//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 Part 1: Desires of a Devil // Story: Sundered Universes // by Super Ponyman //------------------------------// (Canterlot Castle, Main Courtyard) Noble Blade was exhausted... so much so that he nearly fell asleep walking, the group shared his feeling of exhaustion as well... after all they had been up ALL night partying and eventually fighting Changelings, what they really needed was a day to just sleep. Burning Star, who surprisingly made a speedy recovery after a few hours, walked in front of them, mumbling to himself about what happened back at the hive. He was carrying Queen Chrysalis's dead body on his back, the stench of rotting Changeling filling his nostrils. By the time that everypony got back to the castle the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, casting a dull glow over the land. The teleportation spell that Quickfire and Noble Blade preformed was taxing, and Hiller and Freedom Fighter were helping the two unicorns along, they had shed their weapons and given them to the two Earth Ponies in order to lighten the load. Firestorm, curious as to what exactly happened back at the hive, ran up to Burning Star and asked him, "Hey Burning Star, ive been meaning to ask, what was that emotional crumble you had back there? And more importantly, did you mean any words you said? Because that was a really sudden turnaround from your normal behavior." Burning Star stared at the Pegasus for a minute, then responded with a question, "What do you mean, "normal behavior?" Are you implying that I made a scene to shut Noble Blade up?" He turned and faced Firestorm, his Mane beginning to emit smoke and his eyes filled with anger. "Listen here feather brain, I mean it when I say I can change my ways, so have a little more faith in me, just like you Firestorm quickly backed up, very aware of where this was going, and he didn't want to ignite Burning Star's rage when the group was in no condition to contain him. He waved his hooves frantically in front of him and said, "No, No! I'm just saying that because it surprised me about how quickly you turned around and came to your epiphany. Heh-Heeeeeh..." Firestorm continued to speak, "Also on another note, how did you regain your strength so fast?" Burning Star's mouth curled into a smirk as he said. "Well you see, Firestorm. Alicorns have a natural healing factor that allows us to recover from injury and replenish our stamina very quickly. Plus, I was trained under King Sombra, I have to be able to survive the harshest of conditions, the strength draining spell Chrysalis was using on me would kill any of you within seconds, it was meant to incapacitate Dragons, so using it on a pony would prove fatal." He turned back towards the rest of the group, seeing the tired and wounded warriors that fought so hard to get him back, and he said to himself. "I wish that I could have been a better friend to you all in the past, maybe I can start anew. Maybe, just maybe... it will be different now." The large weight of Queen Chrysalis's dead body on his back was inconsequential to him, his body was used to physical work thanks to his training. Burning Star slowed his pace to talk with the group, "I wonder how Twilight will react when I show her that Chrysalis is dead. I mean... I might as well show her so she can see that one of our oldest enemies is finally dealt with. What do you guys think?" Noble Blade responded with a hopeful tone, "I believe she will be glad and upset to know that we have slain the Queen of the Changelings in battle. I also believe that she will be overjoyed so see you return home relatively unharmed. I think we all will be well taken care of by the staff." Hiller interrupted the two, "Before we start assuming that Twilight actually decides to get us care, how do you think she is going to react when Burning Star here drops the dead body of one of her greatest foes in front of her?" Burning Star shrugged and said, "Don't know, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." As the group approached the doors to the castle, a squadron of the Royal Guard headed by Shadow Armor and Shining Armor ran up to them. Shadow Armor was the first to speak, his voice filled with relief, "Burning Star! Thank Faust you're returned, Twilight was growing concerned for you... what happened to you and your friends?" Quickfire stepped forwards and said, "We will tell you when we meet with Queen Twilight, for now, let us pass." Shadow Armor signaled to the guards to step aside and the six warriors approached the large wood doors. Shadow Armor and Shining noticed who Burning Star was carrying on his back and the pair of them went wide eyed with shock. Shining finally stammered out, "I-Is that Queen Chrysalis? What happened to her?" Noble's response was deadly serious, "Yes, that is Queen Chrysalis. Fortunately, She is dead. I killed her by impaling her on my sword." Firestorm continued Noble's thought, "We will tell you the full