//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: The Sorcerer and the Evil From Beyond // Story: My Final Pony Fantasy III // by Vimtrust5 //------------------------------// The Crystal Empire Since her arrival, Fluttershy had been eagerly anticipating news of her friends' well-being as well as their progress on their current journey. She was relieved that they had been alright so far, but she still couldn't help but worry still. Fluttershy was hardly the only one; Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence all shared a look of concern for the ponies and dragon ever since the nightmares began. Luna especially, since this new evil was somehow able to prevent her from performing her duties as Princess of the Night. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Cid began to speak. "Ah, I have found them." "Where are they?" asked Celestia. "Somewhere within the Syrcus Tower; as of this moment, our friends are to do battle with the sorcerer plotting to bring forth a malevolent power in an attempt to make himself immortal. And yet, I fear the worst..." "Please don't say that, Cid. I don't even want to think of it." Opening their eyes, the group found themselves in a chamber overtaken by darkness. Moving forward, they surveyed their surroundings. No longer were they in the world of light they had grown familiar with but rather a nightmarish purple area where they felt an evil presence lurking nearby. After braving the perils of the tower, our heroes finally came face-to-face with the wicked Xande. He was a blue-skinned man with evil yellow eyes and bore a metal staff. All he wore were a long cape, pointed shoulder pads and bright orange pants. "So, you're the one that's been causing all the trouble around the world, aren't you?" Luneth accused. "Correct," he stated. "If I understand correctly, you've caused an imbalance between darkness and light, just so you can live forever? How can you be so selfish?!" Twilight scolded. "Hmph," Xande scoffed. "I care not for the fate of inferior beings. The Great Magus Noah had erred in his ways the second he had granted me mortality, a gift upon which I did not asked to be bestowed. "I am quite envious of you, Twilight Sparkle." "How so?" she glared. "I have been informed that you were once a unicorn and yet upon completing a spell left behind by another, you had received a gift: a pair of wings, greater magic, as well as longevity. An unnaturally long life." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Don't you dare compare me to you," she said, gritting her teeth. "Sorry, but your past doesn't excuse or justify your actions," Refia added. "I can't believe you!" Arc added. "Had you simply accepted your master's gift, perhaps you would know the value of life itself," Ingus argued. "Enough! I admire your persistence. You have come very far to reach me. However, you are too late! The darkness draws ever so close and is almost upon this world! As such, I cannot afford to have you waste my efforts with the power of light that you hold... Once you are gone, eternal life will be mine!" "Oh, please..." said Rainbow Dash. "Will you just quit your monologuing and fight us already?!" Xande's brow furrowed upon the pegasus' remark. "Such impudence...! You will pay dearly for your disrespect as well as your constant meddling! Perish!" He said physically attacking Rainbow Dash with his staff and then casting Thundaga on the whole party. "You're not taking us down that easily!" said Luneth. "Xande! Why can't you just stop what you're doing?!" said Twilight. "Why should I? This wretched curse of mortality should have been in the hands of either Unei or Doga! Eternal life... That is what I yearn for!" "I've heard ENOUGH!! You're not getting away with this!" said Refia. "Do not underestimate me, child." Xande's staff glowed as he raised it to the sky, calling forth a swarm of meteors to crush the party. Twilight conjured a magic shield to guard her friends. Rarity summoned forth Shiva who unleashed her Diamond Dust attack on the sorcerer. Pinkie Pie cast Curaga on her friends. Applejack then put away her weapon and gave Xande a hard quick sending him sliding across the room. The villain caught himself before hitting the floor and flew towards the party, casting Firaga. Arc countered with Blizzaga, followed by Spike throwing his Moonring Blade. The sorcerer dodged, but because the weapon functioned as a boomerang, it flew back and struck Xande in the forearm. Seeing himself bleed made the sorcerer furious as he glared right at the group. "Why couldn't you just accept your gift?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "You could've easily used the time left to you to--" "'Build friendships?'" Xande countered. "Is that what you wish to say? As I have said before, I care nothing for inferior beings. I am superior. It is both Doga and Unei who should have had limits to their lifespans, not I." "The end result of a life doesn't matter. It's the time you use that's important." "Enough! You and your friends must die!!" Once again, Xande raised his staff and cast the Meteor spell, this time greatly injuring his enemies. This time, it was Refia who healed the party with Curaga. Soon after, Rainbow Dash threw several shurikens at Xande, causing him great pain. With just a little adrenaline, Luneth charged and with one swipe of Masamune brought the sorcerer down. "AAAARGH!!" Xande screamed as Luneth delivered the final blow. *music changes* With that