Princess of Infinity

by Echo 27

IX: Yagon

A great hall lay empty, the wrought-iron gate housed within it silent and dim. No life could be seen or felt from within it, no heartbeat pulsing through its veins.

A figure in the form of a man settled before it, gazing into the gate as though his eyes pierced through it and into the land beyond. He could see within its doors, and all within it. For this realm outside of realms was his keeping, his custody and duty that he held above all else.

The Sanctelior closed his eyes, feeling out into the dark as he searched for the two souls to whom he had given charge, seeking out their weak light amidst an endless sea of shadow.

A faint pinprick, there for only a moment before being swallowed by darkness. A great rumble echoed through it, emitting a great shudder like a ripple through placid water.

The Sanctelior knew the time had come. The Doom of Man was to be sealed in permanence upon them.

---

His eyes told him nothing, save that he was surrounded by blackness. He felt no folds wrapped around his head, nor had his eyes been plucked. All that surrounded him was emptiness. Ford, barely conscious, body bruised, tried to rouse himself from where he lay, only to find binds upon his wrists and ankles, keeping him bound to a table of some kind. That he lay flat on his back was all that he was certain of. He tried to reassemble his memory: he had found the gateway, set to find Celestia on foot, and had been attacked by nearly half the city. But where had they dragged him to?

A sudden flicker of light out of the corner of his eye, accompanied by a duet of footsteps. A door creaked open to reveal the figures of two men, their silhouettes tainted by the fire of the torch.

“He is here, Your Majesty,” said the shorter of the two men, setting the torch in a nearby grate. “The citizens brought him here when he presented himself to be a threat to your glorious name. We have kept him here for you to interrogate ever since, for his crimes are against you alone.”

“Thank you, soldier,” said the other, in a voice so low and rumbling that Ford could hardly bear to hear such a virulent tongue. “You may go. I have no need of protection with this man.”

“Is that wise, Your Majesty? He is a powerful warrior, and the lady speaks to his greatness.”

“Then we shall test his greatness,” said the voice again, as vicious and deep as the void. Ford’s heart ran faster as the door closed and the guard departed, leaving him locked in a darkened room with the man he had never met, never even seen, but knew already by name.

A snap of fingers and the surrounding grates came to life with a dim firelight, revealing a dingy chamber filled with various devices, their purpose all too clear. But Ford gave them no heed, his every attention fixated upon the cold, dark face of King Sombra.

“So you are her chosen champion,” Sombra remarked, taking him in with blood-red eyes that spoke of his distaste. “To see how far she has fallen… it is a disgrace to her kind. To our kind.”

Ford wanted to speak, to bring words that would spite the man’s face, even a wad of spittle would do- but nothing came, a vice upon his neck so deep and constricting that it was a miracle that he could even breathe.

“Ah, so you struggle against it. Magic makes it difficult to fight back, does it not?” Sombra remarked, laying a hand just above Ford’s exposed flesh and making the skin crawl, a tainted black mark beginning to form upon it. “Tell me, how does it feel? Does it burn against you like a fire inside your bones?”

Ford wanted to writhe, to scream, but forced himself to remain stoic. The torment that was being brandished against him was agonizing, and Sombra desperately wanted to see him suffer, but he would not allow it. He would be master of this.

“You are holding your breath against it. You wish to hide your pain- but nothing is hidden from me in this place,” Sombra said, relinquishing his hand and letting the shadowed mark fade.

Ford felt the constriction on his neck return, and words were kept far from his lips, so he gave Sombra an expression of such righteous hatred that no spoken word would do it justice.

“So you fight back even still. I have only given you a taste of what I can do, warrior. Do be aware of that.” Sombra turned away from him, seemingly taking in his surroundings, suddenly completely detached from the world around him as his mind floated away in his own thoughts.

Ford regarded the man, trying to take in what he now faced. Sombra was tall, his body muscular and well-kept. Hair, darker than the deepest night, was kept long and fell just beyond his shoulders, a silver-and-black crown with a single ruby encrusted upon it settled at his brow. Though his very aura was that of shadow and darkness, there was no mistaking the magnificence that imbued this man to the core. His power and strength was far beyond any Ford could hope to muster.

“I wish for you to speak,” Sombra said suddenly, snapping his fingers and letting the vicegrip fall from Ford’s neck. “Come, speak to me… I want to know what you think of my handiwork.”

“You’ve cursed them,” Ford gasped, his throat still burning from the pain it had endured. “Everyone in this city.”

“I have this very world under thrall, little man,” Sombra said. “I have cursed them with my will, and they drink it so hungrily that they would rather die than be separated from it. I have cursed them- just as I brought down rain to flood the world, chilled a planet to its core, set a guardian of a world to burn like a fiery sun.”

“Animal,” Ford said. “Murderer. Traitor to all that is good and right in the world.”

“I have betrayed no one, little man,” Sombra replied, taking Ford’s neck in hand and squeezing tight. “I was born from the God of Shadows, made in the image of the Deep. I was created for the purpose of serving my Master, and to that I have remained for all my days. You look at me and see a failure, fallen from grace- but I assure you: I have only ascended.”

He relinquished his grip and Ford struggled to breathe, choking and spluttering. “Why? Why do you do this to these people? You have lied to them, deceived them in every way imaginable. They would kill for that lie, die for it!”

