//------------------------------// // The Culprit // Story: The Black Cross // by Ruchiyoto //------------------------------// You are Black Cross a brave unicorn finds himself trapped inside a box with no windows or doors, however he is not the only one, Twilight Sparkle is with him. What happens next? Black Cross wakes up. You see that you are in a room made of stone, it looks like a library, but more so. It was too dark and you could barely see anything. You were too tired to think clearly when you fell asleep, and now that you woke up, your eyes hurt from being closed for so long. You hear a soft voice from a corner, you recognize the voice, it sounded like Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. She smiles at you as she notices your presence. "Hey there, I'm glad you're awake," she says. "Twilight, what are you doing here, alone in the dark?" said Black Cross. She doesn't answer right away, instead she just continues to smile. "I came here to ask you something" Twilight added. "Really? What's your question then?" asked Black Cross. "Well, I mean...you know how you said you had some sort of spell book somewhere?" Twilight replied. "Yeah, I think I may know a few spell books around here, although I don't recognize this place." said Black Cross. "Oh, well if you want to get them back, we can do that. But first, let me show you my home." said Twilight as she walks over to her bed and sits down on it. Black Cross agrees to follow Twilight around. The rest of the day goes by fairly uneventful, you find yourself walking through a forest and eventually come across a small cottage. "Why am I going this way? Doesn't Fluttershy live here?" said Black Cross as he walked into the cottage and seeing Fluttershy sleeping on the floor. "Ah! It's you!" she shouted. "Why were you sleeping on the floor?" asked Black Cross. "Because I have a bad back and I couldn't sleep standing up." said Fluttershy. "So you're saying you wanted to talk to me about something? said Black Cross. There was a pause. Black Cross waited for her response. In the mean time, you looked at her but she seemed troubled. "No, I just thought you'd be nice to me since you were the only pony who ever spoke to me before." she replied. "What does that mean?" asked Black Cross. "I've always been nice to everyone." she added. "Okay, so tell me then, what is it?" You giggled how amusing this conversation is to you, "Well then, carry on." "Um...it's nothing..." said Fluttershy. "Very well, I'll see you later. I'm going to see Twilight Sparkle and help her searching for a spell book that she asked me to." he added. "Wait, you're going to go with her too?" asked Fluttershy. "Yes, I need your help because I don't think you realize the danger we face. I suppose that is why I came here, to ask you for help. Twilight needs us." said Black Cross. "I didn't want you to go with her, I was worried about you. said Fluttershy. "I'm fine, really. I'm a brave unicorn and I can handle myself pretty well." said Black Cross. "But you are a friend of Twilight's, isn't that enough?" said Fluttershy. "Of course, Fluttershy. So please don't worry anymore." said Black Cross reassuring her. You sighed in relief and think to yourself but forgot how Fluttershy had always seems to care about you. You thank her for everything she does. "Thank you, my love. Thank you." she says. "Well, I must be going. I think you should stay here where it's safe. Now I'm going to be helping Twilight with her research." said Black Cross as you closed the door shutting it behind you. "Oh, okay. Bye now." she murmured. You leave the cottage and head towards the forest. The sun is setting and twilight has already fallen over Ponyville when you arrive at the library. "Hey, Twilight! It's almost bedtime!" he shouted. "Yeah, I know. Let's get some rest." said Twilight whilst laying beside her bed. You then wake up and find yourself back in your cottage. "How did I get here? Was I sleep walking again?" asked Black Cross while wandering around. Fluttershy enters with a smirk on her face before getting him up on his feet, "No, I got a new friend." said Fluttershy. "What do you mean?" asked Black Cross. "I met a girl named Flutterchia yesterday. She seemed nice." she says. You shook your head trying to remember what happened, but no luck - instead just added a response to her comment, "Never mind" - but then you recall hearing that name once, - "Huh? Oh no, not again." "What happened?" asked Fluttershy. "She said she wanted to play tag with me." said Black Cross. "Tag?" asked Fluttershy out of curiosity. "It's a game where you tag and you run after them, I guess." said Black Cross. "That sounds fun" said Fluttershy. "Anyways, I gotta go, I'll see you later Fluttershy until I get back." said Black Cross. "Okay then, bye." she says as you left the cottage and start walking towards the forest. A few minutes pass and you hear a familiar voice behind you. That voice. It sounded Emala Jiss, she roams around the forest. Yes, it was her. "How come you're not answering?" There was a pause, she stood their silently as if something was not right, "Because I can't remember your name." she says. "It's me Black Cross, don't you remember me Emala? You used to call me Honey." She was confused or might have forgotten as she began shaking her head "Honey? No, I haven't seen you before. Who are you?" You didn't know how to respond so your brain just blurred out words "Just another pony like Fluttershy." "So you don't remember me..? That's just rude, you forgot your own friend." said Black Cross. Emala wasn't sure what Black Cross was talking about so she corrected him with a different response, "Well if you really want to forget someone, you should ask them directly. But since we're friends now, let's make this quick." she says. "Alright, well it's nice to meet you (again) lady Jiss, I mean Emala Jiss." said Black Cross. "Nice to meet you too Black Cross, I'm sorry for forgetting your name." said Emala. You were all right with her despite not remember your name "It's okay. I forgive you." "Thank you, I forgive you as well." she says as you and Emala Jiss part ways. As soon as you walk away from her cottage, a strange feeling comes over you. "I feel uneasy around Emala sometimes, but she makes me smile." he takes a breath and releases a lot of air trying to calm down, "Yeah, I think she does. Anyway, I have to find my way back home." A few hours later you arrive at the edge of the forest. "Ahhh home at last." he says. The next day you return to the cottage. The door is open and