//------------------------------// // Good Night... // Story: The Elements of Love // by UnweptSchlipps //------------------------------// When Lucky awoke, the agonizing pain in his head was still very much present. He didn’t want to open his eyes, partly because of the pain, partly because he didn’t want to look at wherever the hell death took him. Everything was dark, and for once, he wanted to keep it that way. But soon it became apparent he wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon, so he reluctantly began to open his eyes. And to his surprise, he didn’t see any pearly gates (or flames for that matter). Instead, he was in some sort of dimly-lit palace, with black crystals lining the walls. A single throne made of the same material hugged the wall. Everything was simply black. In fact, it was so black, Lucky hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t alone. A petite figure sat curled on the throne, her dark purple fur almost blending into the black. But what stood out the most was her mane and tail, dotted with shimmering silver specks. Immediately, Lucky perked his head up, realizing he had seen that mane before. “Nightwish? You’re dead too? The Shadow got Trottingham too, then?” He didn’t expect her eyelids to flick open, revealing beautiful purple orbs that shimmered like her mane. He didn’t expect her to flip her mane away, revealing an equally striking face and a unicorn horn. And he certainly didn’t expect her to answer. With a smooth...almost seductive voice, the mare said, “Hmmm? Oh good, you’re awake. I was getting tired of acting like a dumb nit-wit all the time.” The mare slid off the throne, and suddenly there were two Shadowmares on either side of her, acting as her guards. She seemed young, almost too young, barely on the cusp of adulthood. But despite her age, Lucky knew she wasn’t one to be trifled with. He hadn’t met his death. In fact, he was far, far from it. The unicorn tried to stand up and run, only to find his hooves were stuck to the ground by the Shadow. Almost reading his mind, Nightwish said, “Believe me Lucky, if I wanted you dead, I would have killed you by now.” Something in the corner of Lucky’s eye caught his attention, and he turned to see his companions being dragged in by a few mages, led by none other than the Arch-Mage himself. Redheart and Scootaloo looked completely disoriented, and Lucky couldn’t tell whether they even knew what was going on. Braeburn struggled in the mages’ grip, but a sharp twist in his burnt leg made him cease. And then there was Cheerilee, who attempted to give a weak grin. But for some reason, Lucky couldn’t bring himself to look her in the face. But there was one more pony being brought in. Her tall, slender body was slouched over tiredly, and her patchy pink fur and matted mane showed no sign of her regal ties. Her crown was missing, and her wings and horn were bound by some sort of dark magic. When she looked up to see her Elements of Love captured, she could only let out a slow breath, shaking her head in despair. Although Princess Cadance knew she’d be seeing her bearers once again, she had never thought it would be like this. Once the final guest had been brought in, Nightwish gave a sly grin and began, “Well surprise, surprise. Looks like everypony’s awake." “Nightwish?” Braeburn whispered. “What…how are you talking? I thought you were…” “What? Mentally challenged? Stupid? Wonky in the head?” the dark mare uttered. “Well of course you did. That was the point.” “Who are you? What did you do with Shade?” “Oh…you mean that old thing?” the mare said, waving her hoof dismissively. “Frankly, I was surprised that old man lasted that long with the Shadow feeding on him. But don’t worry about him…he’s no use to either of us.” “You-you killed Shade?” The mare rolled her eyes, looking at the six before her as though they were mere foals. “Don’t you get it?” she chided. “That old man was a pawn; he’s not Shade. I am.” Princess Cadance narrowed her eyes, asking, “Who, or what, are you?” Giving an all-knowing grin, Shade answered, “I’m glad you asked that, princess.” She began to pace around the group before her with her Shadowmares close behind, saying, “I am, for lack of a better word, a mutt. My mother was a simple earth pony. And my dear old dad was a crystal pony. But not just any crystal pony. He was an ambassador…to you, princess.” “What? Impossible. I never...” Cadance began, her voice trailing off as he began to think. “He was sent to Trottingham for a few months. There he met my mother, a few details that I don’t wish to bore you with happened, and voila! I came into existence,” Shade continued quietly. “I was told my mother died during childbirth, so my dad took me in. But of course…having an illegitimate child wouldn’t look too good for one’s image, no? And in this world, image means everything. Isn’t that right, my princess?” She cast a cynical glare at Princess Cadance, who did her best to try and meet her gaze. But the princess couldn’t shake the feeling that she had seen those purple eyes before. Shade continued, “Oh, but don’t think that he didn’t love me because of that. Far from it actually. He worked so hard to make sure I was okay. But while my father tried his best to care for me, there came times when he simply had to do his duties. So when he had to go to the