//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Dark Light // Story: Villainous // by CrypticMetaphor //------------------------------// Jasper sat upon his throne clothed in his gold armor. His fingers drummed against the armrest as he was lost in deep thought. Granted he had now achieved his goal, hell he had succeeded where many villains failed, he had beaten the mane six and the princesses. But despite all of his victories and success he felt…empty. Granted it had been two days since his marriage with Chrysalis and he had single handily cemented his empires might. He sighed as he shook his head, his gazed locked on Flash Sentry. “Am I a good king?” Flash was surprised by the statement, “Sire?” Jasper shook his head, “I’ve given my subjects security and safety, yet they still fear me,” he glanced at Flash once more, “have I been and am a good king?” Flash Sentry looked to the side for a moment, “Well…permission to speak freely?” Jasper nodded, “Granted.” “You've done several actions that not only are considered evil, but borderline on psychotic,” he inhaled as a light layer of sweat appeared on his coat, “So with all due respect, the ponies have every right to hate you.” Jasper nodded slowly as he stood, “Understood.” “Sire,” Flash walked beside him, “You seem tired as of late, is everything all right?” Jasper’s eyes narrowed, “No…nothings alright.” He opened the doors to the still destroyed hall of stained glass windows. The gem flared dangerously bright as his eyes scanned the area. “Flash…leave me. No matter what happens, do not open this door.” Flash was about to object but nodded as he shut the door. Jasper stood with his back to the doors that had once held the elements of harmony’s box, but within it now rested the element of magic. Jasper sighed as he clenched his right fist, the left fist’s blades gleamed dangerously. “So…you decide to darken my vision once more, eh Princesses?” Behind him, Celestia and Luna emerged with looks of justified fury upon their faces. “Your tyranny is over Jasper,” Celestia spoke in a serious tone, “Surrender now.” Jasper laughed in response, “How little you forget, I defeated both of you last we met.” Luna grit her teeth, “That was because we were holding back; we did not wish to harm you. My sister was under the impression that you could see sense. But it is now clear that is not an option.” Jasper smiled coldly, “So Sunset freed you then?” The royal sisters blinked but maintained their composure. “Ah, so I’m right,” he crossed his arms as the two ponies and king began to circle each other, “Why else would she and the two of you vanish in the same instance. But I’m deviating from the point at hand. Why have you truly come here? Surely avenging yourselves upon me isn’t the only reason.” Celestia stepped forward as gold battle armor materialized on her, “No it’s not, we have come to retrieve the Element of Magic. But if you insist on stopping us,” a halberd with a golden shaft adorned with ornate patterns with a scalding white blade materialized before her, “We WILL cut you down.” Luna’s battle armor was jet black and a scythe with an azure blade whereas the shaft looked like a gnarled branch of black metal scraped along the ground. Jasper was surprised for once, “You two never struck me as violent, I suppose the show didn’t capture your true essences as a whole,” Jasper however steadied himself; “However I can’t let you take that.” Luna narrowed her eyes, “Then prepare for battle.” Jasper’s right hand opened and a red crystal shot out of it with a gold handle attached to it. He grasped the handle immediately as he raised the crystal sword in a challenging manner. “Bring it on ponies.” The three then charged each other. * Twilight paced nervously around the library, the fact that Celestia and Luna had left to confront Jasper once more unnerved her. Sunset on the other hoof was going over Jasper’s notes with a look of interest and what could be considered mild respect. “You got to give the guy credit,” Sunset chuckled, “He played you guys for chumps.” The girls glared at her to which she raised her hooves, “Whoa, I was just kidding.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Not cool.” Sunset trotted over to Twilight, “Something bothering you Sparkle?” “Yes,” she sighed, “I’m just unsure if Celestia and Luna are enough to beat Jasper.” Sunset elbowed her slightly, “Hey, this is OUR teacher we’re talking about, she’ll do fine.” Twilight glanced at Sunset, “But the thing of it is, Jasper’s sanity is being sapped by the gem. That coupled with all the stress he’s most likely dealing with, he might become an even bigger monster than me and the girls have ever faced before.” Sunset glared at the castle. * Celestia swung hard at Jasper who caught her blow with his crystal blade. Behind him, Luna went for a powerful vertical swing which Jasper quickly rolled to the side of. The scythe blade buried itself in the floor much to Luna’s anger. Celestia rained a flurry of jabs at the human who was forced to back up to avoid, smacking aside those that threatened to reach him. Jasper felt sweat on his brow as the royal sisters attacked him left and right in an attempt to exploit his blind spots. Jasper rolled, parried and deflected to the best of his abilities. Luna swung wide and got him in the stomach, a crunch echoed through the hall as Jasper smacked into the far wall. His vision swam as he felt warmth begin to coat his skin. He glanced down and mentally thanked god that the scythe hadn't pierced his armor fully, it had however gone in a fair amount. He looked up as he felt the gem burn with power, the warmth spread through him as he stood. He saw red as he advanced slowly on the sisters, his blade dragging and kicking up sparks. Their voices muffled as he approached. “Jasper stop, I do not wish to end your life!” Jasper raised his sword and struck. Celestia was on the defensive, Luna attempted to join the fray, but she was hurled away by a wave of Jasper’s right hand. Jasper’s sword came as a red flash as his vision became red with each blow. He felt his throat vibrate as he let loose a roar, his sword breaking through Celestia’s front armor. She staggered back as the human descended upon her. He brought his sword back and with adrenaline as well as magic fueled strength, he slashed her weapon in twain. Celestia attempted to flee to a better vantage point, Jasper swung. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Celestia’s right wing flew wide and landed with a plop as the solar princess’s blood erupted from the wound. She smashed into the ground hard. * Luna looked on in horror as the golden clad human drenched in her sister’s blood turned toward her. The stare he possessed was akin to a force of nature, they were cold, unfeeling, and now lacked mercy. Luna then roared out in anger, “DIE CREATURE!!!” Jasper muttered one word, “Trash.” He snapped his fingers as red energy swords materialized and hurled at full speed at Luna who gazed on in horror, the swords struck their mark. Two buried themselves in Luna’s back as she attempted to veer away. Another struck her right shoulder, four impaled each wing. The last sword struck her below the neck. Both royal sisters lay bleeding at Jasper’s feet, he impaled his sword beside Celestia’s head. His vision cleared as he took in what had transpired around him, the red was gone. But what he did see, lingering at the dark corners were the shadows. They gazed at him in stone silence. Jasper threw back his head, finally lost, and laughed. * A flash of red outside the library alerted the ponies to something out front of the library. They opened the door…and all of them screamed in horror.