//------------------------------// // 25: Struggle over the Forest // Story: The Dark Crusader // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// "Midnight!" a voice called out, causing Crimson to look back and find a small gray dragon, exactly like the one that followed Twilight Sparkle around, run up to the small group, "The others are waiting for you in the courtyard!" "Good work Cinder," Midnight replied, patting the dragon on the head as she corrected her course, "Did anything happen in Ponyville that I need to be aware of, or can it all wait until our guest figures out what we need to do to stop our enemy?" "The Mayor found some stray changelings last night," the dragon, Cinder, replied as he fell in with the group, "she's offered them a place to stay until you have an opportunity to speak with them. It seems like one of them might be of some importance, but the group wouldn't say anything past that they're here to speak with you and that they might have some information that you'd be interested in." "I'll be sure to speak with her when we return," Midnight said, shaking her head before pressing through a stone arch, "Girls! We're here, and we have company!" Crimson looked around the courtyard, a perfect mirror image to the one that Twilight and her friends had found him in, and watched as four ponies, the Shadows of the missing Element Bearers, stepped out from where they were hiding. Expect for the colors of their coats, their eyes, and their manes and tails, they were near copies of the ponies he had met in the ruins of his mother's castle. Applejack's Shadow, Jackie he recalled, tipped her hat up and stared at him, but after a few seconds she nodded and seemed to relax, which lead to the other three relaxing somewhat. Pinkamena and Scarcity glanced at him, but while he could tell that Rarity's Shadow was designing something in her head, likely armor he thought, the party mare's Shadow, complete with straight deflated hair, simply stared. Angelshy, the last remaining Shadow of the Element Bearers, approached him and glanced over his entire body, no doubt searching for any burns and injuries he might have sustained before arriving in their world. "I don't see any burns that could have been from fighting Darkstar," the pegasus commented, running a hoof over his wings while she spoke, "I would recommend preening a few of your feathers, maybe comb your coat a bit, and get rid of the dust that might have attached to you on your ride here. Other than that I don't see anything wrong with you, but I would personally recommend building yourself a personal gateway back home and getting out of here as quickly as you can." "Excuse me?" Crimson asked, wondering why she would turn away somepony that could help them defeat the Sisters. "Forgive her, she's just tired from the constant war," Midnight replied, sighing as her friends spread out around the courtyard, "Angelshy doesn't understand that, while you resemble our previous leader, you are our best hope for finding out what gives Darkstar her powers and then defeating her. It pains her to see you, as she sees Ebon and the hope that he brought her, so give her some time and I'm positive that she'll warm up to you, just like she did to Ebon." "Were she and Ebon, well," Crimson stared, unsure of how to ask the question. "Were they coltfriend and marefriend?" Midnight said, asking the question that Crimson didn't, "Honestly, I wouldn't be able to tell you at all. Yes, Angelshy is my friend and we all usually tell each other everything, but she could have kept something back for herself. If you want to know the answer to the question, I recommend asking her yourself. Now, how about we see to Ebon's chamber and see if you can't pick up where he left off." --------------------------------------------- The Mayor of Ponyville looked out as her ponies went about their days, acting as if nothing was wrong while they waited for word to come from their leader, Princess Midnight. Ponyville was a haven for those that despised the SIsters, though the ones that Darkstar wanted the most chose to hide in the forest, where they were unlikely to be found. Darkstar and her sister were far too busy preparing for war, so it gave the rebels a chance to prepare without somepony coming to look for them. The Mayor would have preferred to have the day go by without anything happening, but then she noticed a familiar shadowy dragon approaching from the direction of Shadowlot. "Glimmer Scale, I was unaware that you'd be visiting us today," the Mayor said, giving the dragon a smile as she approached, "is there anything I can help you with?" "Maybe," Glimmer growled, annoyed that Crimson had somehow followed her into her home world, "I'm looking for a pony that doesn't belong to this world. Maybe you've seen him?" "Can't say that I have," the Mayor replied, placing a hoof on her chin while she pretended to think about it, "I would have expected