Darkrim And The Elements Of Harmony

by Lunaexcelsior

The New Mentor

“So let me get this straight,” Darkrim said to Twilight “You fought against Tirek and won?!”

“Well yeah,” Twilight replied “Though I am still pretty sore from that whole ordeal. Trust me, you do not want to be flung into a mountain at high speed,” she said and stretched out her wings.

“Noted,” Darkrim replied and chuckled.

“By the way, how did he escape?” Twilight asked. Darkrim was a bit caught by surprise.

“What do you mean?” he asked confusedly.

“Well, not to be rude,” Twilight began “but we have noticed quite a few escapees from Tartarus. You wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?”

“You can chalk that event up to the ‘Tartarian liberation’,” Darkrim said in disgust.

Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“What the hay is a ‘Tartarian liberation’?” she asked.

“The ‘Tartarian liberation’ is a group of moronic radicalists that’s what they are,” Darkrim gritted his teeth “They feel that the prison section of Tartarus goes against everything that we, as a nation, stand by. According to their ideology, it is unfair to cage up any creatures, no matter of what they had done just because ‘it is their way of expressing themselves’.”

“So, if I went around breaking rules I should expect no repercussion, simply because that’s who I am?” Twilight asked in a bit of a shock.

“That is essentially their warped vision of the world. No rules, no consequences,” Darkrim emphasized.
Twilight let out a disgruntled sigh.

“They sound like a rational group,” she rolled her eyes “but that still doesn’t explain how they are responsible for Tirek’s escape?”

“It’s a bit complicated to explain,” Darkrim said as he scratched the back of his mane “but, from what I heard, someone on the inside managed to release Cerberus from his post and tipped them off. Once they found out, they broke Tirek’s chains and the rest is history.”

Twilight stood there in wide eye shock.

“Were they at least caught?” she asked.

“Well, those who freed Tirek were,” Darkrim said “but we never found out who released Cerberus.”

As Darkrim looked back at Twilight, he noticed she was visibly distressed by this new information. He quickly diverted the conversation.

“Anyway, enough about Tartarus,” he said and waved his hoof “I want to know more about you. I mean, I know you are Equestria’s greatest hero and all, but I really want to know more about the pony behind the hero.”

“Oh,” Twilight said and blushed a bit “Well what do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with something simple,” Darkrim said “What do you like to do the most?”

“Well, I love to organize, but my true passion lies in reading books,” Twilight responded.

“Really?” Darkrim said in surprise.

“Yeah,” Twilight began “There’s just something about gathering knowledge from the tomes, especially if they are really old, that really makes me feel complete. For example, I am currently reading ‘Starswirl’s advanced astronomy’, but you probably don’t want to hear about that,” Twilight stopped herself.

“Actually, that is one of my personal favorite books” Darkrim said.

“Really?” Twilight raised a brow.

“Oh yes,” Darkrim replied “My mother used to read me passages about the stars and constellations before I went to sleep from it.”

“Your mother read you ‘Starswirl’s advanced astronomy’?” Twilight said skeptically.

“Yeah,” Darkrim explained “She said that the book was given to her by an old friend and that it would help me understand my purpose. To be honest, I didn’t really see it while I was younger, but still, the stories about far away stars and planets fascinated me to no end, so I continued to read it even in my older years. Now that I actually understand what he wrote about, it quickly became my second favorite book.”

“Why only second favorite?” Twilight asked in interest.

“It’d be my favorite, had I not read Terragon’s ‘Philosophy of a king’,” Darkrim said with enthusiasm “Have you heard of it?”
Twilight thought deeply.

“I heard of Terragon, but not of that book,” Twilight said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Oh, it truly is a fantastic read,” Darkrim started “I would let you borrow, had I not foolishly forgotten it back in Tartarus,” Darkrim said and sighed deeply.

Before Twilight could say anything, Princess Celestia approached them.

“How’s everything going my little ponies?” Celestia asked the two.

“Everything is going great, your highness,” Darkrim replied as Celestia smirked at his remark.

“I am glad,” Celestia smiled “I hope your highness wouldn’t mind if I borrowed Princess Twilight for a few moments. I want to discuss some business with her,” Celestia said.

“Why of course, your majesty,” Darkrim replied “I’ll go talk to the other Elements. See ya around Twilight,” Darkrim gracefully bowed.

