//------------------------------//
// The Black Virus 
// Story: The Son of Two Worlds 
// by Saelure 
//------------------------------//

	Cadence's eyes fluttered open as her senses started to return to her, though she almost wished they hadn't. Pain rocked her body and her head ached terribly. Stirring slightly, she felt something tight and heavy around her legs. The floor was cold and the room was dark, but she immediately recognized where she was: her own dungeons. 
Eyes widened, she attempted to teleport out but she could not summon her magic. It felt like her power had been sealed in a tight container, unable to get out. Looking down and the shackles around her legs, she noticed that they were not the stone restraints that were usually used for prisoners. Instead, these shackles were made of a polished metal, with unknown runes carved on the surface. On their sides were glowing orange lights that faded in and out of existence.
"Impressive, aren't they?" Cadence looked up in terror at the sight of her captor. It was one one of the monsters that had invaded, her home, her kingdom. The massive black mass towered over her, just outside the cage bars. Its eyes unblinking, staring down at her. "Those are TITAN grade inhibitors. Just one can block the energy of a supernova. One should be more than enough for you, but our leader doesn't want too take any risks." Its voice was chilling, cold, and seemed to echo endlessly. 
Cadence's only response was a glare. "Oh, do we have a defiant one here? Good." It turned to the side and waved over something that Cadence couldn't see. "You'll find that I will not fall to you so easily." It turned back to her, its head widened slightly, almost as if something underneath that nightmarish skin was smiling. "I believe your fellow princesses believed something similar, especially that white one. But then again, that is what we hope for." A smaller one of the creatures came up from behind her captor, dragging behind it a brown and bloody sack. It handed the sack to its superior, then left. The big one opened up the sack slowly without breaking eye contact with Cadence. "Because nothing fills us more," the head grew wider as it began to take out the contents at the bag, "than breaking your spirit." Cadence's eyes widened as the creature took out an unconscious, beaten, and bleeding Shining Armor.


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Luna sat in the small cage that was her prison, feeling the wind glide across her fur and through her mane. Her cage jostled from time to time as the large creature who carried it flew through the air. Surrounding her transport were several dozen of the larger varieties of the creatures.  After her defeat, her captors chained her and the other princesses, and separated them. She knew not where the others were, but she could tell from the direction they were flying that they were on their way to Canterlot.
Luna sat still, quiet through the entire ride, her mind and heart racked with grief. She was helpless, even without her shackles containing her power. And because of her arrogance and haste, both her sister and the crystal empire was lost. She did not have the will to fight anymore, it was as if a black mist had surrounded her heart and mind. She did not bother to even look up when they arrived in Canterlot.
At first the citizens were dumbstruck at the sight of one of their princesses in a cage. Then their shock turned into fear when they saw her expression, and like a virus, the Luna's feelings of helplessness and grief spread unnaturally through the city. The guards did not even bother to try to stop the creatures from entering the castle and closing the door behind them. They just laid on the ground face in their hooves, All the while, not a single pony noticed that each creature was very slowly, but steadily, growing.


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Twilight Sparkle sat in her own transport, her guard numbering a little more than a couple dozen. Despite being chained and blocked of magic, she still had her mind, and was making good use of it. Over and over, she replayed several different scenarios within her head on how to escape her current situation. She believed that despite the powerful shackles around her legs, that the power she and her friends gained from the Tree of Harmony to defeat Tirek, would be enough to stop these creatures, and save Equestria. She just needed to get to them.
Much to her surprise however, they took her right to Ponyville. Twilight couldn't help but ponder over their destination. Don't they know about the my friends? Twilight looked to each of her captors and noticed how calmly they walked through the panicking town.  If they didn't know about the power that she and her friends truly possessed, There might be a chance! Twilight frantically looked around the town for her friends, searching for any sign of their whereabouts. 
She saw Rarity's boutique and Sugarcube Corner, but they both looked abandoned. Come on girls, where are you- Her thought was cut short by the sight of a tall column of smoke rising into the sky, and the fact that she was heading right towards it. When they arrived at the source of the smoke, it was surrounded by several of the creatures, all staring at into the pit of blue fire. No... There, slowly burning into dust and ashes, was the Tree of Harmony.


