Princess Cadance
King Sombra
Xenilla
Colonel Lockdown
Lieutenant Dusk Shift
Blade Dancer
Rarity
Monster X
The Big Bad
The Big Good
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Crystal Empire Castle, Archives
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Sombra skid across the ground, his steel armor sparking against the crystalline floor. As he rolled back up to his hooves, he looked up just in time to see Xenilla stampeding his way through the wall the dark unicorn had been thrown through, the kaiju not minding that his shoulder was still smoking from a hellfire blast. Lips curled back into fangs and Sombra charged his attacker, the ground drumming and cracking at their hoof falls. The noise made upon collision could be favorably compared to a gong. Hooves braced and dug into the crystal floors, quartz and aerenths beginning to erupt on either side. Emerald dark magic and crimson nuclear power crackled along both of their forms, shocking the other to dare them to yield. And after several long moments of struggle, the tide was beginning to turn.
Xenilla and Sombra had comparable height, both being far larger than an average stallion. But there was one important difference between the two, tied to their fighting methods. Sombra may have enhanced himself far beyond what an average unicorn might be physically capable of as was no slouch up close, but still preferred to fight at range when able too. Xenilla on the other hand, had been fighting up close as often as he did at range for over a decade. Even with Sombra having his armor on, the kaiju convert still had a weight margin over the tyrant; and that margin that was all muscle. And Xenilla was putting it to use in addition to his telekinesis. The dark unicorn began to be forcefully shoved back, despite his hooves cutting trenches into the floor.
Breaking the power struggle, Sombra weaved and smashed a hoof across Xenilla's face, only to get a stronger mirror move in return that dented his helmet. Dazed, he couldn't react to Xenilla lunging forward and biting down across his back. Using a mix of brute force and psychic tethers, Xenilla lifted Sombra off the ground. Barreling forward, the kaiju snarled and slammed his rival headfirst into a window as he charged. Sombra flailed to try and free himself, but was forced to shield his face as the kaiju dragged him across the hallway windows' length, frame after pane and muntin after frame smashing and splintering against him. Xenilla was just about to see how deep a trench he could cut into the wall with his enemy's face when Sombra physically melted out of his grasp. Briefly enveloped by a sudden dark shroud, Xenilla leaped back across the room with a telekinesis boosted jump. The shadowy cloud grew and swallowed up large portions of the room, Sombra's hellish facade forming in its darkness.
Not wasting a moment, Xenilla was quick to open fire. Horn glowing and mane sparking, red heat beams and psychically hurled quartz spears barreled at the shadowy Sombra. All only for the dark king to weave and dodge around them, some passing through his dark cloud as like a hand through mist. Sombra's dark laughter radiated through the room, strands of energy flying freely from him and spawning more and more aerenths. He cackled maniacally and charged forward in a black tsunami. Xenilla sneered, anchoring two towers of quartz to his sides and throwing up his barrier shield. Nevertheless, physical force flew through his guard with little resistance and he was sent flying backwards.
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Crystal Empire Castle, Royal Wing
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The air rattled as Princess Cadance bolted through the halls, enchanted crystal armor nearly covering her from head to toe. The determination on her face was stronger than steel. She wasn't as powerful as Celestia or Luna, and perhaps in some corner of her mind she was unsure how she'd fair against threats like the ones she could hear battling it out in another chamber. This armor might help even the odds some, but that was untested. This however, mattered little. She was an alicorn and a princess. The crystal ponies looked to her for leadership and protection, arguably being an avatar of the very emotion that fueled their empire's lifeblood. She couldn't falter, and was most certainly not going to flee and leave the populace behind; should the fight spill into the streets. She had to contain this possible catastrophe in progress, or at least give it her all while trying.
Cadance had just flown across a corner when two familiar guards turned the same corner in the crossroads, almost stumbling into her. The earth pony stallion and pegasus mare were quick to salute their monarch, despite panic being very obvious in their tone.
"Princess it's not safe here!"
"The ambassador has broken free and is fighting King Sombra! They're making a mess of the archives!"
Princess Cadance raised her hoof to quiet the two, before motioning to down the hall.
"Colonel Lockdown, Lieutenant Dusk Shift, I need to you two to go and round up as many remaining castle staff who may still be inside; and get them out of here!
Lockdown motioned forward, trying to grasp Cadance with his hoof as if to tow her along.
"What about you?! We are not leaving you here!"
Cadance nudged his hoof away with a soft curtain of magic, spreading her broad wings and flapping a few times to get airborne again.
"I'm staying to keep the fight contained and cover your exit."
"No you can't! This is King Sombra we're talking about! He'll kill you!"
Dusk Shift backed her superior up, hovering up to just below Cadance's level with begging eyes. Poor mare looked on the verge of tears. If the conversation didn't go their way, this could be the last she saw of her beloved leader; and with good reason.
"We can't lose... another Crystal Princess... Not to him."
Cadance knew the reason full well, she knew her history. It was that very reason she was so dedicated to shielding the entire empire during Sombra's first return. She wasn't going to let a murderous monster near anypony in the city. The alicorn closed her eyes for a moment, trying to focus her mind. The rumble of the clash in a distant spot in the castle tore her attention back to her goal.
-Now Sombra is within the city... And I'm not going to let him near anypony or anyone now either...-
Princess Cadance looked back to Dusk Shift, putting a hoof on her shoulder with a small smile on her face as she opened her eyes. She nodded to the mare, speaking in her characteristically soft tone.
"And you won't lose one now. I promise. But there are innocents who might be hurt, so I need you two and the others to get them to safety. Find my husband and lead the guards back here. But that all might not work if Sombra is bearing down on you all. Someone has to keep a lid on the fighting."
"But!-"
A brief flare of blue brilliance erupted from Princess Cadance's horn, banishing away some darkness and traveling into the walls and floors in a glimmering pulse. The Princess of Love looked as stubborn and determined as a sculpture, completely unflinching.
"I was a pupil of the greatest alicorn of our time. She gave me my horn, and I know full well how to use it. You can't protect someone with a shield if you are standing behind them, you need put yourself in front of them. And a true leader needs to do just that. I need you to trust me... I'll be fine."
There was a silence for some time, before the two guards slowly lifted their hovers. They saluted with solemn faces, though pinpricks of hope were evident between it all. Cadance had a knack for inspiring such emotions, even in dire situations like this.
"At, your will.... Princess..."
Cadance nodded to the two of them with a small smile, beginning to fly over the them.
"Stay safe, alright? You said Sombra and Xenilla were fighting in the archives?"
A very loud crash echoed through the walls and dark halls, a reverberating boom trailing it and rattling the floors and ceiling. The approximate location was clear based on the noise. Without hesitation, Cadance bolted down the long hallway, her armor and glowing horn radiating a brilliance as she zoomed past the moonlit windows. Banking hard, she headed towards the lower depths of the castle as she mumbled to herself.
"-Scratch that, I think they just broke into the catacombs."
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Crystal Empire Castle, Catacombs
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Xenilla crashed through a bookshelf and fumbled down a set of steps. Growling as he tossed a first edition novel off his face, he lifted himself up with a wave of telekinesis to get back on his hooves. The grounds before him were a vast cavern, akin to a natural cave that had been slightly dug out at one point to expand it. The expanse was darkened, the only illumination coming from the pulsing gemstones that occasionally jutted out from the walls. The castle blueprints had mentioned catacombs and he'd thought he felt something below him when scanning the crystalline grounds earlier. Looks like he'd just found what it was. According to those same blueprints, this was King Sombra's private sanctum when not in the higher parts of the tower; largely off limits to anyone. Brushing aside the theory of perhaps the fel unicorn having intentionally dragged their fight down here, Xenilla looked around for the tyrant in question as quartz spires stabbed out from the ground around him.
He caught a whiff of the dark, numbing scent of dark magic just upon hearing a metal coated hoof fall. Shooting his glare to the source, Xenilla spotted King Sombra perched atop a pillar of aerenth. He was on the opposite end of a long hallway, with giant statues of bowing, armored soldiers on either side. Sombra's voice was as malign as it was prideful, practically spitting venom.
