Warning: This chapter, and the character Desolent, is the main reason why the fic is rated teen. He is also the reason I might change the rating to mature instead of teen because the things he does are both brutal and disturbing. This is what makes up the character and his personality, making this character a main villain all on his own. I could be overacting but i'm warning you just in case.
P.s: I love comments, it makes my day to see my viewers happy with the chapters. Heck, even tell me what you would like see in the fic, i might even add it. Lastly, for the guest viewer that noticed that the mane six seemed powerless in the fic...i got you bro, just you wait.
Chapter 16 A: Corrupted beyond believe
One day earlier
"I know of your methods Desolent, but if you abuse your power over the soldiers I will assign you there will be dire consequences. Do I make myself clear?"
"Does it seem like I care?"
"Listen to me! This is the last city that needs to be taken before we win the war, I will not accept brutal punishments or executions to your men or civilians. We have an image that we are to fulfill and you break it at every-
"Dark Fire I will tell you this right now…I don't care. Unless you give me Twilight alive I will do what I want without any remorse! If you see differently, why don't you get your, 'great and powerful apprentice' to help you!"
"You can't still be upset about-
"I AM THE MOST POWERFUL UNICORN IN EXISTENCE! BE GRATEFUL THAT I EVEN WORK FOR YOU!"
"Please…all I ask is for you to show mercy on this city, I don't want thousands to suffer-
"You do it every day Dark Fire, why should I be an exception?"
"I….
"That's what I thought."
Desolent turned around and left, throwing on his dark cloak and hood before vanishing in the darkness.
"What have I unleashed upon those poor souls?"
"Dark Firrrreeee…Dark Firrrrreeee…" A disturbing voice whispered.
A beam of light shinned upon Dark Fire as he was completely surrounded by darkness.
"W-what's going on…I was just in my room."
"Why have you forsaken us…"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Dark Fire heard distant screams as the seen around him changed into Canterlot…but different.
"Why have you enslaved us…"
Looking around, he saw everypony around him in chains, being forced into hard labor while fire blazed in the distance.
"I never did this! I never wanted to do this!" He said, frightened.
"Why have you deceived us…
The scene changed to a familiar room, the throne room, only this time is was sinister. He saw everypony in the room bowing to…him, but he looked different. He had a kings crown while holding the black book in his hooves, laughing evilly at the scene before him. Looking closer, he saw that he had wings, but pointed like thorns with red tips.
"ALL HAIL DEATH FIRE, THE TRUE KING OF EQUESTRA!"
The "king" stood up on all fours and smirked.
"Let us show the world that we are a nation to be feared and respected! LET US SHOW THE WORLD WHO THE TRUE RULLER OF THIS PLANET IS!
The scene changed again, showing very familiar countries in ruin and despair. He heard screams of all ages and races screaming for mercy and forgiveness, begging for it to stop.
"Why have you torment us.. ."
All of a sudden everything around Dark Fire exploded in a wild fire, showing familiar faces melt away before his eyes. Dark Fire felt a wave of fear overcome him as his life flashed before him.
"Stop…stop this…I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
The scene changed one last time, this time it was a grave site. Looking around frantically, he saw the names of everypony he had ever meet and befriended. Looking forward, he saw his own name written on the stone, with an empty grave.
"No…NOOOO!" He shouted in fear, running away from the sight.
Tendrils abruptly launched out of the grave and grabbed the terrified unicorn, slowly dragging him back. Dark Fire dragged his hooves along the ground, hopping to grab onto anything, but was not so fortunate. He screamed in terror before the grave swallowed the unicorn, cutting off any light. The darkness vanished suddenly as fire enveloped him and the area around him.
"FOR CRIMES AGAINST EQUESTRIA AND THE WORLD, YOU ARE SENTENCED TO ETERNAL SUFFERING IN THE PIT OF HELL!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Dark Fire's eyes suddenly opened, lifting up from the bed as he screamed bloody murder before he realized he was back in his room. Trixie and a dozen guards rushed in the room in panic.
"DARK FIRE, WHAT HAPPENED!" Trixie shouted, rushing over to him.
Dark Fire couldn't even speech because of his hyperventilation. As Trixie turned his head, she noticed that he was sweating and was blazing hot to the touch. His eyes were also dilated as he continued a thousand yard stare. Without warning, Dark Fire hugged Trixie and lightly sobbed.
"I'M SO SORRY…I'M SO SORRY!"
"Guards, Trixie will deal with this."
The guards nodded, leaving the room.
"Tell me what happened." Trixie said.
"Nightmares…so many nightmares."
