//------------------------------// // Feasting // Story: Darkening of Equestria // by DeejayShuffle //------------------------------// Twilight was yet again perched upon her, now tidier, chair with her favorite blanket and a cup of coffee. She was bathed in warm candlelight as she pecked away at her final synopsis on the dark arts. In the past day and a half, she had consumed nearly every tome regarding dark magic Celestia had. Or at least, what Celestia was willing to fork over for study. What Twilight had first only understood as a strange deviation of normal magic used for secret purposes had blossomed into something much more. She now understood dark magic for what it was, a tailor-made weapon that could be utilized for a multitude of sadistic purposes. Throughout her readings, Twilight had discovered even more insane feats capable with dark magic such as physical and mental enhancement, magic vampiric abilities akin to Tirek’s powers, and even custom contagious magical diseases that spread by themselves without the need of more mana support. However, two things stood out to Twilight. The first one was how these abilities were used and unlocked. They couldn’t just be learned, the user also had to have enough base dark energy to make the spells possible. The more base dark energy a user had, the tougher and tougher spells they could support. This was completely different from normal magic, which was only limited by knowledge. The second was what truly disturbed her. The dark abilities Sombra displayed paled in comparison the things listed in Celestia’s tomes, including controlling raw shadow energy. Therefore, it stood to reason whoever had been messing with Luna had to have been orders of magnitude more powerful than Sombra. Twilight was scared to believe it, but it might be true. Even so, who could it be? No one in Equestrian history had ever been that powerful! It had to have been a fluke on Luna’s part, or else there was just a walking paradox hiding somewhere in Equestria! Despite her worries and the potential impossibility, Twilight still mentioned the possibility of a more powerful entity in her final report to Celestia. Twilight just hoped she had read enough. She wondered how much of it would be old news to Celestia, how much she already knew. After all, she had all of the tomes in the first place. But did she read them? Twilight kept wondering and musing the night away under candlelight as her report took shape. o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o It was late at night, and Celestia up in bed looking over another stack of proposals from the lords and ladies of the court. They all blurred together, becoming just another mass of paperwork she had wasted an evening on. As soon as Celestia was getting into a groove however, a familiar magical puff came from across the room, and Celestia saw a large scroll with a purple wax seal lying beside her arcane candle. At long last, Twilight’s report had come in. Excited to do something other than royal paperwork, Celestia got out of her massive bed and trotted across the room in her familiar golden and silk slippers. She grabbed Twilight’s scroll and headed over to the fireplace at the back of her room. Laying down on the rug, Celestia broke the purple seal and began reading Twilight’s report. It was thorough, no doubt. Twilight really didn’t miss a thing. As Celestia read, she slowly began to remember all of the many different exploits of dark magic, and just how terrifyingly powerful the medium was in general. It was a good refresher, and everything seemed fine until Celestia got to the conclusion of Twilight’s essay. As soon has she read the three words more powerful being, everything clicked. In shock at her revelation, Celestia dropped Twilight’s essay and got up as quickly as possible. Flinging on her night robe, she slammed open the doors to her bedroom and ran through the halls of the castle as quickly as possible. Wasting no time, Celestia took the sky as soon as she made it outside, and booked it to the watchtower. Sure enough, little Lulu was out there on the balcony with a cup of tea and a book, enjoying the full moon. As soon as she saw Celestia however, Luna closed her book and set down her tea, quickly making way for Celestia’s urgent landing. Luna looked puzzled. “My my sister! It’s been a long time since you came up here like that! You look ghastly. What troubles you?” Celestia exhaled feverently, tired from her rapid rush to the watchtower. “Much troubles me right now. I have made a terrifying revelation, and it’s repercussions if it is true could be dire.” Walking inside, Luna motioned for Celestia to have a seat on the sofa inside the watchtower as she settled into a chair herself. She then began mixing some more tea. “Then what is it? Your leave me in suspense!” Taking the tea Luna made for her, Celestia sat down and sighed. “So that report I asked from Twilight on dark magic came in, and I was reading over. Everything seemed spot on and unordinary, until I got to her conclusion. She concluded through her studies that due to the nature of the feat required in order to free shadow magic like that, the being pulling the strings would have to be orders of more magnitude more powerful. A more powerful being was how she put it.” Luna’s face went from pondering to stone cold with fear. “Oh no. You’re not thinking what I’m thinking. Right?” Celestia’s