//------------------------------// // The Beginning... // Story: The Dark Can Change a Lot. // by Superblox //------------------------------// Chapter 1- A Dark Turn It was a wonderful afternoon. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the plants were growing… But not all was well in a rather large, lush valley. In the center of the beautiful area of wildlife, stood a large mansion, with a baby blue paint style. It stood tall, being three stories, windows showing that there were many rooms inside. Suddenly, the oak door was slammed open, a light gray mare with a pearly white mane that curled to caress her face stormed out. Her wings ruffled, her long white tail swishing side to side in annoyance. She shouted angrily, “Emerald, Ruby, stay put while I find your sister!” She glared at the opening of the mansion, where a young green colt with a messy blue mane and coat stood, a smaller red filly sitting beside him, struggling to see behind her dark pink mane that constantly got in her face. “Mom, I’m sorr-” The colt began, but was cut off by the irritated voice of the mare. “Save the apologies for later! Right now, I need to find your sister. Just… Stay put, alright? The last thing I need is another foal of mine missing.” The mare’s dark purple eyes glared at the two, then sighed, deciding that she had spent long enough berating her kids. She quickly took flight, heading above the natural walls of the valley. The colt sighed. “I can’t believe I let Sapphire walk out of my sight… Now she’s who knows where..!” The filly patted his shoulder. “It’s okay Emrald, Mommy will find Sapphie…” The filly’s light pink eyes then became bright. “Ooh, ooh! I have an idea! Why don’t we go help find Sapphie? We’ll be really stealthy, like ninjas! Hi yah!” The filly made an adorable display, attempting to stand on one of her hind hooves while using the other to kick, but ended up falling on her flank. The now named Emerald chuckled. “I dunno Ruby, it might be dangerous… And besides from that, Mom said to stay here. We could get in trouble!” Ruby giggled. “Then we’ll need to be extra stealthy! Whee!” With that, the little filly ran out of the house, giggling. Emerald shouted after her, “Hey, get back here Ruby!” He then sighed, shaking his head when he saw that she wasn’t listening. “She will be the end of me one day… Wait up!” Emerald quickly chased after his younger sister, knowing he’d be in even more trouble if he left his other sister to wander around by herself. After sliding down the outer slope of the valley, the two foals ran in the general direction their mother flew off to. Soon, they saw her walk into a dense forest, seeming to follow a trail. The two looked at each other, then quietly walked in after her, feeling worried. After all, the forest was a dangerous, untamed place… But the two foals paid no head to this. The two silently trotted after their mother, making sure to stay out of sight. They may be young, but they were somewhat used to sneaking off to somewhere. Soon, the followed their mom to an ancient looking temple, barely recognizable through the vines and vegetation covering the old stone that made up the large structure. As she entered the strange building, the children looked at each other with worry and fear, then began to follow… Until they were interrupted by a loud growl. The foals looked around with panic, suddenly noticing the many pairs of yellow glowing orbs hidden in the growth of plant life around them. They backed up, becoming scared as they realized exactly what had been following them… Timberwolves. Vicious wolves made out of wood and other sorts of plant matter that were surprisingly carnivorous. They turned to run, but found their path blocked as the twiged monstrosities came out of the foliage, surrounding them. It seemed that all was over for them… That is, until suddenly, one of the timberwolves was struck by what seemed to be a black tendril. This set the rest of the timberwolves to high alert as their friend was destroyed with a single strike. The rest attempted to attack the offending tendril, but ended up with the same fate as the first. The children looked at it with fear, until they heard something that sounded like a devilish voice, ¨GO NOW, LITTLE ONES. THEY WILL REVIVE THEMSELVES SOON ENOUGH. HURRY, FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE SOON TO FACE A HORRIBLE FATE...¨ Emerald and Ruby needed no further coaxing as they rushed off into the temple, fearing for their lives. After a moment, the voice sighed, as the tendril retracted, assumedly back to who or what it came from. ¨LET’S HOPE THEY ARE SAFE...