My New Life
Chapter 56 - Dungeon Crawl
Future Nightshade's POV
After being summoned by my aunt, I walked into the throne room and bowed before her. "Greetings, your majesty."
"Who is this?" Said a voice beside her.
I looked up and saw Death sitting beside her.
"That is your nephew, Nightshade. Remember?" Celestia explained.
"Ah yes. Our nephew the time traveler." He walked up to me and slapped me on the back. "How the heck are ya?"
The hit knocked the wind out of me and I coughed hard to regain my composure. "Fine." I coughed again into my hoof. "It's good to see you as well. I'm glad to see that you are out and about. How long have you been free from the crystal?"
"Oh, about a week, though I'm still a little stiff from it."
"It's most likely just the residual effects of the magic. Just make sure to stretch every morning and you'll be fine."
"I'm surprised you didn't know he was out." Celestia remarked.
"To tell you the truth, I have barely left my father's study in the past couple of weeks. I actually don't even know what day it is." I said, rubbing my sore eyes that developed from reading so many texts.
"May 11."
"May 11! Crap! We don't have much time!" I said starting to hyperventilate.
"Whoa son. Calm down." Death said patting me on the back. "What are you talking about?"
"I talking about the winter solstice. It is closing in and I still have no idea how to stop Black Heart."
"The winter solstice? But that is in December." Celestia said.
"It is in the northern hemisphere in our world. That is, back on Earth." Said someone from behind.
I turned to see a silver pegasus with a straw hat and glasses.
"Quicksilver. Thank you for coming." Celestia said.
"It is an honor to be called into your service, Princess Celestia." He said, tipping his hat. "As I was saying, the seasons on Earth are quite different from the seasons here."
"Right. On Earth, humans do not control the seasons and so they are different between hemispheres." I said, then turned to the pegasus. "By the way, I am Nightshade."
"Ah yes, the prince from the future. Pleased to meet your acquaintance." We shook hooves quickly before turning our attention back to Celestia and Death.
"So what does this mean?" Celestia asked.
"It means that the winter solstice is on a different day of the year in the southern hemisphere than that of the northern hemisphere. June 22nd is the day of the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere." Quicksilver explained.
"But what does any of this have to do with Black Heart?" Death asked.
"The winter solstice is the day that Black Heart marries my mother!" I said with terror in my voice.
"That is awful!" Exclaimed Celestia.
"Though I do feel bad for her, I am still unsure what this has to do with anything." Quicksilver said.
"The day that they were married was the day that everything went wrong."
"What happened?" Death asked.
"I can't say, because it could entirely mess up the time line."
"Isn't that what we are trying to do? Change the future?" Celestia said.
"We are, but I am physically forbidden from saying anymore. It is part of the spell that I used to get here. If I say anymore, then the spell will break and I will be sent back to the future."
"Then why even come back at all?" Death asked.
"Because, though I am cannot say what happens, I can prevent things from happening."
"That makes next to no sense at all." Quicksilver said.
"Don't blame me, I was not the one who found the spell."
"Who did?" Quicksilver asked.
"Once again, I can't say."
"Well then, what have you found thus far that can help us?" Celestia asked.
"Nothing of interest. No spell can prevent the coming catastrophe and I have found no objects of power that can possibly help." I said with sorrow.
"Indeed that is bad news." Death said.
Suddenly, a scroll fell out of the air from a cloud of black smoke and bounced across the floor, finally coming to rest at the base of Celestia's throne.
"What is this?" She lifted the scroll with her magic and unfurled it.
"Who is it from?" Quicksilver asked.
"It's from my sister." She said as she looked over the scroll.
"Celestia?" I asked.
She looked up.
"Would you be so kind as to read it out loud?"
"Oh. Yes. Of course." She looked back to the scroll and read. "Celestia. I have found out where to look for a solution to this disaster. You must look in the old sakura tree in the palace garden. I believe that Pure Heart may have left us something there to help. Luna."
"Sakura tree? What is a sakura tree?" Death asked.
"Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom." Quicksilver explained.
"Okay. And what is Japanese?" Celestia asked.
"Is this really the best time for 20 questions?" I said.
"Right. To the garden." She said.
"Old cherry blossom tree. We have a lot of cherry blossom trees in the garden, but I do think that this is the oldest one." The master gardener said as he lead the way into a clearing.
"Thank you Cabbage Patch." Celestia said.
