With the end of the tale of the events of BSL station, those gathered for stories turned in for the night, with the promise that the story would continue - and conclude - the next morning. As the new guests were shown back to their guest rooms, the ponies once more took their preferred sleeping positions, with Twilight and the others arranging themselves over Spike while Celestia took the Crusaders under her wing for cuddles. Gandrayda had dragged Ember into joining her in curling up in Spike's lap, overriding Ember's protests much to the amusement of others.
However, as sleep and night descended upon Ponyville, something darker was rising out in the Badlands, in the cavern where Ridley was learning a tale long forgotten of ancient Equestria.
When I first arrived upon this world, the Emperor Ing began, I was greatly weakened. Only by embedding my essence in a large crystal could I survive. However, the magical fields of this planet were strong, strong enough for me to begin crafting servants to aid me. At first it was slow going, and I despaired of ever rebuilding my Empire...but hope arrived. A fragment of Mother Phaaze descended from the heavens to impact the world. And lo and behold, an entity arrived, one who should have been claimed by the Leviathan to become its Guardian.
But he was too powerful, and kept his distance from the Leviathan's influence. He studied it for a time, and found it to be problematic for the world he was overseeing. He took great delight in chaos, but the Leviathan promised only an invading Order, and he would have none of that. As such, he gazed into the very fabric of time to find a way to contain and neutralize the Leviathan...and found it in my own past.
"Spike..." Ridley growled out angrily.
Indeed, the Ing Emperor confirmed. Seeing a dragon that could devour the product of the Seeds, he remade the dragons of this world in his image, and loosed them upon the Seed. I could only watch as they devoured my only hope of resurrection...and did the only thing I could. Sending out all of my servants, I managed to extract the Seed's core and crystallize it, rendering it dormant so I could hide it away, making it so the dragon's hunger could not scent it. But that blasted chimera saw my plan, and he added a tweak to the dragons, making them crave gemstones so they would even hunt the dormant Core. I thought myself lost...but he seemed to reconsider. Apparently, he was making things too orderly for his own taste. He found his greatest entertainment by not knowing the outcome of events...and so he let me escape and hide the Core away...here. And now, the Core has become active again...and the one known as Dark Samus, the last survivor of Phaaze, has risen within it.
Ridley snarled under his breath. "Fine," he grumbled. "A very interesting story. I suppose that explains why there's Phazon here, and something that looks like Samus. But how does that help me?"
Patience, Ridley, the Ing Emperor began. You've only heard half of the story. You see, I wasn't content to simply wait until I could act. I made my moves against the races of the world, just as I did against the Luminoth. My people are The Shadows, but we have had many names. The Luminoth called us Ing. The dragons called us Dark Spots. The minotaurs called us The Slenders. The griffons called us The Hungry Dark. ...the ponies called us Umbrum.
The ponies were the greatest threat to my plans, as their magic was able to tap the power of light to destroy us, much as the Luminoth could. However, I crafted a new plan. Half pony, half Umbrum, I created my living weapon and left him where I knew ponies would tend to him, because he was left alone. I watched as they played into my hands, keeping him where their Artifact of Light would give him chronic agony, until eventually he was forced to seek answers. And when he did, I turned him against those he felt had wronged him, and he became my vessel as I brought a kingdom to my heel, ready to begin rebuilding my Empire...only to be forced to seal it away for over a millennium because of those two Princesses! And then, when I'm able to bring it back, Spike the Dragon - different than when I last fought him, but still recognizably the same dragon - again destroyed my plans as he was able to deliver the Artifact of Light to the ponies so they could use it to purge me from my host and destroy him, leaving me only this horn fragment to anchor to!
Ridley ground his teeth. "While all of that is very interesting, how does that apply to the now?"
You poor naive fool...as I've said, I have been preparing. As the Ing Emperor spoke, Dark Samus stepped out of the Phazon Core and made its way further into the back of the cave. Curious, Ridley followed, and found a Changeling trapped in magic. After all, my Shadows do better with hosts to possess...and it took a great deal of time to master some of the more unique aspects of this world's magic.
"I don't think a single Changeling will give us an army, since I can tell that is your intention," Ridley growled out.
And normally it wouldn't, the Emperor responded. But now that Mother is here...
Reaching up, Dark Samus caressed the horn embedded in Ridley's forehead, then turned and ripped open a rift in space-time.
There is enough magic here to draw one last resource that the Hunter and her pet think they have conquered, the Emperor Ing concluded as Dark Samus reached through, and pulled out a Blue X Core and several smaller X. The last remnants of Phaaze' sister world, another living planet destroyed by the Hunter and Spike. As he spoke, Dark Samus absorbed the X Core, and the smaller X infested the Changeling. We shall soon have our Dark Army of parasites...and then I will show you that even the ponies' strongest magic can be turned against them...that even Heartsong can be twisted to darkness...
Ridley grinned widely, beginning to enjoy where this was going. "Excellent..."