//------------------------------//
// Revelations 
// Story: Cassandra's Tangled Adventure 
// by Acceptable_trash 
//------------------------------//


White Tail Woods - White Tail Village
Present time



Shining Armor stood stunned as he stared at the spire of dark stone sunken before him, feeling his unease of the crystal grow with every passing second. Earlier he had left a group of his guards behind to break apart the stone while he spoke with the mayor, leaving a powerful shield spell around the area to prevent any civilians from harm should the stone attempt to drain any more ponies of their magic.

After the incident with Princess Luna he didn't want to risk anything. Which is why he had ordered his guards to work strictly without magic around the dark crystal. After all the only reason Luna was even able to walk away after being drained by the stone was because she was a alicorn, she could handle things like this. But if any of his guards were to go though the same thing, he wasn't sure if they would make it out okay.

However, when he had returned one of his guards had informed him that all of their efforts were ineffective, that no matter what the crystal wouldn't break. It was a strange thought, he had remembered that the dark crystal Sombra had used was fairly easy to take down with the right tools, how was this any different?

After observing their efforts for a while he had ordered Spear Tip, their strongest earth pony guard, to try and break the stone. Perhaps more strength was all they needed.

After about thirty minutes, Shining realized he was wrong, brute force wasn't getting them anywhere closer to at least chipping the rock.

Faced with only a few options, he then decided that enchanted tools were their next best bet despite his worry of how they would react with the stone. And so the next few hours had consisted of all his guards attacking the crystal with everything they had, varying from unified ponies attacking with a variety of magically enforced physical attacks to with with enchanted tools and even swords.

Time and time again the stone had remained resilient, unbreakable, and unresponsive, making Shining question just what exactly this dark crystal could be made of. It couldn't be the same kind of crystal Sombra used, again, those could break pretty easily with tools. No, this had to something very different, something more than just a vessel for fear magic.

Hence why Shining Armor felt so uneasy, because not only was this an evil dark crystal it was an unbreakable dark crystal that could possibly be an even larger danger then he originally thought.

How wonderful.

Shining Armor resisted the urge to shudder. When the earthquake happened and Princess Luna was attacked by the evil stone he was afraid for the Princess, fearing for a moment that the worst had happened. But thanks to his quick thinking he cut off the connection to the evil crystal and prevented any more damage, allowing Princess Luna to be well enough to fly to Canterlot and inform her of the situation.

How a shield of magic cut off the current that was stealing magic was beyond him but he didn't want to question the logic.

It had worked, and should the need arise he could only hope that it would work again.

None of this still gave him any sort of clue as for what he should do. Yes, the scientists in Canterlot could probably figure out what this stone is and how to completely neutralize it. But that was the problem, they couldn't send the stone to Canterlot, the scientists would have to come to the stone which was in an area where the monster was, making the place a disaster just waiting to happen.

And if the scientists had to come to the stone then that meant that he had to not only protect a bunch of civilians but also search the forest for a monster skilled in dark magic at the same time.

Shining Armor sighed and turned away, walking towards the town hall. Of everything that could have interrupted his vacation, he wasn't expecting this.

Cadance was NOT going to be happy, maybe a bit understanding but NOT HAPPY.

Celestia have mercy on his soul.

Shining Armor frowned. Wasn't she the one who sent him here in the first place?

Ugh, somepony have mercy on his soul.



Canterlot Castle - Royal Study
Present Time




Celestia watched as Luna read the letter, taking note of her changing expressions. From what she could see she was perplexed and distressed with its contents. A reassuring thought, to know that her sister was coming to the same conclusion she did.

The night Princess continued reading as her sister observed, unaware her face was betraying her emotion.

Luna felt as though everything she knew was turned upside down. The very idea that one of her peaceful ponies killed a griffin in cold blood was like being splashed a bucket of water while half asleep. It was a shock, even she in all her years had never come to the point of killing her opponent in cold blood. And the thought that one of her captains, sompony who was chosen for their integrity, murdered another out of spite?!

She may have not have been around for the last few centuries but she was certain that killing in any situation was highly frowned upon and taught as unnecessary in the guard. That was the reason why there had been no casualties in the invasion of Canterlot, because lethal force was only in the most extreme of circumstances and the changelings were only aiming to capture, not kill.

And then down came the other horseshoe, the fact that not only had one of her ponies slayed another, but that this creature brought back the dead and also killed the attacker in such a horrible fashion that words could never hope to properly convey the image.

But then there was the fact that this creature never made the first move. Based on her report of its appearance in White Tail Village and the letter held in her magic, this being was never the one to lash out first. The phrase 'An eye for an eye' Twilight had written was possibly the best description of this creature's character so far, and the idea that a being of such a strange appearance had also possibly grown without a moral compass like Discord also helped to further explain its behavior.

Unlike Discord however, it had apparently made friends, otherwise why would it bother with helping out another? Why would it enter such a fury that it would do such a thing against one that wasn't itself? When the ponies of White Tail had  struck our first, hunting it down like an animal the moment they learned of its existence, in its eyes, the use of fear magic could be considered an appropriate punishment.

Luna, despite her anger for the effect of fear magic on the innocent like Icy Breeze, could understand it's behavior. She remembered how much she wanted to strike down the hippogrif nobility when they regarded her as a attack animal held back by her sister.

She also remembered how she once wanted to cast eternal night on equestrian just because she had felt that she was alone.

She could sympathise.

The use of dark magic, the very thing that had cemented the idea of evil also presented the possibility of misunderstanding. When she herself had fallen into the darkness when she felt alone could this creature also have done the same? Could it have accepted the lies of the only other being that didn't immediately attack, but instead sympathize so as to trick the creature?

Luna knew the answer, she had faced the same problem herself.

