//------------------------------// // Chapter 36- Not in Equestria Anymore // Story: Of Flame and Shadow // by Garuda IV //------------------------------// "Alright, it's almost done," Twilight eagerly said to herself. "Now I just need to fetch the wine and everything will be set." Down in the dining hall, Twilight had just finished setting up the candle-lit dinner for her and Dark. While the pasta turned out almost perfect, the sauce was slightly burned, but was easily fixed by scraping it away from the unburnt pasta. Happy with the setting for them, she turned and made her way back into the kitchen. Looking into one of the cabinets, she pulled out an old wine bottle that Celestia had given her as a housewarming gift for when she got her new castle, but never had a reason to use it. That is, until now. Levitating the bottle alongside her, Twilight turned around and started making her way back to the dining hall. But before she crossed the entrance hall, there was a loud knocking on her castle doors. Walking over, Twilight opened the door to see three guards saluting her. Upon taking a second look, she noticed that they were the three guards that Dark befriended. "Steel Hoof, Aura Lance, Kite Shield, what brings you three here tonight?" Twilight asked them. "Your Highness," Steel began, "we're here because of the loud noises and bright lights that were coming from in front of your castle." "Really? When did this happen?" "Just a few minutes ago," Aura answered her. "Didn't you hear or see it too?" "No, I didn't." "Are you sure? Because we were in the middle of Ponyville when we saw it happen." "I am. I didn't see or hear anything because I was inside making some dinner. By the way, have you three seen Dark on your way over here by any chance?" "We did actually," Aura said. "We passed by him in town just a few minutes before the lightshow started." "That's strange." "What's strange, Your Highness?" Steel enquired. "If you three saw Dark on his way over here at that time, then he should've been back at the castle a few minutes ago. Which, according to you, is the same time that..." Twilight's eyes widened in fear and worry as her memory of Pinkie's Pinkie Sense returned, leaving only one question for her. "Is something wrong, Princess?" Kite asked. "Guys," Twilight slowly began, "where is Dark?" "Sorry?" Aura said. "By the time Dark should've been here, you three saw that flash of light. But... if he's not out here... and he's not inside the castle... then where is he?" Understanding what she was getting at, the three guards worryingly looked at their young princess. As the silence continued, they noticed Twilight's eyes starting to water up. Not knowing any other answer, Steel let out a heavy sigh before bowing his head lower. "I'm sorry, Princess," he apologized, "but if he isn't here with you, then we don't know where he could be." Following their squad leader's actions, Aura and Kite both bowed their heads to Twilight out of shame, but what came next made them all flinch. It wasn't the sound of a scolding, a lecture, or even screaming and shouting, but the sound of Twilight's magic failing, and a wine bottle shattering on the ground. Dark didn't know exactly what had happened to him. Sure he remembered facing the cloaked pony that was responsible for the attack on Ponyville almost two months ago and waking in an unfamiliar and rather cold place, but now he felt like he was relocated again. While his body was still tired and his head was still trying to recover from that nauseating headache that the portal gave him, he also felt warm. He tried to open his eyes, but quickly noticed that they were rather heavy and wouldn't move. I need to find out where I am, he thought to himself. Whoever that pony was didn't seem normal. Not only that, but if he's in Ponyville, then he might go after Twilight like last time. Forcing his will upon his body, Dark managed to regain his senses again. While his eyes were still shut, he didn't need them to feel the somewhat familiar cushions of the couch he was laying on, and the blanked draped over him. Alright, so apparently whoever found me took me in and laid me down on their couch, Dark mentally figured. "So, what do you girls think?" Isn't that the same voice from before? he pondered. "Ah don't know about this." Wait, was that Applejack? "Yeah, I'm with AJ on this one. I mean, bringing a guy who you just happen to find passed out like that back to your place isn't a very smart move." And Rainbow? If so, then that must mean that I'm still in Ponyville. "But you all saw how freezing and hurt he was. Besides, would any of you just leave him like that?" Dark smiled as he recognized that sweet, soothing voice again. Hearing her voice, Dark found the strength to speak. "T-Twilight?" he tiredly called out. The voices in the room went silent as they heard him speak. But, despite him still having his eyes closed, Dark didn't need to see them as he could practically feel their gazes locked upon him. Turning his head to his right, Dark felt something wet slide off of his forehead. A few seconds later, he felt someone put it back on. "Shhh, it's alright." Okay, that had to be Fluttershy. "I don't know about you girls, but I have to question why in the wide world he would wear so much black like this. And look at this jacket. It may look normal, but it feels far too heavy." ... Rarity. Wait, if