tears. None of them had any words, especially the pillars as they knew they had failed their friend. They had wrongfully cast him out, forcing him into accepting a dark power that he never should have; and after Twilight saved him and cleared up the misunderstanding between them he was killed. Rogue watched with cold eyes before he turned around and started to leave. He had many things that he needed to do, the main thing being that he needed to know what the world was now like. He had never, properly anyway, seen how the world had changed ever since that spell was used. And it wasn’t long after that she had sealed him and his shadows away, and he wouldn’t waste any more time dealing with these ponies. Rogue reached the large hole his creation had made and stared out into the darkened sky, and he scoffed. “Figures that Acnologia is still alive. Although, it is odd that he is not coming here directly to me, much like he did to Fairy Tail at Tenrou Island, and is instead….” Rogue’s thought trailed off as he stared north from his position before he sprouted wings from his back and was about to take flight. Before he could leave, a blast of magic grazed his side as he jumped off to the right. He glared at Twilight who glared back, not afraid of the dragon slayer as she released a puff of air from her nose. “You monster!! How could you just kill someone over something so insignificant!? You had no justifiable reason at all!! You’re no better than Acnologia; and if this is all how dragon slayers are then maybe your magic was better off lost to time as we will stop you!!!” Twilight shouted as Rogue scoffed. “You worry about the wrong person. Even so…” Rogue flapped his wings as he blasted off into the sky. Twilight and Starswirl teleported everyone outside, along with Stygian’s body, to see Rogue floating in the sky; almost as though he was waiting for them. “...You don’t even know what this world used to be like, much less how powerful magic truly is. And with my power, no one will stand in my way, not even Acnologia. To which of course, someplace will be meeting very soon.” Rogue ominously finished as he disappeared into the skies, dispersing the dark clouds and allowing the sun to show itself. Twilight released a deep sigh as she turned her head to see Flash Magnus and Rockhoof making a burial place for Stygian. It was upsetting for everyone, especially herself after she promised him that he could be reformed. Still, at least no one else was killed, and as selfish as it sounded, she was glad that her friends were all still alive with her. Twilight sat on her haunches as she bathed in Celestia’s sun, feeling the warmth and brief amount of peace until Pinkie Pie made herself known. “No need to worry Twilight!–” “...That’s when I worry the most.” “---We’ll get through all this. We can have Sombra or one of the princesses fight Rogue while we deal with Acnologia. Elements of Harmony style! Besiiiiidesss, how much worse can this get?” Pinkie asked as Twilight didn’t have the patience to explain Murphy’s law to the pony that defied physics and had Murphy’s law as her magic. And as much as Twilight wanted to worry, she reluctantly decided to relax like Pinkie seemed to be. Despite how much worse Twilight knew it could get, she also knew that there were no benefits to worrying about something that wasn’t happening. And yet, she would greatly regret not listening to herself. In the Crystal Empire, the crystal ponies were celebrating the visit of their hero Spike the dragon. Crystal ponies in the streets celebrated with singing, drinking, and enjoyment of food. Spike watched from the balcony of the Crystal Castle, being ordered at some point by Cadance to relax and to stop putting her books in alphabetical order as she, by her own words, had a system. That didn’t stop him from his fun, but he was now watching the crystal ponies celebrate as he heard a pair of hooves behind him. “How are you enjoying the festival?” Cadence asked with Shining following as they sat next to him. Spike replied that it was fun, but the alicorn could tell that something was wrong. She pulled him into a side hug with her wing and asked what was on his mind. “Well, I guess I’m just worried for Twilight and the others. I know I’m here for my safety, at least keeping Twilight’s mind at ease, but they're going to be fighting some dragon that’s stronger than Torch! I know that most of the time they all see me as a baby dragon, and they praise me greatly or recognize my skills when they show. But I now feel more useless than ever.” “Don’t say that Spike.” Shining spoke up as he used his magic to place the dragon onto his shoulders. “You’re not useless. Twilight sees you like her own child, and she’s doing this because she cares. Aside from her friends, she depends on you just as much. After all, who’s going to make sure that she remembers to feed herself when she becomes a hermit to her books?” The trio laughed at the joke as they watched the fireworks in the sky. The snowstorm outside made it dark enough for them to be set off; although there was a certain spot that grew darker, and something broke through the barrier. The trio saw something small crash into the ground, and a member of the guard suddenly burst onto the balcony. “INTRUDER!!!”
