"Shadow revival" part 2
Twilight couldn't believe who was right in front of her.
"It, it can't be… how is it possible?"
"Surprised, are you? Never thought I was more than just a "force" of corruption?" replied the pony tauntingly.
Then he noticed the others.
"And we meet again too, Starlight Glimmer… and Stygian, my old host,"
"I was never your host!" snapped Stygian, feeling more furious. "And you were never my friend!"
"Pity you chose the weaker path with them," said the shadow pony in a fake disappointing voice. "We could've been powerful together. Think of what we could've accomplished!"
"I'll never turn my back on my friends ever again! And you won't ever take over Equestria this time!" replied Stygian.
"Who are you?!" repeated Twilight. "How are you alive and what have you done with the princesses?! My friends?! Our home?!"
"Sheesh, talk about a buzzkill," muttered the pony. "Call me, Shade Soul."
"You won't get away with this! You don't have power to override any of us!" boomed Twilight.
"What? "Friendship"? You really think friendship is the most powerful thing in the world? That it is magic? The only thing friendship has shown me is weakness inside anyone who believes in it," said Shade Soul.
"Friendship is stronger than you'll ever be!" retorted Spike. "And we're not weak!"
"Oh well," sighed Shade Soul, shaking his head. "I guess I'd better give you a reality check,"
At his command, Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon began attacking each other. Fighting each other with their blasts, destroying walls and windows in the process. Their fight escalated up out of the castle and into the dark clouds. The ponies were horrified.
"And I suppose I'd better play it fair, and give you a heads-up that I'm about introduce you to your doom," added Shade Soul.
"Wait, what?" asked Stygian.
"Look out!" cried Twilight as Shade Soul suddenly took off running at full speed and leaped towards them with his front hooves outstretched, ready to strike.
They dodged his attack and the sharp cloves on his hooves crunched through the castle wall. He pulled them out, and then shot dark blasts from his horn. The ponies dodged his attacks. But Shade Soul wasn't a merciful villain, and he didn't stop attacking them. As he was about to take down Twilight unprepared, Stygian leaped in front of her, protecting her, and got hit by his cloves. Black bubbles spewed out of them, as if Shade Soul was injected something inside Stygian. Then, he became darkened and grey, and his eyes shone with white light.
"Stygian!" cried Twilight.
Now, Stygian was in Shade Soul's side, and he attacked Starlight, Spike and Twilight with his new boss.
"We can't defeat him on our own!" cried Starlight. "Twilight, go and find a way to defeat this guy! I'll hold them off for you!"
"No, Starlight! We've already lost Stygian, and the others! I don't want to lose you, too!" Twilight replied.
They both got out of the throne room and hid for a brief moment. "I believe in you, Twilight. You've taught me that friendship overcomes all magic, and you should believe in yourself," Starlight told Twilight with confidence.
"Come on, Twilight," said Spike. "We don't know how to defeat him, and he's seriously powerful! We gotta find a way to stop him or we'll never succeed."
Twilight felt more scared now. She nodded to Starlight, who came back into the throne room to distract the two ponies inside. Twilight and Spike flew out of the castle and away from the rampaging guards, and Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker still firing more blasts at each other, causing more damage all over Equestria.
Meanwhile, Stygian and the pillars were still fending off the shadow creatures surrounding them. They fought as hard as they could, but the creatures still kept coming back at them. And no matter how hard they struggled, the other ponies couldn't escape the strong grip from the shadow ropes keeping them down.
"Hold on! We mustn't give up now!" cried Star Swirl, still keeping the beasts away from them.
But they all began finding themselves backing up, closer and closer to each other. And then they felt themselves touch the orb with their bodies pressed against it, and soon, ropes shot out of it and wrapped around them as well. Now everypony was stuck with no way out. The beasts stopped attacking the ponies, and began heading away from them instead.
"Why are these animals backing away all of a sudden?" wondered Fluttershy.
The orb suddenly began gliding in one direction, dragging the captured ponies with it.
"Where is it taking us?! Where are we going?!" cried Rainbow Dash.
