Thunder and Magic: Season 1

by Rapane443

Episode 12: Stare Master

"Alright, onto experiment number 14." Twilight stated clearly to the colt 20 feet away along with Spike who sat on her back, as he usually does. Meanwhile, a group of ponies watched on from random benches laced around the community park, prepared to watch the famous colt do something groundbreaking, which was especially true for a rosy maned mare and her two sisters who had front row seats. "You ready Darklo?"

"Sure thing, fire away sis!" Darklo ordered confidently and the unicorn obliged, firing an array of attack spells at the colt, who responded with a barrier faster than a cowboy could quick draw their pistol. Once the magical bullets landed on the defensive barrier, they rather dissipated on impact or were deflected into the sky and fizzled out.

Twilight continued the onslaught while Spike tallied down the number of attacks she was using, and the only sign of Darklo struggling was the look of concentration in his eyes. Eventually, the colt observed that Twilight's firing rate was slowly decreasing which allowed him to dispell his barrier, swerve to the right and fire his own offensive spell coated in alchemic electricity. However tiredness did not mean that his sister slacking. She immediately erected a barrier of her own that absorbed the shot on contact, though shockingly, a small crack was made, surprising the unicorn and causing a chorus of claps from the passerby audience.

"Woah, that's really impressive Darklo! You've definitely gotten much better with your magic, especially in such a short time frame."

"I wouldn't say a few months is a short time frame, but you're the expert here."

"Spike, the clipboard please." Twilight requested and Spike delivered, handing over the sheet of information for the mare to analyse. "Oh my, if we compare your results from when we first started to now, you're magical capacity has increased drastically by 640% and you're magical intensity 450%!"

"Wow, that's about a 5.45x growth rate on average. Is that the exact multiplier of a magic surge?"

"Well no, most ponies have a varied level of magic locked in themselves that's been restricted and built up for foals protection, so the magic surge will release all of it in one go once the body realises that it's matured enough to endure the strain."

"And since the average age of maturity for a magic surge is about 5 years old, you've had 8 more years worth of magical build up, which is why yours was so explosive."

"Exactly Spike, you're kind of like me in that sense, I was also a late bloomer and boy was my magic surge quite the trouble for those examiners."

"Okay, I get the magical capacity part, but how has my magical intensity grown that much?" Darklo asked inquisitively as he trotted next to the pair, which put him in range for a classic pat on the head.

"That, I have a few assumptions." Twilight smiled proudly at him. "Like those late night practice sessions you do in this very park, or the times you've been experimenting with your magic. It's like a muscle, after all. The more you use your power, the stronger it becomes."

"Oh, right. I guess that makes sense- wait you knew about that? How though? I made sure to leave when you were asleep." Darklo stammered until he caught eyes with the purple lizards who was whistling to the side innocently.

"It's alright Darklo, I don't mind that you want to keep practicing, but please tell me next time. If Spike hadn't told me before I found out, things might have ended a little differently."

Darklo nodded, albeit, with a little hesitance due to that last sentence, and they walked out of the park and back onto the street. "So what's next on the chopping block?"

Twilight lifted her nose in the air and gave a relaxed smile. "Glad you asked, we are heading into the Everfree to meet Zecora and have a taste of her homebrewed tea."

"Ugh, tea... isn't that just water with leaves?" Spike asked, his tongue sticking out from disgust.

"Uh yeah, no hate Twilight but I'm more of a coffee kind of pony."

"Coffee? When did you even try coffee? Haven't I told you that stuff is bad for you" Twilight raised her eyebrow in suspicion while the colt shrugged complacently.

"It just tastes nice. My taste buds don't lie to me and tea just tastes like water to me, I'm with Spike on this one."

"Well maybe you haven't tried a good brew before. Trust me, you will love it."

"Doubt it." The colt and dragon said in unison, resulting some light hearted banter between the sibling unit. That was until a couple eccentric fillies zoomed towards them, 2 of which separated in different directions to play hide and seek while the unicorn filly stopped near the colt.

"Darklo, look what I made for us!" Sweetiebelle excitedly pulled out a crimson cape adorned in a cute golden emblem of a galloping pony. Though, on closer observation, Darklo could tell that his friend was telling the truth as the cape looked a little scruffy and the threads were still visible around the ridges. Still, it was a gift and he sure wasn't about to let that go to waste so he took it and equipped the piece of clothing.

