Chapter 81- Concerning Developments
Breaking the wax seal on the scroll, Twilight eagerly unfurled it and began reading it over. However, as she continued to read it, her pleased smile turned to mild-confusion, before she frowned with a serious look on her face.
"Something wrong, Twilight?" Dark asked, noticing the change in her mood.
"I'm not sure," she replied. "Here, take a look."
Taking the scroll from Twilight with his claw, Dark began to read the message over for himself.
Dear Twilight,
While I know that you're having your friends over for the week, I'm sorry to inform you that Luna and I require your presence here in Canterlot. We also request that you bring Dark and Spike as well, along with Lord Fissure and Lady Aero. All will be explained when you get here. Before sending you this letter, we sent some chariots to come pick you five up. Again, I'm terribly sorry that I'm having to cut your time with your friends short, but I wouldn't have done it if it weren't such a serious matter. Also, make sure to bring your crown and whatever you and the others will need, as you'll be gone for the next few days to a week.
With love and apologies,
Princess Celestia.
Frowning himself now, Dark put down the letter with a small sigh. "Well that's too bad."
"What's going on?" Sunset asked, causing for Twilight to look at them with an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, everyone," she began, "but it looks like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have called Dark and I up to Canterlot."
"Awwww, really?" Pinkie and Pinks wined simultaneously.
"Unfortunately, yes. She's also asked that Spike, Fissure, and Aero come with us as well."
"Why would she want us to come?" Aero asked.
"I'm sorry, but she didn't say. She just said that everything will be explained once we all get there."
Spike sighed and stood up. "Alright, so when are we leaving then?"
"They sent a few chariots to come and pick us up before Princess Celestia sent the letter, so I'm guessing pretty soon. Also, from what she wrote, we'll be gone for the next few days, up to about a week."
"Does that mean then that we'll have to cut our visit short?" Rares asked with a sound of disappointment.
"You're free to stay if you want."
Sunset looked around before giving a small, disappointed sigh. "Thanks for the offer, Twilight, but it would be rather rude of us to stay in the home of someone who's not even there, even with their permission."
"Does that mean that we're cutting this whole thing short?" Pinks asked, her mane deflating somewhat.
"Looks like it," Twi answered her before glancing at Sunset.
"Twi's right," Sunset nodded. "I'm sorry, girls, but we're gonna have to pack it up and head on back home after Twilight leaves today." Hearing their collective dejected sighs and groans, Sunset tried to lighten their mood. "Besides, this'll give us some extra time to pack everything up for our trip to Camp Everfree this week. And don't forget that we'll be coming back in a few weeks for Twilight's bachelorette party, and of course, the wedding."
This reminder seemed to lighten their moods a little bit, but while they seemed to be better, the Dazzlings weren't.
"So we're gonna go back already?" Sonata asked with a small sniffle.
"Looks like it," Aria grumbled, clearly disappointed and a bit miffed.
"At least it was enjoyable while it lasted," Adagio sighed. "Still, I do wish that we could stay a bit longer."
"How much longer were you hoping for?" Aques asked them, her gaze sharp and serious.
Taken by surprise by her question, Adagio glanced at her sisters before she gulped and answered her.
"W-Well, Lady Aques," she nervously began, "we were hoping that perhaps we could... stay during our summer vacation?"
"And how long is that for?"
"It usually lasts for three months for our school," Sunset answered for her.
"Please, Lady Aques?" Sonata begged with teary eyes. "We promise not to harm anypony or cause any problems like the last time we where here."
"... and why should I believe you three?" Aques asked coldly.
Wincing from her question, the Dazzlings remained silent as each of their heads drooped down. Feeling sorry for them, Sunset cleared her throat to catch Aques' attention before she spoke.
"You may not believe it, but after they lost their gems, they have been trying to turn things around for the better," she said, defending the Dazzlings. "Granted that nobody was willing to give them a change at first, so things were difficult for them. But eventually, they were slowly accepted back into the fold, and now try to help people in their own ways. Of course, while they are doing much better, they're still not exactly angels."
"Are you trying to help us or incriminate us?" Aria harshly asked.
"Hey, I'm on your girls' side, but let's face it, you still try to seduce the guys around school."
"Like how Adagio tried to seduce Dark yesterday?" Aques asked with a small smirk.
"Aques, please, don't even go there," Twilight said with a small growl.
Aques chuckled at Twilight in amusement before turning back to Sunset. "So, what is it that you're trying to say, Miss Shimmer?"
"What I'm saying is that while they may not be perfect, they're definitely better people than what they were when we first met them, and that they should be given a chance."
Aques eyed the Dazzlings carefully. "Twilight, what do you think?"
Twilight gave a small disapproving look before she felt Dark's claw gently fall on her shoulder. Looking up to him, she saw him giving her an approving nod, one that caused her to sigh.
"I suppose," she relented. But, before the Dazzlings could react, Twilight held up a hoof. "However, I don't want any of them to cause any trouble during their stay here in Ponyville. If they do, then I won't hesitate to personally throw them back through the portal."