"You don't know the might you face here, beast. I am of a purer breed, a unicorn above unicorns! The mighty crystal king has no equal here or anywhere!"
With a stomp of his hoof, dark energy shot through the floor and into the statues. The whirl of turning clockwork was audible for a moment before the entire battalion raised up from their bow and turned their lances towards their creator in salute. Sombra laughed as dark mist swirled around him.
"You dare interfere with my wrath! I stand higher than any-"
His monologue was cut off prematurely by a flash of red light, followed by a solar flare light ray blasting its way through several of the statue's heads and barreling straight at him. Reacting quickly, Sombra shifted into his shadow form and regrouped himself a safe distance away as the torrent of energy impacted his aerenth pedestal and exploded. Xenilla slowly walked forward, ignoring the shards of aerenth drizzling across the floor. His mane was still glowing with fiery light as crimson smoke slithered out of his jaws. He had the most bored, annoyed expression one could possibly imagine on his face; wondering if all the darker forces in this world just loved to hear themselves talk or not.
"Keep stroking that ego, I guarantee you'll impress someone someday."
"You brute! Have you not evolved the ability to address your better?!"
Sombra's horn gleamed with green and black energy, a spiny wave of aerenth crystals shooting out of the floor and headings towards Xenilla. The Kaiju stomped his foot, ushering up his own wave of quartz crystal to strike the aerenths at an angle to deflect it. Sparks of light and shards of shattered crystals flew around everywhere. Xenilla was completely unfazed.
"No words needed. I'd have a human gesture for you, but I don't have any fingers at the moment."
Sombra's eyes narrowed as they became overrun with emerald glow. The ground rumbled beneath the chamber, as if something under the floor was being dragged through the earth at high speeds. This was King Sombra's chamber, and he'd be a fool to not leave some toys here. The memory of one in practical ushered a cruel grin. He hadn't gotten to use this one in ages.
The earth beside Sombra split open, revealing a casket like box who's lid flew open. Horn glowing emerald and ink, Sombra's aura wrapped around a dark hued scythe as it levitated free from its holdings. The scythe was anything but ordinary looking. The handle looked only partially metallic, and the blade that hovered in the proper place via an invisible force looked to be composed of sharpened aerenth. It looked as cruel as its owner as green energy raced across its edges.
Sombra smirked as dark energy built up around him like a curtain of shadows. Xenilla tried to throw up a spire of quartz from the ground for what he knew was coming. He wasn't quite fast enough. A energy propelled Sombra rocketed forward and swung a razor thin blade with similar force, reaping through the growing pillar of quartz and right into the kaiju behind it. The only thing that probably kept Xenilla from being gutted was the scythe cutting through the pillar he'd tried to defend himself, which had slowed the weapon down enough that hitting his dense frame caught it before it hit organs. Had he been a normal unicorn, he'd probably be sliced in two right now. Instead he only yelled out as the aerenth blade buried itself in his side and cut down to his ribcage, stabbing pain shooting up his spine.
Still using his full momentum, Sombra whirled his scythe around. Hooking Xenilla along for the ride, he tossed his rival away as the scythe pulled itself out of him. Xenilla fumbled through the air before crashing into and knocking over a weapons and armor rack, a trail of crimson tailing him. Rolling himself off the fallen shelves, Xenilla grimaced as he tried to get to his feet, struggling. The slash was deep, and with his body still singed by dark magic the scythe was coated in, his healing factor was slowed. It took several moments for new muscle and tissue to tie itself together and naked skin to seal the wound like a scab. There wasn't any time for a complete patch up. As the kaiju looked up at the source of approaching hoof steeps, Sombra was already charging at him like a rabid beast.
Xenilla quickly charged up a coronal flare, his mouth igniting with red light as Sombra swung his scythe again, this time aiming for the kaiju convert's neck. But just before blade touched fur, something unyielding got in the way. A spear's shaft. There was a blur of blue and pink as Xenilla seized his opportunity and fired his signature breath weapon. Coronal wrath stabbed into King Sombra's chest before he had time to fully shift into his shadowy form, being blown back from the blast. When he reformed several dozen yards away, half his breast plate had been blown off and his smoking right shoulder was burned down to the lowest layers of skin.
King Sombra huffed briefly to catch his breath, glaring at the newest combatant in this duel. A sapphire spear was wrapped in a blue aura as its steel tip was yanked out of the ground. Princess Cadance narrowed her eyes, her gleaming helmet and armor sparkling brilliantly in the light. The dark tyrant's expression shifted from rage into minor shock as she approached. He thought he was seeing a ghost.
"A-Amore?! No... No I ran you through myself!"
Cadance's wings flared out as she trained her gleaming spear tip on her foe, alternating light and shadow slithering across its length. For the avatar of love, her face was of an iron lady.
"I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and I believe you just tried to kill me."
Sombra's shock snapped the moment he saw the wings, not paying any attention to his successor's words. Memories flashed back to fifteen minutes ago, and to 1,015 years ago. His lips peeled back, fangs gleaming as the glow from his eyes intensified. He loathed looking at those wings. His words were drowned in hatred upon the realization, seeing his successor in his predecessor's armor.
"So I was right. The child did live..."
"What are you talking about?"
Sombra snarled, lunging forward with a howl and slashing at Cadance with his scythe. She just barely had time to block and intercept the strike with her spear. The weapons sparked as they ground against each other in a metallic shriek, wobbling as their wielders tried to force the other's instrument aside. Cadance gritted her teeth, fanning her wings to push herself forward and force Sombra back. Sombra's eyes became eclipsed in green light as his dark power chilled the air.
"She stood above them all, a noble, pure blooded unicorn who could have had me for a strong heir... And then she defiled herself with a wretched pegasus?!"
Just as Sombra was beginning to get the upper hoof in the strength contest, Cadance's horn flashed with light. Twin curtains of blue and white energy formed beside her and shot forward in a wave. Sombra snarled as he was blown back by the charging wall of magic, being forced back a distance before rending the wall apart with the scythe. The enchanted blade cut through the magical barrier like butter amongst a rain of sparks, sending the two halves flying into the wall behind him. King Sombra huffed, aerenth crystals and shadows welling up beside him with every ragged breath.
"There will be no one to save you this time. There's no mongrel dog here..."
Cadance had no idea what he was talking about, but shoved her confusion aside. There were very few things she genuinely loathed in this world. At this point, Sombra's voice was rapidly climbing the top ten list. Black heart, black tongue.
"ENOUGH!"
Cadance was the first to spring forward, flapping her wings and beating her hooves across the ground in a charge. She jabbed forward with her spear, aiming for the portion of Sombra's chest the armor had been blown away from Xenilla's ray. Sombra raised his scythe and smashed it down in her charge, beating her blow away and pinning her spear into the ground. A surge of dark magic shot out of his horn, Cadance barely having enough time to throw up a shield in front of her face to block the torrent of green and black energy that shot off to her sides. Sombra cut off his magical assault and melted into shadows, swirling around the young alicorn with ever increasing speed, soon forming a twister of shade. Cloaked in the shadows, he started flanking her, taking swipes at the Crystal Princess with each pass. Some were blocked. Others, while partially deflected, still landed. Her legs were nicked several times and feathers torn from her wings every few moments. Her enchanted armor being the only thing sparing her from a severed limb or gutted torso. She just barely managed to roll out of the way of a crescent slash aimed for her throat with only the loss of some of her mane, when Sombra's echoing, hellish voice filled the room.
"Alicorn or not, you are a disgrace of a ruler. I have mastered the fel arts created by Grogar himself!"
Cadance threw up a magical shield a moment too late as Sombra came flying out of the haze at her, gleaming fangs aimed for her face. Averting her head to the side spared her from a facial bite, but Sombra thrashed upon chomping down on her helmet. The crystalline, ornate helm rolled across the ground as he spat it out. The swirling haze began to dissipate as he smashed a hoof into Cadance's armored sternum. The crystal crest was cracked and near shattered, as the alicorn was thrown back a short distance and skidding on her hooves. Her head was held low as Sombra raised his scythe over himself.
