Chapter 30: Üaralis Iethel Cktili (King Takes Rook)
A dragon only builds; a wyrm seizes all. ~ Unknown
Harlothisüa became aware with a groan, his body strangely aching from both pain and cold. It felt like he was lying on something very cold and wet. But why? As he slowly opened his eyes his confusion only deepened. Why can I see the night sky? When he brought a paw to his face he found snow in it. What?
Taking a shaky but deep breath he slowly got to his feet. Checking himself over he found that he had a few scrapes and missing scales but while everything ached it didn't seem that anything was broken, thankfully. That still did not explain why he had been lying on the ground somewhere outside in the Frozen North. His breath hitched when he looked up and out.
'The Crystal Heart is a Letuscktüis artifact... Its purpose was to protect young letuscktüi who could not yet handle the extremes of the polar regions that they called home. The Crystal Heart has a fatal flaw... The Heart could protect against external threats with ease but not from those who were under its protection'
In the distance the Spire of the Crystal Empire was barely visible behind a large shimmering dome. From what he could see it looked like the dome encompassed the entirety of the Empire. But why? And how did he come to be outside of it? The last thing he could remember...
'Do you regret Claiming the Crystal Empire and its people as yours?'
'Thē.'
Harlothisüa sighed as he lowered the journal he had been trying to read. It wasn't the darkening night that prevented his reading, his night vision, like all dragons, was excellent. (The soft light that seeped from edges of the curtains that kept the cold out of the Spire only made it all the easier). He was missing his mate. A week ago, Vatošā had returned to her people to deliver the news of the recent events of the Empire (Why did they call themselves an empire when they clearly weren't?), his Claim to it, and his mating to her. At least, if all went well, she would be returning soon...
His frown deepened as his gaze lowered to the Spike statue below. He had thought that the grief that had consumed His was finally turning a corner since the memorial for Spike three days ago... but... Now instead of flowers and small trinkets there were piles of wrapped 'gifts,' every last one of them purple and green. Why? Vexingly, it was nothing like any other culture he had ever encountered and he was still hesitant to ask directly...
"Good evening Cadance, Princess of the Crystal Ponies." Guardian smirked as he heard an almost inaudible gasp of surprise before the curtains parted revealing the very person in question.
Harlothisüa blinked as the memory faded away. So he had been sitting in one of the balconies of the Spire reading one of Harmony's journals only to be interrupted by Princess Cadance. Why? He had a feeling there was something more, something important, but for some reason he couldn't recall... But a faint odd sour and ash-like smell tickled his nose pulled his attention fully from the past and into the present. The smell was almost as if...
His gaze snapped to the dome of mana. If the Heart was activated it would mean... Stumbling several times he rushed to try and find the source of the smell, hoping against hopes that it wasn't what his nose was telling him. It seemed to take forever, but it was only moments before he nearly tripped over a dark mass barely visible in the light of the stars and glowing dome. Guardian collapsed to the ground next to it realizing that it was a badly injured changeling. To his utter horror, the changeling was barely recognizable as one. Massive mana burns had charred most of its body and the two right legs were merely stumps. He knew basic first aid but this, this was far beyond anything he had seen much less the ability to treat.
"N-" A single pained groan escaped its lips.
"I'm here." Guardian whispered reaching out only to flinched back as at his touch the body changeling started to flack and crumble away.
"Nnnot..." The male changeling, the deepness of the voice giving away that he was male, croaked out, one of its legs shakily reaching out to Guardian.
"P-p-pleas-se..."
"Come on..." Guardian begged as the changeling slumped. Even though a part of him knew that the changeling had no hope of survival he was not going to give up. "Stay with me!"
"Nnnno-oot aga-a-in... not..." At that the changeling, his changeling, slowly breathed out and grew still.
Despair, sorrow, hopelessness, grief, love, powerlessness, worthlessness that had been swirling in his heart now nearly overwhelmed him until a roar burst out of his mouth unlike any he had done before.
"I suppose its a good thing that Hearths Warming is more of an Equestrian Holiday then the Crystal Empire..."
Guardian was finding himself barely paying attention to Princesses Cadance's explanation. The words of Šihzra from before echoed once again in his mind.
'They yearned to return to the warmth and greenery of the land they had fled. If only they had the power of the Crystal Heart they would have power to take back their land, to crush all who would threaten them...'