story inside. Come on everypony, let's go give Twilight her gift, shall we?" With that, the guards opened the doors to the castle, and every pony went in. (Canterlot Castle, Throne Room) Twilight Sparkle was sitting on her throne, drinking tea when Burning Star walked in. She spit it out forcefully, seeing her husband return from what she assumed was the guys night which gone too far. Burning Star called out to her, "Honey! I'm home." Twilight flew over to him at blinding speed and snarled out, "BURNING STAR, Where were you?! I was worried sick that you were off on one of your little monster hunts again." She pulled him forwards with her magic, fuming with impatience, "You weren't hunting monsters again, right?" Freedom Fighter stepped forward and bowed, as did everypony except Burning Star, who stood unmoving with the body of Queen Chrysalis on his back. Finally, the black Alicorn responded, "No Twilight, it was much more complicated than that. But, let me explain in simpler terms." Burning Star began to explain, "Long Story Short, I went out to the guys night along with my fellow warriors over here." he motioned to the Guardians and Hunters. "We went to a exotic dancer nightclub, while I was standing outside thinking to myself, I was approached by an old foe of ours, Queen Chrysalis. She was wearing the disguise of you, and I fell for it and she captured and tourtured me for THREE DAYS." Burning Star hung his head, "While I was imprisoned in her disgusting hive, she sapped me of my powers and demanded I help her achieve a higher form of being. I was humiliated, and felt hopeless. I felt as if no pony was coming to rescue me... like nopony cared about me." Noble interrupted, "But we came to rescue him, and we ended up laying siege to Queen Chrysalis's hive. The battle ended when I drove my sword through the foul monarchs chest... and we freed your husband from his sticky prison." He motioned to the body on Burning Star's back. "If you want proof of her demise, here you go." Twilight Sparkle backed away as The black Alicorn dropped Chrysalis's body like a bag of wet cement, it lay sprawled out on the floor, and smelled horrible. Twilight's jaw dropped, she had never been able to fully defeat Chrysalis, and these newcomers arrive and literally and figuratively squash her like the insect she is? She thought to herself, "Well, that is one threat off my list. I should remember to call these three Up next time another villain decides to rear its ugly head." Twilight announced to the group, "Well done, Guardians of the Sun. Not only did you take down one of my oldest enemies, you rescued my husband from what would be a very unpleasant fate." Firestorm chimed in, "By the way, Twilight, I've been meaning to ask you this. Why didn't you send out anypony to look for him the morning after our guys night, hm?" Twilight smiled sheepishly, "Well, I kinda assumed that Burning Star could take care of himself? I didn't know that Chrysalis would actually show up, she was supposed to show up later this week, if Eclipsio's predictions were correct." Everypony immediately narrowed their eyes, and Burning Star's mane ignited as he shouted at a volume that shook the room. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE SHOULD HAVE COME LATER THIS WEEK!" Twilight just realized what she said and she immediately tried to cover that line, "I... I-I mean, who could have guessed that Queen Chrysalis could come early? Heh-Heh... I'm in trouble aren't I?" Noble and the rest of the group had no time to react as Burning Star shoved them aside like rag dolls, grabbed Twilight in his hooves, and roared in her face. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THIS ALL COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF YOU TOLD ME THAT ONE OF OUR MOST ELUSIVE ARCHENEMIES WAS GOING TO TRY AND ATTACK THIS WEEK!?" Freedom Fighter and Hiller managed to pull Burning Star off Twilight with great difficulty, and Noble snapped back to the now blazing Alicorn, "BURNING STAR! That's enough! Do not get angry at your wife, this is not her fault." The black Alicorn growled one last time, before extinguishing himself, he relaxed his body and said, "Do what you wish with the body, I think it's time to head back to your world, Noble. I... need some time away from my world. You coming?" Noble nodded, "I shall return to my home, but let me talk with your wife first. Everypony, head to the dimensional portal." Firestorm shrugged, "Eh, I was thinking the same thing, hot head. Midnight isn't going to defeat herself, somepony has to do it. I'll get my stuff." Hiller responded, "Yeah, its about time we get back to the mission at hoof. I'll be ready within the hour." As Burning Star and the rest exited the room, Twilight turned to Noble Blade and said, "So, what were you going to speak to me about, Noble Blade?" Noble began, "You see Twilight, over the past one and a half weeks I've been working with Burning Star to crack the shell on his emotions. So far I've made some progress, albeit with tremendous difficulties." Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow, "Wait, you managed to crack that shell of his? Your better than I thought." Noble continued, "You know he actually does care about you right? He just is afraid to let you get hurt, to let anypony close to him get hurt... I can't understand him completely yet, but he is getting better. I assure you, he'll open up to you by the time this crisis is over." Twilight Sparkle sighed, "I hope you are right. I don't want to have to do something I don't want to do, because it won't end well for either of us." Noble couldn't read minds, but he knew what Twilight meant by doing something that wind end well... That something was Divorce. Noble put a hoof on Twilight's back and he said, "Have faith Lady Twilight, for I will treat your husbands emotional imbalance as well as I possibly can." Noble looked to the door and saw Eclipsio was opening a portal to his home world. He also saw that everypony was ready to go, their bags packed and sealed, ready for inter-dimensional transport. He walked over to them, but before he was out of earshot, he said "I won't let you down Twilight Sparkle! I swear on my name, I will aid your husband in his recovery. Goodbye, and may Celestia be with you!" Noble stepped into the portal with his things, a look of satisfaction on his face, and he was zipped off to his home world. (Canterlot Castle, Throne Room, Guardians Universe) Celestia and Luna were discussing with their new friend Crimson Mane about their next move on Midnight Sparkle. Crimson Mane was known by another name, a name Celestia and Luna never expected Scootaloo. Scootaloo stood about half a head shorter than Luna, her face had yellow-red eyes that seemed to be more reptilian than equine, while she normally wore a mask made out of a skull, she had it off, and her long frushia and red mane hung behind her, tied in a long bushy ponytail that reached to her actual tail, giving the appearance that her mane ran all the way down her back. Her cutie mark of the CMC logo was still there, but it was much more pronounced due to her lean, curvy, and strong legs and hips. She wore a dark brown overcoat with black gloves. These gloves were lined with electrical wire, and were capable of emitting powerful bolts of electricity when activated. Apparently, She was from the same timeline that Quickfire hailed from, and she had also been displaced from the time stream. She also seemed to know quite a bit about how Midnight came to power, and this knowledge proved valuable to Celestia and Luna. The most interesting thing about her was her wings, instead of being made of flesh and feathers like a normal pair of Pegasus wings... They were made of some sort of magic metal she called "Magitek Steel" which made them extremely strong and light enough to be used as actual wings. Celestia began to speak to their guest, "So, care to explain what exactly Midnight's plan is, Scootaloo?" Crimson nodded and began to speak, "Well Princess Celestia, first you have to understand why exactly Midnight is so hell-bent on destroying your kingdom." Crimson pulled out a trio of orbs and tossed them on the floor, within seconds, a hologram sprang to life. What Celestia and Luna saw on that hologram sent chills down their spine. Crimson began to narrate, a tone of seriousness in her voice. "The story of Midnight Sparkle is a confusing one, some say she rose to power by stealing the elements of harmony, some say she is a demon from Tartarus, and some even say she is a manifestation of magic itself. But the real truth is far, far, more sinister." The image changed to a picture of one of Celestia and Luna's archenemies, King Sombra! Crimson continued, "When Equestria faced the threat of the ancient windigos, Twilight was left helpless to defeat them, as the boasted very high resistances to standard magic, and thus she had to resort to the other side of the spectrum, Dark Magic. But Celestia and Luna, ever righteous in their ways, refused to educate her in the ways of Dark Magic. This left Twilight bitter and she turned to one of the most powerful, but dangerous unicorns in Equestria. King Sombra, who was a master of the dark arts." Luna interjected, "That's impossible! Twilight would never listen to that monster!" Crimson shook her head, "No. if it was for the pursuit of knowledge that could save Equestria, Twilight would go through Tartarus to achieve her goal." She resumed her narration, "That denial of teaching spawned feelings of resentment towards Celestia in Twilight. this... frustration, along with a combination of pent Up negative feelings drew the immense power offered by dark magic to Twilight like moths to a flame. King Sombra did teach Twilight Sparkle the spells to strike down the Windigos, but she wanted to learn more about the dark arts. She was exposed, and at a moment of weakness..." Celestia asked Crimson, "So... King Sombra created Midnight Sparkle?" Crimson shook her