The Curse
Black clouds were once again on the horizon, and unlike before, there was a greater feeling of dread in the air. Radiant Hope stood with her fellow Knights of Justice, prepared to enter into battle with the incoming enemy. However, her mind was elsewhere. Not but a day ago, was the sorceress studying in Starswirl’s library when the ring that Sombra had made her turned black as night and shattered into pieces.
To say that it startled her would be an understatement, it frightened her. The ring was formed from Sombra’s magic, the reaction could have signified his death or something worse. These thoughts plagued her mind, but this was not unnoticed by her mentor and teacher, Starswirl, who stood beside her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
“Do not fret my student, Sombra is a strong and resilient lad. His love for you just makes him that much more tenacious in battle, he will not easily fall,” said Starswirl.
“I want to believe your words, Master, but after what occurred…”
“A reaction like the one you spoke of could be due to a connection loss, perhaps his travels took him to a place that disconnected him from our realm for the time being?” Starswirl suggested. “Keep your faith my dear, survive this that you may be able to see Sombra when he returns.”
Radiant Hope smiled and nodded her affirmation to her teacher. However, Starswirl still felt a twinge of unease at the situation, he too wanted to believe his own words, but something in the air told him that a much worse fate may have befallen Sombra.
The attack was about to begin, this time the army was comprised of black crystal juggernauts, creepers, and a relatively old creature from past battles, the terror-gliders. They resembled birds, but with flat wings, long beaks, and a long crest.
Within the hour, spells, arrows, and catapult ordinance had been flung out from the behind the protective walls, most of them aiming at the terror-gliders to reduce their numbers and air superiority. Meanwhile, the remaining Knights and soldiers were commencing ground combat with the juggernauts and creepers.
During the battle, something seemed off to Starswirl. For a moment the black crystal constructs would push them back, but then the Crystal Kingdom forces would gain the upper hand and push the enemy further back, a kind of strange give and take was occurring and it seemed too well planned. Stardswirl’s cape flapped in the wind as he turned back to see how far they had gotten from the kingdom.
“This is not right, we’re getting too far from the walls,” said Starswirl.
“I agree Master Starswirl, they’re definitely luring us away, but to what?” Hope asked.
“Surely these dull creatures cannot be that smart, tenacious, yes, but wits they have not,” said War Hammer.
The old wizard stroked his beard in agitation of the situation, but soon his suspicions were proven correct. The three protectors looked towards the kingdom and watched as a flare of magical energy was sent up into the air and exploded red.
“Red flash…ENEMIES IN THE KINGDOM!” War Hammer shouted.
“Blast them I knew it! Gather to me you two!” Starswirl ordered.
Hope and Hammer stood close to the sorcerer supreme, he twirled his staff around and slammed the butt of the staff against the dirt. A magic circle appeared under them made of white light. Within a second, the circle wrapped them in a bubble of light and made all three of them vanish into thin air.
Within a few seconds a sphere of white light shined before the castle keep and revealed Starswirl, Radiant Hope, and War Hammer, with the latter looking a little woozy.
“Starswirl…what do you call that infernal spell again?” War Hammer asked.
“Teleportation,” said Starswirl.
“Never use it again, not with me…ugh…” War Hammer dashed for a potted plant and began heaving into it.
While War Hammer was busy losing his breakfast, Starswirl and Radiant Hope took inventory of the area. It was bad to say the least, many buildings had been destroyed, the bodies of the citizens were strewn all over the place. Radiant knelt down before the body of a woman who had a child in her arms, obviously a mother trying to protect her child. However, it seemed that a blade had pierced through both. Hope silently prayed over the two, as well as for the hundreds of dozens who also lost their lives.
“This is our fault…our arrogance, we never had the citizens evacuate to safe havens,” said Radiant Hope.
“We never believed that the wall would be breached by those constructs, so there was never a need to come up with a proper plan to do so,” said Starswirl as he gently patted the head of his student.
“We will avenge their loss, the cur who has done this will see justice done!” War Hammer stated as he pounded his fist into his left hand.
Another series of explosions rang out inside the castle, prompting all three to dash towards the entrance, in Radiant and Starswirl’s cases, fly. All three Knights entered the castle keep, and already were confronted by a dozen creepers and seven juggernauts. War Hammer slammed his fists together, activating his gauntlets and making them increase in size and cover over his whole arms. War Hammer dashed towards the first juggernaut and cocked back his fist, magical energy coursed through the runic markings and energized the metal. Upon striking the juggernaut, a burst of magical energy was released, focusing it into a pinpoint shot that pierced through the juggernaut and shattered it.
Another juggernaut appeared and began fist fighting with War Hammer, the large man threw in a jab, and right hook to the faceless monster, another juggernaut charged for War Hammer, coming at him with a haymaker. The blow connected, sending the Knight flying to the wall and slamming him into it. A body sized hole was made as dust was kicked up from the impact. However, War Hammer would not go down that easily, his golden magical aura flared up as he dashed out of the hole and grabbed the juggernaut that slugged him with his right hand, clenching his fist in the next instant and crushing its head like brittle glass.
