• Published 11th Jun 2012
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Internal Darkness - Silver Sorcerer



All the Magic, mystery, and murder a pony can ask for in the gleaming spires of Canterlot. Enjoy!

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Chapter 48

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all associated characters, settings and stories are the rightful subjects of Hasbro, the HUB, Studio B, and Lauren Faust.

Chapter 48

He stumbled through the hallway, veering to one side and hitting a wall only to veer to the opposite wall. He moved slowly, trying to keep his balance and re-orient himself, but he struggled. His exhaustion from the mist had drained much of his physical and magical energy. He heard the storm all around him, but he didn't hear the ponies after him. They, like him, were resting, preparing themselves for the next fight.

As he continued stumbling he couldn't help but worry about the next fight. If this one had drained him of his magical energies, he would never be able to fight like before. He was nearing his last hooves and he couldn't just give in, especially now. He had to last and he had to win.

"I just…need…rest…a little bit of…rest," he emitted.

"You need much more than rest," said a voice that made him groan. Turning around Magicon saw Celestia and Luna once again walking towards him. Instead of their last appearance, their faces were calm and their bodies pristine.

"Magicon, you don't look well, not at all," Luna observed.

"Well, I haven't been exactly doing nothing to end up like this," he replied.

"We know."

"I know you know. But…what do you want?"

"To say our good-byes."

"Oh? It's about time."

"Magicon, you don't understand. Our good-byes mean you won't ever see us again because you're going to die," Luna stated.

"You think so?"

"We know so," Celestia stated coldly.

"How can you two possibly know? You're dead and buried! You're not real! Nopony can even see you, much less talk to you other than me!"

"But it's only you that matters, anyway."

"I don't care! Just go! Say your good-byes and leave me forever! It's about you time you two rested in pace anyway!"

The two alicorns exchanged glances, nodded, and slowly approached Magicon. As they did Magicon went hastily into a clumsy defense stance.

"Stay back!" he warned.

"Calm down, Magicon. We mean you no harm," Luna stated.

"How do I know you're not lying? You're after my soul."

"Magicon, there's nothing we could do with your soul. Where we go, your type is not allowed," Celestia stated.

"I…didn't understand a word of that, but just…stay away from me!"

The two alicorns ignored him and stood directly in front of him, gazing down on him with straight faces. He looked up at them, realized that they weren't going to hurt him, sighed, and returned to his normal standing position.

"Good-bye Magicon," Celestia said and patted her wing on his head. Luna did the same and both of them disappeared in a brilliant white that forced Magicon to cover his eyes. The light was gone after thirty seconds, taking the alicorns with it and leaving Magicon alone, once again, in his darkened hallway in his mansion.

"What a…bizarre…turn of events with them," he stated to himself and began walking further down his hallway. He was still exhausted and continued to stumble around, but he knew his destination. It wasn't far off and it was soon upon him when he opened a door to his right.

His bedroom welcomed him and he clambered inside, not even bothering to close the door behind him, and collapsed on his bed. He buried his face in the sheets and let out a long sigh of relief. He felt much more comfortable in his bed, though it did little to give him any strength or energy to fight. But he didn't care. His room was his sanctuary. He was safe and could take a few minutes just to relax and rebuild whatever strength he could. It might not be much, but it was better than nothing. The final fight was coming and it would be the most difficult task he ever faced.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The minutes passed quicker than they thought and the growing anticipation and anxiety was becoming more and more evident. Shining Armor kept glancing around the hall and down the hallways, as if expecting a surprise attack from Magicon. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had finished their cuddling and snuggling and were also examining the room. Twilight paced back and forth as if she was ready to run down any hallway. Only Fluttershy seemed content where she was as she sat and watched the rest of the group worry.

Finally Shining rose to his hooves and said, "That's it. We need to go after Magicon. Come on."

"Wait, Shining," Cadance called. "Is everypony ready to fight him again?"

"We really don't have a choice other than to fight him. If we leave or rest he wins. If we go after him while he's down we may just win."

"But what about your health?"

