Reminiscence
Twilight, Shining Armor, and the somewhat puzzled Crystal Guard legion watched the giant frog disappear into the distance, as the incredibly erratic blizzard weather began to pick up once again. It didn't take very long for the group to lose interest, and return to the safe and warm limits of the barrier's other side. Once hooves began to touch the pristine grassy land of the Crystal Empire, the Prince addressed his sibling.
"Twilight, that was incredibly risky of you to do," Shining Armor chastised with a hint of concern, "Not to mention a bit stupid. Which is impossibly surprising, considering who you are! You should know better than to make deals with obviously evil monsters like that."
"I'm sorry, Shining," she replied gently, walking passed him, "but I don't think we had a choice in the matter. You and the guard were at a disadvantage against Sombra, and not the real one for that matter! Not even the Crystal Heart was capable of stopping them. If an entire army of those things were to make it into the city, and fight you..." She closed her eyes, sighing deeply, "I don't want that to happen to me. OR Cadance, or anyone here for that matter." She muttered, turning back to her brother. "Then along comes that beast and stops the army for us. Despite its selfish intentions, the one who sent the toad to defend the Empire was looking out for us. That pony cared deep enough for us that they probably made a similar deal just to get it to show up." She looked up to the sky of the dome. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you Fluttershy. You're a truly wonderful friend."
"I-it's ok, Twilight"
Recognizing the voice, Twilight turned to the side, and saw Fluttershy, just standing there, partially hidden behind her hair. Before the timid mare could react, Twilight galloped up to and hugged her friend deeply, tears streaming from her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she muttered, "I'm sorry for being so cold. So cruel. Can you ever forgive me?"
"It's ok, Twilight. I should be the one that's sorry. You were right. He was a horrible litt-" she stopped and corrected herself, "Horrible creature. He didn't care about anything but himself." She pulled away from her friend, and looked her in the eye sternly. "But," she started, a serious tone in her voice, "I think I can pull him out of that. Maybe deep down inside, he's not such a bad froggy. Maybe he can be helped. Maybe he can care."
"Fluttershy, I doubt that very much, but," she sighed, "I trust that you know what you're talking about."
Her friend smiled, glad to hear a vote of confidence for once today. Before the conversation could go any further, Shining stepped forward, and interrupted their moment of rekindling friendship.
"Hold on just a moment," He asked sternly, "When did you show up? Were you there the whole time?"
"A-actually," she started, "I left his cave after all the fighting stopped, and showed up just recently. All I heard was Twilight saying sorry and calling me a 'wonderful friend'." She blushed slightly of embarrassment when she repeated the comment Twilight made.
"Did anybody else see here show up?" Shining asked his subordinates. They shook their heads. Is she that stealthy, or just that meek that it's hard to notice her, he thought seriously. Fluttershy, you are a mystery...
"Oh!" The kindly pegasus piped, "I forgot to ask, where did he go? I thought he would have headed back to his cave after everything happened, but I didn't see him when I came this way."
Twilight bit her lip before answering, "I figured out that it showed up to help us out because of you... well, mostly because the toad outright told us. But that's besides the point. When I figured it all out, I convinced it to find the real Sombra, and offered to help it get home once he's been stopped for good."
Fluttershy gazed at her friend in shock and worry. "H-he's out there, facing the REAL Sombra?"
"I don't know how long it would take for something like that toad to cross the tundra. However, if my assumptions are correct based on its size, and its unfathomable jumping ability, then it's highly likely that it's already there by now."
Fluttershy took to the sky and blazed through the barrier without a warning. Twilight, somewhat aghast to such a sudden move, uttered only "Fluttershy, wait!" before the last bit of her friend's pink tail passed through the wall. It was too late, and her friend was gone. She couldn't let her go alone this time, and so, began to take off as well.
"Wait, where are you going?" her brother asked as she kept galloping.
"To help Fluttershy!" She said, just before disappearing through the wall herself.
These mares are insane, Shining bitterly thought. An awkward silence came over him and his army as they were the only ones not doing anything.
