The Curse Of Black Thorn Chapter Fourteen

Broken Curse

"YAAAARRRGGGHHH!" Nightshade screeched, pure, undiluted hate in his voice, as he charged at Black Thorn, eager to make the fiend pay for taking his son from him.

"Oh, I've been dreaming of this..." Black Thorn grinned. "Say goodbye, Nightshade!"

Black Thorn fired bolts of dark magic from his horn. To his surprise, Nightshade sidestepped all of them, and tackled him hard, knocking them both off their hooves. His concentration broken, Black Thorn lost control of the statues and mummies, all of which collapsed, inert.

"This is for all the trouble you've caused me!" Nightshade punched Black Thorn in the face. "And this for all those you've hurt!" He punched him again. "And this is for taking my kingdom from me!" He punched Black Thorn again. "And this for killing my son!" He punched Black Thorn as hard as he could.

Black Thorn spat out a tooth.

"Not bad, Nightshade." He admitted. "Guess you're not completely pathetic, after all." He retaliated with a punch of his own. "But you're still not in my league."

Nightshade shook off the blow, a bruise blooming on his face.

"I've had enough of you." He snarled, lunging at him again. "Your brutishness, your arrogance... I can't take it anymore!"

The others watched as the two battled, rolling and struggling in the sand.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Cadance asked.

"Like what?" Shining countered. "They're moving around too much. None of us are likely to get a good shot."

"Besides, this just got real personal for Nightshade." Constell declared. "Black Thorn took his son from him, and he's raring to make him pay."

Starlight was on her hooves, kneeling before the mound of sand where Day Light once was.

"Starlight..." Twilight tried to comfort her daughter.

"He sacrificed himself for me." Starlight mumbled. "After everything I said to him, he saved me..."

"It'll be okay." Twilight stroked her mane.

"No, it won't." Starlight started crying. "Because he's gone! Day Light's gone! And I never even..."

The sand in which Daylight was obliterated began to bulge.

"Um, did you just see that?" Sleight pointed.

"The sand... it's breathing?" Shine gaped.

"I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure sand doesn't do that." Blueblood frowned.

"Maybe it's another one of Black Thorn's tricks." Luna frowned.

"As if things weren't bad enough already..." Dusty bemoaned.

Suddenly, none other than a sand-covered Daylight burst out of the dune, coughing up grit.

"Day Light!" Starlight yelped with joy.

"Son?!" Nightshade gasped, momentarily turning away from his fight with Black Thorn.

"What the-?!" Black Thorn spat. "How is that brat still alive? I nailed him right in the chest!"

"What's going on?!" Day Light yelped, as the sand seemed to slither around him. "What happened to me?"

"Oh, my darling boy!" Red Rose hugged her son. "We thought we'd lost you!"

"I'm okay, mom..." Day Light murmured, his hooves twitching. "B-but I'm kinda freaking out right now..."

"How did you survive?" Luna asked. "Black Thorn struck you with the full force of his magic."

"I don't know." Day Light shrugged. "I just remember a flash, and pain, then I woke up buried under a pile of sand... which won't come off!" He patted himself down wildly, trying to shake off the grains stuck to his body.

"How odd." Celestia declared. "Perhaps Black Thorn's magic affected it in some way."

"Perhaps..." Echo mused, suspecting an altogether different reason...

"We're just glad you're okay, kid." Sleight smiled.

"Some of us more than others..." Twilight grinned, as Starlight stepped forward.

"Day, I..." Her words caught in her throat.

"Are you okay, Star?" Day Light asked.

"Why did you do that?" Starlight asked.

"Because... I love you." Day Light smiled. "You being mad at me didn't change how I feel. And I couldn't let the mare I love die right in front of me."

"You big jerk." Starlight sniffed. "Pulling a crazy stunt like that... means I pretty much have to forgive you, doesn't it?"

"I'm still sorry." Day Light sighed. "I should have told you. You deserved to know the truth. I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

"I'm sorry, too." Starlight admitted. "I shouldn't have been so harsh. I just... couldn't handle the idea of another failed romance. I thought you were like all the other colts who lied and cheated on me."

