//------------------------------// // King of Shadows // Story: Cards of Prophecy // by SwordTune //------------------------------// Farther than any pony has gone before. Don't feel bad if you lose now. But you are almost done, too. The "King of Shadows" card was the longest yet. Celestia couldn't count how many cards she had gone through to get to it. Luna's advice had only taken her so far, and after the eighth "boss" card she was on her own. But after what Luna went through to get those blessings through to her, Celestia would not let them go to waste. The Card Master's challenges had become more tedious than challenging, often repeating a similar course over and over. Celestia looked at the card she revealed. "Carnival of Tartarus," was messily scrawled on the card. Celestia looked down at her set of cards. The carnival curse was still with her, and there was no chance of getting out of the carnival unharmed. You stumble across a seemingly abandoned carnival, lost. You call out, asking for directions, asking any pony for help. "I'll aid you, small pony," utters an old shrivelled goat. He hands a map over to you, but pauses. "But I get so little traffic here. Care for a wager?" The goat drops two dice onto the counter of his stall. "Here's some easy odds," he whispers. "Even, you get the way out. Odd, I take a vacation and you fill this empty stall. "I don't suppose I have a choice, do I?" replied Celestia. The image on the card melted and shuffled, showing the result of the dice roll. The first dice formed with three dots, and the second showed a six. Nine, and that meant it was odd. Distraught with your new-found curse, the old goat pulls you into the stall and slips out the back. As you try to escape with him, you feel yourself pulled back into the carnival stall. You look around for the chains or rope, but nothing can be seen. After a few minutes, you realize it was the carnival's uniform keeping you in the stall. Like everything around you lately, it was cursed to hold you in the stall until some pony took over for you. Time passes quickly when you have an eternity to yourself, and at some point another lost adventurer stumbles across your carnival. You call out to the adventurer, and pull the same ploy as the goat who trapped you. You walk free from the carnival, but with a heavy heart knowing some pony will suffer in you place. The scene faded from Celestia's vision, returning her to the Card Master's tent. It was nearly evening outside, judging by the light of the sun. She looked down to her cards, all marked with her cutie mark. No bit cards, no food cards, just weapons, armor, blessings, and curses. Celestia flicked to eyes back to the Card Master. "What happened? Where's my money, and food?" Your curse comes at a heavy price. The Card Master waved his hoof and materialized a curse card into Celestia's set. "Carnival Magic," it read. Your time in the Carnival has filled you with dark magics, strengthening your mind and body, but you encroach on the edge of insanity under the grasp of its power, discarding your food and wealth in a fit of enchanted rage. When the side-effects subside, you find yourself miles from anything recognizable. A gust of wind blew over the table, shuffling the board of cards into an entirely different design. It was a large cross, with each of its arms at a symmetrical length. Celestia's figurine stood at the center, with a line of four cards to the north, south, east, and west. Celestia shot a piercing glare at the Card Master. "I'll die of boredom at this rate. This is boss four all over again, Card Master." The Card Master nodded. Then you should be able to deal with it, as you did before. Celestia looked back down to her cards, her deck shimmering with magic from curses and blessings. Reaching out with her magic, she drew a blessing card gifted to her from her sister's last message. It read, "Clairvoyance," with an image of a blue, all-seeing eye. She hovered the card above the board and let it dissolve, slowly revealing every card on the board. You do know how to kill the fun, don't you Princess? She ignored him, scanning the board for the greatest opportunity. To the North, a forest path led to the next stage of the level. To the South, a grand city blocked by three dessert cards. To the East, a set of mountain cards, inevitably filled with danger. And to the West, a set of dungeon cards ending with the "King of Shadows" eagerly awaiting. I assume you've chosen your path? Celestia dipped her head in a slight nod, levitating the figurine westward, entering the dungeon. A thick black fog wrapped around the table washing away the Card Master and the table of cards. Celestia stood prepared, with her ax drawn and shield strapped to her left hoof, its magic blazing light through the fog, revealing only more fog. The dank scent of mold burn your nostrils as you enter the reclusive fortress of the King of Shadows. Here, everything sees without light, and not even