//------------------------------// // Chapter XXVIII: Facing the Mirror // Story: The Ranger's Journey // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter XXVIII Facing the Mirror Crimson woke up with a hard slap to his face. The man stirred up and looked to see a cross purple haired Changeling glaring at him. “Morning to you too Rouge.” He yawned. “Where were you yesterday?” She yelled. “I searched this place from top to bottom trying to find you ya know.” The man sat up and cracked his neck. “We weren’t even in the Academy yesterday.” “We?” Rouge raised an eyebrow. “I had to perform an exorcism and Twilight came along for the ride.” He said as he stood up. “Where was the exorcism?” “Willow City.” The changeling gasped. “Calm down. Nothing happened.” Rouge narrowed her eyes on the man. “Okay fine so I got some stuff thrown at me. Twilight took care of it.” “How? No offense Crimson, but your girlfriend doesn’t look like a fighter.” The man’s face turned bright red. “She’s not my girlfriend! She was just a friend helping me out.” Rouge grinned as his face betrayed him. “All she just gave them all a tongue lashing. Then we went to Canterlot to go to her house.” “Moving a bit fast aren’t we?” Rouge grinned. “Not like that!” Rouge stuck her tongue out at him. “She just needed to grab this.” He said as he pointed to the gem that hung around his neck. “She said it was a late birthday gift.” “Oh that’s so cute~” Rouge teased. “Anything else happen?” Crimson then thought back to the incident between him and the scholar last night before being interrupted by the hybrid. “Nope. Brought her back and went straight to bed.” He said as he walked over to his drawer and headed into his bathroom and turned the shower on. “How are the other two doing?” He said through the door. “Cobalt has a few broken ribs, nothing too serious after we closed the wound. He should be good after today.” “And Ivy?” Rouge let out a sigh at the name. “Don’t lie to me either.” Crimson said in a flat tone. “Her spine had a hairline fracture. Her right ribcage was completely shattered and she had a bit of internal bleeding.” No response came from the other side. “That was yesterday. I checked on her last night and hers pine is healed along with the bleeding. The only thing that we’re waiting on is for her ribcage to readjust.” “Yeah.” “She also knows that you didn’t cut her hair.” The man walked out wearing his usual red jacket. The Changeling sighed and spied the book on his bed. She picked it up and looked at the cover. “You got the new one?” “Yup.” Crimson then remembered the autograph as Rouge turned the page. “Wait don’t-” His warning came too late as the Changeling’s eyes fell upon the message and her jaw hit the floor. “When did you meet Midnight Fountain?” She yelled. Crimson gulped as he searched his mind for an excuse. “Just bumped into her while Twilight and I were in Canterlot.” He wasn’t technically lying to her. He did meet her on accident. Rouge walked up to the man and put her finger in the middle of his chest. “If you know who it is and you don’t tell me, then you’ll regret it.” She snarled. “Whatever.” The man then felt something vibrate in his pocket. He pulled out the jewel and a letters made of light. All Rangers that are participating in the final test must report for debriefing. Crimson sighed and put the gem inside his pocket. “Well, show time.” He said as he walked passed the girl. Rouge bit her lip and sighed. “Wait.” Crimson halted and turned around and the Changeling brought him into a tight hug. Crimson sighed and returned the embrace. “Just make sure you come back. I hate interviewing new recruits.” “Really? Here I thought you were a social butterfly.” He chuckled. Rouge slugged him in the gut and frowned. “Not funny.” She said as she let go. Crimson nodded and vanished in a flash of red light. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Down in the cafeteria, Twilight sat with the other girls and quietly ate their food. Rarity raised an eyebrow at the librarian who had stayed quiet since the group had sat down. A coy smile spread across her face as she had a thought. “So Twilight, where did you run off to yesterday?” Twilight gulped as she recalled what happened between herself and the red haired mage. “Yeah, after we visited Ivy you just took off.” Dash said. “What gives?” “Don’t ya remember Dashie?” Pinkie piped up. “She went to go find Crimson, cause she has a crush-” The woman’s mouth instantly turned into a closed zipper. Courtesy of the blushing scholar. “Pinkie. Shut it.” Twilight grumbled. “Well, your face was really red last night.” Spike said as he took a bite from his pancakes. Twilight glared at her adoptive brother and her face flushed red. The other girls grinned. “Nothing happened.” She said with a sigh. “Besides today is the final.” She said as she sipped her tea. “Yeah, you’ll have plenty of time to get to know him when he comes back to Ponyville.” “I doubt that.” The group looked behind them to see the bandaged blue flyer. “How are you feeling partner?” The farmer asked