//------------------------------//
// ...Can Go Dark 
// Story: Spellbooks, Dating and Why Humans don't like the Arcane 
// by Emerald Oracle 
//------------------------------//

		Kenny stared wordlessly forward at the smoking hole in the wall across from him. Celestia and the Elements had already left to begin the search for Morgan, leaving only Luna to comfort him. She lay next to him on all fours, her head, sans her crown, resting in his lap. He had been sitting staring like this for nearly half an hour, his eyes never wavering away from the portal from which his friend had escaped from after the power of the Nightmare had overtaken her. Luna had begun to worry for him, finding the usually flighty and energetic human so void of life very unsettling. She lifted her head to nudge at his arm in hopes of eliciting even the smallest reaction from him, if only to confirm he was in fact still among the living. 

"You ever feel like you've fucked up shit so hard that you'll never be able to recover from the sheer stupidity of it all blowing up in your face?" Kenny suddenly spoke, his voice quiet and breathy. 

Luna pondered his words and the answer he was looking for before finally answering in a quiet voice of her own, "Yes, after I came home from my banishment, I felt like I would not ever be able to earn back my sister's or my kingdom's forgiveness. If Celestia had not welcomed me with an open heart like she had, I may not have been able to bear the guilt for my actions so long ago."

She was surprised to hear Kenny chuckle grimly. "I'd completely forgot about that little point of your character," He said. "You probably understand better than anyone hear how shitty I feel."

Luna turned to face Kenny fully, giving him a deeply sympathetic look as she said, "My sister could probably better sympathize, seeing as she has shared with me many a time her own guilt over have let me become a Nightmare. However, I think it is much more important that we discuss how you are handling this right now. You mustn't blame yourself for this. As I have told my sister, it is not your fault. You couldn't have known this would happen anymore than the rest of us. Understand that shouldering the blame will not solve anything."

Kenny weakly nodded, but Luna could see that he was at least trying to put her words to heart. She raised herself on her fore-hooves to nuzzle his cheek softly with her muzzle and then lay her head on his shoulder. 

"What do I do now?" Kenny asked Luna, eyes still never leaving the hole. 

Luna sighed darkly before answering, "Nothing, you are in no state to assist my sister or the Elements of Harmony in apprehending her."

It startled Luna very much when Kenny suddenly whirled on her, departing from his position on the wall to stare her in the eye with his stunned and angry glare. "How can I do nothing?!" He cried in outrage. "My friend is being taken over by a malevolent spirit and you want me to stand on the sidelines and let the girls handle it? I've been training for years to handle situations just like this! I am the most qualified out of any you to deal with Morgan right now!" He rose to his feet, Luna following suit as well. Kenny ran his hand through his air in exasperation before continuing, saying in a stressed tone much to quickly for Luna to respond, "The girls don't even have the Elements anymore! What are they going to do without them when they catch her? The best they could do is imprison her, or.... or..." His voice died out, unwilling to continue that train of thought. He collapsed to the ground once more and began sobbing into his arms, muttering, "Fucking hell on earth I've fucked this up. Alfred gave me one fucking job, 'Keep Morgan Safe,' and I fucked it up. What the fuck have I done? Fuck!"

He finally quieted when Luna's hooves wrapped around him from behind. She rested her head comfortingly above his chest, letting his chin rest on the top of her head. "Ssshhh....." She whispered. "It will be okay, we'll find Morgan and we'll make things right. When you have recovered you will join us, no sooner. Now, you need to rest and relax."

Kenny was silent in her embrace for a little while before he spoke in a weak and tired voice, "One thing, I need to do one thing to help. Then I'll leave you to it."

Luna didn't respond immediately, silently mulling over his request. After some careful deliberation, she said, "Very well, what will you do?"

Kenny lifted one arm and began to chant under his breath.  A small ember drifted from the still smoking hole in the wall into his outstretched palm. Just before it would land on his palm, it exploded into a small flame. Luna noticed a pair of golden eyes peering from the depths of the base-ball sized fire. Kenny brought the flame closer to him and whispered a few words to it. He then asked Luna, "Could you bring me that candle over there?"

Luna levitated the unlit candle over to him, and Kenny set the flame on the exposed wick. The flame shrank soon afterwords to a more believable size. Kenny handed the candle into Luna's waiting hooves saying, "If and when it finds Morgan, this flame will guide you to her. simply follow where it points."

