Sauron's Second Chance
Chapter 42: Ch 42: Mighty Cold, Mighty Winds
Previous Chapter Next Chapter‘Stupid clouds…’
Sauron has been observing how the storm was changing, and it didn’t look well. He was concentrated on strengthening the fiery barrier. He won’t stay in one place the whole time, one mustn’t hide his strength when it is wise to use it for greater gains that would benefit him, even when counting in everything that was lost trying to get it.
Sauron has a lot more power and abilities he can use to harm the storm, the fact he probably indeed has some sort of a connection with the world just like other Maia with their Valar, strengthens him. Ponies here are able to accomplish feats he can’t, because he in embodied in a physical body. Teleportation is one of those feats.
If he could change, his magic and make it more like this worlds, it could probably give him that ability. He alone is obviously stronger than Celestia, Luna and Twilight. Being more connected to this world, become one when it comes to magic, he could try and dare interrupt in the movement of the two Celestial bodies high in the sky.
Moving them would be harder, as Celestia and Luna have those ‘cutie marks’ that literally make them responsible for this task. Moving the sun would require him be strong enough to break the barrier of being an alien force trying to command it. While fighting Celestia’s will and her own magic at the same time.
A hard task, not impossible to do. For now however, showing that he is stronger than a storm that could fight off both of those horses he just thought about, will be enough to make them see they are dealing with a being way above any of them. Sadly, there is an very displeasing entity in this world that hates him, for unknown reasons.
‘Discord’
The name suits him perfectly, a vile and horrifying abomination made out of different animal parts. illogical and chaotic, unorganized, filthy, a potential hypocrite. Thinks he is smart because he is strong and actually has a chance of fighting him. Hates him for unknown reasons. Discord knows something, maybe it is linked to his arrival?
It could be, he needs to investigate that later. For now he has to focus on keeping the city shielded. Cadence can’t be that unskilled and she should find the heart any moment. Sahvoz , if he is alive, will soon answer his call. He need to know how much damage the storm has done to the city. This information can get in handy in the near future.
More help, and favors gained by it would make a stable made out of good opinions protection against Discords potential attacks that might arrive in a short amount of time. The thought of parallel universes always had a place in his mind, it's amazing that there are borders of realities, with different creators. He hopes that he will get back to Arda, Eru knows what he might do in this world if he won’t.
Cadence was the happiest pony in her Empire at the current moment. She has found the Heart, who would have thought? In a puny fountain… She had so much luck, the odds for this happening were so low and so unbelievably small it’s amazing that it is even real. She has to fly back to Shining Armor and tell him to tell the guards to notify her citizens to gather in front of the palace.
She needs to prepare to sing the Crystal Empire anthem, she will leave Flurry Heart alone for now, the Hearts influence after reawakening it should be enough to drive away her nightmares, or whatever dark and sinister plagues her young mind. The protection Sauron has casted around her city is magnificent.
Her aunts were right, he is a strong being with power equal if not above theirs. It is in fact better to have him on their side. He might do some harm, but he would do much more if she’d response with violence after he indeed goes too far. Discord with them and all the potential great unicorn mages could take him down, by seeing how calmly he does his job at protecting her Empire. It would take many casualties doing so.
It was hot, and she didn’t think his flames actually released smoke into the air. At least this is her opinion. Afterdamp is heavier than air, she currently is in the air so she isn’t affected by it. She has been flying towards the barracks where her husband should still be. Death penalty has been abolished a long time ago, but capital punishment being legal for the sake of scaring off others should be allowed. In special cases it would be used to show that it isn’t just allowed to look pretty.
Cadence flapped her wings as hard as she could to gain as much speed as she could muster, she carried the heart holding it dearly to her chest while one of her hooves was extended forwards. She left a pink trace behind her from the speed she was flying with. Finally, she has located her husband. With a mighty movement of her wings, she shoot towards her husband. Leaving a circle of air from where she did it.
She prepared to land, placing her hooves on the rocky ground, she used her wings as brakes. While losing speed she slid on the rocky ground with her steel boots rubbing against the rock, spitting sparks left and right setting the nearby greenery on fire. Shining hearing the hard to bear for his years harsh sound looked what was doing it.
He was surprised when his wife just before him stopped perfectly losing all the speed. He was even more surprised to see her holding the Crystal Heart she held near chest. She sighted from the stress and emotions that have made a villa in her mind. Quickly hugging him, she looked at him, deep into his blue eyes.
