Twilight woke up the next morning feeling much better. That battle with the strange dragon-like creature really took its toll on her. She stretched her legs and looked around. She was in her room in Canterlot.
"That was a weird dream. I swore I saw Leo-" Twilight cut herself off when she saw a Leo sitting in the chair adjacent to the bed in a deep slumber. She slowly prodded the stallion awake.
"Huh?" Leo said groggily. He looked in the direction of the prodding and found Twilight with a slightly confused look on her face. "Twilight!" Leo exclaimed as he pulled Twilight into a hug, causing her to blush at the sudden display of affection. "I thought I lost you back there." Leo said as he let go of the mare.
"How long was I unconscious?" Twilight asked and Leo sighed.
"About a day. That Teostra really gave you a beating." Twilight flinched at this statement.
"Teostra? You mean that dragon thing?" She said as she rubbed her forehead with her hoof.
"Yeah. You're lucky to have survived. It broke four of your ribs and one of them punctured your skin. I came by and did what I could for you, but I don't think you will be running around for a while." He said and Twilight grimaced. She then took a look at Leo's forehead. He didn't have a horn anymore.
"Leo, where's your horn?" She asked in disbelief. A pony's horn doesn't just disappear.
"Hm? Oh, I absorbed it. It was making me feel weird." He said as he rubbed his forehead. Twilight dropped the topic. She didn't know how he did it, but she didn't exactly want to know either.
"Where are the others?" She asked, taking in all the information presented to her.
"They're in the throne room. Actually, I think they're expecting you. Would you like to head out?" Leo asked and Twilight nodded. She hopped out of bed and followed Leo as he slung a bag over his shoulder and strode into the hall. As they walked down the hall, they passed a set of windows and stopped to look outside. They saw the aftermath of Leo's battle with the Teostra. Several pillars in the courtyard had toppled and the ground was full of scratch marks and burns, presumably because of the Teostra's claws and fire breath. "I did all that?" He asked with little surprise in his voice. He was very well known for having massive collateral damage in any area he would fight in. It was one of the reasons that the snobby, high-class people never hired him.
"I think so," Answered Twilight. "But don't worry. I think the Princess has it in her to forgive you." She said as she elbowed Leo's shoulder. With those words in mind, Leo continued down the hall, Twilight following close. They soon reached the throne room and were greeted by relieved faces and a couple of hugs.
"You had us worried there for a second, Twi'" Rainbow said as she fluttered to the ground. Before Twilight could say anything, she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug from Pinkie.
"I was sooo worried, Twilight! I thought you were dead!" Pinkie said in an all too happy voice. Twilight could only wheeze in pain as she felt a couple of her ribs break again.
"Pinkie.... I can't.... Breathe.... My ribs..." Twilight choked out as Pinkie let go with a gasp. Leo sighed and trotted up to Twilight and put his hoof on her crushed ribs. His hoof glowed and Twilight's ribs began fixing themselves. Everyone in the room looked at Pinkie and she smiled apologetically. Celestia trotted up to the group and spoke up.
"Leo, thank you for taking care of my student. For that, you have my eternal gratitude." She said as Leo looked on.
"It was nothing, Princess. I simply did what was right." He said with little tremble in his voice. He was already used to receiving thanks from the extremely low amount of nobles he knew that had a decent attitude. Before anymore words of thanks could reach his ears, Leo was tackled by a familiar pegasus filly.
"Leo, that was so cool how you beat that Teostra! I was like 'GO Leo!'" Runa said with glee as she buried her face in his chest. Leo noticed that she was fully dressed in re-sized and ponified versions of her clothes. He shrugged it off. "It doesn't really make much difference. He thought to himself. Celestia cleared her throat to get the attention of everyone in the room.
"Now, Leo. I think it's time you give us an explanation as to what kind of beast you fought yesterday." She said and the stallion in question nodded.
"Alright. That creature was a monster from my world known as a Teostra. It is extremely territorial and does not like being cast into a situation it is not familiar with. Which is probably why it was so violent." Leo explained.
"I see. But what was it doing here?" Celestia asked.
