//------------------------------// // XV. // Story: The Nobody's Regret // by Synthetic Soul //------------------------------// The Crystal Empire was in complete and utter chaos. As the battle between Roxas and the Crystal Behemoth began, building after building came crumbling down as a result of the clash between the two destructive powers. The royal guard elites who had journeyed to the empire as part of the strike team were now doing what they could to get the citizens of the empire to safety. Hard Rock and his team were currently leading a group of Sombra’s freed soldiers and laborers to the underground, where they hoped that the magically reinforced load bearers in the mines would keep it from collapsing. “Let’s move ponies, go go go!” he ordered as he motioned with his hoof the direction they were to go. Jus then, a loud booming roar could be heard, one that shook the very ground beneath them. Hard Rock glanced up at the titan as it did battle with a tiny black figure. The giant beast was trying to swat the figure away, but couldn’t move fast enough. ‘That must be Sir Roxas,’ thought the guard as he watched in amazement, as Roxas disappeared and reappeared over great distances and hitting the Behemoth with his weapon. ‘His speed, it’s amazing! Despite that monsters power, it can’t compete with him!’ I ran down the arm of the Crystal Behemoth, heading strait for his head. He was big and powerful, but very slow. He raised his other arm in the air, and tried to bring it down on me. I dashed forward, and struck the monster in the jaw. He then let out a roar, which blew me backwards. I flew through the air, before entering a darkness portal, disappearing from his sight. The titan let out a confused grunt, as I reappeared behind him, on top of a building. ‘I can hit him all day, but until I find a weak spot, he won’t be going down.’ I began searching his body, looking for weaknesses in his armor. The beast, not knowing where I was, turned left and right, trying to find me. Failing, he let out a frustrated growl, and raised one of his arms into the air, and smashed it down on the ground. The force of the hit shook the ground, and the buildings within the radius. The damaged and weakened buildings began to crumble, the one I was on being one of them. I leapt into the air, rising above the behemoth. “Damn it,” I muttered under my breath. “If this fight continues much longer, the whole Empire will be destroyed! If he’d used both arms, the damage would have been doubled! Wait…why didn’t he use both arms?” Deciding to find out why, I fell forward, heading to the front of the titan. As I did, I noticed that his other arm had a long crack on it. ‘I didn’t do that…how did he…wait, that’s where he hit himself when he was trying to squash me!’ “That’s it!” I now realized that I didn’t need to expend all my energy on trying to damage him, when I can instead get him to fight himself! I landed on the ground, and faced the monster. He looked down at me and growled. He then raised his foot, and tried to step on me. I leapt backwards as the foot came down. I then made my way onto his foot, and started whacking his ankle with my Keyblades to get his attention. He roared, and swung his good arm at me, making an attempt to crush me in his grasp. I teleported behind his hand and shot forward, spinning with my Keyblades held long ways at my sides. I then reared them back, and struck the back of his hand, adding to the already present force. His hand slammed against his leg, causing a sound like breaking glass through a megaphone to be heard as cracks appeared. ‘This is good,’ I thought as I landed on the ground. ‘All I have to do is keep this going, and he’s as good as done!’ Celestia leaned backwards as Sombra swung his blade, missing her throat by an inch. She backed up, and waited for Sombra’s next attack. The dark king was about to strike again, but halted when Luna teleported above him, falling down, and striking at him with her hoof. Sombra dodged to the side as Luna struck the floor, leaving a cracked impact upon it. Sombra turned to dark smoke and slithered away, and then rematerialized. Celestia reared back and shot a blast of magic at Sombra, who countered with one of his own. The two magical attacks clashed, creating a loud bang. As the blasts died down, Luna appeared right next to Sombra, and bucked him with her hind legs. The king let out a gasp as he was hurled onto the ground. He let out a cough, spewing black blood onto the floor. He then wiped his mouth with his hoof, before rising back to his hooves. The two sisters stood in front of him in battle stances, ready to continue the fight. ‘They are more powerful than I anticipated,' thought Sombra as he analyzed the situation. ‘Their battle power is very formidable. I might need to apply different methods if I am to win this fight.’ Suddenly, and idea came to the unicorns mind. An evil idea, one that made him chuckle to himself. The sisters tensed as they heard this. The stallion lit his horn, and the glow of his eyes increased. He then reared up on his hind hooves, and let out a multi-toned shout. Out of his mouth came dozens of dark, shadowy wraiths, each one screaming like a soul being tortured in hell. Celestia and Luna’s eyes widened as the dark beings rapidly flew around them in a circle. Though their screams were incomprehensible, inside their minds, Celestia and Luna could hear words being spoken to them. TYRANT SELFISH USELESS Celestia could hear these things being whispered to her. She tried to ignore them, and push forward, but she couldn’t break free of the dark vortex. The spirits still remained. The voices grew louder, causing Celestia to shut her eyes, and try and block out the noise. For Luna, the wraiths were even more intense. She heard things being said to her quickly, over and over again. NO ONE LOVES YOU NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR NIGHT YOU ARE NOTHING BUT YOUR SISTERS SHADOW “Shut up,” said Luna, though she couldn’t even hear herself over the screaming spirits. CELESTIA ONLY ALLOWS YOU THE TITLE OF PRINCESS OUT OF PITY “Shut up!” she said louder this time, as the voices continued to hurl their venomous words at her. SHE IS A GODDESS, AND YOU ARE A DEMON “SHUT UP!” screamed Luna in rage. As soon as she did this, the voices and the wraiths disappeared, as did all light. For when Luna opened her eyes, all she saw was darkness. “W-what? Where am I?” Luna turned around, and still, all she could see was blackness. “Tia? Tia!” No reply. There was no noise in this void, and no light. Just Luna. As Luna stood there in the darkness, a feeling of fear began to worm its way into her heart. “T-Tia?” “This is what they think of your precious night,” came a menacing voice. One that Luna recognized. “Sombra! Show yourself!” challenged Luna as she lit her horn and took a defensive stance. “When ponies think of the night, they think of darkness and fear. Creatures of prey slither in the dark, waiting to consume the weak and defenseless. And ponies know this. To them, there is only cold, dark, fear in the night.” “That’s not-“ but before Luna could finish, a bright light appeared in front of her. The light blinded the princess, causing her to need to shield her eyes with her foreleg. “But the sun! When ponies see the sun, they feel warm in safe!” When the light lost its intensity, Luna was able to look and see a scene in front of her. She was now standing on a balcony, the balcony of her castle. Next to her was her sister, and in front of them, was a large gathering of ponies, all cheering. Luna looked about timidly. She remembered this; it was a proud moment from her past. It was the day she and her sister were welcomed as the new rulers of Equestria. Luna walked forward, gaining a more pleased expression, and then waved to the ponies, just like they had done on that day, so long ago. “They are not cheering for you.” Suddenly, iron chains descended from the sky. Luna let out a surprised gasp as they wrapped around her, and yanked the princess upward, away from her sister and the ponies. “What is going on?” questioned the princess. “The ponies have rejected your night sky for so long. They bask in the suns light, and honor your sister, yet they shun you and your night. They don’t care for the art you create. Compared to Celestia, you will always be second best.” ‘No…that’s not true! Ponies DO appreciate my night sky! I am my sisters equal!’ Luna felt that she should reject Sombra’s claim, but…she couldn’t. ‘But then, why don’t they express joy for the night like they do the day? In the day, they hold parties and celebrations. Each morning they greet the new day with a smile. But when the moon rises, they retreat indoors. They stay inside instead of looking at the stars that I spend so much effort to arrange…’ Luna just hung where the chains were holding her as she looked down on the image of ponies cheering Celestia, alone. Grief covered her face as she took in what she was seeing. “It doesn’t have to be this way though.” Luna looked up to see Sombra materialize in front of her. She watched as he made his way closer to her. “I personally don’t think ponies give you enough credit. The night is a beautiful darkness. It is powerful and deadly. If we work together, we can show ponies that the suns light is meaningless. We will make ponies appreciate the night. Join me, and we will eliminate Celestia, and rule together in a world of eternal night.” The image appeared in Luna’s head. She saw her sister lying on the ground, with her standing triumphantly above her. She saw her and Sombra sitting upon their thrones, ruling over Equestria with her moon permanently replacing the sun. YOU WOULD BE SUBORDINATE TO NO ONE ALL WOULD KNOW YOUR NIGHTS BEUTY Luna could hear the words whisper in her mind. Luna had never desired these things, but now, it was all she could think about. It felt like a dream she had held onto since she was small. Power, respect…love. No one would shun the night sky again. Then she saw her sister again, lying on the ground with a pleading expression. But then she saw herself, another version of herself. She watched as this version of Luna stood triumphantly over her sister. Celestia looked up at the alternate Luna. “Please…don’t do this.” Luna merely smirked, before bringing her hoof down on Celestia, ending her life. The real Luna couldn’t look away. The scene shifted again, this time showing Roxas on his knees, with Sombra standing behind him. Sombra chuckled as he raised his blade, and placed it on Roxas’s neck. He then drew the blade across, and as he did so, the scene dissipated like dust in the air. “We could have it all,” whispered Sombra in Luna’s ear. “No one to challenge us, no one to stand in our way! Think of it! We’d be unstoppable!” Tears came to Luna’s eyes as she tried to fight whatever was affecting her. She felt a deep, horrible compulsion to act on these new ideas. ‘It would be so easy, with the two of us…’ she thought. ‘We could…we could…’ NO. She could hear a new voice now, one different from the others that had been plaguing her. It was gentle and calm. This isn’t what you want. You would be more alone than ever. You would have no one to love you. You’d have no one but him…a cruel and manipulative monster. He would use you. He would abuse you. And once you gave him what he wants…. he’d get rid of you. Don’t trust his lies. Trust your friends. Your family. Suddenly, Luna was filled with a new feeling. One of determination. One of loyalty. Loyalty to her family, and her friends, and the determination to free the Crystal Empire of Sombra’s iron hoof. “So Princess…will you join me?” questioned the dark king. Luna breathed heavily, before looking up at the stallion. “No…NO!” cried Luna. The force of her shout pushed Sombra back and broke the chains that gripped her. “What!” roared Sombra. “I will never join you!” challenged Luna, filled with the fires of determination. Luna’s emotion empowered her magic, and when she lit her horn, the dark world she was trapped in began to crumble and crack. With a stomp of her hoof, the darkness shattered. Luna found herself lying on the floor of Sombra’s throne room, with the black wraiths circling her and her sister. Luna grit her teeth, and stood up on her hooves “Be gone!” She yelled as she stomped her hoof. A burst of magic erupted from her horn, blowing the spirits away from her and Celestia. She then turned to look at her sister who was lying on the floor, covering her ears with her hooves. “Be quiet!” she repeated over and over. Luna quickly made her way over sister. “Tia, Tia!” said Luna as she nudged her sister. It took a few moments, but Celestia began to calm down, removing her hooves from her ears, and slowly looking over to Luna. “Luna?” questioned Celestia. “Yes sister, it’s me.” “What happened?” “Sombra’s dark magic. He trapped us in illusion.” Celestia visibly seemed to remember what had happened. “You-you broke us free?” “Yes, I did.” “He, impressive little sister,” said Celestia with a smirk. Luna nodded with a smile of her own. “Thank you. Now come, we have a job to finish.” Luna helped Celestia up of the ground, and the two turned to face their adversary. Sombra looked at the two with a shocked expression. “Impossible! You should not have been able to break free of my curse!” “Looks like you underestimated us Sombra,” said Celestia with confidence. “It will be the last mistake you ever make,” stated Luna. And then the two charged. I stood atop the Crystal Behemoths head as it roared in outrage. I just smirked in response