"Have you asked Nightmare moon about it?"
"She didn't know what it meant, and told me that she couldn't view my dreams. That there was something blocking any outside force from entering my mind. Plus, she is busy fixing the sun problem from the last chapter."
"Lay your head down."
Dark Fire did what he was told and laid his head back on the pillow. Trixie gave him a warm smile as she allowed magic to flow freely to her horn. She then applied it to his forehead.
"She's right, there is a blockage in your mind, but it was placed there by…something. Do you have any idea who did this to you?"
Dark Fire scavenged through his memories as a child, but almost all of them were either blurred, full of sadness', or just non-existent. The only thing he got were those three words that burned in his skull.
"Celestia must parish…" He whispered.
"What was that?" Trixie asked.
"Herus…that's who."
"You've mentioned him-
"It Trixie, it's a being that is alien to this world…I have never seen anything like it."
"Explain."
"It's all a blur…but it was defiantly not a pony."
"Do you know anything else?"
Dark Fire reached under the pillow and took out the black book.
"The beings that made this book, are the same race as him."
Trixie stared dumbfounded until a guard ran into the room.
"Prince Fire, I have some terrible news."
"Then speak." Dark Fire said.
"The city of Los Pegasus…it completely gone…there were no survivors."
Dark Fire stared at the guard in shock before it hit him.
"When Desolent arrives...tell him to meet me in the main hall, he has some explaining to do."
"Sir, he was nowhere to be found, and most of his army has vanished."
"You may go now solider, your job is done."
The guard exited without another word.
"Celestia was right, Desolent cannot be controlled."
"What are you going to do?" Trixie asked worried.
"I don't know…but he can't go on like this and we still need to find Maneful."
Hours before…location: Outskirts of Los Pegasus.
"Through the sins of my forefathers and fathers, I shall bring these pathetic ponies to their knees."
Desolent was standing in the middle of a dark red rune, surrounded by dim candles. In front of him was a shrine of what looked like a pony with black robes.
"Fill me with your power, so I may bring those unworthy to our cause to the sweet embrace of the void."
Levitating multiple ingredients and putting them into a bowl, he chanted a phrase before lighting the ingredients on fire.
"LET ME BE YOUR AGENT OF DESTRUCTION AND DESOLATION!"
The candles fires shot up into the air, crating pillars of fire around him. When everything calmed down, he sat down and removed a book from a nearby chest.
"The Necronomicon…my beloved teacher."
"Desolent the-
"HAVE I NOT TOLD YOU TO ASK BEFORE ENTERING MY SANTUARY!" He said, placing the book close to his chest without turning around.
"Ummm y-y-yes, but the soldiers a-are b-b-back-
"You disobeyed a direct order! You will pay for your insolence!"
"No Desolent, please forgive-
Desolent's horn glowed dark green before he turned around and fired at the guard. The pony screamed loudly before he suddenly vanished in a black cloud of smoke. Turning back to face the shrine, he opened his book, as if nothing had happened.
"I wonder if anypony before me ever understand how to read this, much less cast its spells. I suppose it doesn't matter, nopony could ever comprehend it's power." He said, flipping through the book. "How to rip out souls, turn a pony inside out, command the dead…there must be something else I haven't learned yet."
Flipping through multiple pages rapidly, he became frustraited before he found a page that cought his eye.
"Make a city…"
His eyes continued to scan over the words eventhough he had stopped reading.
"Yes…this shall do perfectly." He whispered, forming a demonic grin before the dim candles went out.
"Is this what comes to those that are innocent…"
Maneful couldn't believe what she was staring at. What she saw was a fairly small village, not too far from Los Pegasus, completely desecrated and destroyed. Dime fires still filled the homes that were once filled and smoke continued to rise from the burnt wood. Walking through the city was a nightmare come true, everywhere she looked was devoid of life. Reaching the center of the village, she saw a wooden stake with a fillies doll nailed to it. Behind the slightly burnt doll was a piece of paper with writing.
'Let this be a reminder to all that contest me and my power. Before you lay the ruins of a once former town that rebelled against my orders, now it is nothing more than a ghost town. I shall show no mercy to anyone that stands in my way…no exceptions.'
Desolent's signature could be seen at the bottom of the page, written in blood. Maneful looked at the doll one last time to see blood stains covering the doll. Maneful couldn't help but fall on her knees and sob into her hooves.
"We have become instruments of torture and pain…why?" She whispered, continuing to sob.
"Because you allow yourself to believe this."
Maneful turned around, completely shocked by what she saw.
