Chapter 3- Demons and Darkness
“How are you here? How can you be here?!” Kodai was furious and afraid all at the same time. The eight mares behind him did not know what to say, or were too chilled to speak. This was beast that destroyed everything 500 millennia ago… and Kodai named it. The name of the dreaded demon was Orochi. It finally spoke.
“I am here because I have willed it. You escaped from me before, but not today.”
“But why are you here? Why return? You already caused me enough pain!” Orochi cackled, a horrible sound akin to the sound of breaking bones.
“I don’t think you understand my intent. I am the master of all demon hordes. Do you really believe any amount of suffering is enough to satisfy me?” Kodai didn’t respond. It was a stupid question, in hindsight. “You have been alive for too long. Time to die!” Orochi reared his head back and unleashed a beam of dark energy, which the hero barely evaded.
“Get out of here,” he yelled at the others, “Leave before it kills you! You have no idea how to fight it!” Celestia was about to say something in response, but stopped short. This was the Hero, after all. How much did she really know about him? But then, if they retreat…
“No. I don’t think so. I’m sorry, but you aren’t as powerful as you were all that time ago.” Orochi stopped mid-attack. Kodai watched its movements carefully. The head turned towards the group. Most of them were too afraid to set a step forward. Luna felt sick… it was familiar…
This must be the reason why I became Nightmare Moon. But she herself was too chilled. When she was Nightmare Moon, she heard voices… voices that sounded similar to the voice of Orochi. Was that its last act of vengeance upon Kodai? To torment the world with its darkness? The specter slithered toward Celestia, bringing its head a mere centimeters from hers.
“Interesting,” it breathed, “I sense the bloodline of the Great Goddess flowing within your veins… So you are the next Okami… Amaterasu would be proud.” Leaving Celestia to be confused at a name she did not recognize, it brought its head up to Luna. “You… are even more impressive. I can feel the darkness that once plagued you. Alicorns… such inferior creatures.” Then it brought its face up to Kodai’s once more. “And look at you now. You were right… you are the laughing stock of us. But that does not mean we no longer believe you are a threat. Even without your six elemental powers, you’ll find some way to stop us…” Orochi seemed to be motionless. But Kodai felt something was wrong… he felt dazed and tired.
The Hero fainted. Luna was about to go and assist him, but a glare from the demon kept her frozen in her place.
“What hast thou done to him,” she growled. Orochi gave a low, guttural snarl.
“Simple. I placed him in a stasis field. A special and useful talent… plus another 41 on top of that.” Orochi’s head rose and reared back. “And this is yet another one.” It lunged forward, but not to grab one of the eight, but to unleash a deadly Power Scream. The force of it was enough to send the group hurtling backwards, through a building, leaving them dazed and stunned. Orochi deduced that, since they were still animals were descendants of non-sentient horses thereof, ergo it activated the power of animal control, so when they rose, they would not move as per its command. The Grand Master of demons returned its attention to the stasis locked Kodai. “I was far too arrogant when I fought you the first time,” it spoke darkly. Preparing a blast of dark energy to end his life for good, a lightning strike to its head immediately distracted it. Whirling this way and that to locate its source, the demon master had failed to notice the stasis field surrounding Kodai shatter like glass, and his control over the Princesses and the other six ponies broken.
“Up here, you fool!” The serpent did exactly that, looking up into the evening sky. What it saw made it truly shocked. A bipedal, biomechanical creature floated high in the air above the stirring hero. It has silver armor, and in certain spots the armor glowed with orange light. Its masked face had eyes of pure lime green, clawed hands and taloned feet. There was a curved blade pointing upwards from the back of each arm. It glared at the specter with an expression somewhere in between amusement and anger. “Did you really think I was not watching,” said the creature. The other eight ponies, even freed from Orochi’s control, stayed back. The demon master roared in what seemed to be anger, but was really fear.
“This is not your battle! Leave at once!” The silver being quickly silenced any further protest with a beam of light, which the demon just barely dodged.