"Oh wow. This is sick, Belle. You definitely outdone yourself with these."

"Gee, thanks." And so, she sped off to participate in what her other friends were doing. Eventually, Fluttershy came into view, who was guiding them a second ago before they ran off to play.

"Oh hey, Twilight, Darklo, Spike. Going anywhere today?"

"We are going to Zecoras through the Everfree to try some of her special tea," Twilight said happily, "though some of us don't seem to understand how good tea is." Her eyes slinted at her brothers as they averted their gazes, clearly knowledgeable of her wrath. However, that wasn't what made Fluttershy jump in shock.

"T-The Everfree Forest? Oh, I don't know how you keep visiting there, it's way too dangerous for ponies."

"Well, we aren't just any pony, we have a Celstial scholar, an Everfree veteran... and a dragon."

"Hey! Why didn't you give ME a fancy title?"

"Alright, if you want one so badly 'great and glorious assistant'." While Spike gleamed in approval of the rephrasing, Twilight watched the fillies hide around the most ridiculous places.

"So what's with taking care of the girls?"

"Oh, Rarity needed some time to herself and so I agreed to let them sleepover for the night." The words 'sleepover' had caught the colts attention as he looked back to the gentle pegasus.

"You sure, you can handle them Fluttershy? I know my friends well and... they aren't exactly the most chill bunch."

"Oh, it'll be alright Darklo. Besides, do these angels look like they'd cause trouble?" And on cue, the Crusaders lined up and put on their best halos 😇. Though, as much as it fooled Fluttershy, Darklo was unamused. He knew those glistening puppy dog eyes from anywhere and as their most common victim, he had a job to do.

"Hey, how about I join you girls. It's gotta be better than sipping tea anyway."

"Sure, I'd love to have more company." Fluttershy responded as Twilight looked at him stonefaced while the Crusaders cheered loudly.

"Yeaaah Cutie Mark Crusader Sleepover is now at full capacity!"

---

The group had just entered Fluttershy's House and things already became hectic as the fillies immediately tried to go into the Everfree for monster catching cutie marks. Seriously, the talents they come up with is insane! But once Fluttershy logically denied that request, they rushed around the place, scaring the birds around the house and even bouncing on Angel's bed which woke the rabbit.

"Hey, g-girls, can we please settle down?" Fluttershy hopelessly asked while the chaos continued and Angel was tapping his foot angrily at Darklo. "Hey, it wasn't my fault they landed on your bed. Consider it revenge for the chaos you put me and Spike under during that dragon incident." The little menace squeaked and pointed to the other animals, trying to make his point. "Buddy, I'm not Fluttershy. You won't be successful if you think charades will help me understand."

"He's saying you should stop them before they cause more of a mess."

"Oh right." Darklo paused before clearing his lungs. "Alright Crusaders, stand to attention!" He shouted, which they all heard and listened to, sitting in front of the colt. "Good work. But I'm not the leader tonight, that's Fluttershy's job so please be nice." Silence filled the room as the fillies flicked their gaze back from Darklo to the pegasus, forcing the colt to whisper in her ear. "Set up a game or something."

"Oh right. Uhm, how about a game everypony?"

"What kind of game?" Applebloom questioned while tilting her head along with her friends.

"Let's go with a quiet game."

"..." That's the best she could come up with? Darklo thought, but then again, it was Fluttershy he was talking about so who knows. The game might have been something she played before.

"All you need to do is stay quiet for the longest. I'm the running champion, I bet you can't beat me." The mare smiled innocently before filling her lungs full of air, initiating the quiet game.

1...2...3

"I lose!"

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

And the trio were off again, making Fluttershy exhale dissapointedly. "Please girls, you will wake the animals."

"... huh, guess I'm now the champion." Darklo concluded, though his light hearted joke was ignored as Scootallo, Applebloom and Sweetiebelle draped a rug and basket over themselves to replicate some kind of beast and glided towards Darklo.

"Rawr, I'm a creature from the Everfree Forest. I am going to eat yoooou."

Darklo glared non-chalantly at the bootleg monster and smirked. "And I'm Darklo, monster hunting extraordinaire and practitioner of the runic arts, you are no match more me, beast."

