//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Nightshade // Story: Sins of the Past // by Star Seeker //------------------------------// //------------------------------------------------- // Story: Sins of the Past // Chapter 2: Nightshade // Author: Star Seeker //------------------------------------------------- “I don’t think he’s following us” huffed Applejack as they stopped to catch their breath. They had just reached the place where Fluttershy had been seen last. “If he had been, he would have found us by now”. “I guess lucks on our side today, I see Fluttershy” said Rarity, pointing to the forest at the back of Fluttershys house. Twilight looked. In the distance, she could see the distinct pink tail just poking out from behind the nearest tree. They walked over to it. Fluttershy was making sure that the owls were comfy in their new tree. “Hey Fluttershy, finished yet?” said Twilight, looking around to check that the human hadn’t sneaked up behind them. “Just about. I’m just making sure that they are happy with their choice of tree”. Dash ran up to Fluttershy. “We don’t have time for this!” she yelled, frustrated. “Where’s Nightshade?” “Are you talking about me?” came a voice from behind them. Twilight spun, horn glowing, thinking that it was the humans’ voice. Instead of a human, she found a midnight black Pegasus with a bright silver mane. He was carrying a bunch of nests spread out across his large wingspan. As soon as he saw the glowing horn, he dropped into a defensive stance. Twilight quickly doused the magic. He eased his stance. “What's going on here?” he said, moving to Fluttershys’ side. He noticed the cyan mare standing behind Twilight. “Ah, if I remember correctly, your names Rainbow Dash. What brings you here? I still haven’t leant to break the sound barrier, so you can’t be here to race.” Rarity stepped forward. “We have come on behalf of Princess Celestia” He gave her a quizzical look. “And what would the great Celestia have me do exactly?” “We need you to lead us to the Genesis Heart, someone has threatened the destruction of Equestria and he needs the Genesis Heart to accomplish it.” Nightshade bolted forward, faster than anyone could see, and stopped bare millimeters from Raritys’ face. “How do know about it? Why would Celestia tell you about it?” Twilight pushed Rarity aside and locked eyes with Nightshade. “Because Celestia has been captured by one of her old foes, and he is going to use the Genesis Heart to bring back an army of humans to wage war against Equestria. He is going to come and find you. And when he does, he will get its location out of you by any means necessary”. Nightshade stepped back, contemplating what he had just heard. “If the human is who I think he is, then we are in serious trouble”. He looked up and walked back towards Twilight. “Has Celestia told you who we are up against?” “No, he intervened before she could tell us more”. Nightshade sat down and motioned for the others to do the same. They all sat down in front of him. “The human that you are going up against is an arcane mage, and possible the most powerful human that had ever existed. Before the start of what has become to be known now in fairytales as the Armageddon Wars, he was Discords apprentice, and under his teaching, he mastered magic that would have taken centuries to perfect. It was told that he even figured out how to make himself immortal. If he has come back now, it only adds proof to that fact.” He shifted into a more comfy position. “At the very start of the war, Luna sent her top commandos to capture and kidnap him so that he could take no part in the war, and imprisoned in the Crystal Caverns beneath the castle. That’s when he disappeared from history.” “Did you ever meet him before the start of the war?” Asked Pinkie. “No, how could I have possible met him? He was born thousands of years ago” “We know that you are an Alicorn. The princess told us.” said Applejack. “Oh, well I guess I no longer to hide it then”. The area on top of his head blurred, and suddenly, a black horn appeared upon his head. Applejacks’ jaw dropped. “Fascinating” said Twilight, totally transfixed by the appearance of his horn. “Well, if this human is truly after the location of the Genesis Heart, then the best place to hide would be with it. Since he knows that you are searching for me, you had best come with me, unless you have to get the Elements of Harmony first.” Dash shook her head. “He destroyed them in front of us. We have no way to defeat him now” Nightshade gasped. “So, THAT’S why she sent you to find me, she wants you to re-forge the Elements of Harmony” Twilight gave him a quizzical look. “But how can that be? How can the Elements of Harmony be formed from something that gives life?” “That’s a common misconception, what the Elements of Harmony have is not the power to destroy evil, but the power to purify evil. That’s why Luna didn’t perish when you defeated Nightmare Moon, and why Discord was petrified rather that killed”. He turned and started walking. “Since he had destroyed the Elements, he knows that we have no way of defending ourselves, so its best that we get a move on”. He stood on the balcony of the tower, the only structure that had survived everything in between his capture and the thousand years that had passed. A breeze blew against his face and he smiled. No matter how long has passed or what had happened, the Dawnstar tower would always be his home, even if the rest of his kingdom lied in ruins around him. He placed his hands against the stone railing, feeling the strong magical power that pulsed under his palm. Of course this tower would still be standing, the enchantment the he himself had place upon the foundation stones of this tower would last until the end of time, a monument to his power. He shook his head, reminding himself of what he had to, no, needed to do, the ponies had withheld their judgment for too long. Most of the ones who had caused this injustice had perished with time, but the two princesses who had caused all this at the beginning were still here. Luna had received her punishment, and now her sister, Celestia, would receive the same punishment. After that, the whole of Equestria would cower under his fury and perish as well, and then he and his race would rule one more. He walked back inside the tower and stood in the platform in the middle. It glowed and