//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Departure // Story: Light in the darkest hour // by DerpyEngi and Redd //------------------------------// unknown's (POV) location, unknown "Oh, this is just perfect!" I said, my voice distorted as usual. "You thought I wouldn't notice?" I took on a physical form and smashed a hoof on my Melanthos' back. "A giant black cloud swirling around in daylight, you made it too easy." I chuckled. "I admit you were a worthy foe. If I had faced you a thousand years ago, while I was weak, mortal." I smirked and returned to my true form and removed my hoof off his back. "You're... a... madman" he said again, every time we faced each other he said that. It kept getting more annoying... "I AM NOT MAD!" I shouted in a voice that equaled that of the Royal Canterlot Voice. I sighed and calmed myself down. "I see the world as it is." I got closer to my prisoner. "Much like you, Melanthos, it's weak." I spat out his name like venom. "As such, it needs to be strengthened." I got even closer to my prisoner. "So weaklings and those tainted by Light need to be... removed." Melanthos was silent. "The false princess shall fall, just like all stars, those little beacons of light in the vast, empty space of Darkness." I chuckled lightly "They die out." I continued "And all those who oppose me will suffer until they succumb to the darkness." I turned all of my body except my head into a dark mist and swirled around him. "Just like Luna did." I turned my head towards my prisoner. "So, Avatar of Shadows will you embrace the darkness? Or will you suffer like your friends?" My prisoner stood up despite his beaten form from our battle. He stumbled trying to get close to me. "Never have I seen a creature as you wield my shadows, and I have seen many." he took another step closer. "You have corrupted almost every one close to me, used them as your puppets and killed thousands." he stumbled forward. He flared out his wings. "I will never join you!" he sent out a burst of energy which took me by surprise. I flew backwards from the force of his blast, but it didn't even leave a scratch. He stumbled and fell. "Too bad, I'll just have to make you." I took out a bottle full of a vile dark liquid. I used my mist-like form to lift the bottle and force it down his throat. He gagged as I forced the last of the liquid down his throat. "W-What.. did you... just make me... d-drink..." he panted. “Something which will make you listen to reason." I answered. "You can do whatever you want from me, but you will never find the others!" he said. I rolled my eyes. "Oh spare me from you cliche speeches, they’re almost as dull as you are. Besides, I don't need to find them." I turned to my two newly recruited minions who were hiding behind my mist. I grinned. "They found you." I said as they came out of the mist. His eyes went wide. "No..." he said just before the potion took effect. I watched as his as he spasmed in pain. I enjoyed. Every. Second. This was just too perfect! Everything was going smoothly, I have two of Melanthos' friends under my control. Soon the third will join them. I turned around to my two minions and shouted, "You two! Get over here!" "Of course..." they both said, then they began moving towards me. "You there" I said as I pointed towards my first minion. "You have served me well." "Thank you." She said in a deadpan voice I turned to my second minion. "I expect you to do as you are told. No more disobeying." "Of course." she replied. "Good, now fetch the last two." "As you wish." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ori's (POV) "What do you mean, I think I just remembered my family?" Philomena asked confused. "Exactly that Philly! I remember my family!"I said as I grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her. "O-ok s-stop s-shaking me!" she replied I realized what I was doing and stopped shaking her, "Oh, sorry about that. Little panicky." "Yeah, a little." she said sarcastically. She shook her head then looked at me. "So, you’re saying that there are more of your kind out there? Didn't you come from some light in the sky?" she asked confused. I opened my mouth to speak then closed it, not being quite sure what to say, I did remember some of the stuff from my past life, even though it was mostly just how I got here. Everything else was just one big blur up until now. Like I now remembered my friend Harry, the one who I used to call Potter because of the Harry Potter movies. I also remembered my sister Rosie, my dad, and my mom, all of them, though most things were still a blur I remember almost everything I did with my family. Even my last day before I left. "Ori? Hey Ori?" Philomena said while she waved her wing in front of me "Equus to Ori. You there?" "Huh wha, what?"I snapped out of my trance and looked and Philomena who was now looking at me worriedly. "Ori, are you okay?" She asked with a hint concern in her voice. I nodded. "I'm fine Philly, just got lost in thought." I answered while rubbed my forehead. "So are there?" she asked I looked at her confused. "Are there more of your people, you know, glowing cat things?" Philomena explained. I rubbed the back of my head, "Eeh... not that I know of, no." "Wait, what? So how do yo--" She started but I cut her off by grabbing her beak and shushing her. "First off, it's a long story." I let go of her beak, she looked like she was going to protest but I shushed her again. "Second, I need to figure this out myself first before I tell you more, so how about we go get breakfast and we'll talk about it later?" I suggested. She looked