Chapters The Beginning of a Dark Journey
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
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Nightsky stood there in the middle of the forest for about an hour, when he finally came to his senses. He was just forced into a quest to free the master of a celestial princess, who was imprisoned in a mountain range nopony had ever heard of, and was just left there by his biggest asset. Well isn't life just peachy. Luckily Nightsky was born a unicorn, and a powerful one too. Not as strong as Twilight Sparkle, or any of her friends, but he would never be that strong. The Elements had been declared legends around the time that Despair had been noticed, but the pale horse was all but forgotten by now. Nightsky used a spell to find the quickest way out of the forest, and picked up the tattered cloak lying on the ground in front of him. He felt a strange surge of power the instant he put it on. He could have sworn he saw a shadow jump, but decided that it was a crow or something. The cloak, he soon realized, was actually very good at keeping anonymity. Now nopony would be able to see his midnight blue coat, or the white circle of fur on his head that surrounded his horn, which was naturally sharp and covered with markings. The dark horse set out for his journey by paying a visit to Ponyville for supplies. As he was about to leave the everfree he heard a voice that stopped him in his tracks.
"You must not stop for anything" It was a strange voice that sounded like it was growling and talking at the same time.
"Where are you?" Nightsky said aloud.
"Do not speak to me out loud, lest you attract to much attention." It growled inside his head.
"Can you hear my thoughts?"
"Yes, I can hear your thoughts. I must warn you, this quest may kill you, and if it does, I will punish you for your failure."
"Why all of this?" The blue unicorn was scared, and it could feel it.
"You must be careful, I can only speak to you with this cloak on, but all the others will sense it too. I was going to kill them all, and a seven nation army couldn't hold me back. No one wants to hear about it, and every single one's got a story to tell. Everyone knows about me, from the queen of Equestria to the hounds of hell. And once you leave this forsaken forest, they will find you. Holy assassins that will kill you to keep me locked away, but I trust that you will finally be the one to do it. To free me." It growled in his mind.
"Can I have one last question?"
"Yes."
"Who are you?" The horse asked simply.
"I am the Keeper of Souls, the Grim Reaper, the Fourth Horseman, I am Death. Now run to me before they find you."
"But what about-"
"Run!" It belllowed in the poor horses head.
It was like something had taken over his legs for him. Nightsky was running but he didn't know why or how or where. All he knew was that he was making a deal with death, and he had never heard a happy ending to that story.
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Celestia awoke screaming. She hoped it wasn't true, she hoped that this one would fail just as the others did. But with every attempt they got closer, and she had the feeling that this would be the final try. Her nightmares would come true, her kingdom would be crushed yet again, her life would be destroyed, and that bastard would make her suffer. Her greatest nightmare was rotting in the bottom of a pit made of light guarded by the entirety of heaven, but she knew that this last effort would be successful, and the outcome would be what she feared the most. Not death, not the destruction of her life, not her suffering, not the death of a few of her loyal guards, but the destruction of everything.
"Why now?" She asked herself.
"Because this prison bores me." That dreaded voice snarled in her head.
"No!" She yelled loud enough to wake the entirety of the castle.
"No welcoming party? That is quite disrespectful of you. Goodbye my pretty pony." Its horrible laugh rattled in her head, and she shook with fear, too scared to even notice the fact she was being carried to the hospital tower by a few frantic guards.
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Chained to the platform of light by your wrists and ankles, the angels had no clue of what you were doing. They hadn't known anything since they took up the oath of guard ten thousand years ago. Your rescue was coming, and you would help him succeed, even if you had to give him full control of the shadows. The fire outlining every muscle in your blackened body flared, your horns grew a few inches, and your eyes brightened to a crimson flame. You let out the roar of millions of souls screaming in agony, and rip at the chains holding you. You hear the sound of thousands of swords being drawn from their scabbards.
"Ready the containment armor!" The leading angel yelled.
"Yes sir!" Another one yelled back.
Light started to glow around you. It intensified until it was as bright as a small sun, and then hardened into plates that fit different areas of your body perfectly. The plates slam into your body with enough force to crush a car into a tin can, and you find yourself sprawled out on the platform clad in armor made of solid light. It burned everywhere it touched and you let out another deafening roar. Something is different this time though, this time you can move your arms slightly. Not enough to be seen, but enough to know that sooner or later you will escape, with or without the help of your horse.
Author's Note
Hope you like the new story. Tell me what you think about it. All constructive criticism and compliments are accepted.
It's important to know if you are dealing with shadows.
