After several lives are lost, and destruction spead across Equestria, the dragon behind it all rules the land with an iron fist. His stolen 'children' must come together and find a way out of this situation. This is their story.
Several years after the events of "The Fall of Spike the Dragon", The group of ponies stolen by Lord Darkness have grown into strong, trained fighters that follow his every command. With this victory and power, Lord Darkness has successfully gotten almost everypony in the land to bow down to him. However, with a resistance, and a half-loyal army, there's no telling if he will continue to succeed.
With what's going on, anyone could rise above the rest.
I sighed as I stood in front of a weak wooden door. The house that I stood in front of was dilapidated and dirty, with a scorched rooftop and broken objects around it. The other houses surrounding this particular one wasn’t much better. It was quite a ghastly neighborhood, one that likely didn’t have the resources to be patched up decently after the disaster. Random objects were strewn around on the ground, and it was pretty empty. It was such an odd sight. Canterlot was once such a prosperous and beautiful place that practically bustled with high class ponies. The buildings were beautiful, the streets were always clean, the place seemed to shine and could enrapture any visitor. Yet in only one day, it’s glamour and glory had been crushed and burned in the flames of anger and despair. Now, it reduced to a dull, unsafe town that was covered in rubble and could barely support itself.
With many experiences, regrets, and misfortunes, this was all that was left. Lost hopes and dreams, broken families, and struggles that seemed to be getting even harder. Nopony would have thought such a tragedy would have happened in the happy, peaceful land of Equestria. We had princesses who were mighty and powerful goddesses along with six heroes who had been defending this country better than anyone else ever has. However, without them, we are left to ponder, who will save us? When our strongest defense yet has failed, what or who could possibly aid us enough to protect ourselves?
The answer has not yet revealed itself, unfortunately. The resistance is doing nothing but getting themselves and others hurt repeatedly. Darkness’ ‘children’ were either loyal to him, or not strong enough to put a scratch on him. The princesses were elsewhere, possibly dead or dying.
There are some who try to stay optimistic. They do their best to live their lives as if nothing has happened. Of course, they can’t deny what is surrounding them, but they help others in need, patch things up the best they can, and they use this experience to really bond with others in such a dark time. Many envy those ponies. They can look past all of this, and muster a smile. Everyone else is either broken, terrified, or have given up on happiness. It’s a mixed, chaotic world we all live in now…
I forcefully pounded onto the weak door. With a sad groan, it finally opens up to reveal a pair of old, tired eyes. The yellow eyes stared suspiciously.
“Who goes there?” asked the stallion with a baritone voice.
“A member of The Adversary.” I stated coldly. “I am here under the order of Lord Darkness.”
He gasped lightly. A scowl covered his face and he opened his mouth to say something. I simply forced the door open some and let myself in.
“You are under arrest for going against the Adversary.” I said, tackling him to the floor. “All who goes against Darkness’ forces shall be punished immediately. If you try to escape, death shall surely come to you.” With a grunt, I kept him onto the ground and tied some rope around his back hooves. He tried kicking but it was no use. I was specially trained for these kinds of situations.
A mare, presumably his wife, cowered in the corner of the room, covering a foal. I sighed and walked over to the mare. She held her child tighter, shaking her head.
“Hoof it over.” I commanded.
“No, no, no, please!” She shrieked. “Show mercy! Show mercy!”
“You shall hand him over to me, or else face the consequences.” I told her and glared at her. “Hoof. It. Over.”
She simply continued holding her foal tightly, repeating the phrase “Show mercy, don’t take him…”. I stared at her for a long time, waiting for her to give up. She didn’t.
“Run.”
“W-what?” Her eyes filled with shock. She stayed there.
I pulled out a knife.
“Run.”
With a shaky gasp, she hurried and grabbed her son. Within only seconds, she had fled away from the house, crying and trembling the whole way.
I sighed, picking up the rope and dragging the stallion outside. As I closed the door and began walking, the stallion spoke up.
“Why’d ya do that?” He asked.
“Because I can.” I replied.
“But you’re on the side o’ that monster. That there jus’ screams ‘no good’. I bet it was a trap. Ye have some o’ dem other good-for-nothin’ fools waiting for her? You jest wanted to see her have hope for a secon’ before she got caught, didn’t ya?” He said, with a deep frown embedded upon his face.
“I and only I was sent by Lord Darkness on this particular mission. The criminal ran away. I couldn’t catch her. Too busy dealing with her husband. He put up a good fight.” I said. That’s what I planned on reporting to Mister Darkness.
He had an awestruck look on his face. “Well I’ll be damned…”
The walk to the castle was a long one. Run-down buildings and hazy skies surrounded us for the entirety of our trip. Every once in awhile, we’d see some ponies who stared at us as we made our way through the broken city. This particular method of carrying him to the castle was meant for public humiliation, yet there were looks of pity, sympathy, anger and sadness on most of their faces. Others simply ignored it and took care of their own business. One stallion could be heard saying “Just another average day in this hellhole” as he took a moment to watch the poor pony being drug down the dirty road. Unfortunately, this was a common sight. I was just happy that I wasn’t surrounded by petrified ponies, their faces showing absolute fear.
We arrived at the castle gates, which were the shiniest thing around. The castle area didn’t look too bad. Things were maintained decently, even though it didn’t have the bright, polished aura it once held long ago. The guards who were resting at their posts gave a knowing look and opened the gates.
The two large throne room doors that we reached eventually were tall and imposing. With a deep breath, I walked through them to face…
Him.
He, like the doors, towered high above us. His scales shined lightly with the sunlight that poured through the large windows on either side of the room. A scowl was glued to his face, and his eyes held unrelenting anger with a twinge or insanity. He opened his wings, as if trying to make himself seem bigger. It was apparently working since the pony seemed to shrink back in fear. The ruler of this country looked down upon him with the rage from his past that never seemed to go away.
“So...what do you have to say for yourself…?” He questioned in a deep, sinister voice.
“I.. I have no idea what you’re-”
Slam!
“I have no time for your games, excuses, and lies…” He growled out. He had flipped the stallion backwards with a flick of his finger. “What do you have to say for yourself?” He asked once more, slowly crushing him with his magic.
“Ahg! U-ugh… I’m not a part of them…” The stallion rasped.
“Stop lying to me.” The mad dragon said. “I know you’re with the resistance.”
“S-s-so what?” He was practically choking his words out now. A tear fell down his face.
“Tell me everything you know. Or it’s death.” He commanded.
“N-n-never!” He yelled and spit in the dragon’s face.
“Say your last words.”
“I love-”
There was a sickening crunch as Darkness tightened his grip around the pony.
“Too slow…”
“I advise not killing him.” I commented.
He dropped him and the pony gasped desperately for breath. The dragon looked me in my eyes. He had definitely expected the comment, which was proven by the look of exasperation on his face. He held that stare and I stood staring back. He sighed and deflated at my stubbornness and closed his eyes for a second.
“What do you suggest I do then?” He asked.
“Torture him until he opens his mouth.”
We stared at each other intently as he began to carefully weigh the pros and cons. After a moments, he let out a loud huff. Those eyes of his flickered back and forth, almost as if he were having a mental debate with someone else inside of that head of his. His wry facial expression told me what he really wanted to be doing rather than sparing the stallion’s life.
“Get the traitor outta my sight.” He said finally.
I nodded and pulled the stallion away. As we walked through, a few of the guards here and there chuckled. While it did suck for the pony being dragged, it was a bit funny for some ponies that I was shorter than most ponies. Meaning I was just some short pony pulling around a large stallion like it was nothing. I suppose it could be a little funny. But every time? I huffed and walked a bit faster. At least a couple ponies had warmed up to being here. Though most of them quietly did their job, made little to no friends, and occasionally tried to rebel in their own little ways. It saddens me to see that even when they know they’ll be punished horribly, they still try. I sighed and shook my head, opting to look around at the large, familiar halls of the castle rather than think about it.