they're all here, then where's Pink- "Wake up already!" Hearing a noisemaker blowing directly in his ear, Dark snapped his eyes open before sitting up on the couch and flinging the wet cloth off. Unfortunately, he immediately shut his eyes when they were subjected to the sudden change of bright light. "Dang it, Pinkie! Was it really necessary for you to do that?!" Dark half-shouted as he massaged his eyes. "Sorry, but you looked like you needed an extra boost to wake up." "Yeah, but did it have to be that loud?" he groaned. "What? I wasn't being that loud." "I beg to differ," Rarity objected. "Uh-huh," Rainbow and Applejack agreed. "I think it could've been a bit quieter," Fluttershy meekly said. "While I have to agree with them, Pinkie," Twilight began, "I don't believe that that's what we should be concerned about here. What I want to know is how he knew who I was just by the sound of my voice?" "Why shouldn't I memorize your voice?" Dark asked. "After all, it's usually the first thing I hear when I wake up in the morning." "What?!" Twilight shrieked. "How is that possible?! We haven't even met each other until a few hours ago!" "What are you talking about, Twilight? Of course we have-" Dark found his words caught in his throat as he opened his eyes and began looking at Twilight. While he expected to see his alicorn fillyfriend, what he saw instead was anything but a pony. Before Dark stood a girl with lavender skin and eyes, purple hair with a dark-purple and a hot-pink strip done up in a bun, who was wearing what he'd guess to be a uniform of some kind, and black glasses. Blinking in surprise, Dark began looking around to see that the others were just like Twilight, but instead of looking like ponies, they were all fleshy, bipedal creatures who were wearing clothes. Namely skirts, socks, and a shirt or blouse of some kind. Thankfully, as he took another look at them, Dark noticed that they each vaguely resembled his friends from Ponyville. That is, all but the girl who he saw before he passed out, who was wearing blue pants and a light-blue blouse. Shaking his head, Dark looked back to Twilight. "Umm, Twilight? Is that really you?" he asked. "Yes, my name is Twilight, but I have no idea who you are!" she exclaimed. "Are you a stalker of some kind?!" "What?! Twilight, why would you call me that?" "How about the fact that you know me, but I don't seem to know you?" "But you do know me. We've known each other for over a few months now." "No we don't!" she snapped, causing Dark to wince at her words. "Easy there, sugarcube," Applejack said as she walked over beside the couch that Dark was sitting on. "Look, clearly there's somethin' wrong here." "Yeah," Pinkie chimed. "Besides, he also knew who I was too." "It's not just you, though," Dark carefully said, "but I also know the rest of you too." "Oh yeah? Prove it," Rainbow told him. "Rarity's a dressmaker, Rainbow Dash is an athlete, Pinkie Pie likes to bake and throw parties, Fluttershy tends to animals, and Applejack works on her family's apple farm. Although I don't know who she is," he said, gesturing towards the seventh one. "Guess I should introduce myself then," she said before clearing her throat. "My name is Sunset Shimmer." "Hello, Sunset. I'm Dark Flame. Also, thanks for helping me like you did... that was you, right?" "Yes it was, and you're welcome. But how is it that you know all of their names, but they didn't know who you were?" "I have no idea," he sighed. "I'm still trying to figure why in the hay we all look like this." "Wait, what did you say?" Dark cocked an eyebrow at her. "I said, 'I'm still trying to figure out why in the hay we all look like this'." "You said 'hay'." "Yeah, so?" "Didn't you mean to say 'hell'?" "No." Having an idea of who Dark was, Sunset began to ask him a few questions. "Do you know what you are?" Dark looked over himself briefly. "Not a clue." "Who runs the country that you live in?" "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Sighing, Sunset looked back to the others gathered around. "Girls, I think I know what's going on here." "That was fast," Rainbow commented. "I know because his confusion is the same as when I first arrived here. That, and he seems to already know us, but we clearly don't know him. And besides, he did refer to Celestia and Luna as 'Princess', not 'Principle'." "Wait a moment, Sunset," Rarity began, "are you saying that this young man here is actually-" "From Equestria? Yeah, I do." "Wait, what do you mean by that? We're still in Equestria, right?" Dark asked. "... you better sit down for this." "I'm already sitting down." "Oh... right. Anyways, no, you're not in Equestria anymore." "Ah! Ah! She said it! She said it!" Pinkie exclaimed while pointing at Sunset. "Like I was saying, this isn't Equestria." "Then where am I?" Dark asked. "You're in another world." "... aaaand you lost me." Sunset sighed. "Alright, tell me, did you happen to stumble through a mirror portal?" "A portal, yes, but it wasn't a mirror." "Seriously?" "Yes, seriously, but how do you know all of this?" "Well, as it turns out, I'm actually a unicorn from Equestria." "... okay, now I believe it's my turn to say 'seriously'?" "Yes, seriously," she giggled. "... you're enjoying this, aren't you?" "Maybe just a little bit. It's not often that I get to talk to somepony from Equestria." "What about Twilight?" Rainbow asked. "But