“I don’t think so. If I recall correctly, I’m the one who was talking.” The being lowered to be on eye level with it. “Now, I suggest you leave, before I make your day far worse,” he warned. Orochi snorted.
“Or what,” it replied sarcastically. The creature smiled.
“This.” Twin beams of pure energy lanced out at the demon, one hitting him in the head, the other in its center. Kodai, finally awake but still on the ground, saw the source of the attack- Princess Celestia and Princess Luna launched a dual attack. The result was rather overwhelming. The specter of Orochi exploded into bits, leaving an echo of an enraged roar. The being lowered to the ground and placed a clawed hand on the hero’s forehead.
“Guar…dian,” he sputtered, before falling asleep.
“Rest now, my friend.” When he rose and turned around, he was staring at the assembled group of ponies. “I owe you eight some answers, right,” he said. Celestia took a few steps forward.
“Yes. Yes you do,” she said calmly. “Who are you and what was that?”
“I am known as the Guardian,” he answered swiftly.
“Guardian,” repeated Rainbow Dash, “Of what?”
“Simply the universe around you- space. I try my best to maintain order and matter. Though as of some events completely out of my control, my ‘beat’ became much, much more limited.” Before Rainbow could ask why, Twilight quickly interrupted.
“How did you know that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were going to attack Orochi?”
“Precognition,” he replied, “A small, if useful, skill. And before one of you asks, which I believe Applejack was about to…” The mare in question was stunned. “I know all of your names- Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity.” Now they were suspicious.
“How did ya know each one o’ our names,” said Applejack in a curious tone, “Were y’all mind readin’?”
“It’s a bit deeper than that. Memory searching was what that was.” Before another trivial question could be launched at him, he stopped them with a raise of his hand. “And to answer the second part of Celestia’s question: that was Orochi, the demon that brought incredible destruction and extinction to the land 500 millennia ago. All of Kodai’s story was true- he stopped Orochi temporarily enough to the point where it would need to recover before launching another strike. But now that dreaded hell-spawn has, and the protector of this planet had to return.”
“Then why turn the hero to an alicorn,” Luna interrupted, “Surely keeping him as a human would be more…familiar to him.” The Guardian shook his head.
“When he defeated the Ursa Major, his body was badly damaged. The only way to salvage him was to transform him into a creature familiar to the area. An alicorn was the choice because no other kind of pony would be able to contain the elemental energy he once wielded.”
“One last question,” spoke Celestia, “Who is Amaterasu?” The Guardian’s expression turned sad somewhat.
“An old enemy of Orochi,” he sighed, “And an old friend of mine.” He drew a circle in front of him, which solidified into a circular, runed stone with a mirror on the back. Flames circled its edges as it swirled in the air and landed upon Celestia’s back. Looking confused, she glared at the Guardian. “That is a weapon called Divine Retribution, be sure to give it to Kodai when he wakes, and tell him this- the Elements shall guide you.” Celestia nodded, and floated Kodai with her telekinesis onto her back.
“Let’s go.” The princess made her way towards Twilight’s library, the six ponies following suit. Princess Luna, waiting till her sister and the rest of the group were out of earshot, trotted up towards the Guardian.
“Guardian,” she began, “I have a question for thou. Recently in the night sky there appeared a red star. I could neither move nor banish it. What is this star?” The Guardian smiled, knowing full well what it was.
“A story for another day, your highness.” The Guardian disappeared in a flash of light before Luna could question him further. Luna sighed, and galloped towards the library to catch up with her sister.
The Ninetails made its way on the bridge towards a dark, gloomy island fortress, black smoke billowing from the peak of the mountain, lava flowing down its sides into reservoirs. Lesser demons stood at attention as the Kyuubi made its way to the topmost platform. A sense of nostalgia flowed through its mind.
This where I fought the Sun Goddess, and lost embarrassingly. Its eyes were drawn to the glowing orb in the center of the platform, with the kanji for air etched upon it. Ninetails grinned a toothy grin. The Hero has lost his elemental powers, making him an ant to be crushed in my claws… A voice entered his head, a voice recognized by it to be Lord Orochi.