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Nightsky was perplexed by the fact that his running could not be stopped. He was beyond exhaustion, his legs ached, he had even fallen asleep, and he kept running. He had fallen asleep, and he was still running. What kind of force had possessed the poor horse to push his body to the point where it exceeded his physical limits. His legs were sore, his entire body was cramping, the pain was enormous, but try as he might his body would not let him stop. The dark blue unicorn looked down at his legs and noticed that, despite the soreness everywhere, the muscles in his legs were roughly four times larger than before.
"How far have I run?" He wondered to himself.
"You have been running at sixty miles an hour for about five thousand miles. Physically impossible for a horse, but I am altering you to make you supernatural. When I'm done you'll be able to run as fast as a sports car, indefinitely." That voice was back, as Nighsky had put on the cloak to cool down a bit.
"What's a sports car?" He had never heard of anything like that.
"A machine that travels distances at very fast speeds. I'll not explain anymore, it is not relevant to the mission. Have you noticed the shadows?" It questioned him with a rather uncaring voice.
"It seems like they jump sometimes, becoming solid and then non-existant again in the same second." The blue horse had been wondering about it for a while, maybe it wasn't dehydration.
"Next time you see it, think about moving it somewhere else, I would like to see if you have the curse."
"Curse? I have a curse? Nopony told me about this! Am I going to die?" The misfit pony was panicking.
"I see it as a gift. Very few have it, and they can only use it with the cloak to amplify the power. You may die, but not from the curse, most likely it will be of your own stupidity. Now go back to sleep so I can work on you." It growled in his head.
A few seconds later he was out cold, enveloped in his own shadow, and dashing across the progressively colder plains faster than any other horse ever had. What he didn't see before he fell into his dreams, however, was the large pony flying above him and watching.
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Celestia looked down on the horse to confirm that it was true. Death was coming back and he was reaching out to ponies for help. Even now she could see the poor unicorn's body being changed in front of her. He was wearing the armor of her greatest enemy, which she knew had at least a small part in what was happening, and he was running faster than anypony had ever been recorded at. It was terrifying to see the extent of Death's powers even when he was trapped, chained, and beaten down in a cage made of burning light. It was obvious that the poor pony was sleeping, but it didn't explain why he was still running. As the solar princess watched Death's key, she noticed her shadow acting up.
"What would you do if I told you I hate you? What would you do if your life's on the line?" That dreaded voice rattled in her head.
"No, you can't do this." The princess was panicking.
"I'll be breaking your body so don't try fighting. You have to keep them fed, or the dead keep biting." It laughed at her.
A skeletal demon ripped away from her shadow. The blackened pile of magically revived bones flew up towards her and pulled a sword from it's chest. As it passed her in the air, the sword was dragged across her pelt, cut her down to the bone, and engraved a line into her ribs. The demon came back down with surprising speed and impaled her back, cutting into her stomach and spilling blood into the airstream behind them. Unfortunately for the demon he had brought his head down on to Celestia's horn, even more unfortunately for the alicorn, the skeleton shattered and drove chips of bone into her skin. Her now crimson coat was already healing, but again, as she was screaming, she heard that voice.
"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the dead bite." As the monster says this her own shadow reaches up in a tentacle and wraps around her neck. "Wrap a rope around your head and watch you as you take flight."
Her neck jerked backwards while she was flying at significant speed, therefore snapping her neck and crushing her windpipe. Celestia plummeted to the ground and crashed with several popping sounds as more bones broke. She would be sitting there for a few days while she healed. Lying there, all alone, in her own blood, with nothing but pain and Death himself to keep her company.
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Luna watched her masters efforts with joy. That timid horse that had been sent to her to start a quest was now undergoing the same changes Despair went through to become her masters horse. Only this one wouldn't get his horn cut off, he would be controlled by her master until he got close enough to make a distraction. Her master would break free and release darkness over the world, and reign forever with her at his side.
"Luna dear, how have you been?" The voice she loved so much bounced around her head.
"I have been lonely master." She nearly crooned.
I haven't, I have the company of these incompetent angels."
"It will be over soon master, and I have a present when you come back."
"Well I'll look forward to that then, goodbye Luna. See you soon." The queen of the night sighed as the last sound of her lover's voice echoed away.
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Being trapped in the light didn't hurt nearly as much as it did ten thousand years ago. The fact that you could crack the containment plates now was an accomplishment, but you couldn't let the angels see, or your only chance would be lost. Soon though, you would be free and the world would feel your fury.
Author's Note
The first person to tell me the song I made a reference to gets a sneak peak at The Angel of Death. Also, tell me what you like about the story so far. All constructive criticism and compliments are accepted.
