When Wild and Chrono fool around with dark magic, an evil side of Wild is given life.
While stumbling around in the Ponyville Library, Wild comes across a dark tome. Upon sight, he picks it out and checks out. Lugging the book home, he runs into Chrono, who is immediately enthralled by the book. He follows Wild home and upon arrival, he flips through the book, casting random spells from the book. One such spell hits Wild, and releases an evil that could destroy all of Equestria.
"Do you need any help sir- Wait, Wild?" Lucian asked. Lucian constructed his library a few years after Twilight became an alicorn princess. "Hey Wild! I haven't seen you since we defeated the Horde of Darkness together. Those were the days."
"Let's not bring up those days please. That was a bad time for me. Do you remember what they did to my family?" Wild asked in reply to him. His eyes scanned over the shelves. 'The Pegasus's Guide to Increasing Flight Speed', 'The Unicorn's Guide to Unlocking Locks'. What strange books.
"Oh, yeah... sorry. But you know it wasn't a much better time for me. We did almost lose you to the darkness and I did almost lose my life. Anyway, sorry for bringing it up... I should've remembered... Need any help?" Lucian desperately tried to change the subject.
"Yeah, do you have any books on powerful spells?" Wild asked him.
"They'll be in the back. I haven't put them up yet, but, I'll let you go right through to the backroom. Let me get the keys." Lucian replied.
A few minutes later Wild walked in the backroom. It was small and dark, but probably held a million books. Lucian reached to the wall, desperately trying to flip the light switch. "When you get done looking, turn off the light. I gotta get back to the main desk. Hope you find what you want."
"Thanks Lucian. You always were a good friend." He looked up and down the columns of books until his eyes rested on a certain book. The insignia on its spine caught his attention. He stared at it as if in a trance before snatching it up. He flicked the light switch off and immediately walked off.
He approached the front desk. As Lucian scanned the book he asked a random question. "So what brought you to Ponyville? Last I heard from Rebecca, you left for Canterlot to get training? Did you get the training? Or not?"
"Oh, no pony would train me so I came back a few months ago. Twilight has been training me. She's become a great friend in the process." He replies.
"Ah yes, Twilight... Kinda had a thing for her before but I got over it when I met my wife."
"Wife? When did you get married? And to who?"
"Silva. You remember her. When we were colts she stalked you."
Wild shuddered. He never hated her but, he surely didn't like her. "You married her?"
"She thought you died man. Nobody has seen you in years. Last recorded activity of you was five years ago, around the time we stopped the horde!"
"Well, I have THAT going for me. Do me a favor. You never saw me."
"O-ok.. Well, here's your book."
Wild took the book and placed it in his bag. Thanking Lucian, he leaves the library, heading towards his home.
A blue unicorn makes his way back to his lab. The stallion has dark eyes that can instill fear into the bravest of ponies. Looking through the crowded streets of Ponyville, he saw a face he thought he'd never see before. "Wild...? Is that you...?" The stallion clambered through the streets to the dark stallion. "Wild!" he yelled through the streets. By the time the corrupt unicorn turned, the blue stallion was directly behind him. Upon turning, the corrupt pony fell over.
"And you are...? Wait... Chrono? How did you find me?" Wild asked the blue stallion, known as Chrono.
"Well, I saw you trotting through the streets! I couldn't believe it was you!" Chrono said in excitement. He hadn't seen his friend in five years, since the three of them defeated the horde and he had very much missed his friend.
"Listen, can you leave me alone. Or at least let's move somewhere private to talk."
"Fine, let's go. To your house then?"
"Yeah. Follow. And after all this is over, tell nopony I'm alive,"
"Uhhh... Alright..."
The two made haste for Wild's house, Chrono eyeing the book that the case halfway holds, intrigued as to why his old friend would choose such a book.
After a seemingly short walk, the two arrive in a run down, abandoned shack on the outskirts of town. Presumably he moved in to hide his existence. Wild opened the door and rushed Chrono inside.
"Would you like some tea or something?" Wild asked his guest.
