“What do you mean he is back?” The General asked with worry.
“No….” Celestia said with low voice.
“Celestia, tell me what is happening!”
“About a hundred years ago, a student of mine went on an expedition to a corner of Equestria. But not all was well in that small town; there was a group of unicorns that were practicing a heavily forbidden form of black magic. My student went there to try and stop them, but was sadly corrupted by darkness. And he took the name Black Heart. I thought I had put him down, but it seems he has survived. And now he is back for his vengeance.”
“Well, then I guess I must step forward and raise my weapons once more in your name.”
“My friend, he is my responsibility, not yours. I don’t want you getting hurt and possibly killed because of me.” Celestia said, with a pleading look in her eyes.
“Celestia, this is what I chose to do. Anything that threatens you, I will stand in its way. If I am to die, then so be it. I consider it an honor to die fighting for you, and to call you friend.”
There were tears in Celestia’s eyes; nobody has ever said such things. Yes there have been others who have been loyal, but those only fought because she was their ruler. This man fought because she was his friend. Not because she was his superior.
“Princess, Black Heart sent this letter.” The guard spoke up.
“Let me see it.” Celestia levitated the letter toward herself.
It read:
“Celestia, I will give you this one chance. Meet me in the fields in front of Canterlot. If you wish, bring one other with you. If you do not show up in one hour, my army will crush your city.”
“Well, it seems he wants me to meet him in the plains outside of Canterlot, and if I want I can bring another with me.”
“Then let us get moving Celestia, we don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“Before we go, get Captain Goldheart and tell him to gather the biggest possible force, we don’t know what he is planning.”
Princess Celestia and General Hydregarn made their way through the city, with Hydregarn still getting fearful looks from some of the civilians wandering about.
“It has been five years and they still are scared of me, what must I do to gain their trust?”
“Hydregarn, do not let them get you down. As long as I trust you, you have nothing to worry about.” Celestia gave him a large smile.
But still, he did not smile. In all of the years she has known him, she has yet to see him even grin. She came to the conclusion that he must have had a very terrible past in order for him to not be able to show his feelings.
“Hydregarn, when was the last time you smiled?” Celestia asked.
"Seven-hundred and twenty-three years ago.”
“You would only be three, was you life really that bad?”
The only thing she got after that was a heavy sigh. He seemed very sad, and he looked off into the sky, as if remembering his past.
Then he said, “Celestia, try not to dwell on the past, it is best to look forward and see what is ahead, not what is behind.”
“I only wish I could do that…”
For the next twenty minutes it took to reach the gates, they walked in solemn silence. Both of them remembering their past mistakes, which haunt them to this day.
When they reached the gates, they saw off in the distance two figures standing in the middle of the plain. When they approached them, they were both dark colors, but one stood out more. He was black, with a deep purple mane and tail, and his eyes were the same as his mane.
“Wait, you are not Black Heart, who are you?” Celestia questioned.
“You are observant; I am his grandson, Shadow Spark. And this must be the newcomer, Hydregarn. I have heard much about you.”
“But I have not heard of you until now…”
“Enough, what do you want from me, Shadow Spark?” Celestia said angrily.
“Watch your tongue!”
“You will not speak to Celestia in that manner!” an animalistic growl came from deep within Hydregarn’s throat; it didn’t sound like it could come from a man; but something much fiercer.
“It was you who came blundering to this city demanding Celestia to meet you here, she has all the right to talk to you in any way she wants, it is YOU who should show respect! Or I will personally rip your jugular vein out through your mouth!”
“Celestia killed my grandfather, and now I am here to claim revenge.”
“Your grandfather was corrupted and tried to hurt innocent ponies, he had to be stopped! I tried to give him a chance to leave, but he just kept getting up….. It had to be done.” Celestia spoke up from the other’s argument.
“Hide behind your illusions, Celestia; it won’t matter after I am done with you. My father gained a considerable amount of power, when I came into existence; he gave me all of his power, so I have the strength to take you on, murderer.”
“If you want to fight the princess, you have to get through me first!” The General moved between Shadow Spark and Celestia, drawing Father’s Pride.
“If you get in the way, you are just going to be killed.” Shadow narrowed his eyes at Hydregarn.
“Why don’t we find out what happens? I wager that the outcome will be much different than you think.”
“I will humor you for a little while, fool.” Shadow Spark’s companion stepped forward.
“So you want to face me? Very well, after I wipe the floor with you, then your master will kneel to me.”
Celestia’s voice rang out from behind. “General, do not go starting fights. Let’s try to settle this like the civilized beings we are.”
“I already made a decision, this won’t take too long.”
Hydregarn put away his blade and said, “I won’t use my sword on you, you do not deserve it.”
“Do not waste our time with this one; we have wasted enough as it is. Now Celestia, what is your decision: my army burning Canterlot to the ground and hauling you to the executioner’s block, or you giving up right now and keeping all of your subjects safe from harm?” Shadow Spark’s words kept his brute at bay.
The General was next to speak, “If she does give up, would you keep your word?”
“I may be riddled with darkness, but I am a stallion of my word, I keep my promises. Even I go by a code in which I do business.”