expression turned to one of loathing and hatred. “It can only be… Dracarthus. No one else fits the description better.” Luna gasped in disbelief. “It can’t be true! You said you killed him with your own two hooves! It HAS to be somepony else!” “Don’t turn a blind eye. It will get us nowhere. He’s the only one who matches the clues that closely. The shadows disappearing, the lack of other more powerful users, the missing horn. All of it.” Celestia said. Luna only looked more and more worried. “Missing horn? When?” “A few days ago, my informants gave me word, Cadence has yet to update me on the matter. I originally suspected this was because she was busy hunting for Sombra, but this changes everything.” Celestia took a sip of tea to calm her nerves. “If the horn is indeed missing, then you think he might… ?” Luna said. “I’m certain of it. We will see Sombra again in time if Dracarthus has already established even a minor foothold in the Crystal Empire. If that’s true, then it’s too late for a minimal force approach.” Celestia said as her face became more neural. She was slowly wading into deeper and deeper thought. “What do you suggest then? I was always on the supply and deployment side of that war. My knowledge of tactics is limited.” Luna said as she shifted into her chair, readying herself for a long night. “I’ll contact my informants and ask them for information, and see what we can do from there. As for preparation on our side, I will call for Twilight to meet us here in Canterlot as soon as possible. If he is indeed back, we’ll need Twilight’s fresher knowledge of dark magic and younger mind to assist us in planning for the future, depending on how this goes. Have any cake or pretzels up here? Planning always makes me hungry.” Celestia said as she looked around. Luna lifted up her seat cushion to reveal a hidden compartment full of spare tea bags, chips, and a few mini-bowls of exotic fruit. “I always have a snack stash up here. Sometimes you get the munchies on these long nights.” Celestia smiled. “I know that feeling. Thank you.” In that moment, both sisters forgot about the troubling situation before them, and simply enjoyed their midnight snacks in the moonlight as sisters, not princesses. o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Shining had been searching the streets for survivors for what felt like hours. To his surprise, He had found dozens of them hiding out in storm shelters and the basements of houses. He had sent them all to the same place. The castle. After doing one last sweep of the block he was on, Shining looked to the center of the empire, and began his trip to the great towering crystal spire that pierced the skyline. Eager to find his daughter and Sunburst, Shining tore through the streets at a speedy gallop, quickly closing the remaining distance between him and the castle. Finally making it past the last row of buildings obstructing his view, Shining gazed upon the castle, and witnessed a disgusting scene. The castle courtyard was in disarray, with medics and guards running around frantically, most covered in blood, trying to tend to as many injured and distraught survivors as possible. There were a few makeshift tents here and there, but most survivors were strewn out on the grass, laying still and moaning in pain. As he walked through the courtyard and closer to the castle, he could smell the stench of rotting bodies mixed with waste permeating the air. Accompanying the awful smell were sounds of misery all over. Screaming, moaning, sounds of prayer, all of it deeply unsettling and out of place for a site as filled with love and caring as the Crystal Castle. Once underneath the arches of the castle, Shining was finally able to spot a table near the center with several high-ranking guards leaning over it. Rushing up to them, Shining took his helmet off and flashed his chest plate brand. “Excuse me fellas! Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard!” All of the guards at the table turned around to face Shining, and saluted him. One spoke. “Sir! Lieutenant Topaz Gauntlet and the rest of Zircon Squad reporting for duty! We’ve been managing the situation here since the emergency started. What happened to you sir?” Shining put his helmet back on and walked over to the table. “At ease. I was investigating the source of the outbreak while, unbeknownst to me or my men, the outbreak was spreading. We were attacked, and I only learned of the further destruction once my men and I fled the scene.” Topaz looked confused. “An outbreak? Like a disease? With all due respect sir, if this was a disease, we would know. There are people here who have sustained combat wounds, not come down with a disease. Ponies arrive here covered in black goo, missing limbs, I mean it’s rea-” Shining cut him off. “Ponies arrive here covered in black goo? Where have you been sending them!?” Topaz now looked even more perplexed. “...The red sick tent, why?” Shining’s face turned deathly serious. “We don’t have much time. Come with me, and don’t ask questions.” Without objection, Zircon Squad followed Shining as he raced through the camp, frantically searching for the red sick tent. Thankfully, it was set away from the other tents. Perfect for what Shining had in mind. As they approached, Shining saw a nurse exit the tent. He stopped her. “You there! Stop! What’s going on inside that tent?” “We’re cleaning up