The Dark Crusader

by Blackdrag-rose

8: The Sigil of Fire

Crimson growled and stashed the scroll in his hiding place, puffing some smoke out of his mouth as he watched the rest of the partygoers leave the building. No doubt that they all had jobs to attend to and had only come out so they could meet the latest addition to the list of alicorns in Equestria. The only ponies that stayed behind were Pinkie Pie, who clearly worked at Sugarcube Corner and had set up the party with the owner's permission, and Twilight Sparkle. The alicorn just sat next to him, either reading one of the pieces of parchment that rested on the table or making notes in a journal that floated next to her.

Instead of wasting his day in the Sugarcube Corner he decided to head back to the Everfree Forest, knowing that he needed to see how much needed to be repaired before he even considered moving into the castle. He got onto his hooves and walked out of the building, turning around the corner and heading for the exit of the town that led to the entrance of the forest. As he walked a flame escaped from his stick and turned into the serpent he had summoned earlier, which hissed at him as if it had asked a question.

"To the ruined castle of course," Crimson growled, not even bothering to turn back to the serpent, "My mother wants to find the Sigil of Fire, but she cannot locate it without my cooperation. She knows its a matter of time before I head to where the Sigil is located and move it, but she doesn't know I'm going to move it right now."

"Crimson? Where are you going?"

He had forgotten that Twilight was likely interested in the Sigils, as the moment that his mother had mentioned them her eyes had lit up with the prospect of gaining more information. The serpent hissed at him and beckoned to Twilight with his tail, as if it was curious as to who she actually was and what he was going to do with her. Crimson growled at the serpent, but made no comment to it, causing it to blow a small bout of flames out of its mouth before staring at Twilight.

"To the ruined castle of course," Crimson replied, turning back to the street, "as my mother has issued a notice telling everypony that I'm around and that I have my own kingdom I am missing one key item. Surely you know what I am referring to?"

"Your royal jewelry!" Twilight exclaimed, the truth dawning on her, "You must let me accompany you into the Everfree Forest and show them to me, as they are ancient relics from Equestria's past. They need to be studied and cataloged for future generations."

"You won't leave me alone if I say no anyway," Crimson commented, beckoning for her to join him, "and I'd rather not waste any time arguing with you. So just follow me into the Everfree Forest, take notes on what needs repairs in the castle, and stay out of my way so I can get my jewelry."

The serpent hissed at him again, but instead of responding to it Crimson used his magic and reconnected it to his stick, sending it back to where it had come from. Twilight gave him the same look she had given him the first time he had summoned the serpent, one of curiosity at seeing a spell she hadn't learned about. It was clear that she wanted to learn the spell, but he wasn't in the mood for teaching anything to anypony and silently made his way out of the town. Even without looking back he knew that Twilight was following him, because she wanted to learn everything about him and his magic that she could.

Crimson wasn't planning on showing her anymore of his magic, so Twilight was about to be disappointed with their journey through the Everfree Forest. It didn't take them very long to reach the entrance to the Everfree, but the moment they did Crimson stepped forward and walked right past the sign. He had many places in the Everfree where he could sleep and place traps, so seeing now they were scattered throughout the forest he knew the pathways inside and out. With him in charge they'd be able to make their way to the ruined castle in a matter of fifteen to twenty minutes, but with those Diamond Dogs running around he knew that his times could change.

Not even halfway to the ruined castle they were stopped by another large gathering of Diamond Dogs, roughly twelve of them that had their spears and nets ready for him this time. They were the same Diamond Dogs he had trashed only a day or two ago, thought it didn't seem like they had taken the hint that he wasn't to be messed with.

"Foolish pony," the lead dog said, standing near a tree while staring at him, "you have walked right into our trap. Third times the charm they say."

"Not you schmucks again," Crimson moaned, already annoyed at having his mother ruin his life and not needing these dogs again, "Why won't you take my hints and get lost? I have burned you all time and time again, yet you keep coming back like you think I'll give up and let you win. Here's my ultimatum for you guys; either get lost and leave the Everfree Forest, or I will burn the daylights out of you all."

"Nice try pony, but we will win," the Diamond Dog said, spear at the ready, "And this time we'll crush two of you in an instant."

"Ugh, fine, have it your way," Crimson growled, turning to Twilight for a moment, "Twilight, be a dear and move back a bit. I'd rather not get an earful from my mother if I accidentally burn you with one of my spells."

Twilight, not exactly sure what was going on now, backed up to one of the trees they had passed and stayed by it, watching Crimson and wondering what he was going to do. Crimson, once he was sure that the mare was out of the way, tapped the ground with his hoof once and the entire area around him was engulfed by flames. Twilight yelped and jumped backwards, surprised by how fast he had summoned the flames and worried that they might have singed her wings a bit, but found nothing burnt.

The Diamond Dogs, on the other hoof, released a chorus of yelps and tried to retreat, but instead they found themselves clocked in place as the flames licked their paws. Crimson released a puff of smoke and two large serpents, each of them made of fire, emerged from his stick and coiled around him as if they were protecting him. The Diamond Dogs cowered before the flaming creatures, which raced towards them and began to consume them, burning their spears, nets, ropes, and even their fur. After a minute of suffering Crimson recalled the serpents and the flames died down, leaving the Diamond Dogs in a state of pure agony.