"No, but why'd you get this book?" Chrono looks at the book closely, before grabbing it and flipping through the pages. "It's full of strange spells and junk, ooh, like this one!"
Chrono read off what sounded like gibberish to untrained ears, but Wild knew it all to well. What he didn't know was Chrono was facing him. Upon finishing the line, Chrono's horn looses a blast, which hits Wild. His host falls to the ground, not moving and seemingly lifeless. Chrono backs away. Scared by what just happened... What he just did, he breaks down in front of his friend's body. He sobs at how fast all this happened. Just reunited with his friend then he kills him with an unknown spell. Or so he thought. Wild awoke a few minutes later. Walking into his living room to slap Chrono, he noticed his shadow doesn't follow.
"What the hell..."
Chrono looks up to see his friend. His eyes light up like a bulb, happy to see his friend is still breathing. Looking behind him however caused his eyes to dim. Fear took over his face as he saw the shadow of his friend where he fell. A pony-esque being arose from the shadow.
"Oh how it's nice to be free. Do you know what it's like to be the shadow of a pony? It's not fun, you know." the dark entity said. He circled the two before wrapping his forearm around Wild's neck. "Yes, you know who I am, don't you. You know I'm the reason you tried to stay out of existence. And what, is my name, Wild. I must have a name if I want to revive the horde. You know they won't follow a nameless leader."
"D-Darkb-blithe..." the scared stallion said.
"What was that, Wild? I couldn't understand you!"
"Darkblithe..." he said quietly.
"Come by me again? I can't hear you at all!"
"DARKBLITHE!" the stallion yelled, loud enough for the ponies in Ponyville to hear.
"Ah yes. That's a fine name! I like it." Darkblithe drops the stallion and kicks his ribs. He approaches Chrono. He stares into the eyes of the blue stallion. A smirk forms across Darkblithe's face and he pushes Chrono into the wall, throwing his hoof into his chest. A sharp, searing pain shoots through Chrono's chest as he feels two or three ribs break. Darkblithe releases his hold and Chrono falls on the ground. "Oh how the mighty have fallen. If you'll excuse me, I have an army to revive."
The two lie on the floor, writhing in pain as the dark stallion walks out of the shack.
The two lie on the floor. Chrono tries to stand up, feeling his ribs moving around in his body. He moves to the aid of Wild, who passed out from the lack of air and then the sudden pain of a kick to the chest. He shakes him around, trying to wake him up. The concerned blue stallion stops shaking and stumbles out of the shack to get help for his fallen comrade.
"Oh Twilight! It's a pleasure to meet you Princess! You grace my library with your presence! Are you looking for anything in particular?" Lucian asks the lavender colored mare.
"Oh, I'm just looking. I have a student I need to train."
"Oh, do you mean Wild? He was here a while ago. Looking for some books on magic. Picked a pretty peculiar one. Ah, whatever. It's probably nothing to worry about."
"I do mean Wild. What was so peculiar about his book?"
"Well, the thing had no title. Just an insignia. I couldn't place a hoof on it but... I know it from somewhere..."
"Hmm... I may need to check this out... I'll be back to continue looking later. For now I have to check this book out for mysel-" the lavender mare was suddenly interrupted by a blue stallion stumbling in and yelling to Lucian.
"LUCIAN! WE NEED HELP!"
"Chrono! This is a library! Use your inside voic-"
"NO TIME! WILD IS INJURED AND WON'T WAKE UP! COME!"
"Wild?!" the stallion walked out from behind his desk. "What happened?! Tell me on the way there! Come Twilight, we'll all go together!"
"O-ok..." The lavender confusedly says, not knowing what's going on.
"Ok so... I saw Wild in the streets and I stopped him by calling his name. We talked and he suggested we go somewhere private. We left for his home, which is a little shack on the outskirts of town. On the way I saw a book with... their insignia on it. You know who I'm talking about. Them."
"I hope you don't mind me asking but who are they? I'm lost and I know nothing of what you're talking about. What you're describing isn't in any books I've read and I'd like to know. So, please explain." the lavender mare said in response to their conversation.
