The Side Character is a Deer

by Deergenerate

Chapter 42: Golden Light

Derek groaned as he laid in the bottom of his crater. Everything hurt, from the tip of his horn to the bottom of his hooves. With great effort, he pulled himself up on shaky legs. It took much more effort than it should have.

Derek breathed deeply as he tried his best to climb out of the crater, his legs giving out several times. Unfurling his wings, he was greeted with a blast of agony that quickly made him resheath them.

"Broken... definitely broken" Derek groaned, shaking his head. He turned his head to the sky to see Twilight still trying her best to hold out against Sombra. Derek frowned. Closing his eyes he paused to think; "What do I do? What do I do?" He thought, hitting himself on the side of the head with a hoof.

"You look like you're in trouble, buddy," a voice - his voice - suddenly said. Derek whipped around, looking this way and that for a moment before he quickly sighed with realization.

"Auream," he said, frowning slightly.

"The one and only," Auream laughed, then his voice got serious. "No, but seriously, this isn't something you and Twilight can fix. Let me take over, I can get the amulet off him, and then the two of you have a chance at beating him."

"How? Twilight told me the only way to remove that amulet is if the wearer willingly takes it off themselves," Derek asked, looking to the sky as brainwashed ponies started to fly up to join Sombra in the air quickly. He tensed up, many of them were heading right for Twilight.

"I've got my methods. All I need is your permission to use them. And your body," Auream said.

Derek sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, let's do this."

Auream laughed. "Time to save the world again."

Derek blinked, and when his eyes opened again, they were glowing gold.

---

Spike and Johan hesitantly made their way through the streets of the empire, the Platinum Guard following behind them. Thankfully there weren't any of the constructs or enslaved ponies around meaning they were free to walk on the main streets.

They moved in silence for a few moments, until it was broken by a certain dragon.

"So uhh... you got a name?" Spike asked, turning to the Platinum Guard as he rode on Johan's back.

The Guard turned to Spike and nodded. "I am Ka'Rel, loyal servant of the great Kes Thorax." He said. Instantly both Spike and Johan whipped around to stare at him.

Jelen's voice ripped through Johan's mind. "It can't be Ka'Rel..." Johan frowned. Looks like he had some more questions for his unwilling mental roommate.

"Thorax?!" Spike asked, his jaw dropping. "What do you mean you're a servant of Thorax?"

"It is rather self-explanatory. Kes Thorax's subjects found me in my stasis pod outside his hive. With my former master... unavailable, I have pledged my services to him. Though most of that service has been mostly sitting inside a prison cell while he figures out what to do with me. Admittedly he also never explained to me what he was the god of, so I am rather confused with his leadership structure," the guard explained as he kept his eyes out for any threats spilling into the empty street, his weapon at the ready.

Spike laughed. "Thorax isn't a god..." he chuckled, waving a hand through the air.

Ka'Rel merely stared at him in response. "Ignoring the iconoclastic lies you are spewing... you do not use his title? Why?"

"Oh, me and Thorax go way back, you could even say we are best friends," Spike said, a dumb smile coming to his face.

"Ah, so you are one of his Kesbanu? I will be sure to keep you doubly safe then, on top of the deer." Ka'Rel responded.

"Kesbanu?" Spike and Johan asked in unison.

"That means consort," Jelen said in Johan's mind. "Not a very flattering title."

Johan quickly blushed in response. Awkward silence reigned for a moment before suddenly the sound of metal slamming on crystal caught their attention.

All three of the creatures whipped around at once as a shadow of an equine started walking towards them. Ka'Rel instantly drew his halberd, stepping forward.

"Behind me," he ordered, crossing the weapon in front of his chest. Johan quickly did as ordered, and Spike, attached to him as he was, did the same.

The shadow continued towards them before a pony turned the corner of an alleyway, a dark smile on his face. "Ah... what do we have here?" he said as he stomped forward. It was a dark grey unicorn with a blade-like red horn. He was wearing a suit of dark grey armor with a red cape and a black and red circlet wrapped around his head. His eyes were white with red irises, though as he approached he ignited his horn, black and purple mist starting to surround it. His sclera turned a neon green as his magic activated.

"Sombra..." Spike hissed, holding on tighter to Johan.

Ka'Rel took a step back closer to the two as Sombra approached. "I've been after you for a while now. You've been giving my servants quite the runaround." Sombra said, smirking. "I suppose the age-old adage is true. If you want something done right and all that."

