Published August 22nd, 2013
Chapter twenty-one: Snowblind
Dark Lance trudged through the snow, the ponies he had brought with him huddling behind him to try and keep warm. It worked somewhat, as Lance had increased his heater components, and flared his wings out to block some of the unrelenting wind that buffeted them with all the storm's might. From the back of the group, where it was coldest, he heard Shining Armor call out.
"Lance! How much further is it? I don't think we can keep this up much longer!" The Autobot checked his map, and pointed to a mound of snow in front of them.
"We should be able to see it from the top of that hill! Come on, we need to find out what's going on over there!" He continued on, shoving the snow out of the way so the others would have an easier time. The rest of his team had stayed behind, partially to teach Firefall the basics and partially to keep an optic on the Decepticons, but the discovery that the Energon wave which had put them all into stasis lock had come from so far north needed investigation. After informing the princesses, Celestia had agreed and sent Shining Armor, as well as several others, with him to find out what had caused the surge. As they neared the hill that would show them their destination, Dark Lance began detecting spikes in Energon readings, and the sky was lit from below by an uncharacteristic, undulating glow. He pushed on anyway, and when he got to the top, he couldn't believe what he saw. Sitting in the middle of the storm, completely free of snow, was a huge, sparkling city. The buildings at the edge were fairly low, but they built up as they went inward, toward a massive, crystalline tower in the center. The rest of the group gathered around him, and various exclamations were made pertaining to the incredible sight. Lance was distracted from the view, however, when his sensors picked up a large reading to his left. Looking over, he saw a massive cloud of black smoke rising and swirling, giving no heed to the howling wind that blew past it ineffectually.
"Guys, we have a problem." He pointed a hoof at the cloud, and everyone in the group jumped back in surprise. The cloud grew large, shadowy tendrils that began moving toward them, and the reading in Lance's vision started increasing. "We need to move. Now."
"Where are we gonna go?" One of the others asked fearfully. He was instead answered by Shining.
"There." He pointed a hoof at the city, and the rest quickly followed him as he ran down the hill. Lance flew above them, occasionally glancing back to see the cloud moving towards them, though it now had a new feature: two evil-looking eyes peered out at them from the gloom, and that was all the evidence the Autobot needed to confirm there was ill intent behind this shadowy mass. As he came closer towards the town, though, he realized that it wasn't just decorated heavily, but the entire thing was actually made completely of crystals! He double-checked his readings, and found that these crystals were, in fact, stable Energon, just like the ravine Fireburst had discovered. He landed in front of the group, and called out to the captain.
"Shining! These are stable Energon crystals! You should be able to use them like a battery to supercharge your barrier!"
"Good idea! Everyone, get onto the crystal!" The white unicorn charged his horn, and as soon as the rest of the group was over the threshold, he sent his spell through the ground, using the huge stores of energy therein to create a massive, pink bubble over the entire city. The cloud of shadows hurled itself at the translucent barrier, and smashed against it, though it wasn't able to enter. The cloud thrashed at the shield for a few seconds before pulling back and coalescing once more. The eyes appeared again, but this time a voice came with them.
"Cccrrrryyysssssssstaaaallllsssssss." The hissing sound sent chills down the spines of all present, and even Lance shivered involuntarily a little. Without warning, the cloud sped away, snaking through the blizzard and disappearing behind a snow mound.
"What the hay was THAT!?" One of the ponies shouted.
"I don't know..." Shining admitted with a note of fear.
"But I do." The whole group turned towards Dark Lance for an explanation, and most of them couldn't help but worry at the grim expression he wore. "It was Dark Energon. Something that shouldn't be here. And something that certainly isn't capable of conscious thought. It must have something to do with the way your species processes Energon radiation. Maybe darker emotions. Or-"
"Hold on!" The Autobot snapped out of his musing at Shining Armor's voice. "What are you talking about? Dark Energon? What does that even mean?"
"Ah, right, sorry. I've explained how Energon works several times before, so I sometimes forget when I haven't explained it yet. You already know that the crystals of this world are raw, naturally occurring Energon, which emits radiation capable of putting me and my crew into our version of a coma, yes?" Nods came from the ponies present. "And you know that refined Energon is what we use to power ourselves, and our equipment, right?" More nods. "Well, Dark Energon is the antithesis of regular Energon. It surrounds, destroys, and consumes anything it comes into contact with like a virus. Back on Cybertron, there was a secret orbital research facility capable of manufacturing it for research purposes, but the origin of Dark Energon is far more sinister. It is the blood of Unicron, the Devourer of Worlds." Looks of fear showed on the faces of the ponies, and Dark Lance waved a hoof. "Don't worry, he's safely slumbering in the core of another planet, sealed there by our creator, Primus, and returned to stasis lock by our leader, Optimus Prime. Which is why I'm worried that there's Dark Energon here. We need to find out more about this place." He turned around and stood still a moment. "Like why there isn't anyone walking around outside."