"I don't blame you." Day Light said charitably. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Starlight suddenly embraced Day Light, kissing him on the lips.

"Just for the record, I love you too." She smiled.

The others smiled widely, overjoyed at Starlight's confession.

"I knew they'd make up eventually." Twilight grinned.

"So did I." Cadance chuckled. "I know true love when I see it, after all..."

Black Thorn suddenly pushed Nightshade off of him.

"That's enough of the hoofticuffs." He sneered. "Time to tilt the odds with some old fashioned dark magic!"

Black Thorn fired a blast at point-blank range, knocking Nightshade off his feet and sending him skidding across the sand. Nightshade let out a weak groan as the dark magic surged through his body...

"Dad!" Day Light yelled. "Black Thorn, you monster..."

"You want some more, kid?" Black Thorn chuckled darkly. "Come and get it. I'll make sure you stay dead this time."

"Or vice-versa." Day Light shot back.

"Day, don't..." Starlight tried to stop him.

"Sorry, Star." Day Light growled, his eyes suddenly becoming wispy unbeknownst to him. "That monster's going to get what's coming to him."

Before the eyes of the others, the sand around Day Light was moving, shifting. It crawled up his body, joining with the grains still stuck there, taking shape, hardening, until it formed a suit of stone armor around him.

"...That's new." Shine said bluntly.

"What is this?" Chrysalis frowned.

"Incredible." Shining gaped.

"Amazing." Cadance agreed.

"Unbelievable..." Dusty whispered.

"That's not something you see every day." Blueblood admitted.

"Well, well..." Twilight smiled knowingly.

"I knew you." Echo grinned.

"Now this is a surprise." Celestia declared.

"And for once, it seems to be in our favor." Luna added.

"Cool!" Constell smiled.

"Day?" Starlight gasped.

"You cannot be serious!" Black Thorn raged.

"What in the name of the pyramids?" Day Light looked at himself. "What's happened to me?"

"I think I know." Echo declared, his crystals vibrating. "You, my boy, are a Nightcrawler, like your father before you."

"I am?" Day Light gasped.

"He is?!" Black Thorn roared.

"Of course." Echo nodded, with a snide grin at Black Thorn. "For someone who worked with Sterling, you seem to have forgotten that the Tenebros gene always passes down through bloodlines. Nightshade had it, and so does Day Light. I wasn't sure of its authenticity till now."

"No... you mean to tell me I gave this little punk powers?!" Black Thorn gaped in fury.

"Does that mean I'm like Echo?" Day Light gasped.

"Indeed." Twilight smiled. "That's why Black Thorn's dark magic blast didn't kill you. Your Tenebros gene absorbed its energies, and became active, thus giving you your powers."

"And it seems your power lies in controlling sand." Celestia pointed out the gritty armor Day Light had inadvertently created from himself.

"Incredible..." Day Light whispered, before smirking at Black Thorn. "Let's see how this power works then..."

Day Light charged at Black Thorn.

"Oh, you may have powers now, boy, but that doesn't mean I won't smite you right where you stand!" Black Thorn snarled. "Come and get it!"

Black Thorn fired some magic blasts at Day Light, but they glanced off Day Light's new armor, leaving only minor cracks and scratches behind.

"Impossible!" Black Thorn gaped.

Day Light cleared the distance between them, and struck Black Thorn hard in the face, his sand-covered hoof packing quite a punch.

"Who's getting smote now?!" Day Light taunted him.

"You little punk..." Black Thorn snarled, nursing his wounded jaw. "You're not the only one around here with stone hooves, you know!"

Black Thorn's horn lit up, and the statues and mummies reawakened. One of the statues grabbed Day Light.

"Gah! Let... go!" Day Light struggled, his hooves pinned, and his horn in no position for a good shot.

"Day!" Starlight yelped.

"No more watching from the sidelines." Shining declared. "Let's get back into this!"

The royals rushed to help.

"Not so fast." Black Thorn growled. "Come any closer, and I'll have stoney face here break that brat in half."