"We can explain when we get there. Continue, Chrono."
"Well, I skimmed through the book, at the time I didn't notice that it was theirs, and I read a spell. My horn loosed a spell on Wild and he fell over. I thought he died and... And... When he got up, his shadow took the form of an entity! It was quick to put Wild in a headlock and he had Wild name him... Darkblithe, I believe was the name..." Chrono said, a bit of sadness visible in his eyes. Who could blame him? His friend was downed in front of his eyes.
"Of course he'd choose that name. Don't tell me you don't remember it, Chrono!" Lucian semi-yelled.
"I... I don't!"
"That's the stallion that killed his family! The original Darkblithe is dead now, but he never forgot..."
"That's a story I've never heard before about him... He had a family?" the lavender mare seemed a bit sympathetic for the stallion.
"Yes. It happened very early in the war..." Lucian suddenly felt a bit depressed. "His poor, poor foals... Killed at such a young age... It's sad... That day, we almost lost him to them..." He sighed.
"I kinda feel sorry for him..." the lavender mare stops a bit.
"We're almost there... Be ready..."
After short walk, they arrive. Chrono opens the door and immediately sees Wild lying in the same spot. A newly formed bruise can be see. Twilight slowly walks over to him.
"Judging by the state he's in, I'm surprised he lived..."
"Can you help him... Twilight...?"
"I think so..." Twilight readies her horn in hopes of awakening her student.
"Guys, I think he's coming to! He's waking up!" Lucian says excitedly. His friends eyes slowly opening.
Twilight catches her breath. The spell she just cast took a lot of energy and she was exhausted. A slight smile formed over her face however. She felt proud to have helped save a life. It turned out the state Wild was in put him near death, shattering the whole right side of his ribs. The ribs bounce inside his body and caused massive internal bleeding. It was a surprise the stallion didn't die soon after if not immediately. Twilight was very proud to have saved her student from certain death.
"Wild! Old buddy you lived! You don't know how worried I was. How do you f-" Chrono was immediately cut off.
"Why'd you go get help for me?! You should've stopped Darkblithe! He couldn't have gotten far then! Who knows where he could be now! If I had known this would happen, and you'd let him go, I wouldn't have resisted joining the horde back then! You fool! Who knows where he could be and how many Agrocht he's awakened!"
"Relax. Remember, he's not the original leader of the horde and he doesn't have the necessary cores. Remember. There were seven cores that gave rise to the horde and we scattered them after you disappeared. He won't be able to raise the horde for a while, Wild. Even if he got some cores, we kept one so he'd have to come by us later to get it. For now, we need to keep it safe... Hey Wild...!" Chrono smirks as he says his name.
"What..."
"How about we place the core inside you! We'll remove your beating heart and the core can replace it! The cores do possess great strength and lend their strength to you if you replace your heart with it! Come on!"
"Uhh, no. Let's no-"
"Pin him down!" Lucian yells as he and Chrono run to push him and hold him down. "Mind helping us here Twilight? Just take a knife, clean it up, then cut his chest open! We'll handle the anesthetics!"
Twilight enters the next room and grabs a knife. She rubs it down to a clean, sterile state then walks back in. When she returns, Wild is speaking incoherently.
"What did you two do to him?!"
"We put him in a state of... Euphoria, let's go with that."
"Uhhhh... I'm not even gonna ask... And do I have to make the incision? I don't feel up to this... I can't do this to my student just after healing him!"
Lucian stands up. He walks over to Twilight and takes the knife. "I'll do it, just hold him down."
Twilight slowly approaches her student and pushes on him to keep him still. He continues speaking and going on about Luna knows what.
The cold steel makes contact with his chest, too numbed and high to notice the sensation. The first cut is made into the pony flesh, causing small trinkles of blood to run down his body. The next cut it made with the same results. The next few cuts focus on deepening the wound, eventually reaching the end of the muscle. The cuts are slowly pulled away with help from Twilight's glowing horn. Lucian uses the knife to cut the vessels holding his heart. Slowly each cut is made with precision and finally, the heart is pulled out with Chrono's magic. Quickly Lucian throws the knife away and gently places the core inside his chest. He reconnects the vessels and Twilight closes the wound. They sigh upon seeing the core reaches up to the skin. A few hours later, Wild awakens to his friends conversing how to be rid of Darkblithe before the upcoming war. Wild sighs and walks out of the building.
