Sounding Light and Dark Dreams
Chapter 1: Entrances
By: Slayerbrony and Pen Brush
In the dark forests of the Stilonor province, there were two individuals that roamed the pathway of shadows. The inhabitants of the forest seemed to almost stay clear of the two as they walked along the dirt pathway. The first figure was a female wearing a red cloak over a red and green shirt and pants while she played a long spiky flute as she walked. She had elf ears, long brown hair and light brown eyes. The other was a male wearing a long, brown cloak over his shoulders covering a light blue vest underneath and a set of trousers along with a set of leather bracers. He had spiky, coal black hair and ice blue eyes.
“This walking is getting old...” The man muttered as they trudged through the forest.
“Stop complaining.” The woman said as she took her flute away from her mouth, “Would you rather me move the earth?”
“I’d rather be tearing a highway man apart, but you won’t let me.” The man said as he looked at his companion before making air quotes. “Because my dark magic is bad.”
“Tearing him apart wasn't necessary to anything that was happening.” The woman huffed.
“It would have been fun...” The man muttered under his breath.
“Yet unnecessary.” The woman said.
“Whatever... You ruin my fun.” The man pouted for a moment as they walked.
“Only trying to keep you on task to Sunset Village, Basel, you can have all the fun you want there so we can get the reward.” The woman sighed.
“Fine, Clara. But if I snap, it’s your fault.” Basel huffed as they continued their trek.
“Noted.” Clara said as she played her flute again.
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Twilight was inside of the Canterlot archives, searching through all of the tomes of magic and books of previously attempted magical constructs. She was trying to find a way to see if the magic that Sombra wielded when he broke free and regular harmonic magic could work together to help progress magic further. Unfortunately, she was doing this against her former teacher’s wishes, as she had been warned several times to leave black magic alone.
‘It is a dangerous and unnaturally powerful form of magic and extremely unstable. There is no telling what it might do when harmonic magic interacts with it.’ the words of Celestia echoed in her mind as she found a large dusty tome with a simple black flame apparent on the cover.
“It’s just for research. Nothing over the top is going to be done.” She assured herself as she opened the book and blew dust off of the old and worn pages. As she read on through the book, she took note of the small little warnings and consequences of each and every spell, no matter how small or useless it appeared to be.
“Are you sure about this?” Spike asked as he walked out from behind a bookcase with three large books.
“Yes, Spike. There is a way to make the two work together. There has to be.” Twilight muttered as she read through.
“There isn’t always a way for things to work together, Twilight.” Spike complained as he put the books down next to her.
“This is magic, Spike. There is always a way to make it work.” Twilight said, determination taking control of her words.
“Whatever you say Twilight...” Spike said as he walked away to find her more books.
“Alright... magic is very unstable... Doesn’t react well with any form of positive magic... The last attempt to summon a creature of dark magic caused the summoner to go insane.” Twilight muttered as she read page after page of the book. “It is highly recommended that if you summon a dark creature to have a harmonic creature to tame and defeat the dark embodiment... Tame...? Spike!”
“What!” Spike yelled from a different part of the library.
“Get some parchment and quills! We have a list to make!” Twilight shouted.
“Alright.” Spike groaned.
______________________________________________________________________________
“Must you play that damned flute everywhere we go?” Basel groaned as they arrived in the small village of Sunset.
“Its the only way to keep the animals away so you won't get sidetracked.” Clara said.
“Okay I am not that out of control!” Basel whined before getting a rather unamused stare from Clara. “Okay maybe a little...”
“No your not, but your very spontaneous and do things randomly.” Clara said.
“Well you know, seeing nightmares and other horrific beasts doesn’t exactly let you keep your sanity very easy.” Basel said sarcastically.
“Try less dark magic.” Clara suggested. Basel scratched his chin for a moment before shaking his head and giving her a smile.
“Naw! I like scaring the life out of bandits.” Basel said with a wicked smile.
“It’s easier to use music to control their movements.” Clara stated.
“But it’s more fun to see them scream in terror.” Basel said. “Plus it’s not like I am going to simply leave them alone! They are bandits! Robbing the innocent and killing the poor!... Or whatever order they do those things in.”
“True...” Clara said.
“So why are we in this wretched village again? To get drunk at the tavern and forget why we were traveling?” Basel asked as they walked through the empty town.
“To kill the dragon that decided to terrorize the town, they will give us a lot of money.” Clara said.
“Oh what’s the use of money.” Basel said waving a hand in the air.
“You also get a nice dragon souvenir.” Clara said, smirking.
“That! That is a prize.” Basel said grinning. “Plus! Dragon doesn’t taste so bad. Like burnt snake...”