Sombra stepped within a dozen feet of the three, his eyes flashing green. "Now, don't make this hard on yourselves and surrender. I can be quite merciful, believe it or not."

Ka'Rel suddenly pounced, raising his halberd into the air as he closed the distance between himself and Sombra in a mere second. Sombra's eyes widened in surprise, right before Ka'Rel brought the halberd down in a downward swing that cleaved the dark king in half. The two halves separated for a moment as Sombra let out a slight scream.

Ka'Rel quickly pulled back as the two halves of Sombra started to fall away from each other... then they started to laugh.

Sombra smiled at Ka'Rel as he melted into shadow, before quickly recombining into one again.

"That would've really hurt... were I anything more than a projection," Sombra smirked before his eyes widened and his horn activated. Ka'Rel barely had time to take a step back before he was consumed by a blast of dark magic that sent him careening through the air. He landed with a crash in front of his two protectees skidding to a halt at Johan's hooves.

The Platinum Guard struggled to his hooves as Sombra slowly marched forward. With a flick of his head and a small burst of magic from his horn, there was a crackle of darkness as crystal hooves started to rip themselves out of the ground surrounding his targets.

Sombra's smirk darkened as he stared directly at Spike. With a flash of darkness, Spike was grabbed and lifted into the air by a black aura. The dragon cried out in fear, kicking his legs through the air. Johan watched in horror as Spike was removed from his back. He quickly turned and tried to catch the drake, but Spike was ripped further into the air away from Johan's grasp.

"Don't think I forgot about you dragon," Sombra hissed before he raised Spike further into the air and slammed him directly on the ground in-between himself and his other enemies, knocking the air out of the poor drake.

"Leave him alone!" Johan roared suddenly, raising his antlers. He brought them down quickly, blasting a lightning bolt directly at Sombra's head.

The bolt flew true, striking Sombra in the face who gave a sudden scream of pain, stumbling back.

Sombra caught himself after a moment of struggle. He snarled like an animal as he stared down Johan.

"Deal with him," he suddenly ordered, gesturing to the golems who had formed a circle around Johan, Ka'Rel and Spike.

Johan's eyes widened for a moment, before he was pounced by two of the constructs, who quickly dragged him to the ground, slamming his head down into the crystal pavement.

"Now then, back to you," Sombra said, turning to stare down Spike, who was trying his best to pull himself up. Sombra's horn crackled to life as he stared down at Spike, he paused to lick his teeth. "I have no use for a dragon as small as you, especially not one so involved in my former defeat. As such..."

Ka'Rel quickly sprung up as Sombra flicked his horn and blasted a wave of dark magic towards Spike.

"No!" Johan cried, reaching out towards his friend.

Ka'Rel himself quickly rushed forwards, jumping in front of Spike. The Platinum Guard took the full force of the blast to the chest and was once again propelled through the air backward, slamming into Spike.

The two went flying like ragdolls, sailing over Johan's head before smashing into the building behind him. There was a loud crack as the wall gave way, before the building collapsed downwards, burying both in rubble.

"Spike!" Johan cried, struggling as the golems held him down on the ground. He couldn't free himself from their stone-hard grasp, and he was pressed even further into the ground. His hooves scrapped and scratched themselves on the ground.

"Now then, as for the deer," Sombra said, grabbing Johan by the shoulder. The two constructs holding him down both took a step away from him as Sombra took over the role of holding the deer down. "I have need of you, Jelen."

Johan growled, his antlers activating. With a single movement, he shot a lightning bolt directly towards Sombra's face. This time however the dark king was prepared. A shield of neon green surrounded him for a moment, the lightning harmlessly dissipating against it, like nothing happened.

"Don't try to fight, it will only make things harder for you," Sombra hissed darkly, before he raised his horn. Black energy formed in the air next to him, before solidifying into a helmet, this one slightly smaller than the others, with two holes at the top and a latch at the back.

Johan quickly realized what that meant.

"S-stop!" He cried, trying to squirm away from the dark king. Sombra merely smirked, unlatching the helmet, before he lowered it towards Johan's head. Johan barely had time to let out a cry of panic before Sombra latched the helmet around his head and stepped back.

The deer quickly brought his hooves up, clawing at the helmet as he was submerged in complete darkness. Then the eyes flashed green.

---

Twilight turned to Sombra, her eyes glowing white as she summoned the full strength of her alicorn magic.