"Who did you learn under?!"
He was just about to swing down when a jolting pain surged through his system. Sombra's eyes contracted as he felt a liquid chill running down his leg. Casting his gaze downward, he spotted Cadance's spear embedded in his shoulder. The young alicorn sneered as she yanked on the weapon with her magic, prying it loose from Sombra's body with a spurt of crimson.
"My aunt..."
Cadance yelled out as her eyes glowed with a white light, and the tide of the fight had turned. Now Sombra was the one having to play defense, having to worry more with blocking and deflecting his successor's rapid lunges to avoid getting impaled than he did counter attacking. The air hissed and snapped as sparks flew, Cadance pressuring her attack and forcing Sombra backwards down the hall. An overhead swing and sweeping slash crossed one another, and scythe and spear became locked up. Cadance winced as some sparks poured down from above and bounced off her face, putting as much force as she could into shoving forward to break the lock. King Sombra however, was pushing harder and the tide was beginning to turn again. But even as his brute force began to take hold, the tyrant's gluttonous pride similarly started to flare up and he didn't notice a smirk growing on the alicorn's face. A more imaginative opponent that also had potent magic prowess charged hubris' price.
Blue energy built up briefly in Cadance's horn, growing along its spiraling rings until reaching the tip and releasing a massive spark of brilliance that lit up the cavern, momentarily blinding Sombra and snuffing his shadows out. Shifting her angle, Cadance twisted her spear's point, letting Sombra's force dry the tip downwards and sling the other end up. The spear shaft swung around, breaking the lock up and smashing the butt into Sombra's muzzle. Judging from the loud crack anddripping, black and red ichors seeping out of his nose, the lock up wasn't the only thing she just broke.
Sombra panted hoarsely as he shot himself backwards a safe distance. Bringing his hoof to wipe his nose, his feral eyes widened in rage at the sight of his own blood; before shooting a glare at Cadance sharp enough to cut diamond. Aerenths tore out of the ground next to him, flanking their master on either side. Hatred and wrath fuming out of his orbits with the smoke, he was practically foaming at the mouth as he roared. All elegance and mystique one would expect of a royal was gone.
"You... You BITCH!"
He hurled one manticore sized hunk of sharpened crystal at the princess. Cadance sucked in her breath as her horn and breastplate flashed. The magical barrier she put up barely held, cracking as the crystal shattered into thousands of shivs and impaled themselves on the wall behind her. Sombra lifted up the other aerenths, drool lathering out of his fangs.
"YOU BROKE MY NOSE!"
A red flash shot out past Cadance and tore into the first aerenth, smoke and shard flying everywhere as it exploded. A blue blur charged at Sombra with speed betraying its mass. There was a gleam of silver as a bearded axe cloaked in red sparks cleaved through the other crystal, splitting it in two. Sombra melted down into a shadow and retreated to avoid getting his head lopped off by the still oncoming weapon. Broad hooves settled down onto the ground as their owner cut off their telekinesis, quartz crystals strangling the remaining aerenths. Xenilla smirked as he rested the axe on his back.
"Honest opinion, I'd say someone beat her to it."
On instinct, Cadance held her spear at the ready as she slowly approached the kaiju. Earlier she'd thought she was walking into a three way brawl and was primarily concerned with stopping the more immediate threat and keeping it from spilling out into the city. There certainly was a hope that the save earlier had been intentional, but there always was that fear of the classic frog and the scorpion and her being swindled into being the frog. But then something subtle happened.
Fiery siam eyes surrounded by gold looked away from the reforming Sombra ten yards in front of them, and looked back into lilac. There was a silent nod before he looked forward again. Cadance advanced, crystal princess and crystal kaiju flanking one another as the walls began to glimmer with light. She braced herself and readied her spear, horn glimmering.
"So you did save me on purpose..."
Quartz crystals rose from the ground and fought the rising aerenths for control of the floor space.
"I made a promise, I don't break them... Though I will have to demand a pardon after this is over."
Xenilla readied his axe, having stolen it away from the weapons rack he'd been thrown into earlier. Quartz crystals that had been mounted onto the shaft and back of the head crackled with red energy. Sombra snarled as shadows choked the air around him, his horn flaring with out of control dark magic. He shot forward in a magic propelled charge. Cadance kept her voice low as her horn sparked.
"Granted..."
Spinning her spear, she threw up a magic shield to block an oncoming blast of dark magic. Xenilla roared as he sprang up, axe head and scythe chine colliding.
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Ponyville
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Carousel Boutique was a place custom built by its owner to be a palace of peacefulness and comfort, meant to be nothing but inviting and charming. Worked out pretty well too. Barring a certain sweetshop, the fashion design's residence was probably one of the nicest looking houses in town. A mix of being surrounded by organized chaos and the ingredients of her talent were key for helping a young entrepreneur to keep her head together. Having just moved out from her family into a new town to set up shop, she'd needed it that way to keep steady without relatives around her. For years, it was her beloved home. A safe place that nothing too terrible could hurt her in. Tonight however, that protection unraveled. The sleeping unicorn was restless, and not by her own doing.
Rarity's face winced and scrunched, as she tossed and turned in her bed despite the veil of unconsciousness. Her reaction was to be expected. She was seeing her world being murdered.
Manehattan, population of three hundred thousand. Right now though, she would be as surprised as she was horrified if it had a tenth of that, judging from all the screaming. The sky was darkened, half choked with smoke. The only lights about where sparking street lamps and the bonfires that had once been homes or businesses. Windows shattered, streets torn apart; homes crushed down into coffins. Carneighie Hall was flattened into a smoking crater, mangled so badly it was only recognizable by the remaining half of its otherwise crushed entrance. Farrier Hill was on fire, a dark green form looming over the apartment complexes before digging its massive arms into the buildings. Rarity didn't want to think about what it was bringing up to its mouth after digging, but she knew it wasn't any construction materials. The dusty, dank air stung her nose and chest with every breath as she ran through debris filled streets. She had just past the ground level throne to the monolithic Imperial State Building when a large shadow with a glowing blue light flew over the structure like a massive bird. With a flick of its long tail, it tore the top half of the structure off its base, sending a tidal wave of falling glass, concrete; and metal crashing down towards her.
Rarity's coarse throat cried out, putting up her arms to brace a shield when a flash of light shifted her point of view. Now she was in the Crystal Empire. Or at least, what was left of it. The Crystal Castle still stood tall, but only as a dark bastardization of its once illuminated, glorious self. The beacon of love and hope had ravenous aerenths stabbing their way out of the sides and roof in a crooked, chaotic fashion that made the tower almost resemble a horned, snarling monstrosity more than it did any castle. The rest of the Empire was practically unrecognizable. The various neighborhoods were under assault from all angles, the Equestria Games stadium being little more than an ignited crater. Rarity panicked and raced through the streets trying to find somepony, anypony. All around her the landscape itself was being disfigured. Some houses were being gradually destroyed and flattened out by waves of obsidian. The dark plague tore the homes free of their foundations with a chorus of shattering gems before the buildings themselves were greedily swallowed up by the shade. All around her, unnatural shapes skittered about between the buildings, but they were far from anything recognizable Rarity had ever seen in her life as they darted past her. Multiple pairs of sword like claws dug into the sides of the crystal buildings, gorging their hosts on the remains. But it wasn't the demons running amok or the stabbing cold she felt on her fur that left Rarity's voice in a terrified choke. It was the fact that aside from the gnawing of the ravenous pests and viral obsidian, the broken jewel of a city was completely silent.
-Wh-Where did all the crystal ponies go?...-
She hated herself for pondering the answer when the scene shifted once again, and at first she almost thought the nightmare had finally ended. It was a calm, cool, gentle night atop of a grassy hill. The stars were glimmering, Luna's moon was casting a silver blanket across the land; and Canterlot stood tall and proud. The relief she felt upon seeing something something pleasant and normal was incalculable. Questions were ripping through her head as she closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. Why was she seeing this? She almost never had a nightmare in her life, let alone ones quite so, graphic. She'd been feeling a few headaches over the last few days, maybe this had all been some sick sequence of visions spurred by something she was coming down with. She took deep breaths and held it, trying to slow down the throbbing pulse in her chest and nerves.