Luna nodded as she peered into the small flame. "I will bring this to my sister. I want you to go to your room and sleep. I'll find you before you wake."

Kenny nodded and Luna gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "We'll fix this, I promise,"  she said before she left. 

Kenny stared out into the countryside of Equestria a little longer before he rose to his feet and finally left. 





"Do we know how long that might take?" Celestia asked her sister. Luna had quickly honed in on her sister above the Everfree Forest after leaving the castle and had explained to them the purpose of the candle she held. "What if it goes out before it finds her?"

"I doubt that will happen," Luna answered. "It is unusually cool for a flame, and it seems wholly unaffected by the winds caused by my flight here. I would believe that only Kenny or the spirit itself could snuff it."

A guard arrived and saluted. "Your Highness, I'm sorry to say the trail has gone cold. It would seem she had noticed our pursuit and has taken efforts to cover her tracks. There is no evidence of any magical means of relocating herself, but any physical trail she may have left is being quickly swept away by the Everfree itself."

"Thank you, Captain Cold Gale. We can rest assured she's somewhere in the forest at least. Set up a perimeter around the forest edge and get some ponies on watch, I want everything of note reported to me on the hour. Nothing leaves this forest."

"Yes your Highness!" Captain Cold Gale saluted once more before flying off to carry out the Princesses' orders. 

"Hopefully the spirit's search proves more fruitful than ours. Morgan has proven to be very difficult to find." Celestia eyed the fire warily. "How is he handling this?"

"Better than I expected, but I fear that he is still keeping some of his true feelings buried. I hope to help him confront them later as he sleeps." Luna looked off to the distant Canterlot palace. "If I do not succeed, will you speak with him?"

"Of course I- Luna!" Celestia shouted a hoof pointing to the candle still floating beside Luna. Its flame had now tilted, as if blown by a non-existent wind towards the thick of the Everfree Forest.

Luna quickly shouted, "I will follow the trail! Gather the elements and catch up with me." 

Celestia quickly nodded and disappeared in a flash of golden light. Luna flew off in the direction the candle pointed, quickly adjusting her flight as she watched the flame of the candle move. As she flew closer to the canopy of the Everfree, the candle suddenly began to move more erratically, twisting and turning as if it had been caught in a hurricane. Luna struggled to interpret it's directions and was forced to halt her advance. In a few seconds the flame straightened out and Luna took off again. When she felt she was honing in once more, the flame again began to quiver, but Luna was prepared. She followed as closely as she could the trail it pointed at, and soon determined the pattern Morgan had been following. As Morgan dashed unseen through the forest below, Luna estimated her position and gauged her speed as she flew. When Luna grew sure of Morgan's tactics, she launched herself in a cocoon of blue magic through the trees and into the forest proper. She caught a large shadowy figure dash away out of the corner of her eye, and once more hastily tracked her down. Jumping through the forest in leaps and bounds, off boulders, tree trunks, and the occasional unwary creature, Luna caught up to the shadowed form of Morgan as they dashed through the underbrush. Luna was almost within range for a stunning spell when a fiery, blue fire-ball spun towards her head. Luna teleported away from the spell and towards Morgan only to receive a powerful punch to her jaw. 

"Gah!" Luna cried, stunned, before she felt an abnormally hot grip crush her windpipe and hoist her to the air. The candle was released from her magic, and fell to the forest floor. 

Luna summoned the strength to open her eyes and see the enemy she faced, and blanched at the sight before her. Morgan's blond hair had turned into a wild, black mass of shadow that flowed ever upward like a roaring fire. Her eyes had become two blue orbs with narrow slits for pupils that burned into the Princess like red-hot nails with their furious gaze. Morgan's skin had paled to the point that she looked more like marble statue than a person. Her body was draped in more shadow that clung to her form like a dress one size to small, and curled into smoky wisps at the hem. Her arms were bare down to the elbow, where black metal filigree shaped into small fiery shapes encased her forearms. Luna felt Morgan's sharp nails dig into the soft flesh of her neck, only barely avoiding breaking the skin. 

Morgan's face twisted into a cocky and amused smile, as if she had caught a puppy trying to sneak into her yard. "Well, well, well Princess," Morgan said the title like it was an insult, her voice reverberating with unholy power. "You've proven harder to shake than those pathetic guards your dear sister sent after me. Would you be so kind as to tell me how?"

Luna felt the grip lessen just enough to allow air to flow once more through her bruised windpipe. She coughed and spluttered, but refused to say anything, resisting the urge to look for the fallen candle. 