Do not be so arrogant, Kyuubi. He is still plenty dangerous.
Worry not, Grand Master. I almost defeated him once before when he was at full power. Now that he has none, it will be practically effortless.
I see my days of being weakened have allowed your arrogance to grow. I warn you, Ninetails- there is more at stake than your pride. The final human must die, whether it is at your claws or my fangs. Even so, prepare. I have no doubt he will seek you eventually. Oni Island cannot stay hidden from him forever. You remember what you did during the genocide of his race… nothing like that would be forgiven by mortals, so he will come seeking you.
Yes. Oh, their blood tasted like sweet syrup, and their flesh like perfectly ripe fruit. Ninetails laughed with glee at the memory. And soon, Kodai’s head shall be served to me on a silver platter.
Fire. All Kodai saw was a blazing fire engulfing the world. He saw people being burned alive. He saw demon hordes tear apart human beings, shattering their bones with clubs, and dicing them with their blades. And in it all, the center of the flames, he saw the eight headed monster. It saw him. He tried to run, but he could not outrun the beast. It lunged at him, readying to devour him whole. One thought raced through his mind in his last moments.
I’m sorry…
The stallion awoke with a start. His breaths were heavy and quick. It was only a nightmare, he reassured himself. But the guilt that had plagued him since his imprisonment came rushing back to him like a high tide. So many people died that day… No. All of them died that day. He found himself on a bed. How did I get here? Oh wait, the Guardian placed me under sleep. And then the others probably placed me here.
“Good, you’re awake.” Kodai heard the young voice and looked to his right. Spike was sitting in a wooden chair a few feet away from the bedside. “The girls are waiting downstairs. I volunteered to keep an eye on ya.”
“Yeah. Thanks, I suppose.”
“It sounded like you were having one heckuva nightmare. What was that “I’m sorry” all about?” Kodai got himself off the bed, and without another word, he trotted down the steps. The baby dragon looked at him strangely, but then shrugged and started to place Twilight’s bed back in order.
Kodai reached the foot of the steps and upon that moment, all eyes in the room were focused on him. There was a long silence. Finally, the stallion broke it.
“Is everyone okay?” Applejack tipped her hat.
“Actually sugarcube,” she began, but Pinkie cut her off.
“We’re fine. I mean we were all really scared of that big snake thing, and we were all like ‘ahhh’ when we saw ya on the ground, the we were all like ‘owww’ when the snake guy shouted really loudly, but then this really silver tall guy appeared out of nowhere kinda like how I do and was all like ‘stop this now’ and then the Princesses blasted him and made him explode. Then we talked with the silver guy, and we came home. Well, specifically Twilight’s home! Or library, or foyer or” she stopped short to catch her breath. Applejack sighed.
“Well, Ah think y’all know we’re all good.” The Hero sighed in relief.
“Good, very good, in fact. But what was this silver creature Pinkie had mentioned?”
“He said he was called the Guardian,” Twilight spoke up, “And that he guarded matter and space.” Kodai smacked his forehead with his hoof.
That question was relatively pointless. “Well, that is true. He is a friend of mine, and he was the one who got me out of my prison. But what did he say?” Princess Celestia stepped forward.
“He told me to give you this.” The stone circle with fire surrounding it lifted off from her back and placed itself on Kodai’s. “He called it”
“Divine Retribution,” he said in awe, “A divine instrument, and a tool of the gods. Amazing. I never thought I was worthy of such a gift.” Celestia gave a small smile.
“Well, he thought you were.” Luna spoke up next.
“The Guardian also told us to relay this message onto thou- ‘the Elements shall guide you’.” Kodai looked confused for a few moments, before a light dawned in his eyes.
“Luna, you told me that these other six mares wielded the- wait a second, why are they wielding the Elements of Harmony in the first place?” Everypony in the room aside from royalty shuffled their forehooves nervously.
“I-it’s a long story,” squeaked Fluttershy.
