Baring One's Soul
The creatures occupying the Lost City had seen many surprises since arriving. There was the discovery that they couldn't escape the place, finding themselves playing a strange game with no idea what they were playing for...it seemed that there was just unknown after unknown things happening.
And yet, the sight before everypony was by far the biggest surprise of them all, Ruby speaking up despite it being in a whisper, "Soul...you're an alicorn?"
The newly outed filly didn't respond, a scream instead coming out of her mouth as energy began to explode out of her. "AAAAAAHHHHH!" she yelled, clutching her head as it felt like it was getting pounded on by a hammer.
"SOUL!" Ruby responded as she tried to run over to her while their opponents just stared at the foal.
"That little twerp's an alicorn?!"
"Looks like it," Wingill replied as he began to summon some more water, "That makes her dangerous."
"Agreed. We must dispose of her before she unleashes her full power." Armalum added as they charged as well, Ruby seeming them and summoning two crystal blades. But as she tried to charge at them, all four suddenly felt the ground shake.
"Huh?" Ruby said as she felt her coat tingle, making her look back up at Soul as the orb of magic continued swirl around her body.
"RRRRAAAAAHHHHH!" Soul screamed as the sphere suddenly exploded, unleashing a wave of shining magic everywhere. Ruby tried to prepare to defend herself from the blast, only for the magic to go right through her. However, as this happened, she gasped as she saw the magic go for the others.
"GYAH/AUGH/GRAH!" Salix, Wingill and Armalum yelled as they were struck by the wave, all being sent into a building wall. The magic then slammed them with a giant of gust of wind, the force of the blow pinning them to the stone. And as they kept getting pushed back, parts of Armalum's armor began to crack.
Ruby had to keep her eyes closed as the light from Soul's magic continued to flow, blinding everypony in the vicinity. The knight then dug her hooves into the ground, keeping herself stable as the wind from the magic kept trying to blow her away. And as a full minute passed, the magic energy around Soul began to slow down, the orb fading around Soul.
Gasping at the sight, Ruby staggered her hooves out of the ground as she looked up, now seeing Soul float down as a light glow covered her body. And as this also faded, her form went limp, causing Ruby to run over and catch her. "Soul?" She exclaimed as she looked the alicorn in her hooves over, seeing she was physically okay, but the look on her face showed one of incredible exhaustion. "Please, say something!" It was then that Soul's eyes began to slowly open, the filly moaning as she looked up at the mare. "Thank Celestia. Are you okay?"
"I...I think so," she mumbled, only to feel a cool breeze around her body. The filly shivered at the tinge of coldness, making her look down, only to go wide-eyed. "Oh no..." She looked back up at Ruby as her wings slumped down to the ground. "You saw, didn't you?"
"Why didn't you tell us the truth?" Ruby asked back, Soul grimacing at the question. However, before anything else could be said, a sudden cracking sound rang out, making both look over at their fallen opponents.
Salix and Wingill were still laying on the ground, but Armalum was trying to pick himself up. And as he did, the crack on his helmet grew larger...only for the crack to split his face guard in two. Both pieces hit the ground, the sound of them ringing out as Ruby's eyes went wide, her heart completely stopping next.
Inside the castle, Ruby's friends were all staring at the pony's face in intrigue. That is, until Springer sensed a spike of fear coming off one of them, making him turn to see Flash stagger back while his hoof automatically clutched the scar on his chest. "Flash? You okay?" The others turned to see the look on Flash's face, all surprised as they saw fear now cover his face.
"No...it can't be!" Flash gasped as he fell onto his flank, "That's...that's impossible! He's dead!"
Cold exchanged glances between Flash and the pony on screen, eventually stopping as he gave Flash an almost glare, "You know this pony?" Flash slowly nodded, not taking his eyes off the screen.
"He's...he's...he's..."
"Sombra," Ruby whispered.
Standing in front of her was the dethroned king of the Crystal Empire, though there were several differences from the last time she had seen him. He wasn't wearing the horned crown on his head, and his green and red eyes were no longer letting out the purple mist from the sides. The thought dead umbrum instead just stood weakly on the ground, staring down at the broken pieces of armor at his hooves.
"I knew it was you," he looked up at Ruby, the knight slowly putting Soul down as she trotted up to him, "I knew it was you under that armor, you monster!" She then spun a crystal sword in her hoof before growling, "Sombra...I don't know how you came back but-"
"I told you, my name is Armalum." he interrupted, "I do not know this Sombra you speak of." Ruby's eyes narrowed as she continued to walk up to him, only for his legs to suddenly give out, "Augh!" He flinched as his body began to turn to dust, Wingill and Salix doing the same.
But as he vanished, the metal pieces of his armor began to melt as well. They turned into a pile of purple goop, which slowly began to slide along the ground until it reached Sombra. When it came in contact with his hoof armor, it began to be absorbed into the metal, only the sludge to go up his body and cover his head. Ruby gasped as his face disappeared, a new helmet solidifying as it slowly reformed around Sombra's head.
The Crystal Knight could only stare as the helmet was completely reforged, only for his body to disappear into dust. "No! Come back here!" she roared as she tried to charge at them, but found she was too late. "Augh!" she growled, now coming to a stop before turning to Soul.