She was strangled on her own air when a massive flash of light shot through her eyelids.
There was a low rumble that rattled the earth beneath her hooves. The curtain of air that slammed into her was so astoundingly cold it burnt. Her eyes were forced open, and what she saw left her lungs spasming. When she tried to finally empty her chest and yell out, the shockwave forced her scream back down her throat. Rarity was thrown onto the floor, coughing and hacking to try and fix her lungs.
The lands shifted. As she struggled back to her hooves, Rarity realized she was back in a place she knew well. And that fact was horrifying. She'd seen Manehattan, the empire, and Canterlot; now she was looking at home. It was barely distinguishable from Tartarus itself. Rarity limped forward on trembling legs, her lips and eyelids whimpering. She walked past tombs and morgues, barely able to so much as glance at what she was seeing. There wasn't anypony in sight, least anypony who was breathing. A stabbing thought lashed at her mind as her nose began to plug up. How could this happen to this place?...
A mature, feminine voice in the shades answered, whispering echoes as it circled her.
-HE, happened...-
Flashes shot before her eyes before Rarity could even ponder at who was speaking. She was looking at her own personal Tartarus, now she was looking at its Kronos.
He towered over the landscape like a mountain. A thick, long tail ending in many thorny prongs swatted down a bleeding ruin to its knees. Taloned feet slashed into the earth under thousands of tons of mass. A triple pronged crown rested upon a head that scraped the sky.
"Wh-What... in the name of..."
-If he comes here, this will be the result... Nothing else...-
Lines of glowing orbs glared down and through the Element of Generosity from high above. Then she saw what it was standing over. Like a lion over a gnat. A small shape barely visible laying beside the corpse of a door. Rarity's pulse sky rocketed to dangerous levels. She charged forward, throwing aside fallen homesteads and bulldozing through hellscape; not questioning how she was doing such feats. It didn't matter what monstrosity was in front of her. What mattered was what was in front of him.
"No..."
Rarity gritted her teeth as her magic wrapped around what used to be a hollow oak tree and threw it out of her way. Her eyes were beginning to be drowned as her chest felt crushed in from the inside.
"NO NO NO NO!"
Her legs gave out in front of it, but she didn't take her eyes off her treasured. The voice returned, practically whispering in her ear.
-If he makes it to Equestria... No survivors...-
That tone. If Rarity's heart wasn't being crushed, she might have recognized it.
"Who-Who are you!?! Show yoursel-"
She choked when she saw the source. Through blurring tears however, she recognized her reflection in a glossy, unmoving eye. A midnight gray coat, a sparkling, flowing mane; and eyes of blue starlight.
Rarity snapped back into the world of the awake. Not caring about the clamping sensation in her chest or her blurred, drowned vision; she flew out of her bed and ripped open her bedroom door. Sprinting down the hall so quickly she nearly stepped on Opalescence, she threw open the door to the second most frequently used bedroom. Rarity wiped her eyes and clenched her quivering jaw shut, looking through the darkness.
Despite the noise, the pony lay sound asleep on her plush bed with her back to the door. Rarity watched for a long while, standing motionless as she saw Sweetie Belle's rib cage flex steadily with her sleeping respiration; confirming her health. The Element of Generosity slowly gripped the door knob with her magic and got back onto her hooves. She turned and moved away, closing the door behind her without so much as a creak or utterance that would risk rousing her younger sibling. The slow walked back to her own room seemed to take an hour despite the relatively short distance. As soon as her form met the side of her bed however, Rarity collapsed. She dug her face into the sheets and let it all out, her eyes drowning. Her muffled sobbing was audible to only two in Ponyville. The first was Opalescence, who in a rare moment of tenderness to her owner crept over to Rarity and rubbed up against her. The second, was the cloaked shade beyond her window, peering in with glowing, yellow eyes. It stared at the weeping unicorn for a few moments, before fading away into nothing but wisps of shadow.
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Crystal Empire Castle, Catacombs
===============================
Axe head and spear blade smashed into the length of a scythe, sparks flying everywhere as Sombra tried in vain to hold off two attackers at once, begin rapidly sent skidding back as he just try to hold them off. Horns glowed with green, blue, and red light as surges of raw power traveled down the length of their wielder's weapons before colliding together just as steel and aerenth had. But even fel magic fueled by endless hatred was no match for powers born from a dying star and the first student of the sun; and Sombra was sent flying backwards from a massive shockwave that split the air in two. Thrown into the edge of his sanctum, Sombra was slow to rise, a poor facade of his once regal self. His shattered aerenths surrounded him as they rolled across the ground. His royal cape was in tatters, slashed in several places, half burned, and smoldering. All of his dark handsomeness he had for a mask was destroyed, and the monstrous soul within had become his face.
Xenilla and Cadance cautiously approached, keeping at the ready with weapons close and energy crackling across maw and horn. The former had just stepped down upon and pinned Sombra’s scythe underhoof when a surge of green light ignited across Sombra’s horn. Shadowy fog flew forth from the tyrant as he let out a salivating roar, the wave of black energy flying at the two. Cadance threw up a magic shield and Xenilla his energy barrier, but it was to no use. This wasn’t an attack that could be deflected, it was a raw emotion given physical form. Fear, enough to suppress an entire empire; consumed them whole. The enchanted door was but a spark compared to this inferno that burned through the defender’s souls. Xenilla and Cadance writhed, dropping their weapons and stammering back.
Xenilla winced and snarled in pain as the scene before him shifted, no matter how many times he shook his head to try and clear his vision. There were no catacombs, there was no castle, there was no Equestria. There was only a blank shroud darker than the deepest space. Feeling in his digits had returned, heralding the reemergence of his old body. But once he saw his sole neighbor in this empty realm, that didn’t matter. A vice clamped down within his chest, a sensation akin to being impaled ramming through him. He couldn’t focus enough for any telekinesis, he could only run. And when he couldn’t run anymore, he crawled to it. He grasped the shoulder and shook it. When no response was ushered, he rolled the form onto its side and instantly felt something warm and wet on his hands. There was a gaping hole in the chest, right where the heart and spine would be. Deceased ichors gushed out of it and onto Xenilla’s limbs. The crystal kaiju panicked, dropping all his usual calm and collective nature. He pressed his hands to the wound, trying to force it closed with no success. Red energy crackled along his backspines and shoulders, the nuclear powered pulse shocks traveling down his arms and into the body in a desperate attempt to jumpstart a still heart. Failing that, Xenilla went for the most readily available source of high energy crystals, himself. He reached behind and ignored a stab of pain as he tore out one of his smaller spines. The crystal shifted and sparked, quartz white turning into radiant blue as it shifted into a healing gem. Xenilla jammed it into the wound and shocked it with a nuclear pulse while still holding onto it. The crystal shattered into a familiar blue mist, coating the wound. This couldn't be the end, this had to work...
But the blue glow faded, as did the healing crystal. It didn't work...
Breath quickening, he swallowed back his own pain and torn out another energized spine. Another conversion, another shock, another failure. At this point he was ripping out his tail crystals and practically stuffing the wound before shocking it, giving it everything he had. But nothing changed as he energized the body repeatedly. All the regeneration boosters in the world couldn't revive the dead. The same clamping feeling returned to his chest with vengeance, the pain almost crippling.
And the world flickered back to reality for a moment's breath.
For a split second, the enveloping blackness disappeared and he was back in a crystalline cavern. His hands were gone, replaced by hooves. The darkness above briefly flashed the grinning, laughing visage of a rising King Sombra. The dark king's horn glowed with a bright green glow as a beam tracked from its tip into Xenilla's chest.
Then the nightmare returned, the realization clawing Xenilla's mind.
Magic, Sombra's magic. What he saw was a trick, it had all been a sick illusion. His hatred broiled.