“But the Elements would not have accepted new avatars unless…” He paused for a moment when the light of realization dawned on him again. “Oh, that’s sad. Not even they believed I was returning. Well isn’t that just peachy. You know it’s very rude to lose faith in a man!” Celestia quickly interrupted before his monologue could continue.
“Well, you’re back now. Wouldn’t they recognize you?” Twilight raised a hoof.
“Sorry to interrupt, but it seems as if the Elements are sentient? That’s not possible, aren’t they just magic?” Kodai shook his head.
“I’d have expected better from an academic like you Twilight Sparkle,” replied the stallion, who left a stunned Twilight Sparkle to contemplate just how insightful she actually was. Luna again spoke up.
“In her defense, I also was not aware of sentience within the Elements.”
“To answer Twilight’s question, the Elements were created with minds of their own. They choose their vessels wisely. They choose only the ones that best represent them, and from that, they allow access to their full potency.”
“Huh,” said a very confused Twilight, “But the book described”
“The Book isn’t wrong. But remember one key detail- not only did all six Elements choose me as an avatar, but my natural powers over six aspects of nature- fire, water, air, earth, stone and ice- were combined with the elements. They are just as devastating offensively as defensively. Not all hugs and kisses.”
“So you’re basically”
“Everything that the elements thought I was. 500,000 years of imprisonment has not changed that.”
“Then how come they didn’t just fly straight back to you,” asked Rainbow.
“I’m guessing the reason was threefold: one, they lost faith in my return, two, they found new vessels to keep them alive and three, my powers are gone.” Now this was surprising- the powerful Hero in the storybook had no power? What happened?
“Whaddya mean your powers are gone,” exclaimed the cyan pegasus, “What happened?”
“Apparently my jailer didn’t agree with the fact that I possessed such gifts,” he grumbled, “So he ripped them from my body- not a very pleasant feeling mind you-and scattered them into the wind.”
“Can y’all get them back,” asked Applejack, not bothering to disguise the hope in her voice.
“I was getting to that before I interrupted myself,” he responded, “When I wielded the six elements, they became connected the elemental energies contained in me: my powers over nature. If I reconnect with them, they should lead to my powers, one by one.”
“How come your 'jailer' didn’t destroy them outright,” inquired Twilight. Kodai winced, as if disgusted.
“He likes to toy with his victims. He’s giving me a chance. I can still sense their existence, but I don’t know where they are. So, Applejack, could you st- erm, trot forward?” The orange mare looked confused.
“Why would ah need t’do that?” Kodai sighed, and instead he trotted to her, bringing himself only a few inches away from her. Applejack now got a good judgment of his height. He was taller than Princess Luna, but shorter than Princes Celestia. Kodai put his forehooves on both sides of her face, closing his eyes.
“Close your eyes,” he ordered, and the earth pony did so. “Now, my mind is going to reach into yours. You may feel uncomfortable, but it’s normal.” Kodai’s horn glowed with white light like that of the sun, and it was accented with red. His mind was now connected with hers. Even though he was tempted to search through her memories for the ‘long story’ Fluttershy was talking about, he quickly rejected such an invasion of privacy. He bypassed all the memories, thoughts, worries and hopes, trying to reach the raw power that she hid. He saw the light of the Element she possessed. The purifying light of honesty… and it showed him exactly where the power of fire was being kept: in a mountain with billowing smoke, a volcano, and a fiery serpent which emerged from the magma inside. Applejack could also see into his mind, though she encountered a mental block that could not be broken, but she saw the volcano as well.
Mount Lava Ridge… Kodai let go of her face and they both opened their eyes.
“We both saw the mountain," he said, expecting a name for it.
“That was a volcano called Mount Lava Ridge,” she replied, “It’s a way’s away, but it’s the closest one.” The stallion smiled.
“Excellent. We haven’t time to waste. I shall give you six the rest of the night to prepare. Meet me back at the library. We set out tomorrow morning.” Celestia’s motherly instinct immediately kicked in.
