Everything you knew about "My Little Pony", has changed forever.
A world long forgotten by all, a place unlike anything imagined, and a race of creatures beyond anything ever known. Now, after 2000 years, one of these beings must embark on a journey that will change his home land, Equestria, and maybe even himself.
This story is meant to have a true My Little Pony essence to it, to feel like a true "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" episode. Don't think of it as anything less than that. Just enjoy the story.
Recommended music to listen to while reading: Any or all Kevin Kendle music :)
One of the most mysterious places in the known world, the land of Shadowedge lies North West of Equestria, Gildedale, and even Gryphus. It is inhabited by unnaturally dark beings known as Darksiders.
Darksiders are sapient bipedal creatures, walking on their hind legs. They are large, cold-blooded reptiles resembling nothing less than large, albeit oddly shaped lizard. Whilst their body shape may look a bit like a lizard, they are dark creatures, similar to shadow silhouettes. They have pure white eyes, a mouth that cannot be seen when closed, and spines on their backs, claws on their hands and feet, and long slim tails. They are omnivores, able to eat both grain and meat products, but they usually prefer the later the most. They also are the longest lasting creatures in the known world, several have been known to live to nearly 10,000 years of age.
Someponies question the origin of Darksiders, but some believe that they were born from the darkness itself, which would explain there silhouette skins. they say they rose from the shadows and took the form of something that would bring fear to all life in the known world. Then they say because of their terrifying shape that they were cursed forever to remain under a dark cloud and never love the sun again. Princess Celestia of Canterlot thought of that as a lie, saying no one should ever be denied the sunlight, but most tended to accept this theory the most. Darksiders were not exactly friendly towards Equestria or any other place in the world, so knowledge about them is hazy.
Shadowedge is; like the Darksiders, is a dark shadowy country as well. It is always dark there; a black cloud covering the country with little visible sun rays passing through. The Darksiders love the dark; it strengthens their power. However, if they are exposed to sunlight they will become weaker than they normally are, so they don’t travel anywhere else unless it’s absolutely necessary. Shadowedge is a mix of various nature elements, containing many marshes, forests, wastelands, and valleys, and with various elements comes various weathers, which range from rainfall to minor snow. While it is dark, it is also a place of beauty and wonder, with some astounding landscapes and cities, it also has the best night sky in the world. When it becomes night, the clouds part to reveal the stary sky, which is absolutely gorgeous in Shadowedge, you can see auras, constellations, and even shooting stars. Shadowedge is full of mysterious things nopony has really understood, like how the water give off an opposite reflection, or how the environment works by itself, or even how the dark cloud still lingers over the lands for so long. Very few have ever gone into Shadowedge, and those who have returned were skeptical beyond belief.
Shadowedge is composed of several ruling clans, each having its own portion of the country itself....
() The Redbacks control the West portion. () The Shadowfangs control the East portion. () The Strikers control the North portion, it is rather small. () And the most powerful, The Highlanders, control the largest portion, the South.
The Highlanders control the countries capital, Nightingale; The largest city in all of Shadowedge. Nightingale is composed of several layers of thick walls surrounding the city, three in all; the outermost being the thickest and the innermost being the thinnest.
The City itself is magnificent, with a total length of 10 miles across, and standing a record of 10,000 feet high. The castle is the highest building in the city, while the Dark Tower stands as the highest point in the city. The city if filled to the brim with various markets and stores, where everyone goes to buy their essentials. The most important building in the city is the Grand Hall, the gathering place for all the high council members to meet and discuss things about the city, led by their leader; the great and wise Overture; the oldest Darksider in Shadowedge, 9000 years old!
While the country itself has held together for many years, with neither weather nor force collapsing it, its reputation with the other countries plummeted 2500 years ago during the fabled “Shadow Wars”, When Equestria and Shadowedge were at war for nearly 500 years. (See page 30 for information on the Shadow War.)…………
“Equestria’s Guide to the Unknown” Page 30
The Shadow Wars Summary:
“The Shadow Wars” were a series of battles between the pony country of Equestria and the Darksider country of Shadowedge that lasted for nearly 500 years, during the early reign of Princess Celestia. The conflicts that ensued were deadly and violent, both forces lost many lives during the war, and very few still live to tell about it.
The real question everybody has about it is how the war even started. Some believe that Shadowedge wanted total conquest; some believe it was the result of murder, for the latter; some believe it was either a Darksider murdered, or pony, or in some theories both. The debate raged on for years and years without any resolution, but no one disagrees that results of whatever happened were devastating. The battles were long, brutal and bloody, and raged all the way from the cities in Equestria, to the in between countries, and to Shadowedge.
The longest, and most important battle was the “Battle over Canterlot”, the battle that ended the war, which lasted 10 months, 4 weeks, 12 days and 5 hours. The battle left Canterlot in ruins, with many innocent victims killed in battle, but what was significant about this battle was that during the mid point of the battle, a Darksider defected to the side of the ponies, wanting to help bring peace between the two battling sides. The Darksider helped Celestia learn the plans of the enemy, and they were able to hold back and finally achieve victory. The war was finally over, but peace agreements afterwards did not exactly go according to plan. While the two countries agreed to not harm each other ever again, they also agreed that neither side would bother with the countries again, and pretty much stay away from each other, even the friendly Darksider decided it was best to remain in Shadowedge.
Many years passed, and nopony has heard from each other since the war ended, things have been pretty quiet. And it seems, even though there is peace, there is no hope for them ever becoming friends.
(A time-line on the battles in the war can be found on page 32) …………
The stars shone brightly, sparkling conspicuously in the sky and twinkling in rhythm over the dark lands of Shadowedge. Shadowedge was a distant country near the beloved country of Equestria, the thriving land of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. Unlike Equestria however; Shadowedge is not exactly sun shine and rainbows; it is a dark place, full of forgotten creatures, full of Darksiders.
The lands of Shadowedge are always dark as night, covered by endless streams of clouds, never to see the light of the sun, however, Shadowedge is not necessarily a gloomy place. On this particular night, Shadowedge was as pretty as it ever was, with lights shining in the dark sky, and auroras swimming overhead, endless rivers of awe and wonder. The clouds flowed gracefully across the starry night, and phoenixes danced about through the air. But the wonder of all wonders lay below all that was above, the great city of Nightingale.
The city was a giant circle of buildings, surrounded by a wall of concrete; it stood magnificently over the grassy plains surrounding it. The great city was quite busy this evening, its citizens traveling to all the different shops and markets, buying assortments of trinkets and essentials. The Library was packed full of readers, and the sauna was filled with relaxing Darksiders. However, the business outside was nothing compared to the inside of the nearby meeting hall; the biggest building in the city, which was a massive storm of argument. Inside were the many members that maintained order and peace in Shadowedge, who were at this moment in a heated argument about the decrease in trade supplies from the neighboring countries.
“This cannot go on,” said Overture; the leader of the high council, who was also the oldest, “We have had a gradual loss in our trading routes with the world, and our old ways of life are just not good enough to keep our lands alive.
“Already our trade supplies are low coming from Mild West, ever since that heated fight with the buffalo,” Umbra continued, Overture’s right hand man, “And they are dropping even further at a gradual rate, we must think of something to stop these conflicts!”