¨ The voice that spoke quietly to itself, and a rustle of leaves and bushes signified the being’s departure. Nothing was left to show anypony was there, except for the remains of Timberwolves as they began to float, trying to rebuild themselves. Meanwhile, inside of the temple the two foals were quickly trying to find where their mom went. Soon, they got back on track as they found a recently trotted path that most likely belonged to her. After a few minutes, they managed to catch up, following her in the hopes of figuring out what was happening. The slightly claustrophobic hallway they traveled down began to open up to a large chamber. One would think it to be some sort of courtroom, as there were many stone seats set in a square, with a single seat in the center. What made the situation interesting, however, was that there was a black, amorphous orb floating high above the center of the room. Even the two kids that weren’t skilled in magic yet could feel the ultimate power coming from it… As well as the evil radiating from it. The most alarming part was that a young filly about the size of Ruby floated near the orb. She had a sky blue coat, with a ruffled darker blue mane and tail. Her eyes were closed, showing that she was unconscious, as the energy the orb was giving off seemed to be seeping into her little body. The mother shouted angrily, the horn on her head glowing a dark purple. “HEY! PUT MY DAUGHTER DOWN!” Despite the anger coming from her, the orb kept going, as if it hadn’t heard her. She glared, and decided to fire a warning shot. A beam of dark purple magic shot at the orb, but not even 5ft. from the orb, the magic seemed to be absorbed into the orb. It showed no indication that anything had happened. This caused the white mare to growl. She was becoming rather upset that a powerful spell didn’t even phase the dark being. Just as she began to prepare for another assault, the filly’s body began to glow as it started to change. Her body grew in size, until it was nearly twice the size of the white mare, and then the glow faded, revealing the previous filly’s new form. She was now a very tall mare with long legs, her coat, mane, and tail becoming darker shades of blue than they were before, her mane and tail looking ethereal and flowing in an invisible wind. Her eyes opened, revealing a violet eye that had a reptilian pupil. She grinned down at the mare below her with razor sharp teeth. She began to cackle, her voice laced with power. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!” Her mother stared with fear. “S-Sapphire..! What happened to you?!” Sapphire simply chuckled. “Oh, I have only gained extreme power, mother… And now, I shall begin to gather my strength to rule this pathetic world! ...Starting with you!” She laughed in sick glee as her horn glowed with a black magic, similar to the orb above her, which was now much smaller. Sapphire shot a beam of magic at her mother, causing her to scream and writhe in agony, as her dark purple magic seemed to be getting ripped from her body. The little foals watched in horror as they witnessed this, knowing it would be very painful to do this to a pony. The magic slowly flowed into Sapphire, who was grinning with animosity. After a few seconds, the flow stopped, and her mother collapsed onto the stone floor, unable to support herself. “Now that I have had the main course, it’s time that I get rid of the competition before you regain your magic…!” Sapphire’s horn glowed again, and in a bright flash, her mom was no longer there. “MOMMY!” Shouted little Ruby, horrified with what she just witnessed, Emerald immediately covering her mouth with his hoof. Alas, it was too late as Sapphire turned her attention towards the fillies standing in the entrance to the chamber. “Ah, my ‘older’ siblings, how wonderful of you to join me… After all, it’s about time that I stretch my limbs, so to speak…” The foals stared at her with fear, terrified of what was to happen to them. “Now to figure out what I want to do with my new strength… Death would be too cliché… Banishment to one of the celestial bodies in the sky would be unimaginative… Ah ha! I got it! Perhaps a few hundred years of being stone ought to do the trick…” Sapphire chuckled darkly as her horn glowed again. Before they could do anything, Ruby disappeared from Emerald’s side, causing him to panic. “W-What did you do to my sister?!” Sapphire simply grinned. “I separated the both of you… Especially since I can’t have you two ganging up on me later on…” She laughed again, and the last thing Emerald saw was a beam of black heading right towards him…