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Description
Twilight shivered internally. Not because of an eerie landscape, but because there was no landscape at all. All around her was an emptiness of purple colors mixed and blended together almost like a dark nebulae with no stars. There was not a single trace of light to drive away the darkness, she was surprised she could see her own hooves.
"So this is what a Temnokt's mind looks like…?" She wondered out loud, and trembled when the silence was broken with the echo of her own voice. A part within her wish to leave here, but if she was to find a way to defeat the corrupted Clawblack, ad bring peace to the Temnokt Empire once more, she had to do this. Notemnokt had any idea of how to counter the Elements of Harmony, and summing up the fact that the Elements where the most powerful magic known to ponykind didn't help either.A Temnokt stood no chance against the Elements of Harmony by itself, especially in their corrupting state.
But Crenshaw thought that maybe the very magic they wield may have the answers.
But dark magic had been in the Temnokt's system for so long it was impossible to force it to come out. If anypony wanted to speak to it, she had to go into the Temnokt's mind -with his permission, of course- and speak to the dark magic directly from the root. But like a white blood cell, if the dark magic felt threatened, it expelled the 'intruder' out of the Temnokt's mind.
A loud growl echoing into the emptiness brought the unicorn back from her thoughts. "Who dares? Who dares to intrude here? Who dares trespass into my haven?"
To Twilight's horror, miasma-like smoke gathered around her, surrounding her like a pack of timberwolves circling a deer, lifting up from the ground, forming the shape of the head of a Temnokt. Long horns, sharp teeth and spines on its head. Being a non corporeal form, the dark magic took the shape of its host, in this case, a Temnokt, one made completely out of miasma and black smoke, but it was convincing enough. Narrow eyes of sickly green with the characteristic trailing purple mist glowed in the middle of the entity's head, looking down at Twilight with disgust and disdain.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight tried to sound confident, but being in front of the manifestation of Dark Magic was creepy. "And I seek an audience with you."
The apparition snickered. "And why would I give an insignificant mare such as you such an honor?"
"Because the future of the Temnokt Empire depends on it."
"To answer the question you don't have the courage to ask me, no, this is not how a Temnokt's mind looks like." The apparition looked around. "This is like a limbo, the interjecting point between the outside world, and my hosts's mind. A Temnokt's mind looks like his heart's desire, a favorite place, a fond memory, or whatever they wish."
Twilight blinked. "Then can't we speak there?" Her curious side wanted to see what Fukkuteru's mind looked like.
The Limbo started trembling, like a small earthquake, and the apparition snarled protectively, startling the lavender unicorn. "That place is sacred for my host, every one of my hosts. I'm not letting a stranger wander into my host's deepest secrets and feelings."
It was a warning. If she made him angry one more time, he would reject her and kick her out.
"My humblest apologies." Twilight bowed her head, remembering what Crenshaw had told her. "If I may ask, how may I call you?"
The entity seemed to calm down, though his serious expression remained. "I've been called may names through my existence. Darkness, evil, penumbra, darkest desires, so many it would take me two hundred years to list them all. But you may call me Obscurity."
Twilight nodded.
"As for your request, mare, I know what is happening out there. My mind is interconnected to every Temnokt in existence, from unborn hatchlings to dying old drakes. I can sense their fear and sorrow." Twilight was surprised when she noticed Obscurity's voice was changing from cold and stern to concerned and worried. "I hear their thoughts, I hear their words, I see everything through their eyes, yet I'm unable to do anything else than share my power with them."
"Wait… Do you mean there's nothing to do?" Twilight asked with tones of incredulity, but kept her serene face. "We're to simply watch as Clawblack conquers Krussia?"
Obscurity said nothing for a few seconds. "I never said such a thing, mare." He hissed. "Clawblack is part of me as I'm part of him as well. I know his mind, I know his thoughts, I know his purpose. He is not comfortable with simply ruling over the Empire, he wants more. He will attempt to conquer every free country in the world. Eagleland, Saddle Arabia, Neighpan, Prance, Zebrica, even your dear Equestria is in danger of falling into his poisonous grip."
