//------------------------------//
// The Enemy 
// Story: Dark Tidings 
// by moguera 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 3: The Enemy


Lightning barreled through the door, smashing it to flinders.  Gnashing his teeth, he noted that the room was empty.  His luck hadn't been working out for him.  This was the fifth address he had visited to find his targets, only to find it empty as well.  The printer hadn't been at home, neither had the first three actors that Lightning had tried to find.  It was as though they had all gone on vacation together.
If the actors aren't here, then maybe they're at the theater Sparky.  This is a chance to take care of all of them at once.
Lightning nodded at his friend's idea and backed out of the room.  Leaving the apartment block, he launched himself into the sky and began winging his way over to the theater.  In his single-mindedness, he didn't notice the two armored pegasi following him from a respectable distance.

It only took a few minutes to reach the theater.  Another moment allowed Lightning to find the back-alley entrance and smash it open.  Stalking into the theater, the former captain glared around, looking for any sign of the actors or the crew.  But backstage was deserted.  Dodging around set pieces and pops, the pegasus picked his way through the mess behind the stage and trotted out to the stage itself and looked out over the empty auditorium.
Lightning was beginning to feel heavy.  There was no other way he could describe it.  Being able to crush doors and beat earth ponies at strength had been exciting, invigorating even.  But now, every time he used the ridiculous strength he had been granted, his body seemed all the more weighed down when he was done.
The theater was deserted, with no sign of the ponies he had been looking for.  A low growl escaped Lightning.  Where were they?  It was as though all the ponies he had been hunting had vanished without a trace.  Looking around, Lightning ran his eyes over the stage itself.  It was partially set, a table having been brought out for some scene or other.
Spark Lightning's legs buckled as his head felt like somepony had clamped in a vice and tightened the screws.  An immense pressure descended upon him.  It was dark, ferocious and maddening.  He was sure it was only a matter of moments before his mind snapped in two.  Lightning felt his friend stir from within the recesses of his consciousness, then he felt nothing at all.

Shining Armor dashed down the street.  Thundering behind him came several ranks of his best guards.  Already, the air division had secured the space over the theater roof.  Shining Armor felt a grim sense of satisfaction that his strategy had worked so well.  It had been an excellent idea to put the homes of Lightning's targets under surveillance and wait for the criminal to show himself.  And Lightning had done so with gratifying straightforwardness.
He also figured that once Lightning realized that the actors were not at home, he would try for the theater, where he could theoretically deal with them all at once.  But now, Lightning was in a deserted building with plenty of room for the Royal Guards to deploy against him and no bystanders for him to threaten.  This would be their best chance.
Reaching the front entrance, Shining Armor issued his orders.  "Surround the building.  Make sure to leave the rear exit open.  When he bolts, I want him to head through that one.  That's where we will take care of him."
He then detailed two teams to follow him into the theater's outer foyer.  From there, they made their way quietly to the doors to the theater auditorium.  Pressing his ear against the door, Shining Armor could pick out the faint drone of a voice.  Had there been some kind of mistake?  Had somepony come into the theater and encountered Lightning?
Anxious, Shining Armor carefully signaled his men to hold back and opened the door just wide enough to allow himself inside.  Closing the door gently behind him, the nervous captain looked down towards the stage to see Lightning seated at a table, probably a prop for some kind of scene.
"Don't give ridiculous orders you fool."
Shining Armor winced at the sound of the voice.  He couldn't be sure, but he was fairly certain that it wasn't Lightning's.  There was no way a pony's voice could sound like that.  It had a scraping, rasping quality, like the sound of steel on stone.  It was the sound of a knife being sharpened.
"You're the man in charge down there, but don't forget that if you want out, you need to let me do what I do.  Maybe you could find another helper like me, if you waited another couple-thousand years.  But I'm the only one you've got right now that can do this.  So don't think that just because the rest of me is stuck back there with you that you can order me around as you please."
Lightning paused, as though listening to an answer that Shining Armor couldn't hear.