“They would have it no other way. If I stayed my hand, let the scales fall from their eyes, they would be at my feet begging for the shadows to return to them,” Sombra said, his voice reeking of disgust. “Humanity has always been that way, no matter where you turn. They would destroy themselves and be tossed into the Abyss, if only it meant they kept their comfort for a little while longer.”

“They would choose to do what is right-”

“They chose me!” Sombra snarled, the shadows of that darkened room growing in strength as the fallen Alicorn loomed over his prisoner, reveling in the black. “They chose to drink deep of it, to revel in their sin and wallow in it like a pig in the mud until their very souls were so tarred and disgraced that now even the most passionate plea of the Creator above would be able to rouse them from their slumber. Do not deceive yourself, little man. You wish to see good in which there is none, for they have chosen to become my people.”

“You’ll be stopped,” Ford breathed, his body trembling with rage. “Celestia will take you and crush you like a snake beneath a boot. Sniveling, weak worm that you are.”

Sombra’s eyes flashed and he reached out to Ford, a crimson band flowing out from his fingers and wrapping around Ford’s throat, becoming tighter and tighter until he could not even breathe. “You are insolent. As all Man have come to be. I will break that will in you.”

Ford twisted and pulled against it, desperately trying to bring air to his lungs. He screamed, writhed, protested with all of his being as the crimson band tightened its grip. I will not fall to this. I will not fall to him. I WON’T! “I won’t!” he screamed, his voice breaking through the fibers as a sudden flash of light illuminated the room, snapping the cords away. His breath came in ragged gasps, like shards of glass, but his head was held strong and faced Sombra with a strength that seemed more than his own. “I will not bend to your will,” he said. “I will not have it.”

Sombra hissed, pulling his hand away as though burned, his gaze now alight with anger- and perhaps fear? “I have been mistaken,” he breathed, regarding Ford in a new light. “You are more than merely mortal. Something far older dwells within you.” He began to pace about the room, darting an occasional glance at Ford as though taking a measure of him. “No… there is something stronger in your blood.”

Ford felt the air in the room grow cold and his heart stilled. Something else was coming.

“She says she loves you,” Sombra said, his voice faint and far away. “That she cherishes you. Calls you beloved. Do you believe her?”

Ford found himself confused, a growing horror beginning to take shape within his mind. A small part of him was afraid of where this would lead…

“I believed her once also,” Sombra continued. “She spoke to me like no other had ever dared. She saw greatness in me, she coveted me… loved me.” He turned to Ford with a hatred deeper than the Abyss in his eyes. “Your wife is faithless. A harlot, betrayer of souls. Her first and greatest love belongs to me, it is mine alone. Do not deceive yourself.”

“No…”

“I felt her lips. Felt her flesh against mine,” Sombra said, his voice deep and thunderous. “I slept with her through the darkness, caressed her as we watched the morning light. She spoke to me with a love greater than she has ever, or will ever grant to you. Small, insignificant, unworthy Man as you- she could never truly love a thing like you, and I will have no rival!”

Ford’s mind erupted with an explosion of memories that were not his own. An ancient palace held deep within a thick forest, forgotten chambers and darkened corridors, guided along by a beautiful woman with hair the color of the rainbow. The hand she held was not his own, the face she felt was not his own, the name she spoke was not his own. On and on the memories flowed, overflowing with raw emotion and agony that tore at his heart until nothing left was a tattered rag, and somewhere in the distance, as a poisonous emptiness began to fill his mind, he could hear the sound of an agonized scream that he knew was his own.

---

She could still feel the cold vicegrip of metal around her wrists, her power nullified and kept contained within her. The blows that now marked her body were abundant, a cavalcade of bruises everywhere she could possibly feel, from head to toe and anywhere in between. A pain in her ribs suggested that one had been bruised, if not broken- another unpleasant ‘first’ she had come to find within the Palace. Her arms were in agony, her toes barely able to keep contact with the hard stone beneath her as she was left dangling from the ceiling. No one had come to interrogate her, or even know that she still breathed. If there were guards outside the door, she did could not hear them.

Celestia could not find fear within her, instead buoyed by a great rage, against both her captor and herself. Sombra had been able to use the people of this world to deceive her and keep a veil over her eyes; if she had possessed the vision to see it, the knowledge that this world was under his thrall would have been obvious. Instead, here she was: battered by mortal fools, locked in a dungeon where no light could reach, separated from her beloved, powerless, and utterly ashamed. It was more than her anger could stomach.

The sound of thundering footsteps from somewhere above her, the silt from the ceiling falling into her eyes and down her ragged throat. A cry of anger from a voice she knew all too well, and the clattering of armor that spoke to a soldier’s swift movements. There was a jostling at the door and then the lock was turned, a sudden burst of flame entering the room as Sombra strode in, his visage like a great pillar of fury.

“You-”

“What is he?!” Sombra roared, the dark deepening around him until it was as empty and formless as the Void from which he had been born. “You call him yours, you know his blood and from whence he came- what is he?”