as the man sat down. “Good. Doctors are letting me out tomorrow.” The group chuckled. “What about Ivy?” Dash asked. “She’s stable, but sleeping at the moment.” He said as he cracked his shoulder. “What did you mean by what you said?” Rarity asked. “If Crimson passes....when he passes he’ll be reassigned.” The scholar felt her heart drop into her stomach. “Zealots usually go to where trouble is most affluent in Equestria and join a guild there.” “Why?” “Say a war breaks out and the council is involved. The Zealots are usually on the front lines fighting.” He said as he sat back. “What if he fails?” Fluttershy asked. “Then he’ll have to wait for the trials to come back up again. Although that could be next year or the next ten.” The group’s jaws dropped. “No one knows when the trials are held until its the year that they’re given.” He said with a sigh. “So if he wins then he’ll get shipped off somewhere?” Dash asked. “Pretty much.” He said with a shrug. “Wow way to kill the mood.” Dash said. “Hey I don’t like this either. There’s a chance that he might be put in charge of another squad.” He grumbled. “Seriously? So what’ll happen to you, Ivy and Rouge?” “Be shipped off somewhere or we could go with him. It depends how things turn out.” The flyer pulled out a blue crystal and a few letters popped up. The final for the Zealot Selection Exam will begin in thirty minutes. “C’mon, best get to our seats.” He said as the group got to their feet and followed the flyer towards the stands. Rarity hung back to comfort Twilight who had a the look of worry on her face. The six girls saw that Crow and the Princesses were waiting for them. The girls also saw seven other people standing next to Crow. Among them was Deus. “Oh crap.” Cobalt said with a gulp. “Who’re they?” Dash asked. “The other members of the council.” He whispered. He pointed to the one who was elderly and had a staff with an orange gem at the end. The man was the shortest among them and had white hair and beard. His cloak was brown that matched his eyes. “That is Marcus Clay. He’s the first seat. Legend says that he could make a crack in the ground with just one slam of his staff.” The next was a woman who was slim and donned a teal cloak with embroidered gold trim. Her hair was grey and went down to the middle of her back. She was carrying a large rifle with a scope on her back. “That’s Sparrow Winchester. Second seat. They call her the Shrieking Specter.” “Why?” Pinkie asked. “Because the second you hear her rifle fire you’re dead.” Rouge answered as she came up behind the group. “Records show that she’s a master with any long range weapon and has never missed a shot.” The group gulped and turned to the next person in line. He was tall, standing at around seven feet and was very lean His cloak was a dark purple. “That’s Toxic Slender. Third seat. He uses poison based magic.” Rouge answered. “I heard that it only took one drop of his custom poison to kill an Ursa Minor.” Next in the line up was a man that looked around the same age as Crow with light blonde hair and golden yellow eyes. On his belt were two golden brass knuckles within reaching distance for his hands. “He’s Platinum Flash. Fourth seat. Strongest man in the world.” “Yeah right.” Dash said as she rolled her eyes. “The guy shattered a mountain with the flick of his finger.” Cobalt added. “He’s got more strength in his eyebrow than Ivy does in her whole body.” Dash’s eye twitched at the words. The woman standing next to him was in her fifties and had fading pink hair that was held up in a bun by two long black needle like chop sticks. Her cloak matched her hair almost perfectly. By her side was a long sheathed katana. The sheath was decorated with several flowers that were carved into the wood. “That is Lilly Nettle. Fifth seat. She knows the human body like the back of her hand and is deadly accurate with needles along with her sword. She also has an extensive knowledge of medical herbs and remedies.” Next to her was a slim man with dark brown hair and green eyes that seem to be taking in all of his surroundings. His cloak was grey and had a large two handed sword attached to its back. “He’s Silver Cutlass. Sixth seat.” “I heard that he managed to cut through an ocean with his sword.” Rouge said. Next to him was a woman that looked a bit younger than Crow. Early forties most likely. She had fair skin, orange hair and dark brown eyes. Her cloak was an auburn color and had a small trench knife attached to her belt. “She’s Titian Swift. Eighth seat. Fastest thing on two feet.” Dash rolled her eyes at the words. “She ran across the ocean and back in under five minutes.” “What about Crow? What can he do?” Pinkie asked. “Him?” Cobalt asked as he looked at the headmaster. “Not sure. He and Deus are both kinda mysterious.” The group looked at the nine and gulped. “I do know that Crow can shape shift, that’s about it.” The group piped down as they walked closer and took their seats. Cobalt and Rouge went down the stands for a better view. Twilight sat next to her mentor and felt the