she's standing right here," Dark pointed out. "No, she's talking about Princess Twilight," Sunset corrected. "And while we're talking about her, why don't you tell us what your connection to her is. After all, you seem to know her." "Alright, but first, what are these things?" Dark asked, wiggling his dulled claws. "I mean, they look like claws, but they aren't." "They're called fingers." "Oh, okay." "Now, about you and Twilight?" "Oh, right. Well, she and I have kinda been dating for over a month now." "What?!" the seven girls shouted in unison. "It's true." "No way!" Rainbow said. "You're pulling our leg. There's no way you're going out with Princess Twilight." "You know that she doesn't really like to be called by her title, right?" "We know," Sunset nodded, "but it help keeps the Twilight from our world separated from yours." "I guess it would help differentiate them. But yes, we've been a couple for over a month." "Well that explains a lot," Twilight said with a huff. "... yyyeaaaaahhhh. Sorry about the confusion before. I didn't know that you weren't my Twilight." "It's fine," she sighed. "Just... please don't do it again." "Now that I know, I'll be sure to be careful when talking about you... her... gah! This is gonna be annoying, I can tell!" "You get used to it," Sunset said with a shrug. "Speaking of 'get used to it', what am I exactly?" "You're a human. Basically a bipedal mammal who're omnivores." "Really? Because we look like a bunch of hairless monkeys." Sunset giggled. "That's exactly what I said when I first saw them." "Okay, so we're humans now. But how is it that we changed?" "The portal's magic turned us into humans. From what we know, when a pony crosses over, they're turned into a human and vise versa. Also, whenever a dragon goes through the portal, they come out on this end as a dog." "Really? A dragon came through the portal?" "Since you know of Princess Twilight, I'm sure that you've met Spike, right?" "Aahhhhh. Say no more, now I get it." "How's the little guy doing by the way?" Fluttershy asked. "Heh, the little stud's doing just great. He's currently in a relationship with three fillyfriends now." "Has three what now?" Applejack questioned. "He means that Spike has himself three girlfriends," Sunset explained. "But how does that work? He's not cheatin' on them, is he?" "Nope. They all know and have agreed to it," Dark told them. "This is kinda weird hearing that Spike has three girlfriends," Twilight spoke. "Especially when he's just a puppy." "Well in Equestria, he's pretty much their age." "So, who're the lucky girls?" Rainbow asked. Dark rubbed he back of his head. "Uhhhh... yeah, about that. You probably don't wanna know." "Why? It's not any of us, is it?" "No, it's not. I'm sorry, I just don't know how you'll react if I told you. Your pony counterparts are still trying to get over it, and it's been about a week since then." "What about me?" Pinkie asked. "I can keep a secret and I promise I won't freak-out about it." Thinking it over for a moment, Dark agreed and waved Pinkie over. Once she was close enough, he whispered the three names of who Spike was dating. When he was finished, Pinkie slowly turned around and made her way back to her friends. "Yep. You girls don't wanna know," she told them. "Aww, come on, Pinks," Rainbow urged. "Nope." "Look," Dark began with a sigh, "all you need to know is that the four of them are happy with the decision they've made. If you want to know more about them, then I'd suggest you talk to either him or Twi- I mean, Princess Twilight, the next time you see her." "Alright," Sunset replied before looking up at the clock. "We better be heading off to bed. It's almost 11:00 P.M. and we have school in the morning." "Wait, school? Why are you going to school?" "To get a good education and make friends," Twilight plainly answered. "No, I mean why are you going to school at your age? We're the same age, aren't we?" "That depends," Sunset said. "How old are you?" "I'm twenty-three." "Well, as it turns out, the portal also changes our age when we go through it, so we're younger than what we are in Equestria. Just don't ask me to explain why. I don't have any clue as to why or have the proper equipment to test it." "Really? Then how ol-" Dark slapped a hand over his mouth to prevent him from asking one of questions that no stallion should ask a mare. "How what?" "Nothing! Never mind what I said!" Sunset blinked a few times before shrugging and letting it drop. "Anyways, it's getting late, so I'll see you girls tomorrow." "Oh, no," Rainbow said with crossed arms. "Even if he is Princess Twilight's boyfriend, he's still a stranger to us, and we're not going to leave you here alone with him." "Does that mean that we're having a sleepover?!" Pinkie excitingly asked. "Alright, fine," Sunset agreed. "You girls can stay, but just to sleep over. We can't stay up late or else we'll be tired when we get to school tomorrow." "Meh, fair enough." "Good. You girls can use the spare bedrooms." Watching as his humanized friends began filing out of the room, Dark began to take in his surroundings for the first time since he'd woken up. Aside from the couch he'd slept on, he noticed a coffee table, some couches, and a wide, black contraption of some kind. Over to his left, he saw what looked to be a kitchen, and to his right was the entry way with a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. "Pretty interesting, isn't it?" Looking over to his side, Dark saw Sunset taking a seat in one of the nearby couches. "It is, but that's not what I'm thinking about. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm more surprised that you live here, actually. You know, since you're originally from Equestria and not here. How is it that you were able to snag a house like this?" "Equestrian gold is worth quite a bit here. If I wanted too, I could've bought a house three times bigger than this one and still be loaded," Sunset said with a small laugh. "So, how are you doing? I'm willing to bet that this is quite a shock to you." "I guess it is," Dark said while scratching the back of his head. "I mean, yeah it's kinda strange how we all look, but it could've be worse." "I suppose it could. So, do you have any questions that you'd like to ask about this world?" "Yeah, namely what happened to their horns, wings, and tails are for that mater." "Oh, right. That's another thing about the portal. You see, humans don't have those things, so when you came through the portal to this world, you lose them." "... so I lost my tail, wings, and horn?" "Yeah, but- wait, you had both wings and a horn?" "Yeah?" "Just what are you? Are you an alicorn like the princesses?" "Oh, no, no, no. I'm not an alicorn, I'm a kirin. Or, at least I was." "What's a 'kirin'?" "A kirin is a hybrid of a dragon and a horse." Surprised by the extra voice, Dark and Sunset turned to see Rainbow walking into the living room with her pajamas on. "What?" she asked them, noticing the surprised looks they were giving her. "How did you know that?" Sunset asked. "Oh, come on, Sunset! From what we heard from your stories, you came from a world with pegasi, unicorns, dragons, minotaurs, and sirens. So why wouldn't I look into seeing what other awesome mythical creatures might be there?" "Did she tell you about the hydras?" Dark asked her. "What?! You have hydras there too?!" "Yes, Rainbow, we do," Sunset sighed before turning back to Dark. "So, you're a kirin then?" "Yep," he nodded. "Only one of my kind from what I've been told." "So that means that one of your parents was a dragon?" Rainbow asked, taking a set on the other couch. "Not really. Both of my parents were ponies, and I was turned into a kirin by a dragon... and now I'm starting to get a sense of deja vu." "That's because you already had this talk with our pony selves, didn't you?" Pinkie asked, popping up from the other side of the couch and sitting on that end. "... how'd you know that?" "Just a hunch." "Of course," Dark said with a facepalm before feeling the lack of horn. "By the way, Sunset, is there a mirror that I can use? I'd like to get a look at what I look like exactly." "Sure. You can use the mirror in the bathroom," she said to him. "It's up the stairs, first door on the left." "Thanks." Getting up from his spot on the couch, Dark made his way up the stairs and followed Sunset's directions to the bathroom. It was thankfully unoccupied, so he let himself in, noticing the white tile floors and walls, the large bathtub, a towel rack, and the bathroom cupboard and sink with a large mirror just above it. Walking up in front of the mirror, Dark was able to get a good look at himself. Minus the jacket that Rarity had been inspecting earlier, he was still wearing his pants and waist cloak, but the newest piece of clothing that he was wearing now that he wasn't before was a blaze-orange T-shirt with his cutie mark printed on the front of it. As he continued to look himself over, he took off his shirt, revealing his broad chest and muscles before he turned to see that his back was bare of any wings, and that his head without a horn. He also saw that his ears that would normally be on top of his head were now on the sides of his head. Turning back to face the mirror, Dark noticed that his skin was just a shade darker than what he would compare it to the Applejack of this world. And besides the plainly visible scar on his right shoulder, the thing that got his attention the most were his eyes. For some reason, he no longer had the golden eyes of Nocturne, but his old blue ones from before he became a kirin. Not believing it, Dark leaned in closer to the mirror and used his fingers to pull away the skin near his eye, allowing himself a better view of it. Smiling at seeing that his old eyes had returned, Dark ran his hands through his long hair and sighed in relief. As he was letting out his breath, Dark then noticed a lack of extra warmth. Bringing a hand up, he placed it on his chest and focused his attention on it. Taking a few steady breaths, Dark felt a lack of a fire burning in his chest. Well this sucks, he mentally sighed. I've also lost my fire sac. "Oh my goodness!" Turning his head to his right, Dark saw Rarity standing in the bathroom doorway with a heated blush on her face. "Do you need to use the bathroom?" Dark asked. "Sorry about that, I'll just head on out." "Umm... before you do," Rarity weakly said. "Would you mind putting your shirt back on please?" "Sure, but why? I don't normally wear clothes anyway." Rarity's face turned beet red as she looked away and pointed for Dark to leave. Shrugging, Dark picked up his shirt and put it back on before heading on back downstairs. Walking back into the living room, he saw Sunset and the others were watching something