Of Flame and Shadow

by Garuda IV

Chapter 37- Stranded

Dark was motionless as he looked at the supposed portal back to Equestria. He wasn't sure what to feel exactly at the moment. All at once he felt lonely, angry, worried, but mostly sad that he couldn't go home and see his Twilight again. As his thoughts continued to linger on her, he soon felt a few stray tears flow from him.

I'm stranded here, he dishearteningly thought. I may never see her again.

With those sad thoughts, he began thinking of the things that they've done together. From the time when he met her in the hospital, to when he woke up yesterday morning with her peacefully sleeping in his arms. Letting his mind drift, he then began to think about what could have been. His first Hearth's Warming with her, laying by the warm fireplace wrapped in a warm blanket, helping her with Winter Wrap Up, Hearts and Hooves Day, and perhaps even...

He wiped a stray tear away as his eyes narrowed and became focused. No. I won't let that slip away from me.

Sparking his determination to get home to Twilight, Dark let out an angry snort and reached back for his sword. Grabbing it, he unwrapped it and held level to thrust it into the stone column. Noticing his sudden mood change and the intent of his actions, Sunset quickly placed herself between Dark and the closed portal, causing the others to watch in worry.

"What do you think your doing?!" she demanded.

"I won't let a closed portal stand between me and getting back to Equestria," Dark snarled. "I'm going back home to Twilight, even if I have to destroy this statue and force it open!"

"But you can't! If you damage the face of the statue where the portal is, then you'll permanently seal it off!"

"What other choice do I have then?!" he shouted. "Listen, Sunset, the biggest reason why I've been so laid-back with my being here so far is because of this portal allowing me to go back. But now that the only gateway back home is denying me access, I'm feel like I'll need to force my way through it."

"The portal doesn't work like that!" Sunset shouted back before letting out an annoyed huff and running her fingers through her hair. "Look, just hear me out on this, will you?"

Taking a deep breath, Dark lowered his sword and let his body go lax before nodding to Sunset. "Alright, I'm listening."

"This isn't the first time that the portal shutdown on us like this. Last time was because the magic in it was accidentally drained from it."

"I thought that you said that magic doesn't exist in this world?"

Sunset sighed. "Like I said yesterday, there are a few exceptions, like this portal. I'll explain things to you in better detail later, but let me finish what I was saying right now. Anyway, the last time this happened, the portal was sealed because its magic was taken. Now, considering that nothings happened to it on this end, I'm willing to guess that it must be something on the other end in Equestria."

"So what you're saying is that this side of the portal is just fine, but something's wrong with the other one?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay, but that still doesn't help us. I mean, what can we even do when we're talking about a portal in a different world?"

"We can use this," Sunset said as she reached into her backpack and brought out a brown book with a picture of a red and yellow sun on the cover. "This is a book that Princess Celestia gave to me when I was still her pupil back in Equestria-"

"What?"

"-what did I say already about letting me finish?" she annoyingly asked. "Like I was saying, this book is special. Anything that I write in this book will show up in the pages of a similar book over there."

"Okay, I get that, but what are the chances that Princess Celestia will even read it?"

"Actually, Twilight has the other book. She and I will sometimes write to each other, and I also use the book to call her incase of an emergency, or if I need advice on something."

"So you can contact Twilight with this book?"

"Yep," Sunset happily said before taking out a pen and began writing. "I'll tell her that you're here and that the portal is closed."

Dark let out a sigh of relief and began rewrapping his sword. "Thank you, Sunset... and I'm sorry that I shouted at you."

"It's alright, and I'm sorry that I shouted at you too."

"If it's alright, while you're at it, I need for you to tell her something important."

---

Twilight was slow to wake up this morning as the emotional exhaustion from last night lingered. Lifting her head from the ursa doll, she felt the dampness beneath her eyes and looked down to see a large soaked spot on the stuffed ursa minor where she rested her head. As her emotions began returning to her, she heard a gentle knock on her bedroom door.

"Twilight? Are you awake?" a gentle voice asked.

Even though she knew the voice's owner as Celestia, Twilight didn't feel like answering and laid herself back down. But while she was quiet, it was just loud enough for Celestia to hear through the door.

"Is it alright if I come in?"

Remaining where she was, Celestia waited by the door for Twilight's answer. After a minute of silence had passed, she gave a sad sigh before she began turning around to leave her be. But before she took her first step away, she felt the magic barrier dissipate and heard the door unlock. With a small smile, she turned back around and slowly peeked her head in the poorly-lit room to see a lump in the bed. Walking in, she heard the door close and lock behind her as another barrier was erected. Making her way over to the bed, Celestia looked over the young alicorn, barely able to see the red and puffy eyes, and the soaked fur beneath them. Gently climbing up onto the bed, she laid herself down alongside Twilight and draped a comforting wing over her.

"How are you holding up?" she softly asked her.

"I've been better," Twilight answered with a small snivel. "H-Has anypony heard anything?"

Celestia shook her head. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but nopony's heard or seen anything yet."

Saddened further by the lack of good news, Twilight buried her face in Celestia's side.

"I want him back, Princess. I want him home."

"I know, Twilight. Don't worry, we'll find him."