"How dare you!" She roared, purple magic crackling through the air around her as she summoned up her full strength. Even as she did, Sombra merely stared down at her and smiled.

Twilight growled before she shot toward Sombra at full speed, purple flames igniting around her. Just then however she was struck from behind by a turquoise beam of magic that made her stop. She almost fell out of the sky, but she managed to catch herself. She quickly whipped around wide-eyed to see Cadance and a unit of crystal guards flying toward her at full speed.

"Cadance wait-" Twilight started, but she was interrupted when the other alicorn tackled her out of the air. The two sailed towards the ground, at high speed. Just before she hit the ground Twilight grimaced and activated her horn. With a flash of white light, she teleported herself away from Cadance. She fell for a moment, then caught herself with a flap of her wings.

Twilight quickly spun around getting a grasp of her surroundings. She was in the air just above the Crystal Palace. She paused to catch her breath; to form a plan on what to do, but before she could do much thinking a blast of magic struck her in the back, this time purple in color. She whipped back around and stared down at the palace to see Shining Armor at the head of a large force of unicorns. The unicorns all raised their horns at once and fired a wave of magical beams at her in unison.

Twilight's eyes widened as she raised a shield around herself. It took the full force of the magic spells, cracking in places as Twilight was propelled backward through the air towards Sombra, who merely laughed and clapped his hooves together.

"Ah, this is better than the theatre," he guffawed as Cadance and the pegasus guards joined him in the air, staring down at Twilight as she struggled to hold her own against her family and friends. "I might just have them kill you, alicorn. Just so they have to live with that if they ever escape my control."

Twilight cried out in exertion as her shield started to crack and buckle in on itself, cracks forming through it like a shattered windowpane.

Sombra cocked his head to the side and smirked, a helmet forming in the air next to him. "Then again, having three alicorn slaves is better than two," he said, rubbing his chin as a wicked smile covered his face. He started to walk through the sky closer to her.

He slowly raised the helmet into the air as he closed in on Twilight's shield. Just as her shield was about to shatter, however, there was a sudden golden flash behind Sombra. The king's eyes widened for but a moment as he turned to look as Derek... or Auream, appeared behind him. A smile on his face as he raised a hoof. Everything went in slow motion for Sombra as the hoof was surrounded by golden light, then Auream brought it down directly on top of Sombra's head.

The dark king let out a scream of pain as he was suddenly smashed towards the ground at high speeds. He was consumed in golden light that burned at his flesh before he hit the crystal street. He skidded along the ground for several meters, making a long crater as he did, before he came to a stop when he slammed into the side of a building, which instantly collapsed around him.

Twilight paused, turning back to look as Auream hovered in the air for a moment. The alicorn stared back at her before smirking.

"Don't worry, the cavalry's here" he said, before his horn activated and a blast of light exploded in all directions. Sombra's slaves in the air and on the ground near the palace all averted their eyes to look away and hiss.

Auream then turned in the direction of the ground and smirked, staring down at the crater Sombra created in his fall.

"Think you can hold back Sombra's army for me?" He asked turning back to the purple alicorn.

Twilight stared in shock at him for a moment, before she shook her head to collect herself.

"Right," She nodded. "Yes, yes I can hold them off."

Auream punched a hoof into another, "Good. I'll focus on getting that amulet off Sombra."

Then he took off, leaving a golden streak in the air behind him as he shot toward Sombra at near supersonic speeds.

---

Sombra roared out in anger as he sprung to his feet, the rubble being propelled away from him in all directions as he scanned for whatever pleb it was that knocked him from the sky.

Just then, there was a boom of magic in front of him that almost knocked him back. His hooves dug into the ground as wind blasted over him. He lowered his head slightly and let out a loud hiss as the creature that made the boom came into focus.

Standing in a much smaller crater, created from his landing, was Auream. His eyes were glowing a bright golden, the same color as his horn as he stared down Sombra with a smirk.

"You know, it's kinda funny Sombra," Auream said with a smile as he walked towards the king, magic emanating off him like an aura. "You got your hooves on a little amulet and you suddenly think you are on the same level as a true alicorn? If what you said about serving my big brother is true, you know that will never be the case."

Sombra hissed and shot up, dark mist and green light surrounding his horn for a moment. He threw his horn back before launching it directly at Auream.

The alicorn in question merely sidestepped the beam, which sailed past his head and struck the Crystal Palace in the distance.