Seeing the Dazzlings flinch beneath her words and gaze, Dark gave a small sigh and guided Twilight back.
"Sorry about Twilight," he apologized to them. "You'll have to forgive her, most of that's from her mood swings. You three may stay here in the castle, just please don't get yourselves into any trouble while we're gone."
While Adagio and Aria stood in place, stunned by their acceptance to stay, Sonata became a blur as she ran over and wrapped her hooves around Dark and Twilight in a thankful hug.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" she happily squealed. "I promise, we'll be on our best behavior while we're here!"
"Uhh... okay," Twilight said, feeling a little uncomfortable having the former siren suddenly hugging her like that.
"Really, though, thank you for letting us stay, Princess," Adagio thanked.
"Looks like it's decided then," Aques said. "Just remember that as long as you three are here, I'll be watching out for you. Think of these next few months as your trial period to see if you're safe to permanently allow back into Equestria."
Adagio looked at Aques with wide eyes. "Are you serious?"
"I'm the one who decided to have you banished, and I can just as easily undo it, should you prove that you three are worthy of it."
"We will!"
"Heh, guess this trip was worth it after all," Aria said, trying to hide her smile from everyone.
"Umm, not to interrupt or anything," Sunset began, "but don't you have to get packing for you trip to Canterlot?"
Remembering, Twilight looked up to the clock before looking back to them.
"Once again, I'm sorry that we're having to cut this so short," she apologized. "I promise, though, that when you girls come back, we'll be sure to make up for the time we lost. Also, Aques?"
"Yes, Twilight?" Aques replied.
"I know that you're having to look after the Dazzlings while they're here, but I was hoping that while we're gone, you could look after Soul for us?"
"Of course I can, dear."
"Thank you," Twilight breathed in relief before turning to Soul. "Now, Soul, I want you to behave yourself while we're gone. That means no staying out late, don't eat too many sweets, and if you want to stay over at a friend's place or have some over, make sure it's alright with Aques first."
"What about Pyre?" Rainbow asked.
"I'm not that great with kids," Pyre dismissed, showing that he wasn't bothered by any of it.
"Thank you," Twilight thanked. "Alright then, let's get packing. The chariots should be here pretty soon."
Following her lead, Dark went with Twilight to their room to pack while Spike went to his room to do the same. Figuring that since Celestia asked her to bring her crown, Twilight decided to also bring along her golden horseshoes and her dress, the same one that she wore when Inferno came to visit them. Within a few minutes of gathering everything that she would need, Twilight was all ready to go. But, before she could put her suitcase on her back, she found that Dark had taken it and placed it on his back instead.
"What?" he innocently asked after he saw the curious look Twilight was giving him. "You're carrying enough as you are, so why don't you let me take care of this for you."
Noting how the way he said it wasn't meant as a request, but more of a proclamation, Twilight shook her head with a smile.
"Alright, if that's what you want," she agreed before noticing Dark's lack of luggage. "What about yours?"
With a smirk, Dark sent Twilight's luggage into his Shadow Storage, earning him a playful eye-roll from Twilight. Without another word, Twilight led Dark back out of their room and closed it behind them before seeing Spike leaning up against the wall waiting for them.
"All set?" he asked.
"Yep," Dark answered. "You want me to put your luggage away?"
"Where would you even- oh, never mind. Sure, go ahead."
Taking Spike's luggage and sending it to join Twilight's, the three made their way down the stairs and to the castle doors where their friends had all gathered. Walking outside together, they talked with each other as they waited. Soon enough, three forms could be seen traveling in the distance.
"Is that them?" Twi asked, pointing a hoof at them.
"Looks like it," Rainbow answered.
"It really is too bad that we had to cut this so short," Twilight regretfully said.
"We know, but there's not much that you can do with these kinds of things," Sunset said before giving Twilight a hug. "But don't worry, we'll see you again in a few weeks."
As Twilight returned the hug, she soon felt her other friends joining in, including Twi. After remaining like that for a little bit, they started to separate when the sounds of flapping wings became audible. Taking a few steps back, they gave the pegasi guards some room to land.
"Princess Twilight," one of the guards said with a bow.
"Hello, sir," Twilight greeted.
"Are you the others ready to go? Princess Celestia was quite insistent that we get you all to Canterlot as quickly as possible."
"We are."
"In that case, if you would please step into the chariot, we will depart."
"Alright, but if I may, why three chariots?"
"One is to transport you, Prince Dark, and Spike. The other two are for the two dragons. Since she didn't know how heavy they would be, Princess Celestia sent one for each of them."
Accepting the explanation, Twilight, Dark, and Spike got into their chariot with Dark muttering under his breath about not being a prince, while Aero floated over and gently sat down in hers. Fissure on the other hoof, looked over it with a discerning eye. A few moments of looking it over, Fissure shifted his body from stone to wood, hoping to lose some weight for the two pegasi who where pulling it. And while his weight was noticeable as he got in, it wasn't that bad as the two guards assured him.
