Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Sixty-Nine

"Mmm… mm-hmm," Rose Belt said in reverence. "This is it, fillies and germs… the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters."

"Ooooooh, hehehehehehe," Trixie said giddily. "This is unbelievable! What do we do first?"

"Well, most of the roof has been blown off," Belt said thoughtfully. "There won't be a whole lot of plunder in the above-ground areas… so we're going beneath the ground, to the lower levels. I believe that everything down there might still be intact."

"Is that so?" said Trixie. "There are lower levels? Like dungeons?"

"Possibly," Belt agreed. "Do me a favor, Lulamoon, and blast that column of stone, the one right there."

"What, this one?" Trixie asked, pointing to a portion of wall that was almost completely intact, but overgrown with creeping vines.

"Yes," said Belt. "Try to burn away the vines."

Trixie nodded and shot a spray of fireworks at the thick wall. The explosion burned away the vines, but also broke away some of the stones, revealing an opening and a dark staircase leading deep underground.

"You knew that was there?" Trixie said, impressed.

"Not my first dungeon crawl, my friend," Belt said smugly. "Let's go."

The four of them started down the steep, gray stone staircase. It was much less decayed than the outside of the castle, and there was light at the bottom. At the bottom of the staircase, the walls and floors turned from gray to yellow. A hallway led straight off into the distance, and the torches along the walls were perfectly aflame.

"The torches are still going!" Trixie exclaimed.

"Magic," Belt said darkly. "Recent, though. Not 'recent'-recent, but more recent than the castle's destruction. And I'll bet anything that whoever set up the torches also set traps. Flasher, take point, you're on trap duty. Snare, cover our backs."

Snare, the black-hooded stallion, nodded and moved to the rear of the group, while the bearded one, Flasher, crept forward, inspecting the walls and floors.

Flasher's horseshoes whirred, morphing into a pair of mechanical hands. He sniffed along the ground, creeping like a bloodhound. He spotted a tripwire and disabled it with his nimble mechanical fingers. One stone in the floor was higher than the others, clearly designed to be stepped upon; Flasher instead lifted it up out of the floor and tossed it aside.

Flasher trotted forward a fair distance; Trixie and Belt followed behind him, Snare taking up the rear with his eyes on the path they had already tread. Flasher held up a hoof-hand to halt the others, noticing another trigger on the floor. His eyes turned to one of the torches; he grabbed it and spun it around until the fire went out. It was no simple burned stick, but a finely-crafted wand.

"Ooh, that's interesting," Belt said eagerly. "That wand would have gone off if we'd passed in front of it?"

Flasher nodded and passed the wand to Trixie.

"Me?" she said, surprised. "Why, thank you."

The group continued on their way, and Flasher looked up abruptly at a panel in the stone ceiling. From within the confines of his robe, he pulled out a plastic-looking yellow-and-red crossbow, and backed away to join Belt and Trixie.

The panel dropped down to the floor, followed by a bright green spider twice the size of a pony. It crouched down and hissed at them violently.

Trixie immediately flung a spray of fireworks into the spider's face. Snare jumped into the air and tossed a spray of knives which buried themselves firmly in the shell of its thorax. Flasher proved that his cartoonish crossbow was no toy by shooting a bolt of crackling pink energy at the spider, knocking it back.

Belt slid forward, spinning around twice, slicing the spider's face with her wings, causing it to rear up and expose its soft underbelly. She kicked it backwards, and it triggered yet another trap: a swinging pendulum axe that cleaved the giant spider in two. Its yellow fluids spilled all over the ground.

"BA-HAHAHAHA!" Belt cackled. "Good work, team! Like a well-oiled machine. And look ahead… a door."

The hallway ended at a huge wooden door, lined with iron.

"Hall seems pretty featureless from here to there," Belt said thoughtfully. "But I'm sure the door is rigged too."

"Ooh! Ooh! May I check?" Trixie asked.

Belt looked surprised. "Oh! Um… sure, go nuts. Can you?"

"Of course," Trixie said.

She shot a firework the twenty feet from their group to the door—the entire wooden portal shattered. A set of knives on a rope swung by and stuck into the wall, followed by a spray of darts from the other direction sticking in the other wall. From the top of the doorframe shot a jet of fire, and when that ended, green acid poured down from the ceiling and corroded the floor a bit before fading away.