"He can't do that!"
"He can and he will. Now that your precious Elements of Harmony augmented his power tenfold, he has a chance."
"Wait, you know about the Elements of Harmony?"
Obscurity seemed to shiver at the very mention. "How could I not know about them? It was those cursed artifacts that vanquished my firstborn, and his descendants, from your land."
Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Your… firstborn?" How could a bodiless being engender offspring?
"Have you not heard of Burning Moonlight, the fist of the Temnokt? He was my very first host, my first child. When he decided to introduce me to the other dragons of his clan, I took them all under my wing. I gave each of them fractions of my power, but unlike Unicorns who previously tried to control me, dragons had no ways of naturally producing magic, so they were forced to steal it from your kind. When the Equestrian-Krussian war took place, I could do nothing as my children were defeated by the Elements of Harmony. But your princess of the night, Luna, who was just a filly back then, took pity on them, and so convinced her father Illuminatus to spare the Temnokt. He used the Elements of Harmony to create the Astral Line so that my children would never have to depend on stealing magic from others, but he asked them to leave because of the damage they caused." Obscurity closed his eyes shut as if to contain tears, even though the smoke kept trailing from his eyes. "Those years, the first years they struggled to survive in the unforgiving landscape of the city you know today, were one of the worst tortures I've had in my ridiculously long existence. Watching them starving to death, barely managing to feed their own children or even themselves, freezing to death. To this day, their cries of hunger and frozen tears of pain still haunt me."
Twilight was completely speechless. She never thought Dark Magic had such… humanity. He grieved the disgraces and pains of the Temnokt, his hosts, like a father would weep upon learning something had happened to his children. She never thought Dark magic was this sentient. According to books, darkness would always stab at its enemies, attempting o weaken their resolve and thus gain a hold of them, but this manifestation of it was none of that. Either he was acting, or being with the Temnokt had changed him.
Obscurity snorted, startling Twilight. "Since when are Dark Magic books reliable? They were written by ponies who were too afraid to ask for my help, and so simply made up information according to what they saw. Dark is not bad, and it is not good, but is rather in the middle. It depends on how its used that it evolves. Think of me like fire, it's too faces on a single coin. Fire can give you warmth in winter or disintegrate your flesh at touch. It can guide you through the darkness, or destroy everything in its path. The same is with me. I can be generous and loving to those who serve and allow me to inhabit their bodies, but also merciless and cruel to those who stab me in the back."
Twilight nodded, understanding
"The reason that I cannot directly help you with the Elements of Harmony is because I cannot touch Light Magic, even being near it is agonizing for me. Dark magic and white magic cancel each other out, like the Ying and the Yang. You have to fight dark magic with dark magic."
"But how?" Twilight inquired, growing desperate. "There's no way we can beat Clawblack with white magic! The Element of Magic he now wears is White Magic!"
To her confusion, Obscurity gave Twilight a grin. "Not quite, my dear."
"What do you mean?"
"As we speak, Clawblack is corrupting the Element of Magic with my essence every second that passes. Do you know why his body was twisted and corrupted when he out that crown upon his head?"
Twilight shook his head.
"When he put the Element of Magic upon his head, the white magic within it reacted to the dark magic running through his veins and system, the two forces counteracted until the prolonged exposure to each other forced them to merge together, and thus twisted Clawblack's body. The merging of white and dark magic is highly risky, and prolonged exposure to the combined forces can drive any living being insane. Not only that, but the white magic is being engulfed by my essence; unless the crown is removed from Clawblack's being, the Element of Magic will corrupt irreversibly. Without the Element of Magic, the other Elements of Harmony are useless..."
