//------------------------------// // The Catalyst // Story: Child of the Dark // by Ocean Heart //------------------------------// Dusty woke up slowly; his bed sheets sticking to him from sweat and his eyes heavy with dark rings under them. Groaning as he rolled off the bed and landed on the floor with a thud, his body still numb but the light from the window sure burned his eyes. Dusty wandered into the bathroom and managed to get his head under the water of the sink, the cool flow sinking deep in his dark, thick fur and washing away the stiffness of his bedhead. "What happened last night..." "Dusty?" The colt turned around, so tired he nearly hit the wall walking out of the bathroom. "Yea, Dad?" His eyes shot open...Head lifting up and looking around the room faster than he though possible. Dusty picked up the cape off the bed slowly and tied it around his neck, constantly looking around for the source of the voice; wondering why he called it Dad... A much softer voice came from his door, a soft knocking following it. "Dusty Armor? I need to talk to you." The door opened and Twilight lingered in the doorway hesitantly. Spike didn't need to tell her what happened this morning, she knew as soon as she checked for the gift from Princess Celestia. "I know you were sneaking around the west wing last night. I'm not mad...its just your nature to be curious. Though there was something missing when I went to get it this morning." Dusty was far to exhausted to think straight, but his instincts told him punishment was coming for breaking the rules... Twilight looked around and caught the gleam of silver under his comic books, the crown was lifted in the air and dropped between them..Twilight sat down and Dusty rubbed his head, the crown agitating his headache further. "This crown once belonged to a very powerful king. Long ago he wore this as he ruled the Crystal Empire and committed countless crimes against Princess Celestia and his own subjects." Dusty leaned in curiously, ignoring the pain. "He was so powerful that it took every bit of strength between Princess Celestia, Luna and myself to finally end his reign...Long ago there was a time we though he was no more, things were normal. Until the Empire returned-" "You told me the story before, Mom, whats this king got to do with me?" Twilight thought that there was no real way of saying it easily... "I never told you about the treacherous King of the Crystal Empire, King Sombra." Dusk.... The colt looked down at the crown, head tilted and a little afraid of the inanimate object. "King Sombra was a monster. Though after being defeated, he had returned...seeking to reform himself. Though the way he approached me about it was...He gave me a long lost book and even had dinner with his worst enemy to show his faith. Sombra and I were practically marefriend and coltfriend, even aunt Cadence saw the spark between us...all of it just a thick web of lies that I feel into willingly. After time he did begin to change; he was sweet...gentle...we even began to think of...possibilities like you." 'It felt so real...' Twilight thought The colt thought about it and his face went stark red, wanting to beat his head into a wall in embarrassment; Twilight just laughed quietly, seeming very strained. "But his plan was still the ultimate goal, even if I could turn him to good, his anger would always drag him back to darkness." "So...Flash Sentry was just made up?" Twilight nodded, the colt looking at the jagged crown...not a single idea of what to think. Dusty remembered the window in the throne room and he put a name to that malicious face made of darkness and eyes red like blood. "And my dad was an evil king..." Twilight walked behind Dusty Armor, wrapping him in soft purple wings and holding him tightly...tears running down her face. "When your father passed...I mourned for days...weeks and months. Then something miraculous happened..." "What?" She kissed him on the head, Twilight couldn't help but feel better now that he knew the truth. "You came along. You filled this castle with laughter and excitement for the both of us...You saved me, little Dusty Armor saved the great and powerful Princess Twilight Sparkle." Dusty turned around, burying his head in purple fur and sniffling. Twilight felt his body shaking and she lifted the crown away and set it on the desk. "B-but....if he was evil...t-that means I could be evil too!" Twilight did what she could to project her comforting presence, wings wrapping around him completely and arms holding her colt tightly, Twilight felt her fur dampen with tears. "That will never happen...not as long as I'm around." They stayed like this for a while, Twilight didn't need to guess that the crown had an effect on him. The bloodshot eyes, the smell of sweat from forgotten night terrors...This was more than he could handle and Twilight wasn't as sure as her teacher that the silver had been cleansed. "If...If its okay, I wanna go to the woods..." Twilight nodded, letting him have some time alone to think, hoping that if he needed her he would come back and talk rather than keep it bottled up. The colt took off the cape and draped it over his bed and giving one last glance at the crown before turning the corner for the stairs. Twilight sighed and lowered her head; thinking about what state Dusky might come back in, she just hoped he would come back. Walking