Kindness and the Heart of Shadow

by Raven-Flight

The Takeover Begins

Author's Note:

A slightly shorter update for you all today, but it had to be for the flow of the story.

Also, I just realized that I had mentioned in this chapter a power plant when ponies in this AU still don't have electricity. I changed it to a Magic Logistics Plant because I guess ponies living in cities have their homes lit by government-provided magical energy. Yeah, that sounds decent. Worldbuilding!

Chrysalis lurked in the shadows as Grogar uttered indiscernable incantations to himself. He was totally concentrated. She was totally irate. Finally, the changeling Queen gave up waiting.

“This is unacceptable! I demand my share!”

Grogar grunted in frustration and met her eyes impatiently. Chrysalis continued.

“You send Lord Tirek off to feed as his heart desires and increase his power, but you would have me starve! If I must capture an entire city of ponies for you, I deserve to feed on at least a portion of their love! I must be strong too!”

Grogar sighed. “You realize this city of ponies is the beginning of our army, don’t you? We need them to have strength as well! If you must, drain a very small portion of love from each pony you capture, without leaving them weakened. Capture enough ponies and you can still have your feast that way. Will you agree?”

“It is not my accustomed way of behaving toward my prey, but it will do.”

“Good. Now leave me be until my powers are prepared.” Grogar finished casting the spell on himself that Chrysalis had interrupted, then produced his Seeing Eye and peered into it. Cozy Glow and Tirek were following orders exactly. The town they raided looked exceedingly remote, consisting of only two parallel rows of buildings and a house set apart from them, and Grogar watched as Tirek consumed the magic of apparently the last pony there. The centaur tossed the dull half-corpse into a pile inside a cellar and Cozy Glow shut the door and locked it from the outside.

After their conversation the previous day, Grogar wondered whether Sombra was cooperating with his orders as well as the filly and centaur team was. He had to admit that Sombra’s intention of seducing the hostage may serve the interrogation process well, provided the Shadow King also did not end up seduced himself. Grogar doubted the stallion’s fortitude. Nevertheless, he agreed to allow Sombra to take his pleasure in the mare as a token of trust if Sombra would agree to commit to serving the aims of the league.

Here was the test. Grogar located Sombra in the Seeing Eye. It was no easy task, for Sombra could conceal himself well in his shadow form. Finally, watching the long locked box tucked deep into the corner of a dark cellar, Grogar saw the shadows creep closer until the box was engulfed in darkness. Then the shadow retreated, and the box was no longer where it had been. Grogar followed the shadow out and into the wilds beneath Canterlot, where it solidified into Sombra, holding the box. He examined the lock as if to open it and claim the contents as his own, and the observing goat prepared to teleport himself to the scene and punish the traitor.

Instead, Sombra encased the whole box in his magic and teleported it away. Then he teleported himself. Grogar found the locked box safely in his private quarters, and Sombra in the prisoner’s cell.

“Fair enough,” muttered the goat. “Chrysalis! Let us begin.” Chrysalis came before her leader, transforming herself into Sombra as she stepped toward the center of the floor.

“With pleasure.”

---

Sombra stood atop city hall and cackled maniacally, the laughter amplified by magic to echo across all of Whinnyapolis. Sickly orange oblique light cast by the setting sun lit the surrounding skyscrapers and set a dramatic stage for the attacker. “Prepare yourselves for a new reign! Bow before your King!”

Huge black crystals sprung from the inside of the hall and pierced through the walls, causing the building to crumble inward somewhat. The roof cracked and sloped but left Sombra on a high perch where he continued to overlook the city. Back in the abandoned warehouse at the edge of town where the duo had hidden themselves, Grogar watched from a window.

Now Sombra looked toward the city Magic Logistics Plant. His horn powered with a green aura. At the same time, Grogar’s collar glowed yellow. Jagged crystals now sliced through the plant, and all the lights abruptly shut off across the landscape. Ponies ran out into the streets in a panic.

Everywhere Sombra looked, the black crystals grew and destroyed. Grogar almost struggled to keep up with the enthusiasm, for of course it was he creating the crystals, using the same dark magic for which the true Sombra was so well known. As fires broke out, streets flooded, and buildings toppled, the helpless citizens scrambled across rubble toward the edges of town, stumbling and injuring themselves in the failing light of dusk.

The local police were hard after the invader, but they couldn’t seem to catch him. Every time they began to draw near, Sombra would vanish and reappear elsewhere in the city.

They never noticed the humble pigeon fleeing from wherever Sombra had last been seen. When enough destruction had been wrought and before most of the city’s inhabitants had found their way out, the pigeon flew to the outskirts and in a flash of green flame returned again to the form of King Sombra. He sprinted along the perimeter of downtown, sped along by magic and raising tall dark crystals as a wall on his way, which were enchanted to prevent unicorn teleportation in or out. Once the city was enclosed, Sombra returned to the warehouse.

Grogar looked again into his Seeing Eye, summoned the image of Cozy Glow, and encased the orb in his magic. “Cozy Glow!” He shouted. The filly startled and looked around for the source of the sudden voice. “Have you and Tirek finished with that last town?” She nodded. “Okay, I’m bringing you here for the other half of your assignment now.”

In a moment, Cozy Glow appeared in the warehouse.

“You know what to do?”

“Yes sir, Grogar, sir!” She saluted.

“Then be off! Keep away from the pegasi in the skies; I’m about to round them up!”

Cozy Glow saluted a second time and whizzed off. Grogar teleported himself to the roof of the warehouse and Chrysalis stayed inside, transforming back into her native form. From the roof, Grogar caught pegasi in his magic as they attempted to fly over the crystal walls. He drew them inward and flung them into the large storage chamber of the warehouse. Inside, Chrysalis was quickly encasing all in slimy green capsules, where they would be unconscious and immobile. The pegasi were soon enough all secured and Grogar proceeded to scour the streets for the unicorns and earth ponies as well. The process took until the end of the next day, but finally the population of Whinnyapolis was piled in a huge putrid heap of changeling goo that filled the warehouse. Chrysalis delicately took her fill of love as promised, and Grogar summoned the true Sombra to perform his nightmare brainwashing on each and every victim. They had captured the first company of their army.

---

Cozy Glow arrived at the center of the town and immediately cried loudly for help. Ponies turned in the streets or emerged from their houses to see a gasping filly with mane in total disarray and smudges of ash dyeing her coat gray. She easily won their attention.

“It’s Sombra, it’s Sombra! He’s taken Whinnyapolis! He’s taken my parents!” A murmur of fear broke from the crowd Cozy Glow had amassed. “Oh, won’t anypony do anything to stop him? He’s going for Foaledo next, and then Baltimare! I heard him say it!” She panted for a moment and then mumbled, still loudly enough for the front rows of ponies to hear “Or, or was it Chicoltgo, and then Fillydelphia? Oooh!”

A middle-aged stallion with silver in his mane came up to Cozy Glow. “Now calm down, little filly. We’ll call in the big authorities for help. Come on, let’s get you somewhere nice and comfy to stay.”

“Oh, no sir, no thank you sir! I’ve got to keep going! My brother's still out there and I want to make sure he made it alright! Bye!” Off she went again, before anypony could protest. As one, the villagers all looked toward the northern horizon, where they could sometimes see the Whinnyapolis skyline if it was a very clear day. Now, though, they watched a thick plume of smoke rise from where the city should have been.

Comments

[kurusagi16]

Nice to see the Legion making some progress. I'm worried about Flutters though, I hope she's staying strong.

[Raven-Flight]

9794963
Better steel yourself, then. The next chapter's a bit of a doozy...