Within minutes, I made it to the dungeon’s door. My friend Con looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I was the only person who could tell when he did that, despite his hair covering most of his face.
“Another one?”
“Another one.”
“Jeez, you’re good at keeping these ponies alive.”
“Well, I do my best I guess.”
“So, what did this one do to piss off the almighty dragon?”
“He’s working for the resistance….”
“So that means…”
I gulped and looked away.
“Yep.”
Con sighed. “You know, I almost can’t see the point in saving these poor guys when they’re gonna be broken anyways…” He mumbled.
“Well…maybe he’s…different.” I said, knowing my words were absolute crap.
“He’s just like the rest of them. He will resist, and resist, until his mind gives up on him... “ A cackle could be heard from the dungeons, as if to prove his point. “And I will have to stand here and hear that all day. Just louder. And more numerous…”
I stayed silent and stood there for a moment before slowly shaking my head and opening the heavy steel door as I began to drag the stallion once more. Several prisoners either stared in fear, let out an animal-like snarl, or began crying. After so long of going through this situation, I had learned to tune them out. Finally, the prisoner and I reached the dank jail cell. With an inaudible sigh, I grabbed one key from the many other ones dangling on the shiny ring that was once hanging on the wall outside and opened the slightly moist, rusty bar door. As usual, I roughly pushed him into the cell, slammed the door shut and locked it.
“You have anything to say?” I asked, giving him a chance.
“...I have a diary in my home.” He mumbled so quietly, I almost couldn’t hear him.
Almost.
I nodded and simply walked away. As I walked outside of the dark and smelly room, Con glanced at me
“Do you really think he’ll be different?”
“Yes.”
“Tis a wonderful day of celebration!”
“Ahem… I was supposed to do the speech…”
“Oh lordy, don’t you two start again!”
“I swear, if you guys do this crap one more time…”
Con wore his signature smile as always, despite the chaos that threatened to erupt from the table. He had stood up and spoke, and my other friend, Strong Will, had made a comment that would turn something simple into a big deal. He glared at the chuckling pony, his irritation growing rapidly. Midnight Jade had been the first to interject and Rapacity had, of course mumbled under his breath as always. Off to the side were Harmonic Zeal, Lemon Zest, and myself, quietly watching the scene unfold in front of us.
“Oh really? Did you honestly think I’d let the boring grump handle this job?” Con retorted. Will was getting angrier by the second.
“Con I swear to god, if you don’t leave me alone and let me do my job!” Will yelled. The short tempered stallion was like a ticking bomb.
“Alright, alright, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Even better if you take the stick outta your ass!” Con began laughing like a madman.
“GRRRRRR…”
“I don’t mind who does it, just get on with it so I can eat my damn cake!” I interjected.
The two stared at each other for a second, and Con finally huffed and sat down. “Fine, you do the speech..” He muttered, faking a pout.
Will cleared his throat, then began. “As our wonderful friend has pointed out, it is indeed a day for celebration. For our great friend, Love charm, has gotten one year older…”
“Waiting for those grey hairs to start popping up!”
“And since we all love and appreciate her so much, we will gather today and have some fun-”
“Pfffff-hahahaha! You’re just gonna frown all day.”
“Shut it… Ahem, and have a wonderful feast! I’m hoping that the b-day girl will love what we have in store for her. Now, let’s eat this damn cake.” Will finished, grabbing a knife.
Immediately everyone began shuffling around the table, Trying to get the closest to the cake as Will began cutting slices of it and hoofing out to the rest of his friends. Murmurs could be heard, most of which was “Finally” and “Leave it to Will to let me starve” or something along those lines. When everypony got their cake, there was a moment of silence among us. All that could be heard was the clattering of plates and forks as we all stuffed our faces.
“Oh, am I not invited?” Asked a deep voice behind us. I looked up to see Mister Darkness with a claw to his chest and a look of fake hurt.
“Of course you are, Pops! You’re always invited!” Con said immediately, smiling up at him. It always made me happy that Con was one of the few ponies to warm up to Mister Darkness. He even went so far as to call him ‘Pops’, as if he were like a father figure for him.
“I was missing you for a while, Mister Darkness! I was wondering when you’d come around.” I told him, also smiling at him. He smiled back at me and cut himself a slice of cake with his magic. With a tilt of his claws, the fiery aura pulled the plate towards him, and he began eating the cake. Despite being huge, he ate just like anypony else. It looked slightly awkward though, as his fingers covered nearly the entire fork and the plate was tiny in his hand. After swallowing, he turned over to Will.
“Well, you’re baking has gotten much better over this year! Been practicing?” He asked.
“Um… yeah, sir.” He said, just loud enough to let him hear. Will didn’t take a liking to Mister Darkness at all. It was for a good reason, but it still upset me a bit. It didn’t get in the way of our friendship, so it didn’t bother me so much.
Rapacity spoke up. “You guys gonna eat that?” He asked, looking at what was left of the cake. There was still half of it left.
“God dammit, go ahead and eat it fatass.” Growled Midnight. Rapacity happily scooped the rest into his mouth, and Midnight face-hoofed.
Midnight was very indifferent about the situation she got dragged into. She neither liked nor hated Mister Darkness. Instead, she opted to listen to her commands and do whatever she had to do. The purple mare often spent time either talking to others, or blowing her soft blue mane out of her face. She was fairly social and friendly, though at times could be a bit reserved.
I looked over to Lemon Zest, who was busy glaring at Midnight. He was a bit accepting of the dragon, yet was also a little wary of him. Though most of the time, he was just a happy-go-lucky sort of stallion, he was still a great friend to talk to when things got rough. If he wasn’t laughing and talking to others, he was playing his guitar on one of the many balconies in the castle.
Then was Zeal, who was the perverted jokester of our group. He had his up moments and down moments, and when he wasn’t laughing or joking, he was always frowning and keeping to himself. He could be annoying at times, but he was still a good friend and I Iove him the same as the rest of my friends.
The day went by quickly with all of the fun distracting me. As we all ate, drank, played and joked the day away, I could put everything else behind me. I could almost forget that tomorrow, I’d have to hurt innocent ponies, steal the things and ponies they hold dear to them and be a cold-hearted representative of a large group that’s main goal was to kill and destroy everything and everyone. It was something that somewhat troubled me, but it was nice to have a break from it all every once in awhile.
Unfortunately, as all good days end, I know that I have to wake up to the same thing again.
And as usual, I fell into fitful, uneasy sleep, knowing what tomorrow had in store for me.
The following morning I woke up and mechanically did my daily morning routine. After a hot shower and a quick breakfast, I headed straight to Mister Darkness’ room. On the way there, I spotted a few of my friends and made sure to quickly greet them. Letting my mind wander, I didn’t expect to come face-to-face with Con as I rounded a corner in the long hallway.
“Gah!”
“Good morning!”
“Ugh, just please shut up.”
“Well, you’re such a ray of sunshine today!”
“Stop being so happy.”
The bastard knew I wasn’t a morning pony. I was drowsy, stressed, and not in the damn mood for shenanigans in the morning. The cheeriness in Con’s voice was straight up irritating me, and he knew it. Which made me even more pissed.
“With such a wonderful mood you’re having, I feel like we should…”
“No.”
“Sing…”
“You won’t live to see tomorrow.”
“A song!”
“Don’t you dare!”
“Goooood morning! Good morning! It’s great to stay up la-”
SMACK!
Con immediately fell to the ground, smashing against the marble painfully. I had punched him very hard in the face as I growled in irritation. He coughed a few times as I walked away with a huff.
“Worth it!”