It had not been what she had expected at all, leaving Celestia at a loss. She had prepared anger and rebuttals against him, but this was different. His anger, despite all her expectations, was not directed at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“He fought back like a great thing. An ancient thing, old as our kin once were,” Sombra seethed. “Something old runs in his blood and makes him strong. I can dominate, twist mind and will against one another until one sheds their own blood, but all need I ever have with mortal Man is to sway and tempt. He pushes back against both with a will of iron and unyielding fire. Do not try to lie to me, in this world where by might I rule alone. What is he?”

“He is mortal. A man born of mere flesh, just as any other. You fear the powers of others so deeply that you seek to find an enemy where there is none!” Celestia spat.

“You are in chains, betrayer. Powerless, without potential to harm unless I bid it.” Sombra stood before her, his power seemingly making him tower over her in an attempt to intimidate. “Answer me rightly, lest my fury overwhelm thee.”

“Be silent! You are little more than a coward, terrified that a new foe would rise against you when you can barely stand against one,” she fired back, feeling her powers grow hot within her and she longed to overwhelm him and crush him beneath her feet. “You seek a worthy foe, why not unlock these chains and let us finish this as we were always meant to?”

Sombra laughed, a deep, wretched coughing that shook and rattled his bones. Sombra’s body slowly became rigid and brittle like bone, his red eyes rolling back in his head until they became white, a sightless face turning to face her and speak with a voice as deep an unforgiving as the Abyss. “You think yourself strong,” it spoke, “but you have wasted your years on a path with no hope, no goal, until here you came and found this place. What has been years for you has been time immemorial to my endless gaze, powered and strengthened beyond any power you know or hope to possess. You seek me as your foe, knowing not that I am beyond you. What you see before you is a shadow, a mere filament of what I have become so that you will not overwhelm and despair. Here I have called it to wait, to have my knowledge flow through it. So that you may know your true path is not yet finished, and beyond this realm is where I await thee.”

Celestia watched as the tremor ended and Sombra’s form returned to that of his blackened normality, a great course of fear running through her like water. She had thought he would be equal in power to her, a strength to match her own. But they had been too far behind, too late in time- the Philosopher’s Stone at the heart of this Palace belonged to him, and had magnified Sombra’s strength into something beyond the realm of mere nightmare and fear.

“What do you hope to find here, in this doomed place of lost salvation?” Sonbra taunted. “There is no redemption within these walls, no forgiveness of past sins. Here I rule, and wait to see what measure of strength you truly have. So that when I rake your head from your shoulders and throw it at your sister’s feet, there will be no dispute or question that I have bested thee.”

“What do you hope to do? The Door to the Void is lost, gone and locked away where not even a trace of your master can reach. Tavan is gone where only his master could hope to find him?”

“I am his child, the last of a forgotten people. I will take back what is mine by right, and with it exact revenge on a betrayed father,” Sombra said.

“Yet you’re afraid. You’re afraid of me, of Ford,” Celestia said quickly, “You fear what we can do to you, and you have every advantage. You’re scared that it won’t be enough, you coward-”

“Coward, am I?!” Sombra roared, his voice as thunderous as an avalanche. “Cowardice is a lover who attempts to murder during their beloved’s slumber, who slinks about in alleyways and dark corners because she is too blind to see what is before her. You had glory in your hands, a chance to rule beside me over a greater dominion that would spread like wildfire until all the world was at our feet. But your sister spoke and that was all you needed. Every night we spent together, every moment shared was now forfeit- all because you did not have the will to see it through!”

“You were slaughtering your own people. Killing and enslaving them like they were mere playthings to be discarded!” Celestia fired back. “What would you have done when Equestria was in your grasp? The world, even? Would you have kept digging until the Void was found? Would a world of iron and rock been your crown?”

“I wanted to find my Maker- to free the one who had redeemed me! I would have had you there with me, kin of my kind. But betrayal is in your blood, and to survive you is all I could hope to manage.” Sombra’s fury was at its peak, and he swooped down to steal a kiss from her lips-

The sensation was like vomit on her lips and she bit down hard and broke through flesh, Sombra pulling back as his mouth began to bleed profusely, a sizeable chunk of his lip now missing as the two glared daggers at one another.

“Touch me again and I shall break these bonds so that I can choke the life from your eyes,” Celestia snarled, her anger so great that she wondered how she had not ignited. “You can lie to these people and take their will away- you cannot hope to do such a thing to me.”

“No. I cannot.” Sombra became solemn, pulling away from her and towards the door. “I will take the throne of my Maker, and succeed where he failed. I will watch you die at my feet. But I will first watch you break, as you once broke me. And know this, lost beloved: I will relish every moment of pain you have.” Sombra knocked on the door behind him and a team of guards walked into the room, one of them carrying a hefty chain in his arms. “Take her to the coliseum and have her perform. My people have waited for this spectacle for too long.”

Never in her life had she known such an experience as this. Always more mighty than the foes that stood before her, more powerful and more feared than any of mortal blood. Yet now she remained bound, dragged along against her will by a squad of armed men, the occasional glance and smile in her direction only adding to her anger. She expected them to try and bully her, to poke and prod her like a beast in a cage. But whether by their own volition or their dark master’s orders, their weapons and hands were kept from her save the chain that led her along.

“We need to hurry. His Majesty is eager for the battle to begin,” said Barraway, leading them through the series of tunnels beneath the city streets. “We have done well thus far, but our work is not yet complete.”

