Chapters Next
Close
1- Awakening3,283 words
2- Beyond the Veil4,851 words
3- Restoration4,619 words
4- Day and Night7,584 words
5- Awaken4,589 words
6- Origins3,863 words
7- Brave New WAAAGH!!5,926 words
8- Lessons7,426 words
9- Encounter5,548 words
10- Dreamwalker9,490 words
11- The Next Morning8,423 words
12- Chaotic Counseling8,120 words
12.5- First Night (Bonus Chapter)5,474 words
13- Rogue and Queen6,218 words
14- Secret Agent Mare7,692 words
15- Sundown8,327 words
16- Facing Fears6,125 words
17- Flicker5,817 words

1- Awakening

The Terror of Death- Awakening

Destiny. It it a strange word with an even stranger meaning. Similar to Fate and Karma… But what does destiny actually mean? Some have described it as a predetermined course of events that is inevitable. It cannot be simply ignored or avoided because destiny is always something that comes back around like a boomerang in flight. Some are destined for great things to come to them… others are destined to fall in battle… and there are those who are destined to help their people. Help their kind stand firm against all that might come against them and harm them.

However… there are those that can’t accept destiny. Those that fear it because of what destiny might bring… or because of what must be done to achieve this destiny. Sometimes the host must go through great change, whether it is physical or personal, in order to finally accept it. But there is one undeniable destiny that can’t be avoided no matter how far you flee or how fast you run.

Death. No matter if death is inflicted as a wound by a foe or comes with age, there will always be a point in time where we all must pass on, no matter how much we want to stay alive. Though, we all must take note of something very important… When one life ends, another one begins. And when that life begins, that life… in time… will also come to an end as well. I have learned that myself throughout the years that I have been alive, but now, I must finally set down my quill… and lay my head… one last time.

-Final Journal Entry of renowned Grand Magus Starswirl the Bearded, shortly before his passing in 1052 CE (Celestial Era). May his soul find eternal peace.

Equestria (Present Day)

The snow that was violently kicked around with the storm rendered the vision of the lone mare that was trying to navigate it. She was trying to run away and had been trying for the past two days. Running away from the pain she felt… but most importantly… from Fate itself. The only friend that she ever had since she was a filly was now the tyrannical emperor that ran the crystal empire with an iron hoof and fate had decided that she was the one to try and stop his reign. However, she couldn’t come to terms with the task. For Sombra was her only friend… one that she did not want to lose.

It left the poor Crystal Pony with two options. Either let Destiny run it’s course… or defy it. If she followed through with the first option, she would have to lead her kind in an uprising. However, such things were unheard of or squashed out right in front of their eyes with public executions. A way that Sombra personally believed was to help keep everypony in line. The second option would leave the mare with having to serve the stallion that she knew since fillyhood. However, it would mean she would have to force herself to commit acts that she would never do before. Acts that would make herself think that she had lost her mind… Acts that would label her as a killer and a murderer. Blinded by only partial truths of what was right or wrong.

And of course, using whatever skill she had, the mare that was named Radiant Hope chose neither. Instead, she forged her own path… by running away from everything that was hurting her dearly. However, she could only run so much and with the violent winds kicking up even more, the Crystal Unicorn needed to find a place that would serve as shelter from the blizzard storm. Because if she continued to push herself, the only thing that she would be running away from was her own demise… A chase where death always wins.

As she tried to settle in and keep herself warm with the close she kept around herself, Radiant began to try and focus on getting a fire started. There were a few stray sticks and stones that blew in from the storm and with it, she tried to light a small flame using her magic. However, in the midst of this though… something began to echo in the cave… It was faint… but she could hear it.

“W-who’s there?” She asked, levitating a torch with her magic as she tried to light the darkened sections of the shelter the pony had come across. Radiant first thought that there were a few others that were in here before her, but another movement of the torch and she came across the skeletal corpses of several unfortunate souls who had stumbled in here. “I-is anypony there?”