such a pony to have emerged in the same area you did." "Well then, I'm heading to the Evergleam Forest," Glimmer growled, annoyed that she'd have to search every inch of the forest, "if you see your pretty princess, be sure to tell her where I am." The Mayor nodded and watched the dragon take off towards the forest, where she knew that Princess Midnight and her friends, the Elements of Chaos, would be waiting. Once Glimmer was out of sight the Mayor ran to her office building, moved right into her office without wasting a second, and pulled out a special stone that, when it was broken, would transmit whatever message she wanted to Princess Midnight. She prepared a mental image of Glimmer and a message that she was on her way, and then, when everything was ready, she took the stone and shattered it on her desk. She only prayed that the stone's ability worked. --------------------------------------------- Midnight had barely retraced her steps to Ebon's lab when she felt the magic keeping the Mayor's emergency stone go off, indicating that it had been shattered. Not a moment later she received the warning that the Mayor wanted her to know about, an image of Glimmer flashing through her mind with a brief glance at the forest. She knew exactly what she was being told, though she had hoped that they would have had more time before Darkstar sent Glimmer out to look for Crimson. "Something wrong?" Crimson asked, noticing that his guide had frozen up and knew that nothing good ever followed it. "Glimmer's coming to the forest," Midnight said, shaking her head as she turned around once more, "I have to warn the others and make sure we're prepared for her arrival in the castle. She cannot see you here, otherwise she'll head back to Shadowlot and tell Darkstar everything she's seen." "To Tartarus with this," Crimson stated, slamming a hoof against the ground, "I have had enough of Glimmer following me around, getting in the way of my grand plans to make Equestria better for everypony. I am going to show her what happens when she messes with me, but this time I won't be holding back at all. Midnight, do whatever you want, but I am going to deal with Glimmer when she arrives." --------------------------------------------- Glimmer landed outside the ruined castle, just passed the breaking bridge but not far enough into the area in case Princess Midnight was really here. A few moments after she landed she spotted an alicorn walking her way, one that she knew was immediate Midnight Shine, as Princess Rhythm was in the Crystal Empire. The mare waved a hoof at her in greeting, something that she could never understand, but nodded as she approached the Princess, giving her a slight bow. It was something that all Shadows were trained to do when meeting with any of the Princesses, be they Rhythm, Midnight Shine, Nightmare Moon, or Darkstar herself. "Glimmer Scale, what a present surprise," Midnight said, keeping an eye on her 'guest', "What brings you to the ruined castle of the Sisters, in the heart of the Evergleam Forest?" "I come seeking a stallion that doesn't belong here," Glimmer replied, knowing that the Princess might be able to point her in the right direction, "one Crimson Flare, son of Princess Celestia of the Prime Equestria. He stopped our Masters' plans in his world and he has, somehow, followed us back here, no doubt to cause harm to us. As such I have been tasked with finding him. Any ideas where he could be?" "Yeah," a voice said, just as a hoof touched her shoulder for a moment, causing her to turn around to face Crimson, "how about right behind you?" Before she had a chance to react flames wrapped around her body and she was yanked into the air, though she knew that she had, somehow, walked into another one of Crimson's traps. As she corrected herself Crimson's wings flapped and he burst into the air, traveling the distance towards her and throwing his front hoof into her stomach. She reached for him, but instead of grabbing onto his neck, which was now missing his necklace she noted, he pulled just out of her reach and kicked her hard in the head. She spun around and shattered the flames that held her, using what was left over to make a harpoon that she spun in her claws before throwing it towards her enemy. Crimson moved to the right and let the harpoon disappear into the forest, where flames danced for a moment before the forest consumed them all. He growled and flew in closer once more, only this time he had to duck as Glimmer regained her bow and arrows, the one weapon that he really hated fighting against. He flared his wings and moved out of the way the moment he noticed the weapon, letting the volley of arrows that followed to pass him by without causing harm to himself. As he flew he allowed himself to call on his magic, summoning his armor and longsword as he sought a way to get closer to Glimmer than he had been. Midnight threw up a barrier as the arrows came