“You seem to have some good qualities, even for someone like you. You have gained a little respect from me.” said Hydregarn.
“Thank you, I guess there can be mutual respect between enemies. You seem much older that you look, with wisdom to match. You have some of my respect.”
Celestia was staring at them, with a mouth that nearly hit the floor. Ten seconds ago they were about to kill each other, and now they are complimenting each other. Every time she thought she had figured The General out, he unveiled that there is more to him; Celestia wondered just what would be revealed next.
“Well, let us get back to what we were doing, shall we?” Shadow once more tried to get back on subject.
“Shadow Spark, I dislike angering others, but I must say I will not surrender.” Celestia said firmly.
“Well, that’s too bad; it seems the street of your home will run with the blood of your subjects.”
“May I make an alternative action? How about you and me battle? Whoever wins will takes all. If you win, Celestia must give her life to you.” Hydregarn spoke calmly. But Celestia yelled out, “WHAT?!”
Shadow completely disregarded the princess for a few moments, “What happens if you win, General?”
“You will find out when we get there. Now, do you accept, or decline? The decision is yours.”
Shadow Spark thought for a few minutes. And Celestia took Hydregarn off to the side, where she proceeded to ask him, “ARE YOU INSANE?!”
“Ow, Celestia don’t yell so loud when you are this close to me please. You know I have very sensitive hearing.”
“Don’t change the damn subject! Now why in Tartarus did you make that gamble? You better be absolutely certain that you will be able to beat him.”
“Do you want my honest opinion?”
“Of course you idiot!”
“I have no idea.”
Hydregarn was then subject to Celestia’s VERY hard hoof hitting the side of his face. Not to mention the hoofguard on her leg, that added quite the sting.
“OW! What the hell! I think you cracked my lower jaw.”
“DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE RIGHT NOW?!”
“Well, from right here, no.”
“Why don’t you think you can beat him? I have seen you wipe out a dragon while nearly dead!”
“That is different! But I am sure I can at least get close to defeating him.”
“Close isn’t enough Hydregarn!”
“Celestia, just twenty minutes ago you were saying that you trust me, was that a lie? Were you just saying that to keep me thinking I am accepted here?”
“No! It was not a lie! Why would you think that?”
“I was making sure you trust me. By your constant questioning of me, I was beginning to think you were leading me on.”
“Your right, I’m sorry, I just think you need to be positive you can win.”
“If I don’t win, I’m going to be dead. Which I said I would be glad to do if it meant keeping you safe.”
“Just be careful….”
“I always am.”
Hydregarn began to walk away back toward Shadow Spark, Celestia said something to herself when she thought he was out of earshot, “You are my closest friend, I don’t want to lose you…”
“I didn’t know that Celestia….”
When the two had reached Shadow Spark and his underling, Shadow had seemed to have made his decision.
“Well, what is your choice? Do you accept, or decline?” Hydregarn asked with anticipation.
“I decided that I will accept your challenge, now you just need set a place for our combat.”
“Why not here in the fields? Here no others will be caught in our little skirmish.”
“You have a point, General. Let us meet back here in one month’s time. Prepare yourself, Hydregarn, this will not be easy.”
“I never said it would be….”
And with that, Shadow Spark and his companion were off, leaving to where neither Celestia nor Hydregarn knew.
The two then made their way back to the castle, and as usual, Hydregarn got the same looks he always does. But this time, Celestia had a new subject matter she wanted to discuss to keep his mind off of the staring.
“Hey Hydregarn, I have noticed that your giant claymore, the one you didn’t use when you first got here, you never let it leave your back. You always take it wherever you go. Why is that?”
“I am not going to say what it is, where it came, or what it does, but I will say I keep it to remember my past mistakes, so I don’t repeat them. It also helps me remember my mother, she might have kept an iron grip on me so I only do her bidding, but deep down, I knew she cared, even if it was a pitiful amount.”
Celestia wanted to ask, “Is there any particular reason it looks like it’s made of bones? And the case looks like scales? Also, why are there bindings around the hilt to keep it sheathed?” But she held the questions; she couldn’t ask about something he keeps to remind himself of his mistakes. But for all the reasons he had to despise his mother, he seems to feel guilty about something regarding her. The question burned in her, wanting to ask, but she just couldn’t.
“Celestia, I will tell you if the time comes. Don’t stress yourself so much.”
“Tell me what?” Celestia tried to act like she didn’t know what he was talking about, but he knew.
He sighed, “Fine, act like you don’t know.”
“Oh Hydregarn, I am very sorry, it’s just I have all these questions, but I’m too nervous to ask.”
“As I said, all will be answered in time.”
And to himself, “But some I hope are never revealed….”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, let’s just get to the castle.”
They made their way through to the castle, where a few guards were waiting for the two’s return. Celestia and Hydregarn both answered questions about what happened, but neither said anything about the proposition that had been made and accepted. The only thing to do now was to prepare for one hell of a battle, one which he cannot afford to lose, or the one closest to him will pay for his failure.
Hydregarn decided it would be best to start right away, so he made his way to the training courtyard. Celestia was too shaken and nerve racked to do anything else for the moment but to just watch him do whatever he did to train.
