The Darkest Storm

by TheReaderAndWriter

Sins

10. Sins.

Ivanhoe instantly awoke to the loud distinct whistling of a train. He looked around, he found himself on the balcony of the very last cart. The winds were powerful and the corrupted rain was fierce. To Ivanhoe's horror the landscape was covered in those black and red puddles, the trees and grass corrupted on these great plains. It was night, but the moon, in a shade of red, shone over the land from the horizon. Ivanhoe was soaking wet, but alive. He looked at himself, but he could not find a single scratch. It was as if he hadn't even been hurt by Celestia. He checked the pockets of his pants, and to his relief he found all three of the artifacts. He felt rested, and ready to face the next challenge: getting into Canterlot without being noticed. He was probably the most sought after pony in all of Equestria. It was him against the world in order to save it. Suddenly, everything went dark and the rain stopped. They had entered a tunnel. Ivanhoe only had his pants with him, no cloak, nothing to hide himself with. It only took a few seconds before he was blinded by a bright light on the other end.

***

There it was, Canterlot. He had seen it in pictures, read about it in books, heard about it in stories but to see it himself sure was something else. The entire city of buildings with ancient history and fantastical architecture was shielded from the rain in a bubble of bright light, it seemed to emanate from the gigantic, magnificent castle at the side of the mountain. As Ivanhoe looked at the castle, he suddenly felt an incredibly powerful urge to go there. He knew it, to set the world straight he needed to go there. The train went through another tunnel, and then it started going down to the city. The bubble started to get closer and closer. Ivanhoe wanted to go inside the cart, but he would probably be recognized. The problem with that bubble which shielded the city from the corruption was that it would hinder Ivanhoe from getting around untouched. In the rain he was safe, in the rain nopony could touch him. In there, every single pony would be able to beat him easily. He was hardly strong enough to beat guards, and even if he would have been he simply didn't want to.

"Let's do this. Everything or nothing," said Ivanhoe. The train's engine went through the bubble like it was air, the rain was destroyed instantly. Ivanhoe went through the warm, comforting barrier, then it turned blue as the train left it behind. A shrieking alarm went through the entire landscape. Ivanhoe was confused by the deafening sound, but once he got his head together he realized to his horror that the signal was made specifically to alert them to his presence in the city. Everypony in the entire city, thousands of ponies who all wanted him caught, they all knew exactly where he was. "Oh, crud." As the train went by on a bridge he heard a commotion inside the last cart. The door opened and three guards, the ones he had seen in Ponyville, looked at him with ferocity in their eyes.

"Stop right there, you monster," said the dark guard. Their wings actually managed to look sharp as blades.

"Look, the princess!" yelled the other guard and pointed. Ivanhoe turned around with nothing but fear. A bright light was on its way, he could almost already feel the pain in his body. Ivanhoe looked down over the rail. Below the bridge was a dark and red river. The river didn't seem to be affected by the bubble. Ivanhoe knew it was crazy, it was a very long fall.

"Why do I keep falling down?!" yelled Ivanhoe and jumped off the train to the dark water below. He expected a few broken bones at least, but maybe he would be able to get away. He hit the water, but he wasn't hurt. It seemed this water couldn't even hurt him in that sense, incredibly fortunate, odd, but fortunate. He swam under the surface, he needed to get away from it all. Celestia was on her way.

***

Several minutes later Ivanhoe pulled himself up on the shore under a bridge.

"Did you see that?" asked a voice above the bridge.

"I don't know what's going on, wasn't that the last train from Ponyville?" asked a second voice.

"Yes. I was on the second to last," said a familiar third voice. Is that... Big Macintosh?

"You're from Ponyville? I'm so sorry," said the first voice shocked.

"How many got out? Ow!" asked the second voice but there came a sound of a slight smack with a hoof.

"Not enough. I managed to get my granny and my little sister out, but then they came," said Big Macintosh.

"The Cloudsdale pegasi?" asked the second pony.

