//------------------------------// // Chapter 44 // Story: Internal Darkness // by Silver Sorcerer //------------------------------// Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all associated characters, settings and stories are the rightful subjects of Hasbro, the HUB, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. Chapter 44 Once Magicon was alone he locked his door and turned to his desk. "I'm sorry, guys," he lamented as he thought about Littlemore, Fresh Mint, and the others that were probably waiting at the bottom of the stairs completely concerned about him. "They're good ponies. I can't afford to let anything bad happen to them. I've already hurt too many ponies. It's too late for me to change, but it's not too late to protect my 'family'. I already lost my 'real' family. But these four are my real family. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if they died while I lived. I can't bear that! I won't bear that! They'll be safe, even if that means I die! But I don't plan on that happening. Shining, Cadance, and all of them will die before me! I will see to that!" He turned his attention back to his desk, but didn't bother sitting down or opening any spell books. He knew what he had to do to gain an advantage against the impending mob. Turning toward the window he gazed over the darkened mansion and grounds. Few lights were glowing, only a few candles in some windows; otherwise the entire mansion was dark. A few clouds lazily drifted in the sky, illuminated by the pure white of the moon. Its light streamed down from its heavenly perch and struck against the tiles of the roof and cascaded down the turrets and roves, flowing smoothly and effortlessly onto the ground. The moon had done this countless times, raised by its true master who lay in a tomb, forever silent. "Yet I continue to visit you," Magicon heard in his head in Luna's calm voice. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, attempting to banish her from his mind. "You're not wanted," he hissed as he tried pushing her out. "You can't get rid of me that easily," she teased. "Want to bet? I killed you easily. I can banish you from my mind." "You may have killed my body, but you can never kill my soul. It will always haunt you for what you did to me and my sister." "Leave me alone!" he roared and shot a random spell where it crashed against one of the stone walls leaving a black burn mark in its wake. Magicon opened his eyes, panting, and examined the damage. He didn't care too much though; what mattered was the disappearance of Luna, a great relief to him. Turning back to the window Magicon scanned the skies and grounds for any moment. There was none; what kind of movement would there be at this late of an hour near a remote mansion? "Come on, Magicon. Enough of this mental nonsense! You're running out of time! The time is now for action, not mental comprehension! Get to work!" With that boost of confidence and drive Magicon turned his attention to the few clouds lazily drifting in the sky. His horn began glowing and a faint, barely visible, magical aurora surrounded the clouds and with an outstretched hoof Magicon began slowly bringing them directly above the mansion. They moved slowly, yet deliberately, like an advancing army. As they moved closer, Magicon began combining them into a larger cloud. He made circular motions with hooves to blend the clouds together which slowly melded, sharing their contents with each other and losing their individuality to become one big mass of a cloud. Magicon could tell his magic was working. The cloud was becoming larger, denser, and heavier. It swirled slowly over the mansion and Magicon gazed up at its immense size as it blocked out the light of the moon, cascading the mansion and its grounds in complete darkness. He continued to blend the clouds into one and expand the growing cloud that was becoming its own system. He put more effort and magic into his task and felt the cloud respond. As it continued to grow Magicon turned back to the armoire in the corner of the room. He opened it and reached for the highest shelf, pulling out a silver bolt of lightning. It was cold and metallic to the touch and Magicon quickly rubbed his hoofs against as a quick cleaning measure. Its reflection was as pure as a mirror reflecting the light of the room. Magicon smiled and returned to the window. With his horn still glowing Magicon began a spell, a special spell that he had only used a few times before, yet knew it by heart. "I call to the sky to make my plea. I call to the sky to hear me. Listen! Listen and hear me! A great cloud hovers over the land awaiting orders for its master plan. Through the earth, sea, and sky I summon thee to come fourth and obey me! Let this great floating mass be filled with the voices of a thousand angry souls. Let this great cloud have more goals. Let the waters of the sea be summoned. Let them be drenched with special glee. Let darkness rise and shroud all so that none may stand tall. And with this silver bolt I give to you, I command that you take it and see it through! Tempestatis procella magna voco!" The great cloud responded immediately just as Magicon released his spell. All of a sudden, a loud crack of thunder boomed over the mansion, making even Magicon jump. Seconds later the winds banged at the exterior walls and windows, uncontrollable and unrelenting. Lightning flashed intensely, illuminating the mansion in less than a second and the rains fell upon the land in unrelenting torrents. The spell had worked perfectly. But Magicon was not satisfied. "I created a powerful storm. Great. But a powerful storm will not suit me needs completely. An evil storm is what I need." Turning back to his armoire he pulled out a weather