"You wouldn't dare..." Luna snarled.

"Try me." Black Thorn smirked. "Let's see how long that fancy new armor of his can handle the pressure..."

Day Light struggled to break free, but the statue's grip was too strong. He could feel his armor begin to break... when suddenly, the stone giant released him, and he dropped to the ground.

"What?!" Black Thorn gaped. "I didn't tell you to let him go!"

"No. I did."

All eyes turned to the far side of the grounds. Nightshade, his eyes wispy, and horn alight with dark magic, stood before them. His teeth were gritted, and sweat poured down his forehead.

"You?" Black Thorn snorted in disbelief. "How-"

"Call it a happy accident." Nightshade smiled. "I don't know how, but when you struck me with your dark magic, you somehow transferred the power of the Animus spell to me. One might say you reactivated my Tenebros gene... bottom line: I can control your lifeless minions too."

"No!" Black Thorn yelled. "They are mine!"

"Not for long." Nightshade narrowed his eyes.

Both their horns lit up, and they entered into a magical tug-o-war over control of the statues and mummies, which all started glowing with magical energies. While Black Thorn was more powerful, Nightshade was more determined, and his stores of magical strength were at full due to him not having any until that moment, leaving them evenly matched. Ultimately, the battle of wills was too much for the unliving legion; The mummies and statues fell apart from the stress, crumbling into dust.

"Look at that." Nightshade smiled through his efforts. "It's a draw."

"No, no, no!" Black Thorn roared.

"Now it's just you against all of us." Shine declared. "Even with all the magic you stole, the odds aren't looking good for you."

"Everypony here wants a piece of you." Day Light declared. "And I don't think there's enough to go around."

"Time to fold, Black Thorn." Sleight smirked.

"Surrender what is left of the magic you stole from us, and give yourself up." Celestia declared.

"Give up?" Black Thorn snarled. "I am King Black Thorn of Haygypt! I haven't come this far just to give up!"

"Then you leave us no choice." Chrysalis growled. "We will fight you until you can fight no more."

Black Thorn weighed his options. Despite his bravado, he was beginning to tire. The Alicorn and Changeling magic he'd stolen was starting to run out, and his physical strength was waning. He wasn't going to last much longer, not in a straight fight, at least.

'Then again, who says the fight has to be straight?' He thought to himself. 'I'll lead them back into the palace. Use the place to my advantage. Maybe double back and catch them from behind...'

"You want me?" Black Thorn sneered. "Come and get me!"

Black Thorn ran back into the palace.

"He's making a run for it!" Shining realized.

"After him!" Nightshade declared. "We can't let him get away!"

"We won't." Celestia said firmly.

The royals followed Black Thorn inside. The wounds Black Thorn had sustained (particularly the damaged hoof he had given himself) were slowing him down. He could barely stay ahead of his enemies, let alone lose them. As he looked back, he saw that Nightshade was still leading the charge.

'Time for plan B.' He thought.

Black Thorn turned and headed up a narrow staircase.

"That way!" Red Rose pointed.

'That's it...' Black Thorn thought, as the others followed him up the stairs. 'Just a little closer...'

Without warning, Black Thorn fired a powerful bolt of magic at the ceiling just above his pursuers, causing it to come down. Though they managed to avoid the debris, Nightshade found himself the only one who could continue the chase, the others being blocked by a mountain of rubble.

"Just you and me now, Nightshade." Black Thorn taunted him. "Catch me if you can!"

"Black Thorn!" Nightshade yelled, as he followed his nemesis.

On the other side, the royals tried to remove the debris, their efforts halted by the instability of the pieces of ceiling.

"This isn't going to work." Shine declared. "It's like a rockslide I saw back home once. The whole thing could come down on us if we're not careful."

"Shine's right." Constell nodded. "We'd be better off going the long way around."

"Nightshade..." Red Rose fretted. "Just hold on..."

On the upper levels, Nightshade continued the chase. With one mighty leap, he tackled Black Thorn, sending them tumbling toward the balcony. Black Thorn bucked him off, then charged at him, ramming him further ahead.