the stinging cold is enough to inspire the inhabitants to create fire, for they fear the light to much. As the Card Master narrated, the atmosphere grew thick with the fumes of damp moss and mold. Cold stone floors formed at Celestia's hooves, but she felt no fear. Celestia smirked at her obvious advantage against the darkness, and raised her horn to enlighten the dungeon. Nothing happened. Ah, so the old dog can't learn tricks after all. The King's curse over his land banishes light magic, allowing only the vilest of creatures to inhabit his domain. Echoes travel down the vast halls of the King's fortress, though their mixed origins turns the echoes in ambient noise. You have to proceed to the King's chambers before one of those noises makes it self clearer to you. Celestia furrowed her brows, turning around to find a way to make sense of her surroundings, but it was darker than the night during the new moon. Then, she looked down to her shield. Though the King's curse removed the light it created, even a short flash of its enchantments would provide a sense of direction. Raising her ax up with her magic, she struck it against the shield, the force of the magic throwing her up against the wall of the corridor. The power of the shield echoed through the corridors, melting away the darkness. But the King's magic was strong, and the blast was stopped short at the very end of the corridor. Celestia looked closely at the returning darkness. It looked almost solid, like a thick black slime that masked any light, but it had no texture. There was nothing differentiating it from regular, well lit air. "What am I doing?" she asked herself. "It doesn't make sense, of course it doesn't. It's his game, I have to keep moving, I have to reach the next card." Celestia got off the wall and stood up, looking around the room before the thick shadows engulfed it again. She was in a large room, presumably a torture chamber, given that the wall was lined with shackles and blood. There were two exists, one lying strait ahead, across the room from Celestia, and one on the wall to her right. "If it's right, then it's right," Celestia muttered to herself. She began to gallop to the exit when a sharp pain struck her rear hoof. She turned to see a skeleton of a pony gnawing on her leg. She gasped and leaped away, striking the skeleton down with her ax, shattering the bones into fragments. That looked painful, Princess. Celestia snarled back to the Card Master's voice inside her head, but she only felt displeased with herself when her heart card appeared in front of her. It read "121/140." Celestia took a second look at her increased health. Though it still hurt, she felt that the skeleton did much less damage than it should have. "Must be the Carnival Magic curse. If I wasn't hungry right now I'd be glad it gave me the health boost." She turned away from the heart card, allowing it to burn away, back to wherever her deck was kept during the encounter. As she approached the darkness at the exit, she repelled it with a clank of her shield, projecting the sound of metal across the entire dungeon area. Shrieks and howls returned to Celestia almost immediately. The first to come around the corner was a timber wolf - a bastardized version of one at least - charging its way to Celestia. It leaped forward, its powerful wooden magic propelling it as a blur down the corridor, but Celestia deflected the Timber Wolf with her shield, smashing it into piece against a wall. The other beasts didn't give her an easier time either, and the moment the wolf was destroyed two massive vampire bats sprung from the darkness behind Celestia. He ax caught the first one in the face, slicing through the skull and down to the heart, however the second bat swatted its dead companion to the side and collided strait into Celestia, clawing and scraping at her armor. It shredded long strips of steel off of her armor before she could refocus on her ax and beat it aside with the flat edge of the ax head. But the bat's strength was multiplied by the dark power of the dungeon, and it sprung off the floor and took to the ceiling of the dungeon before Celestia could score a killing blow. Celestia looked up at the darkness above her, striking her ax against her shield to reveal the bat. It reacted to the flash in rage, leaping off a ledge on the ceiling and plunging back down onto Celestia. She rolled to the side and watched as the bat crashed into the stone floor, bruised but barely injured. Celestia knew he ax was the only thing strong enough to kill it, but this bat was too fast to land a successful strike. The bat glared back at Celestia with an intelligent glance, measuring its distance and the time it would take to close it. When it finally leaped Celestia didn't hesitate to return with a charge of her own, pinning the bat up against the wall with her shield, firing off waves of magic as it tried to push the beast into the stones of the wall. With the bat pinned