The night was rarely ever restful in the Crystal Empire.
Dark phantoms of the past plagued the crystal ponies with horrific nightmares, and their wild imaginations turned shadows into creeping monsters that stalked them in the street.
For a brief time, these horrific visions had dissipated, hidden by the light of hope that bathed the Empire under Skeletor’s short lived reign. He stood as a monster that chased away the demons. Skeletor slayed nightmares with reassuring words and brought blessings from Faust’s garden that could defend them from their own inner demons. Nearly every imaginary horror would shy away at the thought of their lord, bringing relief to many as they reminded themselves of his power.
Things had not been perfect under Skeletor’s reign, but his promises of prosperity showed great potential for their once amazing Empire. The Crystal Empire was bound to thrive under his guidance, becoming a settlement of kingdoms that would grow into a bastion of love that would never falter under the powerful storms of the Frozen North.
Strike Iron, a brown coated mare who had been saved by Skeletor’s wisdom, had chosen to devote herself to following Faust’s favorite champion, joining a group of like-minded ponies who had called themselves by Skeletor’s original name and greatest feat, The Skull Torn.
Ever since Skeletor’s throne was stolen from him, the Empire had greatly declined. Ponies were wrought with mistrust and worry, Skeletor’s medicine was ripped from their hooves, and their true lord had barely been seen outside of the castle.
To make matters worse, the raging storm of nightmares that had been momentarily quelled under Skeletor’s reign had returned with a horrific vengeance.
Despite the reassurances of Lord Skeletor and the two false monarchs claiming that the Princesses survived their last encounter with Sombra, nopony had claimed to see the dream dweller chase away their nightmares. The Diarchs of Dream Valley had either perished at Sombra’s hooves, or they had abandoned them.
Hope for the princesses’ return had died a little more each night, feeding the nightmares that plagued them and giving them fuel to grow.
For a time, some ponies believed that Skeletor’s miracle concoction could prevent those twisted nightmares from taking shape. But, ever since the appointment of the false alicorn and her whorse, their nightmares had grown darker and more gruesome.
Even Strike Iron was cursed with visions of terrible sights, forced to watch as the Crystal Heart was wrapped in chains with Skeletor’s limp body hugging the ground. She heard Dilly Dally and her family cry out in pain, tasted the blood of ponies she was forced to hurt, and smelled the all too familiar stench of death rising into the air. It was as if their nightmares had become true monsters, desperate to feed on their pain with each passing night.
For those who couldn’t sleep well and needed reassurances that they were still free, they would take a quick trot to the Crystal Castle’s plaza to gaze upon the Crystal Heart in the glowing moonlight. And for Strike Iron, a fast trot to the plaza was exactly what she needed to forget about her horrifying dreams.
The brown coated mare blended in well to the darkness, barely going noticed by anypony who had ventured outside late into the night or the restless souls who glanced through their windows.
The Crystal Empire was a much different place in the embrace of the night. Lanterns were sparse in the kingdom, and often reserved for only the guards that went on patrols to save on supplies, so anypony outside of the new regime had to stumble blindly in the darkness if they wished to travel in the moon’s glow.
It rarely pierced through the clouds that hung over the Empire, only coming through on rare peaceful nights where the swelling storm would sleep. Unfortunately, the storm outside was just as restless as Strike Iron, hitting the barrier with a harsh gale that quietly roared through the dense shield.
With only the light of the Crystal Castle acting as her guide, Strike Iron slowly trotted through the city to reach the towering fortress. In the begining of Skeletor’s rule, the plaza beneath the castle would be bustling with restless souls, each one wandering back to the Crystal Heart to make sure it was still there.
As days became weeks, more and more ponies had begun to sleep well without returning to the Crystal Heart, saving their self-reassurances for when the sun rose the next day. There was no need to brave the darkness to confirm what they knew in their hearts.
Most of the previously night-dwelling ponies had returned to their shared homes from then on, hoping to catch a glimpse of the dark coated princess as they battled their own nightmares. There were still those who sought the comforting glow of the Crystal Heart at night, but they were few in number compared to the crowds that would gather in the morning's light.
Strike Iron didn’t expect to find many ponies at the castle’s plaza, and she had been proven right when she finally reached the home of her lord. Most mares and stallions were still sleeping in their beds, or whatever pile of cloth or hay they could find. She would have been one of those mares too if it weren’t for an argument with Dilly Dally.
Another fight with the mare she was destined to be with, another test given to her by Faust to prove her devotion to their relationship.