new comers’ eyes on her. “Everyone, this is my student Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” The group gave a nod. “She and her friends are the Element bearers.” The group’s eyes suddenly lit up. “So Crow,” Sparrow said in a flat tone. “how good a shot is he?” “He takes after his mother.” The silver haired woman smirked. “As expected of the son of my student.” She grinned. “The boy has shown a lot of promise.” The staff user said with a cough. “He’s rowdy and reckless.” Deus spat out. “What else would he be? He’s still young.” The old man said with a smile. “Reminds me of my youth it does.” “Oh boy here we go.” The blonde man face palmed. “Back in my day I-” Before the man could continue further the bell for the test to start echoed through the stadium. “Saved by the bell.” Crow said as he stood up. The crowd fell silent and waited for the man to speak. The group heard thunder rolling in and looked up at the dark sky. The group saw a few students out on the field. Ivory and Crimson were among them. “I’ll keep this brief. You’ve all trained and honed your crafts of combat to make it here. Good luck to you all.” He said as he adjusted his glasses. The board appeared above the stadium and the names started flashing before everyones eyes. Ivory Knightwalker The students departed the field until the white mage was the only one left. Crimson gave her a reassuring nod as he made his way off the field. The other students went up to the observation platform and waited. Crow snapped his fingers and a large mirror covered by a dark cloth appeared in front of the mage. The mirrors surface turned pitch black and had a liquid like ripple to it. A dark hand immediately came out and latched itself onto the side of the mirror and pulled itself out. The figure definitely had a female physique. Soon the sludge faded and a perfect copy of the woman stood before her. Her clothes were tinted black along with her hair. Ivory immediately drew her blade and got in an attacking stance. The copy followed suit and smirked. The two lunged forwards and the two locked blows. The air around the two grew stale as they continued to lock blow after blow. Ivory ripped off her eyepatch with the copy following suit. Both of their magical energies spiked and the crowd could feel the pressure emanating from the two. Ivory slashed her sword in the air and magical blades launched themselves at the copy who spun her sword in a circular formation and parried the blades away. “That all you got?” The copy sneered. Ivory frowned and focused her magic. The wings sprouted from her back and the halo appeared above her head. “Finally taking things serious huh? Too bad your mother couldn’t be here to see this.” Ivory’s eyes sharpened and lunged forwards. The two continued to clash as they flew up into the air. “All you are is just a pawn. A weapon made for one purpose and you even failed that.” “That mouth is getting annoying.” Ivory said as she saw an opening and threw her sword in a spinning form. The copy easily dodged the blow and shot forwards with her own blade. Ivory smirked and saw that the sword was coming back to her. The copy’s sword was aimed right for the white mage’s heart. At the last second Ivory dodged the blow just in time to catch the handle of her sword and slice off one of the dark angel’s wings. The copy cried in pain and fell towards the ground. “Time to end this!” Ivory Raised her sword and threw it like a lance towards the copy’s falling body. The blade impaled the dark angel as she hit the ground. The darkling cried out in pain and its red eyes shrank as it looked up to see Ivory’s halo rise over her head and positioned itself above her body. “End of the line.” She said as she slammed her palms together and the halo split into millions of swords. “Holy Rain of Destruction.” The blades all shot down towards the pinned darkling. The next thing the copy saw was a wall of swords that blocked out the sky and made it look like an ocean of silver water. That’s when the silver wall of death hit her. The swords fell non stop for three minutes before the mage landed on the ground and panted. The darkling’s body shifted into a shadow and retreated back into the mirror. The crowd cheered as Ivory sheathed her original sword and the rest vanished in flashes of white light. Ivory was panting heavily and was about to fall. She felt her arm being grabbed and was being helped up. She looked up to see Crimson with a smile on his face. “Nice job.” “I can walk just fine.” She took a step and felt her leg give out. Crimson grabbed her again and put her arm over his shoulder. “Sure you can.” He chuckled. The medics soon arrived and sat the white mage down. Crimson shook his head and chuckled. Ivory looked out onto the field and gulped. Crimson Storm “Looks like I’m up.” He said with a sigh. The mage looked at the covered mirror and gulped. A small wave of fear was welling inside of him. He clenched his fist and bit his lip. Thoughts of death and destruction in his possessed state ran through his mind. The thought of