I snorted and rolled my eyes, turning to Mister Darkness’ door. I knocked twice, paused, then knocked twice again. A voice beckoned me from inside. I smiled lightly, and as I walked in, I was immediately greeted to the familiar sight of Mister Darkness’ room. It was formerly Celestia’s room, so it was unsurprisingly huge. Paintings of past rulers and a few other things decorated the walls, which were a plain light cream color. Off to one side of the room was a large bookshelf with heavy novels and encyclopedias from centuries ago, which were lined with dust with yellowing pages. Off to the side of that was a large wooden cabinet that contained hundreds of fresh, unused scrolls along with several quills and jars of ink. Right beside that was a large chest containing several letters to Celestia from some pony named ‘Twilight Sparkle’. This pony seemed to be important to Mister Darkness, seeing that he went through some of the letters every night before he fell into a fitful rest. It had taken some time, but one day, he let me read some of the letters. They were all about friendship and the stuff she’s learned with all of her friends. I was recently told that the rest of the friends were actually five of the servants here in this castle. I had made a mental note to talk to them about it soon.
My eyes then met Mister Darkness’. His blue and green ones calmly stared back at me. He bent down to come eye-level to me.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
“Did Con give you trouble out there?”
“Pretty much.”
“Figured.”
He snorted and smiled lightly. Over the years he had grown softer, and allowed himself to smile more often. It seemed as if my plan was working, so I did my best to maintain it as much as possible.
I looked over to his left to see a few scrolls.
“Have you been reading those letters again?” I questioned. He blinked and looked over to the scrolls.
“Yeah, I have…” He said slowly. “You know, I have to do that. She did-”
“‘Hatch me after all’. I know, I was just asking.”
He stared for a moment, then chuckled. “Yes, of course, I must sound like a broken record. It’s just that… well… that’s important to me. Just as important as you and all of my other children are.”
“You always say that too.” I giggled.
“Only because it’s true, Love.” He said seriously. “Even the ones that want to kill me.”
I frowned at that. “Anyways,” I began, diverting the topic. I really didn’t like knowing that the ones he wants to make better ponies hates his guts. I was probably the only one who appreciated the things he did for us. “I was wondering if I could have a free day.”
Twice a month we could have a free day, which was a day where we could just stroll around the city or the castle without actually working. Roaming the city wasn’t too common among us due to the fact that the townsponies weren’t very fond of us. They were always scared, angry or pitying us, which wasn’t the best experience. Still, I was one of the few who took advantage of it since I loved being outside so much.
A frown slipped onto Mister Darkness’ face. “You really want to? After what happened last time…?”
Last time I had a free day, I got into a fight with some ponies. They looked fairly skinny, as the outline of their ribcage began to show. Obviously, they were beginning to starve. I had seen them bothering a stallion who was walking away with what looked to be just enough food to feed himself.
It's been very hard for ponies to get food. While the ponies still manage to grow some food, at least 30-40% of it is taken by us. In fact, the entirety of businesses and jobs have been quite disorderly and rough. Ponies still work on things, because they need to survive. They need water, food and shelter, but they’ve been struggling to get it back after all of the destruction. Still, they do a good job of maintaining things to be just good enough for them to live.
These ponies, however, made things harder for others. Then again, hunger can drive ponies to do reckless things.
The Adversary was ultimately made to make others suffer and follow the rules placed by Lord Darkness, along with finding members of the resistance and taking them down. However some, if not all of us end up helping somepony every once in awhile, though we’d be dumb to always break the rules. We were supposed to invoke fear and hopelessness, but we have mercy.
And that’s what caused the fight.
I made an effort to help the stallion, but couldn’t do so without getting my hooves a bit dirty. The starving fools really thought they could take me on. Not only was I well trained in combat, but they were weak due to malnutrition. So, they sloppily attacked. I didn’t even make too much of an effort to take them down, since they were just a group of weak thugs who only looked a little mean. The stallion I had helped didn’t know whether to thank me or fear me, so he simply opted to sit there and gawk. I sighed.
“Get away from here. There are still thieves lurking.” I had told him.
He hadn’t needed any more prompting before he rushed out of my sight.
“I won’t be out there that long this time. I’ll just use most of the day to train.” I insisted. He took a moment to think over it.
“Sure. Just be careful.”
I nodded and thanked him, then walked out of the room.
Sure enough, I kept my promise. Instead of going straight outside, I went to the castle’s gym. When I got there, Rapacity was already destroying a punching bag across the room. I walked up to him. “Hey Rap, mind if we do a bit of sparring for a minute?” I asked him. Any early birds in the gym suddenly focused on us. They’re always excited to see us spar. We were a bit of an odd duo, especially for heavy sparring.
Rapacity had always been taller than average. When we met the first day we got here, he still towered over me, even though we were foals. Our first day of training, we were assigned partners that we would learn combat training with. Ironically me, the smallest of all of the foals was paired with the largest of us, for a reason I’ll probably never know. It was tough for me at first, but it had definitely toughened me up. Now I could handle more than an average pony, which said a lot for me.
I had always viewed myself as weak before Darkness picked me up and brought me here. With hard work and some bruises, I have become sompony I never thought I’d be.
“Ha, sure. I need to get you back for last time.” He said with a smirk.
“It’s not like you’ll actually do much damage this time. Or ever.” I teased.
“C’mon, show me what you’ve got!”
His fighting was very powerful, yet slow. While he didn’t have the most graceful style, he definitely knew how to align his attack nearly perfectly. Although his precision was phenomenal, my wit gave me an advantage. Knowing how to read his body to forecast his attack and being able to take or easily avoid hits, I can always find a way to overtake him.
I suddenly lurched and felt an intense pain in my stomach. He had uppercut me and I just began noticing that I was about to fall. I tried to stop myself but it was no use. He pinned me down and raised a hoof. I braced myself, but the hit never came. I looked up at him in confusion.
“You’re not fighting normally.” He said, then took his hoof away from my chest. “You’re elegant, graceful, precise… but today, you’re sloppy and distracted. Tell me what’s wrong.”
With I frown, I stood up and let out a small sigh. “I’m not supposed to be down there unless ordered to, but…” I looked down. “But there’s someone there I’ve got to talk to.”
“You mean, in the dungeon? Why would-”
“Somepony down there. He’s… He knows something about….”
“Oh…” His brow creased. “...Are you sure? I mean, this isn’t like last time is i-”
“It’s not.” I interrupted.
His frown was indignant. “Whatever you say…” He huffed and headed towards the door. “Well, let’s get this over with now. No use in fighting a distracted partner right now.”
“No.”
I huffed in frustration at that one word. He absolutely refused to answer the question
“Who do you work with?” I repeated.
“Why would ANYpony in their right mind tell the one holding them captive about their teammates?” He asked rolling his eyes.
“Okay then… well then, could you give me at least some information about one specific pony that you may know?”
“Hmm…” The old stallion pet his beard. “Depends on the pony.”
I smiled a little in anticipation. “Okay…so what can you tell me about a stallion named Virtuous Charm?”
“Virtuous Charm… Oooh my... “ He began, his eyes slightly widened in mild surprise at the name. “That boy is odd. So darn helpful, carin’ and shy. Why, if my friend hadn’t bumped into him out there in some debris, he wouldn’t ‘ve made it. We took him somewhere and kept that boy safe for a while. He helped us out with some things fer quite a while and we were considerin’ recruiting him before one day, he packed all his stuff. All he really had was a dog tag necklace, a hoodie and a notebook. He left us, simply saying that he’ll come back. He had a sister to find.” He shook his head. “He woulda been great. Who knew he could fight so well? But nope, he declined us. He didn’t even let us figure out where she was first. He wanted to be the one. That ignorant child.”
I felt tears in my eyes but, in an act of professionalism, blinked them away. He wasn’t dead. My searching was worth it.
“That diary...:” He began. “I dunno why you should see it. But.. this feeling in my gut… For some reason, I can feel that this is right. Maybe it’s ‘cause you kids are just that: kids. Not some power hungry beast.”
I sighed and nodded. “Well then, thanks for the info.”
“Don’t mention it kid. Ever.”