"Celestia? But I thought you were imprisoned."
"All will be made clear within time, Diamond Rose, but for now you must return to your father."
"Why should I?! He lied to me and betrayed me just like cadence said he would. Im nothing but a fool to belive such a lie before my very own eyes." She said, continuing to sob.
Maneful looked away from Celestia in shame, attempting to hide behind her mane. She was shocked when a hoof was placed on her back.
"That's not true Diamond, you have a heart as big as the sun, you care for your fellow ponies just like a real princess should."
"But I failed…I FAILED AT THE ONLY THING I COULD EVER DO!"
"Diamond!" Celestia said in a stern tone. "Being a princess is not easy, but I doesn't have to be tragic. We all make mistakes, especially me."
"You, make mistakes?! Now I know your lying to me."
"I'm not perfect Diamond, and you know that."
"Why should I even believe you, why should I even trust you?!"
"Because I will always remember that look of terror when I took your father away."
The destroyed town around them suddenly transformed into the Crystal Empire, more specifically, the scene where Sombra made his last stand. The two glanced at the scene from a bird's eye while Celestia made her point.
"How old where you when this happened?" Celestia asked.
"I…don't remember; everything is a blur now." Maneful responded.
The two continued to watch from a distance as Sombra stood on the balcony to face the princesses.
"This is your last chance Sombra!" The image of Celestia shouted. "Free these ponies of their bondage before it's too late!"
"Or face trail and punishment for your actions!" Luna added.
Sombra gave a stern look as he faced his intruders and gave his answer.
"No."
Sombra's horn shined brightly with red color as his eyes took on a more sinister look. Suddenly, black crystals formed around the king and the entire land of the Crystal Empire.
"Tia, this has gone far to long, we must act together before he brings all of Equestria into darkness!" Luna said with rising concern.
"So this is how it must end." Celestia said with a heartbreaking tone.
While Sombra was reciving power from the crystals, Celestia and Luna combined their powers together as they flew side-by-side. Acting as one being, they eclipsed the sun as bright light burst out from their bodies.
"FOR YOU'RE ACTIONS YOU ARE HERE BY SENTENCED TO ETERNAL CONFINEMENT FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY!"
"LEAVE US ALONE!" Sombra shouted in anger before a large black beam fired from his horn.
The two celestial beings released their power in a large burst of light. The black beam was instantly vaporized along with the crystals that surrounded Sombra and the kingdom. Sombra looked in horror as the rays of light made contact with his body and in a huge flash of light, he had vanished. The scene abruptly stopped as time froze around them.
"What's the point of this?!" Maneful asked aggresivly. "All you have done is shown me the pain of my life once again."
Celestia's horn glowed once again, reversing time by only a few seconds just before Sombra had vanished. She then guided Maneful onto the balcony only a few inches from where Sombra stood.
"Look closer…"
Maneful stepped forward, hesitant by the fact that it was her father suffering before her eyes, but then she noticed something. Something she wouldn't have noticed in that split second of time. Her father was turned around, gazing inside the castle and…in tears, right before her eyes. It was something she had never seen before throughout her whole life. Making eye contact with the frozen figure, she attempted to pinpoint exactly where he was looking. That's when she saw it, what Sombra was gazing at the entire time…her. Maneful couldn't believe it, but right before her was herself as a small filly, watching in terror as her father vanished before her eyes.
"I failed to see why Sombra truly became corrupted by the crystals." Celestia said, appearing next to her. "It was because he was trying to protect you from…us."
"I…I don't understand." Maneful whispered.
"He forcefully used the Crystals to give him the power to defend you form anything that would try to harm you, even if it meant the loss of his empire and his sanity." Celestia said with sorrow.
"No, what he did was cruel and unjust to everypony in the Crystal Empire, how could you of all ponies say he was innocent!"
"I did at one point, but behind every action is a reason, this was his action…and you the reason."
"So it's all my fault then!" Maneful shouted angrily.
"No…but you are the only one that can save your father. You are the only one that can reach his true self, and you are the only one who can redeem your family."
"But I don't know how! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" Maneful said with growing sadness. "Everything I have ever believed in was a lie! What could I possibly do to redeem my family?"
"All will be made clear with time."
"And what of my friends and Dark Fire, are they to suffer for their mistakes? How could I save them as well?"
"Whether you know this or not…but they feel just the same as you do, even Dark Fire."
"BUT WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO?!" Maneful screamed. "I'm just a silly princess with no knowledge of the outside world."