War makes strange giant creatures out of us little routine men who inhabit the earth.
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Waking up for the seventh time, Nightsky was beginning to stare at his own body as he ran. He was wondering how long it had been, and decided to ask the weird voice in his head.
"How long has it been?"
"Two days. Look around you, what do you notice?" It asked, as if it was setting something up.
Nightsky realized that he hadn't actually looked around in a while. Most of the time he would wake up have a conversation with the voice in his head, and fall asleep again. So he decided to obey, and when he looked up he gasped. the ground around him was covered in snow, and trees weighed down with ice were scattered randomly, which he only saw as glittery blurs that flew by as bolted past them.
"How fast am I going" He asked, shocked.
"You are running at two-hundred-forty-three miles per hour, or slightly faster than a mile every fifteen seconds. You are also strong enough to send a pony through a brick wall, and no longer have need for physical energy. If you can push past the pain and weariness for long enough you will enter a state of bliss, but it will hit you like a battering ram when you stop." Its growling started bouncing around in his head.
"What? How is that possible?" He was dumbfounded.
"Magical alteration of a creature stronger than gods. I'm giving you control, I expect you will be able to sprint better than I can make you. Run towards the mountains in front of you, watch the shadows and they will point you in the right direction." The final words echoed, and he tripped.
He hit the snow with a thud, and lost his breath immediately. It wasn't from hitting the ground though, he had stopped moving and just as the voice said, it hit him like a battering ram. Nightsky lie down for a few minutes in the light of the sunset and regained his breath, his muscles ached, his lungs burned, and he couldn't comprehend the power of the feelings, but he got up on shaking legs and started to run. He was trotting at close to one hundred miles an hour. He let out a yell of enjoyment and started sprinting. He would find the pony who gave him these powers, and thank him by freeing him.
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Celestia had been lying there for two and a half days. It wasn't a pool of blood anymore though. It was more like being trapped in a lump of red concrete. She felt it the minute her bones and skin had mended, and shot out of the red structure. Flakes of her own sun baked blood fell from her red-stained wings. She took off in the direction of Canterlot. She would prepare the defenses herself. Every one of the unicorn guards at the city would hold the shield. She didn't have the technology of Earth, but Death didn't either now. Her fighting flame had been rekindled and it was blazing by the time she got back to the castle. The first thing she did was meet with Shining Armor.
"Princess! Whats wrong with you?" The guard captain gasped when he saw her red painted coat.
"Every unicorn in the guard must hold the shield this time, all the pegasi must be sent into the sky now, and have the earth ponies take up arms. Tell the builders to dig bunkers in the mountain and line them with iron wood." Celestia said as the wall in front of her burst apart.
Silver armor plates with gold details floated threw the hole and wrapped around the princess. She was covered head to toe in thick armor that protected her but still made her look regal.
"We are preparing for war captain."
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Nightsky was already halfway up the mountains when something strange happened. The entire mountain shook and half of it separated from the main rock. A massive stone giant turned toward him, and swung. Nightsky dashed up the remaining rock as fast as he could, but was launched into the air by the sheer force of the blow to the mountain. As he flew into the air along with several massive boulders, the sight of the valley took his breath away. He looked down on a beautiful picture, the valley was filled with trees that were burning with the purest flame, specks of light rising up from the landscape, and in the center of it all, was a massive swirling vortex of holy light. Then he started falling, the view disappeared, and the specks of light got closer. He noticed that the lights were actually strange looking figures clad in golden armor with weapons of all sorts. As the midnight blue unicorn fell he just barely missed the fist of the giant, and somehow landed. He started running and heard the voice again.
"Drop my cloak, it will stop the giant from noticing you. Run from the angels, I'll deal with them." It growled with happiness.
Nightsky did as he was told, undid the latch, and took off.
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The cloak flew through the air, and passed all of the angels, who tried to catch hold of it as it flew. It was sucked into the vortex, and landed directly in front of you. Clad in the same armor of light that they loved to trap you in, you stand up with ease, and the armor around you shatters as you roar. You yank at the chains and they crack their bonds like an egg dropped from several hundred feet. You take your cloak with both hands, and feel like your old self again. You are again the symbol that everything fears. Unfathomable power to kill, clad in shadow, and concealed in a tattered grey cloak.
"And now I am become Death! The destroyer of worlds!"
Author's Note
One or two more chapters and then I'll be moving on to The Angel of Death . All constructive criticism and compliments are accepted.
When the prison doors are opened, the real dragon will fly out.
