Snow, that is all I have seen for the past thirty-six hours and not a single speck of civilization on the horizon. I don't know how I got here but one moment I was at a convention in Los Angeles and the next moment I am face first in a pile of snow with my ass in the air, not the most dignifying pose the Kell of Kells has ever been caught in but I am fortunate that there was nobody around to see me like that.

For past day and a half I have been trudging through fields of snow in a straight line, holding my seemingly real shrapnel launcher in my also seemingly real four hands, I don't know how I can even move the extra two limbs but it feels so...right? Is that the right word to use? And my extra pair of eyes and my voice and especially this body, they do not belong to me and yet here it is, a part of me now and not a single ounce of my human body remained.

I don't know how the hell this happened but if I was abducted by aliens then the people back home got it wrong about being anally probed and dissected, these damn aliens turned me into what I was cosplaying as and gave me working weapons, armor and even a fully functioning biological system to go with the alien race I am dressed as. Either that or there was some sort of 'magic bullshit' happened but seeing how magic doesn't exist I am going to go with either god being real and fucking with me, science happened, or science magic happened which then breaks the foundations of reality and laughs at my face.

The last things I can recall is the day of the convention, me giving Jayce the middle finger for dressing up as Xûr, me taking off my helmet to take a bite out of a Big Carl burger, taking off my costume to get through the metal-detector, another middle finger but this time to Gerardo for laughing at my misfortune, then the merchant with the cool looking shit...what could it possibly be?

Going back to the task at hand I kept on trudging through the fields of snow, my heavy cloak dragging behind me as I crest over yet another hill, but this time I was making progress. How did I know I was making progress?

Because this time instead of seeing nothing but snow and ice, I now see a sliver of something sparkling off in the distance.

And that distance just so happens to be beyond my reach as there are several more snow hills in between me and whatever the sparkly object is, I sure hope its a town of some kind or if I am lucky and Destiny game lore applies to this plane of existence, a passing patrol with a Sparrow or Pike.

I can only think back on how I got here as I walk forward, hoping that with my thinking done I reach my destination.

"Come on Ian, we are going to be late!" an angry Geraldo shouted from his van as I put on my overly complicated helmet, the damn thing got caught on the doorframe so I had to take it off and put it back on outside my home. I swear its like this thing just loves getting caught in the worst places ever.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Sheesh hold the fuck on, it's not like we are going to lose our reserved spot in the car lot or at the hotel we are staying in!" I shouted back at the angry driver as I left my home and ran toward the van, my buddy Jayce called shotgun and was already sitting in the passenger seat. Our ginger lady friend who we call Brave, she was dressed up as Omnigul cause why not, she is the only girl in our nerd group in college that actually plays Destiny with us when we are not killing each other in Minecraft, League of Legends or Warframe. My other three friends who are sitting in the back in order are Luke as a Titan, Kyle the Hunter and Jonathan the Warlock.

I swear its almost like this van is half heroes and half villains from Destiny...oh wait, it is.

"About damn time! Now close the bloody door so we can get going." Geraldo shouted one last time before flooring it, I closed the door as soon as we started to move and with a sigh I lean back against my chair and started to fiddle with my costume, my ass is hurting already in this thing.

Once we started moving and got on the freeway to the convention we started to talk amongst ourselves, talking about what we are going to do, who we are going to see, what crap we are going to get into. In the middle of our planning, our illustrious driver decided to torture us all by playing a song from his custom playlist and the sounds of moaning, wailing and gnashing of teeth can be heard from orbit as the song started to play.

Youtube Video

I swear to god I am going to murder him just to kill us all just so I don't have to listen to this song anymore.

I almost did end up killing him, I just had to bash him upside the head with my helmet and he would be out like a light, but then again I might get sent to hell and be forced to listen to that damn song for all eternity. That would actually be a fate worse than death.

When we arrived at our hotel room after four hours of freeway and mind-melting music I dumped all of my crap in my room and collapsed on the bed before realizing that Brave followed suit in my plan and landed on top of me, which is nice since she is on top of me but bad because she has me in the friendzone...the dreaded friendzone.

"You guys done putting your junk away? We have to get downstairs and then get to the convention center and I don't want to get stuck in that line all day! Come on get your boop in a group!" I swear I am going to shove my size twelve boots up his narrow ass one of these days.

Going down the elevator we were met with random people, I swear I can hear one of them snickering at us but I could care less about what they think of us, it's not like they can see our faces underneath all of this crap and post it on facebook.

