//------------------------------// // 10: Echoes & Shadows // Story: Auroras & Souls // by Blues Rider //------------------------------// Chapter 10 Sombra felt queasy. The Crystal Palace was shaking, trembling beneath his body. He felt light and lifted but his own self was quivering against the trembling ground from the shock of Cadence’s last attack. He had been so focused on enveloping her in his darkness, brainwashing her onto his side that he had never expected a piercing attack of such magnitude to needle straight through the darkness. He was light headed and felt his body shutting down. Then he realised what he wasn’t noticing, something was lost. Adrenaline began coursing through his heart. His body started to warm. He was alerted by the loss. The magic of ancient alicorns that had once been defeated was no longer weighing him down. The magic he had used to control everything and everypony. And yet there was still a tingling presence in him of something... Bad. He opened his eyes instantly to the fullest extent, which was not quite enough to see clearly. He looked around taking in the glowing red castle around him. Some black magic still circled the four pillars in the centre of the castle. The large door to the throne room was still swung wide open but the smaller door on the opposite side of the corridor was shut tight. He would know, he had just been flung against it. The corridor stretched one way to the large staircase at one end and on the other end was the balcony he used to address his subjects with orders. He started moving, attempting to stand on one hoof at a time, then something made him freeze and forced him to keel against the door that had aided his enemy in knocking him out. His body was translucent and pearlescent. Before Sombra had simply attributed his stiffness to being thrown against stone hard objects. He normally had a floaty and light state. He normally would cast a simple spell and hover for miles from one leap. He normally was black. His mane shimmered, he could see the castle distorted by his pearly green body. He hated it. His mane flickered black, just for a millisecond. His thoughts drifted to the last time he had seen this colour. A millennia ago, or at least centuries. He had a teacher before. Who was a leader. A powerful ruler. A slither of thought came to him, he reminisced a time. His elder, the one who had taught him, an alicorn of love. Different to she who claimed to reside here now. The alicorn of weakness. He remembered turning back on his master in the very throne room that she stood in now. He remembered rage. He had once called upon magic no alicorn had ever tackled before. And shot down the ancient alicorn of love with all the jealousy and power he had. He remembered a thin black and purple beam in a deadly accurate straight line hitting the white winged alicorn in the heart. Then Sombra's memory blacked out. His coat flickered black again, for a slightly longer period this time. He felt very sick. Dazed and giddy. He tried to pick himself off the floor and couldn't. At that moment a baby pink barrier shot across the hall in front of his body blocking his path. It hadn’t been a deadly beam, but it's sudden appearance sent him staggering backwards, tumbling to the ground. Princess Miamore Cadenza was leaning herself against the crystal throne in a battle ready position. She was panting heavily with her jaw open, her rib cage expanding and contracting. She was as weakened as he was. He weighed up his chances. “You can’t beat me...” He taunted, also breathing heavily. The princess must have known they had both battled to the same level of exhaustion at this point. His back ached and his head was light and dizzy. “I.. swore to protect.... This Empire and.. All my subjects from your... Evil reign.” And then her struggle was then as obvious to Sombra as his was to her. “Maybe consider having a lie down princess... you seem tired.” Sombra panted noting the irony in his own words. He flickered black again, the feeling electrifying his body for the brief moment. Cadence took in all the information she could about this transformation. Sombra was still malicious and a threat but, she noted, there was more to him than just darkness. “I will never rest as long as you are a threat.” Cadence replied calmly. If there was good in him, he didn’t have to be a threat. Sombra caught on. And in that moment proceeded to attack Cadence verbally, tire her out that way. “I will always threaten dictatorships like yours.” His deep voice emanating through the chambers. There was silence as Cadence took a step back, Sombra was delirious surely. Sombra, laughed, his games clearly working. Cadence regained her composure. “I rule by listening to my councils, peers and an elected body of my subjects.” She insisted wholeheartedly. “Your subjects! Ha!” Sombra was confident Cadence was trying to avoid using magic. So he took a chance and stepped forwards, edging his way into the throne room. “Are you not worshiped, I’ve seen them on the streets.” Sombra became swathed with confidence. He challenged her, by taking another step into the throne room. His coat flickered back to black a little longer than before. Cadence softened slightly. This was her chance to save the pearly