//------------------------------// // Chapter IV. - Questions and answers // Story: Lightbringer of the darkness // by Novexx //------------------------------// It was still very early in the morning and I couldn't sleep anymore. Since Twilight and Spike were both still asleep, I decided that I'd go for a walk. I walked to the door as silently as I could, opened it and went out. Nopony were on the streets, so I felt relieved a bit. They still couldn't trust me completely. I've been walking for about an hour or so when I decided to head back to the library. As I arrived to the library, I heard the worried voice of Twilight through the open window. "But we have to find him! Who knows what might have happened to him?!" I opened the door and went in, only to find Twilight trotting back and forth in the room. "Easy there, I'm right here! I just went for a morning walk, no need to worry." Twilight stopped and sighed in relief. "See, I told you overreacted." said spike, while munching on a gemstone. "I guess you're right, Spike. Sorry, I was just a bit worried." I looked at Twilight and all I could do was smile. "Don't mention it. I didn't want to wake you guys up when I left, but now that I think about it, I should have left a note at least, so I'm the one who should apologise." "Well we're square on the matter then. Now, I think it's about time we have breakfast." "That's a great idea, I'm starving already." We all sat down at the kitchen table and had our breakfast, along with some coffee. After we finished our meal, I asked Twilight and she agreed to tour me around Ponyville. While we visited places, I questioned her about how magic works in Equestria, and she even taught me some basic theories on some beginner spells, like levitation or flare. "You could teach me the basics after we come back from Canterlot." "I don't know. First we'll have to make sure we know where you draw your power from. I don't know for certain what would happen if you used our magic, and the consequences might be grave." "That's why I wanted to meet the princess as quickly as I could. Now then, you should head back to the library and gather everything you want to bring. I'll go and get my gear from Rarity." "Okay, let's meet at the train station in half an hour, the train will leave in about an hour." "See you at the train station then." I watched as Twilight left then I turned around and headed for Rarity's boutique. A few minutes later I arrived and went to knock on the door. Rarity opened up, and invited me in. "Well dear, it sure is a strange wear, but I just loved working on it! It nice to have a little change in desinges you know. I have to go upstairs and arrange some things. Your new attire is on that manequin." she pointed at the wooden manequin at the other end of the room. "I'll be down in a few minutes darling. Go ahead and change your clothes while I'm away." After she finished speaking she trotted towards the staircase and headed upstairs. I walked up to the manequin. I knew Rarity was one of the best fashion designers, but this even amazed me, and I'm not really fond of fashion. The clohtes were made just as I described them. Dark grey, tight clothing, made from a slightly rougher material to avoid any reflection of light. A pair of black leather boots and gloves along with a black cloak and a hood. This way I won't be recognised as fast, and the less attention, the better. I took the clothes from the manequin and changed in the changing room. When I came out of the room, Rarity was already downstairs, waiting for me. "So darling, how do you like your new clothes?" "I have to say Rarity I knew you were an expert fashion designer, but this is perfect. It's tight, yet still comfortable, and you imagined exactly what I have desribed. I'm out of words, really." Rarity blushed a bit at the flattering words. "Thank you my dear, I'm glad you like it. But you've really intrigued me with this design. I wanted to ask you, what made you decide upon this?" I sighed. "Well to be honest, ponies don't yet seem to have a accepted me and for now, I'd like to avoid unnecessary attention. I will be harder to recognise in this garment." "Oh now I see why you chose this particular attire for yourself." Rarity looked at the clock on the wall and she urged me to leave. "Oh my, darling look at the time! You must hurry, you can't miss the train, Princess Celestia is waiting for you!" "Damn! You're right, I wasted too much time, I'm late. I'll have to hurry if I want to catch that train." I hurried to the door, opened it and looked back at Rarity. "See you later, and thanks again!" With that, I closed the door behind me and rushed to the train station. I should be grateful for my increased speed, otherwise I'd have missed the train. I just got there in time to get on it with Twilight. We walked through the wagon until we found an empty cabin and we settled down. "Try to be faster next time, we almost missed the train." "Sorry Twilight, I got a little distracted." "Never mind. What's with this strange clothing anyway? Judging by the clothes you arrived in, this isn't the everyday wear in your world." "You're right, it's not. If I showed up in clothes like these, people would have thought I was crazy. But here, it's not that rare to see people walk by covered in a cloak." I stared out through the window into the plains. "As much as I don't like to admit it, ponies don't trust me yet. I though it would be better to avoid drawing too much attention to myself, especially in a crowded city like Canterlot. These clothes will help a bit in hiding my human aspects, I'll be less recognisable." We just sat there in silence for a long time. I was staring out into the fields and plains, while Twilight was reading a book as usual. Then she closed the book and looked at me, with a bitter look on her face. "It just makes me sad whenever I think about that a nice person as yourself, could suffer so much." I sighed. "Twilight, your world is much more innocent and childlike