“No it doesn’t.” Clara said smiling as she put the flute back up to her mouth and continued playing. Basel simply continued to look around the town before watching as a shadow passed by in a alleyway. He looked at Clara before silently stopping and sneaking over to the alleyway to investigate.
“Help us...” the shadow whispered as it went further into the alley. Basel hummed as he raised an eyebrow before he followed the shadow into the alleyway farther.
“Hello? Is any strange apparition here?” He asked.
“Help us to eat...” The shadow said.
“Oh silly shadow! You can’t eat! You’re just a faded soul!” Basel laughed.
“And your food.” The shadow said as it jumped out at Basel. The human frowned and grabbed the shadow in his hand before shaking his head.
“This is why black magic is good.” Basel said to himself as he walked towards the entrance of the alleyway with the struggling shadow in hand. “Let’s see how you fare in the sunlight...”
The shadow in his grasp let out several terrified shrieks as it tried to escape his grip morphing into different forms and shapes to escape his hold, but failed each time. It let out a pained wail as it felt the sun burn into it before it simply turned into a handful of ash inside of Basel’s hand. He looked down at the powder before putting it away in his pocket and looking around.
“Hey Clara! Where are you?” He shouted into the sky and waited for a response.
He heard music and suddenly felt himself floating in the air, before he started moving up the path, where Clara was standing, using her flute, “You get lost again?” She asked as she put him down.
“Maybe... I got some shadow dust though...” Basel said smiling at nothing. “I think that the inhabitants of this place are dead. Really no point in actually getting rid of the dragon...”
“So you don't want the reward?” Clara asked.
“Well I want the dragon steak and teeth... But not really the money...” Basel said scratching his chin again.
“We still need the money to live though, and pay those people back...” Clara said.
“I ate one sheep! One!” Basel whined out as he facepalmed.
“It was their rare golden sheep!” Clara exclaimed.
“Then why was it in my room!” Basel retorted.
“You put it there.” Clara said unamused.
“Oh right... Oh well! it tasted good!” Basel said smiling.
“Now we have to pay them back, and we need that money.” Clara said.
“Fine... But only because you are making sure I am not murdering people. Because I can’t really tell when I do...” Basel said before he began to look around again. “This... Is getting tiresome. Where the bloody hell could a dragon hide in this place? More importantly, if it is hiding, how do we find it?”
“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Clara stated as a shadow went by overhead. Basel looked up and saw the darkened figure of the scaly beast before grinning widely.
“Oh, this is going to be fun...” He said before looking at Clara with an evil grin on his lips. “May I?”
“Thats what we came here for.” Clara stated. Basel simply grinned wider before letting his hands take on a deep blue flame. The ethereal fire coated his hands before he let out a small cackle and let the fires spray from his hands and grab hold of the dragon’s wings as it soared overhead and pulled it to the ground.
“Whoopsie!” He said as it crashed into several buildings. “My bad...”
“I am going to fix that...” Clara said as she put her flute to her mouth and played it, making the wood float into the air as she fixed the houses.
“Am I the only one here who is going to kill the dragon?” Basel asked as he looked at Clara before a large scaly tail smashed into him and sent him through a wall of a tavern.
“If you keep breaking things, yes.” Clara stated.
“That one wasn’t my fault!” Basel complained as he limped out of the tavern with a frown on his face.
“Ok, I get it, lets do this.” Clara played the flute again and made the music louder, stopping the dragon and making it go rigid, “Now you can kill it and I won't have to do the cleanup.” She said before going back to playing, to keep the dragon from moving.
“Oh it’s no fun if it can’t fight back!” Basel whined as he walked over to the dragon. “At least then it can die with dignity...”
“I’ll let it move its mouth.” Clara said as she released its head.
“Wait the mouth has fi-” Basel was cut off as a torrent of flame engulfing the air above him. “... Fire.”
“Have fun.” Clara replied as she closed her eyes and continued the music.
“Now you are just trying to kill me!” Basel said quickly as he ran towards the dragon, jumping and dodging as best he could while he ran for the dragon. Eventually, he got onto it’s head and grabbed onto the horn. “Night night, mister dragon!”
Basel lifted his hand into the air, letting ethereal fire coat his hand again before he slammed it against the head of the dragon and let a large black spike eject itself into the dragon. The world seemed to go still for a moment as a large black spike protruded from the chin of the dragon, the subtle sound of something dripping before the spike evaporated and the dragon’s head fell limp, making Basel fall off and onto the ground as a large pool of crimson filled the road.
“What will you name this dragon now?” Clara asked as she stopped playing her flute, letting the body of the dragon slump to the ground.
“I shall call him!... Tiny!” Basel stated as he got up from the blood covered road and looked over the monstrous beast.
“How original.” Clara said, rolling her eyes.