“Tell all of the guards to gather the Crystal ponies before the palace, we don’t have much time!”
His eyes shifted down and up. “O-On my way! Where did you find the heart?”
“I’ll tell you later! Just go already ya doof!”
The way Cadence said it was cute, he turned towards his soldiers who were currently investigating the corners of the alleys and trash bins. He cleared his throat and lit up his horn. Using a spell that made his voice as loud as the royal Canterlot voice he addressed his gendarmerie.
“New orders! Bring the crystal ponies before the crystal palace this instant!”
The soldiers have stopped every action and in groups made from three pony’s they spread across the city, they left a big mess, some of the soldiers had Banana peels on their horns or a piece of a melon on their armor. A problem to solve later, for now, survival is what matters. Sauron has a lot of power if he manages to hold the storms advancement and keep his barrier still in one piece.
Talking about Sauron, maybe he could help out in reawakening the heart? He is very powerful, maybe he knows some sort of spell that might add more power to the Heart. Shining would be happy if Discord would show up, he can sense magical disturbances. He definitely can feel how much magic is used right now.
Shining was never supportive when it came to Discord, he was a God of Chaos, he was random, he was less random than Pinkie at times, this meant he had some control and could think normally. This is scary. Luckily, he has Fluttershy that can control him. Not to mention he has a son he loves. Whatever Discord would do, Celestia has the string, Celestia has the weak point just a few miles away from Canterlot she can teleport to anytime she wants.
Sauron, he has done an evil deed. Playing with his daughters mind and dreams? If not the fact he might get angry and cause even more harm, he would tell him a thing or two what he think about it. Before the court, in front of a dungeon. With chains in his magic, ready to put on those hoofcuffs or in that case handcuffs on him.
Sauron has officially stopped strengthening the fiery barrier, it has enough strength to fight the storm for three hours if the situation won’t get worse. He used much magic, he needs to wait until his body gets more adapted to use so much suddenly. He has a crawly feeling in his hands. Its not strong and barely noticeable but still present.
The whole scenery was orange and yellow, it was bright like hell now in the city. He could see ponies sweating like crazy, he won’t deny it, its hot, very hot. But it's not that bad, they can survive it. Although he could have had created a energy barrier made simply from pure light or darkness, light would be more suitable for the ponies since darkness could spook them.
Well, even a Maiar can be wrong. A small amount of time in a sauna never hurt anyone from what he knows. Without counting in Saunas that were meant for boiling others in hot water as a way of torture. Those did indeed cause “harm” that was necessarily done in the name of something greater, of course, his mission to make world like he imagines it.
Now that he can focus on other things, it would be wise to find Cadence. He has a few questions he wants to ask the candy princess. For example, what has caused the storm to exist? Is there a way to get rid of it? And a few other questions he has towards the pony. Sauron walked passing the nearby ponies that looked up as if the saw a deity, he has to be a some sort of hero now to them.
He is no hero, he has done it because it's logical to help your host so that he might quickly focus on your problem that you came with to him to solve for you. The difference however, is that they owe him this, and he needs to get back to Arda at any cost necessary. If he has to sacrifice a thousand or a million ponies, he will do it.
There is no object or person that could potentially stop him from trying to go back. He is an expert when it comes to magic, so he will be forced to go back from where he came from and closely look around the place of his arrival. Its weird… to die and awake anew, no pain and no bad experience while it happened. Without counting in the last seconds of him becoming almost nothing back in Middle-Earth.
Could it be his fall has caused some sort of an anomaly that transported him here? Could be… He is a powerful Ainu after all, the destruction of the ring and the collapse of Barad-dûr with the explosion of the fiery idles eye was enough to make it possible to rip thru reality and somehow take a small part of him to this world, and with all the energy, all the magic in between the dimensions that could exist. He was restored with an additional surplus of power.
‘An interesting theory’
Yes it was interesting, all the possible things he could achieve trying to recreate a similar effect! Gaining more power and with time more abilities. Who knows, maybe he will be able to just poof object out of existence from his pure will? One thing is shaping the energy and magic to look like chains or like a whip. But to just make an apple, or an book from the desire of having it? Like Discord can do?
To reach that level, and learn it. Discord has that ability because he was born with it, he was gifted from the beginning. He could train himself to the point of reaching it! A magnificent plan, but how to accomplish it? He won’t trouble himself with this for the time, he has other plans, they definitely focus on gaining more trust and influence in the Empire.