Celestia remained there to support and reassure Twilight as she let herself go in the comfort of her old mentor. But, while the lack of news was disheartening to them, had they been in the castle library, things would've been different.

---

"Okay," Sunset said, putting the book away, "now all we can do is wait for Twilight to reply."

"How long does it usually take?" Dark asked.

"It varies from time-to-time, so I can't say for sure. It could be anywhere from within a few seconds to a few days."

"So we just wait then?"

"Pretty much."

Sighing, Dark rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright, fine. So, what do I do in the meantime?"

"Ooh! Maybe he can come to school with us?" Pinkie suggested. "You know, like Sunset, Twilight, and the Dazzlings did."

"Go to this school, huh?" he pondered out loud, looking over the school in front of him. "Would they even allow me here?"

"Probably not if you're carrying that sword around," Rainbow said, pointing to the sword attached to his back.

"Well he can't exactly just leave it out here either," Applejack pointed out. "With or without it bein' cursed."

"Maybe Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna could look after it?" Fluttershy chimed.

"What are your thoughts on this, you two?" Rarity asked.

"Will it be safe?" Dark questioned.

"If she wanted to, Principal Celestia could have her office locked-down rather tight," Sunset answered with a small chuckle. "Heh, I should know. I've tried to break-in there a few times and failed each attempt."

"When was this?"

"A while ago. I'll tell you more about it during lunch. In the meantime, we better go see them."

Following her lead, Dark walked behind Sunset and her friends through the glass doors and into the school lobby. Looking around, Dark was surprised at how much bigger it looked on the inside, and by how clean it was. Taking a quick look around, he saw a hallway leading off in both directions and a large stairway just ahead of him. Turning to the left hallway, Dark followed the girls, and after making a few turns, they came to a closed door with a pair of familiar voices talking behind it. He watched in silence as Sunset walked up to the door and gave it a few knocks. When the talking on the other side ceased, they were given permission to enter.

Filing in one-by-one, they made their way into the office with Sunset bringing up the rear behind Dark. As he walked in, Dark saw two tall females. And while they weren't ponies, it didn't take him more than a few seconds to know that they were this world's Celestia and Luna. Besides the fact that they're the ones who they came to see, despite their human appearance and the lack of fur and ethereal mane, they still had the same skin and hair color that the princesses' coat and mane were. Other than that, the only real difference were the clothes that they wore. Where Celestia wore purple pants, a white and purple striped shirt, and a yellow coat of some kind, Luna seemed more lax with her dark-blue pants and pink shirt with a white collar.

"Good morning, students," Celestia welcomed them. "What can I do for you girls today?"

"Actually, Principal Celestia," Sunset began explaining, "we kinda ran into a little bit of a situation."

"Are we to assume this has something to do with this young man here?" Luna guessed, gesturing to Dark.

"You would be correct, Vice-Principal Luna. This here is Dark Flame, and he's from Equestria."

Celestia groaned and rubbed her temples. "Another one?"

"Sorry, but I didn't mean to come here on purpose," Dark defend. "To be honest, I didn't even know of this world until I was dragged through the portal by that one guy who jumped me."

"Alright, why don't you all take a seat and explain what's happened."

Doing as she asked, Dark and the girls each found a place to sit before he began explaining to everyone what happened before he wound up in their world. Keeping his story short with what happened before and after being pulled into the portal, Dark was able to finish after only ten minutes had passed by. During that time he kept his eyes on the two adults and watched their reactions. To his mild surprise, they both didn't seem all that surprised by it, almost as though they'd heard or seen worse.

"So, let me see if I have this straight," Celestia began to clarify, "you were attacked by a wanted pony and were sent here into our world."

"Correct," Dark nodded.

"Then, due to this 'teleportation sickness', your trip through the portal caused you lose consciousness soon after arrival."

"Yep."

"Then these girls found you."

"Right after we were done with our band practice, yes," Sunset added.

"Then they took you in for the night."

"I swear nothing happened," Dark defended himself.

"It's alright, I believe you. Back on track now. Then this morning, these girls brought you back here and led you to the portal, but it's not working for some reason?"

"That is correct," Sunset spoke again. "I've already written to Princess Twilight about our current situation, but she hasn't replied back yet."

"And what is it that you would like for my sister and I to do?" Luna asked.

"We were wondering if you'll allow Dark to attend Canterlot High until he returns back to Equestria."

"That depends," Celestia said, leaning back into her chair. "How long do you think it'll be until the portal is working again?"

"I can't say for sure. We'll know more about it when Princess Twilight answers."

"What do you think, Luna?"

Luna thought about it as she looked out the window to the school grounds before giving them her answer.

"I'm a little uneasy about this, considering what tends to happen whenever we let someone from that world attend this school."

"But whenever something happened, there's always some sort of school event going on," Rainbow reminded them.

"Yes, that is true. Which is also why, since there aren't any such events taking place until next month, I'm willing to allow him to attend Canterlot High. However, I expect him to be on his best behavior and to not cause any trouble."

"Yes, Princess Luna," Dark said with a bow.

Luna blinked. "Excuse me?"

Dark snapped his head back up, realizing his slip-up. "Sorry! I mean to say Principal- er, Vice-Principal... you know what, screw it. Is it alright if I call you 'Miss' instead of 'Vice-Principal?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she said with a small laugh, causing the others to join in.