The old farm pony bowed his head and walked away.
"Well this is the tree. What's so darn special about it?" Death asked.
"I do not know. Luna did not explain what this tree's significance was. Have you any idea, Nightshade?" Celestia asked me.
"I do not know what significance it holds to my mother, but it definitely is special to me. This is where I last saw my father before I was transported to the human world."
"Ah, yes. I remember now. That was the day everything began to turn south." Death said.
"But what are we supposed to do at the tree?" I said.
"The hole!" Said a small voice to the north of the tree.
We went walked around the tree and found ourselves in a clearing with my sisters staring at a small hole in the center.
"What are you kids doing out of bed?" Celestia asked with a stern tone.
"We heard what was going on we remembered the hole next to the tree." Starfire said.
"Yeah. This is the hole that we followed daddy to months ago. Mommy found us and said she that she would go down and find him. After that, we got bored and went back to bed." Moonbeam explained.
The hole. I do remember that. I thought as I walked closer to it. But wasn't it bigger? The hole was about the size of my hoof but I thought for sure it was at least a meter wide when I saw it last. How else would mother have been able to fit inside?
Stick your hoof in.
I looked around. "Did you say something Death?"
He furrowed his brow. "No. Why?"
"I thought I heard someone say something."
Stick your hoof in.
"I think I'm supposed to put my hoof into the hole." I said.
I reached forward and was about to put my hoof into the hole, when I felt a hoof on my shoulder.
"Hold on, do you think it is such a good idea to do that?" Celestia asked with concern.
"Well, I won't know until I try, now will I?"
I once again reached for the hole and, without hesitation, plunged my right hoof into the hole.
A bolt of energy rushed up my leg and sparks began to fly out of the hole. "Ahh!" I screamed in pain.
"Girls! Get back!" Celestia yelled as she scooped up my sisters and darted backwards.
Death ran to my side. "Pull out your leg!"
"I c-can't!" I said through the pain.
Death tried to help me, but was struck by a bolt of electricity as soon as he touched me, knocking him off his hooves and sending him flying off into a nearby bush.
"Ouch!" He yelled. He got back up and ran back towards Celestia. "No one touch him! He has electricity running through his entire body!"
"What are we supposed to do then?" Celestia asked.
Turn your hoof to the right.
Through the pain, I did turn my hoof and then pulled with all my might. The hold on my leg began to give and then seemed to snap off. I pulled my leg out of the hole and the light show immediately subsided. I collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
Death again ran to my side and picked me up. "Are you alright?"
I coughed. "Fine, fine. Just give me a minute?" I breathed deeply and then felt something in my hoof. I held it up to my face and found that it was a hilt.
"What's that? A sword's hilt?" Death asked.
"That's what it looks like. But not like any I have ever seen." I was about to take a closer look when Starfire spoke up.
"Hey! A hole!"
"Yes dear. That was a hole." Celestia said.
"Not the sparkly one. The one that's in this tree."
We all turned around and found that there was indeed a hole in the cherry blossom tree. A large hole.
"That wasn't there before, was it?" Celestia asked.
"It was not." Death said. He and I walked over to the hole and he inspected it. "It seems that the laser light show we just witnessed was a trigger that caused this hole to open."
I walked up to the entrance and found a set of stairs leading downward into the ground beneath the tree.
I began to take a step into the tree hollow but was stopped by Death.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"I need to go in there."
"You just got electrocuted and you think that it is a good idea to enter a dark corridor with who knows what is lying in wait along the way?" Death scolded.
I looked him in the eyes. "I have to. For the sake of the future."
"But you are in no condition to do anything after that little mishap with the hole." Celestia said.
"Then I suppose that we will have to accompany him." Said someone else.
I turned to see Vapor Sky and Cloudlight standing behind us.
"I do not wish for anyone else to get hurt, so I must refuse."
"You may refuse, but we are coming anyway. It is my sworn duty to protect Pure Heart's family and that means accompanying you into this hole." Vapor Sky said.
"And I stand by her no matter what the cost." Cloudlight said.
"Fine, just stay out of my way." I said.
"Wait, wait. Do I not get any say in this?" Celestia asked.
"I'm sorry Auntie, but I must do this." I gave her a quick hug. "Don't worry, I'll be back." I turned to Vapor and Cloudlight. "Come on then. We mustn't dawdle."