Skeletor, the champion sent by Faust to save the Empire, had taken one look at them and deemed their relationship pure, a shining example of love and devotion. He spoke of brave acts that she couldn’t recall, a sacrifice that she had offered without hesitation, a desperate plea that had proven to her lord that she loved Dilly Dally.
Neither mare had remembered those moments, and while Dilly Dally had the audacity to claim that Lord Skeletor had deceived his subjects, Strike Iron knew the truth. The moment they were judged had been wiped from their memories, scattered to the wind before they passed through his breath.
There was no doubt in her mind that Lord Skeletor spoke the truth and that her mind had fed her lies. But Dilly Dally believed in the false memories. She would always argue that her mind held the truth and that Skeletor’s words were laced with sweet lies that day.
It was unimaginable. Who were they to claim that their memories weren’t tainted when one of Faust’s heralds had said as much? To question Lord Skeletor was to question Faust herself, and humoring such an idea was the same as defying the blessing he imparted on them.
It was a test of their faith, will, and love, a test that Strike Iron would make sure they both passed. She would just need to convince Dilly Dally of the truth, and they would both be able to receive their lord’s approval.
With those thoughts in mind, Strike Iron had decided to pray at the Crystal Heart, hoping to reignite the love between herself and Dilly so that they could live in eternal bliss.
Come the next day, they would move past their dispute and Strike Iron would endeavor to make their relationship perfect. At least, that was what she had hoped to pray for at the Crystal Heart.
All of her thoughts and prayers vanished when she finally came close enough to witness an unimaginable horror. The free-floating artifact was encased in a steel cage that towered over any guard, locked behind the mythical ore that Lord Skeletor imparted to the Empire. His beautiful gift had been twisted into something malicious and sickening.
Terror wrapped around her soul as she silently quivered in fear, gazing at a nightmare that had crawled into the waking world. The Heart still spun on its pedestal, weakly pulsing with the love of every crystal pony, but it suddenly appeared frailer behind the tall bars.
Tears fell from her eyes as her breath became shallower. Panic raced through her mind as she stared at the mockery of their hopes and beliefs. It was torment given shape, a morbid display of power that made her stomach turn.
Her eyes searched desperately for an answer to her waking nightmare. Relief quickly flooded her senses for a moment when she saw the guards standing nearby. She raced over to the green coated stallion in Skeletor’s steel armor.
“Hey, what’s going on! What happened to the Heart?” She asked in a panic, only to receive cold silence in reply.
She yelled, plead, and begged with the stallion after that, but each cry fell on deaf ears as the two guards stared ahead with lifeless eyes. It was as if she was speaking to a living statue.
Fear encircled her heart as she looked back at the other frozen guard, with thoughts racing so fast that they outpaced her rapid heartbeat. The dead eyes of the guard finally fell on her when she took a step back, staring into her with a familiar contempt that judged her very existence.
She had seen that gaze in her nightmares, from a dark stallion who sat on a throne of obsidian. Her ears began to ring as the pending of her heart became too much for her to bare.
In an instant, her hooves quickly carried her away from the castle as she fought against the haunting memories of her past. And in between the panicked and fear-filled thoughts that flew through her mind, a small resolve gradually grew as she galloped through the streets.
The Skull Torn would not stand idly by and allow their Heart to be taken again by some tyrant.
Fear had slowly crept through the Empire like a fog. Righteous anger and terror filled their hearts, each born of a desire to protect their home.
A well-intentioned deed had sparked off the beginning of a riot, one that would go down in the Empire’s history as one of the Empire’s darkest hours.
Although the ponies hadn’t called out for blood with their voices, their emotions were nearly suffocating, like a toxic cloud of despair that couldn’t be ignored. Whispers of rumors went unheard by the crown, but their unrestful fury had been enough to pull Cadence from her pleasant dreams.
An overwhelming flood of their unified horror had crashed into her, causing her to awake with a startled cry as their fear took shape.
The guards outside her chamber were quick to leap to her aid, galloping into the room as Shining Armor instinctively raised a shield over himself and his wife. Cadence could faintly here her husband calling out to her, but it was drowned out by her own heartbeat and the deafening ringing in her ears.
The onslaught of negative emotions directed solely at her had been too much of a strain on her body and mind. Tears freely rolled down her face as her vision grew hazy, and repetitive bob of her head felt nauseating as quick and strained breaths desperately filled her lungs.