"So then, is there anything else we can do for you?" Celestia asked with a snicker.

"There is, actually," Dark said, pulling the wrapped sword from his back. "Since I originally came here with the intent of going home instead of coming here, I brought this with me too and was wondering if you would keep an eye on it until the school day was over? I'd rather not carry it around and accidentally scare everypon- I mean, everybody, here."

After Dark handed it over to Celestia, she began to look over the wrapped item. Despite it being covered, though, she had an idea of what it was due to its shape.

"I can watch over it," she told him, "but, I do hope that you won't be bringing it back to my school again."

"Yes, Miss Celestia. Like I said before, I didn't expect to attend this school when I came here."

"Very well then. You may come back for it after school's over for the day. Now, as for your classes, you can join Miss Shimmer in the classes that she's in. If that's alright with her that is."

"I guess it would be for the best," Sunset agreed. "At the very least, he would be around someone he knows, and I can help him get around the school."

"In that case," Celestia began as she began writing a note, "I'll give you this to give to your teachers so they know about our new... temporary student."

Taking the note, they each gave their Principal and Vice-Principal their thanks before Sunset led Dark to her first class of the day. While it did feel a little bit weird meeting so many humans at first, by the time fourth period came around, he'd started getting used to the sight of them. And while Dark was having an enjoyable time despite it being school, their lunch period quickly came around.

Sticking close to Sunset, Dark followed her through a pair of double doors labeled "The Cafeteria", and into a large and open room. Joining the line, they made their way over to the counter where Dark saw a familiar, sweet, elderly green lady with white hair serving them. With their trays filled with their lunch, Dark followed Sunset over to the table where the other girls were sitting and waiting for them.

"So, Dark, how was your first morning in a human school?" Rarity asked.

"Not bad actually," he answered her. "Besides getting lost in the history class, everything else so far was easy."

"You seemed like you were having a good time during gym class," Rainbow noticed.

"So that's what it was called. But yeah, it was easy enough throwing those balls at the other team while avoiding getting hit."

He was about to take a bite from his mashed potatoes when he saw three sets of eyes lock onto him from across the cafeteria.

"Hey, who're those three over there?" he asked, motioning towards the three girls.

Turning towards their direction, they each immediately recognized who Dark was referring to.

"You might wanna be careful around them," Sunset warned him.

"Why?"

"Those three are the Dazzlings. The one with the poofy orange hair is their leader, Adagio, the moody one with the purple hair with the green stripe is Aria, and the ditsy blue one is Sonata. They're sirens from Equestria who were banished here by Starswirl the Bearded over a thousand years ago."

"So they're dangerous then?"

"Not quite, exactly." Sunset sighed and figured now was a good time to tell him. "Hey, I said before that I had some explaining to do, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, they kinda tie-in with my story, so I'll just tell you now while we have some free time."

Eating his lunch, Dark quietly listened as Sunset told him about what's happened there, along with some of the others who would fill-in a detail here or there. She told him the short version of how she came from Equestria to this world, about how she returned to Equestria and stole Twilight's crown for the Fall Formal, the Dazzlings' plot to rule the world with the help of the Battle of the Bands, and the events of the Friendship Games. And just to prove that what they said to him was true, the girls shared with him a few pictures that were sent to them on their phones. But while he did believe them for the most part, it was the part of Twilight's transformation that he didn't quite believe, but that changed when he saw the picture of her as Midnight Sparkle.

"Well, you girls have been rather busy," Dark commented. "So, you girls gained your powers from the Element of Magic and can now transform, or 'Pony-Up', as you call it?"

"Yep," Sunset said with a nod. "It happens when we show the truest part of ourselves."

"Can Twilight here do it too? Not including the events of the Friendship Games, of course."

"We haven't tried it yet," Twilight answered.

"Do you think it'll work for me too?"

"It's hard to say," Sunset shrugged. "You're the first kirin to make their way through the portal. As far as I know, the same rules may still apply to you, they might be different, or you might not need to abide by them at all."

"Considering that I still can't use my magic, that last one can't be it. I just hope that it's not the first one."

"Don't worry about it, you'll find out how it works eventually," Rainbow said as she popped the last of her fries in her mouth. "So, now that you know of us, how about you start telling us about you?"

"I would like to know too," Sunset agreed. "Where were you raised? What did you do? What does your cutie mark mean? You know, the usual."

"... you do know that talking about everything would take a few hours, right?" Dark clarified.

"Alright, then you can tell us when we get back to my place."

"Are we having another sleepover?" Pinkie asked.

"If it means that we get ta wake up ta another good breakfast like this monrin', then Ah'm up for it," Applejack said.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Sunset slowly said.

"Well then, looks like I'll have myself a small audience for story time," Dark chuckled before noticing about Sunset's bag that caught his eye. "Hey, Sunset?"

"Yeah?"

"Why's your bag glowing and vibrating?"

---

Fifteen minutes earlier in Equestria, Rainbow and Applejack walked back into the castle after a long morning of searching for Dark.

"So, you and the other pegasi didn't find him?" Applejack asked.

"No," Rainbow sighed. "What about you and your group?"

"Nothin'."