castle, I would be free to wander off into the kingdom. I loved the wilderness, you see. I loved exploring the outskirts of the town, where nopony would be bothered by a little street rat like me.” Suddenly, Braeburn called out defiantly, “Ya mind cuttin’ to the chase?” A mage started to lash out, but the Arch-Mage shot out his hooves to stop it. With a slightly-amused smirk, he stated, “My, you’re quite the impertinent one, aren’t you?” Without warning, the old stallion grabbed Braeburn’s burnt leg and began to twist, causing the cowpony to cry in pain. The Arch-Mage’s face shone with an insidious smile, grinning at Braeburn's pain. But Shade, Cadance noticed, didn’t share the same enjoyment. In fact, she could have sworn she had seen the dark mare wince. Finally, once the Arch-Mage had finished and Braeburn’s groans faded, Shade continued, “But one day, after noticing a tiny alcove of trees, I came across a secret passageway. A passageway that led right underneath the Crystal Castle itself. And so, the basement of the Crystal Castle was my playground, where I could be the closest to my father. After going down there day after day, I soon stumbled across an ancient door. And behind that door…was the key to ultimate power. A book. A book you six know as Umbra Magicae. And this tome seemed to...call me. It was but the first volume, yes. But just looking into the book, the power, the spells…it was all so…invigorating.” The villain closed her eyes, feeling that power flowing through her body once again. “I went down there every day, learning tirelessly the wonders of the shadows. I learned of power most fillies could only dream of. It was the humble beginning to becoming the master of darkness I am today.” With gasp, Cadance finally uttered, “It is you.” The dark mare suddenly looked at Cadance once again, but this time, her purple eyes were burning with hatred. With her voice slowly rising, Shade continued, “But then one day, you and your damned guards had my father arrested. You took my father and me captive, and assigned for us to be executed. Just like that, with no warning or reason, you murdered him. I watched his neck snap in that hang-mare’s noose from this very same building.” “Shade, listen to me,” Cadance tried to say. “My father…he did nothing wrong! And you…you ended his life like he was a dog!” “You have no idea why we executed your father!” “Shut up, you miserable mule!” “That magic twisted your mind to the truth, Shade! Your father was a—” Shade’s hoof suddenly shot out, slapping the princess across her face. Braeburn and Lucky instinctively tried to leap towards the two, but they were halted by the mages and the Shadow holding them back. “You killed him! And then you tried to kill me! But oh, you should have known better than to try and kill a mistress of the dark arts. Using the rather limited skills I had, I escaped your blasted kingdom and sought refuge in Trottingham, all the while planning my revenge. I realized the second volume of Umbra Magicae was located in the Frost Star Sanctuary. Once I got a hold of that, my plan could not be stopped.” Cadance gave a whimper, her face stinging from Shade’s blow. But the princess still stood up strong, never giving way to the fact that she wanted cry out. While she shook off the blow, her enemy continued, “This power that I wield in my hooves…it is unlike anything I've ever felt before. It is the kind of power you fools cannot even hope to understand. You tried to hide it away from the world, keep it stashed deep underground where nopony could see it. But in the end, Cadenza, some things were meant to be unleashed.” She motioned towards a window, which gave way to a black sky. “And that is exactly what I did to your kingdom. And Canterlot, Trottingham, and soon, all of Equestria. My father was worth thousands of your subjects. Consider this…retribution.” “You…how could you do this? You’re the murderer!” Cheerilee yelped. “Silence, worm!” the Arch-Mage shouted angrily, to which the schoolteacher had no choice but to comply. Lucky wanted to defend her, but the swollen area around his horn suddenly started to throb. Through clenched teeth, he asked, “H-How did you know where we were?” The Arch-Mage gave deep chuckle, as though he had been waiting for this moment to come. Giving a nefarious glare at the captives, he replied, “The answer is quite simple. Bring him out.” On cue, two mages appeared from a doorway by the throne, dragging along a ragged figure. His blue shirt had been torn to tatters, revealing cuts and burns all over his skin. His blue mane was messy, tangled, and seemed to have clumps torn away. The same restraint around Cadance’s wings was surrounding his wings too. His tired appearance certainly paid no homage to the winged lightning bolt emblazoned on his flank. He looked up at the six before him, a task which was almost too much for his aching body. With tears in his eyes, Soarin muttered, “I’m…I’m sorry.” The mages threw him on the floor, at the hooves of Scootaloo. But to the others’ surprise, the filly didn’t even seem to notice their friend lying on the ground. Cheerilee cried, “What did you do to him?” “Ah yes, your friend Soarin. He was a little experiment of mine, on a spell that I’ve been conjuring for quite some time. It’s amazing what a bit of magical persuasion can do to a stallion. That