pony beneath the dark exterior. “My ponies will follow me not because I force them but because they believe I will do the right thing when the time comes. Because I trust them.” “You’re blinded, this nation is weak, defenceless and vulnerable.” “As long as we have love we are protected.” “Are you protected right now?” Sombra challenged. He took another step, feeling power. His spell was working. The crystal palace started to tune itself into the rhythm of his beating heart. A heart he had not felt in a long, long time. Cadence sensed the threat. She remained calm. “As long as we have love.” Sombra bursts out laughing in the most cynical way anypony could possibly muster. His pearly body rippling with the effect of his feeling. “So you leave the rest of Equestria to fend for itself, all those ponies.” “We all believe in uniting the kingdom with peace and love.” “ This 'empire' could be invaded by yaks as it is. I enslaved all the yaks and repressed the changelings into a cave when I ruled and now all that work is undone. I kept us safe.” He took another step into the room. His snide smile returned to his face. His confidence grew, but his body still felt broken. His confidence did not heal the pain that shot through his hoofs with every step. “You know we’re the same, you and I..." Sombra softened, cajoling Cadence to see his side. "leaders, I mean.” Cadence could not believe that this tyrannical slave driver was actually trying to appeal to her. She felt like laughing, but she kept herself peaceful, mocking him would bring her down to his level. Love was the way forward. She thought of her subjects once more, each one of them as unique as the other. She looked at the pearly old prince Sombra and felt pity for him. It was all an act and she knew that, but there was more than just that. “We will never be the same as long as you keep thinking like that.” “Be careful of hubris dear princess, that will be your downfall.” Cadence changed tact. She appealed to the pony she could see was clearly still there. The pony motivated by love. "Maybe you CAN protect the Crystal Empire. If you join with me, with us. You could be stationed here, in the castle." "And be enslaved by my enemy! AHAHAHA! In what name." Sombra mocked the simulation. He took another step but stumbled and was forced to catch himself. His instincts kicked in and he managed to cast a levitation spell... But his horn felt weird. Like he wasn't casting it.... "In the name of friendship." Cadence pleaded, but she could see she would have to ready herself for another battle. "You can't rule by fear, your subjects will turn on you, to be a good leader you must let..." Cadence was interrupted. He lecture did not get across. “And I rule by an iron hoof," Sombra mocked once more, "we both 'lead', but neither of us gained power here through democracy. You’re no better than your predecessor.” He felt the castle, his anchor, his lifeline. The dark magic called to him, it offered to help him. To protect him. 'The good fight' he reminded himself, 'I am the good fight.' “I fight for my subjects you fight for yourself.” Cadence retorted. Then the crystal castle rocked. It shook with the magnitude of an earthquake. Cadence heard a deafening squeal piercing the air. She tried to locate it, protecting her ears with her hooves, but she couldn't see a source. It was like it was coming from the castle itself. Sombra felt himself lift off the ground. The four pillars of the crystal castle soaked him in power. Power from some of the most powerful artefacts in Equestria. He fired black energy into the crystal throne in an attempt to open the floor to the hidden chambers, as he had done so many times in the past. His pearly coat started glowing darker and darker, surrounded by magic. He flickered purple, black, green and pearl. Cadence charged a shield and blocked the attempt to open the door. Then she did the only thing she could think of and cast a simple spell of telekinesis all unicorns learnt. She threw Sombra back out into the corridor, where his body paused between the four pillars in the corridor. Black tendrils dripped from each of the pillars, and he gave one more maniacal laugh which ripped the chambers of the castle into chaos. He could feel power, it surged through his being. Through his core. Like he could reach out around Equestria and pull magic from all sorts of powerful, concentrated areas of magic and use them. And at that moment he discovered the power he was looking for. Three powers to be precise. The tower of the crystal castle started vibrating again, but this time it wasn't an antenna, it was a receiver. Thin black strands of magic made their way across the corners of Equestria and swirled their way down the outside of the tower. Sombra felt the tower reverberating with the darkness. His horn glowed red and the magic slithered along the arched door frame. He pulled the magic into his body, his being, into his core. He felt queasy and dark. Lightheaded and relaxed. He felt his back arch. His bones breaking and reforming. His coat shrouded in not only black, but a ghostly black of old darkness. And he felt his horn charge with a spell that he could only have dreamed of inventing. “BRING ME MAGIC OF THE PAST.” He fired a spell of nothingness. Nothingness flitted through the air at Princess Miamore Cadenza's heart. But she had reacted too. She realised what would happen. She couldn’t match the most powerful Equestrian magic, but she could possibly contain it with Equestrian love. She did what she had to do. “I OBLIGE MYSELF TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!” Giving herself wholly to the kingdom, Cadence's body shone a silvery glow that she had never felt before. She felt the elements of harmony calling to her. Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Love, Trust. There was something slightly different to Twilight's description of the elements. At that moment the Crystal Heart started to spin up and the building shook, resonating with the quick pulses of love shooting through every inch of the Empire. Cadence floated but didn’t fly on the bed of magical energy, using every attempt to resonate with the dark prince, flitting to different frequencies to establish contact with the pearly crystal pony underneath. The spells intertwined, black nothingness and white, pure white love melted together around the room then around the castle, till the whole castle was encased in a swirling mesh of magical tendons. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Sunburst felt the castle shake below. Flurry Heart woke up crying and he cradled her in his hooves. The tremors and shocks of love bursting up around his shield, shimmering light of pink with light yellow or purple streaks glowed and shone as it floated it’s way to the tip of the tower through the four pillars at the edge of the platform Then he felt something shift. He looked up to the ceiling. A blackness was drawn from the tip of the castle around the orange ward keeping them protected. It entombed them in darkness despite them being safe. The energy seemed to be floating downwards into the centre of the castle. In his usual fashion of trying not to express shock, he was shocked; Sunburst said to himself, “Strange, I thought the castle only emanated auras, it shouldn’t be able to draw in magical energy.” He would not move from his spot however. He was petrified to move from his spot. He knew they would be safe here. Sunburst comforted Flurry again. The castle below them shook as the crystal heart pulsed and pummelled at the dark energy shrouding the tower. The original colour of blue lashing and grasping at the red crystal tower in places. A battleground of red and blue illuminated the structure as shimmering magic and dark energy auroras wrapped and wreathed at each other. The empire shook. {][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][}{][} Far away in the Everfree Forest the Tree of Harmony resonated with the castle of the crystal empire. Though it would never be known to anyone battling in the empire, a shield of light surrounded the cavernous area that encased the Blue tree. In each branch the elements of Harmony shook, boosting the tree's magical output to keep it safe. Each little crystal the shape of a cutie mark. A cutie mark each element was struggling to find at the moment. But the element of magic reassured them all that the other elements would be found. What made the elements curious though was that they could still feel each other resonating with the ponies who had once helped found their birthplace. And if their creators could survive they were reassured that their current representatives could return too. The air around them shook desperately. But they were protected. #=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=# Further away, the centre of the gateway to Tartarus glowed. The circular lock, glowed green, blue and finally black. It transformed into a crystalline structure. And then exhibited a darkness. The aurora grew until it shrouded the entire gateway, and then shot a blast of magic into the air. The beam was consistent. It travelled as far as the Crystal Empire. Reached the tip of the tower with its brothers and sisters of magic auras. The dark energy melted into the dark prince's heart and teased it’s way around his body. Cerberus tensed and recognised the emerging threat. The gate, which was linked to everything within the vaults started to shake. His first head sniffed the new magical intervention. Then he ran throughout the chambers of Tartarus. At every point his left and right head investigated the nearby cells. Although they showed no signs of freeing their prisoners, each vault was designed to absorb the dark magical energies of those within. And each was vibrating violently with the locked gate. The darkness teased its way into the light just a little bit more. =_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_ A few hundred miles away a dragon territory scout and a griffon messenger happened to meet at the boarders of their two lands. They were caught in an array of confusion having not seen the sun set the entire time they were performing their rounds. The brown dragon landed on a hexagonal rock, his thin burgundy wings reaching out to stabilise his landing before folding neatly over his scaly back. Behind him the cliffs of the coast rose above them. Water lapped at the rocks beneath his claws. He stared out to the Celestial Ocean. Across the waves the sun was hung in the