scream, Xande fell forward. He struggled to get back up but collapsed once more. With what little strength he had left, the sorcerer lifted his head and faced his enemies. "Give it up, Xande!" Twilight yelled. "You've lost." "Fools... You may have defeated me, but it matters not... Soon, the Cloud of Darkness will arrive and plunge this world into everlasting darkness! As for you creatures," he said addressing the ponies... *music fades out* "I never intended for your world to be a target... But... if the Cloud of Darkness destroys it along with this world... so be it...!" No sooner had he spoken those final words, Xande had perished. As our heroes went to close the portal, the earth shook and out came a shadowy figure appearing before our heroes' eyes and taking the shape of a long-haired woman surrounded by several mouthed tentacles. Her eyes were as void of any emotion, her face expressionless. "What in Celestia's name?!" Rarity screamed. "What IS that?!" said Spike. "We are the Cloud of Darkness," she said. Twilight gasped, "YOU!" The ethereal being looked down on the purple alicorn. "You're the one whose voice I've been hearing! The one who tried to stop Princess Luna!" "So, it is... Princess Twilight Sparkle," it replied. "It was we who guided you this far, and it was we who allowed Xande to tip the scales in favor of the darkness so we could gain a physical form and bring this world and Equestria to the Void." "The Void?" asked Applejack. "What're you talkin' about?" "A world of nothingness... Where there is no life... An empty sea devoid of any living creature... That is what we strive for! We shall engulf your worlds in shadow... And both light and darkness shall return to the Void!" *music stops* "Well, you're not gonna get away with it!" Rainbow Dash declared, flaring her wings. "Very well," the entity replied. "We shall start with you..." "Let's get her!" The blue pegasus charged and tried to ram her head into the evil being only to find her attack had no effect. Luneth attempted to slash the Cloud of Darkness, but the result was the same. Twilight fired a magical beam of energy only to find it still at her current position unharmed. Applejack even tried to strike it, but not even the earth pony's strength was enough and neither were Arc or Rarity's magic. The Cloud of Darkness countered by firing a massive Particle Beam at its adversaries, killing nearly the entire party. Twilight managed to endure but had to see the fallen bodies of her friends. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU MONSTER!!" She attempted to strike at her friends' killer with a great magic beam only to be knocked back with a forceful blow into the wall, losing her life in the process... Satisfied with its victory, the Cloud of Darkness disappeared leaving its enemies for dead. The Crystal Empire "No..." The Crystal Heart's light grew dim. "What's happened?!" "The girls... Spike..." Cid hesitated to say, "and the young Warriors of the Light... have fallen in battle..." A collective gasp had gathered. "This 'Cloud of Darkness,' the source of all the nightmares... has taken their lives." "No..." the yellow pegasus whimpered. "Twilight..." Celestia muttered, collapsing, her eyes tearing up. "That... that can't be true! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!!" Shining yelled. "NO!!" Cadence cried. With no words, Luna lowered her head now knowing she had failed to stop this from happening; the Princess of the Night shed a single tear. "This is all my fault! If only... if only I'd gone with them!" Fluttershy cried. Crystal Tower "No!" Sara gasped, witnessing Ingus and his companions' defeat. "Come on, you guys! Get up!" said Desch. "Come on! Don't you die before I do!" Cid added. But there was still hope: Unei and Doga had arrived. "There is only one way..." said Doga. "Yes..." Unei replied. Doga looked upon the fallen heroes. "Our souls are yours, our energy one with yours. Now stand, Warriors of the Light!" With those words, Doga and Unei had poured the last of their energy to revive the group. Waking up, the heroes looked on each other and saw Doga and Unei's spirits fading away. "We... We're back? How...?" Refia inquired. "It's you guys!" said Rainbow Dash. Yes, the others arrived through the mirror and were relieved to see our heroes alive again. Fluttershy and the others, too, saw what had happened and smiled once more. "Oh, thank goodness," said the yellow pegasus wiping away her tears. "Come on! You've still got work to do!" said Doga. "Xande's actions have weakened the presence of the light in this world, bolstering the darkness." "And Xande was overcome by the overwhelming darkness he called forth." "The darkness is very strong now..." "Our souls will soon join the Great Soul beyond... We have to go now. We've done all that we could." "You are our only hope. You must bring balance between light and darkness! Now, go forth! To the World of Darkness!" "Doga... Unei... Thank you... You're right. We won't let that... that CREATURE get what it wants!!" Twilight said, determined. "To the world of darkness, then!" Luneth exclaimed. "Let's go!" Refia nodded. "We can do it!" said a confident Arc. "I'm all for it!" said Rainbow Dash. "Me, too!" Spike added. "Me three!" said Pinkie Pie. "As am I," Rarity added with a smile. "Onward!" said Ingus. "Let's go, everyone!" said Applejack. Their resolve strengthened, our heroes proceeded to march into their final destination: the World of Darkness.