"You have a purpose in all of this Diamond Rose…we all do." Celestia said, as the scene around her started to fade along with her. "We are all created with a purpose, no go…and save your father from his curse."
Everything around Maneful faded, putting her back in the destroyed town. Wiping her tears, she rose to her hooves.
"No more will I idly stand by and watch others suffer, no more will I be sheltered from the world of madness. I AM PRINCESS ROSE, AND I WILL NOT TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" She said, flying off in the direction of Canterlot.
"You have failed my solider. Three times I have told you to take this city, three times you have returned empty handed." Desolent said coldly.
"There *pant* was to *pant* many of them." The unicorn said in fright.
"I…don't…care." Desolent whispered in his ear.
He suddenly grabbed the unicorn's horn and snapped it clean off. The unicorn burst out in screams of pain and agony as two guards pulled him away from the scene.
"Hold it!" Desolent commanded, tossing the dismembered horn to the unicorn. "Let that be a reminder to you."
Desolent looked around at everypony staring at him in mixed emotions of fear and anger. The sight before him was a depressing one. Most of the soldiers were either starving or wounded; many more were captured in the fortress of Los Pegasus. Desolent couldn't care less though, taking the term "you work for what you eat" to far.
"Let that be a reminder to all of you if you fail me! Dark Fire might be lenient to all of you, but I will beat the failure out of you if I have to! We will attack again, but this time we will use all our forces. "
"But Desolent…we have been fighting for weeks and lost more than half our stallions. Look around you; this is all we have left, just a hoof full of casual soldiers. Plus the fortress is impenetrable and we have no food...please, we need to rest." A guard said weakly.
"You are right soldier." He said, slowly approaching the guard. "Regular stallions need to rest…"
Everypony in the area turned blue in the face when Desolent abruptly slammed a dark green energy ball into the pony's face, causing a large haze of green smoke.
"So rest in peace…"
Desolent turned around and gave everpony a dark look.
"NOW AS FOR EVERYPONY ELSE, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD!" He shouted, walking up to what was left of his army. "In fact, I want you all to observe."
"Observe wh-
Desolent used his magic on the guard as quickly as he spoke, causing him to chock himself unconscious.
"Yes…observe, for I will do this job alone, just like I had wanted to do from the beginning. Which means all those who are left are either obedient to me, or never complained. You are all relived of your service and are free to watch the destruction of Los Pegasus if you wish." He said, walking over to a cliff side. "And when Dark Fire asks what happened here, tell him that there were no survivors."
A loud screech came from above the tree levels that startled the nearby guards. Desolent extended his fore-hoof to the right as a large gray falcon landed on it. In the falcons beak was a scroll and a dimly glowing black crystal.
"You have returned with the crystal, my obedient pet." He said, petting the bird with magic. "Now let us bring annihilation and destruction upon our enemies." He said as black smog started to form around him before vanishing.
All the remaining guards looked around at each other before dropping their gear and running away panicking.
Desolent calmly reappeared several yards away from the cities massive wall. Without any movement or removing eye contact from the wall, he shot a large beam above the city. The result was the beam converting into a large green dome that covered the entire city. He turned around and opened a hole in the shield.
"Leave this place Ravager, this won't take long…"
The falcon took flight and flew out the gaping hole in the shield before it was sealed up again. Desolent turned around once again to face the wall with a dark look. As his horn glowed dark green, he stood up on his hind-legs and outstretched his fore-legs to the left and right of him. His hooves glowed dark yellow and black as he slowly raised his hooves into the air. Suddenly, the walls of the city started to glow the same colors as Desolent's horn before it slowly started to levitate off of the ground. Desolent smirked at his handiwork before letting out a bloodlust roar that filled the heavens. Meanwhile, the walls started to shake rapidly before they were abruptly thrown away from the city in a large explosion.
Only the main entrance to the city remained, but not for long. With the swelling energy building within his hooves, he threw his hooves forward, firing the dark yellow energy into the entrance like a torpedo. The result was the entrance being imploded into a small ball and then exploding violently. He was nowhere near done though, for he only intended to make it worse. Jumping forward, he slammed his hind-hoof into the ground, causing the ground to shatter beneath him and sending multiple cracks around and through the city. Slamming his other hind-hoof into the ground, he caused even more fractures to from.
Desolent could only laugh maniacally as he used his magic to divide the cracks in the ground, causing a large earthquake within the city. As a final demonstration, his hooves shinned bright yellow as he raised his hooves into the air and screamed. The cracks started to shine bright red before large pillars of fire and magma sprouted from them. Ash started to fall into the city as the atmosphere turned dark red from the fire and lava.