The Fallen KingdomTwilight and the others had returned to her castle for some much-needed rest. The alicorn, however, knew that she needed more information on Rogue and was already writing in a special book to Sunset Shimmer. Even if the chances were nonexistent that Sunset knew who Rogue was, she needed to take the chance to learn something about him, and perhaps Acnologia as well. “Hey Sunset, I know it’s been a while since we’ve last written to each other, and as much as I want to catch up I really need your help. Many things have happened recently, things that are too important to summarize and a little long to explain by writing; however, I need to know if you’ve ever encountered or heard of a human named Rogue. There’s one here in Equestria, but he’s a human, not a pony! He’s the Shadow Dragon King, and he uses Shadow Dragon Slayer magic. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of that form of magic, but the name speaks for itself, and he’s worse than Sombra! If there’s a chance that I get some free time, I might head over to talk in person or you can come to Equestria, whichever you prefer or is more convenient. I know that it’ll be a while before you see this, but hopefully, the enchantment I placed on the book works like those uh…phones, you girls have, is what I think they were called anyway. It’ll release a small magic pulse, so you should sense it. Anyway, get back to me as soon as you read this, because it’s not just Equestria, but all of Earthland is in danger. From, Twilight.” Twilight closed her book and sighed deeply, praying that Sunset would reply soon. She set it down and made her way to the kitchen to make everyone some food when a letter manifested from her horn and landed on the ground. She blinked in confusion before seeing the seal of Celestia’s cutie mark, and promptly picked it up and opened and read its contents. Twilight’s heart dropped at the one sentence in Celestia’s letter. “ACNOLOGIA IS IN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!!!!” The Crystal Ponies didn’t know how things ended up this way. One moment, they were celebrating their hero’s visit with a grand festival, and it had gotten better when Spike empowered the Crystal Heart and made the crystal ponies' coats shine even brighter. But now, their kingdom was under attack by a strange bideal creature that made its way to the castle. Anyone who got in his way was killed, and even then, he was destroying everything around him as he continued his way to the Crystal Castle with one goal in mind. At the same time, Twilight and her friends with the elements of harmony, along with the pillars, Sombra, Starlight, and Ember teleported directly inside Cadence’s throne room. While the princess was present, the prince wasn’t, which made Twilight even more worried as she glanced around the room and saw that Spike wasn’t present either. “Where’s Spike and Shining!? Are they alright? Celestia sent a letter and I got everyone as soon as I could.” Twilight gave a brief explanation as Cadence managed to calm her down and explain that she had sent some guards for Spike and Shining had gone to help the citizens and deal with the threat. “No! You have to tell them to back off! Acnologia isn’t someone the guard can fight head-on! He’s the Dragon King and he—“ “The Dragon King!? I told Celestia about this cloaked bideal creature that broke through the barrier of the empire and started attacking everyone.” Candace gave her explanation as the ponies and dragon gasped. Twilight’s only conclusion was that Celestia knew something about Acnologia before Cadence called for help. “Celestia told us that Acnologia was here, and if you’re being attacked by this unknown bideal then they could be the same being.” Twilight tried to explain until Starswirl said that it didn’t matter as they needed to deal with whatever was attacking the empire. They all agreed just as a small group of guards came in with Spike on one of their backs, and he hopped off and ran over to Twilight. “Thank goodness you guys are here! The guards are doing their best but they can’t hold this guy off.” Spike explained what he saw from his balcony before he was retrieved as Twilight scooped him in her hooves and gave him a tightened hug. Spike hugged back, although he tapped on her side to let her know that her strength was starting to hurt as he was brought down. “You're safe! Oh, I feel better knowing this. But you’re right, we need to go stop him.” Twilight confidently said before running out the door as everyone followed her, leaving Cadence and Spike in the throne room as they silently prayed for their safety. The group followed the sound of destruction and screams to take out the threat, running past scared ponies who paid no mind to Sombra as they soon stopped in their tracks by a large explosion in front of them. They all prepared for battle when a long, blue-haired bideal stood before them. The necklace of dragon claws he possessed made some of them shiver with fear and made Ember’s grip on the scepter tighten. Deep down, Twilight’s gut told her that this was him. This was Dragon King Acnologia. Acnologia ceased his walk as he stared down the group before him. Naturally, he was only interested in Ember and the dragon’s scent on Twilight, glaring at them both with disdain as he gave a brief glance at the Elements of Harmony and the strange power that Starlight had. Starlight’s strange energy was familiar, but he gave it no second thought just like he did with the elements. He turned back to Ember and audibly scoffed at the gold armor she wore along with the scepter she wielded. “I knew that dragons had grown weaker, but to think that there’s one who’s so pathetically incapable of defending themself that they need to wear armor and use an enchanted weapon. Hn, I suppose it’s only befitting for such fouled creatures.” Acnologia spoke down to her as none of them could believe what they were hearing. His hatred for dragons had no limits, insulting the current dragon lord who stood before him without a care in the world. Ember growled in anger as her grip on the scepter tightened, not feeling such disrespect since her father had forbidden her from participating in the Gauntlet of Fire because she was a small dragon compared to the rest of her now-dead kin. “Watch your mouth! Regardless that you're the first ruler of dragons, I’m the current Dragon Lord and the atrocities that you’ve committed warrant death!!” Ember declared as she slammed the spear onto the ground, summoning its magic specifically onto Acnologia in order to get him to submit and properly listen to her. Acnologia narrowed his eyes onto the scepter, sensing the familiar magic being used upon him as he did his best to remember what it could’ve