"Oh for the love of," He exasperated in defeat, "Private High Wind?"
"Sir?"
"Send a message back to Canterlot. Tell them the events that transpired here, and that the City is secure. Sombra is being officially dealt with, and I'm going after my sister before she does something too reckless." I swear, it's like Rainbow Dash is starting to rub off on her.
"Sir, yes Sir!" announced the private, as he took off flying to the south west.
"Come on, boys. We've got a couple of mares to catch up to."
-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-
Bael stood before the great black tower. It seemed much taller than he initially believed. High above him, right at the very top, was the balcony he entered through the first time. Looking at it from this perspective, he realized it was obviously there to overlook the land, and give one a perfect view of that settlement he just left. He wasn't powerful enough to leap this tall building in a single bound, mostly due to his own weight. So, it was fortunate that he didn't need to, considering that the fool who built this thing created a front entrance large enough to fit something like him. Or perhaps, the entrance was for a large army to march out of. Regardless of the intent, it gave the toad lord a proper way in.
Crossing the generously wide bridge, he walked inside the tower. The tower's lower interior was much of the same as what he witnessed the first time around. Dark, foreboding, spiky, and very tacky. It was honestly quite underwhelming at this point. Bloody Nobodies could be more original, he thought bitterly. The only oddity that he could feel from this far down the tower, as he couldn't feel it from when he first wandered in, was a deep nameless dread. A throbbing nothingness that lied below his feet, just below the floor. He couldn't quite tell what it was, but he decided that it would be better to ignore it and find a way up.
To the right, he noticed a staircase wide enough for him (or, again, an army), which spiraled all the way up to the top. This place is a lot more hollow than I thought. And rather eerily convenient. With a shrug, he decided to ascend the staircases and not worry about the whys of the matter. He had a job to do if he ever wanted to return to the Underworld as he was.
Waddling up the stairs gave him a lot of time to think. It wasn't exactly ideal that most of the thoughts were about events that transpired this day. From getting beaten by a human with a glowing hand to marching forward to squash an insect that likes to play with crystals. He considered the details. In a land where horses were the dominant species, where the unwelcome aura of warmth emanated off of many of them, he was surprised that evil beings like Dinner were around. Even more so, he was surprised that while he was possibly just as bad as the little idiot, those sickeningly kind equines still came to him for help. Granted, it was fun to stomp all over Dinner, especially considering the crimes it committed against him. Still, he couldn't shake this feeling inside that he couldn't identify, and it bothered him.
He considered more of his short time here. Specifically, the equines themselves. They approached him the first time in fear, but that yellow one approached him with a different attitude. There was something about that canary that made him listen. He tried to got over it quickly, but every time he thought he won, it came back and kept up with that demeanor. Not just that, but every time he listened to it, he was lead into the direction that benefited him. It was quite peculiar. The purple one was next to try to emulate it's supposed friend, right down to "the agreement".
In his time, he fashioned "the agreement" as a deterrent. As a way to filter out liars, and to keep those from wasting his time as far away from him as possible. It was successful for a while, but only now it seems to have become more of a double edged sword. They not only agreed to the terms, putting their lives on the line, but their side of the bargain had the conviction behind them. Sure, he had so far only seen through one to the end, but the fact that the other so readily stepped up intrigued him. How far are they willing to help one another, and are they truly ready to extend such efforts to such a monster? While vengeance was the primary goal in this excursion, he also wanted to see if they would keep their end of the pact; to see if they truly would extend themselves for him.
However, there was the other possibility that something could happen. Random chance brought him to this world, as unlikely as it was. It's only natural to believe that random chance could also kill him off. Considering how tough it was to fight the last of Dinner's copies, he wondered if the real one would be just as strong, or even more so. It wouldn't be too surprising if that was the case.
There was no more time for thought, however, as the moment of truth had finally arrived. He reached the top of the steps, and entered the source of the disturbance from the one side.