Their mood dampened, the two made their way into the kitchen where they saw Fluttershy and Rarity sitting at the small table. Upon seeing the two walk in, she gave them a look, hoping that they came with some good news. But when she saw their faces, she knew that they didn't have any luck.

"No such luck?" Rarity asked them, getting a headshake from them both.

"How about you, Fluttershy?" Applejack questioned. "Did your search party in the Everfree find anythin'?"

"I'm sorry, Applejack, but none of the Everfree creatures have seen or heard him," Fluttershy apologized. "They're still looking out for him though."

"And how's Twilight doin'? Is she feelin' any better?"

"Sad to say that she isn't doing much better than before," Rarity solemnly said. "Even though Princess Celestia being there with her is of comfort for Twilight, her emotional condition hasn't improved."

"This would be a lot easier if Discord could actually see what happened ta Dark."

"He did try another approach," Fluttershy began. "Instead of trying to follow Dark and watch what happened to him, he instead decided to try and see if anything approached him."

"And? Did he find anything?" Rainbow pressed.

Fluttershy shook her head. "He was able to pick up that same interference from before, but that's about it. He can't track it back to its source."

Giving dejected sighs, Applejack and Rainbow went around the kitchen and began making themselves some sandwiches for their lunch.

"By the way, where's Pinkie?"

"She's over at Sugarcube Corner," Rarity answered. "Ever since the search started, she's been busier than ever in that place, so she can't be here with us right now."

"Makes sense Ah suppose," Applejack said as she and Rainbow finished making their food.

"If it's alright with you girls, I'm going to go to the library and read some Daring Do. You know, to try and get my mind out of this funk," Rainbow told them.

Taking her plate of sandwiches in her hooves, Rainbow flew over to the library and sat her food down before finding a good book for her to read. As she skimmed over the different Daring Do stories, her hoof stopped at a certain one.

"When the hay did Twilight get this one?!" she asked out-loud as she picked the book from the shelf. "This one isn't even out yet!"

Feeling happy and excited for her new find, Rainbow swiftly flew back down to the couch near where her food sat and began reading. Her worries began to dissipate as she ate her sandwich and read the new book, but as she continued her reading, she heard a faint buzzing sound. Deciding to ignore it, she went back to her book, but the sound kept persisting. After a few minutes of having to hear that annoying buzzing, she snapped her head up and looked around to see what was doing that.

"Applejack, if this is a prank of yours, then could you knock it off?!" Rainbow snapped. "I'm trying to read!"

Scanning the room, she didn't see any trace of Applejack anywhere in there, but what she did find was a book glowing and vibrating on top of the device that Twilight had constructed for the mirror portal. Curious, Rainbow closed the Daring Do book she was reading and flew up to the other one. Grabbing ahold of it, she brought it back down to where she was sitting and flipped through the pages.

What would Sunset Shimmer want with Twilight? Rainbow wondered. Probably some magic problem or another threat in their world... again. Celestia did she pick a bad time to call though.

Eventually she got to the last entry and began to read over it.

"Okay, let's see what she's got for us.... hmmm... what? But how?!"

After finishing reading over what Sunset had written to them, Rainbow reread the whole thing over three times. Upon reading it for the last time, she shot her head up in surprise, relief, and worry.

"TWILIGHT!!!"

Grabbing hold of the book tightly in her forelegs, Rainbow launched herself through the library doors and headed straight for the third floor. Flying up above the guard rail, she flew down the hall towards Twilight's room. Not wanting to waste any time with opening the doors, Rainbow decided to crash through them. Unfortunately for her, she forgot that Twilight has locked the doors and placed a magical barrier around her room, so when she hit the door, it was like hitting a brick wall. Peeling herself off the door and standing back up, Rainbow began frantically banging on the door.

"Twilight! Open up now! It's important!" she shouted through the door.

A few seconds later, the lock clicked and the door creaked open to show an emotionally tired and rather annoyed Twilight Sparkle glaring at her.

"What is it?" she tiredly asked.

"It's this," Rainbow said, showing Twilight the book.

"What about it?" Twilight asked, taking the book from Rainbow.

"There's a message in there from Sunset Shimmer that you should really see."

"Unless it's something about Dark, which I highly doubt, then I don't know how much use I can be to her."

"You'd be surprised, Twilight. I know that I still am."

Now curious, Twilight flipped through the pages to the most recent entry. After reading the first few sentences, Twilight felt thoroughly relieved in hearing that Dark was there with them. That relief was short-lived, though, as she continued reading on. When she got to the part of how it was exactly that Dark was sent there, she felt her worries return. Not for Dark, since she knew that he was safe and where he was, but because whoever this pony was that attacked him was able to get as close as they did and do this without anypony else knowing until it was too late.

"Twilight?" Celestia called from behind her. "Is everything alright?"

Tearing her gaze from the book, Twilight looked back to her with relief and worry.

"We know where Dark is," she told her.

"Where is he?"

"In the human world with Sunset Shimmer. According to what Dark told her, he was attacked by the cloaked pony who coordinated the attack on Ponyville. Last night, he used some kind of amulet on Dark and sent him through a portal to the other world."

"But how?"

"We don't know. Dark was apparently blinded by a flash of light when it happened. He did, however, get a glimpse of who this pony is. Apparently this pony is male with a blond mane, but the strange part is that his horn is white with a blue tip, and it's curved."

