Once Beyond the Gates

by Quill Scribe

Failure

I really have the worst luck.

A deafening roar shook the very ground we stood on as the shield rang out for the second time. Cracks began to run along its surface. Long Shot whirled around wordlessly and took flight towards the fortress battlements. I followed closely next to him.

We landed on the battlements among the other guards. Everypony stood in a shocked silence, staring at the beast before us.

The dragon was massive; easily large enough to eat a pony in a bite or two. Its scales were chipped and scuffed. It's wings tattered and useless. We could nearly see its ribs through its scales. The most striking feature was its hollow, milky eyes.

"What in Equestria happened to it?" Somepony to my left gasped.

It's feral.

Now, dragons are well known to be a sentient species. Most are quite intelligent. Their lifespans grant them untold amounts of time to acquire knowledge. This one in particular however, had no sign of thought behind its dull eyes. Whatever had tortured it had taken away all of its free will.

I reluctantly turned away from Long Shot and looked around the fort. Ponies were scattering towards their battle stations. Unicorns began reinforcing the shield, pegasi and earth ponies were arming the ballistas. The dragon struck the barrier again with its massive clawed fists. Its roar of frustration shook the buildings inside the fort's walls.

"Long Shot, get the girls out of here; as far away as you can." I said evenly, my eyes locked onto the feral dragon.

"What about you?" He said, face etched with worry.

"That shield won't hold for long. I've got to do something. Once I engage the dragon I'll be able to buy you about twenty minutes at the most."

I turned to him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Stay safe. Now go!" I shouted as I pushed him away and launched myself towards the tower.

I scanned the tower for a few moments until I spotted my target. I landed in between Barricade and Shining Armor.

"Civilian! I thought I told that guard to put you and your friends in the barracks." Barricade growled in annoyance.

I waved my hoof dismissively. "Please, like you would waste guards on us during a battle. I just walked right out. Now be quiet and listen. We all know that shield won't hold much longer. You need to evacuate. Have the unicorns pour more magic into the shield and give the order. I'll buy you time."

"And how do you propose to do that civy? You weren't exactly graceful under pressure out there." Barricade countered.

"Simple. I've been holding something back... You have twenty minutes."

I took off towards the apex of the dome. My horn shone brightly as I brought a spell circle to mind. The barrier rippled as I passed through it; the hairs of my coat stood on end. I swerved through the air towards the massive reptile.

The dragon roared fiercely as it struck the barrier again. The force of its roar gave me pause. Unfortunately, it was just enough pause to let the dragon notice me. Its gaze fixed on me and it opened its massive jaws; an orange glow rose from deep within its throat.

Now you fool!

I pushed the spell circle in my mind into my horn, following it with as much magical power as I could muster. My horn glowed in anticipation of the spells release; a bright silvery halo of light surrounded the tip.

Fire erupted from the dragon's maw, roiling as it blew through the air. It had barely passed its teeth when I released the hold on my spell.

Silver light lanced through the air between my horn and the dragon's mouth. The beam of telekinetic force blasted away the flames and struck the dragon squarely in its cheek. It splashed against the dragon's scales, knocking a few loose, but having no other noticeable effect. The dragon roared and loosed another gout of flame at me. I barely threw up my barrier in time.

Stupid! How could I forget dragons are resistant to magic!

I swerved away from the beast, just in time for me to see its massive clawed hand sweeping towards me. It impacted my already strained shield, shattering it utterly. In the precious milliseconds before impact I released the next set of seals on my harness. I grimaced in pain. My body felt as though my veins carried lava instead of blood from the magic of the three races traced its way through me.

That's seal four. Ten minutes left now.

I was mercilessly slapped into the ground by the multi-ton reptile; its hand pressing me into the loose, wet earth. I grunted in pain as the air was knocked out of me. I felt something crack and it became difficult to breathe.

"Sigil! No!" I heard somepony scream.

Long Shot... I told you to get out of there!

You know how much he cares about you. Did you really think he'd listen?

The dragon took its weight off of me. I could feel the ground shake as it lumbered back towards the fort. There was a loud whine of something speeding through the air. Suddenly, a bright flash lit up its right wing at the joint. It reared back, roaring in pain, its already damaged wing hanging at an odd angle.

I projected my voice across the battlefield. "Long Shot! Get your feathery flank out of here!"