Instantly all of the members started arguing at the same time, some shouting as loud as they could. “Quiet everyone quiet!” Umbra tried to say, “One at a time, ONE AT A TIME!” however; no one was listening to him. It was no use; the whole place was a disaster.
Then suddenly, the halls went quiet, not by Overture, but by the footsteps of another Darksider, on who happened to be late at the moment. His footsteps were loud and echoing, and all eyes were on him as he took his seat. “Dark Heart,” Umbra said, “Your late today, did something happen?”
Dark Heart was a very ominous looking Darksider among the others, he was a very dark purple with a long cape on, sinister looking you could say, but that’s not to say he’s evil, absolutely not. In fact, he is one of the most respected Darksiders in all of Shadowedge.
He then began to speak, “Actually,” He said with a smile, “Something did happen, I believe I have finally found a solution that will help the entire country.”
“Oh,” Overture pondered, “And what is this, idea of yours?”
“I’m glad you asked.”
Dark Heart moves to the center of the hall, all eyes continued to follow him, awaiting his speech.
“Ahem, gentlemen, as you already know for the past few years, our trading system has begun to fail us, and no country really trusts us now days.”
There we several voices quietly talking and debating.
“And even now, the goods we have already are diminishing at a gradual rate, sooner or later we will have nothing left and our lands will perish.”
“But fret not, for I believe I have finally found the solution to all our problems”
“And,” Umbra asked, “What is that answer?”
“That we…. Reform our lost relationship with Equestria,”
At that moment, the hall went into a state of utter hysteria; every Darksider in the room was arguing and shouting, babbling things about danger and fear.
“Quiet, QUIET!” Umbra shouted, the hall then became silent again. “Dark Heart, How could you even think to reform our bonds with them? You know how Equestria feels about us; and we haven’t made contact with them in 2000 years!”
“I know that as well as you do,” Dark Heart continued, “but I believe it is time we finally put the past behind us and become friends with Equestria once again.”
“We need their help, and you must realize that.”
There was a small pause, no one speaking for that one moment, then finally, smiling; Overture spoke “He’s right.”
“What!” Umbra was skeptical, and so were many of the others.
“Let us not forget that 3000 years ago we had a strong bond with Equestria, and that we were at the height of our economy during that time. We just let our selfish pride get in the way of the truth I guess, and that, if we are to prosper again, we must restore the chains we broke so long ago.
“I second the motion,” he said, continuing to smile.
“So do I.” another one said
“Me too,”
Many others then starting to agree with Dark Heart as well and soon the whole entire hall was in cheer for him and his proposal.
“Wait, hold on a second,” Umbra interrupted the cheers, “So everyone agrees with your plan, but how exactly do we pull it off, we can’t just send then a simple message saying that were friends again, it doesn’t work like that!”
“Ah, I’m glad you asked,” Dark Heart was feeling very confident in his message, “If we are to reform with Equestria, we must know if they have changed their ways, and that there is no reason for them to fear us anymore.”
“How would we do that?”
“It’s simple; I propose that we send one of our very own Darksiders into Equestria!”
“What!” Umbra shouted.
“Yes, we will send one of our own to record observations in Equestria, and then he or she will come back and show us if the results are good at all.”
Several members gasped, and the halls became really loud again.
“Send one of our own?” One shouted
“How could we possibly do that?” another asked.
“What would we do?!”
“Who should we send?!”
“ENOUGH!!” Umbra shouted as loud as he could. The whole room became silent once again. “What you are proposing is a very risky move Dark Heart, sending one of our own into Equestria is dangerous and could cause even more harm to our already failing economy, and even if we do agree with this, who could be brave enough to step foot in Equestria?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Dark Heart continued to smile, “There is only one Darksider who we all know is the perfect one for this task, the one who will indefinitely save our country,”
“Who?!” they all shouted anxiously.
“Why, our one and only Blackmoore.”
The hall was in an absolute rage, there was complaining and worries through the many speeches echoing through the room. It took nearly forever for Overture and Umbra to calm everyone down. The room was silent once again, and Umbra soon broke the silence.
“Dark Heart, I used to think you were a wise Darksider, but know I am beginning to even question your common sense, we cannot, I repeat, cannot send Blackmoore to do this task. How could you even think of such a foolish idea?!”
Dark Heart paused for a moment “Listen well my friends, if we are to ever make peace with Equestria, we must have the cooperation of everyone in Shadowedge, and that includes Blackmoore.”
The others groaned and mumbled amongst themselves.
“And you allow him to do the job, and everything works out, then there could be a change in him as well.”
The members were puzzled at his sentence.
“What do you mean by that?” One asked, impatient for an answer.
“I’m saying that if Equestria really has changed, then the ponies might be able to change the personal views of Blackmoore, he could just become the friendliest Darksider in Shadowedge if possible.”
The halls became filled with small talk once again.
“Overture, what do you say?” Umbra asked him, curious for his answer.
Overture though long and hard, puzzled on what the best decision should be, and then finally after what seemed like eternity, he spoke.
“I…. know that Blackmoore has been very difficult with us, I should know, he does not trust me all the time, and always speaks out against Equestria after what happened to him during the war. However, if we are to ever get back our friendship with Equestria, we need Blackmoore to get back his faith in love and kindness, instead of the bitterness currently in his shriveled heart.”
“We live in very difficult times right now, and I see no other way to help my city or the rest of Shadowedge, so I suppose we will have to do what is truly best for us.”
“So be it, Blackmoore shall take on this task of learning the nature of Equestria today, all those in favor, raise your hands now,”
Not one single Darksider kept their hand down; they were all raised high in the air, moved by Overtures confidence. They all had faith in their leader, and were not ready to let him down yet.
“Dark Heart, I want you to go fetch Blackmoore, tell him of the news and make sure you do it in the best way possible, we don’t want him to be anymore disturbed than he currently is.”
“If he refuses, tell there will be consequences if he does not comply, and…. That he would be doing this for his people.
Dark Heart bowed to his leader, “I shall go at once Overture,” And with that he was out faster than anyone could even blink.
“Umbra, bring out some paper and a pen, I shall write a letter to her royal highness; Princess Celestia at once, letting her know of our plan,” Umbra nodded and left behind the stands. Overture adjourned the meeting, and soon all the council members were gone as well.
All alone in his seat, Overture silently thought to himself “I haven’t written her a letter in so long,” He felt a little concerned by thinking about it, “I hope, that she still remembers who I am.”
It was finally over, Discord had been defeated, and Equestria was at peace once again. Millions of ponies, from Fillydelphia all the way to Canterlot were celebrating the victory of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. No party was more magnificent than the celebration, not even the previous Grand Galloping Gala.
Soon though, the hour became late, and the grand celebration died down as well, until only Princess Celestia, the great ruler of Equestria herself, was all alone at her throne. She felt exhausted from all the celebrating, and finally decided to retire to her room, and let her sister Luna control the night, as she did so long ago.
Celestia felt so tired, her eyes felt heavy on her, and her body felt so weak, all she wanted to do was now sleep under the beautiful stars. She blew out the candles on the mantle piece, leaving the room a peaceful dark, and soon drifted off to her dreams, dreams of happiness and hope. Celestia smiled warmly as she rested on her bed, feeling comfort that she felt had been lost for so long, now that evil was put back in its place at last; she could rule her kingdom without anymore worry.
