Dark... The colt's thoughts perfectly described the scenery before him, being the exact opposite of the white expanse where God decided to meet him. He attempted to look at his hooves, but he couldn't move at all, not a single tinge of life could be felt throughout his body. It would've surged a tidal wave of panic into him if he didn't feel so calm.
It should've been concerning, yet he couldn't care about the unearthly experience that plagued him. He wanted to panic, to squirm for even the slightest bit of movement and break out of the place, but it was like his mind wasn't his own anymore. The colt was trapped, and he had to deal with it. For a few moments at least, since a bright light lit up in front of him which only grew larger and larger. It was only until the light fully enveloped the colt's vision that he was able to blink.
But once those eyes shut, the space around him must have immediately shifted as Darklo's next sight at the place became something familiar.
He was looking up at the sky, riddled with clouds that overtook the sun and from the corners of his eyes, he could catch glimpses of buildings built from sandstone.
Okay, this is pretty trippy. Then again, Twilight would probably call this hysteria- wait... Twilight, Spike! Darklo instantly shot up from laying down and stood upright. Wait. That didn't feel right. He exclaimed as the colt definitely felt like he used his forehoof to bring him on two legs. He had thought he got out of that habit by now, but he had no time to think. Twilight and Spike might be in critical condition and he had to get back to Froggy Bottom Bog and fast.
He instinctively smacked his cheeks to get himself together, until the feeling of miniature nails and multiple protrusions scratched his skin. He paused, slowly looking downwards to see his body.
He had hands. He had legs. And his Conduit uniform too. He couldn't believe it.
"I'm... I'm myself again!" Darklo, or Lux in this sense, took a spin-take and inspected himself before watching his fingers curl in and out. "I really am me again... but how?"
Reasons were way out of believable explanation, but he had to lay them out. And so he did, while pacing back and forth on a concrete path and tapping his chin, deep in thought.
"Okay, so maybe God brought me back here after I kicked the bucket against that hydra? No, that would've been my last chance at life if that were the case. And I don't believe God would make all that fuss for Equestria just to plop me back on Earth... if this is Earth. Perhaps I'm going under shock and this is just me hallucinating. Likely possibility, I was REALLY losing it back there. Third guess...uhm, all of that horse crap was a dream. If so, WOW am I a vivid dreamer! But that wouldn't explain why I didn't wake up in that forest I made, and instead, woke up laying on the sidewalk in..."
It was at that moment where Lux fully took in his surroundings, and his mind raced as he observed more carefully. It was a flat mudscape, still saturated from prior rainfall and the only way to not have muddied shoes, other than taking residence in a personally made shelter that a dozen poor souls called home, was to stick to the cobblepaths that looked like they intertwined into the center of the place where a large statue stood tall. It was a man, jacked and naked while he stretched his hands out to welcome the people below who knelt as low as they could go to pray to it.
Speaking of the people, there were waves of them scurrying the streets. From the common folk buying high quality food from the spirited vendors to the priests to holy followers preaching the Lord to anyone who would listen, it was nothing short of friendly and joyful.
But the veteran boy had seen this before from a different angle and he wasn't about to see it a second time. He could feel the blistering heat of the sun continuously stab though his back along with the once joyous community turn to look up at the sun in horror. Most ran way from Lux, trampling on each other as they rode the wave of panicking individuals, leaving those underneath at the mercy of the danger. Others took off their common clothing to reveal some military uniform underneath, drawing signs on the mud or equipping gloves with various symbols on their hands and began striking back at the heat with water and ice.
But it was for nothing. Lux knew it already. Why? Because once he cranked his head upwards to face the sun that was turning the very air into a steaming pot was not the sun at all. It was a ball of purely condensed fire that spanned an entire block, carried by a single figure casted in shadow that gave an unnatural smile from above. And it made his heart ache.
Cause that smile was real. Unfiltered. Not burdened by consequence or any logical thinking. It was all real.