Starswirl and Radiant Hope had created a dual protective barrier, but that didn’t make the creepers stop their attack in the least. Below them a magic circle appeared, along with several orbs of blue and white light as both Starswirl and Radiant Hope chanted their spell.
“Audi clamorem expugnabat…”
“Contritio in lucem…”
“Et sciendum quod finis tuus! ”
“Edea sagittis!”
The spheres of light shot off, with the tips resembling that of arrowheads as they zipped around with great speed. The light arrows hit each of the creepers, weaving around the juggernauts and hitting them with pinpoint accuracy and shattered them where they stood. The light arrows all combined into one giant arrow of light that shot towards one of the juggernauts and pierced it through the chest.
“Oh come now you two, I wanted to finish that one!” War Hammer shouted.
“Deal with the ones you’re already fighting!” Starswirl shouted back.
War Hammer huffed, the Knight channeled his magic once again into his gauntlets. With a swift pivot on his right foot, War Hammer threw a powerful uppercut to the construct’s jaw, hitting it with enough force that it took off its head, the energy of the blow continued upwards and put a dent in the ceiling. The heavy-hitter managed to roll out of the way, scooping up a large chunk of the stone, he then put himself at an optimal distance and held the chunk aloft in his right hand. War Hammer then punched the chunk of stone, putting magic into it and making the stone transform into high speed pellets of stone that flew down the hall and shattered the juggernauts.
“Done then, let us continue forward!”
The three Knights continued their trek, they knew where the enemy was going and they prayed they were in time.
Queen Amore panted, her hair was in disarray, and her throne room in shambles. The mystic queen of the Crystal Kingdom had adorned herself in her regalia armor, her hands glowing with magical energy as she stared down her opponent.
Sombra stood a few feet away from Queen Amore, wielding a black crystal scythe in his hand, his grin was malicious,with his canines a little longer than normal. “The mighty Queen Amore, so benevolent, so kind, and so powerful…but so foolish.”
Queen Amore’s eyes burned with azure light as she raised her hands and fired a massive beam of magical energy at Sombra. The corrupted Knight spun his scythe around and slammed the butt of the weapon against the floor, a sphere of black crystal formed around Sombra, allowing the beam to wash over him. Queen Amore cancelled out her spell, growling as she saw the crystal cocoon still intact. The shell shattered and turned to dust, revealing a smirking Sombra.
“Quite impressive, and here I was afraid you couldn’t do anything for yourself.”
“Sombra, I know not the evil that has enslaved your mind, but fight it! You are stronger than this!” Queen Amore pleaded.
Sombra chuckled as he twirled his scythe around and assumed a fighting stance. “You’re right, I am!”
The corrupted Knight charged for Amore, but the Queen channeled her magic, forming a blade of pure azure light that she brandished against her former Knight. The two weapons clashed with powerful impact of force, sending debris flying in all directions, and causing fissures to form on the floor underneath them. Queen Amore jumped back and slashed with her energy sword, to which Sombra countered with his scythe blade, sending sparks flying into the air.
Sombra and Amore focused their magic into their speed, both zipped around the throne room with great speed, stopping momentarily to clash weapons. Sombra swiped with the large blade, missing Queen Amore by just a hair as the scythe scratched the bust of her armor before she pulled away. Sombra quickly reformed his scythe into a claymore sword and entered into close range combat with the Queen.
Back and forth they traded blows, with sparking and clashing auras. The flapping of the Sombra’s cape, the crackling of Queen Amore’s magic, the shuddering of the walls and floors, a titanic battle between the fighters raged on, and both the Queen and corrupted Knight were becoming a bit winded, but it seemed that there was a bigger play at work here.
“Well, that was a good fight Amore, pity Milord wishes you gone, you would’ve made a fine warrior, and even better consort,” said Sombra.
The Queen pulled her hand away from the energy sword, only to pull from it a second sword to dual wield. Sombra dismissed his weapon and widened his stance, when Queen Amore got within range Sombra jumped back, but as he did it appeared as if he was jumping out of his own body. A copy was left behind just in time for Queen Amore to cut it down with her energy blades. That gave Sombra an opening as he reached behind his back and took out a black crystal with a glowing orange center. Focusing on his speed once again, Sombra dashed forth and struck Amore in the center of her chest with the crystal.
Queen Amore’s breath caught, the magic blades she had formed quickly fizzled out into nothingness. The crystal began to sink into her body, spreading out from the point of impact. Her body began to lock up, her breath becoming shortened with each passing second. “W-What…h-have you done to me…?”