"Just you and me now." Black Thorn smirked. "But you know what? I still wouldn't mind a captive audience."

"And I wouldn't mind you shutting up!" Nightshade punched him.

Nightshade and Black Thorn emerged onto the balcony, their fight continuing. The citizens of Cairode spotted the scuffle.

"Look!" An Earth Pony mare pointed.

"Is that... Prince Nightshade?" A Pegasus stallion said hopefully. "Fighting Black Thorn?"

"I knew he wouldn't forsake us!" A teenage Unicorn colt cheered. "Go, Prince Nightshade! Show that tyrant who the real ruler is!"

The citizens all started to cheer for their Prince.

"Do you hear that, Black Thorn?" Nightshade glared. "This is what it truly means to be a ruler. It isn't about lording it over your subjects, it's about winning their hearts and minds. They believe in me, because I care about them. I wanted to get rid of you, not just for me and my family, but for them!"

"Ugh, I think I'm going to throw up." Black Thorn grimaced.

"Scoff all you like." Nightshade said derisively. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. After all, you are nothing but a portion of my own psyche. You are an incomplete being, unable to feel anything but spite and anger. That is why you can't win. Because you don't have the-"

Black Thorn let out a dark cackle.

"What is so funny?!" Nightshade snarled.

"Oh, you poor, deluded fool..." Black Thorn chuckled. "Did you really think somepony like me could come out of your pathetic mind?"

"...What are you saying?" Nightshade asked, confused.

"I was never really a part of you." Black Thorn snorted. "The truth is... I am far more than you can possibly imagine... for I am... an Umbrum!"

"A what?" Nightshade gasped.

"An umbrum." Black Thorn revealed, as his eyes grew wispy, along with his body. "I was never a pony to begin with. Once, I was but a dark spirit, made of nothing more than shadows, brought together by dark magic. Just like old Sombrero of the Crystal Empire... except that he was merely a child compared to me!"

"But where did you come from?!" Nightshade growled. "What could have brought you into this world?!"

"Oh, funny story." Black Thorn sneered. "Centuries ago, your ancestor, the one who made the headdress, created me to aid in his quest for power. I joined with him, combining my power with his own, and together, we really raised some Tartarus!" He laughed with nostalgia. "Oh, the countless weak fools we terrorized and enslaved. Good times... But all that came to an end when the King was deposed by his son. That meddling brat pulled me out of my host and trapped me inside the headdress! All those countless decades, I was a prisoner, desperately seeking a way out, my existence prolonged by the dark magic-enhancing powers of the headdress. That way out came on that fateful night when lost your temper. Your anger tapped into the dark magic of the headdress, and since I was made of dark magic, my essence was absorbed by your Tenebros gene, and you and I became one, just as I did with your ancestor!"

"All this time..." Nightshade gaped. "I thought you were a manifestation of my own dark side."

"Well, you were wrong." Black Thorn declared. "But it suited my purposes to let you think that. Even with my little 'suggestions', it didn't take much to convince you to find a way to separate us, and finally set me free. Thanks to you, I was finally my own being again, free to do whatever I pleased!"

"Except you weren't." Nightshade shot back. "As long as I'm around, you will never be free."

"Oh, I know that." Black Thorn smirked. "Which is why I'm taking you out right here and now!"

Black Thorn fired a beam of magic at Nightshade, who dodged it.

"You know, I really should be thanking you." Nightshade declared, as he kicked Black Thorn. "All these years, I thought you were the dark side of my mind brought to life, that everything you did came from some deeply buried hostility, some unknown anger. But now I know that there was never anything wrong with me. Now I know that you are nothing but a parasite who used my body for his own gain. Well, that ends today!"

"The only thing ending today is your life!" Black Thorn spat, firing another beam at Nightshade. This one caught Nightshade in the side, knocking him over to the edge of the balcony.

"Ah!" Nightshade yelped, fighting the pain long enough to keep himself from falling.

"Did you really think you could beat me?" Black Thorn sneered. "I'm beyond you, you pathetic weakling. I'm a being of pure dark magic, with no weakness!" He grabbed Nightshade by the neck and lifted him up. "Now get up. I want to look you in the eyes before I kill you. I want to see the light fade from them up close."

