The Dragon's Abyss

by DarklordAxel20

Going Home

In the Sky, Above the Griffon Capitol City

" LET'S END THIS!!!!," with that shout he took off right for the griffon, ready to finish the fight once and for all. The blade of magic formed on Shade's horn once more, this time forming a much longer blade, pointed right at the metal griffon's chest .

The griffon remained frozen in place as the blade came hurtling towards him, fear had filled his metal carapace, "...im....impossible...". He tried his best to move, his best to get out of the way, but to no avail, his eyes had locked with Shades, he could feel the sheer shower within Shade, causing him to freeze in the air, the only thing keeping him there being his wings which kept flapping despite his protest.

" DIE!!!!!!!!," with a short boost in speed, Shade was right upon his foe, quickly impaling him straight through the chest, the beam of magic sticking through his back by a good foot. Shade turned his eyes upward to look at his foe's face, the griffons eyes had widened, it was as if he wanted to utter a scream but couldn't. " Goodbye," was all Shade uttered before forcing the blade forward, causing it to expand, with a roar, he began to burrow through his metal chest, creating a hole, and coming out on the other end.

"...D..d..damn...you...," the griffon wheezed out as he stared at the hole in his chest, terror filled him as his own crystal heart was now visible, he did his best to attempt to cover it up with his claws, but the unbearable pain he was in prevented him from doing so. Time seemed to slow for a moment as he watched Shade flying high into the at mach speeds, he was unsure what the hybrid was doing, but part of him knew that whatever it is, it would be the last thing that the sentry ever saw.

A wicked gust of wind hit Twilight and the others as they came out of hiding, the gust being caused by Shades takeoff, " Wh..where did he go..," Twilight's eyes searched the sky for Shade, but she couldn't see him through the clouds that had formed during the battle.

" Hmmmmmm," Pinkie pulled a pear of binoculars from seemingly nowhere, and scouted the skies for Twilight, " I'm not sure, but there's something reeeeeeeeeally bright right there," Pinkie pointed out the exact spot as she spoke.

Using her magic, Twilight practically snatched the binoculars from Pinkie Pie, quickly looking towards where her friend had pointed too, " It's Shade!!," Twilight said with an excited smile, but the excitement quickly left her face. " Girls...," Twilight dropped the binoculars and quickly picked up the unconscious Spike, and took off for the exit to town, " RUN!!!,".

" What in Tarnation got into-," Applejack was cut off by what looked like a giant flaming dragon descending from the sky at speeds comparable to the sonic rainboom, " She's right, lets get the hay outta here!! " On the way out, she gathered the cutie mark crusaders, before quickly catching up with Twilight as they made their escape.

Shade descended faster and faster, the faster he went, the faster his fiery aura grew, to the point where he was the size of an actual dragon, " WITNESS MY FULL POWER!!!!, WITNESS IT, AND DIE!!!!!!," within seconds, Shade impacted the metal griffon, quickly enveloping him within the searing magic flames. He witnessed first hand as the dragons fire ate away at the griffon's metal, " Goodbye, forever," with a single boost, Shade shot right through him, causing an explosion from both the griffon, and Shade's impact point.

Twilight realized that they weren't going to be able to escape the blast radius, so she did some quick thinking, " Alright everypony gather around me!" Gathering her friends, and their siblings around her, Twilight shot a magical blast at the ground, creating a hole big enough for them to fit in, before shoving them in said hole.

" Are you nuts Twilight!!," Rainbow Dash shouted, but was quickly silenced as Twilight herself jumped in after them, before covering everypony in a protective magic barrier. " Huh, maybe you aren't," in response to her statement towards Twilight, Applejack gave a small, but tough hoof punch to Rainbow Dash's right shoulder, " Ow ok, I was only kidding, alright?"

Twilight felt pressure pushing down on her as the explosion passed over her makeshift shelter, doing her best to prevent the barrier from breaking. While she was doing this, the small purple dragon on her back began to wake up, " ..Huh...wh..what happened..," Spike muttered, he held his head as he felt a headache had formed while he was out cold.

" SPIKE, YOU'RE OK!!!," all of his friends said in unison as they all gave him a strangling hug.

" I'm..OK?? ," Spike was a little confused as to what was happening, the last thing he remembered was helping his dad, then everything went black. ".... DAD!!!," Spike looked around seeing if Shade was with them, " Twilight, where's my dad at!" She practically shouted in distress.

