//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirteen: Pillars of Resolve. // Story: The Tale of One Shadow // by RadBunny //------------------------------// Chapter Thirteen The crackling of crystal and stone brought the stallion to his senses. First it was a foggy awareness, which slowly evolved into vision, dust blurring it at first. Dust rained down as something buckled under the pressure, stones and pieces of crystal supports thundering to the ground. That’s when the pain started. The stallion bit back a cry of agony as he located the source; a massive pillar laying across his leg. From the looks of it, the arena had collapsed. He was trapped in one of the corners of the gym area; two support pillars sealing off any easy way to get help. The only view was ahead of him; pockmarked by falling crystals and large stone slabs that fell with startling regularity. Another groan echoed through the arena; and a piece of the magically reinforced roof buckled, slamming down in the center of the arena. The dust cloud enveloped the stricken pony, and a few coughs sounded from behind the stallion. Turning his head, Sombra saw Basalt and four other ponies lying prone underneath some rubble. The angling of the support pillars had clearly saved their little group, if only for a time. Their flanks rose and fell, so they were alive, but clearly unconscious. Somepony screamed in the distance; cutting off with a disturbing sharpness. With this much stone and crystal, it was a wonder any of them hadn’t been crushed. Sombra’s horn lit; but his magical grip didn’t even cause the pillar trapping his leg to move a hair. Another piece of the roof fell; sending up another cloud of dust. Looking upwards, the stallion saw a massive piece hanging by a few pieces of crystal, which began to snap under the strain, one at a time. It would swing down and crush them, bury their bodies under a foot of solid stone and magical ore. Another desperate tug with his magical grip against the pillar, straining at it with another hoof, trying to get himself free, but to no avail. Sombra took a few deep breaths, his head still ringing from the explosion…but there was no time to think about that. He needed to get free- You need more power if you are to save yourself. At first, he thought it was a blow to the head, but soon it became clear the apparition was all to visible; even if just to his eyes. A familiar stallion stared back at him, clad in armor and glowing green and purple eyes ablaze with a sinister light. The voice echoed through his mind again, the demon’s mouth not moving, only regarding the pony with an almost pitying gaze. “You had that power with me, you know.” It hissed, a slight smile actually causing its fangs to show. “I have the power to save you, just as you once had. Will you make a deal?” Sombra let out a brief huff of annoyance, not paying the ethereal being any mind. He strained and pushed against the pillar again, but was met with the same result. “I would rather die.” As the words left his dust-covered lips, the landscape changed. The familiar fiery vortex of the mental battleground resolved itself into his vision. His leg was still trapped underneath a dark pillar; but all else had faded to a orange and black cloud; all except the demon. “Come now Sombra, don’t be melodramatic.” It chuckled, it laughed as the pony lay stricken on the ground. “Don’t you want to see her again? The love of your life? The one pony who has stuck with you through all of this chaos? Don’t you want to be able to see Amber again?” Sombra struggled to at least kneel, glaring at the demon as hate threatened to cloud his mind. “You dare mention her!” He hissed, letting out a gasp of pain as the broken limb made itself known once again. “Oh please. Drop the drama, you are about to die; along with all the other ponies with you. You don’t have the power to save them; but I do. The question is, can you put aside your own foolish ideas to accept my help?” The demon’s tone was now almost kind, wheedling with a sense of care. “You dare to speak of charity, of saving lives….” The stallion clenched his jaw as his eyes closed briefly, rage and sorrow threatening to choke his words. The embodiment of everything wrong with his life was standing before him; and all he could do was lay down and die. Sombra’s eyes snapped open, a sense of liberation, of hope singing to his heart. Lay down and die; that’s exactly what he- what it would want. This isn’t the physical world! I may be helpless there, but here... Focusing his thoughts, Sombra stared at the pillar trapping his leg; and it promptly vanished. The pain was still there, for some things couldn’t be banished from the mental realm, not in his condition anyway. The demon however, looked unimpressed. “So, will you take my offer? You will die in but a few moments if you do not have my help.” Sombra stood on shaky limbs, and slowly looked up at the demon, meeting the creature’s gaze with a determination and resolve that caused the being to actually regard the stallion with a certain amount of anxiety. “No. Your words are poison.” Sombra whispered, staring at his own hooves briefly. The demon laughed in response, shaking its head slowly. “You fool. Then you will die.” The stallion slowly raised his head, magic surging to his hooves. His eyes blazed with a red fire, a few tears mingling with the sparks that emanated from his pupils. “I will not die, not when you are there to stand and watch me!” Though trapped in the physical world, the stallion reigned in control of his mind, sending his body galloping across the dreamscape. His logical thoughts broke down to emotion, anger and pain ripping across his expressions as he charged. The demon didn’t move, regarding the pony with a sense of pity. It was only when Sombra got closer did the creature appear disturbed. “What are you doing?” It asked, backing up a few steps. Sombra stopped a limb-length from the demon, looking up and grinned. It was a smile the creature knew all too well, for it had adorned its own features many a time. It was the smile of a pony with nothing to lose. “I do not have the power to save myself, to save these ponies, but you