//------------------------------// // Ch.6, Eternal Darkness. // Story: Guardian Of Darkness // by giantpepsi44 //------------------------------// So much pain... What is happening... It's so dark... I'm so cold. When the eclipse was in full motion, and darkness began to dominate the light, I felt something churning inside of me. I attempted run away from the others, but I was stuck in the crowd. I felt like screaming, but no one could hear me. I was trapped in my own body, and something was desperately attempting to get out. I watched in horror, unable to move my body as I sensed a wave of darkness approaching the castle, and by the time the moon had completely covered the sun, I lost all control. M vision went dark, the only thing I could hear around me was ponies screaming in fear. "You're even more vulnerable then I thought," The female voice shrieked in my mind once again. I attempted to fight the sensation, but it was almost impossible. Suddenly, my vision changed and I could see myself in a third person view. I was surrounded by a mist of darkness, glowing red eyes with tiny black pupils. My mane stood up on edge and the muscles in my legs were pulsating with power. Suddenly, I couldn't control myself, I started making my way through a screaming crowd, approaching the castle which loomed above me. The girls were behind me looking at me in horror. I fought against the force, attempting to take control of my body, but all I managed to do was slow myself down. "Why are you fighting yourself Kalacos, can't you tell. This is your true nature," the voice said once again, but I realised it was actually coming from my own body. I couldn't believe that was true, but I remembered my nightmare when I fought the stallion in my old home. The darkness that surrounded me and attacked him without thinking. My anger overwhelmed me, and if his mistress didn't intervene, I could have killed him. I was now at the gates, and as I opened the gates, I saw Princess Celestia standing in front of her throne, staring at me intensely. "Why are you here, leave his body and show yourself," Celestia shouted at me. Suddenly, the darkness in my skin turned into a sickly green mist. "I will not fall for that. The only way you can defeat me is by killing your friend," the female voice replied. "How did you do this, you should not be powerful enough to dominate any body yet," Celestia replied. The voice let out a chilling laugh. "Oh please, thanks to you, Kalacos was pretty much dead anyway. You knew the consequences, and still you carried ion. Now my army is on it's way, and you have no way to protect your city," the voice spoke. Suddenly, the doors shot open and the 6 girls charged through the doorway, all with charms on. 5 of the girls had necklaces, all suited to there cutie marks, but Twilight wore a crown and stood in the centre. "Princess Celestia, leave," Twilight shouted. A purple mist began to form around them and the girls began to hover off the ground. "NO, STOP!" Celestia shouted at the girls. The voice was laughing like a maniac and as a strike of rainbow it my body, a flare of pain shot all around of me. I could feel my life's essence being drained and, when my vision returned to my body, I blacked out... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 minutes before Once the eclispse started, Kalacos started to act strange. He began to stumble backwards, and as the girls attmepted to let him out of the crowd, he began to cower in fear. "Kalacos, what's wrong?" Applejack asked him, growing increasingly concerned. Suddenly, the moon overlapped the sun and stopped. Kalacos started to whimper, he held his flank. "He needs help. We have to find help," Fluttershy stated. Other ponies turned around and looked at him in concern. Suddenly, an orb of darkness exploded from his body and surrounded the court yard. Ponies were sent into a mass panic, and the sky was caught in a constant darkness. A few moments passed when suddenly Kalacos stood back up. "Kalacos... you alright?" Twilight asked him. Suddenly Kalacos turned around and what they saw was terrifying. He had transformed into a nightmare with darkness surrounding him and pure red eyes with dark, empty pupils. He turned around and faced the castle. He began walking towards is, but after a while he started to slow down. "Why are you fighting yourself Kalacos, can't you tell. This is your true nature," Kalacos said, but it wasn't his voice, it was shrill, female voice. He made his way towards the castle, and entered through the doors. "Quick girls, we have to get the elements," Twilight ordered. the girls all nodded and charged off. When they got the elements, they ran to the castle, and saw Kalacos surrounded by a green mist rather then black. He turned and his eyes were now pure green. "Celestia get out of here," Twilight shouted. The elements were activated and they began to hover off the floor. When the beam of light hit Kalacos, there was a blinding light for a few second, until