" It's....al..alright Spike, Sh..Shade is out there..saving us...," as soon as she felt the explosion fade away, Twilight dropped her barrier, and nearly collapsed.

After the dust cleared, the ponies poked their head out from their makeshift shelter to see the destruction caused by the impact, the once luxurious city, was now a hollow burnt shadow of it's former self, buildings both big and small we nothing but charred wreckage, piles of rubble and debris. They remained silent as they stared in awe at the scale of destruction, only for the silence to be broken partially, by Rainbow Dash " Whoa," was the only word she could muster.

Shade fell to his knees, the impact caused major recoil to his body, leaving him with a broken wing and front leg, " ...I went and banged myself up.....nice job Shade..". However, Shades efforts weren't in vain, when he caught glimpse of what was left of his adversary, a grin grew on his worn out face. Using whatever strength he had left, Shade limped towards the severed, broken, chest cavity, which was all that was left of the griffon after being hit with Shades attack, inside the charred armor piece, resting shards of a red crystal, similar to the ones that were in the golem, "...There it is..". Shade went to reach for the shards, only to have them fly straight into his chest, slowly sinking inside his chest as the other crystal had done , " I guess...I didn't pass out this time," he looked around the surrounding area, taking in the devastation he had caused, "..I'm gonna get an ear full for this..," his eyes laid upon the ponies who he had originally come here to save, before slowly limping towards them.

" Hey everypony, look! It's Shaaaaaaaade!," Pinkie pie spoke in an almost ecstatic voice, similar to her usual one,but slightly more high pitched.

Both Twilight and Spikes heads shot up at the sound of his name, both climbing form the hole and rushing towards the injured half breed. Tears welled up in Twilight's eyes as she looked at his battered body, but not tears of sadness, tears of joy, "You're OK.. you really are ," she managed to muster a smile through her tears.

" Dad you are the coolest!!," Spike went to hug his father, only have him collapse next to him, " D..dad!?," Spike shook him slightly to see if he was alright, but he was unconscious.

"..It's alright Spike..," Twilight said to the distressed dragon, "..he's just..worn out..,".

" I'd say you all are, " A voice came from the sky, to which the confused ponies looked around, their eyes eventually landing on princess Celestia, who was in the process of landing next to them. Upon touching the ground, she scanned the area, a look of distaste on her face as she took in the destruction, "..He did not need to take it that far...".

" P..princess!?," Everypony said in unison, a shocked tone in their voice.

Twilight stepped towards her former teacher, trying her best not to fall over, " Princess Celestia..wh...what are you doing here?"

" I was originally going to visit your castle, but when I saw that nopony was home, I used a tracking spell to find you, and...now that I see what's happened...," She cut herself off, shaking her head, before continuing, " I'm just glad you are all alright..," the small smile on her face, was enough to make the rest of the ponies smile in return.

" Uh, not to ruin the moment, but uh, princess," Applejack started, " Can we please, just go home, the girls are all shaken up," a visibly shaken Apple bloom stayed hiding behind her older sister, only peaking out to look at Celestia.

" Of course we can Applejack, however in Shades condition we cannot simply teleport, there is a train departing soon, we must hurry," Twilight, along with the rest of the ponies quickly nodded, picking Shade up with their combined strengths, and carrying him off.

However, not to far the ponies, a shadowy mass stood over the charred breastplate that once belonged to the armored griffon, it's emptiness seemed to stare at the ponies as they made haste to leave " .....Shade..... ".

Inside the Blackness that is the Abyss

Opening his eyes to a familiar sight, Shade looked around, just like his last visit, there was nothing but emptiness, " Hello darkness my old friend," his voice echoed throughout the black plane as he scanned for any signs of life. Rather than the spirit from last time appear, this time a small white dot appeared in the distance, despite it's size, it was easily recognizable among the sea of darkness " Well, that is certainly new," he made his way towards the light, the closer he came towards the light, the bigger and brighter it grew. The light soon became so bright that Shade had to block the light with his claw, only moving it away when a small silhouette within the light caught his attention ," Huh, whose there?! "

" You're here, you're here! " A small voice squeaked as Shade walked closer towards the silhouette, the closer he got to it, more the silhouette took the form of a small filly.