lowered, taking him past the bottom of the tower and into the room underneath. The corridor was barren and dusty, the polished floor faded and the tapestries disintegrated without the maintenance of others. The door at the end of the corridor opened with barely a squeak, sensing his magic as he walked towards it. Inside the room, there was nothing but darkness, yet as he walked forward into the room, the darkness parted around him, revealing Celestias’ unconscious form. He looked up and snapped his fingers, causing a projection to appear in front of him. It showed the ponies with Nightshade, talking about the location of the Genesis Heart, and that it would be their final destination. He smiled, during his entrance at Twilights library, he had placed a charm upon the one know as Pinkie Pie that would allow him to see and hear everything that she did. She wouldn’t notice, being as eccentric as she was, and if anyone did notice it, they would most likely pass it of as one of her random things. He heard Celestia groan behind him as she started to regain consciousness. He snapped his finders and the projection disappeared, it was time to deliver judgment. Celestia woke up; her head still pounding from the fight that had taken place earlier. She sat up, and that’s when she noticed the magical bands fixed in place around her neck, stomach and hooves. They looked very familiar… “Ah, you noticed the Celestial Bonds, I was hoping you would appreciate the irony”. The human appeared from the darkness next to her. He waved his hand and a chair appeared in front of the magical circle that Celestia noticed she was in the middle of. He sat down and looked down at her. “Well, it looks like the tables have turned since we last met in a situation like this. How does it feel to be chained to the ground, completely ignorant of what's going on in the outside world?” ‘Why would you do this? These ponies are not the ones that you know. They don’t deserve whatever you have planned for them.” He lent forward and cupped a hand around one ear. “Is that a hypocrite I hear? MY race didn’t deserve what you and your sister did to it before you wiped it off the face of Equestria!” He lent back in the chair. “You’re a monster!” Celestia cried, straining against the bonds. He smirked. “I’ve already had this conversation with your sister, and look at the state she’s in now”. He snapped his fingers and the darkness beside him dissipated, revealing Luna’s pale form floating inside an identical circle to the one Celestia was in. Celestia saw this and cried out, straining even harder against the Celestial Bonds. He stood up and walked over to Luna’s body. “Don’t worry, she still lives, which is already far more than what she deserves”. He waved his hand over her, and Luna’s body dropped onto the stone floor. “LUNA!” she cried, tears streaming down her face. “Ce…Celestia?” came a weak voice. Luna struggled to move. ‘It’s okay Luna, I’m over here”. Celestia collapsed, relief flooding through her as the sound of Luna’s voice. “I feel…so weak, and so…empty” her voice was slurred from being unconscious for so long. The human chuckled. ‘She’s feeling the side effects of having all her magic drained from her body in an instant. She’ll feel like this for another couple of days until her magic starts to regenerate”. Celestia looked into Luna’s eyes. She looked defeated. That was an expression she never expected to see in her eyes. The human waved his hand again and the darkness fell around Luna’s circle again. “That’s enough of that, it’s time for you to experience the same pain as your sister”. Celestia growled. “just you wait, Twilight and the others are on their way to the Genesis Heart. They will re-forge the Elements of Harmony and they WILL defeat you”. He smiled an evil smile. “Oh, I’m counting on them getting to the Genesis Heart, but what then? You know you can’t remake what isn’t broken”. He pointed into the darkness, which parted to reveal a waist high table, with the Elements of Harmony sitting on it. Celestia gasped. “But we saw you destroy them!” “No, what you saw was an illusion of me destroying them. I will have need of their power later. I needed to give you a reason to send them to Nightshade, so that he would lead them to the Genesis Heart. And when they get there, I will know exactly where it is”. A projection appeared, showing exactly what Pinkie Pie was seeing and hearing. Right now, they were traveling through the Everfree Forrest. The projection dissipated. Celestia dropped her head, defeated. “I have broken your spirit, and now I will break your mark, and your magic will be mine”. He raised his hand and the console appeared. He moved to activate it, but he stopped short. “Have you figured out why I need both of your magical powers yet?” Celestia didn’t even look up. “I assume so that you can become stranger and stronger”. “Close, but no cigar. Come on, think, I’ve told you that I will destroy you the same way you destroyed us”. “No, still nothing”. Celestia sighed “Fine, a hint then. It’s the reason why our mythical battles were called the Armageddon Wars”. Celestia looked up at that, a horrified look on her face. “NO, you can’t possible mean…” The human started laughing. “That’s right! After using your power to break the seal that you and you sister placed upon it. I will take control of the most powerful weapon in existence. I will burn your world to ashes with the awesome power of the great magical platform. ARMAGEDDONS BLADE!” He turned to Celestia. “NOW! EMBRACE THE DARKNESS!” His hand slammed down on the console and Celestias' world went dark. Dr Whooves walked out of Derpy’s house after a fantastic lunch. As he walked out onto the street, he was assaulted by a massive headache and his vision blurred as he felt a massive surge of magical energy. He blacked out. When he came to, everything seemed darker. The world was exactly how it was moments ago, but it seemed like a bright light had gone out in the world. Worse, he could also feel his hourglass cutie-mark burning as the magic that had been withheld from him for all these year rushed into him. “My magic has returned? This is bad. Oh, this is VERY bad”. He turned and towards the Everfree Forest. A dark, stormy cloud had appeared on the horizon, and it appeared to be moving away from the town. “Oh my Celestia, what have you done, what has been unleashed upon us this time?”