As everypony had entered the forest, they all saw a large grass field ahead of them, and Twilight turned to everypony, and pointed towards the grass field and said, "We should camp here for the night, we can continue on in the morning, as I can imagine, it's been quite a day for everypony."
Rainbow Dash said, "You can say that again."
Applejack said, "Then it's settled, we will leave early in the morning."
Twilight nodded, and said, "Sleep well everypony."
Everypony nodded, and began to head towards the grass field, and as they got there, they set up a campfire, gathered wood, and tents, and some then went into their separate tents, while others, stayed at the fire for a while, and then they too, went to bed.
Snowshy was the last one to go to bed, and as she layed down on her bed, and began to drift off into sleep, her thoughts kept drifting to that day, in the shack, all those years ago, as everypony had fallen asleep, and she could hear the snowstorm outside, and before she knew it, she had completely fell asleep, and began to dream of that day.... As Snowshy dreamed, she went back to that day, and she remembered, waking up to the snowstorm outside, and as she looked around, she could see that Darkness was awake, and was still sitting at the table, in the corner, in front of the window, with a mug in one hoof, a look of worry, and a hint of sadness in his eyes. As she saw this, she got up, and went over to him, and sat down, at the table, on the chair opposite to him, and as he looked over to see who it was, he said, "Couldn't sleep either, could you?" He then got another mug and a large container, with a spout, from his pack on the floor, and he then put the mug and container on the table, poured some kind of liquid into the mug, put the container away, and slid the mug over to Snowshy, who caught it, and he said, "Here, drink this, it'll help replenish your strength, for whatever comes tomorrow, you will more than likely need to be at your best."
Snowshy nodded in thankfulness, and said, "Thank you."
Darkness said, without looking at Snowshy, "Don't mention it." He then turned back to the window, and went back to same expression Snowshy had seen before.
Nothing was said for a while, as the two drank from their mugs, before Snowshy finally spoke up, and she called Darkness's attention, "Darkness? Is something the matter?"
He then turned his face to her, and he said, "Something the matter? Why do you say that?"
Snowshy said, "Something is clearly bothering you."
He then put his head down for a minute, and then looked back up, and said, "Is it that obvious?"
Snowshy said, "It is. What's wrong?"
Darkness said, "It's not so much me, but I feel like I have become an issue."
Snowshy said, "What do you mean?"
Darkness looked at Snowshy, for the first time since the whole conversation, looked Snowshy in the eyes, and said, "Surely you noticed or felt a change in our friends?"
Snowshy said, "Yeah, but it doesn't seem out of the ordinary, they have gained newfound strength."
Darkness shook his head, and said, "No, they are masking what they truly feel."
As Darkness saw that Snowshy had an inquisitive look on her face, he said, "They are losing. Losing their self-confidence, it is only a matter of time before it is gone completely. I fear my coming with you all may have caused this."
Snowshy said, "That's not true, everypony thinks so highly of you."
Darkness said, "Perhaps I need to explain, they may think that way, but deep down inside of each them, they began to think less of themselves. When I started coming with you all, they all have seen my capabilities, my power, my intelligence, and in them seeing this, they started to begin to think, that they are not capable of being able to save or help anypony."
Snowshy was silent as she continued to listen, and Darkness continued, "I can feel it, time is compressing against my chest, I am afraid, this will be my last journey..."
Snowshy with an outburst of emotion, said, "No, it won't be! I see no reason why this is your last one!"
Darkness said, "Forgive me, I wish that was true, but I can see the signs clearly all around me, they are everywhere, it is all warning me, not to keep going on, but I have to......I have to! I cannot let everypony down now, we've all come too far to just turn around and go home, there won't be a home, Bolverk will destroy and enslave all."
Snowshy said sadly, "I don't understand."
Darkness put a hoof on Snowshy's right shoulder, and said, "You will, someday this will all make sense, when you think about this day, it will all come together, I promise you, you will understand the meaning behind the words I speak."