We left the old stallion there and exited the dungeon. From there I almost broke down, nearly falling to the ground until Rapacity grabbed me. “Need a break? We could go to the-”
“No.” I interrupted. “N-no, let’s go get that diary.” I said and began walking to the front of the castle. Rapacity followed silently behind.
We hurried through town to the house that I had found the stallion in. I ignored the spit that landed on my face from an angry passerbyer who didn’t care about consequences, I just wanted to get to that book. It hadn’t taken too long to make it to the worn down place. I opened the door which was very unsturdy and walked inside. There was a long search with an unsettling silence looming in the small place, before I found it in one of the most typical spots. Under the bed. Huffed in frustration, pissed that I took the time to go through more… hidden spots. But nope, it had to be under the bed.
The diary itself was a fading purple color and its pages were yellowing. There was a lot of notes wedged in between the pages, some of which were crumpled or slightly torn.
With Rapacity at my side, I gently began to open the worn diary with a trembling hoof.
“It’s been a week since we’ve found this diary. We’ve all been eager to see it, since our leader kept it private for some time. This was big deal for all of us. This could potentially give us more information about our enemy. The Captain has decided to let each of us read it to give different perspectives and ideas on it. If we find anything of worth, we’ll write it down. I can’t wait to delve into this!”
There were a lot of papers shoved in between the pages in the diary. Further investigation proved to be helpful, as more of the papers were found not too far from the notebook. Apparently, there were a lot of notes that were based on the content, but weren’t completely related to it. I assumed they were side notes and thoughts for personal use. These notes weren’t related to Virtuous, but that’s not what I expected anyways. However, this could give us more information about what the enemy knows about us.
This… this was Darkness’ old journal. I could faintly remember him mentioning it to me some time in the past. I recognized some names in here. The first familiar name was Twilight. The same Twilight that was in all of those letters he had shown me. I finally got to know of her relation to Darkness. The others were also familiar. I didn’t really associate myself with them, but it’s about time I did. They could offer a lot of knowledge about Darkness that I could never hope to learn on my own. I can also see that Darkness was once very insecure. He had sounded like a teen who was scared of dealing with the hardships of life.This diary… this was taking a glimpse at a completely different perspective. This was his past, all recorded in this diary.
I frowned at the first sentence on the next page. This Twilight mare was definitely gone, and it had really affected him strongly. He seemed confident that she’d always be by his side. His self confidence, however, seemed pretty damaged. He also seemed to have mixed feelings about Twilight. He seems to care about her, yet he turns to say he’s her slave and she ignores him most of the time.
This was an interesting diary, to say the least. I really would love to know more about Spike. That way, I’d get a lot more closer to doing what needs to be done.Sometimes, I wonder if what I’m planning would hurt him. But the more I know, the easier I can make it for him. It will also be much more effective too.
I closed the diary. There would be plenty of time to read more when we got back to the castle. I put the diary and the papers into my saddlebags.
“So, if this is Lord Darkness’ diary as you’ve stated…” Rapacity began with a look of confusion on his face. “Who is Spike?”
“I don’t know.” I said. “But whoever it is must represent him in some way. I don’t know how, but I’m hoping to find out soon.”
With that, we were on our way back to the castle. The walk back was very uneventful, and I’m sure you don’t care about the glares or anything. It’s very commonplace when it comes to The Adversary. Everyone expects and accepts it. We walk through the gates, into the huge double doors that lead into the castle.
“Enjoy your trip?” Con asked as we entered.
“I guess you could say that.” I replied, continuing to walk down the hall. He left his post.
“What did you find?”
“A diary.”
“Ooh! Mind if I take a peek?”
I sighed and shrugged. “Go ahead. Knock yourself out.”
He took the book from my saddlebags. Knowing him, he’d make his own notes on the diary. It would be nice to have his input on it too. As mentioned earlier, there would be plenty of time for reading in the future.
“Gosh, I’m hungry.” Rapacity mumbled. He reached inside of his hair and pulled out a chocolate bar. One that was in a brown wrapper. It was his favorite one, the kind with the peanuts and caramel in it. “There we go.” He said and took a bite.
I shook my head. That doofus could pull out practically any food from his hair. For some reason, I could’ve sworn that there was somepony else like that, but I wasn’t sure who that crazy pony would be.
“Going to go talk with Darkness again?” Con asked. I always checked in with Darkness often. He was really nice to hang around when you really got to know him a bit.
“No. Actually, I might not really go and talk to him much today. I might wait until the evening.” Both of their eyes widened. “Really, I think I’ll go and talk to a few of the servants.” They both turned their heads to me. “He might want to go out to fly or something. Today I don’t really want to go back outside.” Con fell dramatically to the floor beside me and Rapacity stopped in his tracks. I looked at the two in confusion. “Uh… guys?”
Rapacity put his half eaten candy bar in front of my face.
“Eat this.”
“Why?”
“You’re not you when you’re hungry.”
“But… I’m not hungry.”
“But you ALWAYS want to go outside!”
Con’s muffled voice came from below. “And you always want to talk to Darkness!”
“Well, I know. Today’s just... different.” I said. Really, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Of course, these two didn’t care, they’d still be dramatic. So I just kept walking. Rapacity still held out his hoof, yet magically, his chocolate bar had disappeared, and Con’s face was still planted onto the floor
I sighed and shook my head. Those two goofs were just a handful. After a while of walking, I finally found it. The one room that housed five mares.I knocked on the door, and after a moment of waiting, the doorknob turned and the door was opened.
“Oh, heya.” Said a voice. The mare in front of me was was the orange one with the blonde hair. With that southern accent, I could only assume that that was the farmer.
“Hello. Mind if I come in for a moment?” I asked. I didn’t have to ask them. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even have to knock. However, I just couldn’t help but be respectful. I know that they are part of the problem, as I remember one of them telling me before, but it didn’t matter much to me.
“Of course.” She said and stepped aside for me to walk in.
The room was smaller than my own room. About half the size of it. Yet this was supposed to house five mares together. It must be a tad cramped for them. But from what I know, they definitely haven’t complained. I walked into the room and sat in one of the few chairs.
“I just wanted to ask a few questions, purely out of curiosity.”
“Uh… what kind of questions?” The mare asked, frowning. Though I could see that she was a tad nervous. Which was a reminder that she had some scars on her body. It was clear why she was so nervous.
“About Darkness.” I said, inspecting my hooves for a bit. “I just want to know how he was like before he decided to... destroy Equestria and rebuild it to his liking.”
The country mare winced then sighed. “Well…. He was a little fella. Not even quite your height. That dragon was nice to others despite the world around him being harsh towards him. Even knowing that he was a dragon and all, and he could have went with his own kind, he stayed with up. Until even now, he never left any of our sides, even though he’s going through this right now. He’s great, but misunderstood.” She frowned. “We all regret what we’ve put him through… and that’s why he’s going to make us stay with him the entire way through. So we will always watch, and always experience this… for many, many years….”
“Fluttershy. Could you please come down for a sec?” A voice said from the corner of the room. I hadn’t looked too much into the room. There were three other mares in here. A pink one with a straight mane, a cyan one with a rainbow mane, and a white mare with a messy mane. But… who else…?
I looked up and saw the morbid image of a yellow pegasus hanging on a noose. She was…. dead, right? A gurgle came from her throat.
“Because we have somepony here.” The same raspy voice came from the rainbow maned mare.
The yellow pony on the noose flapped her wings and took the noose from around her neck. It had seemed as if her original plan had been to land gently on the ground, but her wings stopped functioning as a loud CRACK emitted from them and she landed on her face. That was… slightly disturbing.
“...You should’ve went up there to get her… Dashie....” Said the pink mare in an empty voice. For some reason, that unnerved me a little.
“You know it’s not gonna actually kill her.” The mare, ‘Dashie’ replied.
“Still… it’s been an entire month now. Her wings-”
“Yeah, I know Pinks.”