"If you can call them that," said the first pony. Ivanhoe could see in the reflection of the dark water that Big Macintosh was hanging his head over the side. He could make out a face that depicted strength through hardships. "Only about fifty got out, Celestia said that everypony else was corrupted... Ponyville as we know it is gone." Ivanhoe couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Wait, I heard they forget things when they are corrupted and don't travel far, how did they even find Ponyville from Cloudsdale?" asked the second pony.

"Princess Celestia said that they tracked somepony who went up there."

***

"It's because of me," said Ivanhoe to himself with a weak tone in his voice. Everything had sort of become a blank for about ten minutes. Almost every single one of those pleasant wonderful ponies were no more, now just creatures...and it was his fault. He didn't get enough time to mourn, he needed to hurry before something like this happened again. He needed to get to the castle. He needed to get it together. It wasn't over yet. If he would've gotten a choice ahead of all this. If the king would've asked 'do you want to do this?', then Ivanhoe would've answered 'no'. That was hardly the case. He had started this, and he was going to finish it. He stepped into the water and started swimming, on his way towards the castle grounds.

***

"I might not be able to pay you back, I'm sorry," said Ivanhoe under his breath as he stole a cloak from a nearby clothes shop. He didn't want to, but desperate times... He quickly put it on and started walking on the streets. He couldn't avoid walking out in the open anymore, the only way up to the castle was on the road or flying. Those sharp cliffs would repel any attacker or visitor. He tried to walk in a group. He could hear their nervous voices as they talked about the disaster.

"This is even worse than chocolate rain!"

"I know, I don't even like that song."

"I was talking about Discord."

"So? At least Discord had night and day, short and random, sure, but it was certain. This is almost like an eternal night. Those clouds make everything darker...and corrupts stuff."

"So this is worse than both Discord and Lu- Nightmare Moon?"

"Well, yeah."

"At least we're not corrupted."

"What if we are, and our bodies are running around trying to corrupt others, and we're just hallucinating this?"

"Knock it off, Conspiracy Conner. You need to get that not everything is a plot."

"You're a plot," answered the voice annoyed. Ivanhoe didn't really want to listen to them. He was barely able to focus on things as it was. The shock of Ponyville's fate was still making him walk with uneasy steps. He eventually split from the group as he got near the main gate, and it was open. Ivanhoe wondered why it wasn't closed. Isn't everything at high alert? He noticed a faint light around the castle itself, another bubble, another alarm. There was no way in there without getting detected. He had to stop to 'admire the scenery' when he got so close he could see a very faint blue hue on the wall of the bubble. It reacted to his very presence, but he probably needed to actually touch it to set it off. He looked over the edge of the bridge down towards the city as he tried to come up with a plan. In a situation like this, what would a character in a story do? Obviously not one his stories because he couldn't write well, but a better story... They would be crafty, use what they had to get a desired result. So what do I have? A stolen cloak, a pair of pants, a feather, a ball and a lock of hair. He didn't have anything else but his mane... His mane... Ivanhoe came up with an idea. He looked around at the incoming ponies who seemed to walk into the castle. There were not a lot of them but among them he saw what he needed: a brown pony, with a black mane. It had to be enough. It was a gamble, but it was worth a try, he had risked his life several times over the course of the day, so why not once more? He didn't really have any other choice. He would use his cloak, which probably had a few pieces of his hair in it by now, and give it to the brown pony on his way up to the castle. He would follow the pony, hoping the guards wouldn't recognize him. When the pony would pass the barrier, the alarm would sound. The guards would notice the pony and give chase. Ivanhoe would in the chaos run through the barrier during the alarm and then be inside the castle while somepony else was running away from the guards. There were many variables: the pony could be civilized and simply stay; the guards could recognize Ivanhoe without his clothes and chase him instead; the princess could be so sharp she would be there quickly and see through the plan at once. Everything or nothing. Ivanhoe was about to approach the pony, and with a smile offer his cloak, but then:

"Oh, and everypony, while you're visiting, don't forget to try out the magically insulated secret tunnel entrance down the hill. It's an exit nowadays to visitors," said a random guard towards the ponies walking by. Ivanhoe just stopped in his tracks, looking at the guard.