"We shall see about that!" The monster edged closer to him but by a stroke of divine retribution, the rug caught on a nail with resulted in the three barrelling out of the covers and into a table, breaking it.

Realising their mistake, they looked down in shame. "Oh, we're sorry Fluttershy, guess we aren't much of monster hunters after all."

Fluttershy sighed in relief, finally seeing that the havoc was over. "That's alright girls, Il just have to get that fixed another time-"

"No worries, I got this." Darklo interrupted, moving to the broken pieces and grabbing them all in magic. With a few moments of observing the broken pieces, he put them together and nailed it like a jig-saw puzzle until it was complete. But the end result looked a little less like the original. "Oh, damn. That nail doesn't look like it should be there. Sorry."

"It's okay Darklo. A table is still a table, Il just repaint it another day. Now then, it's time to go to bed little foals." Fluttershy responded and pushed them all upstairs with her head.

"Awww, but we arent tired yet." The fillies said instinctively but the mare didn't listen, though Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle thought of something else. "Maybe we can do some rune magic stuff! I've always wanted to fly around like Darklo does."

"Uhm girls, it's much too late for-"

"Yeah! Darklo please can you teach us? You promised us a lesson."

"I-I know I promised but not tonight. Trust me, Il schedule it as soon as I can." The colt placated, though, Darklo's eye twitched at a certain problem once they arrived in the guest room. "Uhm, there's only one bed." He said, hopping on the bed and observing it's size. "And I think only 3 can fit in here. Oh well." Darklo walked past them and out the room. "Il just take the couch."

But the colt was halted by Fluttershy, who blocked his path. "Oh no, you need to do that, you can take my bed if you can't fit, and it's got enough room."

"Fluttershy, thanks for the offer but I'mma have to decline. I basically invited myself, so I'll take the more humble accommodation." Darklo continued his march downstairs after looking back at them one last time. "Goodnight girls."

Fluttershy carefully watched the colts descent out of sight, and sighed. She had come to terms with Darklos stubborn nature ever since he foolhardedly battled against an ursa minor, but she thought he'd loosen up with his friends around. Yes, he looked happy, but there was just something foal-like that was missing from him and the kind pegasus couldn't put her hoof on it. Either way, she silently hoped he would figure it out someday and got back to tucking the girls into bed.

---

Darklo walked through the first floor of Fluttershy's cottage and laid on the couch, levitating a blanket to cover himself with. It felt slightly unnerving in the dark, as a couple of the animals were sleeping on the hard floor while the birds slept soundly in their birdhouses, completely unmoved. It was like one ding of a bell would wake them all up.

Attempting to relinquish that thought, he turned his head to the nearby window.Maybe a bit of outdoor scenery can help with some shut eyes. Huh, the stars are quite abundant tonight. Wonder what the special occasion is- woah what the heck?! Unfortunately, his minute of star-gazing came to an abrupt end when a falcon landed on the windowsil and shot a commanding gaze at him.

Once he fully understood the creatures identity, he sighed in relief and pushed the blankets off, climbing onto the windowsill and opening it. Immediately, he could feel the force of wind pusuhing against his fur. "Rough night out there eh?"

"Caw!" The renegade falcon extended its wings in what looked like a way of accepting the colts invitation as it flew inside and roosted on the arm of the couch. Darklo locked the window again, so the sleeping critters wouldn't catch any noise and sat back down to meet the majestic bird at eye level.

"Well make yourself at home, I'm sure Fluttershy would love to have you here. Just don't bother me nor the animals. I'm gonna get to sleep and they already are. So don't be a bad roommate 'kay?"

"Ca caw..." The falcon replied in a lower pitch than before

"Good, or I hope you're agreeing to those terms." Darklo threw the covers back over himself and shut his eyes, preparing himself to wander into dreamland. And those minutes of silence, were spent pondering to himself while the tired falcon hopped onto his back and ruffled its feathers on the blanket. Man, I should probably think about setting up a alchemy lesson if more ponies wanna ask. Wonder how Scoots and Belle will do with it...should I maybe give them separate signs that benefit their skillsets or just start with fire like I did with Bloom? Spike's a good scheduler, maybe I can ask hi- ouch! "Mr falcon, watch the claws!" Darklo said, prompting the creature to relinquish its hold.