'To crush all who would threaten them...'
"Guardian?"
'And so, they stole it away by smashing very egg and massacring every hatchling, whelp and guardian that sheltered under its magic leaving only them under its protection.'
'Vengeance denied the Windigo brought the fury of the Frozen North down around the Crystal Ponies...' Did the Windigo and the Ice Dragons also attack Equestria?
'Knowing what you know now, do you regret Claiming the Crystal Empire and its people as yours?'
'Thē.'
'In many ways you are in a far better position than your namesake.'
"Guardian?!"
"My, apologies," Guardian waved off the princess' concern as he turned away to look out upon the city below, "much is on my mind."
Damn it. Harlothisüa inwardly cursed. Memories were slowly returning, but so far, nothing explained how and why he was out in the Frozen North with a, now dead, changeling. The dome was a clear sign that something or someone had to have triggered the Heart. But why did the Heart blast him away? Crystal Heart was suppose to provide sanctuary, a place of safety for those most vulnerable...
The Heart could protect against external threats with ease but not from those who were under its protection.
Was this a repeat of before? Was that why, presumedly, he and this changeling were blasted from the Empire? And what of the rest of the hive?
'Crystal Ponies unknowing exploited it... by smashing very egg and massacring every hatchling, whelp and guardian that sheltered under its magic leaving only them under its protection.'
Guardian froze. He couldn't see anyone but there was someone, several someones nearby. He slowly turned his head to look out and saw well over a dozen pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness. A single, purple pair broke off from the rest. He watch silently the eyes approached. It was Pharynx, his shell marred by light mana burns but otherwise seemingly unharmed. The drake trembled as the changeling circled around him staring with narrowed eyes the entire time.
"Pharynx... I-" Guardian choked out as his gaze lowered back down to the dead changeling at his feet, "I could-I couldn't even keep..."
"Shut up." Pharynx literally snapped in the drake's face. "Twenty six are already dead and before sunrise that number will be forty one..."
The drake shallowed hard. Another tenth of a hive dead that was already on the brink of utter destruction. And it was all his fault!
"Your praetorian guard, Hive Leader Thorax, is right, your hive is in danger and needs to leave the Empire."
"I am the Guardian Dragon of the Crystal Ponies and I welcome you to the Crystal Empire!"
The Heart could protect against external threats with ease but not from those who were under its protection.
"Knowing what you know now, do you regret Claiming the Crystal Empire and its people as yours?"
"Thē."
If only...
"You are just like my idiot of a brother." Pharynx spat as he rolled his eyes. "Always second guessing and self-criticizing to the point of needless self-martyring."
What? Guardian's head snapped back in shock at the accusation. "What?"
"There is no way that Thorax had any training on what it means to and how to truly lead a hive... I doubt that any changeling of hers did."
"You said that as long as the hive took shelter under the Crystal Spire we were 'yours.' Yours to 'protect.' Yours to 'guard...'" Guardian could feel his stomach drop like a large boulder even as bile threaten to rise up. He was so sure of himself then. Now? Not so much.
"Was that a lie, Guardian? Because it sure didn't feel like one."
Suddenly the swirl of emotions that had threaten to drown him stilled to cold hard resolve. He slowly stood clenching his fists so hard that his claws pieced the palms of his hands staining the snow beneath him red. He was going to find out who or what dared try to take what was his and end them.
Fuck! Guardian cursed as he shook his hand. That smarts... He had hoped that shield was merely a passive barrier. If it had been, he might have been able to use his swords to create an opening for one of the changelings to slip through. They needed to know what was going on in the Empire and the changelings, given their shapeshifting abilities, were the best ones to do just that.
"Guardian, sir, there is a group of ponies approaching..."
Guardian inwardly grumbled as he peered into the dome and saw nothing. The darkness and shimmering semi translucent barrier made it difficult to see much detail. He wondered if the changeling was using his 'emotional' sight which did not have the same limitations as normal sight.
Thankfully, it wasn't long before he could finally make out a group of ponies approaching. To his surprise, it was Twilight flanked by what appeared to be a platoon of guards. He thought she was still in Ponyville after fleeing the Empire in a panic. Adding to his puzzlement, these guards were strangely not wearing the typical armor for either Crystal or Heart guards. As they got closer he could make out a faint wisp of green and purple coming out of the eyes of Twilight. Something about that seemed familiar, somehow... As faint as the memories were now he got the impression that Spike had seen this very phenomenon before... and it scared him...
