Season 10: Dawn of a new generation of Harmony

by xombiekilla

Chapter eight: Beginning of a journey to harmony and friendship.

As Hero returned to Starswirl's Study, he sat at his desk with a satisfied look. "Well done, Hero. Your training is almost completed. There is one last thing you need to do first." Starswirl then gestured to his door for him to exit. "Your next assignment is to guard Ponyville Central while making new friends. Being marked as you are, you'll need to have friends."

"Yes, sir. I won't let you down." Hero saluted to Starswirl as he nodded back in earnest.

"I'd like to hope you wouldn't. I understand that this may sound melodramatic, but the fate of Equestria depends on your ability to make friends now." He gave a warm smile as he continued. "You're making incredible progress as an element of harmony, and you should be proud of yourself."

"Thanks. I'll do my best. And if I ever run into those Tainted, I'll punch their tickets out of here."

"Yes, a good bravado, but you mustn't get carried away. They can still be a threat to you as they could to anypony else. Why not meet with Somnabula, Flash, and Meadowbrook before you leave here? I'm sure they might have something for you to aid you in your assignment."

"Right, I'll go and see them before I leave. Anything else I need to know about the Tainted?"

"There is one thing that makes them incredibly dangerous: their ability to steal your heart and to turn you into one of them. Sadly, this is permanent once they manage this. The only thing you could do for that pony or creature is offer them mercy."

"Yeah. I think I saw them doing that back in my hometown. I'll need to be careful of that."

---

"I'm on the job. I'll need all the help I can get. I'll make you proud, Starswirl." Hero said goodbye as he left his study and went down the steps to see at the bottom floor that all three ponies were there. The one wearing Egyptian regalia had approached him first.

"Hello there. So you're the one that we heard about, then? You're doing training with Starswirl, hmm?"

"Yeah. I am. Who're you?"

"I am Somnabula, element of hope. Pleased to meet you."

"Hero. Yeah, likewise. And you guys?"

"I'm Flash Magnus, and this here is Mage Meadowbrook. I'm the element of bravery-"

"And I'm the element of healing. Don't hesitate to stop by my clinic if you need anything, and I'll patch you up."

"Yeah. Mage is excited to meet somepony willing to fight for our cause. And to be honest, so am I."

"So does this mean you guys know what they're called then? Those creepy shadow creatures?" They all looked as if they knew.

"Yeah. They sound just terrible. Awful little things. Stealing your heart and making you into one of them?" Somnabula said with a shiver down her spine. "The last time we faced anything close to this, Stygian was possessed by the Pony of Shadows."

"Pony of Shadows?" Hero had raised his eyebrow quizzically.

"The manifestation of darkness that Stygian let into his heart when he felt we had abandoned him," Somnabula recalled with saddened eyes. "Had we known, we would never have allowed that to happen to him. We sacrificed ourselves to prevent his darkness from consuming the land. As a result, we were all trapped in Limbo. Or as it's now known as the Realm of Darkness."

"I see. Who's Stygian? Can I meet him?"

"He was the first apprentice to Starswirl before we were given our element titles a thousand years ago. Unfortunately, he disappeared after we were reunited and was rescued from his darkness. We currently don't know where he went off to."

"Did he say anything to you guys before he left?"

"He did. He said that he was going on a journey, a path to enlightenment. When he returns, he'll be a better unicorn."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure, Hero. But we all need to have hope that he'll be just fine."

"You believe that he's strong enough to resist the darkness?"

"Yes, Hero. I do. However, the power of darkness is extreme. Deep down, I know that he'll be fine, and he'll return here."

"Well, if he's strong enough to have been once Starswirl's apprentice. Then he'll come back. I'm sure of it." Somnabula nodded her head happily as she heard this. "So I was told that you guys had something for me?" Then Flash spoke up.

"We sure do. Here, take this necklace."

"What's this for?"

"The crystal on it is magical. Have a bond with somepony, and they'll spring to your aid in no time. The magic is limited and needs to charge when empty, so you'll have to make sure you use it when necessary, OK?"

"Yeah. Thanks. That'll be useful."

"You must summon a friend close to you with all your heart; you only need to will it to be. It can only summon whoever is alive, however."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Flash." Then Mage stepped up.

"I've got this for you. It's an elixir. It'll help to restore your magic upon consumption completely. But you'll have to make it yourself or buy it using bits to get another. There's a fantastic alchemist in Ponyville named Zecora. If it doesn't come from me, she's the next best one to look out for. I'll surely say a good word for you to her."

"Right, thanks. So.. do I get a hero's discount then?"

"No, silly. Nothing in life is free, but I promise it'll be affordable."

"Right then. So Somnabula, you got something for me, too?" She just thought about it and then gasped.

"Oh right, I do. Here. This is a magic scroll to summon a small bolt of electric magic at your foes. You've got fire and Ice magic studied, right?"

"I do. That's where I just came from after studying with Starswirl."