"I really hope it's not taking us to somewhere dreadful like Tartarus!" replied Rarity.
The orb glided higher in the air and above the ground now. It was heading straight for Canterlot.
Down in the underground chamber, the Young Six were now feeling more scared. The room had turned completely grey and dark. And the columns began attacking at them once more.
"If we don't survive, Yona want to let you know, you're all best friends ever!" said Yona.
"I wouldn't dream of being without you guys!" chipped in Silverstream.
"Me neither!" agreed Gallus.
"We're stronger together!" said Ocellus.
"We're better together!" added Smolder.
"We'll never be apart!" finished Sandbar.
They all embraced each other in a group hug, closed their eyes tight and prepared for the worst. The column swooped down towards them, about to land on top of them…
But the students didn't feel any impact. No hit, no pain, no noise, nothing. They opened their eyes, and were very surprised to see themselves glowing. On their necks, the elements of harmony shone brightly through the necklaces. And all around them, they saw a magnificent, bright force field, covering them. Protecting them. The students began floating in the air, in a circular formation, getting higher and higher, with the force field shielding them the whole time.
Twilight and Spike returned to the castle, which wasn't corrupted. They flew inside and began searching the library from top to bottom, looking for any information that could help them take down Shade Soul.
"Find anything, Spike?" asked Twilight desperately.
"Nope. We'd better keep searching," replied Spike.
They searched more and more books and it was taking more time. Twilight was feeling more and more anxious.
Finally, when the 593rd book didn't provide anything helpful, Twilight broke down sobbing.
"I can't do this, Spike… I can't defeat that shadow,… I can't find anything to help us…" said Twilight, with her head on her desk. "I failed my friends… everypony… Equestria…"
Spike couldn't stand to see her this upset. He wrapped his arms around her and spoke softly: "Twilight, you haven't failed anypony. You're the princess of friendship! You can do this!"
"But I can't! I can't handle Shade Soul on my own and I don't think he'll ever redeem himself… I'm scared, Spike," replied Twilight miserably.
"I'm scared too, Twilight," replied Spike. "But there's nothing wrong with being scared. I know you well enough that you'd never give up this easily. There's nothing you can't handle!"
Twilight looked at Spike's determined, pleasant face, and she realized Spike was right. Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"Feel better?" asked Spike.
"Now, I am. Thank you, Spike. I don't know what I'd do without you," said Twiligiht gratefully.
Spike just beamed at her.
Twilight and Spike kept on searching. This time Twilight was feeling more determination.
When none of the books they searched provided anything, Twilight decided to do some critical thinking.
"He corrupted Stygian to turn Equestria completely dark…" she thought.
"Couldn't we just send him back to limbo like the last time?" asked Spike.
"Yes, but to do that we need the elements of harmony, and since my friends are captured by him now, I don't think there's a chance of that happening. Besides, he escaped from limbo now, so I don't think that would keep him out of Equestria," said Twilight.
"Well, there has to be a spell to get rid of him somehow," replied Spike. "Otherwise, I don't think I see light at the end of this tunnel…"
"Light… light… light! That's it!" cried Twilight with joy. "Spike, you're a genius!"
"Well, I've never considered myself the smart type, but, whatever helps you is good enough for me," said Spike, feeling confused.
Twilight immediately rushed out of the castle and headed towards the School of Friendship, with Spike following close behind. They reached the library, and were horrified to see the shelves moving about, with the books inside them. Then they started shooting the books at them like missiles. Twilight dodged them and rushed through the room, searching for the book she knew would help her. She leaped towards it and grabbed it off the shelf.
"Spike, catch!" she cried, hurling the book towards the dragon, who caught it in his hands.
The shelf swayed to and fro, trying to get Twilight out of it.
"Let's get out of here, Twilight!" yelled Spike.
Twilight didn't need telling twice. The two friends ran out of the library, down the main hall, and burst out the doors, away from the school.
"That was close," panted Spike. "Have you found what you needed?"
"Yes, I believe I have," said Twilight triumphantly, studying the page on casting a blinding light spell. "It should work,"
Spike then felt another envelope coming. Twilight opened it up and gasped after finishing it.