been. Everyone else was surprised when Acnologia’s body didn’t glow like it should’ve and was instead analyzing what was being used on him. The magic that Acnologia felt was very familiar, and it felt like something that had been tried against him in the past. The more he lingered on it, the more he realized what it was, before finally knowing what the scepter had been enchanted with. “Hn, Dragon Supremecy magic. And here I thought that it had vanished long ago along with its creator.” Acnologia suddenly commented, earring a gasp from everyone at the new form of magic. “That scepter uses such a weaker version of the original magic that dragons aren’t even under the user’s control. Then again, you creatures are currently so pathetically small-willed that someone with the bare basics of mind control magic could control you with almost no effort. The number of dragons that I’ve come across that have begged for their worthless life is far higher than those who had any semblance of self-worth.” Acnologia continued to coldly speak foul of dragons, having no shred of subtlety towards his race as he spoke with unrivaled malice. Ember had no words for him, she couldn’t comprehend Acnologia’s mere existence as she and everyone else could tell that he hated dragons. Acnologia didn’t speak any further, instead giving them a malicious grin before pulling his arm back as he gathered an absurd amount of magical power in the palm of his hand. The ground shook as his opponents found themselves staring in fear at the power he wielded, even being lifted into the air before he pulled his arm forward with his attack. CRASH! To everyone’s surprise, they were protected by Shining Armor’s shield. However, blood flowed from his head as he had a swollen eye and laborious breathing. His shield had multiple cracks, showing Acnologia’s power as well as the strength of Shining Armor’s shield. But Sombra could tell that it wasn’t even Acnologia’s full strength, and if it had been any stronger then Shining, along with them, would’ve been obliterated. The prince collapsed to a knee as Twilight was at his side, completely worried for his well-being. “Shining! Are you alright!?” “I’m-I’m fine! Just take him down!” Shining ordered as Twilight nodded, to which Starlight, Sombra, and Ember took the initiative to attack. Twilight promptly told the others to get ready with the elements once there was an opening for them while Starlight, Sombra, and Ember fought. Starlight went first with a spread shot of magic that Acnologia dodged by jumping back. He noticed Sombra and Ember in the air as the duo rained down flamming crystal spears, forcing him to jump around with a grin on his face. He turned around when he sensed magic being gathered as Starlight once again tapped into Nightmare Moon’s magic, her horn glowed dark blue as she released a blast of darkness that sent Acnologia flying back to the girls. “Twilight! Do it now!” Starlight shouted as Twilight nodded as she and others joined with the other half of their respective element. The twelve of them floated into the air as they and the elements themselves glowed a very bright color before they blasted the dragon king with a powerful rainbow beam that completely enveloped him. “Hahahahaha!! Hahahaha!!” Any thought of celebrating had been dashed as Acnologia stood in the middle of the magical attack laughing like a madman before, to their complete and utter horror; started devouring the magic from the elements of harmony. Soon enough, the light died down as Acnologia fully swallowed what was thrown at him as he gave a maliciously arrogant grin. “Wait a minute…Wha-What’s his element?” Fluttershy fearfully asked as she ignored the liquid that went down her hind legs. Her fear completely obscured her embarrassment. This wasn’t how things normally went, villains were taken down once the Elements of Harmony were used against them, they always had a happy ending to these kinds of battles, but this was completely different. And as if Acnologia had been listening, which he had considering his advanced senses, he answered. “Element? I have no ONE KIND! I am the ultimate dragon! The Dragon of The Apocalypse and the devourer of ALL SORCERY!!!” Acnologia exploded with power as the ground ruptured and he was enveloped in a vibrant purple light. And it then vanished as everyone laid their eyes upon the Acnologia’s dragon form, scales as black as the abyss with blue markings like Garble had told them. He stared down at them, and his magical power had increased tenfold, and they all realized one thing. They weren’t killing him, and they sure as hell weren’t beating him in a fight. “I am the Arcane Dragon King…ACNOLOGIA!!” Acnologia roared as Twilight's pupils turned to prin picks and she unconsciously took a few steps back. Of all sorcery? It suddenly made sense as to why no one during Tirek’s time could harm him, why he was so resistant to magic, and it was because he was completely immune to it. Even Starswirl was horrified at the fact that there was a being capable of eating magic itself. Shining saw the fear in his sister’s eyes, as well as her friends and even Sombra’s. He heard his subjects' cries for help or the cries of those in pain. He didn’t know Cadence’s situation, but it wouldn’t be long until Acnologia made his way there and killed whoever was in his way to get to Spike, including her. He knew there was a decision to make, and with a strong resolve, he got to his hooves and channeled magic to his throat as he spoke. “EVERYONE IS TO EVACUATE THE EMPIRE AT ONCE! LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND! ALL GUARDS AND CITIZENS ARE TO FOLLOW EVACUATION PROTOCOLS!! THIS IS TO BE DONE IMMEDIATELY!!” Shining’s voice echoed across the entire kingdom, everyone was surprised by his orders, but the guard took action. They quickly got to work in getting the citizens to certain exit points in the empire where they would be evacuated, but the Dragon King chuckled at the actions. “You ponies will suffer for harboring…for worshiping a dragon!” Acnologia declared as he brought one of his arms up into the air, and right after an eruption of magic exploded from the ground. Not long after, multiple eruptions took place, shaking the entire kingdom as buildings fell and the ground split open. Fires were started as many of the crystal ponies had to fight for survival, with many not getting that fighting chance. “…Dragon of the Apocalypse certainly fits him.” Sombra was the first to speak as he watched the destruction take place in his kingdom. In normal circumstances, he would’ve fought the one that was doing this, and yet he knew that in the current moment, survival lay within doing nothing. “We should leave while we can.” “Leave…? You want to leave!?” Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the one yelling in his face. “How can you call yourself a ruler of the Crystal Empire, regardless of your “leadership”, and want to abandon the Empire and its citizens when it’s in such chaos!? You’re nothing but a damned coward!” Fluttershy criticized, mocking him as she used air quotes around leadership. Her friends stared at her in shock, not believing that she of all ponies would yell at Sombra. Sombra growled and glared with fury, never having been disrespected in such a manner by anyone, not even Celestia or Luna. “A damn coward!? I’m sorry, but what do you suggest I do against a being that DEVOURS MAGIC!?!? The Elements of Harmony used by twelve individuals didn’t even phase him! He literally laughed it off! And you want me to defend a nation from a being bearing the apocalypse as a part of a title!?” Sombra fired back, completely enraged as he flared his magic. Fluttershy had backed down almost instantly, her tail tucked between her legs as she cowered on the ground. “That’s enough!” Flash Magnus stepped in between Fluttershy and Sombra with a fierce glare. “Look, we can’t stop him but we can make sure that the civilians get to safety. Aside from helping everyone, we need to secure the princess and the dragon that Acnologia seeks.” Flash gave a quick and simple plan as Sombra scoffed but figured that he could escape at some point under the guise of helping out. “Don’t forget that he’s after me as well.” Ember reminded everyone, as Flash had taken that into account. It was a matter of which dragon he would try and kill first, and considering that Ember was beneath him she would most likely be targeted first. “It’s certainly a suicidal idea, but if you can fly fast enough to lead him back out into the snowstorm, you could lose him. Even so…” “Doesn’t matter. I’ll do it because I’m the Dragon Lord, and this is my responsibility. He won’t get away with killing his kin and threatening me or this kingdom.” Ember accepted her role and flew off into the sky, breathing purple flames in his face. Acnologia snarled in annoyance, the flames not affecting him at all before giving chase to the dragon lord who started flying to the edge of the empire “Quickly! We must use this time to assist the people!” Shining took control and ordered as he got to his hooves. Everyone nodded, except Sombra but did so anyway, with Twilight being the only one who remained behind. She summoned her magic and began slowly healing most of her brother’s wounds, although she now wished that she had given her healing magic more serious practice as she couldn’t heal him completely. “Thanks Twily. Had I known that Acnologia was attacking us, I would’ve evacuated the Empire sooner.” “You couldn’t have known that he could transform between a human and a dragon, none of us could’ve known. But what matters now is saving everyone we can.” Twilight’s words brought a small amount of comfort as the two set off for the palace. They galloped as fast as they could, instructing ponies along the way to leave and head for the empire’s emergency exits. “Hopefully Cadence and Spike are leaving as we speak and we run into them!” “Knowing Cadence, she’s probably helping the castle staff evacuate as well! Once we get there we can assist her and Spike!” Shining yelled back as he continued his charge forward and knocked the doors to the castle off its hinges. The decor be damned, saving everyone took priority, along with the fact that it was a warzone outside with one oppressor who was being led away by what he considered prey. “CADENCE! SPIKE! WHERE ARE YOU!?” Twilight yelled as she zipped around the castle, needing to find her family, needing to make sure that they were safe. Soon enough, she found Cadence and Spike helping a few maids who were trapped underneath some rubble. Twilight flew over and used her magic to lift and throw the crystal beams elsewhere, freeing those who were trapped as they ran by and thanked her. Spike and Cadence enveloped her in a hug just as Shining rounded the corner and found them. Cadence broke her hug to give Shining one before placing a kiss on his cheek. She gave a brief nuzzle before Shining quickly ordered them to follow him so that they could evacuate with the others. While she was against it, Cadence knew there was no other choice, especially when there was a personal reason as well that Shining would’ve wanted her to leave. The group ran to the front of the castle where Cadence questioned, and received no answer, as to why her doors were on the floor before they ran outside and met up with Flash Magnus, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. “Girls, and Flash! What’s going on? Has everyone been evacuated?” Twilight asked as Flash told her that mostly everyone, as far as he knew, was evacuated. There were still a lot of ponies that needed assistance, and the train leading out of the Crystal Empire started to fill up. However, before they could discuss anything further, a dragon roar echoed throughout the kingdom. They looked to the skies, trying to find Acnologia when Ember was seen crashing through multiple buildings before landing onto the streets. Blood flowed from her head as Ember knew she had multiple broken bones. She thought that this was