I took a deep breath and entered into the darkness of the tree with Vapor Sky and Cloudlight following.
After walking downwards for around fifteen minutes, the ground leveled out and turned into a straight corridor. We continued forward but as we did, a light appeared at the end.
"What's that?" Vapor asked.
"I'm not sure." I said.
As we got closer, we found a large stone arch with a metal portcullis separating us from the other side. The light we saw was a single torch to the left of the portcullis.
"Hey, what's that under the torch?" Vapor asked.
I looked underneath and found words scratched into the stone. "'Hydra's may have many heads, but two heads are not always better than one. Find the one.'" I read aloud. After I did, the portcullis raised and we entered.
Upon entering, the portcullis slammed shut behind us. "I guess there is no going back now." Cloudlight said.
I looked around and saw that we were in a large arena. In the distance, there was another arch with a closed portcullis. We walked towards the other side of the arena, but I stopped in the middle.
"What's wrong Nightshade?" Vapor asked.
"I feel like something is watching us." Just as I said this, a large glob of something fell from the ceiling and onto the ground, causing a sizzling sound.
"What in the world?" Cloudlight asked.
We all looked up and saw several red eyes staring back at us through the darkness.
"We need to move!" I yelled.
We all dashed to the side of the arena just as the beast fell to the ground, making the ground shake.
"What is that thing?" I asked.
"I've never seen one in my life. And I've seen just about everything." Cloudlight said.
"It's a bone hydra-dragon." Vapor Sky said.
"A what?" I asked.
"Oh come on. Don't you know anything about your father? He fought one of these years ago."
"Maybe we can discuss Nightshade's heritage after we stop this beast."
"Yeah, that might be best. Wait, why isn't it doing anything?" I asked. The colossal beast was just staring at us with no expression due to it's lack of skin.
"Maybe we aren't supposed to fight it." I said.
Just then, it made a deafening screech and lunged one of its heads at me. I drew one my swords and stabbed it in the forehead. The head reared back, taking my sword with it.
Another head attacked me, so I pulled out my other sword and stabbed it in the jaw. It took that sword with it as well. This pattern continued for Vapor Sky and Cloudlight as well.
"What are we supposed to do now? We are out of weapons and they seem to just have gotten angrier." Cloudlight said.
I didn't have much time to think as the last head attacked me.
The hilt.
I pulled out the sword hilt from earlier and held it up as the beast engulfed me in its mouth.
"Nightshade!" Vapor Sky yelled.
I looked up and saw that the hilt had pierced the skull. The beast screamed and then began to fade.
"What the huh?" I said. There were several klinking sounds as our weapons fell to the ground.
Vapor Sky ran over to me and gave me a quick look over. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a bit confused. What happened?"
"I guess there was never really a beast. It must have been an illusion." Cloudlight explained.
"That was the realest illusion I have ever seen." I said.
"Say, what is that you are holding?" Vapor asked.
I looked at the hilt and saw a large white spike protruding from it. "This used to just be a hilt."
"May I see it?" Vapor asked.
"Knock yourself out." I said, giving her the spike. I walked over to my own weapons and picked them up, placing them back into their sheathes. After collecting the other weapons, I went to back over to where Vapor Sky and Cloudlight stood, examining this new addition to he hilt.
"Here you go." I gave them there swords and they gladly accepted them. "So you find anything out?"
"Well I'm not entirely sure of it, but it seems to me that this new addition to your hilt is a spike made entirely of hydra bone." Cloudlight said.
"Oh goody. Can we move along now?" I took the hilt and spike and held it under my wing. I then walked over to the next portcullis and it opened.
"Let us continue." I said walking into the next hallway.
After another long walk, we approached another stone gate with a single lit torch, but this time the torch was to the right of the portcullis.
"Another inscription." Vapor said. "It says, 'Magnets attract and repel each other. Wait for the right moment.'"
The portcullis opened and we walked through and the portcullis once again slammed shut behind us.
We were in a narrow chamber this time with several swinging pendulums. Some were black and some were blue.
"It appears that we have to get pass these blades." Cloudlight said.
"Piece of cake." I said running forward.
"Nightshade!" Vapor yelled. I didn't stop though.
Each pendulum seemed to move faster than the last, but that didn't stop me from running through. Though after each one, I felt a bit heavier.
"Only a couple more." I said to myself.
I passed two more blades and barely made it pass them. "Alright. One more."