“This is a little gift from one who seeks the heart, a fate worse than death I am afraid,” said Sombra as he circled her like a shark. “The crystal will imprison you, not kill you. In a matter of moments your body will become crystallized and once that’s done, I’ll shatter you and scatter your shards to the winds! Your body and soul will be shattered, and you’ll live an existence that is neither living nor dead.”
Queen Amore tried to speak, but she could already feel the crystal work its way into her throat, strangling her vocal cords. A series of explosions went off in the distance, prompting Sombra to turn towards the sound, Queen Amore could sense the energies of Starswirl, Radiant Hope, and War Hammer approaching ,but at the same time of her elation of this fact, even the Queen could tell that they would not make it in time.
“Once the crystal has done its work, your connection to the Crystal Heart will be severed, and easily taken,” said Sombra.
Before the crystal completely encased Queen Amore, her magical energy allowed her a brief view of the creature behind all this. A being that was not human, a creature with sharp teeth and ram horns, and a collar of bells. The creatures red eyes narrowed with insidious glee as the Queen was completely covered in the crystal.
The doors to the throne room were blasted open, allowing the remaining three Knights of Justice to arrive just in time to see their Queen Amore crystallized. A horrified gasp escaped Radiant Hope as she saw the Queen completely crystallized, and the one who had done it. “S-Sombra…?”
Sombra smiled, with his right fist the corrupted Knight punched the statue. Cracks spider webbed throughout the statue of Queen Amore, until, the entire thing shattered to pieces. Before anyone could utter a word, the pieces were lifted up from the floor and gathered in a sphere of of black light. “You came to save the Queen, well here she is.”
“Sombra, what have you done?!” Starswirl shouted.
“What needed to be done, out with the old and in with the new. Don’t worry, she’s not dead, but technically not alive either. You could probably save her, if you manage to put the pieces back together! Happy hunting!”
Sombra threw the sphere out an open window, outside the sphere ascended until it blasted apart. Hundreds of shooting star-like streaks of light sailed through the sky and went in every direction. War Hammer, Starswirl, and Radiant Hope watched as the streaks flew off, their heads shaking at the actions that Sombra had taken.
War Hamer’s armored fists clenched tight, the metal groaning from the strain he put on them. “Sombra…HOW DARE YOU!!!!” The hulking Knight of Justice took off without a second thought, his right fist set ablaze with his fury in the form of magical energy.
Sombra didn’t move, he merely held out his left hand. The moment War Hammer’s fist was thrust, Sombra met it with his left hand. The impact was dispersed to the rest of the area, but Sombra was not moved, barely even registering the attack. “War Hammer, so noble, so hot headed, and so predictable.”
All the energy that impacted against Sombra was then sucked back in, condensed, and then released in an enormous burst of dark magic that bathed over War Hammer, and sent him flying against the wall, leaving his body imbedded into it. Radiant Hope couldn’t believe what she had witnessed, she wanted to break down and cry, but the level of danger kept her from doing so, she was also angry about what Sombra did.
“What’s the matter, Hope? You look a little angry?” Sombra asked.
“You killed War Hammer, and the Queen…HOW CAN YOU NOT EXPECT ME TO ENRAGED?!” Radiant Hope shouted.
“Well, there’s that, but soon it won’t matter, I’ll soon be the King, and you the new Queen.” Sombra raised his fist and struck the ground. “Second only to the Kingdom of Tambelon!”
Starswirl’s eyes widened at the mention of that name. The magic circle beneath Sombra began to enlarge, with ancient runes written in violet and black light. The circle began to release shadows that coalesced into something inhuman. It was humanoid in shape, but it had fur and colored a navy blue, its lower half was that of an animal, with cloven hooves. Its upper half was muscular, around its neck was a red collar with seven bells, with the center bell silver. The creature’s head was that of a ram, with the horns to match. When it smiled one could see jagged teeth, only adding to its menacing visage.
“Grogar, Lord of Tambelon,” spoke Starswirl.
“So you remember me, Starswirl? I certainly haven’t forgot about you!” Grogar growled.
Starswirl narrowed his gaze as he summoned a magic circle. “I sealed you once, I shall again! Hope, I know your feelings for Sombra, but at this time I need you focused on the greater evil at hand! If not then the whole world will suffer this day, and not just one kingdom!”
Radiant Hope still felt her mind and heart were in turmoil, but seeing the monster before her, her love controlled by its darkness, Hope had to fight, if for nothing else than to free her friend, and her lover.
Sensing her resolve, Starswirl slammed the butt of his staff against the floor, striking the magic circle beneath him. Another circle appeared before Starswirl, a circle made of fire, and marked with infernal runes with a pentagram at the center. “To me, by order of man! Arise the demon, Etrigan!”