Xenilla's breathing and heart rate skyrocketed, but now equal parts grief and fury. The nightmare fizzled out again briefly as Xenilla rose and took a step forward. Every heartbeat, every pulse brought him in and out of reality. Quartz crystals tore out of the ground, strands of energy flying out of them and into Xenilla's shoulders as he levitated off the ground. The very air began to tremble as telekinesis lashed at everything around it. Nightmare, reality. Corpse, Sombra. Crushing fear, incinerating hatred. It rapidly swapped between the two as Xenilla's mane and eyes became overwhelmed with a red light. Sombra's smile vanished as Xenilla's lips curled into a snarl. Stoicism was completely thrown away. The blue stallion's trailing shadow stretched across the wall behind him, but didn't resemble any equine. Xenilla called out. The echoing shout, more a roar than a yell, rattled the air and shook the castle's foundations.
"SOOOOOMMMMBRAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The crystal kaiju charged forward too fast for Sombra to dodge or block, grabbing the tyrant and smashing through the roof in a blue blur.
The green smoke and dark shroud around Cadance's eyes vanished with Sombra's influence. Her nightmare ceased and her eyes dried a bit. Celestia's lessons on dark magic rang true as her horn glimmered. She concentrated on a lot, filling her mind with love. An old couple she called mother and father. A kindly princess who took her under her wing. A shy classmate who years later held her hoof under an alter. The darkness ebbed away as her horn lost its glow, and she fully returned to reality. It only took her a moment to see the gaping hole in the ceiling and loud rumbling from above to figure out where the stallions went. Slowing her heart rate, she spread her wings and half sprinted and half flew up the staircase to another chamber. By the sound of it, they'd just broken into the roof near the reliquary. Sombra was one of the strongest dark magic users in history. Dark magic's best counter is benign magic. In a desperate time and situation, she didn't know if she could risk her last resort option. But it looked like her back up plan was the best plan.
Sombra meanwhile skid across the floor, some of his armor being torn away as he flopped and rolled across the ground. Xenilla, eyes still caught in an inferno, stomped towards him. Red energy sparked along his entire body, the ground with every step. Sombra attempted to swipe at him with his scythe, but a furious smack by Xenilla's axe swatted it down. The crazed kaiju raised his axe and swung down, Sombra trying to intercept it with his scythe. But instead of locking up and pushing down as the sparks flew, Xenilla stomped down on Sombra's bare leg and smashed the weapon down again and again with ever increasing fervor. Each time Sombra tried to force him away, and each time he failed. Until, with a thundering crash, steel at least conquered aerenth. The ancient scythe shattered into unrecognizable pieces, shards flying every which way as expanding cracks flew up its length. The war axe continued to descend down, hardly even slowed down by breaking the ancient relic. Barely missing Sombra's head, it hit with such force that it buried itself in the floor all the way to the handle. Not that Xenilla needed a weapon any more. Strands of telekinesis strangled the dazed tyrant, lifting him up as an enraged Xenilla roared in his face.
"Do you have ANY idea what you did to me?!"
Sombra's eyes and horn ignited with a green flare, a fireball of dark magic shooting out and engulfing much of Xenilla's upper body. But the psychic hold never faulted, and Xenilla stood exactly as he was when the smoke cleared, despite half his torso and neck being horribly burned. The kaiju cocked his head back and head butted his rival hard enough to reopen the broken nose Cadance caused. Sombra struggled and writhed, attempting another blast; but a second face first crash broke his focus. Xenilla hissed, fighting through the nightmares that still plagued his vision with every heartbeat.
"Do you know what I lost?!"
A strong hoof to the face bruised Sombra from the cheek to the brow. The former monarch's crown flew off his head and rolled against the floor as Xenilla towered over him. A stray limb broke free of psychic control and ushered a return blow; smacking the kaiju across the face, bloodying his nose and snout. The retaliation was far from dignified.
Xenilla chomped down, bending the metal greave and rupturing skin under tooth and fang. A loud crack signaling a shattered hoof and leg bone. Nearly shocked by his own pain, King Sombra's entire body glowed with a flare of green light as he put as much force as he could into one more blast. Taking advantage of Xenilla being blinded by his hex for a split second, Sombra ducked his head down and lunged up. Recurved horn stabbed into Xenilla's collar, burying itself and almost the entire magical shock wave shot out from it into the kaiju's body. The psychic binding was fractured and Xenilla flew across the room with a trail of smoke. Crashing into a chair, Xenilla was a bit slower to rise than Sombra; falling back to the ground. The tyrant king struggled up to his hooves with a noticeable limp, keeping one limb off the ground.
"I fashioned a prison none could experience without living your worst fear."
Xenilla struggled to get up, his wound sparking as his healing factor tried to patch it to the best of its current ability. Sombra huffed coarsely to regain his breath, levitating up a sharpened shiv that used to be part of his scythe's shaft as he limped forward. He took aim as Xenilla's throat.
"For you, it must have been like tearing off your own arm... But it ends here, the beast dies alone..."
A third voice joined the conversation, shouting out from the doorway.
"He's not alone!"
Without warning, a wave of blue magic tore through the doorway and slammed into King Sombra, forcing him back and tearing into the floor. Princess Cadance forced her way into the room with a brilliant, blue gleam hovering in front of her. A new magic flooded the room, practically searing Sombra to the touch as it banished the nightmares from Xenilla's sight at last. The kaiju gasped for breath as new energy flooded his systems, shrugging off the weakness Sombra's hexes had caused. Sombra, now steaming, tried to force his way into a charge. But with a flare of her horn and memory of her husband in mind fueling her magic, Cadance sent a pulse of her power into the Crystal Heart. The artifact of hope and love amplified her power, the pulse turning into a shockwave that threw Sombra back again and vaporized his aerenths.
Bringing the heart in was a huge risk. If she fell without it, the Empire would least still have one weapon to stop its threats before they spilled over into Equestria proper. And when she was uncertain of the kaiju's intent, it was simply too big of a risk. But now, it was all or nothing. Another shockwave was charged as Sombra tried to fire a blast of fel magic, only for a ray of red energy to intercept the magic midflight and block it. Xenilla got back up, advancing alongside Cadance as Sombra was forced back. Try as he may with all his might, he was too expended to hold off two attackers at once now and was being overwhelmed. Every assault he launched, Crystal Kaiju or Crystal Princess would counter it as the other attacked. Alternating blast waves and coronal flares crashed into Sombra as he was shoved further and further back.
"I am a Princess of Equestria! Tasked by Celestia to protect!"
Cadance smacked aside a weakening hellfire blast with a barrier, smashing the energy shield into Sombra as the ruby red flare of Xenilla's nuclear pulse traveled through the ground and pounced upon the tyrant.
"And I will not let you kill-"
Another blast wave crashed into Sombra as he was thrown against the window, the wall and stained glass fracturing upon his impact. His eyes were no long fueled by smoking rage. His wrath , pride, and greed; his power source, had left him. For the first time in eons, one of the most notorious murderers in Equestrian history was terrified. He tried in vain to meld into a shadow, to sink into the floor and escape to try again one day.
"ANYONE!"
Twin suns of blue and red were about to try and guarantee that day would never come. Power condensed and flew forth, blinding beams of star corona and pure magic spiraling around one another as they engulfed the tyrant and blew the wall behind him out. The beams of light were visible for miles, and their target was devoured within them in one last yell that echoed through the night. After almost ten seconds of continued fire, the beams cut off.
Cadance and Xenilla stood in silence, huffing for breath and slowing their racing pulses. The Crystal Heart's glow soothed itself to a gentle gleam. King Sombra was no more, nothing but his torn helm and fractured horn remained on the floor. The wall behind where he once was had a massive circled burned into it, the circumference still glowing and smoldering. The blood red horn crumbled like dust, evaporating into nothingness in moments. The two walked up to the new window, Xenilla crushing Sombra's helm underhoof with his good leg.
"Think- we got him?..."
In the far distance, a circular hole had been burned into a mountain far outside the city limits. Xenilla could see the smoke from his perch.
"Likely, though speaking from experience it would be wise to check later..."