“Better than toothy.” Basel said shrugging before he walked over to the dragon and grunted slightly as he lifted it’s lip, showing the rows of deadly teeth. “Be a dear and take the incisor out will you?”
“Alright.” Clara said as she once again put her flute to her lips and played, making the white incisor slowly come out of its mouth and float next to Basel, “Thats a nice big one.”
“... Phrasing.” Basel snickered out as he took the tooth and put it into a small knapsack on his back, hidden under his cloak. As he pulled the cloak over his body again, a single door opened to their right. It swung open to reveal a soot covered man, shakily holding a short sword in his hand.
“I-is the beast dead?” He asked warily as he eyed the dead dragon.
“As dead as a corpse.” Clara stated.
“Great!” The man said as he dropped the sword and leaned against the house in relief. “I can go back to my fields. I assume you are wanting your reward, yes?”
“Yes.” Clara said.
“Just head to the town hall. The bounty man should give you what you need...” The man said as several more towns people exited their homes. “.. Now how do we get this thing out of here?”
Basel licked his lips in annoyance as he heard an annoying buzzing sound before a bright flash of purple light and the feeling of something grabbing and pulling him through water was felt, leaving a confused group of townsfolk and Clara behind.
“Uhhh...that hasn't-” Clara began before she too felt the same sensation and leaving a scorch mark behind along with the townspeople.
“... Oh yes, just like the adventurers to leave this mess behind!” A random towns man said as he walked by with a broom.
______________________________________________________________________________
Twilight had gathered all of the needed items to conjure up a being of dark magic and a being of light magic. She knew this was a risk that was not to be taken lightly, but this was just a chance too rare to pass up. She slowly began to chant the words from the large tome as the piles of dust, bones, and other unsightly things began to glow a bright shade of purple. With a loud crack, a large black oval appeared on the ground, letting something form from the elements of the dark magic she had gathered.
With a set of haste in her movements, she quickly began to do the second spell to summon the being of light to tame the creature of darkness. The feathers, butterfly wings, and powdered diamond began to glow the same shade of purple as the previous ingredients. Soon a portal of the purest white opened up next to the portal of dark energy and two beings slowly rose from both areas.
Twilight took several steps back as she tried to watch with the blinding light coming from the portal of light energy. As fast as the portals had opened, they closed leaving two smoking areas and two figures in their places.
“You did something alright Twilight.” Spike said from behind her.
“Yes. Yes I did. But more importantly, what did I bring?” Twilight questioned as she looked over the two forms that laid before her.
“I dunno.” Spike said, shrugging. As if on cue, the forms both began to groan as they slowly began to pick themselves up from the ground.
“What did you do, Basel?” The light creature asked, looking at the dark creature. The dark creature known as ‘Basel’ grabbed a part of his head before twisting and letting out an almost sickening crack.
“Ow... And I did nothing. I was standing there, and then ‘POOF’ I exploded.” Basel said as he shook his head.
“You didn’t explode, you disappeared.” The light creature said.
“Yeah well, Clara, I don’t think that I like to disappear very often!” Basel stated before receiving a deadpanned expression. “... Okay, I retract that statement.”
“Ok, good. Why are we in a library?” Clara asked as she looked at the shelves.
“Why am I insane? How should I know!” Basel said as he spun in place a moment, the cloak on his shoulders fluttering slightly. “What I do know, is that there is an unnatural source of light magic in here... it’s making a bad taste in my mouth.”
“Oh calm down, its not like it can kill you.” Clara said.
“Light magic still burns like a bitch! And it takes forever to heal!” Basel whined. “Plus, I look like a burn victim afterwards.”
“Don’t see me complaining about dark magic do you?” Clara asked, picking up a book from one of the shelves.
“You heal faster than I do. I have to eat something in order to heal faster.” Basel huffed until his eyes fell upon Twilight and Spike. “... There is a small purple winged unicorn in here... Or I am going insane again.”
“You’re probably going insane again.” Clara said, not looking up from the book as she opened it.
“But this one has marking on its hindquarters.” Basel said taking a step towards Twilight, making her take a step back in fear.
“Yes, because that's unnatural.” Clara said sarcastically.
“No need to be rude. Might as well go along with my imagination. Hello there little pony!” Basel said giving Twilight a toothy smile. She backed up even more as she saw his canines and hit a shelf of books, letting a few tumble to the ground.
“Can you stop messing around...” Clara said before looking up and seeing Twilight and Spike, “Now you're making me insane.” She sighed as she rubbed her temples.
“Hey that’s not me this time! Or else they would be glowing! Or misty... Depends.” Basel said as he scratched his chin. “But wait... If you can see them... That means one of two things. My imagination is escaping through my magic, or they are real.”
“I would like to imagine the first option.” Clara said as she looked at him. Twilight shook her head to clear the feeling of confusion and fear from her mind, which only succeeded partially, and cleared her throat as she looked at the two new creatures in the library with her.
