//------------------------------// // The New Arrival // Story: Dark Libra // by DragonassasslnGR //------------------------------// It was noon and Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy were in the Everfree Forest looking for something that had crash landed there. They saw the object free falling at high speeds and happened to be at Fluttershy's cottage helping with some of the animals that day, so they decided to check it out. The forest was as unwelcoming as it had always been. The object had landed somewhat far in the forest and was a good ways in. "What do ya'll think it is?" Applejack asked inquisitively. "I think it may be a meteorite" Twilight said with joy of thought of studying such an object. "I'm just hoping it didn't hurt any animals when it hit." Fluttershy said in a quiet voice. As they approached the location of where the object hit. Applejack stopped them with a hoof and sniffed the air, asking; "Do ya'll smell that? there's metal in the air." Fluttershy gasped and pointed to a thin trail of a crimson liquid that trailed off into the forest. The three followed it cautiously preparing themselves for whatever lay ahead of them.The sight that had appeared behind a clearing was a mess of mangled trees. There were the remains of Timber wolves laying scattered in the clearing, across the way lay a smoky gray pegasus with a very long blue mane and tail similar to princess Luna's with massive gashes and cuts, a broken wing laying in a pool of his own crimson blood. Fluttershy immediately flew over to his side followed by Applejack then Twilight. Applejack crouched down on her haunches and placed her head on his chest. She heard the faint beating of his heart and slow breathing. "Good news girls, he is still alive. But he is hurt real bad and needs help." Applejack reported. "I have supplies to help him, but I need to get them." Fluttershy said frantically to the two other ponies. "I'll get Big Mac so we can talk him to the hospital." said Applejack. "Girls, I can heal him with a spell. "Twilight replied as she thought of one of her newer healing spells Luna had taught her. Twilight's horn glowed with the magical build up necessary for the spell. When she tried to cast it however she felt another magical presence. The presence was stopping her spell with ease and the build up of power and the overwhelming force of the opposing presence caused an overload with the combining magic. The overload created a blast that sent Twilight flying into a tree on the other side of the clearing. Applejack and Fluttershy ran to the lavender unicorn's aid. Twilight felt a searing pain in her side. She felt around and found that the impact had broken one of her ribs. When the other two arrived to her side Applejack asked," Are you alright Twilight? What happened?" Fluttershy just stood there with her hooves covering her muzzle. "H-He is... producing a magical barrier." Twilight gasped for the breath that the impact had taken from her. "How is that possible? I thought only Alicorns and unicorns can use magic?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "Yes they are the only ones, but he may be enchanted by a very powerful unicorn." Twilight replied as she sat up wincing in pain from her broken rib. "What's wrong Twi? Are you hurt?" Applejack asked leaning in closer to the wounded lavender mare. "I think the blast broke one of my ribs." Twilight said with a wince as she pointed to the rib. "We need to get the two of ya’ll to the hospital." Applejack said as she turned to head out. "No! We need to head to the library." Twilight interjected. "T-the library? Why, you need medical attention." Fluttershy said with a puzzled look. "If he created another blast in the hospital more ponies will get hurt. That and the library is safer to study him." Twilight said. "Are you sure that is a smart idea Twi?" Applejack asked inquisitively. "I am, please get your gear Fluttershy. Applejack, can you get your brother and a wagon for us. I will stay and defend us using my magic." Twilight said with a sigh and sat down leaning against the tree. The other two nodded and went their respected ways to get help and meet at the library. ******************************************* Hours pass as the pain swelled in Twilight from her rib. She looked at the pegasus for a while then she noticed his size. He was much larger than normal pegasi. In fact he was no more than five inches shorter than princess Celestia herself. His cutie mark was that of a white Libra symbol engulfed in a black sphere. Clearly he was not from Ponyville. Suddenly she starts hearing whispers near the unconscious pegasus. The whispers grew louder and louder to the level Fluttershy would use to speak. Suddenly the pegasus