what Garble felt when Acnologia had smacked him with his tail. Her body ached, and despite her nearly broken armor, she knew that it could’ve been far worse had she not been wearing it. Even then, something told her that Acnologia had purposely held back, just so that she could suffer more when he got his claws on her. Ember gripped the scepter in her claws, readying herself for another chase when a foot slammed on her arm, breaking the bone. “AHHH!!” Ember yelled in pain as Acnologia, who was now human again, stared at her with disdain. This was the so-called Dragon Lord? This was just a dragon believing herself to be great, that she was going to have some great legacy once she had passed the title to another. It was outrageous for this little thing to even think that she was worthy of any sort of title, let alone being a ruler. Flash had enough of this and flew over with great speed to knock the Dragon King off balance to save Ember, but stopped when he had seized her by her throat and raised her into the air. “Release her at once!” Flash Magnus demanded, but Acnologia paid him no mind. Twilight had started to shield Spike, but the young drake watched everything. He couldn’t afford to tear his eyes away, not when his friend was being manhandled by a monster. He wanted to help her but knew that the consequences would end in his death. Ember, even though she was being choked to death, spoke. “You’re…You’re not worthy…to be called Dragon King.” Ember managed to say as she slowly lost consciousness. Acnologia released his grip, only to allow enough airflow as she took in as much as she was allowed. Acnologia stared at her with an unreadable expression before it turned feral. “Worthy you say? I’m more worthy than anyone. And the reason why…”Acnologia suddenly raised Ember into the air and violently swerved her to the side. Still in his grip, she was brought closer as she changed to be on her side. In slow motion, everyone watched as Ember grew closer to him, unable to defend herself as he opened his jaw. Ember’s pupils grew smaller as she realized what he was about to do, but she couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t going to do it, surely he was just– CRUNCH!!! SNAP!!! Everyone watched as Acnologia snapped his jaw shut on Ember’s arm and armor. He bit right through her left arm and tore it off while also biting through her armor and into her side. The ponies that watched, plus Spike, covered their mouths in disbelief while a few citizens nearby threw up whatever they had or hadn’t eaten. Time became normal as he ripped some of her flesh before throwing her body over to the ponies, swallowing what he had eaten, armor and bone included, as he grabbed the scepter by the bloodstone. “...Is because I’m the strongest creature in this world!” Acnologia finished as he wiped the blood from his mouth, and then crushed the gemstone in his hand as the crimson glow vanished. Ember suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream, the pain suddenly registering throughout her body before using her other arm to hold onto what was brutally taken from her. Acnologia started maniacally laughing, his laughter echoing throughout the burning streets before he ceased and turned his head over to Spike. The young drake flinched underneath his stare and found himself unable to move, much like how he had been with Kuro, but this was vastly worse. “Rainbow Dash,” Twilight spoke quietly, still wrapping her mind around what she had just seen. “Rainbow Dash!!” “HUH!?!? Wha–What is it?” “Take Ember and fly to the station. Fly there as fast as possible. Don’t stop, and don’t look back.” Twilight ordered, but her friend found herself unable to move. There was far too much fear, the terror he had caused with his action left her and everyone unable to move. Twilight herself knew that the only way for Dash to follow that request was if she did not react to what had just occurred. Shining watched Dash quickly fly over to Ember and grab her before flying to the train station where the doctors and healers were, although he doubted that she was going to survive such wounds. He watched the Dragon King surround himself in magic as he entered his dragon form once again, flying into the air as he stared down the ponies. As the prince stared, he saw the barrier produced by the Crystal Heart with a dark pink glow, showing that the barrier was weakening, but he had an idea. “I have a plan, but I need you all to trust me.” Shining suddenly spoke, getting everyone’s attention. “Flash Magnus, Fluttershy, I need you two to take my wife to the station and defend her with your life. He doesn’t have an army, but that doesn’t mean he might not give chase or get in the way. Spike and Twilight, I want you to go as well.” Shining suddenly gave orders as Flash nodded and saluted before he motioned to Fluttershy as the two placed themselves at Cadence’s side. “Shiny you can’t be serious!? You want us to leave you alone with him!?” Twilight shouted, not believing what she was hearing. Spike was with him, saying how they should plan something together. The stallion shook his head, knowing he’d be met with opposition. Cadence looked to her husband who refused to look at her, or anyone, wondering what he was planning when Acnologia roared. “Go! Now!” Shining ordered as Flash barked at Fluttershy who squeaked before throwing Cadence onto her back as the two took off. Cadence protested, demanding to be taken back even though she could fly back herself. However, she figured that Flash would drag her to the station kicking and screaming because Shining had just placed her very life in his hooves. Still, she looked back at her palace, looking over her burning kingdom as she prayed to Faust that Shining would be alright. Twilight and Spike remained, refusing to leave him as Shining tacked them both away from Acnologia’s claws. The trio ducked into a building and ran as Acnologia destroyed it, searching for them but growled when he came up empty. He suddenly felt a blast