towards the castle, protecting herself and her friends from the fight while she considered what to do. She wanted nothing more than to destroy Glimmer, but she was afraid that her mentor would discover her betrayal and then that would start the war she knew was coming. Before she could truly decide on what to do she heard the sound of hoofs stepping on the stone behind her, causing her to turn around and find Spectra standing there. "I am tired of that dragon ruining our fun," Spectra said, grinning as she made sure her armor and weapons were at the ready, "Midnight, crank up the storm. I'm going in." Before Midnight had a chance to respond Spectra was gone, leaving behind a blood red trail as she traveled to join the fight, though she suspected that Crimson would enjoy the help. She pressed her hoof against the stone of the arch she stood under and let a little magic out, connecting with the magic that she had built into the rest of the castle. Storm clouds started to gather in the air, a little trick she learned when she had visited the royal library and studied many of her mentor's tomes. Glimmer focused on Crimson and prepared to loose a volley of arrows in his direction, but just as she was about to release them a bolt of lightning hit her in the back. She glanced up at the sky and noticed the storm that was forming overhead, wondering how she could have missed the signs that one was rolling in. Before she had a chance to move a second bolt struck her, but this time when she zeroed in on the direction it came from she spotted a certain pegasus frowning at her. She had expected Crimson to find some allies in this world, as there were those who hated her Masters, but she couldn't understand how he could have turned one of the Elements of Chaos to his side, with so little time. "You would betray us Spectra?" Glimmer shouted, drawing her bowstring back as she prepared to loose an arrow at the pegasus, "Then I shall be forced to put you down, just like Crimson here!" A third bolt of lightning reached for her and she pushed herself back to avoid it, but instead of being the target the entire time the bolt hit her bow and shattered it. She had heard that, thanks to the intense training that they had to go through, each member of the Elements of Chaos had unique abilities, though she had never seen one of them use them in combat before. She had always been too busy with dealing with Crimson and his tricks to notice how powerful the Elements had gotten, so for her to see lightning so strong that it could shatter her shadow-forged bow she knew she was in trouble. All of this trouble, she noted, came from just one of the six Element Bearers deciding to turn against her and her Masters, so she dreaded to imagine what would happen if one or two more joined the fight. "Yeah, I'd like to see you fall," Spectra shouted in return, lightning flashing in response to her anger, "You and your masters have ruled over all of Shadow Kind for too long, and now its time that we stood up to you." "You use 'we' as if there's more than two of you fighting me," Glimmer stated, giving off an air of confidence that she knew she had, "Sure, you may rebel against me, Spectra, and ally yourself with one of our sworn enemies, but that doesn't mean that you now possess the power to take me out. I have withstood the power of four alicorns in the Prime Equestria, so what can you do to me with just one?" "We can do this," a voice behind her said, just as something latched onto her tail and immediately pulled her from the sky, dragging her down to the ground. As Glimmer prepared to beat her wings and escape the hold she was in, three silver restriction bands appeared around her chest, tightening until her wings and arms were bound to her body. As she fell she caught a glimpse of what was latched onto her tail, though her eyes widened as she recognized Angelshy, the other pegasus of the group. Once they were closer to the ground Angelshy flipped her over and slammed her into the ground, following up by slamming her hooves into her chest and cracking the area around them a bit. The moment the pegasus released her Glimmer moved to pick herself up so she could cut the mare down, but then Jackie, the farm pony, appeared out of nowhere and another hoof found its way into her already wounded chest. Only this time, when Jackie hit her the ground around them shook a bit and Glimmer was sure that some of the trees moaned from the shock waves that had been produced. Glimmer groaned as the two mares backed up, waiting for her to make the next move so they could coordinate their attacks with Spectra and deliver another punishing blow. She had absolutely no idea how Crimson had managed to track down the three of them and then convince them all that they should turn on their Masters. As she got up she noticed two more mares walking in her direction, Scarcity and Pinkamena, but with how things were going for her she