"You okay?" Soul asked, Ruby shaking her head in response.
"No. But that's okay." Ruby then picked up the filly in her magic, placing her on her back. "Come on, We still have to find the-" her words came to an abrupt stop next as a pillar of light exploded from a few streets away.
Ruby and Soul turned to the stare at the light, Ruby taking a slight defensive stance, only to see the pillar curve and turn to them. Both flinched at the brightness, the light fading a few seconds later as they reopened their eyes...only to see the orb now floating in front of them.
The duo now blinking at the sight, Ruby tilted her head as she asked herself, "Why is the...oh." She turned back to Soul, "Guess if there's nopony to fight, no point in searching for the orb, huh?"
"Guess so." Soul replied before Ruby trotted over and touched the orb, a bright now engulfing them before it teleported her and Soul away.
"HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?!" Shadow roared, his voice echoing through the castle as he and the rest of his followers stood in their recovery room.
Both Wingill and Salix were in the tubes, their bodies covered in burns and bruises while Armalum stood outside. His body still in tact unlike the others, he was now getting the full brunt of his master's anger.
"You allowed a child, A FILLY, to defeat you!"
"I am sorry my master," the armored pony replied as he bowed, "I have no words of explanation or excuse. All I can say is that I will not fail you again."
"Make sure you won't! I will not allow such a pathetic display to happen in front of me!" Shadow screeched as he continued to growl, turning away next as he went back onto his throne.
As he did this, the others all exchange glances, Storm speaking up first, "That filly could pose a problem. With my own experiences with Princess Celestia, I can tell you that an alicorn, even a young one, should not be taken likely."
"He's right master," Tempera added as she turned to Shadow with a giant frown, "You saw what happened when she let loose. By the looks of things, that was just an accident. What if she learns to summon that power on command?"
"Oh please Tempera, that kind of control takes years to achieve," Terror chimed in, "I doubt we'll be here that long. All we need to do is focus on taking her down before she can learn it."
"We can't take her down," Storm replied, "Whenever somepony is close to death, they get teleported into one of these tubes. We're all immortal here."
Shadow let out a long hiss as he slumped over in his throne, the words of his minions going through his head before speaking up, "Listen up!" The others turned to him, all bowing as he continued, "When the time comes, I will deal with her myself. She may be young, but today she showed just how powerful she truly is. That power is something only I should be allowed to have...so when we finally meet, I will take that power for myself." He then got up and headed to the door, "I'm going to bed. The rest of you should rest as well. There's no telling which of us will be selected tomorrow, and who it is we'll be fighting." They all nodded within their bow, the group then following him to their rooms.
Meanwhile...
Flash and his friends were not in good shape at the moment. As soon as Ruby and Soul returned, Soul immediately ran out of the room with Heart chasing after her. Knowing they shouldn't demand anything from the frightened filly, they decided to all stare Ruby, the mare taking a seat in silence.
That is, till Cold spoke up, "How long have you known?"
Ruby didn't respond, just closing her eyes as she stared down at the table. Seeing this, Flash shook his head and said, "Ruby...I know more than anypony in this room what Sombra means to you." Flash clutched his chest as he kept panting, still feeling the pain from the battle, "Please. Please tell us."
"I...I know. I'm sorry." Ruby muttered out, her eyes still staring at the table, "I....I didn't know for sure it was him, but...but it was during my last battle with him."
The Second Match...
"Augh!" He cried as he staggered backward, this time summoning another magic shield as Ruby hit with her hoof. Making a crack with the barrier, she summoned another crystal blade and cut the shield in two, only to come to a stop.
She did slight pants as she watched Armalum halt himself, his hoof rubbing his helmet as a crack began to form. And as it grew, it split into a Y formation that continued around his right eye, only for it pop off. Ruby's eyes went wide as she saw Armalum lowered himself to pick up the broken piece, a low growl coming from his mouth.
"Impossible," Ruby whispered, her eyes twitching as she began to backpedal.
Looking into the newly formed hole of the helmet, she saw something that made her entire body freeze up. An eye. A red and green eye that she had only ever seen one pony have. The purple mist wasn't there, but the grey fur around it was a dead giveaway.
"Sombra?"
Armalum just blinked at her, tilting his head, "Who's Sombra?"
The Present...
"Ruby...no offense, but why didn't you tell us?" Flash asked while now rubbing the side of her head, "Even if you weren't sure, you should have let us know your suspicions. Especially me." He pointed back to his chest, "You know why I have this scar."
"I know. I'm...I'm really sorry Flash," Ruby replied, still not making eye contact with anyone, "I guess...I guess I didn't want anypony to get involved. Sombra is my problem."
"Except he isn't," Trixie instantly chimed in, "We're all involved in this Ruby, even if you've been the only one to fight him the last two times."
Soarin nodded in agreement, "But there's no way that's gonna keep happening. Eventually, he's gonna get picked to fight and you won't be there."
"I know that!" Ruby barked back, only to let out a long sigh, "It's just...Sombra took so much from me. It's been hard, but I've managed to make a new life for me in this time period....and I just don't want to lose it to him again."