the mist faded. Pinkie's hair straightened and all the others looked down in horror. "What have you done!" Celestia demanded, charging over to the pony laying motionless on the floor. "I... I thought the elements on extinguished the darkness from within?" Twilight asked in horror. Kalacos was laying on the ground, twitching as blood seeped from his flank. The crimson red liquid began to cover the section of the floor and trickled out of his mouth. "What have we done?" Rainbow asked in shock. "MEDICS!" Celestia shouted. After a few minutes, two ponies charged through and investigated Celestia. "Not me you fools, him!" She ordered. No one had ever seen Celestia so intense. The ponies picked Kalacos up and brought him through a set of doors and disappeared into a different room. "Celestia... we're sor," "SAVE IT! I tried to warn you, stop you, but you wouldn't listen," Celestia shouted. She then sighed and shook her head. "I am sorry girls, I know you were trying to help, but right now, I need some time to think," she said. Suddenly, her face seemed to age a few years and her posture became lazy. She wandered out of the room and up a set of stairs towards the royal bedroom. "Should we go after her or Kalacos?" Twilight asked the girls. "No, I think it would be best if we stayed out of there way for a while," Applejack replied. The other girls hesitated at first, but they admitted that they were in the wrong. The approached the gate with the head held low out of shame, but as they exited the castle, they realised the chaos the palace was in. Many ponies had retreated to the station and swarmed the trains which were waiting to bring them back home. Residence's of Canterlot closed up shop and stayed in for the night, and the fields all around were surrounded by a peculiar dark mist with a green tint. "What happened?" Applejack asked. No one had a reply, they just watched in horror as Equestria entered anarchy, the guards attempted to calm all the ponies down, and a couple kept order at the train station allowing them to board the train one at a time. The other guards were on full alert around the castle, I am surprised they didn't see Kalacos approaching the castle, but they seemed to be peering nervously at the sky. "What are they waiting for?" Rainbow asked. "I don't know, and I am not sure if I really want to find out," Twilight replied. The girls headed to the bottom of the steps, but they couldn't find anywhere to go. The streets were deserted, and the ways to the station was now blocked off, the only thing that they could do was sit on the steps and wait for the situation in the castle to die down. Suddenly, Rarity perked up and began to look at the others. "Did anyone see Princess Luna?" She asked. They all shook there heads, and began to grow increasingly concerned. "If something could posses Kalacos like that, is there any way Luna..." Fluttershy stuttered. They all knew what Luna could do, and the fact that the moon was stuck in the sky simply increased there suspicions. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is so much pain... After the girls charged in, some much happened that I couldn't even keep track of it. I watched my body get hit by a powerful strike, but as it happened, my vision returned to normal. There was a searing pain through my entire body, and I blacked out. Even though the pain subsided, I was haunted by nightmares, worse then I had before. I saw an army, it was mixed with dark creatures with devilish teeth and horns. Although, in the mass of all of them, I saw the pony who had attacked me in the sky castle, and the king who sat on the throne. They walked through the armies ranks towards an allotments of cages being carried by giant ogre like creatures. The placed the cages on the floor violently, causing the hundreds of ponies inside to flinch in fear. He ignored the majority of cages, he seemed to take joy from the terrified expressions he was retrieving. His main focused appeared to be a different cage with its on personal transport. Inside were four different ponies, three mares, and one stallion. "So, you're the mighty Athena I have heard so much about. It's not nice being trapped in a cage is it," the king said putting his head right against the cage. The bruised and blooded mare looked up at the pony and started muttering some pretty harsh comments. "Oh, don't worry, I will not kill you or the royals. You will be used as bait for Kalacos, and also, My Mistress has specifically ordered your majesties to be delivered alive for your royal blood," he told them, directed towards the older ponies. They had a protectiv4e statue over a younger pony who was looking at the stallion terrified. He then smiled at her. "Oh Princess Stela, the legends about you are true I see," he said, admiring her. "And don't worry, you will be spared to. When we end the Alicorns rule, you will be my queen," he said. The king pushed her further behind him and gave the stallion a death glare. "You