head, "No, Sombra actually wanted to prevent her from coming to being, but let me finish." She changed the picture to a news article, "DARK FRIENDSHIP!" Princess Twilight Sparkle declares war on Canterlot." Crimson continued, "Eventually, Twilight was consumed by her fears and doubts, she was afraid that you would persecute her for using dark magic, that you would destroy her... so she became more powerful than you and Luna combined, Thus Twilight Sparkle died, and Midnight Sparkle was born!" "King Sombra, horrified at seeing what he unintentionally created, arranged for a meeting with you two. Midnight caught word of the meeting and decided to end the major threat to her rising regime." "Then tragedy struck, On the day of the meeting, Midnight Sparkle attacked Canterlot Castle, intent on destroying you, King Sombra managed to save many of the civilians, while you two kept her distracted. Ultimately, Midnight killed both of you." Celestia and Luna both shed tears as they watched Midnight roar out as she disintegrated their other selves. Luna asked, "And what became of Sombra?" Crimson finished, "Sombra fled north. He took with him Shining Armor, Cadence, the elements of harmony, and the CMC. He planned to send some ponies back in time to mend Twilight's fraying mind before she went too far... He succeeded in sending me and Shining back in time, but at the cost of his life." "And that is how Empress Midnight Sparkle came to be, and she had ruled for 20 years, in that time, no pony has ever succeeded in overthrowing her... all that have attempted, have died." The last video was of King Sombra showing a kind smile as he was blasted into oblivion, seeing the two ponies enter a swirling vortex of blue and white. Celestia fought back tears as she said, "So my dear Twilight will become that monster if we don't stop Midnight here? Tell me it isn't so!" Crimson sadly shook her head, "I can only hope that your warriors and Burning Star can stop her, or somepony with just as much power as her..." Little did the trio of ponies know, that somepony was planning to stop Midnight as they spoke... (Hollow Shades, the Well of Shades) The town of Hollow Shades was a dark and dreary place, home to the soruce of one of the most terrifying monsters ever seen in Equestria since Nightmare Moon... Deep within the town lay the Well of Shades, and in that unholy place sat Stygian, the Pony of Shadows! Stygian was speaking to a group of his followers, the Pony of Shadows aura hanging behind him like some sort of demonic shade. He spoke to his followers, a pair of colts that once followed the stage magician, the self proclaimed "Great and Powerful Trixie" around. Snips and Snails, a pair of Unicorns that followed anypony with great power like a moth to a flame. Stygian spoke to them, an edge of irritation in his voice, "I do not understand. I grant you the ability to accomplish fantastic feats." He shifted to his Pony of Shadows form, "Yet you still FAIL ME! Explain yourselves, cretins!" Snails responded, "Well, you're kinda asking us to take on the equivalent of a goddess, Stygian." Snips chimed in, "I mean what do you want us to do, kill Midnight?" Stygian's mouth twisted into a menacing smirk, "Precisely." (Lyric colors: Gray-Stygian, Black Bold-Pony of Shadows, Brown-Snips and Snails) Stygian thought to himself, "I never thought these unicorns essential. They are crude and unspeakablely plain." Suddenly, Stygian's mouth twisted into a evil grin, "But maybe, they show a glimmer of potential. If allied with my plan and my brain..." Stygian suddenly jumped in front of them and he began to sing, his shadow still in the shape of the demonic monster he was hosting. That shadow mouthed the words as well... "I know that your powers of pretention, are as wet as mermares backside. "But thick as you are..." He grabbed Snips and shifted to his Pony of Shadows form "Pay Attention!" He pushed the little unicorn back into his friend, "My words are matter of pride." He walked over to Snails, who stood cross-eyed, he waved his hoof in front of him, "Its clear from your vacant expressions, the lights aren't all on upstairs." He stared at the both of them, "But we're talking kings and successions." He shifted back to his Pony of Shadows form, and blew the two back with his roaring words, "Even you can't be caught UNAWARES!" He flew up to a broken ledge, and sung out. "So PREPARE for the chance of a lifetime! Be PREPARED for sensational news!" "A shining new era, is tiptoeing nearer..." The two young unicorns asked, "And where To we fit in?" Stygian responded, "Just listen to teacher." "I know it sounds sordid, but you be rewarded, when at last I am given my dues." Stygian morphed back into his Pony of Shadows form and bellowed a loud verse, "And INJUSTICE deliciously squared!" "BE PREPARED!!!!" Snips and Snails managed to get to their feet, "Alright we'll be prepared... for what?" Stygian hollered, "For the death of the queen!" Snails responded, "What? Is she sick or