of magic strike his back, but he wasn’t phased as he turned his neck to see a small militia of ponies with what he thought to be a magic cannon; if the condensed ethernano stored at the back of it was any indication. Acnologia changed targets and went after the militia as they fired more rounds of magic. As they did so, Shining watched and growled in anger, knowing that he had ordered all of the guards to help the citizens. Still, he had an important self-issued mission, and he couldn’t start it until Twilight and Spike were at the station safe and sound. “Listen you two! This isn’t up for discussion! I want both of your assess on that train, now!” Shining started yelling at them, making it known that he wasn’t in the mood for their stubbornness. Twilight and Spike’s resolve faltered, not expecting to be yelled at like foals. Twilight shook her head, refusing to show weakness at a moment like this, where her brother’s military side showed just how authoritative he could be. “No way man! We’ve seen how ruthless this guy is and you expect us to leave you here with him!?” Spike countered as Shining rubbed his temple. They were scared for him, he knew that, and rightfully so. Acnologia wasn’t a creature that could simply be defeated, but he needed to make sure that they all got out safely, and he suddenly knew that there was one way to make sure. “I’d be more surprised if you did leave me here without a second thought, but trust me. I Pinkie Promise that I will be with you.” Shining’s words made them gasp before an explosion shook their hiding place. A peek outside told them everything, the militia had failed, and Acnologia was starting to hunt down Spike again. He looked back at them, showing his concern, and saw Twilight deep in thought. “...So you pinkie promise that you’ll be with us? Always and forever?” “Yes. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Shining did the whole pinkie ritual, as he had dubbed it, while Twilight and Spike watched. The two shared a look before they nodded, sharing a weak smile. Shining hugged Twilight, feeling tears on his neck before separating and giving Spike a tighter one. They separated as Twilight flared her magic to teleport herself and Spike, giving her brother one final smile before vanishing. Shining sighed in relief, pleased they finally left as he stared at the palace. “Yes, I’ll always be with you, forever and always…in your heart and memories.” Pinkie Pie’s body started violently shaking. Shining had just made a Pinkie Promise, she always knew who made a Pinkie Promise, but something was wrong about this one. There was something else to it, something that she couldn’t place her hoof on since she didn’t know what the doozies could be until they happened. But what she did know was that it wouldn’t end well. The doozy had gotten worse when Twilight and Spike appeared, greeting everyone as Twilight noticed her friend shaking. “Pinkie is something wrong?” “My Pinkie Sense is going crazy! It happened when Shining made that Pinkie Promise and it got worse when you two showed up! I’ve only been shaking, and something horrible is going to happen!” Pinkie warned as Twilight and Spike shared a nervous look. The pinkie sense always had other twitches when a doozy was happening, but violent shaking had never happened before. Twilight looked back to the empire, wishing for her brother’s safety before returning to her friend. “Don’t worry about it. Shining said that he’ll be with us. So maybe it means something else.” Twilight hopefully said as she started helping the ponies around her. Pinkie knew there was something else to that promise, a deeper meaning that Shining hadn’t verbally said. Even so, knowing that there wasn’t much she could do about it, she reluctantly started cheering up the foals with her party tricks and giving out sweets. Cadence had been resting in her own cart, looking out the window of her burning home. Nothing could have ever prepared her for this, and the worst of all was her husband wasn’t here to help ease her stress. He was directly in the center of the chaos, something not caused by Discord, but by a being that was immune to magic. Someone who had caused the end of previous kingdoms as well, and was the cause of a multitude of mass genocides throughout the centuries. It made her wonder how many creatures had gone extinct because of his savagery. She looked across from her cabin to see healers rapidly working to stabilize Ember. When the Dragon Lord had been brought to the station on death’s door Cadence had used up most of her magic to keep her alive and breathing before the unicorns that were specialized in healing magic attended to her. The amount of blood that was on the floor and Rainbow Dash had sent chills down everyone’s spine, and the pegasus that brought her had secluded herself away from everyone. Cadence didn’t know if Ember’s pride would’ve preferred death over the state she would be in if she survived the encounter with Acnologia. However, before she could process anything else, the train lurched forward. “What the–!?” “Let’s go, everyone! We’re leaving immediately!” Cadence heard Flash Magnus yell as the crystal ponies were forced to find seats. She got up and opened her door and went to him, wondering why he was ordering the train’s departure when they were still waiting for Shining and any more Crystal Ponies who were still inside the empire. “Flash Magnus what is the meaning of this!? There are still ponies inside the kingdom and my husband is one of them! Stop this train immediately and go back!” Cadence ordered as Magnus didn’t meet her gaze. He sighed instead before calling over another guard, his descendent Flash Sentry, and he finally looked her in the eyes. “Forgive me Your Highness, but I cannot do that. According to Corporal Sentry, he had encountered the prince heading to the top of the palace where the Crystal Heart is located, and he was ordered to get here and leave without him. From what I can tell, he intends to either try and defeat