"Well, alright then," said Ivanhoe and walked down the hill, asked a guard, and was shown the secret tunnel.

"Have a nice visit to the castle, please only stay on the designated path for tourists. The museum is one of the best in the world," said the guard with a smile.

"Okay, sure," said Ivanhoe and walked into the dark but clean old tunnel. He was the only one in there. "Wow, this big white building really has terrible security," said Ivanhoe surprised. He soon got out of the tunnel and into something that looked very much like a museum. The paintings would make Windy's jaw drop. The floor was so clean it was sparkling. The halls were very roomy, and it was just as beautiful as the city it represented. He started to walk on the path, he let his feelings guide him. He felt something here, it was close. It was... He looked at the ceiling, it was above him, far above. He kept going.

***

"Let your feelings guide you," said Ivanhoe quietly to himself. He opened a door and looked inside, then his jaw dropped. About twenty guards were sitting around tables, talking to each other, listening to music and eating their rations. They all stopped and stared at him.

"Oops, sorry. Wrong door," said Ivanhoe.

"That's him! That's Ivanhoe Mane!" yelled one of the guards, one he had seen on the train. Ivanhoe closed the door and started running.

"My feelings suck!" said Ivanhoe. He could hear a normal alarm in the building, at least an alarm that simple would not immediately alert the princesses to him specifically being there, he had a little extra time. The guards were behind him, far behind him, though. The only reason they were still a threat was the fact he could not hide in this linear hallway. It suddenly split into four directions. Ivanhoe rushed to the right. He saw a beautiful big door, he rushed through it. A terrifying sight made him stop dead in his tracks. He was in a very large room, and at the end of a long red carpet she was sitting on her throne. It was Celestia. Right in front of her were Twilight Sparkle and her friends. They all look very shocked and the only reason Ivanhoe wasn't impaled on a long horn was the fact that he had caught them by such a huge surprise.

"There he is!" yelled Applejack.

"Get him!" yelled Twilight. The guards behind him actually just all ran past him, straight ahead in the crossing. Ivanhoe slammed the door shut and went back the way he came. He could hear them right behind him. He saw a window, he opened it and went outside. He closed it and hid behind the curtain. He tried not to look down. It seemed Twilight kept her promise, they didn't hesitate, none of them, not even Fluttershy. The wind was very powerful. He looked up. He might have been able to climb up on some of these white rocks. He couldn't go inside again and he sure as heck couldn't climb down, so he started climbing up. The way up was very slow and so scary his heart wouldn't stop racing. His hooves were shaking as he pulled himself up on the roof. He was a pony, not a freaking mountain goat. At least he had finally reached the roof. He lied down and took a deep breath. He looked up, on the other side of the castle there was a tower. It was very large, very impressive. It was up there, whatever it was. He walked on the roof, being very careful not to slip. He went by a window on a smaller tower, he looked inside on a whim, and he saw them. The princesses, Twilight and her friends were down there, even Spike, in the throne room again. He could hear them from up there.

"It was very clever of him, in any case. I would've never expected something like this...but all the signs were there. There was no mistake. I knew it was something like him, and I knew he would stop at nothing."

"We could've stopped him sooner, if it wasn't for the two of you," said Twilight with a stern look.

"I couldn't do it...he saved my life," said Fluttershy.

"Celestia, why would he save her life if he wasn't a good guy?" asked Spike.

"I'm not sure...but it's very possible he doesn't know what he's doing. That would in a way make the most sense."

"But what if you're wrong, Princess?" asked Spike.

"Spike, I know it now more than ever. We know he helps this 'king', we need to make sure his king doesn't take away our rightful rule," said Celestia.

"When you put it like that, my dearest sister, you make it feel as tough we are merely protecting our thrones," said Luna in a quiet voice.

"It's not that far away from the truth, is it? We must stop this 'Ivanhoe Mane' at all costs. I just don't know where he is. At least the tower is guarded. Unless he can fly he can't get in there, and I doubt anypony would help him," said Celestia.