Cadance sighed, Celestia's sunlight beginning to trickle in over the horizon and kiss her muzzle. She looked to her aunt's symbol, keeping her voice barely above a whisper.
"When I brought you in here, I thought you might have been able to break through my shield."
"How so?"
"You overplayed your part a bit, and... guess I was still hoping somewhere that Key Ring and Miss Dancer were telling the truth. But you wanted to be imprisoned, didn't you?"
Xenilla looked to the world's star, feeling its rays begin to restore bits of his near depleted power. He was far too low on energy to completely heal his wounds, only patch them shut. And judging from how many riddled his form, it might take awhile to restore himself fully. The kaiju kept his voice low and emotionless as he responded.
"...Yes, I let you imprison me so I could sense Sombra coming and he'd think I was out of the way. I knew he'd come for you..."
"How did you know he'd come for me? And why didn't you tell m-..."
Cadance's eyes widened slightly with the realization. That familiar sense of ambiguity was rapidly returning to the 'ambassador'. She did not appreciate being used as a treat in a snare trap. Xenilla's response was nearly robotic.
"You used me as bait..."
"Yess... Worked didn't it? Now you only have one thorn in your side, Empress."
With that, the bizarre unicorn turned and began to depart from the room. But in the midst of all uncertainty surrounding the kaiju, Cadance glimpsed something for a fleeting moment on his face. When he turned, a wet line glistened in the sunlight leading from his eye. Whatever he might have seen when under the fear magic, Xenilla had been crying. Cadance shrugged as her wings drooped. She lowered her head, looking down at her city as Xenilla walked out the door.
"...Princess."
=============
Zenith, Temple
=============
Monster X sat cross legged, his wrists laying on his shins as his hands dangled slackly over the edges. His split, twin tails slowly swayed behind him like a cat's; waving in psychic energy as if it was a breeze. He was levitating what seemed to be a relatively short distance in the air, though to a human observer he would have been hovering almost fifty meters off the ground. His quarters were darkened, the only light emanating from a pair of dragon-like statues at either side of the chamber's entrance; from who's maws purple flames billowed forth from to act as lanterns. The flickering flames barely illuminated X's body, their light barely lashed at the edges of his monstrous form. Wasn't like anyone was around to notice however, the Xilian vanguard was meditating alone. That meant there was no one to keep him from falling asleep.
X's face cringed under his helmet, blackened fangs glinting in the firelight as he dreamed.
He was no longer in Zenith. Or anywhere recognizable for that matter. Still, going about through the dark city that now surrounded him, a eerie wave of familiarity he couldn't shake off washed over him. Granted, the word 'city' was barely applicable; for the metropolis he saw around him for miles was morbidly deceased. It was almost like not all of the landscape was present. No moving vehicles, no illuminated lights, nothing one would expect to find here was present but the skeletons and corpses of skyscrapers. In life some of them might have towered over the kaiju, but anything of that greatness had been toppled and shattered. Smoke still billowed from some of the vast graveyard. He tried to look at the sky to garner a detail about where he was, but night or day, the space above was clogged with clouds which in turn were choked by the smog and smoke billowing from the ruins. He tried to look at the skyscraper's husks, but the detail in his vision deserted him. It was almost like he was looking through a filter at a blurred photograph. He could see the shapes and basic features, but nothing specific. And yet, the vagueness all seemed so familiar.
-Have I been here before?-
Where his sight refused to relinquish any information, his sense of touch was acute. For instance, there was something warm and wet on his palm.
Perplexed, he lifted his arm and looked to his hand. Unfolding his claw tipped fingers, he could make out a small form laying in his palm. Like the buildings it was of a vague detail, appearing blurry and distorted in color and specifics across most of its surface. But just enough of the image became clear as he held up his palm to his face to gain a closer inspection.
It was a body, of a form similar to an Xilian or Terran. Two arms, two legs, one head. And the more he looked, the more some minute features became apparent in the dark blurs. A pair of blank, violet eyes looked upwards into space; shoulder length, black hair splayed across his palm as blood flowed from its side. A single, almost foreign thought flickered passively through the kaiju's mind as he looked it over.
-She's dead.-
It took a moment for the thought to fully register, causing his head to snap up a bit and tilt. He could barely make out any details about this body, much less its exact species. Yet somehow the knowledge was irrefutable, he just was clueless to the reason.
-How did I know it was a she?...-
He felt more warmth across both his hands now. Looking to them, X was shocked and somewhat horrified to see both of his limbs coated in spattered sanguine all the way to his elbows. The blood almost materializing out of nowhere, and despite his best efforts, refused to be wiped or flicked off. More disgusting, fat, liquid heat was invading his form. There was black and red blood everywhere. Pouring from the building windows, boiling up from the streets; and flooding out from the alleys. Within moments X was up to his knees in life's currency.
Confused, repulsed, and disgusted; the kaiju lifted his legs to kick himself free. But the blood refused to leave, sticking to him like a vat of tar. And like a beast stuck in a tar pit, he was beginning to sink. The progress was slow at first, but the ocean of blood soon began gluttonously swallowing him up. X tried everything he could to free himself. Telekinesis, fighting for freedom, blasting the pool with graviton flares; but nothing worked. He was now up to his chest in blood, more of it creeping up his arms and shoulders like a virus. His dread and shock over took the usually calm kaiju's senses he tried to keep his head above the drowning gore.
Then came the tidal wave of pain. Every submerged limb, every patch of skin and every muscle or bone below it was ignited. X roared and screamed in agony as the blood came to his mouth's level and began to spill in, choking him. It was approaching his eyes when he could feel his bones breaking and being forced back together in a myriad of different ways, as if he was being torn apart from the inside and put back together differently. The blood over took his trembling eyes when he finally got some company in the darkness. A voice. More like a growl, it was dark, callous, deep; and threatening.
The source was invisible, seemingly swirling around and echoing to him in the dark void. It was remarkably similar and remarkably different from his own at the same time.
-Terrible things X... We've done terrible things...-
The voice cackled gleefully. The agonizing pains in his body grew only worse and worse, an especially wretched amount building up around his repeatedly broken shoulder blades. Then he saw the host of the voice. Three pairs of glowing red lights appeared in the darkness above him. By the time he realized they were a trio of glaring eyes that towered over him, they were already lunging at him. The eyes grew just close enough for X to see three sets of fanged jaws beneath them; when he felt something tear its way out of his back, the pain stifed his yell.
Monster X snapped awake at the same time his mental command to 'Fire' did. He hit the ground of the temple while unleashing a torrent of golden graviton beams from his eyes that impacted and annihilated the dragon lantern. Glowing purple coals and obsidian rubble scattered across the floor as X fell backwards onto his sides. Huffing and panting for breath, he tried to rise to his feet. Stabbing agony halted his attempt and he froze. Two spots on his back almost felt like he'd been impaled.
Reaching back, he felt at his armor. At the source of the pain, just between the bony shroud that covered his shoulder blades; he could feel his armor was chipped. Fragments of it fell away, and at first X thought he had indeed been stabbed while he was sleeping. But the more he felt around, the more he could feel the breach was convex rather than concave like one would expect from an impact. It was from the inside out. And fragments of bone weren't all he felt. Pulling back his hand, he saw a tell tale shimmer on his fingers reflecting the remaining lantern's light. Dark liquid dribbled down from his fingers.
He was all alone, and he had been bleeding.
===================
Crystal Palace, Jail
===================
Xenilla trudged down the darkened stairwell, severely slowed by his limp and lack of energy to fly. He was hurting all over, but still had work to do. The kaiju shook his head slightly as his hooves clicked against the floor, trying to get the world to stop tilting so much.
-The things I do to get library privileges back...-
He passed by empty cell after empty cell, his approach being well noticed by the jail's last and only occupant. Blade Dancer jumped back up to her hooves and pressed up against the bars and barrier as she spotted the dark outline of Xenilla approaching the cell.
"Xenilla, is that you?"
The unicorn reached the cell door as he lifted up the key he'd picked back up on the way in with a quivering strand of psychic energy.
"Ah, hello there Miss Dancer."