“Why do they have to come with you,” she said a bit loudly.
“Because it would be massive waste of time if I go back and forth, and they probably won’t let me go alone. Celestia, I know you think it’s dangerous, and believe me, it is, but there is an entire planet at stake here. I will not allow Orochi to repeat his actions!” She nodded in understanding. She faced the group.
“My little ponies, be safe and be strong, and go prepared for anything. Like he said, the stakes have never been higher. The entire planet will be ridden of all life if Orochi is not contained.” They all nodded.
“We will stop him princess,” began Twilight.
“You can count on us your majesty,” added Rainbow Dash. The lavender unicorn opened the door with her magic, and the five ponies saw themselves out. Twilight herself, after closing said door, retreated upstairs, leaving the three alicorns.
“Kodai, one final question,” said Celestia, but he cut her off.
“If it’s about my jailer, I refuse to speak of him,” he said forcefully, but there was a hint of hurt in his voice. Celestia understood.
“I’m sorry. Good luck, Hero.” The duo teleported out of the room in a flash of light. Kodai put a hoof to his head and sighed, and left the library.
This time, Orochi, I’m not alone.
Rarity entered her boutique, and found that Sweetie Belle was sitting on the floor, apparently waiting for her.
“That took you a while,” she said, trotting up to her sister, “What happened?” Rarity averted her eyes to anywhere but her little sister.
“I’m going to be traveling, Sweetie. I’ll call up mom and dad. They’ll be here by tomorrow afternoon.” The little foal looked up at her in confusion.
“Huh? Where are you going?” Rarity sighed.
“Don’t worry about me,” replied the fashonista, “I’m just traveling far away, like a camping trip.” Sweetie Belle frowned.
“You’re going on a quest aren’t you?” Rarity groaned in defeat.
“Yes, I am. I’ll be leaving in the morning. Right now, I need to get some beauty sleep.” She went up the stairs.
“Rarity!” The mare turned around, looking at her little sister straight in the eye. She smiled at her, warmly. “Be careful, you got it?” The older unicorn returned the smile, and retreated to her room.
Applejack entered the main house, only to find Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith glaring at her.
“And where have you been,” said Granny sternly.
“Ah’ve been with mah friends, and their majesties,” she replied casually. “They sent me and mah friends on a quest, to save the world.” Apple Bloom looked up at her in surprise.
“You’re kiddin’,” said the filly, “Another one?” The orange mare nodded quickly.
“This time, there really is a world at stake.” She quickly went upstairs. “Ah’ve gotta go and get ready.” Big Mac smiled.
“Eeyup. Just know that if yer hungry, there’s food in the fridge.” She nodded and went back up. They watched her go.
“Ah hope she’ll be okay,” muttered Apple Bloom. Granny Smith looked out the window and into the night sky.
“I hope so to, Apple Bloom.”
Pinkie Pie quickly loaded several cakes and other treats into her saddle bag. Mr. and Mrs. Cake watched her go back from the kitchen to her saddlebag several times.
“Uh, Pinkie,” said Mr. Cake, “Are you sure you need all that?” Pinkie rolled her eyes.
“Of course I do. We need food, right?” She quickly went back into the kitchen.
“What about other supplies,” asked Mrs. Cake, becoming strained from looking back and forth.
“Oh, don’t worry. That’ll go in the other pouch!” Mrs. Cake was about to say something, but Mr. Cake stopped her.
“It’s Pinkie Pie. Don’t ask.” Mrs. Cake nodded sagely.
Rainbow Dash kicked back on cloud, relaxing and getting her much needed sleep.
Besides, I have a feeling that I won’t getting any afternoon naps for a while.
“HEY RD!” The cyan pegasus looked around and above her, recognizing the voice. She finally looked down, and saw Scootaloo looking up at her with heavy concern.
“Hey, squirt! What are you doing out so late?” Scootaloo’s eyes seemed to be focused on anything but her.
“I-I heard your conversation with Applejack. She was talking about a quest.” Rainbow looked down at her with surprise.