Bael was back in that large, tacky old looking throne room, only this time it was dry as a bone. Dryer than deep space. Nothing much had changed save for the hole in the roof of the tower, where the toad was forcibly ejected through, and the fact that the dimming sky could be seen through the balcony. There was, however, a new occupant in this room.
There, sitting upon the tacky evil overlord throne was his target, but what a change this one was from the clones. He looked real, for one, and was dressed far more regally, complete with steel plated armor, and a red king's cape with white and black spotted fur trim. His eyes were different too. Red irises with a green glow surrounding him, dark purple energies seeping from the edges.
"So," Sombra said coolly, "Thou hath shown thine face here, after all. We believed thou would hath tarried about, expecting Us to seek thee."
"It was my first choice. I was simply offered a better one."
Sombra chuckled darkly, "Swayed by fools, thou art? Allow Us to enlighten thee." He rose up, and strolled from his throne, approaching the toad. "Naught are greater than Us. We hath conquered the Empire once. We shall repeat those efforts. We implore thee, creature. Stand by Our side, and a GOD thou shalt become, where as We will take our rightful place."
Bael thought for a moment, considering his options at this point. It only took him five seconds.
"No."
"We dost beg thine pardon?"
"I will not repeat myself."
"Explain why!" Sombra upstarted in anger.
Bael leaned back wistfully, and hummed before he answered. "Let's see. You possessed me, stole some of my magic, used me as a distraction, used the crystals from my back to create your pathetic little army, and when we last fought, you said... what were the exact words?" He clicked his tongue. "Oh yes, you said 'Thine are naught but a squashed toad. WE are KING! Learn wit thine place, pond scum'. Not to mention you mocked me the moment I arrived. It's quite clear that I'd never side with you. YOU'RE the fool if you thought that was possible at this point in time. And now, your smart mouth will be silenced by me!"
"Then it is war you seek. Very well," Sombra growled, as he ripped off his cloak, revealing bat like wings. "TO ARMS!"
Bael launched forth at the dark king, but Sombra easily jumped out of the way, thanks to the power of his wings. The nimble king then dive bombed the toad, intending to strike him in the knee of one of his back legs. If he damaged that, Bael would be in a lot more trouble. Thankfully, the toad caught on quickly, and rotated his body just fast enough. Sombra pulled back up as he missed his target, avoiding a painful face plant to the floor of his throne room. Bael faced towards his foe, but couldn't get a bead on him. Being in the air, Sombra had a decent speed and maneuverability advantage. He needed to remove those wings if he wanted to level the playing field.
Before Bael could try anything, Sombra shot a couple volleys of dark magic at him, striking the toad squarely in the face. The master of frozen soil flinched, and side hopped to avoid further attacks. Sombra strafed through the air, continuing his aerial bombardment. Bael simply wasn't fast enough to avoid the energy attacks, so he decided on the next best thing. With a resounding whack, the toad struck the floor of the tower, and summoned up a wall of ice. With a moment of reprise, he was able to think of a proper solution.
However, before Bael enacted on his plan, Sombra whizzed off to the side, and dive bombed Bael once again. The toad had no time to react this time, and had his hind knee heavily struck by the violent king. Bael let out a grunt of pain, as he hopped away, hissing when he landed with such a wounded knee.
"What is the matter? Did We strike something important?" Sombra mocked.
Bael refrained from letting off a rebuttal, and instead exhaled his special gas once again. The throne became dim, and even blotted out the light coming from the roof and balcony opening.
"Dost thou honestly believe this will work?"
Little did he know, Bael wasn't just setting this up so his Rusalka could face him. Sombra was high in the air, and in the perfect position to get the drop on. The feeler suddenly landed upon the airborne king, riding atop him like a demonic horse.
"What in- Remove thyself from me!"
Before Sombra had time to react, the Rusalka gripped Sombra's wings and instantly froze them, before it was quickly pulled back up to the heavens. Sombra plummeted to the ground, and landed with a heavy crash, shattering the wings, and his advantage along with it.