Snowshy said, "Okay, but shouldn't we talk to everypony about what is happening to them?"
Darkness sat back down in his chair, looked at Snowshy, and said, "No, that's not a good idea."
Snowshy said, "Why not? We can't let them continue to feel less of themselves, we have to do something!"
Darkness said, "I understand how you feel, you care about them, as much as I do, but they are the kind of ponies, to where confronting them on such things, would only make things worse. No, this is something they must figure out, and do on their own, but they could still use some support along the way, it is the best thing you can do for them, and I hope you make it through all this, to be there for them, when that time comes, they will need it."
Snowshy said, "But you will be there too, won't you? We can support them together!"
Darkness shook his head, and said, " I wish I could believe that but, you know, maybe you are right, but let's say I don't, who will our friends turn to, when I am gone? They will need you more than ever, because by that time, they will have lost the feeling of confidence altogether, and the journey required to regain it will begin." Darkness was silent for a few minutes, and he then looked up, and said, "I can feel something stirring, something far away, almost as if it was caged, it feels.....different, I know for a fact it is not Bolverk, whatever it is, it is tied to the possible end of the world, and a great battle will ensue." He then looked back at Snowshy, and said, "If our friends, after this all over, and what I fear might be coming, in the ever distant future, if they do not regain their self-confidence, everything that we all do together this day, will be for nothing."
Snowshy asked, "How do you know this?"
Darkness said, "It is just the feeling of premonitions that I'm getting, I feel it in the air, something besides Bolverk is coming. Listen to that storm, and can you too not feel what I do? It is all around us."
Snowshy sat still for a while, and as she sat there, she could feel something was indeed out there, but it felt like wasn't anywhere near them, it felt...almost, like it was outside the planet, coming in. And then Snowshy said, "I can feel it, but what is it exactly?"
Darkness said, "The premonitions to the end of this world, it feels like a familiar massive surge of great evil....I once fought something like that when I was very young.....and I escaped it."
Snowshy called Darkness's attention, and said, "Brother? Are you okay?"
Darkness snapped out of it, and said, "Oh, sorry, I must've spaced out." He looked outside the window, and said, "It is getting late, we should both get some rest, who knows what tomorrow may bring."
Snowshy said, "Okay, that's probably a good idea, see you in the morning."
Darkness said, "Sleep well."
Snowshy said, "You too."
As the dream ended, Snowshy then woke up, went outside, and went to a nearby hill, that was just outside of the camp, and as she came to it, she got on the hill, and just stood there, thinking, and then she said, "Even then, you knew what would happen to them and yourself, didn't you?"
A small wind rose up and a voice behind her said, "For them, yes, for me, well, not exactly, it was more of a hunch, I kind of wished I wasn't right."
Snowshy turned around and saw Darkness, and she said, "Hi brother, it's good to see you again."
Darkness nodded, and said, "Same to you."
Snowshy said, "I thought you had things to attend to, back in the spiritual realm."
Darkness said, "I did, and I have held back the time rifts, but it will not last forever, my power is not like it used to be."
Just then, purple sparks emitted around his left front hoof, and Darkness kneeled over, and said, "Arghh!"
Snowshy went over to him, and she said, "Are you alright?"
Darkness got himself back up, and said, "I'll be fine. I came here for two reasons though: for one, the time rifts, are getting out of hand, meaning Arrovak, is drawing more and more power, time has been severely shortened, we have less time, than I thought. If that wasn't enough of a problem, with me, the time protector, holding back the potential chaotic destruction of the time rifts, and who knows what else, Arrovak's drawing of power, has attracted another one of the Celestial Evil beings."
Snowshy said, "Great, that's all we need, does this being have a name?"
Darkness said, "Yes, besides from Arrovak, this is a very nasty one at that. His name is Parallex, The Chaotic One, he is drawn to things that go out of control. So the more chaotically destructive it is, the higher chances he will show up, in this case, the time rifts. On top of all that, Parallex, has an insatiable hunger to feast on those with power or strong spiritual energy, in other words, unicorns, yourself, and your friends, myself and the others in the spiritual realm included, are at the highest risk because of this, it is like a moth drawn to a flame."
