I sighed as I closed the leather cover of the old book, looking out at the orange glow on the horizon. Well that sure answers a few questions i had on Trottenkahmen's Reign, as well as the spell he used to last so long... I think i almost have the necessary knowledge of dark magic to finally cast it... I thought as i moved back over to the cushion and pretended to be asleep as Zecora stirred.
She yawned as she rose and stretched, glancing my way before lighting a cooking fire and putting on some kind of oatmeal, grabbing some jars labeled in zebrecain. Let's see here... yes those go well... what is that? Mandrake root in oatmeal? Is she mad?
She then proceeded to taste test it, giving a nod to herself before walking over to me. "Nightshade, it is time to rise from your rest, i have already had time to prepare breakfast."
I made a point to seem tired as i rose and yawned. "I suppose it would be time to awaken. Mmm, smells lovely." She hasn't keeled over yet so i should be fine.
"Another recipe from my homeland, easy to make and it's flavor is far from bland." She said with a smile.
"Ah yes, oatmeal, it is amazing what you can do with such a common base, no?" I said as she passed me a bowl and i dug in, a hand carved spoon floating in the shadowy aura of my magic.
"Your magic is rather unique." Zecora said, looking at the magic fog around the spoon. "Do you know the reason or for that do you seek?"
"There was an accident when i was young, there was a strange burst of magic from within the royal palace which caused me to accidentally mix up a few of the strands of magic i was trying to use and i used a dark magic spell instead, blew a hole in the wall of the room i was in and knocked me out because of it. After that i awoke and found my magic's aura to be this dark color." I said. "I think it's a side effect of using black magic."
"Yes, the shadow magic as described by a friend of mine in ponyville, while dark it is not always evil."
"Oh? What is your friend's name?" I asked.
"Twilight Sparkle, the element of magic. If not for her Nightmare Moon's return, as well as that of Discord, would have been qute tragic."
Aw buck...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Thank you all for gathering so quickly" Celestia said to the six mares who stood before her.
"'Twern't Nothin Princess." Came the reply from the element of Honest, Applejack.
"Indeed, You know that we don't mind being called to canterlot on occasion." Rarity said with a smile.
"I-it's not a problem princess..." Fluttershy said softly with a small smile.
"Yeah, Whenever you call on us something we get to do something awesome!" A certain rainbow maned pegasis quipped enthusiastically.
"Dash, really?" Twilight said sighing. "anyhow, your letter was rather vague princess, what is it you need us to do?"
"Ooh, Ooh, lemme guess!" Pinki pie jumped up and down. "Is Discord back? No, we'd have seen it, a pestilance of parasprites? a herd of hydras? a mob of manticores? a communal of cockatrices? A-mrff!" Pinkie was silenced by an orange hoof.
"I'm sure you noticed the large crater in the gardens out back on your flight in, as well as the absence of a few statues..." Celestia said, looking tired. "The crater was caused by one of those statues."
"Wait... what do you mean?" Twilight said.
"What i'm about to say cannot leave this room, i trust the six of you which is why I'm telling you this..."
"Whatever do you mean princess?" Rarity asked, looking a little worried.
"Discord wasn't the only being trapped in stone within the gardens, there were six others..." She sighed. "They were all threats to Equestria in some way."
Twilight froze at gardens. "Wh-What?"
"They were locked away due to my lack of options, that and i did not wish to kill anypony." Celestia said. "Please don't let this color your opinion of me too much... It was a last resort."
"And i reckon by that crater that one of 'em broke free?" Applejack said worriedly.
"Yes... His name was... is... Starlight and if he isn't found he could pose a great threat to equestria." Celestia said as there was the sound of voices outside the throne room.
"... will let me enter this instant or i will have the lunar guard gain me entrance." Came a regal voice.
"I was hoping to avoid this..." Celestia said with a sigh, her horn glowing as she opened the doors. "It's alright, let her in."
"Sister, do you never listen to my advice? Even when you ask for it!" Luna exclaimed, clearly frustrated.
"P-princess luna?" Twilight stammered, clearly shocked at the sudden appearance of the Regent of the Night.
"Good morning Ms. Sparkle, and good morning to the rest of you as well, although i wish your visit was under better circumstances." Luna said. "Cele, have you told them just who Starlight was before you locked him in marble?"
"I was getting to that sister."
"And i can control the sun." Luna muttered. "Well continue on, although I would like to be sure the facts are presented, not an exaggeration."
Celestia sighed. "Sister please..."
"They do deserve to know who they are going to be fighting in your name." Luna said, a hint of venom in her words.
