A New Era

by Shadowmane PX-41

Chapter 6: Strict Decree

As the colossal beam of magic was seconds away from impacting the Main Six, Starlight, and Spike, a bright purple slash cut it in half and caused both ends to brush past the girls and into two separately conjured portals, which vanished once the light disappeared into it.

"What?!" Sugarcoat snarled when she saw the Main Six still standing. "That spell was supposed to take you back to whatever country you came from! How in the world did—"

"EXCUSE ME?!" Rainbow Dash covered Sugarcoat's mouth with her hoof. "TAKE US HOME?! YOU WERE GONNA MELT US INTO LITTLE BLOBS OF GOOP!" She roared in her face and headbutted her backwards a few inches.

"As the queen of White Wings, I must apologise for Sugarcoat abhorrent rudeness." Cinch stepped forward with sparks crackling off of her horn. "You see, ever since King Umbra attacked, she started to cast her real self away. I don't know how much it will take to get the Sugarcoat that I used to know back, but Umbra has been on her thoughts ever since he was created."

"Created?" Twilight turned towards Cinch and looked up at her. "You mean that... smoky thing was never really born?"

"Yes. Unlike most of the ponies on this world, Umbra has no family, friends, or anything that resembles those kinds of people for that matter." Cinch nodded and knelt down to Twilight's height. "As per his wrath-like form and his shadow magic, that too was the result of Sugarcoat's failed experiment."

"Stop bringing up my past, Cinch! You know that only makes me furious!" Sugarcoat snorted so hardly that steam poured out of her nostrils. "He had no right to exist, but I screwed up and now he does! Let's just leave it at that, alright?!"

"Silence, you ungrateful halfwit!" Cinch fired a series of magical swords at Sugarcoat, which turned into chains that bound her legs and horn in a purple cage. "I will deal with you after I tend to our guests." She turned back to the Main Six. "Again, I apologise. I never show wrath like that either, but Sugarcoat has become somewhat of a petulant child ever since she gave Umbra life."

"But really, can ya blame her?" Indigo Zap fluttered her wings as she looked down at her bound friend. "She has been pretty angsty ever since Umbra showed up."

"Yeah. She gets even madder than me at times." Sour Sweet walked forward. "And believe me, I can get pretty angry when I feel like it."

"All of this just proves that we should be here now more than ever." Starlight Glimmer nodded and looked at both Cinch and her five heroes. "Sugarcoat's got some anger issues, and the kingdom of White Wings is under heavy fire from Umbra." She then looked back at her friends. "If anything, I'm surprised that your magical map didn't point your Cutie Marks to this place, Twilight."

"The Map doesn't lead us to places outside of Equestria. And even if it did, it only works for friendship problems; not threats to the world as we know it." Twilight shook her head and raised her hoof before turning back to Cinch. "But if there is a problem here, we can't just stand by and ignore it. Princess Celestia might have sent us to make an alliance with your country, but that doesn't mean we can't also help you get rid of the thing that's troubling you, right, your highness?"

"Indeed." Cinch nodded and cast a warm smile on Twilight and her friends. "Even in times of crisis, it's good to have as many allies as possible, no matter how they equip themselves for battle. You never know. Even ponies from other countries can be decisive in battle, should they apply the right tactics to the task at hand."

"Your majesty. Please, allow me to point out the facts and figures that will discredit these ponies from—"

"I said silence, Sugarcoat. Does the mere concept of the word escape your infantile brain?" Cinch snarled at her.

"Sugarcoat, girl, just shut up for one second." Indigo Zap lowered her brows at Sugarcoat. "You don't want to be banished from White Wings, do you?"

With all of her confidence drained, Sugarcoat merely looked into the eyes of the other ponies in the room. All of them glared daggers at her, acting like she was being the villain in the situation. But she never wanted to be allied with ponies that she believed were under-equipped to fight a battle they were just being introduced to. With no other option, however, she remained respectfully silent.

"Anyway, we have gotten off topic, haven't we?" Cinch cleared her throat and returned her attention to the Main Six. "Sugarcoat once tried to perfect herself in ways that I had never even thought of before. Not physically or mentally, mind you. She wanted a way to purge the darkness from within herself, so that she wouldn't have these lingering thoughts of despair, doubt, or negativity.