at me, annoyed but eventually gave in and sighed "Fine, but if I have to wait more than a day, I will squeeze it out of you!" she warned. " Deal! Now, let's get something to eat." I said, then hopped of the bed and out the door, Philomena in tow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Royal dining quarters, half an hour later "Ori, I told you that you should have turned right, not left!" Philomena complained. "Hey! I smelled food and I am starving. Give me a break!" I retorted "Yeah, I'm sure that maid really appreciates you trying to eat her lunch!" She shot back. "Hehe... like I said, I'm starving." I said remembering that unfortunate event. Philomena shook her head and smiled. "Well anyhow, we’re here. Just don't eat off of someone's else's plate, okay?" She said, chuckling at her own little joke. I turned my head towards her. "Ha ha, comedy at it's finest." I replied sarcastically. We walked into a rather big room with a dining table taking most all the space in the room, some fancy chairs surrounded the table and hanging from the ceiling was a large golden chandelier. To the left side of the room was fancy looking bird feeder with some seeds in it and beneath that was a bowl with two medium sized fishes in it. "So, I am guessing this is where we eat?" I asked as I pointed to the left side of the room. Philomena nodded. "Yep, and I am guessing that is yours." She said as she landed next to the bird feeder and pointed at the bowl. As I walked towards the bowl I noticed that Fluttershy and Gilda had already taken their seats along with two other griffins. The two of them wore what looked like royal clothing and crowns. The taller and bulkier one of the two griffons had a dark coat and grey feathers with a black tint around his eyes which were brown, he had a rather large beak and really small eyes compared to Gilda. The smaller of the two was a spitting image of Gilda but instead of a purple tint around her eyes she had a green tint and said eyes were blue instead of yellow. "So miss Fluttershy, how is it that you found yourself in our castle?" The bulkier griffon asked in a very deep and manly voice, apparently ending a rather awkward silence between them. I sat down next to the food bowl and took one of the fishes inside and started eating, as I was eating I started listening to their conversation. "Well, it's a long story and I don't want to bother you by telling you about it." Fluttershy said as she started covering behind her mane. "Ah nonsense. Honey how long is it ‘till the next meeting?" the other griffon asked the bulkier one in much smoother and lighter tone. "In about 3 hours." he answered. "See, we have enough time. Now what brought you here?" The smaller griffin asked. Fluttershy shuffled nervously before speaking. "Well... okay then, it started when I was walking home..." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One explanation later... Fluttershy had just finished explaining how she got here, even mentioning Discord and me getting released from stone and that she could talk to me and Philomena. "That is... quite the story." The bulkier griffin said "I agree, by the way, where is this Discord fellow? He seems like an interesting character." the other griffin said. "Oh, he's in the Badlands. He said that it needed some redecorating, though I don't know what he means by that." Fluttershy answered seemingly more comfortable around the two griffins. I finished the fishes, went over to Fluttershy and jumped on her head, she let out a surprised "eep" as I did so. She looked up to see what it was and almost knocked me off of her head. She noticed that it was only me and giggled. "Oh, it's only you. You scared me there Ori." "Yeah I noticed." I said as I jumped of her head and on top of the chairs back. "So this is your animal friend that you came here with?" The smaller griffin asked. Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, this is Ori. Ori this is king Iron Heart and queen Amabil." "Aah, so Gilda’s parents?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "Yes." Fluttershy said. I turned to both of them and waved> "It's nice to meet you." "It is nice to meet you too Ori." she replied. Me and Fluttershy looked at her surprised. "So you can understand her, too?" Fluttershy asked. Amabil looked surprised for a moment, then after a few seconds of silence she started laughing. "Oh no no no, it's called guessing, my dear. I guessed after Ori bowed that she was saying hello, but I didn't understand a word she said, darling." "Oh, that makes sense" Fluttershy said sheepishly. "So ,Fluttershy, are you planning to stay here?" Iron Heart asked "Or will you be leaving soon?" he added. "Well I was planing to go home later today, actually." Fluttershy answered. "Well then we will make sure that you will get a train right away" Iron Heart offered, "you live in... Ponyville, right?" He asked, holding back his laughter. Fluttershy didn't seem to notice. "Yes I do." Iron Heart started laughing. Amabil gave her husband a stern look. Iron Heart stopped laughing, "I am very sorry, it's just how Equestria names its cities and towns, it's always funny to me." he apologized, while still laughing a bit. "Oh, ok." Fluttershy answered. "Apology accepted." she said smiling. Shortly after their conversation ended, a minotaur in armour who looked like one of the guards came in. "Your Highnesses, a guest has arrived and is waiting for you." he informed the royals. "We will be right there" Amabil answered. "Tell our guest to wait until we get there." "Miss Fluttershy, you might want to hurry. The next train