Obsidian Flight: Crisis In Equestria

by EldritchNexus

Dark Secrets Revealed

Shining Armor led the six ponies through an underground passage that would lead them to the strange relic. As they trotted through the passageway, Twilight decided to catch up with her brother.

"So...where's Princess Cadence?" Twilight asked.

"She's visiting Fillydelphia for the weekend." replied Shining Armor. "She'll be back by tomorrow or the day after."

"What's it like being Captain of the Royal Guard?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Has anything exciting happened since the Changeling attack?"

"Apart from that...whatever it's supposed to be...in the room we're going to, it's been a slow week."

"Have you or any of your guards checked it yet?" Rarity asked.

"No. The funny thing is: The Princesses haven't given us a chance to do that." Shining Armor admitted. "When we set hoof in that room, it'll be the first time I've ever seen it."

They came to a gateway at the end of the passage, which opened when Shining Armor dug his horn into the middle. The door split in two, and slid into opposite walls.

"Well, here we are!" Shining Armor said, nervously. "Let's check out that...By Celestia, what is that thing?"

The seven ponies stood before probably the most unusual object that they had ever seen. It was a black and gold pyramid-shaped container of some sort, which alien symbols on its four sides, and a black jewel on top. Every few seconds, an odd beeping noise could be heard from within, with an occasion word uttered from a disembodied, garbled voice.

"Well, whatever this thing is..." Twilight Sparkle began.

"It's probably cursed!" Fluttershy backed away cautiously. "I think everypony in the room should leave it be...now!"

"Oh, don't worry!" Twilight said. "Whatever's in there, I'm sure it won't be cursed at all."

"Well, I'm not putting another hoof forward until someone tests it first!" Fluttershy whimpered.

"Neither am I." Rarity said. "Right now, I'm completely convinced that no valuable minerals are in...that thing!"

"Okay, Okay!" Twilight groaned. "We'll test it, then. Shining Armor, Applejack, can you give me a hand, here?"

"Sure thing, little sis." Shining Armor nodded.

The three approached the artifact carefully, and stood around it in a triangle.

"Okay, let's do this!" Twilight said. "I'm going to try opening it with this spell I found in a book on Star Swirl the Bearded."

"Well, if you say so, Twilight." Applejack said, adjusting her hat.

Twilight's horn illuminated with a reddish-violet color, and the artifact shook for a few seconds.

"Come on, Twilight." Shining Armor whispered. "I know you can do this!"

After a few more seconds, Twilight nearly collapsed when the relic wouldn't budge any further. The other ponies groaned in disappointment. Shining Armor rushed to Twilight's side.

"Are you okay, Twilight?" Shining Armor asked, carefully helping his sister back on her hooves. "What happened?"

"I just had the most...terrifying feeling of my life just now." Twilight whimpered, her eyes beginning to water from fright. "Princess Celestia was right; There is something wrong with that thing! Something very wrong!"

"See? I told you!" Fluttershy said in the back.

"Come on, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said, rushing up to her friend's side. "We beat Discord and Nightmare Moon, didn't we? What in Equestria could be in it that's so bad?"

"I don't know." Twilight said, breathing heavily. "But I just need to. If we don't find a way to open that thing soon, I'll never get over it!"

Her friends were looking at her with surprise and concern. None of them had seen her this obsessed with something since the "Lesson Zero" incident. But Shining Armor took it the hardest. What was in that thing that could make his beloved sister behave with such anxiety?

"Listen, Twilight." Shining Armor suggested. "I understand that this thing is troubling you. It's troubling all of us. But I think we should consult the Princesses about this."

"No! I want that thing opened now!" Twilight Sparkle exploded. "The Princesses already did what they could! I want to be able to figure these kinds of things out by myself, for once! Got it?!"

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie jumped back in shock at this outburst, Rarity and Shining Armor were speechless, and the others just stood with with their jaw dropped. Twilight was breathing heavily with a deranged look on her face. Finally, Applejack spoke calmly.

"It's okay, Twi. We'll get that thing opened for ya." She said, her green eyes shaking. "Just...please. Lighten up, will ya?"

Suddenly, as if a dark shadow passed by, Twilight was calm again. She was now looking at the terrified faces of her brother and her friends. She was overcome with guilt, but she couldn't tell why.

"Oh, dear." She said, now as shocked as they were. "What did I just do?"

"You, uh...kinda yelled at your brother." Pinkie Pie answered, nervously.

"Oh, Shining Armor, I'm so sorry!" Twilight said, fighting back the urge to burst into tears. "I don't know what came over me! I've never behaved like that!"

"It's okay, little sis." the white unicorn stallion said. "It wasn't your fault. Like you said, there's something wrong with that thing. The question now is: What. Twilight, I'd seriously like to know what happened!"

"I know you do, brother." Twilight said, calming down. "But I don't know what happened, either. It just felt like I had a very bad headache, and that I hadn't slept for five days straight."