Stopping at the front desk to wait for the rest of our little group I started to stretch a bit, can't have myself stiffen up at the wrong moment and get a cramp or worse a dead limb. Having pins and needles is a pain to get rid of and it stings like hell whenever I use said dead limb. Once we got everyone assembled we left the hotel with some swagger in our step and went straight to the convention which just so happened to be a few blocks away from where we were staying at and our wait wasn't long because we got there early for once.

I was so glad that we got there early cause if we had to wait hours just to get in I might have had to stab a fool.

"Hey Ian! We're gonna go grab some pizza in the food court, you want anything?"

"Yeah man, try to get me a stromboli if they have it, if not then sausage pizza, no mushroom or pineapples please."

"Okay man, watch our stuff till we get back okay?"

"Sure, just don't take too long, remember I got to go see some shit too."

"No problems, just make sure nobody jacks our crap."

And so I waited, and waited, and waited for another forty-five minutes before almost falling asleep until the four of them got back with my food in tow.

I think they were just waiting for me to fall asleep cause of starvation.

With food in hand and now in belly, I set out to go see what this place had to offer, and what it offered was both great in stock and disappointing in what I first saw.

I saw a booth that was about Half-life 3 and sorry to the people that love Half-life 1 and 2 but its never coming out, you have a better chance of Fallout 5 coming out then that damn game. Hell even XCOM 2 has a better chance of coming out then Half-life 3!

After that I saw a guy with a booth wearing some strange merchants attire, and at his booth I saw all sorts of trinkets, gadgets, loot and swag, even a pair of 'Deal with it' sunglasses. I would buy those shades but I want something that I would actually use for either this costume or any and all future costumes.

That was when I saw a strange looking clasp on the table right next to an amulet and a ring, thinking that would go great with my heavy-looking cloak I bought it without a second thought, the merchant letting out a creepy laugh when I gave him the money and when he gave me the clasp but I didn't care. I got what I wanted and when I fixed my cloak and replaced the clasps where I was standing but when it was done did I start to feel a little light headed.

It was at that moment did I realize that I think I might have just been assassinated in a public setting by a strange looking old man, I can only hope that I don't shit myself upon dying.

I have been walking for hours now, the sun just now coming over the horizon and with it came nothing, apparently there are dark clouds roaming across the sky blotting out the sun's warmth and light and also giving the land underneath a dark vibe. It has been exactly two days now since I arrived here and I have yet to feel the need to eat any food or drink water, I think it must have to do with the fact that I am now Fallen or Eliksni or whatever it is called, I wonder what exactly I must eat or drink now to survive.

As I trudge over the next snowy hill I finally see what I first caught a glimpse of earlier, it wasn't a shiny object nor a passing patrol of Fallen, Hive, Cabal or the Vex. No, what I saw and I am now seeing is a tall spire made of some type of reflecting material and beneath it was a castle of the same material and surrounding said castle is a city, with exactly the same building material but all of it looks dark and depressing.

Standing at the top of the hill I got a nice vantage view of the entire city, the castle stands at the center and looks like a star shape as it makes the roads in five directions that leads outward, the buildings surrounding the castle look crystalline in nature, somewhat boxy and cubic in shape and lastly very dull looking. This city has rings of buildings, all of them forming a pattern of sorts and with that pattern an easy way to move around without ever getting lost. I could use this to my advantage if I ever anger the local population of whatever lives here cause it sure as hell ain't human.

Sliding down the hill I let the loose snow carry me to the outskirts of the city, there was no walls or gates to prevent me from entering and there wasn't a single guard to block my passage...is this place deserted or something?

Walking into the city I saw that the road is made of cobblestone but of the crystalline nature, it wasn't see-through like regular crystals but it has its hardness and durability so it is clearly capable of handling my weight without cracking or shattering. With each step I take down the center of the road I can see from the sides of my eyes the partially concealed gazes of the citizens that live here and I can smell their fear, without even needing to look in their direction I can hear the residents slam their windows and doors closed, seems like these people are skittish and afraid, I wonder if it is because of my appearance or some other foreign reason?

Looking at the buildings that reside within this town I saw that between every few homes are stores of some kind, each store had some picture of attachment to it to signify what it was which is a good thing because I have no idea what they could be without that assistance. Glancing at the buildings I saw that at first glance I thought this place was normal sized but as I walk up to some random home I realized that I was wrong about this place having normal homes, the doors and windows are all smaller than normal, clearly hinting that those living here are not human...that or they are just midgets.