Snowshy said, "Wonderful, can he be stopped?"
Darkness said, "Yes, like all celestial evils, he can be defeated, but with Arrovak already here, that may not be possible, but there may be no need to worry, I doubt Parallex, with escape."
Snowshy asked, "Escape? What do you mean?"
Darkness replied, "Long ago, in this world's very early days, when all the celestial evils still all had their original bodies, for you see, Parallex and the other evils always clashed with each other, the other evils wanted to conquer and rule over the planets and survivors they conquered, all Parallex wanted to do was eat them for their power." Darkness took a breath, and then said, "Parallex's power is frightening, he took on all the other evils with ease, even infamous Darkness Night himself. Understand this, Parallex feeds, and gains power from chaotic things, and destruction, and it is because of this that makes him a frightening and formidable foe indeed. Parallex would've won and killed all the other evils, if it were not for the Gods Of Equestria, and our ancestral heroic predecessors, that took advantage of the evil's infighting, and took them by surprise. Many of the evils were subdued, while others fled the battle, even Darkness Night himself ran off, to appear again as some of the evils of this day, you have already know when Darkness Night returned. However, Parallex, was the only one left standing, and he had grown so powerful after fighting the other evils, that, from what I've been told, even The Gods Of Equestria, and our heroic ancestors, had a heck of a time, fighting him. Eventually, they managed to weaken him enough, that The Gods Of Equestria, then taking no chances, made a portal, and a special prison for Parallex, and sent him through it, banishing him to a world now known as 'Parallex Prison.' It is a chaotic desolate place, nothing lives there, except for Parallex himself. After he was sent though the portal, The Gods Of Equestria then destroyed the portal, and broke time in that realm, so Parallex, would never escape, and be imprisoned, for all eternity."
Snowshy said, "So it is highly unlikely, he will escape?"
Darkness said, "That's right, however, there is always a small chance that Parallex might find a way, with all these time rifts, breaking and distorting time, one of them might accidentally make a connection to that horrible place."
Snowshy said, "Just out of curiosity, but what does Parallex look like? In case he does escape? So everypony and myself will know what to look out for, and to prepare ourselves accordingly?"
Darkness said, "I'm glad you asked, Parallex, is massive, the biggest celestial evil there is, bigger than Arrovak, and you will know it's him when you see him. He looks a lot like a centipede, but way bigger, his eyes are two red slants of pure chaotic energy, his hide, I guess you could say, is blacker than night itself, and is nigh impenetrable. Although just because of his massive size, he is not to be underestimated, he has the ability to create many, many smaller versions of himself, that have the same strengths he does, and they are no less powerful as he is, this is what made him, such a tough foe, although even if he couldn't make clones of himself, it wouldn't matter, he is powerful enough as it is. And what makes him the worst, is again, despite his massive size, he can move as quickly as you and I can, he can also fly, so there is no escape from him, there is no running. Also, Parallex, is very intelligent, cunning, and patient, which makes things worse, so do not try to outwit him, it will be battle of power, pure and simple. Last but not least, if he manages to somehow finally escape, he will probably more than likely, take advantage of the time rifts, and go through one, which will bring him here, all the time rifts, are tied to this world, in this time, because of Arrovak. If any of you see him, I would suggest to run, and deal with him, if possible, after Arrovak has been dealt with."
Snowshy said, "I see, and thank you, I will let the others know."
Darkness said, "Oh! One more thing before I go...."
Snowshy said, "What is it?"
Darkness then gave Snowshy a very pretty silver crown, with white wings coming from each side of the crown.
Snowshy said, "What is this for?"
Darkness replied, "One day, the Sorcerer Pony race will come back, starting with my children, yourself, and any survivors that may yet be out there, and when they do, they will need a leader, a ruler, a queen."
