//------------------------------// // Meeting the Enemy // Story: An Ancient Threat // by Professor Tacitus //------------------------------// “Find it. Find it. You have to find it.” Over and over, the voice spoke those words. It was all Tacitus could hear as he sat alone in the darkness. It was driving him mad. “Find what?!” he shouted. “For Luna’s sake, what do you want me to find?!” “Find it.” “Great. Of all the voices that I could have in my head, I got the one that’s terrible at conversation.” “Find it.” “Shut it!” Strangely enough, that seemed to work. All was silent. The voice no longer called out, and Tacitus was truly alone. “Wow, I actually miss him now. If this is death, I’m really disappointed.” That’s when it hit him. Was he dead? Was this it? Would he simply be stuck here, alone, for eternity? The thought sent shivers through his body. As he had lost consciousness, his one comforting thought was that he would see his parents again. Being alone in the dark, his heart began to fill with despair. He missed his friends. He wanted to see them again and tell them how much he loved them. He didn’t want to be alone again. Just as the first tears of despair began to fall, a warm feeling began to spread through his body. Through the darkness, a bright light began to shine. He felt as if he was being lifted up and the light grew brighter, turning a very familiar shade of dark pink. “Find it.” *** Tacitus saw darkness again, but this was different. He could hear other voices; incoherent, but familiar. He could feel cold snow beneath him, but his body was surprisingly warm. His hearing slowly returned and he could make out what the voices were saying. “Oh please be okay.” It was the sweet voice of Fluttershy “Come on partner. You gotta get up.” Applejack. He slowly began to pry his eyes open. At first, everything was blurry, but after a few blinks, his vision became clearer. He could see the hooves of six ponies, and the small legs of a dragon, standing close to him. The closest were a pair of purple hooves, and Tacitus could see the unmistakable light of Twilight’s magic above him. He groaned as he craned his neck to look up at them. They looked at him with great concern, but upon seeing his movement a look of incredible relief spread through them. “Hey guys,” he said weakly. He was immediately seized by his friends as they enveloped him in a group hug. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Still sore guys!” They quickly released and Tacitus realized that his entire body ached. He attempted to stand, only for his right hind leg to give out from underneath him. Luckily, Twilight caught him before he fell. He looked at Twilight as he began to panic. “I can’t feel my leg. What’s wrong with it?” Twilight lifted him up and supported his body as he attempted to stand on three legs. “Among the other injuries, your leg was fractured. I knitted the bone, but it caused your leg to go numb. It should be wearing off soon.” Tacitus tried to move his leg and felt some feeling start to return. He cautiously lowered the appendage and found that the numbness was indeed beginning to disappear. Soon enough, he was standing unassisted on his own four hooves. “I didn’t know you were such a skilled healer Twilight. Thank you.” He looked at her with admiration and unspeakable gratitude. Twice now, she had saved his life. Why couldn’t he do the same for her? “I’ve been studying healing magic for a while now. It’s a good thing too. If I hadn’t gotten to you in time…WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!” She exploded at him. Tacitus was taken aback by the outburst. “I…I…” “Why were you running around the place like a pony with a death wish?! The girls told me what happened, how you were throwing yourself at those ponies! Why didn’t you defend yourself? Don’t you have any concern for your own safety? Do you have any idea how worried we all were? You almost died Tacitus! You were getting hit and it looked like you didn’t even care!” “I-I’m sorry…I just…” “Is this about proving yourself? About showing that you’re a hero?” “No…I mean…yes, but only…” Now Rainbow joined in. “Look, I know about wanting to show off and be a hero, but that doesn’t mean you should do a suicide dive. That’s just reckless.” “That’s not why I did what I did!” he shouted to make himself heard. “Yes, I want to show that I can help, that I can be a hero like the rest of you. But that’s not why I acted like I did.” He looked down at the ground, unable to meet their eyes. “You have to understand, I wasn’t able to save my parents. I wasn’t able to protect them” He looked up at them. “But I will do everything in my power to protect you guys. I refuse to let anything happen to any of you.” “Tacitus,” Twilight said softly, “you don’t need to put that burden on yourself. We all look out for each other. That’s what friends do.” “I know Twilight. But even still, if I can do something to keep you from getting hurt, I will. I will keep you all safe, no matter the cost.” “Tacitus-“ “Please Twilight. This is something I have to do. I won’t sit back and watch the ones I love die. Not again.” Twilight sighed. “Alright. Can you at least promise to be more careful in the future? We don’t want to lose you either.” “I promise to be more careful. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He gave her a reassuring smile as he did the motions. Inside, he knew he was lying somewhat. If him dying meant they would be safe, he would accept it. Gladly. This seemed to satisfy Twilight and the others, who smiled back at him and moved into a gentler group hug, glad that their friend was okay. He was glad he was with them again. That he wasn’t alone. The sound of a groan caused them to pull away from the hug. The groan seemed to originate from one of the ponies that had attacked them. Tacitus looked and saw them strewn about the ruins. He had almost completely forgotten about them. Twilight’s horn began to glow. “I’d better restrain them before they come to.” Multiple beams shot out from her horn towards the knocked-out ponies. Magical restraints binded all of their hooves, as well as the wings of the pegasi, and a bubble encased the horns of the unicorns. Tacitus whistled loudly. “I’ve got to learn that spell.” “That’s perfect Twi,” said Applejack. “Now we can question ‘em and see what the hay is goin’ on around here.” Just as they began to move towards the first pony, all of their prisoners were violently lifted into the air. They were all wide awake and gasping for air, as if they were being choked. Their eyes bulged out of their head and they began to turn red. “Pathetic weaklings!” A raspy voice echoed through the ruins. It seemed to come from everywhere at once and sent a chill up their spines. Tacitus couldn’t quite explain it, but the voice…hurt. It grated on his ears and his head began to throb. “What use are you if you can’t even dispose of worms like these?” “Master…please…” A sickening crunch was heard as his and his companions’ necks were snapped. They fell to the ground, their heads at unnatural angles. Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all screamed and hid their eyes from the sight. Tacitus looked up from the scene and saw another cloaked figure standing atop a tower in the central building. The figure seemed to melt into the stone roof, disappearing from sight. He quickly shook his friends out of their shocked states. “Come on, he’s in there.” He led them to the structure, its ancient wooden door looming in front of them. They quickly burst through and began running down the wide hallway. They followed the path until they entered a large room that appeared to once have been the great hall. As they entered the hall, they spotted the hooded pony standing on a balcony overlooking the room, his back to them. “Stop right there!” Twilight shouted at him. Suddenly, a wall of flame shot up in front of them, halting their advance. The flames reached to the ceiling and burned with a heat far greater than ordinary fire. A similar wall of flame appeared behind them, cutting off any chance of retreat. As they frantically searched for a way out, they heard an unfamiliar voice speak. “You have no authority to command me princess.” The flames shrank just enough to reveal the pony standing on the balcony. He removed his hood, revealing himself to be a white earth pony with a deep brown mane. “I answer only to my master.” “Who is your master?” Twilight demanded. “Is he responsible for poisoning the river?” “Be silent,” he responded. “My master-“ His eyes fell on Tacitus for the first time, and his eyes turned the color of blood and his pupils became snake-like slits. “YOU?!” His voice had changed. It was that raspy voice that brought pain to those that heard it. The voice they heard before. The pony grabbed his head and his face contorted in pain. Something began to emerge from his forehead. It wasn’t long before they saw that it was a horn. It was curved and sharpened to a point, and it radiated with a sickly green light. The girls and Spike stared at it in disbelief, looking like they had seen a ghost. “HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY BE ALIVE?! I SAW YOU DIE MYSELF ALL THOSE MILLENIA AGO! HOW COULD-“ He stopped as he seemed to look closer at Tacitus. He chuckled to himself. “Forgive me, but you look remarkably like someone I knew from long ago. Still, despite that, there is still something familiar about you.” He rubbed his chin and stared at Tacitus curiously. “What is your name boy?” “It’s Tacitus. Now why don’t you tell us who you are.” “Tacitus? Hmmmm. So familiar. Perhaps Pranceius knows.” “I-It can’t be,” Twilight stammered. “S-Sombra?” The stranger looked at her. “Sombra? Ah, you mean the Tyrant of the Crystal Empire. Yes, I remember him. It seems he came across some of my writings, specifically the ones dealing with crystal magic. It’s such a shame he was destroyed. He would have made a powerful servant.” He turned his attention back to the group. “No, I am not Sombra. I am far greater than him. I am-“ “Oh, oh, oh!” Pinkie was bouncing and her hoof was waving in the air. “I know who he is!” All her friends looked to her. “You do?” they all said together. The stranger raised an eyebrow and curiously waited for her to continue. Pinkie took a deep breath before she began to sing. He’s an evil enchanter He says evil banter And he mixes up potions in an evil decanter. And then what will he do? He’ll cast an evil spell on you And he’ll put you in cages like a big evil zoo Soooo watch out! Her friends gave her a deadpanned look. “Really?” Rainbow asked. “What? It’s a work in progress.” The stranger began to chuckle again. “Amusing. It’s a shame the pink one has to die as well. She would make a good court fool.” “Hey!” Rainbow shouted. “You’re not killing anyone buster!” She rocketed