Eventually, the shadowy figure threw the ball down into the poor town and in an act of instinct and desperation, Lux dashed towards the nearest group of people, a lady holding her baby and a few old men guiding her away. "Hold on!" He screamed, and the Philosopher's Stone responded to his pleads when he slammed the ground and erected an earth dome around them. But it was for nothing, the blazing hurricane pushing through the town immediately broke through the dome on contact and erupted his vision in a multitude of fiery lights.
Lux shut his eyes to protect his vision from the light show that assaulted him, but upon opening them, the landscape changed again. It was the same town, but under ruin. Unsupported buildings and shelters collapsed into the mud, set a blaze and growing more uncontrollable. The sky was covered with dark clouds, most likely from the overwhelming amount of ash and smoke pluming from the remnants of the place and the people...
The people were scattered, some lifeless, some clinging onto life. It's just as before... he thought, breathing as slowly as possible to prevent his stomach from unleashing its contents. The Siege of Sacrum.
He took a step forward but immediately clamped up when a hot, sticky hand latched onto his wrist. His skin felt like it was fusing with whatever got a hold of him, as the heat that welded them together shot through his arm like an automatic rifles full clip was unloaded into it. "AH! What the-"
Lux had turned his head to understand what was ailing him. And he wished he didn't. He wished he never remembered. It was the woman and her baby from before, but the pair were unrecognisable. Their skin had slid and bloated in unnatural locations like wax and had burn blisters that bloated the body. The baby even had a rather large one that reshaped his left eye. Speaking of their eyes, they had none. Only the retinal fluid remained inside those abyssal windows and dripped down their faces like tears.
But the worst part of them was that they were no longer separated. The baby's legs and lower torso were sunken into the mother's chest as sludge made of muscle and melted bone hardened onto the skin, leaving the poor thing trapped in the same place it entered the world from.
Lux couldn't take any more of a glance at the abomination as he screamed and pulled on his arm to release it, but the hand that caught him had already melted into sludge and hardened quickly. There was no escape.
It was at last, something else spoke, and it came from the mother. Her jaw unhinged until the chin was a millimeter from her neck, revealing the bubbling mess that was her tongue cascading along her misshapen gums and charcoal teeth. "Why? What did you gain from this that was so worth it?"
"I-I didn't, I was an idiot and I realise that now, but there is only so much you can blame me for, I was only following orders!"
"'I always thought of Conduits as heroes. People who fight to protect their country and friends.' Those were your words right? Some hero YOU were. As long as you don't suffer, its not your problem, eh?"
Lux desperately tried pulling his arm to break it free, but it was for nothing as the fleshy mess had hardened over his skin and refused to move. The boy flinched at her words and averted his gaze to the chaos around him, which was shockingly less stressful than the monster before him. "Just stop! Leave me alone."
But then the sounds of snapping bones and seeping flesh could be heard and Lux took a peek back at the thing, maybe he wanted to get it over with, maybe the guilt he felt was egging him to see his mistakes, but he did take a peek and it left him speechless.
The baby had moved. The back of its head latched itself into the flesh of the woman, locking its position into looking up at Lux. And it spoke while its scattered teeth slammed against each other, in such a childish tone that it made all of the boy's hairs stick up. "Hide all you want child, you will always be like us on the inside. And eventually, your new friends will realise that. Hehehehehe"
"..." And with that, the boy's mind fractured and he couldn't take the torment of the world. So he did the only thing he could think of, "AAAAAAAGHHH!" he set his free hand ablaze and chopped his hand off.
And with the only restraint unshackled, Lux bolted it through the wasteland of smoke and fallen debris. It didn't matter where he would end up at this point, as long he could leave Sacrum. He passed even more melted bodies hopelessly pleading for help, screaming as loud as their charred vocal cords to perform which created a chorus of poorly mashed notes that blasted his ears like rubbing chalk on a chalkboard.
But at last, Lux could see the vastness of land, clear of any misery and made a quick dash to it, ignoring his still bleeding arm that was slowly regenerating in a green light, by some miracle.
However, darkness blew over the surroundings, seconds after he past the hellscape which made Lux ' legs buckle and crash onto the floor. He could visibly see himself shaking as he watched his sweat drip from his face, that aged older than he should look, and hit the floor.