He didn't like this one bit. There was only himself and the two changelings against a platoon of guards and an alicorn. The rest of the changelings had left with Pharynx sometime ago. There were some caves in the mountains to the west and Pharynx was going to take what remained the hive there until the situation in the Empire could be ascertained.
"Something is not right..." One of the changelings muttered.
"What do you sense?" Guardian questioned, the sense of foreboding rising.
"With some training a creature can suppress or mute their emotions," Guardian nodded his understanding. "But there is no way two creatures will ever have the same emotional inflection and yet... they, minus Twilight, have the same muted emotional inflection."
Guardian's eyes narrowed as he took a harder look at the approaching guards. The way they moved. It wasn't natural. Not even the Heart Guard(which he was sure were comprised entirely of changelings) moved with such synchronized precision.
"Twilight Sparkle?" He called out. "What are you doing here?"
But Twilight and the guards uttered not a word. They just stood on the other side of the barrier. Guardian's frown deepened as he stole a glance at the changelings, his hands twitching to grab his swords.
"Twilight Sparkle what is going on?" He tried again.
But once again no reaction, no words spoken, nothing. Then, without any warning, the 'guards' (if they really were guards) rushed forward with their weapons drawn. Guardian quickly unsheathed both of his swords to meet the charge. Strangely the stiffness he had noted in their march was also apparent in the way the 'guards' attacked. The exactness in their forms and movements was something that would only be done in competitions or training not in a real fight.
"Watch out!" One of the changelings yelled out.
Guardian looked out and jumped to the side to avoid a series of large black crystals that were surging out of the ground one in front the other sending the guards flying in all directions. His jaw dropped when he look and saw that Twilight's horn was lit. She had attacked through the guards without any regard for their safety or lives?! What the fuck!? This was not the Twilight that Spike fondly spoke of. As he gazed at her the sense of fearful deja vu increased. The green and purple mist or smoke was now pouring out of Twilight's eyes and the aura around her horn was a mass of blubbing black and purple.
Suddenly streaks of colors rushed past him as a massive gust of wind blew past him hitting Twilight and pushing her back towards the barrier. Oddly the wind seemed to do nothing to him if anything it seems to be avoiding him. He turned and to his surprise saw his mate and Slush walking out of the darkness, the Amulet of the Winds glowing mightily in her outstretched arm.
"Vatošā?! Slush?!"
"We heard your roar of anguish." Slush explained as he came to a stop next to him.
"Nnnot..."
"P-p-pleas-se..."
"Come on... Stay with me!"
"Nnnno-oot aga-a-in... not..."
Guardian awoke with a groan, blinking and rubbing his ear frills in an attempt to stop the ringing. Everything was out of focus and spinning and he could swear he could hear someone say something but the words were too muffled.
Suddenly every snapped back as someone shouted. "Guardian!"
Now he remembered what happened, Twilight's counterattack had overwhelmed Vatošā and the Amulet of the Winds. Slush had pushed Vatošā out of the way at the last second... Panicking he looked about only to found his mate a short distance away on her knees leaning over what looked to be Slush. Rushing over, he quickly checked her over and sighed out in mild relief. His mate was barely hurt only a few cuts across her hands and arms, although he could make out a few shards of black crystals embedded in the wounds which would be a problem later if left untreated. Slush, on the other hand, was severely injured with both his arms smashed along with several deep gashes across his body, a large crystal the size of his arm lodged deep in his gut.
Guardian looked back towards Twilight at a lost on what he could do. He couldn't get close enough to use his flame and his swords could only be used defensibly against magic of this magnitude, if only just. He had a feeling his mate use of the Amulet of the Winds had only bought then a moment's reprieve.
"What?! What do you mean 'no'?" Not-Spike raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. Šizra had never outright denied a reasonable request before... delay, sure, but outright deny? And what was not reasonable about learning draconian magic?
"It means what I said," Šizra softly spoke as he walked past Not-Spike touching the filigree along the wall as he did. "I will not teach you and no one else can. True draconian magic can't be taught... only self discovered..."