“Is this how you wish to be, Barraway?” Celestia said. “Kowtowing to a monster of the Deep and call him king?”

“He is my King and I am proud to serve him,” Barraway said, not a trace of anger or fire in his voice. “I would have it no other way, and I wish you had seen it also.”

“He’s killed thousands by his own hands. Millions more across countless realms are dead because of your ‘king.’ Is that the lord you wish to have?”

“He is my King and I would serve no other master. All he has done for us is good and right, and we grant him honor for the peace he has brought us.”

“Even if it cost innocent lives?” she asked.

“Our King is right and noble. All who stand against him must fall.” The shadows in Barraway’s eyes were thick and indelible as ink, swirling about madly like a sea in a storm. So deep was he in Sombra’s thrall that he refused to believe anything else.

Celestia was led out of the darkness of the tunnel system and into a great chamber lit by many bright torches, the sound of voices and chanting coming from somewhere above her. All around her were the tools of battle and war, cleanly polished and gleaming in the newfound light, awaiting their use in the battles above. “So am I to fight like a barbarian against some great enemy?”

“No, dear lady, you are to fight as the King wishes,” Barraway said, his men setting to work and beginning their work. “The King has declared that you will fight a mighty opponent with all your strength and power that you possess. You will be allowed whatever tools and craft you may desire, whether it be by fists, by weapon of steel, or by the power inherent in your blood. This the King has decreed: Which do you choose?”

The formality of his voice and the lack of anger that had been so prevalent in Sombra was unnerving. They were unswervingly loyal to a dark demigod, yet roamed and spoke and lived as though they were free people. She had never met people that would see her dead, yet try to kill her with a smile on their face. They even gave her a choice in how she would fight!

Sombra is up to something. He knows what I will choose and he’ll have prepared for it. What is he planning? “I will show your king my true power,” Celestia declared, “and I will use it to wring his head from his neck.”

“You will not succeed, dear lady, for our King is powerful and mighty, and he shall prevail against all foes,” Barraway replied. The soldiers stepped back and a team of women garbed in white robes came forth to perform their work. Celestia’s clothing was pulled from her gently, every movement done with great care so as not to cause any harm. A proper garment of a woman’s tunic, thick and comfortable, was lain upon her, followed by a cuirass of armor across her chest, with a flowing skirt of chainmail that fell to just above her knees bound comfortable across her waist. A scarf was put about her neck and their work was done, no helmet to hide her face, and no weapons or protection of any kind put in her hand.

“Why work so diligently for one who your king wants dead?” Celestia asked of them.

“Our King is fair and merciful, dear lady, and wishes that you fight with all your strength,” one of them said, checking Celestia’s exposed skin for any signs of damage or injury. “For he knows that your strength is great and that no mere foe can best you.”

The women pulled away, their work complete and Barraway returned, taking a key to the chain on her neck and relinquishing it, Celestia’s hands still bound by Sombra’s machinations. Gently, he guided her to a circular platform and centered her within it, giving the Alicorn a look-over before smiling. “If only you had chosen our King, dear lady,” Barraway remarked sadly, seeming to be genuinely wistful. “You would have been a magnificent queen and more great than any of your kind that came before you.”

“Your King deceived me once. Never again.”

A crank was turned and the ceiling above her began to open up, a great shaft of sunlight falling down as she rose to meet it, the platform beneath her slowly rising to come forth into the day. The sound of cheers was unmuffled and grew in strength as she appeared before them all, rising out of the dark and into a sprawling, empty arena where thousands now looked down upon her. Their cheers were loud and booming as thunder, only growing in intensity as the sound of music came in the form of rattling drums, a luxurious booth in the center of the crowd becoming active as Sombra appeared, waving to his thrall of a kingdom as though he were a conqueror. Another motion with his hand and a call to silence was given, the roaring crowd suddenly as quiet as the grave.

“Princess Celestia, betrayer of the King and false ruler to a false people, you have come to be judged by the people of Moqesh, who have deemed thee guilty and worthy of death. Do you deny your charges?” Sombra called, his voice loud and clear as though he stood beside her.

“I will not be your spectacle, Umbra!” Celestia called, her wrists pushing against the binds that still held tight against her skin. “Release me from your works and let me face your foe! And when it falls at my feet, may your people know that its death was upon you!”

“My hands? No, Celestia, not mine at all. Your foe shall die because of you, and no other. Or you shall die to it. I would have it no other way.”

The binds suddenly fell from her hands and Celestia raised them to strike, but before she could even summon her strength a great aura of darkened cloud fell around the arena, obscuring the figures that sat in their seats and seemingly sealing her away in a world separate from them. Sombra had been quicker than she, knowing she would try to attack him rather than stay and fight.

“Celestia, harlot and betrayer, meet your foe!” Sombra called, his voice twisting and crackling with a harsh laughter as acrid as scorched earth.

Celestia turned her eyes to the opposing side of the arena where a great door began to unlock, slowly opening and revealing a solitary silhouette of a man, well-armored and viciously armed. A hulking broadsword in his left hand, an ironshod shield in the right, and a sharpened spear tied to his back, with scores of knives lining his waist, the armored demon marched out from the shadows and slowly strode towards her, a calm, confident swagger in its step.