as I looked at the thing. Cracks ran all along its body, and it was having trouble standing. Being a mindless brute, my strategy had worked, and now the beast was nearly down. I twirled my Keyblades in my hands as I waited for him to attempt to crush me yet again. “Now now, you want this to be quick don’t you? Then give me everything you’ve got,” I told the giant. It roared, and raised its least damaged arm into the air above me. It then brought its fist down as hard as it could and I quickly teleported above the titans appendage. “Time to finish this.” I then shot down strait towards the fist, preparing to add my own strength to the hit. I reared back my Keyblades, and right when the Behemoths fist hit the top of his head, I struck hard. The combined force did the trick. The monster let out a loud roar as its head cracked even further. I leapt onto a nearby building and watched. Shards started falling from the creature’s surface. It collapsed to its knees as the cracks spread, and soon, the entire body shattered like glass. Its bits and pieces filled the streets, overflowing like a flood. Then, it was over. I dematerialized my Keyblade and stepped off the edge of the roof, landing on the ground with a small thud. I looked around at the mess the battle had made. “That takes care of that,” I said with satisfaction. “Alright, now to help Celestia and Luna.” I began sprinting my towards the Palace, making my way inside. I wasted no time, and soon, I found myself at the entrance to the throne room. When I stepped inside, I saw Celestia and Luna firing a magical blast at Sombra. He was putting up as much resistance as he could, with a strained look on his face. But he was failing. The spell that the sisters were using was much more powerful. “No-no! It cannot end like th-this!” yelled Sombra through grit teeth. “It’s over Sombra!” yelled Celestia. The two put one final push in to their spell. It then overpowered Sombra’s counter, enveloping him in its light. “N-no!...Fine then, if I cannot rule the Crystal Empire, no one can!” As Sombra became enveloped by the spell, his body began to turn to black smoke. In a final act of desperation, he lit his horn, before the spell completed, banishing him to the frozen terrain that surrounded the Empire. His screams echoed as he disappeared. And then he was gone. The two sisters stood there, breathing heavy. “We did it…its over,” said Celestia. The two turned their heads to face me when they heard me making my way over to them. “Good job you two!” I congratulated. “Roxas! You defeated the giant?” questioned Luna. “Yeah, he won’t be a problem anymore.” “Impressive. It looks like the Empire is free now,” stated Celestia. The three of us stood there, feeling a great relief that we had been able to remove the dark king. Then, I took initiative. “Come on. Let’s get the others.” We turned and started walking out of the throne room. ‘Hm…I feel like I’m forgetting something.’ Suddenly, the ground beneath us began to shake. It shook worse than when the Crystal Behemoth was summoned. “Is it another one of those monsters?” cried Celestia. Suddenly the wind began to pick up. It was then that I knew what was happening. “No!” I yelled over the noise. “I think something worse is happening. We need to go, now!” I began sprinting for the exit. I stopped and turned and saw that the two had not yet moved. “Come on!” I yelled again. The two snapped out of their daze, and began to follow me. As we exited the palace, I looked up to see what was going on. There was a large black hole high up above the empire. The buildings, the crystal, everything was evaporating into glowing particles, that rose up and were sucked into the hole. As the three of us ran, I noticed the same thing was happening to us. We were fading, being absorbed into the darkness along with the empire. “What’s happening?” questioned Luna. “I think Sombra’s placed a curse on the Empire!” I replied, knowing full well what was happening. We kept running, but at the rate we were going, we wouldn’t make it out of the Empire before it disappeared. I stopped in my tracks, the two sisters stopping a few feet in front of me. “We aren’t going to make it out of here in time if we run. We need to teleport!” “What about the crystal ponies, and the guards we brought with us?” questioned Celestia. ‘That’s right,’ I thought. We brought soldiers with us. But we didn’t have enough time to go searching for them! The empire only had a few minutes left as it was! I shut my eyes and thought. This was a