//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: The Alicorn Amulet // Story: Return of the Ancient Mage // by Zoshe //------------------------------// Twilight had flown into a panic when she had seen the shadow that wrapped around the shade. Those green eyes within the shadow that leaked purple mist were unmistakable. But the biggest thing she couldn't understand was how could King Sombra be here? "King Sombra!?" Twilight shouted in her confusion. "What do you want?! How are you here?!" The pony slowly walked towards them, fear continuing to permeate the forest as he drew closer. "You should not be able to see his ghost. However, his fate is not your burden to bear. Give me the Alicorn Amulet." His deep voice carried a menacing edge as the command rolled over them. "What is it, Twilight?" She heard Rainbow whisper over her shoulder. "Do you see something? Did I hear you right? Did you say King Sombra? "I don't know how it's possible," Twilight kept her eyes locked on the Shade as he advanced towards them. "But I can see King Sombra wrapped around the Shade." "What?! I thought we defeated him though?" Asked a confused Rainbow. "I don't know," said Twilight. "All I know is that we can't let him get the amulet." "Give it here," Rainbow said as she stretched her wings. "Once I get clear of the trees, no pony should be able to catch me." Twilight nodded as she floated the package back to Rainbow. "Be careful," she said. "Once you get free, find some place to hide it." "You gonna be alright, Twilight?" Said Rainbow. "He shouldn't be able to follow me if I teleport away. Now go!" She shouted as she leveled her horn at the shade and fired a concentrated burst of magic at him. Rainbow took off into the air, carefully navigating the tightly packed trees while seeking open skies. She only made it about a dozen feet before she felt an impact at the back of her skull. Rainbow fell limp right there, only held aloft by the green glow of the shade's magic. Twilight whipped around, shocked to see Rainbow suddenly unconscious. She was even more shocked to see the shade floating right next to her body as they both floated towards the ground. Twilight looked back to the place she just fired her magic, only to find it empty. "What? How?" She mouthed as her brain caught up with the rest of her. "Rainbow Dash!" She exclaimed as she saw her friend's limp body. "You better not have hurt her." "I have not hurt your friend, Twilight Sparkle. Not much anyway. She may have a bit of a headache when she wakes up." The Shade said as he unceremoniously dumped the pegasus on the ground. "You really shouldn't have discuss your escape plan in front of me." Twilight watched him as he tucked the package he had stolen from Rainbow under his cloak. The ghost of Sombra was growing clearer as it dug it's claws into the Shades body. He flinched for a moment when the ghost opened its jagged maw and sunk its teeth into his neck. "What are you going to do with the amulet?" She asked as he turned to leave. The Shade looked at her for a moment, a tired expression on his face, "it isn't really any of your business. Go home, Twilight Sparkle, and forget what you saw here today." With a quick flash of magic, he then disappeared from the forest. Twilight felt like she wanted to break down and cry with how badly that went, but was stopped when she felt a hoof rest on her shoulder. She looked up to see Zecora looking down at her. "Dry your tears and make haste for there is very little time to waste." Zecora beckoned her to follow. After picking up the unconscious Rainbow in her magic, Twilight followed the zebra back to her home. Once inside, she gently set Rainbow down on the bed inside, "is she going to be alright?" She asked. Zecora came over and did a quick check of Rainbow's condition. "We can only hope he spoke true of the words he said to you. But we cannot wait for your friend to wake, we must take care of what's at stake." "What's at stake?" Twilight was confused. The Shade had already gotten away with the Alicorn Amulet. "I see your look of confusion. Did you not think I planned for such an intrusion?" She said as she started to rummage around some boxes on a lower shelf. "If I recall what you claim you saw, then into his hooves the amulet must not fall." Twilight's eyes went wide as Zecora pulled out the amulet from a back shelf, "but what? How?" Was her shocked reply. "A simple ruse, I must admit, but now we should make the most of it. If miss Dash had escaped her fate, then we'd have more time to vacate." She held the amulet out to Twilight, "before our foe once more shows his face, then away from here you must race." Twilight wrapped the amulet in her magic and drew it closer, "I don't know if I can get away in time. You saw how fast he dealt with Rainbow." "A simple deterrent is all you need, if you can't get up to speed." She pointed at the amulet. "It would be simple to keep this in check, if it were securely around your neck." Twilight looked at Zecora in shock as she held the amulet further away from her, "you can't be suggesting I put this thing on?!" "I understand your reason for alarm, but I do not think you'll come to harm. Malice may find it hard to get its start, if you remain true of heart." Zecora encouraged her. Twilight looked down at the amulet, dreading that she was even considering this, "ok Zecora, I'll try," She eventually decided on. "But I'm taking it off at the first sign of danger." She levitated the amulet close to her neck, swallowing hard as it rested against her chest. She started to sweat as she moved the clasp behind her head. After first screwing her eyes shut, she braced herself as she latched it in place. Now only Twilight would be able to take it off due to the enchantment it carried. Nervously she peeked an eye open and half expected to hear dark whispers filling her head. After a few moments of nothing happening, she relaxed a bit. Maybe she should stop taking all those novels about cursed artifacts so seriously. "Nothing's happening," Twilight nudged the necklace around her neck with a hoof. "Now you must flee and don't dally, before your foe's efforts come to rally," said Zecora as she pushed