As the darkness fades, I find myself in that old, familiar room. The bed has since fallen over, likely from the assault of winds and, through the once-again open hole, I glance to the wasteland beyond. Its gentle slopes and virgin snow standing in stark contrast to the dark skies above would delight any artist’s heart, but I merely shudder from the knowledge of the annihilation lurking in plain sight.
The moment I make sure nothing has changed, the last few minutes begin to haunt my mind. I start pacing up and down in the room. Abruptly I stop and stroke my mane.
What a fool I am... My shoulders bounce as I laugh to myself silently. I have seen what this world has decayed into. With that journal taking over everything would be so easy. What has gotten into me?
Of course, I know the answer. It stares me right in the muzzle through that accursed hole. Rage takes over me and I slam the bed against the gash once more. As it crashes loudly into the wall, splinters and rubble scatter around me. The noise echoes in the room a few times, then fades into nothing.
In my moment of victory, fate still robs me blind!
My magic levitates the weathered sofa off the ground and flings it into a corner. With another flick of my horn the remains ignite.
I stare into the mesmerizing dance of the flames. In a way, I see myself in them. Despite being brilliant and untouchable, I’m still destined to burn out when the time comes.
And that time is now.
I curse the cruelty of it all. The feeling of coldness completely fades. My body feels like it too is burning. In a blind rage I slam every other piece of furniture against the ground. And after those are all smashed into pieces, I conjure up crystal after crystal.
Finally the floor itself gives in to my brutal assault. Cracks like spiderwebs spread along the ground, before it suddenly collapses with a deafening crack. I lose my footing and time almost seems to crawl to a halt, as I find myself falling.
The impact, however, never arrives. I instinctually catch myself with my magic mid-flight and slowly float down instead.
Once more I find myself in the throne room. This time though, it’s not merely just dust that greets me, but the repercussions of my destruction. The hanging banners lie scattered across the ground, knocked off by falling debris. The gleaming floor itself is cracked and marred from the chunks of crystals that crashed into it. I struggle to blink the kicked-up cloud of dust out of my eyes. As my vision clears, I notice that the throne itself is chipped and its backrest toppled over onto the seat.
Immediately, my rage is snuffed out and terror fills my heart. I approach the throne with trembling hooves. I find only darkness. I hesitate for a second. Staying ignorant seems so inviting, when a possible outcome is certain doom. I grit my teeth and close my eyes. Cowering in fear is for lesser unicorns. I must face the consequences of my actions.
I light my horn again. Magic envelops the piece of stone and flings it away.
As I open my eyes again, a familiar glow greets me. Immense relief washes over me and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding in. The Heart is still there, likely protected by the same magic that protects the world.
Having confirmed my immediate survival, I turn around and observe the chamber. I realize, with bitter irony, that I accomplished what time wasn’t capable of and destroyed a memento that survived centuries.
I find myself chuckling at the absurdity of the situation. Perhaps a ruined palace befits me, considering what’s about to happen.
I turn back towards the Heart and stare into the faint, ethereal glow. I see tired, hollow eyes look back at me. My own reflection.
I sigh. There are no more excuses to be made.
I touch the crystal and allow myself to be dragged inside by its power.
The moment I come to, I immediately start moving forward. I don’t gawk at the white space inside, I don’t question the impossibility of walking on nothing. I disregard the alluring peace of the void. This time my steps have a purpose to them.
After a minute of walking in silence, I stand in front of the luminescent sphere once more.
Though she continues to be still like a statue, I feel the princess's attention focus on me.
“You have returned,” I hear her choir in my mind. She sounds confused. “Why?”
I take another long look at her before answering. My throat feels sore. For the first time since I came back, I find it hard to speak.
“I had no other choice,” I finally say.
It is now her turn to remain silent for a while. Her ethereal mane continues to flow from a breeze felt only by her kind.
“Are you not aware of what I must do to you?” her voices say in unison eventually. “Perhaps not today, nor tomorrow, but without your magic to sustain you, you will surely die.”
“The same fate awaits me if I refuse, doesn’t it?” I reply with an indignant huff. “Spare me your compassion and let’s not waste any more words.”
“Very well.”
In the same moment the alicorn’s eyes snap open. In her eye-sockets I see the same radiance the sphere emits. The beam from her horn strengthens and the orb itself begins to glow brighter and brighter, before a ray of light erupts from it, striking me true in my chest.
The pain is indescribable.