on the black thing from before. "What's that?" Dark asked. "That's the television, or 'TV' for short," Sunset answered him. "Huh. It actually kinda reminds me of those projection crystals back in Equestria. Twilight's parents had one of them in their living room." "Sounds Equestria's got some new technology since I've last been there." "Actually, it's a magical gem from the Crystal Empire, not a piece of technology like this." "By the way," Applejack began, "what's with Rarity? We heard her shoutin' something from upstairs." "Oh, that. She saw me without my shirt on is all. That reminds me, why are we wearing clothes anyway?" "Oops," Sunset muttered to herself in embarrassment for forgetting to tell him. "Yeah, that's my bad. I should've told you about that sooner." "Told me what?" "Well, here in this world, everyone wears clothes." "You mean like all the time?" "Exactly. That is, except for when bathing of course or when your... never mind." "What? What is it?" Sunset blushed as she began to carefully choose her words. "Or when you're with your special somepony." Noticing her hesitation and reactions, Dark understood what she'd meant and gave her a simple nod before noticing something missing. "Hey, when you found me, did you find anything else?" he asked them. "Well, besides a bunch of fire around where we found you, there was also this really weird sword," Pinkie answered. "It's here?! Where?!" "Right here," Rainbow answered him, holding the Death Reaver in her hands. "It's really freaky-cool looking." "Don't touch it!" Dark said in a panic. Surprised, Rainbow dropped the sword on the ground in front of her feet. "Is something wrong?" Sunset asked. Ignoring her, Dark walked up to Rainbow. "Show me your hooves." Rainbow arched an eyebrow at him. "What?" "Ugh, I meant hands! Show me your hands!" Hastily, Rainbow held out her hands for Dark to see. Holding them in his own, he turned her hands over to look over the palm of them. Seeing that they were perfectly fine, Dark let them go with a long sigh of relief. "Sooo, what was that all about?" Rainbow asked. Dark picked up his sword and began looking it over. "This is a Living Weapon," he began explaining, "and it's rather picky with who can wield it." "How so?" Sunset questioned. "You mean that you haven't heard of it before during your time in Equestria?" "Not that I can remember." "Alright then, in that case, I'll give you girls the short version. Basically, this sword is alive, hence the 'Living Weapon'." The girls gasped before he continued. "That said, this sword doesn't like to be held by anypony but me, and knows who is holding it." "Don't you mean to say 'anybody'?" Twilight corrected. "Force of habit. Anyway, if anyone else besides me holds it, then they'll be cursed by it." "What do you mean by 'cursed'?" Rainbow nervously asked. "From what I was told, if someone other than me tried to wield it, the sword's magical defenses would activate and the sword would start to possess the wielder. The only two ways that it won't curse its wielder is if that person is either me, or someone who I've given my permission to use." "Y-You said that it's a-a-alive?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes, you can tell by the pulsing red crystal in the center of-" Dark paused when he saw that the red gemstone wasn't glowing. "What the hay?" "What is it?" Sunset asked, getting up and looking at it over his shoulder. "The gem is suppose to be glowing red like a heartbeat, but it's not. It just looks like an ordinary gemstone" "Was it magical?" "Yes, but its magic was connect to mine." "Then that would probably explain it. Remember, you lost your magic when you crossed through the portal." Eyes widening in worry, Dark tried casting dark magic from his arms like he did in Equestria, but like before he was sent through the portal, he didn't feel any magic flowing through them. It was then that a worried thought came to his mind. Looking back to his sword, Dark took his free hand and began knocking against the flat of the blade. "Hey, Nocturne, you there?!" he asked in a mild panic before knocking on it again. "Hey! Wake up, damn it!" "What are you doing?" It was now that Dark was starting to hyperventilate. Not only was he thrown into a foreign world without his wings and magic, but he also couldn't talk to Nocturne either. Sitting down on the floor, Dark tried to calm himself down with a breathing exercise that he'd seen Twilight do before. After a minute of repeating this motion, Dark had calmed himself enough to where he as only slightly panicking. Seeing that he'd calmed down, Sunset kneeled down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dark, what's going on? Who's Nocturne?" she asked. "You remember how I said that this sword was alive?" he recalled, getting a nod from Sunset. "Well, the one who more or less lives in this sword is Nocturne." "So you're worried for your friend who's in this sword of yours?" Applejack asked. "Ehhh, he's not exactly my friend, more like a frenemy." Dark paused when he saw that they were giving him curious looks and sighed, "Look, it's going to be a long explanation, so I'll just save it for another time. Besides, I believe that you said that you and the others were going to sleep?" Looking up at the clock, Sunset's eyes widened when she saw that it was almost midnight. "Oh boy it's getting late. Come on girls, we'd better