"It's been too long..." One mare said in the front of a large crowd. They had all been waiting for hours outside of the castle. A mob had been sent in there earlier to get rid of the evil tyrant monster, Darkness, but it didn't seem like they had been very successful.
"I told you them crazy ponies wouldn't accomplish nothing'!" A stallion complained with a snort.
"But... But... They promised they would be victorious!" Another mare complained and began crying.
"What did we expect? Even the two most powerful goddesses and the elements of harmony couldn't defeat 'im! You expect some crazy pony with a sword to do anything? I'm sure he's been eaten by now by that dragon!" The stallion from before said, shaking his head.
"Oh my Celestia! Th-there he is now..." Somepony screamed in fear.
The ground trembled as a large purple figure sauntered through the large castle doors, glaring at the crowd below.
"You ponies sicken me..." He growled. "You think you're so innocent... So nice... Yet you care not of others, but only of yourselves."
The crowd stayed silent, opting to only stare up in fear.
"I'm very frustrated... You all may go home, if it is not destroyed. If it is, it's not my problem." He told the ponies. Nopony moved.
"I said GO NOW!"
The rumbling of the ground only lasted for seconds before they faded away as the ponies hurried away from Darkness.
Hmm... Lately, you haven't been killing ponies. You must be growing soft...
Soft...? Hmph. As if I would ever go back to being soft.
But I believe you're supposed to be a cold, heartless monster... Or so you said once before...
Yes, that is true, but if I killed everyone, that would be boring. Who would I torment?
...If you say so.
If Darkness were to be honest to himself he had been a bit indulgent to the ponies. He wasn't the same ruthless murder he had once been not too long ago. He wondered what could have possibly changed. The dragon chuckled to himself. He had all of the time in the world to ponder. There was no need to worry too much about it.
As he sat there, mulling over the past, he heard tiny hoofsteps coming his way. He let out an annoyed growl, yet a small smile tugged at his lips. He had no idea why Love's presence made him smile, but just her aura alone was enough to distract him from the reality of his situation. That sweet smile, and innocent voice just demanded happiness and attention, and it was greatly affecting him. He didn't want to admit it, and he definitely fought it, but at the same time, was definitely warming up to it.
"Was there something you wanted...?" Darkness asked the little filly.
"I wanted to spend time with you." She said.
The young dragon chuckled. "You always spend time with me. Haven't you made friends with any other children in here...?" He asked, curious as to why a filly like her didn't have lots of friends she was busy playing with.
Love sighed, and gently shuffled her hooves. "Um... not really..." She mumbled. "I don't need them. I've got you. You're my friend, right?"
Darkness' toughened demeanor faltered a bit. "Er... yes, that is true. But you need some friends your own age, don't you...?"
"No. I'm fine. Really, I'm okay with only you." Darkness let out a small sigh.
What is the real reason why you won't make friends, Love?"
She looked away, swallowing. "H-honestly... I'm scared..." Her words were quiet, and hesitant.
"Scared? Why are you scared? What is there to fear?" He asked in a perplexed manner.
"I'm scared I might... lose them too."
His heart dropped. "Too...?" he asked barely above a whisper.
"I... they're... gone away. Y-you..." She began crying softly. "They couldn't escape... What if the same thing happens..." the rest of her words were unintelligible as her soft sniffles turned into heavy sobbing.
Darkness felt like utter crap. She still wanted to be friends with him after all that he had done to her. He couldn't understand it, but somehow that have him a feeling of utter sorrow. He became dolorous, and felt... sympathy for this young pony. Did she really deserve such a travesty to happen to her? Did he really have to go that far to show everypony the error of their ways?
Of course... It was all necessary. It may have been painful for them, but everyone deserved to feel that pain. They were going to send me away, possibly kill me when I was weak. But no... I am strong, superior, and just.
"Well, Love, that is why we must be strong..." He held her head up so he could look her in the eyes. "We all lose things that are precious to us..." The image of Twilight's cold, limp corpse flashed into his mind. "Yet we have to learn to go on, and be stronger. Move onto better things that will ultimately benefit us." He said.
She looked up at him with teary eyes. "B-but..."
"Shh..." He interrupted. "I don't want to hear any doubting. You are a strong filly, okay?"
Love nodded her head slowly.
"You can get through this. Now, why don't you go see how well the other fillies and colts are doing with their training...?" He asked, patting her hear gently.
"O-okay." She mumbled, and walked away.
Darkness stared at her for a long time as she slowly made her way to the training field. He felt a bit better, and hoped his words had helped her.