Her own panic became too much to bear, forcing her to blindly stumble out of bed and race to the edge of the shield. Her hooves pressed against the barrier as she tried to beg for air, each cry only coming off as an incoherent mumble as her breaths drew shorter.
She didn’t know what was happening, but she needed to breath. She would have torn down the entire castle just for a hint of fresh air. She needed space, she needed to escape, she needed to get out.
With a pop of arcane energy, Cadence teleported to one of the Castle’s balconies, bracing herself against the quartz railing as she drank in the chilling air like a drunk made. She only had a moment of relief before the powerful swell of negative emotions had rammed into her again.
Vomit violently surged from her dry throat as stinging tears began pour from her clenched eyes.
The noxious poison of the Empire’s emotions lingered even after she severed her ties to the emotional spectrum. A phantom of their pain clung to her memories, far too fresh to dispel as she struggled to breath.
She had never felt such pure abhorrence pointed at her before. Back in Canterlot, there were ponies who hated her and felt jealous of her, but they were sprinkled throughout Canterlot and only interacted with her on rare occasions. She had never known pure hatred, had never felt it stain her soul with an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
Her limbs felt like paper as she limply clung to the railing, resting her neck against the chilling stone as her rapid breaths descended into slow drags of air.
A flash of light was the only thing that gave her any warning of Shining Armor’s arrival before his hooves wrapped around her tightly.
“Something… Something’s wrong… Get.. Help. Get help. Need air, get help. Need air, get help,” she pleaded repeatedly.
“Shhh, shh, it’s okay Cadence, it’s okay,” Shining Consoled as a hoof ran though her mane.
Her head felt lighter, like a ballon filled with helium, and her pounding heart only made everything feel worse as she tried to fight against the swell of emotions running rampant inside of her.
“Need-need help, air and help, get help,” she continued to beg. “Help, help, help.”
Shining Armor only held on tighter as tried to open her eyes, nuzzling her neck for a brief moment before calling out to the guards.
“Get Crux Heart and gather the rest of the guards! Now!” He ordered.
Cadence never noticed the other ponies on the balcony, but it was hardly important to her. The Empire needed her, the Heart needed her.
She didn’t dare to reconnect to the Empire’s emotional spectrum, knowing full well what waited for her if she tried.
Bile flew from her throat as the vivid memory of their emotions struck her, rendering her as nothing more than a sniveling mess in a heavy crown. Wisps of magic weaved around her, wiping the hot tears from her eyes as Shining turned her around to hug her fully, whispering reassuring lies about how everything would be fine.
She could only quietly sob as she melted into his embrace. Cadence listened to the rhythmic beat of Shinning’s heart through his neck, as her own heart steadily returned to a normal pace.
She felt tempted to pass out in his forelegs, to leave the waking world and retreat to the corners of her mind to hide away from her problems, to crawl under her bed and let a pair of real princesses fix her problems.
Soon, as her eye lids slowly began to grow heavier, she began being mocked or comforted by a loose memory of Skeletor’s own words as she struggled to remain awake.
“I’m afraid, your highness…”
The dawn of a great calamity grew closer by the minute.
There was a festering rage inside the crystal ponies, a deep-seated feeling of rage towards the king that had laid dormant in their minds. And, unbeknownst to Skeletor, he had awoken their wrath and given them a target.
The princess had been paralyzed by dread while the ponies embraced their fury, using it as a shield to stave off their fear as they prepared to dethrone the alleged tyrant.
Skeletor’s greatest nightmare had become a horrifying reality, he had earned their undivided outrage, but it had all been misplaced onto Cadence’s shoulders.
Skeletor, still completely oblivious to the horror that waited on the horizon, slept peacefully in his bed as his shadow snuck away from her post to join the other thestral guards. He dreamt of a life without turmoil, of a family that was alien but familiar.
He didn’t care to question the fantasy of his dream, simply enjoying his time with the friendly strangers he called family.
Unfortunately, he was gently guided away from his pleasant dreams when a faint voice called out his name. The soft whisper was melodious, dancing on a tune of syllables that sang his name with a warm and welcoming tone.
“Skeletor…. Skeletooor,” the voice called out, riling Skeletor from his sleep as he rose from his bed.
“Wha… Emeral?”
“No, Skeletor,” the enchanting voice said, earning Skeletor’s full attention as he looked up at a painting given life.
Any hints of sleep vanished as his eyeless gaze locked on the large alicorn, chasing away any desire to return to his sheets as he hastily braced himself against the headrest of his bed. She simply stared at him with a coy smile, standing proudly at the foot of his bed as her wings settled at her side. He had only seen the mare in portraits and books, reading her achievements and hearing his subjects sing her praises.