patients and treating their wounds, why?” The nurse said flusteredly. “Has it come into contact with your eyes or mouth?” Shining asked. “The goo? Of course not! I’m a nurse, not a janitor!” The nurse replied. “Are there any other guards or nurses in there?” Shining said nervously. The nurse made a very confused face. “No, just me. I was checking on them. What’s with all the questions?” Shining didn’t answer. “Good. Stay out here. Don’t let anyone else into the tent. Men, come with me.” With that, Shining carefully opened the flap of the tent, and was horrified by what he saw. Dozens of ponies, some clean and covered with wounds, others splattered with goo and unconscious. A quietly as possible, Shining picked up a torch, and began to exit the tent. But in his haste, he bumped into one of the other guards behind him, and their armor made a resonating clang. Several patients sat up and looked around, and then focused on Shining. They all mumbled confusedly until they began to twitch and convulse in spasms one by one. “THEY’RE AWAKENED BY FLESH! GET CLEAR!” Shining yelled as he threw the torch right at a medical gurney in the center and dove out of the tent, him, Zircon Squad, and the nurse scrambling to get as much distance as possible. Sure enough, the chemicals in the gurney caused a massive explosion that consumed the entire medical tent in a fireball. The guards and nurse stared agape. The nurse lost it. “WHAT DID YOU JUST DO? YOU KILLED INNOCENT PONIES! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?” She was quickly growing angrier and angrier until she too began to choke and convulse on the ground. Shining connected the dots. She had been around all of the subjects. They hadn’t shown symptoms, despite being around an uninfected. That meant she wasn’t uninfected at all. When Shining snapped out of his train of thought, he saw nurse’s teeth growing longer and her eyes glazing over. “What the heck is happening to her!?” One guard screamed. Before Shining could get close enough for a lethal blow, the nurse began to grow the telltale black tendrils. But something was wrong, they were spiked, and the ones at the base of her body were larger. Sweet Celestia, they’re evolving! Can this day get any worse? Shining thought. It did, because in that moment, the now bloodthirsty beast lunged at and pinned Shining. Just as it was preparing for the final blow, Topaz Gauntlet flew in from the side and drop bucked the monster’s head clean off. The monster’s body shuddered once, and fell off of Shining. “I hate to be crass sir, but you owe us an explanation.” Topaz motioned to the massive crowd gathered around him and the rest of Zircon Squad. “All of us.” o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o After bidding Luna a good night, sending letters, and making inquiries, Celestia was very tired. Ready to head to bed, she headed back to her bed chambers. Once inside, she took off her slippers and nightgown, and flopped onto her bed. As soon as she pulled the covers over herself and snuggled up, Celestia was out cold. Fog. Darkness. Fire. Smoke. Blood. Everything was a blurry mess, but it slowly became clearer as time passed. The carnage that had been wrought upon the street was clear. Blood everywhere, along with fires and obvious signs of conflict. Celestia got up and rubbed her head. Boy, that hurt. ...Whatever that was. Celestia couldn’t seem to remember much, only that she needed to move away from the obvious danger. Once she got moving, her headache got better. What had happened here? Why was there so much blood? In the distance, Celestia heard loud and violent noises. Intrigued, but cautious, Celestia began to slowly head towards the source of the noises, lost in thought. Why was she here? What was all of this? Where was she? Suddenly, a giant magical explosion rocked the ground, and a blue fireball began rising into the sky. Snapping out of her trance, and running as fast as she could, Celestia made it to the site of the explosion incredibly quickly. At a loss for words. She fell to the ground and wept at what she saw. Everything made sense now. Horrified and angered, Celestia screamed into the air, looking for any way to escape the horrific scene in front of her. “Sister? Wake up!” Luna shouted. Celestia sat up out of bed with a start, tears streaming from her eyes. “Are you okay? What happened?” Luna said, deeply worried. “We are too late Luna. Dracarthus has made his move.” Celestia said as she broke down again. o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o “... So, that’s what lead me to believe they spread their disease via the goo. Overall, these things are lethal killing machines, infectious, and I believe they’re evolving.” Shining’s last statement drew gasps from the crowd. “Evolving?” “Impossible!” “Lies! He’s crazy!” Shining stomped his hooves on the ground to silence the crowd. “Maybe they are, and maybe they aren’t, but now isn’t the time to debate that! What I DO know, is that they’re hungry, and that we’re the biggest source of food in the entire empire! So listen up! I know that some of you are scared, or apprehensive, or unwilling to fight, but you have to! Fight for your families, fight for the empire! Fight so that we may all see the sunrise again, and that this great nation can prosper once more! Today we will destroy the monsters trying to undermine us as one! As brothers and sisters! As