The circle bellowed hellfire, and from it arose the demon warrior, Etrigan, kneeled before Starswirl and growling as he stood to his full height. The demon sniffed the air and quickly turned around to see Grogar and Sombra, a sight that made him raise an eyebrow in curiosity. “The adversary of every god and man? Seeking to raise your city again. ”
Grogar chuckled, a dark chuckle that made the room drop in temperature. “Lap dog of a wizard, I will never stop! I will see my kingdom rise and claim this world as my own!”
Starswirl stood beside Etrigan, and beside Starswirl was Radiant Hope. “Etrigan, the form of Grogar is temporary, it’s not meant to last. My student and I can handle him, however, you friend demon must occupy Sombra.”
The orange eyes of the demon warrior fell on Sombra, already brandishing a long black crystal claymore sword. Etrigan huffed at the sight. “Sombra has become one of his thralls, pity, I thought he had more balls.”
“Watch yourself demon!” Radiant Hope warned.
“Bestill little miss, I will battle your lover. Combating Sombra will be a delightful endeavor,” said Etrigan.
Radiant Hope didn’t know how well to trust the word of a high ranked demon like Etrigan, but at this point he was the only one who could match Sombra in combat. Her teacher would need all the magical might he could get to stop Grogar or at the very least banish the creature back to whatever vile place it came from.
Without warning, Etrigan inhaled and exhaled a torrent of hellfire at both Grogar and Sombra. Both dodged the attack, with Grogar going to the left and Sombra to the right. After effectively separating the two, Etrigan dashed for Sombra, slamming into him and driving both of them through the stone wall. Sombra and Etrigan continued to smash through one wall after the other until they finally stopped outside of the palace. Sombra and Etrigan fell from several stories up, the wind whistled in their ears as they both glared at each other. Sombra managed to untangle himself from Etrigan and with his left hand formed a long pole made of black crystal that allowed him to land safely on the ground.
Etrigan needed nothing, the demon warrior landed on the ground with a resounding “boom” that kicked up a dust cloud from the impact. Sombra dismissed the pole and summoned his claymore construct and readied himself for a fight. Inside the dust cloud, a flash of hellfire went off, and then the familiar ring of a metal sword. With one swing of this blade, Etrigan generated enough force to cut through the dust cloud and reveal himself to Sombra as he walked towards him.
“Tis unfortunate you have succumbed to Grogar’s temptation, in this battle I will gain no gratification,” said Etrigan.
“I care not for entertaining you, demon! I will end you, and claim the Crystal Kingdom for my own! Have at thee fire demon!” Sombra shouted.
Etrigan and Sombra swung their swords, a powerful force wave erupted from the impact and sent both warriors skidding across the cobblestone on their heels. Sombra finally stopped, and growled when he noticed that his sword had a hairline crack in it. Etrigan’s demon magic and knowledge of the mystic arts was uncanny, his rhyming was a mark to his status in the hierarchy of the underworld, and that was not to be taken lightly.
Sombra dropped down and slammed his left fist to the ground, sending a wave of black crystal spikes right towards the demon. Etrigan smirked and bellowed out a hellfire jetstream that struck the black crystals and exploded upon contact. Using the explosion for cover, Etrigan leaped into the air and through the flames. He burst forth from the other end and began his assault on Sombra.
Etrigan came down with an overhead strike, but Sombra blocked it with his sword. Sombra pushed him off and slashed horizontally, only to be parried by the demon and thrown off balance. Etrigan came in and grabbed the corrupted Knight by his armor, crumbling it like cheap fabric. He then brought Sombra in close and head butted the crystal warrior. Sombra stumbled backwards, reeling from the blow as he tried to regain his senses. However, Etrigan would not allow that, the demon rushed towards Sombra and knocked the crystal sword from his hand. Etrigan then punched Sombra in the face once, twice, three times, and then grabbed him by the cape. Dismissing his sword for the moment, Etrigan used both hands to swing the traitor around like a rag doll and toss him like one.
Sombra sailed in the air until he struck up against the side of the palace. The demon warrior would give no quarter as he dashed for Sombra and launched himself in his direction. Etrigan repositioned himself, extending his legs as he aimed for the center of Sombra’s chest. The demon then struck Sombra with a mighty impact, punching a hole in the palace wall and making them once again plow through several walls before stopping in the commons area of the palace. Etrigan leaped off of Sombra and summoned his sword once again, he then snorted out flames, seemingly less than pleased.
“Is this all you can muster for this fight? You should feel shame even calling yourself a ‘knight’.”
Sombra coughed up some blood as he rose to his feet, he then removed his breast plate, having been reduced to less than scrap metal after the assault he just went through. Sombra focused his magic, and summoned his scythe once more. Taking the reaping weapon into both his hands, the crystal warrior dashed across the room and slashed at Etrigan. The demon met the blow with his own, however, Etrigan gritted his teeth as he felt even greater power behind the blow than before. Etrigan deflected the blade and prepared to counter, but Sombra beat him to it, using the momentum to set himself up for another slash. Etrigan had no choice but to go on the defensive as Sombra continued to slash and in wide arcs, keeping the demon on his toes and preventing him from getting in close.