Feeling the guards starting to pull at them, Twilight, Dark, and Spike waved goodbye to their friends. Once they were up in the air, a question came to Dark's mind.
"Sooo, not that it's much of a big deal or anything, but why did this letter have a wax seal instead of her normal one?"
"She probably ran out," Spike replied with a shrug. "We've only seen it happen once before, and that was when she was super busy with something really important."
"Oh."
Once the chariots were out of sight, Sunset and the others let out a heavy sigh.
"Well, I guess we'd better get going," she said dejectedly.
"Too bad," Pinkie said with a shrug. "I was hoping that me and Pinks could finish our project before she had to leave."
"You could do it if you wanted to," Pinks offered.
"I know, but it wouldn't be as much fun without you there." Pinkie brought a hoof to her chin in thought. "But I also can't just put it off either. I'm gonna need to have it done as soon as I can."
Pinks hummed alongside Pinkie in thought before she had an idea. "I have an idea."
"What is it?"
"Okay, you go on ahead and continue working on it, and I'll come back a few days earlier before we're supposed to for the wedding to help you finish it!"
"That sounds like a great plan, me!" Pinkie said as she hugged Pinks, who hugged her back in return. "I'll be sure to hold off on installing the cannons and the double-barreled turrets for you."
"Awww, you don't have to, but I'm glad that you are. After all, you know how much I love a good bang."
Pinkie snorted, "I sure do. Heheh, giggity."
Hearing her say that, Pinks began snorting in laughter right alongside Pinkie, while the others said their farewells to their own doubles. With their goodbyes done and over with, the walked with them inside the castle and to the library with the portal. Giving them one last wave, Sunset, Twi, and their human friends and three sisters, all returned back to their world.
While the ride was rather pleasant, Twilight was still unnerved about Celestia's letter and how she didn't explain things like she normally would. If anything, the last time Celestia was vague and urgent like that was when she was called to Canterlot during Tirek's time loose from Tartarus. Of course, while Twilight didn't think that things were that bad again, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong about this.
Lost in her thoughts, Twilight didn't even notice it when they arrived in Canterlot until she felt the chariot land on solid ground. Now shaken out of her thoughts, Twilight looked around to see that they were within the castle grounds. Thanking the guards that had brought them there, Twilight, Dark, and the others got off and made for the doorway where Captain Iron Guard stood waiting for them with squad of guards.
"Welcome, Princess Twilight," he greeted her with a salute, followed quickly by the other guards.
"Hello, Captain," Twilight returned.
"If you and the others will follow me, I will lead you to the throne room."
"Speaking of Princess Celestia," Twilight began as she and the others followed after Iron Hoof, "do you know what's going on? She didn't say much of anything other than that she wanted us here as soon as we could."
"... it's complicated, Your Highness."
"How so?" Dark asked.
Iron Hoof glanced back at Dark with an uneasy look. "You'll find out when we get there."
Though it wasn't much to go on, Dark and Twilight accepted the answer for now. Several minutes later of silently following him through the castle hallways, Iron Guard opened the doors to let Dark, Twilight, and the others inside. Hearing the doors close behind them with Iron Guard not with them, they looked ahead to see a large round table sitting in the center of the throne room with Celestia and Luna sitting down. However, what really got their attention were the two others who were there, one of which being Shining, and the other being an elderly bronze dragon with a white beard and moustache.
"Shiny? Rin? What's going on here?" Twilight asked, completely confused as to what they were all doing here like this.
"Hey, Twily," Shining greeted her, but while he was happy to see her, the tone in which he spoke it only meant that things were very serious.
"Greetings, Princess Twilight," Rin said with a polite bow before looking back up. "And welcome, Lord Dark, Lord Fissure, Lady Aero."
"Hello, Rin," Aero returned as she floated over. "Wow, it's been a while, huh? I don't even remember you with that white mess on your face."
Rin gave a throaty chuckle. "And you're just as young and spirited as I remember you."
"While this is nice to see everyone reconciling like this," Celestia began with a sense of seriousness, "we have some rather grave matters to attend to. So, if you would please take a seat, we can begin."
Listening to her, they each took a seat at the table. Once they were all seated down, Twilight looked at Celestia intently.
"Alright, now what's this all about?" she asked with a hint of impatience. "I've been thinking about what you wrote to me, Princess, and the only other time that I can think of that you wrote like that was when Discord betrayed us to Tirek. And now we have Shining Armor and Rin both here. So, what is it that's going on."
Celestia looked over to Shining. Taking that as his cue, Shining cleared his throat and reached into his saddlebag with his magic.
"Eight days ago," he began, still fishing in his saddlebag, "a secret passage in our chambers revealed itself. We believe that it was a spell of Sombra's that he'd casted on it."
"If so, then why'd it last for so long?" Twilight asked. "Either way, a concealment spell like that would need to be renewed at least once a week."
"Normally yes, but we think that it was actually linked to Sombra himself. Now that he's dead for good, the spell started to lose its power and eventually couldn't be sustained any longer- ah! Here we go."