Skeletor’s breath caught in his throat as he stumbled to call out her name, as if it would shatter his opportunity to speak to the mare who had built the Empire. “Pr-princess Amore? Y-you’re the princess?” He fearfully asked.
The mystifying and sincere smile on her face only lasted for a few scant moments before it was suddenly replaced with a devilish grin. It felt so unnatural on her face, a twisted parody that made her look grotesque.
“No.”
Without another word, the alicorn’s bright fur dissolved into a foggy black coat, and the colorful mane danced on an etherial black fire. Her face contorted and folded in on itself, revealing the familiar visage of Sombra’s sickening face. “It’s ‘King,’” he grinned.
Once more, Skeletor felt his breath hitch as Sombra’s spirit smiled with a sadistic glee. “Hello again, demon. It’s been some time since our last—“
The havoc staff quickly flew to Skeletor’s hand without hesitation, allowing him to leap from his bed and fire off a random spell at the stallion. Skeletor didn’t waste a breath as he nearly set the room ablaze with a column of fire, letting it run rampant as it scorched the create and barrels that littered his room.
The repercussions of his magic casting had been forgotten by his rage, allowing him to fully utilize every spell in his limited arsenal to attack Sombra as the specter narrowly avoided his attack.
Skeletor continued his assault, launching blasts of ice and surges of lightning in a vain effort to strike the stallion.
The flurry of spells flew across the room as Sombra slipped out of the room, using the cover of the smoke to leap through the wall and into the hallway outside.
“Sombra! Get back here, you pathetic phantom!” Skeletor roared, summoning a portal to leap into and chase the specter through the castle.
The dead tyrant made no attempts to phase through any of the walls or ceiling, and stayed in perfect view as Skeletor threw any number of random spells him. Fire and lighting soared through the air as the specter flew through the halls, narrowly avoiding Skeletor’s attacks as he kited the old lord through the castle.
“What’s the matter, demon? Can’t you keep up?” Sombra mocked, earning a feral shout from Skeletor as he brought the scepter down like a hammer, swiping at the specter in between blasts of energy that sailed past the ghoul.
There was no grace or finesse in his attacks, only blind anger as he tried to kill the undead king with a barrage of spells and attacks. It was something animalistic, a basic desire to slaughter and maim without any care for grace.
A sinister and mad cackle echoed through the halls as Skeletor chased after his prey, reveling in the thrill of his hunt as his spells grew wilder. Lighting and fire leapt from his scepter, spreading wanton destruction through the halls as the furniture, paintings, and curtains caught fire.
“Nye-Heh-Heh-Heh! I’ll destroy you once and for all, you spineless specter!” Skeletor threatened, following closely behind the fleeing demon as it raced up the stairs.
Without even realizing it, Skeletor’s feet had left the ground as he chased Sombra up the staircases to one of the highest floors.
Skeletor’s flight, much like his spell casting, was unwieldly. He would slam into the walls whenever Sombra chose to make a sudden sharp turn, creating an even worse trail of destruction as Skeletor utilized every spell he had learned.
A bolt of lightning raced through Sombra, causing the shadowy spirit to scatter into the darkness as Skeletor overshot the fleeing phantom. He frantically searched for Sombra, letting his rage reach a boiling point as he screamed out. “Where are you?!”
“Over here, demon!” Sombra mocked, causing Skeletor’s skull to snap towards the royal balcony doors.
It was the same balcony Skeletor had used when speaking to his subjects, the place where he had promised the crystal ponies that Sombra was dead. It wasn’t an egregious lie compared to his other proclamations and promises, but it was still one that Skeletor would seek to quickly rectify.
The dark king smiled as he bled through the two royal doors, sneering at Skeletor as he prepared another spell for the wicked tyrant.
“Face me, you cowardly colt!” Skeletor yelled, blasting the balcony doors off of their hinges as he strode out of the castle.
He was surprisingly greeted by a crowd of cheers as he stalked past the two broken doors, a wave of jubilation going almost unnoticed as he searched for Sombra. Skeletor completely ignored the prince as Shining erected a barrier around himself and Cadence, simply walking past the pair as he leaned over the railing to look down at the crowd.
With no sign of him in the moonlight, Skeletor shoved himself away from the railing and turned to the royal pair. “Where is he?!” He loudly demanded, somehow earning a heavier applause from the crowd as a stallion below called out to them.