Celestia watched Hydregarn go through his activities and she found her mind wandering off into the first times of Hydregarn’s arrival. He was never nervous, but he was unsure about many things, since his home’s time period was a few thousand years behind that of Equestria’s. For the first few weeks, he didn’t go farther than the castle gardens. Most of the castle staff shared feelings of uneasiness when around him, but always shared a small giggle when Hydregarn came across something he had never seen before.
Celestia let out a laugh, he may be a hardcore warrior who can intimidate anyone just by looking at them, but she had to admit; he looked adorable trying to figure things out. The event that she remembered was when he tried to figure out a toaster. Celestia had managed to sneak up on him when he was in the process of trying to get it to work. What she saw made her laugh tremendously.
When she got to the door she saw he had just got to the toaster and tried to figure it out. He stood there for at least five minutes staring at it. He had already put the bread in the slots, but he didn’t seem to notice the handle you needed to push down to start it. He poked and prodded it, looked all over it, the entire time Celestia was stifling her laughter. The best part, he had no idea at least ten maids and Celestia herself were watching him fumble around with this thing. He finally saw the little switch for it, pushed in down, and felt like an idiot. But not three seconds after the toaster finished, all eleven ponies fell over in outrageous laughter, half of them crying in laughter, Celestia included. When he heard the laughter, he flipped around and jumped out of the sudden noise.
“How long have you all been there?!” He yelled in embarrassment.
Celestia choked out, “THE WHOLE TIME!!!!” and fell over again, unable to breathe from her laughter.
Hydregarn then had a massive blush over his face, and then he stormed off, leaving the toast where it was.
When Celestia was done, she claimed the toast for herself and went on with her morning. The entire day she suffered from fits of giggles and whenever she did, the others who saw giggled with her. And Hydregarn could just sit back and skulk.
In the present, Celestia doubled over in laughter in memory of this moment. As she did, a voice came from right next to her, “And what is so funny, Celestia?”
She was a bit spooked, but she kept laughing. “It’s nothing, General. Please (giggle) go on about your business.”
“Okay….so what are your plans for the rest of the day? You got everything you need to done this morning, and this business with Shadow Spark must not have been a good thing for you.”
“Don’t worry, I am just fine. And I’m not sure about what I’m going to do. Guess I will just go around and figure it out as I go along.”
“How about you head out and go to the spa or something? I would be more than willing to pay for the trip for you.”
“You are kind, but I can’t let you pay for me…”
“Yes you will. You owe me for something, and this is it.”
“Wait just a minute, what do I owe you? We haven’t made any bets or done any favors.”
“You already forgot? You slapped me in the face not an hour ago. And I must say, it was not very pleasant…”
“Oh, right. I guess I could let you just this once.”
“Good. See you when you get back.”
“I’m not going alone….”
“What do you mean? Who is going with you?”
Celestia gave him a devilish grin.
“Oh no, I’m not going with you! Personally, I like having my clothes on thank you.”
“Hydregarn, you do not have a choice in the matter.”
“Oh is that so? Make me!”
“My pleasure…”
Celestia’s wings unfolded and she took off after him. The General immediately turned around and bolted. For her size, Celestia was very agile and her speed was also a slight spook to Hydregarn. The General tried his best to lose her in the halls and different rooms.
“You can run, but you cannot hide from me General!” Celestia laughed.
“You haven’t caught me yet!”
Eventually, Hydregarn lost her for a brief moment and ran into the throne room, right outside stood a maid cleaning a few flower pots.
“Please, if you see Celestia, do not tell her I’m in here!” Hydregarn begged.
“Um, alright?”
“Thanks!” And he ran inside.
Just a few moments after the doors closed, Celestia came around the corner.
“Oh, hello Princess!” The maid greeted Celestia.
“Hey Glimmer! You didn’t happen to see Hydregarn come this way, did you?”
“He’s in there.” She pointed at the throne room.
“Thank you; you can take the rest of the day off.”
Celestia flew into the room. Glimmer stood outside to see what will happen. After a few thumps and yells, Celestia came skipping out with a large smile on her face, and Hydregarn being magically dragged by his feet with a VERY angry look; and grumbling to himself.
“I will deal with you later….” He said to Glimmer as he passed by on the floor.
“Sorry General, I will try and pay you back somehow.”
“Whatever….”
Shortly after arriving, Celestia and Hydregarn were both in the sauna. Celestia relaxing, Hydregarn; surprisingly he was relaxing to.
“You seem to being enjoying your visit to the spa; I didn’t think you would be this comfortable, especially since I can see under your towel….”
“WHAT!?” He flailed around or a second or two, then he realized she was only giving a little jest.
“Oh you are so much fun to mess with!” Celestia giggled.
“Can’t you go ten minutes without doing that?”
“No, I don’t think I can.”
“You are impossible to have as company…”
“Oh I just realized something.”
“What is it this time?” The annoyed tone in his voice was not that hard to miss.
“Hearts and hooves day in a few days.”
“What?” Hydregarn had a small look of fear in his eyes.
“I said hearts and hooves is in a few days.”
“Uh oh….”