Snowshy was stunned, and couldn't say anything, so Darkness continued, and said, "At first, it was supposed to be me, I found this out, when I still alive, that I was heir to the throne, my mother's diary told me, which took completely by surprise, but I am dead now, so the throne passes on to you, to my closest sibling. It passes on to you, my sister."
Snowshy said, "Why?"
Darkness said, "You have always had such a generous, humble, and compassionate heart, you are always there for those that need your help most. You were always there for me, for you helped me regain my sense of self, and I was and will always be grateful for that. Plus, you've helped save the world quite a few times over, and now, you are helping your friends regain their self-confidence, I can honestly think of nopony better for this honor, it is your destiny now."
Snowshy said, "I-I-I don't know what to say, if you think I will be a good ruler..."
Darkness came up to Snowshy, put a hoof on her shoulder, and said, "I don't think so, I know you will be, you will give the sorcerer pony race everything that our ancestors once had: honor, integrity, compassion, and some much more. You will be the shining star that shows the world, that the sorcerer pony race will help all those that seek out their help, and trade, you will be in legends, songs, history books, perhaps even myths, and who knows what else, and I will be right there, as I will be the one that crowns you, and then from then on, I will be watching on as you lead our race, to absolute glory, and honor."
Snowshy said, "But I am only half-sorcerer pony, remember, I got my horn cut off by my step-parents, remember?"
Darkness shook his head, and said, "A true sorcerer pony is not known for his or her, immortality or power, is was and has always been their personality, their virtues, beliefs, morals, and values, things like that, you are a true sorcerer pony, you always were, and because of that, you no longer will be only half-sorcerer pony physically. So I have one final gift to bestow upon you, and this comes from the Gods Of Equestria themselves." Darkness stood back a little, and waiting for Snowshy to put away from what she had been given, in her pack, and then a bright, golden light emitted from Darkness's horn, and he aimed at Snowshy, and shot the golden light at her, and it quickly surrounded her, engulfed her, and lifted her off the ground, and everything went in a golden white bright light, and Darkness then held a hoof over his eyes, and nothing could be seen. After a few moments, the light died down enough, and as Darkness put his hoof down, and looked back up, he saw Snowshy floating gently back to the ground, and landed softly on the ground, and he saw that she was all still golden bright and the top of her head, was a bit brighter, and then the light faded.
Snowshy said with concern, "What was that?"
Darkness pointed to her head, and said, "Perhaps you should feel your head, your answer lies there."
Snowshy, still a little worried, lifted one of her hooves up to her head, and felt it, and what she felt, shocked her: her horn was back!
Snowshy said, "This cannot be! My horn is back! How is this possible?"
Darkness said, "The Gods Of Equestria have been watching you for a very long time, and they chose to give this back to you, and they also chose you to the be the ruler of the sorcerer ponies, as I have also chosen you to be the ruler of the someday reborn sorcerer ponies."
Snowshy came over to Darkness, and said, "Can I hug you?"
Darkness said, "With you horn back, yes, by all means, do so."
Snowshy engulfed Darkness in tight hug, and with tears in her eyes, and said, "Thank you and the Gods Of Equestria, so much! I will always be grateful! I promise, I won't let you down or the gods! I will be the greatest ruler there ever has been!"
Darkness said, "Don't mention it, I should be thanking you. And I look forward to that day, as I watch over you when that happens."
Snowshy let go, and she backed up a little and said, "You have to go now, don't you?"
Darkness sighed, and said, "Yes, I need to get back, and do what I can to give you all as much time as I can, and hold back those time rifts, for a long as I can." Darkness then began to fade way, and he said, "Until we meet again, sister, good luck to you, and your friends."
Snowshy said, "Thank you, and good luck to you too."
Darkness nodded, and he faded away, and disappeared, as Snowshy went back down the hill, and back into her tent, and went back to sleep, not knowing what tomorrow was going to bring.