These ponies were… emotionless, empty and just plain weird. Did they actually mean that the yellow one was up there for a month? I didn’t even bother trying to think about it logically. There was no point.
“So… you want to know about Spike?” Dash said, frowning at me. “What’s your deal?”
“Rainbow…” The country mare started.
“And why the hell are YOU going around telling whatever pony that comes in everything?!”
“She’s just a filly who wanted to know more about the one who’s holdin’ her captive!”
“She’s a nuisance is what she is! And it’s not her business how he used to be. Those times are GONE!”
“Dammit Rainbow, ya just can’t get over the past, can ya?! Ya can’t accept what’s happened, so you try to ignore it! And if someone mentions it, ya just can’t control yourself!”
The two mares were face-to-face, the rainbow one letting out a few angry snorts. I kind of felt bad for these mares. They were a mess.
“And you CAN get over it?! What type kind of pony ARE you!?”
“The kind who can control themselves, that’s what!”
“Um…” I attempted to interject.
“Quiet you! You’re not in this!”
“Shit, you really gotta be like that? Haven’t you got ANY self control!?”
“Fuck you and your self control! You can shove it deep inside you shitty ass-”
“QUIET!”
There was silence in the room. A tense on. I frowned at the two formerly arguing ponies.
“Thank you. Now, my purpose for coming here was to help out…” I looked at the blue mare. “There’s no need to be so hostile about it…”
“I’ll be hostile If I fucking wan-”
“I know you can’t die. However, I figured that, despite this enhancement, your physical body can still be... affected. Your nerves are your downfall. I can see why Darkness did this as it would enable a lot of pain, but no actual escape. Both mentally….” I took out a knife and slashed her face. She yelled as blood fell down her face “And physically.” I grabbed her by the throat and pulled her to me, forcing her to look me in the eyes. “I don’t have to play the nice guy, alright? You are to treat me with respect, or I can, and will, make your shitty life more of a hell than it already is, you understand me?”
“...” She didn’t say a word. I pushed her face into the floor.
“That’s what I thought.”
I let her go and huffed.” Now then, it seems that I’m not quite wanted, huh? Ah, you all were never quite wonderful ponies anyways, were you?” I went to the rainbow maned mare once more. “You, you’re quite weak. “Not again”, you say? Well, it seems that you just can’t stop making others miserable.” Her eyes widened at my words.
“H-how…?”
“Now, the prettiest mare here? Hmm… I guess he means this pathetic one here. You like toying with others’ emotions?” I asked the white mare off to my left.
“What…?”
“He glorifies you… well, he used to. Now, he sees just how pathetic you all are…” I frowned at the group for a while. The frown then faded into a smile. “I’ll get you all out of this, no worries.” I giggled a bit, and walked out, not even looking back.
“That’s one weird filly.” A southern accent commented as the door closed.
A little ways from Canterlot, a once lovely and peaceful village is now worn and busy. Despite them being hit the hardest by Darkness’ wrath, the ponies there were determined to build themselves back up. While the small village had never been hit this hard by anything, not even Tirek, the ponies were used to recovering from tragedies that often found themselves coming to destroy things. Thus, the ponies were able to make a mostly livable area, and somehow became a mostly functional village. Buying things wasn’t very common and instead, bartering was the norm.
In one decently built house, there lived two ponies, and another creature. One of the ponies, along with the creature, had embarked upon a treacherous journey through the Everfree forest. The pony was weakened and the other creature had to look after her. This travel had proved to be difficult, as there were always large dangers at almost any place at any time, and even when resting was needed, they couldn’t stay in one spot for too long. But eventually, after a little after a week, they managed to come out of that forest without being too battered. It had proven to be difficult, but with work, they were fine.
So, after such an adventure, the two had grown close together. Despite them being two different species, the only thing that mattered to them was each other, and they kept each other happy. This budding relationship came on time, as when they entered the village just outside the Everfree, they encountered the pony’s sister.
Or, at least, what was left of the pony’s sister.
With a torn horn and a nation literally being burned to a crisp, the sister had been reduced to a mostly incoherent, mumbling, crying, screaming mess. Her mental health had deteriorated very much over time. Perhaps, if she at least still had her horn, she could get better. But alas, a part of who she was had been ripped away from her. While her horn had been kept by her nephew in law and niece, hidden from her view, she could still remember the disembodied piece of her. The image of it being gone startled her, day after day, causing her to occasionally mumble “My horn”.
The other sister, after eventually getting a decent home, brought the broken mare to her house so that she could be there for her. Together, the mare and the creature tended to her needs, slowly helping the mare recover. It was unknown whether or not the poor mare would fully recover. But the couple were willing to do anything, small or large. But it was definitely challenging, and taxing on the youngest sister’s body and emotions which is why it was a good thing she had her love at her side every step of the way.
“Tia?” A voice called softly. In return there was a sound that was akin to the confirmation of hearing someone, yet somewhat… different. “I have your earl grey.” The response was a small hum.
Luna knew to be quiet when she was around her sister. With her delicate mental state, loud noises were the very opposite of what was needed. It was an odd adjustment. She had always looked to her older sibling for guidance and protection. She looked up to her, like a strong mare who was nearly perfect. Never did she think she would have to be the one to watch over and protect her. Not once did she suspect that her sister would be like a fragile flower.
“I know it’s not as hot as you like, but you spilt it last time, sister…” Luna said, gently helping her sister drink it. She had quickly learned that Celestia’s nerves had gotten quite bad. Her functionality had been impaired when she lost her magic and her horn, and her mental state definitely did not help it. She had to assist her with basic everyday activities, and help her recover mentally and physically. So she would get her sister to do exercises and spend as much time with her as possible. It was a bit stressful, but Luna was willing to do it for her sister. She wanted her back.
Celestia didn’t complain, or do much of anything really, as she drank the tea. Celestia would always enjoy tea, no matter what. It was her comfort. And, knowing this, Luna did her best to get tea for her as much as possible. It wasn’t easy, seeing as the destruction made it very hard to get just about anything. But she did her best to have it for her sister, because she knew just how important it was to her.
In the middle of helping her sister drink, Luna heard heavy and familiar footsteps coming down the slightly worn hall. The door to the room opened, and Luna smiled a little at seeing him.
“I’m finally home…” Cor’s deep yet smooth voice was a bit tired as he walked into the room and laid down on the floor next to the mares. “How’re things going? I see she’s drinking the tea better than last time.”
“Probably because it’s not right after a panic attack. But luckily she hasn’t been having them often.” Luna said as she put the cup down and leaned against the manticore.
“Well, I’m glad she’s doing better. I got us some food.” he said. He sat his large brown sack down onto the floor. He was great at providing food for the three of them, as his strength and knowledge was often needed from several ponies in the area. He exchanged his help for foods and goods for the three, and it was proving to be a stable source.
“Thanks dear. Say, you’ve been getting a bit more recently. Are you doing extra work?”
“Eeeh… just a little.”
“‘Just a little’ my hoof, you ‘re out more often for much longer.”
“Well, it’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? Look at this!” Luna was frowning as she Gently tapped the area near a deep wound.
Generally, Ponyville was one of the safest places for a pony to be in this time. However, ‘safest’ doesn’t really mean ‘safe’. Cor had been attacked by innocent looking ponies who seemed to be normal passerbyers. They had gotten the first blow, but a few attacks later, they were running for their lives. Though they still managed to get Cor on his right front leg, he insisted on working. He could be seen limping at times, though he tries to hide it from Luna. Knowing better, Luna insists that he doesn’t do as much work. But, of course, being the reckless manticore he is, he works even harder, knowing that if his leg were to give out, they at least would have enough food for when he got better. Despite this reasoning, Luna was completely against the idea of him doing more work.
“It’s just a small scratch-”
“Please, don’t talk to me as if I am some ignorant foal. I know for a fact that this is not ‘just a scar’. It’s very deep.”
“I’m a manticore, it’s not that bad for me.”