He looked at me in wide-eyed disbelief before diving off of the battlement and back into the fort.

Alright, at least projectiles have some effect. Maybe if I...

I sat up and glanced around the battlefield. I spotted some debris from the fallen siege ladders and hefted three broken metal poles with my magic. I called a spell into my mind and launched myself into the air towards the dragon.

"I'm not through with you yet, you overgrown iguana!"

The dragon turned to me just as I finished my spell. The three makeshift javelins soared through the air like lightning, driven by the force of my enhanced magic. One missed entirely. The other two found homes lodged in the base of its left wing and the hinge of its jaw respectively.

I smirked, allowing myself a split second to gloat, just before its tail swept into me. I was sent reeling into Shining Armor's barrier and another rib crack upon impact. I barely felt it at this point. The adrenaline and earth pony magic that coursed through me increased my durability and deadened the pain.

We need a plan... At your strength magic won't do much, and our body won't last long. We can't keep this up forever.

I looked feverishly around for a idea while desperately weaving around the dragon's flames and physical blows. My flagging stamina finally caught up with me, and I was launched skyward by the beasts flailing tail.

I whipped wildly towards the abnormally low level storm clouds over the battlefield. Lightning flashed and crackled among them, arcing downwards to strike the shield around the fort.

I need lots of power to take this thing out... That's it!

I hid among the cloud-cover as I scanned through my memories of the spell books at the school's library. This was one of the times I was grateful for my memory. There was no single spell I could call on to do the job, but I did find pieces of three that would do the job if used in concert.

My horn glowed softly as a small spherical shield popped into existence nearby. The charged clouds nearby immediately began discharging their lightning at it, the magic acting as a lightning rod.

The glow from my horn increased in intensity. The shield sphere became etched with two spell circles. The lightning rained down into it, dissipating into the outer circle. Each time it did so the inner circle glowed, releasing a small glow inside the shield. I ran through a list in my head.

Shield sphere... Check.

Kinetic energy siphon... Check.

Potential energy conversion seal... Close enough.

I tucked and weaved around the battlefield, avoiding the dragon's attempts to catch, squash, or burn me. The self-perpetuating sphere trailed above me in the clouds, gathering the energy of the storm, shining brighter and brighter. My skull pounded and my body ached from the amount of magic I was pumping through my horn and ley lines.

Eight minutes... Make this quick...

I did a quick flyover of the fort. The shield fell as I watched Barricade carrying the last unicorn away towards Stalliongrad.

The dragon vented its frustrations on the abandoned fort, bursting through walls and toppling the central tower. The wind whipped around me as I dove towards the massive reptile. I came to a hovering stop a hundred meters above its head and heaved the crackling sphere down towards it, grunting with the effort.

It's time I put you out of your misery, you poor creature.

The dragon roared, breathing another gout of flames towards me. I was too far away, the flames dissipated before they could reach me. I poured as much magic as I could muster into a barrier around myself, my horn sparking and sputtering, as the sphere hit the ground at the dragon's feet.

Light flared as soon as it hit the ground. The spells that made it up failed, releasing a spectacular burst of energy. An ever growing, swirling sphere of light and force expanded from it, quickly enveloping the fort. The dragon roared in anguish as its scales were blown off and its flesh burned away.

I didn't have time to mourn for the unfortunate creature. My shield was buffeted by a wall of displaced air and debris before being impacted by the torrent of energy. I was fully enveloped by it. My shield began to chip and crack as I lost control and plummeted towards the ground.

After several seconds the sphere contracted and disappeared, revealing a crater where the fort once stood. When I hit the ground my shield failed. I lay there among the falling debris for several moments; my body smoking and my skull aching.

The sounds of a pony's hoofsteps drew my attention as I stood. A midnight blue unicorn walked calmly towards me, a black pendant jangling around her neck.

The Alicorn Amulet!

"I don't believe it. You actually managed to take out my dear little pet?! I'll make you suffer for your insolence before I hand you over to my lord."

Three minutes.

I stood shakily before her, my horn sparking as I tried to gather my strength into it. She laughed as I struggled and slapped me to the ground with a telekinetic blast of red magic.

"What's the matter little mare? All out of juice? Here, have some of mine!" She sneered.

A beam of force projected out of her horn and sent me skidding along the ground. I cried out as I felt it sear into my side and shatter a third rib. She laughed as she walked towards me again.