But it wasn't a floor, because if it were, why did the sweat create a chain reaction of ripples like one would see skipping stones in water?
"Oh God no, not again!" Lux protested as he hastily picked himself back up, only his legs to drop through the void and soon, his torso and head followed. Luckily, the adrenaline from his most recent encounter fired up again and gave him the strength the swim up to the surface, gasping for air.
Though, the realm was not about to let him off easy. It never would. So, in a slight moment of relief, Lux felt something grab his leg and when he gazed down into the abyss, his mind scampered as he saw a skeleton that gripped onto his ankle, determined to pull him under along with the unholy pile of skeletons that pulled on it like an anvil. The fact that their, nor his bones have snapped under the force was almost astounding.
But the boy couldn't think about anything through the fear and guilt of what flesh he knew laid on those bones. The happy times they could've had only to be dusted by a boy who didn't know better. And so, the hold became too strong and he dropped into the darkness.
At least it was peaceful bellow the shadowy water, it was cold and mind numbing but at least there was silence. Anything was better than the maddening choir of demons that shrieked over Sacrum. Eventually though, the realm had enough with the water-like hold it had and let go of Lux as he fell on solid ground.
"Owch..." The boy struggled, but managed to stand up and look around. Darkness, darkness and more darkness. "Guess nothing has changed much," He then inspected his shorter arm and noticed that the hand was almost reformed, just the skin was left to regenerate, "thank the Philosopher's Stone for the automatic Sano, though. Healing alchemy is such a nice bonus."
"Could it heal your head though?" A familiar scruffy voice asked him, to which Lux turned around in shock. It was Zelus and Ira. Both had their backs turned to him but Lux didn't care as he happily walked towards them.
"Z-Zelus, is that you bro? God, I don't know how the two of you managed to find me, but we can make this work! So here's the plan-"
"Its impossible, Lux."
"... what? Ira what do you mean?"
"She means, you can't run from this," Zelus responded, but his voice grew more distorted as he continued, "but who are you to care? You're in a better world. And us?" they both creepily rotated their heads until they snapped at 180° like an owl and their faces were covered in shadows and unnaturally monstrous eyes and teeth, whose smiles reached where the tip of their noses would've been, "we aren't even here."
Lux instinctively backed away from the impostors that laid before him, eyes shut and mouth trembling. "God dammit! Just make it stop already. I'm sorry okay?! I'm sorry!" The kid gave in and curled into a ball as his past walked over to his lowered form. "I just wanted to help... help people, help our country, other countries. Hell, even the whole world. But I was naive, and so many have suffered or lost themselves over my dumb ideals of peace and unity." Though, in typical Lux fashion, his tearful expression subsided and he lifted his head out of his hands to meet the monsters face to face. "But that's even more of a reason for me to work my hardest in THIS world. 'Cause here, the world is already at peace. And I have nothing to worry about. You may see me as the bad guy, but I will NOT stop trying to do what I've dreamed of since the beginning. Do your worst!"
In a spark of determination, Lux got out of his ball of comfort and entered a defensive stance. But he didn't have to, as a beam of blue light blasted the impostors and blew the darkness away, leaving a vast starry space in its absence. The sudden shift greatly confused the boy as he stood there, tired and exhausted. "Man, this is one hell of a psychedelic trip."
"Please don't be alarmed child, as this realm was not a mere artificial trip." A new, but albeit, gentle voice rang through the stars which made Lux sprung back to life and bawled his fists.
"Okay, what now? Cause at this point, I'm DONE with this damn freak show." Lux shouted, to which the voice responded by appearing before him. The dark blue coat, the galactic mane, the moon cutie mark. He figured it out immediately.
"L-Luna?!"
"GREETINGS HUMAN LUX, DO NOT FEAR FOR WE HAST COME TO HELP"" Lux immediately clogged his ears to avoid hearing the sheer vocals of Luna's voice
"Woah, Luna quiet down. That's not how you make peaceful conversation."
"BUT THIS IS THE CANTERLOT VOICE WHOM WE ALWAYS USE FOR THINE SUBJECTS!"