slowly to the crown and examining it carefully.... "...Why did you have to leave us like this...Why couldn't you stop..." She lifted the silver memory in the air and took it back to the study. Locking it in a secure cabinet, the door closing and leaving no trace of its existence. A knock on the door echoed through the empty halls, Twilight's eyes widened; running for the foyer. Dusty walked slowly though the forest, kicking a rock occasionally while he listened to the songs of the birds. The forest seemed different to him, like there were more shadowy nooks and crooked trees hovering over him. As he walked deeper the light became more scarce until he entered a open area, light pouring in and the sound of a stream flowing gave it a more peaceful feeling. Dusty sat down, letting out a deep breath to calm his thoughts. From the small conversation he gathered about his father, he seemed to be everything his mother taught him not to be. Yet she defended him; he heard it in her voice that Sombra still was in her heart some way after all this time. "Kind...gentle?" The wind picked up a little, a bird flying overhead and singing though the clearing "And Flash Sentry...a lie..?" Being around Guardsmen so much he came to admire the job, risking your life for others on a constant basis but still having a personal life full of fun and friends. Now his father was and is a twisted King of torment...Dusty wondered what his father hoped to achieve if the lie went so deep... "Sombra..." A gust of wind caught his attention and when he looked over at the stream he saw his mother... "Wha...?" A figure joined her, his mane pure black and eyes bright red. No armor or crown, just a black scarf. The stallion looked kind but intimidating. Dusty watched them talk but he couldn't hear, eventually she started crying. Just seeing this alone put Dusty off but he couldn't help but feel as if something was..out of place. "I can take you away from here..." Dusty looked around and spotted another vision of his mother...this time she was sitting with the dark maned pony. She nuzzled against him while he simply smiled a little disconcertingly. "Has it not been clear that I wanted to take you in to protect you from those who would harm you?" Dusty looked to yet another glimpse of the past. Both of them were laying on the ground pointing at the sky. More and more visions kept popping up, every time his mother seemed so happy, the figure just as happy yet...something about him made Dusty get up and start to panic. "I don't care what you have done. I still love you, Twilight." "I don't understand! Make it stop!" Darkness lingered around his legs, eyes a slight green color under the purple and the visions ended...save one. The figure was on the ground with his mother crying over him... "I think I love you too, Sombra, Please...don't let me go..." Twilight said...her voice echoed through the trees. Dusty stomped on the ground, the last vision fading as the Dark King walked though it; dominated the clearing. Clearly staring right at Dusty. Dusty backed up, eyes turning more green by the second and his fear turning to anger slowly. The ground around the ghost died, walking forward and over the stream like it wasn't there. Dusty backed up more and bumped into a tree, he turned around and tried to find a way out but the darkness covered every gap and escape between the thick woods; when he turned around Sombra was only an arms length away... "Please go away...." Sombra didn't move, just smiling down confidently at his young colt. The fear and confusion sent Dusty into rage; he felt a surge of power worked up from the stress flow though his body and in an instant a black ball surrounded by bright electricity formed on his horn. "Go away!" The dark magic was loosed into Sombra's chest, the visage exploded into black smoke and vanished into the ground like a heavy mist settling in the grass. The energy crashed into a tree far past where Sombra stood, sending splinters flying and the tree torn at the base as if struck by a wild animal of massive proportions. The tree crashed to the ground and a flock of birds were sent airborne to avoid the crash. Dusty was panting from the effort, glad to just to be alone once again. "Thank you..." A bright flash blinded him for a moment and he felt something change. Rubbing his head and searching for the source of the weird feeling...diamond crystals surrounding a black star with a fiery light outlining it as if about to nova shining brand new on his flank. "I....what? Wait...What?!" Dusty was torn between excitement of finally getting his cutie mark and the fact that Sombra was the one who brought it out in him. Dusty's eyes returned to normal after a few moments, looking back up at the tree; a steady stream of smoke coming from the jagged stump left behind. "That was kinda cool..." The colt laughed and focused his energy again, adding a bit of that same strength from before and his eyes started emitting a purple mist when another burst of dark magic destroyed another tree. "HA! This is amazing!" For him magic was difficult but this was...natural. The fallen trees were testament to its power as well. Dusty lit up, his talent finally discovered and it might be something that nopony has ever done before. Kicking brush aside and sprinting through the forest running home, a big grin plastered on his face. "I gotta show mom this!"