"You see, there is darkness with the hearts of every pony on this planet—not just the ones in White Wings." Cinch tapped Twilight in her chest. "Whether you act for the sake of justice and happiness, or the will of chaos and despair, the darkness within you is irremovable. No matter how much you try, you will always fail in trying to expunge it; something that Sugarcoat didn't take to heart on that fateful day." She began to envision the entire series of events in her mind. "When she was told that she had darkness inside her, Sugarcoat wanted to try and make sure that she could make herself pure.

"But, despite her vast knowledge of the arcane arts, Sugarcoat's spell that she thought would remove the darkness in her heart gave rise to a whole new being." Cinch shuddered as she heard Umbra's laugh echo in her mind. "Umbra was created, and he began tearing the castle up from the inside out. Our combined arms alone was not enough to subdue this tyrannical shadow pony when he came into existence.

"Only when Umbra made it to me, did Sugarcoat return to challenge him. But she wasn't alone." She looked out towards the other ponies around the bound unicorn. "She had amassed the best ponies from each of my three divisions of militia, and together, their power was able to drive Umbra out of the castle and the kingdom as a whole; shouting revenge as he flew off into the night like a demon from Tartarus."

"But the story doesn't end there." Sunny Flare walked up towards the Main Six and took a deep breath. "After Umbra left White Wings' castle in disarray, some of the ponies began to doubt the reign of Queen Cinch. They formed a rebellious group that split the town's population in half, and divided the entire kingdom into two districts: The Light's Embrace, and the Cast Shadow." She pointed her hooves behind and in front of her to mark the districts. "If you value your health, don't enter Cast Shadow if you pledge yourself to Cinch and us. The ponies in Cast Shadow will rip you apart, limb from limb."

"In some cases, quite literally." Lemon Zest raised her hoof. "And trust me, it's pretty nasty..."

"But anyways, Umbra is the main cause of why everything wrong is happening here in White Wings." Cinch trotted towards the stained glass behind her. "Through this machination of bright colours resembling me and my father, lies the half of White Wings that you don't want to see. A place where hatred and disdain rule with no end in sight."

"Well, if he's the one that's doing all this bad stuff, then we've gotta go and take him down!" Rainbow Dash punched the air with her hooves. "Plus, I've got a score to settle with him after he pinned me to the wall like that."

Patience, little pony." Cinch gave a little wave to Rainbow Dash. "If you want to venture out to stop Umbra, I have no objections to it. But you won't last half an hour without the proper backup and support."

"Support?" Fluttershy flapped her wings forward. "Does that mean that—"

"Yes it does." Cinch smiled and looked back at the Main Six. "If you six have magic that is alien to this country, then it might be just what we need to finish Umbra off once and for all. That is why I am assigning you all a mission." She walked back up to the girls, who all bowed before her. "I will form an allegiance with Equestria, provided that the eight of you join forces with my five champions, venture out into the Badlands, and defeat King Umbra for good."

"What?" Everyone else in the room almost jumped at the sound of Cinch's decree.

"No. No no no no no no no. N.O. NO!" Sugarcoat shook and rattled around in the chains that she was bound in. "I'm not going out on some adventure with some childish teenagers!"

"Cinch, I appreciate the situation, but let's be real here." Indigo Zap flew up to the Main Six and held their legs and wings out, pressing hard against the bones. "You're basically asking us to babysit these girls. We're all game for stopping Umbra, but I feel like these seven ponies and this little runt here are just gonna end up getting us into trouble."

"Plus, the Badlands are rough to get through." Sour Sweet joined Indigo Zap. "All those dragons, monsters, spirits that want to suck out your life force, it's pretty dirty business..."

"I know the risks that are at hand, but I don't have a choice in the matter." Cinch sighed and sat back on her throne. "White Wings is facing heavier attacks each and every day, and Umbra's forces are unrelenting and constantly growing. If we're going to stop this mayhem, then this Princess Twilight and her entourage of disciples might have just the power that we need to end this and bring peace back to White Wings."

"Queen Abacus Cinch, this is pure madness!" Sugarcoat shouted. "You're asking a bunch of tourists to go on a suicide walk; using themselves meat shields so that Umbra doesn't hurt us!"

"Hey! We're not meat shields!" Spike jumped off of Twilight's back and pulled Sugarcoat's head down to his height. "These girls have saved Equestria countless times before! You should show them a little more respect!"

"That's very kind of you, little one, but I will be dealing with Sugarcoat now." Cinch levitated Spike away and removed the chains that were holding Sugarcoat down. "I know that you are not the same pony that you were before, but your behaviour towards these eight has been completely unacceptable. And here I thought your perfect streak would never end."