Sauron went towards the palace in hoping he will meet Cadence there, he was surprised to see guards calling for the ponies to gather in the middle of the city. Soon he realized that the heart has been found, maybe he really should have chosen a better place to drop it. Looking up, he saw that his fiery barrier has burned the peak of the palace, making the crystal at the top become sooty.
He went to the middle too, he wasn’t to far away. The ponies have been gathering in front of the palaces balcony. Cadence wasn’t present for now, or at least he didn’t see her. However, he saw the Crystal Heart spinning between the two crystal cones that held it, in their magic. It wasn’t active, it was pretty much empty, waiting to be refilled with the emotions of the ponies so that it might drive the storm away.
Sauron was powerful enough to try and hold the storm at bay, however where is the fun in doing everything for the ponies? He wants to see how the Heart works, he wants to see it activating, being used. He wants to see how the Ceremony will look like, he wants to witness the power of the Crystal Empire and its magic.
More and more ponies gathered, crowding the main street and talking, their voices filled with concern and fear what is happening, while of course keeping their distance from Sauron. Some Ponies even commented how muscular his right arm is, after all, he burned some of his clothes. All the way to his shoulder.
Muscular or not, it is a fleshy home for his spirit. The barrier was stable for now, it didn’t seem to take much hits from the storm. The thunder strikes were blocked by the fires that absorbed the electricity and used it to empower itself thanks to the heat the thunder strikes brought with them. Sauron watched from the bottom how the fires kept their form and didn’t deform the structure he has built.
If the ponies won’t do something the barrier will collapse, he only used it to buy some time, he didn’t cast it to actually stand a week or more than that. The fiery dome was a temporary protection against the cold. Nothing more or less, he doesn’t care about the ponies all he cares about is his return to Arda.
Actually, he might feel something towards the ponies, they are not that bad. Especially the Princesses, they have witnessed horrifying things and try to keep it far away from their subject. Twilight Sparkle, she is young and he is sure she doesn’t know even one percent of all things she should know as a Princess. Yet, after a small talk, a tiny chat she did win some space inside of his… heart?
Nah, mind suits better. The same with Luna and Celestia. Cadence is like nothing or him. She just exists and lives, the same with Shining Armor whom he has reasons making him dislike the white coated, blue bearded stallion. Flurry Heart? A innocent child for now, she can be taught how to behave if he gets the opportunity to nurse her.
Quite unimaginable, as she is old enough to already make more mature decisions and start interfering in politics or economics perhaps. Of course she is a female, it is only natural for her word to be less powerful, unless, she is the ruler, then it doesn’t count. Shaking his head and forgetting about thinking and again explaining to himself what he thinks about which character, he focused on the Crystal Heart.
He looked straight at it, he only heard it spinning, nothing else existed for him at the moment. He whispered some kind of word, his lips barely moved and the word he said, carried by the wind reached the heart. It responded with a flicker and spinning twice as fast. Sauron saw a small flicker inside of the Heart.
There was something wrong with his head though, he felt dizzy. A weird symptom especially for him, something he never should have experienced as he is immune to any kind of poison or disease there is. He looked down, it was unnatural for him to feel like this, the Heart wants to do something. perhaps it wants to tell him something or fight him off and become free.
If it’s the case, he has to show the rebellious Heart who is the overlord of its freedom and who holds the chain. Yet it didn’t look like the Heart meant harm, it more looked like it wanted to speak but its tries caused him the dizziness. If he will telepathically connect to the heart, he will be able to hold its autonomy in a tight grip.
Without wanting the heart to respond aggressively and destroy his reputation while doing so, he let the Heart do what it wanted to do. Closing his eyes he stood in the middle of the crowd, with peasants side to side, with horses painted like cake at weddings or birthdays. With every one of their manes looking differently. Big eyes and a unfamiliar to a horse posture was even weirder.
He saw blackness, total blackness, he saw nothing, but not nothing as blackness only being there and it is logical not to call it blackness but rather nothing, No. He sees the nothing a normal person can’t possibly imagine, the nothing before Eä and before all creation that only the Creator is able to understand fully. That nothing, that can’t be described.
“It is there something you want to tell me?” Sauron said out loud.
The nothing has been now filled with a small spark, it expanded and shined brightly. It didn’t blind thou. The light went under his feet that formed the ground, the surround buildings and others structures. Those buildings were exactly the same buildings of the Crystal city, it was the same street and he saw the Crystal Palace before him.