I howl and scream and throw myself against the nonexistent ground. I claw and writhe as every single cell in my body shrieks in panic. The very essence of immortality is drained from me. I feel the incredibly slow but unstoppable rot that my power held at bay until now gleefully encroach upon me. The purple flames in my eyes evaporate and my crimson horn darkens to a dull black as the magic is torn from my body.
I hardly even have the strength to look up in my half-unconscious state. As I do, I see the princess float above me with wings flared. She is surrounded by the pale apparitions of my former enemies. All of their eyes shine with the same overwhelming glow. As they begin to fly upwards, the orb floats with them, becoming even brighter. With my last strength, I weakly reach up and try to shield my eyes, but it is too late.
In an instant the orb shrinks into a point then explodes into a supernova and, though I’m blinded, I feel my body blown away by an unstoppable force. My instincts scream at me to catch myself with my magic, but I find no strength to do so.
Yet instead of hitting the ground, the whiteness suddenly disappears and I black out.
Stupid journal. And stupid wizard. Or king... Or... Or whatever he is! I think to myself scornfully as I kick a pebble in front of me. It skips once or twice before firmly lodging itself between two patches of grass. I roll my eyes and focus back on the road, hoping it might take my mind off how my legs ache from exhaustion and how I am already bored beyond belief.
But I cannot stop. I have to do this. I think back to Sunny’s face and how devastated and broken she looked. Nopony should feel like that. Especially not her. I will get her journal back. I have to prove myself, prove that I’m better than who she thinks I am.
Who all of them think I am.
On the other hoof, I’ve been walking for almost a week and I haven’t even reached the end of the forest yet. Just how far away is this “Frozen North” anyway? Am I even going towards the north?
I try to remember the rules of the compass, but I think I slept through that class. I figured a sheriff hardly needs to know which direction is which to catch a criminal. Not that I had to ever bother with that, when Mr. Perfect is there to take care of all the little problems.
I roll my eyes and sigh. Focus, Sprout. Focus. If you nail this, even he will have to admit that you did the impossible.
I just wish I knew what I was doing.
My rations are already dwindling and, to be frank, I’m terrified to think what I will do once they run out. Will I need to forage for mushrooms? What if they’re poisonous? I guess I could also eat the grass, if I can’t find anything better, but that would be just awful. Oh well. That’s a problem future-me will have to worry about.
Right now I should pay attention to crossing this little brook in front of me. I could swear I’ve crossed at least five or six of these already. Huh. Who would have guessed Equestria held so much water?
I take a deep breath and wade into the cold water. I shudder as it seeps into my coat and it immediately becomes all wet. Great, more mud, just what I needed. Not that it matters much, I must already stink from walking around for so long without any chance to take a hot bath. What’s a bit more dirt?
I float in darkness. Not a pinprick of light permeates this space as far as I can or, to be more precise, can’t see. What a familiar sensation. Yet, unlike my previous prison, I do not feel myself suffocating, nor are my eyes burning. In a way, this void is almost comforting.
I allow my limbs to relax, though I feel the disgusting skitter of decay on them even now. Is this what mortal minds have to contend with from the moment they are born? How do they take it so well?
My musing is silenced as I spot a translucent mist appear in the distance. It’s a combination of shades of purple and blue. As it floats closer to me, its details become clearer and clearer. As if an artist worked with paint smeared on a black canvas, shapes come into being and I find myself face to face with her.
“Greetings, your majesty,” she says in a disinterested tone. A chill runs down my spine. Something feels off about her, but I cannot tell what.
I scoff and turn my head away.
“’Majesty?’ Have you come back only to humiliate me, Princess?” I ask, giving her a side-look. “If so, please spare me my now very much finite time. Or perhaps are you here to tell me my sacrifice was for naught?”
I feel her magic grab and forcibly turn my face back towards her. I try, but I don’t have the power to resist her.
“You will listen, King Sombra,” she booms at me. Her voice is commanding and regal, reminiscent of the one the former Diarchs used in the past. A voice befit not just a princess, but an unyielding, merciless queen. “While your past atrocities will forever remain a dark blotch on history, no such thing will be done, nor was your sacrifice in vain.”
Her horn flashes and suddenly we find ourselves in a snowy field. I recognize the place immediately. This is where the barrier stands. Without my powers, the freezing cold bites into my flesh and I begin to shiver.