will leave in 15 minutes." Iron Heart said while looking at his pocket watch. "Actually honey, make that 10 minutes." Amabil corrected him. Fluttershy nodded in agreement, "Thank you for your hospitality, you three have been very generous." Fluttershy thanked "No prob." Gilda replied. "Catchya later though, right?" she asked. Fluttershy gave Gilda a small smile. "Sure! Just come see me in Ponyville, it's been a lot of fun." Fluttershy replied. "Well, we better see who this guest is." Iron Heart said. He turned his head towards the door. "Guards, escort miss Fluttershy here to the train station." he ordered. Two guards came from behind the door and signaled Fluttershy to follow. "I'll see you later" Fluttershy said before exiting. "See ya!" replied Gilda. Fluttershy exited the room and after that there was a awkward silence in the room. "Well, let's not keep our guest waiting. Shall we?" Iron will suggested as he stood up. "Agreed" Amabil replied. "Philomena, come here." she said then signaled Philomena to land on her shoulder. Philomena did as asked and flew on Amabil's shoulder. "You coming Ori?" I looked up, having fallen in a sort of a daze. "Yeah, yeah I'm coming." I jumped of the chair I was on and followed the king and queen towards the meeting room. There was a guard standing in front of the door. He was wearing blue tinted armor instead of the usual silver or iron that the guards in the castle usually wear. I thought nothing of it and continued to follow the others. Iron Heart neared the door, then the guard spoke up, "Princess Celestia has been waiting your highnesses" he said as he bowed. Then I realised something, I looked over too Philomena and she had the same look I had. "It's Celestia!" we said in unison. "We gotta hide, now!" I told Philomena. "I know just the place, grab my claw!" She ordered. I grabbed her claw as she flew up into some hole in the wall. The king and queen seemed to not notice or care. Once inside the hole in the wall I noticed that it went much further in and that it became much wider, just enough for me and philomena to be able to walk. I turned to Philomena and asked, "what is this place?" "Ventilation. It's designed to keep all of the rooms in the castle evenly warm, which means that it goes to every single room in the castle." She answered while walking down a few more steps. "Look, we can watch from over here." She said as she lay down to look through an opening in the tunnel which had some iron bars blocking anything from climbing in or out. I lay down next to Philomena and looked down into the room. Confirming our suspicions, Celestia was sitting on the other side of the table from the king and queen. We kept silent to listen to what they were saying. "Princess Celestia." Iron Heart greeted. "Iron Heart, Amabil." Celestia greeted. "So, what brings you here to our kingdom?" Iron Heart asked in a gruff tone. "I come to bear a warning of a threat to both our kingdoms and others." Celestia replied in a formal tone. "Oh? What is this threat, might I ask?" Amabil asked. "it is of two old foes that I faced a thousand years ago, both were imprisoned in stone and have escaped somehow, one of there names is Discord, Discord holds immense magical energy surpassing my own, he uses that power to throw the world around him into chaos. He is even the reason pegasi and griffons need to control the weather" Celestia explained. "That does not bode well." Iron Heart replied, looking quite shocked from hearing this, having heard of Discord from Fluttershy. "Indeed, how do you plan on stopping him? And of this other threat?" Amabil asked, looking quite shocked as well. "We will get to that later, first I must tell you of betrayal she was the one too curr--," Celestia continued explaining but I stood up and walked to the hole exit. "Ori, where are you going?" Philomena asked. I didn't answer, I just jumped out landing in front of the of where the guard was before and ran down the corridor towards the front door. I looked back to see the Philomena was following me. "Ori, wait!" She shouted as I ran out the front door. I looked around. Dusk-lit streets with no one around. Then I noticed the guards and Fluttershy. I ran after them. When I got close I slowed down and hid behind some barrels. Philomena caught up with me. "Ori, what in Tartarus are you doing?" "Catching a ride." I replied while keeping my eye on my target. "What do you mean, Ori?" she asked "I mean that I'm getting out of here and going somewhere that Celestia will never think of looking." I replied as the the guards entered the train station and Fluttershy boarded the train. I quickly ran towards the train and jumped on the side of one of the train carts. Philomena soon followed. I climbed on top of it, opened an unlocked hatch and jumped in. My luck prevailed as it was the cargo section. "I am going to Ponyville."I explained. "Alright, but where are you going to stay in Ponyville?" Philomena asked. "In Fluttershy's home of course. Where else can we trust someone who knows a lot about animals in Equestria?" I asked. "I don't know, but are you sure about this?" she asked. "Yes I am sure, Celestia is probably going to make a deal with the king and queen about searching the entire kingdom for me and Discord, then it would just be a matter of time before she would find us.." I replied. Philomena looked like she was going to protest but gave up and sighed, "You're not going to change your mind, are you?" I shook my head. "Well then, I’m coming with you." she stated firmly. I smiled. "Thank you, Philly." There was a loud whistle as the train took off.