“Praise be to your presence, your eminence,” the stallion greeted before turning to address the crowd. Skeletor stared down at the purple pony, barely noticing the blue cloak he and a good number of other ponies were wearing. “Is it not as I claimed?! The Skull Torn has come to save us from the oppression of our false rulers!”
“Please, this is all a misunderstanding!” Cadence pleaded, teleporting outside of Shining Armor’s shelled to raise herself on the railing. “Skeletor, please, explain what happened!”
“See! Even now the usurper is trying to control our lord!” The stallion shouted from below.
Skeletor’s anger had slowly bled away, morphing into confusion as the stallion continued to cry out to the crowd. “Those of you who claimed we spoke lies, see now as the truth is revealed! Our gift from Faust, the Skull Torn from her pleasant pastures, has come to us once again to save us in the face of tyranny and oppression!”
“… What?” He asked dumbly, though it went unheard by the loud zealot below him.
Had he seen Sombra? Where was he? Where did he go? His usually calm demeanor was tossed to the wind as he gripped the railing and glared down at the ponies.
“What did you say!? What did you see!” Skeletor called out to the stallion, continuing to ignore the royal couple as he hastily scanned the crowd.
“We saw it with our own eyes, my lord! The Crystal Heart locked in a cage as most of us slept through the night! I was hesitant to believe the words of my brothers when they came galloping to my door, but I witnessed it! And now, our lord has brought one of them down to us! Praise be to his wisdom!” The stallion cheered, eliciting cries of celebration from the hundreds of gathered ponies behind him.
Skeletor’s jaw slowly began to gape as his intense anger had vanished. Confusion and realization swept over him like a cold breeze, dousing any hints of rage as the ponies below continued to shout and jeer.
“It’s true!” Another voice rang out, one that was strikingly familiar to Skeletor. A mare he had remembered very well stepped out of the crowd, wearing the same cloak to hide her chocolate colored mane and coat. “I called Brother Nearside when I was takin’ a gander outside! Most of the brothers and sisters saw it! We tore it down and even have it, Lord Skeletor!” She yelled.
“Everyone, please remain calm, this is all a misunderstanding. Skeletor was the one to erect the fence around the Heart to protect it,” Shining Armor tried to state, only to earn their ire as the apparent leader of the group pointed an accusatory hoof at him.
“See, even now the royal’s whorse tries to sway us with their lies! But we won’t fall for the words of a false prince! And now, the Skull Torn has come to pass his judgment!” He cheered, eliciting dozens of voices to rise from the crowd. “They took the Skull Torn’s throne, stole the medicine he gifted us, and now they’ve thrown chains around the Crystal Heart when it was most vulnerable! And now, our lord has come to deliver swift justice!”
The crowd cried out in joy as the stallion continued to rant, each word falling on Skeletor’s deaf ears as his anger turned to horror.
“Skel…Help,” Cadence said, her own words coming out hazily as panic began to consume his thoughts.
His blood felt cold as he looked into Cadence’s desperate eyes. They stared deep into his soul with a desperate plea. But for what? An answer? An explanation? To save her from his mistake?
His mistake, his misguided deed, his sins, his name…
His name, something that became easier to call with time, was being chanted below. Not out of fear or anger, but twisted devotion as they demanded justice. They called out for retribution, to watch a royal fall from heaven to be beaten and hanged for his sins.
His intimate nightmare, the one that haunted him most nights when he wore the crown, had become real. The common mares and stallions wanted royal blood to spill, and for onc in his horrible nightmares, it wasn’t his they were crying for.
He held onto his desperation and fear, using them in place of bravery as he tried to speak.
“No…”
He needed to beg with them, plead with them, anything to make them stop.
“No!”
He didn’t want to die.
“Stop!”
He didn’t want his friend to die.
“Stop already!”
He was terrified.
“I did it! I—hhnnn!”
The sound of crystal grinding against stone hit his ears before the chorus of gasps and screams that erupted through the air. His own breath came out as a silent whimper, a desperate gasp that drowned in the sea of noise.
There was something kissing his lower ribs, rubbing against the bone as he breathed. It was cold and wet, running down his leg like a weak faucet.
The voices around him grew louder as he stared down, finding a dark crystal bathed in blood sticking through the left side of his abdomen.
His thoughts, distant as he looked at the blood.
No poetic words or laments, just fear and pain.
The harsh winds of the Frozen North began battering his body. The screams grew louder.
The blood was red. His side was wet. It was cold.