She, however, does not seem to care about either the cold or whether it bothers me. Instead she leaves my side and takes a few measured steps forward, before looking into the distance. The little I can see of her face seems completely impassive and almost bored.
“Can you hear it?” she asks after a few seconds, with her back still turned towards me.
I listen. Only the howling winds break the silence and those are surely not what she means.
“No. I can’t hear anything.”
“And perhaps now?” she asks as her horn flashes again. A pair of faint, pink, ethereal lenses manifest in front of my eyes. As I peer through them, my glance falls upon the maddening shape of the being as it twists and contorts in the snow beyond. The wailing and chittering returns, burrowing into my ears like hungry termites.
I try to close my eyes, but, even though my muscles flex, my eyelids don’t budge. I try to move my legs, but they too refuse me and remain firmly planted in the snow. Utter panic fills my soul as I realize I became a prisoner of my own body. Suddenly my vision is forced towards her. She looks at me from the corner of her eyes, the smallest, contemptuous frown playing on her lips. Her horn is alight.
I struggle against the grasp, but it’s no use. I’m unable to do as much as blink. As I exert myself I inadvertently let out a grunt and realize I still have control over my mouth.
“You conniving whore!” I scream at her in rage. My face contorts into a scowl, but she doesn’t even flinch. The horrifying sight batters on my mind, bending and warping my very consciousness. “Is this betrayal the reward I get for my sacrifice?”
My anger, however, is torn to shreds by what she says next. Her words cut into me harsher than the frost under my hooves. The curses die in my throat.
“Fall silent, fleeting shadow, and bear witness to the obliteration you were spared from,” she says in a low voice, as she steps away from me.
That’s when I realize what was so off.
It is no longer a chorus that speaks from her, but a singular voice. One which is not hers. The tone is completely detached and devoid of emotions. I look up at the princess’s face. Her eyes seem almost lifeless, as she glares right through me. Whoever is talking through this mare right now is not the same being anymore.
“Heed me now. This is the fate of all who threaten whom Harmony had chosen to protect.”
As she speaks, I notice a growing presence emanating from her. Even with my diminished magic I sense a magical vortex inside her that rapidly increases in ferocity.
She flares her wings and her horn blazes alight with a glow which then slowly envelops her whole body. The very air begins to tremble with arcane currents and I feel my hairs stand up on my back. The intensity continues to grow. A radiating pain hits my horn as I struggle to resist just the residual magic filling the air. Even though she hasn’t physically changed, she somehow feels far greater now than before. Like I’m standing next to a giant, who wouldn’t even register my presence.
I feel the maddening aura of the being slowly getting pushed to the side as the princess-thing unleashes her magic.
Five sparks roar into life around her, as the very air screams from having to hold so much magic in one place. Purple, orange, red, blue, and pink. They form a loose pentagram.
I merely stare in horror, as the realization slowly dawns on me.
I know this magic.
A translucent crown manifests on her head, with its own magenta spark. Her eyes slowly fade to white.
It is what banished me.
Suddenly the aura shifts and blackness mixes into the light around her. Her piercing gaze blazes alight in purple flames, as the whites of her eyes turn green. A shifting ball of pure darkness mixed with shining white forms on the tip of her horn, which slowly begins to swell.
And it is combined with the very spell I wanted to use against her, I think in disbelief.
The orb continues to grow, until it reaches the breaking point. The six sparks slowly break off and gather around it. They begin to revolve, spinning faster and faster until, as if a tightly-wound string was cut, the wings of the possessed alicorn snap forwards and the spell abruptly releases.
A terrifying ray of black and white magic shoots out of the sphere, accompanied by a shifting ripple in the air and the roar of a deafening thunderclap. It punches straight through the barrier with fearsome speed. Like a window hit by a stone, the barrier shatters into a billion little green shards of magical energy, which hang in the air for a second, then quickly fizzle into nothingness.
The bolt, however, does not stop. It strikes the creature’s grotesque body on the side, tearing a ghastly hole through it, marred by smoldering, blackened flesh. The impact causes the being to collapse back into the snow with a deafening thud.
For a moment nothing happens and it is as if the whole world had frozen in place. Silence falls upon us. I am about to exhale, when the being suddenly screams like a banshee and perches up. This brings me back from the edge in an instant.
“What- What have you done!” I scream at her. “Your spell didn’t work! It’s still alive! The barrier is broken! It will kill us!”
“No,” she answers with the same otherworldly calmness. “It won’t.”