"Let me guess, more bad news?" asked Spike.
"It's… from Shade Soul… he's got my friends and the pillars hostage!" she cried.
"That's it! He's messed with too many of us long enough!" growled Spike, feeling more cross and determined.
"You're right, Spike. We must end this now before it's too late!"
The whole time, the Young Six had emerged from underground outside the school, feeling relieved that they've escaped the chamber together.
"What was that back there?" asked Ocellus.
"I think the elements of harmony protected us!" replied Silverstream.
"I think you're right," agreed Sandbar. "It's the magic of our friendship!"
"Yona love elements!"
Then they saw their headmare Twilight and Spike take off for Canterlot.
"Headmare Twilight! Wait!" called Gallus.
"We need to go after them!" declared Smolder.
The Young Six ran off after Twilight and Spike, who were heading for Canterlot.
Soon, the students were approaching the Canterlot castle entrance. They landed themselves through the bushes to keep themselves hidden from the corrupted townponies. They could see Twilight and Spike barely managing to get inside the castle while being attacked by the royal guards.
"How are we going to get inside? The place is surrounded!" whispered Smolder.
Ocellus had an idea. "I know how! Follow my lead,"
Ocellus disguised herself as a corrupted royal guard pony, and the other students walked in line behind her, with them being connected to each other through a rope. The corrupted royal guards took no notice of Ocellus and her "prisoners", believing she was one of them. Once they got inside, they took off running to the throne room. But it wasn't easy, since by then, most of the ceilings have been broken up and the columns were still alive, attacking anypony who got close. At last, they were just outside the throne room. They could see what was going on, but hid themselves behind some wall segments, keeping a safe distance.
Twilight and Spike were now in the throne room, facing Shade Soul once more.
"So, I get that you've accepted my invitation, princess?" smirked the pony.
"Where are the others you've captured?!" demanded Twilight, refusing to be afraid.
Shade Soul brought down the shadow orb from above, and everypony was still wrapped around it by the dark ropes.
"There's no way out, Twilight," said Shade Soul.
"You let my friends go, and I'll surrender!" yelled Twilight.
"Twilight, what are you doing?!" asked Spike.
"Alright, if that's what you want," said Shade Soul.
The ropes holding the prisoners tight suddenly disappeared, and they all landed on the floor below him, facing Twilight. But they were still corrupted, and now they were all heading straight for Twilight and Spike.
"You said you would let them go!" snapped Twilight, flying out of their way.
"But I just did what you asked me to, or weren't you being specific already?" taunted Shade Soul.
"Don't ever mess with our friends!" cried Spike. He flew straight at Shade Soul, ready to send out fire. But Shade Soul was too quick for him and he stabbed the dragon with his cloves, turning him to his side now.
"Spike!" cried Twilight in terror. "Alright, you asked for it!"
Twilight summoned her blinding light spell. A huge sphere of light emerged above her, getting larger and larger. Shade Soul looked like he was feeling nervous.
"This is for Equestria!" yelled Twilight as she sent it flying towards Shade Soul at full speed.
"Noooo!" cried Shade Soul as he was covered by the blinding light. "It's taking over me, I can't move… can't… can't…"
Twilight was positive she had done it this time. But when the light cleared, Shade Soul was smiling and looking up at her with glee.
"You fool! Did you really think I'm only a shadow in the form of a pony?!"
Twilight didn't understand it. Her spell didn't work, and now it didn't seem like there was any hope left.
"But… but… that means…"
Twilight didn't have time to think, as she got pinned down by the corrupted pegasi, and held into place on the floor by the other ponies.
"Any last words?" asked Shade Soul, getting ready to pounce.
Twilight let her head fall, and closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do, no matter how much she struggled, so she didn't say anything.
"Didn't think so," said the villain, leaping off the throne and charging at her.
"Professor Twilight's in trouble! We have to protect her!" whispered Sandbar to the others.
"What are we waiting for then?!" replied Silverstream.