"Your majesty, please, let me just expla—"

"No! White Wings is a city of peace, and I definitely won't be having the actions of one of my closest ruin the nature of our world!" Cinch shook her head and did some deep breathing before lowering her voice. "So, as punishment for such rude and unruly behaviour towards our guests, especially that of royalty, I am sentencing you to watch over the entire group personally."

"PERSONALLY?! YOU HAVE GONE MAD!" Sugarcoat slammed her hooves on the ground. "In this castle, you're merely the daughter of a fallen king and queen! I'm the most powerful unicorn on this planet and I will not have you—" her tirade was cut off when a magical spear pointed its' tip at her neck.

"I have been entrusted White Wings, this castle, and all of the ponies in this kingdom by my mother and father." Cinch's horn was glowing, with an aura around the spear's handle. "Defying my orders will be seen as treason against White Wings."

"Traitors are executed publicly. I believe that's what the rules say." Indigo Zap nodded.

"Who needs a self-centered, arrogant, and self-destructive jerk anyway?" Sunny Flare folded her front hooves.

"Grrrr..." Sugarcoat growled.

"Sugarcoat. You CANNOT win in an argument with me." Cinch walked up to Sugarcoat and raised the spear, causing Sugarcoat's head to tilt backwards. "I am the queen. The ponies in this kingdom obey me without any qualms. Do not be the first one to die disregarding my orders."

"Hmph. Pity to be so arrogant." Sugarcoat pushed her glasses to her eyes and used a spell of her own to remove the spear. "As you seem to be underestimating my growing power, I shouldn't expect you to witness just what I can really do to Umbra once we find him."

"Really?" Cinch watched Sugarcoat's neck return to its' original state. "Then let us watch as you prove it to these seven visitors."

"What?" Sugarcoat tilted her head.

"You have made quite a reputation for yourself, Sugarcoat. Don't try and tarnish it with promises you can't keep, or a barbaric attitude towards guests."

"Your insincerity is comforting." Sugarcoat gruffly walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"Cinch, if you try and give a challenge like that to Sugarcoat, she might try to fight Umbra completely on her own, without us to back her up!" Indigo Zap threw her hooves down in front of her. "She can't go into the Badlands by herself! She might anger Dragon King Scal'zera, or disturb the spirits of the Wailing Woods!"

"She might be your most powerful unicorn, but even against all that on her own, she might end up exhausted and die to one—if not all of those things!" Sour Sweet ran up towards her.

"That would be a rather unfortunate denouement." Cinch stood up and approached the Main Six. "But it is the bed that she had made, so she must lie in it, no matter what she has to be accompanied by." She bent down and placed her horn on each of the Main Six's shoulders. "From this point on, travellers, I anoint you as temporary defenders of White Wings. Take as much time as you need to gather supplies, get dressed for combat, and head off with my five champions to defeat Umbra."

"Thank you, your majesty." Twilight bowed before Queen Cinch once more and led her friends towards the throne room's exit. "I'm sure that we won't let you down."

"As for the rest of my heroes, your training schedule will resume as normal." Cinch turned towards the other ponies. "Indigo Zap, you are to lead the Silver Bullets on another sweep of the border. Check and see if there are any encroaching or escaping threats. Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet, return to your Other World companions and proceed through the books that I have left for you. As for Lemon Zest, you are to maintain your normal duties as caretaker for my children." She watched the ponies all salute and bow before her. "Dismissed."

"Just before we go, what are you going to do about Sugarcoat if she decides to go rogue and leave us straight away?" Indigo Zap turned just as she was about to open the door.

"What happens to Sugarcoat could sway the course of the battle, but you have to make sure that she is kept in check when dealing with our visitors." Cinch placed her front hooves together. "If she gets angry, do whatever it takes to calm her down. If she runs off ahead, keep up with her and try not to let her out of your sight. And if she ends up battling Umbra, then aid her in the fight, regardless if she says no, or if Umbra pulls some little trap to make sure that only he and she fight."

"Understood." Indigo gave a small salute and flew out of the door. "We'll try our best, your majesty."

"See that you do." Cinch said just as the doors to her throne room began to close again.

Comments

[FourShadow]

Oh Sugarcoat... honey... she needs help.

[EchoWing]

Wait, so Umbra's the worst parts of Sugarcoat made manifest?

*thwacks Sugarcoat with a big stick*

Stupid mare! Dealing with your dark side doesn't work that way! Just ask Henry Jeckyll!

[Serenade Sketch]

Now I feel the need to smack Sugarcoat so hard for being such a stubborn pessimist.