He was staring up at the sky as the barrier fell. There was snow. White blob, white and pink blobs hovering over him, blue, blue, lots of blue. Magic, he knew magic.
Magic touching him, lifting and healing.
Ringing, bells ringing in his ears as his vision grew darker.
Blob was moving a lot, a grey blob suddenly there. More magic, more blue.
The blood was red. His blood was still red, as red as the monster's eyes.
Something forgotten, something evil. It was back. It smiled. He remembered.
Broken hero, imposter, monster. Sword, wrong sword. All wrong.
Staring, red. Body trembling.
Hoof, hoof pressing down.
Mind... slipping away to the darkness.
Peacefully into his nightmares.
Cliff hanger.
Whoa now this is one heck of a emotional punch of a chapter, and i'm eager to see what's going to happen next.
Well, shit.
Shit's finally going down, then. When Sombra at long last moves, he moves fast.
Holy shit! This was absolutely amazing! I loved the storytelling vibe to set the setting and then everyone having their own breakdown/rampage. Everything is culminating together into one beautifully horrific mess and I'm so ready for it!
so, what the hell happen? The misunderstandings I get but so.. did the general or something stab him in the back proclaiming hes doing it for Queen Armore or Princess Cadence thus fueling more hatred for her?
Dammit Twilight, hurry the f up
That cliffhanger hits like a truck....
I have to admit, at the part when Sombra appeared i was kinda expecting Skeltor to be afraid or at the very least shocked, but to my great delight his TRUE personality from the cartoon appeard, and it was glorious, just imagening skeletor chasing after the slimey stallions spector while hurling insults brought a smile to my face.
Cadance pride about her Alicorn nature, greed to receive her own Kingdome , lust for power and a titel not longer ringing hollow and refusing to work with Skeletor instead working with him for a better tomorrow lead Sombra to his succcess...
Wellllll shit. So Cannon Fodder, freed by Sombra, stabbed Skeletor while he was standing right beside Cadance and Shining armor.... This is not ending well in any fashion.
Any good will Cadance and Shining Armor may have had will have gone up in flames when Skeletor was stabbed beside them, seemingly by their design. Skeletor's supporters will either lose heart, or become enraged and begin doing things they really shouldn't. The Empire needs love to keep it safe, not hatred. Sombra manipulated the situation masterfully.
Hasn't the Crystal Empire and Skeletor dealt with enough shit lately? I'm feeling sorry for the whole lot of them...
And it's quite possible that what little was left of Skeletor's good side is now lost to nightmares.
Hell of a clifhangar, man. Did you really have to do that?
Still, thank you very much for the update!
Evil cliffhanger.
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i know. And it's gonna be a small eternity till next chapter (well, not literally an eternity, but it will feel like one)
I've always liked the concept of the Monkey's Paw, the Cursed Wish. How when people get their deepest desires, it's always more of a curse than a blessing.
So now everyone gets what they want, and the Empire begins to crumble to dust.
Of course, since no one is guarding the heart in all this confusion ...
Monk
“Because we killed all of the monsters we ever ran into, save for ourselves and Death. What better way to respect death than to give it the form of the only monster we could never kill?" - WhatMustIDo
I felt WhatMustIDo's quote is strangely appropriate here. What do you think?
That was one heck of a cliffhanger.
Finally....the required time for the good guys to be inept enough for evil to rear its head is over. That and well wanna know how Skelly gonna get out of this mess.
i don't recall the lesbians getting their memories wiped. what was that all about?
10895072
Early on, I wanted to have Skeletor's Approval (Accidentally read as "Blessing) as something "holy" for one of them.
Let's say this being you worship, God or what have you (even if they aren't really that, you just think they are) tells you your relationship is pure and good and nothing's wrong with it. It was a nice conversation, you grow, feel relieved, laugh a little bit, and leave. Later, that being tells the entire world, "Their relationship is good because this person risked their life," when they didn't. I wanted this lie to the Empire to effect Strike Iron on a more personal level. If he had lied to the Empire then wouldn't it be possible that he lied to her too? No, she's just remembering it wrong, that must be the explanation. She's wrong, he's right, there's no two ways about it for her.
This "deification" of Skeletor is unhealthy, and he unknowingly made it worse for the ponies like Strike Iron who misread his thoughts and actions. Suddenly, approving a relationship between two loving people is a Blessing, something to keep working for not to help the relationship, but to appease this higher power. The love is twisted in a desire for approval and gratification, which is really sad for those two. Their relationship was a healthy one where they had come together in a need for comfort. Then, when they were caught, this seemingly higher being gave them the thumbs up and proceeded to lie to the entire Empire without explaining himself to them. Add some desperation for hope, a dash of love, and a steaming pile of confusion, and you've got a worrying case of religious worship that blinds her to the truth.