"I could care less about that.  You're the one who got us thrown into that hole in the first place.  I'll do my job, but I'll  have my fun while I'm at it.  If I want to play with them, I'll play with them.  If I want their blood, I'll get it.  And there isn't a thing you can do about it.  You've waited a couple of millennia to breach the gates.  You can wait a little longer.  Go back to your throne and whine about how little Celly kicked your ass for another week or so."
Shining Armor blinked as he tried to figure out what was going on.  As he approached and Lightning's appearance grew clearer, Shining saw that Light ing had clearly seen better days.  His ragged coat, mane, and tail showed how little care he had given his grooming.  The gray pegasus's eyes were bloodshot and black bags hung beneath them.  His pupils and irises were contracted so completely that they were barely pinpoints.  Finally, Shining saw a stream of blood trickling from Lightning's nose.  And when Lightning spoke, Shining felt his gut twist.  There was something off, the movements of Lightning's mouth not perfectly matching the words that emerged.  It was subtle, but enough to unnerve Shining quite a bit.
Shining Armor stiffened.  Questions would have to be answered later.  "Spark Lightning!" he boomed, "You are under arrest for breaking and entering, assaulting members of the Royal Guard and conspiracy to commit assault and possibly murder!"
Lightning blinked, his  eyes abruptly returning to normal as he looked out and noticed Shining standing there.  "Captain Armor," he said, stepping away from the table.  His voice was now a normal pony's voice as well.
"Surrender now," continued Shining, "And you may yet have a chance to defend yourself in court."
A savage grin spread across the pegasus' face.  "Oh?  You'd like that, wouldn't you?  You and your little cronies all doing the bidding of those scum sucking nobles.  You'd actually try to stop me as I seek justice?"
"There is no justice in seeking to murder innocent ponies," Shining pointed out.
"Innocent?"  The corners of Lightning's mouth dropped as his voice became a snarl.  "Those rats were the ones who carried out Greengrass's scheme.  I never cared about things like rank and influence.  I only wanted what was best for my men!  Why?  So we could keep Equestria safe.  I ask for the tools necessary to do my job, to protect the ponies of this nation from the threats that surround them.  And that filthy piece of trash who probably dropped straight out of Corona's rear end dares to take my sense of duty and twist it just so he can win himself a few points with his fellow pigs.
"They descend on this city like flies on a carcass!  They live off of the hard work of other ponies and surround themselves with luxury at the expense of the ponies who actually do the work for this nation.  They ignore the ponies that they are supposed to govern so that they can gather here and play king of the mountain with each other and they don't care in the slightest who they step on to do it!"  Spark Lightning was practically screaming at this point.
"Then why attack those ponies?" demanded Shining, "They are like you, ordinary ponies who Greengrass has manipulated to serve his ambitions.  Aren't they the ones you're fighting for?"
"That's just it," explained Lightning, "I'm going to sacrifice them to a greater cause.  And when their bloody corpses lie in the streets of Canterlot, the rest of Greengrass's pawns will think twice before doing his bidding.  After all, he can ruin their lives, but I can end them."
Shining Armor balked.  That was terrible logic, and not very accurate either.  But it was clear that Spark Lightning was no longer in his right mind.  This conversation was going nowhere fast.  So he decided to make his final offer.
"Surrender now, Spark Lightning.  You have no hope of escape.  This building is completely surrounded."  A spark of pink fire jumped off of Shining's horn, arching out into the auditorium before bursting in a brilliant flare of light.  At the signal, the doors slammed open and a dozen each of unicorns and earth ponies rushed in, forming into a crescent arc around their captain as he continued to face the madpony on the stage.
Shining Armor lowered his horn, leveling it straight at the mad pegasus.  "This is where it ends for you, Spark Lightning."
Lightning's lips drew back far enough for Shining to glimpse red.  With an animalistic shriek, the pegasus launched himself off the stage, flying straight at Shining Armor, hooves extended.  Reacting quickly, the white unicorn lowered his head and erected a powerful shimmering shield between him and the charging pegasus.  Lightning's hooves slammed into the shield, which shuddered and cracked from the sheer force of the blow.