Celestia waited for it to come closer, the apparent ease of the battle only adding to her disquiet. Surely it would not be this easy, this simple a task. Celestia had slain monsters and beings beyond mortal imagination- something Sombra knew full well. Surely he would not think this was enough to defeat her? He is leading up to something. It is a deception. This man is going to reveal himself to be something horrible.

The figure had come about halfway across the arena when it stopped its slow march and suddenly plunged the broadsword into the earth, standing motionless as though awaiting orders.

Celestia tensed and raised her hands again, waiting for the moment it chose to strike. Come on, now- fight! Face me!

“Great Slave of the Void,” Sombra said, “remove thine helm and reveal thyself. May the Princess forever know the face of the one who will slay her.”

Celestia’s mind suddenly clicked and her heart stopped. There was only one person in this world whose face would be enough to silence her strength-

The armored figure reached up and removed his helmet, revealing the scarred, pale, white-eyed face of Saber Ford.

“No!” Celestia should have known, should have prepared for it- but the sight of her husband, his eyes clouded and beyond sight of recognition, was more horrible than she would have ever dared to imagine. His form was great and powerful, so filled was he with the wrath of the Deep. His breath came in slow, ragged chunks, a faint black mist coming from his open mouth. His cheeks, pale and lifeless, held a faint tinge of inky blackness as Sombra’s strength coursed through his blood, poisoning his every step. Even as she looked upon him, slow drip fell from his skin and onto the ground at his feet, scarring the earth.

“Ford! Ford!” Celestia’s screams felt separate from her body, a spirit that seemed not her own. This was how Sombra wished to torment her. Rather than fight her himself, she would be forced to choose between the unacceptable and the unthinkable: either die by Ford’s hand, or kill the man she loved.

Her hands remained raised by instinct alone, her breaths coming in sudden and sharp. What she was being forced to do, what she would have to do, was more terrible than any nightmare she had allowed her mind to conceive. Ford had wanted to make her promise she would kill him, for a moment such as this. She had denied it, believing so fervently that he would not falter. Yet here he stood, with eyes unseeing and a heart now in the deepest thrall of the Abyss, the nightmare he had been brave enough to imagine and foresee.

“Ford, listen to me! He’s deceived you, Sombra has lied to you! He’s poisoned your mind and turned you against yourself! You have to try and listen to me, wherever you are in there!” she screamed, her hands beginning to tremble. “Please, wake up! You have to try and wake you, you have to! Please, Ford, wake up!”

Her words fell upon a corpse that still walked, each breath as hollow and rasping as the last gasp of a dying man. Ford, strong and loyal, had been plucked from his own mind and destroyed. If there was still any shred of his own soul left within his dying husk, it was now too far gone to be saved.

Celestia knew what she would have to do. There was nothing left of him, no real part of Ford within. But every time she spent looking upon his face, a thousand memories of the man she loved would only strengthen and continue to surface until all she could see was Ford in his entirety, from the moment she had met him to now. Even now, when his being had been consumed in darkness, all she could see was his face- the face of the man she had married. Her hands fell limply at her sides. She could not do it.

“Champion… kill her.”

Ford looked out upon her with his empty eyes and took sight of her. He gave a hellish roar that echoed the voice and will of thousands and took his sword in hand once more, charging towards her with his weapon raised for the kill.
Celestia stood motionless, unable to rouse herself from the agony of her husband’s sightless, lifeless face-

He’s going to kill me.

Ford grew closer, the broadsword raised above his head in preparation for the strike-

You need to move, he’s going to kill you.

Celestia’s eyes still burned with the sight of it, the gaze that had once held compassion and intelligence of a great man were now white and empty-

He’s going to kill you!

Ford charged forward, now only a hair’s breadth away-

He’s going to kill you- MOVE!

As though roused from a great slumber, Celestia’s will was finally awakened and she finally leapt to avoid the oncoming blow-

It was enough to avoid the kill, Ford’s blade slamming into the ground and causing the earth to shudder violently, the great blade sinking deep into the earth-

He’s going to kill you and you can’t hurt him. Why are you fighting? Celestia’s hardened instinct for survival fought an internal war against her despair, slowing her reflexes as a part of her knew she would have to face death-

A spear shot by her head, missing by the merest of inches and causing her to stumble back, her inner reverie pulling her away from the threat at hand-

Ford gave a snarl, still next to his imbedded broadsword as he tried yet again to extract it from the earth. His hands went around the hilt and gripped tightly, a seeping black liquid pouring from his hands and cementing itself around his hands like foul gloves, his strength increasing and he wrenched the blade from the ground, holding it high like a trophy. He turned to face her once more, preparing another charge-

You can’t give up. You have to think of a way to draw him back! Fight! She silently screamed-

Crack! A sudden flash of metal and Ford’s shield crashed into her, tossed from a distance and scoring a perfect strike across her midriff where the armor was thickest, the sudden surge of weight causing her to lose balance-

He was there before she could even recover, throwing a vertical strike that was meant for her neck-

Celestia let gravity take hold and she fell to earth, Ford’s swing cutting through the air rather than bone and sinew. She rolled away as best she could, trying to maintain distance from her attacker-

He’s too far gone. You can’t bring him back.