"Well, whatever reason you have, times must have changed. So could you please lower your voice to my level?"
"... Is Thus Appreciative?"
"A little lower."
"... What about this?"
"Okay, that's better. Thank you. So why are you here? You never came into my dreams even after I sent you that letter... minus the time you searched my mind but- wait." , Lux finally connected the dots and looked at himself. His eyes blew up like saucers and the boy shook in fear.
"Oh... oh damn. S-so I guess the jig is up eh?"
"It appears so. Though as we said, do not fear anything child. We are merely here to discuss a few things and therefore, restore thou mind."
"M-my mind? But I'm just dreaming right? Actually now that I think about it, how am I dreaming? I was running from that blasted hydra a second ago."
"That is due to the overwhelming amount of stress combined with the shocking revelation of thou magic surge occurring."
"Wait what? Magic surge... like, that limit breaking event my dad talked about.Its happening now?!"
"As we speak."
Everypony had chosen to take cover under the protective might of Twilight's shield and a few of Appleblooms earth walls, and since the fight was happening a fair distance away, only some rouge debris had scraped their defences. The unicorn mare had to admit that her handwriting was a far cry from all the letters she's wrote before, but time was of the essence and she knew that.
Dear Princess Celestia,
As you are most likely aware, a very horrific phenomenon is occurring down at Froggy Bottom Bog. Its about Darklo. He's erupted into a magic surge and is currently attacking a hydra whom I assume is the catalyst of this mess. I know you were able to calm me down when I had a magic surge, so I thought you could do it again. Take care.
From your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle
While Twilight gave Spike the letter and he blasted it with transportation fire, Darklo was still beating the hydra to a pulp. It was a wonder that the thing was still alive, given its numerous bruises and dislocated jaws, though it had buckled under one knee from the amount of blood loss and the colt could sense it.
Darklo raises his forehoof into the air and the storm that plagued the swamp swirled and condensed itself until it was the circumference of a house. For the first time in the fight, the colts face dislodged into a wicked grin which was even more unsettling than the vacant stare he gave off moments ago. The hydra shrieked back as the booming cracks of thunder crashed through the cloud.
But as they watched, transfixed by the fight, Twilight had noticed something. Hold on, lightning... on hydra... whose in water... and we- "EVERYPONY GET OUT THE WATER!" Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs as she and Spike dove out of the shallow waters and onto dry land. Just everypony else followed suit, the colt threw his hoof down and so did the lightning. A single beam of pure electrical energy shot down at the hydra and the swamp it laid in, generating a disturbing light show for all to witness.
Once the light ceased, the hydra was no more, just a charred mess of muscle while a few bones could be seen underneath. It even twitched from the time to time due to the excessive voltage. The water was completely evaporated, revealing the fish and frogs to be piles of charred goop. Applejack made sure to cover Fluttershy's eyes once she caught a glimpse of that.
Finally, the center point of the scenery had revealed itself through all the steam. Darklo, still floating above the tree line, had reverted back to his vacant gaze while staring daggers at the remains of the hydra.
The moment was bleak and quiet. Nopony wished to make a sound, in vein of catching the rouge colt's attention. But some couldn't do that for long. "So what's gonna happen?" Scootaloo whispered.
"The catalyst is gone, so he should revert back to normal... so why is it still active?" Twilight pondered. Though, everything was alright for now as the colt was just floating idly in peace as nothing that there to threaten him.
But then, a golden light appeared before them and out came Princess Celestia along with a squadron of the Royal Guard. "So my little ponies, I got your message. Luna shall be handling it as we speak, so I'll be keeping you safe for the time being."
Everypony snapped to attention as they stared at their ruler and the supercharged Darklo, whose eyes were now locked onto them. "Not the right time Princess!" Spike said.
Fortunately, there was a look of hesitance in the colt's face as he laid eyes on the group, especially Twilight, Spike and his friends. Maybe he was regaining conscious, or maybe it could recognise that they weren't threatening him. But either way, the magic coursing through the colt wasn't liking it at all. His horn flared and began generating a mini tornado as he held his head in agitation.