air, orange beams piercing the sky above. The messenger griffon landed on a small rock formation just to his right. The griffon shook and ruffled his feathers when he got himself stable on his perch. “How long have you been flying for?” the griffon asked. “Too long. My shift should have ended when the sun set. But it hasn’t.” The dragon had a deep voice but he was tired and it came across. The griffon gave an understanding nod and just looked out. His mind went through several possibilities all at once. Something shimmered in the distance. It seemed like it formed a wall like object. “Dragons don’t accept help.” “And griffons don’t offer it.” The messenger retorted. There was a chill in the air. They both knew this wasn’t the time for hubris. A wave slashed against the cliff behind and both flew off, headed to their respective leaders. =_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_ “Stay with me and don’t split up, we need to stick together!” The yellow body of Thorax – leader of the changeling kingdom - dashed through the air and over the forest followed by three other airborne changelings. He was concerned for many reasons, too many to decide which was a primary focus at the moment until something more immediate appeared before him. He thought about his brother Pharynx, the dark shaded protector of the changelings... That he had left in charge. Oh he hoped he wouldn’t go overboard as he sometimes did. No he knew he wouldn’t, his brother was a good leader and second in command. Maybe Pharynx would have been better than him for this mission. He was more accustomed to danger than Thorax was. No, no, Thorax had to do this. He was a better diplomat than Pharynx by far and had more of a connection and understanding with Equestrian magic. And there it was. The shimmering wall in the middle of the forest. There was the 'something immediate' he had been searching for. He slowed to a halt, allowing his long, purple, dragonfly like wings to support him, buzzing in the air. The other changelings did the same. Yes, he did have this, and these guys around him were sharp, and good friends too. They all were. Pharynx had suggested these guys, and he trusted Pharynx. They buzzed in the air for a second, analysing the situation before them. “Mr Thorax sir. May I test it?” “Yes certainly Mr Culex, go ahead.” The light blue changeling flew towards the shimmering wall and put a hoof up to it. “It’s like glass sir. Solid. But it’s made of magic. Weird magic.” He pulled his hoof away and Thorax turned to another one of his accomplices. “How far out are we from the Equestrian boarder?” “We should be exactly on the boarder sir.” “Hmmmmm.” Thorax was worried. He took this moment to calculate and understand the situation like a good leader should. “Right let’s head back to the hive. We’ll need to contact our allies, the dragons, but first I need to consult Pharynx with a plan. We cannot fly over Equestria.” The small flying squadron turned around and began back for the sunset, towards their hive. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> From each corner of Equestria magical black crystalline forms had appeared to shroud some of the most magical objects of the land. Ponehenge was now formed of black crystal, so was the cutie mark shrine, the vault of the alicorn amulet, the Mirror Pool, and the Well of Shades. From each place a black aura was drawn, sucking the life and energy from the place. Each stream floating into the sky and heading north. Enveloped in only in a world of silver, white and blue, Cadence could feel her entire being, her soul and her force in the magic ether pushing, lashing, grasping and flowing into the darkness that stood opposite her. Sombra relaxed into the dark energy. That thick swam around his hooves and coat. It was like floating in water but without effort. The magic tendrils lashed and attacked with such ease he felt could sleep or bathe in it. He was power. To the two ponies the physical realm seemed to have disappeared and all that surrounded them was a world of pure magic. An aura that existed only for them to fight their battle. A war of plasmatic magic raged. Both ponies had reached a state of such purity that all that could win this battle for either pony was will, determination or tactics. To knock the other off-guard as to disrupt their connection with the realm of pure energy. Cadence felt her heart speed up as she thought about Shining Armour. He had been away on a mission but she would fight to save him from fighting this darkness as much as he would have fought for her. And the light pushed away the darkness, lifting the oppressed space that had been. Moulding the darkness into love and light and pushing, insistently. The light offered to Sombra, it loved to Sombra, it gave to Sombra, and was kind and soft towards him. It wasn’t aggressive or assertive, it was just there. More light than darkness. And then Sombra felt a chance to attack back. As he linked to another dark energy that called to him. Once more he accepted the unknown evil that was presented to him and he bathed in its presence of vile and gruesome power. He pulled the dark string and the darkness shone through, evening the playing field between him and that wretched pink insistent alicorn.