WARRIORS! WHO’S WITH ME!?” Shining shouted fiercely. The crowd erupted into thunderous war cries and cheering. Reinvigorated and ready to fight, they headed back into the camp to prepare. After giving orders to everyone and feeling satisfied his men could watch over the preparations, Shining began looking for the head medical tent. After a little searching, Shining finally found a white tent with a red cross on it, and the words “Head Medical Tent” scrawled beneath it. Heading inside, Shining saw several nurses checking medical supplies and looking over paperwork. Unable to find one that wasn’t busy, he cleared his throat and caught the attention of all the nurses in the room. “I hate to interrupt, but I was hoping to figure out where I could find my child?” One of the nurses set down her papers, and motioned to the other nurses to continue with their work. “So sorry we didn’t notice you when you came in Mr. Armor! You’re looking for your kid? No worries! The doctors in the castle’s sickbay have been looking after Flurry Heat, so you should see her too! I also got a report from the hospital about half an hour ago that you wife was moved to sick bay as well!” Shining bowed his head respectfully. “Really? I can’t wait to see both of them there! Thank you ever so much miss!” With that, Shining walked out of the tent, and headed for the castle as fast as he could. Once there, he located the sickbay and saw a nurse at a small table in front of the doors. “Hello there! I’m here to check in on my wife and child and see how they’re doing. Cadence must be worried sick after all of this craziness went down!” Shining said. The nurse smiled at Shining and flipped through her clipboard. “Let’s see… List of arrivals… F… Ah! Yes, Flurry Heart is here, she was just checked in here after she was found alone in her crib. As for your wife… C… She’s not checked in. She’s probably somewhere else in camp.” Shining’s blood ran cold. “No, the nurses at the head medical tent said the hospital she was originally at sent a report saying they’d send her here.” The nurse’s face turned frightened. “I’m sorry Mr. Armor, but if that’s true, then either your wife was sent to another area last minute, or is unaccounted for.” He wanted to believe her, that she was here, and safe, but his real thoughts were too powerful to ignore. Cadence hadn’t gotten out in time. The hospital wasn’t safe. He had just told himself a lie. Fighting back tears, Shining asked the nurse. “Can I just see Flurry Heart?” “O-of course.” The nurse stuttered as she opened the doors. Walking to the sick bay, Shining immediately spotted Flurry Heart, as she was flying around and giggling crazily. One of the doctors chasing her spotted Shining. “Shining Armor! Thank goodness you’re here! Your little munchkin has been driving us nuts! I-in a good way! Heh, Heh.” The doctor said. He smiled. “She tends to keep most ponies on their hooves.” Shining looked up at Flurry Heart, who was hovering just above the doctors reach. “Flur! Daddy’s here! Come here you!” He said in an affectionate voice. Excited to see her father, Flurry cooed and flew down to Shining, landing on his chest and tightly clutching it. “You found her alone in her crib, right? Where was Sunburst?” Shining questioned. “That’s the thing. He’s gone. We couldn’t find him anywhere around the castle. Some say he left for some groceries, others say he abandoned the castle as soon as word hit that there was an emergency.” The doctor said. Shining squinted his eyes in suspicion. “Sunburst wouldn’t abandon his duties like that. He must have just gone to do something else outside the castle for a bit. I fear we may not see him again.” Shining began to choke up, but fought it down. He needed to be strong for everyone around him. They were already scared enough. His despair would break them. “Well, it’s good to see that Flurry Heart is okay. Unfortunately, I need to assist in beginning the defense preparations for the camp. Take care of her, alright?” Shining said with a concerned face. “Of course sir.” The doctor nodded. o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o An hour had passed, and the sun was finally slipping beneath the horizon. Torches were being lit, and much had occurred since Shining’s speech. Everyone in the camp was ready for the monsters imminent attack. They had all armed themselves as best they could, with swords, shields, bats, pieces of wood and even sharpened sheet metal, really anything that could serve as a defense. On top of everyone being armed to the to the teeth, everyone helped haul debris from around the camp to the edge, creating a large outer-wall that was now fortified with some rudimentary spikes here and there. Finally, everyone filed into their positions on the perimeter, and not a moment too soon, as the familiar spine-chilling clicking and chittering Shining had come to know and hate began emanating from the buildings beyond the camp and castle courtyard. Just barely out of the reach of the torchlight, he could see them skittering around on the rooftops, congregating. Plotting. Preparing. They wouldn’t catch Shining off guard this time. They had taken too much from him. His officers, his friends, and now his wife. They would pay dearly. They would pay tonight. Then, a smaller beast crept out of the shadows, and began to inch its way across the courtyard. Shining was almost ready to give the order to fire