Immediately, Celestia got to work and used her own magic to erect a cylindrical barrier around the natural disaster, which was a wise move since the fallen boulders and trees used by the colt in its previous fight fell back to the ground once the presence of the wind ceased. Meanwhile, the royal guards formed a circle around the group and as the unicorns constructed sets of colourful barriers around them, the earth ponies and pegesi held their shields and spears in the direction of the colt. It was not as a means to hurt their target, but merely an act of principle for them.
With their safety about 99% certain, the group felt more comfortable to talk specifically Fluttershy who still looked worried about everything. "Y-you said Luna is handling him. Where is she?"
"My sister is back at the castle infiltrating little Darklos mind, where she should be able to quell the well of emotions and inadvertently restore his consciousness, which will allow the colt to regulate his magic properly." Celestia dug her hooves into the mud and added a bit more power into the shield as she saw a slight crack in it's base. "Though, it won't be an easy mission. The unconscious mind is such a raw fickle of emotions unlike a conscious mind. Darklo will most likely be in a lot of anguish if Twilight's theory about the cause of the surge is true. But don't worry, my sister has faced many demons in that realm and she won't fail now."
But even all the assurance in the world couldn't stop everyone from worrying, that didn't mean they had no hope though. And so they watched patiently, awaiting any sign of their little friend waking up.
Come on Darklo, Ah know ya can do it!
"Thou art taking this much better than we expected." Luna commented as she paced around Lux, who sat criss-crossed whilst tapping his leg. "With how cautious thou were to keep this secret, we expected a more emotional response."
"Well, I literally had to go through hell for a few minutes. So honestly, I don't have the energy to freak out any more. Even your outdated vocabulary doesn't surprise me... even though you were talking normally when we first met."
"In our offence we just prefer speaking as such. And yes, ... thou dreams were. Certainly an experience to behold with thine eyes. Thou have been through much turmoil, child."
"Hold up, Princess. How much did you see?"
"Enough to answer a few questions we were going to ask thou anyway."
"Questions? Well, guess I can't hide anything from you anymore," Lux concluded solemnly as he stood up and met Luna's wise gaze, "but before I scratch that itch of yours, I have one thing I need to make clear."
"And that is?"
"I want you to promise me that you will NEVER speak of this to anypony." The boy pointed nonchalantly at her to emphasise the seriousness of his words. "Being called out as a dimensional hopper and a body snatcher, although technically true, would literally change my life for the worse. And I'm not willing to lose what trust I've built so far."
"Thou wish to bargain with thine ruler?" The moon Princess raised her chin so she could look intimidating. Though, that had no effect on the boy as he nodded his head.
"...please?" He asked respectfully.
"Hmph, very well." Luna smiled faintly and turned away from Lux. "Would thou kindly walk with us? We have much to discuss." Another nod and the two were off on a journey through the expanse of space, though Lux could tell that there was no destination in mind. "So now, Lux. Thou art a human, are we wrong?"
"No, you're dead on. Though I find it fascinating how different our worlds are. Like, back on Earth, our planet, humans are the only intelligent creature alive. But here, many things we'd call myths are both existing and sentient!"
"Mhmm," Luna hummed inquisitively, "so how did you escape through the mirror portal? That artefact only has a three day window per year, and Celestia hasn't informed me of a rouge human."
Lux raised an eyebrow in protest. "Uh, what mirror portal? I got here by dying and meeting God."
"God? Whom is this 'God' thou speak of?"
"He's like the creator of my universe. He's also the reason why alchemy existed there." Lux responded and the realm answered by shifting a star into the image of the being in question.
"Alright, we believe we understand now. So this 'God' is the cause of your experience in this colt's body?" Lux nodded firmly.
"It IS strange how different your humans are to those we've seen before. They have thou biological structure but come in many colours like us."
"Huh, that's interesting. But yeah, we only come in black or white." Once again, the world shifted into what looked like a training room where an image of Lux, Zelus, Ira appeared, battling each other for the sake of pride while their teacher watched.
