//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Resonance and Lessons // Story: A Flurry of Darkness // by Alyssa Hartwick //------------------------------// ~ 3 weeks later~ “-And those are the runes that are at the basic level” Sunburst said, setting down the chalk from his aura, concluding the first lesson of the day. As he turned his head towards his only student, he noticed she was drawing. "Flurry!” he called, his voice stern. Flurry, surprised at the sudden call of her name, looked up from her wooden desk that she sat in, littered with drawing of various magical symbols. She quickly tried to hide her current drawing but failed, due to her magic not cooperating with her, and instead caused her to fall out of her chair in shock sending many sheets of paper, along with the drawing in question, to fly off her desk and onto the floor. Using his fiery gold aura, Sunburst removed all the papers from the floor. He picked up the drawing that she was working on and began to eye it down, looking at Flurry with an eyebrow raised, then looking back at the paper. His mouth opened as if he was going to speak. Expecting to be yelled at, Flurry closed her eyes tightly and flattened her ears onto her head, waiting for the large amount of scolding to fill her ears like the many times before. Silence was the only thing to cut through. Peeking one eye open, she looked at her private teacher and babysitter. Sunburst was looking intently at the drawing, his eyes scanning every inch of the paper. Slowly she lifted her head and unfolded her ears in her confusion. He then spoke, asking, “Flurry…where did you learn how to draw this rune?” he said in a confused tone, it was an advanced Permafrost rune! “I uh…Learned it in a book I found in the library” She lied. Sombra had been teaching her many runes and a few spells in the past three weeks, and she found it rather easy to learn things from him. It was as if he could make her see the things she was learning differently. “Well this an extremely intricate and advanced rune for someone of your age to be-“Sunburst froze, realizing what he was saying. His eyes opened wider with glee. “I need to tell your parents of this immediately!” He shouted. He then ran out of the small classroom where her lessons took place, a large smile dancing across his face. Flurry then got up and popped her head out the door. “What about Class!?” she called after him “You can have the rest of the day off!!!” he shouted back, running into his room to write to Flurry’s parents, who were out on royal business, as well as starlight, who he had been writing too (a lot) about how Flurry was practicing advanced magic on her own. She finished picking up the papers that had been scatted across the floor by Sunburst running, as well as packing her own things from where she was sitting she started wandering the long halls. Flurry was once again alone in the large cold crystalline halls of the castle she called home , her small hooves clicking against the crystal floor, the sounds reverberating through out the halls ahead of her. She had been quite lonely lately. It had been about 2 days since she had last seen her friend and her second teacher, Mr. Shade. She wanted something to take the loneness out of her mind. So she then began to sing to herself. “Alicorns, Princesses, and Things I hate to remember...” She sung walking through the long corridor lined with many dark rooms. “But in the dark someone sings, deep inside the shadows." As she sung a dark cold mist began to form behind her. “I enjoy things that are cold, but ponies won’t prance through the pretty snow...” As she walked on, every step she took begun to leave an icy trail on the crystal floor. “But the sun dances gracefully, across their memories!” She began to hear what seemed like a choir singing in a haunting tune. Knowing who must have been behind such wonders, she was filled with joy as she began to follow the music. She ran through the halls, searching for the place where her friend, as well as where the sweet sounds of instruments and voices harmonizing were residing. She began singing once again “Dearest Friend. Hold me safe and warm, Make frigid fears turn to stone!” “Make me known for who I am, not what they want me to be!” She found the source of the sounds. It was coming from deep inside the heart of the castle. No pony was allowed down there. But the large rusted iron door was unlocked and flaming red torches leading down the ever looming spiral stone staircase were lit. She ran down the hard cold stone stairs and kept singing. “In the dark, No seeds are sown...” She sang as the flames within the torches began to extinguish behind her. “The moon as dim as an Ember!” She felt a cool breeze gently blow past her. She sensed a feeling of calmness rush over her as she continued to sing the haunting melody. “Things my heart yearns to know...” “Things filled with such splendor!” She belted as she had reached the last of the many stone steps. She then sang quietly in the dark. “But in the darkness someone sings…..” A familiar deep voice filled the room. “Deep inside the shadows…..” _-()-_ “Welcome to my home little one.” He said gently. Her eyes filled with wonder at the sights. It was a large crystal filled cave. She felt as if she was on the inside of a geode, filled with color. The crystals that sprung from the ground, the walls and the ceiling all glowed with luminescent light, each shimmering with a different hue. She saw spiraling clouds of inky blackness floating softly at the high ceiling above her. It appeared to almost be absorbing the light that bled into it. It was simply beautiful. “How did you find this place?” She said in awe. "I was banished here" he said calmly "Oh im sorry..." she said sadly "Its not your fault. I was a bad pony back then." His eyes downcast at his memories. He was brought back by the sound of Flurry sniffling. Her eyes sad as she hugged his leg tightly. “You’re not a bad pony!” She yelled as she squeezed his leg harder “You’re just different, like me!” she said. He looked into innocent eyes, that could not fathom what he had done to ponies during his rule. And what he had planned after he took back the throne. “Yes, we are just different.” He said simply, as he patted her on the head. Happy with the answer she had received, she let