and immobile, Celestia drove her ax into the chest of the the vampire bat, bursting its heart out from its back. It was finally dead, and Celestia had the time to look back up toward the ceiling. At the very top she spotted a trap door, protected by dozens of monsters flying around it, staring down at her vicious victory. Their aggravated chatter began as a low growl, growing as more began their decent onto Celestia to avenge their fallen comrade, or claim their own victory, or both. Celestia focused her magic into levitating her ax, putting speed, force, and accuracy into ever strike. She watched their movements as they descended, planning the next three beast she would have to kill. They were all as strong as the massive vampire bat, but the close quarters of the monster swarm took away their mobility, simply allowing Celestia to cleave through each creature as it struggled to fly out of the way. As their numbers were reduced the beasts became more cunning, keeping enough space between themselves to maneuver around each attack. When Celestia met their red eyes with a calm look, they hesitated on their attack. She had taken time to take note of each archetype of monster, and carefully planned out how to take down each of them as quickly as possible. The two harpies made their charge first, flanking Celestia and flying out of her field of view. Celestia listened to their squawking, rotating her body when they were within her range. The harpy to her right was immediately taken down with a sweeping blow from the ax, while the one to her left struck her shield at an angle, crashing down into the stone floor. Celestia leaped onto the harpy's wings and severed her head with a slice from her ax. From above, Celestia heard the roar of a wyvern, a sort of two legged cousin to the dragon, as it took the opportunity to strike from behind. But while the opportunistic wyvern was fast, Celestia had expected this sneaky attack, and responded with an aggressive gust of wind from her wings. For a second it was stunned, which was more than enough time for Celestia to take to the air and dismember one of the wyvern's wings, permanently grounding it. She soared passed the falling wyvern, and simply swatted aside the other few bats and giant birds that attempted to slow her. She was tired, and the fight had gone on far too long. She cared only about the task at hoof; getting to the trap door. ============================================================= The King of Shadows awaits, Princess. Are you confident you are ready? Celestia looked down to her health card. "65/140" it read. The other two dungeon cards were almost complete repeats of the first, but just with more beasts and almost unreachable exits. Only two blessings remained in her deck, while all the curses sat happily in their place. She took out the two blessings and went over them. "Last Breath," the first one read, which would resurrect Celestia to half health if she died. The second read, "Extra Gold," which was useless unless she found any gold in the dungeon. Celestia put back the two cards and looked back to the Card Master. He sat there patiently, staring at Celestia like she was a wall. A cool breeze waltzed into the tent, bringing the scent of home and dirt. It was just an hour after sundown, and tomorrow morning the stalls would begin to pack up and return home. She expected to have won the game by this point, originally hoping to be able to join in on the Trade Exchange and clean out the Royal Attic. Sometimes she wondered what would really happen if she tried to get up and leave, but something always kept her in her seat. I'm on no schedule, Princess, but for your sake, stop having an existential crisis in the middle of the dramatic part of the story. Again, Celestia listened closely to his phrase. Everything about his words, the way he seemed almost amused at some points, confirmed that he only pursued fun and mischief. A "story" he called it, but stories didn't leave battle scars on the reader. Celestia looked down to her legs and torso, having a flashback to each cut and bruise she received. Battle injuries wasn't new to her, but her citizens would react very differently to her condition. She looked away from herself and back to the game board. Her figurine, the only thing that looked the same throughout the whole game, stood right next to the "King of Shadows" card. Gently, she moved the figure onto the card and prepared for the scene transition. Celestia looked around, unsure when the King's Chambers materialized around her. She could hear voices from behind the heavy wooden doors, but couldn't see where the handle was. Her stomach growled again, as it did with the start of every encounter, serving as a reminder that the carnival had stripped her of all her food and gold. Celestia felt around the door for a handle while listening to the screaming and begging coming from behind the door. Finally, a loud click was triggered as she turned a