withdrawing came to him and he felt a hand on his shoulder. Crimson looked back to see Ivory looking at him with a hard stare. “Give up now and I’ll kill you.” She said in a serious tone. The man gulped and gave her a nod. Crimson started to make his way back on to the field. “Don’t lose either or I’ll have to find a new rival.” She smirked. The crowd grew restless as he made his way on to the field. Twilight noticed that some of the council members put their hand on their weapons and were getting ready to draw. “You have him in your sights?” Deus asked Sparrow. “Aye. Though I doubt it’ll come to that.” She said as she raised an eyebrow. “We can’t take any chances here. If that thing gets loose then-” “I’ll handle it.” Crow interjected. “He’s my responsibility.” Deus snarled and turned his head back towards the conduit. Twilight and the others gulped and turned their heads forwards. Crimson approached the mirror and let out a deep sigh as the shiny surface turned black. The man summoned his scythe and took a defensive stance. The mirror rippled and an object flew out in front of the man. Crimson’s gaze was unwavering as he saw that the object was a black scythe with red runes on the middle of the blade. “Are you ready to meet your fate boy?” A dark voice said from beyond the mirror. The black scythe moved on its own and shot back towards the mirror. An arm came out to catch the blade. A copy of the man exited the mirror. It’s hair was jet black and its skin was snow white. The cloak matched it’s hair. It’s red eyes were focused on the man and cracked its neck. Twilight could feel the magical pressure coming from the copy and gulped. Crimson raised his scythe and pointed his blade at the copy. “Let’s get to it.” Crimson said in a flat tone. The two stood still for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, they both vanished and the crowd heard blades being clanged against one another. The two warriors kept locking in stand offs. Crimson aimed his gauntlet at the copy and let loose a barrage of magical bolts. The raven haired scythe user spun it’s scythe in a circular formation and made the blasts deflect and hit the ground around him. Crimson lunged forwards and raised his weapon. The two were deadlocked again and the copy grinned. “Why do you fight for them?” Crimson grunted at the question. “More than half of them wanted you dead. Even your so called ‘best friend’ tried to kill you.” The red mage gritted his teeth and forced the copy back with a quick leg sweep and a punch to the face. The copy flew back a good ten feet before landing on its feet. It looked up to see Crimson aiming for him with his mother’s rifle. Crimson let loose a large barrage of bolts that would have demolished a house. The copy relied on its speed to get itself out of the situation. Crimson went after his duplicate and switched to his father’s flintlock pistol for faster shots. The crowd watched in anticipation as they saw the red and black blurs race around the arena with explosions going off around them. The red mage then pulled out his katana and increased his speed. He came up behind the copy and managed to slash it’s back. The duplicate grunted in pain and slid to a halt. Crimson slammed his fists on the ground and his shadow stretched towards the dark warrior. Five fists made of shadow then collided with the darkling’s face and chin. The copy was sent flying back and slashed the still pursuing shadows with his blade. The shadows fell to the ground and vanished. The copy immediately started its counter attack and let loose a barrage of jet black energy slashes. Crimson dodged the attacks, but didn’t see the copy rush up next to him and swing it’s black blade horizontally. Crimson felt his blade being ripped from his own hands from the slash. His scythe went flying into the air and landed in the dirt behind the copy. The man jumped back and felt blood running down his arms. He panted and kept his gaze focused on the copy. Crimson steadied his breathing and dashed forwards. “Is he insane?” AJ yelled. “He ain’t got a weapon to fight with.” Crow chuckled at the words. “What’s so dang funny?” “Everything and anything is a weapon to the skilled fighter.” Crow said with a smile. Twilight felt something land behind her and saw the green flyer with several bandages over her body. “Hey guys. Did I miss anything?” She asked with a smile. “Ivy!” The group looked to see the purple haired Changeling running up to them along with the blue flyer. “What are you doing out of your pod?” “What? You thought that I’d miss Crimson’s crowning achievement?” She said with a laugh. The flyer then grabbed her side in pain. Rouge caught her and sat her down. “Jeez you’re a handful.” She complained. Crimson closed in on the copy and clenched his right hand into a fist. The copy raised it’s scythe to parry the man’s punch. As his arm went through the gap in the darkling’s defense the copy felt a pain in its side. The copy looked down to see a long red curved blade coming from the man’s arm and sticking into it’s side. Crimson shot his