Meanwhile, Dilly Dally sees it as what Skeletor wanted. Not a blessing from a deity, but approval and acceptance from someone who has the power to protect them. She appreciates what he did, understands why he lied to the Empire, and is approaching the situation with a calmer mind. I plan to have Iron Strike join her back on that path, but unfortunately, she's not there yet. And until she can focus more on her partner than her newfound cult club, their relationship won't be going anywhere.
It was something I both felt uncomfortable and sad writing, because I'm hurting these two innocent creatures with a misunderstanding. As the person holding the pen, I could have just let them live peaceful lives, and I was so tempted to, but I also wanted to continue expanding on misunderstandings and the impact they can have, especially on people who seek comfort in religious organizations and the leaps they can make to feel comfort.
It's really heartbreaking to watch someone get swept away into a group of people that you think are crazy. I haven't had to go through it personally, but close friends have lost important family members because they suddenly "Found God" in Scientology or other religions. Now, that's not to say religions aren't healthy, or joining them is bad. I'm approaching this for a specific group dedicated to Skeletor that has no ties to real life religions.
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I love deep stuff like that.
By the way... Did Sombra used the negative emotions to summon dark magic crystals or was he always able to ?
Sombra is quite clever. He seem to be a spiteful brute before. Now more of a 3d chessplayer...
Luna should really get her shaped flank in there... Otherwise there will be noone left to save...
10895213
... Actually, I'll be completely honest, I was just going to say he was saving up his energy or something, you know, can't spell cast too much without wasting away, but I really do like that idea. Might work with it, might keep the whole, "Dark magic tears apart the soul," and Sombra is only a soul right now.
As for Luna coming in, she will soon, thank goodness. Though, how effective she'll be when facing a nightmarish abomination of Skeletor through the eyes of the crystal ponies, may be a bit of a challenge.
I also feel like this is the "deepest" chapter I've worked on so far, even the title has a lot more thought than most of the other chapter titles.
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Now waiting for the next chapter will be very brutal... Im very dissapointed in Celestia having Cadance basicly running blind... Responsible looks different
If Twilight and the other 5 Element users ever where needed its now...
Genial. Esta es una de las mejores historias de desplazados que he leído.
10895280
SKELATOR SHALL ENDURE
That was not a good time for Skelly to get slow head there, even if it was because of the adrenaline low.... and now he is panicking...
Great chapter!
10895102
ooooh damn your right. thanks for the explanation. subtle stuff like that tends to pass me by
and yeah. we make character suffer for the enjoyment of the crowd. it's the fate all writers must suffer
She didn’t know what was happing
“happening”
resist her neck against the chilling stone
Is that supposed to be “rest”?
asmher own heart steadily returned to a normal pace
“as her”
10896023
Thanks for pointing out those mistakes!
cdn.drawception.com/images/panels/2016/3-11/Bt2p3KPtpy-2.png
Me sorprendió se como se torcieron tanto las cosas en tan solo un capítulo y me encanta un capítulo de 10/10👏👏👏
⭐⭐⭐🌮⭐
10895687
You can also say that we watch them struggle so we can see them become stronger and overcome the problem. So you can think of it like a temporary setback on the path towards improvement. That said, there are characters that will suffer, will not prevail and will die tragically. In those cases we can only hope that the character died in a manner that was fulfilling for them. But it also gives us exposure to those tragedies in a controlled environment and unless the story is a tragedy the other characters will have to face the result of the tragedy and then prevail, becoming stronger.
The reason we are entertained by the suffering of a character isn't because we're sadistic people. It's because we're rooting for the underdog, hoping the character find the strength within themselves to overcome the challenge.
Yeah, you could say I've thought about this topic for a bit
10898144
Beautifully said.
Damn what a cliffhanger:(
Question will there be any romance in this story?
10895102
Ohhhh. I figured I'd just forgotten that part. It's hard enough to keep track of one's own lies. Someone's else's is a lost cause.
10898144
Oh nice take on that buddy. i uh don't really know what to say other then i agree. there are stories where the focus is the suffering but generally most stories tend towards what you just said
10898511
To quote my 1,000 Likes Q & A...
