Fire...Ash...Brimstone. Darkness consumes and in it fire burns. The screams of tortured souls echo through the air and the smoke. Heat, great heat burns the air and singes my body. I woke up, to a familiar form. I woke up and discovered that my human form was no longer prominent, but instead my pony form had been restored. I felt my body, my wings, my hooves, my snout, it didn't take me long to remember the feelings of being in such a body and I was able to get up. The darkness around me kept me blind, but as I started to adjust, the world became brighter, clearer... And for a moment, I believed that I was in hell. I stood upon obsidian and brimstone, burning hot and radiating with heat as cracks in the stone let show flowing magma bubbling just beneath the surface. Stone...hot to the touch glowed red from the incredible heat. I looked around, and saw hell.
Mountains with black ash storms brewing over them. Lava and magma spewing from the cracks and crevices. Not far an eruption. A geyser of lava spewed forth from the ground and tore into the air. Lava splashed and sputtered and fell to the ground and then ran off to the ends of this world. I sat atop some kind of island, at the very top, or so I thought. At the edges of land, were lakes of lava, bubbling and gushing...and burning. The screaming of tortured souls could be heard echoing through the air, although none could be found. I looked to the left and watched over the lake of lava. To my surprise creatures and beasts stirred in the bubbling mixture of magma and fire. I walked back, looked to my right and to my surprise further up a small hill there seemed to be some sort of road. I walked up and indeed there was a road. Almost like cobblestone, or gravel, but with shards of obsidian and hot rocks. I stepped onto the road and chose a direction towards the mountains and started walking. The ground was hot, and the shards of obsidian were sharp.
In order not to be defeated by the environment alone, I cast my armor upon myself, the armored boots keeping my hooves from being cut by the obsidian glass shards on the ground. I cast a heat shield and kept the warmth from burning me alive. I looked around, hoping to find familiar faces...but none could be found, I would hope that twilight and Derek would be here... But unfortunately we were separated. The most I could do at this point would be to hope that I appeared before they did so that I can wait for them to arrive... But I should press forward. This is it; I could feel it in my bones, he's here, can feel his presence. It's the same feeling I get whenever he invades my mind. And not only that. But his mere presence is drawing the power from me. As I've been getting closer, I've been getting weaker. The visions I got from that vampire, have gone now, my powers have begun to fade, and I've started to grow closer to being mortal again. I could feel his presence drawing me down the road.
I followed the road and looked around. I could see down the road that there was some kind of dark bridge which reached over a flowing river of magma towards a cave cut into the large mountain just in front of me. The mountain towered above me and the top could not be seen from here because of the immense smoke cloud hanging constantly above me. Smoke seemed to brew into storms as red lightning flickered in the sky above and occasionally struck the ground. I felt multiple evil auras, eyes constantly watching me, stabbing me with their gaze. I kept moving, I could fly, but the smoke and lightning above will keep me on the ground. There isn't much distance left between me and the bridge, and then the cave. I picked up my pace and soon I was at the bridge. I waited before stepping onto it. The sides were spikes with large torches made of brimstone burning and lighting the way towards the cave. The bridge was black and made of obsidian and brimstone. I took a step on the bride and the surface was also hot. Being made of a metal like stone, the constant heat from the lava under it makes this like stepping onto a frying pan.
I made my way across not being bothered by the heat because of my heat shield. I kept going across before I got the center of the bridge and there was an odd sound which emitted from underneath me. A roar, almost like a gurgling sound coming from below. I prepared myself as suddenly from the side if the bridge something broke through the surface of the lava and began to arch over the bridge bringing lava with it. It was some kind of serpent, its scales black and cracks glowed with burning intensity. It's eyes red and glowing and its breath was fire. It arched over the bridge and dove back into the lava on the other side creating a splash which caused lava to rain down across the bridge. I focused my energy and prepared magic. I began to glow as I focused and white golden sword began to spin and dance around me as they came up from the ground under my hooves.