“What’s the matter demon?! You look surprised!” Sombra mocked.
Etrigan roared as he bellowed hellfire again, but Sombra slashed through it, although not without some damage to this scythe. Sombra quickly regenerated his weapon and the two clashed again.
While Etrigan battled Sombra, Starswirl and Radiant Hope were busy trying to stop Grogar. The demon ram was descending through the castle, not even bothering to use stairs but just blasting a hole one floor at a time. The two mages attacked Grogar several times, some of their spells managed to make contact and slow him down, but others were just as easily shrugged off or he utterly destroyed the spell before it even hit him.
“Master, Grogar is too strong! We can’t defeat him!” Radiant Hope shouted.
“No my student, we need not defeat him, but merely exhaust his power!” Starswirl loosed a magic bolt that struck against a barrier Grogar erected. “That body is not flesh and blood, its temporal body, formed by magic that he borrowed from Sombra! The more he uses it, the less time he has on this plane of existence!”
Radiant smiled. “In other words, we have to merely make him use more of his magic, and hit him harder as well to damage his form!”
“Precisely, even getting hit is chipping away at his reserves!”
With that known, Radiant Hope brought her hands forward, her white oaken staff glowing bright with runes that coiled around from the bottom to the top as her blue aura raged.
“O ignis calamitas, audite vocem meam; Caelestes tonitrui ego levo tibi!”
A magic circle appeared before her with a lightning bolt symbol, another formed in front of it, with a flame symbol at the center.
“Concurrite iam pura potentia in perditionem, et atterere malis quod extructum est ante me!”
Four smaller magic circles appeared, forming an X from their positions beside each circle. Lightning and fire crackled between the circles, along with an influx of mana energy roaring and waiting to be unleashed. Radiant’s eyes shined as she pointed her staff at Grogar, an act that garnered the attention of the demon ram.
“EXITIUM!”
Two of the largest circles melded together and produced a beam of fire and lightning that roared towards Grogar. The demon ram flinched for a moment upon seeing the large column of power headed his way, quickly, he raised a barrier and allowed the beam to crash upon him. The force generated by it smashed the demon ram through one floor after another, making him grunt from the effort of maintaining the shield. Cracks began to form on the barrier’s surface, making Grogar grit his teeth in anger that a mere human witch was doing this much damage to his shield. Before Grogar knew it, he had been hurled several feet down until he struck bedrock, still being pushed down by the beam.
Starswirl brought forth his staff and pointed it at the demon. “Vincula retinent comedentis mundorum ligare surgant et mali! Argentum Gloria Gleipnir!”
Silver magic circles appeared on the ground around Grogar, silvery strands of light rose up from the center and lashed out like a cobra. Each strand of string pierced through the ram’s barrier and began coiling around his arms, legs, torso, and neck. The effects of the spell were immediate, already the demon could feel his magical energies being suppressed by the spell, but even with the spell, Grogar refused to release the barrier, but the cracks were becoming more prominent by the second.
Starswirl waved his staff before him, white orbs of light immediately formed around the barrier where Grogar was. With a sharp, second wave of his staff, Starswirl unleashed a barrage of magic bolts that struck him from all sides.
With that barrage, the barrier shattered allowing the barrage of bolts and the lightning-fire beam to strike Grogar in full. A massive explosion went off that found the ram demon fixed to the spot by the gleipnir string, forced to take all the damage at once.
Starswirl and Radiant Hope landed on the ground a few yards from the demon. Both mages looked about, noticing that they had fallen into the catacombs of the Crystal Kingdom underneath the palace, it was also down in the catacombs where the Crystal Heart resided.
Both mages summoned more of their magical energy, as their respective arcane circles appeared below them, slowly spinning like gears in a drawbridge as their magic flowed.
“Nigrior atra caligo tenebrosa, et tenebrae
Obsecro purpura alta miscentur.
in tempore excitatio venit.
Iustitia, cecidit super certis terminis,
ut appareat nunc idemque malam!
Volo enim potestas a torrente vi destructiva:
a pari delendi vi, sine!
Revertere cineres omnibus creaturis, et de profundo!
Satani!”
Starswirl’s eyes blazed with power as he too recited his spell.
“Rubra-nigra flamma, rex decem saecula,
quamvis naturam promulgamus,
Alias autem et natus sum interitum
secundum rationes omnium creaturarum.
Et in æternum malleus descende ad me,
Satani!”
At that moment, orange-red magical circles appeared above and around Grogar, embers lapped off the circles as intense, scalding heat was emitted from them. In the next moment, an explosion erupted around Grogar, sending a column of flaming, magical fury soaring high through the ceiling and continuing onward. An intense blast wave rang out in all directions that made the very kingdom shudder for miles around. In all the Crystal Kingdom, if there was any who could be counted as the strongest mages in the land, it would be Starswirl and Radiant Hope, master and student, duo of incredible, overwhelming magical might.