fool tried to take us on by himself, back when you infiltrated our sanctuary. That was when we…implanted him.” “You brainwashed him,” Lucky whispered. “I suppose you could call it that. At night, it was as simple as a tiny spell, a summons if you will, and Soarin would report back to us. Then he’d go back, and when he’d wake up in the morning, he would have no idea what he just did. Your friend here was like a moving surveillance cam. He provided us your position everywhere you went. Once we heard you were going to Trottingham, Shade placed herself in that shack to throw you off. We probably would have nabbed you then, if those thugs hadn’t run you out of there first.” “Wait…but you told us the thief ran away before you could figure out what the book was about,” Braeburn said. “Well obviously if you had known the truth, you wouldn’t be in this predicament, would you?” the Arch-Mage replied, as though he were scolding a foal. Giving the cynical chuckle, Shade added, “Looks like your instincts failed you this time, Braeburn. It’s a shame. Perhaps you could have stopped this.” Braeburn lowered his head with a frown, her words lingering in his ears. Cadance saw this too, and she told him, “She’s only trying to get into your head, Braeburn. Don’t listen!” Suddenly she received another slap across the face by the Arch-Mage, who said scowling, “Stay quiet, worm, if you know what’s good for you. You see, Ms. Shade did come in for the book. However, when we found her, she told us of her plan. In exchange for our help in capturing you, she will allow us Frost Mages to fight alongside her in the new world. We shall live in the darkness, just as our ancestors wished! Together, we will conquer all of Equestria!” Suddenly, Shade’s purple eyes flicked over to the old mage, a menacing eyebrow raised ever-so-slightly. “Together? Tsk-tsk, I thought you knew me better than that.” “What do you mean?” “I said I would let your little mages in on things. But that agreement…didn’t include you.” Without warning, dark tendrils rose up from beneath the mages’ hooves. Before they could even react, the underlings were gulped up and disappeared from sight, leaving the Arch-Mage to cast spasmodic glances around the room. With his minions replaced by Shadowmares, the mage’s eyes began to widen as Shade slowly began to approach. He let out a grunt as he tried to back away, only to be snared by the tendrils forming beneath him. The trembling stallion let out an erratic bolt of electricity at the mare, only for it to be blocked by her own dark magic. It would be the only attack the old mage would be able to launch, for soon the Shadow had swarmed over his body, leaving only his face uncovered. His hood was pulled back to reveal the wrinkled face of an elderly, weak stallion. His mouth was pulled back into a grimace, and his eyes seemed to bulge out of his sockets. The Arch-Mage stuttered meekly, “But we…we had a deal!” “Yes we did, and I intend to follow through with it. Your Frost Stars will fight for me…as part of my Shadowmares,” Shade answered, staring coldly into the former-ally’s terrified eyes. She stamped her hoof, and the mage let out cries as black tendrils started to wrap around his face. “I’ve never liked you. Brutal, rough, hot-tempered, unsophisticated…” A crack pierced the air, sending a horrible chill through each of the captives. The mage sunk into the shadowy blob and into the floor, his limp head cocked in an unnatural angle. Shade uttered icily, “And…expendable.” Then with a wave of her hoof, she commanded, “Shadowmares! Take the six to the dungeon. And leave Cadance to me.” Her newest minions forced the rag-tag group away to the dungeon, prodding them and pushing them with their dark tentacles. Soarin stumbled along, unable to even walk without Cheerilee’s assistance. The same blank stare persisted on both Redheart’s and Scootaloo’s face. And Braeburn and Lucky, normally the strongest ones of the group, had their heads held low, dragging their hooves along the ground. Soon, it was only Shade and Cadance, who stood rigidly after what she had just witnessed. The princess breathed heavily, trying to tell herself that she wouldn’t be the next one to be swallowed up just like the old mage. But to her surprise, Shade simply walked towards a window, paying no heed to her captive. She cast her gaze upon the once-shining Crystal Kingdom, now transformed into a gloomy, barren wasteland. She cast a sullen eye beyond the city walls, towards the darkness extending far past the horizon, knowing that all of it was hers. And to this, Shade could only glower at it, letting out a long, tired sigh. All of it was now her kingdom. Her bleak kingdom. “Why don’t you just kill me now?” The question was sudden, bringing Shade back to the task at hand. Her new kingdom would have to wait. For when the dark mare turned around to see her enemy defeated and worn, her purple eyes began to burn once more. “Because Mi Amore Cadenza,” Shade uttered, slinking towards her prisoner like a snake. With her striking eyes narrowed to slits and her mouth pulled into a poisonous scowl, she hissed, “I want you to watch as your world crumbles, just as I watched mine. I want you to suffer the bitter agony of losing the ponies you love, the cruel sting of being utterly…alone. And when your soul is shattered…then I will kill you.