"Well, at least we know where Dark is and some idea of what this pony looks like. I'll have a BOLO sent out for him immediately. Now all we have to do is get him back through the portal."

"That's the other problem. They tried sending him back through it, but they're saying that the portal is closed. They believe that it's a magical problem on this end since there isn't anything magical going on over there at Canterlot High."

"In that case, I'll send a team of my best magical engineers here to assist you with finding out what's wrong with the portal."

"Thank you, Princess," Twilight thanked before turning back to Rainbow. "Rainbow, thank you for bringing this to me... and I'm sorry that I snapped at you like I did. It was uncalled for."

"Hey, you've been having an emotional time, it's alright" she said understandably. "Besides, at least we know where he is now and that he's safe."

"Yeah. Oh, speaking of which, could you head on out and tell the others that the search is over? If you or the girls need me, I'll be down to the library finding out what's wrong with the portal."

"Hehehe, now there's the Twilight we all know. Sure, I'll go tell the others... though you may wanna do something about your look before you head down stairs. I may not be as prissy as Rarity when it comes to looks, but even I have to admit that you're a bit of a mess."

Moving to the dresser mirror, Twilight looked at her reflection to see her disheveled mane, bloodshot and puffy eyes, matted fur, and dark stains running down the sides of her face.

"That would probably be a good idea," she said smiling back at her friend.

Seeing that her friend was feeling better, Rainbow nodded and flew off to spread the news. After she left, Twilight turned to Celestia.

"I'm sorry for how I was acting, Princess."

"It's perfectly fine, Twilight," she softly reassured. "I understand what you were going through and was happy to be here to help you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a magical engineering team to send, and a wanted fugitive to find. In the meantime, I'll be back in Canterlot. But if you ever need anything more, or just want somepony to talk to, I'm always available for you."

"What if you're in the middle of talking to a noble, or somepony else important?"

"I'm sure they'll forgive me if there's an 'urgent call' from another princess that I need to take," Celestia said with a wink, causing Twilight to giggle for the first time since this all started.

"Alright. Oh, I should probably write them back first."

---

Reading what was written from Twilight, Sunset closed the book before putting it back into her backpack with a soft blush on her face.

"Is everything alright?" Dark asked. "How's Twilight doing?"

"Yeah, everything's just fine," Sunset said with a warm smile.

"Are you sure, darling?" Rarity questioned. "Because you look a little flustered."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"So then, what was written in it?"

"According to what Princess Twilight wrote, they've had the town guards and some volunteers form a search party to go looking for Dark when he didn't get home last night."

"I'm gonna have a lot of apologizing to do when I get back home," he sighed. "Did she say anything about the portal?"

"She said that Princess Celestia is sending a team of her best magical engineers to assist her in finding out what's wrong with the portal."

"Did she say when they'll be done?"

"She didn't. So, until they do find out what's wrong and you can return home, I guess that you'll be staying at my place."

"Alright."

"And to answer your other question," she began, giving him a warm yet sad smile, "she was worried sick that something awful had happened to you and that you wouldn't return. She misses you, and is anxious to see you safe again."

There was a collection of "Awwws" at how sweet the girls thought it was. But while they found it to be sweet, Dark wasn't feeling it. Running a hand through his hair, Dark breathed a heavy sigh before looking back to Sunset.

"Hey, would it be alright if I wrote something to Twilight?" he asked. "You know, to tell her myself that I'm alright... and that I'm sorry for making her worry so much."

"Sure."

With what little time they had left for their lunch period, Dark made quick work of his message to Princess Twilight. Soon as he returned the book back to Sunset, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Dumping their garbage and leaving their trays on a stack, Dark followed Sunset to her next class. The rest of the day went by rather quickly and uneventful as the other classes weren't all that exciting. That is, all but the science class where Dark had accidentally mixed the correct chemicals to create a vial of napalm.

With the last bell of the day rung, Dark made his way back to Celestia's office to pickup his Death Reaver. After he got there, he explained to her what was going on in Equestria and how they were working on fixing the portal. Understanding and thanking him for sharing this information with her, after Dark put his sword back on, Celestia saw him out of her office, wishing him luck that everything would work out. Giving her his thanks again, Dark bid her farewell until tomorrow and made his way to the portal where the girls were waiting for him.

"So, you all ready to go?" Sunset asked him.

"Yeah," Dark answered, placing a hand on the smooth stone surface. "I hope she doesn't work herself too hard."

"If she's anything like me... well... it might go either way," Twilight said.

"I just wish there was something I could do to help on this end. I feel really useless just standing here not doing anything to contribute while they're all worried and working hard to get me back."

"I know, but just give it time," Sunset said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "All you have to do is be patient and you'll find yourself back home in no time."

"Awww, does he have to go so soon? I was hoping that we could have some fun with him."

Recognizing that voice, the girls turned to see the Dazzlings walking towards them.

"What do you want, Adagio?" Rainbow rudely asked.

"Now, is that any way to treat a friend?"

"Well, we're not exactly friends," Sunset said.

"But what about me?" Sonata questioned. "We're friends, right, Pinkie?"

"You bet we are," she happily nodded.