"What is it?" Dark asked.
Shining took out a black book with and laid it on the table. "When the concealed door was revealed, we found what appeared to be Sombra's private study, and in side, we found this."
"... it's a book," Spike said unimpressed.
"No, Spike," Shining disagreed, pausing for a moment to see that Spike had grown since he'd last seen him, "what we have here isn't a book, but a journal."
Twilight's attention snapped from the book to Shining. "You mean this is Sombra's journal?"
"Yes, and it's what's written in here that's gotten you called here... well, one of the reasons anyway. More specifically, it's about Dark."
Dark looked as Shining in confusion. "Huh? How?"
"For two reasons. It first involves Nocturne, which now involves you, Dark. Here."
Procuring a crystal from his bag, Shining slid the book to the center of the table and held the crystal over the. Pouring some of his magic into it, an image began to form.
"This is another projection crystal, but this one is used to help project images of what's written on something. We've started to use it in our schools' classrooms."
"Useful," Twilight said approvingly.
Shining nodded and turned his attention back to the projection. "There are several entries that stuck out to us. We'll be going over them, starting with this one."
June 18th, 1010,
My powers have led me to finally become Captain of the Crystal Empire's guard. This is truly a grand day for me, not just because of my new position, but also because I've finally asked out my foalhood crush, and she's accepted. I can't wait for tomorrow. Hopefully things will turn out good for us.
January 25th, 1011,
We were careless. I knew that going out in a snowstorm was a bad idea, but our king insisted that we'd go, even after advising him that we should wait until the storm died down. I was out on a mission with a group of the crystal guards as we patrolled around the Crystal Empire. Everything seemed to be just fine as normal, but what we didn't know at the time was that we weren't alone. It happened so fast. They were silent as the snowfall, and seemed to disappear just as quickly as they appeared. While pony-eating yetis tend to stay up in the mountains, the snowstorm must had made them move, knowing that they would be well hidden in the snowfall.
We didn't know how many of them there were, but managed to return back after taking a few of them out. However, of the ten ponies under my command, only three of them returned home with me... it seems that even with my power, I'm not yet powerful enough to properly defend my subordinates. And if I can't properly protect them when I'm right there with them, then how am I supposed to expect to keep my fillyfriend safe?
February 1st, 1011,
Even since I retuned from our scouting mission that ended in us being ambushed by yetis, I've been digging through the empire's library in hopes of finding something to help gain me more power. Finding little to help in the main library, I decided to go back farther into the darker parts of it. There, I found my answer.
While this particular part of the library did hold some books about magic, most were dark magic, which I gathered and brought to the king's attention to be sealed away in the vault. However, there was one book in particular that I found. It was an older tome, one that looked ready to fall apart at a moment's notice, nothing to say about the faded ink on the pages. But, in the end, I was able to read about a magically powerful and ancient dragon, who supposedly had a cave located near the Crystal Empire, over by the mountain range. Lucky for me that there's also a map that came with the texts, which I promptly copied onto a nearby piece of parchment.
I'll be taking this book with me to learn more about this dragon. Hopefully I can get an audience with it and it can teach me what it knows.
February 4th, 1011,
This is an outrage! I thought that my time off after my failed mission was so that I could recuperate and relax, but as it turned out, the king and his generals were convening about my failure. Now, over a week later, I've just been informed that I've been discharged as Captain of the Crystal Guard! Their belief is that if I failed so badly once before, then what's to stop me from failing again! No! It wasn't my fault, but the king's! I voiced my opinion about us going into that snowstorm, but it was him who decided that we should go anyway! He should be the one to pay for this, not me!
February 5th, 1011,
After talking with my fillyfriend about it, I've decided to go off and search for this ancient dragon who lives in the mountains. She's given me her blessing to go, but I know that it's hurting her. I myself don't really want to go, but with me now without a job, and nopony wanting to hire me because I let seven of my ponies die, I need to do something. My hope is that this dragon, Nocturne as I've learned it's called, will be able to teach me what he knows. If I learn about his magic and take that back with me to the Crystal Empire, I could regain my position as Captain, and help protect the empire and everypony inside it far better than what I currently can.
February 15th, 1011,
It took me over an entire week before I finally found the temple. However, much to my disappointment, Nocturne doesn't appear to be here. Hopefully it won't be too long before he comes back, otherwise I'll run out of supplies.
February 19th, 1011,
Four days I have waited, and now I'm running low. If he doesn't show up soon, I'll have to ration out what I have left just to make it back to the Crystal Emp---
February 19th, 1011, (Afternoon)
Nocturne returned to this place, which he calls the Shadow Temple. While he wasn't willing to teach me at first, I somehow managed to convince him to teach me. Now that I'm officially his apprentice, I'll be able to learn his magic and use it to help defend the empire!
"Okay, now we're getting into familiar territory," Dark announced.
"What do you mean?" Shining asked him.