something?" Stygian facehoofed, before saying, "No fools, we're going to kill her, and Celestia too..." Snips and Snails jumped up and danced around like morons, "Great! No queen! No queen! La-La-Laa-La-La!" Stygian roared, "IDIOTS! There will be a King!" The pair of unicorns looked confused, "But I thought you said..." Stygian interrupted them, "I will be king!" He morphed back into his Pony of Shadows form, "Stick with me, AND YOU WILL NEVER BE POWERLESS AGAIN!" Both Snips and Snails cheered, "Woo-hoo! Yes! Long live the king!" Suddenly, all the torches came to life, and the population of Hollow Shades called out, "LONG LIVE THE KING! LONG LIVE THE KING!" Stygian watched with pride as the ponies began to march out of the cave, all singing in unison, "Its great that will soon be connected. By a king who be all-time adored!" Stygian stood atop the keep in the center of town, saying "Of course, Quid Pro Quo, you're expected..." He made a cutting motion across his neck, "To take certain duties on board." He still sang out, almost as if he were announcing to the matching ponies clad in dark gray armor, "The future is littered with prizes, and although I'm the main addresse..." He narrowed his eyes and almost snarled out the next line, "The point that I must emphasize is..." He switched back to his Pony of Shadows form and yelled at a volume that split the ground, "YOU WONT GET A SCRAP WITHOUT ME!" The Pony of Shadows took flight, many of the Pegasus roze Up with him, he bellowed. "So PREPARE for the coup of the century! Be PREPARED for the murkiest scam!" He stopped in place and sung out, "Meticulous planning, Tenacity spanning. Decades of denial, is simply why I will." He began to boast, sending the rest of his troops into a slowly rising hum, "Be king UNDISPUTED, RESPECTED, SALUTED, and seen for the WONDER I am!" He smiled an evil smile and uttered his final few lines, "Yes my TEETH and AMBITIONS are bared! BE PREPARED!!!" Suddenly, all of the town joined in, "Yes our TEETH and AMBITIONS are bared!" The Pony of Shadows let out his final lines, "BE PREPARED!!!!" The Pony of Shadows let out a loud, terrifying, evil laugh, "MWHAHA-HAHAH-HEHA-AHAHAAHA! He glared off in the direction of the Castle of Darkness, roaring at the top of his lungs, "Soon enough, dearest Midnight Sparkle, you will meet your doom, and I WILL BE KING! AHAHAH-HAHAA-HAHA!" (Cut the Song) (Castle of Darkness, Midnight Sparkle's Room) Midnight Sparkle paced back and forth in her room, trying to figure out what foe to send out next... She thought to herself, "Let's see... Let's see... what has the Celestia and Luna not faced before? More importantly, What will put those irritating Guardians and that obnoxious Burning Star in the grave the fastest? Hmm..." She created another ball of magic, and began to lazily scroll through the villains of both worlds, she yawned as she scrolled... very bored and very underwhelmed. This world's Villains were absolutely garbage compared to Burning Star's world! Back on Burning Star's world, Midnight faced the Windigo Queen, Diamanda, Tantabus and the Nightmare Tribe, and freaking King Sombra, who was like the ultimate of villains... Next to her, of course. But regardless, despite this world sharing some history with the other, the villains were not shared, this sent Midnight into a fit of anger, and she slammed open the front door of her castle, blasting a beam of magic into the air in rage. "For Faust's sake, is there anypony out there that has the power to challenge those little annoyances?! I don't want to send Stygian into battle yet... he is my ace, my second in command." Midnight said with a snarl, before getting an idea. She said, "You know what? Screw it! Stygian will be sent to attack Canterlot, I'll call him from Hollow Shades, I can sense that he has built an army for me. He is more useful than I thought..." Dark Magic swirled around Midnight Sparkle as she spoke the words "Pony of Shadows! I summon your dark powers to my side!" A dark gray portal opened up, and The Pony of Shadows stepped through, his eyes aglow with bright red light. "Midnight Sparkle, my Queen... you have summoned me to your side? What is thy wish?" "Stygian, I wish to attack Canterlot, and you will lead the charge on the city, if you need backup, I will send a Mirror copy of somepony like Nightmare Moon to your aid. Can you handle that assignment, Stygian?" The Pony of Shadows smiled evilly, "Of course my Queen, you wish is my command." He said under his breath, "For now..." With that, Stygian flew off in the direction of Canterlot, with this new development, he could kill two birds with one stone. Take out Princess Celestia and Luna... And secure Midnight Sparkle's trust, so she will drop her guard... "And when she is unguarded, I will end her life in the most brutal and ironic way I can." "By ripping her soul out, and using it as fuel for my power... grah-hah-hah-ha..." Stygian said As the Pony of Shadows flew off to his new target... Canterlot Castle.