But that did not last very long, something woke Celestia up with surprised eyes. Entering her room, was a scroll of paper, with a strange dark aura around it, something she had never seen, or remember ever seeing. The scroll landed gently next to her side and just sat there, the aura had vanished from the scroll.
Celestia grabbed the nearest candle, lit it, and unraveled the scroll, curious as to who would send a letter at this time of night. However, just as she started reading it, she was in an absolute state of disbelief. Her eyes continued to stay wide as she read it, over and over again, trying to grasp the reality that letter had given her. "I.... I don't believe it, it's been so long....," She was really unsure of what to make of it, she pondered and ponder for what seemed like a fortnight. Finally, she felt she could not do anything at the moment, and besides that, she could not do it alone, she needed help, " I'll inform this to Twilight first thing in the morning, I will need her help for something as important as this." And with that, she closed the note, but found it difficult to get back to sleep.
"To think, after all these years....," She thought to herself, but soon her eyes became weary again, and she drifted back to sleep.
The countryside of Shadowedge was absolutely beautiful, with tall grass of lush green and trees flowing in the gentle wind. It was so peaceful out there, not a single sound but the wind could be heard, and the stars in the sky glowed so perfectly in the sky. It couldn't have been a more perfect place for a lone Darksider who resided in the fields
This Darksider was different from all the others, but not much different. He was tall, well built, slim, and muscular. He had an old trench coat as his only clothes, which was torn and ragged, and looked much older than he did, but he didn't mind, he loved that trench coat, and never bothered to throw it away.
What was different about him was that he was all alone, out there in complete solitude, but he didn't mind, he wanted to be alone, he didn't need anybody but himself and his own life. He was a arrogant Darksider, never wanting to listening to what anyone says or does, he only wanted what he wanted, and that was no one's judgment. He never had any friends either, he felt he never needed friends, and he never did.
He was outside during this time, just lazying on his cushioned chair under the stars in the sky, his figure so still and silent you would think he was a statue. However, his rest did not last forever, as the Darksider's keen ears heard the distant footsteps of another, someone who happened to be coming closer, and who also happened to be looking for him.
"Blackmoore?!" The distant figure called out to the Darksider. It was Dark Heart, still following his orders to summon Blackmoore to the council, thankfully for Dark Heart he still remembered where Blackmoore live, after all, he knew no one else who lived out in the grass lands.
Blackmoore groggily opened his eyes to see Dark Heart arriving at his doorstep, his eyes quickly changed from sleepy to annoyed, he knew right then and there that something bad (to him at least) was going to happen.
"Blackmoore,"
He lifted himself off of his seat, and spoke in a deep and dark voice.
"Yes?" He asked, not surprised by his presence.
"Its been a while my...."
"Don't even think about saying it," Blackmoore was clearly not in the mood for kindness.
"Oh.... well, it has been a while."
"Yes, it has,"
"But I am not here for idol chit chat, I am here on very important business, concerning you."
"Oh really? " he said in a sarcastic tone "And what sort of business is that?"
"The council...."
"The council, it's always the council isn't it!"
Dark Heart was not amused "Yes.... the council.... needs your help Blackmoore."
"HA, need my.... wait, did you say need my help?"
"Yes."
At that moment Blackmoore changed from annoyed to curious in an instant, the council asking for his help? This had never happened to him before, he was always pushed out of any subject involving the high expectations and demands of the city, that especially meant any social contact with other countries.
"Why would they need my help, they know I want no business with them, and I certainly will not help that old fool Overture!"
Dark Heart paused for a moment, he understood why Blackmoore hated the council, everybody knew it, because according to him, it was being run by some "peace loving, spiky headed suck up", or Overture in this case.
"Blackmoore, I understand why you have tensions against him, but he was just doing what was best for us in the war."
"He betrayed us and SOLD US ALL OUT!!!" Blackmoore was very angry now "What was best for us, what a ridiculous statement."
"We would have lost everything he he had not switched sides!"
"WE WOULD HAVE WON, if Overture hadn't switched sides, instead we lost everything and gained nothing!"
"And even if we did win, what would we have achieved?"
Blackmoore paused at that sentence.
"We would have gained nothing from our victory, we lost so much in that war, the outcome would not have changed that, and you know it."
Blackmoore was getting impatient, he was not in the mood for more conversing, and he certainly was not in the mood to retaliate an answer, so he decided to quickly change the subject and get to the main point.
"hmph.... Why is the council asking for my help?"
"Ah.... yes, well....," Dark Heart stuttered, "The council...."
"Yes?"
".... The council.... wants to reform with Equestria."
At that moment, Blackmoore was in a state of utter shock, he had a hard time grasping the reality of the situation.
"What...... when did they...."
"Just today, only a few hours ago."
Dark Heart could see the anger swelling up in Blackmoore, he had to calm him down somehow.
"Listen to me, I know you hate Equestria, and I don't blame you, they did ruin nearly half of our nation, but this isn't about them it's about us."
"Our economy is dwindling, nobody trusts us because of what we brought about, and we need to help save our country, and the only way to do that is to become friends with Equestria once again. We can't let our people wither away into history so cruelly, you don't want that do you?"
Blackmoore despised Equestria, he despised it the most in the whole world, he also despised the but as much as he despised it, he despised even more the thought of his race disappearing into the dust, without anything or anyone to rely on, there was no way he would let that happen. In only a short time to think he realized he had no choice, he had to help Shadowedge reform with Equestria, it was the only way.
"Sigh.... alright, I.... I will help you guys reform with Equestria," Blackmoore reluctantly answered "As much as I hate it I don't the the consequences if I don't. I will do.... what the council asks of me."
"That's good to hear Blackmoore,"
"So what exactly are we doing?"
"Well....," Dark Heart was silent for a moment, "Listen closely, we are going to send one of our own into Equestria for a few days, while he is there he will observe the citizens of their behavior and life style, and when he comes back we will see if the results are exceptional."
"What, really!"
"Yes, we find that it would be better if we observed them up close."
"Okay."
"While he is their the ponies will also be observe our Darksider, to see if we have changed our ways, and if the results from them are exceptional, then we will be able to reach an agreement.
"So that's all that's going to happen?"
"Yes, but it won't be as simple as you think."
"I don't think it would be that hard, what with the considerable amount of softies we have in this country, but who exactly is the poor sap we are sending, I bet it's Hazy, he's always been the scape goat for missions."
Things were flying and breaking, the porch couch was toppled over, and the porch itself was scratched and cracked. Dark Heart was standing at a safe distance to make sure he didn't get caught in the barrage, caused by a now completely enraged Blackmoore. He was flailing back and forth like mad, and his eyes were completely bloodshot and burning with hatred. Dark Heart had seen this rage in him before, back in the war, he was ruthless and merciless to the ponies that he fought against. Darksiders had hoped that those years in the country would help him calm down; but he hadn't changed one bit.
It took a good couple of minutes before Dark Heart saw that he had calmed down, his physical rage subsiding, he slowly and carefully walked over to him, "Blackmoore?" he asked cautiously.
"Never...."
"What?"
He turned and looked directly at Dark Heart, "I....will NEVER DO THIS TASK!"