go of his leg. He rubbed it vigorously trying to get feeling back in his foreleg, as she had been squeezing it so hard it had stopped his blood flow. He then started explaining to her of the many crystals that surrounded them. How their color represented the type of crystal, and the brightness the power that laid with in. She asked him in a curious tone, “How did you make the pretty sounds?” , All the while not taking her eyes off of the many colors that flooded her vision. “Hmmmm?” he responded, confused. “I mean, like the orchestra and the choir and stuff!” she said this time. “Oh that.” He said with a light chuckle. “It’s very simple my dear.” he said smirking “It’s magic!" He said as his magic began to ignite. The crystals slowly began to glow brighter, bathing the room in a multicolored light. It had gotten so bright it almost blinded the filly. A soft ethereal sound started radiating from deep within the crystals, reverberating inside the large cave. Then the inky clouds began swirling down, softly churning as it cascaded down towards Flurry. It seemed like an eternity for her, as she watched the clouds slowly spin gently toward the crystalline ground right in front of her. A mares face appeared from it. It had no eyes and a dark grey face looking to be as smooth as clay. Its mane was of flowing shadow that went all the way up to the ceiling. Its whole body formed from the cloud like shadow its body a solid dark gray color. It gently floating above the ground in front of her. As soon as its fore hooves touched the ground in front of her, The floor began to vibrate. Wind blew all around her as the swirling inside the black clouds that made up the mares mane also became violent, as if trying to separate its self from the entity. Once the mane touched the ground, it started flooding into the ground acting like ink being pouring into water. She watched as the dark blackness dove into the ground in front of her, shaking the whole room, that was still ringing with the sound of powerful wind and the crystalline tones. She turned away from it to watch how the crystals were reacting. They looked like large crystalline jars filled with black inky clouds swirling playfully with colorful lightning. Then the music began to play The crystals pulsed with music, resonating as sound waves overlapped and bounced off the cavernous walls. Vibrating tones went unheard, only audible to those in the room. The resonance sounded otherworldly, angelic to her ears as a disembodied voice formed from the resonance, one that rang out from the room itself. It was coming from the entity. “Your teacher never tells you but he loves you so, yet you only smile just for show!” The shadow sung to her. “You're only happy when your sorry head is filled with cold, I hope you be okay till the day you're 17 years old!” She was confused by the lyrics sung by the shadow mare in front of her, but she was so entranced by the sight and sounds she could not care less. “You're dripping like saturated moonlight, You're spilling like an overflowing sink...” Sang the shadow and the crystals around her appeared to be bleeding their color. “You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece" "And now you’re tearing through the pages and the ink!” Then color flowed from the crystals flowing onto the ground flooding it with the colorful liquid. “Everything is blue, your heart, your Hooves, but not your destiny!” Looking at the colorful liquid pulsating at her hooves as it was changing color. “And now you’re covered in the colors, pulled apart at the seams!” She looked at her body to see splotches of ink like substance coating small patches of her fur. “And it's blue!” ”And he’s blue...” the voice sang as the song started to reach its end. "Every thing is grey his Heart, his Hopes, and his faded Dreams" The shadow of a mare sang "And now he's so devoid of color He don't know what it means" "And he's blue" "And he's blue....." The creature sang before joining back into the cloud of blackness Flurry looked at Sombra, sad over the silence that had now engulfed the room. His were eyes unfocused, his horn glowing softly with magic. The room slowly returned back to its original state. The colors flowed back to their respective crystalline homes and the shadows returned to their cloud like state. He noticed the curious face of flurry eyeing him. "why did the music have to stop? she asked sad that the song had to stop "Because even magic has its limits young one" he said calmly Noticing his answer didn't stick with the filly for she still looked confused he then explained in further detail. "The dark magic formed by the compacted shadows radiates towards the crystals and the crystals absorb it and in turn create a luminescent glow which creates the light that the shadows absorb creating a symbiotic relationship between the two magic types" he in triumph still not hearing from the filly he looked at a very confused flurry " a symbi- what now?" she said in con fusion He face hoofed knowing that he should have known better that to explain this to her the way he did. He sighed in defeat and said " The crystals eat magic from the pretty clouds and the clouds eat the light from the crystals and after the music they get sleepy and need to rest" She nodded at his answer finally understanding what he had said. "Oh....ok" she said in understanding His eyes softened at her behavior. He gave a reassuring smile and said “ You may come here any time you wish to visit me when we aren’t doing lessons. Does that sound alright to you young one? “He said warmly. Excited about the news she bounced around the room in joy. She the spread her wings and took off in to the air and flew around the bright room shouting "WHOOO HOO!" exitedly She then shouted from the air. “I’m guessing I can’t tell my parents about this neither huh?” He laughed heartily at that and shouted back. “What else can I say! I am a magical shadow pony after all little one!” She flew straight past him causing a powerful gust of wind to blow past him. Knocking him to his haunches. She laughed tauntingly at him as she gently landed a few yards. “Why you little-“he began to say as he was running after her as screams of laughter filled the room.“I’m going to getcha!”He yelled after her before intonating the game of chance. It was a good day