The beast once again rose up from the lava, this time slowly and kept to the left side. I faced the beast as it rose up high above me. Lava dripped off the sides of the monster like water rolling off of a ducks back and the beast let out a fierce roar and clouded the whole bridge with smoke and ash. I began to suffocate on the smoke and coughed twice before summoning a gust of wind to clear the smoke. Once cleared I had sight of the beast again. I pointed the magic swords towards the beast and let out a yell as they launched towards it. They cut through the air and struck the monster. They jabbed into its underside and the beast let out a roar of pain. It took in an audible breath and when it released it spewed out a stream of lava. I summoned a shield just as the stream of lava hit me and began to cover the bridge. The bridge flooded with lava, but its design allowed the lava to flow to the sides and leak back into the river. I let out a fierce shout summoning as much magic as I could muster and a barrage of glowing swords broke from the ground and flew towards the monster stabbing and skewering every inch of its body. The beast began to sway and let out another shout as it fell and made a large splash in the lava. I put up a shield again as a large wave of lava reached over the side of the bridge and once more flooded the bridge with magma. Once the magma had run off the bridge I put my shield down and started to make my way across the bridge again.
Across the other half of the bridge I wasn't confronted again. I walked forward and reached the entrance to the cave. Black iron chains attached the bridge to the mountain much like a drawbridge. The chains had to be at least a foot in thickness. On the top of the entrance could be seen metal spikes, likely the beginnings of some kind of gate that could be closed, though they looked old and rusted along with the chains. They probably haven't been touch in centuries. I walked past them and started making my way into the cave. It was dark I couldn't see anything as I began to take my first steps in. I walked forward a little bit more to see if something would happen. I took one step and my hoof started to sink into the ground slightly. I stopped and waited for something to happen. Suddenly the cave boomed with life as the churning of gears and machinery filled the air. The clanging of metal and soon metal doors on the sides of the cave walls opened up and lava began spewing forth from them. I thought it was a trap and that I was going to be destroyed by the lava. But instead of hitting the ground and spreading the fountains of lava hit metal grates and fell into some kind of canal system which began to run the length of the tunnel lighting it up. Rivers of lava, with metal grates keeping others from falling in were everywhere, and I could the entirety of the cave.
Instead of a cave it looked more like the corridor of some kind of castle. The roof and the walls were chiseled with intricate designs. Burnt banners hung from the ceiling, most of them ruined and burnt. The path wasn't an ash and obsidian mixture but instead it was some kind of chiseled brick design, made of brimstone still hot to the touch. I began walking forward and as I did I could see that the exit of this place wasn't far away, so I began to make my way towards the exit. I looked around and saw statues of stone nights placed inside the walls. I made my way around and looked at all the strange symbols on the walls, pictures I couldn't quite make out, and symbols and some other language which I couldn't read. These are old ruins, ancient... But they've got such a rich history to them. It makes me wonder if this place wasn't much different than earth, or even Canterlot, but shall-Grahkan made this place a living hell. I kept walking until the grinding of stone in front of me caused me to stop. I could see anything in front of me, only the etching in the wall and two fountains of lava spewing into the grates.
Suddenly a stone warrior jumped out from behind the waterfall of lava. He hit the ground and held a mighty halberd in his hands. The inside of his armor glowed like he had been filled with lava, which he probably has. Then more of them emerged, jumping from behind the flowing lava and landing on the ground to face me. Once they stopped emerging they had taken the shape of a battalion. There were thirty of them. All the same, a suit of armor with a halberd. Ten of them spanned across the length of the cave and there were three rows of them. In unison they stomped their right foot and hit the butt of their halberd on the ground and then held it with both hands before. They cross halberd a and assumed a stance like they were keeping me out. I took one step forward and they moved again. They stomped their left feet forward and pointed their halberd so towards me. They didn't charge, they didn't move, they stood there, like they had become statues again. I knew they were empty, but the sight of armor like that makes me feel like there's always somebody inside, so I still felt like thirty sets of eyes were staring me down.