"No, just going to sit there and glare at me like a struck child?" Luna felt the grip redouble its efforts to separate her head from her neck through raw force. "Well, if nothing else, I can at least rest assured that my romantic rival is no longer an issue. With you gone, Kenneth will finally be mine. I wonder what I should give him for our first anniversary?"

Luna's eyes bulged as the lack of oxygen started to affect her, the edges of her vision blurring. Morgan's grin widened, taking on a far more sinister tone as she leaned into Luna's ear and said, "How about a whole kingdom to call his own? I'm sure yours will suffice."

Luna's horn sparked as she desperately summoned the will to cast a spell, and was rewarded with a blinding flash and a deafening bang. Morgan threw Luna away, grasping at her blinded eyes. In a cry of rage, she blindly flung fire around her, setting the forest aflame. Luna dragged herself away from the raging she-demon and leaned against a tree to catch her breath. Soon, strength once again returned to her and Luna set her sights on Morgan. She charged a stun spell and warily circled Morgan through the cover of the forest, careful to avoid the fires raging around her. Luna waited until Morgan had turned away from her and fired the spell. Morgan heard the discharge, and melted into a shadow on the forest floor, narrowly dodging the spell. Luna easily saw Morgan's movements in the firelight and fired another spell at the puddle of darkness. It zipped to the side and disappeared into the shadow of a tree. Luna stood on guard, waiting for the attack to continue, but none came. 

"Princess Luna!" Called the voice of Twilight Sparkle as she flew down through the trees and began to quell the flames of the forest. Celestia came soon after, teleporting in with the rest of the Elements. They quickly attended to the battered Princess Luna or assisted Twilight in stopping the forest fire. 

"Enough!" Luna cried as both her sister and Fluttershy tended to her. "Morgan is escaping! We cannot worry about some bruises while our enemy evades us again!"

"The guard will insure she won't leave the forest unnoticed," Celestia tersely responded. "Now we need to make sure you won't become a burden when we confront her again. Why did you not wait for us?"

"I saw the opportunity to strike and took it," Luna explained. "I didn't intend to even defeat her on my own, just slow her down. I should ask what took you so long." 

Fluttershy looked sheepish, but said, "I found a hurt creature, and I had to help....."

Luna fixed Fluttershy with a reproachful look and said, "While your kindness is admirable young pegasus, I would ask that you remember what we are doing and adjust your priorities accordingly." Fluttershy nodded meekly and Luna relented. 

"Ooooh, check this out!" Pinkie suddenly exclaimed, holding up the fallen candle which had stubbornly remain lit despite the battle that had transpired. "The flame's all weird looking!" 

True to Pinkie's words, the flame still leaned as if blown by an unseen wind, and it pointed at an angle upwards. Luna and Celestia followed the the line the flame pointed out through the trees to the distant city of Canterlot. 

Just then several magical flares sparked in the sky, signifying that Morgan had been sighted.





Kenny was meditating in his room, Flash Sentry beside him doing much the same. While Kenny was utterly still, Flash would occasionally fidget or squirm. This went on for a little while before Kenny released a troubled sigh and asked, "Would you like to stop?"

"O-Oh no!" Flash quickly replied. "This is what you said to do, and I'm doing it!"

"Flash, its okay. Meditation isn't for everyone, and even then it takes some getting used to. If you would like, go outside and take a fly-by around the castle to clear your head then return. I'll stay here and continue."

"But I-! Oh, all right, I'm going. Just, your okay, right? You're not going to suddenly slip into depression when I leave?" 

"Flash," Kevin answered in an amused tone. "If it would make you feel better, I promise that I'll be fine while you take five minutes to fly around. Go, and let me meditate in peace."

"Okay," Flash said. "I just worry, you know. Sterling's having a meltdown, I'm amazed your so calm right now."

"There's something the monks told me back home. 'The strength of an arm is nothing to the strength of spirit. A spirit that can never be broken can never be truly defeated.' I learned the importance of an unwavering mind. When faced with a raging spirit that commands the very earth beneath your feet, the worst thing that can happen is for you to hesitate or make mistakes due to fear. A calm collected mind can navigate any storm."

Flash looked on with wide eyes. "Wow, that was pretty deep."

Kenny rolled his eyes and said, "Uh-huh, so are you going to go fly now or continue to disturb my meditation?"

"Right, sorry. Leaving now" Flash finally left, and Kenny breathed a small sigh of relief. 