If this was true, then the rationality of this creature would soon run out and it will become a pawn to the darkness, a simple tool in the destruction of everything it approaches if the growing evil is not quickly purged. Luna had also nearly been lost entirely to the darkness, lulled in by its sweet words of honey, and nearly ended the world in an eternal night.

Luna closed her eyes briefly and sighed. Were it not for her sister she would have succeeded and also brought fear into the hearts of little ones. Ironic, how a protector of dreams could become a source of nightmares.

After a few moments of continued silence Luna finally lowered the scroll and sighed. "This is... troubling to say the least, we need a plan of action and we need it now. Before any more damage is done."

Celestia nodded. "I agree, never before have we faced such a demon so willing to kill innocents. It must be defeated before any more of our little ones perish at its hooves."

Luna raised a brow, resisting the urge to tell "are you serious!". "Did we not read the same letter? The creature only attacked out of anger after one of its own was slain without mercy. The best course of action is to use the elements and purge this creature of its darkness the same way I was."

Celestia blinked at Luna, faint wrinkles of a frown slowly forming at the corners of her lips. "There is nothing to purge, this is a being of complete darkness, I will not let this monster come anywhere near my dear student."

Luna didn't bother to hide her own frown. "I trust Twilight and her friends. If they believe that this being could be a misguided soul like I once was then I shall trust their judgment."

Celestia allowed the frown to shift into a full scowl. "They are young Luna, they know not of the monsters of this world, even Twilight acknowledges that she cannot judge this situation."

"And we can?" Luna growled. "You once believed that I was so beyond reach that you banished me to the moon for millennia with the elements, and yet when Twilight and her friends used them I was restored."

"You twisted the elements to your will and imprisoned me in my own sorrow, but Twilight used them to free me. Why should we not let harmony decide the fate of this creature?"

"Because we have no understanding of what it is!" Celestia almost yelled. "For all we know, this demon could be a parasitic force like the plunder vines, it could drain the elements and render them useless forever!"

"There are too many variables, sister! Too many unknowns! Only the most powerful light magic can be used against such a beast, least we accidentally grant it a boon of power like Amore once did to Sombra!"

"Are you suggesting we destroy it?! Twilight and Rainbow Dash are asking that we consider friendship and you wish to obliterate one like I once was out of existence!?"

"NO!" Celestia shouted, standing up suddenly and looming over her sister. "I am saying that we rid the world of a monster that had dared to lay a hoof on one of our ponies, I am saying that we do what is right!"

Luna snarled and also stood up. "IT ONLY ATTACKED IN RETALIATION! OUR PRECIOUS PONIES HUNTED DOWN THIS CREATURE LIKE A DOG FOR NO GOOD REASON OTHER THEN ITS STRANGE APPEARANCE AND MURDERED A GRIFFIN FOR LESS!"

"THERE CAN BE NO FRIENDSHIP! NOT WITH A MONSTER! NOT WITH CREATURE OF DARKNESS! NOT WITH ONE WHO SLAYS OUR PONIES!"

"HE DREW BLOOD FIRST! BASED ON THIS LETTER THE CAPTAIN WASN'T EVEN AWARE OF WHAT THIS CREATURE WAS BEFORE ATTACKING BLINDLY! LEADING TO THE DEATH OF ANOTHER! HE CAUSED HIS OWN DEATH!"

"ENOUGH!" Celestia flared her wings and ignited her horn, standing over Luna as she glared down at her. "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THIS SITUATION!"

Luna flinched back slightly before her eyes narrowed. "I know nothing? I, who was once in the same place as the creature. I, who once also embraced the darkness because it was the only one who stayed with me, I, who was also willing to kill another pony for nothing more than simple anger?"

"I, who was once a creature of darkness myself?"

Celestia softened her gaze lightly, tucking away her wings and cutting off the magic in her horn. "That isn't true. I was there, I love you, Luna. I always have."

Luna chuckled darkly and stepped up on the table, standing eye to eye with her sister. "Oh? I never realized that the words 'get over it' were words of love, sister. I never thought that pushing me aside and banishing me instead of reaching out was love. I was alone, Tia. I was always considered second best, always the spare, the runt, second in power, and one who could never be your equal."

"Luna-"

"And you never told me otherwise, never assured me that my fears were false, I had to find love in darkness for it was the only one who acknowledged me. And yet you tell me that I know nothing? That I cannot sympathize with someone who is also cast out? That I cannot understand someone who is alone and afraid, that I share no similarities with another that has reached out to the darkness when it was the only one who would welcome me with open arms?"

Luna snorted. "You say that you know what is right, and yet is was Twilight who saved me. You say you know what's best, and yet Twilight is the only one who sees through the changeling Queen's disguise."

Celestia opened her mouth to retort but was cut off.

"You never even apologized to dear Twilight after the wedding, did you? Never bothered to ask forgiveness after cutting her down so horribly."

Celestial nearly took a step back, her sister was right, she had made many mistakes, nearly all in haste without looking at the evidence.

"Well then what do you suggest, Luna? We still can't rush in without more background knowledge on this creature and we can't let it run rampant amongst our little ones."

Luna smirked and stepped off the table. "We already know plenty. We know that this creature has bonded with darkness and only attacks in retaliation, and we also will soon know of its magic type once a sample of the stone is delivered to our laboratories for analysis. All we need is to wait for the results and assemble the element bearers."

"And of course, finish reading these books in case they have anything of use." Luna added as she walked away, presumably to another part of her library.

Celestial sighed wearily. "Luna?".

Her sister paused. "Yes?"

"I... I apologize for not recognizing your pain sooner, I should have been a better sister."

Luna didn't turn to face Celestia. "Thank you. Now start reading we're wasting time."