"So, who's the new guy?" Aria asked.

"Dark Flame," he answered them.

"Dark Flame, Dark Flame... hmmm. Now where have I heard that name before?" Sonata asked herself while tapping her chin in thought.

"Well, hello then, Dark," Adagio said with half-lidded eyes. "So, what brings you here?"

"An unfortunate turn of events."

Adagio began to slowly circle Dark. "Aww, that's too bad for you."

"Yes, it is. Now, is there something that you need of me?"

"We just wanted to see if you would join us so that we can... get to know you better."

"Not a chance," Sunset said as she and the others stepped between the two. "We're not letting you have your way with him."

"Besides, I'm happily called for," Dark added.

"Oh? By who?" Adagios asked.

"That's none of your business."

"Aww, don't be like that now," she said as she ran a finger up his arm. "I just want to know- AAHHH!"

Without warning, Adagio let out a scream as reeled back away from Dark and falling down on her back. Sitting back up, she scooted herself away a few more feet while looking at him with terrified eyes.

"Just who or what in the seven seas are you?!"

"What's wrong, Dagi?" Sonata asked as she and Aria ran to their elder sibling's side.

"Did you see something?" Aria guessed.

"What do you mean by 'see something'?" Sunset asked them.

"While we did get blasted by your stupid rainbow magic that destroyed our pendants, what you didn't get was all of our natural magic. If we want to, we sirens can see into another's memories through physical contact. That's how we knew about what Sunset Shimmer did here at the school before we talked to her in that hallway. What? Did you really think that we would run our hands and fingers over the other students just help seduce them?"

"Wait, we weren't?" Sonata questioned, causing Aria to facepalm.

"Alright then," Sunset nodded, "but still though, what was it that you saw to get you so freaked-out, Adagio?"

"Him!" she said while pointing to Dark. "He's not a normal guy!"

"Well, I am a kirin," he half-bragged.

"Not that you idiot!"

Dark sighed and looked down to the sirens. "Look, we're heading on back to Sunset's place so that I can tell them about myself. With Sunset's permission, and that of the others, you three can come with and listen if you're so curious."

"Just as long as they stay out of trouble, I'll be fine with it," Sunset said.

"Then can we please get on over there?" Applejack asked. "It's startin' ta get a little chilly out here."

---

Back at Sunset's home, Dark was sitting on the floor while the girls each took a seat on one of the couches or recliner chairs, eating the pizza that they had ordered. As they continued to eat, Dark began to tell them his story, making sure to avoid some of the more graphic details, the fact that he and Nocturne are the Incarnations of Death, or the part where Discord swapped his gender. Telling his tale, he told them about his old village and the history with dragons, how it was destroyed, his life in Ponyville and the attack against it, the trip to Canterlot, the events of Nightmare Night, and finally, the events of the day leading up to his being "banished", as the girls decided to put it, to this world. As he finished his story, he swallowed the last of his pizza slice and looked back to the girls.

"So, any questions?" Dark asked, licking his fingers.

"So, you really fought dragons?" Rainbow asked.

"Yep. A lot."

"Dude, that's awesome!"

"While I'll admit that it was quite an adrenaline rush every time, it does suck though since it happened every few days on average."

"And you said that you were a pony before that Nocturne guy changed you, right?" Adagio clarified.

"Yep."

"Well, that's a first. But..."

"But what?"

"That name, Nocturne. I know I heard it somewhere before, but I can't seem to remember where."

"Hey, you said that you lived in a place called Stonewall, right?" Aria asked.

"Yes, why?"

"I remember hearing something like that on the news for a while."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Pinkie remembered. "That's the town that got burnt down after a raid by that one biker gang."

"You're talking about the Dragons, right?" Sunset asked.

"Yeppers."

"That's right!" Sonata exclaimed. "Now I know why your name sounded so familiar!"

"Okay, how did it sound familiar to you?" Dark wondered.

"I read it in the papers. Apparently, of all of the dead bodies that were lying around in that town, yours and one other's were the only ones that could be identified."

"WHAT?!"

"Now that I think about it, I remember reading about it too," Twilight said. "According to the story, after the village was burnt down and most of it's townspeople were killed, one survivor stood against the Dragons. He fought against a few dozen of them before he fought one of their leaders who they brought out of retirement named Noc, the Angel of Death."

"Okay, but did they say what happened to me- er, him?"

"They didn't show any photos of the two of you, but from what was reported, Dark had a big sword in his hand when he died to a stab wound through his back into his heart, while Nocturne died with his gun from a massive gash on his chest."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Sunset said.

"What doesn't?" Dark asked.

"How can our Dark die to a stab wound if Nocturne was using guns?"

"I know, it doesn't make any sense," Twilight admitted, "but that's what the coroner said."

"Ah'm sorry ta hear that," Applejack said. "At least now we know what's happened ta him."

"There is a bright side to this story, though."

"Oh, yeah?"

Twilight nodded. "Like I said before, most of the townspeople were killed, meaning that there was another survivor other than our world's Dark. But, other than knowing that his gender is male, nobody knows who he is because his name and description hasn't been released to the public."

"I remember hearing that too," Sonata added. "I also heard a rumor that he was in cahoots with the Dragons, and that's why he managed to leave Stonewall alive and unharmed like he did."