Sauron made a step forward, the echo of his step filled the soundless space. The sky appeared to be quite overcast. It could be noon or later. He begin walking, with each step the echo followed as his feet met the road. Interesting to say at least. It wants to help perhaps? Maybe tell something more, show some secrets?
All he wanted to do is make sure he still had influence over it, in response the Heart gives him this. Sauron had the opportunity to look throughout the city now, he didn’t know if the vision he currently sees resembles the future or the past. He was left alone in the city. He brushed his hand against the wall of a Crystal house, yet the heart still gave him nothing.
“What do you want?” Sauron called out annoyed.
A thunder roared up in the sky, the city suddenly begin to freeze, a violent wind destroyed the rooftops and the Crystal Palace has shifted forwards from the force of the wind. The ground shook, the trees were thrown into the air with their roots. The environment became hostile and savage, the ice devoured every stone and the snow hugged every surface it found.
All but the Maia was affected. It all stopped and he only heard the singing of the wind and how the ice cracked around him. The city was covered in ice it was frozen entirely. His vision was limited due to a fog, or perhaps the snow from the storm. Sauron moved between the houses, choosing wisely his paths not to get lost.
He didn’t leave tracks on the snow the Heart presented. He only created sounds by stepping forward. He looked around again, there was only snow and ice, nothing more or less. What kind of message does this hold? Is he supposed to do something? Finding no better question he could answer he proceeded in grabbing the snow from the ground.
He reached for it, he almost had it, yet on contact the snow turned into vapor. He wanted to try it again, and again the vapor was swept by the wind. Angry by this he kicked the snow and greater amounts of snow formed into vapor. He found a café of some sort with chair frozen. He sat on the chair thinking what to do. Whileimpatiently stamping his foot.
Each time he moved his leg, the snow turned into vapor, however he noticed something, the vapor went the direction where the wind was blowing, and then it turned right, just where he came from, from the middle of the city. He cleared the table, it was made from some sort of white, quite hard material he has never seen.
He stood up, there was no need in cleaning his clothes. No snow or water was on him as the surrounding world was just an illusion. He went back, taking the same paths, he went past shops, neighborhoods and maybe even a portion of the city’s district. He saw the vapor circling around something, and it turned into ice. It seems to build a statue.
He created more vapor by kicking the snow, the statue was of a pony made from ice. It was a mare from the looks of it, when the statue was finished, it broke into pieces and revealed another illusion, blurry. A mare indeed it was, with an black mane that was glittering like Luna’s mane however with purple points rather than white. Her coat was beige, and her fur on her hooves ended in caramel, her magic’s color was red and she held a book.
The book was large, it contained some sort of language, probably the signs mages use in this world, something he has to learn. The books cover was damaged but he could tell that it had an image, something familiar to Twilight's cutie mark but with way shorter arms and it was drawn as a crystal.
The mare pointed her horn at the sky, it was wrapped in a shadow, her eyes turned green and the pupils were purple. Soon on top of her horn a small ball of lighting formed, the mare struggled to hold the magic but she was a strong mage. Around her, a circle made out fire appeared, it melted the snow. She begin to sweat litters, literally big drops of sweat went down her face.
The mares eyes glowed white, she released the beam of magic. While doing it the fiery circle joined the beam that was an elemental attack. The mares horn has shattered into pieces throwing her back, she slided on the snow, eventually stopping. Sauron looked up, he has noticed the power. He has also saw what damage the attack did. It created an big explosion that send a wave that broke the glass around the houses, it broke the planks and has throw away every object outside.
The storm had a big hole in it, it regenerated, very slowly, insanely slow. Sauron was amazed that the pony’s are able to perform such feats of connecting elements thru magic to create powerful attacks. What’s more, these elements are the most effective when it comes fighting the storm. He approached the mare, and he kneeled on one of his knees.
He heard a weak whisper, said by a voice very hoarse and drained from life…
“I have failed… I was too weak…”
“To weak? But you just destroyed a big chunk of the storm.” The Dark Lord wondered out loud. He looked at the side.
“Light… Why the darn light?” Whispered the voice. “Why it… Why light?”
The pony turned into some sort of dust, the pony disappeared, and the snow under her covered the crashing site. Making the surface straight like woman’s chest. Sauron wondered, what did this mean? Light was supposed accompany the other elements? Impossible, darkness and light can’t be mixed together.
There is no way of making light and darkness be one in a single attack. He understand mixing fire and a thunderbolt, this is possible, the same with darkness, fire and darkness or lighting and darkness. Or both three even, if the caster is powerful enough. But light has no place if darkness is there. He could recreate what the mare wanted to do, but not in one attack.