He paused and approached his concerned wife. "I promise I won't strain myself. But that means you'll have to do a lot of fighting since you're in good health and have the energy and stamina to do so."

"Okay," she whispered and the two of them began walking down the hallway that Magicon had fled down with the rest of the group in tow.

"Be careful of booby traps," Twilight warned as they carefully walked.

"Such an appalling taste in decoration," Rarity commented as she saw all the dark wood and dark pictures lining the walls.

"We're not here for an architectural tour, Rarity," Applejack stated. "You're gonna have ta do more fightin' now that half of us are exhausted."

"Me, fight? Applejack, I barely fight to begin with. I'll be useless."

"Better than just standin' around and watchin'. Even Fluttershy is gonna fight. Right Fluttershy?"

"Umm…yes," the cream-colored pegasus mumbled.

"Oh, alright," Rarity admitted.

"Quiet, everypony," Shining warned. "We don't know if Magicon is the next room, just waiting for us."

They ended their conversations and softened their hoofsteps as they continued walking. All that could be heard were the muffled sounds of the raging storm outside. They kept walking until they saw lightning flash on the floor ahead of them. A door was open and they went to the nearest wall and crept along it. Shining led the group and slowly approached the opened door.

Everypony was silent and nervous while Shining took a deep breath and prepared to look inside. Just as he was about to he felt Cadance pull him away and kiss him on his lips. He was surprised by her actions but quickly returned the sign of affection. When they finished they smiled and he turned back to the opened door.

Peeking inside he saw a bedroom and a red unicorn on the bed. His face was buried in the sheets and his cape was covering his entire body.

Shining quickly turned back to the group and whispered, "It's him."

"What do we do?" asked Cadance.

"He's either resting or sleeping. Let's just get inside first. Everypony be quiet and make no sudden movements."

They nodded and cautiously followed Shining into the room. Most of the room was dark, only two candles had been lit and the lightning afforded only temporary light through the windows in the bedroom. They slowly encircled the bed and watched the resting unicorn as he lay motionless in his bed, only his cape slightly rising and falling from his quiet breathing.

Once they encircled the bedroom, Fluttershy asked in her hushed tone, "What do…we do now?"

"I'm not attacking an opponent when they're asleep. I won't do it," Cadance stated.

"You won't have to," Shining stated as he cautiously approached the unicorn. "Everypony, stand back," he warned and they all responded. With a deep breath Shining jumped into the air and landed directly in the bed right beside Magicon. The force of the landing catapulted the unicorn right out of bed and sent him screaming to the floor.

He landed on the carpet on the side of his bed and he made a few grunts before coming to his hooves and opening his eyes. He nearly fell backwards as he saw all of them staring at him.

"What…what…" he stumbled, completely at a loss for words.

"Surprised, Magicon?" said a unicorn behind them that got off the bed and joined his wife.

"Uhh…" Magicon stammered, completely speechless.

"Now, don't tell me you have a loss for words," Shining teased.

Again Magicon couldn't find any words to form or show his utter surprise at their discovery. He looked around and saw the opened door and facehoofed. He knew he should've closed it. They would've passed him right up. It would've taken them much longer to find him than they did. Now, he was unprepared and had little energy to fight them. He didn't even know what tricks he could use. He had little magic left, so he had to conserve it, but he knew he could play to their desires and he knew what their main desire was.

Finally being able to form the words Magicon stated, "Well…I can honestly say I am surprised by this. I didn't think you guys would find me so quickly."

"Well, you're not exactly the best pony at hiding yourself," Cadance replied.

"Ah, yes, my mistake to leave the door open like that. How silly of me. But I can see where this is going and I won't stop you. I'll accept my fate in return for mercy. I'm prepared to be defeated now. Clap the irons on me and take me away to some prison. I'll spend the rest of my life there as long as I live."

He lowered himself onto the floor to emphasize his statement. As he lowered his head he managed to catch a glimpse of the group's shocked facial expressions and smiled to himself.

The eight looked at him and at each other, mouths agape and caught completely off-guard by Magicon's sudden change of heart.