"Guess we'll never find out then," Dark said with a sigh.

"Can we talk about something else, please?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't really like this topic very much."

"Of course we can, dear," Rarity agreed.

"Well," Adagio began, "while that story was definitely entertaining and all, you still didn't answer my question as to what I saw."

"But I don't know what you saw," Dark defended himself. "Unless you tell me what it was that you saw, I can't answer you."

"All I can say is that I saw death."

"... that's probably because of Nocturne if I had to guess," he answered her half-truthfully.

"Because you two share the same body?" Applejack figured.

"Pretty much. Since his spirit is rooming with mine in my body, he and I are more-or-less the same. The big thing though is that I'm in control of everything while he's taking a back seat. That, and we can tap into one-another's memories, though I tend to do it by accident when it comes to spells."

"Can you talk to him?" Sunset asked.

"In my head, sometimes, but other than that, we usually speak through my sword. And since I don't have any magic in this world, I'm not connected to my Death Reaver anymore and I can't hear or talk to him inside my head. At least, not until I return to Equestria."

"Very well then, I suppose I can accept that answer... for now at least," Adagio said before looking up to see the time. "Well, as nice as this evening has been, we should really be getting back home."

"I guess," Aria grumbled.

"Thanks for inviting us and for the pizza," Sonata happily thanked and waved to them. "See you girls tomorrow. Oh, and you too, Dark."

Before Adagio and her sisters left the house, she turned around to see that none of them moved from their spots. "Aren't you girls going home too?"

"Nope," Rainbow told her. "We're all staying here tonight."

"And what about Dark?"

"Him too."

"Really? Well then, I'm sure that he'll have himself quite a fun time tonight here with you girls. Hope that you've got plenty of energy drinks for him," she said, causing the seven girls and Dark to blush at what she was insinuating.

"Adagio, would you please refrain yourself from making such indecent remarks?" Rarity requested.

"Aww, now what fun would there be for me if I did that? Besides, I only said that to see the looks on your faces. Anyways, we'll be seeing you all tomorrow."

Waving them off, they watched as the Dazzlings left Sunset's house and made their way to their home.

"Alright," Sunset began as she stood up and stretch, "we should all start getting ready for bed. Dark, since you didn't shower last night, you can go first."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't mind if I go last."

"I'm sure. And besides, you stink."

Bringing an arm up, Dark leaned his head down and took a few sniffs of his armpit. Sure enough, the body odor emanating from him was enough for him to cringe.

"I never stank this badly back in Equestria," he complained.

"I know, but you'll just have to get used to it for now."

Following her instructions, Dark made his way up to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Turning the showerhead on, he ran the water and stripped the clothes off of him like Sunset said yesterday. Unclothed and feeling that the water was just the right temperature for him, Dark stepped in and felt the water washing his grime away, feeling completely relaxed for the first time since he'd arrived there.

---

It was morning as Dark was standing in the middle of the main foyer in Canterlot High. Taking a look around though, he noticed that there weren't any signs of any students around him, not even a sound echoing from down the hallways. Paying close attention to his hearing, he strained his ears to hear something, only to pickup the sound of nothing. As he began to wonder why it was it was so eerily quiet, he noticed that a fog had started to form around him. A few moments later after the fog became almost too thick for him to see anything beyond his hands, something from behind him had casted its shadow upon him. Turning around, Dark saw the tall, black, cloaked figure from his dream last night. Taking a step back, he watched as it raised an arm, pointing a bony finger at him, and spoke with a quiet and haunting voice.

"You don't belong here."

---

"GAHH!"

"EEP!"

Startled from his sleep, Dark shot-up from his sleeping spot on the couch, which in turn also caused Fluttershy to become startled as well. Panting for breath, Dark tried to calm himself back down before noticing a small outline peeking from the corner of the room. With the help from the moonlight shining through the living room window, he was able to see that it was Fluttershy who he'd accidentally startled.

"Fluttershy, sorry for scaring you like that. I didn't wake you up, did I?" he asked.

"Oh, no. I was just up to grab some water is all," she said, coming out from hiding and walking over to him. "Are you alright though? You look like you were having a nightmare."

"Yeah. Had one similar to it last night too."

Fluttershy was now sitting at the edge of the couch Dark was on. "Would you like to talk about it? That is, if you want to."

Sighing, he looked over to her. "Are you sure? I don't want to accidentally give you nightmares too."

"It's alright, I'll be fine."

"If you say so. The dream itself isn't much, really. While the first one I can barely remember, there are two things from both of them that I do. In both of them, I was surrounded in a fog, and the second is the person who was in it."

"Do you know who it was?"

"I don't. The only noticeable things about him were that he was taller than me, wore a black, tattered cloak that covered his entire body, he hid his face beneath a hood, and had a bony finger."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anybody like you've just described. Maybe this thing that you're dreaming of is a recreation of some kind of that pony who attacked you?"

"I guess it could," he slowly said. "I mean, it's the only good answer, and it sounds pretty reasonable. By the way, do you know what time it is?"

"The clock on the microwave said that it was 1:35 A.M,"

Sighing, Dark laid back down and stared up at the ceiling. "Great. Another five hours till sunrise and I can't go back to sleep."