upon it, when it was suddenly gripped by a magical field, and electrocuted into ash. As it was scattered to the wind, the Crystal Heart pulsed with energy, and a large band of cyan magic appeared around the edge of the castle courtyard. The heart was defending the castle! Shining was dumbfounded. He had no idea that the heart was capable of defending itself! This was their chance, while the monsters were off guard. “The heart protects us! Open fire!” Shining yelled as he charged up a massive magical shot and flung it into the darkness beyond. He drew first blood as it incinerated the building it hit, and rocked the structures around it. The telltale goo of the dead monsters was flung everywhere after the explosion, but it too was incinerated by the Crystal Hearts shield. The battle began in earnest as the on of the beasts let out a savage bellow, and rushed the shield with dozens of other monsters. They slammed themselves against the shield, one by one as they were violently incinerated or electrocuted by the defensive magic. Other approaching monsters were taken out by the hail of magical and physical projectiles. Arcane bolts and spears flew through the sky, tearing apart the flesh of beast and brick of buildings alike. No matter what the ponies did, the monsters kept coming in endless throes. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. What felt like the entire empire was slamming against the shield and mindlessly dying for one thing. Food. They were truly the stuff of nightmares in combat. Their teeth glistened white, and their long tongues whipped at the air as they screeched and roared in fury, egged on by primal instinct. However, the sound of buzzing and explosive incineration began to fade, and the monsters were now able to bang on the shield as if it were solid. All of the defenders panicked. They knew what it meant. The heart was weakening. Even the power of the Crystal Heart was beginning to falter under the assault of the mindless collective of horrors. Slowly but surely, cracks began to appear in the shield, and the terror of the defenders grew. After all, if an omnipotent artifact couldn’t hold out, how could they? Shining too was scared, but he knew what fear led to. Desertion. He couldn’t let his defensive line break. “KEEP FIGHTING! WE CAN HOLD THE LINE IF WE KEEP UP THE PACE OF OUR ASSAULT! SPREAD THE WORD!” Even then, Shining knew he was on borrowed time. He wouldn’t lead these people to the slaughter. They would need to fall back eventually. As soon as the word began spreading, and the fighting continued with renewed vigor, it happened. The shield made one final cracking sound, and then it made a brilliant shattering noise. The heart pulsed, and put up a small shield bubble around itself, forsaking everyone else. The monsters didn’t even notice. They simply kept moving forward, whatever obstacle that was once there now gone. The panic was just as bad as Shining had feared, and the line quickly dissolved into chaos as the primitive walls and spikes began to buckle and snap, and the defenders began to abandon their posts. It was too late. “RETREAT!!!!” Shining screamed as he jumped off of vantage point on the wall and began to fall back towards the camp. But as he retreated, few came with him. Some stood on the wall in shock, only to be devoured, and others jumped into the sea of chaos, giving up all hope. It was once they had broken through the walls that the monsters began spewing their vile goo at everypony the could see. It came down in thick globs, covering some ponies entirely, only for them to emerge monsters. They were taking back the lives they had lost, replenishing their ranks. Now hiding out in a small supply tent, Shining turned to the others who had followed him. “I know things look bleak, and they are. But we have to make our last stand here. If we’re going to go, we have to take as many of these abominations with us as possible! This where we are going to be remembered! As cowards, or heroes. You decide, but I know how I want to be remembered.” With his words of courage said, Shining exited the tent, drew a deep breath, and drew his spear. He mustered the most savage war cry he could muster, charged directly at the oncoming swarm of beasts. Spear and arcane shield in his grip, Shining did what he did best and tore through the ranks of monsters as they came at him, teeth gnashing and tendrils whipping. Not long after, the others from the tent joined him in battle, slaying one monster after another. Soon they were deep inside the swarm, maelstroms of death and destruction that ground up anything that came at them. But little by little, Shining began to hear the sounds of battle close by fade, and distant screams echo over the cacophony of the fight. His men were dying, and he would be next. As the world seemed to move in slow motion, Shining noticed how dark it was, and that his soft magenta magic was the only thing lighting up his surroundings. One last light in the darkness. He thought of his wife, Cadence, and all of the fun times they had had. His child, and the joys of taking care of Flurry Heart. And he thought of Twilight. His LSBFF, who was always there through the most trying of times, and was always the voice of calm and reason in a sea of chaos. It was those he most loved that Shining Armor of the Sparkle family thought of as the last light in Crystal Empire was extinguished.