//------------------------------// // 14) Attribute Training: Wrath // Story: Lost into Shadow // by Lucidenn //------------------------------// In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage. ~John Steinbeck Two days. She had taken less than a minute to align with the attribute of Loathing and travel to the next crystal node. It had taken Sombra all of 3 minutes to form an NPC (originally of Cloud Chaser) and transform its features to those of 'Master'. 8 minutes and 23 seconds later, she was grinning with grim satisfaction, blood splattered all over her purple coat, the walls, and even the ceiling as it slowly returned to the dust from whence the NPC came. Less than a quarter of an hour in total, and Sombra was willing to declare her ready to move on to the next step in her training. Instead, she took two days. Between eating and sleeping the only thing she did was to take a year of pain out on defenseless dummies in the shape of 'Master'. Furthermore, she was nothing if not imaginative in her torture curses. Loathing gave her spells just the right amount of finesse and control to create optimal suffering for her victims, but the sheer variety of curses she came up with pleased Sombra to no end. A worm implanted in the liver that multiplied so greatly and so quickly, that it caused her victim to burst from the pressure. A rot like acid that ate away from the inside excruciatingly slow. A hunger curse that drove her victim to consuming his own flesh like a snake turned in upon itself. A curse that turned saliva into glass shards and forced the victim to swallow. She even changed the composition of one victim's blood so that her victim would be violently allergic to it, and when he swelled up like a balloon, popped him open with a prick from her horn. Due to her magical influence, the blood that splattered her this time remained moist and real instead of returning to dust; however she seemed to either not mind, or not even notice. So pleased was he with her enthusiasm, on the second day Sombra even brought Twilight her dinner to the training room, a very special meal he had devised himself. Eyes neon green and wafting potent purple energy, Twilight was positively giddy when he brought the meal for two up to the chamber. She felt as if she were soaring high as a kite, it felt good, incredibly good to be able to vent her pain back on the one that had caused it. Somehow it never seamed to be enough, he never, ever, went through enough; yet that didn't matter, because it meant that she got to continue dishing it out. Riding on top that high, and the delicious smell of the food Sombra had been so sweet as to surprise her with, she expressed her appreciation in a way she would never consider in any semblance of a reasonable state of mind. "That smells delicious Sombra! That's so sweet of you to bring me dinner all the way up here!" She was practically prancing toward Sombra, and as she finished her praise she stretched up to his height and kissed him firmly on the cheek, just a tad below and in front of his left ear. Then she sat down and started wolfing hungrily at her food, not even processing what she had just done, just happy about how wonderfully good she was feeling. Sombra on the other hand, went into processing overdrive, temporarily dazed by the turn of events. She had just....just....He felt a tingling sensation on his cheek, as if the skin there had memorized the shape and feel of her lips on his flesh and was already wanting more than that quick impression. Certain details started popping directly to the front of his mind about her. The way the spattering of crimson across her elegant features glimmered slightly in the magical candlelight and complimented the violet coloring of her coat perfectly. The lithe form of her body and the way it curved so perfectly, all the way from her flowing mane down to the supple curves of her alluring plot... Sombra snapped himself back to reality and practically threw himself to the ground with how fast he laid next to her to start his portion of the meal. Surprised, Twilight looked up from her dish to twist her head to the side and give him a questioning look, a look Sombra stubbornly ignored as he kept his gaze and vigorously burning cheeks straight forward. Before long she simply shrugged and began nibbling at her food, taking the time to relax and enjoy this new and foreign flavor. "I have the same eyes as you now, don't I?" "For the second time in as many minutes, Sombra was completely thrown off. He had no idea what had prompted the question, nor her emotion behind it. He had thought she would go the entire training without knowing the change due to the lack of any reflective surfaces. "I, uh well..." "I thought so, I figured it must be happening after how much dark magic I've been using these last two days. I'm even starting to see the spell you wove between each cavern level. It's like a giant, intricate living web. And such a lovely shade of purple too." "You can see all that now?" "Yeah..., its rather beautiful actually." Sombra's chest couldn't help but to swell a little with pride at the compliment. It certainly was some of his finest work in magical imprisonment barriers. "I'm glad you like it." She didn't hear him though, she'd already leaned up against his warmth and passed into a deep, contented sleep. Having stopped finally she must have gotten off her adrenaline high and crashed. She had certainly seemed to enjoy his special dinner too, freshly slaughtered lamb chops just barely cooked enough to remove bacteria. He smiled warmly down at the sleeping Princess before turning his gaze back up to the swirling pattern of light that was his containment spell. Everything was turning out much better than he could have expected, and for whatever reason there was a happy