"I believe that my friend can explain. Cierra? Would you mind introducing yourself?" Leo said out loud, causing the ponies to stare at him awkwardly. A few seconds later, a shy voice came from nowhere.
"H-Hello...." She said meekly. The ponies jumped at the voice.
"Who's there?" Celestia said, her horn lighting up.
"Princess, calm down. She's not really here." Leo said as he glared at the roof, seemingly where the voice was coming from.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow asked.
"She's just projecting her voice from our world." Leo said and he glared at the ceiling. "Now, care to explain?" He said, the slightest amount of venom coating his words. Cierra gulped and prepared her explanation.
"Um.... You guys asked for a demonstration, so..... I brought a Teostra through the portal...." She managed to say from her end, somehow feeling their glares. She quickly said her next sentence. "I wasn't thinking clearly, okay!?" She shouted, catching the ponies off guard. Leo however, was unfazed by the outburst.
"Alright, what were you doing?" Leo said and she fell silent. She stood back from the mic in front of her and a blush spread on her face. "What am I going to do? How am I supposed to tell him that I was watching porn??" She thought.
"I, uh... Was playing a video game! Yeah!" She said as she hid behind her nervous laugh. Leo was unconvinced. Now, unlike most people who would love to squeeze the truth out of a person without saying it, Leo just got straight to the point. He knew that Cierra took pride in her work and she would never play a video game in the middle of an experiment, so there was only one other answer.
"......You were watching porn, weren't you?" He said with a flat tone and a straight face, which only made Cierra blush more. Her long silence was all the answer he needed. "I'll take that as a yes." He said, his tone exactly the same and his face as stiff as a rock. The ponies were locked in this extremely awkward silence and only Leo could break it. For some reason, the ponies thought that preserving the silence would be best. Rainbow and Pinkie were covering their mouths, trying their hardest to suppress their laughter. Rarity and Fluttershy were blushing furiously. Applejack and Twilight gave awkward stares. And Celestia chuckled quietly. Although she wanted to hear more of their arguments, Celestia decided it was time to get more answers.
"So, Leo. Your skills in fighting that monster were exceptionally good." Celestia began, but Leo cut her off.
"Your Highness, if you are going to ask me to join your personal guard, forget it. I'm not joining. I have my own problems to worry about." He said and the white alicorn chuckled.
"I was simply going to ask you how you got that kind of power. I must admit, even I would have had trouble dealing with that thing. How did you do it?" She asked with a giggle.
"Oh, it was nothing really. Just some swordplay and a little bit of Dark Magic." He said. The last part of his sentence caught her attention.
"Dark Magic?" She asked.
"You don't know what Dark Magic is? Well then, I'll have to educate you." He said as Celestia and Twilight leaned in close to listen to the lesson. "Dark Magic is different from the magic you use everyday. It's different in the fact that it cannot be learned through study alone." Twilight cringed slightly, but kept on listening.
"With spells like Levitation and Teleportation, you can learn that through study and practice. But with any sort of Dark spell, you need not only natural talent, but sheer determination to keep yourself from killing yourself." He said and Twilight raised her hoof.
"Yes, you with the purple hair." He said.
"What do you mean by sheer determination?" She asked.
"That's a good question. I meant that you need the determination to continue living past all the pain and suffering that comes with learning Dark Magic. That's right. You become capable of Dark Magic depending on your natural talent and how much you've suffered." These words set Twilight's brain into overdrive. Her neurons fired off and they set paths that connected all the clues. Leo must have suffered the equivalent of Tartarus to be so good at Dark Magic.
"Wait... So that means...." Twilight said and Leo smirked.
"You finally caught on, huh? Yep. I'm so good because I suffered some of the worst experiences in the world." Leo said, his mouth forming a frown as he recalled all that made him one of the most powerful Dark Mages in existence. A really rough childhood. His parents' sacrifice for him. His brother's death at his own hands. His repeated failures at protecting his loved ones. Being imprisoned and tortured by the very organization he worked for. All of this added to the fact that he was once the vessel of the Governor of Darkness himself. All in all, a suffering buffet for a man who never deserved it in the first place. The ponies all fell silent, giving Leo a few concerned glances. Leo caught this and responded.