Seconds after speaking again, a burst of wind from outside blew out her torch. Leaving the Unicorn with one option for light. Her own horn. Casting an illumination spell, she carefully began to tread inward towards wherever the noise was, gulping down whatever fear that lingered inside her. At one point though, the small noises grew in volume and it was then that the Unicorn could make out what they were.

They weren’t noises… they were voices.

‘Princess Amore, stay back! We don’t know if this creature is harmful!!’

‘If it were me, we should kill it while we have the chance,’ That voice… she knew. Right away, Radiant could hear that it was Sombra’s voice. Around the time that he was Chancellor for Princess Amore. But how did he play a part in it? ‘Avoid the risk altogether.’

‘Chancellor Sombra, I am NOT doing such a thing to a creature like this. Both of you are bickering about it like a pair of foals that are too eager to get their cutie marks. We ARE helping it and that’s final.’ The voices soon died down, but for a moment as Radiant tried to make sense of what she understood. When Sombra took over as King, he declared himself king after a insurgent attempt to take Amore’s life was successful. She was away doing business with one of the nearby villages, but no point at all was some… creature involved.

The second time that the voices spoke, she now saw reflections on the crystalline walls. One of the princess… But there was another one too. Possibly the “creature” that was mentioned previously. They appeared to be in the same chambers that was now Sombra’s personal study and hearing the voice of Amore and what she had to say really surprised her. ‘So… you don’t know how you arrived in my kingdom… at all?’

The being shook his head as he took a deep breath and let it out softly. ‘No, I don’t… Everything’s just… foggy. I remember my life before then and everything up to a certain point… but now…’ Radiant watched as the reflections on the glass showed Amore trying to comfort the stranger.

‘Sir… I think I forgot to ask you this… but what would you like for me to call you?’ The other being was quiet, but soon he had one answer for her off of the tip of his tongue.

‘Haseo.’

In the present, once that word was said, Radiant spun around to see a faint red glow coming from the back of the room. The red glow was coming from a wall of ice, oh it suffers played images of the past. But behind the images where three glowing red orbs. She saw the figure training with the guards, then helping civilians and always by Amore’s side. But with each image, it showed Sombra getting more and more furious at not just him, but the princess he was a guardian and protector for.

‘You trust that two legged brute instead of your own chancellor?! What has gotten into you, Amore!? WHY!?!’

‘I trust him because he is kind and knows what’s right. Sombra, maybe if you actually had a heart like Haseo does, then you would actually understand what I am talking about!’ Amore’s voice snapped back at him. ‘Get out of my sight now or you will no longer be serving the Crystal Empire!’

‘EVERYTHING I’VE DONE IS FOR THE EMPIRE!’ The voice of Sombra roared, causing the orbs of red to glow even more. ‘Yet, no matter how much I work and whatever I do, YOU turn a blind eye to me… No… Not anymore…’

‘Sombra, what are you doing?’ The voice of this… Haseo spoke, but what came next was something that Radiant personally could not believe or bear witness too.

‘Doing something I’ve should’ve done a long time ago.’ He growled, the sound of his voice followed by the sound of metal penetrating flesh. Amore’s cries slowly died out, now replaced with dying muffles as the sound of her body hit the ground.

‘No… Amore, NO!!’ Her guardian screamed, followed by brief tears. However, this was when those three red eyes in the present began to expand outward. Forming and creating a series of runes that expanded along the wall. ‘N-no…’

It was then though… that Radiant snapped back to reality when a new… deeper voice boomed throughout the cavern… and she realized that those red orbs… were eyes.

“I have found you.” It spoke as the ice began to crack.

‘Amber, take Cadenza and run as far as you can!’

‘Wha-? Why!?’

‘RUN BEFORE I LOSE CONTROL OF MYSELF!! SOMBRA KILLED AMORE… and I am going to MAKE SURE HE SUFFERS FOR WHAT HE DID!!’