Shining signaled for Cadance, Twilight, and Fluttershy to follow him while Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash stayed behind.

Once the four of them were outside the room, they closed the door and began conversing amongst themselves.

"This can't be happening," Shining commented. "Magicon just can't give himself up like this. It's not like him."

"But he has, Shining. We must give in to his requests. He'll live, but he won't be ruler every again," Cadance stated.

"As long as he lives he's dangerous," Twilight stated, quickly siding with her brother.

"But he's asked for mercy. We can't ignore it," Fluttershy stated, decided to side with Cadance.

"I don't like how he did this," Shining stated. "Something's fishy in all of this."

"I agree. He's probably just going to escape from prison and then kill all of us one-by-one," Twilight added.

"Twilight, whatever happened to showing mercy and restraint?" Cadance asked horrified.

"Magicon doesn't deserve it," she stated coldly.

"Twilight, I am horrified by that statement! Everypony deserves forgiveness and mercy! Magicon is as worse as they come. As bad as he is he sees the logic and reason in surrendering. We must do as he says," Fluttershy stated.

"I really don't think-" Shining stopped short as he heard screams and crashes inside of the room. Wasting no time he bolted into the room and slammed the door open with the others right behind.

The room was completely devastated on the inside. Papers, books, pieces of fabric littered the room and four injured ponies lay on the floor. In the center of the room, right where they had left him stood Magicon with an angry face, his cape fluttering and his horn glowing. His eyes were even beginning to turn white, a sign that Twilight and Shining immediately knew.

Wasting no time Shining yelled and charged at the unicorn and made direct contact with him. The force of the charge sent both of them crashing through the window and landing on the roof outside the window.

"Shining!" the mares cried and ran to the window, afraid of a repeat of the earlier incident with another window. Looking out onto the roof they saw the two unicorns rise and glare at each other. Both of their manes were blowing violently and Magicon's cape blew everywhere and made him even more menacing than before. The white had faded from his eyes, but they didn't know how long it would take for it to return.

The two carefully watched their hoofing on the slippery roof as the rain pounded them. One wrong move and either one of them would be slipping to their deaths. The roof tiles were practically rivers and the cold wind made them both shiver as they circled each other, waiting for the other strike.

While the two circled each other Fluttershy went to attend the four ponies knocked down by Magicon.

"Are you ok?" she asked as they began rising.

"Ah think so, but boy that was some spell," Applejack answered as she helped Rainbow up.

"Where is the stallion now?" Rarity asked.

"Out on the roof, dueling with Shining," Fluttershy answered.

"Well, come on, we have no time to waste," Pinkie stated and with the rest of the girls in two joined Cadance and Twilight at the window staring out into the storm with the two unicorns staring and circling at each other.

"Should we…go?" Fluttershy asked.

"Not yet," Cadance answered. "This is their fight. We'll go in when the time comes."

"Will it come?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, it will."

"But what about Shining's health?" Rarity asked.

"I'm ready to jump in if the worst should happen. Magicon won't kill my husband."

She nodded and watched, with the rest of the group, the unicorns circling mere yards from them. They also braced themselves against the rain that pounded them through the hole in the wall as they watched the fight.

The two unicorns continued circling each other, unsure when to strike the other and how to do it. Neither had experience on rooftop fighting and both were afraid of falling off and ultimately to their deaths.

"What is it, Shining?" Magicon yelled through the storm. "Too scared to attack me?"

"I would say the same about you," he replied.

"So, is this how it shall be? You and I stuck in this bitter fight until one of us surrenders?"

"No, you can die."

"Ha! Believe me, I have no plans of doing that. It is you that will die!" Magicon shouted and shot a death curse right at Shining who barely managed to dodge it. Shining sent a powerful knock out spell at Magicon in return who barely managed to miss it as well. The duel then truly began with each of them sending magic at each other, but both were tired and using their last resources as they fought.