"If you want, I can sing you a lullaby to help you fall asleep."

"Thanks, Fluttershy, but you don't need to do that. I'll just try to fall asleep on my own."

"It's alright, I really don't mind. And besides, you look like you could use the help."

"... well, I suppose I could."

Smiling down at him, Fluttershy placed a hand upon his head and began gently stroking it while softly singing him a lullaby. While it didn't have any words to it like the ones his mother would sing when he was a young colt, it didn't make it any less soothing, especially with Fluttershy's voice. After a few moments of listening to her and feeling the gentle motions of her hand, Dark felt sleep quickly approaching.

I know what she said about how this guy is probably a recreation of that pony, but I still can't help but feel like that isn't the case, he tiredly thought before feeling his body completely relaxed. But I can worry about that another time. For now, I'm going to sleep.

After a few minutes of singing and petting, Fluttershy stopped to hear a light, steady breathing coming from Dark. Smiling at seeing how he was peacefully sleeping, she got back up to head to bed, but was stopped when she saw Sunset watching from the staircase, leaning on the railing.

"You never cease to amaze me with your singing voice, Fluttershy," Sunset complimented.

"Oh, it was nothing, really," she humbly dismissed.

Sunset looked from her waking friend to the one sleeping on her couch. "So, nightmares huh?"

"You heard?"

"Some of it. You know, Fluttershy, as bad as this may sound, I don't think that he's being all that honest to us with who he is."

"How so?"

"What I mean is that I do believe what he's told us so far, but I also get the feeling that he isn't telling us everything. Especially after what Adagio said."

"Can you blame him though? After all, he's known us for barely over a day. Just give him some space and time to adjust and trust us. Then, if he feels more comfortable with us, he'll tell us what he's left out."

Letting that topic end for the night, Fluttershy bid Sunset a goodnight before making her way past her and back to her room. Turning around to head back to bed herself, Sunset paused and took one last look at Dark.

I should probably keep track of his nightmares, she thought. If this does happen again and turns out to be a recurring nightmare, then I may have to ask for some help with him.

---

Somewhere several miles away, a young man was sitting at his basement workbench. Laying before him were a collection of hunting knives, a shortsword, and a pair of freshly-cleaned pistols. A few weeks ago, he received a strange message some someone claiming to be him from another world. While he did call bull on him, a few choice words were all that was needed to convince him otherwise, especially after his other self told him about what was to come. Now, in the middle of the night, he received another message from him that a certain someone was somewhere nearby in his world. Taking the sword into his hand, the young man looked at it, reminiscing the last time he used it to kill someone who'd trusted him.

"I've killed you once before," he mused out loud before looking up to the clock on the wall with a sadistic grin, "and soon, I'll get to do it again."

Comments

[Gobeman]

....I CANT WAIT *points BACON gun at a tree*

[Mkchief34]

Oh crap. This dun be good.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Uh oh... I have a bad feeling about this...

[Blodhgarm]

>>Dark vs. Dark.
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/353/279/e31.jpg

[Forward-Unto-Fiction]

6993846 Don't watch it... You might never be able to take your OC's name seriously again.

[Garuda IV]

6994026 Lol. Alright, thanks for the warning.

[Dark Nightshade]

Why does this guy hate Dark so much?

[King O Fools]

That is, all but the science class where Dark had accidentally mixed the correct chemicals to create a vial of napalm.

How the fuck do you accidentally create nalpalm?

[matt s0101745]

7923785
Napalm is just petrol/gasoline mixed with a gelling/thickening agent to make it sticky (originally, it was an amorphous aluminium napthenate palmitate, according to wikipedia; "napalm" is an abbreviation of napthenate and palmitate). More to the point, napalm itself is not that much more dangerous than ordinary petrol: The main additional hazard is that it is sticky and is effectively impossible to wash off while it is on fire; sure, "not that much more dangerous than petrol unless it is on fire" sounds safe, but petrol is actually quite dangerous when spilled (don't believe me? Try to get a job at a petrol station). The really dangerous things about military napalm are additives like triethylaluminium (to make it more ignitable and presumably harder to extinguish) and elemental phosphorous (supposedly added to the original napalm to make it penetrate more deeply into muscle tissue, but it possibly increased the flame temperature or made it harder to extinguish; I could believe any of the three given that white phosphorous is a seriously bad incendiary even compared to other incendiaries) and the weapons, which are specifically designed to ignite the napalm (napalm is evidently a lot less viscous when it is very hot: "The burning incendiary composition flows into foxholes, trenches and bunkers, and drainage and irrigation ditches and other improvised troop shelters").
ETA:
Also, napalm is mostly dangerous in large amounts. It is not like a nerve agent or ricin, where it is dangerous to make them at all. With how much of whatever we were trying to make on any given week we made in my old chemistry classes, I doubt a vial of napalm would be a serious problem (and of course the additives that make napalm even more dangerous are themselves more dangerous than napalm *cough* pyrophoric *cough*, with the possible exception of "phosphorous").

[Icy Creation]

I already know who this guy is. Betrayed somebody who trusted him to Dragons by stabbing him in the back? Escaped alive? Did it all in a town called Stonewall? To the human version of Flame?

I think you know who I'm talking about, and it starts with a g.