"No, no. It's fine. You don't have to worry. I'm over it already." He said, lying through his smile. None of the ponies bought this, of course, but they decided that it was a delicate topic and to drop it. "Now, is that all or do you have more questions?" The ponies collectively shook their heads and Leo understood. He turned his back to them and walked towards a random door. Moments later, he emerged with a confused expression on his face.
"Umm.... Where's the bathroom?" He asked with a grin on his face. The ponies all broke out into laughter, despite the rather dark mood that was set by Leo a little while ago.
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With his business all taken care of, he met the ponies in the dining hall. He walked through the large double doors and beheld the grand dining room. The windows were crystal clear glass that let the light of the late morning sun pass through, causing the ceramic tiles on the floor to shine like metal. The dining table itself was a long table that was more akin to a meeting table than a dining table. The Mane Six were seated at the sides of the table and at the head sat Celestia, patiently waiting for Leo.
"Ah, Leo. Are you done with your business?" She asked as a unicorn stallion came through the door behind her, carrying eight plates that were covered by silver cloches. The stallion set each of the plates down in front of the ponies and removed the cloches, revealing a rather simple serving of salad. The stallion was about to set the last plate down in front of Leo, but he held his hoof up, signaling him to retract the offer.
"Yes, Princess. I'm done." He said as he sat down at the table, watching the others eat their food. He noticed that Irune, Runa and Emily weren't at the table. "Hey, where are the girls?" He asked.
"If you're looking for your friends, they went out because they wanted to go for a walk or something." Twilight said. Leo nodded as he heard the rapid clopping of hooves coming from the double doors. He craned his neck to the sound and his eyes widened at what he saw.
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Luna awoke from her midday nap rather early. She sat up on her bed, stretching and yawning the drowsiness away. As soon as she finished, she hopped out of bed and wore her regalia, which sat on a nightstand beside her bed. With her crown and chestplate on, she strode out the hall. As she walked towards the dining hall, guards saluted her and servants bowed. She only offered a wave and a smile as a response. Being trapped on the moon for 1000 years and then quickly returning to the lifestyle of a princess was a real shock to her, so she wasn't exactly ready to socialize just yet.
She soon reached the windows that looked over the courtyard and felt her jaw drop. The entire courtyard was destroyed. Many of the pillars that supported the balcony above had collapsed along with the balcony itself. The ground was filled with burn and slash marks, which the staff were trying to remove. She quickly snapped out of her stupor and dashed down the hall to the throne room. She bucked the double doors open and called out her sister's name with the Canterlot Royal Voice, causing the reinforced windows to crack slightly under the pressure. As soon as she heard the silence, she ran towards the only other place that she knew her sister would be: the dining hall.
She again bucked the doors open, catching everypony in the rooms' attention. Leo's eyes widened. There was no time to think. All he could do was act on instinct.
"LUNA!!!" He cried as he leaped from the chair, hooves outstretched towards the alicorn standing in the doorway. Luna reacted on instinct as well. She lit up her horn and she teleported behind the stallion as he flew past. Leo's expression quickly changed to shocked in less than a heartbeat. But before his facial muscles could make the expression complete, he slammed head-first into the door, imbedding his horn in the wood. It took him a full three seconds to register what had just happened. "Agh! Get me out of here!" He shouted as he began to try to free his horn, to no avail. Rainbow and Pinkie broke out in laughter as he tried to free himself, only to have his horn get stuck more. Twilight teleported him out just before he pulled again, causing him to slam into the table. Rainbow and Pinkie laughed again and Twilight gave an apologetic smile to the stallion who was currently lying on the floor, possibly racked with pain. He rose with a groan, trying to make his eyes stop looking in two directions at once.
"Ugh.... What the- Luna!? What was that for!?" He said as he rubbed the base of his horn. The mare in question grit her teeth as she fired up her horn.
"How do you know me!?" She demanded as her horn grew bright. Leo gave a confused look and realized her situation.