"But you must!"
"I will never walk into that wretched place, filled with all those accursed four legged freaks!"
"The council wishes it, you are the only one we can ask to do this task, and you know very well that you can not go unpunished for disobeying the council."
Blackmoore felt slightly distraught, "They know how I feel about that place, I despise it, why don't they just get someone else to do it, some softy new recruit or something.
"That's just it, the council is tired of you complaining about Equestria," Dark Heart was being stern now, "they feel it is time for you to change!"
"Ha, change, I can never forgive them, they took away all the happiness I ever knew in life, I can never break those chains!"
"Which is exactly why we are sending you to do this mission, not just to change Shadowedge, but to change yourself as well. While you are there we want to forget your past, get to know the ponies of Equestria more, you might see different in them, you might.... become friends." Dark Heart had dared to say that.
"That will never happen!"
"That doesn't mean we can't try."
Blackmoore said nothing, he simply turned away. Dark Heart was getting real annoyed by his constant ignorance.
He then suddenly had an idea, "Look, if you really can't find it in your heart to make friends while your there, then the least you can do is complete this task we have given you, let them gain your trust, and show them there is no need to fear us anymore."
"Hmph!"
"And.... if this all works out in the end, and we have reformed with Equestria, I promise to you.... I will never ask the council to bother you with the ponies ever again."
Blackmoore started to listen with open ears, he wanted Equestria to be out of his life forever, he wanted to be rid of all the things that made his life so miserable over the countless years, and if Dark Heart was true to his word, then this was his chance.
"Do you swear it?" He asked.
"I swear on my life I will keep my word."
Blackmoore thought for a few moments, "....Sigh.... alright.... I'll do it, I will do this task brought upon me, but I am not doing it for your benefit or the councils, I am doing it for the sake of my country, and for myself, to be rid of Equestria from my life, do "you" understand that?"
"Yes, I understand, well then you should start preparing, we will inform you when the time is right, and send you out as soon as possible."
"And when will you be ready?"
"You will know." Dark Heart said with a smile.
"Oh, your not gonna give me that are you!" Blackmoore steamed out.
"Trust me, we will tell you when the time is right."
With that, Dark Heart retreated across the distant fields back to Nightingale, leaving Blackmoore once again alone.
Blackmoore straightened out his porch, put the couch back where it was and sat down on it again. His head rested in his palms, he just felt so frustrated, never before had he been so mad at the council. He then leaned back and looked at the stars as he did before.
"There will be good things to come out of this task," he thought to himself, "I will be able to restore our countries pride, and be rid of those freaks for the rest of my life!"
Princess Celestia woke up still feeling sleepy, he thoughts still clouded by the letter she received, and because of that she was unable to keep her thoughts away while sleeping. She felt her eyes heavy on her as she got up, she put on her crown and neck piece and headed for the door...., but then she looked back at the piece of paper still sitting on her bed, the letter that had been sent to her last night. She walked back over to her bed and magically picked up the letter, and read it again as she did so many times. She continued to ponder her thoughts on it, so curious on why this letter was even sent. 'Why?" she thought to herself, "Why for so long have I not heard from them, why now do they send a letter?" She paced back and forth across her bedroom, "I don't know what I should do."
But in all that thinking she completely forgot one thing; to raise the Sun! She quickly went outside onto her balcony, and moved the sun above the horizon, setting the moon down below the world. She gave a quick sigh of relief, with this problem going on she almost forgot her most important job, she was to make sure she didn't do that again.
The princess then looked back down at the letter, and sighed deeply. "I need help," she declared, "This just hurts my head thinking about it, I shall send a message to Twilight immediately, hopefully she can help me in this predicament."
It was a beautiful morning in the small town of Ponyville, the birds were soaring in the air, gliding with the wind so gracefully, and the grass flowed like the sea against the wind. It was still early morning, so not many ponies were up and about the town, it all seemed relatively quiet. However, one specific house was not exactly quiet, it was actually really busy.
"Spike, did you finish dusting the "Pony History" section yet?"
"I haven't even gotten to that section yet!"
"Well just don't take to long on one section, we have to get this place shiny clean."
Today was cleaning day in the tree house Library, and Twilight Sparkle got up early as always to start dusting right away. Spike got up early to, mostly because Twilight made him wake up. Even thought Discord had been defeated only yesterday, The Purple Mare had scheduled today for cleaning as she had seen cobwebs and even spiders hanging around when they returned from Canterlot, and like always; she would not leave the tree house until the entire place was spotless. They had already cleaned and dusted the bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen, now they were tackling the library itself, taking down all the book, dusting the shelves, and putting the books back. Spike didn't really find it enjoyable, he found it boring actually. However, this was a task that was far to big for Twilight to handle by herself, so Spike was more than happy to help out Twilight, not caring how boring it was.
Twilight was busy dusting off the "Science" section, and Spike had finally gotten to the "Pony History" section, he was starting to take down the books when his tummy didn't feel so good. He thought it was a simple stomach ache when he felt a sudden jolt and a scroll emerged from his fiery breath, which unfortunately caused him to lose his balance. Twilight acted fast and quickly teleported, and caught him just as he was about to hit the ground.
"Are you okay Spike?!" Twilight asked, panicking.
"Yeah," Spike said calmly, "I'm okay, no scratches."
Twilight sighed, relieved that he was okay.
"What just happened?"
"Well, I think that's your answer."
They both looked at the rolled up scroll in the middle of the floor, then looked back at each other, then back to the scroll, both completely confused. Twilight then used her magic to pick up and unravel the scroll, then she began reading it. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student,...."
"Oh, it's a letter from the princess," Twilight said.
"Really, what does the princess have to say?"
Twilight looked over the letter, and looked at it with surprised eyes.
"Spike," she said worryingly, "We have to go, now!"
"What, but why?"
"The princess wants me over in Canterlot to see her right away, and your coming with me."
"What, but we just got back from there!"
"I know Spike, but I would never refuse a request from the princess for anything."
"Not even dusting?"
"I'm sorry Spike, but that will have to wait, this is too important to ignore."
"But what about the library, we can't open it without us being here
"Don't worry Spike, I'll just leave a note saying were closed until we come back from Canterlot."
"Well okay, if you say so."
"Just don't worry, it will all be fine, I'm much more worried about the princess anyway."
Twilight quickly went back upstairs, opened one of her desk drawers and took out a small piece of paper. She quickly scribbled something on it, pulled out a tape roll and stuck a piece of tape on the paper, she went back downstairs and put the taped note on the front door.
Gone right now, went to Canterlot for important business. Will be open when we get back. Twilight Sparkle
And with that, the two friends headed for the train station, headed for Canterlot.
Dear Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student,
I know you have just returned to Ponyville yesterday, but something dire has come about, and I need your help. I humbly ask that you to come back to Canterlot. I hope that you accept my request.
Yours,
Princess Celestia
The train was moving a top speed, though Twilight wished it would go faster, she was worried about the princess, hoping nothing bad has happened to her. As the train sped across the cliff side, her thoughts became permanently stuck on her teacher, she was unaware of her surroundings, and did not notice that Spike was trying to get her attention.
"Twilight!!!"
"Huh, what?" Twilight regained focus and stared at Spike.