"They went ahead and did it anyway... Ugh..." He walks through the streets and enters Ponyville's tallest building, the Serenity Spire. He climbs the stairs for a good 45 minutes before reaching the top. He stands on the roof, looking down at Ponyville.
"Hey, I'm going to head off... See you guys later." Twilight said as she backed out. She quickly went off in search of Wild despite her statement. She had but one question for the stallion. Her horn glowed as his trail appears in front her. Following the trail she is brought to the spire. She gulps and rushes in, climbing the stairs.
Twilight nervously walked up to Wild, the dark stallion sitting on the edge of a building, looking down at Ponyville. Her eyes were full of fear as she nervously opened her mouth. "Wild... Do you... Like me...?" The stallion was startled at her sudden voice. He hadn't known that anyone had joined him up here. He almost fell off the building, but catches himself before it's too late. He turns his head to her. "If you mean the way I'm thinking, no. Not at all. You're a friend, and a good one at that but, as far as liking you like that, no. I don't like anyone in that sense. If you came a few years sooner, maybe I would have. But I'm still married, even if my wife is dead." Twilight looks down with a slight frown. Her student was a powerful hero and she had a small amount of feelings for him. While she too was a hero in Equestria, he was a hero on a more universal level. She sighed and walked off, sobbing a bit. He turns and watches, sighing. "Come here, Twilight. Don't run off." She turns, tears coming from her eyes. "Sit down. I like you, alright. Just not in that sense. You're my friend, my teacher. I can't love you." He pulls her into a tight hug. "But I can help you find somepony who does. Somepony who can love you." Twilight continues to look down. "But what if I can't love anypony else? What if you're all I love? Flash Sentry died a few years back in an unknown war and I've been lonely ever since... Then I met you, the most interesting stallion I've met... I love you Wild." "How would you feel if I knew how Flash died. Hmm? Sad? Surprised? Depressed?" "I'd feel sad and a bit surprised you knew him." "He was part of the squad Celestia allotted us when we fought the Horde. He was always by my side. Until I hatched a scheme to take a core from the enemy lines. I'd distract the guards and he would rush in, then out. However, when he ran in, he never came out. I'm sorry Twi, but I'm the reason he's dead..." Twilight immediately quiets herself. "But... but..." she begins to breakdown upon hearing the facts. "I don't believe it! I don't believe you caused his death! He's dead, that much is true! But where's proof that you caused it! Tell me, Wild! Show me the proof!" Wild stares at her, unsure of what kind of answer to give. "What's the matter? Can't admit there's no proof that you caused his death?" Twilight's mood suddenly changes from depression to excited. Her tone changes from sad to confident. "Listen, you didn't cause his death. It's natural to feel like you caused it but you're safe. You've not done it. You didn't cause his death!" Wild sighs. "I quickly defeated the foes there and ran in. I saw his bloody body on the floor. I closed his eyes and took what was left of his soul. You can talk to him if you wish." "Yes. I would like to talk to Flash." Wild sighs and closes his eyes. upon reopening, his eye color changed to that of Flash Sentry's. "Wild had devised a plan. I was to sneak in around the front and take the core while he distracted the Horde. I waited for his act to start and when I did, I made a break for it. Upon entering, Dark shadow ponies appeared out of the ground. They crowded around me and I tried to fight back. Within seconds I was killed, my dead body sprawled across the floor. Beaten and bloody. It was not his fault. No one could have predicted this ambush. Explain to him, Twi, that he didn't cause my death." Twilight sighed and began to open her mouth until a loud bang is heard. In the distance, they can see the local hospital fall. Wild stands up, and without thinking, jumps forward. The last that is heard is screams as he falls.
"Come on! Wake up! Don't you feel this disturbance in the balance? It can only be one thing..." "Damnit, can't a mare get some sleep around here? What's going on?" "You don't feel that disturbance!? He's returned!"
