//------------------------------// // Dark Knowledge // Story: A Thousand Years Ago. // by Illusion Flight //------------------------------// "........ Well, that's what happened after you and Nyx I mean, the alicorn liar. Oh! Almost forgot, the village has declared me new guardian due to my training progress. I got to show you next time I come over. Hmm. Guess that's it. Reply soon Luna! Your Frightful Friend, Illusion Flight. " Luna turned the letter around, checking to see if there is any other messages. Barely knowing her latest new found pegasus friend, besides Private Wub Step; who has permanently placed as her personal guard, couldn't know what she does. Nonetheless, the princess inspected the letter. Nothing. She checked the envelope. 'Noth- Wait, ..... YES!' Besides the night pegasus's poor hoof writing, there was a sloppy message on the back. ' Ask the mail mare, Twirl Feather, about a small piece of paper.' " Err, Twirl Feather, Is it? " The purple-ish, gray mare nodded, her pink eyes faced each other. Her blonde and silver mane almost covering up the right eye. "Illusion Flight always reminds ponies to remind me about her small messages. I got it,.... right.... HERE!" Twirl Feather exclaimed whilst scavenging through her luggage. "Well, sorry princess, I gotta fly. More deliveries." "Of course. I wont keep them waiting." And with that the mail mare was off. ' What a strange mare...' Luna placed the small piece of paper on her desk. She had to get to work. Surely nothing was on there she needed to read at the very second? Leaving the room, she slammed the door. The force from it caused the scrap of paper to fall from the small desk onto the flaming logs by it. The note read, 'Also, I'm flying over tonight. Strange noises have been coming from the forest, ponies are disappearing from neighboring villages, I wondered if... ' The remainder of the note was left to burn. *********************************************************************************************************** "Ok Sombra! If you are going to be the kingdoms next king, your going to prove to me that YOU, yes, YOU! Are the pony for this task!" Luna resided. Sombra, who was sitting in a desk like a he was at school. Going along with the theme, he raised his hoof. Luna glared, annoyed that her speech was interrupted. "Yes, Sombra?" "Aren't I training today to be a prince. Not a king? I mean, wouldn't I have to marry to be a king?" He asked. " Well, yes. But still, if you want to be a good ruler, you pay attention to EVERYTHING. Not just one topic. Anyways, you're going to have to get a queen if you live up to my expectations." "Okay. But one thing, what is dark magic?" Sombra inquired. The lunar princess stiffened up at the very mention of the foul subject. She turned her back on him. "SHUT YOUR HEATHEN MOUTH! THOU SHANT SPEAKTH OF THE FOUL MAGIC. " She exclaimed. Sombra was shocked, lost for words. Luna had never once used the Royal Voice on him, well, maybe once or twice. But even so, it was just a question. Even so, he hated when Luna was upset with him. "I'm sorry Luna. I shouldn't have asked after yesterday morning." He apologized. Luna blinked, she looked at her hooves. She had been too hard on the young apprentice. She sighed. Facing the grey stallion, whose eyes were on his desk. "No." She began, looking intensively at the handsome apprentice. " I was too hard on the question. You've done nothing wrong. That is why I'm proud to call you my apprentice." Young Sombra looked up, a smile paced on his face. "Not after today! I'll be able to call myself royalty!" He boasted. Luna snickered. His ambition was large, it drove him to do greatness. But, with too much ambition, comes disaster. "Yes, but today you're still my apprentice. And, as a special lesson, I will give you access to the forbidden archives. Where all books on dark magic are kept." The princess's tone changed from proudness to a dark, serious attitude. " BUT, be warned, Never! EVER! read the books aloud. They curse the ones that speak out." Sombra nodded, not daring to show his excitement. He was beckoned to head towards the study. As he left, Luna rushed to her drawer. Bringing out a quill and paper she wrote a letter to the sun princess. ' Dearest Sister, As you know, my apprentice Sombra, has come on his final exam. I've sent him to the Forbidden Archives to answer his questions of Dark Magic. Do Not Worry, I have informed him on the danger. And, to be sure, I've cast a special protection spell to keep all dark magic from corrupting him. Unless of course, HE cast the spell on himself. But he wouldn't do that... ' ******************************************************** Illusion Flight was posted on the North section of her village. Noises from the forest had caused her to get a partner to keep the village safe. One eligible stallion volunteered for the job. This stallion just happened to be Cosmic Shadow. The pair was thrilled. Now as she explained her shifts and his, not only was she excited for her visit with Luna later, but she got to hang out with the stallion of her dreams. Weird dreams, ones of saving the world together or ones of just hanging out, but dreams nonetheless. "Okay, so tonight I'm heading out. That means you'll have to be here, here and here. The guard squad will handle the rest." The mare said, pointing to the center of the town, the forest line, and the wall perimeter. "How do you know where the squad goes?" Cosmic Shadow asked. " Even I don't know which route they take." "Simple. I TALK to people. You should try it." Illusion Flight teased. " Anyways, Commando Strike told me." Even though the pegasus mare said the name with annoyance, Cosmic Shadow bristled at the fact his friend so much time with her. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hide the hint of jealousy. Okay, not a hint, a pretty large amount of jealousy. ' Stallions. What gives? He's only my friend for Celestia's sake!' She thought, noticing it. "Why are you talking to him? Cosmic Shadow asked. "Wait. Really? You're jealous? No way!" the strange mare began. Gesturing with her hoof, she replies, " Please, every little detail of him makes me sick. His orange coat, the black and green mane, and the horrendous cutie mark. A simple sword? Really? Anyways, you're the only guy who's caught my eye." " SISTER!!! You got to get going!" A small voice called out. "Okay Sunset Sky I'll be right there." Illusion Flight replied. With that, a little flash of hot pink went by. A green and blue tail flying past. The small filly had a musical scale as a cutie mark. " See you at the house." She called. The teal mare turned to the black unicorn, sadness In her eyes for leaving so soon. He returned the look of disappointment. "I have to go. If we're going to get more protection from what's out there, this is our best chance." She sighed sadly. " I'll be back in the morning. Don't get yourself caught." Then she kissed him on the cheek. She turned, and flew off. "Goodbye." He whispered. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the castle, Sombra arrived at the study, he looked around the large room. Not once had he come across the Forbidden Archives, like many before him. He walked to the center of the library of knowledge. A familiar unicorn was sitting there. She was reading a book called, 'The Ways of Fire Magic', It was written by the famous Star swirl the Bearded. She also had a book with her own cutie mark on it. A violet flower slowly turning into a quill . The book on the other hoof was likely her journal. " Ah hm." The grey stallion coughed. The unicorn mare looked up. Her emerald green eyes widened with familiarity. Her foggy- white coat shiny compared to the gloominess of the dark corridor. She used her magic to get the dark purple strands of her mane out of the way. The unicorn smiled and stood up, revealing that she was unnaturally taller than most ponies. "Violet Scribe. May you direct me to the Forbidden Archives? Luna sent me here to answer a question of mine." Sombra said cheerfully. The mare looked surprised. " The Forbidden Archives? I'm sorry Sombra, Your not one to lie , but I cannot allow it to anypony. Not even the princess's apprentice. Unless, Luna sends me a letter." She replied in a flat, smooth tone. At that very moment, a light blue flash came and went. In its place was a note. Violet Scribe read it. Her eyes skimmed the page quickly. "Very well. I will reveal the Archives to you Sombra. First, do you know the danger?" She asked suddenly. He simply nodded. Princess Luna had informed him of all he need to know. " I'd probably be dead if not for her.." He thought to himself. "Okay, follow me." She said, snapping him out of his thinking. Violet Scribe led him down the oldest section of the library. Sombra was confused, he had been here a million times. ' How could this place be "Forbidden"?' He thought. "If you think this is all , I'm sorry to say you're wrong." The mare remarked, as if reading his mind. " We're here." "This is it?" Sombra inquired. " Its a dead end." "Surely you're brighter than that? Come ON! The knowledge of the most evil spells in history are stored here." The mare said mockingly. Her horn lit up with a ocean- blue aura. She focused her magic on the wall, sweat rolled past her eyes, showing her struggle to control the amount of power surging through her as she completed the spell. Upon releasing the spell, the wall glowed brightly. The two ponies shielded their eyes from the blinding light. Had they not, they would've seen a black cloud go through the light. Warping through it. As the light disappeared, Violet Scribe disappeared as well. "Violet Scribe?" Sombra searched for the unicorn mare. 'I guess she went back while I wasn't looking.' He contemplated. He turned towards the wall, which now held a door made of black crystal. He carefully walked towards it. Opening it, he popped his head to peak through. His red eyes widened at the sight before him. Every direction he looked there were books. So many books. He instantly became entranced by his need for knowledge. He rushed skimming over the titles, oh, the things he could learn from this simple room. He rushed towards the back of the room. 'Dark Magic- Immortality spells, Love spells, I might need to use that one. ' He thought. ' Multiplication spells, and Corruption spells.' He stopped on "Corruption Spells" He flipped the pages to get to the right page. It was blank. ' Use your magic.....' a mare's voice whispered. Thinking it was Luna, Sombra obeyed and used his magic on the book. This triggered a magical effect, causing his eye whites to turn green, purple mist streamed out of his eyes. Suddenly images came to him. It showed him, wearing a red cape with iron armor, His horn was tipped with red, and he was joined by Princess Luna. Only she was taller, she now had a black coat, and her eyes. Those terrible eyes! They were replaced by turquoise, reptilian eyes. She had a midnight blue cape, much like his vision-self. The scene switched. In this one, a beaten Celestia lay on the ground. Only her wings and horn was gone. She bowed before them. She opened her eyes, they were filled with a