This last one was by far the fastest, making a pass every two seconds.
"I can do this."
I waited for the right moment and jumped but was forcibly pulled down in the path of the blade.
The spike.
I pulled out the hydra bone spike and held it up to block the blue pendulum. The blade came down and made contact with the spike. The pendulum didn't stop, but instead melded with the spike as it passed over. I then rolled over and made it to the other side.
"Are you alright?" Cloudlight asked.
"I'm fine. Wait how did you get over here before me?" I asked with surprise.
"We flew over." Cloudlight said.
"What? How? I thought the gravity in the room prevented that."
"It's not gravity, it's magnets."
"Magnets?"
"Yeah. The magnets got stronger as you went, making your armor weigh you down."
"But you're wearing armor." I said, pointing at Vapor Sky.
"My armor has no magnetic elements in it. My guess is that your armor has iron in it."
"It does."
"So it looks like the sword is almost complete." Vapor said.
"Sword?" I looked at the spike and saw that it now had blue blades either side of it.
"Neat. I've never seen a sword like this."
"You've never seen your dad's sword?"
"Dad's sword? Not often. I don't think he wanted to expose us to violence as children."
"Even so, this sword here is different from the one you've seen. This is shaping to be like his first sword."
"First sword?" I asked.
"You don't know anything about your father, do you?" Vapor Sky said.
"I know what my grandparents have told me. And that only pertains to his life as a human."
"Well, let me fill you in a bit. Years ago, when your dad first came to Equestria, he lost his memory and was told he was someone else by Ark."
"Who was he then?"
"Back then, he knew himself as Darkly Facade, a harvenger of darkness."
"Dad was evil?!"
She nodded. "He killed many creatures in the Everfree Forest. Including a hydra from which he crafted the spike of this sword. I had always wondered what he had done with this sword. Princess Luna had told him to get rid of it."
"Did you stalk my dad?" I asked with a smirk.
She began to blush. "N-no. I just was a quite interested in him in my younger years. I know a lot about him."
"And your cool with that?" I asked Cloudlight.
He shrugged. "As long as she loves me more, I'm fine with her fan girl obsessions."
She punched him in the shoulder. "I am not a fan girl."
"If I may interupt this flirt fest, what else made up this sword?"
"It doesn't put you off that your father used this sword to kill many innocents?" Vapor asked.
"Like you said, he didn't know who really was, so I don't think it counts as him being evil."
"Alright, if that's how you feel. The first part was obviously the hydra bone. This blue blade must be the cobalt, which would explain the magnet themed room." Vapor explained.
"How so?" I asked.
"Cobalt is one of the few elements that can be attracted my magnets." Cloudlight said.
"Alright, then what is the last one?"
"Obsidian."
"Volcanic glass?!" I asked with surprise.
"Indeed." Cloudlight said.
"Wow, I can't wait to see what that room will look like. Well there is no use in staying here then. Shall we move on?"
We walked through the gate and again were surrounded by darkness.
We came upon the final gateway. This arch had a torch on each side of the portcullis. The inscription this time was above the arch.
"I'll read this one." Cloudlight said. "'Close calls can't save you this time. Just like ancient human cultures, you must appease the gods.'"
The portcullis opened and we stepped inside.
Inside, the room was aglow from the large crater in the center.
"Of course it is an active volcano." I said.
"Well, what now?" Cloudlight asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "That last riddle made no sense to me."
"Someone will have to jump in." Vapor said.
"Are you crazy?!" I yelled.
"Listen to me. It said that we must appease the gods. In ancient human cultures, they appeased they're gods to prevent the volcano from erupting. They did this by giving human sacrifices."
"Well I am part human, so I suppose I should be the one to go in."
"But you'll be killed!" Cloudlight said.
"Hey, I have survived electricity, a hydra, and swinging pendulums. I doubt a little bit of lava is going to harm me." I took out my swords and walked to the edge of the pit. "Wish me luck." I stuck my swords into the side wall and started descending into the volcano.
As I went down, it obviously got hotter the closer I got to the lava.
"How's it going?!" I heard Vapor shout from the top.
"It's paradise! How do you think it's going?!" I said sarcastically.
I kept climbing down further and further into the volcano. The sweat began to drench the handles of my swords, causing them to become slippery. Many a time, I nearly fell to my death.