than mine. You'd only have to experience the terrible things once, that happen on Earth. I just wish you'll never have to. I wish that you'll never have to live in a world full of crime, abuse, and murder." "Is it really that bad?" "It is..." "I never could have imagined such a terrible world even existed." "There are a lot of things your kind has never experienced before, and those things a rare to happen over here. And trust me when I say it's for the good." I said with an uncompassionate tone in my voice. Silence fell upon the cabin again for half an hour. I looked through the window and I noticed the landscape started to change a bit. Elevations and mountains replaced the fields and plains. Twilight looked up from her book again. "We're almost there. We'll be in Canterlot in a few minutes." "That's a good thing to hear. My legs are already numb from all this sitting." The train arrived at the Canterlot station and we got off. Before I stepped out of the wagon I pulled my hood on my head as much as I could. "Ready to go then?" she asked me enthusiastically. "You can count on that." We walked through the enormous city, and it was like a sightseeing tour. As we walked past famous buildings or something that was worth mentioning, Twilight told me a bit about it or it's history. Old buildings and libraries never amused me, but this time it was different. I enjoyed hearing the stories Twilight told me about them. It went on like this until we reached the gates of the castle. My plan worked, the two of us talking casually and my new clothing had drawn away the attention, and ponies didn't seem to be bothered by me, and it was good this way. We walked up to the gate, and the two guardsponies saluted. "Good day Miss Sparkle." called one of them. "Hello!" she answered happily. "Princess Celestia is expecting you. Is this your... 'guest'?" the guard asked. "Yes, it's him." "He's been awfully quiet." I grinned under the shadow of the hood covering my face. "If I had something to say I would have done so already." I glared at the guard. "I'm not really talkative..." The guardsponies eyed me suspiciously, looking for a possible threat. I turned my head to Twilight. "Shall we move on? We have better things to do than just standing around." "Oh yes, of course. The princess is waiting." she nodded. We headed for the castle and I took a last glance at the guards before going past them. We walked through the massive castle doors and Twilight led me through various corridors, some were narrow, others were so large they could have been considered as rooms. Then Twilight looked at me with a questioning look. "What was that sudden change of behavior at the gate?" "Sudden? Twilight I may be a nice person, but you are being naïve if you think you already know me well enough to see my true personality. You may see me as someone who is always happy, but that's because you are my friends and you deserve that I treat you the way you treat me. But eventually you'll find that on the inside, I'm still a bitter person, full of sorrow... and that won't change over a few days." "Then we will try to make you change for months, years if it must be! I want you to be the happy person what you show yourself to be." "Thank you for your concern Twilight, but if it would be so easy, I'd already be as happy as Pinkie." I turned my head down and sighed. "One's soul tends to get stained after seeing too much cruelty of the world. And believe me when I say... these eyes have already seen too much to just simply forget." We both remained silent for the rest of the way. After a few minutes of walking and stair climbing, we arrived at a double door. It was decorated with a thin golden plate, that ran around the door, and a large sun was carved into the wood. Twilight walked up to the door. "We're here." She knocked on the door, and a yellowish light flickered around it as it opened up. "Ah my student, you finally arrived." came Celestia's voice from the inside. "Come in." Twilight entered the room and I followed her. The room was brightly lit, and it felt warm and welcoming. Shelves and cases dotted the room everywhere, all filled with various books and scrolls. There was an enormous bed on the left with courtains hanging on it's sides and a desk in the middle of the room. And there, behind that desk stood the deity of light and good, Princess Celestia herself. "I see you've brought your friend with you as well. I wanted to meet him since you mentioned him in your letter." she smiled at Twilight. "Care to introduce us?" "Yes, of course! Jack, this is the ruler of Equestria, and also my teacher, Princess Celestia." I stepped forward and knelt down before the goddess of light, putting my right arm across my chest. "It's an honor to meet you, your highness." Celestia looked at me and chuckled. "Stand up, Jack. There's no need for such formalities." She walked round her desk and came closer. "I'm happy that you're finally here." "The pleasure's mine." "Twilight was very excited when she wrote to me about you." I looked at Twilight and saw her blushing along with smile on her face and I couldn't help but to chuckle a bit myself. "Yes indeed, we've gotten along pretty well since we met." "Now, my student mentioned you're from a distant place." "That is true, your highness." I raised my hands and removed the hood from my head that covered my face in shadows. The princess' expression suddenly changed to dead serious and she took a step back. "Twilight, you didn't mention this." "Mentioned what?" she asked back with a confused expression. "This is grim news." she walked up to her desk, arranging papers and quills. I raised an eyebrow. "Anyone mind telling me what's going on?" "What's going on is that your arrival means we are going to suffer." "What do you mean your highness? I don't understand." "There was an ancient prophecy. It was long forgotten, but a few years ago some archeologist ponies found an old ruin and recovered ancient scrolls from there. This