The elements looked at each other, slightly worried from the sudden confrontation.
"Luna Please..."
"I thought as much... Starlight was an old friend of mine before my banishment, He was locked away for studying the practice of dark magic and minor necromancy." Luna said. "Something i only recently discovered myself. He was also partially responsible for me becoming Nightmare Moon, although i'm sure if he had been given a chance he would have been the only one to see the true source of my madness and remove it." Luna said dryly. "However you locked him away before that..."
"Sister please stop..." Celestia pleaded, a tear falling.
"I'm almost done sister." Luna said with a sigh. "They should know this though, He was studying those magics to help ponies defend against it, however due to its nature and the fact that it was outlawed and he had been denied royal permission to study it he requested my help to study it in secret. This went smoothly for about twelve years until one of the spells we were working on, one to generate magical energy by drawing it out of matter, went wrong. The particular gemstone we were using to store the energy was flawed and exploded, throwing both of us into the spell circle, causing another explosion whose crater became the froggy bottom bog."
There was a long silence before Celestia spoke again. "I thought he had captured Luna and used her to try to run a spell due to the sheer amount of magic in the blast. I imprisoned him while Luna was unconscious." Her voice had gained an edge. "When you transformed into Nightmare Moon I was sure it was something he did..."
There was another long silence as the two princesses didn't want to continue.
"Well... What do we do about him?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"He's still a danger to Equestria..." Celestia said after a moment.
"Cele!" Luna had a shocked expression on her face.
"Lu, i wasn't finished yet." Celestia seemed even more tired than before. "He's still a danger to equestria, however due to us knowing neither his location, nor his current intentions i think we can't do anything but wait until those become clearer. I won't take any action yet but if he is out for revenge I will have no choice but to take action."
The other seven mares in the room nodded before Celestia spoke up again. "I'll have a notice put out for ponies to keep an eye out for him, but for now you six should return to ponyville... I'll be there in a few days time to search for any kind of clue to his whereabouts, there may be something beneath Froggy Bottom Bog."
"Princess Celestia... if i may make a suggestion?" Pinkie pie, for once, sounded nervous.
"Yes Ms. Pie?"
"Perhaps luna should do that." Everypony in the room looked at Pinkie, surprise plastered across their faces. "What? She knows where the place was, as well as she know him best out of all of us. If anypony has a chance of finding him it would be her."
"Pinkie that's... actually not a bad idea..." Dash said, bewildered.
"She does have a point princess..." Twilight admitted before muttering "and is the only one crazy enough to say it..."
"Say what?" Pinkie asked looking confused as Applejack facehoofed.
"Hmm... on one condition..." Celestia said after thinking for a moment. "You six shall accompany her, It's not that i don't trust you Lu, but you two were rather close before..."
"It's alright Cele, I understand." Luna smiled as she walked up to the sun princess. "I will meet you six at twilight's in two days." She said, turning to the elements of harmony before continuing up the steps to the throne. "Sister, you look stressed, take a day off. I'm sure i can handle things."
"That... sounds like a wonderful idea... just let me let my advisers know so they don't panic..."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Now... how to wiggle my way out of this one... I thought as Zecora led me into the library.
"Zecora? Whatever you doing here?" Came a coltish voice from around the corner as we entered.
"Ah, spike, is twilight around? We were wondering if a solution to my new friend's problem would be located in the library, where knowledge abounds."
Spike came into view right then, a young green and purple dragon. "No, she's out in Canterlot right now, the princess summoned her and the rest of the elements."
"That does not sound very good." I said, faking concern to keep up the poker face.
"It probably isn't, but it's nothing those mares can't defeat. Even Discord and Nightmare Moon were powerless at their feet."
"Don't you mean hooves?" Spike asked, obviously confused at the odd choice of the word for non hoofed leg endings.
"It's to keep with the rhyme scheme my friend." I said chuckling.
"That it is little dragon, although i think our meeting is beginning to drag on." Zecora said with a small smirk.
"Yes, it seems Ms. Sparkle isn't in, so i'll stop by some other time. Thank you for your time Spike." I said with a smile. "It was nice meeting you." And nice to not have to deal with my descendant... it's nice to know my family still exists though. Sunlight survived our foal's birth then. I had come to terms with outliving my wife and son long ago.
"Nice to meet you too mr?"
"Nightshade." I said as me and Zecora stepped out the door.
"I should be able to make it home from here, thank you, unless you wish to see my place. It is a very old house that not many know of, although a mare named Trixie has been staying for a while, she seemed in need of a roof over her head."