"You were zoned out, are you okay?"
"Yeah, sorry, my mind was on other things, about the princess."
"I'm sure you'll be able to sort this whole thing out when we get there, if anyone can do it it's you."
"But Spike, we don't even know what the problem is, how can you be so sure?"
"Because, your the best unicorn ever Twilight, and you know that." Spike said happily.
Twilight blushed, that made her feel a little bit better, but she still felt concerned, she had no idea what would happen when they got there, they would just have to wait and see.
The magnificent city of Canterlot looked as beautiful as ever as Twilight and Spike got off the train. The view was spectacular, but there was no time to go site seeing, they had to get to the palace right away. Twilight ran as fast as she could with Spike holding tightly onto her main, hoping not to fall off. She ran past the Art Museum and even past Pony Joe's Doughnut Shop, until she and Spike finally reached the Palace. The guards were expecting her, and kindly let her in, however in a hurry she simply ran past them and burst through the doors without second thought. As she entered the throne room she saw the princess herself on her throne, but she didn't look like herself. She looked concerned and worried, not the same happy princess that Twilight remembered seeing only yesterday. Twilight and Spike calmly walked over to the princess, as they did she looked up with surprised eyes, as if she had not expected this.
"Twilight?!" She said, she was most definitely surprised.
Twilight was a bit confused, "Yes, it's me, I got the letter you sent me, and I came over as soon as I could."
She rose off her throne, "Guards, please leave us," The guards left without question, leaving the three alone in the empty throne room.
"I'm so glad you came Twilight," she said with a warm smile but sad eyes.
"Of course I came, why wouldn't I come?" she asked.
"But you defeated Discord only yesterday, I was sure that you would be exhausted and needed some time off, but then something came about, and I wasn't sure what to do. I needed help and you were the only pony I could ask for it, I just didn't want to strain you...."
Twilight held up a hoof to stop her.
"Princess, I would never deny a request from you, you have done so much for me, I would do anything to help you, even give up relaxation time."
"Twilight...."
"And I mean that, truly."
"Thank you, that means a lot to me." Celestia said happily
She walked up to her and nuzzled her neck, happy that her student would never abandon her for anything, she felt so thankful that she met Twilight, even since the day she hatched Spike, she had grown up so much, and become a greater unicorn then she had ever hoped to be.
"Princess?" Twilight asked, "What happened, what is this problem you have that you need my help with?"
The princess' eyes turned concerned again, "Spike, Twilight, come walk with me."
The three walked down the hall of the palace, past various statues and treasures that stood on the many pedestals in the halls.
"Twilight," Celestia began.
"Yes Princess?"
"Have you ever heard of a place called, "Shadowedge"?"
Twilight stopped dead in her track.
"Princess," she began, "This may surprise you, but....no, I have not heard of it.
"It's alright Twilight, I don't blame you, nopony now a days knows about it, and very few even remembers it.
"But what is this place.... this Shadowedge?"
"I can tell you what I know."
Celestia took a deep breath, and began her story.
"Shadowedge is a country not to far from Equestria, beyond the Drackenridge Mountains," she began, "It is a shadowy place, with a dark cloud looming over it, forever covering the land in darkness."
"Really?"
"Yes, and the country has inhabitants as well, creatures called, "Darksiders"."
Twilight stopped again, "Dark.... what?
"Darksiders Twilight," she continued, "Large reptile like creatures I can only describe as shadow silhouettes."
Spike started to shiver, "They sound, really scary!"
"What are they like?" Twilight asked.
"We once held a great trust with them, we worked together economically, but unlike us, the Darksiders were more brutal and savage, and unkind to creatures not of there type. Over time they became more divided from us, and our opinions often led to tensions, until we just grew apart, and our relationship just faded into memory. That's why you haven't heard about Shadowedge Twilight, we haven't heard from in over 2000 years."
Twilight's mind suddenly snapped.
"two..... thousand..... years?!" She stuttered.
"That's a long time," Spike said.
"And not only that, my most faithful student, but prior to our long dwindled contact, we were at war with them once."
"You were?!"
"Tensions broke out between Equestria and Shadowedge, it soon evolved into what became known as the "Shadow Wars", we fought against each other for the longest time, for 500 years," Her voice became soft, " We were able to win the war and,but at a high cost, we lost so many good people and innocent lives."
"I'm so sorry princess."
"It's alright Twilight, it was a long time ago, and Shadowedge has left us alone for the longest time."
There was a short pause.
"Princess, were there any.... good Darksiders?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, that is essentially the reason I called you here. Out of all the other Darksiders in the entire country, one was the kindest and most considerate, and was very wise as well, in fact he was the only friend I ever made from Shadowedge back in my early years."
"Who was he?"
"His name is Overture."
Twilight's bookish thoughts started to kick in as heard that name.
"Doesn't that word mean "An approach or proposal made to someone with the aim of opening negotiations or establishing a relationship"?" She asked.
Celestia looked at her student with a warms smile.
"I have taught you all too well it seems, but yes, that is what it means."
"Overture did actually try to keep our relationship together, but in the end he couldn't stop the war from happening,"
"It must have been terrible for him."
"Yes, he felt ashamed that he couldn't stop it, instead he did something that completely shocked Shadowedge."
"What was that?"
"He defected to our side."
"What, he did?!"
"He was the reason we were able to win the war, he defected to restore peace between us, and with his help we were able to learn all the Darksider's plans, and were able to push them back and achieve victory. His decision was vulgar to the Darksiders at first, but after the end of the war, they commemorated Overture for his actions, and he eventually became the leader of Shadowedge itself."
"That's amazing!"
"Yes, but unfortunately due to our peace agreement afterwards, I never saw him again, I insisted we stay in touch, but it really was for the best."
Twilight lowered her head, "Oh princess, I'm so sorry."
"Well, that is until now."
Twilight perked her head back up, "What do you mean?"
"Because he's reason I called you here, he sent me a letter just yesterday."
"Really, that's great, what was it about?!"
"He needs my help."
"What?'
Celestia's horn glowed brightly, and a scroll appeared in from of her, she handed it to Twilight and gestured her to open it. With her magic, Twilight unraveled the scroll and began to read it, with Spike looking over her shoulder....
Dear Princess Celestia,
Surprise, it's me, Overture, its certainly been a long time since we hear from each other. I know that this may seem rather sudden, I'm sure you might be quite busy at the moment, but I have writing this letter asking for your help.
Shadowedge has reached a critical point, our neighboring countries have grown bitter towards us, as well as we are growing bitter towards them, and because of that our trading relationships have nearly broken, and our country is falling under economic depression. We have tried to repair our bonds with the others, but they will not believe we have really changed our old ways, they still believe us to be the savages we were so long ago.
That is why I am writing to you, my dear Celestia. I believe, that it is finally time we reform the bond that was lost so long ago, that we should unite together once again and help us in this predicament. I know that we promised that we would never interfere with each other ever again, but that was a long time ago, and my country is dying. I wish I knew what else to do but I don't seem to have any other option.
So here is what I propose, We will be sending one of our own Darksiders into Equestria, there he shall record observation and learn if your community is much kinder to us than before. Along with that, we ask that one of your kind observe our Darksider, and learn if we are much kinder than before. When the time comes to part ways, we will see if the observations are excellent, and that will give us assurance that we can become friends once again.