"Excellent. That's great news. You'll know the three primary elements of magic, then. There's much more magic to learn, and I'm sure you'll gain much more knowledge on your journey."

"Alright. I guess I'll be off then." Suddenly, Starswirl stopped Hero right as he left his tower.

"Hold it right there, Hero! I've got one more thing I forgot to mention before you left my study. The Tainted are attracted mostly to emotions of negativity: hatred, sadness, anger, and envy. Sometimes, even innocence has been known to draw them out from hiding. How do I know this? Because after I defeated that soldier, I did a brief magical scan of him and found something interesting."

"His entire being was composed of darkness similar to an ancient evil that plagued Equestria long ago. It came from an evil warlock named Grogar." Starswirl concluded as he then gave Hero a concerned look. "This may even be worse than I or anypony else could even fathom. To stress to you how imperative your mission is."

"Don't worry, guys. I won't let you down. You've got my promise on that." They all had a look of confidence and knew that Hero wouldn't fall short of his promise.

After leaving Starswirl's Tower, Starswirl follows Hero to create a magic portal back to Friendship Castle. "If you need to come back here, for whatever reason, Hero. Do not hesitate to do so. This place will be your haven from the darkness."

"Yeah. I was about to ask how I would return to Ponyville from here; thanks." The entire tower was stranded on a floating island in a magically protected void of Starswirl's creation.

"Yes. Now be safe and try to make as many friends as you can. Trust me. It'll be a lot easier to do than you think." Starswirl had then bid Hero farewell as he stepped into the portal. Through it, Hero falls through a magical void until he reaches his destination.

---

"Yes, Sunburst. I am very well aware of our situation. I hope Hero returns soon, and I've got something urgent to bring to his attention." Not long after, a portal appeared in the lobby of their castle. Hero stepped out of it.

"And there's Hero now, splendid timing," Sunburst said happily.

"Oh, thank you, Faust. I need to talk to you right now." Starlight had a look of worry on her face.

"Woah. Calm down. What's wrong?"

"Those things have attacked the academy. It was horrible. The students had to evacuate while we set the school on lockdown."

"They're called the Tainted. And you did the right thing by closing off school, Starlight."

"So you were told what they were by Starswirl, then?" Starlight had asked Hero.

"I was. He was training me to use magic, and now I'm on an assignment to be here to complete my training." Starlight and Sunburst both had a look of brief surprise. Starlight is speaking first.

"Woah. Did Starswirl recognize you as a worthy apprentice? This hasn't happened in so long. These must be desperate times. Not too long ago, I would never have imagined that you showing up in my office are now being trained by the legendary Starswirl, the Bearded himself. I shouldn't be jealous, but that's an incredible honor."

"Indeed. It is. Starswirl doesn't just choose anypony for the job, you know. He knows who and what to look for in a potential apprentice. Congratulations, Hero." Sunburst said happily.

Hero had then looked over to Starlight as he spoke to her. "Well, I don't feel very privileged for some reason."

"Why would you say that, Hero?"

"You remember that black crystal that I told you about before?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"According to Starswirl, I've been cursed by that guy. That's why the Tainted is slowly approaching here. It's me they're after. So I've got a lot of work to do, guys."

"Oh.. that's bad. I can see why you're not happy about this."

"Well, Starlight. We'll do everything possible to help our new friend, right?" Sunburst said to her.

"Absolutely. This isn't the first time we've fought evil and won, and it probably won't be the last." Both unicorns led Hero toward the castle's entrance as everyone continued to chat. "So, what exactly is your assignment here?"

"I'm supposed to defend this town and make friends in the process." They both chuckled as Sunburst spoke up.

"Well, you're already off to a good start because you've made nine—Myself, Starlight, our daughter, Smolder, Cheese, Ocellus, Yona, Applejack, and Trixie. So, you're doing pretty well there. And I'll assume you will protect our town from those Tainted?"

"Yes, I am. Wherever they pop up, my job is to exterminate them."

"I wish you luck with that, and we'll offer you whatever help we can, where and how we can do it. Just let us know, OK?" Sunburst said as all three left the castle and went down Town Square. When they arrived, they saw that everything looked the same. Despite what had just recently happened, the town's citizens remained as cheerful as they could.

"How do you guys stay so peaceful, even after knowing that danger is here?"

"Well, in this town, Hero. We've been through events of all kinds, some of which you'd never believe possible. After a while, we've learned to be strong and believe in the power of friendship to keep us safe." Sunburst explained as Starlight hummed in agreement.

"I guess that's an interesting way of seeing the good out of a bad situation." All three ponies were then approaching the City Hall. When Hero had gotten there, Sunburst spoke up.

"Remember Rarity, that mare in a hurry from before?"

"I think so. You mean the one that spoke in a posh accent and was on her way to that meeting with the princess?"

"Yes. How about we go and visit her?"

"Sure, I guess so." Then, all three made their way to Carousel Boutique.