“It’s a quest,” she said nonchalantly, “No big deal!” The foal looked at her in concern.
“Yes it is a big deal! I heard everything! She said there was life as we know it on the line! And knowing Applejack, I don’t think she’s exaggerating!” Rainbow returned her glare with one of confusion.
“Okay, that’s true. Yes there is a lot that are on my hooves. But I don’t—”
“Rainbow, it sounds really dangerous! As in, life threatening! Have you even considered that?!” Rainbow now fully understood why Scootaloo was so scared. She didn’t want to lose her. It was understandable. The leader of the weather team lowered herself to the ground, trotted up to the flightless pegaus and put a hoof around her.
Is Rainbow really hugging me, she squealed in her mind.
“Listen, kid,” Rainbow said softly, “Don’t worry about me. Never worry about me. I promise I will come back in one piece. I am Rainbow Dash after all!” She broke the hug, and Scootaloo trotted away. She gave her idol one last look before moving on.
Fluttershy was busy packing when she felt a tug at her hoof. She looked down to see Angel with an angry expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, Angel,” she said softly in her sweet voice, “But I can’t not go. There are ponies out there who need me. But I know you can handle yourself.” Angel looked down, giving up on getting her to stay, not for his selfish wants, but because he was genuinely worried about her. Whether he liked it or not, he loved her to bits, like a mother. So the little rabbit did the one thing he could: he jumped up and wrapped his arms around Fluttershy’s neck in an embrace. The yellow pegasus was a bit surprised, but she set the bunny down and nuzzled him.
“Don’t worry Angel,” she said soothingly, “I’ll be okay, I promise.” Angel made a face along the lines of ‘you better be.’ She smiled and returned to her saddlebag. She also looked up to Luna’s moon. This is it. For the world.
Twilight Sparkle was preparing the last of her materials, going by a checklist she quickly compiled.
Water, check, clothes, check, encyclopedia, check, Spellbook, check, Golden Book, check, food, check, map, check. I think I got everything I really need. I should probably go down the list a few more times.
“You know Twi, you’ve went down that list at least 10 times.” Spike only looked at her with a very unamused expression clear on his face. She didn’t bother to look at him, too busy reading over her materials.
“I need to be absolutely prepared, Spike! I can’t go blundering in with too little or too many supplies! You should be asleep anyway.” The purple dragon stood a little straighter now.
“There’s a reason why I’m not sleeping,” he practically growled.
“Why,” she asked, looking back at him with worry written all over her face.
“Why do you think, Twilight Sparkle?!” She inhaled sharply. He never used her full name unless he was really scared. “I saw everything that happened from the window!” She looked down at her hooves shamefully.
“Oh…”
“Listen to me, Twilight. Whatever that thing was, I’ve never felt more afraid for you than I have until now! At least when you stood up against Nightmare Moon and Discord I knew you’d still be alive even if you screwed up! Now I’m not even sure of that!”
“So what would you have me do,” she snapped back. Spike sighed, and went down the steps, all the way down until he reached the underground lab. Twilight followed closely. What’s down there, then? The baby dragon walked towards a corner of the room, opening a small, almost unnoticeable latch on the ground. A small portion of the floor came lose, and Spike lifted it and tossed it to the side. Placing his arms in the compartment, he rummaged through a few items before lifting up a mahogany wood box. It was old, at least as old as 100 years. “Spike… what is it?” He opened the box and lifted a glowing purple gem. And Twilight recognized it. ‘Spike, that’s a—”
“A Life Shard. I know what it is.” Life shards. They were gems that were rumored to be hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of years old. They were extremely rare, and finding one often came at the cost of the searcher’s life. Twilight had only read about them, but had never seen one in person. But its magical powers were said to be terrible and magnificent. But no one knew what it did. “Spike, how in Equestria did you obtain that?!”
“Princess Celestia gave it to me, because dragons are the only ones who can use them. And you know why that is. Look at my diet.”
“Spike, do you even know what that does?!”