Both could feel that they were losing most of their magical energies and their stamina as they cast spells at each other and blocked the oncoming ones with other spells. Their spells were weakening and misdirected, striking targets quite out of range. They also kept treading cautiously over the rooftop making dodging spells all the more difficult, but also casting was becoming increasingly difficult, because of their lack of energy and because of the storm.

Both of them were being blinded by the rain and their bodies felt twice their weight as their manes and coats were completely drenched with water which fell relentlessly. The rain tired both of them and it only took one wrong hoof and the correct timing of a spell to knock one of them down. Shining was that pony.

He yelled as the spell struck him and sent him down on all fours, nearly sliding down the roof. Though the spell was considerably weaker than the others Magicon had previously cast, he had expected Shining to dodge it; it nevertheless pushed Shining to a pitiable position as Magicon approached him.

Magic swirled around Shining's hooves and horn, rendering them unusable as Magicon approached. Once he approached him, they both glared at each other.

"So, this is how it ends? One unicorn strapped to the roof in a storm by the others doing."

"You bastard," Shining hissed.

"Whatever, Shining, I don't care anymore. Can I get one kiss goodbye?" he smirked, knowing full well the answer.

"No. Just do it already. Just kill me."

Magicon didn't need to be asked twice as he raised his head and summoned whatever magic he had left in him. He took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, aimed, and was about the cast it when he was tackled by somepony and fell backwards. His connection ceased, the magic stop flowing, and he opened his eyes to see Twilight directly on top of him, angrily glaring at him.

Behind Twilight Cadance was helping Shining up as the other girls were running out of the window and onto the roof. Even Rarity was braving the storm for the sake of her friends.

Magicon looked back at Twilight and managed to force her off of him a few bucks. He quickly rose to all fours and examined the ponies now ready to make the final strike against him.

"I will not be stopped! I will not be killed! I am Magicon, the Prince of Equestria and Lord of Darkness!"

He then reached out his hoof grabbed Fluttershy, who was surprisingly the closest of all, and proceeded to throw her over the side of the roof. She screamed and struggled to fight back and made it all the more difficult for Magicon to try and drag her over the side of the roof and plunge her to her death, many feet below.

But the struggle took too long for Magicon and he was blasted back by a spell from Cadance. The girls ran to Fluttershy and got her back on her hooves. She was visibly shaken, but nonetheless still determined to stop Magicon. He himself was knocked down but slowly rose and began backing himself from the oncoming group.

He began searching for an escape, a side roof, a small jump, anything to escape the oncoming mob that slowly crept towards him. He felt very little magic left in him and mentally agreed to abandon it all together. It would be hoof-combat that would be the final fight for him.

But he soon found himself that he could back up no further as his back hit one of the many stone chimneys of the mansion. He looked to his right over the side of the mansion and saw the black ground a death jump away. Instant fear ran through him as he saw his dreams come to reality and the abyss form below him, calling his name. This was it. He saw the abyss that so wanted to consume and devour him. Yet he would not be the abyss's next victim. He would make sure of that with everything he had left. He would live until his dying breath.

As he looked back at the group, he noticed in their eyes the slightest reservation, as if they knew his inner fears and slightly sympathized with him.

He could hear Cadance yell through the storm, "Magicon, it's hopeless for you. Save yourself this fate and surrender. It's never too late to change. You can have a second chance if you give yourself one."

He bit his lips and looked over at the abyss one more time, its black depths just wanting his body and he quickly turned himself away from it to face the group. Only two feet stood between him and the lead pony, Twilight, with Cadance and Shining behind her with the rest of the group not far behind them. Only Shining showed no signs of sympathy; all of it had been eliminated from him. However, the rest of the girls did, as if they didn't want this fate for him.

Magicon, realizing which fate would be worse, escaped to his mental mind. There he would decide his fate. A prisoner to those eight or the next victim to the swirling abyss and whatever lay beyond it? Forced to live or forced to die? His life or his honor? In his mind he felt the feat coarse through him; the unshakable fear that would not be quelled. He trembled at that fear and realized that there was only one fate less fearful.

