The Blackened Skies

by gosha305

The End?

As all awakened, they were met with an unpredictable sight. After seeing Twilight in the depressed state she was yesterday, none could have expected to observe her cheerfully bustling around, preparing some kind of spell. The latter part wasn't that surprising, but her facial expression clearly indicated joy and anticipation, contrasting with the thoughtfulness and guilt it displayed after the recent encounter.

The first to tackle the issue was Applejack "Uh, Twilight, whatcha doin'?" she asked, hoping to get at least partial understanding of the princess' excitement.

"Oh nothing!" responded the latter "I'm just trying to slightly modify the teleportation spell so it can take us directly to this cave" she pointed her hoof in the vague direction of the rocky aperture "So we can finally get the Elements of Harmony and defeat the Entity!"

"What?" confusedly exclaimed all the others.

Realizing that her excitement got ahead of her, Twilight tried to calm herself while explaining her words "So, this night, I had a dream." she paused trying to think about the best way to convince her friends "Well, I'd say it wasn't just a regular dream. It was a vision." noticing the others' doubtful looks, she hesitated again "And what I saw was the Entity being defeated by the Elements of Harmony. But most importantly, what I saw was that the Elements themselves are now in that exact cave above our camp!"

"And you're telling us that because of a dream, we're going to risk teleporting there in one go?" asked Starlight, mildly confused.

"Darling, are you sure it's really safe?" added Rarity in a concerned tone "And is it really worth trying when we can walk up there?"

Hearing everypony's concern, Twilight's enthusiasm slightly diminished, but she was still convinced of her plan "Listen, I know you aren't convinced, but I'm completely certain that the Elements are in this cave. Going there by hoof will take way more time than we have left at our disposal, so teleporting there is a necessity." she paused "And finally, we all know that mutual trust is an important part of any friendship, so can't you just trust me on this one?"

She was right, as farfetched as the idea of this dream sounded, she was still their friend and friends must place confidence in one another. In addition, after the strange abilities the Tree has showcased before, having it communicate with Twilight through dreams wasn't that unlikely.

---

All was ready. The spell, the ponies, the backup plan, even the cave looked ready to receive a few visitors. Charging up their magic, the unicorns and alicorn started performing this new version of the classic teleportation spell. Twilight might have only modified it slightly, just enough to suit their current needs, but it still felt weird to the three casters, the incantation seeming familiar and alien at the same time.

To everypony's relief, the magic worked flawlessly! They were now all standing in the cave, inspecting their surroundings.

Examining their point of arrival, Starlight admitted "I guess it wasn't a bad idea after all."

"Wait until we find the Elements!" cheered Twilight excited once again.

"Girls!" called out Pinkie Pie "I think I see something at the end of that tunnel!"

Looking in the direction she was pointing, all saw that there indeed was some kind of metallic glow in the dark of this lapidarian corridor.

Wasting no time, Twilight lit up her horn, directing its beam directly onto that glow. And here they were! The Elements of Harmony lied on the caverns stone floor, only waiting to be used by their bearers to save the world once again. But... the was something off about their enchanted surface. Something in that glow, something in the jewels did not match their former grace. Something... extremely minor, and yet something that Twilight immediately noticed.

Deciding not to temper her enthusiasm yet, the purple princess was already levitating the Elements to their respective bearers, willing to end all of this as fast as possible. The ponies put on their trinkets, expecting the latter to spark to life, generating their fabled rainbow and blasting towards the sky.

But none of this happened. Instead of the Elements comforting glow, they were met by a spine-chilling laugh, one could recognizable amidst a million. It seemed like the Elements did not have the expected effect.

The alien sound quickly filled the air, echoing around the cave. The stone walls amplified this grim laughter, making no other noise distinguishable. Unfathomable tones made the ponies' heads ache, as it creeped into their bewildered thoughts.

What happened? Why did the Elements fail? Were these even the real Elements? What were they going to do now? When will this unendurable laughter finally cease?

The answer to the last question quickly revealed itself, as the demonic cackle soon started to grow quieter. The others however, weren't about to be answered so easily...

"YOUR STUPIDITY AND ARROGANCE NEVER STOPS TO SURPRISE ME. I EXPECTED YOU TO USE YOUR PITIFUL TRINKET AGAINST ME, BUT YOUR CERTITUDE OF THEIR EFFICIENCY IS PLAINLY INSULTING! PERHAPS SETTING THIS TRAP WASN'T A BAD IDEA AFTER ALL. YOUR PLANET CANNOT BE SAVED BY SUCH MUNDANE METHODS, NOT THIS TIME. SEEING YOU STRUGGLE FOR THIS, WAS HOWEVER HIGHLY AMUSING. YOUR DOOM APPROACHES, MY LITTLE PONIES."

"But why?" cried out the latter "Why are you teasing us like this, weren't you only seeking power in our realm?"

"SOON, YOU WILL SEE THAT THIS WILL BRING ME POWER, EVEN MORE POWER THAN THE REST OF MY ACTIONS COMBINED. FEAR THE FUTURE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE..."

As it pronounced its words, they resonated, shaking the cavern and the mountain itself with their overwhelming might. The former Elements of Harmony, now empty trinkets devoid of their power, fell to the ground, shattering the gemstone within their core alongside the ponies' hopes and expectations...