Both master and student panted from the expenditure of their magic reserves, but continued to stand as they did not know what was awaiting them behind the dust cloud. Suddenly, the cloud began to swirl about as a whirlwind was kicked up within the catacombs. With a bellowing roar the cloud burst apart as a violet aura overtook Grogar, his red eyes glowing with anger.
“Master…we hit him with some of our higher ranked spells, and yet…”
“Hold my student, look closer.”
Hope looked upon Grogar, noticing that some of his body was becoming see-through, intangible. The attacks had done damage to Grogar, eating away at his mana reserves and making the ram demon lose his grip on their plane of existence.
“I will not be felled by two humans! I am the Lord of Tambelon! My city will rise again, and every human will bow before me and beg for a quick death!”
Grogar summoned to his hands a staff with two curved blades on either end, an action which made most of his forearms become ghostly, leaving his hands, and shoulders still intact. The ram demon bellowed and charged towards both mages, twirling his dual blade staff around. The demon slashed at both of them, forcing them to form a barrier to block the attack. The single stroke shattered both of their barriers, Starswirl used an unspoken spell, and levitated in the air. Radiant Hope flipped around until she landed on her feet, and skidded to a stop.
Radiant Hope cast a spell over her staff, turning it into a light weapon that hummed with power, focusing her magic into speed, Radiant dashed forth and swung her staff. Grogar met the attack and both weapons crashed into each other, sending a resounding boom through the catacombs. Grogar and Hope traded blows back and forth, sparks flew, and the ground shuttered from each blow, and so far Radiant and Grogar were equal.
After another clashing of weapons, Grogar glanced in the distance, and saw his prize. The Crystal Heart was at the center of the catacombs, spinning around and sparkling brilliantly in the dank and dim underground. Grogar knew he could not waste his time, already noticing that parts of his body were becoming ghostly, his time would run out soon if he did not capture the Heart.
“I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS! SOMBRA!” Grogar yelled.
A magic circle with the symbol of a ram at the center, appeared before Grogar. Immediately, two figures fell from the circle, Etrigan and Sombra, who were entangled for a moment before separating and clashing with their sword and scythe.
“Sombra, keep these mortals occupied while I retrieve the Heart!” Grogar ordered as he leaped a great distance, heading straight for the Crystal Heart.
Radiant Hope was about to go after the ram demon, but was stopped by a wall made of black crystal. Hope directed her gaze towards Sombra, her heart growing heavy with sadness and anger for what he been forced to become.
“You will not pass, the Crystal Kingdom will be mine, and you will be my queen!” Sombra stated.
Suddenly, a stream of hellfire was unleashed upon the crystal warrior, blasting him across the ground until he came to a stop. Etrigan snarled and snorted as he walked towards Sombra. “Do not turn your back on me little troll, for that you’ll pay a hefty toll!”
Etrigan and Sombra resumed their battle, however, Sombra’s attention was divided as he tried to release spell after spell to try and stop Starswirl and Radiant Hope from interfering with Grogar. But both mages were already flying after the ram demon, hot on his tail.
Sombra slashed in a wide arch with his scythe, making Etrigan jump away from him. That small window allowed Sombra to give chase after his former allies. Etrigan growled in anger and chased after the corrupted Knight.
“Return and do battle, you will not escape the sting of my metal!” Etrigan demanded as he too gave chase.
A grand race began for the Crystal Heart, with Grogar in the lead and both mages giving chase. Starwirl and Hope would fire off magic bolt after magic bolt at the ram demon, trying to blast the demon out the air. Grogar would dodge some of the attacks, but sparingly would he counterattack, or use his weapon to smash a pillar and use the debris as his weapon.
From behind, Hope and Starswirl were also being dogged, with Sombra lobbing one black crystal spear after another. His aim was deadly accurate, coming to within mere inches of hitting them, if it was not for Etrigan’s constant hellfire blasts, they would have surely been skewered a while ago.
Finally, all five made it the platform of the Crystal Heart, the spinning heart shaped gemstone radiated a heavenly light, hope and love practically filling the air around them. Grogar hissed and grunted as the light burned at his temporal form, but once it was in his possession, the Heart’s light would become something else, something filled with fear and hate.
Sombra and Etrigan were feeling the effects of the Crystal Heart’s light as well, but for Hope and Starswirl, they felt their magic was stronger, with this advantage they could do it, they could beat Grogar and send him back to the other dimension.
The ram demon looked to his pursuers, and growled as he raised his right hand and fired a beam of raging magical energy. Starswirl stood fast and blocked the attack, bolstered by the light of the Crystal Heart. Radiant Hope jumped over the barrier and fired a steady barrage of magic bolts, pelting the ram endlessly. Hope turned her staff into its light weapon form and came down on Grogar with an overhead strike. Grogar blocked the attack, sending fissures to spider web from underneath the demon lord.