You have to try You must try! He would never rest if it was you-

Her thoughts betrayed her once more and Ford was there with a crushing blow, his blade drawn back as he struck out with the hilt, aiming for her unprotected head-

She tried her best to catch his hands and hold him back, her strength suddenly pushed to its limit by the incredible power flowing through her husband’s body. She struggled, her grip on Ford weakening with every second, the viscous liquid that had engulfed his hands beginning to scald her skin-

Ford snarled, his teeth bared and he pressed harder, blackened spittle falling from the cracks in his teeth and worming its way down his arms, a multitude of living beasts that crept from his blade and dripped onto her exposed flesh-

Each drip was like fire on her skin, Celestia screaming as one droplet after another of the foul substance continued to pour down on her like rain, eating through and driving deep into the bone-

Her grip fell and she collapsed onto the ground, trying to scramble away from Ford and away from the corruption within him-

A hand fell on her shoulder like a vicegrip and she was flung hard against the nearby wall, the blow knocking the air from her lungs and leaving her senseless. She clutched at her throat, trying to find a way to breathe again-

A hard slam against the wall and she was left stunned yet again. Ford took her and threw her hard into the earth, taking a curved dagger from his belt and plunging it into her shoulder-

She screamed as the blade’s corruption flowed into her blood, feeling the cold steel become wedged even deeper as Ford continued to drive it through in the hopes of plunging it through into the ground-

“Enough! You have won, O Champion mine!” Sombra bellowed. “Cleave her head from her shoulders and lay it before me. She is unworthy to seek me where my strength is greatest.”

Ford tore at Celestia’s armor, pulling it away until only the simple tunic remained. Digging his knee into her waist, he came face to face with her as he set his dagger upon her neck, preparing to cut long and deep.

Celestia felt tears cloud her eyes, unwilling to see those unseeing eyes within the face of her husband any longer. Knowing the death blow would come swift and fierce, she reached out with her free hands and took him and kissed him, her lone farewell to the man she had loved and would now be slain by-

Ford shrieked in agony and leapt back, squirming and screaming in the dust like a worm under the noonday sun. For a moment his eyes flashed, the brightness within them suddenly bursting through the dead wall of white-

She hadn’t known what she had done, but the act had been enough to spare her for the moment. Celestia rose from the dirt and reached out to her still-screaming husband, taking his arm in hand and holding tight-

Ford continued to struggle, pulling hard against her grip as though it caused him torturous agony just to feel her skin upon his, the blackness under his skin flashing and flaring like lightning in the night sky-

“No! Whatever is in you does not own you any longer!” Celestia cried, forcing her palm against his chest as Ford screamed to split the rocks, held powerless as her strength poured into him. “You are my husband, my friend and guardian, and I want you back!” Her hand ignited with a bright white that shone brighter than any star, pulsing through his blood. “Echuiv, eri o cín haudh!”

Celestia’s vision left her, all senses disappeared, leaving her only with the sensation of a horrible weakness that she had never before known. A strange emptiness fell upon her in power and she felt the great sense of a body dying all around her-

Ford’s screams became muffled and a horrible rattling echoed in his throat. Clambering to his knees and gasping for air, black ooze poured from his mouth like vomit and he began to choke as a slimy, slithering tail suddenly erupting from his open maw-

Celestia’s vision suddenly returned and she caught sight of the foul thing, her hand lashing out and grabbing it tight, pulling it from Ford’s throat and throwing it out onto the ground. It was a scarred, slithering creature that looked akin to a leech, its mouth filled with hundreds of barbule teeth, its shrieks and cries of pain torment to the ear. She crushed it beneath her heel, feeling the disgusting beast wither and die beneath her weight, giving several additional digs into it for good measure, eventually relenting and blasting it into dust until she was at last certain it was gone.

Ford’s choking gasps became harried gulps of air, falling to the ground and panting as though he had run a marathon. His arms flailed wildly, his terror consuming him as his own senses began to slowly return. Darkness. Agony. Betrayer, betrayer, betrayer… where am I? Why can I not breathe? What is happening to me? Panic grew in him like a balloon, his vision still cloudy and obscured by great veils of grey and black. I can’t see. “I can’t see!”

“I have you! I have you,” said a voice, distorted in his ears but still familiar, a pair of hands holding tightly around his wrists and keeping him stationary. “You are alright. Breathe, simply breathe. I have you…” The seconds were agony as Celestia waited for him to settle, watch as the cloud of thick white fell away from his eyes like the morning mist and be replaced by fear and confusion. His breathing was still rapid but controlled, and no longer was he spluttering the black tar that had erupted from his lungs.

Ford’s gaze flitted across the arena wildly before he finally found her and came into focus, seemingly recognizing her at last. “Celestia! What happened to me, where am I? Is what he said true?”

“You’re alive! Can you walk?”

“I don’t know- what happened to me?” he screamed.

“I happened.” The cloud and fog around the arena disappeared and the two suddenly found themselves surrounded by a great host of citizenry, all silent and seeming to be in shock- save for Sombra, who looked down upon Celestia with a mixture of both displeasure and satisfaction, a sight on his face she had never wished to see.

“You!” Ford found his focus and fury, taking his broadsword back in hand and stumbling towards Sombra. “You’ve lost! Release these people, and flee this place!”

“I will do no such thing, little light,” Sombra rebuked, rising to his feet and looking down upon the man with disgust. “I was right about you. You are something far older than mere mortal Man could hope to be. I wish to see you there alongside her when you find me again.”

