//------------------------------// // Chapter 168: Darkness, My Friend? // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// The Hollow Shades was indeed abandoned as the group discovered all too soon upon arrival. The entire place was shrouded in darkness and the only indication that anyone had once lived there, were the remaints of a few small houses that had been forgotten to the ages long ago. "You weren't kidding about this place being abandoned, Sunburst," Starlight remarked as the air seemed to grow cold and heavy. "This is creepy." "Where better for a creature of pure darkness to hide?" Starswirl bitterly commented with narrowed eyes. "Stay focused. There's no telling how strong The Pony of Shadows has become since arriving here." "I just hope he's not too powerful for even the pillars to handle. Because if he is, what hope is there for the Elements of Harmony to work? Will they even work in a situation like this?" Shining thought to himself. He was still feeling conflicted to a great deal about what Starswirl claimed needed to be done. Even Mistmane had remarked how it seemed a shame to sacrifice the Tree of Harmony. Starswirl had defended it by saying. "If The Pony of Shadows isn't stopped, all of Equestria will suffer for all eternity. For the sake of the greater good, it is better to temporarily have half of Equestria rather than none of it." But a few of the pillars and even some of the others had questioned Starswirl's judgement. The only thing that stopped them from ignoring his orders was the fact that none of them could think of a better solution. But did that mean one didn't exist? Shining didn't have time to dwell on these thoughts, however, for at that moment there came an ominous and familiar laugh. "Ah, so you've come at last." It spoke above the wind even as its owner refused to appear before them. Starswirl immediately lost patience. "Enough games, Stygian! We know you're here! You shall not hide from us! Come out and face us if you're not afraid, and let us end this conflict once and for all!" He demanded as the group began to huddle close together. The Pony of Shadows cackled with glee. "Such bold words, Starswirl. And soon you shan't live to regret them. Prepare to meet your end!" All of a sudden, from a well emerged a huge blob of darkness that swallowed up the pillars, Sunburst, Starlight, Spike, Twilight, and even Shining and his friends! Fortunately they did not descend far before Starswirl was able to encase them in a protective barrier. But they found themselves looking at some kind of underground passage lined with columns. "What is this place? I've never seen or heard of anything like it." Sunburst nervously inquired. With a laugh The Pony of Shadows stepped forward, revealing itself in all its dark glory. "Allow me to welcome you all to the Well of Shade!" He began to prattle on at length. "Few ponies even know such a place exists. After you six cast me out though, I came here. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, to wonder how the ponies I thought I could trust with my life would ever turn their back on me. Then it happened, the darkness spoke to me. We came to an understanding and became one, The Pony of Shadows was born." "That's quite enough, fiend!" Starswirl snapped! "Your words are as empty as your blackened heart! You are guilty of wanting more power than you had, power that wasn't yours to take. We did what was necessary and you have no one but yourself to blame for the fate that awaits you." The Pony of Shadows roared back as cracks started to appear in Starswirl's barrier. "No! It was you who were selfish! I looked up to you, wanted to be like you! But you only cared about yourselves, you saw me as a measly scholar who could never amount to anything! Well I'll prove you all wrong. For once I've robbed the world of light and hope, this realm shall embrace the darkness as I once did. And there is nothing you can do to stop me!" "We shall see." Was all Starswirl bothered to reply with. Meanwhile, Starlight shot Shining a glance as she asked him. "Are you sure this isn't a friendship problem? It sure looks like it to me." "I..." Shining spoke up only to find that he was at a loss for words. Something about this scenario didn't feel right but he had no idea what it was. "We shall indeed!" The Pony of Shadows declared, breaking down the barrier with a single blast from his horn! It was clear to all that he had already grown much stronger in the brief amount of time he'd been in the Hollow Shades. "The Elements of Harmony, quickly!" Starswirl instructed. One by one the Elements of Honesty, Laughter, Loyalty, Kindness, and Generosity were all activated (each with their respective pillar using their original item as a power booster). And Starwirl, lighting up his horn, created the portal to limbo! The Pony of Shadows quickly felt the tug of the portal as it tried to pull him in! Soon he was submerged up to his neck, holding on with every bit of strength he had. "No!" He growled in defiance! "You will not trap me again! I won't allow it! The darkness is here to stay!" "Shining, push him in!" Starswirl demanded of the prince! "Hurry, I can't keep the portal open for long!" But Shining found himself inexplicably hesitating. He didn't know what to think or what was the right call anymore. "Shining, come on! I don't have the strength to do it myself!" Starswirl demanded as he began to strain from the intense magical pressure. "Push him in before it's too late!" Reluctantly, Shining began to light up his horn in anticipation of what he was about to do. It seemed like it was the right call to make. But just as the prince was about to act, he saw what appeared to a scrawny looking unicorn stallion with a coat of moderate gray. In shock, the alicorn stumbled back with a gasp! "There's a pony inside!" He realized. And it was then that he knew what he had to do! He lowered his horn, instead opting to fly right into the chest of The Pony of Shadows! "Shining, what do you think you're doing?!" Starswirl angrily demaded. "Saving a life... I hope!" The prince replied and that was the last thing said aloud before he disappeared inside The Pony of Shadows (who was still trying to avoid being sucked into the portal). As expected, the inside of The Pony of Shadows was nothing but darkness. Yet Shining found that his magic wasn't blocked, so he was able to light up his horn and illuminate his surroundings. Soon he found the gray coated stallion from before, who now had a brown cloak on his chest and a moderate cerulean and arctic blue mane and tail that looked to be very loosely styled. Said stallion had his back turned to the alicorn and did not seem to be aware of his presence just yet. "Excuse me," Shining asked the unicorn. "Are you... Stygian?" The unicorn spun around, revealing a set of brilliant azure eyes that looked depressed and