“Goodbye, prince,” Twilight waved as Darkrim left to meet up with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who were at the food table.

Twilight smirked as she saw Darkrim mingling with the two mares.

“I see you’re making a great impression on Darkrim,” Celestia said to Twilight with a kind smile.

“Yeah, he is a pretty interesting colt,” Twilight responded politely “but I have to admit that your urgent letter caught me off guard. Why did you request an urgent meeting?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I have to be honest here,” Celestia said awkwardly “I did have an ulterior motif for this meeting.”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asked in anticipation. A hundred and one scenarios ran through her head, but nothing could prepare her for Celestia’s reveal.

“I would like you to mentor the young prince,” Celestia said calmly. Twilight felt as if she was going to flip out. Her heart raced, her breathing quickened, and her eyes widened as the violet mare barely processed Celestia’s request.

“You want me… with the… and the…” she babbled incoherently. Celestia waited for Twilight to ease up and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“I wouldn’t be asking you this if I didn’t know you could do it,” she said comfortingly as Twilight slowly calmed down.

“Okay, I get that,” Twilight said “but why couldn’t you, or even Princess Luna do it?”

“Well, my sister will still mentor him during the night, to strengthen his mind,” Celestia explained “but we will need somepony to teach him practical magic. And seeing as I am neck deep in Equestria affairs, I figured that you would be the next best candidate.”

“I see,” Twilight said, still gasping a bit, “but this is still a huge responsibility! I mean what if I mess up and teach him something wrong? What if he hates it in Ponyville? There are a million and one ways this could go wrong,” Twilight panicked.

“There are also a million and one ways this could go right,” Celestia replied with a smile and covered her with one of her wings “I understand this is a very hard decision for you to make, which is why I brought you, and the Elements, here to meet him. I would like that my greatest student could share her knowledge with a pony which desperately needs it,” Celestia reassured Twilight.

Twilight took in a deep breath and looked deep into her mentor’s eyes. The glorious regal showed no fear or doubt in her gaze, but only radiated trust and confidence. Seeing this made Twilight feel easier.

“Princess,” she stated “It would be my honor to teach Darkrim as much as I can.”

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia smiled gratefully.

“I just have one teeny tiny question,” Twilight said awkwardly “When will my ‘mentoring’ start?” Twilight asked.

“I was hoping that we move Darkrim tomorrow morning to move in with you, if you have nothing against it, that is,” Celestia responded.

“It’s perfectly fine, Princess,” Twilight responded.

“Excellent!” Celestia clicked happily “I know you will do a great job.”

“Yeah, I hope so too,” Twilight said awkwardly. Suddenly she heard loud laughter coming from the food table. Twilight looked back at Celestia who gave her a sign to join her friends.

Even though Twilight appeared to be calm on the outside, she was freaking out on the inside.

“There’s so much I have to do now!” Twilight thought to herself “I must find out what and how much he knows about magic, and then I have to make the entire studying schedule and get all the supplies I need. I’ll probably have to stock up on quills as well.”

As she was stuck in her thoughts Darkrim was having an interesting argument with Rainbow and Applejack.

“So you are suggesting you could beat me in a race?” Rainbow argued.

“Or me?” Applejack chipped in.

“Sorry, Dashie,” Darkrim joked “but you are looking at the fastest pony in Tartarus.”

“Pfft,” Rainbow dismissed his premise.

“No offense partner,” Applejack said “but compared to lil ol’ me, you are about as fast as a one legged turkey.”

“Oh yeah,” Darkrim said with a smirk “Want to put your theory to a test?”

Twilight looked confusedly as she stood next to Rarity.

“What’s going on here?” she whispered to the white unicorn.

“Rainbow was bragging about being the fastest pony in all of Equestria, Applejack interfered and then Darkrim stated that ‘he can show them true speed’. Hope it helps you out,” Rarity whispered back.

“A bit,” Twilight responded as Pinkie and Fluttershy joined in on the commotion.

“What do yall propose?” Applejack said to Darkrim.

“You, I, and Rainbow;” Darkrim said “one lap around the garden. Whoever wins will be pronounced the fastest pony. What do you say?” he extended his hoof.

“Ah’m in,” Applejack shook his hoof.

“I know I am already going to win, so of course I am in,” Rainbow Dash said confidently.