“This isn’t over, Sombra! You and I will finish this, here and now!” Celestia roared, her power primed and ready for ignition at a moment’s notice.

“But it is. Find me in the dark heart of infinity, Celestia. There my true self shall be waiting for you, and it will be eager to see what you can truly do.” Sombra looked about, raising his hands to beckon for his people and the crowd as one man, ready to do their king’s bidding. “People of my great city, prove your loyalty to your great King. Kill them both!”

The rush of bodies over the arena boundaries was so sudden that Celestia barely had any time to react, reaching out for Ford and grabbing hold of his arm as she snapped her fingers, the two suddenly teleporting out of the arena and into the tunnels below, the light of the sun vanishing in an instant-

“We need to get above ground! The gateway is in the west district of the city, it’s eating the city away, but it’s not open!” Ford said, quickly regaining his strength now that he had been released from the monster’s thrall.

“The entire city will be on our trail, I’ll try to hold them off as you guide us, can you do that?” she demanded.

“Was what Sombra said about you true?”

“That doesn’t matter now- answer the question! I need you to focus right now and keep us alive!”

I can! Please, don’t kill any of them, they’re under his control like I was. They’re innocent!”

Celestia raised her hand and allowed to ignite, blasting through the tunnel ceiling and letting the sun flow down upon them, she taking Ford’s hand and leaping out into the city streets and finding themselves surrounded by hostile citizenry on every side-

“After them!” The crowd moved as one against them; man, woman, and child raced out to meet them, weapons raised and eager for their blood-

Celestia flared her arms and blew them back, the sound of bones crunching against hard stone and marble crackling in their ears-

“I said don’t kill them!” Ford roared-

“They’ll live, but we won’t be able to be passive long- guide us out of here!” she cried, alarmed by how quickly the injured were returning to their feet-

Ford took point and led them through the unforgiving streets, the pair beset in every direction by a host of enemies, all eager to perform the bidding of their master. Celestia found herself pushing back with all her strength, the constant assault of bodies flung against them a relentless tide-

“Cut through the market! Come on!” Ford leapt out into the crowd with a sudden rush of speed, the sudden appearance taking the unsuspecting throng by surprise-

Celestia felt a hand on her injured shoulder, the fingers digging deep into the knife wound with intent. She shrieked and delivered a sudden rush of electricity into her unseen assailant, eliciting a cry of pain and she was released-

Ford tumbled through the crowd and pushed his way through, trying to remember the route as best he could. He had been in the western edge of the city when he had found it- but how was he going to get there and keep everyone alive? Celestia was in a panic and would soon unleash her full power if he didn’t find a way through quickly-

“Keep us moving!” she shouted, sighting a trio of guards heading towards them and blowing them back against a wall. She tried to ignore the fact that her stab wound was still bleeding profusely, and that her skin still burned in agony from where the creature’s bile had fell upon her. With her body working in overdrive to heal, combined with her militant use of her powers, she was beginning to fade faster than she had anticipated-

“I’m trying- there! This left on the intersection!” Ford yelled, barreling into an armed guard and sending him toppling-

They made the turn and found themselves running straight into a wall of people, the great crowd rushing towards them in the hopes that sheer numbers would be enough to overwhelm-

Celestia gave a scream and took the nearby buildings in her grasp, crumbling them until their walls were ground into dust and silt, giving the cloud form and shape until it became a great whirlwind that rushed into the host, scattering them like flies and driving a gap through the crowd-

“Keep moving, the district is opening up! Just beyond this borough!” Ford said, pushing through the staggering crowd and leading them on-

It was so sudden that she could not have hoped to anticipate it. A lone member of the crowd, an old woman hardly able to walk, plunged a kitchen knife into Celestia’s side, leaving it imbedded within her as she fell to the ground. Celestia screamed, staggering forward as the pain overwhelmed her senses and left her stunned. Without warning, her powers surged forward and a great pulse ignited from her and slammed into her surroundings, throwing her assailants aside and turning the nearby buildings into rubble-

“Celestia! You’ve got to- no, leave it in! You’ll bleed to death!” Ford cried, watching in horror as she pulled the knife from her side and allowed the wound to pour freely out onto the ground, the sudden flow staining her clothes a deep crimson-

“My body will heal it, but I have little else to give! Keep us moving or we’re not going to make it!” she said, feeling the wound beginning to slowly seal itself and sap her strength away from her-

Ford could barely find the will to keep his panic at bay. He was exhausted, surrounded by a city of people that wanted his blood, leading a wounded woman to a gateway still far away and burdened by a revelation that he still could not determine if it was truth, not knowing how he was going to possibly survive-

“Ford!”

“Uh- this way, head this way!” Ford tried not to focus on the ruination that now surrounded them, and wondered if any people had been within the buildings when she had reacted-

They raced through the darkened alleyways until at last the great breadth of the crater opened up before them, the crumbling ruin surrounding it growing all the larger with every passing moment. Ford could still feel the earth giving way beneath his feet as he approached its edge, wondering how they would possibly get down without causing further harm-

“We’ll have to jump,” Celestia said weakly, still clutching a hand to her side in order to help stupor the slowing flow. “We’re out of time.”

