My loyal Crabs, it has arrived! The Light Kingdom Chronicles... Chapter Number 11! Sorry for the wait, but when your school just loves to give you absolutely awful assignments that take months to finish, you will find it rather hard to actually update your stories. I found this out the hard way, but thankfully I have managed to get the new chapter finished, albeit rather late however. Big thanks to Pikachu42 for the help with some parts of the story and also thank you for your patience! Anyway, as always I will see you fine Crabs at the bottom of the page!
The Light Kingdom Chronicles.
Chapter 11: Aftermath.
Concord's house: Monday 4:00pm.
Concord sat on his couch, watching as the fire crackled and popped about in the fireplace. He had been sitting on the seat for some time now, and he was anything but enthusiastic about going outside in the rain. He almost dozed off into sleep when there was a knock at the door. Concord got off his seat and trotted over to the door, he grasped the handle with his magic and opened the door. Outside was a very rain drenched Spike holding an umbrella in his left hand. "Come in Spike, what do you need?" Concord quickly rushed to the bathroom cupboard to grab him a towel. He returned to the dragon who had sat down next to the fireplace and let the small reptile wrap himself up in the cloth. "So why are you here Spike?" Concord asked and sat back down on his sofa. "I had a letter for you, but it got completely soaked in the rain while I was on my way here, so I might as well just give you the brief version." Spike explained. "The police commissioner wants you at the P.P.D sometime tonight so you can get Lyra out of your armour". Concord was puzzled and asked "How do they know that it belongs to me?" Spike replied "Rarity may or may not have told them a subtle lie to keep your secret identity safe for a bit longer." The dragon then turned back to the fire and continued to warm himself. Concord slid off of the sofa and went to go and get a form of coat, only to discover he didn't even own any other clothes besides his goggles and neckerchief. The stallion grumbled and headed for the front door; just as he was about to leave, he called to Spike, "Keep an eye on the house while I am gone Spike, I shouldn't take too long anyway!" Concord opened the door and stepped out into the rain and the water droplets matted down his coat and mane, much to his annoyance. "Oh well, at least I won't be long" he mumbled and made haste for the Ponyville Police Department.
Ponyville Police Department: 4:11pm.
Concord trotted through the front door of the building and checked in at the reception desk. He took a seat on one of the rooms waiting chairs and levitated a newspaper up in front of his face to read. A few moments later he was called to report to the commissioner's office by one of the officers. Concord got up from his seat and replaced the newspaper in its original spot then headed for the office. When he entered the room, he was greeted by a stern looking mare wearing aviator sunglasses and a navy blue trench coat. "Sit down" she ordered, Concord sat down on a chair in front of the mare's desk. "So, do you know why you are here?" she asked, to which Concord replied "I'm here to speak to Lyra Heartstrings and retrieve something of mine". The mare grunted and opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a folder, inside were pictures of ponies wearing hoodies similar to Lyra's. All the ponies' jackets were the same shade of maroon, the same symbol sewn on the area where their cutie marks would normally be. "I can say this, it ain't the first time we have had to deal with these lot mister Concord, in fact only a few of 'em have been caught, but they always somehow just, disappear!" Concord was puzzled. "Disappear?" he asked. "Yep. One of our officers on guard was found knocked out once, and when he woke up, he simply said that he saw them disappear in purple smoke. We don' know if he told the truth or not, ya know, what with the being knocked out thing." Concord frowned and then stated, "I have dealt with ponies like these before, and just as you have described, they always slip through our hooves when we capture them." The commissioner added, "Her Highness herself told us to keep an eye out for anypony wearing jackets like this and or acting suspiciously around you and your friends". 