The others exchanged glances, frowns and pained faces all around before Springer walked up and patted Ruby's shoulder, "We get it Ruby, but you can't take Sombra down all on your own."
"He's right. You'll need all the help you can get to beat him," Flash added while rubbing his sides, "Only by working together are we gonna make sure what happened to the Crystal Empire doesn't happen again. After all, that's what we did last time."
Ruby chuckled at his words as she finally looked up, now seeing mostly caring looks on everypony's faces. A smile started to form on her face as this happened, making her reply, "Thank you. All of you."
The others smiled back before Trixie spoke up, "That being said, what I'd like to know is how the heck did Sombra survive?" She turned to Flash, "You said the Crystal Heart destroyed him."
"That's what we saw." Flash grumbled, "Though uh...I was only half awake when it happened."
"The entire Crystal Empire saw it," Ruby added, "Everypony confirmed that he did explode into a billion pieces." She let out another sigh, "But there's things about Sombra we don't know about. He's an umbrum, a species of creature we have zero information on. Something must have happened when he was destroyed that allowed him to come back."
"Or it wasn't even him who did it," Cold spoke up, "Remember what Wingill said and what he managed to do."
Soarin turned to him, "You mean the water control thing?"
Cold nodded back, "He said Shadow was the one that gave him to power to do that. If Shadow is willing to experiment on his own minions, it's possible he'll do anything to anypony."
"You're saying you think Shadow recreated Sombra?" Trixie asked, "Why?"
"To have a powerful minion on his side. If what the reports say on Sombra says is true, Shadow likely wanted that power for himself...so he found a way to revive him."
"And maybe that armor is meant to control him," Springer chimed in while turning to Ruby. "Armalum said he didn't know his name was Sombra. What if he wasn't lying?"
Ruby raised an eyebrow at this, "You think the armor is keeping him from remembering who he really is?"
Trixie crossed her hooves and tilted her head as she replied, "It's possible. It would explain why the armor repaired itself so quickly. If he's out of it too long, maybe Sombra will start to remember who he is."
As she said that, the door opened, Cold turning to it as he spoke up, "That's a theory to be tested for another day," The knight glared at a certain colt named Heart walk in, only to see Soul's hear peer into the room, "Right now, we have another newly uncovered fact we need to discuss. Soul?"
The filly did a long gulp before slowly walking into the room. She was now dressed in an almost perfect copy of her former jumper, only now it had holes in the side that allowed her wings to poke out. "H-h-hello everypony."
Cold opened his mouth, only for Flash to hop in front of him, "Soul...I know this is hard for you, but we need to know why. Why didn't you tell us the truth? You being an alicorn is big. We needed to know this."
"I...I'm sorry," Soul whispered while looking down at her hooves. "I-I-I know being an alicorn is important. T-t-that's why I hid it."
This made everypony raise an eyebrow, only for Heart to speak up, "When uh...when you all first came here, we were scared you'd do something bad when you found out Soul was an alicorn. For all we knew, you'd kidnap her to do something horrible."
"We wouldn't do that," Springer instantly replied, only for Flash to look back at him.
"But they didn't know that," Flash countered before turning back to Soul. "And...you're absolutely right. This was your secret, and it was your right to or not to tell anypony. I mean, look at who we're fighting! I could see them being kidnappers." Everypony sighed and nodded at this, Flash not looking back at the group as he kept staring at Soul, "So, we won't hold it against you. We understand why you did this."
Soul gasped at this, putting a hoof up to her mouth. A smile started to form on her face as she replied, "Well...now that everypony knows, I just have one thing to say." She spread her wings and shot into the air, "I missed flying so much!" They watched her do several flips with ease, a huge grin now on her face.
"Wow," Trixie whistled, "She's good."
Heart nodded in agreement, "She's always been the better flyer. Too bad she can't control her new magic the same way."
Everpony turned to the colt at that statement, "Wait, what?" Flash then pointed at Soul, "You're saying she wasn't always an alicorn?"
"Nope," Heart replied while shaking his head. And as he said this, Soul landed right by his side, "Up until two weeks ago, she was a pegasus like me."
Soul nodded at this, now speaking up, "It happened completely out of nowhere. One day, Heart and I were playing tag and Heart was it. I ran on the ground because I knew he'd think I would be in the air. So, I was running as fast as I could, not really looking where I was going....but then the floor collapsed under me. I felt myself fall and after that...I don't really remember what happened. Everything just went black."
The ponies and Springer all blinked at the explanation, Heart then chiming in, "I know what you're thinking. I was looking for Soul when suddenly, a massive beam of light shot into the air." He started waving his hooves around, "It was like when you all get those orbs, but even bigger! But uh...it then disappeared, so I decided to see what the pillar of light was, but when I got there, all I found was Soul laying on the ground with um...something new on her."
Soul did a small nod, "The next thing I know, I'm waking up in our house and I have...this." She gestured to her horn, which sparked with golden light.
"That's quite a story," Cold replied before he tilted his head, "Wait...did you say two weeks ago?"
Soul rubbed her chin in thought, "Well...two and a half weeks ago."
Cold turned to Flash, "Your dream."