"Not after you chewed everyone who would out like that," said Spike. Celestia gave him a stern look.

"Windy Stables has put us all in danger. I can not punish her or you, however. She just doesn't understand it enough. She's a good girl, she just needs to learn to understand that I don't act without reason. I'm still proud of you, Spike. You tried to help, your only fault was that you too didn't listen to me. Naive, that's the situation as it is...I need to get better security," said Celestia. Ivanhoe kept going towards the tower. He was almost there. When he got to its base, he looked up. He might be able to climb this just as he did with the outer wall. Celestia really did need better security.

***

It seemed like it almost took half an hour to scale the gigantic tower, but at least he did it. The feeling was stronger than ever. He was so close to his goal, he wasn't even sure he could stop now if he wanted to, it was so compelling. He saw an opening in the tower. He reached out and pulled himself into it. After tumbling into the tower, he quickly got up and looked around. It was a treasure vault. The only door in the big round room was probably locked with guards on the other side. Ivanhoe looked at all the treasures, there were so many gemstones, so much gold. Ivanhoe didn't want any of it though, he needed something else among the many treasures. Then he saw something behind a large pile of diamonds. Was it a pony? He hid, but he quickly walked out again. He just knew that pony was what he needed. He could again feel it. He slowly walked towards it and could finally see what he was looking for. It was a statue of a big male pony. It was very impressive, very old.

"So, you finally found me," it said. It was the king. His smooth authoritative voice was so clear he might as well have been right next to Ivanhoe, which he was. Ivanhoe walked to the front of his stone body. His eyes were piercing and lively, despite being nothing but stone. His mane very long and straight. He was even larger than Celestia. He had the horn of a powerful unicorn and large impressive wings. Ivanhoe bowed in front of him. "Yes, that's very good and well, but do you have the artifacts with you, young worthy stallion?"

"I do, all three of them."

"Very good. It seems you were a wise choice. Not even I would've been able to make such a fine decision. You have done well, Ivanhoe."

"I could not have done it without my friend, Windy Stables. You owe her your life, just as I do," said Ivanhoe.

"It will be nice to finally stretch these legs again. You have no idea how long Celestia has kept me in here. She has a tendency to deal with some of her problems by turning them to stone. I'm hardly the first. She made sure that monster Discord was turned into stone, twice even."

"What are these things, anyway?" asked Ivanhoe and pulled out the three artifacts.

"They are items from my childhood. My old ball I used to play with, the feather I used as a bookmark for my journals, the lock of hair Celestia gave me, promising her allegiance and companionship. So much for that promise. Will you undo this curse and let me set the world straight from the lack of proper order she has wrecked upon it? I admit that she works hard and that work makes a very nice kingdom. However, she is still not doing it proper. "

"She's done a pretty good job for somepony who wanted to kill me," said Ivanhoe.

"Yes, but she did not allow me my rightful rule. That is a rather serious crime. Never the less, I think I might forgive her. In my absence she has done well. We all believe what we do is right, while others deny us. That is the way of the world, it seems."

"Okay, as long as nopony gets hurt."

"I do not punish ponies without proper reason. They will at first probably object to sudden change such as this, as many would. Some are so silly. They will see it my way after I make sure this catastrophe ends the way it should. Now, place the three items in a triangle in the order you found them at the base of my feet." Ivanhoe did as he commanded and placed the feather, the ball and the lock of hair. "Now, stomp your hoof in the middle of the triangle. And Ivanhoe Mane? Thank you." Ivanhoe lifted his front leg up in the air, at last it was over. He stomped right in the triangle. A bright light was starting to shine through the room from sudden cracks in the statue.

"And after such a short time for me, I am free yet again," said the voice, it wasn't in Ivanhoe's head this time, it was the actual mouth of the king that uttered those words.

"What is your name, king of the world?" asked Ivanhoe in respect.

"It is as though you would've thought. I am the king of the world. I am the king of everyone. I am the king of chaos. I am Discord."