tough call, but I felt we had no real option here. They could be anywhere. “We could go searching for them, but if we don’t find them in time, no one will be able to escape the empire, including us!” “Are you saying we just leave them?” questioned Celestia. “I say, we hope that they’re able to get out on their own! But if we stay behind, we’ll all share the same fate!” “We can’t just leave them to die!” asserted Luna. I paused for a few moments, solemnly. “They won’t die,” I said. “What, how do you know?” questioned Luna. “I just…know, ok. I recognize this spell, it’s banishing the Empire, beyond time and space. It’ll be back…eventually, with everyone in it. Trust me, I know this isn’t a decision we want to make, but we have no real choice here!” The two sisters looked at each other, thinking about the decision at hand. “He has a point. And we do have a kingdom to look after,” stated Luna. Celestia looked anxious as she considered what Luna had said, before closing her eyes. “All right. Gather around me.” We did as asked, and got close to Celestia. She then lit her horn. And in a flash, we were gone. The panicked screams of the crystal ponies could be heard deep within the mines of the Crystal Empire, as the ponies, and their environment began fading away. “What’s going on?” “Are we dying?” The guards were trying to maintain order, but with so few of them, it was getting harder. Tumbler was trying to calm the ponies, while also trying to process what was happening to them. He felt a hoof tapping on his shoulder, and turned to see Brass standing behind him with a concerned expression. “I think we need to get everyone out of here!” he said. “But, we don’t know if its safe out there!” countered Tumbler. “Something is happening in here, and it might be worse than a giant crystal monster!” Tumbler looked at the ponies in the mines. They were scared, scared both of the danger of the battle, and the unknown of what was happening to them. “All right, let’s get out of here.” Brass nodded. He then turned to the pony’s crystal ponies, and the other soldiers. “Everyone, we’re leaving! Head to the entrance, we are leaving the empire!” There were murmurs between the ponies’, before the royal guards turned, and started leading them out of the mines. They began trotting for the exit of the mines. As they ran, the ponies steadily started to feel more and more tired. Not normal physical exhaustion, but something…different. Soon, all the ponies trotting turned to slow walking. They felt their eyes growing heavier. “I…I don’t…feel so good,” said one of the soldiers, as more of them were absorbed with the empire. “We need…to keep…moving,” stated Hard Rock tiredly. But as he fought forward, his body became limp, and his eyes lids started to feel heavy. ‘Why…am I so…tired?’ The entire group of ponies lost the energy to continue on. Simple slaves, and soldiers alike could do nothing, but lie down, and succumb to the intense tiredness. ‘Maybe…maybe I…should just…close my eyes…’ Every pony in the empire could do nothing but fall to their drowsiness as the empire was absorbed. And once it was complete, the ponies were cast into a deep, dreamless sleep that would last for a thousand years. The three of us stood upon a snowy embankment, as we watched the empire fade away. We didn’t see any ponies in the icy snow when it disappeared. “No one made it out,” muttered Celestia. “All those ponies…lost,” said Luna as her voice started to break. The two collapsed to their knees in the snow, as tears came to their eyes. I looked at the two. Was I not feeling the same despair as them because I knew what would happen in a thousand years, or was it because I simply had no heart? Well, whatever the reason, I was currently the one who had the strength to comfort the two. I knelt down between them, and put a hand on each of their withers. “They’ll be back,” I said. “H-how do you know?” asked Celestia. “I know this spell. I…studied it before I met the two of you. It’s banishment spell. It put everyone in the empire in a state of suspended animation. When the curse wears off…and it will…they will be back. Everyone we lost, we’ll find again.” I hugged the two mares, for quite some time. Eventually, they regained their composure. The three of us rose to our full heights. We looked back at the where the empire once was. With solemn expressions, we turned, and made our way back to where we came from. Little did I know something much worse was about to happen. Something that would affect me for the rest of my life.