"Luna.... Don't you remember me?" He asked as he got to his hooves, his face changing from annoyed to concerned immediately. Luna's face, however, remained the same. Although, her horn's light seemed to fade.
"What are you talking about? I've never met you before in my life!" She said and Leo cringed.
"It seems that the rumors are true... She's really forgotten about me..." He thought to himself. If she had forgotten him, then there was only one way to make her remember.
"I see..... Well then, Your Highness. Would you mind doing me a favor?" He said, his tone somber. If this didn't work, she might never remember him. Luna's face changed from aggressive to suspicious.
"And what would this favor be?" She asked. Leo opened his bag and pulled out the soulstone necklace. Luna saw the item and felt a twinge in her temples.
"What is this sensation? I feel like I've seen this necklace before..." She thought to herself as she studied it.
"I would like you to wear this necklace." Leo said as he hoofed the necklace to her. Surprisingly, she took it without hesitation. Normally, she would have to reject it, but she felt like this particular item was important to her. Like it held the most important things in the world to her.
"Very well." She said as she levitated the necklace until it was securely around her neck. The moment she let go of it, her head began to throb. She lost her balance and she slumped into a sitting position on the ground.
"Luna! What did you do to her!?" Celestia demanded, but Leo stopped her.
"I assure you, Princess. All will be clear in a few seconds." He said and Luna began to convulse. A dark purple rune glowed underneath her as she was levitated in the air, the wind lashing out around her. Her eyes glowed white as her wings grew to the length of her body. Her fur started to turn black as the rune glowed with more intensity, the wind quickly building up into a miniature tornado. The rune shot magical ribbons into the air, wrapping around Luna and forming a ball of condensed energy. The ball quickly grew in brightness from dim to blinding as it released a shockwave that dispersed the winds around it. The ball opened like a blossoming flower to reveal Nightmare Moon, her eyes closed as she hovered to the ground and landed with a graceful step. This Nightmare Moon was different, however. Instead of her mane and tail being a sea of stars, they were masses of dark blue fire. As she landed, the rune below her shattered and she opened her cat-like eyes. She looked around the room, not saying a word as she observed the extremely shocked expressions of the ponies.
She then looked at the necklace that rested on her chestplate. Her gaze wandered down to her hooves. She closed her eyes and willed the darkness that covered her to recede. Her fur returned to its original blue and her wings returned to normal. Her mane and tail's flames died and they returned to their original sea of stars. The darkness converged to the soulstone that now inhabited her chestplate and entered it, turning it a dark blue. She touched the stone with her hoof and spoke.
"I....I remember...I remember everything!" She exclaimed as she threw her hooves into the air. She quickly looked at Leo, who had a warm smile on his face. "Leo! Thank you so much!" She said as she gave him a hug that seemed to last forever. Leo returned it.
"But that's not all, Luna!" He said as she let go. He reached into the bag and pulled out the black cape. Luna quickly grabbed the garment and smiled.
"My cape! Thanks!" She said. Before the two friends could get any more acquainted, Twilight cut in.
"Wh-What...? WHAT THE BUCK JUST HAPPENED!?" She shouted. Now, she wasn't very known to swear, but this situation definitely called for it. Her outburst was followed by more from the other ponies in the room, including Celestia. Leo gave a look to Luna.
"Luna, I think it's time you tell them what you were really doing for almost a thousand years..." He said and Luna nodded. She cleared her throat and prepared her Canterlot Royal Voice.
"SILENCE!" She roared. And silence there was. "Everypony, I have something I want to share with you. Something I should have told you long ago, but was unable to remember." She began as the ponies listened intently.
"The first thing I want to say is that the seal that kept me on the moon was disabled after a hundred years. I was going to go back to Equestria, but I was approached and given a new duty." She said, capturing the ponies' attention with little effort.
"I'm going to skip all that and jump right to the second part. The second is that I am no longer just an alicorn. I.... I'm an Angel of Death." She said and all the ponies' jaws hit the floor simultaneously, creating several dents in the already damaged floor. Leo snickered.
"Hehe.... No surprise there." He thought with a smile. He just loved seeing a person's shocked expressions.