"She's gonna do well. She has plenty of potential..." He mumbled to himself, and turned to look outside at the sky. The soft blue with puffy patches of white littering it calmed him. He was left with only his thoughts to entertain him as he waited for nothing in particular to occur. The gentle breeze brought a smile to his face and he sighed contently.
She will be perfect...
I let out a long exhale as I stood in front of two large doors. Beyond those doors would be a bunch of royal guards and kids my age sparring and exercising. I didn't know what I would say, or how I'd approach them, but to please Mister Darkness, I'd definitely do my best.
I cautiously opened one of the doors and peeked into the room. Inside, just as she had suspected, there was a bunch of training. Yet there was somepony sitting off to the side, drinking water out of a large bottle. I sighed, and walked over to the pony, who happened to be a colt upon closer inspection. He had light auburn fur and a slightly unkempt sky blue mane that covered his eyes, with a screwdriver that was covered in oil as a cutiemark. He had what seemed to have a bit of a dopey smile on his face, and chuckled lightly under his breath.
"Oh, hey there!" He said and turned his head towards me. I flinched slightly. How in Equestria did he see me?
"U-um... hi." I mumbled shyly. His grin grew a little.
"I've heard a lot of rumors about you. You're that brave pony who wasn't scared of that monster! I even heard you befriended him!"
The excitement in his voice slightly unnerved me. What was with him? And why were there rumors going around about me?
"U-um... yeah... I did." I said, unsure as to why he'd be so happy about such a thing. Didn't most of the ponies he kidnapped hate him?
"Wow... you're really cool. What's your name?" he asked, his smile shimmering in the sun's brilliant light.
"Love Charm... and yours?"
"Contrivance Script. Though I'm commonly called 'Con'. It's nice to meet you, Love!" He smiled and let out a quiet chuckle.
"Y-yeah... nice to meet you too." I said, though I wasn't sure about the meeting being very 'nice'.
"Ey. Ya see that guy over there?" Con pointed his hoof over to a navy blue unicorn colt with a long soft green colored mane and tail. His sky blue eyes were locked on his opponent as he attacked a guard with all of his might. I had to admit, he was doing quite well.
"He seems determined to win that fight..." I commented. Con chuckled darkly.
"He's determined to win a bigger fight..." He said quietly.
I stared at him. "Why does he want to fight Mr. Darkness?" I asked. I had a feeling I knew why already.
"Hm... I know you're smart..." He said. "But maybe you need to hear it from someone else. His family is gone..."
"I figured. I forgave him for what he did for me." I said.
"Yes, but some ponies don't forgive as easily as others..." he said. I never really understood how someone could hold a grudge like that. It didn't make sense. I do my best to see the good in others, forgive them and move on. How could someone get their mind so wrapped around something, and not be able to escape it? It was so simple to me...
"I guess so." I muttered.
He pulled his hair away from his face to look me in the eyes, and his smile widened. "You're a really cool filly. I hope I can hang out with you a lot."
I stared back at him. He really seemed to like me... it wasn't like all of my other 'friends'. All I could see in their eyes for me was pity, not love and kindness... But those bright purple eyes showed a genuine interest in me, rather than my setbacks. I smiled and sat next to him.
"I'm sure we can." I told him.
"Cool!"
The two became fast friends, and spent most of their time with each other, when they weren't training. As they grew closer, they met five other friends, who would also go out of their way to be with each other. The seven were always seen together laughing, playing, and causing mischief around the castle. They were rarely seen apart, when they weren't busy with training, and held a strong friendship for many years to come.
Darkness was happy for the children, as he watched them grow and be happy with each other. Every once in a while, Love would go to Darkness, whether it was to relax in the evening sun, or talk about stuff. Sometimes, Darkness would help solve friendship problems to help her and her friends. Her a few of her friends, while happy and accepting of Love, were slightly hostile and bitter towards Darkness. The rest forgave him, and sometimes even went to him for help, when they needed it.
As time went by, the ponies were able to slowly rebuild their towns. It didn't look the best, but it wasn't just a big pile of Debris anymore. Darkness ruled over them, and they obeyed his every command. Some did what he said, no questions asked. But there was definitely a resistance. They had tried to attack and defeat him a multitude of times, but nopony has yet to succeed. It was a dark, and depressing time for Equestria, and it didn't seem to be getting any better. If anything, as every day slowly trudged by, it was almost as if things got worse.
However, there is one source that may be able to end all of the misery. One that is the most magical and powerful to exist. Though there still remains one question.
Will the source be up to the challenge?