I stomped my hooves on the ground and broke the ground causing bright light to start leaking through the cracks. Vines of light broke from the ground and swiveled around me. I took another step forward and the first row of ten started charging after me. I took a deep breath and let out a mighty torrent of white flames from my lungs. They flames covered the ten charging towards me and some of them burnt and crumbled apart, the others were unscathed. As they charged towards me I lashed a vine at one of them, like a whip, and it cut right through him. One went for the attack but I grabbed him with a vine of light and threw him at the wall causing him to shatter. The other rows began to charge at me and I kept tearing them down. The vines of light cut through them like a warm knife through soft butter. By the time they were all reduced to rubble on the ground, not a single one had come within their halberd so distance of me. I waited for something else to happen, but when all was silent for a few moments I kept on my way. I passed the last two waterfalls of magma and walked out to see something amazing.
I walked onto a brick like building, with turrets on the walls where cannons or archers would hide behind. The platform was large and I walked to the adage to look out at the open world... Almost open really. I walked out into the center of a crater in the mountains, large spikes of brimstone jet out from the sides around, at least a mile in diameter. To the left and right, the platform I stood on branched out into large brimstone walls, much like a castles walls, in fact, as they stretched on, directly across from me, on the other side of the great crater I could see it, a castle fit for the devil himself. It was a large spiked castle, grander than any I've ever seen. Pallets burned with great fire. On each side was a tower which was spiked at the top and had a great fire burning atop it like a giant torch. Between me and that was a village, burned and destroyed, which was odd... Why would there be a village. Perhaps I'm right to assume that this world was home to others once before... But now it's only a place of evil. I could only imagine if instead of obsidian and brimstone there was dirt and grass growing flowers and plants. Instead of spikes of rocks jetting from the ground there were mighty oak trees, sitting and watching the centuries pass by.
Instead of rivers of lava and magma, there were lakes and waterfalls of glistening water. Instead of ash and red storms there were clear sunny days and partly cloudy skies, maybe even rain on some days, and in the winter... Everything was snow, and the riverbed turned to ice. Instead of a black and haunted castle which burnt violently, there was a white palace, so close to the sky that it could be mistaken for heaven itself. Happy villagers trotted around their village, outside of the kingdom were farmlands, small cottages with miles of farmland, fishing homes, small villages cropping outside, and forests to the west. Thinking about the beauty of it all makes me feel terribly sad. Them my hopeful and endearing side of me thought that maybe if I defeat shall Grahkan then this place could be normal again.
"Enter..." Said a voice suddenly from out of the air. "Come into my web, little fly..." Said the voice again. I felt like it was ringing in my head, but instead it was echoing through the air instead.
"Crimson?!" Said a familiar voice. It took me a second, but I know who it was.
"Rainbow dash..." I said softly.
"Crimson... Help..." She said before the voices faded away. Hearing her voice, knowing that she's here made me terribly angry, I was furious. So angry that I couldn't keep my own power under control, and the rock and brimstone around me started to crack and break. I let out a roar and spread my wings. I shot off the ground with such tremendous force that the ground broke underneath me. I tore through the skies with my wings making my way closer to the castle. I saw the front door was wide open and I tore through the sky covering the entire mile of village in only a matter of one minute. I dove into the castle and landed still furious, and that's when the doors closed behind me... I knew what was happening now. In front of me was a black staircase with a red carpet leading up to another set of door. There were other smaller doors around, but I don't need to go through those. I ran and made my way up the staircase. I rushed and burst right through both doors. They came of their hinges and fell to the ground in pieces with a loud boom. I looked into the room... And that's where I saw him.
A pony, with a crown and black armor. A mane of fire and fur black as the night. Long black demon wings with webbing which glowed like hot iron. He sat upon the throne, his eyes burning like fire and hit teeth sharp like fangs. Ash and fire covered him, and darkness emanated from him. I saw him... But only him... I didn't see rainbow dash. He looked at me and began to laugh, his laughter pierced the air, it cut through my soul and tormented me, but the pain and the anger only made me stronger.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" I shouted, demanding an answer.
"She's been gone for several decades now..." He said. "Your two friends came here some 86 years before you... It appears that you didn't secure that rope properly..." He said letting out another chuckle.
"What did you do?" I damaged again.