'So that's how they know my real name.' thought Concord, before getting the point. "So you called me here why exactly?". The mare got off her seat and motioned for the stallion to follow her into another room. The two trotted out of the office and down the hallway towards a very secure looking door, similar to the one Concord had incorporated with the Cryogenics room entrance. The commissioner withdrew a keycard from a pocket in her coat and swiped it against a panel on the door and replaced it back in her pocket. Concord watched as the door opened, only to reveal another door, which opened to reveal another door. "How many doors does one room need?" Concord asked the mare, who replied sternly "when your Police Department has to occasionally hold some of the most notorious criminals known to Equestria, you need all the security you can get". Finally the last door opened and the two ponies entered the room and Concord took in the vast amount of cells that decorated the massive expanse. The commissioner calmly trotted past the cells, ignoring the insults the inmates threw at her. Concord stuck close to the mare, the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with a hundred potty-mouthed ponies with attitudes! The two stopped at another large steel door and the commissioner stated, "This is where we have Heartstrings locked in, we already have an agent of ours interrogating her as we speak, I'm sure the agent would like to hear your side of the story." Concord replied, "Would you mind if I take my armour disc off of Heartstrings once I'm in the room?" and the mare nodded. Concord smiled and waited for the commissioner to open the door, subconsciously whistling an old war song. When the door opened Concord saw Lyra Heartstrings, still encased in his armour, standing in the middle of a purely white room. Concord trotted in and inspected his armour, taking note of multiple dents and scratches in the metal; it seemed that some of the police force had attempted to get Lyra out prematurely. The blue stallion groaned when he saw that some of the plating was extremely damaged, in some cases they were completely gone. Concord face hoofed indignantly and muttered some rather rude words to himself before pressing his hoof onto the armour disc's gem and let the device scan his hoof. A few moments later and the armour quickly retracted from Lyra's body and set her free again. Concord placed the disc back on his chest and covered it. "Well now that we have gotten you out of that, let's get you out of here" he said and gestured for the mare to follow him. "Wait, you can't be serious. You're just letting me walk out the door?" she asked as she followed the stallion out of the detention cell. "I wouldn't say that I'm letting you walk out the door, more like I am taking you to your friend so you can explain this whole thing to her and also give me the information I need," Concord explained while he signed Lyra out of the police department. Lyra's eyes widened and she began to sweat "No no no, I'll answer any question you have right now! I promise! Just don't make me have to tell BonBon about my secret! Anything but that!" she pleaded. Concord showed no remorse for the pony as he dragged her sobbing body all the way to her house, ignoring the looks other ponies threw at him. "The sooner you tell your friend about why your little attempt at killing me, the sooner I can stop having to put up with your whining," Concord stated flatly and continued to haul the sobbing mess that was Lyra Heartstrings through the streets of Ponyville.
Heartstrings/Drops Residence: 4:30pm.
Concord took another sip of his tea as Lyra finished her complete explanation of her attack on Concord. Her friend Bonbon, who was sitting next to Concord on the couch, was in complete shock from the revelation that was presented to her. The cream coloured mare's lips trembled and tears welled up in her eyes. Bonbon then roared at her friend and yelled with a voice that was both destructive anger and undying sadness "How could you?! I told you about my secret identity, but you've kept yours hidden all this time?! I thought we were friends! BFFs! But I can clearly see now that that isn't the case! I'm done with our friendship Lyra Heartstrings, and you have nopony to blame for it but yourself!" The mare turned tail and galloped up the stairs to her room, leaving behind a trail of tear stains on the carpet behind her. Concord looked at Lyra, who was gazing sadly at the stairs her friend had used, and advised "You should go and apologise to her she's your best friend for Celestia's sake." Lyra pulled herself together and nodded "You're right, I just... *sigh* Wish I had never chose to listen to that pony all those years ago,". Lyra then got off the chair she was on and hurried up to her friend's room and left Concord to ponder over the sentence she left him with.