With a sigh, Darklo activated his horn and pulled the falcon off him, setting it inside the blankets with him. "That better?"

"Caaaaw..." The falcon pridefully puffed its plumage like it were a softball and rubbed its neck on the fabric.

"Il take that as a yes." The colt smiled and buried his head on the couch pillow, gently stroking the falcons feathers as his muscles relaxed and hid eyes fell heavy.

...

But the silence was immediately cut what sounded like Sweetiebelle sang a song that carried its way downstairs and into every creatures earholes Darklos included. It was like she was using her normal voice right next to him and by what Darklo could presume as pony logic, the walls began to vibrate from the sound waves, free ordiments and plant pots tipping dangerously far.

"Uuurggh, what got Belle into a musical mood this time?" The colt peeked his head out of the covers, to the falcons chagrin and spotted a horrible sight. The animals were awake, and they weren't happy. Harry the bear was standing up, growling above his head as if he could see the filly through the wood whilst the birds flew out of their perches to tweet their protests. And worst of all, Angel had hopped onto the couch and gave Darklo a scowl, arms crossed and eyes exhausted.

"Hey, for once, I'm on your side! I didn't think they would be singing themselves to sleep." Angel continued to burn his thoughts into his brain, resulting in the colt groaning while the falcon watched under the covers. "Alright then, gimme a second." Darklo conceded, his horn ignited again and a golden bubble erupted from it which took up half of the room. Once it was fully constructed, the sounds from the outside was merely white noise, allowing the animals inside the barrier to calm down. Eventually the animals outside the barrier connected the dots and walked/flew inside.

The combination of small and large critters piled around the couch was almost suffocating, but it was rather that or let the critters go on a wild rampage, so the colt had no choice but to make it work. "There, you happy now?" Angel nodded proudly, smirking widly at the kids discomfort. "Gee thanks, little rascal. You're just like Lepus, you know that?" Angel raised an eyebrow at the random name drop but shrugged hopping off the mass of creatures. And so, he shifted among the fur and feathers until the colt found a comfortable spot and let himself go limp. Strangely enough, the falcon was still resting beside him, rubbing its head on his chest which made him chuckle.

"Eheheh... Alright lil guy settle down. That tickles! And goodnight everyone. Sorry for the disturbance." Darklo whispered as his consciousness drifted off. Though the short chirping and growls of appreciation at least gave him comfort before everything fell black.

---

Reality returned to Darklo as quickly as he left it as his ears could pick up a sequence of panicked grunts and apologies. "Sorry, sorry. Oh! Sorry Harry, could you wake up Darklo? It's urgent!"

"Grrooor."

"I know, while I'm glad he helped you get back to sleep, I need his help... I can't go into the Everfree Forest alone!"

Darklos cognitive thinking finally snapped back to consciousness once the infamous phrase entered his ears as he opened his eyes and teleported out of the admittedly comfortable blanket of animals to meet Fluttershy. "What do you mean the Everfree?" Darklo took a second to yawn, a consequence of being abruptly woken up. "Can't it wait 'till morning?"

"No no, you don't understand, the girls went in there to find one of my chickens!"

"..." Darklo facehoofed. "Of course they would pull something the minute I left, dammit."

"W-Why aren't you scared. Shouldn't you be worried?"

"Fluttershy, scared isn't even the half of it. But I can at least be assured that Bloom has the power to stay safe. As long as they don't split up, they should be able to live long enough for us to find them." In a flash, Darklo draped the CMC cape over himself and ran out the door. "You coming or what?"

"O-oh, right!" And so she followed suit behind the colt and they ventured into the woods where the trail led. Meanwhile, the falcon flew on top of the cottage and observed their departure, wisely pondering the safety of its harbingers before gliding into the same direction.

---

The moon had reached it's apex, shining its light down on the pair. Though, the sight was rather strange as the older mare steadily and fearfully crept behind the stone-faced colt while he held a barrier around them, powered by lightning from his alchemy. "Fluttershy, for the last time, nothing's gonna jump out at us. Animals are clever creatures, so they won't pick fights with things that seem too risky like this electrical barrier."

"I know, b-but that won't stop some from trying. And what if we run into a Cockatrice? They will just turn us to stone!"

"Then I'll kill it. Petrification DOES end once they are dead due to the link between their magic and their victims. I thought that was a no-brainer."

