Shard: The Dark King Returns

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Not a Dream Twilight

I'm going to be late for class!

Twilight bolted up, eyes wide. The fear of being late for class gave way to confusion. This was not her room. This was not even a room. She was...

The last bits of sleepiness left her mind as she remembered what all was going on. She was in The Everfree Forest with some other ponies, trying to find The Elements of Harmony to stop The King of Shadows. More importantly, she was still on holiday from The Spring Equinox Celebration, so there was no class to be late for.

Twilight stood up and stretched, looking around. It was hard to tell what time it was; the sun was still directly overhead with the moon half-eclipsing it. The storm had stopped though. Droplets still hung from the leaves and branches, gleaming in the partial day light. The other ponies were still asleep, curled up around the remains of the fire. The embers still glowed with heat.

Letting the others sleep a little longer, Twilight slipped out of the shelter. She took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the air after it rained. When was the last time she had done something like this? Maybe she should get out of the library more after all.

Twilight.

Twilight tensed, eyes opening. It sounded like somepony had said her name. Eyes open and ears twitching, she looked around, trying to find where it came from.

Twilight.

Twilight's curiosity was now piqued. The sound calling her name was coming from the forest.

Just ignore it Twilight, she told herself. You're in a creepy forest full of monsters where strange things happen, and you hear a mysterious voice calling your name. The best thing you could do is go back to the shelter, wait for the others, and continue to search for the castle.

Twilight.

"Buck," Twilight groaned aloud, looking around. It seemed that while her mind was telling herself to ignore it, her legs and curiosity decided that she needed to investigate. As a result, she was now in a different part of the forest, nowhere near the others.

"Okay. It's okay. I'm fine. I just need to turn around and-"

Before she realized what was happening, inky blackness covered her muzzle, holding it shut. A pair of glowing green and red eyes appeared from the shadows, staring at her. Above them, a red sharp horn started to form. Below, predatory white teeth gleamed in a hungry grin. The face leaned forward, causing Twilight to try and pull back.

"Hello," Sombra purred into her ear before giving her cheek a lick.

Twilight let out a whimper of disgust, eye twitching at the feel of the monster's saliva against her skin. She yanked hard, but could not break loose. Her horn began to glow with power.

There was a burst of pain, causing her to lose her concentration.

"Now now," Sombra stated, "none of that." He took a hold of her face and pulled to make her look at him. His grin grew wider as his eyes narrowed, causing Twilight to shiver.

"You know," he continued, "I have been watching you and your compatriots. Perhaps I have been showing an interest in the wrong unicorn."

Twilight shifted, looking at him with her head tilted and eyebrows scrunched up.

"You, my dear, seem to be quite a skilled and powerful unicorn. I could use a pony like you. A mare with your power and skill could go far as my concubine. I could teach you about magic and spells that have been lost to time. I could share knowledge that no other pony in Equestria knows."

Knowledge? Lost spells?

"With me at your side, you could be more powerful than the princess herself. Nothing could stand in your way. All would fear you. Well... except me of course."

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"So, what do you say? Be my queen, forget this foalish quest, and help me rule Equestria. I will help you become one of the most powerful unicorns alive, and together we shall sire a dynasty of power like nothing that has ever been seen before."

Twilight stood there -- unable to speak -- staring at Sombra. Her feet shifted as her mind worked.

She suddenly reared up and brought her head forward, slamming it into Sombra's muzzle.

Sombra roared out from the blow, head reeling back. Black smoke poured out from his nostrils and up into the air before disappearing.

"I'll take that as a no," he growled, glaring at her. "Perhaps I should give you the opportunity to reconsider. After all, the alternative is to spend the rest of your life -- and it shall be a short life -- in a futile attempt to stop me before dying a broken and worthless slave. In the mean time," his horn began to glow, "I'm afraid I can't let you use your powers against me."

Twilight managed to let out one scream before she was hit by Sombra's magic.

She was a filly again. Just a little filly. Not old enough to have a cutie mark or use her magic. She had no idea where she was.

"Alright," a voice she couldn't see said. "You have one hour to complete the test. Any questions?"

Twilight tried to ask a question. Several actually. She had no paper or pencils, no desk. She had no idea what kind of test it was. How could she have possibly studied for it if she did not know what kind of test it was?

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Not even a squeak.

"Begin!"

Twilight Sparkle started to hyperventilate. What was she supposed to do?

"Twily?" a voice asked, sounding like her brother. "What are you doing? You have a test. Stop wasting time and get to work."

She wanted to say that she would if somepony told her what to do. She wanted to take the test. She wanted to do well. She just needed to know what was expected of her.