" Where is...here, exactly? " Shade questioned, still looking around, before looking down at the filly who had seemed to be waiting for him, " And who are you exactly, little one? "

The filly let out a small giggle, " Don't be silly papa, " she stepped forward out of the light, revealing her deep purple fur, deep enough that it was nearly black, her eyes were unusual for that of a pony, her pupils, rather than look rounded out, had more of a slit shaped look to them.

Shade took a slight step back in shock, his eyes widened as he looked the filly over, " P..papa?! but..but, my only child is Spike, this abyss, it's messing with my mind" .

The little filly looked up at Shade with a confused look on her face, not sure what he was talking about, only to silence his questioning with more giggles, " Silly papa, big brother is at the house with mama, hurry up! " she grabbed the half breeds claw and began dragging him along towards the light.

Using his other claw, Shade covered his eyes as the bright became unbearably bright, only for it to fade away, revealing a small field surrounded by forest, covered in flowers in grass, in the center of the field sat a small cottage like house, " Wh...where are we?" Shade looked around, trying to find out where he was exactly" .

Another giggle left the fillies mouth as she looked back at the pony who she claimed to be her father, " Don't be silly papa, we're home, big brother and mama are waiting for us " . Finally reaching the cottage, her eyes stayed locked on Shade as she opened the door, " We're gonna miss lunch" .

" What in the?! " a bright light came from the door, causing the half breed to shield his eyes, the light seemed to envelope everything around him. Once the light began to fade away, something felt off to Shade, the gentle breeze from the field was gone, instead there was a harsh wind, the wind carried an intense heat within it, alongside the wind was the distinct scent of brimstone, " Wh...wha..what happened?!?! Little one?! " Shade looked around to see if the filly was still with him, only to see that the landscape around him was nothing but a volcanic wasteland, skeletons filled the several trenches that filled the landscape, most charred and burned, some were in much worse conditions. Off in the distance Shade could hear voices, familiar voices, making haste, he flew towards the sound of the voices.

" This is the last day you walk this land monster!!! " Shouted a voice that was strikingly similar to that of princess Luna's, " Free my sister, and Twilight Sparkle, while you still breathe!!"

Shade Arrived on a nearby cliff-side, looking down at the source of the voices, " What in Equestria is going on, please somepony tell me!! " he grabbed his head tightly, everything that had been happening was causing his head to ache greatly.

" O chosen bearer of the crystal, " an ethereal voice started, sounding different from the first spirit that visited Shade, What thou art witnessing it the second fate that possibly awaits your future, thou hast saw the first fate, a peaceful life with a family, this is the second fate, the very things that thou seek to destroy, corrupt thy spirit, creating an even more powerful monster, only caring about his own personal lust for destruction " .

Shade's eyes widened, before turning back towards the edge of the cliff, witnessing something that caused more confusion than shock. Sitting atop an adjacent cliff, was, himself, but he was so different, he had a darker aura to him, his wings were longer with slight tears in the edges, all three of his horns were longer, and on his chest rested a large scar, and surrounding the scar was a form of red corruption, looking like crimson cracks traveling out from the scar. The same corruption also appeared on his face, surrounding his eyes, giving his already blood red eyes and even more red glow to them, below the supposed mirror image of him, sat a group of ponies, and discord, the group of ponies were made up of unicorns from both ponyville and canterlot, Twilight's friends, and princess Luna, who looked as if she had been to hell and back.

The darker Shade let out a low chuckle, just the sound of it was enough to send chills down the spines of the bravest ponies, " Now, why would I go and give my beautiful wives to trash like you, to be honest, I'm surprised that any of you survived my three year reign over all of Equestria " .

The former princess of the night glared daggers at the evil half breed, " I'll make you regret those words you abomination!!, with this spell, we'll send you to oblivion where you belong!!!," her horn began to glow a bright dark blue, the light from her horn slowl began to grow, quickly enveloping everypony around her.

Another chuckle left Shades mouth as he slowly shook his head, " I admire your tenacity princess, maybe I'll spare you after all, another wife means another heir in my name, and Discord, if you be a good boy I could use a court jester, HAHAH, other wise you are all asking for a death sentence!!! "

An orb of magic began forming above the ponies as their powers combined into one, " I would rather die than be your filthy concubine!! " The defiant princess shouted, her eyes turning white as the power surged throughout her body, " But that won't be happening, because with this spell, you, will, die!!! " Shade eyed the defiant princess, his smirk left his face, only leaving a cold scowl in it's place, " No more torment!!, no more suffering!!, I'm going to end you, free my sister, free Twilight, and every pony that you've left alive to writhe in agony!!!, now... DIE!!!! " With a mighty shout, The princess of the night fired off the magical attack, hurtling it right towards Shade.