He'd just managed to unlock the door when the guardsmare got a good look at him. Instantly her expression shifted from miffed and annoyed to worried. Her face only shrunk more and more as she noticed the burns, cuts, bruises; and stab wounds covering Xenilla's blue coat. One of his eyes held closed and was ringed in a purple bruise.
"Oh good Faust, Xen..."
The door opened as Xenilla cut off his telekinesis, stumbling over his hoof. He'd probably had fallen flat on his face had Blade Dancer not practically thrown herself into him to keep him from tilting. Not hesitating, she gently but firmly gripped his limping hoof and put it over her shoulders. Had she undertaken any other occupation that didn't require a lot of strength building regimes, she'd probably have toppled over upon making him lean on her. Xenilla was all muscle and probably weighed over twice as much as she did. Still, she managed to hold him up on his hooves as she looked up at his wincing face.
"Hey don't keel over on me now! You going to be alright?! Where's Sombra?!"
Xenilla shifted, starting to limp towards the exit with Blade Dancer quick to tag along to keep him supported.
"I- won, I'll be alright... I kept my promise and got pardoned, the Empress is still kicking."
Red eyes glanced down at red mane standing next to him. Xenilla tried to chuckle but cut himself short from the stabbing pain in his chest. Sometimes some things like a set of broken ribs skipped his mind.
"As are you thankfully. What happened to the other two guards?"
He mumbled, still slumping somewhat. Blade Dancer stretched a wing over his back, minding to avoid some scabs as she curled it around him to keep a better grip.
"Shhh, don't talk too much if it hurts. They woke up about thirty minutes ago to head up top, saying I'd be fine down here. I haven't seen them since... Now C'mon, we need to get you to a bed and a doctor."
"Hmph... Is this more wasted sympathy for a monster I see? No need for medical personnel however. I'll be fine, I heal fast. Though, seeing you fret is admittedly-"
Lips sneered briefly as a pain shot up his shoulder upon taking the first step up the staircase, his fangs glinting in the low light. A slithering hiss seeped out for a moment with his exhale.
"-adorable."
Blade Dancer narrowed her eyes slightly, playfully whapping the kaiju on the back of the head with some of her feathers as she helped him up the stairs.
"Oh don't you start that with me buster! I'm still miffed about the stunt you pulled with the cell."
Xenilla's lips briefly turned up, before flattening again. He knew full well why he'd locked her away. In addition to not wanting to work around anyone, he was, on some levels, the same as any other soul whether he fancied the thought or not. He didn't like losing stuff he liked one way or another. Unfortunately, this thought was ushering some darker kin; subjects he'd much rather not think about. He could already feel his chest chilling and tightening up a bit as he spoke in an uncharacteristically somber tone.
"I, apologize but I couldn't risk you being caught in the crossfire. You'd be bullheaded enough to get in the way and I didn't want to have to fight around someone. The castle took enough damage in the brawl as is..."
Looking away at the ceiling, a tiny smile crossed Blade Dancer's face as they finished climbing the stairs.
"Well, I suppose that's kinda sweet of you..."
Several long moments passed in silence as they trudged down a long hallway leading to some of the guest quarters. Feeling the stallion shift his stance against her shoulder, Blade Dancer glanced over to her cohort and her smile vanished. Xenilla's face was paled, and obviously going through great effort to remain blank as it could. The edges of his lips were turning down slightly and if one was looked very closely, his eyes were trembling. It wasn't the stallion she'd seen for the past few days. She paused in front of his room, looking him in the eye and putting a hoof to his chest.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Xenilla summoned some of his old strength as the sunlight streamed through a window streamed and danced across his mane. He managed to free his hoof from Blade Dancer's back and he stood back up to his full height to try and return to his usual look. Chest puffed out slightly, neck raised, head held high, eyes forward, strong muscles showing through his skin. But try as he may, he couldn't banish the shell shocked look on his face any more than he could release the dreaded clamping sensation in his chest. He'd tried to forget something, and managed to for a few minutes. But he'd failed. The crystal kaiju had triumphed over the crystal king.
So why didn't he feel victorious?...
"I'll be fine Miss Dancer..."
He walked through the opened door, closing it behind him. The answer to his question was all too obvious with the words of his foe echoing through his mind as a chill settled over him.
-"I fashioned a prison none could experience without living your worst fear."-
He was Xenilla, the bastard clone of a son to the old king. He'd made a choice one day, and a decision on another; still never sure which was the horrid mistake. His error was written in time. It was too late to change anything now, he'd have to live with his hubris and who it wrought. And maybe that was his greatest fear. He hated feeling so weak, but some foes couldn't be fought. The cold sensation in his chest was growing so strong is overpowered the numb burning her felt from some of his patched wounds.
"I'll be fine, I heal fas-..."
Xenilla closed the door behind himself and locked it, unable to lie.
===============
Zenith, Interior
===============
An idle, frosted wind churned through the dark halls of the obsidian temple. Purplish fires from archaic lanterns flickered as the gales sifted through the main chamber. The air hissed while it encircled the sole distinct feature in the room's core. A massive, featureless orb hovering above the ground. After some moments, it was featureless no more. Trails of a dim purple glow trailed over the surface of the orb, faintly igniting ancient runes that covered the entire surface. The runes pulsed with energy, fading away for a few seconds before another pulse lit them again. The beat was steady, living. It was a blood pulse, a heartbeat.
The ball of pure black, Zenith's throne, stirred with conscious thought. It's occupant, the one his forces called 'Master', shifted inside his otherworldly cocoon. Sets of eyes, long since closed in meditation, saw everything that had happened around it. He saw the gathering of his forces. He saw the monster without a real name knelt before him and presented the Alicorn Amulet. It saw when Gigan cautiously offered up the Electro-Orb, before the last of the gyaos offered its twin. The three treasures now hovered before it in a twisting nether space of the cocoon, grayed, cracked and brittle. He'd drained them dry. Their power was now his, wisps of power in his bottomless engine. He knew there was more where that came from, but some of the more recent endeavors had failed. The Tree of Harmony still stood rooted in the Everfree, and the immortal alicorns still lived.
A deep, slow growl echoed out of the sphere as its owner peered into the realm Zenith had connected itself to. This country, this Equestria; it had more power sources than anywhere else in its realm. But for a place with such seemingly feeble life forms, resistance had been far stronger than anticipated. He hadn't expected the Element of Magic and Guardian of Mortals to be present to fight off the first flock away from the Tree. And the prospect of the King of the Monsters coming to Canterlot's defense at the Alicorn's behest had been most unexpected. Otherwise, the two alicorns would now be in a similar state to their amulet. Aged, drained, and deceased husks.
Recurved fangs glinted in the nether at the thought of jagged spines and colorful wings. Near invisible tendrils of black psychic energy strangled some of the walls, cracked the obsidian as if held in a taught fist. Silent rage shook the very foundations of the temple itself. The modern Godzilla was just as troublesome as his father; and the new Mothra had the tendency to pop up at the worst of times, just like her grandmother. The temple’s rumble increased to almost earthquake levels, with building energy for several moments.
With a calmed sigh, the tension eased and subsided. True, things were not going as planned; but if there was anything he was, it was patient. He waited 77,000 years to begin his reawakening, he could wait for exploitable opportunities. After all, why flare a temper when not all endeavors had their short comings? Monster X, Gigan, and the albino gyaos’ missions had been a success, and his trip to the Crystal Empire's outskirts had worked. King Sombra had lived again, and he saw everything the monarch had done. The assassination plot was promising at first as an opportunity to snare the Crystal Heart and remove its conduit. Sombra had nearly done the latter just fine, though the old monster king's bastard son to get in the way was something he hadn't seen coming. The alicorn and kaiju had killed his pawn. For the second time in a year, King Sombra had been blown to pieces... Still, wasn't a total loss. The Equestrians just saw their tyrant rise from the grave and will seek answers as to why. More resources spent chasing the wind and less on him, the better.