"And Equestria would be left without its strongest method of defense…" Twilight finished, her face lit with concern and worry now. "But how can we remove the crown from Clawblack? Not even King Bittercold could stand a chance to him, and as far as I know, he is the most powerful Temnokt in the Empire."
"Because when he fought against Clawblack, the two forces had just merged together, and the force that merging created augmented Clawblack's power considerably. By now, the leaking energy must have settled down, and Clawblack's magic levels must be just slightly high than normal."
"So… If the leaking energy settled, and there's not dark magic present in the Element of Magic…" Twilight connected the dots. "We can use Dark magic against Clawblack!"
Obscurity nodded slowly.
"But… that means…"
"You cannot fight him yourself. You only use white magic, exposure to dark magic is harmful to Unicorns, just as white magic is harmful to the Temnokt. It must be a Temnokt who fights Clawblack, no one else."
"But King Bittercold is still recovering from the fight with Clawblack…"
"I'm afraid time is a luxury we do not have right now. If the crown is not removed soon, Clawblack will corrupt it to the point you won't be able to do anything about it. You'll have to find another Temnokt whose magic levels are high enough to fight against Clawblack. That's all I can disclose to you, I'm afraid."
Twlight felt a slight breeze blowing against her face, but soon it turned into a strong blow of wing, and in seconds it had the force of a cyclone. Twilight attempted to get a hold, but it was impossible. "What's happening?!"
"You've been here for too long. If I allowed you to stay any longer, you would be influenced by my essence. It is time for you to return to the real world."
"But what if I can't find a Temnokt stronger than Clawblack!"
"You already have."
Before Twilight could ask what it meant, the wind finally won and the purple unicorn was blown back, away from Obscurity, pushing her towards a distant light. The last words she heard from the Dark Magic were spoken in a soothing tone.
"Good luck, Twilight Sparkle. If you succeed, we will meet again."

___________________________

When Clawnblack defeats Bittercold and takes control of the Empire, Twilight must speak with the very core of the Temnokt's magic for answers.

Description
Twilight shivered internally. Not because of an eerie landscape, but because there was no landscape at all. All around her was an emptiness of purple colors mixed and blended together almost like a dark nebulae with no stars. There was not a single trace of light to drive away the darkness, she was surprised she could see her own hooves.
"So this is what a Temnokt's mind looks like…?" She wondered out loud, and trembled when the silence was broken with the echo of her own voice. A part within her wish to leave here, but if she was to find a way to defeat the corrupted Clawblack, ad bring peace to the Temnokt Empire once more, she had to do this. Notemnokt had any idea of how to counter the Elements of Harmony, and summing up the fact that the Elements where the most powerful magic known to ponykind didn't help either.A Temnokt stood no chance against the Elements of Harmony by itself, especially in their corrupting state.
But Crenshaw thought that maybe the very magic they wield may have the answers.
But dark magic had been in the Temnokt's system for so long it was impossible to force it to come out. If anypony wanted to speak to it, she had to go into the Temnokt's mind -with his permission, of course- and speak to the dark magic directly from the root. But like a white blood cell, if the dark magic felt threatened, it expelled the 'intruder' out of the Temnokt's mind.
A loud growl echoing into the emptiness brought the unicorn back from her thoughts. "Who dares? Who dares to intrude here? Who dares trespass into my haven?"
To Twilight's horror, miasma-like smoke gathered around her, surrounding her like a pack of timberwolves circling a deer, lifting up from the ground, forming the shape of the head of a Temnokt. Long horns, sharp teeth and spines on its head. Being a non corporeal form, the dark magic took the shape of its host, in this case, a Temnokt, one made completely out of miasma and black smoke, but it was convincing enough. Narrow eyes of sickly green with the characteristic trailing purple mist glowed in the middle of the entity's head, looking down at Twilight with disgust and disdain.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight tried to sound confident, but being in front of the manifestation of Dark Magic was creepy. "And I seek an audience with you."