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You are the way you like to be again, finding comfort in the symbol you uphold, and the unstoppable power you hold in your shadowy palm. As you place your hand on the floor of your prison, all resistance to your escape ceases. The shadow starts overtaking the light, and soon enough you are in a land of darkness. You withdraw your hand from the blackness and the prison shatters.
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Nightsky hears a sudden silence. It was strange though, as if he had gone deaf. He stopped, turned around, and saw a magnificent display of power. The half-mountain was now a large pile of rock underneath the wrath of the rock giant, allowing him to see the exhibit in all of its glory. The massive vortex of light was being overtaken by the blackness of shadow, and all the events seemed to act out in slow motion, from the angels fleeing, to the mountain giant trying to shield everything else. Nothing was heard anywhere in the world, and in one glorious moment, the end was set into motion. The unholy black vortex imploded on itself and released a wave of darkness. Nightsky watched as the giant was split into pebbles by the force of it, as the angels were trapped inside the shadow, as the flames of the trees were extinguished, and as the mountains themselves shattered into massive boulders that ripped the landscape into pieces. All the dark horse could do was stand in silence as the wave hit him, and he was thrown back at speeds faster than he could run, but instead of bliss he felt a pain equivalent to pulverizing every bone in his body fifty times over. He struggled against the ungodly force and watched as a slideshow played out all around him. Every direction had a different image that changed every time he looked back to it. He saw small movies of a cloaked figure gruesomely ending the lives of so many creatures. The concealed shadows severing the head of something he could only call a demon, slicing the foal out of changeling, crushing a regal pony between two stones, splitting a demon in half, ripping apart a dragon above a city being slaughtered, slaying great living factories, quartering the god of chaos, watching as innocent ponies got disemboweled by massive shockwaves, tearing through the armor of the god of war, carving up Celestia's horn, killing changelings in the hundreds, throwing angels into hell, torturing legends, ripping open the chest of a large god, sieging Canterlot, being imprisoned, and finally freeing himself. Nightsky opened his eyes and found himself looking into the eyes of Death himself.
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Celestia saw it through the eye of the sun. Death had broken free, and the shadow was coming. The shadow that had been imprisoned with the first of the demons had been held back for too long, and now it was free to do its master's bidding. The tidal wave of darkness that flooded the planet caused her ponies to be sent into positions of war. All creatures with enough evil in their heart were sent to the obliterated mountain range, and all the others were sent to Celestia's front gates wearing the armor of the guard. She galloped into the throne room.
"Boost the strength of the shields!" The white alicorn yelled to the unicorn guards.
They obeyed in the same second that the shadow hit them. The massive shield bubble held just barely as the storm of darkness bombarded the city, and by the time it was over the protective sphere was covered in a spider web of solid night. The solar princess tried to use the sun but was thrown into the wall by an invisible force hard enough to shatter a few of her bones, which now protruded from the skin as soon as she attempted it.
"Ah, ah, ah, my pretty little princess, no tricks this time, I don't want any spying. You must realize that I am truly excited, two princess instead of one, or maybe even three if you can convince Cadance to get herself off of her crystal throne for once. I wonder how my dear Twilight Sparkle has held up, will she fight me? Or will she attempt suicide like you did all those years ago? I understand she has met my horse, I even saw the training he gave her. Her friends met him too, and they're all immortal together. What a shock it will be when they see him aiding the end of creation." That insidious, mocking snarl echoed in her head.
And just like that, the voice was gone. Leaving her to prepare whatever defenses she could.
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The wave of shadows hit Ponyville and the everfree forest soon enough. Luna ran into the wall as it came rushing towards her, and came out the other side completely unharmed. She looked around and found something amazing. The display of absolute power lying all around her was like the universes most beautiful sculpture, for it meant that her master was home at last. The piles of rock that used to be mountains, the darkness writhing in the sky, the griffon's, dragons, and ponies with black hearts. It was all a testament to his power. Now if only she could find her beloved amongst the crowd, after walking around for a while she saw him talking to Despair and Nightsky.
"Hello dear Luna!" He growled as he turned around and opened his arms wide.
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Despair was standing just a few yards away from Death as he explained his power to Nightsky. The immortal horse was sure that he would walk over there, but he didn't know what would happen when he did. Would he die for not completing this process in a short enough time, or would he be praised for being a loyal horse. Despair couldn't tell, but what did he have to lose? His wife died long ago along with all traces of love, his family was reduced to hiding in the mountains, in fact all he had left was his friendship with the Elements. But he would lose that as soon as they found out what he is and what he does. Keeping all of this in mind, he walked to his long forgotten master.
Author's Note
When the skies grow dark, and the winds become cold, all shall hail the bringer of death. All constructive criticism and compliments are accepted.