“U-um... Hello?” Twilight said cautiously, giving a small wave of the hoof.
“It speaks!” Basel shouted dramatically as he threw his arms into the air.
“Apparently your imagination is a lot more vivid than I though.” Clara said.
“I am a being of nightmares you know.” Basel deadpanned as he looked at Clara. “Not to mention I go into peoples nightmares.”
“I know that, I just didn't know you could make them speak.” Clara said.
“Well I can’t. so this is probably something much worse than what I could create.” Basel said shrugging.
“Is this how the light tames the dark, Twilight?” Spike asked nervously.
“I... I don’t know, Spike. If it is, it’s a lot more civil than I read about.” Twilight said as she looked back at her drake companion.
“Also, I don’t think I could create a being that is purely light magic.” Basel added.
“I guess not.” Clara said, “How much you wanna bet the winged unicorn is worth? More than the sheep?”
“Hey! We got that money! Or... We were supposed to have gotten it.” Basel said as he spun in a small circle looking around for a bag of gold.
“I disapeared when I was supposed to get it, unfortunately.” Clara said.
“Oh lovely!” Basel shouted throwing his arms in the air again. “You know, this would have been easier if you just let me kill him.”
“I did let you kill him.” Clara stated.
“I mean the guy who had the golden sheep. I killed his maid, not him.” Basel informed as Twilight turned slightly pale.
“You shouldn’t have killed the sheep in the first place, so I promised him to pay him back or give him something as valuable, we had nothing as valuable so we had to kill the dragon to pay him back.” Clara explained as Spike hid behind Twilight at the mention of a dragon.
“And I still didn’t get to eat it. This day is just turning for the worst!” Basel whined as he walked and slammed his head against a bookshelf, leaving a large dent in the side of it.
“So melodramatic.” Clara commented.
“Only when I am hungry.” Basel said raising a hand in the air.
“Ya, so since we got sent somewhere that is a library, we need to figure out where we are to find our way back to the farmer so we can give him the purple winged unicorn, thats even better than a sheep.” Clara said.
“Fine... But we still don’t even know if it’s real or not.” Basel stated, his head still pressed against the wall.
“Try making it go away with your imagination then.” Clara suggested.
“Okay okay... Give me a second... Let’s see if I remember how to do this... Hold my breath and count to ten!” Basel said in almost a childish manner before taking in a deep breath. Ten seconds passed before he let out a breath of air.
“Seriously?” Clara said.
“It’s what my mother told me to do when the monsters appeared.” Basel said shrugging.
“This isn’t anything like what I read...” Twilight whispered.
“Are you sure you summoned the right creatures?” Spike whispered back from behind Twilight.
“I am sure, everything was as I read.” Twilight answered.
“Well they didn’t go away... Shall I get rid of them the old fashion way?” Basel asked grinning wickedly as his eye twitched slightly.
“I would rather you not do the same to them as you did the sheep, we are going to put them in place of the sheep.” Clara sighed.
“Fine.” Basel said crossing his arms. “But I’d at least like to know who teleported us, if you didn’t do it.”
Twilight couched and smiled sheepishly, “I teleport you here, it was an experiment.” She said, smiling triumphantly. Basel tilted his head and looked at Twilight then to Clara.
“Now can I eat it?” Basel asked grinning.
“No, you cannot.” Clara said.
“Damn it.” He muttered and lowered his head.
“I believe that we should introduce ourselves, I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, and this is my number one assistant Spike.” Twilight said, pushing spike so they could see him. The little dragon stared at the two beings before him as they stared back. Basel raised a hand and began to speak before Clara cut him off.
“No, you can’t kill the dragon.” Clara sighed. Basel just snapped his fingers and let out an annoyed sigh along with Spike slowly backing away from the cloaked man. “I am Clara, The Sound Weaver, it is nice to meet you, in this weird set of circumstances.” She said bowing slightly to the princess.
“Do I have to introduce myself?” Basel asked almost childishly.
“Yes, you do.” Clara said, starting to get annoyed by her companion.
Basel just let out a small sigh before straightening up. “I am Basel. The Dream Weaver. Nice to meet you. Also, I am sorry for asking to slaughter you. Kind of a force of habit.”
“N-no problem...” Spike said unsure as he stepped next to Twilight.
“Can you possibly tell us why you brought us to this place?” Clara asked.
Twilight nodded, “Yes, I wanted to see if I could combine dark magic with light magic and I brought you here.” She explained.
“You know dark magic drives you insane right?” Basel asked.
“Yes...which is why it said in the book to bring a light creature to tame the dark creature for that reason.” Twilight said.
“Fair enough. And I hope you also know, it’s impossible to make light magic and dark magic mix, they can only work together.” Basel said as he looked around the library.