Flash's eyes slowly grew large, the young ponies nodding in unison at the same time. "Yeah..." Heart rubbed the back of his head, "We uh...when you told us about that, we figured it might be about the same thing."
Soarin raised an eyebrow at this, "Am I missing something?"
Cold turned to him with a deadpan stare, "Two and a half weeks ago. That was when we left Equestria, right after Flash-"
"Had a dream about coming here," Springer finished. "No way!"
Cold did a slow nod, "Flash had a dream telling him to come here the same day Soul is transformed into an alicorn by an unknown force."
"We don't know for sure it happened in the same day," Soarin countered.
"I'm willing to bet it did," Cold replied, "In my job, coincidence doesn't exist. There's definitely a connection between these two events."
Everypony exchanged glances at this, Springer speaking up next, "So...what do we do now?"
Ruby turned to Soul, "Obviously, we need to focus on teaching Soul to control her magic. There's no doubt in my mind she'll likely be called again. When that happens, the enemy will be going for her." Soul eeped at hearing this, leaping behind her brother.
"Whoa, hang on there!" Flash chimed in, "Soul, we're not gonna let that happen. We won't let them get you-"
"We might not have a choice." Ruby interrupted, "No offense, but if what happened to you today happens again, Soul might find herself alone against Shadow and the others. I don't like the sound of that either, but it's a good possibility. We have to prepare for that eventuality, and teach her what we can."
"B-b-but I don't wanna hurt anypony," Soul whimpered before feeling a hoof on her shoulder.
"Nopony does," Trixie told her as the alicorn looked up at her, "But it's like I told you before, we don't really have a choice. These ponies aren't gonna listen to reason. Flash already tried that and failed." The pegasus nodded with a long sigh. "Our only hope is to beat them, and unfortunately, that'll mean fighting."
Soul shrunk down, her wings folding as she felt Heart put his right wing around his body. A frown was fully on her face, her body shivering like a leaf. But despite this, she looked up at the others, seeing nothing but kind smiles. And as she saw this, she turned to back to Trixie and nodded, "O-o-okay. I'll do it."
Everypony's smiles grew at this, Flash pumping his hooves, "Alright! And don't worry, we'll be sure to keep you safe no matter what." But as he said this, he suddenly flinched as his entire body screamed in pain. "Gyah!" He fell onto his flank, everypony now remembering his injuries.
"Oh dear. Come on you," Trixie helped him to his hooves. "You need to get back in the tube."
"What?! Why?!" Flash asked with a pout, "I'm fine. These wounds will heal fine on their own. I don't need to go back in that tube."
"You're going in it," Cold added as he walked up to him, "No arguments."
"Don't make us drag you there," Soarin finished.
Flash stared at the group, only to sigh, "fine." Everypony began to make their way to the recovery room, Trixie and Soarin helping keep Flash up until they got there. As they did, Soul flew in front of Flash and hovered backward with a giant frown. "I'm sorry Flash. This is all my fault."
The defender rolled his eyes at this, "Don't be silly Soul. Did you throw a massive fireball at me?"
"No...but you only got hurt because you were protecting me."
"Well, what was I supposed to do? Let you get burnt? No filly should have to suffer through that. I did what any decent pony would do for any colt of filly. Right everypony?" The older ponies all nodded in agreement as he put a hoof to Soul's cheek, "So don't worry about what happened. I'm fine."
"Okay..." Soul muttered as she did a small nod. "Thanks Flash."
Getting inside the tube, Trixie closed the door as gas began to fill up the container, "Alright you, stay in there until you're completely recovered, even if it means you miss the next battle tomorrow."
Flash huffed as he laid back, "Alright mom." Trixie rolled her eyes before turning to leave, Cold and Ruby following behind her while Springer turned to the younger ponies.
"We should leave him to relax."
Heart looked back at Flash, "But isn't he gonna be bored?"
"He'll be fine," Soarin assured him while patting his back, "He should really be sleeping anyway. It'll make this whole process way easier. Now come on, why don't you both show me some of your flying skills? Maybe I'll teach you a few Wonderbolt tricks." Both of them gasped before flying out the room, leaving just Flash and Springer.
"See you tomorrow," the jakhowl saluted before heading off.
"See ya buddy."
And as Springer left, Flash laid back, his brain telling his body to go to sleep. The slumber was a type of dreamless sleep, one that only ever came about once in a blue moon. And as he did this, Flash found himself simply floating in a lake of calm without a care in the world.
However, as he did this, a flurry of sounds began to fill the air. The rustling of leaves in the wind, the chirping of birds and the gentle rushing of water in the stream. The defender opened his eyes to the noise, his brain accelerating as he felt something new beneath him. Grass.
He sat up, his eyes glancing around as he saw he was in some kind of field, "What the..." He turned to see a giant flowing lake, which the other side had a large forest. "Where am I?" He took to the skies, now looking over the forest and spotting a town a mile or so across the river. The defender glared at the town, about to go after it, only to hear...laughter.
Looking back down, he now saw a bunch of kids running through the tall grass of the field on the other side of the river. Pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns were all racing through, appearing to playing tag or some other game. Flash chuckled at the sight, flapping down in front of them as he said, "Hey there! Can you tell me where I-" He froze mid-sentence as he landed, only for a filly ran at him...and go through his body like a ghost. The pegasi didn't respond, two more colts doing the same thing without acknowledging he was there.