As Shade Soul got closer and closer to Twilight, the Young Six ran into the throne room at full speed. They jumped right on top of Twilight, and held each other's hands, covering themselves around her. Shade Soul leaped in the air, and attempted to stab his cloves into her…
But instead, his cloves pressed against the solid surface of a bright force field. Then, it sent him flying backwards in the air, and it knocked the corrupted ponies holding Twilight down out of its reach. Shade Soul dug his cloves into the floor to stop himself from sliding back.
"What?!"
Twilight opened her eyes, and was amazed to see her students, surrounding her, hand in hand, and the elements of harmony gleaming clearly on them. They floated upwards in the air, with the force field still surrounding them. Twilight now realized that the elements of harmony, and the magic of friendship that protected her is now being summoned by her most faithful students.
"This is where you're wrong, Shade Soul! Friendship is magic, and the strongest power you could ever imagine!"
The students began glowing themselves. Every one of them represented each element.
Gallus for honesty. Ocellus for kindness. Silverstream for laughter. Smolder for generosity. Yona for loyalty. And Sandbar for magic.
"This is for our friends!"
"No…" stammered Shade Soul.
"This is for our families!"
"Stop…" he spluttered.
"AND THIS IS FOR EQUESTRIA!"
The elements of harmony connected together, summoned up a huge bright light, and shot a powerful beam down on Shade Soul. He struggled holding on to the floor with his sharp cloves, but he couldn't handle the magic of friendship. He shrieked in terror as the black diamond on his chest cracked, and then shattered. Shade Soul's cloves couldn't hold him any longer, and the beam sent him flying high up in the air, till he was out of sight.
There was another huge spherical blast from the elements of harmony, that sent out all over Equestria. The dark clouds covering the sky disappeared. The inanimate objects and creatures got their colours back and stopped attacking. The structures were repaired, and everypony was freed from corruption. Everything was back to normal once again.
As everypony felt dizzy and staggered to get up, they saw Twilight and her star students float back down safely. "Twilight!" they all cried. Twilight was tackled to the ground by her friends in a big group hug. "You did it, Twilight!" said Starlight. "You saved us all!" said Pinkie Pie. "And you kicked that jerk's butt!" added Rainbow Dash.
"It's so good to see you all back again!" replied Twilight.
Then, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came towards them. "I'm proud of you, Twilight. You've come a long way since being my student," Celestia announced.
"Thanks, Princess Celestia," said Twilight.
"And now you have your own students to be proud of," said Princess Luna.
Twilight looked back at the Young Six, whose elements were still glowing brightly.
"You're absolutely right. Dear students, your friendship has shown me that all of you represent the elements of harmony wonderfully, and thanks to you, Equestria is saved," Twilight beamed at her star students, who beamed back at their headmare with pride.
"I have a feeling they'll become the new bearers of the elements of harmony someday," added Celestia.
Then, Twilight had a thought in her mind.
"There's something in your mind, isn't there, Twilight?" asked Spike.
Twilight didn't bother trying to fool Spike. "I'm still not sure if we've really defeated Shade Soul. What if he returns and tries to take over Equestria again?"
"You're not wrong about him returning, Twilight," said Star Swirl. "I have a feeling he's bound to try again and come up with a new tactic. But thanks to you and your students, I believe he's only been weakened for now. And when he does return, you'll have all of us by your side."
The rest of his pillar friends, The Mane Six, The Young Six, and the Princess sisters agreed. Twilight felt better seeing the light of friendship in all of her friends, teachers and students. She couldn't help but smile back at them.
In a far part of Equestria, a dark pony lay limp on the ground. Then, he moved his legs, and staggered to get up on his hooves. Shade Soul's amulet had been destroyed, weakening him. Then, he noticed that he was in front of the doors leading to Tartarus. Shade Soul smiled to himself evilly.
"Equestria will be mine someday… you can't keep me down forever, Twilight Sparkle…"
Writer's note: Here's the 2nd part of the premiere. Here's some info on this villain, Shade Soul. He's not exactly the Pony of Shadows, if you've been wondering that. He's really the darkness that corrupted Stygian, but in his own solid pony form. And there will be more of him later on in this season, don't worry. Hope you all will enjoy this season by the time it's finished!