"Princess Luna saw it too. I had a sort of dream that turned out to be one of Nocturne's memories, and it started just before he met Sombra in his temple. However, we don't know what it was that made him change and betray Nocturne."
Shining nodded in understanding. "In that case, let's continue to watch and you'll soon find out."
June 21st, 1013,
It has been over two years since Nocturne took me in to learn his magic, and he still hasn't allowed for me to further my training. It's starting to become infuriating that he's holding me back like this. Yes, I know that this sort of magic is dangerous and takes time, but the same could be said about other types of magic, like fire and lightning.
Hopefully this won't continue for much longer, otherwise...
On a different note, I'm hoping that she's doing alright. I haven't seen her in years. I hope that she hasn't forgotten about me and found somepony else... but, then again, she might think that after all this time that I've died.
Maybe it's better that she moved on with her life at this point, instead of waiting on me.
June 23rd, 1013,
That could've been catastrophic. I confronted Nocturne about how I felt like I was being held back, but he held firm. But, in the end of it all, he decided to give me a test of my abilities. Apparently there's this group of a few dozen gryphons that are killing ponies off to the west of the Crystal Empire that I need to dispose of. Nocturne has also given me his scythe, a Living Weapon called the Death Reaper, to use on this assignment. While I still don't think that I need it, it should still come in handy if things somehow get too tough for me.
July 17th, 1013,
I finally found my targets. They're all camped out in an alcove near the base of the mountains. I'm actually surprised that the empire hasn't sent anypony to come after these guys yet. I suppose that at this point, it matters little. The sun is going to set soon, so I shall wait until long after nightfall when they're asleep to make my move. The weather appears as though it'll be cloudy tonight, so there won't be any moonlight. With my training thus far from Nocturne, and with the darkness of the night, by the time they know I'm there, it'll be too late for them.
July 18th, 1013,
This is truly an unexpected turn of events. My plan to attack in the middle of the night didn't go as well as I'd thought as each gryphon was far stronger and tougher than what a gryphon should be. If I had to guess, they were about three times stronger than a normal one would be, but that's not what has me so rattled.
First off, when it was all over with, I noticed that one of the gryphons that I sliced into with the Death Reaper scythe had a black feather in it. Now, I probably wouldn't had bothered with it and figured that it was just one of the gryphon's loose feathers that had fluttered in there after I sliced it open, but the strange thing about it was that there weren't any gryphons with black feathers. Sure there were some that had brown and gray feathers, but no black.
The second thing, and easily most frightening of all, was what I found after I killed them all. And that's saying something, considering that my master is Death Incarnate.
I don't know who or what it was. What I can say, though, is that this thing is easily over ten feet tall, thin, bipedal, has claws sharp as swords, horrifyingly spiked wings, a pair of horns, skin blacker than night, and its soulless eyes. But, the worst of all was when it spoke to me.
I can still hear its voice in my head. That haunting, hollow voice. It wasn't monotone as there's some life to those voices, but this one seemed like it lacked any emotion in it at all. Either way, the voice of this thing led me to believe that this thing was male. When it spoke to me, he said that he'd watched me fight the gryphons, which just happened to be under his "employment", as he put it. However, from what I could tell by his posture and facial expressions, he didn't appear to be mad that I killed them. Instead, he gave me a bone-chilling grin that showed off his equally black fangs, before offering me a chance of power.
I don't know if he knows about me being Nocturne's apprentice, but he's gone ahead and offered to teach me, claiming that if I do, I'll quickly become more powerful that I'd ever imagined. I thought that it was all just talk until I reminded myself about the Scaleless Dragons. However, before I could answer him, he vanished, but not before telling me to think about it before his return the following night.
Great. Now I have a decision to make. On the one hoof, I'm learning from Nocturne, Lord of Death, but it's also been over two years since I was taken in by him. On the other hoof, this thing has offered me practically the same thing with the promise that I'd gain more power quickly.
... I have an idea of what I want. I just hope that it's the right choice.
July 19th, 1013,
So much power! He's right! I thought that I was powerful before, but never have I been so glad to be wrong!
I used the dead gryphons' gear to set up camp for the night. With all of the food and drink they have, I'll have plenty of supplies to make it back to the temple, but I'm getting off track. Using the supplies I'd acquired from the dead gryphons, I waited at the alcove until nightfall to give that thing my answer. When the sun finally did set, he appeared from the darkness on the other side of the campfire I'd made.
I've slept on it and thought about it all day. So, after weighing my options heavily, I've decided to accept his offer. While I have nothing against Nocturne, I just don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with him. Hopefully, with this new thing's powers, I'll be able to return to the Crystal Empire at long last, and use it to help defend them all.
It was curious, though. When I gave my answer, the creature seemed to chuckle, but for some reason, the feeling I got from it wasn't joyous of any kind, but of pure malice. What happened next was even more curious and rather disturbing. He plunged one of his claws into his chest, black ooze seeping out of it, before he pulled out a black feather identical to the one that I found in the gryphon. He presented me with this feather, claiming that it's a part of him and will grant me the power that I seek before he plunged it into my chest.