"Oh no...not this again." Flash muttered as he stared at his hooves, "Is this some past thing or a dream?"
His question went unanswered as he then heard the young ponies laugh, all of them turning back in his direction, "Gleaming Path!" The filly called out, "Come on! You're holding us back!"
"I'm coming!" A voice from behind Flash called out, the knight spinning around to see a new pony running up. The defender blinked at the incoming colt, seeing he was a dark gray unicorn with red eyes, mane and tail, along with a blank flank.
Flash stepped aside as the colt ran past him, joining the rest as they reached the water. There, they started skimming rocks across the river, most bouncing two or three times. But as this happened, the colt named Gleaming Path skimmed his stone and it bounced six, seven, eight times before finally sinking. The rest of the group gasped at this as Path pulled another stone out of the water, rubbing his hoof over it before flicking it, this time the stone bouncing ten times.
"That's awesome!" The filly cheered, "How'd you get it to bounce that much?!"
"My dad taught me," the unicorn pulled another rock out of the water. "It's all about the rock you pick. Only the very smoothest, flattest of them will bounce the way you want it too. Here," he handed it to her, "try it with this one." She took it and mirrored Path's movement before flicking the stone, getting it to bounce a good six times before it sank. "See?" The rest of the kids started following his instructions, most having their rocks bounce up to seven times.
Flash wasn't sure how long he stood there watching the foals play, but by the time they stopped, the sun was getting close to the horizon. "Oops," Path yelped as he saw the sun, "We should probably get home! My mom'll kill me if I'm late for dinner!" The rest of the kids moaned and nodded, the group now walking back to the little town. Flash took to the air and followed, hovering over them with crossed hooves.
And as a few minutes passed, Flash saw a sign that had the name of the town: Weeping Wood Hollow.
"Huh." Flash commented as he stared at the sign, only to look back at the village. He rubbed his chin as he stared at the town, noticing how similar is was to Ponyville. The houses looked almost identical to the standard house designs, though there were some slightly different structures like towers and two houses that were joined together by a stone bridge. He then spotted a bakery, library, town hall and even a decent looking school. The sight made him let out a small hum, "Not a bad place...talk about super peaceful."
Flash then saw the kids begin to split up, all heading off in different directions. But before he could choose one to follow, the pegasi found himself being pulled in the same direction as Gleaming Path. The colt got up to a one of the more uniformed houses, the pony throwing the doors open. Flash floated inside as the colt trotted inside, Flash now seeing an average living room with beige colored walls that was covered in multiple photos. Each photo showed Path with two other unicorns, one being a stallion that had the same gray fur as him, though his main and tail were an aqua blue. The other was a yellow mare with a red mane and tail.
Hundreds of photos covered the wall, all showing Path and the two at different stages of the colt's life. And not one picture showed him with anything other than the biggest of smiles on his lips. The sight made Flash chuckle, a smile appearing on his face, "He sure is one happy kid."
"Path!" He heard a female voice announce from another room, Flash following the sound to see the colt hugging the mare in the photo. Path pulled away and leapt up onto a table side chair as his mother placed a plate of spaghetti hoops in front of him, the colt licking his lips before digging in.
"Where's dad?" He asked with a full mouth, the mare laughing at the sight of a spaghetti string hanging from his lips.
"He was helping Rush fix the hole in his roof. He shouldn't be too long."
As if on cue, the door opened and shut as a stallion yelled, "I'm home!" they both turned to the pony, the unicorn walking up to the mare and kissing her cheek before sitting down next to the colt and ruffling his hair. "Hey there! Have a fun day squirt?"
"The best," Path cheered, "We went stone skimming and I showed everypony those tricks you taught me. It was awesome! They hung on my every word!"
The stallion laughed at this, "Well, I'm glad I could help."
The mare then returned with two more plates of spaghetti as the colt spoke up, "Hey, I have an idea! You know my birthday's coming up next week, right?" Flash noticed the adult ponies tense up for a second, only for Path to continue talking, "Well, can the party be in the fields next to the river? If we do that, we can show my friends the tricks you showed me! You're so much better at explaining it."
Flash watched as the two glanced at one another, only to give him two small smiles. "We'll talk about it," the mother replied before pointing at Path's now empty plate, "Wash your plate and head upstairs. We'll be up soon to run you a bath."
"Can we read a story together?" The colt asked with a wagging tail.
"Sure," the stallion responded as he patted Path's head again, "As long as you don't kick up a fuss when it's time to wash your mane." Path grumbled at this, talking his plate to the sink. And as he washed the plate before leaving, everything suddenly froze around Flash.
"Huh?" the knight said as he walked in front of Path, then looking back at the parents. There were big frowns on their faces, making the defender blink, "What is going on?" He looked back at the colt one more time, his eyes squinting as he stared at the foal.
And as he did this, his eyes suddenly went wide. He turned to the pictures, looking over each before staring back at the colt. He then leaned down, his jaw slowly dropping as he noticed how familiar the colt's body was now, despite it not having the scars of the future.
"Shadow?"