Shining reeled, the impact sending feedback through his shield and rendering him unsteady.  The force was unreal.  Shining Armor prided himself on his shields.  With his ability, fueled by the magic of most of the unicorns of Canterlot, he had been able to keep the Tyrant Sun herself from entering the city.  Even by himself, his shields were so strong that Princess Luna had to try at least twice in order to make a dent (although, she probably wasn't trying her hardest).  That Lightning was capable of this much left Shining amazed that there was anything left of the two guards he had assaulted.
Seeing his first strike stopped, Lighting raised a hoof to deal another blow, but the shield abruptly collapsed out from underneath him.  Before he could adjust to this change, the dark gray pegasus was hit by a barrage of kinetic blasts from the unicorns arrayed behind Shining.  While his strength was immense, Lightning's mass had not changed and without any momentum of his own to counter, was thrown back onto the stage.
"Don't let him get close!" shouted Shining to his men, "He's too strong to engage directly.  Unicorns, restrain him!"
The unicorns, Shining Armor included, fired chains forged from magical energy from their horns, throwing loops around Lightning's body, binding his wings to the side and firmly anchoring him to the floor.  The unicorns were braced by their earth pony comrades, who tried to keep them secure as the maddened pegasus thrashed about.
The floor groaned and cracked.  To Shining's horror, Lightning threw himself against his restraints, pulling up the boards of the stage that the chains had been anchored to.
"Get back!" shouted the captain, releasing his chains before Lightning could begin to pull on them.  His subordinates followed suit, letting the magical constructs dissipate.  I have to drive him out the rear exit.
Lowering his head again, the alabaster stallion unleashed a lance of energy.  Lightning braced himself, wings flared, and met the blast head on.  Hiss hooves plowed furrows in the floor.  When the attack finally petered out, Lightning was still standing, albeit a little farther back than before.  His fur was singed and ragged.  His hooves were cracked and the front ones were bleeding.  Ragged welts wrapped around his barrel showed where the magical chains had chafed against him.  It seemed that the pegasus was doing as much damage to himself as he did to his surroundings with his own ferocious strength.
"Give up!" snapped Shining, glaring at Lightning, who, despite his condition, didn't even seem to be breathing very hard, "You have no chance of finding those ponies now.  We've already taken them into protective custody.  There's nothing left for you here."
Spark Lightning went deathly still.  There was no change in his stance or expression, still wearing that monstrous grin.  It was like he had frozen in the moment.  Shining Armor wondered what was going thought the disgraced soldier's head.
After a troublingly long silence, Lightning's grin faded and became an angry sneer that he directed at Shining Armor.  "You have a lot of nerve, hiding my prey from me like that.  You're on my list.  One of these days, I'll find the ponies you hold dear and use them to send you a message."
Shining's heart skipped a beat.  This monster wrapped in pony skin had just threatened his family.  Hot anger seared through Shining's veins as he took a step forward, only for Spark Lightning to whirl around and bolt through the back of the stage, plowing straight through the scenery and making a beeline for the exit.
Abruptly remembering the plan, Shining held a hoof to forestall his men from giving pursuit.  "Wait here!" he shouted, before taking off after Lightning.

I was hoping to see a bit more.  But it's your call Sparky.  Are you sure you wanted to leave? We could have torn those fools to pieces.
"There's no point to it.  That wouldn't have gotten me any closer to my targets," snarled Lightning as he dashed down an alleyway.  He had anticipated having to plow through several more members of the Royal Guard to get away, but had instead found that the back entrance to the theater had been unguarded.  It was a ludicrous oversight.  How did such an incompetent fool become a captain of the Royal Guard?
Still, pegasi were patrolling from the air, so it was unwise for him to take flight at this point.  Lightning had to stay low if he didn't want to be followed.  Now that he knew that the ponies he was looking for were in the Royal Guard's custody, he just had to figure out where the Guard was keeping them.  With luck, Shining Armor had done his work for him and had gathered all the targets into a single neat package.