Eventually though, I made it to the bottom. Strangely, at the bottom there was a platform that I was able to jump onto. It was small and seemed to be made of molten glass. In the center, there was a mound with a slot at the peak.
Place the sword in.
I took out the sword and placed it into the slot.
As soon as the sword was buried up to the hilt, the platform began to shake and spouts of lava erupted all around me.
My instinct told me to leave the sword and unfurl my wings, letting the hot air carry me up fast.
Stay.
I was just about fly out, but for some reason, did not. Instead, I grasped the hilt of the sword and held on tight.
The platform began to crumble all around me, each piece splashing into the magma below and showering me with molten rock. Most of the magma was caught by my armor, but some of it did make contact with my skin and it caused severe burns. I just gritted my teeth and waited for a supposed miracle.
The platform, which I barely had room to move on freely to begin with, now just gave a few inches between me, the mound, and being burned alive by the lava below.
"Well, it needed a sacrifice, so I guess I'm it." I said to myself. Just as I was about to give up hope, the sword began to shine bright, brighter than all the molten rock that surrounded me, and the platform suddenly shot upwards, leaving a trail of rock in its wake.
Before I knew it, I was at the top of the crater. I looked around and saw Vapor Sky and Cloudlight beckoning me from the next gate.
"Come on, the volcano is about to explode!" Vapor yelled.
I looked down and saw the lava was indeed rising at an alarming rate. I pulled out the sword and jumped to the edge, running for the gate.
"Get through now!" I yelled over the roar of the erupting volcano.
Vapor and Cloudlight quickly ran through the gate and I ran after them. The portcullis closed behind us, and we breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was a close one." Cloudlight said, breathing hard.
"Wait, didn't the inscription say-" I was cut off by rumbling from the portcullis. As I turned around, I found that the portcullis wasn't holding up. "Run now!" We all ran as the gate burst and lava spewed out.
Stop.
I skidded to a halt.
"What are you doing?! The lava is moving faster!" Vapor said.
Use the sword.
I pulled out the sword and held it in front of me.
"Are you nuts?! That lava will burn you alive!" Cloudlight said.
I didn't say a word. I just had the strangest feeling that I should stay put.
"Come on! You can't die here!" Cloudlight said, tugging on my shoulder.
I pulled out one of my other swords and held it to his throat, though I have know idea why.
"Step back, unless you want to die." Why did I say that? I thought to myself.
He did step back, and I continued to hold my stance.
"We've got to keep going." Cloudlight said to Vapor Sky.
"We can't just leave him!" She said.
"There's nothing we can do for him. Come on."
I heard her sob and then steps going running down the tunnel.
What am I doing? If I stay here, I'm gonna be deep fried.
Place the sword in the ground.
I stabbed the sword into the ground and waited as the lava began to cover my hooves.
Twist the sword handle.
I turned the handle and a crevice opened up in front of me, causing the lava to flow into it.
"Wow, did I just do that?" I shrugged and ran after Cloudlight and Vapor Sky.
After another hour of walking, I saw another gate in the distance and I also saw Vapor Sky and Cloudlight standing in front of it.
"Hey guys, what's up?" I said with a cheery tone.
Vapor ran up to me. "Your alive!" She hugged me tight.
"Ow, ow, ow."
She let go. "I'm so sorry."
"It's fine, it's fine." I said.
"Well now that we know you are fine, could you please explain what the sword to my throat was all about?" Cloudlight asked.
"Yeah, sorry about that. It was an impulse, except it felt like someone else's impulse. As if I was being controlled by something. Believe me, I would never do that to a friend."
"Controlled by something? Strange." Vapor said.
"Well, in any case, I forgive you for it. Best to look forward than to look back." Cloudlight said.
"Cool. Now, what does this one say?" I asked looking for the inscription.
"It says, 'The sword you now carry once belonged to a madman. Do you hear the voices, too?'" Vapor read.
I could feel the blood rush from my face. "Voices?"
"Yeah, voices. Does that mean anything to you?" Cloudlight asked.
"Well, I wasn't too sure of it, but there might have been a small voice telling me what to do through this whole dungeon."
"Really? And when did this begin?"
"When we found the hole in the ground behind the tree. It's what told me to stick my hoof in the hole."
"And this has never happened before?" Vapor asked.
"Nope."
"And you just did whatever it told you to do?" Cloudlight asked.