Shadow couldn't keep a disgusted look off his face as he stared at the situation in front of him. One moment ago, he had been asleep in his room. The next thing he knew, he was now in the city of Canterlot, the sight enraging him. He quickly started to summon his magic, his horn sparking as he prepared to twist his surroundings....only for a mare to suddenly run through him.
It had been several minutes since then, the ghost-like experience annoying him as he found an unknown force pull him toward a park. There, he found a little filly being bullied by three others, which confused him as to why that would be important. That is, till a certain orange pegasi colt flew into the scenario, trying to save the filly.
"Sentry," he growled as he now saw the two run and hide in some bushes, "What trickery is this?! Is this your doing, or whomever is deciding to make me play this disgusting game?!"
He then saw Flash and the filly run up to a treehouse to avoid the rain. They began to talk, but their words fell on deaf ears as Shadow just grit his teeth with horn glowing. "Why does this matter?! Why am I seeing this?!" he barked, only to see the world suddenly speed up, his form now right in front of Twilight's parents as they first met Flash.
And as smiles appeared on every face, the world around Shadow went black, the unicorn growling as his head shot up out of the bed. "Raugh!" he grumbled, feeling the covers slowly slip under his hooves. He put his hoof to his face next, muttering, "Ugh...what is happening to me?"
"Master?" asked a voice beside him, Shadow not looking at the owner as they put a hoof on his side, "Are you okay?"
"No Tempera." Shadow as he laid back down, "I had a dream...and yet, I know it wasn't."
The next morning...
Flash's eyes shot open as the tube released a pillar of gas. Moaning at the sight, the pegasi pushed the container's door open while rubbing his head, "Shadow...was that real?" he whispered as he headed for the door, "Ugh...why is everything a question right now?"
He then got to the dining room, now seeing all his friends eating different foods. Springer turned to him first, hopping out of his seat as he said, "Flash, you're awake! How you feeling?"
"Great," Flash replied as he moved over to the cupboard. "Those tubes really do the job." He pulled out a stack of pancakes next as the continued, "So how did the training go?" He turned to Soul, only for the filly to shrink in her seat with a giant frown, "Not well?"
"It wasn't as...fruitful as we had hoped," Trixie replied with a small sigh.
"Alright..." Ruby pulled an apple out of the cupboard and placed it in front of the filly "Let's try this again."
"Do we have too?" Soul asked with a bit of whine in her voice.
"Yes," Ruby nodded before pulling Soul's plate away. "You still hungry?" Soul nodded back, "Then feed yourself. Lift the apple and put it to your mouth." Soul sighed before closing her eyes, her horn beginning to glow along with the apple. The piece of fruit slowly wobbled, levitating just a centimeter above the ground...only to hit the table again.
"Focus," Ruby told her as the magic aura vanished around the food.
"I am focusing," Soul grunted, her horn sparking again, slowly lifting off the table again. But as Soul opened her eyes and saw it hovering, she gasped, making the glow vanish before it fell yet again.
Ruby shook her head at this, "Soul, you can't be afraid of your power. If you get scared every time you use it, then you'll never learn to control it....and if you don't control it, it will eventually control you."
"I know I need to learn to control it..." Soul moaned as she looked away, "But...but every time I try, I...I remember."
"Remember what?" Soarin asked, only to see Soul's gaze shift over to Heart for a faint second. The colt looked away, the two trying to not make eye contact.
Everypony exchanging glances at this, Flash then chimed in, "Alright...what happened you two?" The foals turned to him, gulping as he continued, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. But, if you want to help you, you need to tell us everything."
The two sighed, Heart choosing to speak up first, "Well...uh...you see, it started right after Soul woke up as an alicorn."
Two weeks ago...
"AAAAAHHHH!" The filly screamed after looking at herself in the mirror, "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"
"Err..." Heart slightly backpedaled from his sister while scratching the back of his head, "I don't think those things are meant to come off."
"It has too!" Soul screeched as she reached up and grabbed her horn. "I can't have a horn! I'm not an alicorn!" She started pulling at it, only for pain to keep straining her head. "Aaaah!"
"Will you cut it out!" Heart yelled as he flew over and grabbed her hooves, "That's not gonna work!"
"But I can't be this! I don't wanna be this!"
"But you are now!" Heart barked back, Soul about to counter, only for her brother to put his hoof on her mouth, "I know you're panicking and don't know what to do, but...well, we might just have to face facts. You're an alicorn now."
Soul pushed his hoof away, "B-b-but...I can't be that! I'm not that! I'm...I'm...why did this happen to me?!"
"I...I don't know why sis." Heart replied as he put his wing around her, "I know I already asked, but are you sure you don't remember anything when became an alicorn?" Soul shook her head, making Heart sigh, "Darn it...well, maybe it'll come back to you in time. Until then, let's enjoy these new unlimited possibilities."
"Possibilities?"
"Yeah! You have a horn now!" he pointed at the newly grown appendage. "That means you can do magic! Come on," he pulled her outside before lining a bunch of cans on a nearby wall. "Now...blast 'em!" Soul slowly turned and gave him an 'are you serious' look. "What? You gotta learn to use it somehow. So start blasting."