The darkened half breed didn't even flinch at the sight of the magical orb hurtling at him , rather he began cackling maniacally before forming his own orb of magic on his horn. The ponies below watched in horror as it grew to enormous proportions , easily dwarfing Luna's blast a thousandfold , " DIE YOU WORTHLESS FOOLS!!!!! " with a single flick of his head, the orb began falling towards the group of ponies, easily absorbing Luna's blast on the way down.

Luna's eyes widened as the immense ball of magic came crashing down towards them, easily tearing through the terrain around them, her eyes darted towards the darker Shade, watching him teleport to the sky, where he could get an aerial view of all of their deaths, "....No..." .

Off on the distant cliff, Shade watched as the sphere of magic exploded upon touching the ground, releasing a tsunami of magical hellfire, wiping away anything around. For the first time in his life he felt fear like no other, his heart raced as the racing explosion quickly reached him, soon enveloping him in it, "N...n..No!!!... NOOOOOO!!!!! " sweeping him away within the flames, before disappearing in a flash of burning white.

On the Train Ride back to Ponyville

" N....n..No!!!..... NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! " Shade shot up breathing heavily while holding his chest, sweat poured down him as he swiftly looked around, quickly calming down when he saw he was no longer in the hell he had just witnessed.

Twilight came running at the sound of Shades screams, panic was visible on her face, " Shade?!! Shade are you alright?!? " her eyes landed on the sweating dragon, the pure horror could be heard in his gasp for air, without any hesitation, she quickly rushed over ti him, giving him a comforting hug, ".... Shhh...it's alright.. it was just a bad dream...I'm here for you, " using her magic, she picked up a rag and began wiping the sweat away from him, at the same time while gently patting his back.

"...It was terrible....it was...there was...I was...," He could let out stutters in his still terrified state.

Unsure of what to do, Twilight simply did the first thing that came to her mind, she kissed him, holding the kiss for a few seconds before moving away and looking him in the eyes, " ...It's alright Shade...I'm here for you..." .

Shade looked the lavender pony in the eyes, a memory raced through his head, a memory of Twilight speaking back on the battlefield when he was fighting the metal griffon, " You said something to me back in that city...you said..we were still practically strangers..but that you also loved me...".

A bright red blush appeared on Twilight's cheeks, a blush almost as red as Shade's eyes, " I did...didn't I ," she looked away, trying her best to hide the redness on her face, only to have her head lifted up by her chin, "..H..h.huh?? "

" I feel the same way, I don't know why, but I feel a strong connection with you, a bond...you saved me more than anypony else has...and...I want to be able to do the same for you," if his body weren't covered in black scales, he too would have a blush on his face.

"..You already have...do me one favor though..don't go proposing to me too soon, alright..I want to be able to savor this feeling," she looked him in the eyes, " Can you do that for me, please ".

He gave out a small chuckle while slowly shaking his head, " Of course I can, " he pulled her close, giving her loving kiss on the lips . After pulling away from the embrace, Shade looked out the window of the train, and then back at Twilight, " Say, where is it that we're going exactly ".

Twilight let out a small giggle at his sudden question before pulling close to her new coltfriend, " We're going home ".

Author's Note:

Well, hey there everypony!!! First of all, I just want to say that I'm sorry for my hiatus, I just needed some time to myself, a lot has happened since I last wrote a chapter for this story, I've had a lot to go through, but I've finally pulled through, and I'm back to writing, I hope that everyone enjoys the chapter, I'm sorry if it's not up to my usual standards, I'm a bit rusty from not writing for a while, but I'm finally back, and I'm here to stay for a while before I take another break, I hope you ladies and gentlecolts enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you all again soon

Comments

[Hillbe]

Ah Dad you're hitting on my ah , oh sister? mom? what ever? Dude this is so confusing . . .

Spike , Rarity's that away------------------------------------------>?

cool.

[DarklordAxel20]

7478825
Looks like story time happens outside of the actual story

[stephen51991]

[DarklordAxel20]

7479592
Hey you found my inspiration for the dark future