head to bed." Turning the TV off, they began making their way upstairs. That is, except for Sunset, who stayed behind. "Before I go, I take it that you'll wanna get back to Equestria as soon as you can?" "Yeah. I'm pretty sure that Twilight's wondering where I'm at... oh crap! Twilight!" "Don't worry about it," Sunset told him. "Look, tomorrow morning, we'll take you to the portal so that you can go home." Dark sighed in relief and laid sprawled out on the carpet. "I just hope she isn't too worried." "Like I said, don't worry about it. Tomorrow, you can return home and explain to her what happened to you. Knowing her, I'm sure that she'll forgive you." "Alright, and thank you for all that you and the girls have done for me." "It's no problem," she said before turning around and walking towards the stairs. "Before I forget, you can go ahead and sleep on the couch tonight. Just don't forget to turn off the lights before you fall asleep." "Will do, and thank you again." Giving a wave, Sunset walked up the stairs to her room while Dark laid his sword against the wall beside the couch. Looking around, he found the light switch on the wall and turned the lights off. Unfortunately though, he forgot that he didn't have night-vison anymore and wacked his shin against the corner of the coffee table. "GAH! Celestia dang it that hurt!" Rubbing the sore spot on his leg, Dark sat back down on the couch. But while the lights were off, not all was silent as he could hear snickering coming from upstairs. Rolling his eyes, Dark laid down on the couch with his head resting on a pillow on the armrest, pulled the blanket back over him, and fell asleep. Over in Equestria, every guard in Ponyville was out searching for Dark. It had been hours since Twilight had ordered Steel Hoof and his two companions to alert the other guards and search for him. But even after that time, they still couldn't find any trace of him in Ponyville. Even the unicorn guard trackers that they had all came up with nothing. Not wanting to give up and fail their mission, they continued searching through Ponyville and the surrounding areas to look for him, but made sure to stay clear of the Everfree Forest until dawn. While they were busy doing that, a certain group of friends were gathered outside one of the castle doors. "Has anypony heard anything?" Rarity asked. "I got nothing," Pinkie said. "Eenope," Applejack answered. "I've flown around town and couldn't find any trace of him," Rainbow told them. "Discord?" Fluttershy softly spoke. "Were you able to tack him with your chaos magic?" Discord sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, everypony, but I couldn't." "What do you mean you couldn't?!" Rainbow snapped. "Twilight told us how you were able to show her visions of the past when you gave us that riddle about our elements after you broke from your stone prison, so why couldn't you do it now?!" "Because I literally can't!" he irritatingly said. "I don't know why, but for some reason, whenever I follow Dark towards the castle doors, that's when I'd get some kind of interference." "How so?" Rarity inquired. "I'm not entirely sure. If I had to guess, I'd say that it kinda felt like when I tried to use my chaos magic on Pinkie's bottle of holy water." "Didn't ya say that ya couldn't use your chaos magic on dark magic and some other type of magic?" Applejack asked. "Yes, dark and light magic, or as others call it, 'holy' magic." "So, are you saying then that the reason why you can't see what happened to Darky is because there's holy magic involved?" Pinkie wondered. Discord paused as he thought it over. Surprisingly enough for him, Pinkie actually made a good point. With a wide grin, he patted the party pony on the head. "Pinkie, you're a genius." "Yeah, I get that a lot," she smiled. "But while we know what it is, that still doesn't help us in finding Dark," Rarity reminded them. "Maybe not, but it's a start at least," Fluttershy spoke before looking to the closed door and sadly sighing. "Now if only we knew how to make Twilight feel better. I wish we could go in there and give her our support." "Well, it doesn't help much that she's locked the door on us." "She's even put up a barrier around her room, so I can't teleport any of us inside," Discord said. "Maybe one of the princess can help us?" Rainbow suggested. "Maybe. If you want, I can teleport to Canterlot and ask Lulu for her help." "What about Princess Celestia?" Fluttershy wondered. "Ohhh no! I made the mistake of waking her up once already and will not be doing that again anytime soon. Now, I'll be back in a little bit." Before any of the others could say anything else, Discord was gone to Canterlot. As the silence lingered on, they began feeling their tiredness beginning to take them. "Do you think Twilight will be alright?" "Well, Ah can't hear her cryin' any more, so Ah'm guessin' that she's asleep," Applejack guessed, leaning an ear against the door. "Well if she's sleeping, then there's nothing much more that we can do for her at the moment," Rainbow said with a loud yawn. "Besides, I'm wiped from searching all over Ponyville, so I'm heading off to bed. I'll see you girls in the morning." But before she could fly to one of the guest rooms, Discord returned in a flash of light with Luna and Celestia. "I thought that you said that you weren't going to risk waking Princess Celestia?" Fluttershy