her out the door. Twilight galloped through the Everfree forest, the Alicorn Amulet resting snuggly against her chest. So far nothing had happened to her while she was wearing it, however, she didn't want to take any chances. As soon as she could, she needed to find a new place to hide it. She also needed to get a letter to Princess Celestia about the appearance of Sombra as soon as possible. So much had happened in the last day and she didn't want to think about how much worse it could possibly get. Her heart pounded in her chest as she saw the edge of the forest. She had gotten slightly lost in her haste, but with the edge of the forest in sight, it would only take a few short teleports to make it home and have Spike send a letter. The clearing was in sight and she could even make out Sweet Apple Acres in the distance. She was about to cross the last line of trees when the forest behind her went eerily silent. She froze, a sense of dread started to wash over her. She probably should've just kept running, but curiosity got the best of her as she slowly looked behind her. Blazing green eyes stared out at her from the darkness. She didn't even have to guess what that was. This time though, instead of just being scary, the air around them seemed downright angry. "That's mine!" The voice roared from within the darkness. "Give it back!" Twilight wasn't even using her magical sight as she saw ghost of Sombra barrel towards her. Savage teeth filled his jaws as rancid sludge dripped and burned the forest floor. "Ah!" A small scream escaped her lips as fear crept into her bones. She had to get away and now! She fed a spell into her horn, her normal magenta glow had traces of red streaked throughout it. The gemstone embedded in the amulet glowing brighter as she cast her spell. With a flash and a pop, Twilight disappeared from the forest. It was a pretty typical day on the farm. Applejack was running around doing her daily chores, Applebloom was in school and would be for a while yet, and Granny Smith was taking a nap in her favorite rocking chair on the porch. Big Macintosh was running a bit late from running deliveries, but that could be explained by any number of things and wasn't any reason to worry just yet. She was just about to get started on harvesting the southern orchard when a flash of magenta light about made her jump halfway out of her skin. "Landsakes, Twi!" She exclaimed. "You can't go appearin outta nowhere like that and scarin good ponies." A glint of the sun caused light to reflect off of the amulet that Twilight was wearin, "and what in tarnation is that thing doin round yer neck." Twilight struggled to catch her breath as she seemed a bit disoriented. She had never teleported so far in one jump before. She swallowed hard before answering, "no time to explain. The Shade he's... Sombra is... He..." were all the words she got out before she disappeared in a green flash of light. "Gosh darnit, Twi. What was that all about?" Cursed Applejack as she tried to figure out where she had run off to. Twilight didn't feel so well. The Everfree forest had suddenly reappeared around her along with a very uneasy stomach. She staggered over to a nearby tree and began to wretch and heave. Somehow, she managed to keep her breakfast down, but she was still very disoriented. "You fool..." The voice the insult came from sounded very weak. Twilight lift her head to find the shade laying on the ground. The shadows wrapped around him had almost completely consumed his body. "What's happening to you?!" She shouted in panic. The Shade gave a few weak coughs. "Pulling you back from that teleport was a mistake," he said as the shadows crept into his eyes. "You should have just given me the amulet. None of you can fight this thing." The shadows washed over the rest of his body until he only resembled a dark lump in a puddle. A moment later, he didn't even resemble that much as his body melted, becoming one with the rest of the void. A pulse of power rippled through the surrounding area that made Twilight's fur tingle and left her feeling increasingly uneasy. She started to back away from whatever was happening. Something inside her told her that even with the magic of the amulet strengthening her own, what was coming was far beyond anything she'd dealt with before. A single step was all she got before all four of her hooves fastened themselves to the ground, refusing to let her move. She struggled and squirmed against whatever was holding her. Twilight looked down and found that dark spindles of shadow had wrapped themselves around her legs and were slowly climbing their way up the rest of her body. The evil king who had once enslaved an entire empire began to climb his way out from the darkness one hoof at a time. He did not appear as a shadow, the way Twilight saw him back in the Crystal Empire, nor as a ghost, the way she had just seen him wrapped around the Shade, but with an actual physical body. Shadows licked off his ashen fur like flames and metallic armor began to materialize all over his body. The darkness continued to ripple as the rest of his body willed itself into existence and covered itself with the same armor before a regal red cloak draped across his back. Twilight tried again to get free before Sombra had fully revived himself, the shadows trapping her legs responding by climbing ever higher up her body. She began to frantically fire spells from her horn at them. They didn't even try to stop her or even dodge out of the way of the attacks as they continued to further bind her. Green eyes and red irises began to bleed through the shadows as his head came into view. A malevolent grin painted his features as he opened his mouth and began to laugh. That laugh... That laugh wormed its way under Twilight's skin as she froze up. Thoughts of escape getting further away from her even before the shadows started climbing her neck. "Finally!" The revived Sombra trumpeted his success as he stepped forward. The shadows poured out behind him like he had so much darkness that he couldn't possibly contain it all. "After one thousand years, I'm finally free." He began to laugh manically, the shadows surrounding him