Fluttershy gasped in shock, turning into a completely different pony as she paced beside the colt. "Darklo, not everything needs to be a life or death situation. These creatures only do what they do to survive, so its not right to end them when there are alternatives."

"Alternatives, like what? Once a cockatrice has its gaze on you, it becomes a question of 'can the beast stay alive before their target dies?'. I mean what am I supposed to do, politely ask it to stop glaring at me?"

"M-maybe?"

Darklo shook his head. In any other situation, he'd accept Fluttershy's pro animal talk and move on, but there were just some things he couldn't except. Should anypony be in danger, morals shouldn't be put to factor. It was like Principal Vir would say to him, "Action comes through logic, inaction comes from emotion, but both are limited to you, and you alone."

Damn dick. Even when I'm away from your cruel ass, your teachings manage to stick somehow.

"Oh Darklo, I think I see somepony!" Fluttershy said, leading the colt to squint his eyes and in fact, see a pony standing near some mountains. Actually, there was a smaller creature right next to them, giving Darklo enough insight to know their identity.

"Hey, I think that's Twilight and Spike. Didn't think their little tea trip would take 'till midnight but woo, am I glad I avoided that." Darklo picked up the pace along with the pegasus and eventually got close to them. "Twilight, Spike. What you guys doing standing around like...that."

The colt wasn't met with the colourful purple coat and scales he was used too, he couldn't even pick up the scent of lavender with his nose. All that greeted him was a still statue of Twilight and Spike, the image of horror etched on their faces. Immediately, the colt's mind raced for possibilities.

God dammit! And just when we were talking about those cockatrice... how am I gonna even find the one that did this? He thought to himself, staring at the floor with pure concentration. Fuck it, I dont care what Fluttershy thinks, Il wipe out their entire species if I have to. They arent gonna get away with this!

A soft hoof rested on his back, prompting him to look back at the gentle mare with a look of panic. "I-its alright Darklo. We just need to find it, and look, there's still footprints."

Darklo exhaled deeply and nodded. "Alright. Let's just make this quick... wait. Those tracks are going where the girls are going..." A single pause and the colt was gone, electricity trailing the direction he ran, leaving Fluttershy to squeal in fright and fly in pursuit.

Many ideas flooded into his mind and most weren't good. What if they got petrified too? Can I find the cockatrice in time? And can the statues break? What happens to them if that occurs? Argh, no time to think, just go! He bounced on trees and sped along the path of tracks until he finally saw something new, which made him hit the breaks.

It was the girls, but they were watching a strange piller of earth. "What should we do with it?"

"Well, it's not the chicken we were after so can't we just leave it here?"

"Ah'm not so sure, we'd be leavin' it to die in there. I think Il let it out."

"WAIIIIT!" Darklo shouted, making the fillies flinch and turn back to face their friend, whose hooves were covered in mud. "Are you all alright?"

"Woah, chill Darklo. We're fine."

"...huh?" Darklo went under a minor factory reset as he looked at the minature earth prison.

"Yeah, I caught the little rascal in a dirt pyramid so it couldn't turn us to stone."

"Oh... Well great job Bloom. Can't believe I doubted you for a second." Damn, how did I forget that... must've been the heat of the moment. Rubbing his head in embarrasment, the colt returned to his serious self and walked beside them, listening to the speaking and constant pecking of the cockatrice inside the prison.

The three looked mildly nervous as they watched the colt stare at it, though Sweetiebelle thought to address it more than anypony. "So, uhm. What's with the thousand yard stare buddy?"

"Nothing much, just found the cockatrice that turned Twilight and Spike to stone."

"..."

"And you know how to turn them back right?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, and even if ya don't, Zecora's hut is just few paces away-"

"That won't be necessary Bloom." Darklo placated, igniting his horn and constructing the sign of Glacio (the ice sign) above earth pyramid. "Once the thing is lifeless inside a frozen block of ice, Twilight and Spike should be reverted. This should only take a second."

"Wait what?!" The Crusaders sprang in the air and zipped in front of the colt.

"Uhm girls, step aside please. You could get ice on your tails."

"No, we can't let you kill it, Darklo." Scootaloo stated defiantly.

"Yeah, it's got a life too. We don't know if it's got a family or not!" Sweetiebelle chimed.