Turning a corner, Lightning figured he had gotten far enough that he could probably take flight.  Dark gray wings spread outwards, catching the air and lifting him off the ground.  With only two strokes, Lightning was airborne.  He began to climb.  In spite of himself, relief rushed through the stallion's veins.  He was a pegasus after all.  And like all his kind, he felt the sky calling for him.  After the stress of his encounter with the Royal Guard, he was especially eager to get into the air.  Above him, the sides of the buildings seemed to draw back, allowing Lightning to soar upward into the yawning expanse of the evening air.  Closer, closer...
A flicker of motion on the edge of his vision was the only warning he received.  All of a sudden, Lightning's wings ceased to bear him aloft.  With a startled cry, he dropped like a stone.  Only years of hard training allowed him to avoid injuring himself as his hooves hit the ground.  Lightning allowed his knees to buckle in order to absorb the for e of impact.  Had he been much higher, he probably would have had to go into a roll to play out his momentum and keep from being seriously injured.
As it was, Lightning simply sank down into a crouch before straightening his legs and standing up.  Once again, something flickered across his vision, but more slowly than the last thing he had seen.  It had a vague, drifting motion.  Focusing his eyes on it, Spark Lightning saw that it was a feather...one of his feathers.  Looking back, Lightning saw a cloud of his feathers drifting down around him.  His wings were almost completely bare, everything from the primaries to the coverts having been cleanly cut away, leaving Lightning's once magnificent wings looking like a pair of twigs protruding from his back.
Something struck him just off the center of his chest.  The impact was so minuscule that Lightning barely noticed it al all.  He wasn't even conscious of his skin being pierced.  But abruptly, his front right leg lost all feeling, causing him to teeter and fall over.  Using his good leg, Lightning forced himself back up into a lying position, although getting up off the ground would be difficult at this point.  Looking down, he had to squint to make out a tiny silver sliver that protruded from his chest.  It was a needle as thin as a single hair, barely visible in the growing twilight.
Listening reached down, about to pull the offending item out, but was distracted by the low clop of approaching hooves.  "For all that I heard about you, this was surprisingly easy."
Lightning looked up to see a dark green earth pony slowly approaching.  The verdantly colored stallion was wearing a relaxed smile, as though this were something that he did on a daily basis.  Even more galling was the fact he didn't even bother to open his eyes, as though subduing Lightning was so easy that he hadn't needed his sight to do so.  "Even if you remove that needle, it will be a while before the meridian reopens and you regain use of your leg.  I am afraid you are stuck with three for the foreseeable future, not that it will be very long anyway."
Lightning growled and strained.  He could feel pressure building against his leg, like water backed up in a pipe.  He continued to bring more of his will to bear, trying to get his unfeeling leg to move.  Something broke and with an agonized howl, Lightning felt his leg come back under his own control.  Ignoring the intense pain, the enraged pegasus planted his hoof and firmly forced himself back into a standing position.
Shadowlight raised an incredulous eyebrow.  "You reopened the channel on your own...no, you opened it through sheer force.  That was unwise.  You did serious damage to yourself, forcing it like that."
"Shut up!" yelled Lightning.
Shadowlight let out a depressed sigh.  "It doesn't matter anyway.  Your time has run out.  I can smell it quite clearly..."
Lightning let out a hacking cough that sent bolts of agony searing through his chest.  Red sprayed into the air, splattering across the stones in front of him.
"...The stench of death."  The green stallion's lips curled back up into a slight smile.
Lightning tried to lunge forward and teach that annoying earth pony a lesson.  But his body didn't seem to be listening to him anymore.  Each leg felt as though it weighed ten tons.  Lightning couldn't even get one to lift off the ground.  His vision was slowly dulling around the edges and Shadowlight's voice sounder farther and farther away with each passing second.
"You have been the busy one," observed Shadowlight, "I don't like having conversations with just myself.  Perhaps you could join in."
Lightning blinked in confusion.
"Come now, you can't hide from me."  Shadiwlight waved a hoof in front of his nose as he grimaced.  "I could smell your stink hanging all over this pony from a block away.  You can speak, can't you?"
Spark Lightning's irises and pupils contracted until they vanished, leaving two bloodshot white orbs in their wake.  His lips slowly curled up into a crazed grin.  "You could tell I was here?"  Once again, that rasping voice, sounding like a knife being sharpened against a stone, echoed through the empty alley.