particular scroll - her horn glowed and she levitated an old parchment in front of us - tells of a prophecy that I hope will stay unredeemed. "It tells of the arrival of an off-worlder, who's soul had been tainted. His appearance will bring suffering to the land, and it's inhabitants." Twilight raised her voice a bit and she tried to argue with the princess. "That can't be right princess! He's a good man, I could never imagine he'd hurt anyone." The princess looked at Twilight with a serious look on her face. "My dear student, it's not as simple as that. He's not the one who will cause the chaos and madness that will spread throughout the land, but very things that will try to eradicate him from this existence." I looked at the princess with a questioning look. Now I was really confused. This was getting stranger by the minute. What exactly did she mean by bringing suffering to the land? And something that will try to eradicate me from this existence? I couldn't stop myself from grinnig at this. Celestia saw it and she immediately knew something was on mind mind. She tried to speak, but I interrupted her before she got a chance. "Now, you said something will try to eradicate me from this world. Whatever it is, it can try. But I assure you your highness, I'm not going down easily." Celestia looked at me with a worried expression. "Let's hope you're right, but first things first. Come and please have a seat." Twilight and I walked over to the desk and sat down. Celestia arranged a few papers and parchments on her table before continuing. "I want you to tell me how you got here. All of it, don't miss out a single detail, every bit of information could be important." "As you wish your highness." So I did. I told the entire story of my arrival, along with a shortened version of my past in my world. I finished telling my story, and Celestia's expression became dead serious. "This is grim news. The last pony who could harness the ancient dark magic died a long time ago, and it was for the good. He was too dangerous to be kept alive. He tortured and killed many before we put an end to his dark deeds." she paused for a moment. "A dangerous power dwells within you Jack. You have the ability to tap into the essence of shadow itself, otherwise it would have been impossible to accomplish such a quick regenration. Such power can easily get out of control." I looked at her and tried to put together what was going on here. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together. "Well, whatever lies in me, I've been able to control it so far." "That is because you have not yet tried to use magic. I want to see what happens when you do, that will answer some of my questions too. A very simple spell will suffice. Put out your hand." And so I did. I raised my right hand before me. "Now, try to remember what you felt when your strength returned." I thought back, and remembered exactly what happened. The darkness, the emptyness that filled the space around me. I felt it again, power coursing through my body. "I feel it, the same energy as the one that made my body regenrate itself." I replied. "Now try to channel that power into your palm. Imagine a fire burning in your hand, that should help you create the basic fire spell." I closed my eyes and slowly gathered up the energies in my body and channeled them into my right arm, then into my hand. The picture of a fire. It can't be too hard. I started feeling warmth in my hand. I opened my eyes but what I saw shocked me. I imagined a fire in my mind, just like any normal campfire in our world, but instead of the usual color combinations of orange red and yellow, the small fire between my fingers was black as the night. Both Celestia and Twilight just stood there, looking at the fire with a scared expression on their faces. Celestia broke the silence of the room. She took a step back, gazing at the fire. "The... Black Fire..." her horn glowed with intense light. "Who are you and what is your intention here?!" "As I said I have no intention of harming anypony now, neither will I have such plans in the future. I've come here to start a new life, one where I don't have to suffer as I did previously. But it looks like... fate has yet to deal me the same cards as before." I turned my head down and sighed. I clenched my fist, extinguishing the black flame burning in my hand. "If it's your will to banish or kill me for having the ability to control dark magic, I will accept your punishment, your highness." The glow from Celestia's horn slowly started to fade away as she realised I meant no threat to them. God how could I mean a threat? I don't even know how to use my power, let alone want to use them against the deity of light. Celestia turned back and walked to the window of the balcony. She silently stood there for some time before continuing. "I don't like to admit this, but if you want to survive, and save these lands from destruction, you will have to master the raw power that lies within your very soul." "And who could I turn to? You said the last pony who used dark magic died long ago." There was a loud cracking noise as a warp gate opened behind us, accompanied by a familiar raspy voice. "I can tell you that, my young friend." That voice... It's him again. I turned back but I was surprised to see that the stranger who sent me here, didn't look human at all. Instead, he looked exactly like the inhabitants of Equestria. The only thing that was the same on him, was his long black cloak. "I though you were a human." I said questioningly. "Oh no, my friend. Neither am I a human, nor a pony." "If you were the one who sent him here, you could have warned us before you did so." Celestia frowned at him. "Ohh sorry, I tend to forget things every so often." he replied with a grin. "So, I think it's time I introduce myself properly. I'm called The Keeper." he bowed before us. "And as I mentioned a few moments ago, I'm not a simple being like any of you, but the princess already knows that. You see, when