Lyra stood outside her sobbing friend's door, anxiously knocking on the door in hopes of getting into her friend's room. "Bonbon, come on let me in, I want to apologise for this whole mess," she pleaded, all she got was another loud round of crying from her friend. Lyra grasped the doorknob with her magic and swung the door open. The mare gasped as she saw a vaporous pony sitting on the bed next to her friend. The gas that emanated from Darknia's body was slowly seeping into Bonbon's nostrils, steadily corrupting her soul with the dark energies that toiled within Darknia's heart. Lyra screamed and Concord was instantly alerted to her side. The second Concord laid eyes upon Darknia, he slapped his armour gem and let it transform into its complete mode. Concord spoke up first "Hooves off the mare Darknia!" the stallion then summoned his sword and it appeared in a cluster of yellow pixels, he pointed it at Darknia and continued "Or else I will have to be cleaning this bad boy for a week,". Darknia was not fazed and grinned maniacally "Very well then Concord, if I can't have this one," she hissed "THEN I'LL TAKE THE OTHER ONE INSTEAD!" and she launched herself at Lyra. Concord watched as Darknia quickly phased into into Lyra and disappeared from sight. Suddenly the mint mare's eyes suddenly turned a deep shade of purple and she roared an unearthly roar, one that echoed for miles around. Concord's eyes widened as he saw the mare charge at him, in fact she was galloping so fast all he saw was a mint green blur coming towards him. Concord barely had time to react before he was sent flying across the room and he collided with the wall, kicking the wind out of him. He gasped for air as he fell to the ground, almost choking on his saliva. Concord looked up and saw Lyra slowly advancing towards him, her eyes emitting a grey gas that made Concord feel weak in the knees. All of a sudden a rather dazed Bonbon appeared out of nowhere and took a swipe at Lyra, who simply shoved her out of the way. "Don't you dare even try to attack me you swine!" yelled Lyra and she continued her advance, the grey gas seeping from her eyes starting to create blue sparks of energy. Concord regained his footing and lit up his horn, he may not have had the luxury of his wings at the time, but at least he had his magical skills. Before he could even charge up a spell, Lyra pounced and pinned him against the wall and gave him two quick punches across the face, to which Concord replied with a hearty headbutt and sent Lyra staggering backwards. Lyra grunted and fired up her horn, Concord yelled in surprise as he was enveloped in Lyra's golden magic aura. The mare grinned and then promptly threw Concord out of the room's window. Concord screamed as he flew further and further away from the house.
The stallion was sent flying directly down the street and he crashed directly into Golden Oaks Library, his entrance being welcomed by a very shocked Twilight Sparkle. "CONCORD? What in the name of Celestia do you think you are doing, smashing through my wall like that?!" she hollered. Concord huffed and got up "let's just say that we are now dealing with a rather possessed lyre playing unicorn" he said bluntly. Twilight was confused, but she soon realized what Concord was talking about when Bonbon came flying through the hole Concord had created, landing directly on top of the prussian blue stallion. Twilight gasped and rushed to help the mare up "My goodness, are you alright?" she asked and Bonbon replied with a wheeze, "I've had better days your highness". Concord smirked and got back on his hooves, activating his armour disc as he stood up. As Concord let his armour encase his head, he heard an otherworldly howl from somewhere down the street and he knew that Lyra was already on her way. "Twilight, keep Bonbon safe, I'll hold off Darklyra for as long as possible. Once you have made sure Bonbon is safe, get back over here and lend a hoof!" Concord relented. Twilight nodded and galloped away with Bonbon in tow and thus leaving Concord to fend off the possessed mare. "Alright then Darknia, you wanna dance, then cue the lyre cause I am going to bust some serious moves!"
Concord stepped outside of Golden Oaks library and set his eyes upon Darklyra, who was now turning a rather disturbing shade of grey and purple. The forsaken mare looked at Concord and charged up another spell, letting it rip moments later and sending Concord ducking for cover behind the Golden Oaks Library sign. Concord summoned his sword and swung it around with his magic. Lyra growled and charged at Concord again, her eyes glowing in the evening sunlight. Concord waited for Lyra to get close enough and then swung his sword at her, but he stopped mid-swing and realised what would happen if he did such a thing. His thoughts distracted him long enough for Darklyra to get a fix on him and take a swing at his muzzle, her hoof impacted loudly on the metal face plates. Concord staggered back and ran out into the open street, taking note of the new dent in his facial protection. 'I can't hurt Darknia, as much as I hate to say it, but she is merely using another body. And if I kill that body, she will simply find another, Lyra also doesn't deserve to die either. What do I do, what do I do?' he thought as he got into a new stance and raised his hooves. Darklyra lunged at him and struck him in the chest and Concord retaliated with a ducking uppercut to the jaw. Darklyra suddenly teleported behind Concord and smacked him in the back of the head. Concord went in for another attack but was brutally met with a powerful punch to the face from Darklyra and he was sent sprawling across the street. Before Concord could even regain his footing, he was pinned against a building by Lyra, and she showed no mercy and started to repeatedly punch his face. Off on the sidelines stood Bonbon, watching in horror as her best friend beat the magic out of the stallion "This is bad, really really bad!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "Darknia's completely possessed her!" BonBon replied, fearing for Concord, and for her friend. "Bad, bad, bad! At this point, Darknia could go on like this until Lyra is-" "Don't! Say it!" BonBon interrupted and then asked "Is there nothing we can do?" "I'm not sure," Twilight replied, "only something close to her heart could bring her out of this!" BonBon's eyes widened, and she ran back inside, searching. "BonBon! Where are you going?!" Twilight called, but she received no reply and hesitantly watched the battle unfold in front of her.