"I guess. Though it felt like I didn't have any choice but to do what it said. Like I was a puppet or something."
"Interesting. Is it telling you what we have to do to get through this gate?"
Use the sword.
I walked up to the portcullis and slashed at it with the sword. The metal grating tore open like it was wet paper.
"It said to do that." I said.
"Well I guess that's one way to open a door." Vapor said.
I stepped through the opening in the gate and walked into the room, Vapor Sky and Cloudlight right behind me.
The room was empty, save for a large pedestal made of stone in the center of the room. Upon the pedestal was a box made of a shiny black mineral that glistened and danced in the light of the torches hanging on the walls.
"What is that box?" Vapor asked.
"I'm not sure. Cloudlight?" I turned to see him visibly shaken. "Cloudlight, what's wrong? Do you know what that is?"
He nodded. "It's a t-tomb."
"A tomb?" I walked up to the box and felt the black stone box. "It's so cold."
"Is it that strange?" Said a voice.
I turned around just in time to see a fireball flying at me and dodge it.
"What the heck?!" I yelled.
"You missed son." Discord said, talking to Flashfire.
"It's not my fault. Sombra is the one that spoke and gave away our position."
"At least I hit my targets." Sombra sneered.
I looked around and saw Vapor Sky and Cloudlight on the ground writhing in agony.
"What did you do to them?!"
"They are just living their worst nightmares. Nothing you need to worry about." Sombra chuckled.
I started to run towards them, but was stopped by a wall of fire.
"He said you don't need to worry about them. Worry about yourself." Flashfire said.
"How did you even get in here? The path is blocked my a wall of cooled magma." I asked.
"You poor fool, we can go wherever we want, as long as there are shadows." Sombra said.
"Indeed." Discord snapped his fingers and a portal appeared behind him, through which he stuck his arm through. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see his hand waving at me after which it punched me in the jaw.
I staggered back and rubbed my jaw. "Cheap shot!"
"I'm a bad guy, it's what I do." Discord said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Enough of the pleasantries, we have work to do." Sombra said.
Flashfire turned to me. "Nightshade, we have come for that sword."
"You can't have it. This sword belonged to my father and is infused with his magic."
"Oh, well if that's how you feel, I guess are work here is done. Come on fellas." Discord said as he opened a shadow portal.
"Are you serious? Why don't we take it from him right now?" Sombra asked in shock.
"No, no. We don't need that sword. Come on, we still have things to do here before Black Heart will open the portal again." Discord made a gesture and Sombra nodded.
"Yes, we best be off. Goodbye for now, young prince." Sombra walked through as well.
Flashfire looked at me and then the portal and switched between the two a few times. "Wait, what?"
Discord's hand came back through the portal and grabbed him by the neck. "Get in here." He pulled him through, closing the portal behind him.
I pondered for minute on what just happened and decided to just forget about it.
"What happened?" Vapor Sky asked, rubbing her head.
"Vapor! You're alright!" I yelled, running over.
"Yes, I'm alright. Where's Cloudlight?"
"Over here." He walked over to us on shaky legs.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him.
"Apart from having the worst nightmare ever, I'm okay."
"You too?" Vapor asked.
"I'm not surprised in the least, since Sombra used his fear magic on you."
"Sombra?!" They both exclaimed.
I nodded. "Discord and Flashfire as well."
They looked around. "Where are they?" Cloudlight asked.
"They already left."
"They did? Without killing us?" Vapor asked.
"Yeah. They said they had come for the sword, but after I said no, they just left."
"Just left? No fight?"
"Nope."
"No curses?" Asked Cloudlight.
"Not one."
"And you didn't give them the sword?" Vapor asked.
"Of course not. See?" I pulled it out from under my wing and showed it off.
"Nightshade... That's a stick."
"Huh?" I looked at what I was holding and found it was indeed a stick. "Bu- Hu- What?" I stuttered. "When did they..." I thought for a moment. "It must have been when Discord made a cheap shot from behind."
"Oh no. That was the only thing that could have given us an edge against Black Heart. What are we supposed to do now?" Vapor asked.
"What's worse, I think Discord took my wallet as well." I said, checking my pockets.
"Really? THAT is what you are worried about?" Vapor scowled.
"It was a nice wallet and I had twenty dollars in it."
"Would you two stop bickering and help me with this?" Cloudlight said, pushing against the lid of the black box.