The apparition snickered. "And why would I give an insignificant mare such as you such an honor?"
"Because the future of the Temnokt Empire depends on it."
"To answer the question you don't have the courage to ask me, no, this is not how a Temnokt's mind looks like." The apparition looked around. "This is like a limbo, the interjecting point between the outside world, and my hosts's mind. A Temnokt's mind looks like his heart's desire, a favorite place, a fond memory, or whatever they wish."
Twilight blinked. "Then can't we speak there?" Her curious side wanted to see what Fukkuteru's mind looked like.
The Limbo started trembling, like a small earthquake, and the apparition snarled protectively, startling the lavender unicorn. "That place is sacred for my host, every one of my hosts. I'm not letting a stranger wander into my host's deepest secrets and feelings."
It was a warning. If she made him angry one more time, he would reject her and kick her out.
"My humblest apologies." Twilight bowed her head, remembering what Crenshaw had told her. "If I may ask, how may I call you?"
The entity seemed to calm down, though his serious expression remained. "I've been called may names through my existence. Darkness, evil, penumbra, darkest desires, so many it would take me two hundred years to list them all. But you may call me Obscurity."
Twilight nodded.
"As for your request, mare, I know what is happening out there. My mind is interconnected to every Temnokt in existence, from unborn hatchlings to dying old drakes. I can sense their fear and sorrow." Twilight was surprised when she noticed Obscurity's voice was changing from cold and stern to concerned and worried. "I hear their thoughts, I hear their words, I see everything through their eyes, yet I'm unable to do anything else than share my power with them."
"Wait… Do you mean there's nothing to do?" Twilight asked with tones of incredulity, but kept her serene face. "We're to simply watch as Clawblack conquers Krussia?"
Obscurity said nothing for a few seconds. "I never said such a thing, mare." He hissed. "Clawblack is part of me as I'm part of him as well. I know his mind, I know his thoughts, I know his purpose. He is not comfortable with simply ruling over the Empire, he wants more. He will attempt to conquer every free country in the world. Eagleland, Saddle Arabia, Neighpan, Prance, Zebrica, even your dear Equestria is in danger of falling into his poisonous grip."
"He can't do that!"
"He can and he will. Now that your precious Elements of Harmony augmented his power tenfold, he has a chance."
"Wait, you know about the Elements of Harmony?"
Obscurity seemed to shiver at the very mention. "How could I not know about them? It was those cursed artifacts that vanquished my firstborn, and his descendants, from your land."
Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Your… firstborn?" How could a bodiless being engender offspring?
"Have you not heard of Burning Moonlight, the fist of the Temnokt? He was my very first host, my first child. When he decided to introduce me to the other dragons of his clan, I took them all under my wing. I gave each of them fractions of my power, but unlike Unicorns who previously tried to control me, dragons had no ways of naturally producing magic, so they were forced to steal it from your kind. When the Equestrian-Krussian war took place, I could do nothing as my children were defeated by the Elements of Harmony. But your princess of the night, Luna, who was just a filly back then, took pity on them, and so convinced her father Illuminatus to spare the Temnokt. He used the Elements of Harmony to create the Astral Line so that my children would never have to depend on stealing magic from others, but he asked them to leave because of the damage they caused." Obscurity closed his eyes shut as if to contain tears, even though the smoke kept trailing from his eyes. "Those years, the first years they struggled to survive in the unforgiving landscape of the city you know today, were one of the worst tortures I've had in my ridiculously long existence. Watching them starving to death, barely managing to feed their own children or even themselves, freezing to death. To this day, their cries of hunger and frozen tears of pain still haunt me."
Twilight was completely speechless. She never thought Dark Magic had such… humanity. He grieved the disgraces and pains of the Temnokt, his hosts, like a father would weep upon learning something had happened to his children. She never thought Dark magic was this sentient. According to books, darkness would always stab at its enemies, attempting o weaken their resolve and thus gain a hold of them, but this manifestation of it was none of that. Either he was acting, or being with the Temnokt had changed him.