"Yeah, that'll do." He said to himself before teleporting into the city.
He looked around and smirked at all the destruction that he caused in such a short time. Homes burning in flames, ponies screaming in pain, it was all music to his sadistic ears. A city that had such a strong defense and protection over its ponies suddenly being turned into what looked like hell was just what Desolent wanted to see. It didn't take long for what remained of the guard to assemble in front of him, despite the ciaos. Only this time, the guards didn't bother to ask for surrender.
"We know exactly who you are, and what you have done is unforgivable to Equestria. By the grace of Celestia, WE WILL BRING YOU DOWN!"
Desolent continued to smile wickedly as he began to slowly walk forward, despite their threat. The guards, uncaring about the destruction and lava, charged at the unicorn courageously. When they got within five feet of him, they stopped abruptly and started to levitate a few inches off the ground. Desolent continued to stare forward as he stopped his walking, not bothering to even look at the scared ponies around him.
"I don't normally talk to my victims, but what did you hope to accomplish by blindingly charging at me?" He said, pausing for a response that would never come. "Because surly, if you knew who I was, you wouldn't have been so foolish…and do you know what happens to foolish ponies..."
The levitating ponies couldn't respond even if they wanted to because their nerves felt like they were about to explode.
"They never see the dark of night again."
A loud snap was heard as the levitating ponies hit the ground simultaneously around him. During this, more pillars of fire and lava started to erupt from buildings as another earthquake started to commence, making the previous version seem like an aftershock. Suddenly, clouds of ash flew by unicorn, burning everything in sight. As quickly as it came, it left, covering the roads with dust and debris. A faint glow was seen around the demented unicorn as he continued to walk, acting like nothing had ever happened.
Any resistance Desolent met along the way were either to weak to fight due to the harsh environment, passed out from lack of oxygen, or were easily defeated from his dark magic. It must have taken an hour for Desolent to finally reach the center of town, or what was left of it that it. The town square was in complete ruin, with collapsed buildings and veins of magma flowing freely through the center. Behind him was a trail of bodies, unknown to the naked eye if they were unconscious or…deceased. As Desolent approached the very center of the city, marked with eight magma veins flowing into each other, he removed the black crystal from seemingly nowhere.
As he slammed the crystal into the center, creating a splash of lava in the process, he chanted a few phrases as magic flowed to his horn. While Desolent was distracted, the last of the guards slowly surrounded him and gave one last request.
"Please…we surrender, stop this madness. We have families here that are dying because of this…we'll do anything, just please make it stop." A guard begged.
"We've suffered enough from this war." Another guard added.
"None of us want to see this go on anymore."
"Please listen to us."
Desolent showed no emotion as he removed the enchanted scroll from its container.
"That's what I told them…but none listened to me as I watched…watched my mother's life pass before my eyes. Watched the only one that cared for me stoned and burned along with my pride…WATCHED AS THE VERY SAME PONIES TURNED ME INTO A HEARTLESS MONSTER!" He screamed as the scroll vanished from thin air.
As Desolent laughed maniacally, his horn turned black as night before he focused the dark magic into the black crystal. Within seconds, the crystal fired a dark beam into the sky, causing everything around it to turn bleak. The ponies around Desolent were terrified as their fur started to turn black.
"ISN'T THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?!" Desolent laughed insanely. "YOU TURNED ME INTO THIS FATHER, AND NOW EVERYPONY HERE WILL PAY FOR IT WITH THEIR SOULS!"
The guards eyes went wide as they felt their entire body becoming numb and cold.
"WITNESS THE END EVERYPONY, AND SUFFER FOR YOUR SINS! HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!" He said, shooting one last beam into the crystal.
The crystal spun rapidly as it skyrocketed into the sky and with on large flash of light, the entire city of Los Pegasus...vanished. Only Desolent remained in the field that once held a massive city. He silently stood still as the dark crystal hit the floor abruptly in front of him. It gave a faint purple glow as Desolent picked it up with his magic.
"And so the war ends…with all of Equestra under our control, and all the weaklings put in their place." He laughed, bringing the crystal closer to him. "Hehe, I can still hear them screaming in there…but not for long."
What Desolent did next was unthinkable. He tossed the crystal into the air and simply swallowed it in one gulp. His eye twitched in discomfort as the crystal slowly descended down his throat, but then something sparked. His white hair shinned brightly and his dark green fur glowed before pure energy exploded from his body. He took a deep breath before he finally took control of his newly found power.
"Now there is only one thing left undone…Twilight Sparkle."
So...who doesn't hate this character...