Twilight stomped a hoof, “There is always a way to mix them together with magic.” she said stubbornly.
“As much as that should be possible...you cannot put them together, not even with magic, or it would hurt both of the elements, no matter what you try.” Clara said.
“Also if you did succeed, you would not only break magic, but you would summon a beast with a heart blacker than the highest demon!” Basel said with a smile. “Or just end all life as we know it.”
“Oh...” Twilight said, her face going pale.
“Oh silly unicorn!” Basel said walking over and picked her up by under her forelegs. “You should learn your magic a bit better before doing things like summoning creatures from another world! Or else you’ll end up like me! Do you want that?” He asked with a twitchy eye and wicked smile.
“Stop scaring her.” Clara said.
“Um...actually I am an alicorn, and I would rather not be bipedal...” Twilight said.
“But I am not scaring her! You know how I scare people.” Basel said almost hurt.
“Just holding her is scaring her.” Clara said as Twilight shivered.
“Okay! Jeez, try and be friendly for once...” Basel muttered as he put Twilight down.
“She probably has a different owner who isn’t as scary as you, so she isn’t used to you.” Clara commented.
“I don’t have an owner, there aren't any creatures that look like you two in Equestria.” Twilight said.
“Equestria? What province is that in Sollinds?” Basel asked bending down to look at Twilight.
“It isn’t a province, its the country.” Twilight said backing away a bit. Basel blinked before straightening up and looking at Clara before shrugging.
“Not the strangest thing to happen to us, but it’s up there.” Basel said before scratching his chin. “But I don’t think that ‘Equestria’ is anywhere in our maps...”
“I think thats because what the pony is trying to say is we are in some other world or something, its nothing but light magic.” Clara said.
“So that’s why my skin feels like it’s on fire!” Basel said smiling before frowning. “Yeah this is going to get old very fast.”
“All she has to do is send us back really and you will be fine.” Clara said, rolling her eyes.
“Right. And the sooner, the better.” Basel said shifting in place a few times. “But I think I can already sense one problem here...”
“The only problem is... it doesn't say in any of the books how to send you back, so there isn't a spell to bring you back.” Twilight said sheepishly. Basel stared at Twilight a moment before he took in a very deep breath.
“Yes... I am definitely going to end up slaughtering something. If you’ll pardon me, I shall be right back.” Basel said as he turned on his heels and began to walk through the library. As he reached a door, he opened it only to find a tall white Alicorn standing there with a surprised expression. “... Hello.”
There was a brief silence in the library before a almost thunderous boom was heard and Basel was sent flying into a bookshelf next to Clara. “Ow...” He wheezed out as he found himself stuck in the bookcase.
“Looks like someone doesn’t like you.” Clara commented as she looked down at him. The tall white Alicorn strode into the room with a look of anger and disappointment plastered on her face. She looked over Clara for a moment before glaring at Twilight.
“Twilight, I thought I told you to leave black magic alone.” She said in a harsh authoritative tone.
“Yes, you did but I knew there had to be a way to have dark and light magic together.” Twilight said weakly as she looked at her ex teacher.
“Twilight, I told you once if not a thousand times. There is no way to combine the two!” She said as her voice slightly raised. “Do you not know the repercussions that using black magic does!?”
“It makes you insane if you use too much dark magic.” Twilight said.
“Like me!” Basel muttered weakly from the bookshelf he was imprinted in.
“Shut up Basel.” Clara said.
“And yet you went and disobeyed me and summoned a being of dark magic!” Celestia roared.
“I brought a being of light to tame it though.” Twilight said.
“I don’t know if it helps or not, but Clara barely keeps a handle on me as it is...” Basel said lifting a hand.
“Do you want me to kill you? Stop trying to make this situation worse.” Clara commanded as she slapped him.
“What would you have done if you messed up the spell and summoned something worse than that bumbling idiot?!” Celestia scolded as she gestured to Basel.
Twilight lowered her head, “I don't know...”
Celestia let out a small sigh and rubbed her head with a hoof before looking at Clara and Basel. “I am sorry for Twilight’s summoning of you. Once we get things sorted out, I will try and send you back.” Celestia said.
“Oh that would be lovely, cause I feel like I am on fire right now.” Basel said.
“You can never handle anything that isn’t dark.” Clara muttered.
“Because I invade people’s minds and conjure their nightmares into reality, of course I can’t deal with anything that isn’t dark magic!” Basel said sarcastically as he flailed about in the bookcase. “And I am still stuck...”
“I am going to have to get you out of there arent I?” Clara asked.
“Unless you want me to scare the daylights out of all these ponies by turning into a shadow, then yeah.” Basel said nodding.