was standing and violently vibrating. A moment later he was back on the ground as if nothing happened. Twilight rubbed her eyes and saw the apparition again. It started walking closer to her, his body still laying under the tree as the apparition approached with a psychotic smile and glowing white eyes. The light from his eyes seemed to flow out like smoke. At this point Twilight was almost certain that he had died. "You will doom all of Equestria Faithful. The Elements of Harmony will fall to the Elements of Chaos. THE BALANCE MUST BE MAINTAINED!" roared the apparition before disappearing. Twilight gasped in fear to what she had just seen. Thoughts raced through her head, the pegasus was still breathing so what she saw must had been a hallucination. This pegasus must be studied, she thought. He holds the property to use magic, seemed to not have bled to death for a few hours of being here reinforced that claim. In fact his bleeding seemed to have stopped completely. A few minutes passed with no other incidents leaving Twilight to her thoughts as the sun was setting on the horizon casting an ominous golden glow through the tops of the tree line. Suddenly she heard Applejack yelling to Big Macintosh, "Over here you big lug. They are just ahead in the clearing!" Applejack poked her head out of the clearing, "Twi, how are you holdin up?" Applejack asked quietly. "I am fine Applejack, just sore, but I'll live." Twilight laughed comparing her injury to the unconscious pegasus, she was perfectly fine. "That's good. Look Twi, Fluttershy is waiting at the library for us. Big mac will get you in the wagon, just stay here." Applejack told her friend with a worried look. She turned and walked to the wagon that Big Mac had pulled up. He walked over to Twilight and gently lifted her on his back. As he carried her to the wagon the apparition appeared again with the same smile as before. "The locks have been placed and all has been sealed. Heed my warning Faithful, if the locks are broken history will repeat, but with a deadly outcome. All will fall and die, Chaos will consume the power that was lost long ago and the balance will be restored with Chaos leading instead of Harmony. The Guardians are no more, but the balance will never be gone." the apparition said as it faded. Twilight began to lose consciousness from the mixture of fear and pain. The words of the apparition still flowing through her thoughts. ************************************ Hours pass when Twilight's eyes finally began to open. Her vision was blurred, but she could see the night sky and the stars above her. After a few long seconds her vision was clear again and she could get a good look at her surroundings. She saw the walls of the old wood that looked as though it had been hastily cleaned in an attempt to sterilize it. There was a form of a removable gate on the back for placing in heavier loads that you couldn't lift over the walls. She turned her head and was looking muzzle to bloody muzzle with the pegasus. "Ahhh!" Twilight shouted in both fear and surprise. Suddenly the old wagon stopped and Applejack appeared from behind the gate. "You alright Twi. You passed out back there when Big Macintosh placed ya'll in here. I scolded him for being careless." Applejack said leaning over the gate. Twilight got to her hooves with a wince when she landed on the ground. "Everypony is inside waiting for us. Fluttershy got a cot in there for him and she is ready to patch both of you up." Applejack said as she opened the door. Fluttershy and Spike had cleared out a space for them and a cot was ready in the corner. The center table was set up with bandages, peroxides, and other first aid equipment, even a few splints were present. If Twilight didn't know any better she would say Fluttershy was a nurse at the hospital. The library's main room looked like a medical tent. Spike ran over and latched onto one of Twilight's front legs. The purple baby dragon was trembling when he finally spoke, "Twilight I was scared to death when Fluttershy told me they left you in the Everfree forest. Are you okay? Do you need anything?" "No, no I'll be alright Spike. Just let Fluttershy do her thing." the lavender unicorn told the terrified Spike. "Oh, Twilight please sit and rest. Spike tend to her, she has a broken rib. I need to treat the pegasus." Fluttershy told them as she watched Big Mac carry the pegasus, droplets of blood hit the ground in random intervals. He gently placed the pegasus on the cot and Fluttershy went straight to work by addressing the largest gash first. She grabbed a rag that had been soaking in a container of peroxide on the large wound, clearing most of the blood away. The rag then got caught on what Fluttershy first thought was