Wincing in pain, Sombra rose quickly back to his hooves, and looked to the stumps where his wings used to be. "Thou will pay DEARLY for-"
Before Sombra could finish, Bael leaped out of nowhere, and captured Sombra within his jaws. He chewed rigorously, making sure his tongue didn't touch the equine, before violently spitting him out onto the ground. Sombra recovered quickly with only a few gashes in his form, as his armor took most of the damage.
"Thou wretched beast!" Was all he uttered as he stomped upon the ground, summoning his trademark crystal strikes. Bael jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the explosion of crystals that followed. When he landed he whipped his feeler at his foe. Sombra saw it coming, and slammed his hooves down, causing a wall of jagged crystals to catch the feeler. Bolts of agony coursed up through Bael's antenna, as he tried to pull it free, the Rusalka reaching out towards the toad. Sombra, however, decided to be rid of this nuisance, and jumped up with a sharp crystal in his hooves, and severed the link between them. Bael roared and tumbled back while the feeler twitched ever so slightly, before going limp, dying in the bed of black crystals.
"Oh, did thou loose thine ace in the hole? How tragic." He mocked, cackling in the turn of events. "Once thou parish, we shall use thine crystals to forge a new army! First thee, then the Empire. All, including fair Cadance, will be Ours!" He slowly approached the beast, whom growled angrily at him. "I bequeath, thine death!"
A second time, he thought bitterly. I have lost them both. He closed his eyes, holding back the pain and the nakedness of loosing his mistresses. It won't be in vain this time!
Within a flash of a second, Bael was suddenly frozen. Sombra stopped, and quizzically looked upon the static beast, which now comprised of ice entirely. Had he won? Do creatures like these do this when dying? He didn't know for sure, and stepped close to investigate. He was far too close to the supposed ice sculpture.
The fatal error that Sombra made allowed Bael to defrost himself, and quickly stomp on the equine just enough to hear the sound of bones breaking. With that, he snatched up the so called king in his jaws again, and chewed viciously, with cries of pain escaping from his maw. He refrained from swallowing this time, opting to spit him out once more, letting him land before his throne. Sombra tumbled for a moment before he stopped, lying to rest on his back, legs splayed out in odd directions. His armor was damaged beyond repair, and more gashes and pierces littered his form. The King was down, but not yet out. He wheezed as he attempted to get back up, but fell back hard when it was evidently useless.
Bael slowly approached the downed equine, hate latent in his eyes.
"W-wait!" Sombra pleaded, pitifully, "Dost thou not eat what thou kill? Thou despise the meat of our kind! Spare Our broken form!"
Bael loomed over the defeated king, his shadow blotting out the remaining light from the sky. His shadowed out face moved closer to the broken body of his foe, red eyes glowing violently in contrast to the darkness. Sombra's own dying reflection now mirrored in the pools of the cold and hateful orbs. For the first time, Sombra began to know and understand what his former subjects experienced when he reigned: Fear.
"I have decided to make an exception for you, fair King." He raised back up to his normal height, and raised his right fore-leg. "I will see you in hell. Count on it."
With a definitive crush, Bael destroyed his foe. It was all over. The toad sighed in content. He raised his foot up to examine the remains, to see what disgusting leftovers the creature left behind. To his surprise, all that was left was finely smashed crystal.
"Another clone." Bael had realized he wasted his finishing lines on another bloody clone. While he wasn't entirely thrilled about that, he realized that he still needed to track down the source if he's to end this charade. It didn't take him long to remember that there was something behind the throne itself. Something that started this whole mess in the first place.
Smacking the tacky looking throne off to the side, he noticed the black crystal heart, still spinning. Bael smirked, and approached the artifact. As he did, he began to hear his foes voice once again.
"Please," it said, "I prithee! Leave me be! Thou hath won. I am no longer thine threat!"
"Was that your last line of defense, spirit? I'm rather disappointed. If this is all you have to throw at me, than it would be a shame if I just left you as you are. You should rest. I'll help you with that," Bael said with a smirk, opening his maw wide, slowly inching towards the crystal heart.
"No! Stay back! Please! I beg of you! SPARE ME!"