“You are impossible.” Clara sighed as she lifted her hands and used the sounds surrounding her to lift Basel out of the bookshelf and put him down next to her.
“How... How do you indent books?” Spike asked as he looked at the bookshelf.
“Better question, how do you do that?” Twilight asked, interested.
“I did say I was a sound weaver, I use the sounds around me to move things and change things, its a sort of magic.” Clara explained.
“And I use my black magic to conjure, change, and create the nightmares of my enemies! Also the cause of my mental health...” Basel said tapping his chin. “Also, I can go into people's dreams, but that usually ends with them have horrid nightmares.”
“Which is why he is a dream weaver.” Clara said.
“So he kind of does what Princess Luna does? Only... Evilly?” Spike asked.
“Sometimes he doesn’t give nightmares, its only when he wants to plague bad people with crazy.” Clara sighed.
“Also useful tactic in gathering information.” Basel pointed out. “And I am not evil! I am... Okay maybe I am a little evil. But it’s necessary evil!”
“This would be an interesting thing to study...” Twilight said.
“You want to... Study me?” Basel asked raising an eyebrow.
“It would be a good learning experience.” Twilight said.
“So you want to experience what it’s like to have someone go into your head and dig around through your dreams?” Basel asked blinking.
“Not really...more the moving of things with just sound.” Twilight said nervously.
“Oh yeah, that would probably be the healthier thing to do.” Basel said nodding.
“Aside from dream stealing...” Celestia said looking at Basel and Clara warily. “I shall give you two rooms to stay in while I sort out the situation with my student.”
“I think it would be better if we shared one room, otherwise Basel will try something.” Clara said, glancing at Basel.
“I would not!” Basel said almost offended before seeing Clara’s glare. “Okay maybe I would...”
“Exactly.” Clara said.
“Alright, I shall have a single room done.” Celestia said nodding before giving Twilight a disappointed glance. “And you Twilight, I shall talk to later.”
“Yes Princess...” Twilight said. With that, the group of humans and ponies, and dragon, walked out of the library to sort out the situation ahead of them. Unfortunately for them, things will get a bit rocky in their seemingly small problem.
Chapter 2 Blueblood's Reckoning
By: Slayerbrony and Pen Brush
“What’s with all the walking today?” Basel whined quietly.
Clara sighed, “You’re used to walking, we always walk, why are you complaining about it now?” She asked.
“Because with all the light magic around me, my feet feel like they are on broken glass.” Basel said as he shifted from side to side for a moment. “Seriously, if I have to stay here any longer, I am going to snap. And I mean worse than usual.”
“Ok, you know that promise I made with you? If we find an asshole person here, you can mess with him, is that good enough for you?” Clara asked.
“let’s just hope it’s soon.” Basel said as he shifted again and continued to walk with Clara.
“I hope you're not planning anything.” Celestia said giving the two of them a stern stare as she before she resumed looking ahead.
“I am making sure he doesn't act stupid.” Clara said.
“I am going to be acting murderous if I don’t get some relief soon...” Basel muttered.
“I will have to tranquilize you with sound again, like in the orphanage...” Clara whispered to him.
“That was one time alright?” Basel said rolling his shoulders. “It’s easier to lose control when you haven’t eaten or killed in a while you know.”
Clara shook her head and looked in front of her, “I guess you're right.” She said.
“Twilight, did you have to bring such a... insane creature here?” Spike whispered to Twilight as he watched the insane dream weaver with caution from behind.
Twilight sighed and looked at Spike, “I didn’t pick what I brought. Celestia was right, I could have brought something worse.” She said.
“Well not to be mean, but she did warn you a lot.” Spike said.
“I know...” Twilight said sadly.
“I hope you two know that while you are residing in Equestria, you will follow it’s laws as you would your own.” Celestia said as she looked at Basel and Clara.
“Glad to.” Clara said smiling.
“I’ll try my best.” Basel stated as he looked from object to object in the room. They continued walking until Basel stopped and looking at a tall pale blue door standing lonely in the hallway they were in. His vision seemed transfixed on the door itself.
“What did you say about this world feeling all light magic?” Clara asked as she watched Basel.
“That it was almost completely pure light magic. But like every other element in the world.” Basel began as he walked over to the door and put a hand against it, brushing it over the wooden surface. “There is always going to be a opposite.”
“I don’t think you should go in there.” Clara said.
“I do not think you should do that.” Twilight said nervously as she watched Basel.
“Do what? I was merely going to give myself a small break to get my bearings.” Basel said as he simply leaned against the door. “I am not going to do anything drastic...” There was a brief pause before he let out a small chuckle. “Oh what the hell? I haven’t given Clara any grey hairs today!”
“I don’t have gray hairs.” Clara said.