forlorn. "I was, once. But now I'm not so sure. I'm not sure of anything anymore." Was all he bothered to respond with. The prince pressed further. "Stygian, you're aware of what's happening right now, aren't you? You're about to be banished back to limbo, probably forever." "And why do you care?" Stygian remarked in sudden anger. "I'm not a hero, and it's clear that those pillars don't care about me anymore. They all think I'm an evil that must be contained or destroyed." "But it's not true, is it?" Shining inquired out of desperate hope. "You never wanted to usurp the pillars and take their place. You just wanted to be on their level. Please, tell me I'm right!" "You're half right, I'll give you that," Stygian replied. "I never had any intention of overthrowing the pillars and taking away their power, though I don't blame them for thinking that lowly of me. I was always the sidekick of their group. I was the one who did all the research on the monsters we fought. I planned strategy and learned all there was to learn, but I had neither magic nor might with which to fight alongside them. So I got an idea, an unconventional one but one that I told myself would work." "So you stole the artifacts to use in that enchantment?! What were you thinking?!" Shining gasped! Stygian only bitterly remarked. "You wouldn't know what it's like to be in the shadows of glory, to be so close that you can feel it! Only to be denied because of your own limitations! I wanted so desperately to aid my friends that I convinced myself any price was worth paying! But I only intended to 'borrow' the artifacts, it was going to be a simple duplication spell. I figured that if I used Ponhenge, I could make copies of the artifacts and obtain the power within them." Shining questioned Stygian. "Why did you go behind their backs like that? Why didn't you tell them what you were going to do? That's what I would've done." "It doesn't matter what some of the others might have thought, Starswirl would've said no!" Stygian growled in a cold tone! "He thinks he knows everything about magic! Just once I wanted to prove him wrong, to prove that I was as good as he was if not better! I was the one who brought all the pillars together, so where did he get off thinking that he could call all the shots?! I was so blinded by my desire to show him up, I didn't stop to think about what would happen when he and the others found out. But instead of trying to help, my so called 'friends' cast me out. Treated me like I was yesterday's news." The prince struggled to think of what to say next. But somehow he was able to come up with the words. "This is all just a big misunderstanding. This must be what the map called my friends and I here to solve! If the other pillars really knew how you'd felt, they wouldn't have tossed you aside and left you to your own devices. They all thought you'd come back one day and seek forgiveness, they never held it against you until you became The Pony of Shadows." "It is too late, prince," Stygian remarked as a dark mist started to form around him and his eyes began to glow bright white. "The darkness welcomed me when nopony would, and I will do what I must to protect it. What makes you think you can help me?" "Because it's what he does. He's not the Prince of Friendship for nothing," Starlight Glimmer replied as she too stepped into the dark interior. "I've heard everything, Stygian, and so have the other pillars. Even Starswirl's starting to realize that he was wrong. It's not too late to save yourself." "And just who might you be?" Stygian demanded. Shining extended a hoof to Starlight, introducing her. "Her name is Starlight Glimmer, and until a few months ago she was my student. Like you she was on a dark path of self-destruction, consumed by revenge. And you know what happened? She saw the monster she was becoming and decided that wasn't what she wanted to become. The same can be true of you. You don't have be to known as The Pony of Shadows anymore, Stygian. I can help you become the pony you once were before all of this." "It certainly beats an eternity in limbo," Starlight added. "So what do you say?" In her mind, however, she was thinking. "Please don't let this backfire like it did with Chrysalis!" Stygian paused, the dark mist surrounding him seemed to vanish and his eyes returned to normal. In a quiet voice he responded. "I... I want to believe you," But then he seemed to wince and strain quite visibly. The dark mist returned, encircling him like a coil as a curved horn began to appear on his forehead! "But I won't fall for your lies! Stygian is gone, The Pony of Shadows is all that remains! And the darkness will not be stopped!" "Guess you leave us no choice then, Stygian," Shining sighed. "We're doing this the hard way! Come on!" He and Starlight grabbed hold him of with magical coils and began to pull him out of The Pony of Shadows' chest! Stygian seemed to emerge all of a sudden from The Pony of Shadows, though only his front hooves and at times the tip of his forehead could be seen. "Yes, that's it!" Shining encouraged even as he was straining quite visibly to maintain the link. "Fight it, Stygian! Fight the darkness! I know you can do it! Revenge isn't what you want, friendship is! Friendship and forgiveness!" But just as it looked like Stygian would be pulled free, several dark tentacles appeared and surrounded him! They began to drag him back into The Pony of Shadows' chest! "You fool! Think about what we could accomplish together!" The Pony of Shadows roared! "We can eclipse not just the pillars but all great rulers! We will be unstoppable! You don't want to throw it all away on 'friendship'!" A softer voice retorted! "I... don't... want... to be... part of you... anymore! I... want... to be free!" And then it pleaded. "H-help... me!" "No! We're losing him!" Shining exclaimed with worry! "He wants to break free, but he can't do it on his own! My magic's not strong enough!" "Well then, we must help our friend at once!" Starswirl encouraged! "Everyone, turn your attention to The Pony of Shadows' chest! We'll all pull together!" And they did, several magical coils of different colored light surrounded The Pony of Shadows in the same area as Shining and Starlight's. It took a great deal of effort but slowly but surely Stygian began to emerge from The Pony of Shadows, while the dark creature seemed to slowly stumble back and lose more of itself to the portal. "NO! I do not concede!" The Pony of Shadows roared in defiance even as it could feel itself losing control! "You can't stop the darkness! I shall reign triumphant!" And then he devolved into a continued fit of raspy cackles, until Stygian was fully free and The Pony of Shadows fell into the portal! The portal slammed shut with a tremendous burst of rainbow colored energy that shot up into the sky! The Pony of Shadows was nomore.