"Now, if I see any of you ever again I won't hesitate to turn you all to bones," Crimson shouted, his voice booming into their ears, "Leave the Everfree Forest and never return."

Twilight was shocked that he could have done so much damage to those poor Diamond Dogs in such a short amount of time, yet feel nothing for them. She knew that, from the answers Crimson had given her, that he was constantly being attacked by the Diamond Dogs over the last thousand years. She suspected that he had finally snapped and had gone all out on them, like he was teaching them a lesson that they hadn't be able to learn at all. Still, just by looking at all the damage he had done, Twilight knew that the rage and anger in his heart hadn't lessened in the last day at all. In fact Twilight as sure that his rage and anger had increased by an incredible amount.

It made her wonder how much rage, anger, and hatred he was carrying in his heart.

Crimson took a puff of his stick and released a large smoke cloud into the air, letting it float into the sky before he even considered completing what he had come to do. He sighed and continued along the path that he had chosen the moment they entered the forest, knowing Twilight would tag along as he heard the beat of wings. He had to admire her curiosity, it was powerful enough to make her walk past the damage he had done so she could learn what the Sigils were and to see his ancient jewelry.

"How could you do that to them?" Twilight asked, hoping that he didn't do something like that to her while they walked.

"Because they were annoying and I have had enough of them in the last thousand years," Crimson replied, letting his smoke come off the stick freely, "Those dogs were lucky that I didn't unleash everything I had on them, otherwise we would have walked through charred bodies and scattered bones."

Twilight wasn't sure she wanted to see how much power he would wield if he used everything he had, knowing it had to be more than what she just witnessed. She silently followed after him, keeping her eyes peeled for anymore creatures that might incite Crimson's rage and cause him to burn them down. As they walked she also noticed that Crimson had fallen silent, as if he wanted to stay true to the task he had set for himself and would not deviate from it. She was still curious about the Sigils, but knew she'd have to wait a while before she learned anything about them and why Princess Celestia wanted the Fire one.

Crimson approached the worn out bridge that led to the ruined castle and crossed it, ignoring the fact that he could have just flown across even as one of the planks snapped in half.

"First order of business would be to repair this bridge," Crimson commented, blowing a puff of smoke out, "and maybe build a second one to help the flow of ponies I'm sure will be coming one day."

Twilight nodded and pulled out a clean piece of parchment, taking a quill and making a note of the bridge work that needed to be done, including the suggestion of a second one. She had to agree that the bridge needed to be repaired or even replaced, but she wasn't too sure that there needed to be a second bridge. They moved into the front area of the castle, Crimson making comments on the plants, fixtures, and stairs that could improve the place's image while Twilight made notes about them. He also made some strange comments about throwing up some walls around the castle for protection, as if he was preparing for a fight with something, but Twilight continued her notes anyway.

On the inside of the actual castle Crimson had a few ideas for every single piece that he could lay his eyes on, going from the banners above the thrones, to the carpet they walked on, and even the thrones themselves. Twilight was beginning to think that he was designing the castle not only for himself, but for the cousin that he continued to say was going to arrive soon. With the banners she made a note about the Cutie Marks Crimson wanted to use, a spiral of fire for himself and lightning that was surrounded by a dark swirl for his cousin. From what she was gathering his cousin seemed like a strange pony, but Twilight kept her mouth shut as Crimson continued down another hallway.

They eventually made their way down the same hallway that Twilight had followed when she had caught the scent of his stick, which had enabled her to find him. They passed the broken windows, a note being added to replace all of them, before they came to a split in the hallway and turned to the right. They descended into the lower reaches of the castle, where Twilight and her friends had found the journal that Princesses Celestia and Luna had shared a thousand years ago. Now that Twilight thought about it she never saw a mention of their children in that journal, but according to Crimson the book was in the royal library.

Crimson stopped halfway down the hallway and stared at the wall on their right, though what Twilight saw was just a normal wall without anything strange about it. She wondered why he had chosen to stop here of all places, but after a moment his horn lit up and a doorway appeared in the side of the wall. She watched as a dozen magical runes appeared on the door, though from what she could tell they were designed to prevent anypony that wasn't Crimson from opening the room. Other runes were designed to paralyze anypony foolish enough to find and touch the door, letting Twilight know that he had put a lot of effort into protecting the room.

After a few moments the runes shattered one by one, eventually leaving the wooden door bare and allowing Crimson to push the door open with his magic. He walked into the room and the darkness was cast away, revealing a dozen torches that lined a hallway that lead to another wooden door. This one, Twilight noted, was also surrounded by runes, only these four runes were much more powerful than the ones on the previous door. Crimson looked at the runes as they melted away, releasing their hold on the door and allowing him to push it open without delay.