"So weak! I'll never understand why our lord values you so much. I should've been the one to receive his gift! Me!"

She manifested her frustration in the form of a miniature tornado. It lifted me up and tossed me to the ground in front of her. I groaned as the impact shook my aching head.

"Why... Won't... You... Just... Die!?"

With every word she slammed me into the ground with a telekinetic hammer.

One minute.

I released the fifth seal on my harness. My throat rubbed raw from the scream that escaped my lips as the magic strained my ley lines to their limits. I stood, the earth pony magic pushing the pain from my body. Silvery sparks poured out of my horn. My skull felt as though it would split straight down the middle.

"There's a major difference between you and I. Two actually." I spoke with an impassive tone.

"How are you-?" She appeared startled by my sudden resurgence.

My wings flared and I surged forward through her magic. She attempted to put up a barrier, but I smashed my way through it. I landed on top of her, pushing her to the ground.

"See, I've got more than just simple unicorn magic. I memorized every spell I've come across. That includes the ones they don't want the general populace to see!"

Thirty seconds! Stop gloating and finish her!

I forced a spell through my aching horn. A beam of force, silver light and waves of sound struck the pinned unicorn squarely in the face. She screamed in agony as the magic washed over her. Her horn snapped in half from the impact of the spell.

My balance wavered. I tipped over onto my side, my stamina spent. I could feel the faint pull of the gate at the edges of my consciousness.

"What did you do to me!? Why can't I see!? Why can't I hear!?" She panicked and flailed around helplessly.

"Useless foal..."

I didn't see the ashen gray unicorn approach until I was already held down by his dark purple magic. I heard a pained scream that was cut short as he projected a dark blast from his wickedly curved horn. The unicorn with the amulet dropped lifelessly to the ground.

He turned his attention down to me. His red and green eyes glowing with menace. A darkness, the same color as his magic, streamed out of the corners of them like smoke.

"Why hello subject forty two. So good of you to come home. Shall we get... Reacquainted?" He growled, wearing a menacing smile.

The darkness closed in on me as he lifted my broken body into the air and carried me off.

As my consciousness returned, I partially opened my eyes to darkness and the gentle hum of machinery. I gave them a moment to adjust before opening them fully, taking stock of my surroundings.

I was outside in a courtyard of some kind. Those loyalist ponies were everywhere. They had me hooked up to several machines. Three appeared to be variations of thaumameters. While I couldn't quite place the last one, it appeared rather menacing, shadowy crystals dotted its surface.

"Is the subject secured?" A unicorn sitting at a control panel asked.

A pegasus walked over to the glass tube I sat in and stared at me for a few moments.

"Yes sir, the horn limiter is in place and all the siphons are connected securely."

"Good. Now we just wait for his lordship and the anomaly to arrive. Get the others and prepare the other chamber." The unicorn stated, looking back over the glowing crystals of the control panel.

I struggled for a few minutes, but learned quickly. That that earned me a stunning spell. After an hour or two, I couldn't be sure exactly, several battered unicorns entered the room with a platform. On the platform lay something I'd only seen in my visions.

I was really hoping it was my imagination, or a metaphor for something.

The beast lay on the platform, chained down and muzzled by shadows. It looked around the room warily until its eyes fell upon me. From that moment onward its eyes were locked on mine, never looking away.

Several of the unicorns lowered a glass chamber over it, one very similar to mine, and began connecting it to the unidentifiable apparatus.

Just then the ashen gray unicorn walked into the room. He surveyed the scene and smiled an unsettling smile.

"Are the preparations complete?" He asked in his gravelly voice.

"Yes my lord. We are ready to begin harvesting on your signal." A pegasus answered.

"Excellent." He turned his attention to me.

"So, subject forty two, I'm very glad you could join us. We used a lot of our resources on you. It would be a shame for our preparations to have gone to waste."

I glared at him. "Who are you ponies? What is your 'Somber Loyalist' group going to do to me?"

He laughed. It may have been mirthful, but it still sent shivers down my spine. I began trying to find a weakness in my prison, but my magic just wouldn't manifest outside of myself.

"Oh my dear subject forty two, that's what they've been calling us? I suppose I'm not surprised they've forgotten me, it has been over a thousand years after all. No, our group has no name. You will, however, address me properly."