left fist forward like a coiled spring and slammed it into the copy’s gut. The clone was sent flying back and grabbed its stomach in pain. It looked up and it’s eyes shrank as it saw that the man’s left fist was encased in a dark red armored glove that had spikes on the knuckles. “What is that?” Pinkie asked. “His blood magic.” Crow said. “Blood mages have the power to control their own blood and morph it into different forms.” Twilight’s eyes boggled at the spectacle of magical power. “It can either be as flexible as liquid or strengthened to mimic the density of hardened steel.” “It’s one of the few magics that gives the user absolute creativity.” The older man said with a smile. “Rare one he is. I haven’t seen a blood mage of that caliber in a long time.” “That may be, but using it puts an incredible strain on his body.” Celestia said. “I’m sure he can handle it.” Toxic said with a grin. Crimson smirked and blood on his right arm changed into a whip. He launched the weapon forwards and grabbed the copy’s left leg. He sent the copy flying off the ground and into the air before jumping in the air and slamming his fist into the shade’s stomach and sent him flying back towards the ground. The copy hit the earth hard and left a crater. Crimson ran over and picked up his scythe and got ready for another attack. The copy groaned and got to its feet. The darkling was bleeding from his mouth. “Okay, now I’m pissed.” The clone got to its feet and snapped it’s fingers. Crimson looked down to see a black spike shooting up from the ground. The red mage jumped back to see more spikes shooting up from the ground. Crimson kept dodging left and right from the impaling spikes. As he reached the edge of the arena he jumped up onto the wall and focused his magic into his feet. The crowd saw a red blur fly through the air and launch itself at the dark copy. The red blur slashed at the black blood mage. Crimson felt something hard slam into his body and was sent flying back into the wall. The crowd all groaned as he slumped to the ground in pain. Crimson got on his feet and looked ahead. What he saw made his blood boil. The clone had a large jet black hammer over it’s right shoulder and a long rifle in its right. “You didn’t think that you were the only one who could use these right?” He chuckled. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? You are me and I am you.” Crimson clenched his fist and his eyes were like daggers. “Remember all those times you went nuts and attacked out of anger? That was me.” He grinned.Crimson cracked his neck and took a deep breath. “Time to end this.” He said as he closed his eyes and stuck his scythe in the ground. The man then ripped off his jacket and shirt to show his bare upper body, much to Twilight’s delight. Crimson raised his right palm and placed it over his face. The crowd fell silent as they felt the air become heavy with magic. The council and the visitors felt chills running down their spines. Ivy’s eyes shrank as she felt the magic. “What is this?” Cobalt asked. “Not sure. Never felt something like this before.” Rouge said. The air around the red mage became filled with magic and had an ominous feel to it. Rouge felt a chill and shivered. “What is this? Why did it get cold all of a sudden?” The wind picked up around the man and a white object started to appear on his face. The earth around the man started to break under the pressure and the man’s body was consumed by magic. Twilight felt as though the world was coming to an end. The magic swirling around the man took the shape of a dark clothed torso with a hood over it’s head. The apparition then receded into the man’s body. The crowd was blinded by a flash of purple and green light. The copy opened it’s eyes and immediately felt fear. The figure that stood before him was easily seven feet tall. It’s skin was pale and had a white mask over its face. Crimson’s re eyes opened and he looked through the mask to see the shade shaking in fear. He cracked his knuckles and grunted. “You have no idea how much trouble you are in.” His voice was deep and had a menacing sound to it. Crimson gripped his scythe and sliced it in the air. The clone ducked as it saw a massive slice mark appear in the wall behind him. As he looked forwards, the shade saw a massive fist made of purple magic, laced with what looked like bone slam into his face and send him flying into the wall. “So....awesome.” Dash said with a smile. “Whoa.” Cadence gulped at the display of magical prowess. Crow sat with a smile on his face. The copy was then met with a hard punch to it’s stomach and was sent flying skyward. Crimson crouched and shot straight up towards the copy. The mage grabbed the shade’s head and threw him into the ground. The shade got to it’s feet and shook it’s head. As it looked to the right it saw a pale horse with the scythe user riding it. The beast neighed and charged forwards. The clone was frozen on the spot as it saw what looked like death itself coming for him. “Impossible.” The copy said as it tried to move. Crimson closed