The cracks began to widen, spreading rapidly across the ice as they got closer to Radiant. She was trying to back away, but her efforts weren’t helping her. However… what she heard next… changed everything.

‘I’m right here… Come on… COME ON!!! SKEITH!’ The walls that were once frozen had now crumbled away, breaking apart to reveal what was hidden inside. Frozen away for years, possibly centuries as it crashed into the cold ground that was once crumbling before. Now though, the shaking had stopped and the Unicorn who saw this all happen soon galloped over to the creature that fell as his eyes began to open.

“U-uuuhh… M-my head…” It groaned, clasping it’s hand on it’s head to try and overcome the painful headache that he was dealing with. But when he looked at Radiant… his reaction wasn’t what she expected. “A-amore?” Looking around for a small bit as he stumbled to his feet, the figure looked back at her. “A-am I…… dead?”

“I’m sorry, I think you have mistaken me for somepony else.” Radiant answered.

“W-what?” He said, looking at himself before looking back at her. “W-who are you? Where am I!?” He said, noticing the apparent changes around him.

“I’m Radiant. It's alright, nopony is going to hurt you.” She replied trying to calm him down. It only worked… for a short while as the figure now imposed a new question on her.

“What happened to the Empire?” Radiant was not sure what to say, so she told him the truth.

“It being kept safe, But we should go now. What is your name?” She asked trying to help him up. However, what the stranger said next… just caused her to think she was in some sort of dream.

“H-Haseo.”

“Haseo, that’s a nice name.” She first said, until she realized that she had heard it before. Right before this… creature was released from it’s icy prison. Which could have only meant that those voices… were not just ordinary voices… they were his memories. But as she turned around, she watched as a faint glow appeared in Haseo’s hands before a strange pair of blades began to take form.

“Guess I still can do that…” He muttered to himself, before looking back at the Unicorn. “Hmm? Is something on your mind?”

“How did you do that?” Radiant asked looking over the blades in his hands. “Is it some kind of magic?”

“Magic?” He said, shortly before shaking his head. “No, it’s more of a… special talent that I have. I can use a series of weapons and switch at will just by focusing on it… Why, did you think it was Magic?”

“Well, everypony knows and uses magic.” Radiant said, looking back at him before glancing outside. “Anyway I think we should be going now.”

“Going? Going where-?” He stopped for a moment, almost dropping his blades as he stared at the darkness that was hovering over the castle that was the Crystal Empire in the distance. “No… NO!! Dammit, he’s alive!?”

“Haseo calm down, let me explain.” Radiant asked, only for him to look back at her.

“Explain!? Sombra murdered Amore! I was suppose to protect her!!” He snapped, before looking Radiant again… “Radiant… what year did this happen? When did Sombra come into power?”

“1000 years ago, since then, things have… gotten worse in the empire.” Radiant admitted to him, looking back at Haseo as the blizzard died down. “Why do you want to know?”

“Radiant…… if what you said is right… I’ve been frozen for over 1000 years… the day that Sombra killed Amore and took over the Empire was the day I…… lost control of who I was.” He sighed, the memories still fresh in his mind and searing painfully as he looked back at her. “I had only one job… Keep the citizens of the empire safe… and I failed.”

“We can still help them.” Radiant said putting a hoof on his arm. “But I need your help.”

He looked back at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “My help? How?”

“It's said when you were out of control, you used some kind of magic that could weaken others, if you could use that magic again. We could free everypony from the spell keeping us here.” Haseo thought about that to himself for a small bit of time, trying to put the pieces together on what she was saying. Then though, he finally figured it out.