"That blue coated showmare is still near the town? I thought she would have not wished to stick around." Zecora said.
"Oh? What happened? I never asked her why she showed up, just if she needed shelter. She's stuck around ever since."
"I will let her tell you her tale then. I do not wish to spark any misunderstandings again." Zecora said with a chuckle.
"Oh?"
"When i first arrived last year, my appearance the ponies did fear. The though i was some kind of evil being, but the truth, twilight coaxed their eyes into seeing."
"Ah, yes i know of what you speak of. I have been chased out of a few communities because of my magic's aura."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In about half an hour we had reached my house, the last few minutes of the trip had passed in silence as i mentally contacted trixie and explained the cover story, which she agreed to go along with in exchange for some tutoring in more powerful magics.
Stepping through the overgrown gate, Zecora spotted my house among the dense forest around it.
"Do you not keep the trees and vines off of your walls? I do not think you'd want them invading your halls."
"I have placed enchantments on the building to prevent nature from getting too friendly with it, although, i do not mind it looking aged as it is, it has a certain charm to it." I said smiling as i saw my protection enchantments had kept the building intact, although vines and moss covered it and the clay roof tiles could use some minor repairs. "Although, i think i should get around to fixing the roof sometime soon." I said opening the large oak door.
"Hello Nightshade." Trixie said, putting on an act of familiarity. It's fortunate that a showmare happened to find my house, for if not i'd be in a bit more trouble. I thought as zecora bought the act.
"Hello Trixie, I'm sorry about the probable rude awakening yesterday, had a spell blow up in my face and drop me in the Everfree."
"That's alright, i was just about to go find some ingredients for a spell if that's alright with you."
"That's fine, i was just going to show Zecora the library."
"Nice to meet you Zecora. I'm Trixie." The powder blue showmare said.
"It is nice to meet you as well. Now shall we see this library if it is still well?"
"The spell didn't damage it and i cleaned up any mess in there." Trixie said as she stepped out. In reality she was just going to go to a small clearing and meditate for some time.
"Follow me my zebra friend, the library is at this hallway's end." I said with a smile in near-perfect Zebrecain.
"Ah my native tongue graces my ears, it is nice to hear after so many years." She said as we stepped into one of the many halls of the house. "Although if you wish we do not have to rhyme all of the time."
"That would be a welcome change from when i was in your homeland, why do they rhyme like that?"
"It is a method to keep the mind stimulated, for speaking in rhyme is a challenge to most." She said as she started looking around. "Your collection is impressive, many of these books i have only heard of, and i have visited my nations greatest library. How long have you been collecting?"
"To be honest the oldest and rarest i inherited from my father, the rest i found in my travels. when you have been as far as the leonine nations to northern draconia, you tend to find a few treasures. I have even been as far south as the penguin nations, although my stay there was short." I said.
"That is an impressive amount of distance... would you mind if i borrowed a few of these older tomes?" She asked indicating a few on herbology.
"Not at all, I just ask you to allow me to make a copy of your copy of the dark book, i could realy use one." I replied with a smile.
"Is that all? an apple would cost me more than that. You would make a terrible entrepreneur." Zecora said laughing
"Ah but you cannot put a price tag on knowledge my striped friend." I replied as i picked up a large purple pearl and placed it in a pedastal between two small desks. I the proceeded to lay the dark book upon the one on the left. "One thousand and seventy four pages correct?" I asked as i headed for a door.
"Yes, why?"
"I placed an ink copying spell in that pearl. I need the same number of pages though." I said as i returned with an iron bound blank book. "I had a feeling i'd be copying this particular title so i already have a suitable blank."
"That's rather impressive..." Zecora said as i placed the blank on the second table, opening it to the first page and activating the spell.
"For a book this size, it will take roughly a day to copy, i can bring it to your place tomorrow or drop it off at another location if you wish" i said as the first page's ink started to appear on the parchment of the blank.
"Hmm... leave it with Ms. Fluttershy, but wrap it up so she does not see the cover, she is a good friend of twilight and i'm afraid Ms. Sparkle would know what that book is, and the legality of that tome." She replied as we walked for the door.
"That i will do, it has been a pleasure meeting you Zecora. Stop by any time during the day, at night i'm afraid i have a small family of cockatrices that like to hunt under Luna's moon." I said with a smile.
"How many are there, i may have something that can keep them out of your hair." Zecora said, intrigued.
"Four to six, i haven't really counted, although they stay within the walls so they are no threat to the town and i don't mind them, they prove to be very reliable guards of the property." I said as we stepped out onto the path from my house.