"But, thou skin is peach... and thou adult is brown. Why do humans call each other black and white if that's not the colour? And besides, why separate people by colour in the first place?" Luna lowered her head as she could meet eye to eye with the smaller boy, who frantically waved his hands around.
"Woah, woah! I did NOT agree to chat about racism, please move on to something else, would you?"
"Fair enough child. My next plight concerns thou runic magic. Did thine world also have that skill?"
"Why yes, it's been a fundamental source of our society since the Earth's creation. Especially the Philosophers Stone, anyone using it becomes a Conduit and those lucky guys get treated like your ponies treat princesses."
"And thou were one of them?" Luna asked, staring at the red jewel that was etched in his palm. Lux inspected it carefully, silently reminiscing.
"Yeah, Conduits were like superheroes in Bellica. Everyone wanted to be like them, me included. Heh, what a twist of fate that I turn out to be the opposite." Lux stopped in his tracks as he looked to the floor while Luna watched. "I mean, you saw what happened. The elites told me it was a military base disguised as a civil town... but they lied. They didn't send us to weaken Perduellis' forces, they deployed us there to send a message. And I did that, the death, the agony, the conflict, that was all me. I must have looked like the devil to those people... and though I took things into my own hands, those three thousand will always be there to remind me of who I really am."
Lux didn't know why he was letting everything out, but his mouth just kept moving and the tears were let out of their prison, streaking down his face. "I sometimes think God made the wrong decision with me. There were many people he could've chosen to have this wonderful life, yet here I am. I've already led a pony to their death and failed to protect my friends just like before. God said I'd change for the better, so why do I feel like I'm going down the same path?"
And suddenly, he felt a strange urge as he stared off into the starry realm, like he should do something. He had seen most ponies do it unprompted, but he thought it was just a part of their culture. But it seemed it infected more than just ponies as Lux opened his mouth again and began to sing his heart out.
Author here! I don't know what demon haunted me to put songs in this, but I guess I'm doing it. However, I suck at making songs and noone wants to read a song they can't sing to. So every song I put in will be a parody of an existing song. Plus, I will use coloured text to indicate who is singing what but unlike the letters, Darklo/Lux will be yellow instead of the base colour. The song of today is Little Do You Know by Alex & Sierra. Here's a link to the instrumental version for the full experience.Little Do You Know- Alex & Sierra (Instrumental) Enjoy!
Little do they know
That I'm trainin' while they're fast asleep
Little do they know
I am held back by my memories
Little do they know
I'm not the awesome colt I wanna be
Little do they know
I am a person of lies
Underneath the shell, I stay chained up by the beast I hide
I've held it inside 'cause there's no one whom I can confide
I'm ready to move on, but pushin' forward is another plight
Little do they know
I am a person of lies
You're fine, alright
They'll help you even in your darkest blight
You're fine
We promise to support you through this fright
You're fine
You are safe under the night
So lay your head on me
Little do you know
I sense your pain as I'm fast asleep
Little do you know
A beast like yours is slowly drownin' me
Little do you know
I'm tryin' to mend my troubles piece by piece
Little do you know I
I'll love you 'till the moon dies
You're fine, just fine
They'll help you even in your darkest blight
Just fine
We promise to support you through this fright
Just fine
You are safe under the night
So lay your head on me
You're fine (I'm fine), alright (alright)
They'll help you even in your darkest blight
You're fine (I'm fine)
We promise to support you through this fright
You're fine (I'm fine)
You are safe under the night
So lay your head on me
Lay your head on me
So lay your head on me
'Cause little do you know I
I'll love you 'till the moon dies
As the final verse of the song was spoken, Lux's body had reverted back into his colt body, laying his head snugly on Luna's coat who had also sat down for him. He didn't know how to feel at the moment, as firstly, the thought of resting his head on a thousand year old deity like she were a large dog felt like he was committing some sort of heresy. And secondly, he was snuggling into somepony like some child. Which he is...
But that's not the point!
But the soothing atmosphere along with the peaceful sensation flowing through his muscles refused to act on his embarrassment, only allowing a slight blush to exit his cheeks. "Uhm, I know we sang a song about this and all, but did we really have to do this?"