"Oh, this is close enough." Nightshade smiled.

"For what?" Black Thorn growled.

"For this!" Nightshade grabbed the headdress, simultaneously kicking Black Thorn in the chest.

"No!" Black Thorn roared, as he tumbled to the floor. "Give that back!"

"I'm afraid this doesn't belong to you." Nightshade taunted him.

"That's it!" Black Thorn snarled. "Prepare to fry!"

Black Thorn's horn started to glow... then sputtered out, barely a spark flying out of it. Gritting his teeth, Black Thorn tried again, but with the same results.

"Just as I thought." Nightshade said triumphantly. "Without your former home enhancing your dark magic, you barely have any power left. You used it all up."

At the same time, the rest of the royals arrived, having taken an alternate route to the second floor.

"Nightshade, you're alright!" Red Rose smiled.

"More than alright." Nightshade nodded. "I feel better than I have in a long time. And Black Thorn is finished."

"Way to go, dad!" Day Light cheered.

"It's over, Black Thorn." Nightshade declared.

"...No." Black Thorn hissed. "No, no, no! It's not over until one of us is dead! Namely, you!"

Black Thorn lunged at Nightshade, reaching for the headdress. The two struggled over it in a tug-o-war, until they leaned too far back, and fell over opposite sides of the balcony.

"No!" Red Rose screamed.

"Dad!" Day Light gasped.

The crowd gaped as the two fell towards the ground. Nightshade's fall was broken by a nearby palm tree; He landed on the fronds, and tumbled down the side of the bending trunk to the ground, reducing the impact from crippling to painful. Black Thorn wasn't so lucky; He landed hard on the stone steps outside the palace.

Nightshade got to his feet, bruised from his landing. Black Thorn was bleeding out and gasping for air. Nightshade limped over to him, and glared down at his dark opposite.

"It's over, Black Thorn... your reign of terror has ended." Nightshade declared.

"He-he..." Black Thorn made a weak laugh, as he coughed up a bit of blood.

"What are you laughing at?" Nightshade growled.

"I never imagined you, of all ponies, could pull this off." Black Thorn smirked. "Go ahead, finish the job. Kill me. You know you want to..."

"I won't kill you." Nightshade glared. "Not when you're already finished."

"Pathetic..." Black Thorn growled. "Even in victory, you're nothing but a weak, spineless coward."

"You are the weak one." Nightshade spat. "Relying on a crutch like the headdress to give you an edge. Without it, you're nothing."

"And yet, you still won't finish me." Black Thorn croaked. "I wonder how Rosie and that brat feel, knowing you're so weak."

"You do not speak of them." Nightshade growled.

"Or what?" Black Thorn taunted. "We've already established that you won't kill me. You know if the tables were turned, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you... but not before before I killed your wife and son in right of you. Made you listen as they screamed in pain..."

"That's enough." Nightshade snarled.

"...Made you watch as I broke every bone in their bodies..." Black Thorn sneered.

"Shut up!" Nightshade roared.

"...Then hung up their corpses on the palace wall for all to see." Black Thorn grinned wickedly. "A sign to one and all that you were too weak to protect even your precious family..."

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Nightshade screamed. He started punching Black Thorn over and over again. He fell into a blur of rage, just striking his hated foe over and over again, until he felt a hoof grabbing his own.

"Nighty?" Red Rose whispered.

"Rose?" Nightshade snapped out of it. He looked down in horror to see that he had beaten Black Thorn to near-death.

"That's the ticket..." Black Thorn gurgled. "Guess you're not... such a wimp... after all..."

"I... I..." Nightshade stuttered, aghast at how badly he had beaten Black Thorn. "I didn't mean to..."

"Sure you didn't..." Black Thorn sneered. "You were always too soft to do... what needed to be done. Until now..."

"You... you shouldn't have pushed me!" Nightshade declared.

"Don't lay all the blame on me..." Black Thorn taunted him. "Sure I pushed you, made you lose control... but it was still you who did this... beat me to within an inch of my life. Even without me in your head, there's a darkness in you..."