"I don't like to dabble in the affairs of mortals... They're pathetic beings." He said. "I returned the rainbow haired one to them and forced them back home... They were making me sick." He said. His voice echoed slightly.
"You lie!" I said. "Where are they?!" I demanded once more.
"I assure you... It is the truth." He said. "I despise mortals, and so I brought you here..."
"If you despise mortals then why do you want to kill me?" I asked.
"Simply because if only I remain, then I can rule the universe. I will destroy every good being and god that does not concede with my ideas. Only I will remain and I will reap the souls of the mortals... Only darkness will remain." He said. "Soon every world will be like this... Fire and ash... And suffering."
"What did you do to this world?" I asked.
"This world was once a beautiful place... Full of ponies much like us... I turned it into my own kingdom... It was disgusting before I changed it into something beautiful."
"You've turned it into something wretched and evil..." I said.
"That's where our opinions differ." He said. There was a short silence as we stared at each other with anger in our eyes. "Do you know how one kills a mortal?" He asked.
"No..." I said admittedly.
"There is an ancient tradition... A duel... Var-Sekan... The duel of mortality." He said. "In this both duelers immortality is given up, and they fight, as mortals. Once one dies his mortality is given up and immortality is returned to the victor. The one who loses is then judged to his own demise in either heaven or hell..." He said.
"Then I'll be sure that you die..." I said.
"That's not all..." He said. "When an immortal is judged their existence is erased." He said. "Everything they've ever been, or have ever done in the mortal realms is erased. Memories... Extinguished, offspring, removed, their existence revoked... All the worlds you've touch will change as if you've never been there." He said. "If you had children, they will be no more, if you had a wife, she will no longer remember you. Pictures, everything... Gone, you'll have never existed. Time and space will change to fit these changes...and life will continue. The only ones who will remember you is the victor and any immortal beings you've come into contact with." He said letting out another laugh.
I froze for a moment. I didn't know it was like that, I hadn't been told. This is what they meant by that there's a lot more on the line than my life... My whole existence. Rainbow dash, dawn, twilight, Derek... The others... Everything will change; it'll be like I never was there before. All memories of me, all knowledge of my exist ace... Through time, it'll be like I was never there. As I thought about it, I thought... Maybe that isn't as bad as I thought... No...
"NO!" I shouted getting angry and a burst of light exploded behind me. "I won't lose; I won't let it come to that."
"Then do it..." He said smiling and getting off his throne. "I challenge you... Crimson blast...Alex Wesson... To Var-Sekan..."
"I challenge you... Shall-Grahkan... To Var-Sekan..." I said. As I said that suddenly there was a rumbling and cracks began to break into the ground. But they began to glow green and soon it was prominent that they weren't random cracks, but a circle that expanded the entirety of the room we were in. Then there was a large blast and the circle expanded for almost the entirety of the kingdom we were in. A black glowing aura started to cover shall-grahkan's body and a white aura covered mine. Soon the auras left out bodies and floated up. I knew that this was my mortality, I could feel it. They floated above us. I didn't let myself get distracted. I steeled my nerves, and readied my mettle. I broke the ground and summoned a holy scythe and held it in my hooves, he pulled a large great sword, made of black metal and fire from the darkness. He surrounded himself in darkness while I covered myself with light. We stayed there and stared at each other. He smiled at me and I glared at him.
Suddenly he launched forward at me letting out a bottle cry using his wings to propel him forward. He slashed his sword at me and I blocked it quickly with an uppercut from my scythe. I spun the scythe and twirled around to give myself more momentum and out a great amount of power in my next strike which he block. White flames and energy covered my body and my blade. Dark energy and fire covered him. When our weapons strike they created a spark and energy escaped from them and I to the air. I struck at him, and he struck at me. Both of us putting our all into fighting. He spun and landed and mighty strike which I was able to block, but it forced me back. I quickly recovered my ground and swung my scythe making a wave of energy which flew towards him. He leapt above it and the energy hit the throne and the back wall destroying it all. With these kinds of attacks, just one hit would spell the end of the duel. In the air he propelled back at me and struck again, but I blocked.