“Oh, then I shall have to work harder then, won’t I?” Basel said smiling before he simply evaporated into a large cloud of coal black smoke and slipping through the cracks of the door. As the last of the smoke disappeared under the doorway, a small subtle click was heard from the otherside.
“What did he do!?” Twilight exclaimed as she tried to use her magic to open the door, but the door resisted.
“Turned into shadow and went into the room because he left dark magic.” Clara sighed, knowing trying to use her magic to open the door would be useless.
Twilight looked from Clara to the door, “Princess Luna doesn’t have dark magic!” She yelled.
__________________________________________________________________________
“Ah! This is so much better than being out there with all of that ‘pure’ magic.” Basel said as he stretched his limbs, relishing the feeling of not having his limbs feel like they were on fire. “More importantly, why is there simply a massive collection of black magic here?” He wondered as he looked around at the dark curtained room.
A midnight blue alicorn opened her eyes from her bed and looked around in the darkness, unsure why she was awoken, “Who has awoken me?” She asked.
“Someone is in here?” Basel asked as he spun in place to face the bed frame with a raised eyebrow.
“Somepony being the Princess of the night.” Luna said as she slid out of her bed and walked over to Basel, “What are you doing here?”
“Well.. Keeping what little sanity I have left is one thing.” Basel said as he held up a finger before putting up another. “The other being, I don’t quite like the feeling of being burned alive.”
“Is the sun too hot today?” Luna asked.
“The sun? Oh no silly pony!” Basel chuckled. “It’s the surrounding light magic that is painful. Too much of it and it starts to burn.”
“I cannot say I understand, but why does coming into my room unannounced help you?” Luna asked.
“Well, I didn’t know someone was in here. But this room has the only supply of black magic that I can sit in. Without it, I might have snapped sooner than expected.” Basel said giving a small smile.
Luna sighed, wondering why this pony was so odd, “I am happy that I could help you at least.” She said, trying to see if she could make out the pony in the dark.
“And I thank you! Don’t worry, I shall be gone in a moment. I just need a small break before I go out.” Basel said giving a small bow, whether she could see it or not.
“Despite this interruption of sleep, it was nice to meet you.” Luna said.
“Well, you are the first pony to not attack me, so I’d have to say the same.” Basel said as he looked around the dark room. “My name is Basel by the way. And I am sorry for interrupting your sleep.”
“It is fine, it is always nice to make a new friend, I am Luna.” Luna said, smiling in the darkness.
“Very nice too meet you as well, Miss Luna.” Basel said.
“If you would excuse me, I need my rest now.” Luna said.
“Of course, don’t let me keep you. If I know one thing, a good night's rest can help the mind in more ways than one.” Basel chuckled as he walked towards the door and stood next to it.
“I will see you some other time.” Luna said as she walked back to her bed and lied down, covering herself with the blankets.
“You most certainly will, I can assure you. Once you have seen me, you probably won’t forget.” Basel said as he rolled his shoulders, letting a few pops be heard.
“I probably won't.” Luna said as she closed her eyes. Basel quietly turned back into his inky black mist and slipped out of the room and into the light of the hallway, giving a small smirk as he reformed behind Twilight and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hello!” He said in a cheery tone.
Twilight turned around quickly, “What did you do to Luna?!” She demanded as Clara, Spike, and Celestia looked at him. Basel gave a mock hurt gasp before putting a hand over his heart.
“You’d assume I’d hurt a lady!? You wound me!” Basel said dramatically.
“You said you had killed a maid.” Twilight said.
“That maid had a penis.” Basel said looking at Twilight.
“A stallion can be a maid?” Twilight asked.
“When he is short for money, why be job picky?” Basel said shrugging. “And more over, I did not harm the nice lady in the room. Merely rose her from her slumber.”
“Did you give her nightmares to do that again?” Clara asked.
Basel let out a small annoyed sigh and rubbed his temples. “No. I can interact with people without giving them horrid nightmares and hallucinations you know!... I just chose not too.”
“You are lucky you had not attempted something, Basel.” Celestia said with a powerful glare. “For I would not have been as lenient as I am now.”
“Jeez, is it so widely assumed that I am a murderous monster?” Basel asked holding up his hands. “I have been here not a day!”
“They did bring us here in the assumption you would be a dark monster.” Clara said.
“Ah...” Basel said tapping his chin. “I sense problems arising from that in the future.”
“Let us continue before we become more set back.” Celestia said as she began to walk down the hallway again. The small group of ponies and humans continued their trek down the hallway, passing many guards, maids, and other castle personnel. Before they knew it, they found themselves stopped by a certain white unicorn.
“Auntie Celestia, what horrible creatures are these!? I must protest this! First you make this common pony a new princess and then you bring in these horrendous creatures?” The pony complained as all the ponies, Celestia included, let out a small and almost unnoticeable groan.