Never before in my life had I felt such pain, both freezing and burning at the same time. However, it only lasted briefly before he retracted his claw, leaving no traces where his claw had previously been. It was almost immediately after that when I felt a surge of power flowing through my body unlike anything that I'd felt before, not even when Princesses Celestia and Luna came to visit did feel such power.
When I finally came down from my power high, I asked the name of the one who'd granted me his power, but he wouldn't give me a name. Instead, he told me to never mention him to anypony before giving me another one of those unsettling fanged grins and fading away once again.
July 21st, 1013,
I made a mistake. I believe that this new magic is starting to corrupt me. Ever since I received this power, I've been having these thoughts of killing and destroying everything, and they're only growing stronger by the hour. They generally have to do with killing Nocturne, which I know I can't do because it'll throw the world off and turn it into a land of undead... although, I do have his scythe, so it would be an easy task for me if I wanted, especially since he wouldn't even suspect it.
No! I must keep myself together. Hopefully Nocturne can do something to fix this... before I kill him.
July 22nd, 1013,
All too easy.
My rambling aside, Nocturne didn't see my betrayal coming. What's better is that I managed to make off not only with his scythe, but with one of his fangs as well. That, and the added bonus of his temple having caved in. Tomorrow, I will replace my horn with his fang and gain even more power before I move to take over the Crystal Empire and hunt down Nocturne... I wonder why mentioning the empire just made me nostalgic. I think that it had something to do with a mare...
July 25th, 1013,
Taking over the Crystal Empire was a joke. As soon as I removed the Crystal Heart, the whole place fell to me within minutes. MINUTES! What kind of a pathetic empire is this?! With me as its new king, and with my power, I shall rule over this land and spread my influence across all of Equestria. Soon, everypony shall bow to me as their one true ruler.
August 13th, 1013,
It appears that word of my rule has spread to the other countries. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna especially seem unpleased about my rise to power as their armies have shown. I'm actually surprised of how quickly they were to mobilize their troops, but it matters little to me. My power alone is more than enough to keep them away.
Now, after halting several of their advancements, the two princesses have come to play. Such a joy that will be. With them out of the way, I can rule over both the Crystal Empire and Equestria. Now, the question is should I let them live as my personal slaves, or should I just kill them both?
"So that's how it happened," Luna said. "And that also explains that feather that Dark found in Sombra's chest when he defeated him."
Shining nodded. "As soon as we found out, we destroyed the feather so that nopony would be tempted to use it. Of course, we did so in a secured environment."
"There's an old saying that the road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions," Celestia spoke solemnly. "It appears that Sombra is one such example. He sought power to protect those important to him, but it became too much for him in the end."
"Is this what you meant when you said that this involved Dark, Shining?" Twilight asked.
"In a way, it is," he answered. "But, there's more to it."
"Like what?" Dark questioned.
"As it turned out, Sombra made a sketch of the thing that approached him with that power." Using his magic, Shining caused the images on the projection to flicker until it settled on a page with a detailed sketch of the creature. As they took in the sight of the hideous thing, Shining looked expectantly at Dark. "Does this remind you of anything, Dark?"
Dark took a long look at it before looking back at Shining with a shrug.
"Sorry, but I don't think that I've ever seen it before."
"But you have. Actually, we both have."
Reaching back into his saddlebag, Shining brought out a familiar memory gem and sat it in the center of the table. Using his magic, he activated it and fast-forwarded the memories it contained until it fell upon a familiar setting, one that Dark immediately recognized, along with Celestia and Luna.
"This is you memory of when you attacked the kirins' lair," Dark said, finally remembering it.
"Yes, it is."
Seeing this, Celestia looked at Shining with a firm and disapproving look. "Shining Armor, I hope that you have a good reason for bringing this up, as it's still considered to be classified."
"I do, Princess. Here, take a look at this and tell me what you see."
Shining stopped the memory at the part when he just walked into the main chamber of the kirin's underground city. As everyone looked around, they each tried to look for what Shining was referring to. It wasn't until a gasp from Twilight was heard that their silent search was broken with their eyes now on her.
"You see it, Twily?" Shining asked, getting a small nod from her.
"It's that statue in the center of it," she said with a hoof pointed. "It's a bit crude, but it looks similar to the sketch Sombra made of the creature."
Everyone's attention immediately went back to the projection, now starting to see what Twilight saw, along with the similarities between the statue, and the sketch.
"Exactly," Shining said with a nod. "I didn't notice the resemblance at first, but when I did, I couldn't believe it. But, ever since found this out, I've been having this urge to go back there and check this out."
"What is it that you're hoping to find?" Luna asked.
"From what I've gathered between Sombra's journal, and from Dark, this thing has had multiple dealings, each with an evil intent. What I'm hoping, or rather, not hoping to find, is a feather in the corpses of the dead kirins within their old cave."
"But you collapsed the cave when you escaped from it," Dark reminded them.
"Yes, which is why I asked for Princess Celestia to ask Twilight to bring Fissure and Aero with her."
