//------------------------------// // The Lights Go Out // Story: Emperor Despair // by Comrade Bagel Muffin //------------------------------// "Wake up, wake up. It's time to wake up!" Screwball opened and closed her eyes as she tried to adjust them to the darkness of the room that she was in. The darkness of the room was a minor inconvenience her shoulders. Which were supporting all of her weight as she dangled from a pair of chains. "Where am I?" "The Canterlot Dungeons. It's a new building project I've been working on." The sound of wood hitting stone echoed off of the walls, as green magic lit the coals underneath her hooves. Despair sat a warped throne of Canterlot guards. "Now that I've answered your question I think it's only fair that you answer mine." "I'm not telling you anything!" "That's right fight it. Put up a good struggle. Breaking you will be all the better." Despair rose from his twisted throne shifting his form into a minotaur as he approached her. Screwball pulled up on the chains. In order to escape the flames licking at her rear hooves, and to stare Despair in the eyes. "You won't break me." Despair chuckled. He walked through the burning coals staff in hand. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. His smirk was arrogant and cold. His eyes were colder. He reached out a hand. It slowly transfigured into a talons claw until the tip of one talon touched the middle of her belly. She refused to blink, focusing on her hatred of him and willing it to be stronger than her fear. He gave her a devilish grin. He began slowly bringing his talon up, the tip just barely touching her flesh. A green line of magic followed. "Argh." She bit down gritting her teeth, and pulling up on the chains trying desperately to no avail to get away. He continued to trace the green line across her body to half way up her throat before finally pulling away. She let go of her weight whimpering as she fell limply back to the licking flames. "Now Screwball. You haven't even heard my question. I'm sure you'll be willing to reconsider you position once you hear." "I won't talk." She slowly pulled herself back up to meet his eyes. "Won't you?" Despair grabbed her by throat. As he dragged his talons across her gut. Green lines of magic appearing in their wake. He repeated the gesture starting at her right cutie mark and ending the curse at the base of her right fore leg. She lost it screaming as tears started streaming from her eyes. The pain doubled as the dark magic cut across the screw and ball on her flank. "Are you ready to hear my question." It took every ounce of her strength to silence the her whimpers, and calm her breathing. "Not yet then. Let's try that last one in reverse shall we." Her eyes widened in terror before he dragged a talon down her side from the base of her left for leg to her cutie mark. The pain redoubled again as her other cutie mark was defiled by the curse. "How about now?" Despair smiled as he was answered by her whimpering. "Yes, I think you're ready to hear my question now. Who has unlocked the books?" She immediately went rigid. "I won't tell you anything. No matter what you do." Despair frowned and dropped her. She fell limply back to the flames that were slowly dying. "So you won't. Well I assure you though I may not be able to get the answer from you. I know who can." A shadow moved along the wall in her peripheral. "Break her." The miasmic creature charged at her. *** "Got you!" Screwball looked up as Solaris pulled her into a hug. "Screwball are you okay? I can't tell you how worried I was.'' "Grandpa? What happened?" "You were pulled back into consciousness meaning you weren't asleep, so you couldn't be here. I've been trying to bring you back, but my powers are quite limited." "How did you get me back?" "You've been here so long that I can feel you in the conscious world, that's how I knew where you were. I'm sorry it took me so long to get you back. Screwball, are you okay?" "I'm fine. Can you do that with Comet Dust also." "Comet Dust? Why, what's wrong." "Despair is targeting him, please Grandpa. We have to help him." "I'm afraid that I don't have that kind of power anymore Screwball, 20,000 years ago sure, I could grab any colt I've only known for a few hours and put them anywhere, but not any more." Solaris put her back on the floor. "But maybe you could. You're bond to him is a lot stronger and you're chaos magic is on par with my own." Solaris' horn glowed a vibrant red. "I'll do my best to amplify the spell. Now focus on him Screwball. Every detail, exactly." "Right." She closed her eyes focusing at the blue colt slowly formed in her mind's eye. "Comet." There was a knocking at the door. "It worked." "So it did. And I think that the pony at the door is here for you." Solaris smiled as Screwball opened the door. "Comet Dust!" Parts of his coat started to pull of as the colt went limp in her hooves. "Comet?!" The corpse fell to the floor as Solaris jerked violently. Transforming into a deep purple miasmic creature spotted with little lights that resembled stars. "What, what's going on?" The room around her burst into flames. *** Screwball fell to the still smoldering coals as the chains that were holding her up evaporated into smoke. "What happened." "You just handed Comet Dust over to me." Despair answered as he turned to the miasmic creature. "Tantabus, go destroy him." Tantabus nodded and burst out of the dungeon. "NO!" "Thank you Screwball now time to go back to sleep." The weeping cries of the dungeon were cut short by a sickening green flash. The Tantabus ripped across the sky leaving the purple twinkling trail in it's wake. As it torn across the fog covered sky. With the horrors of every nightmare it could bring. It took it no less than an hour to reach the mountain where its prey was hidden in. The miasmic form slammed into an invisible barrier which lit up as it tackled it. It only stood for seconds before failing. The colts and fillies in the shielding room screamed as the barrier burst, and the Tantabus descended into the mountain. Storm lifted Dinky and her sister Amethyst off of the ground as the miasmic predator descended down the path to its quarry. "What was that?" Pumpkin asked looking at the door. "Somethings wrong." Sweetie Belle stood up and headed to the door. "Pumpkin, Comet, I'm calling this meeting off temporarily, come with me down to the shielding room." The two unicorns nodded and got up. The door was thrown off of its hinges as the Tantabus forced it's way into the blue colt in the back of the room throwing his body into the back wall as it began to feed. As soon as it did Comet's magic broke and every light in the cave went out.