By the time I reached the center of the city I stopped at the castle, it was being supported up off the ground by four struts and from what I can see each one has a set of large double doors. This castle is almost like the Eiffel Tower in France but made of crystal, looks a lot better than the Eiffel Tower and also there are no annoying tourists all over the place. There are no guards or sentinels outside or inside of the castle, it almost seems that this place is lifeless or deserted. Strolling through the exquisitely decorated entrance hall of the castle I saw several paintings and portraits hanging on the wall and they all had the same thing in common, they were about a dark looking unicorn wearing a red fur cape, a nasty looking red horn and fangs.

Stopping beside the large statue that has been placed in the center of the entrance hall I can see that instead of the usual bright clear-ish crystals but instead this thing is made of black crystals, and then I realized that there are more black crystals around, they hang from the walls, ceiling and on the floor, almost like a corruption or like the Hive.

'Dirty beasts...defiling this place, those insects will learn their place yet!'

Climbing another series of stairs past the black crystal statue I let out a grumble of hatred, these stairs are far too small for me and I realized even back then they were annoying, at least I don't have to climb any more stairs.

I was wrong, I had to climb four more sets of stairs, I searched this entire castle with the exception of the room before me, this place is straight up deserted and there are black crystals everywhere. I swear if this place is infected by the Hive then I am going to be in for a fight of my life because a single Fallen can't take on a horde of Hivers...well I can since I am considered a boss but then again bosses have been known to be overwhelmed and killed by minions.

Pushing open the giant doors I slowly made my way in, my two smaller arms holding my shrapnel launcher as my larger arms pushed the doors in. What I saw next made me pause and simply stare at what my four eyes were seeing.

Sitting there on a throne made of sharp, tall jagged black crystals was a large horned horse and surrounding it are a bunch of small horses changed to the floor, walls and throne...

What the hell did I just walk into?

For King Sombra today has been a good day, the magic that has been holding him hostage within the deepest abyss of the Crystal Empire has been weakened to the point that he was able to escape, and with his return came his precious empire also. Once he left that abyss in the ground he stormed the castle and reclaimed it along with several of the citizens that lived there, reinstating his reign of terror.

Glancing down at his throne Sombra saw the several imprisoned ponies that he had captured and removed from their homes, all of them chained to where they are, unable to escape and unable to resist his advances on them. One particular pony caught his eye, it was his old captain of the guard, one he thought he had exiled from his kingdom when he took power away from its original royal ponies. Igniting his horn with a dark and insidious glow, he removed the old guard from his chains and brought him up to his face, it has been several centuries since he last drained the life force of a pony to keep himself young and powerful.

As he brought the exiled pony to his face to be drained by connecting his horn to the old one's forehead he was interrupted when something opened the giant oak doors, the loud creaking noise coming from the unoiled hinges and with it came the appearance of an unknown being.

CREEEEEEEEEEEK

Jolting up from the sudden loud sound Sombra dropped the old stallion in his magical grasp, the old pony falling down on the black crystal stairs, cutting his forehead one a corner as blood started to seep down. Glaring at the intruder, Sombra was about to blast said intruder with a bolt of unicorn might but he stopped himself when he saw exactly what he was about to annihilate for interrupting his feeding.

Standing there with the light of a candle at its back was a giant creature, it was wearing light blue armor on its arms and legs, leather underneath the metal plates as far as he can see, it had two sets of arms as the larger set is above the smaller ones, its head was concealed in a strangely shaped helmet, there was two furnaces attached to its helmet along with two strange cords attached to where its mouth should be, also glowing red as if it was filled with molten fire. Around its neck is a large ring of fur from some animal, and on its back it looks like two large tusks that obviously belonged to some beast of great size that is now being used as decorations.

This creature looks like it can be easily manipulated to suit his needs.

"Excuse me...can you tell me exactly where I am...I seem to be...displaced from my Ketch."

Staring at the large unicorn on his throne of black crystals surrounded by what is obviously slaves of small horses, and these small horses are all sad looking, they look dirty, grimy, depressed and scared shitless in both my presence and the dark looking unicorn. The dark unicorn was wearing a crown now that I can clearly see it, it was also wearing a red cloak and steel armor, clearly the signs of an evil tyrant that needs to be overthrown and replaced by a Kell.

The horse glared intently at me, obviously I have interrupted whatever it was about to do to the stallion it was holding in its grip of invisible strength, I watched as the stallion dropped down and conked his head on one of the steps, causing a fresh cut to be formed and blood to seep out of it, staining his silver coat with a red tinge.

I noted that as soon as I entered the room that all of the small horses started to back away from the tyrant, they seemed to be more scared of him then they are of me. I sure hope this means that they are more willing to work for me when I take over then fight me if they fear him more. Fear and Love work hand in hand when it comes to ruling but for me ruling as a Kell means putting insubordinates in their place and make them do something that might be seen as suicidal but these horses can't possibly do it as I have no means to bring them back without a servitor or an archon to help the process along.