This is our last chance to set things right, I beg you to understand that we are not as we once were, and that we can prove it to you, to all of you. I humbly ask that you accept my request, and help us to reunite in harmony once again.
I look forward to your response.
Your old friend,
Overture
Twilight wasn't really sure what to say after reading the letter, her eyes read feeling of surprise and worry. There was only one thought that was popping up in her mind, what will the princess do?
"Princess?" Twilight asked
"Yes."
"What will," She stuttered a bit, "What will you do?"
"I already made my decision before you came, I will, no, I want to reform with Shadowedge!"
"Really?!" She had never seen the Princess this sure before.
"We are a peaceful race of creatures, I don't want to live in the past anymore, I want to embrace the future, and forget all the feuds and hatred we had so long ago. Restoring our lost relationship with Shadowedge is, I believe, a step to a greater future,"
"But, my decision is not final yet."
"What, why?" Twilight asked.
"I still need a pony to do the task given to us, to record observations on our guest from Shadowedge."
"Who is that pony Princess,"
"I was hoping," She paused for a moment, "You would be my observer."
Twilight was stunned, "You called me over to ask me for that?"
"Yes Twilight, I would like you to be my eyes and ears while observing the Darksider, but that is all up to you."
"What do you mean?"
"I will not make you do this task, I understand if you feel too exhausted or don't feel ready for this, it's your choice Twilight."
Twilight had never seen the princess like this, she had always asked for her help, but she had never felt that she was weighing down on Twilight. She could see that the princess needed her help, and there was no way she would ever deny a request from her.
She finally spoke, "I would be honored to help you Princess,"
"You will?"
"I would do anything to help you." She said reassuring her.
"Thank you Twilight."
Distracted by the conversation, Twilight soon realized that they had made their way to the old pony archives, and the princess was motioning her to go inside.
"Princess, why are we here?" She asked perplexed
"I shall show you."
Celestia's horn glowed, and a book on one of the top shelves slowly floated down to Twilight, she then looked at the cover.
"Equestria's Guide to the Unknown?" Twilight asked curiously."
"Turn to page 28." She told Twilight.
Twilight flipped to page 28 and understood the reason.
Shadowedge and Darksiders:
"This book tells about Darksiders?"
"It's the only book I have that tells about Darksiders, all of the other books telling anything about Darksiders were burned and destroyed."
Twilight looked at her teacher with shocked eyes, "That's horrible!" she said.
"After the war, ponies never wanted to talk or learn about Shadowedge again, so they destroyed all evidence that they ever knew Shadowedge or the Darksiders."
"I see."
"You should take this copy and read about Shadowedge, I trust this will help you understand a little bit about them, just enough to help you."
"Thank you Princess,"
"Twilight, I would also like you to stay in Canterlot, just until our guest arrives, and when that happens, I would like you to escort him to Ponyville, so that the Darksider can meet all the nice ponies there, and your friends as well."
Twilight knew very well, if there was anypony who could put a big smile on anyponies' face, it was the citizens of Ponyville.
"That sounds like a good idea princess."
"Right, but you must excuse me Twilight, I need to send my reply to Shadowedge, telling them that we are ready."
"Alright, I'll start reading this book right away Princess." Twilight said, and in a flash she and Spike took off to the Canterlot library to start reading.
Celestia walked back up to her room, she felt more confident than she had been all day, now that Twilight was helping her with the situation. She then sat down on her bed, magically brought forth a piece of paper, a quill, and some ink, and began to write her letter.
My dear Overture,
I have received your letter and I firmly agree that we should reunite once again, and reform the bond that we broke. So long have we remained dormant from each other, and I think it's time that we stopped living in the past, and become friends once again.
I shall await the arrival of the Darksider you are sending, and will see that he is treated with the utmost respect.
And, before I end this letter, I have one other thing I need to tell you, I've missed you Overture, I've missed you so much.
Your old friend,
Princess Celestia
And with that, Celestia ended the letter, and sent the letter off in a puff of magic, all the way back to Shadowedge.
It was a quiet morning in Shadowedge, the sun's rays shone through the thick cloud looming above them, giving off a brown radient color to the land below, and to the glorious white city of Nightingale.
Overture was sitting quietly in his chair, all alone in the meeting hall, anxious to receive any letter back from Equestria. He had been sitting their all day, worried that nothing would happen, and that any chance of reforming with Equestria were folly.
Just then, when he had just about given up, a cloud of magic swooped in, ad a scroll rested gently on his lap. He quickly opened the scroll, and read it very carefully. His eyes widened, and he quickly got up off his seat.
At the far end of the countryside, where the golden oceans of grain lay; Blackmoore was busy packing for the trip in his old cottage. He really didn't need much, the only real things he needed were a notebook and quill, but he wanted to take a few other things along with him. One of his favorite books, "History of Darksiders" By Drake Thorntail, while he may be an arrogant Darksider, he was also a frequent reader, and loved a bit of history reading. A "Black Emerald" which was his good luck charm, he had come across it during an exploration in the Soulless Caves nearby Nightingale, it was small and sharp, but was very smooth and always seemed to give Blackmoore some good luck from time to time, whenever he carried it around. Lastly was a jar of the countries world renown "Sweet n' Sour Black Cherry Jam", which was the best jam in all of Shadowedge, a tasty treat for Blackmoore's food.
Blackmoore was beginning to get impatient, even though he had been told only yesterday about his mission to Equestria, he was antsy to get it over with, and move on in his life, forever rid of Equestria from his mind. He walked outside to the bright new morning, the sun shone slightly through the thick cloud that laid overhead, only thick gleaming rays seeped through. Blackmoore was not really a morning person, so he never enjoyed the mornings, he thought mornings were not something really special, he just thought of them like any part of the day, normal. Today was no exception, he wasn't feeling at all jolly good.
Just then, Two royal guards of the Nightingale army appeared on the road, wearing the same sleek armor all the guards wear, sharp, bulky, and shiny.
"Blackmoore?" One of them said as they approached him.
"Yes."
"The Council has requested your presence."
Blackmoore grabbed hold of his bag, "Well it's about time!"
The tall gates of Nightingale creaked opened as Blackmoore entered the white city, still uncertain of his own fate in the matter, what would become of him during his stay in Equestria, he wasn't really sure what to make of it, only that he wanted to do it now, and be rid of it. He walked along the streets, halfway across the city until he finally reached his destination, the Meeting Hall. The opened the thick doors to find the council members waited for him, Dark Heart, Umbra, and many others, but at the center, Blackmoore caught eye of whom he hated the most; Overture!
"Welcome Blackmoore, it's good to see you..."
"Don't give me that stupid phrase Overture, I came to help for my own benefits, not for you or your royal clowns."
"How dare you speak to him like that!" Umbra back lashed.
"Enough Umbra," Overture interrupted.
"But sir...."
"Trust me, I know Blackmoore, all he can do is shout insults at me."
Blackmoore eyed him with hatred in his own eyes.
"Now Blackmoore, I'm sure you are aware of our current state of things."
"Yes."
"And Dark Heart has informed you of your task...."
"Yes, yes I know, can we just get on with it!!!"
Umbra was starting to get annoyed.