circular handle and pushed open the door. The moment she stepped inside however, a force immediately threw her out of the room, slamming her into what felt like an stand full of armor. Completely vulnerable in the dark, Celestia slammed her shield against the wall, burning away the darkness with the flash of light from its enchantment. As if it were a force of karma, the King of Shadows was not only revealed, but forced away by the magic of the shield, just as Celestia was blasted out of the room. Celestia started to push the clattering armor off her, but the King of Shadows predicted her move and lunged back at her as a flurry of shadows. Celestia could raise her shield in time and resorted to turning to the side to take the impact on the right shoulder instead of her chest. The King's magic tore apart Celestia's armor and more, leaving an inch deep cut across her shoulder. Fearful for the first time, she rolled onto her back and shielded herself from the oncoming strikes of the King of Shadows. She couldn't see what the king looked like, if he even looked like anything, but in between strikes he almost appeared to take the form of a unicorn, if a unicorn was pitch black with glaring dark magic surrounding it. On the fifth strike the King began to falter from the power of the shield, and Celestia took the chance to lodge her ax into the King's head. But the King was still too quick, and dissolved into the darkness along the walls, materializing behind Celestia and bucking her into his chambers. She hit the ground hard, and the straps on her shield finally succumbed to the battle and broke, sending the shield flying across the room, lighting up the massive throne room as it skidded across the floor. Celestia shook her head to regain her senses, seeing her heart card displayed right in her face. "29/140" it read. She waved it away, galloping over to her shield to repair its straps with a spell. She anticipated the King of Shadows' interception and slid under his leap, glancing sideways to see him topple over a stone pillar and get crushed. Quickly, Celestia put her shield securely on her left foreleg, tightening it painfully to ensure it remained with her for the fight. The King's breathing became enraged as he blasted a jet of dark magic at Celestia from the stone rubble. She raised the shield, absorbing the magic and redirecting it to her ax. She felt the feedback of the King's dark magic in her blood, chilling her to the bone. But she also felt powerful, invincible even, and her ax radiated the same attitude. However, the King did not give Celestia time to savor the dark magic. He launched stones from the pile of rubble, flinging them with powerful bursts of magic. Each impact made Celestia's shield flare up with magic, lighting the room and burning away layers of the King's dark form, but the force of the stone shook through to Celestia as well. As Celestia hid behind her shield, the heart card returned, glowing red to emphasize the growing danger. "10/140," it read, and then "9/140," and it fell again to "8/140." "Not now, go away!" Celestia commanded the card, sending it back to her deck. She charged the stone hurling King, ramming through the stones with bright flashes of magic and knocking over the panicking King. With darkness in her eyes, Celestia levitated her ax up high, driving it down into the back the King, searing through layers of his ever changing shadows. He was still formless though, and managed to escape Celestia's grasp and reformed next to his throne, with a prisoner held in front of him using magic. The King of Shadows had stretched his horn into a sharp spear, and slowly pressed it into the rear leg of the pony captive. The pony screamed in pain, filling the King's Chambers with her high pitched voice of terror. The King glared at Celestia, showing off his fanged smile with what looked almost like a smirk, if his face wasn't so formless. "Go ahead hero, save the innocent," he said, positioning the prisoner between them. "You can fix the little's one's life and we both walk away. Your kind likes that, right? A happy ending, a lesson in companionship and teamwork." Celestia slowly walked closer, trying to get a good view of the King of Shadows. His smirk lessened but was still painfully present. "Don't try to get a double win. Be realistic, the cunning always walks away, no matter how wrong you claim it to be, I will-" The King of Shadows stopped in shock. Before him stood the pony prisoner, with an empty space where her torso used to be. He looked down to his own chest, and saw a sinister bloodied ax, gnawing away at his magic, consuming his very essence. "But, you..." the King of Shadows struggled for words in his confusion. Celestia strode casually up to the King, kicking aside the dead prisoner and pulling out the ax from his chest. "It's just a game," Celestia told the King, burying the ax into his face. The last thing the King saw, was his own darkness in the eyes of Celestia.