“I think we found the asshole.” Clara whispered to Basel, whom was slightly biting his fingertips as he was trying not to snap at the moment.
“You think?” Basel asked, fidgeting slightly in place. He took in a deep breath before looking at Clara. “Permission to let go of my morals?”
“You don't have to ask me.” Clara said.
“Thank you.” he said before a sadistic grin follow his words. He rolled his neck for a moment to let several snaps and pops be heard through the hallway before he secretly began to go to work. His hands glowed with the blue fire again before he slowly began to sink into the floor, a large black puddle taking his place. It moved around between the pony's’ hooves before it surrounded the area around Blueblood’s ankles. Sadly, the only one to notice was a small purple drake.
“Uuuh. Twilight?” Spike said tapping her side nervously as he watched the amorphous puddle move around Blueblood’s ankles.
“Not now Spike.” Twilight said as she glared at Blueblood.
“I think you might want to see this... Kinda looks important...” Spike said as he poked her side a bit harder.
“What is it?” Twilight asked as she looked down at Spike. The only response she got was a shaky claw being pointed directly under Blueblood.
“And just what are you pointing at you little-” Blueblood began before he looked down and saw the black puddle below him. “Who has spilt ink onto the flo-!”
Before he could finish his sentence, the puddle of liquid shot up, forming a large black void like cylinder around Blueblood, sealing him away from Celestia and the others. Inside of the cylinder, the poor white Unicorn was on the verge of having a panic attack. He was flailing about trying to escape, pounding on the walls of the cylinder and shooting very weak beams of magic at it. He only stopped as he heard a very calm and sinister voice whispered from everywhere and nowhere.
“Is there a problem?” The voice asked in an almost hushed tone. “You don’t look like you like the dark.”
That was as he felt the feeling of something grabbing him by his ankles and pulling him up so he was dangling by his hindlegs. Blueblood’s eyes were everywhere at the moment, trying to see what was grabbing him and speaking to him. He felt something grab him by the muzzle and pull his head towards the wall where a set of terrifying blue eyes laid.
“You think of me and my companion, not to mention only friend, are ‘Creatures’ do you?” The voice said as the hand let go of his muzzle and flicked his nose. “Tch, tch, tch. So rude. Do you want to know what I am, exactly?” The voice asked in almost a sadistic and pleased tone. “No? Well I’d have to say that is too bad. You are going to see it anyway.”
Before Blueblood could protest or even breath a set of limbs wrapped themselves around his legs and grabbed his face, prying his eyes open and keeping them as such. “You see, I am not just a being of nightmares as you see.”
A cloudy image appeared of a simple deer standing in the middle of a meadow. The image was serene, nothing could be wrong until the image rushed forward and Blueblood watched through a monster’s eyes as it tore into the deer with a savagery he had never even heard of. With the blood spilling across the grass and the limbs being flung into the brush, Blueblood was surprise his stomach content was still inside of him.
“Oh no, I kill. I kill for food. I kill to keep my mind in check.” The eyes appeared behind image as it faded out and a sharp toothed grin was shown underneath it. “I kill for fun...”
The eyes and grin disappeared as another image was shown. This one was of a simple group of people that looked like Basel and Clara. The image was from a view above of the people, all armed with weapons and armor. Within a span of seconds the image was rushed forward into the first man as he was ripped apart and slaughtered, soon the second man was shown having the same done to him. This carried on for quite some time, simply continuous images, more gruesome than the last, full of blood and gore.
“And believe me when I say, I have slain worse than my own kind.” An image of a massive dragon was seen before the image rushed forward and showed the flames and teeth gnashing at the man jumping onto the dragon. Every detail was shown as his hand lit up with it’s blue flames and it slamming down into the dragon’s skull. Even afterwards, the blood spilling from the dragon and a tooth being taken as a trophy was seen. “I have felled many in my time, and my companion has taken as many as me as well. So you should learn to respect those you don’t know until you learn more about them.”
“The only reason you are not like this at the moment is because of Clara.” An image of Clara showed. “So next time you see her, you should kiss her boots and thank whatever deity lives here that you are not dead. Or else...”
One last image flashed before him as it showed simply a sheep, wool that could be mistaken for golden fluff. Then simply it was torn apart and eaten, piece by piece. From the bones to the wool, not a single thing was left untouched. “... I may want a midnight snack.”
With that, the darkness that had entrapped him, faded as quickly as it had consumed him, leaving him as a curled up ball of fear as the black puddle left him and slipped back to Clara where Basel reformed himself with a rather satisfied look on his face. Celestia walked over to Blueblood, with a look of concern on her face, he is still her nephew, and gently prodded him with a hoof only to make him quake with fear even more.
“So what did I miss?” Basel asked with a sly smirk gracing his features.