“I’ll be the judge!” Pinkie Pie yelled and rushed out of sight. Everypony was confused until she reappeared, just a few seconds later, fully clothed in a black and white shirt with a whistle in her mouth.

“Let’s go then!” Darkrim said as the party moved out of castle and in the garden.

The three ponies stood on a starting line as they prepared their hooves for the ultimate race.

Twilight stood on the sides with Fluttershy and Rarity, while Celestia and Luan set up the track, making sure to protect the delicate flora and fauna.

“Alright Pinkie, here’s the map for your track,” she said and handed it over to referee Pie.

“Thank you, Princess,” Pinkie said and turned back to the contestants “Alright here’s the gameplan,” Pinkie began “First you “Over the bridge, through the hall of statues and back here. First pony to cross the finish line wins. Got it?”

All three ponies nodded their heads as Rainbow looked way too eager to start the race. She was already flaunting and stretching her hooves.

“Don’t eat my dust too much,” she bragged to the other two.

“Alright, now to just cover the rules,” Pinkie said “No flying, no cheating, no magicking and especially no knick knacking. Am I understood?” Pinkie Pie asked sternly.

“We heard ya the first time, pinkie,” Applejack said “Come on lets go!”

“Hold your horses Applejack,” Pinkie Pie laughed “Princess Luna, would you mind lifting me up?”

“Sure thing Pinkie,” Luna replied and bowed down to the pink mare. Pinkie got up on Luna’s back as she flew up. The puffy maned pony then pulled out a megaphone out of her referee shirt.

“Alright, on your marks, get set, GO!” Pinkie yelled as all three ponies began zooming through the course.

“We best follow them,” Luna said and flew closely above the runners.

“And Rainbow Dash takes the easy lead, quickly being followed by the Darkrim and Applejack,” Pinkie Pie yelled “They are neck to neck, hoof to hoof, eye to eye, tail to tail,” Pinkie Pie started to take wind.

“I think they got it, Pinkie,” Luna stopped her with a chuckle.

Indeed Applejack and Darkrim were very close together, while Rainbow Dash was taking a comfortable lead.

“Huh, you slowpokes can’t catch up to me,” she laughed at Aj and Darkrim.

However, her laugh distracted her too much as she forgot the sharp turn in front of her and swerved out of the track.
Both Luna and Pinkie cringed.

“And Rainbow’s out of bounds,” Pinkie Pie said “I guess she was too distracted so she had to derail!”

Luna just shook her head at that joke.

“Ha ha. Next time you better watch where ya goin’ instead of braggin’,” Applejack said as she passed the cyan mare. Rainbow shook herself off and returned back on track.

Darkrim just took the lead as they passed the bridge.

“And in an unexpected move, Darkrim takes the lead,” Pinkie Pie yelled “I guess you could say he is on FIRE! He is really BLAZING out there! However, Applejack is HOT on his trail.” Pinkie Pie laughed hysterically. Even Luna had to chuckle at these fiery puns.

“Oh no you don’t,” Rainbow thought to herself as she gave it her all, surpassing Applejack. Seeing the cyan pegasus run past her, made the orange mare speed up and give it her all. Soon enough they both caught up to Darkrim.

Once they entered the hall of statues it was anypony’s gain as the leadership was quickly exchanged through all the twists and turns.

“And it’s Darkrim in the lead,” Pinkie Pie began “No, now it’s Rainbow Dash. No Applejack. No Rainbow. No Darkrim. No Appledash. No Dark Dash. No…” Pinkie Pie had to stop talking as she was quickly running out of breath.

Luna bucked her slightly.

“It’s the final stretch, come on Pinkie,” the night regal joked with the pink party pony.

“Oh right!” Pinkie Pie said as she watched the speedy racers below her.

Darkrim found himself becoming more and more tired as the race dragged on. He was having quite trouble keeping up with applejack, let alone Rainbow Dash, who was slowly gaining the lead.

“Don’t ya dare to quit now prince,” Applejack said to Darkrim as she passed him.

“Yeah,” Rainbow yelled back “It’s no fun winning by default.”

Darkrim smiled at the two mares as he gave it his all to keep up with the two athletic ponies. He could already see Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Celestia cheering them on. Quickly running out of breath Darkrim saw the finish line. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were just a tails length in front him. With the remaining of his strength, Darkrim rushed cross the finish line.