“Do you,” he raged back. He took a deep breath and continued. “No one knows what they do because no one has ever seen it in action. No one but—”
“Princess Celestia,” she finished, in shock. “She knows?”
“Yeah, she does, and she gave this to me because I’m the only dragon that's a citizen of Equestria. I wouldn’t think or even dream of using this.”
“But what does it do?” Spike looked at the gem sadly.
“When a dragon consumes it, his or her life energy is controllable by force of will, and can be directed to bring back anyone or anything to life. Normally, a dragon would need to sacrifice his or her whole self to bring back another, but with this gem,”
“You could bring us all back if we died.” Spike shook his head.
“That’s true. But it comes at a cost.” Twilight didn’t want to say it. She couldn’t even bare to think of her little brother doing something like that for her. “I’ll die if I use this. Just know that if anything happens to you, that even in death, I’ll be there. For all of you.” Twilight gripped him in a bone crushing embrace.
“Spike…I-I don’t even know what to say…”
“I do,” he said, tearing himself from the embrace. “You can promise me that I’ll never have to use the Life Shard.”
“But why would you even,” she started, but began to choke up, “Why would you even show me this? Why sacrifice yourself?”
“Why do you think,” he replied a bit coldly, ascending the stairway. “My life doesn't really matter. The world needs you six. It doesn’t need me.”
“I need you. We all do.” The desperation was practically oozing from her voice
“Oh really,” he said, his mood changing. “Then why don’t you look at a certain picture on my wall, and tell me if you, or anyone else, needs me?” He left with those very hurtful words, and a very melancholic Twilight Sparkle.
Kodai watched the town bathed in moonlight on a high ledge. He couldn’t sleep on his own terms, since he has not been able to for 500,000 years and counting.
It all feels so new, he thought. He missed home, even now. Everyone that he knew died. Even though it was a long time ago, it felt like yesterday to him. The guilt never left the hero. His nightmare made that clear. He looked up and gazed upon a familiar twinkling star that appeared on the day he gained all six Elements of Harmony. I never deserved that star. I’m no hero. I’m just a really old failure.
“I thought I sensed someone familiar.” He turned around to find Princess Luna trotting up to stand beside him. “Dost thou remember me?” He smiled, though it was an ironic one.
“Of course I do, Luna. I don’t tend to forget faces.” He looked back up at the night sky. “You’ve done an excellent job with the night sky. Not even in my day was it this mesmerizing.” Luna didn’t take her eyes off of him.
“I thank thee for such kind words.” He looked back at her, meeting her eyes for the second time that day.
“Why do you look so concerned?” The princess of the night had an expression of pure vexation.
“When I looked into thine eyes, I saw more than just orbs of cobalt- I saw into thy memories. The pain that I felt was brief, but it was like a torrent of melancholy in thee. I wanted to say how sorry I was, even though it won’t do any good.”
“Thank you, Luna. You’re the only one in a long time to be brave enough to say that to me. During my imprisonment, I wept and wept until there were no tears left to shed. I had lost my people.” The alicorn looked down at the town. “But now, seeing all this new life, I won’t let that happen a second time. I failed once; I don’t intend to let that happen again.” Luna felt she should say something else, but she found no words that were appropriate. She just looked down at Ponyville with him. Finally, Kodai decided he would lie on the grass.
“May I join thou,” she requested.
“Certainly.” She sat down beside him, both their gazes returning to the stars. There was a long silence between them.
“Kodai,” she began, nervously shuffling her hooves. “But those weren’t the only memories I saw. There were also so many wonderful things. Would thou carest to talk about it, even for a little?” She finished with a small smile. He looked at her, his eyes shining with starlight.
“I’d love to. What would you like to know?” Luna began with all sorts of questions, and the hero graciously answered every single one fully, their conversation continuing until dawn.
Author's Notes- So many references! And if anyone really knows thier fandoms, they should be able to figure out who my OC's 'jailer' is from Orochi's dialogue. But here we're getting into the the more Okami elements of the story. If anyone can name all the references, I'll give them an internet cookie.