"Who!? Wait, you mean... Him, don't you?"
"Yes, I mean him. The Harbinger of Darkness, the Lord of Shadows. Darkblithe." "It feels like him, but the power is off... He seems weaker. Much weaker. This can't be the same stallion. Are you sure Krys?" "I'm more than sure, Valencia. It's him."
Krys grabs her friend by the arm and drags her out of the house. Upon stepping out, she felt an all too familiar power. "Wait... Wild... Didn't he... die?" "Who, Wild? Uhh, yeah. But his body was never found... Why?"
"I... I feel him! I feel his power! He's alive!" Krys shouted to the heavens. Wild was an old friend of hers. Always protective of her. He looked down at her like a filly, but she didn't mind. Her wings flapped happily at feeling his power, but she shivered a bit in fear that he could be a risen. Nasty buggers they are. Undead that look too much like who they were before they died. They used this to their advantage to kill millions of ponies during the first Moon of the Dead. Another was due in a few years, but, that's another story.
Valencia sighed. "I highly doubt it now. If he wasn't dead, he would've been found years ago, with everyone looking for him. We would have felt him when he went missing as well! It's not him!"
"Valencia... I don't care. I'm going to find him! If it's him, yay, if it's not, so be it. I at least spent the time looking!" Krys took off flying, leaving her friend on the ground, who quickly flies after her.
"If it's not him, I'm going to slap you for waking me up! Now, where is his energy coming from?" "Ponyville!" The excited Pegasus flies swiftly to Ponyville, hoping, wanting the energy signature to be none other than her best friend, Wild. Valencia flutters her wings harder, trying her hardest to keep up with her friend. Seeing it as a lost cause, she stops trying to catch up. "That mare... She always jumped when she felt his power all those years ago... She didn't change in that aspect."
"Yes, the first core. I have looked everywhere for you!" Darkblithe approached the core, a strange aura emanating from him and the core both. Almost as if he was resonating with it. He reached a hoof out, touching the core. Upon contact, the core glows dimly, giving off an eerie feel. "Now, let's see what you can do... Give me Sombra!"
The core rose into the air, the light dimming more and more. Finally, in a blast of light, the darkness is expelled, taking form into Sombra. His eyes open, taking a look around before resting on Darkblithe. "Who are you? Are you here to enlist my power or are you here to-"
Sombra is quickly silenced by a quick movement from Darkblithe. "You will follow me to the altar. There, you will take this core and we'll fuse you with it. From there, you will get your first assignment."
"I'm afraid you don't know who I am, little boy. I am King Sombra."
"And I'm afraid you don't know who I am, prince. I am Darkblithe. You've heard the name, no?"
"I have not heard the name. Are you supposed to be someone?"
"I'm your master." Darkblithe holds Sombra to the wall. "Unless you want to lose a hoof, you'll do what I say."
"Little boy, you don't hold power over me. I'm going to kill you, then destroy the elements of harmony for good."
Darkblithe's horn glows. A devious smile forms at his mouth. "Are you now? I don't know what these 'elements of harmony' are, but, I can assure you I am stronger than them."
Sombra pushes Darkblithe away, wiping away at himself. "Please, you're the common rabble. Claiming to be more powerful than the elements. If you are stronger, prove it."
Darkblithe smirks. His mouth opens as a single word escapes. "Gladly."
Darkblithe charges at Sombra, hitting his foreleg and shattering the whole length of it. Sombra cries out in agonizing pain. He fell over with his right foreleg piling like a noodle.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Sombra screamed in pain.
"I gave you a little taste of my power. Can these "Elements of Harmony" do this?"
"N-NO!"
"Exactly. Now get up!"
Sombra lies on the ground, writhing in pain.
"I SAID GET UP! YOU'LL WALK TO THE PEDESTAL IN EVERFREE AND THERE YOU'LL BE FUSED WITH THIS CORE! GET GOING!"
Sombra solemnly stands up on three hooves, with his right foreleg dangling uselessly.