When it comes to romance in the story I had a few ideas. First and foremost was Emerald Secret since she was was the only female in the cast at the time, but then I remembered, “Oh shit, I wrote a pony whom I’ve alluded to having a non-consensual sexual relationship with a tyrant, and throwing her into a relationship right off the bat with a demonic looking creature might not be the best thing for her.”
Next up on the bachelorette was Luna… For about a week until I came to a similar conclusion. “Hey, this girl has been tortured physically and mentally by a demon on the moon for a thousand years. While she has gotten a bit better thanks to her friends and family in the two years since returning, throwing her in a relationship with a monster may be kinda absolutely stupid.” Bachelorettes one and two are gone. Will Bachelorette number three step out?
Ah, yes, Eris No Middle Name or Last Name, Eris… Yeah, that one probably won’t work at all. Next up is…. Cadence? Yeah, no, fuck that.
I saw a comment or two that speculated that they’d either have a three-way or something would happen to Shining to free up some cuddle time with Cadence. No, no that’s not happening in a hundred or thousand years. Killing off Shining Armor, just to open up the possibility of a relationship with Cadence, is something quite a few stories have tried and, arguably, failed to do time and time again. I’m not writing a self-insert story where Skeletor can steal Shining Armor’s girl, I’m writing a story of a character whom I think is a bit better than myself gradually turning into a monster and going through an emo phase because of it. For now, Eris is the best candidate for a relationship, but it’s going to be hard to accurately portray that because I’m a 21 year old loser who hasn’t even held hands with another girl. I think you can understand why I’m unqualified to handle a romantic relationship in fiction well. It's also going to be hard to find the right time and place to introduce her, and find good points that make their relationship work rather than it being a pair of dolls smashed against each other with kissy sounds.
Wow, this chapter was a gut punch. Everything that has been built up, all the faith.. All the lies and everything seems destroyed and all those loose threads held togehter had been shattered and severed.
10900690
well, i'd say the whole empire had become a flimsy tapestry, where when one string was plugged, all of it would unravel... so Sombra and the "skull torn" kinda plugged that one string....
10898167
Thank you!
10898708
Since I'm already replying I might as well give my two cents here. I don't think experience or lack thereof matters all that much. Think about it this way. How much experience for you have with fighting off immortal dictators and ruling a kingdom? Yeah... That aside, I think the best bet, should you wish to go in that direction, would be an original character. But which one from the current cast...that'd a difficult question.
Either way, just wanted to say experience doesn't really matter that much. It can be a nice crutch to use for help though, since it can compensate for lack of imagination or a nice bonus for people with a lot of imagination.
Isn't Skeletor a lich?
So his Phylactery I'm guessing in the staff.
Monk
As for romantic interest. I stand by my PM to you. I want to see "her" show up.
Monk
"I was butt naked......and buff........and had white hair on my no-no region......." -Delta-Boio
10902310
Nah. Skeletor's not a lich, just skull-faced guy.
It time we get the real Skeletor to kick Ghost Sombra's spectral ass outta here!
10898708
There is one more option, poor Celestia, they always ignore her
Ya viste la nueva serie de He-man, creo que esta pasable.
10915225
Pensé que estaba bien. No es perfecto, pero está bien. Dio una reseña en mi blog.
This is one hell of a chapter to catch up with the story, looking forward to the next chapter after that cliffhanger.
Anyway great story I love your darker take on the ponies, makes sense that they wouldn't be healed mentally after the death of Sombra. Having Cadence deal with the traumatized ponies is also very interesting
10915364
I agree. Waiting for next chapter is like torture... especially with cliffhanger like that; it could be days from now, weeks, months... or never. When you spend time waiting, it's like a torture for those, who wish to enjoy the world build by the author....
Anyway, i agree; it's gonna be interesting to see Cadance go from where she's currently at; with how the story is going, it's quite possibly 50/50 change on whenever she'll even have a throne by the end of this section of the story.
10916623
Oh, I know. I really know. Even now I'm still waiting for an update to "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever". And it hasn't been updated in near ten years. Still, I hope it will one day. ... Even the site is gone away now.:(
This story aged like fine wine🍷
10923010
I'm glad you feel that way.
i.ibb.co/fvwKwdW/Screen-Shot-2021-08-01-at-8-07-41-PM.png
10923249
and like all aged wine, the supply is limited and finding more is a game of patience......
10898708
Oh thank god, those come off as really cringey, honestly while i could see Emerald and Skeletor in a relationship granted it would need to be one built on a lot of trust with casual time between the two of them to naturally develop, no pairing is just fine too