“It’s going to hurt,” Ford warned her, taking her in hand as the two leapt down as one man, falling down the sharp edge and eventually finding themselves sliding against the ground, catching every outcropping of rubble that could be found until they at last came crashing down into the basin, severely battered but still crawling towards the wrought-iron gateway.

“We have to keep moving. We have to keep moving,” Celestia gasped, trying to ignore the pulsing pain in her chest. She had expended her strength- twice now, in such a short span of time. Wounded in the manner of mortal man, her blood shed and her body slow to heal amidst the onslaught of foes they had faced, the fact that she could still stand was a marvel to her. But more than her wounds or her exhaustion was that foul creature’s mark, delving into her blood and feeding on her strength until it felt as though they had found sentience and wormed their way into her brain.

“It’s not open,” Ford said, putting her arm over his neck and aiding her staggering steps. “We’re right here and the gateway still isn’t open! Why isn’t it opening?”

“It will open… it has to open…” flashes of memories long lost, a childhood spent in training and study beside a sister she had nearly lost-

Dark. Doom. A specter in the Void-

“You’ve got to stay awake! Stay awake, we’re almost there!” Ford yelled-

A hand on my throat, crushing my bones and tearing me apart. A world lost, a kingdom burning and rotting away-

Ford fell before the sealed gateway, Celestia collapsing against its unmoving doors and giving a scream of unrelenting agony, clawing at her skin and clothes as though some fell thing writhed within her.

“I can feel it! I feel it on me! Take it away!” she shrieked, her torment transporting her into worlds away where Ford could not drag her out.

“Come on already! Open up, we’re right here! Ford yelled, slamming his fists against the closed doors. “We’re going to die if you don’t open up- open up!”

“Stop! Put your hands in the air!”

Slowly, Ford turned about to see Barraway standing a few feet away with a spear pointed directly at Ford’s unprotected chest, with a host of soldiers beside him. All about the crater was a growing crowd of both guard and citizen, all creeping towards them with murderous intent.

“Barraway, listen to me, your king has betrayed you. He’s stolen your mind and taken away your will, you have to fight it,” Ford said, desperately pleading with the man.

“The King has decreed your death. Your presence here is a threat to all that is right and good in the world,” Barraway declared.

“Barraway, you have to listen! I’m not talking to the man Sombra has twisted you into- I’m talking to you, the real you, the one that he’s tried to keep buried for all your life!” Ford said. “I know you’re in there somewhere, you’ve got to fight it! He’s deceived you, taken away your will and he’s responsible for the murder of millions! You’ve got to fight him, come on!”

For a moment, the fell shadow in Barraway’s eyes began to lose strength and lessen, the blackened veil turning grey. The calm confidence of the guard dissolved and turned to grief as the real man within began to struggle and fight for his life. But just as quickly as it had come, it vanished- the veil fell upon him in totality and he gripped his spear all the more tightly. “There is no other truth than my King,” he said firmly. “My King has called me- so I will obey.”

“I don’t want to do this,” Ford said, glancing at the still-closed gateway, and Celestia still paralyzed by her agonies. “Please, you’ve got to try. Wake up, I beg you!”

Barraway gave the call to charge and the host rushed as one, racing with weapons raised for the kill-

With a grievous lament Ford slashed out against them, his weapon spilling the blood of soul after soul. He fought with all his might as they fell against him like water upon rock. Where one fell, another came to take their place, none caring if they lived or died in their endeavor, for only the will of their deceiver king mattered in their minds. Again and again he cut them down, ceaselessly pleading for them to relent and turn back. But no plea reached their ears and the battle raged on, a lone warrior against an army of the accursed, foe after foe falling in death until it seemed the whole city had come to die at his feet.

“Stop!”

A young woman with a farmer’s sickle in hand rushed towards him-

“Stop!”

A wizened old man with a kindly face came stumbling forward with a hatchet-

“I said stop goddammit!”

No cry was enough, until at last the crater fell silent, and no blade was found raised against him. At his feet and all around him was the blood of countless faces. Men and women, far too old and much too young, all driven to their deaths by the singular cold will of one man. Everywhere Ford looked he could see the flow of freshly drawn blood, spattered across faces of the fallen dead. He fell to his knees and screamed, the sight of his handiwork in such massing more horrible than the darkest nightmare he had ever found the strength to face.

“Ford…” Celestia’s voice was weak and she lay a hand on his shoulder-

“Don’t touch me!” he snarled, recoiling away from her touch, and upon his face was an agony and horror too terrible for words. He looked beyond her at the gateway, seeing its doors flash white and open before them, at last ready to bid them leave. Ford raced through them without a moment’s hesitation, hoping that wherever they found themselves next, it would be the place that he fell to death at last.

Author's Note:

And that is all I have to say about that.

New additions to the soundtrack here: Boop

As always, comments and corrections below. And... it is not well.

Comments

[Echo 27]

9769005

1. Whoops. I'll fix that.

2. No. He is an Umbra. But I took a bit of inspiration from Tolkien and decided to make Umbra fallen Alicorns who were twisted into another race entirely.

[Onyx Mage]

Wow I love what you done so far. Keep it up cause I'm looking forward to it 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[Ice Star]

9769019
Ah yes, he’s a big spooky Orc of sorts