spell book. Flipping towards the end Magicon skimmed pages, looking for his own scribbled in notes. Of course, the weather book didn't contain any spells for evil storms. Magicon had applied Red-Blood's evil techniques to weather-making and he wrote it down in this book. "Ah, here we are," Magicon stated as he landed on the page with his own hoof-writing. He read through it, mumbling the words silently to himself. "Well, I already have the storm," he stated as more thunder and lightning clashed against the mansion. "All I need is some dark magic. I think I know where I can get that," he smirked. Returning towards the window, Magicon began to build up dark energy. He thought dark thoughts: his murders of the two princesses (a thought which brought a smile to his face), his control of Equestria, the capture of Shining Armor and Twilight, and punishing the guard. He allowed the thoughts and emotions to course through his body, allowing himself to be lost in them. They filled him up with hatred, vengeance, passion, and power and when he felt he was at his most powerful, Magicon let out a blood-curdling scream as he shot his dark spell at the center of the storm. The force of the magic knocked Magicon off his hooves and he rushed to get back just in time to see the faint outline of his dark magic reach the center of the storm as it flashed against the lightning. It entered the storm and Magicon waited as the magic merged with the storm and began its transformation. Magicon didn't even know what it would do to the storm, if anything. He had never truly tried it, but he hoped it would be for his purposes. With the hope that the storm was providing a suitable defense Magicon was free to concentrate on other important matters; like the ponies who anxiously waited for him at the bottom of the tower. Sighing, Magicon turned back to the door, unlocked it, and slowly descended the stairs. As he opened the door at the bottom he was surprised to find that neither Littlemore nor Fresh Mint were present. "Funny. I thought they'd be here, worried sick." He looked down both hallways and saw nopony. Lightning continued to flash through the windows and thunder boomed overhead. It boomed quite loudly, in fact. It rattled the mansion and objects trembled from the intensity of the sound. Magicon did admit that it was loud, but not unbearable. If all went well, it would suit his needs. Heading down the hallway towards the main entrance Magicon kept his eyes peeled for anypony to appear. "Littlemore? Fresh Mint? Harden Hedge? Trim Tam? Anypony?" he called as he entered the entrance hall. Lighting and thunder were his only answers, both echoing throughout the main hall. He descended the stairs, keeping an eye for anypony. Only a few candles and the storm outside were his company. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he only saw a few candles dimly illuminating the hallway. That same was true as he glanced into the parlor and morning rooms. He returned to the center of the entrance hall and looked back up at the top of the staircase. He blinked a few times, swearing he saw a figure of a pony. Then a giant flash of lightning illuminated against the pony, causing to Magicon jump. For that brief instant that lightning flashed he saw the image of Nightmare Moon at the top of the stairs. Yet the next flash, which followed the first one by a few mere seconds, showed no sign of that pony. "Go away! I don't want you!" he shouted to the pony, only then realizing he was losing his senses. "Calm down, Magicon. Your eyes are deceiving you, that's it. It's just a simple trick, probably from being too tired." "Is it now?" whispered an instantly recognizable voice that made Magicon jump, scream, and twist about. Looking where the voice came from, the lightning illuminated the pure white coat of Celestia. Yet in that brief second of clear illumination provided Magicon a chilling image. It was Celestia before him, yet it was her dead corpse before him. Her mane was bloodied, a red and black hole right over her heart and with a smile that scarred even Magicon. It was beyond demented or insane; it was other-worldly. Magicon blinked many times, trying to convince himself that it was a trick of his eyes or the light. But despite his best intentions the flashes of lightning and clashes of thunder continued to show the demented image of Celestia. It wasn't just an image; it was a living pony. With each lightning strike she took a step towards to Magicon who scrambled backwards to avoid her. The wound only worsened as he tried to avoid her, spilling blood further onto her coat and the tile floor. "Stay back!" warned Magicon, sounding more like a panicked plea rather than a warning. He suddenly backed into the staircase and was too scared to turn around and climb up. He felt like he was pinned to the stairs by some supernatural or unnatural presence as Celestia approached him. He cringed and turned his head from her as she stopped in front of him and gazed down at him. "Look at me!" she yelled. Her voice was just as loud as the thunderstorm outside, making Magicon yell and whimper as he very reluctantly looked at the bloodied alicorn. "That's better, Magicon." "What…do you…want with me?" he asked like a frightened colt. "Your soul." "My…soul?" She nodded as the storm continued to rage outside. "But…but…why?" "Well, for your death obviously." With those words fear left Magicon and an inner fire was ignited. He no longer felt scarred, rather he felt argumentative. His soul was his and we wasn't going to give it to anypony no matter how much they wanted it or how hard they tried to take it. He gulped and managed to look past the wounds and blood, directly up at her and lowered his eyebrows. "No," he retorted with a determined