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It was dark. No, not dark, it was empty. Celestia could see her own hooves, her own body, but she was standing in absolute nothingness. Shaking her head, she struggled to wrap her mind around the situation. Where was she? How did she get here? Was she dead? 
She blinked.
Dead? Why would I be...
It hit her like her own sun. 
"No. No!" 
I can't be dead! They still need me. My subjects, my friends, my family! I have to get back! I need to get out of here!
She tried to fly, but found her wings were not able to lift her. She tried to teleport, but she could not draw her magic. So, she started to gallop. She galloped as fast as she could, but she didn't seem to go anywhere. She tried another direction, then another, then another, but her surroundings did not change. She began to slow down, and soon, she stopped completely. A small whimper escaped her and tears soon followed.
"No. No, no, no. No! Why?! How did this happen?! How could I let it happen?!"
Celestia continued to yell into the abyss, begging for an answer. Begging for some sort of response to help her figure this all out. To figure anything out. But nothing came. There was no magic scroll from her beloved student to tell her that everything was alright. There was no gentle yet clever quip from her humorous sister.  There was nothing. She was alone.
"Alone. I'm alone again after so long. I have failed."
Celestia could feel her soul start to lose its life, and her heart seemed to be shrinking. All the while, the nothingness started to consume her. Her body began to sink into the nothingness, and she let it. Through the void, a deep, menacing, yet seductive voice rang into her ears.
"Yes, give in."
She lowered her head in defeat despite the last voice of defiance in her head screaming at her to stop this. But she felt like she couldn't, almost as if it was impossible to. She opened her eyes slightly, and repeated the words in a voice that was not her own.
"Give in."
"Yeah... that's enough of that." 
A sudden tendril of orange light launched down from above and stuck itself into Celestia's chest. Immediately, it yanked her free of the void, and brought her into a sudden flash of light.