"Touched a nerve have I?" Auream chuckled darkly as he started walking towards Sombra, head held low. "Let me lay something on you, Unicorn. As much as I love Twilight's attempts she isn't even scratching the surface of true alicorn magic. Beating her and Cadance? Not really much of an accomplishment."

Sombra snarled and threw another blast of magic at Auream. This time Auream's horn glowed as a blade of hard magic grew out of it. With a single movement of his head, he slapped the beam of dark magic aside, smashing it into a building to his side.

"Now then, let me show you what a true alicorn is capable of," Auream said with a smile before he suddenly shot forward faster than Sombra could track. The dark unicorn could only raise a wall of crystal before Auream's sword could stab him, the blade digging through the crystal like a hot knife through butter. Auream quickly passed through the wall before jumping into the air, bringing the blade down towards Sombra's head.

Sombra's eyes widened, as he turned himself back into shadows. The shadows shivered as the blade cut through his body before they quickly started to scatter in all directions.

Auream saw this and smiled, raising his head into the air. His horn flashed with a blast of all-encompassing light, which made the shadows all scream. The shadows shivered and quivered as they all painstakingly made their way through the light like it was acid. They were all heading to the same spot, several meters away from Auream.

They slowly all recombined, clearly with great effort on their part, into a panting and battered Sombra, who stumbled back away from Auream. Sombra fell onto his back staring up at the alicorn as he turned his attention back towards him, slowly walking in his direction.

"What... What are-" Sombra started, but he was interrupted by Auream.

"You know, that spell wasn't even supposed to kill you. Just hurt you. Bad." Auream laughed, his eyes narrowing. "I don't like tyrants Sombra. You should know that if you paid attention to what my brother would've said about me. Much less if they are the 'Heir of Mastema'."

Sombra struggled to his hooves and roared, blasting another wave of dark magic at Auream's head. This time the alicorn didn't even move he just took the beam full force to the face. Sombra held the beam for a full minute, snarling like an animal as he did.

When exhaustion finally set in and he was forced to drop the spell, his eyes shot wide and his face went white. Standing there, slightly smoking but otherwise unharmed, was Auream. Sombra's breath caught in his throat as he slowly took a step back on shakey legs.

"You can't beat me, Sombra." Auream hissed, his eyes narrowing. "Even with your fancy jewelry. Make this easier on yourself and everypony else in this city and give up. I promise I'll go easy on you then."

Sombra roared standing up. "Never! I am blessed by the dark through the Araphel itself! I am the true god of the darkness! I will never surr-" he was cut off in his speech when suddenly Auream teleported behind him. The alicorn grabbed the alicorn amulet by a hoof and spun it around so that the idol itself was on Sombra's back. Then he pulled it taught cutting off Sombra's airflow like a noose.

Sombra sputtered and coughed, grasping at the chain now wrapped around his throat.

"I've killed plenty of gods," Auream responded coldly. Sombra gagged and wheezed as Auream pulled the chain even tighter, strangling him. Sombra's eyes started to water from the lack of air for a moment before he let out a gagged scream and turned to shadows. Auream pulled the chain further, retaining the amulet as the now unsolid Sombra beat a quick retreat away from him.

Auream smirked and raised his horn, creating a bubble shield around himself that trapped Sombra inside. Sombra rammed against the shield at full speed, not even cracking it.

The green alicorn turned to stare down at the king with nothing but contempt in his eyes.

"And there we go," Auream laughed. "Without this, you have nothing."

Sombra quickly solidified, pressing his back against the shield, his breathing uneven. Then he saw something that made him smirk.

Auream raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking at?"

Just then a lightning bolt shot towards Auream, effortlessly passing through the shield like it wasn't even there. The green alicorn cried out as electricity struck him right in the back, coursing up and down his spine. The shield shattered as Auream dropped the alicorn amulet on the ground and stumbled forward.

Auream quickly snarled and spun around, but what he saw instantly made his eyes shoot wide. The glow disappeared as they returned to normal.

"Johan!" Derek cried as he took a shakey step back.

Marching towards Derek, a mind-control helmet firmly fastened on his head, was a deer.

Author's Note:

Got this chapter out quick didn't I? XD

Comments

[ErinScrr]

UH OH. THING'S'S COMING DOWNNN I want a D! I want an E! I want ... want... E! I want a R! ... I.... I want a K!-- GO DEREK!