“You’d say just about anything to keep straining yourself, wouldn’t you?”
Cor let out a sigh. “But what if I can’t one day?”
Luna frowned at him. “Then I’ll go out while you’re getting better.” Cor groaned and put a paw to his face.
“We’ve been over this! You’re weakened and you need to be with your sister. She needs her sister with her.”
Luna was silent. Every time Cor brought up her sister, she couldn’t argue against it. She needed to be with her sister. That wouldn’t change for a long time. She hated that he was right. He was smart, yet he was a fool, pushing himself so hard.
“You could at least tone it down a little…” Luna huffed. There was a moment of silence.
“Fine.”
“It’s only because I care about you.”
“I know, I know…” He smiled a little and nuzzled the mare. “I’m glad. I admit I can be a bit reckless at times.”
“How did you manage without me?”
“Barely.”
“Bah! I say she’s a control freak!”
“You say EVERYONE’S a control freak.”
“Well I know one thing, times are tougher than tough, I couldn’t let some woman control me!”
“That’s because you’re gay.”
“You really like letting the whole world know, don’t you? Why don’t you just hold up a bright, blinking neon sign?”
“I could arrange that.”
“Ey! Don’t you start!”
“You boys just can’t get enough of arguing, can you?” Ice Tea stared at the pony and the manticore in front of her with a bored expression, wiping the shot glass in her hoof with a small towel. Her long ears twitched a bit and after sitting the glass down, she wiped a hoof through her pale blue and purple mane. “And Spirit, I’m sure that one glance at you could tell anyone that you’re anything but straight.”
Spirit huffed and raised his head. “You’re being dramatic…” He said, taking a sip of his gin. “I’m sure I can pass for a straight pony too.”
“Oh please, the only thing ‘straight’ about you is your hair.” The mare said, cleaning off the counter.
“That’s completely true.” Cor said from beside him.
“Jeez, why do I even hang with you two?” Spirit asked flipping his reddish brown mane out of his face.
“I saved you.” Cor pointed out.
“I know that you-”
“I gave you free drinks when you were walking around here like a lost puppy.” Said Ice, fixing her bowtie.
“Speaking of straight-”
“Shut it.” Ice said, giving him a cold glare. “I could give you a mystery mix.”
“Oh dear god, not a mystery mix. I swear it almost burned my insides last time. I don’t want to become acquainted with the toilet again any time soon.” He mumbled, shuddering at the thought.
“Lightweight.” she said, grabbing a cup and disappearing under the counter for a moment.
“I actually love the mystery mix. I’d like to have one if you wouldn’t mind.” Cor said with a small smile.
Ice came back up with a glass then disappeared under the counter again. When she came back up, she had hear mixer in hoof and began shaking it, being sure to put on a show as she did so.
Cor’s smile grew slightly. Whenever she did that, all he could think of how proud her father would probably be. He was known for his ‘mixing shows’ that he would put on for a ponies at his bar. They had a long line of mixers, drinkers, drink inventors and bar owners in the family. Rivaled only with the apple family, who has made an appreciable amount of great tasting apple drinks in the past and the present, they were known for making strong drink mixes. They’re great at concocting any kind of drink, but their specialty is alcoholic drinks. Ice always looked up to her father, and her father always had pride in his daughter. How Ice didn’t end up being a spoiled brat, nobody knows. She was a daddy’s girl, and her father gave her whatever she wanted.
“There you are. Mystery mix, and just enough to piss off your mare.” She said with a chuckle as she poured it in a glass.
“Really Ice? What about yours?”
“That’s not funny.”
“He looks girlier than me!” Spirit began laughing.
“THEY aren’t girly. Besides, you just admitted that you look girly.” Ice said smugly. Spirit immediately stopped laughing and frowned at her.
“You son of a-”
“Ahem, you two. Looks like we’ve got a visitor.” Cor said coldly, looking off to the left. Standing there was a large yellow stallion with a spiky blue mane. He was clad in a black scarf and a brown leather jacket. With a small frown, he trotted to the trio.
“Death in the afternoon.” He said, sitting down close to Spirit.
“On it.” Tea mumbled and grabbed her mixer.
“Brother why the hell are you here!” Spirit finally yelled, glaring at the larger pony.
“Because I need to get ready to go out to Canterlot.” The pony said, using his bandaged left hoof to wipe his hair.
“Canterlot? Why you going out there?” Spirit asked, his frown deepening. “The most dangerous place to be... Opposed to here, perhaps one of the safest places? Jeez Colt, you’re do backwards.”
“Colton, brother. Next time you better get it right.”
“Canterlot, eh?” Cor said, raising an eyebrow at the pony. Colton let out a small growl.
“What’s it to you, ya beast?”
Cor huffed. “Are you going to join the resistance?”
“As a matter of fact I am. Knowing how you are, you’d never resist. Because you are weak. Some random dumb animal. You don’t know how to resist. Very used to doing what your ‘master’ tells you, huh?” Colson said, sipping his drink.
“...You’re an idiot. I have two mares to watch over.” Cor said, not holding back the anger in his voice.
“Ah yes, the former princesses of this wretched place. If anything they should be paying for letting this happen-”
“They ARE you damn idiot!” Cor dug his claws into the counter and downed the rest of his drink. “They struggle every day. They don’t WANT this. They didn’t EXPECT this from someone who had contributed to SAVING this place! A hero gone bad! They are in constant pain because of it now, so you can just SHUT IT, or I will do it for you!”
“Tch, as if that was enough for what has happened! If you ask me, they should be dead!” Coltron yelled back.
“You little BITCH-”
“Boys, I think that’s enough…” Ice was suddenly between the two who had gotten up in the middle of their yelling and were in each other’s faces.
“I’M GONNA TEAR HIS-” Cor started.
“Nope.” Ice said, shutting him up.
“Move outta my way, you filthy-”
“Finish that sentence, and you’re never allowed in here again.”
The two were then silent, glaring at one another. Ice pushed them both to their seats. They both grumbled and sat in their respective spots. Ice was quickly back behind the counter again and sighed at the two. “You both get one more drink and you can see your way out.” She said, mixing up a couple more cocktails.
They didn’t say a word, and opted to stare at something. For Cor, it was his claw marks, and for Colton, an empty seat off to the side. Spirit sighed at the two and kept at his drink.
“Bar again…?”
Cor sighed. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“I really wish you hadn’t gotten addicted to something like that…” Luna said, shaking her head lightly.
“I’m sorry love. How about tomorrow, I stay home? No work and no alcohol.” He offered.
Luna smiled. “That would be lovely.” She said and pecked his cheek. “Well, I’m going to go to bed. Celestia has finally calmed down enough to go to sleep.”
“I’m with ya on that.” He grabbed the mare and began to carry her to bed. “It’s been a long day.”
Silence, that’s all you’re good for nowadays, huh?
…
Really, you could just go back to your old ways. Does it matter anymore? That Sparkle mare is dead, her friends are dead inside, and her pet is a rampaging monster. Surely, at this point, nothing can go right.
…
All you’re going to do is cause pain with this plan. Is that what you want? The downside to that spell isn’t trivial, after all. Maybe in a different circumstance, but this time, it’s just completely inhumane.
What else could I do? What else would fix this?
What, you think this will? Please, you’re doing more harm.
Discord grunted and ignored the voice for a while. “Son of a…“ he mumbled, going back to his deep thinking. No other spell he knew could do anything. No other spell… except one. But there was just no way. There was no way he could do it.
He shook that thought away and began thinking again.
---
“Heeey cutie pie!”
“Why hello, pain in the ass.” Love sighed at Zeal who had come to her post right outside the castle to bother her.
“Aw, I’m sure you meant that with… love.” He said, invading her personal space by leaning against her as he bounced his eyebrows.
“Haha, how 'funny'. What do you want?” She asked the annoying stallion.
“Maybe you? In bed with me?”