his rib. After a moment she noticed that it wasn't, but it was a large claw that must have come from something larger than a Timberwolves. The claw was covered with blood from the pegasus's wounds. "That's a dragon's claw." Spike said in a trembling and quiet voice. Fluttershy's eyes went wide and her gaze found Twilight. With a gulp she placed the large claw on a plate on the center table. She treated the wound and grabbed a thread and needle then began to stitch the now bleeding gashes. After a few minutes the wound was stitched close and the blood was cleaned again. Fluttershy then focused on the smaller but more severe claw marks and gashes. Minutes turned to hours as Fluttershy treated and dressed all of his gashes and scratches going from most deadly to minor marks. She had bandaged most of him to cover the wounds. He looked as though he was a mummy rather than a pegasus. Lastly she grabbed one of the splints and fastened it to the broken wing. There was a loud cracking noise as she pulled the bones back in place, the sound almost made Twilight vomit. "There he should make a full recovery if he rests, but he is going to need a lot of water." Fluttershy said confidently at the sight of her work. "Good job sugarcube."Applejack said with a smile as she approached the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy looked over to Twilight to see Spike had done a good job tending to her. "How do you feel Twilight?" Fluttershy asked looking over the wrappings. "I'm fine, a little sore Fluttershy, really." Twilight replied as she stood and started to walk towards Applejack. "Girls, thank you for the help, but I think its time to get some sleep. You all should head home. You can come back tomorrow if you want." She said walking to the door. "Twi, are you sure you will be fine?" Applejack asked taking a step closer. Big Mac raised an eyebrow at his sister and looked on. "You are hurt badly." Applejack went on. "You need some pony here with you." "Applejack, I have Spike to help. Beside we are safe in Ponyville. Look if anything happens I'll send Spike to get you. Alright?" Twilight asked. Applejack looked at Spike then to Big Mac and Fluttershy. Her gaze found the pegasus then finally Twilight. "You promise if anything is wrong you send him?" she finally said. "Yes, now all of us need some sleep. We have a lot to do." Twilight told her concerned friends. Spike walked to the door and held it open for them. Fluttershy and Big Mac walked out, but Applejack stopped in the doorway and looked over to Twilight who was starting to walk up the stairs. "Hey Twi?" She started. "Yes Applejack, what is it?" Twilight asked as she turned to face her friend. "Sleep tight sugar cube. I'll see ya first thing tomorrow morning." Applejack finished then walked out the door. A few minutes later Twilight had set up for bed. The library was closed, she had brushed her teeth, cleaned up the stains of blood and what messes remained from the day before. The lights were out and Twilight was laying on her back to try to keep the pain away. She took some painkillers Fluttershy had left for her to dull the pain of her rib. The moonlight shined in through the window and onto the floor by the stairs. Twilight heard the voice again. The same ones from the forest followed by the sound of hoof steps coming up the stairs. Twilight shot up and felt a rush of pain and fear flow up her spine. She looked over to the stairs to see the apparition halfway in and out of the darkness in the room. The parts that weren't illuminated by the moonlight were completely covered in darkness. Twilight was frozen in fear and regretting telling her friends to go. She couldn't see it, but she felt the crazed smile through the darkness. "Faithful, you have done much to keep the balance. You saved the Fallen Princess." The apparition began. Twilight could swear she saw a tear fall to the floor when he said that. The apparition continued, "You defeated the puppet master. Stopped the shape shifters from their conquest, and even saved the lost Kingdom from a horrific tyrant and overcame many obstacles and challenges. But you still have to overcome more before you're ascension. Compared to what is coming the Puppet Master is the puppet, the shades are like flairs in the night, and the tyrant is like an ant to a hoof. If you fail, all of Equestria will fall by Nightshade's hooves. Please do not let history repeat Faithful." The apparition turned and walked down the stairs. The voices slowed and one was finally clear. It was that of a stallion yelling with pain and anguish in an echo in the same voice as the apparition," I'm Sorry! Oh by the princesses I'm sorry! Please... please forgive me... sister. If you die then so do I. Ahhhhhhhhh!"