We traded blows for what felt like an eternity. Even with all the fighting, I wasn't tired. Because this was the real deal, this wasn't like the other fights, now not only my life, but everything I've ever loved or known was on the line. We fought with fierce intensity. Every magic missile, every strike, every spike of energy or magical and physical attack was either blocked or dodged. Neither of us had been touched yet. I let out a fierce cry and struck the head on my scythe into the ground causing spikes of light to burst from the ground all over. He launched into the air and broke through one of the windows in on the wall and flew outside. I bolted out the same window and followed him. We hovered in the air. His wings like burning hot metal emitted ash and darkness. Mine shine brightly and sparks of light floated off them like fairy dust and disappeared in the air. I flew towards him and slashed my scythe at him; he blocked and returned the strike as I dodge. We barreled through the air striking each other. The clashing of metal filled the air as small burst of light and fire erupted in the air with each strike of our blades.
We fought above the burned and abandoned village of lost souls with was surrounded by the walls and mountains of the castle. I bolted back towards the ground and he chased after. I blocked his attack and found an opening. I went to strike and so did he. We both swung, and this time there was no clash of metal... Only silence. I stood there...and pain shot through my body. His sword dug into the side of my front hoof, around the shoulder; luckily the staff of my scythe stopped it from going any deeper. My scythe blade cut the back of his front leg, almost piercing it. Blood started to drip down my hoof, as well as his. We both pulled our blades back and jumped backwards and stood still, staring at each other with burning eyes and blistering fury in our gaze. I used my magic to wrap a band of light around my wound and it started to heal, black ash started to fill in his wound and he began to heal as well. It wasn't much longer that the silence was broken when we both bolted at each other striking wherever and whenever we could.
Blocking was unimportant. We hacked and slashed at each other, only stopping the fatal looking blows. Cuts started appearing across our bodies, our legs, backs, face, chests and necks. Blood sprayed all over the place, being soaked up by the dirt and soot on the ground. I leapt into the air and let out a breath of white flames. He did the same and let out a breath of black smoke and heat. I took the opportunity and rushed through the smoke and flames and flew right up to him, catching him of guard. I stuck my hind legs out, and put all of my force into a hard impact kick. One hoof hit his face; the other his lower neck and he flew down into the ground. The impact kicked up dust and dirt and ash. I stayed floating until a tentacle of darkness reached up and grabbed me off guard and threw me to the ground. I hit the ground in the same fashion and thought dark dirt I kicked up more tentacles came at me. I called an array of vines to shoot from the ground and fought off all of the dark tentacles. I escaped from the crater I was in only to have him fly through the smoke and try and strike me from above. He let out a shout and a cry and tried hitting me with a downward slash. I rolled forward, dodging the attack and getting back on my hooves. He followed up for a strike and I spun my scythe and blocked. He tried attacking again and I blocked once more.
"I grow tired of this... It ends...now!" He shouted as he exploded in a burst of darkness which then surrounded me. I felt it creeping into me taking my life from me. I felt like I was choking, everything was turning black. I felt my breath leaving me, my mind started to slip away. The darkness began to consume me; I felt everything I knew starting to fade away, until there was nothing left. I felt nothing, everything was dark. I floated in endless black, until there was a sudden light, shining brightly, blinding me suddenly. The light grew, and it grew, and soon it covered me. I felt my own being, floating through space, being surrounded by light and warmth, then, a voice... Something I couldn't hear, it was faint.
"Crimson..." The voice says... "Crimson..." It says again. And suddenly I saw a figure walk out from the light. It was I, pure white fur, scraggly black hair, hazel eyes that can shift from blue and green in the blink if an eye. He looked at me and he smiled, and I couldn't feel anything. It was like I wasn't there, but simply imagined it. "Don't worry crimson..." Said the figure. "Fight... You can, you cannot let him win... If you do, then everything you know will be gone from the universe forever." He said. "You can fight... He made the mistake, of trying to enter your mind... So take your demons, your regrets, and sick them on him... Show him why you deserve to live... Why you deserve happiness... Because you do." He said. "Stop being depressed...be happy...because you've got too much to lose, and many things to be happy about." He said, and then he was gone and there was darkness again. And suddenly I was back in real life; I felt the darkness around me.