She looked him over for a second, then looked him in the eyes. “And what is there to look forward to by doing that?”
“A wonderful night of passion, of course.” He said, waggling his brows.
“I think I’d rather eat a bunch of acorns.” Love deadpanned.
“You’d rather kill yourself for me? How morbidly sweet!” he said, putting a hoof up to his heart.
“Holy crap, you just don’t stop, do you?” She mumbled.
“There’s no stopping this guy. I work to get what I want, and what I want is me inside of-”
Suddenly, there was a dull rumble. Off in the distance, there were armored ponies making their way to the castle at full speed. Love’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh would you look at that, we’re being attacked again. So quit screwing around and GO LET SECTION 5, 8 AND 11 KNOW!” Love yelled.
“I love it when you get bossy-”
“NOW.”
Zeal nodded and rushed away to do as she said.
Soon enough, the group of ponies were 10 feet in front of the castle’s entrance. The ponies of sections 5, 8 and 11 were positioned in front and behind the castle. The other sections were inside and alert.
On top of the castle, Darkness was perched, ready to watch things unfold and intervene if it was necessary.
“You know the drill… Surrender now, or we shall attack!” Yelled the leader of the group. He was a brown unicorn that had purple hair and a blue streak running through it. His blue eyes stared toward Love and her comrades intensely. The hatred could be seen in them. His very downfall. They could all see what would happen next.
“We shall stay loyal to our master!” She yelled, unsheathing the sword at her side. The same sword she had practiced with for many years, and always had on her side when at her post. The ‘Light’s Defender’, a scimitar sword handed down to her by her delusional trainer who thought it was nice to name swords. Seriously, that guy just couldn’t help but name his multiple swords he had. Anyway, the sword was great for Love, and she found it great to fight with. She liked closely and personally ending her enemies.
“CHARGE ONWARDS!” The captain yelled, raising his own sword, which was a kalis. Immediately, he and the group went forward.
Love readied herself, expecting this attack. Charging head on, like a fool. He didn’t set up specific formations or strategies. Rather, the pony was free to run their own course, and make up their own strategy based upon their own talents and style of fighting. Darkness’ guards, however, were a force that fought in a controlled and unified process.
As per usual, Love would handle the Captain, and the rest would pair up with whomever they were assigned with and fight together against whomever they encountered. Order easily overpowered chaos in this situation.
Their swords clashed against each other as they both fought to dominate one another. They had both been in this situation plenty of times. Never has the Captain ever succeeded in outmatching her.
“Come on…” He grunted, swiftly avoiding a jab “Why must you always be so resilient?” Love’s sword lightly grazed the side of his champron. He never did have as much balance and grace as her when it came to battling with swords. Somehow, she was quite nimble on her back hooves, much to his chagrin. He was never quite as quick or precise as her, which always resulted in his downfall. It frustrated him to no end.
“Oh please, you know I’d never back down. Especially not to the likes of you,” Love responded. This was a mental fight as much as it was a swordfight. And like always, her mind prepared for his onslaught of attacks as much as her body was.
“What do you have here? What are you fighting for? All that you have to look forward to here is captivity!” He yelled, quickly swiping at her. His glare hardened as she slipped away from the attack as if it were nothing.
Her ear twitched. “I have people who I love here. That’s why I fight, and I will continue fighting until you back down!”
“You can free them too! However, it all starts…. with you,” He said, almost getting hit in the chest.
“I cannot free them all. You don’t understand and you never will…” She huffed swinging faster at him. He was grazed a couple of times, but didn’t even flinch.
“You underestimate our power… All of your friends don’t have to be held captive by that beast.” The captain then started to move slower. Love’s frown deepened and her ear twitched again. Was he truly tired already?
Love simply huffed and continued fighting. She hated Darkness being called a beast or a monster. He-
“Or is he anything but a beast? Instead, perhaps he’s just some dragon pulled into a life he never asked for,” He said going at a pace that was easy to hit him at.
Love hesitated for a fraction of a second. In this very short amount of time, she realized that he had read the diary but it was much too late. She had slipped up. He went in for an attack, slicing the hoof that she held her sword in. She let out a scream before he disarmed her and held her down to the dirt. He held his sword in front of her face, looking down at her with a somber expression.
“I don’t want to have to kill you,” he told her solemnly. “You have to come with us.”
“You fucking-” Love could definitely break free in a normal situation, but she was incapable of doing anything but small movements. Her eyes widened and she gasped as she saw his horn glowing a bright blue.
“Oh yes…. for YEARS I’ve been waiting for this moment. Every battle we’ve had, this horn has been absolutely useless. But now…” He chuckled and sent a pulse of pain through Love’s body. “Now I am no longer a disgrace to my kind.” His chuckles turned into laughter. “Now, I can be the hero that everyone needs. I will be the one who brings FREEDOM!” He yelled. Love noticed something. There were less hoofsteps than usual. That could mean two things. One, they had won the battle, or…
They lost.
That’s when the ground gently rumbled as Darkness made his way over.
“You either step away from her, or I will crush you.” Darkness said, readying his magic in case they tried to make a quick escape.
“What, you want this little runt back? What use is she to you? No, I think I’ll take her and make her my plaything. It’s not like she’s worth anything.” He said, insulting Love with the intention of angering the dragon.
Darkness swiped his claw at the Captain, to which he simply held love in front of him with his magic when his claws got close. Love screamed as the claws dug across her chest. Darkness’ eyes widened and he looked at his right hand. Blood. Once again he had the blood of someone he cared about very deeply on his claws.Why did he lash out so blindly? Why…
“Let’s go.” the Captain said to his followers, to which Darkness quickly conjured up magic in his claws and attacked. However, they were prepared and the unicorns, which there were more of than usual, summoned their magic in unison and warded off the attack. Then, they were all encased in a bright blue glow before it exploded outward with a force so powerful that Darkness had taken a couple steps backward. Then, with a blindingly bright flash that lasted for only a second, they were gone.
Darkness blinked and looked around. “No…” He continued searching, not wanting to believe it was true. “NO!” How could he let this happen? They were ponies! Weak, useless, idiotic PONIES for crying out loud!
In the distance, he could see a flash. He immediately spread his wings and flew full speed ahead. He would have to move quick if he wanted to get Love back. They were several miles away, and his heart sank knowing that he had a very low chance of getting her. But he had determination and he flew faster than before. He WOULD get her back. He promised himself.
“Move, quickly!” The Captain ordered. He held an injured Love on his back as he hurried through the edge of town. He quickly scanned the town. Just as he thought, Darkness had seen them due to the large flash, but he was only a mere dot in the sky from where they were.
The large group of ponies made it to a rocky area. It was a few miles from where the train to enter and exit Canterlot used to run. It was an abandoned train tunnel with old, rusting tracks and several weeds, plants and vines growing around it. The group ran inside and began their long trek through the tunnel until they were about ten yards from the other end. From there, the Captain traced a unique pattern onto the wall and it opened up to reveal an arrow pathway that was slanted downwards. They rushed inside and it closed behind them a few seconds later. After another long walk there was a faint glow that resembled a portal. They walked through and came to opening that was loosely covered with vines. The Captain pushed them aside and revealed a forested area.
This area had several bunkers and structures made of what was provided to them, which was mainly wood, vines, and dirt. It housed many ponies who either had nowhere to go or wanted to fight against Lord Darkness. The place was very secure, seeing as the path to it was not only long, but hidden pretty well and the trees and vines provided wonderful cover. The small structures scattered about housing the residents blended well and they had the entire forest covered in traps or spells that lead ponies astray. It was no wonder the Adversary had no luck in the place.They searched the tunnel before, of course. The resistance almost slipped up one day, and were spotted running in there once. But a secret hidden door that required a pattern to open and blended in the rest of the wall of the dark abandoned tunnel? They weren’t even close to figuring that out at all. With how crafty the bastards were, they probably had multiple secret entrances.