Radiant Hope vaulted off Grogar’s weapon, landing behind him, and whirling her staff around to strike the monster. The Lord of Tambelon saw the blow coming, tapping into his magic once more he used a phasing spell to slip past the sorceress, he then twirled his blade staff around and thrust forward.
Her gasp was echoed through the catacombs, making Etrigan and Sombra cease their fighting. Grogar’s blade was now protruding from Radiant Hope’s chest, coated in her blood. Sombra flinched, his hands trembling from the sight. In that moment, Etrigan closed the distance and punched the man in the jaw, sending him to the ground.
“Fool be damned, your woman is harmed will you let this stand! Show me now, be you man or a timid lamb?!” Etrigan berated.
Sombra looked back to Hope as Grogar retracted his blade and let her fall to the ground as a pool of blood began to form beneath her. Sombra gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his anger rising inside him as the woman he loved, his first friend, was now lying dead on the ground.
“H-Hope…Hope…! HOPE!!!”
Sombra released a savage battle cry as his black aura shattered in place of a red one. The crystal warrior dashed forth, passed Etrigan, and passed Starswirl, heading directly for Grogar. The ram demon didn’t have time to react as Sombra summoned his twin black crystal swords and slashed at Grogar in an X pattern. The demon lord cried out in pain as his ethereal ichor bled out from the X pattern wound on his chest. Sombra did not let up as he roared out in pure fury and sadness for the love he lost. Slash after slash, cut after cut, Grogar was made to fall back, having not anticipated his pawn to turn on him like this. With each rage fueled blow, Grogar’s physical form was disappearing, his lower half, arms, and blotches of his chest were all ghostly, save for his head.
Grogar blocked Sombra’s twin overhead blows by shooting out both hands and grabbing him by the wrists. The tips of the ram demon’s horns shot out like spears, both piercing straight through Sombra’s chest, causing the corrupted Knight to cough up blood. Grogar smiled evilly as he released Sombra, only to regret it a moment later as the Knight made one last defiant act, stabbing Grogar with both of his blades through his chest.
The Lord of Tambelon roared in pain, but that did not last long. Etrigan ran up behind Sombra, jumped into the air, and with a single swing of his mighty sword, sliced the head off the ram demon. A moment passed before the body spouted a fountain of magical ichor, mana bleeding out of the temporal body before disappearing into nothingness. Sombra looked to Etrigan, and Etrigan to Sombra. The former Knight nodded and grinned at the demon before collapsing on to the ground.
“You will not win…” spoke the head of Grogar. “I will return and I will raise Tambelon, you have only delayed me! I will see you all burn in –!”
Etrigan raised his right foot and stomped on the head, making it disappear into particles of light. The demon snorted flames and looked to Starswirl as he tried to save his pupil but cursed out loud, he was already too late. However, Sombra was alive, barely. Starswirl, with a bit of malice for his betrayal, pointed his staff at the warrior, but a pulse from the Crystal Heart stayed his hand. A wave of light passed over Starswirl, his eyes shining for a moment before the light retreated back to the Heart.
“I see, so that is his destiny from now,” said Starswirl. “Friend demon, I’m afraid I must have you accompany Sombra from this day forth.”
“A contract written in service to you. That was our agreement tried and true,” said Etrigan.
Sombra and Etrigan rose into the air, both under the control and power of the mighty Starswirl the Bearded. Both began to spin around as if in tornado of power as another circle appeared beneath them.
“Caught now, imprisoned in the form of man! I bind the demon, Etrigan!”
Both the Knight and demon swirled about in the air, until, their bodies were slammed together. Magical energy rushed forth from the circle as the two beings were bonded together. After about a minute, Sombra fell back to the ground, his wounds healed, and his life restored. The former Knight looked up to Starswirl, tears in his eyes as he remembered his fallen love. The old wizard placed a hand on his shoulder, offering what little comfort he could. And in the dim, dank catacombs of the Crystal Kingdom, the only sound was that of a strong man, crying from loss.
***Centuries Later…***
The sun was shining bright upon Canterlot High School. The entire area was a hub of activity, school had started again, for some it was the beginning of their senior year, for others it was the start of new school to make new friends.
As the students mingled about on the quad, many fell silent when they saw a tall man stroll down the walkway. He wore a gray business suit with a red necktie and white shirt. His slicked back black hair, and intense red eyes made many of the female students swoon over the older man.
He continued on his way inside and stopped as he glanced about. A female student of the school was passing by and the man called out to her. “You there, young miss.”
The girl, with silver hair, and azure blue skin turned around and pointed to herself. “Are you talking to Trixie?”
“Yes, I am looking for the principal’s office, it’s my first time in this building and I don’t quite know my way around.”
