Chapter 97
I spun around quickly and looked behind me for whoever had spoken. I saw the same glowing light floating in the center of the room above some symbol.
I got into a defensive stance and observed the orb. 'Please tell me you have some idea of what that is?'
'I have no idea.'
"Oh come now, surely you haven't completely forgotten." The voice said catching me off-guard
Both the darkness and I were silent. 'Can...can it read our mind?'
"Is it really that hard to believe."
"Are you sure you don't know what that is?" I asked the darkness. "It seems to know you."
'If I did I would've told you already.'
"Perhaps you need something to remind you, Deo."
I felt the sudden surprise from the darkness. 'No...it-it can't be."
"What is it, do you know what it is?" I asked.
'...Only one has ever used that name before.' The darkness said. 'It's Gaia.'
I faltered and stared at the light with complete surprise. "So what's the significance of Deo, who is that?" I asked.
'...'
"Are you-"
'NO!' The darkness cut me off.
I heard chuckling coming from the light. "I'm sorry, but it is quite entertaining to see your interactions with Deo." The voice said.
"Should I be scared?" I asked.
'I have no idea.'
"Worry not, I have no intention of bringing you any harm." The voice said again.
I looked at the light and let my body relax slightly. "So...you're Gaia?" I asked.
"Yes, Now what does that name mean to you?" She asked.
"Gaia, the creator and first bearer of the darkness. Creator of light and the world as we know it." I told her, I could tell that she was agreeing with each point. "...And the mother of Celestia and Luna." I said, I could tell there was some surprise from Gaia.
"That...is something that I would not expect many to know." She said. "Where did you learn of that? From Deo?" She asked.
"Partially, I learned of you from him. I learned your relationship from Celestia herself though." I answered.
"You know Celestia?" She asked.
I smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess you could say I'm pretty good friends with both her and Luna." I said. "...Wait shouldn't you know this, can't you read my mind?" I asked.
"I stopped doing so after I got your first reaction. I thought it would be funny to see how you reacted." She told me. "So how did you meet my daughters?"
I rubbed the back of my head. "Well...I was kind of thrown in the dungeon after I attacked my father. I first met Celestia when she came down to talk to me, after speaking with my friends, who she already knew, she wanted to see if I really deserved to be in the dungeon. I guess I passed." I told her.
"You attacked you're father? Why would you do that?" Gaia asked.
"Well when you have a monster living in your head, and most everypony knows it and typically don't like you. My father was no exception, I accepted this and simply tried to ignore him. Then he decided to talk bad about my sister, that pushed me over the edge." I told her.
"A monster...is that how you view Deo?" She asked me.
"Well he kind of wants to destroy Equestria and most of the world, so pretty much, yeah." I told her.
Gaia was silent for a moment. "It appears the darkness I once knew is very different from the one you know."
"Meaning?" I asked confused.
"The darkness that I took into my mind, Deo, was not evil in the slightest. He was kind, and helpful. He helped me learn what was hurting my little ponies and helped me take care of them." Gaia told me.
'You-you mean you didn't bind the first darkness to your will?' The darkness asked.
"No, we worked together, we were very good friends, shouldn't you know this, and what do you mean first darkness?" She asked.
"You...you don't know about the incarnations?" I asked.
"Incarnations?" She responded.
'Hate to tell you, but I, and every darkness before me, can still die. Granted it's a bit harder than a normal pony, but still possible. It's been a long time since the darkness that you knew died. As an incarnation I share the memories of previous darkness's, but the farther back I go the less is clear. I have maybe a hoofful of memories from the first incarnation. It's how I knew the name Deo, but I don't have much else.' The darkness explained. 'Was the original darkness really not focused on conquering Equestria?' He asked.
"Very much so, he was focused on helping Equestria." Gaia told him. "Since when did the darkness's goal change?"
'I have memories back to the third incarnation trying to control Equestria, I don't know about the second.' He answered.
"So...you really don't know what's been happening?" I asked.
"No, my consciousness is confined to this temple. I cannot see what is happening outside of it. So could you tell me how are Tia and Lulu?"
I smiled. "They're doing pretty great. They've been ruling Equestria together for quite some time, and Equestria is prospering." I told her.
"That's good to here." Gaia said.There is something else, I sense from you. An overflowing of Harmonic magic. There is but one source that could give off that much energy."
"You must mean the Elements of Harmony. I'm pretty good friends with all six of them."
"All six? Each element has found a true bearer?" Gaia asked. Never thought the day would come when all six were bonded individually at once." She said.
I chuckled. "Believe it or not five out of six of them were all living in the same town before the even became the bearers."
Gaia chuckled. Really, five of them? That is astounding." She said. "You know, I've realized that I don't know who you are even. What is you're name young one?" Gaia asked.
"My name is Shadowmere." I answered.
"Now you say that the darkness inside you is a monster, but you seem to get along with him fairly well." She said.
"...Well, he's improved over time. I suppose he's gotten better at not trying to destroy Equestria." I told her.
"Shadowmere." Gaia said, her tone no longer happy, whatever she was going to say, she needed it to be taken seriously. "Now that the door to the temple is open, I can feel more of Equestria . There is a great evil coming to Equestria, I must ask for you're help protecting it." She told me.
My eyes widened a moment. "I'm sorry to say, but I might not be the best candidate for saving Equestria." I said to her.
"I believe that you are exactly what is needed" Gaia told me. Gaia's magic form moved from over the sigil towards a door on the side. "Inside this room you will find an artifact. I need you to take it and keep it safe. It will help fend off the approaching evil." The glowing ball of magic flickered slightly. "I fear that I have been in this temple for quite some time. I do not think I will be able to reside here for much longer." She told me. The door opened and I walked in. There was a single chest in the room. "Take the artifact, keep it a secret from everypony if you can. It will help you when you need it, and when you are ready for it." Gaia said from behind me.
I leaned down and opened the chest. Inside was a single coin. It was old, a design that I didn't even recognize. The most prominent feature was that one side of the coin was white, while the other was black. "What do I do with it?" I asked.
The room was silent and I received no response. I suddenly became aware that I no longer felt the overwhelming magic pressure anymore. I heard a loud banging as the door to the large room I was once in was opened. I quickly stuffed the coin into my bags.
Gaia wasn't here anymore.