him with the Crystal Heart’s magic amplifying his own...or hold him off until we’ve escaped.” Magnus explained as Cadence was speechless, her mouth slightly open before turning to Sentry and demanding to know if it was true, and her heart skipped a beat when he nodded. “Yes, he found me underneath some rubble before freeing me. Once I knew where I was he ordered me to come here and have us retreat.” Sentry explained as Cadence went to say something, but she fell forward, clenching her teeth in pain as the two guards were beside her, asking if she was alright. She nodded yes, but the unexpected cramps weakened any arguing she could’ve mustered. Sentry knew the reason for it and quickly ushered her inside her cabin. Magnus left it to him as he turned around and was greeted by the faces of the Elements of Harmony. “What do you mean we’re retreating!? Shining is still inside, and we have to wait for him!” Twilight yelled as Magnus couldn’t help but sigh. It was almost like war times from so long ago, with certain commanders and soldiers staying behind to allow everyone else a chance at life. Although he had never heard of the leader of the nation doing so before, even so, he supposed that the concept was the same. “I know you want to wait for him but we can’t! We have ponies who need proper medical care and Prince Shining Armor himself told us to retreat! We can’t go back for one stallion.” Magnus tried to reason with Twilight, but she didn’t want to hear it. She’d go back herself if she had to, she wasn’t going to abandon her brother. Just as she summoned her magic, someone shouted to look outside. They all looked out the window to see the crystal barrier had dropped, allowing the harsh blizzard inside. At the top of the broken palace was Shining Armor with the Crystal Heart on his back. Channeling the magic from the Crystal Heart into himself, which was in no way shape, or form a good idea, he amplified his magical ability. Summoning all the magic he could muster, Shining stared down the Dragon King before blasting him in the chest as he unleashed the magic he had gathered. Everyone watched in awe. It looked like Acnologia was being pushed back, making Shining gain a sliver of hope. He pushed more magic into the attack, forcing the dragon back and into the ground. Buildings fell on top of him as Shining collapsed to his front knees, trying to take in as much air as he could. Everything was still, the train wasn’t that far from the empire. The citizens looked on, hopeful that their prince had defeated the beast. Magnus had almost called for the train to stop and go back. Almost. BOOM!! Acnologia came out unscathed and roared as a show of his resilience. He looked no different than before and didn’t appear weaker either. Magnus promptly ordered the train to go faster, not to stop for anything or anyone. They watched as Acnologia flew above Shining and the entire Crystal Empire. And then, Acnologia took a massive inhale, drawing upon his magic for a breath attack. Shining gave a grim chuckle as the Crystal Heart fell to his side, the powering pink light was now dull. He rested on his stomach as he looked off to the side, seeing his kingdom burning and in ruins. He could still hear some calling for help, for him or Cadence, for Celestia or Luna, or anyone to save them. But he couldn’t, he just tried and failed, but he at least got most of the citizens, along with his family and friends on the train. That’s where he looked next, the departing train that was just about hidden by the blizzard. Shining’s life flashed before his eyes, from when Twilight was born, which was one of the best days of his life when he became an older brother, to when he first joined the guard. Then he was promoted to captain of the day guard, that was another good day, and then he met Cadence. His parents came to his mind along with his siblings Twilight and Spike. “Sorry Cadence, but I’m not coming back. And sorry for tricking you too, Twilight, Spike, but while it was the only way to get you to leave, I will be with you.” Shining started speaking to himself, watching the train with sorrowful eyes. “Mom, Dad, sorry for not talking or vising you all that much. And Cadence…please take care of Twilight and Spike. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. And Cadence, I’m truly sorry, for leaving you alone to take care of Flurry He–” Shining didn’t finish his sentence, as Acnologia blasted the tower he was on. Killing him and destroying the palace, but that wasn’t the end of it. The entire kingdom started to crumble, cracks from before completely split open, and buildings were swallowed whole beneath the earth. The escaping ponies watched with horror and sadness as their kingdom was destroyed, and Twilight and Cadence took it the worst. Twilight’s friends had to forcefully restrain her with Sombra sealing away her magic. The princess cried, kicked, and screamed for her brother; demanding to be released so that she could go after him, something that no one would allow. Rarity and Fluttershy helped her to a cabin while everyone sorrowfully watched, and Cadence had been silently crying. Sombra stared out the window at the large crater Acnologia left behind, and from the top of a mountain, a figure watched. “So, this is how it must’ve been at Tenrou Island all those centuries ago,” Rouge muttered to himself, seeing the destruction that Acnologia caused. He took a sniff of the air and released a breath, having caught a different yet familiar scent. “And all the old players of the world before have returned, and have mixed with the new ones. Now, there’s one question that remains…” Rogue turned and left in a veil of shadows, just as Acnologia flapped his wings and vanished into the blizzard. There were still too many dragons in the world, far too many for the king’s liking. And he was going to shorten it down to none. “…Who will remain standing?” The train arrived in Canterlot where the equestrian army had been waiting along with Celestia. They assisted