in on the shade and raised his scythe to cut down the impostor. The clone let loose a barrage of black magic bolts from it’s gauntlet. Crimson spun his scythe and deflected the bolts. Crimson then saw that several black spikes were shooting up from the ground and were on a course for his steed. The masked mage stood up on the horse’s back and jumped over the dark spikes. The masked mage raised his blade and came down hard on the shade. The copy cried out in pain as he felt the blade cut through his skin and sever his right arm. The copy was rolling on the ground as his arm turned to shadow and evaporated. “You're a monster! No, the devil!” He yelled. Crimson pointed the scythe at the shadow and chuckled. “So I’ve been told.” He said as he raised the blade. The shadow could feel his heart beating faster than a jockey’s on race day. The red blade was glowing and not a shred of mercy was in the masked man’s eyes. Crimson brought the blade down on the shade. The scythe was suddenly halted. Crimson’s eyes shrank as he saw a large amount of magical energy pouring out of the copy. The feel from the magic was more ominous than his own. “Did you really think that it would be that easy?” The shadow’s voice was dark and had malicious intent behind it. Several shadows then formed a large fist and sent the masked mage flying backwards. Crimson’s feet slid against the ground and he regained his balance. His eyes shrank as he saw the dark magic wrapping itself around the clone like a silk cloak. “There’s no doubt that you’re strong.” The shade said in an almost amused tone. “Now is the best time to crush you.” The copy said in a flat tone. “I was wondering if you were going to show up.” Crimson said as he got in a defensive stance. The magic stopped moving around the shade’s body and Crimson could see the menacing red eyes behind the shadows. Little by little, the magic peeled off it’s body. The shadows vanished and several crowd members gasped at the shade’s appearance. The darkling stood up and cracked its neck. “Been a while since I’ve had a body.” It looked down at it’s red hand and saw that it was slightly fading. “Looks like this body can’t handle my full power. Makes sense since it’s only a fake.” It said as it looked at Crimson. “Regardless, it should suffice to deal with the original.” “Getting over confident are we?” Crimson said as he raised his blade. He looked to his right and saw that the pale horse was vanishing. Not good. I don’t have much time before I’m at my limit. Crimson lunged at the shade and the two locked blows. The collision resulted in a shockwave that forced some of the closer onlookers to the back of their seats. The two blocked each other’s blows one after another. “What’s up with that clone?” Dash asked. “The demon has taken possession of the shade’s body.” Crow said as he adjusted his glasses. “I was afraid that this might happen.” “You knew?” Celestia asked as she frowned at the man. “I merely suspected, which is why I told them to be here.” He said as he looked at the other council members. The group looked at the cloaked figures and saw that they all had looks of dread in their eyes. “We cannot allow that thing to be free at any cost.” Deus said as he looked at the sharp shooter who had her rifle focused on the red haired man. “Why is she pointing it at Crimson?” Twilight asked. “The shadow is just a representation. The child is the source.” Deus said. “You’d kill him?” She said in shock. Deus remained silent and gave a nod to Sparrow who switched the safety off her gun. The two warriors were going into deadlock after deadlock. “Impressive!” The copy said with a wicked grin. Crimson focused his magic and his scythe glowed as he lunged forwards. C’mon! I’m so close! He thought as he lunged forwards. The blade was glowing a pale color and was seeping a large amount of magic from the blade. With all his strength, the mage swung the blade at the man. Crack. The scythe came to a sudden halt. The man’s eyes shrank as his mask grew a large crack and broke apart and his body return to normal. The man looked up to see that the shade had caught the blade with it’s left hand. It grinned and delivered a powerful punch to the man’s stomach. Crimson spat up blood as he was sent flying back against the far wall. “Whatever that was, looks like you can only maintain it for five minutes.” It smirked. A red ball of energy then formed in the shade’s hand and launched a barrage at the mage. Crimson took a defensive stance and took the hits one after another. “Why can’t he absorb those blasts?” Rarity asked. “The two may be different, but they have the same magical energy and Crimson can’t absorb his own magic.” “How in the hay does that work?” AJ asked. “Would you eat your own foot?” Crow asked. “Of course not!” “Its like that.” Crow said with a gulp. The man bit his lip as he looked at the red haired man who was taking a beating. Twilight looked at Crow with a few tears in her eyes. “Make him quit! Before he get’s himself killed.” “Impossible.” Crow stated. “We aren’t allowed to interfere