“And that’s it mares and mares!” Pinkie Pie yelled “Rainbow Dash takes the first place with Applejack in a close second and Darkrim in an even closer third!” Pinkie Pie yelled.

Rainbow started to fly up in a victory pose.

“Oh yeah who’s the best!” the cyan mare bragged in air. Darkrim fell to his knees out of exhaustion. He panted quickly as AJ approached him.

“You did mighty well partner,” she said “Even if Ah did beat ya!”

“Yeah well, it was an exciting race,” Darkrim responded “<Even if I did lose.”

“You’re not bad kid,” Rainbow smirked as she helped Darkrim back to his hooves “Nothing like the pros, but you’re a pretty good runner.”

“Thanks, I had a lot of practice;” Darkrim joked.

Luna and Pinkie descended from the sky and quickly joined the racers.

“Oh my gosh, that was awesome!” the pink mare stated “You were all like ‘wroosh!’, ‘zoom!’ “Pinkie Pie said ecstatically.

“It was pretty intense even from the sidelines,” Rarity interjected.

“I thought it was good too,” Fluttershy said “but we should probably go inside now. It’s getting awfully dark.”

“Of course,” Celestia said “Come, I’ll show you to your guest rooms.”

“Guest rooms?” the Elements said in unison.

“Of course,” Celestia responded “It’s far too late for you to go home. Come on!”

As they entered, Twilight moved towards Darkrim.

“Why did you instigate this race?” she asked him as they got in.

“I saw that Rainbow was bragging about being the fastest thing since lightning, so I wanted to put it to a test. Plus I thought it would be a good way to make a good impression on her,” Darkrim winked.

Twilight smiled at his notion.

“Prince, you are full of surprises,” she said to him endearingly.

“Hey, surprises make our lives interesting Darkrim responded and waved good night at the mares, as he went to his room for some well deserved shuteye.

“Perhaps this won't be so hard after all,” Twilight thought to herself.

Comments

[Weavers of Dreams]

You know, you're really not that bad at political commentary. Maybe you should try and compare the different systems of the world at certain points in the story to increase intrigue.

Also, it might just be us overthinking things, but Darkrim seemed a little suspicious in that race. Almost as though he let them win. Or he might have proven that everyone in Tartarus is slow. He did say he was the fastest in the underworld. Plus, he kept on smiling during the race.

Either way, he's made it with the girls. Keep it up.

[Lunaexcelsior]

6435018 This comment is such a relief to me because I was afraid thet the whole pplitical spiel there might be a bit too on thenose, so I am glad you liked it. Just wait till the revolutions begin inTartarus and the formation of The Neo Basilian State. I do intend to bring up socio political points later on in the story sp I hope it will turn out well. As for the race, when you boil it down Darkrim wasnt that far behind the girls. And he said he was the fastest pony in Tartarus. Either way the whole point of the race was not so much who will be the winner but more of a connection point between Darkrim and the girls, which is why he was smiling throughout the race. Heck even AJ and RD help him out in the final stretch so it really wasnt abou thewinner.

[EbonyDanger]

Woohooo! That was well done. I really enjoyed their race. And Twilight was so in character. She freaks out at the thought of being a mentor. And Pinkie and her puns. Hilerious!

[Lunaexcelsior]

6436322 Thank you so much. And I am happy I could keep Twilight in character

[EbonyDanger]

6436610
No problem. She is known for being paranoid.

[The Psychopath]

Ah, yes. The racing between Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I did that in "From man to mare" and to this day I still cringe on that 'vaporware' I randomly added in there because I had nothing else to write at the time and didn't want to finish the chapter with so little words. A good little introduction and character development but didn't really forward the main story.

---

Starswirl’s advance astronomy

I think you mean 'advanced'.

“I’ll see ya, prince,” Twilight waved

While I usually, don't complain about this, that line is very Out-of-character for Twilight. She really doesn't talk like that. She'd prefer a proper word over a countryism.

asking you this, if I didn’t

No need for a separation here.

Next time you better watch where ya goin’ instead of bragin’

*braggin'

“And in an unexpected move, Darkrim takes the lead,” Pinkie Pie yelled “I guess you could say he is on FIRE! He is really BLAZING out there! However, Applejack is HOT on his trail.” Pinkie Pie laughed hysterically. Even Luna had to chuckle at these fiery puns.

Make it stop. MAKE IT STOP!

Even if Ah did bet ya

*beat (unless you did this on purpose)