CHOMP
Bael slowly and deliberately chewed and relished in the taste of the heart. The spirit trapped inside gave it an added flavor of mint, which was always welcome. With his vengeance satisfied, belly full, and his duty done, his adrenaline had finally subsided. Due to the effect it had on him during his fight, his pain came back in full force. Especially his heavily wounded knee. It's going to be rather difficult to jump properly while I'm injured like this.
The tower began to shake. Without its heart, it no longer had a master to keep it stable. At that moment, Bael realized that he was starting to overstay his welcome. He quickly turned, and headed for the balcony, but before he could take one step, the floor gave way, and he tumbled down the tower. As he descended, he could see the rest of the tower begin to loose its shape. Walls cracked, pieces fell off, and everything around him began to decay.
He landed right side up at the bottom of the tower, which probably wasn't the greatest way to land if his knee had anything to say about it. He groaned in pain, but decided to take the opportunity of being brought down to his initial entrance as a blessing. He marched forward, but found that the bridge had already collapsed. There was only one thing left to do. With all his might, he flexed his legs and leaped over the gap. However, due to the rushed nature of his escape and his pained leg, he miscalculated the arc, and fell just short of his target. He grabbed onto the edge with his forelegs, preventing his fall.
A thought crossed his mind. Wait a minute, he started, isn't there water below me? Can't I just let go and swim away? He looked beneath him, which was incredibly difficult to do considering his body shape, and realized why THAT was a no-go.
Where the tower's perimeter somewhat extended to the wall of ice he clung to, there was a deep black pit of nothingness below him. One of his forelegs lost its footing, letting a rather hefty sized piece of ice fall below him. There was no sound coming back. Either it was really deep, or it was indeed bottomless. In both cases, he'd be trapped, and would very likely starve to death in there. Not exactly a prospect he wanted. And so, he clung for dear life, hoping either to gain enough strength to pull himself up suddenly, or fall to his doom.
"Mr. Frog!"
His eyes shot forward, and saw the little yellow mare that made him ask a lot of questions before he came to this tower. While he'd never really admit this, he's glad to see a familiar face... for about three seconds.
"What are you doing here, canary?" He asked, irritation laced in his voice
"I came to make sure you were ok. I must have gotten here in time."
"No, I'm perfectly fine." he lied, "Why don't you do us both a favor and go back home. You're interference is not required."
"I'm not leaving until I can help you!" She shouted towards the indignant toad.
"Why do you insist on such a thing!"
"Because I care about you!"
Such words in such a context was foreign to him. Demons had no need for such petty emotions. Fear was a better and more fun way to gain attention and admiration. "Why?" he questioned.
Fluttershy sighed gently, before answering the great beast, "Because, you can coax out more rabbits with carrots than with poison ivy." Bael raised an eyebrow to the strange analogy, but the little pegasus continued. "Everypony deserves to be shown a little kindness. I know you’re used to being this... monster when you were back at home. But, that's no reason why we shouldn't help you. Maybe if we did that, you wouldn't be so grumpy all the time. Maybe even feel better about yourself. If we cared about you, about your well being, maybe you could learn to care for more than just yourself."
The little speech was all very sappy. He didn't want to listen to a word of it, but there was something deep seated within those words that rang in his mind. Something that he could consider more often. Kindness was beneficial for everyone involved. Kindness fed him. Kindness gave him purpose. Kindness promised a way home. Perhaps for all that was given, he could possibly give a little back.
The edge of the cliff began to crack under Bael's grip. Fluttershy gasped, and placed her hooves on the toads nearest front foot, trying desperately to pull him back up. It was a vain reaction on the yellow pegasus' part, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was at least try, and not feel so helpless for once.
"Stop."
"Wha-?" Fluttershy squeaked in confusion.
"You can't help me. You are not nearly strong enough." The toad sighed, "Return home. Your efforts, as valiant as they may be, aren't worth a damn here."
"I-I can't! I can't leave you behind."
"You have no choice," he spoke softly. The cliff side began to crack further. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise, taking a step back. All hope was lost, and the one creature she fought hard to try to help was about to die before her eyes. It wasn't fair.