questioned Discord. "I did," he admitted, "but that didn't mean that Lulu couldn't." "How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that?" she annoyingly asked. "Later, Luna," Celestia said before looking to the group of friends with a sad look. "Discord explained to us that Dark has disappeared." "Yeah," Applejack sighed. "Every guard in Ponyville has been out searchin' for him since a little after sunset, but nopony has seen hide nor hair of him. Even Discord couldn't find out what happened ta him." Celestia looked up from Applejack towards the locked doors. "And what about Twilight?" "She's not doing too well, I'm afraid," Rarity answered her. "She's locked herself away in her room ever since the search started." "But this isn't like her," Luna observed. "The Twilight Sparkle I've come to know would be out there helping in the search, not wallowing in sadness in her room like that." "While that would normally be true, Luna," Celestia softly began, "this time is different. And with that said, I must admit that I know what she's going through, so I don't blame her for needing some alone time." "Sister?" Celestia shook her head from those old thoughts. "Never mind that. Right now, all we can do for her is to give her some time and help search for Dark. I'll go call-off the search party for the night and have them resume it in the morning. In the meantime, you should head to sleep yourselves. You all look rather tired." With tired nods, the girls and Discord made for their guest rooms while Celestia and Luna waited for them to leave. Once they were out of sight and earshot, Luna turned to her sister. "We need to find him as fast as possible, Tia." "I know, Luna. I know that Twilight would want-" "I'm not just talking about Twilight, sister." "Oh?" Luna sighed. "I'm not sure how to say this, but I have a feeling like if he remains absent for too long that something bad might happen." "Are you suggesting that Twilight might do something reckless like tear open a magical rift or something like that?" Luna shuddered at the thought. "No I wasn't, but thank you for putting that thought in my head." "Sorry about that." "It's fine. Now, you head on back to sleep, sister." "But the guards-" "I'll take care of it. You just head on back to sleep. You'll need it to deal with Twilight in the morning. And besides, I'm going to do some magical sweeps over the village and surrounding areas while I'm awake and try to help find him." "Very well then. Thank you for doing this, Luna." "You're welcome, now off you go." Giving her sister a warm smile, Celestia teleported herself to her guest room while Luna teleported away to speak with the guards. As silence reigned over the castle hallway, a quiet sniffling could be heard. On the other side of the doors, Twilight had heard the others talking. Laying in bed with the stuffed ursa minor that Dark got for her on their trip to the Running of the Leaves fair, Twilight hugged the stuffed doll tighter against her as she used it for a cry pillow. Feeling emotionally drained from what happened tonight, it didn't take her long before she cried herself to sleep again. The next morning, Dark found himself awoken from his sleep with a startle. He'd dreamt of a tall figure in a tattered, black cloak that completely shaded the owner's face and left not part of him revealed. While most of the dream was a foggy haze, what he did remember clearly was that whoever it was would just stand there, silently observing and judging him. It started out as little unnerving at first, but the feeling he got from being in such close proximity of it over a period of time began to create a sense of fear in him, which led him to his rude awaking. Now fully awake and unable to go back to sleep, Dark took a moment to collect himself before rising from his couch, folding the blanket, and making his way into the kitchen. As he began looking around it, he peeked out the window to see the sun's light just barely glowing. So, feeling like he had some time before the others would get up, Dark began gathering some cooking materials for a large breakfast for him and his hosts. A half-hour later, Dark had a place setting out at the dining table for each of them with a plateful of pancakes, and just in time too as he heard footsteps up above him. Using these last few minutes, Dark reached into the refrigerator and grabbed some orange juice and milk out of it before placing them on the table. With the added few sticks of butter and a bottle of syrup, he looked at the setting before hearing the footsteps walk down the stairs. "Something smells good," Sunset said before walking in and seeing what it was. "Wow. Did you make this?" "Sorry that I didn't ask for your permission beforehoof," Dark apologized, "but I wanted to cook you and the girls a nice breakfast as a way of thanking you for finding me and taking me in." "It's alright, but you really didn't have to do this. Although, this does look really good." "And it tastes even better!" Looking back at the table, they saw Pinkie sitting and wolfing down her stack of pancakes. "Pinkie, when did you... you know what, never mind," Sunset relented. As they took their seats, the other started to walk in and began taking a seat of their own. After a half-hour of eating, chatting, and laughing, they cleaned their dishes and tossed then into a dishwasher before putting on their