We walked over and started pushing it as well. As the lid began to budge, a blast of cold air rushed out, blasting our faces. We continued to push and once we got it halfway, it tipped over on to the floor with a loud clank.
We looked into the box and gasped.
"Dad." I gasped.
"So that's what happened to his body." Vapor said.
"I can't believe it. He's been here all along." Cloudlight said.
"That's not him though." I placed my hoof on his neck. "There is no pulse. This is merely a souless shell."
"Perfectly preserved though. He looks like he could wake up at any moment." Vapor observed.
Suddenly, a bright light was emitted from the side of the coffin, causing us to jump back.
An image began to flicker in front of us which was followed by a muffled sound.
"What is it?" Vapor asked.
"Looks like some kind of hologram message." Cloudlight said.
The image began to become fuzzy but then solidified.
"Dad!"
The image moved its mouth, but all that came out was a loud screech much like what my grandmother said dial-up sounded like.
We all covered our ears and the hologram seemed to take notice. It walked over to the coffin and gave it a swift kick. The sound immediately ceased and we uncovered our ears.
"Testing, testing. 1, 2, 3. Mary had a little lamb..." The hologram said.
"We can hear you." Vapor said.
"Good. Nice to see you again, Vapor Sky." It said.
"See me again? I've never been down here."
"I know. I'm talking about from Pure Heart's point of view."
"What are you saying, that you are Pure Heart?" Cloudlight asked.
"Well, yes and no. Yes, I think exactly like him. No, I am not him. I am an AI he created that has all his memories stored inside. He created me so that one day if he were to die, there would be a piece of him around. So for all intents and purposes, I am Pure Heart. You may just call me Mr. Heart, though."
"Wow. An artificial intelligence. Pure Heart was a lot smarter than I gave him credit for." Cloudlight said.
"Of course he's smart. He is my dad." I said.
Mr. Heart squinted at me. "Hello. I don't believe we have meet."
"Dad, it's me. Nightshade."
"Nightshade? How long has Pure Heart been dead?"
"A couple months." Vapor said.
"But, Nightshade is so old." Mr. Heart's image began to flicker and spark. "Does...not...compute..." Mr. Heart's image then completely faded.
"Great, you broke it." Cloudlight scolded me.
"Boo."
Cloudlight screamed and jumped to the ceiling.
"Hah! Classic." Mr. Heart said, laughing his head off.
"I see he programmed in his sick sense of humor." Cloudlight gasped as he lowered himself to the ground.
"Yeah he did!" He wiped his eye as he calmed down. "In all seriousness, it's nice to see that you grew up to be a strong young man. I assume you are from the future. Don't tell me anything about. I like surprises."
"I'm just glad to see you. It's been so long." I said.
"I'm sorry, son. I wish I could have been there for you as you grew up. But, that's in your past."
"Yeah, I guess."
"So, how was the gauntlet?"
"Gauntlet? You mean the death traps?" Vapor asked.
"Yeah, the gauntlet. Was it fun?"
"FUN?! It nearly killed me!" I yelled.
"Isn't that fun?"
"NO!"
"Oh, well I'm sure it would have been easier with your sisters."
"What?"
"Your sisters. Moonbeam and Starfire. This dungeon was meant for the three of you. Why didn't they come?"
"They are only five." Cloudlight said.
"But what about his sisters? The ones from the future."
"They didn't come with me. I haven't seen them since this all started." I said.
"Since what all started? How did I die?"
"Ark fused your minds, creating an extremely evil person known as Black Heart. Since then, he has gone to the human world and we haven't seen him since." Vapor explained.
"Black Heart? He stole my bit. Why I oughta kick his butt."
"That would be hard. He has gained the powers of all the most evil villains. And he has them all working for him as well."
"And no one tried to stop him? Why didn't Luna put him down or better yet, split my mind from Ark's?"
We all got quiet.
"Why are you all so quiet? What happened to my wife?" Mr. Heart got visibly tense.
"She couldn't stop him because... her horn was cut off."
He blinked. "Is that it? You scared me for a second. I thought you were gonna say she had died." He completely relaxed.
"What? Aren't you furious?" Vapor asked.
"Well sure. If I could, I would totally beat the living crap out of whoever did it. But her horn will grow back. Besides, she can take care of herself."
"But she is without magic in the human world." Cloudlight said.
"So is every other human, pegasus, and earth pony. Yet, they have all survived a long time without magic. They just had to work harder and that is what she will have to do."