He glowered in my direction, snarling at me with a powerful face of domination and shouted, "I am your lord and master now, you pitiful slave! King Sombra!" He emphasized his words with a shock spell that sent my head spinning.

"King Somberly?" I smirked defiantly.

He snarled and blasted me again. The hairs of my coat stood on end as the energy washed over me.

"King Songbird?"

Another blast struck me. I felt my consciousness slip for a moment.

"King Sombrero?"

I laughed as he roared in frustration. The fourth shock from his magic stripped away the last shreds of consciousness from me.

My head pounded like a minotaur was dancing a jig on my horn. I groaned in pain and opened my eyes.

"Ah good, the insolent slave is awake again. Good news! I have some gifts for you!" King Sombra sneered.

I sure don't like the sound of that.

"First, you get to witness the birth of a new god! You see, I had originally planned on making you my vessel. Oh how the best laid plans change though. I had no idea that awakening your connection to the gate would release such a... Destructive creature." He gestured towards the chained beast.

"He's been somewhat of a nuisance, drawing attention where I'd rather not have it. Destroying villages, aggravating the dragons and gryphons. Oh imagine how happy they will be after I've ascended to the throne and show them how I've eliminated 'Celestia's secret weapon'."

I raised an eyebrow at him incredulously at his mention of the princess.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Don't give me that look. You have no idea what your dear princess is capable of. I'd say you should ask her yourself, if I expected you to survive what I have in store for you."

King Sombra stepped into a spell circle on the floor at the center of all the equipment. He steadied himself as a glass tube was lowered over him.

"Begin the transfer process."

The unicorn at the control panel nodded dutifully and began projecting raw magic into the crystals on the device. The thaumameters came to life and the large crystals on the unidentifiable device began to glow with a dark purple light.

Sombra's form began to twist and warp, shadows streamed off of him and into the air in the tube. As the shadows pulled away from his body they revealed the pony he had been possessing. The gaunt, broken creature lay on the cold stone, breathing faintly.

The shadows were carried off by the tubes connecting it to the unidentified machine. Moments later they were shunted into the prison containing the beast. It roared in anger as the shadowy smoke seeped into its eyes and ears, between every scale, through every pore and follicle.

Just as quickly as it began, it was over. The machinery stood silent, the ponies held their breaths in anticipation.

The creature's body spasmed. Scales and blood burst off of its forehead as a wickedly curved unicorn horn burst forth. Blood red pupils swirled into being in its eyes, while the whites became a sickly green that exuded dark purple magic. It's scales lightened in color to an ashen grey, while its mane remained a dull coal. It got easily to its feet.

"Behold, my ponies, your new deity! Sombra, the God King!" His growling voice was enhanced to a near deafening level.

"And now, my dear subject forty two, we begin the next phase of my plan." He nodded to the unicorn at the control panel again. I felt something tug at me, at my magic, pulling it away from me bit by bit."

"Once we have enough, begin the ceremony. I don't want to wait to see my beloved once more."

The needles on the thaumameters rose higher and higher as my magic was siphoned away. The crystals on the device began to glow with a silvery light. I began to feel very weak, like a great weight had been placed on my back.

As he was leaving the room, Sombra motioned to a pony at the door and turned to me. "How could I forget your second gift! How thoughtless, you must forgive me. As you can see, I'm not myself at the moment."

The pony left and re-entered a moment later, gingerly carrying a white satin cloth. As he got closer I could see that it was stained with splotchy red patches. The pony looked away, as though she was going to be sick, and unfolded the cloth.

"I do hope you like them. After your little coltfriend came to your rescue I had to... Educate him on the finer points of being a good subject. Sadly not all ponies are hearty enough to survive the process. So I thought you might like something to remember him by!" Sombra laughed sinisterly as he exited the room.

No... Please, Celesita no.

I looked down at the blood stained cloth laid out before me. I felt sick. My heart shattered in my chest. My hooves and horn scraped against my glass prison, desperately trying to reach what lay on top of the unfolded cloth.

"Please just let me see him! Just once more!" I screamed.

Those beautiful maroon wings, severed from the pony they belonged to. The wonderful pony who had breached my defenses so utterly and stolen my heart.

Hot tears poured down my cheeks as I screamed out my pain and rage. My throat ran raw, flecks of blood staining the glass wall of my prison. I felt something yank hard on my consciousness, drawing my mind through a white void.

There isn't much time left. Come to me. Set me free.