-Besides...-
The malefic lord flicked a talon in his shadowy realm, swirling it around to call forth a thin mist of shadows. Summoning forth from the void was a familiar red horn from the nether. He looked at the remaining fragment of the fallen king slowly, levitating it before himself to inspect it for several moments; then ushering it out of his sphere and onto the wall of his chamber.
-I used my power to bring him back. I did it once; I can always do it again should the opportunity arise. He lived because I willed it, he perishes when I say so. He'd proven promising, and for such a low energy cost as well. Less than a tenth needed to send in a kaiju.-
Thoughts swirled through the demon's head. Native forces always could be so useful, perhaps he should look into some more? Seemed to be plenty of grudges to act upon, and it'd be less taxing to manipulate someone already in that equine realm, than to send in some of his forces in bulk. Conserved energy was utilized energy after all, and with how treacherous he knew someone like King Ghidorah was, he could use all the reserve forces he could and keep under close watch.
A quiet, echoing, deep chuckle was audible as he reclined back inside his throne. He needed to retain his own power. No use sending in all the kaiju in at once. Not without draining himself in his current, weakened state, and undoubtedly causing the destruction of promising energy sources, the artifacts. Artifacts that otherwise could be put to his use. He'd keep Ghidorah especially on a tight leash until the time was right. The time when kings and princesses would see how feeble they were before a god would come one day. That day that was ticking closer and closer. For every artifact found, for every life snuffed out on either side of this conflict, for every passing night and day; he was getting stronger and stronger. There was a time he could evaporate cities and rupture mountains at a whim. If he remained patient, this Equestria could make him exceed even that might. If he bide his time, this was inevitability. One day, he'd make worlds tremble at his roar and split upon his footfall.
He crossed his arms and curled his spiked tail around himself, levitating within his housing as dark energies swirled around his resting body.
Yes... it would return one day. And when it did, it would liberate them all. The pitiful, malign, fleeting bond that enslaved all this world's inhabitants would be severed. The chain of life force that held the immortal soul to those miserable, mobile piles of meat, its most loathed enemy; it would rend it asunder. Life was fleeting, corruptible, fragile; a mistake. Death was final, death was equal; death was the stasis of the eternal. One could crush a body, but not a soul. It realized this long ago, and they would make others see the truth if they had to force them to. Extinction would have its day. First in this Equestria, then Terra, and then beyond... For 'Extinction', the apex of death, was the very title the ancients had ascribed to them, a word in a long forgotten language it snuffed out of their world with its speakers.
They had called in extinction, so it was called, Bagan.
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Everfree Forest
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Deep within the ancient wood, a gentle glow emanated out of its hold. The nightly air was gently warmed with each passing glow, wrapping the forest in a heated embrace as half its denizens slept and dreamed. The source, the timeless Tree of Harmony, dazzled with a star like gleam as the energy pulses flowed into its roots and out into the Everfree and world around it. This was the source of it all. The source to the Elements, to the natural magic that emanated throughout the wood and beyond; and to powers unknown. In some ways, the tree was the heart of the Everfree; and in others, to Equestria as a whole.
And like all trees and hearts, it was alive.
And she was smiling.
The pulses grew greater, swelling into a flare of light that birthed a ghostly form. Glowing with hues of silver and amethyst, she stepped out of her realm and into the mortal coil. She strode forward in serenity, without a hoof so much as bending a blade of grass. The astral projection silently waded out of her cavern and into the forest proper, a dim glowing mist trailer her. All around her brilliance, the world came alive. Te creatures of the nocturne shifted their attention from their posts, looking in in awe. Flowers bloomed and leaves unfolded as she walked past them. Moon beams flowed down from above, lighting the way. It was a beautiful sight, on a beautiful night; and she had good reason to smile. The gyaos attack was chaotic and nerve wracking, but the terror had passed for now. Her forest and the innocent city beyond it were safe. And it wasn’t just the dutiful valiance of her ponies she had to thank, two kaiju had her gratitude for the calm.
-It seems Sir Caesar wasn’t the only one of his kind-
She lifted her head up, peering through the forest canopy into the distant Canterlot castle. Brushing aside old wishes for her alicorns to return to their old residence, her mind drifted and pondered of the two aliens in the city’s midst. One who helped save her home, and the other who saved the alicorn’s city. True, their methods were a bit more lethal than she may have liked; but lives were on the line. Life included death, because death could give rise to new life. If ten thousand innocents could be saved and allowed to live as they wished by slaying one irredeemable evil, so be it. It was rare to find souls so willing to put themselves on the line for strangers in the name of selfless protection. It seemed this world of Terra they hailed from might have just as much of a knack for spawning champions as it did monsters. However, their reception so far had been a bit mixed. For every Equestrian cheering and applauding their heroism, just as many were fearing them. It was natural really, to react to something unknown and powerful with caution and wariness. Celestia and Luna had similar reception during their arrival at first, and again with the former after the Nightmare.
She took in a deep breath and sighed, a smile grew over the spectral face; kind, beautiful eyes glimmering. Those who feared would come around in time and see into their hearts as she had. Happened with Celestia, happened with Luna; it could happen again if they gave them the chance. There was a lot of pain within those kaiju, but their capacity for good was as enormous as they were, equal to any Equestrians. To her now, they were as dear as a newborn foal.
Overtime as the moon shined down from above however, the good mood stiffed. Her smile drifted and vanished into blankness as she trod through the glade, mind drifting to the wrecked stench of dark magic she still vividly remembered upon finding some of the gyaos skeletons after the Everfree battle. It was almost as if they were coated in the malign energy. That same energy she sensed on two visitors to the human realm the other day. The darkness was biting and hostile, limiting her ability to look into the invaders at times and follow them to whatever hole they crawled out of. Something like that confirmed her suspicions. Something or someone was directing the malign kaiju around, turning the gyaos free onto Canterlot like a swarm of attack dogs; and was holding even more forces in reserves elsewhere. She had a true enemy now, one with powerful forces. This was worse than Discord or Tirek.
A relaxed sigh relieved some tension. Powerful as her foe’s destroyers and hunters were, she’d seen into some of their hearts just the same as Godzilla and Mothra's. And in there, she saw some glimmers of hope. Something that demonstrated value in friendship, selflessness; and camaraderie was far from irredeemable. She briefly paused, thinking back to her brief message to the one now calling herself Irys. For the kaiju to show such concern for an Equestria, one they'd only known for awhile; she had to say something. The presence of the darkness, her enemy, however limited how long she could reach out undetected. But, judging from young lady Irys's actions, she'd said just what she needed to. One way or another, that group showed promise.
-If I can just nudge them down the right path, who knows?-
She turned, dimly glowing fog trailing her as her nightly walk began to draw to a close. Her projection couldn't stay in this world for long as she liked and time was up. Still, her soft smile returned as she looked upon the forest and distant Canterlot like a mother would. For now, under the efforts of heroines and heroes from two worlds; her realm had peace and life. And there was nothing more precious than that. Life was the time to makes choices, to forge friendships, and to love. It was a precious gift and certainly worth defending. It was what the Element of Magic and Guardian of Mortals had given each other. It was the same gift the Celestial Avatars and King of the Monsters had granted to Canterlot. It had been one of her gifts to this world, that life can be enjoyed and maintained. And it was this gift, more than any other that she sensed her foe sought to snuff out. It was peaceful for now, but that could all change for the worst. For now though, it was in capable hands and hooves.
The astral shape walked up to the Tree of Harmony, the structure glowing to life as she advanced up to and into it. The world around her shifted into a starry, magnificent realm. Cloven hooves trod across a glassy walkway as illuminated windows to all across Equestria opened up all around her. The sights and sounds of her home greeted her, human and equine alike. She saw schools, homes, ocean depths, towns, cities, wilds; and everything in between. This is what her foe campaigned to bring to an end, they and their forces. A branched horn glimmered with radiance, the panels shifting to over fifteen specific souls. She looked upon them all with a knowing nod and hopeful smile. If the enemy sought to play the cards of destruction, she’d be on her toes to maintain this peace in any way she was allowed. And champions from two worlds might just be the ticket needed to stop all this, even if some needed some work. Peace and life had to be maintained…
After all, her name was Harmony.