had no idea where they stood. If she had to hope for one of the Elements siding with her she would have placed her bits on Midnight, as she was Darkstar's personal student and almost always sided with her mentor. "Scarcity? Pinkamena?" Glimmer asked, watching them move around to her backside while the other three demanded the area in front of her, "Please tell me you two see reason and help me put these rebels in their place!" "Of course we see reason darling," Scarcity replied, pulling crystal spears out of the ground and pointing them directly at her, "but helping you would only prolong the Sisters rule over our kind. We are heading towards our own destruction, and the only way to stop it is for your masters to fall at long last." "Its time for you to die, Glimmer Scale," Pinkamena stated, pulling out a giant blade while frowning at her, "though the only Shadows that will mourn your passing with be your masters, who will follow you into the Void sooner or later." FIVE of them! Glimmer thought as she looked around, He managed to turn five of our surprise weapons against us, all within the span of a single day. If I wasn't outmatched I'd kill Crimson first and damn the consequences for not dealing with the traitors first. Glimmer grunted and yanked her arms out, tearing the magical bonds around her body to pieces, though she was in time to jump out of the way as Pinkamena's blade came crashing down on where she had been standing. She also managed to avoid the majority of Scarcity's spears, but she got careless and one of them cut through her left wing, causing her to fumble for a moment. It was in that moment that both Angelshy and Jackie planted their hooves on her shoulders and heaved her into the air, where Spectra was waiting with a powerful bolt of lightning that scorched her back just a little bit. "Midnight, I could use a little help here!" Glimmer shouted, regaining her balance before she was forced to move once more, "Talk some sense into these friends of yours!" That was right before a bolt of pure magical energy burst out of the ruins and collided with her side, blasting her out of the air and throwing her against the ground. As Glimmer picked herself up she cast a glance at the ruins and found Midnight walking out into the open, her horn dying down as she let out a sigh. Glimmer could not believe that she had been betrayed by Darkstar's own student, one of the few Shadows that she had believed would side with her Masters no matter what. Glimmer growled and brought her claws together, gathering her magical energy into a blast that would give her a chance to escape and warn her Masters about this betrayal. "Very well then," Glimmer shouted, "I shall just have to eliminate all of you before you rise an army to go to war against my Masters..." Before she had a chance to finish Jackie rushed right at her and swung her hoof at her, landing in the same area that she had been hit in earlier and she could have sworn she heard something crack. As she backed up she felt two weapons run across her back, cutting into her as she cursed herself for forgetting that Scarcity and Pinkamena were the ones with weapons. Angelshy, using what the others were doing as a distraction, latched onto Glimmer's back and heaved her into the air, where Spectra was waiting with a barrage of lightning bolts. Each piece of lightning was stronger than the one that came before it, though Glimmer knew her body couldn't keep up the struggle for much longer. Glimmer could deal with fighting one or even two of them at the same time, but with all Six of the Elements of Chaos turned against her she knew her chances of survival were slim. She spread her wings to flee, abandoning the idea of using her spell to make an opening, when Midnight grabbed her with her magic and threw her high above the forest. She flipped around and corrected herself, giving her the chance to glare down at the traitorous Elements, before a sword blade erupted from her chest. At first she thought it was Pinkamena, but when she looked back at who the weapon belonged to she found Crimson floating behind her, his magic connected to the weapon. She had gotten so caught up fighting the Elements that she never once considered where Crimson would be, though this time she sensed that this would be the last time they crossed paths. "Begone Glimmer Scale," Crimson said, the flames around his sword spreading out and devouring everything that had been his greatest enemy, "may you trouble these worlds no more." Crimson retracted his blade and landed on the ground near his new allies, knowing that it was only a matter of time until Darkstar became aware of the Element's betrayal. They would have to move quickly, but he suspected that they'd enjoy getting the chance to do some damage to their enemy before Crimson revealed his grand plan to them. He gave them a smile, knowing full well that his luck must have finally changed for the better.