"Oh, dear!" Rarity gasped at that notion. "Darling, that would make anyone behave like that! I can tell you that from experience, too."

"Well, I didn't really stay awake that long." Twilight said. "I'm just describing how that thing left me feeling."

"Which is a good reason why we shouldn't try this again without getting more help." Shining Armor said. "I don't want you freaking out like that again, little sis. You're one of the wisest ponies I know, and it slays me to see you behave like that."

"You're right." the purple unicorn said. "Let's ask the Princesses if we could use the Elements of Harmony."

"Now that's the spirit!" Pinkie Pie said. "Ooh! Do you think maybe Twilight shouted like that because of an evil sp--"

"C'mon, Pinkie." Rainbow Dash said, slowly pushing Pinkie Pie out of the room. "Let's get out of here before I start freaking out."

But before the seven ponies all left, the artifact beeped louder than before, and the sounds of voices whispering was again audible, this time in a more coherent voice and language, spoken by what sounded like an old woman:

"Perfect, my apprentice. You have been trained well. The Dark Side is strong with you, indeed."

Another voice emerged from the relic, this one barely audible.

"Thank you, my master. I will see to it that my new powers serve me well."

"We shall see." the first voice said. "Very soon, the Sith will rise to power, and the Galaxy will know of our might!"

"Wait! Everypony, back inside!" Pinkie Pie shouted, breaking away from Rainbow Dash. "I hear somepony talking in there!"

"Now what is she up to?" Rainbow Dash groaned.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Pinkie exclaimed as she ran down the passage, with the other six following her. "See?"

"I understand your words, Master Traya." the second voice uttered. "And I respect them greatly."

"Rise, Lord Sion." said the voice of Traya. "As the Lord of Pain, you shall receive torment beyond possibility...and give it to others, as well."

"I understand, Master." said Sion. "I take this responsibility with a heavy heart."

"Do not speak so idly about what you do not understand!" said the master, theateningly. "To understand, you must first experience what I refer to...up-close."

There was a sound like electricity crackling from within the artifact, and the sound of Sion's voice screaming in agony. The seven ponies stood there, absolutely terrified by what they heard. there were sounds of heavy, pained breathing, followed by more crackling. The cycle continued three times, until finally the voice of Traya finally spoke.

"You have passed the first lesson, Lord Sion." she said. "I trust you have learned it well?"

"I have, my master..." said the now-raspy voice of Sion. "I am ready for the next."

"In time, my apprentice..." Traya said. "In time, you will. Now go."

"Yes, Darth Traya." Sion spoke. "I shall perform my duties as a Sith Lord, and then return to your side."

"I know this, apprentice." Darth Traya said. "I know it all too well."

There were sound of footfalls, followed by silence. The ponies were now breathing heavily, so shocked by this turn of events. Pinkie Pie was speechless, Fluttershy was cowering behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and Rarity almost fainted.

"What...in Equestria...was that all about?" Shining Armor exclaimed. "That was easily the most disturbing thing I've ever heard in my life!"

He turned to the others.

"Okay, whatever Princess Celestia was expecting, I don't think that was it." he continued. "I think we should return to the Princesses, and tell them what we just discovered."

"Right behind you, Shining Armor." Twilight Sparkle said. "Let's go, before anything else happens!"

And they all bolted up through the passageway, and ran back to the palace.

On a shoreline on Baroonda, Naat Reath felt her blood run cold, and something uncomfortable enter her mind. It was even worse than the sensation she felt on board the Bestial. Here, she felt as though she was being plunged into a deep body of ice-cold water.

"I can feel it again!" The Dark Jedi leader shouted. "And I can confirm what it was, too!"

"What was it, Master Urjax?" One of the others asked.

"Somewhere beyond this Galaxy, a powerful Sith holocron has been tampered with." Urjax said.

"Beyond the Galaxy?" Naat Reath thought. "Had the ancient Sith truly spread their influence beyond this Galaxy alone?"

"What should be done about it?" One of Urjax's accomplices said.

"We shall find this holocron," Urjax said. "and then we shall recover it, and kill those who dared to desecrate it."

"But, master, it is beyond the Galaxy's boundaries!" the Dark Jedi said.

"I don't care about the distance!" Urjax shouted. "I don't care if we have to travel to a completely different Galaxy! I will not stand by, and let some primitive vermin soil the legacy of the Sith!"

"Yes, master." the Dark Jedi said. "What shall we do?"

"Get the speeders, and head back to our cruiser." Urjax said, before turning back to four of his Dark Jedi minions. "You shall stay here, and call a Federation landing craft to pick this Jedi up."

"What about Echuu?"

"Forget Echuu. This is more important to me than one Jedi Knight! This Jedi here will be a suitable prisoner for Count Dooku to use, in expense for the Confederacy's services to us. Once we acquire that holocron, we will be able to bring this entire Galaxy down to its knees!"

Suddenly, there was a sound of blaster-fire in the distance.