Every crisis offers you extra desired power
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The eyes of Death were the most terrifying thing Nightsky had ever seen. Crimson flames dancing behind thick shadow, filled with things he could only hope to never see again. The shadow itself was disturbing, a thing so dark and corrupted that is was blacker than the night itself. If he looked hard enough he could see flames hiding behind the shadows outlining a face, but only barely. Something in his head was telling him to run so far away that he would never see anything ever again, the other part was telling him to stay.
"Hello my loyal servant." It is the same voice that he heard in his head, but with a happier tone.
"You're a lot different than I thought you would be." The dark unicorn was surprised that he could stay so calm.
"It tends to be that way. When creatures meet a being of absolute power, they expect something a bit more spectacular than a robe." The voice is starting to creep him out, when somepony else walks over.
"Hello master." Despair says simply. The midnight blue horse couldn't believe that his generations old grandfather was telling the truth.
"My faithful horse! I've not had the time to keep an eye on you, until you found that rather fine specimen of a horse. I'm so glad you finally got around to making a family for yourself, in fact, I am so happy that I decided to get you a gift." He growls happily.
As you hold out a hand you release the soul of Despair's late wife, Rose Thornsword. You use a small amount of power, and give her body back, instead of just the reanimated skeleton. She has a dark red mane, a crisp white coat, and a lean figure.
"Quite beautiful for a horse, and immortal now too. The soul has been released from it's prison, and has been given a body. Therefore she will live just as long as you will."
"Thank you so much master!" The pale horse exclaims to his charge, and leaves to have a joyful reunion with his wife.
"Hello dear Luna!" He snarls playfully as he turns around, arms open wide.
"Master!" She yells happily as she starts galloping forward.
Death must know everything if he knew she was standing there, she was behind about five ponies. Luna being here at all was strange, but it got stranger when she pulled a little stunt. At first, she was normal Luna, galloping towards Death, but then Nightsky blinked, and he suddenly saw a tan human with long starry hair running towards the cloaked figure, and jumping into his arms.
"There's my little piece of heaven! Well, you're the closest I'll ever get to it because I'm barred from that place forever."
"Why must you put a sour note on everything master?" Luna says before kissing him on the cheek.
"If you're tired of sour notes then I say we celebrate me coming back. We shall celebrate the end!"
After the announcement of the celebration several preparations were made. All the ponies with black hearts were sacrificed and used to summon Death's army of demons. In a matter of hours, thousands of bodies were burning in a ring which was conjuring the demons of the world with its smoke. The demons then proceeded to dig out a massive hole, which was going to take them a few weeks to finish. After the grunts got to work on the hole, decorations were hung, food was made, the officers put on their formal wear, and the celebration started.
"This is gorgeous master!" Luna squeals excitedly.
She was in a black dress with white crystals woven into the fabric. White stitches outlined the curves in the dress, and in turn accentuated her curves as well. The dress was a simple flowing dress, nothing was overdone except for a few small details, such as the fact the the dress was made of three layers. The inner and outer layers are velvet, but in between is a layer of kevlar, just in case.
"I'm glad you like it Luna, would you like a drink?" You are still growling, but she doesn't mind.
"Yes, please." Luna is still shocked at the dress you had the demons make for her.
As you walk over to the table with drinks sitting on it, one of the officers bumps into you.
"You want to say sorry?" You growl angrily.
"Nope!" He yells and laughs along with his buddies.
"And that my friends, is the correct answer." Your voice drips with malice.
Shadows form into that infamous scythe. The faces are as restless as ever, and are still screaming silently. The officer raises his arm to block, but the arm comes off. Shards of bone fly, cords of muscle separate from the severed arm, and it all hits thhe ground with a bloody mess. The demon doesn't say anything, but he stares at the stump that is dumping all of the blood out of him. What he doesn't notice is that his armor is being broken into dagger shapes by she shadows climbing through it. When everything is disconnected it floats off of his body, the points spin towards him, they drive themselves deep into him, and you slam the scythe into his head with a thud. Whatever color he was before doesn't matter, he is red now and as you walk away with two glasses you say,
"Someone clean this mess up."
The rest of the night goes without a single problem, everyone enjoys the feast set out for them, and you and Luna slip away for a while. Everything is going wonderfully for you, but in a different part of the planet a white god contemplates jumping out of a window, even though she knows you won't allow it. She is the only other pony aware of what is to come next, and she is preparing for the end.
Author's Note
The end will come in Angel of Death, be sure to give it a look. All constructive criticism and compliments are accepted.