All while the four adventurers stood twenty feet back, out of harm's way.

"Yep, the door was rigged," Trixie said brightly.

"Nice one!" Belt exclaimed, holding up a hoof. Trixie pounded it. "Onward then!"

They sidestepped the spider's corpse and filed through the door one by one. The room at the end of the hall was a lavish and fancy bedroom, with a huge four-poster bed and an immense amount of furnishings and containers.

"Oh ho ho ho, jackpot!" Belt declared. "Just as I suspected. Let's spread out and see what we can see."

Flasher used his metal fingers to pick the lock of a huge chest. He shifted through it and held up a great blue jewel, and brought the lens of his headband down over his eye to inspect it. Trixie filed through drawers and removed a series of scrolls and books, packing them into her many purses. Snare reached under the bed and pulled out a gigantic, silvery-blue scythe.

"Ooh! That is nice!" Trixie said. "Are you going to keep it, or sell it?"

Snare shrugged, strapping the enormous weapon to the back of his vest.

"Flasher, did you see what Snare found?" Trixie said conversationally.

Flasher turned and looked at the scythe, smiling slightly and nodding.

"O… kay," Trixie muttered. "You know, sometimes I wish you two would talk."

"Look, guys, I found the closet!" Belt called, fiddling with its golden door handle.

She opened it, and revealed that there was nothing but blackness within.

"Hmm… well, that's not norm—" Belt began.

She fell silent with a gasp as a pair of huge red disks appeared in the darkness, like a pair of blank, perfectly round eyes. Beneath them appeared a tiny mouth, a mouth of exposed teeth, every tooth as thin and sharp as a needle and glimmering white in the darkness.

The jaws opened wide in a yawn, then this ghastly face disappeared.

A shadow crept across the floor from the depths of the closet, a shadow with no source. Each of them stepped back as it neared them, sliding straight out from the closet and up the opposite wall. Against the wall, it began to take shape, the shape of a tall and thin mare viewed from the front, ears and a unicorn horn becoming distinct on the pure black shadow's outline. A piece of the shadow became light gray, molding itself into the shape of a simple mane-style. In the shadow's face, the red eyes and needle teeth appeared.

The eyes gazed at them, this perfectly expressionless face focusing on each one in turn. Its jaws flapped up and down like a puppet's as the shadow spoke in an absent female voice: "Who… are you?"

Trixie quivered in terror. Belt stepped forward and spoke. "Just a group of humble adventurers, miss," she said with remarkable casualness. "And you?"

"Adventurers?" the shadow repeated. "Thieves, you mean."

The shadow on the floor gathered itself up onto the wall. The shadow swirled around the face for a few seconds before it peeled itself off the wall, becoming three-dimensional, first its hooves, then its torso and gruesome face.

"Get out of my room," the shadow growled.

A blast of black magical energy propelled the four adventurers out of the gorgeous bedroom and into the hall. They got to their hooves shakily. The face grew larger, filling the entire doorway.

"OOOOOUUUUTTT!" it screamed.

"Let's do what she says!" Belt urged frantically. The four of them galloped back down the hall and up the stairs to the outside, the huge face in pursuit, jaws wide open and bellowing fiercely.

"Get down, get down!" Belt said, dropping to the floor. The others followed her lead. The face shot over them, followed by a long, shapeless tail of shadow. The tail was sucked into a swirling cloud, and the face turned back to the four, snarling. The face on the cloud slowly began floating down to the ground in front of them.

"Out of my castle," the huge face commanded.

"Your castle?" Belt countered, as she and the others got to their hooves.

"Yes."

The shadow's face grew smaller, to the size of an ordinary pony's face, and the shadow solidified into the shape of an entire pony, one the exact size and shape of Celestia. Her horn was long and curved, and along with her mane there were other spots of a vaguely translucent gray: her tail, and a pair of hatchet-shaped wings.

"Celestia invited me here, almost a thousand years ago," the shadow said, looking over her body now that it had finally come together. "A foolish action from a sappy and sentimental broken princess. It's because of me that her old castle crumbled into these ruins, because of me that what was once her kingdom is now the vicious and untamed Everfree Forest! This is my castle now, and I'll tolerate no intruders!"