there on the table is a note with your name written on it. Questioning who wrote this letter to you. "I know who wrote it! He's a human boy called Ral! said Flutterchatter. Flutterchatter was some character who randomly showed up. The note said "Stay away from Emala Jiss, she's mine, if you ever come near her I'll kill you" from Ral. You were shocked "What?! Why would he write that to me?" he says, not knowing the whole situation. "He doesn't know anything about you, he just wants you to stay away from Emala Jiss!" Flutterchatter added. "I think Ral is jealous of me, I was just talking to Emala, we're just friends." said Black Cross. "Jealous? Really? Then why did he write that letter to you?" asked Flutterchatter. "Maybe he's mad that I put a spell on Emala Jiss so that she could remember me next time before she forgets." he added. "Really? So what does that mean exactly?" asked Flutterchatter. "Well, I guess it means that she's got some sort of memory problem or something." said Black Cross. You think to yourself. You don't need to worry about this guy, however if Ral ever were to come across you at some point, your best option would probably just knock him out cold. "Oh no you won't! If you were going to do such a thing, then I'd be the first one to help!" he shouted, Flutterchatter seemed worried, although it wasn't their business so you ignored the warning. "This has nothing to do with you, I think you should stay out of this. I'm going to see Emala Jiss today and have a word with this Ral guy." he says while stumbling upon the door before leaving Flutterchatter stops you. "What?! But I thought you said you wanted to talk to her!" asked Flutterchatter. "You're right. I shouldn't use violence against someone that hates me, and I certainly don't want Emala see me fight Ral over her." said Black Cross, but Flutterchatter could not accept it for some reason or perhaps they were just trolling you. "But...but I can't stand by while you go off and hurt another person!" said Flutterchatter. "You're right. I should just talk to Emala and then leave but if Ral ever does try to hurt me then I won't hurt anyone." said Black Cross, however Flutterchatter was not fully convinced, in fact rather being hypocritical about this situation. "No, you won't! You've already told me twice now that you're not going to harm anyone and I believe you!" said Flutterchatter before releasing him. You agreed not to harm anyone, that includes Ral "Alright. I understand." he says. For some reason, you had an idea, but perhaps Flutterchatter could help you on this quest, so he gives you a point of view on the subject "Thank you for your cooperation!" "Yeah, yeah, thanks." said Black Cross. You decided to go back to the forest and visit Emala Jiss once more, "Okay, I'll meet you in the forest." he exits. It seemed that Flutterchatter was okay with this, in fact they only responded with one word, "Goodbye!" before actually turning away, but not sure if Flutterchatter has to do with this or is going to do something about it. You entered the forest and you see Emala's cottage, "Emala Jiss!" he shouted in excitement. "Hello there!" It was a response that came from someone you know, which ironically - the simulation must have picked up the wrong character, instead it decided to put Flutterchatter back in the spotlight. "Are you Emala Jiss?" asked Black Cross. "Yes, are you?" You assumed this was a plan that you made up with Flutterchatter, perhaps they are trying to disguise themselves as Emala Jiss into tricking Ral and in attempt to piss him off. "No, it's just me Black Cross. This plan is going to work well, I just hope it does. Then once Ral comes over, you already know what to do when he shows up." It would seemed that Flutterchatter was part of this, but it turns out that the simulation decided to make up their mind and just walk away "Hmmm, yes I suppose you would say that. Well good luck with that." "Thanks." said Black Cross. Flutterchatter just shouts at you for no reason, "Go away!" he exits. Suddenly Ral appears noticing that Black Cross is talking to Emala Jiss which is Flutterchatter in disguised as her. "Black Cross, you're still here? What happened to you?" asked Ral You realized Ral was in your presence, and quickly came up with an excuse to avoid getting caught or so it appeared to be that way, "Umm I fell down and hit my head. Wait, aren't you Ral?" "Well I am, but I was in the middle of something else. So how did you get here so fast?" asked Ral looking suspicious. Without hesitance, you replied with a simple response to their question "I teleported with my magic." "Really? That's pretty impressive. And why didn't you tell me about it before?" asked Ral. You didn't know what to say or how to respond to that question considering that Ral was the one who sent you a death threat in a note earlier. It would embarrass you to say something stupid, but you tried the best way to come up with an excuse, "Because I figured you wouldn't believe me." Fortunately for Ral, he didn't say anything to that response but he accepted it anyway, "Also, I came out here to talk to you, you sent me a note and you said some things, you were threatening me if I ever come near Emala Jiss, is that true?" asked Black Cross. "Oh no, I never threatened you. It's just that I'm worried about you and I want to make sure you're safe." asked Ral. It would seem that he is making an excuse acting as if nothing happened or perhaps he never wrote that note in the first place. You were not convinced instead you lead you to more questions, "But you just wrote to me that if I ever talk to her, you were going to kill me." "That's not true at all. I thought you'd be happy to hear from me again." said Ral. Again, you felt as if Ral was making up excuses and lies about this situation, it was even beginning to bore you. "Well I guess I will, but I really don't like this plan anymore," - he shook his head thinking this could have been set up by someone else, - "So if you didn't wrote that note to me, then who did?" "Who do you think?" asked Ral. "Me." he says. "Oh...well I can only assume it was Black Cross." Ral claimed. "What?! How could you possibly know that?!" asked Black Cross. You were lost with words, and redacted your conclusions whether if Ral truly or did not sent you a note, "Never mind." "Very well, I have nothing further to add to this conversation. Good day." You leave the forest and return home. You find that Black Cross has disappeared. The sun was settling and you sighed in relief that everything is fine now. The End.