visibly shaking with his delight. "If only I had known what I was up against, I might've found a much more subservient host. Twilight was at a loss, she had no idea what to do in this situation. What could she do? The shadows had made their way up to her horn and she could feel her magic draining away. All she could hope for was that he'd forget she's there and walk away. "Don't think I've forgotten about you," Sombra's voice washed through her, making Twilight tense up. The shadows that bound her lifted and carried her towards the source of her distress leaving Twilight to find herself herself hanging limply in front of him. Sombra took a step closer to her as he reached out and gently stroked Twilight's mane. "I really should thank you," he said with a sickening amount of delight. "Our contest was so close for the longest time. If he hadn't been so focused on you, I might never have finally overpowered him." His hoof ran slowly down the side of Twilight's face, making her skin crawl with the intimacy the dark king was showing her. He leaned and whispered close to her ear, "deeds like this should not go unrewarded. I could make you my queen. A creature like you would do well at my side." The shadows loosened around her neck just long enough for her to form words. "Never," she said adamantly. "When Princess Celestia finds out, she'll stop you." Sombra gave her a disapproving look before the shadows tightened back around Twilight's throat. "Your precious princess isn't as almighty as she would have you think," he said as he slowly traced a line from her chin to the nape of her neck. "I think I shall have to take my time as I enjoy breaking you. Perhaps my offer will seem a bit more enticing when I ask you again." Twilight wanted to run away the further down she felt his touch go, however she couldn't escape with how thoroughly bound she was. Just when she was about to give up and her mind started playing all sorts of terrible scenarios out in her head, Sombra suddenly stopped his advancement. Twilight felt a sharp tapping against the metal resting on her chest. "I never did figure out what was supposed to be so special about this thing," Sombra said, his curiosity showing in his voice. "The most I could ever learn was that he made it himself." What?! Twilight thought to herself. The Shade actually created the Alicorn Amulet?! If that's true, does he have any idea how much trouble it's caused? Dark tendrils stretched outward from Sombra's body as they probed the artifact beneath his hoof. A moment later, his face lit up in delight at what he found. "Hehehe," rolling laughter escaped his throat as the gem of the amulet began to glow brighter. "You had some of my darkness still sequestered away. My old foe, what a fool you have been to come so far only to fail now." The red glow began to pull itself away from the amulet before snaking around Sombra's hoof and making its way to the curved horn upon his head. The magic seemed to grow brighter the long he stayed connected. "Oh, this is completely invigorating," he trembled with delight. "With this and the strength I've been able to to slowly gather over the last millennium, nothing shall stop me. Not you, not your precious princesses, and certainly not this clever little pony that kept me prisoner for so long." Twilight slowly sunk into despair. Sombra seemed a completely different than when they had dealt with him in the Crystal Empire. From the way he talked to the way his presence was completely overwhelming, everything about him made her want to run and hide, and here she was completely at his mercy. If only she had known what the Shade had planned and why he wanted the amulet so badly. His actions didn't seem to suggest that his goal was to revive this monster. She just had to hope that someone... Anyone... Would come to her rescue. "There's more?" Sombra seemed astonished. "This trinket holds more magic than just my own? Very well, It now belongs to me." Twilight's eyes grew wide as the red light of the amulet shifted to green and he began to absorb that as well. Would even Princess Celestia be able to stop him by the time she found them? "WHAT?!!! HOW?!!!" The dark king cried out in surprise. Twilight was pulled out of her downward spiral of depression by the sound of Sombra's pained outcry. She lifted her head, now free of the binding tendrils and looked down at her chest. The green magic was no longer slowly trickling out, but was instead rushing out of the amulet like a dam had just been broken. So powerful was the force of the magic, that it reverberated through her entire body and left her feeling numb. The ashen hoof at her chest was slowly being peeled away like an overripe piece of fruit as the golden hoof that lay beneath it pressed harder into her chest. The rush of energy was devoured by the creature under Sombra's skin as more and more of him was torn away. When the sinister visage was finally pulled away, she saw the Everfree Shade properly for the first time. He really did look just like any other pony you'd see on the street. He looked familiar as the magic played across his golden fur and through his brown mane, and when he looked at her with those green eyes, she knew. She knew this pony, she'd only known him for a short time, but at that moment, there was no doubt in her mind. "Random?" She voiced aloud. His eyes grew wide as she spoke. "Hold on, Twilight," he said, determination filling his face. "We're not out of the woods yet." Twilight heard the sound of shattering glass as the pressure against her chest lessened. She looked down just in time to see the last remains of the Alicorn Amulet crumble into dust. His body began to glow as the last of the light was absorbed. One last burst of light billowed out from under his green cloak as the shadows that made up Sombra's body were completely extinguished. Twilight lay in his grasp in a daze, feeling completely disconnected from her own body after being so close to whatever had just happened. As she lay there and looked up at him with the radiant light still pouring off his body, she only had one question she could voice before she lost consciousness. "Random... Who exactly are you?"