"No..." Nightshade shook his head, his bloody hooves trembing.

"You may have won, but I still got a decent consolation prize..." Black Thorn said mockingly. "I succeeded in bringing out your inner monster... making you like me..."

"I am not like you." Nightshade said, his voice wavering. "I could never be like you."

"No?" Black Thorn smirked. "Look at the blood on your hooves... and not just your hooves... there's a stain on your soul now... a stain that will never go away... it'll be with you forever..."

"You monster..." Nightshade growled. "You just couldn't let me have my victory, could you?"

"Nope." Black Thorn wheezed, his breathing growing more and more shallow. "Enjoy your new lease on life, Nightshade... that is, if you can live with the cost..."

As Black Thorn breathed his last, his horn lit up with light blue energy, which flew into Nightshade's.

"Your magic." Echo smiled. "It has been returned to you."

Seconds later, Black Thorn's body withered and crumbled into dust.

"I killed him." Nightshade gaped. "I really killed him."

"Not without just cause." Celestia said firmly.

"I've never killed anypony before..." Nightshade looked at his blood-splattered hooves. "Perhaps Black Thorn and I aren't so different after all."

"I've said this before, and I'll say it again." Red Rose declared. "You are nothing like Black Thorn. He killed for his own sick amusement. You killed him to protect us all."

"That's right, dad." Day Light nodded. "And they seem to think so too."

The citizens of Cairode approached the palace steps.

"All hail the rightful ruler of Cairode, Prince Nightshade!" Papyrus declared.

"Long live the Prince!" The crowd chorused.

Nightshade smiled, his guilt assuaged by his subjects' cheers.

"Black Thorn met his end, as all tyrants do." Luna told Nightshade. "And you were the one who vanquished him. You should be proud, not guilty, as your beloved kingdom is once again free."

"...Yes." Nightshade smiled, embracing his wife and son. "It is. And I am free of Black Thorn, once and for all. But I couldn't do it alone. I owe you all a debt that can never be repaid."

"There are no debts when it comes to friends." Twilight smiled. "Your peace of mind is all we ask for in return."

"And that is what you shall have." Nightshade grinned. "Come, my friends! Let us celebrate our victory with a grand feast!"

"Sounds good to me." Constell grinned. "I'm starving."

"Me too." Sleight agreed. "Fighting a power-hungry tyrant really gives you an appetite."

"So true." Chrysalis smiled. "And victory isn't particularly filling..."

"After everything that's happened, I say we could use some downtime." Shine smiled.

"Indeed we do." Celestia smiled. "I haven't had a day this busy in a long time."

"And personally, I'd care to not have one like this again." Luna admitted.

"I'll save you a seat, Star." Day Light declared. "Right by mine."

"What a gentlecolt." Starlight nuzzled him.

"Guess all's well that ends well." Shining declared.

"And things did end well for those two." Cadance beamed.

"Mind holding off on the feast for a moment?" Echo requested. "I have a fiance I need to set free..."

"Of course." Nightshade nodded.

"I'll come with you." Twilight told Echo. "Somepony needs to catch Flash up with what's happened. And lend a hoof, if Sunset's still in a bad mood..."

"Much appreciated." Echo smiled weakly. "Sunset can be quite the force to be reckoned with when she's angry..."

"Don't I know it." Twilight chuckled.

As Twilight and Echo made their way back to the safe house, Blueblood let out a sigh of relief.

"All things considered, this has been one of the most eventful 'summits' I've ever been to." He announced.

"Isn't that the truth." Dusty snorted. "Once we get back to Canterlot, I'd prefer to lay off any further trips for a while."

"Come on, everypony." Red Rose smiled. "Let's get back inside."

As they headed into the palace, the cheers of the citizens at the backs, Nightshade turned and gazed upon his beloved Cairode. The citizen were free at last, and a new start had begun for all of them. The death of one evil stallion seemed a small price to pay for it.

'Goodbye, Black Thorn.' He thought. 'And good riddance.'