"Ah know ya wanna save Twilight and Spike, but there's gotta be another way." Applebloom said worriedly.

"Girls, you can't talk with an animal like that! It'll put you in stone, seconds before you can even say 'what's your name'." Darklo grunted, the sign of glacio chilling the air around them. "It's the logical choice with the least amount of risk and I'd rather have my family on Equus than a being without reason, now please get behind me. Before I do something Il regret."

The fillies tensed up at those words. Although they were 99% confident that the colt was just bluffing, there was still that 1% crawling in their minds. It was his family's life at stake so maybe. Just maybe. He'd pull the trigger.

Luckily though, the draw landed on the majority as Fluttershy finally caught up to them. "Darklo, please don't... oh. T-thank Celestia you haven't done anything yet."

"Fluttershy!" The Crusaders cheered, running towards her. "You can tell the cockatrice to release Twilight and Spike can't you?"

"Uhm, I-I don't know. But I can try..." Fluttershy responded meekly, but once she looked to Darklo who had the eyes of a hungry beast, she steeled herself. "Alright. Applebloom, release it please."

And the apple filly obliged, drawing an earth sign and stepping on it, leading the earth construct to sink back into the ground, revealing the cockatrice. Everypony, except Fluttershy, ducked for cover under a big tree root, which left her to observe the creature. It was like a chimera of sorts, comprised of a chicken head and the lower body of a snake as it slithered towards Fluttershy and gave her a look of contempt.

"Uhm, excuse me. You turned my friends into stone back there, would you be kind enough to release them? It would be much appreciated." Unfortunately, the spiteful little creature didn't take kindly to her words and gave her a red, petrifying stare. The fillies gasped when they saw the mares hooves slowly shine like stone at the corner of their vision.

Darklo was gritting his teeth in frustration, tapping his hooves like a certain rabbit he knew. "See, it ain't working. Now let me just-" But as he was about to vault over the root and blast the pest to oblivion, his actions were interrupted by Applebloom holding him.

"Come on, Darklo. Just wait a little longer, she's got this."

"But she's literally stone to her waist now, if I don't do someth-"

"Pleeeease? Just trust me on this."

"..." The puppy dog eyes... the god damn puppy dog eyes! "uuugh, fine. But if this goes wrong, I'm crushing the thing wether you like it or not."

With the pair finally on the same page, they returned to watch Fluttershy and for once, only Darklo was surprised at what was displayed.

"You really think it's nice to turn ponies to stone? They weren't even trying to hurt you, your mother would be ashamed!" The mare had apparently gained a backbone and stared daggers into the cockatrice, terrifying it and wavering its petrifying hold on its target. "Do you even know how much stress you put that colt under? I mean, how would you feel if somepony just showed up and turned YOUR family into stone, huh?"

By some miracle, the cockatrice backed away in fear while Fluttershy maintained a sturdy appearance, her face inches away from it. "Now you're going to return my friends, Twilight and Spike back to normal and I BETTER not catch you doing that again." And the creature instinctually obliged as the stone that crept up Fluttershy's waist shattered. "Do I make myself clear?"

One quick nod and the cockatrice ran away with its tail between its legs. Darklo merely watched the tiny rascal flee into the thick greenery. Did... did that really just happen?

He just watched, dumbfounded as the Crusaders exited their hiding spot and hugged the mare happily while Fluttershy looked back at him. "See Darklo? Everything's alright now and nopony got hurt."

"I...I guess so. But how did you even do that?"

"Oh, Fluttershy has some cool stare powers that can control animals!" Scootaloo explained. "She did it on the chickens while you were downstairs."

Well, I guess that's another crazy thing I can add to the list. But his thoughts were interrupted by the faint rustling of bushes and a familiar unicorn and dragon escaping from them. Seeing them, made the colt sigh in relief as he walked up to them. "So, how was your trip?" Darklo said, grinning cheekily.

"Ugh, come on Darklo! But if you must know, the tea was amazing. Spike enjoyed it too." Twilight shifted her gaze to her assistance who looked back, ashamed.

"Well, I guess I underestimated Zecora a little."

"Uhuh." The colt puffed his lips, unconvinced. "But aside from that, how in blazes did the both of you get caught glaring at a cockatrice? No way you got caught by surprise when keeping your guard up is the number 1 rule in this forest."