I let out a terrifying cry and summoned all of the power I could muster. The ground began to break and light began to shine through the cracks. The clouds of ash above us began to part and bright lights started shining through, bringing light to the world. I forced the darkness out of me, and it reformed into his own form. The expression on his face, was strange, it was a mixture if fear, anger, and denial. I let out a louder shout and started to yell as I forced more energy into the world. A spark of light broke and soon a large beam of light broke from the heavens and surrounded me, healing the world. Brunt houses began to return to life. Dirt started to flourish with life. Light began to wrap around shall-Grahkan burning him. He hissed and growled at the light which wouldn't let him escape. I kept forcing out energy, and the energy of the world started to pull back into me. All the light, the fire, and the magic. I was teeming with energy.
"What are you doing?!" He demanded. I didn't answer, but kept building up energy. I focused more and more. The light surrounding me began to glow brighter and brighter, the darkness in the world began to fade away, it was being replaced by light. He shouted again, but I couldn't hear him over the amount of energy I sucked in. Suddenly the energy reached its peak and there was a single moment of silence, then the energy I collected burst, covering the whole world in an explosion of healing power, cleansing the world of darkness. Shall-Grahkan, being taken by the light, let out a cry of pain, before everything was blown away by the explosion, until the only sound was a really high pitched ringing in my ears. Everything was white, I was unconscious now. The amount of power had knocked me out.
For the longest time everything was white...did I win? I must have, I did it, and I knew it. As the light covered me I felt my mind starting to slip away. Memories and everything else became irrelevant as I slipped into a realm of dreams. Although I couldn't remember the dreams at all, they were still apparent to me at the time, but soon memories started to flood my mind. Happy ones, ones of my friends and family. I knew there was no returning from this. Whatever happens to me now, this is the price I must pay for what I have done wrong…and as I float here in this abyss, I close my eyes and I accept it. I think one last time, and using the great amount of power that I have left, I cast one last spell, one that death has taught me. And as I close my eyes and fade away…there's a light… and I smile.
If you're reading this, as my last act as a hero… I poured all of my memories, my tales, and my journeys into this one book. My name is crimson blast. I was a hero, a lover, a father, and a friend, but most importantly I was somepony who made mistakes, and I regret those dearly. I entrust that everypony will read this and know what I have done, both good and bad and hope that they will forgive me. And to my family and friends, know that I love you all, and wish you not to mourn for me, because I'll be watching you and guiding you from above. Thus ends my journey, and in heaven I will watch my bloodline flourish, and hopefully one day my children, and their children will becomes hero's even greater than I.
"The end…" said rainbow dash as she closed the large, leather bound book.
"Mommy…is that story really true?"
"Of course it is dawn… your father was a great stallion. He loved you and your sister very much."
"I miss daddy…"
"I do too." She replied with a sullen look on her face.
"Will I ever be an amazing her like dad was?" rainbow dash smiled.
"Of course you will… you're his daughter, his blood runs through your veins… there's no doubt in my mind that you'll turn out into an amazing daughter."
"Just like daddy?"
"Yes dawn…" just like daddy.
Just like your father…
-The End-
-Authors Note: Thus ends the second book. allow me to say...HOLY SHIT I BET NONE OF YOU EVER SAW THAT COMING! *victory dance ensues* im so good at this. the ultimate in plot twists. the entire time, it was a story, an actually story being read. storyception bitches. that person who i was going to kill off at some point?... it was crimson... he was doomed from the start. oh god im so amazed right now. not only is the story done but it ended on such a perfect note as well. im very pleased with the way that this came out. as for those OC's that i promised would be in the next story, they will be... i guarantee it. but this ends the second book. i hope you all liked it, and thank you for bearing with me through this. im going to start getting to my other stuff, but im gonna start on the first chapter of the next one soon and get that up so i can atleast get an early start and a solid foundation for the next story: BloodLine.
i hope you all look forward to it, soooooo, ill see you all in the next book. but until then...
~STAY SHADY!