"You should feel ashamed Blackmoore, you have become nothing but a shadow of your former self,"
Blackmoore shot an angry glance at Umbra.
"Why don't you butt out, my life is my own!"
"But it's true, your nothing like we hoped you would become, your not even like your own father..."
"Don't talk about my father in front of me, my father was weak!"
"You don't even respect him after death!"
"There was never anything to respect him for!"
"How dare you!"
"That's enough, both of you, I will not have fighting in my halls!" Overture said sternly.
Blackmoore and Umbra stopped and backed away from each other, Blackmoore however, was still angry by Umbra's outburst.
"Need I remind you that were here for a mission of peace!"
"No sir," Umbra said.
"No," Blackmoore said annoyingly.
"And you Blackmoore, why must I keep arguing that your father was a great Darksider, why can't you see that?"
"He was always a softy, I never learned anything noteworthy and was always held back by him!"
"Violence was never the answer for everything, he was trying to show you a much clearer path."
"Yeah, and how well did that work out for him?"
Overture paused, he was speechless on how Blackmoore was treating his own father, the one Darksider who looked after him all the years he lived, he simply could not stand to hear him rant about him like that.
"This conversation is over Blackmoore, I won't hear anymore of it, not in my halls, or my city, understood!" He said sternly.
"Fine."
"And you will listen to what I have to say, alright!"
"Whatever you say, "sir"."
The halls were filled with whispers at the moment, all of them about Blackmoore, and his inability to change who he was on the inside, they found it hard to believe that he was going to help bring Shadowedge and Equestria back together.
Overture started to pace across the floor, "Alright then, since you are already aware of our plan, I assume you are ready for your journey."
Blackmoore looked at his bag, "As ready as I'll ever be, which is not saying much," Blackmoore insinuated, "So how will I get there, by carriage, by dragon?"
"Not exactly, follow me," He gestured Blackmoore.
Blackmoore was led to a room he has never seen before, along with Dark Heart and Umbra. It was a very empty room, with nothing but shadows surrounding it, and only a faint glow illuminating from small windows. In the center of the room, there was a strange machine, almost like a giant gateway, with various rings in the center, floating very slowly in the air.
"What?" Blackmoore was stunned, "What in the world is that thing."
Overture walked up to the strange device, "Back when we had a strong relationship with Equestria, this device was used to transport Darksiders into the country for certain occasions."
"It's a teleporter!?" Blackmoore said stunned.
"Exactly, and when the time of war had come along, we shut down the machine, since we wanted nothing more to do with Equestria."
"But now we feel it is the perfect time to use it once again," Dark Heart said.
Blackmoore looked at the machine suspiciously.
"Is this thing even safe?" He asked.
"Absolutely," Overture said, "This machine is guarantied to get you to Equestria."
"And what about getting back?"
Overture paused at that sentence.
"Well.... this teleporter can't bring you back." He stuttered.
"WHAT!!!"
"It wasn't designed for that."
"Then how in Tartarus am I supposed to get back!"
"Usually the powerful unicorns in Equestria would send them back to Shadowedge with a spell."
"What, I wouldn't dare let them use their magic on me!"
"Well how do expect to get back, by walking!"
Blackmoore simply sneered.
"Please Blackmoore, we need you to do this, we need your help to bring us back together with Equestria. Shadowedge has changed, we are much kinder then we once were, and we need you to show them that."
Blackmoore continued to look away. "I know that you know we're sending you on this mission mostly for the fact that we hope this will change who you are on the inside, but don't let your anger get the best of you, show them that you mean them no harm, and help them to understand. And most importantly, be truthful about what you observe in Equestria, we want to know if they have changed as well. Do you understand?"
Blackmoore stopped arguing at that thought, he knew he couldn't really walk back home.
"Sigh.... fine,"
"Good, now let's fire this thing up."
Umbra pulled the switch back, the machine started buzzing, the gate started to illuminate, and the rings in the center started to spin. They spun faster and faster, until they formed into a bright light, and static started popping and crackling from the gate.
"Alright Blackmoore, step lively into the light and you will be transported into Equestria!"
"Good luck." Dark Heart said.
"I don't need your luck, I've got all that I need." he rebutted.
Blackmoore stepped closer to the teleporter.
"Remember Blackmoore!" Overture shouted over the teleporter, "Be wary of your anger, do your absolute best!"
"Sure, whatever!"
Blackmoore finally got close enough to the light to touch it, suddenly at that instant, a large flash illuminated the room, and in a split second, Blackmoore has disappeared, with a small strand of smoke trailing from the ground where we stood.
"Do you think it work?" Dark Heart asked.
"I assure you Dark Heart, it never once failed me, and it will not fail me now...."
In a sudden flash, Blackmoore fell from the emptiness he experienced only from a second. And was jolted to the ground onto his bottom. Blackmoore's eyes felt slightly dizzy and blurry, but they soon regained focus, got up and look around.
There was no darkness, only light, beating down on him like a powerful force, slightly weakening him. He looked up and hissed at the dreadful sun, which was the cause of all the light. Then he saw fields of lush green, flowers, and pure clean rivers, and birds chirping in the sky.
There was no doubt about it, he was in the place he despised the most, the place that made him rage with the heat equivalent of the sun itself.
The road was long, very long, longer than Blackmoore ever expected, which only made his anger rise even more beyond it's normal limit. The Darksider had been walking for nearly 30 minutes, which really upset him, he was expecting to do his job, not take a casual hike across the entire country. However, through sweat and sore legs, he finally saw a giant castle in the distance, the glorious city of Canterlot, he had arrived at his destination.
Blackmoore threw the sweat off of his forehead, "It's about time I got here, I can't believe I had to walk all the way over here, are they trying to make me suffer!" He said angrily to himself, "No matter, I just have to do the job right, and I'll be rid of these foul creatures for the rest of my life!". He began to race for the city, not wanting to waste any more of his precious time.
The guards at the front gate stood as conspicuous as ever, so still that no one could really disturb them, except these two could still recall one time where they had been tickled out of their unmovable states by Princess Celestia's phoenix, which they found rather embarrassing. Their day had been rather boring, nothing really excited happened at all, and no one passed by that looked suspicious.
Suddenly, before they even knew what was happening, Blackmoore came charging at lightning speed toward the gate. The guards put up their spears in shock, they no idea what that thing was, or who it was, but it looked dangerous and scary to them. They held firm to the ground as Blackmoore approached.
"Who are you?" One of them asked.
"What do you want?" The other asked.
Blackmoore really didn't want to talk to them, but he remembered he had to at least be respectable to have this mission succeed. He had to suck up his anger and be polite.
"I'm.... here because of a request from the princess." He said somewhat kindly.
The two guards looked at each other, completely bewildered by the fact that the princess would request the presence of something that, quite frankly, did not look the least bit friendly, especially considering the fact they have never seen such a thing before. The did not believe him.
"Ha, that's ridiculous," One of them said, still holding his spear high.
"Why don't you crawl back to your dark cave where you came from, whatever you are," The other said.
Blackmoore was starting to get angst, he had just arrived and already he was getting hate from the ponies, his rage was starting to boil inside of him.
"I mean you no harm," he continued.
"That's an argument I can handle," One of them said crudely.