with the final test. This is something that Crimson must face alone. No matter the outcome.” Twilight was about to protest but felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back to see Cadence with a sad look on her face. “Twilight, I know you’re worried, but don’t think that Crow doesn’t want to stop the match.” Twilight looked back at the man and saw sadness in his eyes and saw that he was gripping his cane tightly. “I have faith in him.” He said with a sigh. “Besides we haven’t seen his real power yet.” The group looked at the man in shock. “Well, he’d better have another trick up his sleeve.” Platinum said. “Otherwise we might actually have to kill him.” He said with a hint of sadness. Crimson dashed forward with his katana firmly gripped in his hand left hand and his scythe in his right. The man slashed at the clone in a horizontal fashion. The shade easily dodged the attack and hit Crimson with another blast of magic. The man flew back and dropped to one knee. “Well, its been fun Crimson,” The shade gripped it’s scythe and snapped it in half before throwing it to the side. “but this is where it ends.” “Throwing away your weapon?” He asked in confusion. “I won’t need that thing anymore.” He grinned. “I’d be more worried about your surroundings if I were you.” Crimson looked around the arena and his eyes shrank as he saw several crowd members looking tired. Twilight felt hazy and shook her head. “What’s going on?” Dash asked as she blinked, trying to get rid of her blurry vision. “I feel like I just did the Running of the Leaves five times in a row.” “Right there with you Dash.” AJ said as she panted. “Crow this is-” Celestia said as she felt her own strength being drained. “Yeah. It’s stealing our magical energy.” He said with a pant. “That’s all the reason I need.” Deus said as he cracked its neck. “Sparrow.” “Right.” She said as she charged her rifle. As she pulled the trigger her rifle was hit by a light purple blast of magic. He rifle went to the left and the blast hit a few feet away from the mage. Sparrow’s eyes shrank and looked to her left to see Twilight’s hand faintly glowing. The group fell silent and looked at Twilight who’s face was now filled with worry. “Idiot girl.” She said in a spite filled tone. “It took me all this time to charge up that shot.” “You still can’t-” Deus snapped his fingers and trapped the group in a cage made of light. “Hey!” “Shut up the lot of you.” He said in a flat tone. “You all have no sway in this matter.” Crow stood up and glared at the hulking man. “Enough! Deus this is my school and I’ll handle any problems.” He said as he snapped his fingers and eight pillars rose from the ground on the outskirts of the field. Eight walls made of magical light then connected the pillars and formed a roof. “That should hold it for now.” He said with a pant. “We’ll see.” Deus said as Crow pulled out his cane and lightly tapped the cage holding the girls. The cage then evaporated and the girls growled. “Why you-” Dash’s remark was cut down as Deus’s eyes were like to focused daggers that would cut through anything. “Since you’re still a child I’ll over look that incident.” He said with a huff. “Next time you won’t be so lucky.” The group gulped and turned their attention back towards the fight at hand. Their eyes were wide with horror as they saw that the shade was collecting the magic in the form of a sphere. The sphere was massive in scale. It looked as though it was half the size of the moon. The crowd gulped as it suddenly shrank by half, then another half followed that. The pattern kept going until the sphere was no bigger than a wrecking ball. “I’d normally make it smaller that this,” It grinned with malicious intent. “but this should be enough to finish this.” “There’s no way you’re going to be able to hit me with that.” Crimson said with a pant. “You so sure?” The copy grinned. What’s his game? He knows that I could easily... Oh Buck. Crimson looked behind him and saw the green wall flicker. The man gritted his teeth and realized that the barrier wouldn’t be able to hold the massive blast and everyone behind him would get a direct hit. If I stay then I could slow it down enough and make it blow up before it reached the barrier. The man bit his lip and looked back at the shade who had a devilish smirk on its face. The shade launched the sphere. Crimson got himself in a defensive stance and charged forwards. The crowd gasped and Crow stood up from his seat. “Don’t you dare!” Crow yelled as the group dared not look away from the fight. Time seemed to slow as Crimson met the destructive ball of magic halfway. Crimson felt the sphere biting at his flesh as he entered it. The sphere exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Crowd members were scrambling out of their seats in an effort to out run the explosion. Crow held up both hands and was trying to keep the barrier from breaking. The same could not be said for his heart. Euphoria. That was the accurate word that could describe the feeling the red mage had in his body. The man