Concord was still being beat to a pulp. He had managed a few weak kicks to Lyra's legs, as he did not wish to hurt her, but what could he do? As far as he knew, this could be Darknia's body for quite some time! The stallion flailed about in the mare's grasp, his muzzle was bleeding rather badly from all the punishment it was taking and his left eye was going purple. "Lyra, stop!" he cried between blows but Darklyra showed no signs of letting up and instead smashed Concord's head against the wall before continuing to pummel him closer and closer to death. Lyra reared up for another attack when the soothing music of lyre wafted into her ears, the mare then let go of Concord and he slumped to the ground. The mare turned around and saw Bonbon playing Lyra's favourite lyre, Darklyra seemed to take an interest in the music and slowly trotted towards the cream coloured candy maker. As Darklyra got closer and closer to the music, a blob of purple and grey vapour started to form on her head. Concord staggered to his feet and watched as the blob took the form of Darknia and start to protest against Lyra's actions. "What are you doing you imbecile?! Stop! I order you to stop! Stop this instant!" she wailed, but her cries fell on deaf ears and Lyra continued to advance towards the lyre-playing Bonbon. Concord smirked and trotted over to Lyra, he looked at Darknia and chuckled "I guess this generation of ponies are more resilient to filth like you huh Darknia?" he mocked. Darknia growled and replied "you may have saved this one Concord, but there are more ponies infected with my power, it will take you countless years to find them all and free them! Good luck!" And with that, Darknia completely severed her link to Lyra and disappeared into thin air. Lyra shook her head and stared at her friend, listening to the tune she created with fascination. When Bonbon finally stopped playing she got up and embraced her friend happily. "Oh Lyra! Thank Celestia you are safe!" she cried, the mare then buried her face in Lyra's shoulders and sobbed tears of happiness. Concord watched as the two friends hugged each other warmly and looked at Twilight "nice work with the whole 'something personal to her will set her free' thing". Twilight smiled and trotted over to Concord "well I wouldn't have been able to put my knowledge to the test if you were not here Concord" she thanked and patted the stallion on the back, signifying a job well done. Concord looked down the street behind Golden Oaks library, and saw the sunset shining brightly through the park that sat at the end of the road. "I guess I can't really say I didn't do much today, that was quite exhilarating to be honest!" he commented as the fiery ball faded below the horizon and Twilight giggled at the statement. "Well I guess I better go home now, I'll trust those two to find their way back for now. See you later Twilight!" Concord said before turning tail and headed for home. The stallion felt the night air blow through his mane and put a hoof to his black eye which was already hurting like the blazes. Darknia's words echoed in Concord's mind, "There are more ponies infected with my power!" and he was slightly unnerved. 'How many more ponies are there in this town with Darknia controlling them? How many in Equestria? Maybe I should get Remington to come and provide me with protection after all... Or maybe I could provide that protection right now!' Concord marveled at his genius and broke into a gallop, he needed to get home so he could get to work.
This took way longer than it should have, but at least it is finished. *Wipes sweat from forehead* I really hope you guys appreciate this! And as always, I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!
-WobbliestCrab