The world crumbled and the nothing that wasn’t possible to describe again met his eyes, if you even can call it that, after all it is nothing how can nothing meet an object? Sauron stopped feeling dizzy, he had to open his eyes.
Sauron opened his eyes, to be addressed by screams and by ponies looking up. He looked up, the barrier he has cast broke and the fire was destroyed by the clouds. These clouds expanded rapidly like a cake in the oven. The thunder stroked the Palace breaking a piece of it off making it fly down. Sauron used his magic to slow the boulder down and settle it down on the ground. The ponies who lost hope and stood in one place had the chance to live a few minutes longer thanks to him.
The main street and the middle of the city has been filled with the ponies, every Crystal pony was present. He had to try the move he saw thanks to the Heart. It hoped he will help, he might as well. The ponies were forcefully kept by the guards in one place.
Cadence landed on the balcony, she was ready to call out to her ponies so that they might power up the Heart. Shining Armor was trying to fight his fears and his thoughts about death. Sauron moved towards the pony to inform him he will try and do what he saw the mare do. He placed his hand on the princes shoulder, Shining looked at Sauron who has made his way thru the ponies.
“Sauron? Finally! What were you doing standing there like a statue!”
“Thinking.” Angrily he responded. “Listen, I have to try something, it might stop the expansion of the storm.”
“Then what are you doing here telling me this! Do it!”
“Move then! Let me through or move your citizens elsewhere!”
Shining stepped to the side so that Sauron might go behind the lines. Finally free from the potential physical interaction of the peasants. He was ready to try and replicate what the mare has done. He walked further away, to keep a fair distance, Sauron hands begin to glow yellow and fire has appeared in his palm, as a thunder roared and Sauron increased the fires strength he also has summon a bolt of thunder that hit him. Shining looked at the Dark Lord with concern, its not normal for anypony to be hit by lighting!
However when the smoke settled down Sauron was revealed holding a lighting bolt in his hand that emitted a orange light. The electricity not only destroyed the ground but also left fire when it left its patterns. Sauron begin moving his other hand, as if he was gathering something from the air. Soon shining saw as darkness, pure darkness encircled Sauron.
The darknesswent from his left hand to his right palm, the thunder bolt gained a purple glow in the middle, the outlines were deep and dark orange while the core was purple/white. It begin to take the form of a spear, Sauron’s upper right half of his clothes evaporated out of existence, however his body was fine and he didn’t look tired or even seemed to struggle holding so much power.
Sauron held the elemental spear high, he gathered light in his left hand, this time in the form of a oval, quite wide disk that blinded the pony. Sauron took the position of a spear thrower, he moved one of his legs forwards and adjusted his balance so that the projectile might fly as fast as it possibly can.
Sauron threw the elemental spear, the ground cracked and send a massive wave of wind that knocked down the guards, the ponies. It spread across the whole Crystal city destroying many households and damaging infrastructure enough for it to require a repair. Sauron’s has lost his balance, so he had to throw the other elemental attack defiantly. While tripping he used the force to spin and when he turned towards the right direction he released the light in the form of a disk.
The disk went ahead the elemental spear, and it hit the clouds first, the light made a severe dent in the clouds, it spread and damaged the surface of the clouds all around the city. It was a mighty attack, enough to make the top of a small mountain go down.
The ponies got up from the ground, and they heard the loudest explosions in their life so far.
Shining Armor was witnessing one of the biggest explosions in the history of Equestria right now, the elemental attack brought by Sauron has reaped thru the sky, tearing the clouds down, destroying them, making them vanish. The explosion itself didn’t leave much fire or smoke, the shockwave made from lighting and darkness created a giant hole in the clouds, fire only served as a linking element that weakened the clouds and the fact it used cold as a weapon it took it out from the game.
The wind, extreme wind washed over the Pony’s. Holding tightly to the ground the pony’s managed to stay close and not be taken by the wind and throw into solid objects. Cadence was in awe, Shining had gulped hard and Sauron was angry at himself. He had a good reason to be angry at himself. The pony’s started to become frightened by Sauron.
“Something went wrong…”
The clouds moved backwards to fill up the giant loss in its structure, but it still regenerates, slowly but it does. He used all four elements, he doesn’t understand. Darkness and light can’t be together, they are like the same poles of two magnets, they don’t work together. They erupt with unbelievable force, it destroys everything, every element and spell, without counting in earth.
“Something went wrong…” Sauron repeated.