Belt stepped forward, showing no fear, only curiosity. "Who are you?" she breathed.

The final feature of the shadow's true form appeared then: her cutie mark. On either shadowy flank appeared the image of a scythe, with a bent and gnarled handle, and the cutting edge of the sickle covered in rust or perhaps blood. The appearance of the mark seemed to pain the shadow, as she cried out and threw her head back. Her head slumped momentarily, and her expressionless face turned to Belt, answering her question.

"I am… Annihilara," she rasped.

"The Annihilara?" Belt said, fascinated. "You know, that's who I thought you were!"

"Don't try to butter me up," Annihilara sneered. "You never heard of me in your life. Nopony has. NOW GET OUT!"

Annihilara split into a dozen of herself, which scattered, each one with her face at the front of a long black comet tail. The scattered shadows then turned back, converging on the party of adventurers.

"Run!" Belt roared. "We need to run! Into the forest, come on!"

They bolted deeper into the forest, and the dozen Annihilaras collided with each other, then reformed into her solid pony form.

"Oh, yes," Annihilara said snidely. "By all means, flee while you're still carrying all of my possessions! YOU'RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET!"

She conjured up a replica of her cutie mark, a rusty scythe floating over her head, a scythe as big as the tallest tree in the Everfree Forest.

"Enjoy the taste of this, little thieves!" Annihilara shrieked, spinning the huge scythe around and around.

The scythe pulled back, then swung in an arc, its point driving straight for the ground where the fleeing adventurers would end up.

"Evasive action!" Belt cried. "Then take to the air!"

"The air?" Trixie demanded.

The scythe's point stuck in the ground, inches away from where it would have cut Trixie in two. She squealed in fear, then gasped as she saw her three companions flying off into the distant sky.

"No!" Trixie screamed. "No, no, no!"

Tendrils of shadows slipped through the trees from the castle, each one twisting and coiling its way toward Trixie. Two of them, ending in points, wrapped around Trixie's hooves, coiling around and around her legs. A third tendril reared up in front of her face, this one tipped with Annihilara's terrifying jaws.

Trixie slashed stubbornly with her horn, cracking several of the teeth. This tendril faded, but the others lifted her higher and higher, thoroughly tied up, into the towering face of a giant Annihilara.

"I am sorry," Annihilara whispered. "But surely you must have seen that coming? You can't expect any more from a band of thieves. You, little unicorn, have been abandoned."

"Guess again," growled Belt.

She had swooped down over Annihilara's head, cradling a lit lantern in her hooves. She dropped the lantern upon the massive shadow, and it shattered, burning Annihilara's head. The giant shadow screeched in surprise and pain.

Snare followed behind Belt, flinging a series of discuses at the back of Annihilara's head, each of which exploded in golden light. Flasher followed, his crossbow shooting orbs of white.

Annihilara keened again and began to shrink, her tendrils releasing Trixie, who fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

"Owwww…" Trixie groaned, grasping her shoulder.

"Owwww…" Annihilara echoed, curled up on the ground in her pony form, still large but now manageably so.

Belt, Snare, and Flasher dropped to the ground at Trixie's sides. She looked to her comrades and smiled broadly. "Thank you, friends," she said. "Watch me now…"

Her horn ignited, and she unleashed the most impressive fireworks display she'd ever conducted, each explosion centered upon Annihilara, blasting holes in her which each healed immediately, but appeared to pain her.

"All right…" Annihilara rasped. "All… all… ALL RIGHT!"

With that final proclamation, a shockwave of darkness raced out from beneath Annihilara's hooves. It touched each of the four adventurers, leaving them with bloody cuts on their faces that oozed black smoke.

"All… right," Annihilara said calmly. "Yes, the girl made of shadow can be defeated by bright light. You're a bunch of friggin' tactical geniuses. Can I go now?"

Belt turned to Trixie. "Your call, Lulamoon. Do we let her go?"

"Of course," Trixie said. "Neither party is enjoying this skirmish. You go back to your home, and we won't bother you."

"Oh, you're so merciful," Annihilara sneered. "And as for my possessions?"

Trixie blinked. "Um…" She considered for a moment, then pulled her purses out from within her robe.