"Beast, how dare you disturb my presence with your hideous form!" the dark unicorn shouted at me as I stepped into what is now the throne room.

Staring down the horse I start to take steps closer to the throne, pointing my shrapnel launcher at the unicorn as I watched a forked tongue slither on out of its layer, my own eyes glaring him down as the barrels ignited, signaling that they are ready to fire.

"Beast? I am Skolas! The Kell of Kells of the Eliksni and you should learn your place lest you find your head mounted on a pike and decorated on my Ketch!" I growled out, my deep voice cutting through the air as Sombra's own hissing tone gets reduced down into nothing more than a whimper, but he controls himself into a fighting stance upon his throne and tries to glare me down.

"FOOL! I AM KING SOMBRA AND YOU SHALL KNOW YOUR PLACE WORM!" the horse called Sombra jumped from his thrown over the injured old horse and past the other ones as he stops right in front of me, his large size comes up to my lower gut, his head just above my groin. "YOU WILL BOW BEFORE YOUR KING! I AM THE MASTER OF THIS KINGDOM AND THESE SLAVES BEND TO MY WILL!"

'Slaves? Oh you are not going to be walking out of this one alive buddy, we outlawed slavery in America 'cause it is wrong but you sir are about to take a one way ticket on the pain train.'

"You? A king? Ha! You are nothing more than an insignificant insect, your brood mother must be so proud to know that her son has done so well since he left her teat. What's the matter runt, afraid to-" I was cut off when I saw Sombra's red horn gave off a blackish glow before shooting a black bolt of crystalline death.

The black crystal collided with my chest and knocked me on my back, at first I thought this horse just killed me but when I didn't feel any pain nor felt any blood loss I looked down to see that my shields have taken the brunt of the blow and only knocked me down. The black horse though, he had his back turned away from me, thinking that he has slain me.

He has only made me angry and thirsting for his blood.

"THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE THAT DISAPPOINT OR ANGER ME SLAVES! LOOK AT HIS BODY AS AN EXAMPLE AS TO WHAT I WILL DO TO ANY OF YOU WHO DARE THINK TO DISOBEY MY WORD!"

While Sombra was busy gloating over my 'death' his slaves were huddled together, cowering in fear as they fear for their lives, knowing that King Sombra has just killed someone just barely after a day of his exile has come to an end.

Getting up slowly off the floor I grabbed my shrapnel launcher and set it to burn on contact instead of explode and with my smaller arms I removed my swords from their sheaths and quietly moved behind the fool tyrant, ignoring his opponent would be his first, and last mistake he will ever make alive.

Standing right behind Sombra I thrust both my swords into his back, the blades penetrating through the plate armor he is wearing, the metal points going through flesh and bone before coming out the other end. Lifting Sombra off the ground I barely felt his weight at all as I watched his body start to go limp as I hear him let out a garbled shout of pain as blood comes gushing out of his mouth and from his fresh new air holes in his chest and back.

"But...how?" the dying king asked as I raised him to my height, moving my head to his ear before whispering.

"I am the Kell of Kells, and you are just a worm who has went against his better." I said before shoving the barrels of the shrapnel launcher into his back and set him on fire.

His silent screams of pain and agony is the last thing he ever did as his body was steadily burnt to ashes.

Shining Bastion has had a rough day, first he gets fired as the old captain of the guard then he gets exiled and before he has a chance to even get his things and leave he gets captured and imprisoned. Now here he is, laying on the throne's steps bleeding from his head and watching as his old king gets impaled by the strange bipedal creatures' twin swords before being set on fire.

"I am Skolas and you are no longer welcome here Sombra, your ashes will fuel a new reign. The House of Wolves will be reborn." the tall bipedal creature said in a deep, menacing voice as he saw along with the other slaves in the throne room watch the black tyrant burn away into a pile of ashes.

Before he knows it upon Sombra's death all of the black crystals that lined the room and castle explodes violently, turning into dust as the dark gloom that once hung over the crystal empire was released.

"So, does killing him make me the new king? Or does he have any heirs to the throne that I must remove first?" the bipedal said as every single pony in the room immediately ran away. The old stallion couldn't take it anymore and collapsed, the revelation that his old mad king was slain right before his very eyes and now the very black crystals that has corrupted him and imprisoned his friends and family are now gone.

Who ever this strange creature is, maybe he is the one that was prophesied long ago when he was just a colt that would come and save them all from King Sombra's madness.