What Twilight found in the room was a bunch of empty bookshelves, a painting or two, and a rather large chest that was bound up in rune after rune. Crimson walked up the chest and his magic wrapped around it, acting like the keys as they ripped through the runes and the various locks that had been placed on it. Once everything was off of the chest Crimson lifted the lid up and began lifting items out of the chest, revealing the jewelry he used to wear a thousand years ago. They were colored deep red, similar a bright flame, and Crimson attached his hoof shoes without much delay, though when he pulled out his chest piece and crown Twilight noticed a large ruby resting in the chest piece.

"What is that?" Twilight asked, feeling the magic radiating from the gemstone and not believing how much was coming from it.

"This is the Sigil of Fire," Crimson replied, placing a small deep red crown on his head, "one of the four stones that channel the Primordial power of the fundamental elements. The Prime Sigils channel the power of the four elements; Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. They were once considered to be powerful relics that a skilled unicorn could use to perform some of the most dangerous magic rituals Equestria's early history. Ponies fought over them for years, until somepony named Starswirl the Bearded found the four Prime Sigils and scattered them across the world, hiding them in places where the rest of the world wouldn't be able to find them.

Then you have the Minor Sigils, smaller gemstones that aren't incredibly important, but are worth putting the time into collecting them to keep out of the wrong hooves. I know of several Minor Sigils that actually exist; Light, Stars, Shadow, Chaos, Love, Deception, Hatred, and Power. Most of the Minor Sigils are symbols of power, so you'll see them on top of crowns or attached to a piece of jewelry that the pony that found it usually wears. I would assume that my mother and aunt are both still carrying their Minor Sigils of the Sun and Moon, but the others are scattered and lost."

Twilight caught the bit where the Minor Sigils would be worn by the pony that found them and then recalled seeing a small gemstone on top of Cadence's crown. There had also been a small gemstone attached to Queen Chrysalis' crown when she attacked Canterlot, though she didn't remember seeing Discord, Sombra, or even Tirek carrying a small stone with them. She had also caught the bit about Starswirl the Bearded, how he had somehow found the Prime Sigils and hid them across the world to stop the fighting. It just proved that he had the best intentions for everypony else when he managed to hide them.

"So, are you going to give Princess Celestia the Sigil?" Twilight asked, hoping that he'd do the right thing.

"Absolutely not," Crimson declared, turning around and heading for the door, "I found the Sigil of Fire's resting place and liberated it, attaching it to my royal jewelry so I could carry it with me at all times. Once I fled and came to the forest I stashed both the jewelry and the Sigil in this chest, sealing them away until I ever needed to take them out again. I'm positive that my mother has found the Prime Sigils of Water and Earth, though the Sigil of Wind has been missing for a very long time. I won't be giving her the third Sigil."

Twilight didn't know whether or not to be annoyed with him that he wouldn't give the Sigil back, or if she should be curious about the Sigils as a whole. She was also curious as to what the rituals were that the Sigils were a part of, what could have possessed Starswirl the Bearded to take them and hide them away. She promised herself that the next time she visited Canterlot she's look for the book Crimson had told her about and see if she couldn't find the other Sigils. She had a feeling she knew where Princess Celestia might have put them, but she wasn't about to say anything in case Crimson was looking to collect the others as well.

"You know, I don't think you ever told me what your cousin's name was," Twilight commented, following Crimson out of the formerly sealed off room, "Do you think you could share that information with me?"

"I cannot," Crimson replied, sealing the room off once they were back in the main hallway, "I will only reveal her name to ponies once she returns to Equestria, which should be soon. I would apologize for this, but I wish to keep my secrets to myself and sharing my cousin's name and titles aren't one I can share just yet."

Twilight moaned, realizing that getting any answers with Crimson was like trying to crack one of the hardest puzzles she had ever encountered. She had barely gotten any answers out of him already, but he had been cooperative up until the point when she had mentioned his parents. She needed to get her hooves on that book, so she could discover everything about Crimson and his cousin without having to ask him anymore.

She needed to plan a trip to Canterlot and visit the royal library, because that book was as good as hers.

Comments

[Asashi - Dark Fist Inari]

5833192 Ominous......................................

[Sonata Blaze]

5835027 Agreed, though now that he has the Sigil of Fire I'm still thinking he stole it. Lets face it, Crimson is lasy and wouldn't go through an ancient dungeon to find one of them. So I'm positive that Celestia found it and brought it to her previous castle, the ruined one, and Crimson flat out stole it.

[Asashi - Dark Fist Inari]

And now I'm even more convinced that she's up to something.

[Asashi - Dark Fist Inari]

5835082 I'm still convinced that it was part of Celestia's plan for him. Sure he probably stole it but I'm sure it was a better reason than flat out laziness.

[Sonata Blaze]

5835236 Celestia is always planning something. She said she wanted to make him her strategist, but maybe that was just the first step. I think she wanted him and his cousin to replace her and Luna as rulers of Equestria.

[Sonata Blaze]

5835236 Or maybe Celestia was planning on using one of those dangerous rituals and Crimson found out, so he stole the Sigil to prevent her from doing it. But the lazyness, nothing explains it.