Obscurity snorted, startling Twilight. "Since when are Dark Magic books reliable? They were written by ponies who were too afraid to ask for my help, and so simply made up information according to what they saw. Dark is not bad, and it is not good, but is rather in the middle. It depends on how its used that it evolves. Think of me like fire, it's too faces on a single coin. Fire can give you warmth in winter or disintegrate your flesh at touch. It can guide you through the darkness, or destroy everything in its path. The same is with me. I can be generous and loving to those who serve and allow me to inhabit their bodies, but also merciless and cruel to those who stab me in the back."
Twilight nodded, understanding
"The reason that I cannot directly help you with the Elements of Harmony is because I cannot touch Light Magic, even being near it is agonizing for me. Dark magic and white magic cancel each other out, like the Ying and the Yang. You have to fight dark magic with dark magic."
"But how?" Twilight inquired, growing desperate. "There's no way we can beat Clawblack with white magic! The Element of Magic he now wears is White Magic!"
To her confusion, Obscurity gave Twilight a grin. "Not quite, my dear."
"What do you mean?"
"As we speak, Clawblack is corrupting the Element of Magic with my essence every second that passes. Do you know why his body was twisted and corrupted when he out that crown upon his head?"
Twilight shook his head.
"When he put the Element of Magic upon his head, the white magic within it reacted to the dark magic running through his veins and system, the two forces counteracted until the prolonged exposure to each other forced them to merge together, and thus twisted Clawblack's body. The merging of white and dark magic is highly risky, and prolonged exposure to the combined forces can drive any living being insane. Not only that, but the white magic is being engulfed by my essence; unless the crown is removed from Clawblack's being, the Element of Magic will corrupt irreversibly. Without the Element of Magic, the other Elements of Harmony are useless..."
"And Equestria would be left without its strongest method of defense…" Twilight finished, her face lit with concern and worry now. "But how can we remove the crown from Clawblack? Not even King Bittercold could stand a chance to him, and as far as I know, he is the most powerful Temnokt in the Empire."
"Because when he fought against Clawblack, the two forces had just merged together, and the force that merging created augmented Clawblack's power considerably. By now, the leaking energy must have settled down, and Clawblack's magic levels must be just slightly high than normal."
"So… If the leaking energy settled, and there's not dark magic present in the Element of Magic…" Twilight connected the dots. "We can use Dark magic against Clawblack!"
Obscurity nodded slowly.
"But… that means…"
"You cannot fight him yourself. You only use white magic, exposure to dark magic is harmful to Unicorns, just as white magic is harmful to the Temnokt. It must be a Temnokt who fights Clawblack, no one else."
"But King Bittercold is still recovering from the fight with Clawblack…"
"I'm afraid time is a luxury we do not have right now. If the crown is not removed soon, Clawblack will corrupt it to the point you won't be able to do anything about it. You'll have to find another Temnokt whose magic levels are high enough to fight against Clawblack. That's all I can disclose to you, I'm afraid."
Twlight felt a slight breeze blowing against her face, but soon it turned into a strong blow of wing, and in seconds it had the force of a cyclone. Twilight attempted to get a hold, but it was impossible. "What's happening?!"
"You've been here for too long. If I allowed you to stay any longer, you would be influenced by my essence. It is time for you to return to the real world."
"But what if I can't find a Temnokt stronger than Clawblack!"
"You already have."
Before Twilight could ask what it meant, the wind finally won and the purple unicorn was blown back, away from Obscurity, pushing her towards a distant light. The last words she heard from the Dark Magic were spoken in a soothing tone.
"Good luck, Twilight Sparkle. If you succeed, we will meet again."

___________________________

When Clawnblack defeats Bittercold and takes control of the Empire, Twilight must speak with the very core of the Temnokt's magic for answers.