the crystal ponies into different areas based on the severity of their injuries, while others had been instructed to head to the palace where Luna and her guard would assist them further. As Celestia helped she tried finding her niece, her former pupil and her friend, and the pillars. Applejack slowly came out and locked eyes with the princess before trotting over to her. She chose to ignore the cries of the ponies around her before sitting down in front of the princess. She took some time to gather her thoughts, and her words before speaking. “Listen yer highness, uh…there ain’t no easy way to say it, but the Crystal Empire was destroyed. Acnologia caused destruction on a level that not even Tirek could achieve; not even after stealing the magic of ponies like a snake stealing a bird's eggs.” Applejack explained as Celestia released a slow breath. She didn’t know it was that bad, it had been worse than she expected. “And where are the others?” “The girls are helping the guard with the ponies. Cadence is with her own medical team to make sure she’s calm, apparently, she’s pregnant, and they don’t want her too worked up to affect the foal. Spike hasn’t left Ember’s side since what’s happened to her…but Twilight’s takin the worst of it.” Applejack explained as Celestia nodded, having an understanding as to why. Celestia made her way to the train when Applejack said one final thing. “Oh right, uh Sombra wanted to speak with you as well.” “Understood. I will speak with him as well.” Celestia headed into the train and walked by the crystal ponies. The pillars assisted just the same, each of them giving a slight nod to her before continuing their tasks. She moved out the way as her ponies escorted Ember into proper urgent care with Spike following them. Celestia let him be, deciding that the conversation with him would have to be postponed. She walked past Cadence’s room and saw her sleeping, most likely put to sleep for her and the foal’s health. She continued her slow stride until stopping at Twilight’s cabin, and briefly hesitated to enter. She shook her worries away and entered to see Twilight absentmindedly staring out the window, not noticing her mentor’s presence. “Twilight, I want to talk with you.” “What’s there to talk about? My brother’s dead with nobody for a proper burial, his kingdom destroyed, and one of my friends is probably going to die. I…I have nothing to say.” Twilight briefly spoke with no emotion, but as she repeated everything that happened her eyes teared up. Celestia sat next to her and pulled her in for a hug and stroked her back with her wing, which was all it took to break Twilight’s facade and start crying. “It will be alright Twilight. We’ll all get through this.” “No, it won’t be alright! Sh-Shining’s dead and I-I need to tell my parents. Cadence is going to have a foal that won’t know who or how great her father was. Ember will be a shell of her former self if she survives, an-and Spike will be killed because I’ll be too weak to protect him!” Twilight screamed out, her tears soaking Celestia’s fur and the seats. She didn’t care, the emotional turmoil that Twilight was going through was far more important. “Who said that Cadence’s foal won’t know their father? If anything I think Cadence will make sure that her foal knows just how great Shining was. As for your parents, I will tell them myself. Not only as a professional courtesy but as a family one. Ember has a great resilience and strong will, but I won’t sugar coat it, her chances of survival are indeed slim. And you won’t be alone to protect Spike, you’ll have all your friends and us as well, you’re more than capable of protecting everyone when you put your mind to it.” Celestia calmly spoke as Twilight’s crying ceased, her eyes red and puffy but had calmed down. “Th-Thank you, I really needed that.” “It’s never a problem. You should never hold in your emotions, no matter how bad they might be. And if you need someone to talk to then you can always send me a letter.” Twilight gave another tight hug that Celestia returned, thankful for the moment as Celestia stood to her hooves. Twilight followed suit as they headed for the door. “Alright, now to see what Sombra wants.” Celestia grumbled as she left Twilight to help with the Crystal ponies. With this being her final pony to meet she wanted to make it quick and hopefully Sombra didn’t have any trivial matters during these times. When she entered his cabin, she was surprised to find him pacing back and forth. “I never thought I’d see the day where the mighty King Sombra was pacing back and forth like a colt getting ready to ask out a filly.” Celestia’s comment made him pause, but he gave no comeback. He simply exasperated and sat down. “As fun as it would be to have a back-and-forth, it can wait another day. There are far more pressing matters to discuss.” Sombra’s diplomacy made Celestia cautious. He was never one for idle chatter unless he benefited from it or was insulting someone, but it meant that he wanted this to be serious. “Okay then, what do you want to discuss.” “Tirek is the subject I wish to discuss.” Sombra got to the point as Celestia narrowed her eyes. “I can tell what you’re thinking, but there’s more to Tirek’s story than he’s revealed. He and Torch were alive during Acnologia’s reign and disappearance, and both say the same thing; Acnologia was a being that everyone feared. I’ve seen the lacrima that Torch left behind, and it’s clear that Torch was older than Tirek if he assumes Acnologia to be from before the unification. Which means one thing.” Sombra stared into Celestia’s eyes and the realization dawned on her. “Acnologia’s existed since the days of Grogar. But it’s impossible to think that those two didn’t cross paths, the land would’ve shown a fierce battle had taken place along with remnants of their magical power. It would’ve been recorded in history had they crossed paths. Unless of course…Acnologia is far older than even those dark ages and vanished before Grogar's reign.”