"I will keep that idea in mind, taming manticores, with the right knowledge, is not out of my abilities, and in the everfree they are not hard to find." She said.
"That is true." I laughed. "Well, arrivederci Zecora, and have a pleasant day."
"Likewise my new friend, and may you find happiness at each day's end." Zecora rhymed as she started away from the house.
I smiled as she left and stepped back into the house, mentally contacting Trixie.
Showmare, my guest is gone, you may return to the main house.
You could have warned me of the cocatrices... She replied, anger tinging the mental speech.
Yes, i could have but they let you reach the house so i knew you would be fine.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"So, Ms. Trixie, what am i to do with you?" I said as she entered the library, looking up from the Naturon Demento. "I have quite the problem on my hooves, if i chase you off you'd tell the authorities of my book collection, if i keep you around you'll probably find some of my activities to be darker than what you can handle, and if i let you go your way i'll have no way of ensuring that you keep your mouth shut about my current location." Let us see how good of a thinker she is, and if she could be a possible apprentice...
"Well Tr- sorry, I would like to stay around and learn more magic, i have nowhere else to go and i can help out around here..." She said quietly, sounding disappointed.
"Even if those jobs involved going into ponyville to get supplies?" I said with a small smirk.
"I... I don't know if they would allow me back into their town... last time was there my... stage persona... convinced two young colts to attract an ursa minor to the town and it nearly destroyed it. The incident was blamed on me and if I hadn't left they would have run me out of town." She said with a sigh. "Everything I owned was in my wagon, which was crushed by the Ursa, i've been trying to find the spells i had collected but not yet learned, it has been difficult but i managed to find most of them here... you have quite the remarkable collection."
"Second only to canterlot for old spell books..." I said with a smile. "Nothing here aside from the book i am borrowing is under 1000 years old."
"That was before the book banishment..."
"Yes, Due to dark magic being one of the catalysts for Luna's transformation, Celestia destroyed every book regarding it that she could find. Fortunately she didn't discover my collection."
"Don't you mean this collection?"
"No i mean my collection, as for how that is possible, well i will explain that later. As for now, what kind of magic would you like to learn? Aside from dragon magic i know most kinds."
"Something i can't learn anywhere else, something that i will never again get the chance to learn." She answered with a conviction that surprised me.
"... Very well showmare, i will teach you some of the oldest and most powerful magic out there... but be warned, it is more than just fun and games to wield that kind of power." I said as i stood, hamming up the line like i used to, adding that extra zest that would solidify me as the teacher.
"What kind of magic?" She asked.
The room darkened as i started to speak, all my doing of course, "Magic that has been forbidden for nearly two milenia after the fourth Celestial war, Magic so powerful that Celestia herself fears its might." The only light now came from a runic circle slowly forming on the stone that made up the floor of the library, green fire scribing the lines in the stone. "Its traditional name is the dark arts, but you all call it black magic."
Her eyes went wide at that, for i doubt anypony aside from Luna knew much of the old arts, fewer even would know about the dark arts.
"So what say you Trixie the Showmare? Do you accept the offer?"
"Yes!" She nearly shouted.
"Then swear upon my next words. Do you swear to listen to my judgement and only use what i teach you to benefit Equestria?"
"I swear it." She said, the flame of the runic circle had spread and now surrounded her with a light blue circle which pulsed at the words.
"Do you swear, Trixie, to not harm any being with this magic unless they are a threat to those who prefer peace to the war open knowledge of this magic would cause?"
"I do."
"And do you swear, Trixie of the Stardust family, the family of my first student in magic," She gasped at that one, "To seek the truth and knowledge that is hidden in the shadows, and to only believe that which is proven true in both day and night, light and shadow, public and private, and to follow the ways of the Lunar Scholar? The ways of one who seeks the truth to protect others, and does what must be done to achieve this end?"
With steel in her voice and determination in her eyes, she spoke the final agreement as the circles flared, runes spreading across her body a crescent moon around a lemniscate shining through the fur of her cutie mark before fading away.
"The oath has been taken, the seal set and the path of the sun closed, you are now a child of Princess Luna and though we may survive the day we thrive through the moonlit night." I said as the circles faded, the room starting to brighten. "I, Starlight Sparkle, welcome you to the order of Moon Trixie Stardust, your training begins at sundown."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Author's note:
Well that took a little longer, but i'd say it's worth it. Drop a comment below with what you think of it.
also, the lemniscate is the infinity symbol --> ∞
P.S. hooray for sudden plot ideas, they are what keep my stories going!