off at full speed, flying over the flames and heading directly at the stranger. Just as she got within a few feet, she appeared to slam into some invisible barrier. A telekinetic blast sent her hurtling back towards her friends. Only Twilight’s magical grasp kept her from flying into the wall of fire behind them. Rarity ran to her side. “Are you alright Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow’s eyes rolled around in her head for a moment before they settled. “Yeah, I’m good. Ow.” She rubbed a lump that had formed on her forehead. “Tsk. Tsk,” the stranger mocked. “Now, let’s be civil. Young Tacitus asked me a question and I aim to answer it.” He held himself tall and proud. “I am the most powerful sorcerer in history. I am the darkness that haunts the nightmares of demons. I am the rightful ruler of the Empire and I am the soon-to-be ruler of this world. I. AM. IMPERIUS!” A collective gasp escaped from the mouths of Tacitus and his friends as they stared in disbelief. “W-Wait,” Spike stammered. “Wasn’t Imperius the pony Tacitus told us about earlier? The one that conquered the Roamen Empire?” “But that’s not possible,” Tacitus said. “That was thousands of years ago. And Aeneighus destroyed him.” Imperius growled in anger, causing the wall of flame to rise and the ground to shake. “Damn that Aeneighus! He took from me what was mine by right of strength! But he only delayed the inevitable. It’s true that he destroyed my physical body, but my spirit, my power lived on. I inhabited the body of my most loyal servant, but I was too weak to communicate with him or manifest myself. For millennia I languished as a parasite, my spirit moving from generation to generation until finally I came to inhabit Pranceius here. Now, enough of my strength has returned to where I could make my presence known and Pranceius has served me faithfully since. Soon, I will regain my body and my full power, and I will rule over this world like I should have been for all these years.” “That’s not gonna happen Imperius!” Twilight called. “We’re taking you down!” Twilight’s horn lit up and a beam of magic shot from it. The beam struck Imperius, and his hooves and horn became bound in magic. “Argh! Blasted alicorn magic!” A wicked smile replaced the look of anger on Imperius’s face. “But your power hasn’t fully developed has it? You’re still too weak!” Now Imperius’s horn began to glow, a black aura enveloping it. The binds holding him shattered and a blinding light filled the room. Tacitus and his companions had to turn and shield their eyes from the intense light. Out of the corner of his eye, Tacitus saw something rocketing towards them. It was a pulsating ball of magical energy covered in sparks of black electricity. It was heading directly towards Twilight. “Twilight!” he called, his horn beginning to glow as he prepared to teleport in front of Twilight. He wasn’t fast enough. The ball struck Twilight in the chest and sent her reeling back. It was only after she was struck did the blinding light finally dissipate. Finally able to see, her friends saw Twilight unconscious on the ground, covered in blood. “Twilight!” they all shouted as they ran towards her. Spike held Twilight’s hoof in his hand and was shaking her gently. “Twilight? Twilight! Come on Twilight, wake up.” Tears flooded down his cheeks when she didn’t respond. Tacitus was the only one who was not beside her. He was frozen where he stood, his horn still preparing the teleportation spell. He felt as if an arrow made of pure ice had pierced his heart. He wanted to scream, but it felt like he was being choked, the scream trapped in his throat. He just stared at Twilight with eyes the size of pinpricks. “Well,” Imperius’s voice broke the silence, “as much as I’d like to take my time and kill the rest of you, there’s someplace I need to be. I’ve waited thousands of years to return to my body, so I’m a little impatient. However, I will make sure you won’t leave here alive.” His horn glowed once more and the floor on which Tacitus and his friends stood turned as black as night. Tendrils of darkness appeared from the darkened floor and wrapped around them, pulling them down into the floor. They began to sink into it as if it were quicksand. “A slow death is always the most satisfying. You’ll eventually freeze to death down there. Or perhaps you’ll starve to death first. I wonder if you’ll start to eat each other. Oh, I wish I could see that. It’s been so long since I enjoyed that kind of entertainment. But, as I said, the key to my return is waiting for me and I hate to keep it waiting any longer. Farewell.” Imperius seemed to engulf himself in shadows before he disappeared completely, leaving not a trace of his presence. The others screamed and called for help as they sank into the darkness, but Tacitus remained silent. He continued to silently stare at the unmoving form of Twilight until the darkness overtook his vision. *** Outside the ruins, as the blizzard continued to rage, a ball of swirling shadows appeared on a snow-covered tower. As the shadows receded, the form of Imperius became visible. He had a quizzical look and was tapping his chin with his hoof. “Tacitus? Why does he seem so familiar? Praceius, do you have any knowledge of that boy and why I seem to know him?” He was silent as he listened to the response of the servant whose body he shared. “Really? Interesting. Very Interesting.”