Soul sighed while rolling her eyes, now turning to the cans before closing her eyes and grunting, the horn on her head sparking with light. Heart watched with a wagging tail...only to see the horn stop glowing. "What's wrong?"
"It's not working." She panted, shaking her head. "It hurts."
"Soul..." Heart's ears flopped over before patting her shoulder, "Sis, you gotta learn this." Heart pointed at the cans again, "Now hit'em! Come on, I know you can do this!" Soul looked up at the expectant look on her brother's face, making her sigh before closing her eyes again. The light began to appear around her horn, growing brighter and brighter within seconds. "That's it! Let it build and...let it fly!" The light shot off Soul's horn and flew at the cans, only to fly right past them and hit a nearby wall. "Oops."
Soul opened her eyes next, now seeing she had missed. Before she could say anything, Heart spoke up, "Relax. Practice makes perfect."
"I guess..." As Soul replied, only for her horn to spark again, "Huh?" She looked up at the horn, now feeling a surge through her head as it kept glowing...and glowing. The magic streamed through her horn, now feeling spark flying off her body as golden pieces of magic fall out, "Gyah!" She screamed, holding her head. "I can't turn it off!" A large lightning bolt then shot out of her horn, hitting the ground while carving a large groove and almost striking Heart.
"Whoa!" He yelped as he jumped back, only to see a light now come out of Soul's horn and form a dome around her, "SOUL!" he screamed, charging at her, only for a bolt to fly out and hit his hoof, "Augh!" He pulled back, clutching his limb as he saw the fur now turn burnt black.
Soul gasped as she saw her brother get hurt, her fear now consuming her as lightning began to surge around her. "No..." she whispered as she began to clutch her head, "NO!" She shut her eyes as tears began to pour down her face.
"Soul!" Heart yelled as he retried to get back to her. "Hang on, I'm coming-"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed, the dome now exploding off of her, the magic now shooting out a wave. Heart only had enough time to gasp before the wave hit him, nothing but a burning pain following the blow.
The Present...
"And uh...I was knocked out after that." Heart finished as he looked back up, now seeing wide-eyes from most of the others.
"Wait, what happened after that?" Trixie asked while pointing at him, "You don't look like you got several third degree burns."
"I...don't know," Heart replied with a shrug, "I woke up in my hammock a few hours later, covered in bandages."
Soul sighed at this, "Yeah...that was me. When I finally came too, I found Heart on the ground with burns all over him. I was scared I'd killed him, so I rushed him back into the house and made some bandages in the cupboard."
"And a few days later, my burns completely vanished!"
"Interesting..." Cold hummed, "You must have been healed by the same thing that's been healing us."
Soul then looked away again, tears about to form in her eyes, "I...I still hurt him though. That's why I'm so scared. You saw what I did to those cultists. What if I lose control again and this time, I hurt all of you?!"
"That won't happen," Ruby told her as she placed a hoof on filly's shoulder, "You've already shown you can control who you target with your magic. After all, you managed to only hit the villains and not me yesterday."
Soul's eyes went wide at this, "Really?!"
Ruby nodded back, "Yes."
"But that's not enough." Trixie chimed in as she walked over to the filly, "Magic is connected to the emotions of the caster. Negative emotions make it harder to control." She leaned down and patted the filly's shoulders, "Soul, as long as you stay calm and think happy thoughts while casting, you'll be okay."
"Really?" Trixie nodded, "A-a-alright. I'll...try again." She turned back to the apple, closing her eyes as she muttered, "Okay. I can do this. I can do this. I...can...do this."
"Heck yeah you can!" Soarin cheered, Flash doing the same.
Meanwhile...
Salix and Wingill had just awakened from the recovery room. It had taken a few minutes after waking up for them to remember what had happened, but only frustration remained when they did. "I can't believe that little squirt turned out to be an alicorn!" Wingill growled as they ate their breakfast. "Next time I see her, I'll drown her in so much water she'll be wrinkled for a month."
"Then I'll dry her off with so much heat, she'll end up three sizes smaller!" Salix barked as he slammed his hoof into the other, an explosion of fire blasting out from between them. "I mean, come on! Losing to a kid is just embarrassing! If we don't set this right, we'll lose all our street cred, and I don't know about you, but street cred's like...the only cred that matters!"
"Well it's not like you're gonna have an easy time getting to her," Terror replied as she sat back in her chair, "Now that we know she's an alicorn, the others will be doing there best to keep her as safe as possible." She spat as she said her next words, "I bet you all my cards that they're planning on making her some kind of disgusting princess as soon as they get back to Equestria."
"None of them are ever going back to Equestria," Shadow roared, everypony freezing before turning to his throne. A low hiss was coming from his mouth as he continued, "Each of them will not leave this city alive. The Wonderbolt and the showmare are of no use to me."
"Though you could probably keep them for experiments," Tempera cackled, "You know, to use as guinea pigs for experiments you aren't sure ponies valuable to you would survive. After all, thanks to that ice making knight, we are kinda running out of test subjects."
"Good point. As for the wolf creature...I'll admit I'm interested in him. Those abilities he has might be useful if I can find a way to replicate them." Shadow added as he scraped his hoof on the throne, "As for the knights...well, they'll make excellent servants."