terrible amount of fear. " Celestia, you were once a powerful ruler, but like all powerful rulers you over shadowed those around you. Much like my dear wife here. My Queen, Nightmare Moon." He turned to Luna. " My dear, what shall we do with your former sister." The normal Sombra was mortified. It was a nightmare, a curse, something! Just Something! This wasn't right. Yet, he saw himself, married and sitting beside Luna. Or Nightmare Moon. Yes, it was true, he did always like Luna but he would never rule beside her like this. The vision Luna stood up. Her black coat contradicting her elder sister's. Her eyes cold. But, for just a moment, she showed a look of sympathy. It was soon covered up by a wicked smile. Fangs barred out at the sun goddess. " Dearest Sister," She spat. " As ruler of the day and elder princess, you were blessed with adoring subjects. Every pony at your side, but, you became obsessed with the limelight. You over shadowed me, Sombra, and our ponies. You did crimes against us all, and for what?" the visionary Luna did not wait for an answer. " That's right. Yourself! We all once looked up to you. Loved you. But you betrayed us. Had Discord not stopped your reign, giving up his life, he would be ashamed of his...." Luna stopped. She hated it, hated what pain the poor soul went through. Sadness cracked her voice, while her face showed no remorse." Lover. " Celestia shook as tears flowed out of her eyes. She looked up at her young, powerful sister, the queen. Her rose-pink eyes pleaded for mercy. " Please, please Luna. Please forgive me." She cried. " Forgive me sister. But I must do my duty." She paused. "And be loyal to my subjects. I decree, my sister, to be executed at 9:00 P.M. When the moon is rising." With those last words, the vision shifted. It was dusk. He was standing in a crowd of angry ponies. As he readjusted to his surroundings, he heard his vision self. " As the Queen decreed, the evil tyrant Celestia," The crowd up roared, the ponies pilling over each other, reaching out for the white mare by the king. "is to be hanged!!" The crowd cheered. "Down with the Sun!" "Long Live King Sombra!" "Long live Queen Luna!" These were the awful things Sombra heard. He looked up, Celestia already had a noose around her neck. She wasn't looking at the angered ponies, instead she looked past them. Sombra turned, looking over the enraged ponies. He gasped. Instead of her recent regal outfit, Luna was now wearing blue armor, her flowing mane glowed against the sunset. "Long Live Discord! Our savior!" She shouted. Her horn lit up, signaling the rise of the moon. King Sombra put his hoof on the lever by Celestia, who was powerless without her wings or magic. He gazed across the ponies, stopping at Normal Sombra. He spoke loud and clear. "Long Live Equestria!" It was then the king pulled the lever, and Celestia's body fell. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "NNNNNNOOOOOO!!!" Sombra screamed. He looked around frantically, sighing in relief as he realized that he was by the book. He looked at the spells name. " The Spell of Fear." Sombra's blood ran cold. It wasn't Luna who told him to use his magic. It was somepony else. He searched around. Stopping at a mirror. He ran towards it. His eyes widening at the sight. He put his hoof on the glass. His reflection's touch being blocked by the thin glass. Sombra's fear- filled eyes met cool, calm pure red eyes. Who had whites that were green. Purple mist pouring out of his eyes. "Is it everything you've ever dreamed Sombra?" A female voice came out, it was strangely familiar. "Velvet Fire. Remember?" The stallion narrowed his eyes. "I do remember." he thought, his horn lighting up."She's the one who controlled Luna!" "Yes. Yes. Luna! Is she all you ever think about? That Princess?" She said mockingly. " You shouldn't hangout with some princess that likes her own apprentice, waiting for him to be a prince." While he was serious, he couldn't help but feel joy at that news. Snapping back into reality, he snapped at the reflection, who had changed into a dark purple unicorn with blue eyes. Her horn tipped with red. " How'd you hear what I was thinking?" He snapped. "You want to know more about dark magic? Well, better spells than that." She asked. "But, to answer your question, I've connected with the dark magic. My eyes are a symbol of that. It's a sign of power. And with that power, comes with knowledge. So, I can hear your thought through the dark magic." He was intrigued, never had he heard of such magic. He almost wanted her to teach him all she knows. He quickly shook that thought away. "I'd never betray Luna for your games." He said. "Oh. you wouldn't have to betray her. I'm just offering some spells in case something bad happens. Let's say, I don't know, what you saw in that book there." She replied. He shook. The mare was convincing. And his curiosity and fear got the better of his judgment. "If you teach me a few spells, only a few, I won't tell Luna about this." He commented. "Begin tomorrow? After tonight you'll be a prince. Able to wed your beloved princess." She asked quizzically. "Sure. I expect you'll hold up your word?" He asked. "On my honor." She vowed. "Oh. and take a few books with you. they'll give you a better understanding of everything." Sombra did as told and left the Archives. Velvet Fire stood as a black mist. "Excellent. Now, the draconaquis." She said, smiling evilly. With a new prince at her side, all she needed was to get back at the sun princess. Through Discord. " Lets make things Disappear." She chuckled to herself.