Trixie eyed the man suspiciously, but regardless pointed him in the right direction. “Go down that hallway and it will be the third door your left. By the way, who are you anyway?”
The man gave a slight bow to Trixie, making the young girl flinch. “Forgive me, my name is Sombra, I recently took a position as the new Physical Education teacher for CHS.”
Trixie looked the man up and down, he looked like someone who should be on the cover of some male fashion magazine, or possibly an actor, the fabled “tall, dark, and handsome” kind of man that you read about in romance novels. Either way, Trixie was getting a weird vibe from him. “Alright, Trixie supposes she’ll see you around, Mr. Sombra.”
Sombra nodded to the teenager and began his walk to the principal’s office, during the walk, the ancient Knight of Justice could sense that there was a large amount of magical energy surrounding the entire school, however, it was much different from the magic he was used to. It wasn’t dark magic, that much was for sure. It was a type of light magic, harmonious, drawn from aspects, some he recognized, some he wasn’t sure about.
Whatever the case may be, we will find her. Isn’t that right, Etrigan?
SOMBRA AND ETRIGAN WILL RETURN…
Spell List:
Audi clamorem expugnabat…(Hear the cry of havoc…)
Contritio in lucem…(See the light of destruction…)
Et sciendum quod finis tuus! (And know that your end has come!)
Edea sagittis! (Shooting star arrows!)
O ignis calamitas, audite vocem meam; Caelestes tonitrui ego levo tibi! (Oh calamitous fire, hear my call! Oh heavenly thunder, I beckon to you!)
Concurrite iam pura potentia in perditionem, et atterere malis quod extructum est ante me! (Join together now and become a force of pure destruction, and lay waste to the evil that stands before me!)
EXITIUM! (DESTRUCTION!)
Vincula retinent comedentis mundorum ligare surgant et mali! Argentum Gloria Gleipnir! (Bonds which hold fast the eater of worlds, rise up now and bind this evil! Silver String Gleipnir!)
Nigrior atra caligo tenebrosa, et tenebrae
Obsecro purpura alta miscentur.
in tempore excitatio venit.
Iustitia, cecidit super certis terminis,
ut appareat nunc idemque malam!
Volo enim potestas a torrente vi destructiva:
a pari delendi vi, sine!
Revertere cineres omnibus creaturis, et de profundo!
Satani!
(Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark
I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson,
the time of awakening cometh.
Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary,
appear now as an intangible distortion!
I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force;
a destructive force without equal!
Return all creation to cinders, and come from the abyss!
Explosion!)
Rubra-nigra flamma, rex decem saecula,
quamvis naturam promulgamus,
Alias autem et natus sum interitum
secundum rationes omnium creaturarum.
Et in æternum malleus descende ad me,
Satani!
(Crimson-black blaze, king of myriad worlds,
though I promulgate the laws of nature,
I am the alias of destruction incarnate
in accordance with the principles of all creation.
Let the hammer of eternity descend unto me!
Explosion!)
Guess what anime those last two are from. 
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Okay. YOU MADE GROGAR FUCKING SCARY. Not hard but.... it's a SPECIAL BRAND of scary.
nothing like some Slayers magic to go around
not flesh and blood, it’s temporal body
has on this plain of existence
lose his grip on their plain of existence
1. Its.
2. Plane.
3. Plane.
Repeated paragraph. Again.
7997638 There probably would be if he didn't rhyme so much, kind like how Zecora isn't shown a lot because she speaks in rhymes, ALL. THE. TIME. I mean, heck, in the Justice League Dark movie, Etrigan had a few speaking roles, but the majority of the time he just burned, punched, and slashed things.
8000594 8000683 Corrected, and again, thanks for spotting those mistakes. The repeat was most likely do to my copy paste, looks like I lost my place when I was doing that.
Your stories are amazing, I never get tired of them. I enjoyed them so much that I created 2 DC ponies (that's what I call em) of my own. (I only made them for the fun of it not for a story) I want to thank you for the laughs, thrills and LOTS of tears. Can't wait to see what's next.
8079989 Possibly
Wow this entire story was just epic. Etrigan is one of my favourite comic book characters and you more then did him justice. I really like how you characterised Sombra and Radiant Hope and Sparrow was fun getting kind of a YJ Kid Flash mixed with Rainbow from Firestorm Crisis. Speaking of which I get the feeling if Sombra teamed up with Sunset and Twilight he'd see parallels between them and himself and Hope.
You have to write mlp eg stories with Sombra/Etrigan! This is a awesome character modification and how Sombra is working at CHS. Good luck on your stories that you may be writing yourself. Happy holidays! :)
Etrigan rhymes
Change Change O Form Of Man!
Release the Might from Fleshy Mil?
Boil the blood in heart or fire!!
GONE GONE O FORM OF MAN
ARISE THE DEMON ETRIGAN!!!