Shadowlight nodded.  "Of course.  And who do I have the dubious honor of addressing?"
"You can call me Scorpan," answered the thing in the pegasus' body.
"Scorpan hmm?" mused Shadowlight, "You smell of sulphur and brimstone.  Am I right to assume that you come from Tartarus and that, aside from your consciousness, you actually still reside there?"
"Well, aren't you the clever one.  You figured that out without me having to tell you anything.  The Princess must get her money's worth out of you."
Shadowlight nodded very slightly.  "I can smell the dark power flowing into that body from elsewhere and your scent is exactly what I imagined damnation must smell like.  You don't seem particularly worried that your current vessel is about to die on you."
The creature calling itself Scorpan snorted in amusement.  "This piece of meat?"  He idly contemplated one of Lightning's hooves.  "This was just a little experiment of mine.  He didn't last very long, but a little progress is still progress."
Shadowlight's eyelids opened ever so slightly, giving the creature before him a glimpse of a milky white color.  "And what is the purpose of this experiment of yours?"
Scorpan favored him with a nightmarish grin so wide it nearly seemed to spit Lightning's face in two.  "What would be the fun in just telling you?  If you wait, I promise you'll get to see the results very soon.  And then the world will belong to us, just as it did before and as it should have always been."
Shadowlight tilted his head in thought.  "You don't seem particularly enthused about that last thought."
"Eh, I could care less about that.  But it's where we were going with this.  I just want to have some fun while I work."  Scorpan waved Lightning's hoof in a dismissive gesture.
"And so, you don't really care about Lightning's vengeance against Greengrass?"
"Not really.  I just needed to give him the proper motivation to go and wreak havoc."  Acorpan chuckled darkly.  "You ponies are kinda funny that way.  Forget about moving forward, forget about overcoming the obstacles in life.  Give a pony a good scapegoat for all his troubles and he's happy as a clam...Not that we were any different."
"We?"
Lightning's body convulsed as Scorpan laughed.  "Oh you'll find out soon enough."  A stream of blood began to run from the corner of Lightning's mouth.  "Well, this sad sack of flesh is about to give out on me.  So I've gotta bail."  The creature narrowed Lightning's eyes at Shadowlight.  "When I get out for real, I'm coming to find you.  You'll be begging for death at my hands before I'm done."
"Oh really."  Shadowlight didn't even twitch at the threat.  "I think I shall simply kill you.  I'm afraid I'm not much for theatrics on the job."
Lightning's mouth opened as Scorpan was apparently about to say something else.  But the body of the gray pegasus collapsed, like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.  Spark Lightning slumped, limp and unmoving, to the ground.  There was no sign of stirring.  Shadowlight didn't need to even check to know that he was dead.  All sense of life had ceased from he still body before him.
The evening silence was broken by the clop of approaching hooves as Shining Armor finally caught up to the scene.  He hadn't been far behind when Lightning had  fled the theater, but had gotten lost in the maze of back alleys the pegasus had taken to escape.  Only now had he finally found the trail and located his quarry again, only to find that things had already ended.
Shining Armor frowned down at the corpse before him.  "Is he...?"
"Yes."
"Did you...?"
"No.  In the end, that proved unnecessary."  Shadowlight sighed.  "The very same force that granted him that supernatural strength was also tearing him apart from the inside.  Our friend here merely reached his limit."
Shining Armor eyed the forest green earth pony warily.  Shadowlight was generally not one to lie in such circumstances, although he could be very whimsical otherwise.  "Did you find anything about this power that Lightning used?"
"A great deal," answered, Shadowlight blithely, "I found out that it is alive, malevolent, sadistic, and that it calls itself Scorpan."
"Scorpan."  Shining grimaced.  The name seemed distasteful as it rolled off his tongue.  Just what sort of creature was it that they were dealing with?  Here, in the heart of Equestria, with Luna's tapestry of stars surrounding the gentle glow of the moon, the night had never seemed so dark to him as it did now.