winter clothes. While the girls were busy with that, Dark grabbed his jacket, put it back on, and left it unzipped before grabbing his Death Reaver and placing it on his back. Turning around and making his way over to the door, Dark froze in place as he noticed something off. "Hey, Sunset?" "Yeah?" "You said that magic is lost when I go through the portal, right?" "Yes? Why?" "Then why is my sword sticking to my back?" Walking over, Sunset saw that Dark's sword was indeed sticking to the back of his jacket. "Huh. Well, that's strange. Tell me, is there anything magical about them?" "The sword and my clothes all have magical enchantments on them." "I think I might know then, but just to be certain, what enchantments are you talking about here?" "Fireproof enchantments for my clothes, an enchantment on the weapon itself to make it lighter to carry-" "I told you there was a reason why it was so light!" Rainbow shouted. "-and an enchantment on my jacket that holds my sword against it. Think of it as an invisible sheath." "In that case, I know what's going on here." "Okay... soooo?" Dark urged with a hand motion. "While the magic that we ourselves had was lost when crossing the portal, anything that has a magical enchantment on it gets to keep it. There are some exceptions of course, but I'll tell you about that sometime later." "So, what you're saying is that my clothes and sword still have their enchantments on them?" "Pretty much." "Huh... well alright then." Leaving it with that, Dark made his way over to the opened door and was about to walk out when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Aren't you going to wear your boots?" Twilight asked. "What boots?" "When we found you, you were wearing those," she said, pointing to a pair of black buckled boots. Shrugging, Dark went over and, with a bit of help, was able to get his boots strapped on. "Oh, and before you go," Sunset began, grabbing a thin, white blanket from a nearby closet, "you should really wrap your sword up in this. We don't want you to get into trouble for being caught with carrying something like that around. Following her suggestion, Dark wrapped his sword in the blanket before placing it back against his back. Getting an approving nod from Sunset, Dark stepped out of the house while Sunset locked the door behind them. With everyone ready, they led Dark to their school and the portal. While it was snowing outside, it wasn't as cold as it was last night. Enjoying the cool air, Dark closed his eyes for a moment and enjoyed the feel of the unusual coolness against his skin. "If you don't mind my asking, darling," Rarity spoke up, "I was wondering why it is that your clothes were so heavy?" "Heh, that's an easy one. It's because there's a layer of chainmail in-between the fabrics," Dark answered for her. "Did you say chainmail? As in chainmail armor?" Rainbow questioned. "Yep. I got it from fighting in the Canterlot Coliseum." "Alright, that's it, Sunset. Now you gotta let us go to Equestria one of these days." "We'll have to let Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight decide that," Sunset said. "Or at least give them a warning ahead of time." "Besides, it could make things confusing if there were two of all of us there," Twilight added. "Like you're one to talk, Twilight," Rainbow retorted. "After all, you got to met your other self already, and that was almost immediately after you transferred to our school!" "Speaking of Equestria, where's this portal anyways?" Dark asked. "It's actually located in the base of a statue at our school," Sunset answered him before pointing in front of them. "Actually, you can see it now." Following the direction of her finger, Dark saw a violet-pink, two story building with a green lawn, some bushes planted along the base of the building, and a square, white marble column with a statue of a horse on top of it. "Welcome to Canterlot High," Sunset said. "Is that the portal that you were talking about?" Dark wondered. "Yep. Just follow us and we'll show you the side that it's on." Silently nodding, Dark followed the group of girls as they led him to the side facing the school. Looking between the smooth surface and back to the girls, he gave them a wave of his hand. "Well, as short as it was, I'm happy to have meet you girls." "Same here," Sunset said. "Be sure to tell Princess Twilight that we all said 'hi' will ya?" "Sure, no problem," he chuckled. Turning around to face the portal, Dark took a deep breath to prepare for another ride through the nauseating portal and took a step forward. However, instead of going through the portal like he and the others had expected, he smashed his nose against the stone surface. Reeling back in pain, Dark doubled over as he held his sore nose in his hands. "What?" Sunset said confusingly as she walked up past Dark. "What's going on here?" "I don't know," Dark nasally said. Raising a hand up, Sunset placed it on the smooth surface of what should've been the portal. Her eyes widening in a panic, she placed her other hand on the smooth surface and began feeling around it. "Oh no, not again!" "Sunset, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. "It's the portal! It's closed again!" "Wait," Dark slowly said, "are you telling me that I'm stranded here?" Turning around Sunset gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Dark, but it would appear so."