Suddenly the gash flashes and ignites in black flames, which quickly spread all over the being. I watch with wide eyes and my mouth agape as it writhes in pain. Its uncountable tentacles and appendages flail wildly, swatting itself, uselessly trying to extinguish the fire. Its eyes dart around in a mad panic, as they begin to melt from the heat. Its uncountable jaws open and shut in terror as the teeth inside burst open. The pustules on its body erupt from the flames, spilling revolting puddles of rotten pus and curdled blood on the pristine snow. It howls with a million deafening screams and disgusting shrieks, as parts of it begin to char and fall off. I instinctively try to cup my hooves on my ears to block the cacophony, but my legs remain frozen to the ground.
It spasms in agony for several long seconds, but the flames are unrelenting. As more and more ignite, the creature begins to shrivel, its throes slowly becoming more and more rigid. Its shrieks drown under the fluids that flood its many throats. Patches of its burning flesh fall to the ground, where they continue to smoulder and smoke. Soon the movement stops. Only the quiet sounds of sizzling flesh can be heard as the last vestiges of the devourer slowly burn away. Eventually nothing more than a puddle of pus and blood remain, spilled around a blackened, steaming corpse.
The lenses fade away and I find myself able to move my head again. I collapse into the cold snow below, but I hardly even feel the frost biting into my flesh. I just blink a few times into the snow in a daze, as I try to catch my breath. My gaze then slowly shifts towards the princess. I stare at her speechlessly. The magic slowly fades from her body and she lowers her wings. The crown fades and, at the same time, her face softens. Finally life returns into her eyes, granting her a far kinder look than she had before.
Her horn flashes and we’re back inside the void once more. I gasp for air, as I try to calm my racing heart.
“Why,” I stammer weakly. “Why did you do this to me?”
She tips her head to the side in confusion.
“I told you already and you even agreed to it,” she says while furrowing her brows. “Your magic was needed to defeat the creature.”
“That’s not what I mean!” I yell, with a distraught sob. I feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes, which I quickly wipe away. “Why did you force me to watch?”
She shrinks back a little.
“I... I blacked out after you granted me your strength. I have only just regained my senses.” Her face turns worried. “What happened?”
Images of the two beings, one more terrifying than the other, flash in front of my eyes. I snap them shut and take a deep breath. As I exhale and feel my heart calm a bit, I take a better look at her. She genuinely doesn’t seem to be aware of the last few minutes.
Despite everything that might have happened, even she doesn’t deserve this.
I let out a ragged sigh and hang my head.
“I believe it is better if only one of us suffers from this knowledge,” I finally say.
“I don’t know what you witnessed, but I will pry no more,” she slowly says with sympathy after some deliberation. A small sigh escapes her lips. “I sense the being has finally relinquished its grasp on the world. I can only hope it will never return to Equestria. Thanks to you, my duty has ended as well,” she continues with a relieved smile. She exhales deeply. “Finally... after all these years spent alone and imprisoned, I am able to move on and reunite with the others.”
Yet, she doesn’t move. I already know why.
I glance around the void.
“So, is this how my story ends then?” I ask her, slowly regaining my composure. “Let’s see. What would your journal say?” I clear my throat and switch to a tone one would use to narrate a story, “The terrible king, having made the ultimate sacrifice, was left to repent in the darkness he always coveted, forever scarred and defeated?“
I hum, before continuing.
“Perhaps it’s a bit too dramatic for your book, but it has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” I add with a raspy laugh.
She merely shakes her head.
“Choosing to relinquish your magic and immortality is the price you’ve paid to wipe the slate clean. I see no further punishment necessary.”
“As if what you forced me to experience for all these years wasn’t torment in and of itself,” I mutter under my breath scornfully. Even if she heard me, she doesn’t show any sign of it. “So what then? Will you kill me on the spot so I can pass on to the next world? You have plenty of experience in that by now.”
She snorts humorlessly.
“Not quite. You see, there is one last service I can offer to thank you. You are still to face a great journey before death can claim you, this much I can guarantee,” she tells me with a smirk. “Farewell now, Ruler of the Crystal Empire, may we meet as friends in the next life.”
Before I could even ask her what she means, she turns around and trots away into the nothingness, her body slowly becoming more and more translucent until she completely disappears. I’m left alone in the darkness. I feel the terror slowly creeping back, but then suddenly the void splits apart below me and a glowing portal opens. I fall into the light.