Grimly accepting it Magicon lowered his head towards the group and waited for the magic to bind him to the ground. He closed his eyes in anticipation, but never felt magic affect him. Instead he felt a hoof on his cheek and he opened his eyes to see Twilight looking at him with completely compassionate eyes. His eyes showed confusion yet understanding, as if he didn't understand the definition of compassion but knew the action.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"You've changed."

"More than you can possibly know."

"I-Ah!" she screamed as Magicon violently grabbed her hoof and threw her over the side of the mansion, onto the ground. Yet Twilight had managed to grab onto Magicon's cape and pulled him down as well.

"Twilight!" the group cried and ran to her aid. As they looked over they saw Twilight's back hoof barely holding onto a gutter while she was looking directly down at the ground, Magicon's cape in her jaw, the only thing preventing him from falling into the abyss. His hooves were flailing and he yelled for help. The faintest sound of Magicon choking on the cape around his neck could be heard against the storm.

"Everypony help and get her back on the roof!" Shining ordered and everypony did so. He reached over the side and garbed Twilight's back hoof with the others grabbing him and they began pulling together.

"Ready, one, two, three, pull!" they all did so and Twilight's other back hoof reached Shining's grasp. With now two firm grips on his sister he order another pull and her body began rising over the side of the mansion.

As the two slowly began rising Twilight and Magicon heard the most fearful sound to their ears: the tearing of cloth. Twilight looked at the cape with widened eyes of shock as she saw its threads breaking around her mouth. The weight of the Magicon was too much for the cape to hold and it was splitting at its seams.

“Magicon! Give me your hooves!” Twilight yelled through her teeth. Magicon looked back at her with the most fear eyes possible from his helpless position and looked back the abyss below him. His eyes then changed to a realization of something just as worse and he realized that he only had one fate. This would be it. He was increasingly struggling to breathe as the cape chocked him, yet it would be his cape that would be his salvation.

Through his choked breaths he yelled, as loud as he possibly could,

“No…pony…touches…my…cape!”

He then closed his eyes, turned away from Twilight, and pulled towards the earth with as much possible strength as he could. The sound of ripping cloth filled both of their ears.

“Magicon! Stop it or the cape will break!” Twilight cried through her teeth though the words came out completely muffled due to the cloth. She had heard his final statement and something beyond fear filled her inside as she desperately tried to reach down and grab him. Yet his body was simply too far and too resisting of any help. As her body as just about to be pulled back onto the roof she saw the last of the fabric tear and the cape fall over the side of the mansion with its master at the end.

“Magicon!” she screamed with the loudest voice possible and looked over the roof’s edge to see the unicorn with a determined face simply fall to the abyss below him. His hooves helpless, his body unyielding, and his mind gone as his body plummeted to the ground until it made a loud thud on the ground, forcing Twilight to cringe at the sound.

Everypony heard it, as if the storm had suddenly fallen silent for that one moment, just so all of Equestria could hear the final moments of their prince. They all ran to the edge but saw nothing, the darkness was simply too thick to see him.

"Magicon!" Twilight screamed, tears streaming down her face. She collapsed right on the edge of the roof, her face buried in her hooves as he wailed. Cadance sat down beside her and she cried into her coat, soaking it with warm and extremely sad tears.

The rest of the girls were also tearing up. Rarity was blotting her eyes with a soaked hoofkerchief while Applejack removed her hat and hugged Rainbow. Fluttershy turned to Pinkie and both began crying and hugging. Only Shining did not cry, though he appeared incredibly uncomfortable with the turn of events.

He looked over the side again, into the darkness of the earth, and mumbled, "I'm sorry it had to end like this, Magicon."

For them all Magicon had changed and they had changed. None of them knew if this fate was right for him or for them, but nothing they could do would change it. No spell could reverse the effects of what just happened. No prayer could be said to save him. The simple fact was that Magicon had been stopped and Equestria would be safe from him forever. They didn't know how Equestria would react to this news or what would happen in the future, but that wasn't on their minds. The only thing that was on their minds was Magicon's fall, literally and figuratively, and the fate that he met with that fall: death.