"Oh, keep them," said Annihilara in downcast tones. "She who finds a treasure is the owner of that treasure. I have no claim to it… I am just a shadow. Take your well-earned spoils and go, like you adventurers do. Farewell."

She turned around and started back toward the castle ruins, when a huge foot appeared and blocked her path. Trixie and her companions gasped at the sight of a fully-grown Ursa Major, standing on its hind paws and its massive starry bulk towering unimaginably high as it glared down at the shadowy mare and four adventurers. After a few seconds of silence, it gave a deafening roar.

Annihilara sighed. "I'm not in the mood."

From her scimitar-shaped horn shot a blinding explosion of black light. When it faded away, the Ursa wobbled and staggered. Its arm had been blown off, as had most of its torso. It shook its head dizzily before crashing down to the ground over Annihilara, the hole in its chest serving as an archway she could walk through. She nodded in satisfaction and proceeded on her way.

Halfway through, she paused. "I just blew my cover there, didn't I?" she said. She turned to the quartet, whose jaws were all hanging open. "Yes," she said, "you never had any actual chance of defeating me. I was being nice, letting you think you were fighting a good fight against an opponent you could actually beat. Don't let me catch you in my house again. I won't be so generous a second time." She saluted. "Lates, yo."

Annihilara walked away. Trixie stared in horror at the Ursa Major's dead face, its eyes blank and its tongue lolling out.

"Well… 'Annihilara', huh?" Belt said thoughtfully. "How about that?"

"Who is she?" Trixie whispered.

"No clue," Belt admitted. "She was right, I was totally bluffing. I never heard of her."

"So… wait a minute," Trixie realized. "'That's who I thought you were'. That's just what you say every time somepony new introduces themselves!"

"You're just now catching on to that?" Belt snickered. "Of course it is. It gives me the upper hoof. They either become flattered or paranoid. It's highly advantageous."

"And it never backfires on you?" Trixie challenged.

"Not really," Belt said. "Well, you saw what happened when I tried it on her, she just didn't believe me. That's the closest it comes to backfiring. Anyway, let's find someplace away from this stinking corpse to rest and recover our strength for about an hour, then we go back to the castle. All right?"

"All right," Trixie said absently. She straightened in alarm. "Wait a minute, WHAT?"

Belt flinched. "Wow, that's a high octave."

"Are you nuts?" Trixie hissed. "Did you see what she did to that Ursa Major? Haven't I annoyed you night after night with explanations about just how much energy it takes to disable an Ursa Minor? If we go back to that castle—"

"If she catches us back in the castle," Belt corrected. "Think about it, Lulamoon. The Elements of Harmony came here a couple years ago, right?"

"The bearers of the Elements," Trixie said absently. "The Elements are objects."

"Whatever," Belt said dismissively. "Either way, their journey through the Everfree and resulting, if you'll forgive my use of the word, 'showdown' at this castle, is pretty much common knowledge. The story of the hazards they met, most of them caused by Nightmare Moon herself, is pretty well-told. There's no mention of this creature. My guess? She didn't encounter them. I think she keeps to her own room. She chased us out of there, sure, but in an hour? I bet she'll be right back where we found her. Any other room in the castle is fair game, and we're taking it."

Trixie gaped. "You… are… absolutely insane." She shrugged. "Then again, I'd follow you anywhere, so that doesn't make me a hell of a lot saner than you."

"Aw, thanks," Belt said, grinning. "Hey, how can we be a successful bunch of grave robbers if we don't trust each other?" She pounded Trixie on the back. "Good to have you in the gang, Lulamoon. Let's rock and roll."

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Endnotes

Annihilara.

What more can I say? Just… Annihilara.

Originated from a dream I had of the "man under the bed" from The Nightmare Before Christmas, of whom we see nothing but a pair of red eyes and a mouth of sharp teeth. I had a dream of the creature with more MLP-like dimensions: huge eyes, teensy mouth. From there, I admittedly drew some inspiration from King Sombra as far as the power over shadows and darkness. Round it all off with features of the Heartless from Kingdom Hearts, and there you have Annihilara.

But being a cloud of darkness just wouldn't have been enough for my Annihilara. She had to be an actual shadow. One that appears on walls and floors and only occasionally peels herself off of them… a shadow with no one there to cast it is a personal terror of mine. I hope you enjoyed your first glimpse of her.