Love couldn’t help but wonder where they were. Certainly this wasn’t Canterlot, seeing as there wasn’t a forest near it. If anything, they weren’t even on the mountain. She figured they must be at the base of it or something of the sort. It was a shame her eyes had been closed for most of the trip, seeing as she was trying to focus on dealing with the pain of being torn open by Darkness’ claws. It was hell for her at the moment.
The Captain was taking her into one of the largest structures present. All she could wonder was what he planned to do to her. After all of their defeats, she was pretty stumped on what to do if they actually went somewhere with their plans, and she had admittedly grown careless. His inability to use magic made fighting with him similar to fighting an earth pony, and she always had the advantage of actually being one. Their fights were mostly unfair on his end due to his issue. But now, suddenly, he had magic and he used it when she never could have foreseen it. So… he got this far. Just what will his next step be.
Soon, they had made it to the wooden shack. It was decent enough, and looked a bit better than the houses in Canterlot. It didn’t look great but it wasn’t broken down or threatening to collapse. He dropped her onto a couch that was near a wooden desk. He then sat in a chair not far from the couch Nothing was said for some minutes, but the Captain had broken the silence.
“So…. what to do with you? We finally have you here with us. And I’m sure you’re not quite eager to join us on achieving freedom…”
“You’re right, I’d never fight on your side.”
“That there is what’s important.” He walked over to her and looked her deep in the eyes. “Why do you insist on fighting for him?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” She said and foolishly tried to stand up and walk away. His horn glowed and she was suddenly paralyzed.
“I’ve read a lot of things... studies hundreds and hundreds of spells. I could never perform them, but it didn’t stop me from learning ever since I was a small colt. There are so many ways I could kill you, force you to do whatever I desire and make your life a living hell.” He lifted her head to make her eyes meet his. “So you’ll comply and I won’t have to do things the painful way, yes.”
Love frowned. “No.”
Suddenly, her whole body felt like it was on fire and being stabbed with hundreds of needles repeatedly all at once. She let out a scream of pain as the sensation lasted for a full minute. Suddenly, it ended, and Love managed to open her eyes some.
The New Generation of Spike the Dragon Chapter 5: Suffering
Darkness stared down at the smoldering pile of debris in front of him. Once again, he’d done quite the number on Canterlot. It would probably be harder for the current residents to fix things this time too. He was sure they were seriously running low on supplies to make a livable shelter.
Not like he cared.
“I’m such… a fucking idiot.” Darkness mumbled to himself. “How, could I have let this happen…?” He sighed, and turned to the abandoned tunnel. He had looked inside and found nothing. They’d gotten away. He… let them get away. Despite how he had flown as fast as he could, they slipped between his claws like it was nothing. He felt a burning sensation deep within him. She was all he had. The only one who cared. The only one who stood by him for years. Love did what she could for him because she wanted to. Even as a small filly, after he’d snatched away her parent’s lives while she was there and separated her from her brother, she loved him anyway. He never understood why or how. He didn’t know what he had done to earn this. But he cherished his time with her. Every minute.
And yet she was just snatched from him. But he was right there, watching it. He watched the one person who truly cared leave him. He absolutely hated himself for letting it happen.
He let out a scream of rage that echoed throughout the entirety of Canterlot and beyond.
Love fell to the ground in a heap and gasped as waves of pain coursed through her body. The Captain was serious about taking advantage of his newly developed power. Some of the things she experienced were sensations that she never could have begun to imagine. The Captain chuckled.
“You held out for such a long time, dear. But that just gave me more incentive to try out more of my wonderful spells. What a perfect little lab rat you are!” He said with a proud smile. “Now, I could do even worse without killing you. Or you could just comply with my orders and tell me what I want to know. You have a choice. Trust me, even after an entire hour, I’m nowhere near bored.”
With a small thud, Love’s head fell to the ground in defeat. She couldn’t endure this for too much longer. Reluctantly, she accepted her fate and decided that whether she complied or not, things would still continue to go downhill. Or perhaps it was the throbbing pain covering every inch of her body that was doing the talking.
“Fine then, asshole,” Love mumbled.
“Such a shame, I had a new spell ready. It seemed like a fun one...”Love shuddered a bit. “Now tell me, why are you so loyal to him? For years that has stumped me, and I intend on knowing. Now.”
Love sighed and frowned. “I have been taught for years to be loyal and obey. So that’s what I do,” she answered.
“Oh, but it’s more than that, isn’t it? All of those young soldiers he has obey him with stoicism. But you… you WANT to help him. You willingly help him, and it’s not because he tells you to. So don’t try being vague.”
Love looked down. She couldn’t avoid him. They weren’t on the battlefield, clashing swords as he tried to obtain whatever little information he could her. Pain coursed through her body, she couldn’t move… he had her in front of him, weakened and unable to stop anything. She grunted. Admitting that to herself was one of the worst things she’d experienced. To think that after years of scars, blood, yelling and tears… after outmatching him in every single battle…. She was there paralyzed with pain, unable to do anything but do what he told her to do.
“He is… my friend,” she mumbled, the fact that she was opening up to him put a bitter taste in her mouth. “And just like with any friend, I’ll stick by his side and help him however I can. I know he’s done… lots of bad things. He killed so many ponies…” She thought back to her parents’ lifeless corpses on the ground, the green fire surrounding them, their faces twisted into looks of pain. Their petrified eyes haunted her. For years, the image had never left. “He… he tore so many away from happiness…” The nights that she had spent crying flashed in her mind. “But dammit it’s because the world tore away his own. He wasn’t thinking… he wanted the rest of the world to feel his agony too!”
“Your friend…” The captain mumbled, looking away from her for a moment. “Somehow, you see that monster… that vicious, murderous BEAST… and you see a friend.” He turned back and looked back with anger and confusion in his eyes. “Just how… HOW does anypony look at that scum who killed hundreds, destroyed the homes of thousands, devastated millions of lives… and call them their FRIEND?!” He yelled, slamming a hoof. “How sick and twisted, how disgusting and pathetic does a pony have to be to stand by, help and be a loyal friend of such an EVIL-”
“HE IS NOT EVIL!” Love interrupted, her face contorted in rage. “He is not a monster, he is not a beast, and he sure as hell isn’t scum! I think… that title belongs to you.” She looked him in his cold blue eyes. “He is scared, hurt, confused… he’s locked away the kindness in his heart because he’s been in pain! But it... hurts less when you lock it away. I know this… so very well. For years he’s vented his rage. I can see it all! The self-loathing, the pretending to be heartless, the fear of being hurt again! And what do you do? YOU MAKE THINGS WORSE! It’s like if you were to kick a dog repeatedly. You just keep attacking it and of course it’s going to bite back! Instead, you should befriend it and show it the right path. But no, you just have to keep kicking it! You see this violent animal, and then, in their eyes, I see something that is trying not to be kicked anymore.”
It was silent for a moment. They both hadn’t stopped glaring at one another. Finally, the captain huffed.
“That’s like being nice to a prisoner… and just letting them go around making everyone else’s lives shit. No, they have to pay for their crimes.” The captain argued. “I refuse to let a killer do what they want. They will swiftly be met with a harsh punishment. I shall defend the people!”
“Dear god your stupidity is just painful to listen to.” She mumbled, letting out a small groan.
“Say that all you want. But I will be victorious and all will look up to me as a hero. The one who stood up to do something when nobody else would or could. And I’ll be damned if I let someone like you get in the way of that!” He stamped a hoof against the floor to accentuate his point. “Now, let’s get you out of here. I’m sure my good friends out here would love to have fun with you.”
“That’d be fairly simple if I could move.” Love said with a small angry snort.
“Oh, yes, that.” He said in a bored voice before lighting his horn. Love suddenly felt numb. But the pain was gone and she could move better now. “Come now, don’t keep them waiting,” He said, pushing them forward roughly after they got up.
The door closed behind them and they were off to where they’d keep her captive.