will not touch her!" he stated. The monstrous stallion looked ready to snap, but instead, he let out a manic laugh. "Oh, you are funny. But you see, we have control of your kingdom now. You have no power. Soon, you will be dead, and your blood shall water the earth and mark a new era of rule," he said. The injured king retracted a little, put he kept a defensive position over his daughter. "No matter, my patience will be rewarded. . The Eclipse has caused a constant night, Kalacos sent a wave of chaos throughout Equestria He would be lucky if they don't kill him themselves," The monster said. At that point, Athena's eyes filled with terror. She had a mixture of horror and rage and she glared at the man. "What did you do to him?" Athena asked him. "Oh, I didn't do anything. My mistress only helped him reveal his true nature. Princess Luna is immobilized and Celestia is in a dangerous state. The defenders realm has been wiped out and there is no one left to protect the kingdoms below. In no time, My Mistress will wake and there will be nothing that can stop her," he explained. He then turned around and a magical veil covered the cage. "WE ARE MOVING, WE WILL BE ARRIVING IN EQUESTRIA IN 5 DAYS," The king shouted. A collective cheer shot up from the crowd and they carried on marching. I woke up in a start, I was in a cold room all alone with a searing pain in my side. I attempted to get up, but I swarmed by fatigue, I was forced to lay back down. Peering around the room, I saw that the room was quite spaces with multiple beds in. It was still pitch black outside and completely silent. Suddenly the door creaked open a little and a man in a doctors uniform came in. He didn't notice me awake at first, and as he stumbled around the room checking for certain syringes. "Hello," I said. The doctor jumped so bad, the hair all over his body stood on one edge. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." "That's alright, I just didn't expect you to be awake for a while. You recover fast," he pointed out. He approached me slowly and checked the scars all over my body. "You heal fast to, I stitched up the worst makes, but the others will take a while to heal. You should have a flaring pain in your lower abdomen for a while, and I wouldn't get up to fast either. Your lucky to be alive you know," he explained. I still couldn't concentrate after my dream. "Erm excuse me, is there any chance I could talk to Celestia?" I asked him. He looked at me. "I am not sure, she isn't in the best of moods right now, Princess Luna is badly injured. I will tell her you are awake, but if she wants to meet with you, you will most likely have to wait," he explained. I nodded and began to get up. I began to sweat and felt extremely dizzy, but I got onto my feet. "Have you seen six girls anywhere?" I asked, almost completely out of breath. He looked at me very concerned, he started to approach me, but I issued him away promising I can support myself. "Well, there are some girls in one of the guest rooms. They looked upset when they were let in," he explained. I sighed, I hope they weren't beating themselves up over me. "Ok thank you doctor, where abouts is the room?" I asked. "I wouldn't recommend walking around right now, you need some rest before you tsrat moving," he said. "Im fine," I protested. "No you're not," he argued. I turned around and looked out the window towards the deserted streets. Kalacos sent a wave of chaos throughout Equestria, he would be lucky if they don't kill him themselves "Please, this is important, I have to speak to them," I explained. He saw the desperation in my face and sighed. "Atleast let me fetch them so you don't have to go up the stairs?" he asked. I hesitated, but I nodded in reply anyway. He exited the room along with a couple of pads and sirenges. A couple of minutes later, Pinkie peered into the room. "Kalacos, oh thank god you're ok," she shoited. She charged towards me and hugged me, which took me by surprise. "What... you don't hate me?" I asked in shock. The other girls walked around the corner. "Thank god, I thought you were... never mind," Twilight said, slowly approaching me. "What happened, hwo did you guys do that?" I asked. "We are he bearers of these things called the elements of Harmony, it vanquishes the darkness inside people," she explained "Does it normally do this to the people on the outside?" I asked. "Not usually know, but I think whatever was inside you transfrerred the damage to youer body," Twilight explained. "Interseting theory Twilight, but that isn't entirely correct," someone said in the doorway. I looked up and saw a weary looking Celestia entering the room. "Celestia are you ok?" Twilight asked. Celestia gave her a weak smile. "I am alright Twilight, a lot has happened, and it has happened to fast," Celestia explained. "What did you mean, not exactly. Do you know something about me?" I asked her. She looked at me with a mixture of fear and concern. "I do, but i promised