warmth seeping into his chest that told him he'd be more than content to lay like this for the rest of eternity if need be, just so long as that feeling lasted in the one muscle he'd long since forsaken; his heart. Ponyville, Demolition site 3C--Golden Oaks Library A thunderous rumbling filled the air at demolition site 3C. The finest machinery in Ponyville had been dedicated to the destruction of the barrier around Golden Oaks Library, with no shortage of volunteers hell-bent on saving the princess within. With the weight of several elephants, Ponyville's largest wrecking ball crashed down once more upon the crystal clear dome, and as it reared back for another strike there was a noticable lack of damage done. This would not deter their efforts however, nor the efforts of the explosives experts, nor even the battering ram team on the other side. Applejack sighed, they needed the princesses' help badly. She knew only their magic would be able to counter Sombra's, but even after two days and dozens of letters tirelessly sent by Spike there had been no response at all. What could possibly be keeping them? This was Twilight in danger after all, Celestia's dearest and most faithful student! She should be moving mountains right now to come to Twilight's, so what was keeping them? "Miss Applejack, fainting and dizziness have been reported on the battering ram teams 3 through 8, we think the barrier is fighting back!" "It's a scorcher of day out, have you made sure all the teams are well equipped with headgear to protect from heatstroke and regular water breaks so ponies don't get dehydrated?" "Oh...uh of course, we'll get right on it." AJ simply shook her head with a sigh at the retreating volunteer. Somehow she'd become the sight overseer, making sure ponies stayed safe and organized. Rainbow Dash had taken control of the unified pegasi attempts, organizing powerful and focused lightning strikes, gale force winds, and even dive bombers. The others were working to keep everypony properly supplied and morale high. All except for Rarity and Spike that is. Spike's claws were cramped and sore, but he would not stop writing desperate letters for help to the princesses and sending them by dragonflame. The poor dragon was distraught, but refused to give up doing the only thing he felt like he could do to help. Rarity in the mean time, should have reported back by now. "Applejack darling, there you are!" Applejack nearly jumped out of her skin. That pony had a real bad habit of showing up just as soon as ponies had started wondering about her absence. "Evenin Rare, what'd you find out?" "That Canterlot is an absolute gem this time of year! The garden parties and park extravaganzas, oh it was a dream! Tis a shame I could not stay to enjoy the sophistication. Turns out nopony has seen Celestia or Luna for several months now, not since the coronation in fact. None of the nobles have been concerned about their absence however, as the sun and moon still cycle on time. While there, I did run into a crystal tourist however. He mentioned that Cadence too had been missing for just as long, but there's more! He works at a spa near the palace, and saw both princess Luna and princess Celestia go into the castle around the time Shining Armor took over for Cadence. Following that lead, I took the very next train to the crystal kingdom myself. Unfortunately I was unable to get in contact directly with Shining, but I did get to dig around for more info. Ever since that first sighting, there hasn't been a glimpse of any of those three since, while poor Shining has become all but overwhelmed running everything by himself. "So you're saying the princesses are all in the Crystal Kingdom? But what are they doing?" "Word on the crystal grapevine is that the princesses are working together on something big, something so powerful and important that it takes all three of their combined expertise and power." "Hmm, that would explain why we've had no response yet." AJ glanced back to the bludgeoning of the library's barrier, "I sure hope they get Spike's letters soon. We need their help in a bad way, but we can't stop working here. Soon as somepony leaves they forget about the barrier entirely! We can't afford that risk." "What barrier are you talking about darling?" Main Shaft--Loathing Platform Twilight began to stir slowly, stretching like a cat that didn't really want to wake up from its nap. A now familiar fuzzy warmness pervaded her body, as seemed to happen whenever she fell asleep next to Sombra now. Creaking open her eyelids, she confirmed her suspicions, and was surprised to find that for the very first time, he was still asleep. She'd gotten so used to waking up to find him ready and waiting, staring at her or off into the distance that she'd become convinced he didn't actually need sleep. This time however, the steady rise and fall of his chest was slow and uninterrupted. His ebony mane was as messy as a lion's, and was that a smile she detected? Who knew Sombra would looks so handso.....peaceful! Look so peaceful while sleeping? "Good morning Princess" Ah drat, he'd caught her staring with his half open eyes, what had woken him? No matter, it was time to move on and get up now. Reluctantly she stood up and stretched once again (which was a real shame too, he really did make such a wonderfully comfortable pillow). "Good morning Sombra, nice to know you actually do sleep instead of waiting around like a batpony." "Careful Princess, it could be a ruse. I have fangs after all, for all you know I could be waiting for just the right moment to suck your blood!" No sooner than his proclamation was over he suddenly leaped up and gently nibbled the left side of her neck. The sensation sent an electric shock through her nerves, and she had to dance away to keep her knees