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Celestia's eyes started to open slowly. Her head was in immense pain and she felt like she had just flown across Equestria, but she was alive. She was alive... how? Immediately alert, her eyes shot open, but she did not move. She knew better than to act on instinct and get herself noticed, wherever she was. Her eyes looked everywhere, looking for some sort of indication as to her whereabouts. She was on her side facing a wall, so there wasn't much to go on. But she could tell that the wall was covered in ice and that there was a source of light behind her. So she was still somewhere outside the Crystal Empire. A drop of water slid from the wall and she realized something, the ice was melting. She looked down, and realized the the floor was smooth, warm, and wet. Ice had surely been here, but it had melted recently. She even felt warm, despite no longer having her would-be-dress on. Someone had heated this place recently and was likely still here with her. She shifted her wings slightly, magic had left them, and she still couldn't draw on any of her magic. She felt weak, helpless. What was going on?
She slowly turned her head backward, and saw an opening leading to a storming blizzard with tracks leading in, she was in a cave. At least now she had an idea where she was. the only caves were in the northern mountains outside of The Crystal Empire. The only natural caves anyway. But what caught her attention was that any snow snow that flew into the cave immediately melted. The heat did not come from a short burst like a spell would of caused. It was consistent, yet she heard no fire crackling behind her, and the light did not move. 
Celestia listened intently for any form of movement behind her. When she heard none, and confirmed that there were no figures in the shadows casted by the light, she began to slowly turn over to the other side. When she could see what was behind her, her confusion only grew. The source of the light, and it seemed the heat as well, came from a strangely shaped blade that was impaled into the ground. The blade's grip was silver and was elegantly shaped like that of a dragon's claw. It looked impossible to hold with hooves, but not with hands or claws. Who was the owner? A minotaur? A griffin? The hilt was silver as well, and seemed to be of the same material as the grip. In fact, the two looked to be forged from the same piece and were never separate. The hilt came up and took the shape of a dragon's head, its maw engulfing the bottom of the blade, its teeth showing on the sides. She also noticed that the dragon's eyes were unknown, glowing white crystals. But the strangest part was the blade itself. The blade gave off a pure, white light, so much so that she could barely see the blade. But she could barely make out what seemed to be blue symbols engraved into the blade. She had no idea what they were though. Runes? A different language? She couldn't be sure.
The symbols had Celestia rattling her brain when something moved behind the sword, but her breath stopped when she realized there was a figure lying on the other side of the cave, its back to her. She could see a strange pattern on it's back that she did not recognize. It groaned slightly and shifted once more, then it began to rise. Celestia shut her eyes and slowed her breathing, hoping the creature would think she was still asleep. She heard more groaning, and then a pop, as if it was stretching. It took a few steps, then stopped. A few more steps, and she felt it look at her. She knew, because she got the same feeling she always did when she was in front of a crowd. The feeling of thousands of eyes looking at her. But there was only the two of them. What was this thing? Then it spoke. It's voice seemed to carry the weight of ages, it was ancient, maybe even older than her.  Yet, despite this, it sounded full of energy and young, as well as holding back laughter.
"I can tell you're faking."
Celestia's eyes shot open and she backed away as quickly as possible. Getting to her hooves, she attempted to get into a defensive stance. Her horned pointed at the creature and ready to strike. But instead of attacking or laughing, it held up its hands in defense and spoke calmly.
"Easy. I'm sorry I surprised you."
Celestia could now see the creature fully and her eyes widened. It was a human. And judging by the voice, it was male. He stood a few inches taller than Celestia with her horn. His hair was a jet black color and was long and messy. He was wearing a dark grey coat that ended at the bottom of his feet. Beneath the coat, he wore a midnight-blue t-shirt. a pair of black jeans, and black combat boots. His skin was fair and his face chiseled. But his eyes seemed out of place. While his features made him appear young and in his prime, his light-blue eyes had a different sense to them. They were, like his voice, full of age and experience. They were not the eyes that belonged with such a body. He reminded her of herself. However, the fact that stuck with her was that he appeared human. But humans were myths. Long ago they were said to be strange unknown beings, like ghosts or spirits. And just like the other two, humans were never proven to exist, but that did not stop the spread of stories about them. Whether it were old religious tales or stories parents told their foals, it was a popular myth. However the stories died out a long time ago, they are not as popular as they once were. Still, no one knows where the legend of humans originated, not even Celestia herself. Now Celestia had one standing right in front of her, and he possibly rescued her.
"Who are you?" Celestia asked, not shifting from her stance at all.
"My name is Saregos, I'm a friend. I healed your wounds and brought you here to recover."
After years of being in the midst of politics both national and international, Celestia got very good at seeing through lies, even with magic involved. Still, she did not want to risk anything with this "Saregos."
"Why?"
Saregos looked confused. "Why? Well, I found you and you needed help. That's pretty much it."
Celestia studied him closely, looking for any sign of falsehood in his words. When she found none, she relaxed.
"Alright then. Thank you Saregos, but I need to get back home. I have to help my kingdom or else... who knows what will happen to them."
Saregos lowered his hands and sat down on the floor, staring at the sword. "I'm sorry, but there is no way you can help them as you are."
Celestia's ears flicked, but she held her temper in check. "I appreciate your acts of kindness, but as one of the rulers of Equestria, it is my duty to help my subjects when they are in need."
"I mean no disrespect Princess, but how can you help them when you cannot fly or use magic?"
Celestia froze. "How did you know that?"
"I can sense it. I feel the emptiness in your soul where your magic used to be. You have been weakened immensely. Please, come sit down so we can talk."
After a moment of hesitation, Celestia began to walk towards him. He smiled gently as she sat down by the sword across from him. She sat in silence for a moment, evaluating the situation. So many things had happened so quickly and had left her with so many questions. After careful consideration, she decided to start with what was in front of her.
"Are you a human?"
Saregos shook his head.
"No. I may look like one, but I'm not."
Celestia's confusion and curiosity grew even more. "Then what are you?"
Saregos sighed and looked down for a moment before looking back up. "That's a little complicated. The short version is that I'm someone who hunts down creatures that are a danger to innocent lives and the balance of life." Saregos paused for a moment. "You can guess why I'm here."
Celestia nodded. "What are they?"
"They're called the shyeluks, or 'The Black Virus.'
Celestia didn't like the sound of that at all. "What do they want?"
Saregos' expression grew grim. "To make your lives a living hell."