Darklo pointed at them in a lecturely tone, almost mirroring Twilight which felt mildly freaky to the mare in question. "W-well, we kind of got distracted."

"Yeah!" Spike interjected. "We came across this weird tombstone on our way back and Twilight wanted us to pay respects to it."

Darklo raised an eyebrow at his sister who chuckled awkwardly. "It's the most respectful thing to do right?" And at those words, Darklo could recall an army of graves flash through his mind which resulted in a somber nod.

"Yeah. Your right, sorry for sounding a little broody."

"It's alright brother. Would you like to see it?"

"...Yeah, I think I'll do that." Darklo turned back to face the the hugging group. "Fluttershy, could you bring them back to the cottage? I'm gonna go back with them."

"Oh, of course. Just be safe, now come on girls let's get back to bed." Fluttershy guided the fillies home with a lot less struggle than hours ago while Darklo followed Twilight and Spike along a steep path.

---

Dear Princess Celestia and Luna,

Today's lesson wasn't something I thought I'd need to address, but I've still got more to learn so here we are. My go-to responce against dangerous threats has always been to fight back before they strike first, but thanks to my friends and a very gentle pony, I see the merits in taking a passive stance before resorting to action. Still, time will only tell if I can put this lesson into practice.

From your fearless colt, Darklo.

Finishing the letter, he looked over the paper to observe the grave right in front of him. The plaque bore no name, no date, nothing but a row of lilies lining the base of the stone.

Calmly, he flew the scroll into Spike's hands and let the two watch as he sat down, lowered his head and connected his front hooves. He hadn't thought about how ponies see religion, they don't have a God nor do they worship any other deities other than the Princesses, but even so, the colt had seen through the heavenly veil and reached an understanding with a higher power. So he stayed like that for a minute, wishing the mystery pony a safe passage into the pearly gates.

Though, the identity of the mystery pony did come to his head. "You know, I like to think that Dad's under here. The grave seems new and his corpse wasn't too far from here, so there's a possibility, right?"

Twilight gave a sympathetic smile of approval while Spike walked over and laid a claw on his back. "I guess so. But that shouldn't matter anymore, your dad will always be with you no matter the form he's in. I mean look at me, I don't even know my parents and I came out just fine."

Although mildly depressing, Darklo smiled back at the dragon and nodded. "True, you really are the best brother a pal can ask for. Even better if you agreed to join me on my training routines." The colt grinned as Spike paced backwards, claws pressed out.

"Woah, maybe dial it back a bit. I don't wanna be a sweating heap!"

"Never stopped me before."

Spike rolled his eyes and walked away with Twilight. Darklo was about to follow them until he looked back to the grave after hearing a caw behind him. The falcon from before had met his gaze as it perched on the stone with one eye flaring into his soul and reignited the fire within. The colt smiled at the bird and waved goodbye before wandering back into the green.

I'm free to make my choices here. God gave me this chance and so I'll keep going. No regrets!

Author's Note:

Man, I really fell off this week. I had way too many writer block moments for this episode than I care to admit. Sorry for the wait!

Still, we got about a few more to go so stay tuned. A lot more is in store for old Darklo.

Comments

[Tempest_Flare]

no killing that thing was the right thing to do.

[Rapane443]

11864685
You're right, and that's exactly why Darklo has that same mindset in this episode. The guy was a human before and we take the logical solution over most situations. But that kind of reasoning conflicts with the pony society's more emotional and passive standpoint. Both have their merits, but each will find trouble in understanding the others viewpoint which is why I hope to bring this pony-human conflict of mindset in later chapters. You know, for drama and stuff. But anyways, have a nice day Tempest.

[Tempest_Flare]

11864956
it gets trapped in Tartarus later (it's there with other hybrids in the season 8 finale) killing it then would have sparred it that fate. with that hindsight killing it would be kindness. Better dead than trapped in pony hell forever (Cozy would know all about that...)

[Aiwhisper]

Only confusing bit was you said owl and falcon a few times as if it was the same bird.

[Rapane443]

11888928
My apologies. I originally was going to set up Owlicious in this episode but then I remembered it was originally a delivery owl so it wouldn't be near Fluttershys cottage at that time. So instead, I changed it to that 1 falcon in that Rainbow Dash pet race in season 2. Il have read through again and fix it.

Thanks for bringing this up