voice. "Ha! I knew you would say that. That's why I brought some friends." "Fr…friends?" the returning fear was dousing any strength in him. "Don't tell me, you didn't miss me," said Luna as she stepped beside her sister. Unlike Celestia which had a central wound Luna only a simple red line around her neck with a few lines of blood trickling down. She still, however, bore the same crazy expression as her sister. "You'll…you'll have to do better…than just your sister." "How about your mother?" asked a voice that passed through Magicon, as it were a ghost. Her voice sent the worst fear to the very bottom of Magicon's soul and he looked around ludicrously, looking for her. "Mother? No…no…No!" he yelled as she appeared next to Celestia. She wasn't bloody or crazy; her face was clam with the subtle look of disappointment. "Magicon…how could you?" "Yes, Magicon how could you?" the princesses echoed. "I…did what…I had to do." "You mean you did what you were told to," reminded Celestia. "Plus, you wanted to do it. Don't think we didn't see your malicious smile when you committed your atrocities," Luna added. "I…I…" "You what?" Celestia asked, somewhat menacingly. "Did you expect that killing us would remove us forever?" "Well, we don't work like that," Luna answered. "But…but…" Magicon tried to say, making quick glances between the two princesses. He then gazed at his mother, with the words 'Help Me' written all over his face. "Son…I can't," she lamented. "But…but…" "I can't, Magicon. You've crossed the line." "What…line?" "The line between right and wrong; morality and immorality; good and bad." "I'm…I'm…a good..." "No, you're not, Magicon," Celestia retorted. "You've always been bad since your youth and Luna and I were fools for believing you to be a good pony." "We won't be making that mistake again," Luna commented. "In fact we won't be making any mistakes once we have that precious soul of yours," Celestia grinned. The smile made his heart sink lower than ever before and for the first time in his life Magicon felt truly scared for his life. Here he was: a helpless unicorn at the foot of his stairs in his own mansion, his own home, his safe haven, his sanctuary. He was going to be consumed by the very things he had destroyed. Whether by accident or on purpose, they were here in front of him refusing to help him and prepared to take his soul. It was all over. He felt himself on the very cliff with an endless abyss and its gaping hole one gentle push away. Its endless pit smiled at the chance to take him and his soul. He felt the worst chill course through him and violently shuddered. It was over. As the three closed in Magicon closed his eyes and curled up, still trembling. He could no longer ignore what was about to happen to him. He could feel his soul detaching from him, slowly rising through his body, edging closer to the ponies looking over him with merciless faces. He braced himself for the final break. Yet it didn't come. Suddenly the chill disappeared and Magicon felt something warm stroking his mane. Opening his eyes and raising his head he was amazed to see none of his visions, but a concerned Fresh Mint looking over him, her sweet and gentle eyes conveying all the comforting feelings in Equestria. Littlemore stood right next to her with a half-concerned, half-sympathetic face. Garden Hedge and Trim Tam stood nearby with worried looks on their faces as well. "What, what-" he tried to ask when Fresh Mint put a hoof to his mouth. "Hush now, quiet now, Magicon," she whispered sweetly in a lullaby fashion as she continued stroking his mane. "Whatever you saw, it wasn't real." 'Yet, it was' he thought. He remained curled up with Fresh at his side. His trembling subsided and he calmed down thanks to Fresh's gentle stroking and sweet voice. He became oblivious to the intense storm outside. She continued comforting him as the three looked on. Magicon appeared to calm down, like how a frightened colt calms down in his mother's arm after a nightmare, and they let out a tentative sigh. "What do you think happened?" Trim whispered to Garden Hedge. "No idea." "He had a terrible hallucination," stated Littlemore approaching the two other servants. "Hallucinations? When did he start having those?" "I'm guessing ever since he took power. I mean look at him, does that look like the same Magicon we know? Does that look like our master? Does that look like the Prince of Equestria?" "Littlemore, hush up!" scolded Fresh as she glared at him while he, red with embarrassment, mumbled, "I'll just…uhh…go make…some tea. Yeah, tea," and headed towards the kitchen checking over his shoulder to make sure his master was alright. Magicon remained at the foot of the stairs, Fresh Mint right beside him, gentle caressing the unicorn. He seemed to be in a state of limbo, neither fully conscious yet not unconscious. He was further away from the real world, almost in a dream-like state. The voices were muted and indiscernible and the flashes of lightning were dim and subtle. He felt removed and yet he felt sheltered. He felt safe with Fresh right next to him. He was protected; nothing could harm him with them here. His family was here to care for him and that was all he needed. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ They watched over him, ignorant of the storm raging outside. They all knew that Magicon had cast it and they knew that they would not be harmed by it. Magicon, though very different, still had compassion for the four of them. They could tell that. What they couldn't tell is why Magicon was here now and why had he created this storm? They wanted and needed answers, yet Fresh's desire to shelter the unicorn prevented any questions from being answered. The three continued exchanging worried glances and at Magicon as they listened to his calm breathing. Trim took the initiative and quietly walked over to the two of them and asked in a hushed voice, "Is there anything we can do?" Fresh shook her head. "He's too stressed. Something happened. Something very bad and it's messing with his mind." "Has this happened before?" "Yes, but never like this. I've never seen him in this sort of hysterical state." "He doesn't seem like the pony who would go into desperation," Garden stated as he joined the conversation. "We can never truly know a pony that's so secretive. It's amazing we got to know what we did," Trim said. "Both of you stop it!" Fresh scolded. "You're both sounding as if he's dead. Magicon is not dead for Celestia's sake and he's certainly not going to die anytime soon. He is a good pony. The good ponies never die young." "I thought the saying was-ouch!" Trim gasped as Fresh hit him on his side with a good amount of force, obviously not wanting to hear the common saying about good ponies. "Look. We don't know what happened to Magicon and there's only one way to find out. We'll have to ask him," Garden suggested. 'I don't want to ask him because I don't want to throw him into hysterics again," Fresh stated. "I understand that, but I don't think we have a choice. If we're going to help him he needs to be honest with us." "But, what if he doesn't want our help?" Trim asked. They all fell silent after that question, struggling to find a suitable answer. Only the clasps of thunder and Magicon's calm breath were audible. Then they heard hoofsteps approaching and they all turned their attention to Littlemore who slowly trotted up to the group with a tray carrying a teapot and five cups. Despite his growing age Littlemore still managed small feats of strength, such as this. He set the tray down near the group and Garden Hedge telekinetically poured tea for everypony, including Magicon. They all took their cups, with steam slowly rising out of them, and sat in silence looking at each other and at the red unicorn. None of them partook in their beverage; they just sat there awaiting Magicon, as if he would rise any second and direct them about like past days. But Magicon remained in his quiet slumber, motionless as the rest of them sat near him. Finally, Littlemore broke the silence by whispering, "Should we move him to a couch or bed?" "He's resting now. I don't think we should wake him," Fresh suggested. She had ceased stroking Magicon's mane, believing that he had fallen asleep. "Well we can't just leave him here," Trim stated. "Why not? He's not hurting anypony." "Yet," Garden chimed in. "Hush your mouth!" scolded Fresh. "You all should be showing kindness and compassion towards our master, not distrust." "Not to sound rude, but to put it bluntly, Magicon hasn't exactly been the friendliest and kindest of ponies around." "But he hasn't been the harshest," stated Littlemore. "True, he has very odd habits and is very secretive, but we know more than most. Nopony in Equestria knows more about him that the four of us." "Why does anypony need to know about his private affairs? Magicon is entitled to them just like everypony else," said Fresh. "Yes, but what if those affairs harm others?" asked Trim. "What are you suggesting?" asked Littlemore. "All I'm saying is that Magicon has been acting very odd ever since he got back. I mean he's been on edge, kind of delusional, and now chaotic." "Trim does have a point," conceded Garden. "Something is very wrong with Magicon. He needs help before he hurts someone or himself." Fresh and Littlemore exchanged glances, remembering their conversation with Magicon earlier. He was so stressed, so distraught, and so scared. He feared for his very life and they had no idea whether he was actually in danger or just hallucinating. Both of them were very concerned with Magicon, but neither one knew what the unicorn was thinking or doing. They didn't know if they could believe him. But they couldn't ignore him and his statement. Realizing this she nodded and Littlemore looked at Garden Hedge and Trim Tam. "There's something you both need to know." "What?" "It's about Magicon. When he arrived here earlier he rushed to the top of his tower and Fresh and I followed him. Well, we found him very busy and he said something rather worrying. He said…he said…" "He said that he may die tonight. There are a group of ponies after him and may kill him," Fresh Mint finished. Garden and Trim exchanged glances, both wearing very concerned faces. Neither one knew what to make of it, so they asked. "What does it mean?" Garden asked. "What do you mean?" Littlemore asked in response. "What I mean is, is Magicon actually in danger or is something wrong with his head?" "I think he thinks it's real and that's all that matters," answered Fresh. "As long as we make sure he's safe and out of harm's way, whether that harm is real or not," added Littlemore. "So, should we prepare for these so-called ponies?" asked Trim. "I think Magicon took care of that," answered Fresh as they all looked out the windows to the raging and howling storm surrounding the mansion. "I'm surprised it hasn't torn the roof off this place," remarked Garden. "Celestia knows what it's going to do to my gardens." "Be thankful you have your life," Littlemore stated. "Besides Magicon probably made sure that the mansion wasn't going to be damaged form the storm." "Well, given the intensity of it, I don't think anypony will be able to reach us," stated Trim. "Let's hope so and let's hope it's only in his head, because if it isn't, we will never know how this will end. And that's what I fear the most," Fresh said. "That's what we fear too," added Littlemore. "And that's what he fears the most," finished Garden.