from fully turning to jelly. Emitting a girlish giggle she'd never heard from her own mouth, she gently chided him. "Hey now stop that, I need to be in all one piece for our training after all." "Speaking of which, you have been more than ready, so today we move onto my personal favorite, wrath. It is my personal strength, and hence the attribute I truly resonate with." "Are you implying that each attribute that we align with, some we will align with more strongly then others? Have I encountered my strength yet?" "That is exactly what I'm saying Princess. And no, I do not believe you have. When you do trust me when I say that you will know without a doubt, for it will resonate with your very soul. Now, since you have so greatly mastered the attribute of loathing, wrath should not pose too difficult for you. It is after all but a step away. Wrath is not as focused as loathing however, wrath is a powerful hate bent on widespread destruction for a potentially wide range of targets. Do you remember all of those villages we passed through while in my memories?" Twilight frowned at the unpleasant memory. "They drove you out with rotten food and violence, every single one." "Yes, and what do you feel about them that they would all do such a thing?" "I'm angry that they could do such a thing to a defenseless chained colt. That they would not help you is bad enough; but to drive you out like you were filth, a plague to their neighbors? It's disgusting." "Good, now feed that anger. How dare they treat a slaved colt in such a way! They're no better than 'Master' himself!" At the mention of that name, Twilight's green eyes narrowed in hatred. "No, indeed they're not. Their treatment wasn't any different, to accept you as beneath their existence as a slave, and then to drive you out with the same abuse. They're the exact same." "Good, now remember the night my family was murdered? Remember my pain, my loss, my eruption. That is aligning with wrath, to become retribution incarnate and rain hell down upon your enemies. Are you ready to try?" Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she re-opened them, if possible, her eyes were greener and wafting even more purple energy. "I'm ready to do more than just try, Sombra." Without waiting for his cue, she strode to the crystal node and stared it down. The intricate transport matrix was clearly visible to her eyes now, pulsing with magical light as it awaited the one missing piece it needed. She placed her horn on the refreshingly cool surface, and channeled the force of her hatred. She was retribution for the wrongs of the mobs of crystal ponies, fiery judgement for hundred of villages that had so dared to turn their backs and sneer. She was used to her magic burning cold and powerful, but this magic was hot and wild. There was no controlling a wildfire, only directing the direction it is unleashed. She was Wrath. The matrix had its final piece, and with shadowy threads reached out to dissolve her into its depths. Within moments it released her once more, now upon the 2nd to last platform. It took several minutes of forcing herself to breathe deeply, clearing away her thoughts, to be able calm down and quench the fire of hatred she'd just channeled. By that time Sombra had joined her, smiling wider than ever. "You take to hatred and black magic like a fish to water Princess" Something told her she should have been bothered by that, some reason that she had lost focus of to be disturbed or even ashamed. But as soon as the thought came it flickered away, replaced by her own wolfish grin. She was ready, no, anticipating the coming lesson. If she had claws she would be digging them into the rock beneath her, itching to unleash them on the next available target. "As you have seen from my own memories, the attribute of wrath gives your destructive spells a life of their own, and power even greater than what they would normally produce. As I have seen your capabilities, we shall have to skip over having you apply hatred to your widespread combat spells, as they would surely destroy these caverns and set of earthquakes." She had decidedly mixed feelings about this. On one hoof, she had to keep from swelling from pride that Sombra recognized her power. On the other, she was most disappointed that she would not get to unleash herself as she was so itching to do. "Instead", Sombra continued, "you shall have to go straight to the most difficult part. Learning to tame the wildfire that is wrath, and take the inherently widespread destruction and narrow it down into single target spells." Twilight nodded in understanding, looking forward to the challenge that presented. From the ground erupted several of the familiar standard target practice dummies. "For the first target, I want you to think of fire. A wildfire, all of Equestria is being consumed by the power of this conflagration. Now focus that down into a single blast, a single fireball to blast the target with. The key is to fight fire with fire, control the wild power of wrath with the cold burn of your own mind. The greater shall win, now focus, and when ready.....FIRE! CRACK-A-BOOOOOM! The single monolith of clear crystal still stood proudly within the center of the Triquetra, surrounded by three princesses panting with exertion. Now though the crystal was clear and pure, no longer stained by the black flame that had for so long burned malevolently within. Their spell had crashed upon it like lighting, and the resulting thunder had echoed deafeningly around the expanses of their chamber. The pink, golden, and cyan light slowly receded from blinding to bearable so that the Princesses could get a good look at the fruit of their labor. "Congratulations girls", panted Celestia between breathes, "the spells are ready for transcribing." "We are ready."