magic itself was created, I was born. I am a creation of pure arcane energy, bound to keep the balance of worlds and planes. As for your question, I don't have a permanent form. Whenever I enter a new world, my 'body' materialises, and I take the form of someone like the inhabitants of the world." "That explains things. What about my power? Why didn't you tell me what lies inside me?" Celestia bursted out in anger. "You mean to inform me you DIDN'T tell him he's- " "A Necromancer?" the Keeper interrupted her. "No, I did not." he said calmly. "I told him the consequences of his choice might be grave, and yet, he still acceted my offer and traveled here." I looked at the Keeper darkly, and my expression became dead serious. "If I knew I'd bring destruction to the world I wanted to live in I would have reconsidered your offer. You know, I somehow don't like the future title of 'doombringer of Equestria'." The keeper raised his hands and gesticulated while he was talking. "Hold on just there, young one. Were you not listening to me before? I mentioned myself as the being with the responsibility of keeping the balance of the universe. Do you seriously think I'd send you here without a purpose? Although I'm powerful enough to do many things single handedly, I'm strictly forbidden to meddle in the affairs of mortals directly. I however have the power to help those in need in many different ways." "Then why exactly did you send me here?" "Everything is written and foretold, my friend. The Baaeli would eventually awaken, with or without your arrival. And I'm just trying to save this world from complete destruction." "Why did you choose me for all this then?" "Because of all humans, you are the most powerful." "I don't understand." "Then allow me to explain." he grinned. "Back in the old times, hundreds of years ago, all humans were able to use magic, just like you. But as you may see now in your world, it was the same back then. Humans have always craved for power and influence. Their greed only brought doom upon them. I granted them the ability to harness the primal powers, and what did they use it for? he sighed. For waging meaningless wars and bringing death and destruction upon themselves. After long years, I've grown weary of watching them ravage the lands and butcher each other, thus I sealed their Arcanum Gateways, rendering them unable to use any form of magic." "Then what you did back on Earth..." "Yes, Jack it's that simple. I've only used a simple spell to break the seal, unlocking your powers. But you will have to master that power. And I know the one who can help you with it." Celestia frowned at the Keeper while walking up to him. "You mean to tell me another dark magician exists whom I don't know of?!" "Indeed, but he's not a magician. Not a simple one at least. Princess, this time please put aside your preconceptions about magic. If you want your land to stay intact, and your suspects alive, you have to trust me on this. Or rather trust Benezal Darkblood. Jack, he is the one you have to seek." This was getting serious. The fate of a whole kindom was in my very hands. If I fail now, I'm both going to doom Equestria, and dig the grave for my dream to live here. I can't, and I will not allow that to happen. I got interested in this so called 'magician'. I wonder who he is. Oh well, I will find that out soon enough. It's my only chance to find a way to learn how to use my power properly. "So, where can I find this 'magician' of yours?" I questioned the Keeper. "Go and seek him out at the ruins of the old fortress of the Black Talons. Twilight, can you please show him where the fortress is?" he looked at Celestia's student, who was still standing in the middle of the room with an open mouth. She shook her head, and tried to put the story together in her mind. "Oh yes! I'll find some maps and determine the location off the fortress." "Good. Then I shall be on my way. There's no need for me to be here anymore." he looked back at us and grinned. "But I'm fairly certain we'll meet again in the future." he stepped through the warp gate before Celestia could stop him, and the gate closed. "Ahh! He always slips away without answering my quetions." she said angrily. I looked at Twilight. "I think we should get back to Ponyville. If we don't leave, we'll be stuck here for the night, and I'd like to do some research myself on the matters at hand." I took a quick glance at the princess. "If it's not against your plans, your highness." Celestia sighed and and went over to her desk. She grabbbed a piece of paper and started scribbling something down. "No jack, it's not. It doesn't matter how much I dislike the idea, the Keeper is right. You'll have to learn how to use that power if we want to stand a chance against the Baaeli." She finished scribbling down the notes on the paper, and handed it to me. "Here. Before you return to Ponyville, visit the castle library. I've listed some books that you may find useful. Twilight, you have my permission to enter the private part of the library." Twilight looked at her mentor with a suprised expression. "The private part? But isn't that where you keep the-" "The books that hold information about the ancient forms of magic? Yes." she interrupted her student. I looked at the princess and bowed. "We'll be on our way then. Thank you very much for your time, your highness." The princess smiled back. "If you have problems, tell Twilight to nofity me. I'll try to help in any way I can." "Thank you, your highness. Let's go Twilight, we still have much to do." I pulled my hood on my head again and we headed for the library to pick up the books we needed then we made our way to the train station and got on the train to Ponyville. These next few weeks are going to be hard. I don't know what these Baaeli are, but I won't let them stand in my way, nor let them threaten my new home. I will do whatever it takes to defend Equestria and my new friends, even if it means risking my life to do so...