"We thought it was very necessary, child." Luna responded lovingly, giving a genuine smile as she did. "One shouldn't be ashamed to want a minute or two of comfort with another pony. It's only natural for social creatures such as us."
"I mean, you're right but... okay fine, this is kind of nice, but this doesn't mean anything."
"Fair enough, thou fault in stallion pride shall be kept a secret. Though, if thou friends dreams told us anything, it never was a secret to begin with." Darklo rolled away from his position, clearly done with Luna's teasing.
"Alright, I feel much better now so I think I'm ready to get back in the drivers seat. Do you have anymore questions?"
"Actually yes." Luna arose from her previously comfortable position as her galactic mane blended in with the environment around them. "Art thou fine with leaving thou old name behind?"
"Heh, I've been Darklo for a long while now. And besides, it's a name of my own so it's grown on me. I like it, and that's all I need."
Luna nodded and her horn glowed dark blue, encompassing the world in a bright light. And as the colt's vision and consciousness slowly faded, he listened to Luna's final message.
"Now when you awaken, just keep in mind, little storm bringer. We shall always be here if you need to talk."
SNAP
Darklo's eyes shot open as he stared blankly at what looked like a spiral of wind. "What the hell happened while I was out?" he mumbled inquisitively, inspecting the endless whirlwind he was in until the colt laid eyes on his glowing horn. "Oh, I almost forgot I was going under a magic surge... OH SHIT MY MAGIC SURGE!"
Darklo immediately focused his efforts on shutting off the magical pathways in his horn and eventually, it worked as the horn finally fizzled out. But then the colt began descending quickly from the sky as the hurricane subsided. Darklo tried to use air alchemy, or even fire, but neither would activate, leading him to panic.
Oh crap, how much magic did I use? Shoot shoot shoot! Why am I so exhausted? Uhh, oh wait. I'm still at the swamp, so I should be underneath the water. It'll be disgusting, but at least- Darklo twisted his head to look at the ground, only to see a steaming crater where the lake should've been. OH COME ON! Unfortunately, he realised he had to accept his fate and closed his eyes, preparing for the impact.
But it never arrived, puzzling the colt until he inspected his surroundings and witnessing his body wrapped up in a purple magic. A very familiar purple magic.
"DARKLO!" The emotional cry of a familiar unicorn mare pulled him to the floor and gave him a bone shattering hug. "Oh Celestia, I'm SO glad you're alright!"
"Ack! yeah no worries, Luna had to give me a good pep talk but it all worked out in the end."
Eventually, everypony gathered around the pair and gave them a reassuring smile while Darklo's friends went to hug him as well. Sensing that their mission was complete, the guards let down their professional facade for just a moment and ride along with the mood. Meanwhile, Celestia closed her eyes, letting everything flow over before opening her mouth. "So then little Darklo, although I may not have seen what my sister has, you've probably have a new letter to send to somepony. Do you not?"
"Yeah, i think so. Twilight, Spike, would you mind lending me a hoof?"
And with and from his adoptive family members, he took a scroll and quill and began to write.
Dear Princess Luna,
Today has been nothing short of an emotional experience, however thanks for your help, I think I'll be able to continue pursuing my ideals for as long as it takes me. But overall, I learnt that it's okay to feel guilty about things in the past as long as you don't let it control your life. I should think of this as a brand new start in my journey, and you should too. Nightmare Moon may be a part of you, but those days are over. It's now your era to show your worth. So until next time friend!
From your unlikely friend,
Darklo.
The day was finally over and the night had erupted over the tree house. Twilight, Spike and Darklo were all asleep, but their dreams went completely different directions, as Spike became a muscular dragon saving Rarity from another bigger dragon, and Twilight became Celestia's right-hoof mare. However when Darklo awakened into the realm, he noticed that it was a place he never could've thought of.
The walls were painted with stars and solar systems and the windows were clear as day with framed that were laced with silver. The floor was a sky blue rug that felt soft to the touch and the bed was royal sized with starry quilts, pillows and somepony he knew.
"Luna?"
"Hello little storm bringer. Let's have a chat, shall we?"