"Hmm?" Fissure grumbled questioningly.
"Lord Fissure, I was hoping that you would be able to accompany me to the border of the Dragon Kingdom, to help remove the rubble and secure a path back underground so that I can look into this."
"So you want Fissure's help with digging into a collapsed tunnel?" Aero asked.
"Kinda, yeah."
"Okay, but then what am I doing here then?"
"Considering that it shouldn't take long to get down there with the Lord of Earth digging away at it, I figured that we'd be done before the airship would come back. Soooo, I was kinda hoping that you could maybe give me a ride back to Equestria?"
Aero briefly thought it over before shrugging. "Meh, why not? This could turn out to be fun. What of you say, Fissure?"
Fissure looked between the two before he too shrugged. "Okay."
"Okay, but I don't get it," Twilight curiously began. "Why do you need Aero to fly you back if you're taking an airship to get there in the first place? Can't it just wait for you and Fissure to get back?"
"That's the other thing that you've been called here for, Twilight," Celestia spoke before turning to Rin.
"You see, young princess," Rin began, "things in the Dragon Kingdom have been stirring."
"Stirring how?" Dark asked, not liking how Rin had said that.
Rin's expression turned gave. "As in preparing for war."
Dark's, Twilight's, and Spike's expressions turned to shock as they all shouted, "WAR?!"
"But that's just stupid!" Twilight exclaimed. "Why would King Inferno go to war against Equestria?!"
"Besides," Spike began, "Equestria is home to the two ponies who control the sun and the moon, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Discord, the Scaleless Dragons, and Dark. Not to mention that they'd also have to face the Crystal Empire."
"I know, but I don't know why he's doing this," Rin sighed. "This is why I've come to you, so that you could perhaps talk to him and convince him to end things before they escalate out of control."
"How did all of this start to begin with anyways?" Celestia asked, already having been told about Inferno's preparation for war, but not about the details behind it. "It wasn't because of how things ended during our meeting last year about Dark's village, was it?"
Rin stroked his beard as he thought about it. "No, that's not it. Actually, now that I think about it, it all started when that one pony arrived, which is unusual, since Inferno would never have a partnership with a pony. Sure he'll have them work under him, but not as a partner."
Dark, having an idea of who it could be, felt a sense of dread wash over him.
"Could you describe this pony to us?" Luna asked.
"Hmmm. Well, it was a stallion with a blue coat, and a short blond mane. He's also an alicorn, but the weird part is that while his coat is blue, his wings are white."
Knowing immediately who this pony was, everyone turned to see Dark shaking in place. However, to their shock and surprise, Dark wasn't shaking from sadness or fear, but of anger.
"Dark? Are you-"
Twilight went silent as Dark slammed his claw on the table, causing a large crack to form.
"I CAN'T BELEIVE HIM!" he shouted, eyes now glowing red and brighter than ever.
"Dark, please calm down," Twilight nervously told him. "Look, we're all surprised that Light had joined with Inferno, and I know that you're feeling betrayed that he joined him after all that Inferno has done to you and your village, but-"
"It's not just that, Twilight," Dark interrupted, trying to contain his fury at the sound of Twilight's tone of voice. "If what Rin said about Inferno never wanting a partnership with a pony is true, then Light must've used his Voice of the King on him."
"His what?" Rin asked.
"Let me explain. Like my cutie mark, Light's too has a double-meaning. The first represents his ability to emanate light from his wings, while the second, which is depicted by the crown at the top of his cutie mark, represents his ability to get ponies to do what he wants to do. After a time, this particular talent was called The Voice of the King, seeing as how nopony outside of our immediate family would deny him. And now, it appears that it also works on dragons too."
"If he used it on Sombra, it would also explain how the two of them ended up working together like they did," Shining noted. "Same with his partnership with Blueblood."
"It makes me wonder why he hasn't tried it on my sister or I," Luna mused.
"I'm more concerned about what Light has planned," Twilight nervously said. "If his previous actions are of any indication, then it'll somehow involve Dark."
Dark's eyes hardened as he looked directly at Rin. "You said that King Inferno is preparing for war. Tell me, what kind of forces are we talking about?"
Rin frowned. "Other than the dragons that are being called in from across the kingdom, he's already collected a number of salamanders ranging in the thousands-"
"What's a salamander?" Spike wondered.
"It's a lizard roughly half the size of an adult pony," Dark explained. "As it turns out, they can also breath fire and survive in lava. Also goes without saying that they're fireproof too."
"Dark is correct," Rin nodded before continuing. "Along with those, he's also got a few hundred flaming manticores, and somehow, he even got a few hellions to join."
Everyone was silent as they let this information sink in.
"I'm sorry," Rin apologized, "but it's the truth."
"If so, then we can't delay any longer," Celestia announced, now looking directly at the three sitting across from her. "Twilight, Dark, Spike, I want you three to take the airship I've secured for you to meet with King Inferno. Do what you can to try talking him out of this possible war. And if possible, try to undo whatever magic Light has casted upon Inferno."
