Harmony: When Darkness Falls
Chapter 1: When Darkness Falls
Harmony: When Darkness Falls
Written by SparkCloud
Through the pouring rain and darkness of a moonless night a lone figure could barely be made out. He slowly climbed the few steps to the top of the hill and wiped his rain-drenched hair out of his eyes. For a brief few seconds his face was illuminated by a band of light glowing on his right wrist. Then there was darkness.
The man glanced off toward the north as if he was looking for something. A small cluster of lights caught his eye about five hundred yards away. The man grinned a grim smile and slowly descended down the hillside, careful not to stumble in the deep mud.
He then realized that the squelching of the mud might give him away. He silently cursed and then glanced at the light on his wrist which emanated from a band about two inches in width. He then pressed a few buttons and an image of three butterflies popped up into the air. It stayed, shimmering there, spinning slowly. He snatched at the image and immediately felt his sense of weight desert him. He glanced at his arms which had become invisible. Then the rest of his body followed suit until there was nothing but a transparent shape of the man against the hillside.
The assassin then crept slowly forward, still in awe at how well the Harmony worked. He thought back to the many years he had spent searching for all the elements that where needed to complete the device. Now that he had the Harmony he could get the revenge he deserved.
The invisible assassin climbed a short but steep hill and then lay on the ground in a prone position. Directly below him he could see the enemy encampment. He was surprised by just how many of the army his nemesis had brought with him. He had expected only a few dozen but down there there seemed to be at least fifty.
He weighed his odds and quickly decided they were no match for him. They only fought because they had to; they didn't have a reason like him.
He glanced again at his Harmony on his wrist and decided it was tine to change tactics. He pressed a different button and an image of a cloud with a rainbow colored lighting bolt appeared. This would work perfectly.
He rose to a crouch as he felt an adrenaline rush speed through his veins. He also felt a bit cocky, but that was just a side effect he would have to deal with.
The two sentries who were posted at the side entrance were not ready for the surprise attack. One was sitting down and the other was chatting away. The assassin quickly sped down the hillside, a trail of rainbow colors blazing out behind him. The guard who was sitting down tried to stand up, but he was too late. A dagger blazed across his neck and he fell to the ground with blood gushing from the huge slit across his throat. The second guard spun around only to find that he had been stabbed through the heart from front as well as the back. And both sides. He too, crumpled to the earth.
The assassin quickly went about hiding the bodies in the surrounding bushes and made sure they where hidden before delving deeper into the camp. After a few minutes on the move he heard the voices of about ten soldiers. He glanced around and quickly dove into a nearby tent. He cursed his bad luck and looked at the Harmony on his wrist. He cursed again upon finding he only had a fifteen percent charge left on cloaking; not near enough to remain hidden from the guards as well as escape the enemy camp without being seen. He looked at how much of a speed charge he had left. Forty-three percent. If he used it now, he might not be able to use it when he really needed it. He quickly deactivated both of the elements to conserve the energy.
He kept pressing buttons until he came to an image of three balloons. The man groaned. He hated using this; it made him feel like a bumbling drunk. Well, it had saved him when he was in a pinch before, so, he grabbed at the image and felt a joy build up inside. He could defeat these ten enemies easily, he just needed a plan. He searched around in the tent and found a tinderbox and some furniture. An idea randomly came to him. Everyone likes bonfires! With a few moments struggle with the tinderbox the arsonist had started a large fire in the tent. He then slit large gap in the back of the tent and climbed out.
He quickly deactivated the Harmony as he heard the startled yells of the ten soldiers. The man looked on from his hiding place in the shadows to see them scrambling around trying to find something to put out the fire. He smiled to himself and continued to the center of the camp.
After creeping around for some time, trying to stay in the shadows, the man saw who he had been searching for. A figure stood about thirty feet away from him in the center of a clearing between the tents. The figure had on a long black cloak. As the man was thinking about how to make his move the man in the long black coat turned his head toward him. The man quickly ducked and saw that the cloaked man had a silver mask covering half his face. He was now sure this was who he was after.
He quickly took a quick breath and looked through all his elements. Some of them wouldn't come in handy at a time like this. He almost laughed when he came across a diamond. Generosity wouldn't help him here. No, he needed a quick in an out plan of attack.
With an idea in mind, the assassin quickly chose to use invisibility. He crept forward slowly. Only twenty feet away. Only fifteen feet away. Only ten-
Then, with a purple flash of light, the assassin was thrown back twenty feet. The other man with the mask quickly swirled around and saw who had attempts to sneak up on him. He chuckled softly and approached the dazed man slowly, thinking about the best way to kill him slowly and painfully. A black blade flashed out from under his robes and into each of his gloved hands.
The man with the Harmony on his wrist struggled up knowing he was going to die. He looked down at the Harmony and saw that his invisibility had run out of it's charge. Now the only useful one he had was speed. An idea came to him but he quickly put it out of his mind. It was suicide! But, if he was going to die anyways, why shouldn't he take his foe out with him? At least it would be quicker and much less painful than the one the man with the mask would offer. The man let his body fall to the ground with his hand over his wrist, waiting for the right time to strike.
The man with the mask, chuckle increasing in volume, continued to approached him. As he bent down to turn the fallen man over a bright flash of light blinded him. He snarled rubbing his eye not covered by the mask and backed away. When he finally regained his sight he saw all his remaining soldiers dead from a knife through the heart. A fading trail of rainbow lead off of each of there bodies toward the center of the clearing where a proud looking hero stood with a purple light shining off his wrist.
The man with dark cloak whirled around and, faster than any normal human unaided by magic, ran to the center of the clearing. Just as he reached the hero the hero jumped thirty feet into the air. The robed man gaped at him with horror, a realization forming in his mind.
The hero looked down at his wrist and activated the final element, the element of magic. All his years of loss and anger led to this final moment of revelation. He grabbed the element and felt a cold and burning pain quickly work it's way up his hand. With a mighty roar he sped toward the ground at a breakneck speed. When he collided with the ground an ear-splitting explosion of rainbow colors tore apart the earth for miles around, drowning out the masked man's screams of pain.
Then all was quiet.
A lone figure stood up from the ruble with his clothes torn and smoking. He looked around surprised he was alive. Staggered forward until he came across the mask which was broken in two. He then looked down at his wrist and saw the Harmony slowly blink pink, yellow, orange, cyan, white, and finally purple before the device went to a dull faded green. The man slowly sighed finally knowing the feeling of peace. He had lost his powers, but, at the same time, he had finally defeated the evil that had plagued the land of Equestria for so long. He then slumped over from exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep. His friends had been avenged.