Not-Spike pinched his brow as he watched the longma silently pull away from the wall and towards the center of the spiral path all without looking up or at him. His mentor was becoming melancholic; he hated it when his mentor got melancholic.
"The best I or anydragon can teach you is some minor manipulations that you can do with your flame..." Šizra spoke after a few moments of silence. "One of which you should already be familiar with..."
Of course, there is the other fucking shoe... Not-Spike inwardly grumbled.
Guardian panted hard as he held his fire-hot claws against his bleeding arm. Cauterizing the wound was only a temporary measure. Twilight was taunting him he was sure of it. His swords and flame should have been nothing against a magic user like her and yet he was able to just barely dodge or block every attack with an occasional 'minor' injury. How much longer before Twilight either got bored and stopped playing around or he tired enough that he would fail in either blocking or dodging? If only he could call on the might of Šihzra because he knew if Šihzra were here...
"The best I or anydragon can teach you is some minor manipulations that you can do with your flame... One of which you should already be familiar with..."
"...well technically more like Spike..."
Guardian pulled out the small piece of paper that Discord gave him. His 'business card' Discord called it. He would rather have help from anyone but him but right now was not the time to be picky and with Discord and Šihzra being friends... but how?! He had know idea what the words written on it meant. Clearly a code detailing a way to contact Discord but that was of no help to him now... If only he could use his flame to 'mail' the card.
Unfortunately, try as he might he never could get the hang of it. Most often whatever he 'mailed' would become merely normal ash. The one time he sort of got it to work, the one and only time, it arrived more ash then parchment. What should have been easy had proved to be incredibly difficult, and, according to Šihzra, it was all because Celestia had 'enchanted' Spike's flame. Guardian growled in irritation. Even long gone Spike was still finding ways to restrict him, to chain his ability to... No. I need to stop blaming him...
"Desperate measures..." He whispered as he reached deep within himself recalling everything Šihzra taught him on mail fire.
Damn it. He cursed when all he got was a hand full of ash that quickly disappeared.
"Look, I get the old joke (which I invented by the way)," Guardian spun around in surprise to see Discord standing behind him wearing a suit and tie, his paws half in pockets, smirking.
"Dragons are only in the business of flames, fire, and the burning of all things flammable but I did not give you that 'card' to have you burn it like..." Guardian resisted the urge to grumble even as he reached out and forcibly dragged Discord's head so that the draconequus would see Twilight. "kindling... Oh... um, that is not a good look for Miss Goodie-By-All-The-Books."
"Stay right here while I get the nag sisters..." Discord ordered as he placed a mini Discord upon Guardian's shoulder. The mini draconequus gave a sharp salute before the original disappeared with a snap and flash of light.
"Wait I... ugh." Guardian growled rubbing a paw across his forehead. What did he expect of the self proclaimed spirit of chaos and disharmony?
He licked his dry lips as he glanced over at Twilight. For some reason she looked as if she was seemingly amused by the appearance of the draconequus but content to wait. He wasn't sure if this was some sort of honor thing or because of a sense of assured confidence. He really hoped it was the former and not the latter. In either case he was not going to waste and opportunity like this.
While keeping a close eye of Twilight he slowly backed up to check on his mate and the injured Slush. Guardian rested a paw on his mate who was gently using her flame to warm the changeling resin that was wrapped around Slush. It was not the best solution, but it was all they had to treat the badly injured drake and keep him warm.
"How is he?" He asked.
His mate shook her head before gently brushing a claw along some of Slush's injuries. Guardian gritted his teeth and clenched his paws. He was suppose to be a protector to his hoard but all he brought was death, destruction, and grief. He looked over to where Twilight was still silently sitting, watching them. His vision redden as she gave him a smug smile. Fuck Spike. Fuck Twilight. He was going to rip her limb from limb-
Guardian hissed as a sudden flash of light blinded and stunned him. As his vision slowly returned he found himself blinking for more than just trying to recover his sight. Discord was back and next to him, in haphazard pile of limbs and armor, were the two alicorn sisters of Canterlot.
What? How!? Although Guardian was unable to use magic in any meaningful way, he was still quite aware of the limitations of teleportation and the amount of magic needed to teleport long distances. Discord had to have only been gone a few minutes! For Discord to be able to teleport from Canterlot and back along with two others... Unless... Could he use the ley lines like Šihzra?