"Twilight," another -- her mother -- scolded. "Shame on you. Your father and I are very disappointed. We know you can do better than this.

Tears began to burn at her eyes. She wanted to do good. She wanted to make them proud.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy called out, getting her attention. "HELP!"

Twilight turned to the voice, finding Fluttershy and the other four. They were surrounded by shadows and being held down. The darkness slowly engulfed and consumed them, and she could do nothing to stop it. The first real friends she ever had, and she was about to lose them.

"Twilight."

She heard her name again. The voice sounded familiar, but the tone was different.

"Twilight, darling."

Something touched her. She looked around but could not see what.

"Time to wake up."

Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes. Everything was fuzzy and glowing a moment before she managed to blink it away. Feeling like she was back in control of herself, she looked up.

Rarity stood right beside her, a hoof on her shoulder. On one side was Applejack and Fluttershy, on the other was Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. They all looked worried.

"What happened?" Twilight asked as she moved to sit up.

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us," Rainbow Dash replied. "Fluttershy woke us up, saying she heard you scream. Then we found you out here."

"I..." Twilight gave as hake of her head. "I thought I heard something. I tried to go back to camp, but my curiosity got the better of me. I know I shouldn't have gone alone."

"You're bucking right you shouldn't have," Rainbow snapped. "Something worse could have happened to you. You could have been hurt. You could have been killed! You-"

"That's enough!" Applejack interrupted. "I think it's clear that Twilight feels bad, Dash. You don't need to yell at her."

Dash glared at her before letting out a sigh and looking away.

"You're right." She looked to Twilight. "I'm sorry. This whole thing is getting me stressed out and putting me on edge. Plus there's... uhm..."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Does anypony have a mirror?"

None of them did.

"Well I have an idea," Rarity said with a smile. "Applejack, Twilight, please come here."

The two looked at the white unicorn curiously before approaching. Rarity huffed out a warm breath on Applejack's metal flank, then rubbed at it with the fur of her leg.

"Hey!" Applejack called out, her cheeks turning pink.

"Sorry," Rarity said in a voice that made Applejack doubt the sincerity of it, "but we need something to use as a mirror. Your metal parts are the best option we have at the moment." She rubbed a little more. "There we go. Take a look, Twilight."

Twilight moved and looked at her reflection, letting out a gasp. Several small black things were stuck to her horn. It was hard to make out with the make-shift mirror, but it looked like rocks or something.

"Oh no," she cried out. "Oh no. Nononononono. This is bad. This is bad-bad-bad." She reached up and poked at her horn.

"What-"

"Sh!" Twilight interrupted, putting a hoof up to Pinkie's mouth. "I need to check this."

She looked out and tried to concentrate. Her face scrunched as she tried harder. Her eyes clenched shut as her jaw clenched.

Nothing happened.

Twilight let out a groan and flopped to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"No." Twilight replied with a huff. "I'm not. With...whatever those are on my horn, I can't use my magic. I don't think I'm going to be any use on this quest."

"Now that ain't true," Applejack said as she placed a hoof on Twilight. "C'mon. You're the one who figured this thing out. Pretty sure we will need your help even without your magic."

Twilight smiled.

"Okay," Dash said. "That's enough self-pitying and mushy stuff. We still have a castle to find and a crazy 'king,'" she held up her hooves to make quotation marks, "to find. Plus if he's been here..." She shifted and looked around. "I would really like to get as far away as possible."

The others all agreed.

"Okay," Twilight said as she looked around. "Well let's keep going. I think I can see something in that direction."

"Hold on," Fluttershy said. "I..." she shifted, looking at the ground. "I think that maybe Rarity and I should lead for a while. I mean I can give a warning if I hear anything, and she can give us some light to see ahead."

"You sure?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean it makes sense, but you're not exactly a mare to be in the front."

"I think it's our best chance," Fluttershy replied. "I mean we need to stay close anyways, and the more warning we can get the better. Right?"

"Well I don't object," Rarity responded.

"Besides," Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash, "You should probably go a little easy for a while in case there's another fight later."

"It's not a matter of 'if,'" Rainbow retorted, "but 'when.' I guess you have a point though."

The six of them started walking once again, moving to keep close as they got into order and continued deeper into The Everfree.

Comments

[AmethynniaTheDragon]

Are you getting desperate Sombra? First Rarity, then Twilight, what next, Pinkie Pie?
Joking aside, it's interesting how the tests are on different ponies, and how they are similar yet different from Nightmare Moon's. Looking forward to reading more.