“I can… but we need to take into account some things…” He said, pointing out the Empire in the distance. “First, in order for me to pull it off, I need a bit of energy. Something I don’t have as of now since I have just woken up. Second, if we do pull this off, we need to go to the empire and do what we can to help those people. Sombra’s reign must be put to an end and we can’t do it if we spend our time waiting for help to arrive.” The first piece that Haseo said made Radiant a little nervous, but the second one really made her feel uncomfortable. He was saying that for them to do this, she needed to go back and return to what she wanted to run away from. Go back and face her destiny… and to help her people stop the only friend that she had. That was, until she heard him speak again.

“Hey… I know it might sound impossible, but the least you can do is have faith… Stick together and light the first spark of rebellion so it may sit long enough to catch fire… Do you think you are capable of this?” He asked her, waiting to see her response.

“I just want to get my friend back, if this will help then I’ll try.” Radiant said as she lead the way. All it did though, was make Haseo curious.

“Who’s this friend of yours?” He asked.

“There’s somepony who took the wrong path, and I’m going to put things right.” She said, looking back at the Adept Rogue as they continued on their journey.

“That… is admirable… But sometimes, some ponies are too far gone to be saved. I can always try to help whoever I can, but now everypony is the same…” He said, pausing mid sentence before looking back at Radiant. “Hey… Radiant? This may sound a little strange given that we just met… but can we be friends?”

“Sure, I’d like that.” She replied, causing Haseo to smile a little. It was the teen’s first friend in over a thousand years and it felt really comfortable to walk alongside her as they continued to tread through the snow. After about half an hour, since it was quicker to head towards the empire than away from it, Haseo stopped.

“This should be close enough.” The teen said as he turned to his side. Holding out his right arm and using his left arm for support. “By the time I do this, the Empire will be visible, but then we would need to hurry because Sombra might be onto us.”

“Alright, I’ll get a teleport spell ready.” Radiant replied, causing him to smirk as he closed his eyes. It was then that the unicorn began to see eight pillars of light emerge from his hand as a strange form of clustered energy began to flow around him. Growing in size as he channeled it through his body. Soon though, it was ready and he had two words to say before he unleashed the power he was charging.

“DATA DRAIN!!”

Radiant was confused by what he said, but whatever it was… it worked. The Empire was beginning to clear up now and it was the perfect chance for Radiant to teleport them straight over as quickly as possible. Because something like this… was not going to go unnoticed for long.

Meanwhile…

One of the guards that had been serving Princess Celestia and her sister Luna throughout his career was speeding off to their chamber with some urgent information that needed to be addressed immediately. Fortunately, he was quick enough in order to find them inside Celestia’s room as the sun alicorn was drinking a cup of tea while the lunar alicorn looked to be playing some sort of game.

“Y-your majesty!” He said, standing at attention as Celestia turned to notice him.

“Yes Private Steadfast? What seems to be the matter?”

“Colonel Brighthorn has an urgent report for you. Several scouts have been detecting major activity in the north-.” Immediately after hearing the words “the north”, Celestia found herself in a state of shock and dropped her teacup on top of her sister. The hot liquid seeping into her mane as she was forced to take off her headphones and pause her game.

“Sister, what was that for!? I was in the middle of playing the newest .buck// game and I was about to reach a save point-!” She snapped as the Alicorn turned around.

“Luna, we have a problem… The Crystal Empire… It has returned.” Those words got the Alicorn to stop talking as she got up from her position on the floor and looked back at her sister with an expression of shock on her face as they left the room and teleported to the tower where Luna kept watch over her subjects. Taking a spyglass that the Alicorn had set on the table, Luna looked off into the distance, only to see exactly what her sister was telling her.

She could see the Crystal Empire… and the demon that lurked in the distance. “Oh no… It’s Sombra.”

“Luna, gather both Cadence and Shining Armor. I’ll send out a letter to the elements immediately.” Celestia told her as Luna nodded her head and teleported off to go find the royal couple. However, the sun princess felt a small bit of uncertainty… like there was another danger out there that they should be concerned about.

Author's Note:

When one story ends... Another begins... But you must be willing to take the first step in order to begin the story you want to tell.

7,395 views

230