"What about the filly?" Wingill asked next.
"The filly is mine. Nopony is to touch her until I've gotten what I need from her. After that, she must die just like all other alicorns." Wingill and Salix sighed at the statement, only to hop in their seats as an alarm suddenly went off. Hearing this, Shadow ascended his throne as he said, "It seems its time. Let's end this farce."
In the other castle...
Flash and his friends were now in the map room as the 3D image appeared on the table. The outline appeared around a sector of the city that was only streets, no canals or lakes to be seen. And as the roulette appeared, Soul started to shiver like a leaf. Seeing this, Heart walked up and hugged her with his wings.
"It'll be alright sis."
"B-b-but what if-"
Her words came to a stop as the sound of the first orb rolled out, revealing one with Ruby's cutie mark. The knight let out a long sigh, no words coming out of her mouth before the second orb came out.
"Alright! Looks like I'm up!" Soarin added as he began to stretch out his body. "I'm ready to rock!"
The final orb then flew out, this one showing Trixie's cutie mark. The former showmare gulped, memories of her last match now flowing through her head.
Flash slumped into his chair, biting his lip as he knew he had to see his friends vanish back into battle. He turned to the chosen ponies, nodding as he said, "Good luck." They nodded back before the trio suddenly vanished into thin air, the remaining individuals turning to the map. Flash then leaned over, touching one of the screens as three more dots appeared. And as he saw the chosen enemies, he did a small gulp, "This...could be tricky."
"I'll say," Cold added, the others nodding in agreement.
Three lights shined in the city as a certain trio appeared. As the glow wore off, they got into a battle ready stance as Ruby spoke up, "Be prepared for anything."
"Already am," Trixie replied.
"They won't get us without a fight," Soarin finished, only to turn and see a trio of creatures appear in the sky. One was a winged serpent along with a large black dragon to its left and a giant green mantis-like creature with metal blades for arms.
"Tempera's here!" Ruby yelled as a figure hopped off the mantis, the being throwing a card as a dome appeared around them.
The card came to a stop mid-flight and started spinning, Trixie calling out, "Terror's here too!" As these words left her mouth, the card came to a stop, this time showing the Tower Card right side up.
"LOOK OUT!" Soarin screamed as he grabbed both mares, pushing them away as a lightning bolt struck the ground. An explosion followed this, pushing all three down a street before rolling like barrels. As they did this, the trio quickly came to a stop, spinning before getting back on their hooves while Ruby formed a Crystal Saber.
And as they looked back, they now saw the other creature's passengers, Tempera on the winged serpent while Shadow rode on the black dragon. A long, dead stare was coming from Shadow while Terror just glared at Trixie with a giant confident grin. At the same time, Tempera had her hooves crossed, a half-grin on her face as she looked down on the group.
As for the trio, Ruby, Soarin and Trixie glared back, two horns shining while the third's wings were flared. All were primed for battle, knowing this could be the hardest challenge yet
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*Soul's an alicorn*
Tirek: It's a free estate
Well that was an interesting chapter. The heroes won the battle and now they are tied again, but we have even more questions now. I can wait patiently for the answers to come, but it is still interesting.
We now know for sure that Sombra is the one wearing Armalum's armor, or at least someone that looks like Sombra. The idea that the armor is keeping him under Shadow's control is interesting, but I wonder if it is also giving him fake memories, since he claims he was serving Shadow Corrupter for eight years. Soul explaining a bit more of why she hid being an alicorn was also fun, though the biggest surprise was probably Flash's vision of what I'm guessing is Shadow's past.
The next battle looks good too, but I'm a bit worried for Flash's team again, since not only are they facing some powerful cultist again they are also facing Shadow. Let's hope they can somehow pull out a win.
10205109
Not to be a contrarian, but what if Armalum is not Sombra, what if he was telling Ruby the truth, what if he's only a constructed being made to look like Sombra in his (Armalum) current form?
Don't misunderstand me, I look forward to the return of the king, but we've seen the heroes dismiss things out off hoof before and that has come back to bit them in the flanks, and they didn't even consider the option that he's being honest
Wow, Shadow's minions sure got their flanks handed to them by Soul, still hoping she gets some control on her magic though. Also it was interesting to see some backstory on Shadow, not to mention Sombra's return somewhat (probably as an unwilling pawn if that armor has anything to do with it)
As for this round of highlights :
Talk about one-shot KO's!
*scoffs* like you would have done any better?
Hmmm foreshadowing much???
Yikes, poor Soul, at least we now know why she kept quiet about her true nature!
Sure deluded one, keep telling yourself that!
Personally I don't care who wins this next orb, just as long as Terror gets knocked down a couple pegs by Trixie after what happened last time!!!
Even more questions get thrown in, hopefully will get a few answers soon cause these are sure piling up with each chapter!
Till the next one Banshee!
10205109
Agreed.
You're not going to pull a The Series of Unfortunate Events on us, are you? I don't know anything about the TV series, but the book series ended in one giant question mark literally.
Then again, ending things in question marks doesn't really seem like your style.
So many tragic backgrounds in this chapter. I feel very sad for Soul right now.