"Well, what can we do to help?" I asked.
"You constructed the sword, right?"
"Yeah, but it was just taken by Discord." Vapor said.
"Wow. Discord is alive? Didn't see that coming. Anyways, the point is that you constructed it. That sword was just a conduit. It had no real power. Every obstacle you faced, you completed by your own power, not the sword's."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes. And as long as you have that ring, I'll always be with you."
"Ring? Oh, you mean your grandpa's ring." I pulled out the chain that I kept tucked into my armor with the gold ring on it.
"Yep. That ring was very precious to me, and I am glad to see that it is to you as well."
"Wait, has it been you that was talking to me this whole time?"
"Yes, it was. It also acted as a conduit, but for my telepathy instead of your power."
"How come I haven't been able to hear you until now?"
"You haven't been close enough until now. I'm an AI, not a radio antenna."
"This is great and all, but we are still waiting for the solution for the impending doom problem." Cloudlight said impatiently.
"Right, sorry. Like I said, the sword acted like a conduit for Nightshade's power. Now that he has used it, his power should be completely unlocked."
"And what power would that be?" Vapor asked.
"Well, he was able to stop the lava from flowing."
"That's right. You told me to shove the sword into the ground and when I did a crevice opened and the lava flowed into it. But what kind of power is that?"
"The power to control the earth, of course." Mr. Heart said matter-of-factly.
"The earth? But you, err, Pure Heart was able to control and manipulate molecules. Shouldn't you pass that on to Nightshade instead?" Cloudlight asked.
"While it is true that Pure Heart was able to reconstruct molecular structures, he felt as though such an ability should not ever be given. It is a heavy burden to carry."
"But I know for a fact that he was able to teach it to Princess Luna. How is that different from teaching his son the same technique?" Vapor asked.
"Because he didn't teach her the technique, at least not in its entirety. He taught her how to split the pieces of her own weapons and how to split minds. Never did he once reveal to her how to actually split molecules."
"But wouldn't it have made sense to teach her how to do so?" I asked.
"It would in a logical sense, but not in an ethical sense."
"What does ethics have anything to do with it?" Cloudlight asked.
"Ethics has everything to do with it!" Mr. Heart yelled. "You can not comprehend how much blood he had spilled while perfecting that technique, at least a quarter of which, if not more, was his own. And the fact that he learned how to use such magic from the very being that caused this entire mess was enough of a reason to keep the secrets of molecular reconstruction to himself. That is why he has only used it to manipulate the earth and compounds within it."
I was awestruck, and looking at Cloudlight and Vapor Sky I knew they were, too. We could not even form words to respond. Silence fell upon the room for several minutes until I finally found my voice and spoke.
"I had no idea that so much death was involved."
"Yes, but now you know why he wouldn't give away that knowledge."
"But if we can't use his power to split atoms, then how are we ever supposed to save him and Luna?"
"You will have to use your new affinity for earth to figure that out." After he said this, the light from the coffin flashed a few times. "Oh dear, it seems that my time is up."
"What do you mean?" Vapor asked.
"I mean that there isn't much power left to sustain me. There is only so much a soul fragment can do."
"But you can't leave, we need your help to save mom and dad." I said.
"Sorry bud. You'll have to do it without me. Though there are a few things I need to tell you. First, you must save your mother and forget about helping your father. His soul is gone and cannot be retrieved. Second, do not try to confront this Black Heart character because he will not hesitate to kill you. Next, wear that ring at all times, it is imperative to your new power. And finally, and this is the most important, even though you now have Pure Heart's power over the earth, you can only use it to an extent. Don't over exert yourself, because it will kill you."
Once he explained this, the light from the coffin ceased and his image with it.
"WAIT!" I yelled.
"He's gone, Nightshade." Cloudlight said.
I breathed a sigh of sadness. "I know, I just wish he had told us how we are supposed to accomplish any of the tasks ahead. I mean, if I am not the one to defeat Black Heart, then who? And how can I just forget about my father?"
Before either of them could respond, another light flashed, but this one came from inside the coffin and was much softer. I walked over and saw that my dad's body had crumbled to dust. The only thing left inside was his wedding band. I reached in to pick it up, but then it too crumbled to dust.
"He's really gone." I whispered.
???
"Did you get it?"
"I did. Though I wish I could have done more."
"So do I."