"Discord!" Came a muffled cry from one of the alicorn sisters. It was hard to tell which had spoken as one had their face half buried under snow and the other's chamfron was not only too large (and given the color, clearly meant for the other sister) it was attached sideways. Guardian would have laughed at ridiculousness of it all if they weren't all in grave danger.
"Give... me... a moment..." Discord raised a shaky hand as he bent over gasping out between deep breaths.
"Discord!" Luna exclaimed as she finally untangled herself from her sister, ripping the offending piece of armor off her face. "Unlike mine sister our tolerance for your tom foolery..."
"Not a... prank..."
"At last, the meddlesome sisters." Guardian's gaze snapped to Twilight. Those were the first words that Twilight had spoken since this whole ordeal started. That alone would have gotten his attention but there was also something off about her voice. It was more than a strange roughness like she hadn't spoken in too long of time, if he didn't know better, it was as if there was a second voice speaking along side her.
"That voice..." Luna voice shook as she stiffly turned to face Twilight fully.
Celestia's slowly rose whispering out in horror. "No..."
"Sombra!" Luna sneered her sword rising in her aura.
Sombra?! Guardian looked back and forth between the sisters and Twilight. Twilight was not Sombra. Twilight was one of the ponies that helped in the liberation of the Empire from Sombra. What the fuck is going on?
"Yesssss!" Twilight hissed a cackling laugh, the second voice, now far more noticeable.
"You foul fiend!" Luna roared. "Release Twilight at once!"
That just made the now revealed to be possessed Twilight to laugh all the more. "The insolence! That you would dare command me, a king!?"
Guardian tensed as Twilight or, to be more precise 'Sombra' that was controlling her, suddenly stopped laughing. Her horn glowed brightly and with a loud rumble dozens upon dozens of dark, black tendrils of raw mana burst out of the ground around them. The drake yelped as several of the tendrils rushed at him at high speed. He was able to side step one before cutting another down with one of his swords. But, this time, he had no time to recover as the mana tentacles kept coming after him one and after another with no break. Not helping was that the mana wouldn't just fizzle out when cut, large clusters of black crystals would instant grow wherever the tendrils fell. It seemed that 'Sombra' had finally stopped playing around.
I am never again going to laugh at Captain Klippfisk or anyone else over their fear of giant squids or krakens again. Guardian muttered as he was quickly pushed back.
"Sister!" Luna cried out as Celestia suddenly screamed.
Out of the corner of his eye, Guardian saw one of the tendrils of mana burst out of the ground underneath her latched onto her back left leg and before she could do anything else dragged her across the ground. It then pulled her high into the air. Luna leaped up to try and get to her sister but was unable to get close as for every tendril she cut done two more rose up. Discord tried help coming at 'Sombra' from below but he too found himself being kept back by an onslaught of crystals jutting up from the ground.
Luna! Discord! Guardian inwardly cried as the two were suddenly overwhelmed and stuck down.
"A thousand years and it seems you have forgotten my might. The last time you faced me you two used those cheating trinkets to barely and only just barely seal me away." Sombra said as he pulled Celestia a bit closer before staged whispering her ear. "Of course, it's too bad for you that I made sure no one could use them ever again."
"Hmph" Sombra looked over Celestia as she furiously squirmed in his grip with a smirk upon his stolen face. His smiled turned into a deep sneer as he then preceded to stab her several times with a summoned piece of crystal. "And that it why I am a true king and not a mere pretend princess."
"And now..." The Sombra possessed Twilight hissed out as he flung Celestia's limp body away. "As much as this has been fun, it's time that I eliminate all that remains in my way..."
Guardian's steeled himself as the air became thick with mana but as a beam of mana shot up from Twilight's horn and several large crystals each several times larger than the Spike statue appeared above them, raw mana crackling along them like lightning both of his swords slipped out of his hands and clattered onto the ground. He had no chance.
Suddenly the wind picked up, kicking up snow and almost blinding him. At first, he thought it was his mate using the Amulet of the Winds again but a quick glance back and he could see that the Amulet was dull against her chest. And then he heard someone or something. It was almost as if there was a voice upon the wind, singing softly.
I heard... the wind... call my name...
What the...?!