"It won't work, Princess," Dark said with a growl. "The only three ways for it to be undone is for Light to remove it himself, have whoever it's casted on be killed, or lastly..."
"Kill Light," Luna finished for him, having noticed Dark's hesitation.
"... yeah. At least, I think so. We've obviously never tried it."
"Is there no other way?" Twilight asked.
"None that I'm aware of."
"Regardless," Celestia began, "I want for you three to do what you can to try talking him out of it. Twilight, if you can, remove this spell from Inferno as subtly as you can. If Inferno does indeed declare war against Equestria..."
"We'll do what we can, Princess," Twilight assured.
"Thank you."
"Umm, why am I going again?" Spike asked.
"Because of your duel with Garble," Celestia started explaining. "Since you defeated him, according to Rin, by law of the Dragon Code, since he survived instead of dying, his life is now yours. However, what I'm hoping for is that you'll take Garble and his two conspirators back to Inferno as a sort of peace offering. Hopefully he'll somehow calm down from the influence of Light's spell and cease this gathering of his. Would you be willing to do that, Spike?"
Spike gave a nod. "Sure, I can do that."
"Thank you. I was hoping that you would agree to this. I'll have the guards to escort them up to the airship as soon as we're done here."
"Dark," Rin called, gaining his attention. "When you get there, try to hold off on hurting or killing any of my kin if you can. Only if there's no other way can you then do what you need to."
"... did you just give me permission to kill them?" Dark asked in surprise.
"In a sense, but like I said, only if you have no other choice."
"And make sure that if it does happen that they're the ones to attack first," Luna told him. "It would be bad if we were the ones who made the first move and not them."
"And what if they do make the first move? Should I just go after Inferno directly and finish this all off?"
"I would rather that you not, considering that he's my king," Rin said before frowning. "However, if he truly is being manipulated as you believe, then he's no longer in control of the kingdom."
"... so is that a yes then?"
Though reluctant, Rin closed his eyes and gave a small, solemn nod. "Yes... you may."
"Just remember, though, Dark," Celestia spoke, "that your main job on this is to protect Twilight. We'll be sending a few of our guards as well, but your main focus will be Twilight's safety, understood."
"Of course, Princess," Dark said with a resounding nod. "But just for the record, I'm not comfortable with Twilight going into the heart of the Dragon Kingdom in her present condition."
"Thank you, Dark, but don't worry, I'll be fine," Twilight assured him. "After all, you'll be right there to keep me safe. You know that I trust you, right?"
"... I guess," Dark grumbled, still not liking this idea.
"Then let's not waste anymore time. The airship is ready to take you to the Dragon Kingdom. Shining Armor, Aero, and Fissure will be dropped off on the way there. Now go, and please, be careful."
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Looks like things just got even more complicated.... Warp take you Light....
From an over average pony, to an over average hybrid, to an over average hybrid with friends, to an over average hybrid with friends and a lover, to an over average kirin with friends and siblings and a lover, to a kirin with a lot of bad assery and a fiance that is a princess. WTF.
Light is too OP, how does it make sense that a cutie mark can give you powers to basically mind control people by just talking to them.
Who else but Pinkie Pie?
~She's Pinkie, Pinkie.
You never really know what
She's gonna do next
She's Pinkie, Pinkie~
Pinkie: Okie-dokie-lokie-lokie, let's have fun!
Props to anyone that can guess this.
.......Awesome chapter btw.
hmmm wonder if the creature got to light and thats why he's doing this although still dont understand the hatred towards his brother
I sense that something bad is going to happen to dark, light, or twilight...
Everyone is looking a little too OP
7683974 Or all of them plus Spike. Don't forget about him
7683974
.
While I hope the bad thing happens to Light (prick deserves it), the most likely candidate for bad things to happen to is Twilight. Specifically the baby that is inside her......
7683043 Or blinding people with your wings.
And yeah, he is OP. He can turn invisible, cancel all magic no matter it's source or power level, hide his emotion and all forms of tracking/sensing, able to blind anyone at will that gets too close to him, and now can mind control people by talking to them and it's unable to be dispelled, changed, removed, blocked, or rewired in any way unless he removes it or either of them die.
Honestly, with Dark being Death itself, and thus controls Death. Why doesn't he just go "You know what. No. Light, I command you die" and then have Light just die on the spot, no matter where he is in the world. He's DEATH. The Light dragon can breath life back into him AFTER he dies, but Death should be able to just will him to die, and have him die. He's a fundamental part of the universe as we've seen, where without him everything no longer dies, and anything that did die returns back to life. There isn't a reason for him NOT to have that power.
7689786 Yeeeeaaaahhhh... I don't exactly feel like having a brain aneurysm any time soon.
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw8345_small.png
7683184 I've been catching the Quagmire references in the story. Thanks for rewriting that song for Pinkie. Giggity Giggity
Heh.
Who else but Qua-... I mean... Pinkamena
The journal goes from February 15th to 14th 🤔