"Fluttershy!" shouted a familiar voice from behind her. She turned around to find Twilight running toward her.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" Fluttershy spoke, relieved.
"I saw the tower crumble. What happened here?"
"That was my doing," Bael piped up, "I took care of your little problem, but I'm afraid our agreement has to be annulled. Once I fall, you'll be free from your obligation."
"Twilight, you have to help him," her friend pleaded, "He doesn't deserve this."
"Are you sure you want me to help him, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, "You know what he's like more than me. Is he really worth saving?"
"Everyone deserves a little kindness."
Before they could decide on what to do, there was a loud cracking noise ringing in their ears as the cliff side broke away. Bael lost his grip and began to fall to his doom. Below him, the great empty nothingness awaited to swallow him whole. This was the end of the master of frozen soil.
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Holy crap! Talk about heartfelt
God... To think I thought this guy was a total douche bag.
DAMMIT YOU MADE FLUTTERSHY CRY!
3129491 To be perfectly fair, he's still kind of a douche... you can't entirely blame him though. That's just how he was raised. How he lived for so long. Top of the food chain, with no reason to question or care...
3129503 HE BETTER NOT BE DEAD!
Also I like your profile pic but absolutely despise that particular boss.
3129513 I thought the boss was fascinating. Not the most fun, but one hell of a design and an interesting idea on how to switch up the standard boss battle formula. But, eh, that's just me...
3129528 I mean I agree it was unique for the game and all BUT DID HE HAVE TO BE SO DAMN HARD!
3129539 Yes. Yes he did. It was one hell of a wake up call, especially considering the rest of the game was just as difficult and daunting. Nightmare was a test for the player to see if they can think more strategically while in the heat of combat. When you learn his defenses, his nuances, and his rules, you grow as a player of the game, becoming that much better over all.
3129610 While we're on the subject do you think you could make him pop up in a later installment?
3130663 Who knows...
obviously not, since there are more chapters
I have to be honest with you. I've read this again knowing what you had said about Sombra being portrayed as a scared kid, but I still had trouble seeing it from your point of view. All I read were the desperate, pathetic cries which pretty much just anyone would offer. Man, woman, child, megalomaniac, even an old, tired fart.
I think I figured out what I found so unappealing about this story.
The demons are boring. You don't really care about them. Why should they deserve anyone caring about them? If anything, Sombra deserved just as much mercy, rather than being killed so horribly. Instead, the toad ate him just as easily as he was supposed to die by now. Just as easily as him and his dozens of brothers were killed by Nero and Dante.
Who knows? Maybe the effects of the Dark Heart could be reversed? No matter how unlikely it was, he certainly didn't deserve to die. It goes against the "good in everyone" theme you're going for.
Not like it mattered, though. For the readers to actually care about whether the characters evolved and succeeded in the future, they needed to see something they like in the character. They needed to empathize, to root for them. They needed to rise curiosity to get to know them, to find something that they find intriguing about said characters.
Bael is a simple creature overall. All he wants are food, shelter and returning home. He doesn't crave companionship, he's not curious for anything beyond his little world, he's cruel, proud, selfish, disgusting, and generally, kind of a douche. None of his negative attributes are a problem, however. The problem is that, quite frankly, there doesn't seem to be that much else to him. No mystery to him. No real conflict going on in his beastial head. He became aware of a thing called "Kindness", whatever that is, but even if he does care about this new thing he could use to his own ends, what's the point of caring about any of that? He resigned himself to the "dog eat dog" way of life. I don't know about anyone else, but if a comet were to suddenly squash him out of the blue, I wouldn't feel a thing. I don't think anyone in the story would feel a thing either. Maybe Fluttershy would be a little sad for a couple days, but that's only because she'd probably, hell, most certainly need counseling should she accidentally step on an ant.
Edit. Are his laws supposed to mean that there's more to him that his simple, "dog eat dog" way of thinking? Even animals have rules. When there's a drought, the lion stops hunting. It's just something inherently noble about them, not exceptional.