do. And I will TAKE that power! ” The demon didn’t even have time to question such a motive before Sombra’s mental self acted. Utter rage etched across the pony’s features, Sombra lashed out with a beam of red magic, carving a crescent circle into the demon’s chest. Black blood began to ooze from the wound, and the visual landscape flickered briefly. “This-this is not possible!” The evil apparition managed to choke out, feeling its own sense of self begin to fragment. As the demon collapsed to its knees, Sombra lashed out once again. His hoof tore a piece of the creature’s shadowy figure into nothingness, the flesh evaporating as dust before the wind. Sombra’s horn then plunged into the wound, red cracks beginning to spread across the demon’s frame. “You cannot! How are….?” Sombra tore his horn from the demon’s chest, shadowy gore whipping off his fur. Held in a magical grip, a small orb of red energy was sucked from the creature’s chest, levitating to Sombra and hovering in front of the stallion. It widened and expanded, energy crackling over the pony’s fur before infusing itself into the unicorn. Sombra’s voice deepened, authority and courage coating every word. For a moment, the demon’s eyes widened in fear as the pony stood defiant. “I am through with you, demon. Now BEGONE! ” His words were as though spoken from a cyclone; ripping the mental landscape from the creature’s grasp. Sombra’s vision resolved into the real world, the falling crystal slab having begun its downward journey. He turned, looking back at the ponies that lay helpless. Basalt actually managed to crack an eye open, looking to the stallion with a pained gaze before slipping away again. No…. Eyes narrowed with determination and nearly blinded by tears, Sombra ripped the power he had absorbed from his mental landscape, and let it loose. I failed to save ponies before; never again. Never. - - “Well spread out! Hurry! Shore up those supports! There have to be more survivors!” The unicorn mare called out, directing rescue crews left and right to find any ponies still able to walk. Soothing Balm was just a basic trauma nurse; this was so much beyond her. The roof had begun to collapse just as they had managed to clear an entrance- “It’s coming down! Run!” The few ponies that had managed to navigate the debris were sent scattering as a piece of the ceiling swung down, finally hurtling a corner of the arena. Then it stopped. Soothing’s eyes widened, not able to comprehend what she was seeing. The slab of ceiling had just frozen. No, it wasn’t frozen. Somepony is holding it. Who could have that kind of power….? The magic was unlike anything she had ever seen before. A white glow surrounded the ceiling piece; but the white aura was shot through with angry sparks of red. The monolithic piece of crystal was then tossed aside; and that’s when she saw him. For a moment, Soothing thought the evil tyrant of the north had returned; but it was only by stature this thought came to her mind. The pony stood as though a commander on a battlefield, having legions at his command. Whoever this individual was, he seemed to command her respect. For a moment, her gaze met his, and Soothing’s fur prickled at the intensity of the pony’s gaze. He nodded, a simple acknowledgement of awareness, before turning to survey the destructive scene that stood in his path. The stallion stood proud, black mane waving in a magical torrent of energy. The stallion’s fur was of a charcoal complexion, but shone with a brilliant light as though lit from a thousand fires. Eyes ablaze with white and red energy, the pony looked up at the ceiling as another crystal slab threatened to fall. Tendrils of crimson and pure white magic reached out, lowering it to the ground gently. More magic reached out to pull ponies from rubble behind the strange stallion, carrying them in what appeared to be a gentle grip. Walking with a steadfast determination, the stallion crossed the gymnasium, pulling out any ponies that were visible, solid chunks of rock and crystal either moved or destroyed with but a glance. Slabs that would have crushed houses were vaporized with but a look, yet each fallen pony was treated with the utmost care. Crystal shards that threatened to impale were liquefied into harmless puddles, cooling instantly as they fell. The stallion’s steps caused white flames to spark with every hoof-fall, a regal air surrounding the mysterious individual as he walked. Pure white magic shored up any falling debris, while tongues of energy formed stretchers for the fallen. Who is this pony? Soothing’s unspoken question went unanswered; but as the stallion got closer, the mare noticed the strangest thing... He was crying, tears trickling down sparkling cheeks, even as the pony levitated the bodies of the fallen individuals towards her. The stallion looked up at her, and the magical storm around him slowly guttered and died. Lips parting briefly, the pony spoke, his voice soft, but carrying with it a confidence and strength that Soothing would have followed to the ends of the earth. Had this pony stood before Soothing with a crown and cape, she would have bowed and sworn her allegiance. This stallion’s voice was that of a leader, a warrior... A king. “They’re safe now, and now, I am free. See to them, their injuries are grave.” The stallion then collapsed, and Soothing could only stare in amazement. She was finally snapped out of her daze by the arrival of more rescue workers, but the stallion still refused to leave her thoughts. Who, or what, was that? - - Watching the commotion from a clock tower, a hooded figure chuckled, glancing over to a similarly hooded pony. “You see? It is perfect. I thought it best to act first. I know how much you apprecia-chhhh.” A magical grip tightened around the speaker’s windpipe, and the hooded figure leaned closer to the other pony. “You dare act without my authorization again, and I will use your veins as the lining to my pens, and your blood will be the ink. I mean that in the most literal sense I can convey. Are we clear?” The unicorn released the other hooded pony with a snort, shaking his head. “I hope for your sake, that nopony important was killed.”