As the group wandered through the streets, Dark Lance could hear sounds coming from the buildings as they passed. Hushed whispers and quiet murmurs. Some of them sounded hopeful, but most sounded afraid. After a few minutes, and a couple of tries at getting answers from the hidden inhabitants, they all decided that the tower in the center was their best chance to find information. Inside, the place was deserted. It looked like it had been cleaned recently, but at the same time like no one had been there for some time. Eventually they found themselves in a small study-like room, and after checking several of the books on the shelves, found one that seemed more personal. It turned out to be a diary, and reading the last entry gave them insight as to what had happened.
*I like to think of myself as a good ruler. I like to think of myself as kind, and fair. But perhaps I have become complacent therein. Sombra's dark, twisted creations have overtaken everything else I worked so hard for, and even now I can hear the fighting outside. This last bastion of light will soon fall to his evil, and even I am powerless to stop him. My only hope is that my daughter might carry on, and one day my descendants shall retake and rebuild this place. But for now, Celestia and her sister can do no more than come here, and seal us away along with Sombra himself. To think that such a bright mind as his could turn so wicked, I would have never believed. But such shall be my undoing, I suppose. To any who find this, and have heart, I implore you; save my subjects, though it is too late for me. They deserve happy lives, and are free of the evil deeds I once knew. Rebuild what you can, and let them revel in life. I can do no more for them now.
King Crystal Spark*
"That's rather illuminating." Dark Lance commented as he rubbed his chin in thought. The youngest of their group looked at him like he had gone crazy.
"What?! That didn't tell us anything! How does this help us at all?!" Dark Lance grinned knowingly.
"Actually, it told us a good deal. We know that we don't have anything to fear from the inhabitants, we know that Celestia and Luna came here before and probably know what happened in greater detail, but most importantly, this journal tells us two things. The first is that the cloud of Dark Energon we encountered earlier was probably created by this 'Sombra', though how he created it has yet to be determined. The second is that there is most likely a living heir to the throne, which means the government should be able to be reinstated once we get rid of the Dark Energon influence. We need to contact the princesses about this. Now."
They had returned to the city's border fast enough, and on the way Dark Lance had come up with a plan he found satisfactory.
"Alright, here's what we're going to do: First, we lure it over. It's attracted to the crystals, which means it's attracted to Energon, so I'll lead it away once I've got its attention. When it gets far enough from the rest of you, one of you will go out, and run back to the train station. Then get back to the Princesses, and find out what's going on. Everyone clear on this?" They all nodded. "Good. Now, we just need a volunteer. Any takers?" There was some unsure shuffling, before a pegasus stepped forward.
"I'll go. I'm the fastest one here, and I'm better suited to the cold than an earth pony or unicorn. I'll have a better chance of getting away than anypony else." Dark Lance nodded, then turned back to look out at the tundra.
"Alright, that's settled, then. Now we just need to get that thing to show up so I can make sure it's occupied." They started spreading out along the perimeter, and soon the shadowy mass was one more attempting to gain entrance. Dark Lance and a couple of the others tried to get it to follow them, but unsuccessfully. After regrouping, he decided to go with a somewhat riskier option. "Shining, open the barrier a little. Not much, just enough for me to step out for a moment." Shining Armor gave him a worried look, but the hard stare he received in return convinced him to do as was requested. He closed his eyes in concentration for a few seconds, before a small hole opened in the pink wall of energy. The Autobot commander stepped out, and set his sensors to maximum sensitivity. He wasn't waiting long, though, before his sensors spiked, and he saw the cloud once more rise from the snow nearby.
"Keep the hole open! As soon as I leave your sightline, head for the train station. I'll do a lap around the city, then come back in. That should give you more than enough time to get away." He took off as he spoke, and flew away when he finished, dodging the black tendrils as the cloud chased him. The pegasus waited for him to get around the edge of the barrier, where he couldn't be seen, then took off, madly flapping his wings as he dashed for the train station. A minute or two later, the rest of them saw Dark Lance come around the opposite side of the city, with the shadowy cloud following closely along the ground. Lance put on a final burst of speed, and flew through the opening in the shield, allowing Shining armor to close it once more and deny the cloud entrance. It hissed at them as it searched fruitlessly against the shield for a weakness, but gave up after a few seconds and returned to hiding underneath the snow. Dark Lance looked out at the frozen wasteland beyond the shield, considering the possibilities of what could happen here, and abruptly turned back to the city itself.
"Okay. Let's see what else we can find in that tower. There may be more that can help fight whatever that thing is."