Returning to his meditative state, letting his mind slowly unravel and relax after the day's events, Kenny began to settle. As he meditated he reached out to the realm of spirits and allowed his own spirit to drift away. When he opened his eyes he found himself in a grove  surrounding a pond blanketed in green mist, Kenny himself seated at the base of a willow tree who's branches stretched over the water. Kenny breathed in the fresh, clean air and allowed the tranquility of the place to fill him. 

"Well, well, quite the day you've had, huh?" The Spirit of Fire appeared before Kenny on the surface of the pond. Their was  no fanfare in his appearance, one moment he wasn't there and the next he was.

"I guess you could say that," Kenny replied. "I do not look forward to the days to come either."

"Ahh! So you are wise enough to know that this will most definitely not end quickly," The spirit joyfully noted. "Your friend's conversion was most unexpected, neither I nor my fellows could foresee this. This Nightmare creature is cloaked in too much shadow to be seen. Now that it no longer hides, I can see the rivers of destiny flow through it plain as day. It does not see that defeat is inevitable, it clings desperately at your friend hopes of prolonging its dwindling existence." The Spirit of Fire looked Kenny in the eye with its own blazing orbs. "So now you need something to remove the spirit from your young friend. Preferably without hurting her. I wonder, young Kenneth the Onyx Wolf, what you intend to do?"

The Spirit of Fire's smug grin was unmistakable, and Kenny spoke with more than a little resignation, "O great Spirit of Fire, I wish to pledge this mortal form to thee, so that I may wield your cleansing flame upon the darkness that would consume it."

The spirit looked upon Kenny with a wide, satisfied grin, like a cat that had finally caught a wily bird. "I thought you would never ask."

A ring of fire surrounded Kenny and the fiery spirit stepped through like it was but a gentle breeze. "Let us begin the ceremony," It said as it circled him. "Present your totems." 

Kenny removed his necklace and held it out for the Spirit of Fire. It reached out a hoof and swept it over the gems that encompassed the length of cord. All the gems transformed except the centerpiece were transformed into glimmering orange fire opals, the carving of a snarling wolf in onyx was transformed into a dark red diamond carving of a similar wolf head, but the fur turned into the rays of the sun as the extended outward around the gem. The cord became a gold chain and the gems were now clasped in gold fittings that resembled tiny suns. 

"Henceforth you shall be known as Kenneth the Wolf of Sol. May your power burn supreme over your enemies, and your radiant light bolster your allies. You will walk the earth as an agent of my will, a shining example of my benevolence and power. Go forth and carry out the last rite, and claim the power of the Sun."

The flames surrounding them intensified, consuming them both. "You have chosen wisely Kenneth, even if you would not believe it. Your position will serve you well in the trials ahead." Kenny heeded the words of the Fire Spirit, but felt regret all the same. He hadn't intended to pledge himself anytime soon, and especially not to Fire. The monks had warned him of his destiny, and that such things were not easily changed even in other worlds. 

Kenny was now a Sun Warrior, like the Ancient Aztecs of old. It had been in his blood, and could not be refuted any longer. 

Kenny awoke startlingly, the transition having been jarring. He felt the heat of the Spirit of Fire's blessing within, waiting to be unleashed in its entirety. Kenny walked over to his bag, removing a tool he had not seen in a long while. A steel rod about his arm's length ending in a plate cut into the shape of a flame. The final rite required a sacrifice of self.  He would be required to brand himself. 

Kenny lit a fire, and began to stoke the logs. It took several minutes to get the fire going, and it would take longer for the brand to heat up. Kenny sat in front of the fire again, and began to meditate some more. As he waited he listened to the sound of the crackling fire and quiet roar of the logs burning. 

"My, this is relaxing." Kenny started very suddenly at the sound of Morgan's voice. He quickly spun around and found said woman laying next to him. "It has been too long since we could be together like this."

"M-Morgan?! What are you doing here?"  Morgan stood to meet him and wrapped her arms around him. 

"Why, to talk to you of course." Morgan traced a finger along his chest. "We need to discuss some things..."

Kenny got a hold of himself and said, "Morgan, this isn't you. You need to-"

"Shhh," Morgan said, using her finger to stop Kenny. "You need to stop talking for a minute and just listen to me. I'm going to take us from here. We're going someplace safe. Now sleep." Morgan pressed her finger to his forehead and watched in mild glee as he nodded off. 

"Now, time to go to our little Love Cave."