opened his eyes to see different kinds shining light all around him. “So sorry everyone.” He said before he closed his eyes and kept drifting in the light. “Don’t tell me you’re giving up already?” A familiar voice jolted his senses and his eyes snapped open. He saw a bright green ball of fire hovering above him with a dark blue and purple one next to it. Ivy? “If you lose here then I’ll kill you!” A small white ball said. Ivory? “Don’t you dare give up!” This orb was dark green. Crimson tilted his head and saw thousands of the different colored orbs yelling at him. One purple on in particular caught his attention. The orbs then took their owners’ shapes and looked at him with determination in their eyes. I get it. He thought as he commanded his body to move, but found no strength. He clenched his fists and slammed his head forwards. I forgot one crucial thing! His body roared to life as he saw the lights fading and let out a roar as he launched his body forwards. The crowd gasped as they saw the other side of the sphere explode and a familiar shape was launched from it covered in different colored magic. Crow’s barrier shattered, but the magic seemed to be following behind the red mage. Crimson roared as he continued to race across the field. The power that I took, which should be under my control, It thought as it sent a volley of black spikes at the mage. The spikes broke on impact as it was met with the light irradiating off the man’s body. it’s sheltering him? Why? The shade then recoiled its head and spat out a wall of black flames. Crimson focused his magic and the flames were immediately trapped in red colored ice. The shade then sprouted wings and took towards the sky. The red mage could feel power at the bottom of his feet and jumped. Green flames erupted from his feet a coiled around his arms. The copy’s eyes widened in fear as the flames around his arms looked like dragon claws. Crimson delivered blow after blow to the copy. The shade made its wings vanish and drop towards the ground. The fake was on its ropes and looked up to see at least a dozen red swords made of magic hovering in the sky. The swords shot down one by one. Each getting closer to its target. Each one more terrifyingly powerful then the last. This is impossible! He didn’t have this strength before! The darkling was dodging for its life and saw that crimson had descended across the field. “There can only be one of us here and you’ve over stayed your welcome!” Crimson summoned his scythe in his right hand and charged forth. He stuck out his left hand and the shade’s broken black scythe flew into his palm. The light around the man’s body altered the scythe’s color to be white with red trim. Now I remember. Crimson thought as he closed in on his target. You’ve all protected me since I can remember. His eyes could make out the shape of the shade. So now. Just this once. Just for the hell of it! Let me protect you! The man reached his target and slashed both scythes in a diagonal fashion. Black blood splattered on the ground What is this feeling? The shade thought in confusion. I know this feeling....but what is it? He thought as he saw the man coming in for the kill. This feeling...Fear? Crimson was coming around for another attack. This is just like the last time I was beaten....What was his name? The red mage’s blades cut the body in opposite directions. Right. Carmine that was it. He thought with a smirk. Two brilliant lines sliced through the copy’s body and created an X cut on the far wall. The clone’s body remained still for a seemingly endless amount of time. Suddenly the cuts became visible and the body started to melt away before exploding. The crowd saw a shadow shoot back into the mirror, before the surface shattered into dozens of pieces. The crowd erupted with cheering. Crow put a hand over his own mouth as he let his tears flow. The girls were all hugging one another while cheering. The other seven members of the council were literally awestruck at the man. Deus crossed his arms and frowned. The final day for the Zealot selection exam. Twilight thought with tears in her eyes. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the events of this day. She let her tears flow. A man that had been pulled through the worst things in life and came out looking stronger than ever. She sighed and wiped away the tears. Out on the field, Crimson raised his red scythe and the crowd exploded with more cheering. Like a shining red light of hope that inspires everyone around him. Crimson panted and looked down at his right hand to see the shade’s red arm in place of his own. You will never escape me. The dark voice echoed in his head. Crimson frowned and clenched his fist. The shade’s arm vanished showing his normal skin tone. “Don’t plan to. You're next pal.” He said as he looked up and saw the clear skies. The sounds of the crowd were slowly drowned out and he felt his knees buckle. His vision became blurry and he felt himself falling back. He put on one last smile before he felt darkness take hold of him and collapse.