I wouldnt say. Some of your memories were taking away from someone else in spite, but some were taken for a good reason," Celstia explained. Rage began to build inside me. "Are you saying that you have information about my past and you are not even going to say?" I asked. "I made a vow a long time ago to beings far more powerful then our own. And some vows can never be broken," Celestia explained. I still didn't understand and kept my eyes on her. "Well whatever you know about me doesn't matter," I said resisting the urge to scream at her. "You Majesty, what is the Black Heart?" She turned to look at me in shock. "Where did you hear about this?" she asked me. "I had a dream. A... couple dreams actually," I replied. I then went on to explain about the army and the 5 day deadline. I didn't mention the imprisoned gaurdians, that seemed personal. "5 days. This is worse then I thought," she said. "You know this would happen?" Twilight demanded, anger filling her voice. "Why didn't you warn us?" She turned to the girls with tears in her eyes. "You all should know better then anyone that these events aren't that simple," she replied. Twilight look4ed like she was ready to argue, but she retracted and began to walk around the room in frustration. "Well what do you expect to do then. We can't just sit around whilst things threaten to destroy Equestria," Rainbow complained. Celestia sighed and shook her head. "There is not much we can do. This is not like anything we have fought before. These armies have no darkness inside them, they seek to destroy it. The elements will not assist us on this journey," Celestia stated. "What do you mean hey can't assist us. You said they are Equestria's greatest weapon?" Applejack argued. "They are, I am sure you have realised that Equestria isn't the only land in this world," Celestia stated. The other girls looked at her in shock. "Well I mean, I guess I sort of understood that. But I never truly thought about it," Twilight said. "If there are more lands, why have we never heard about them?" "Because most places are either left barren, or filled with creatures that would happily kill ponies without a second thought," she explained. "And that's where the black heart is?" I guessed. She nodded glumly. "Well how are we meant to retrieve it if it's so dangerous?" "I am afraid I can't go. If war is coming, I have to stay here to defend my kingdom," Celestia explained. "Well, I think the best way to defend your kingdom is to find the only thing that could save it," Twilight stated. "I cannot leave at a time like this. That'll cause even more chaos, and we need all the ponies we can get right now," Celestia explained. "Well, I guess that just leaves us?" Fluttershy pointed out. They looked at Celestia, waiting for her to say something in return, but she simply nodded. "Well I am going with you. I was sent here for a reason, and the fact I have been having these dreams is not a coincidence," I explained. Celestia seemed to flinch. "No... you have to stay here," Celestia said. The others looked at her in shock. "What do you mean. Someone needs to help with this trip, and if you can't spare any soldiers, what's the problem?" I asked her. "It's to dangerous, that land is filled with darkness and after seeing what happened here, I am not sure your company will be a good thing," Celestia explained. "Well what am I meant to do, sit around whilst others do the job I am meant to do?" I asked. "We are done talking about this!" Celestia ordered. She turned to the girls. "You'll be leaving tomorrow, get some rest," she stated. Rainbow and Applejack peered at me with suspicious faces but in the end they all nodded. "Alright, I must rest now, if we want to survive there is a lot of work to be done," Celestia stated. She then stormed out the room without a second glance. "Kalacos, do you want us to stay for a bit?" Twilight asked. I peered out the window and looked across the fields. The pain in my flank had subsided a little, and I was tempted to leave. I knew I had a place in this quest, and I was not going to sit around helplessly whilst the others risked there lives. "No it's fine, get some sleep. I need some time to think," I replied. They all nodded, said there goodnights and left the room. I sat up and stared out the window. Darkness flooded the fields and the moon still had not moved across the sky. It covered the sun preventing any light from flooding through. I know I needed to leave, I didn't belong here. If I don't find the black heart, what will happen to the imprisoned guardians. I knew what I needed to do, and I wasn't going to let a sleep deprived princess say I couldn't. I got off the bed, packed some useful supplies into a satchel. Cloths, medicine, water and collected some food off a banquet table. Some weapons were lined in the corner of the room, I grabbed a golden glazed dagger and a metal lined net. I strapped the knife to my side and the net in the bag, and set out towards the mountains.