"We don't even know what you are," The other said.
"I'm a Darksider," Blackmoore replied.
The guards both looked at each other, confuzzled.
"A what?" They both said.
"A Darksider, I'm a race of...."
"Look, we don't have time for you to explain yourself, we just have orders to keep any intruders out."
"But...."
"If you don't have any clearance to get in, then you can get lost!"
Now Blackmoore was getting even more angry, everything that had led up to this had already peeved him off, but this was even worse for him, the mere thought of strangling them was creeping into his mind, swirling through his mind like a maelstrom.
Then suddenly, a voice called out in a furious tone.
"What do you two think your doing?!"
The two guards turned around to find Lieutenant Steel Hoof angrily up to them, but they had no idea what was going on.
"Were just stopping this intruder from getting in to the city," they said confused.
"No you idiots, Princess Celestia was expecting an special guest at this time matching his description!"
"But...." They both stuttered.
"Didn't you get the memo, every other guard in the city did!"
"Ummmm.... no, but...."
"Ugh, I don't how it didn't get to you two, I'll talk to my messenger about this, but right now I want you two to let him in right now!"
"But...."
"DO IT!" He shouted.
"Okay, okay."
They both walked towards Blackmoore, with depressed looks on their faces
"We.... ugh.... we grant you permission into the castle," They said annoyingly.
"Thank you," Blackmoore replied, also annoyed.
Blackmoore walked past them and into the city, with Steel Hoof following close behind him.
There was a short bit of silence before the lieutenant spoke.
"I apologize that my men gave you so much trouble." He said
"Whatever," Blackmoore replied, still very much annoyed.
"My uh.... my messenger has informed all the other guards in the city to make sure your not harassed in any way, so if you ever get in trouble, just go talk to one of...."
"Look!" Blackmoore interrupted, "I appreciate your offer, but I don't need help from a bunch of pony guards, I can handle things on my own!"
Steel Hoof was rather surprised by his reply, he didn't really expect him to be so rude, "Listen to me, this isn't an offer, we will be doing this with or without your consent," He retaliated, "Look, I don't know why the princess would want you around, but if she trusts you, then I trust you, alright, so just live with it!"
"Fine," he said.
"Good, now her highness's castle is just north up ahead, you'll be able to find it easily,"
Blackmoore was just about to walk away, when the lieutenant called out, "Wait, I didn't catch your name, what was it?"
"Blackmoore," he replied.
"We'll then Blackmoore, see around," And then headed off into the distance.
"Don't count on it," he quietly said annoyingly.
If there was one word to describe the situation right now, it would definitely be "awkward", everywhere Blackmoore walked, from the bakery to the sauna; ponies just stared at him, some even ran away when he crossed their paths, but he didn't care, he didn't care what anyone thought of him, truth be told, he rather have them fear him. However, he had a job to do, and had wasted time from the previous incident.
However, as he passed by the design store, somepony called out to him, but not a angry voice, but a friendly voice."
"I say, you over there."
Blackmoore surprisingly turned to see a white colt with a stylish blue main, a mustache, a tux and bow-tie, a monocle, and a mark on his rump that was three crowns. He was the first pony not to run away from him.
"Do you have a minute old chap," The gentlemanly colt asked.
Blackmoore was really not in the mood to talk to anyone at that moment, "Look, I'm not in the mood right now, so get lost fancy pants," he responded, insulting his fashion.
"Oh, you know who I am?" He asked with glee.
"No you dolt, I was.... wait, you name is, "Fancypants"?"
"That is correct, Fancypants at your service."
Blackmoore felt he had been hit with a brick to the head, but he was able to regain his composure and continue his lacking conversation.
"Well," He said, "What do you want?"
"Forgive me for noticing my friend, but...."
"Don't call me "friend"!" Blackmoore shouted, "I have a name, it's Blackmoore!"
"Uh, right then, Blackmoore," He continued, "I couldn't help but notice you seemed trouble."
"Ha, and why should that be your problem."
"To be honest," He said, "I really do hate to see a good chap look miserable."
"Stop calling me those thing!" Blackmoore shouted.
"Oh.........sorry."
"Sigh, do you know why I'm miserable?" He continued, calming himself, "I don't even want to be here, I was just fine the way I was, but then my superiors forced me into this mess. I don't want to be surrounded by ponies, but I have no choice but to do this, does that help answer your question."
"But why do you not want to be here?"
"That's my own personal business," Blackmoore said, turning away from him.
Of all the ponies and other creatures he's met over the years; Fancypants had never met someone like this, not talking about his race, but the fact that he was so stubborn and angry. Seeing this was the case, it was probably best not to bother him anymore.
But before he left he decided to give some last minute advice.
"Blackmoore," He began, "I understand that you don't want to talk to me, so I will let you carry on, but first; I have to give you some advise."
"Oh yeah, what's that?"
"Well, you and I both know it's rather important to just be yourself, but sometimes it's important to think more about how others feel, rather than only ourselves."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying you shouldn't be so rude to others who are kind to you."
Those words hit Blackmoore hard, "Why should I care, no one has ever been nice to me!"
"That's probably because you've never given them a reason to, you never give anyone a chance."
Blackmoore was starting to get annoyed, "Are you done lecturing me, I have to be somewhere right now."
"Alright," He replied, "I'll go now, but you should always keep in mind that you should be friendly to those you haven't met yet."
Blackmoore said nothing.
"Well then, until we meet again Blackmoore," He gave a little bow, "I bid you, good day," And with that, he walked off into the distance.
"Hmph, whatever," Blackmoore grumbled to himself.
He continued to head towards the castle, still expecting this to be a terrible waste of his time, but in truth, it was something much bigger than he expected....
You could say, for the first time in her life, Twilight was actually bored. Since the chapter on Darksiders was only 5 pages long, she had finished and memorized it in no more than 10 minutes. After that she tried to read other books, but her mind was so much on Darksiders that she wasn't in the mood to read anything else, not even any "Daring Do" books. She tried to go to other places, like Pony Joe's Doughnut Shop, but every attempt just failed and still left Twilight feeling empty and longing, longing to meet this Darksider and learn more, not matter how much there was to know.
Twilight was sitting in the library, her eyes half open and a big frown on her face, still ever waiting for the Darksider to show up, Spike meanwhile had brought over some books, in hopes of cheering her up.
"Come on Twilight," he complained, "You can't just sit here all day waiting for the Darksider to show up."
"Ugh, I know, I know; but there's just so much more I need to know, that I want to know."
"You really don't think the book was that truthful?" Spike asked.
"Spike, it's the last book in Equestria on Darksiders, it could be inaccurate, we don't know what they're like now, they could have changed a few things, and...."
"Twilight, your overreacting again, you should just relax, you can learn all about them when our guest gets here."
"But Spike, what if...."
But before Twilight could finish her sentence, a royal guard entered the library at full speed.
"Ms. Sparkle, Mrs. Sparkle!"
Twilight though, had no Idea what was going on," What, what is it?"
"I have urgent news, our visitor, has arrived!"
Twilight's heart nearly burst with excitement.
She quickly grabbed her nap sack and rocketed out of the library, with Spike once again hanging on for dear life.....
Blackmoore looked up at the giant castle as he walked towards it, it wasn't nearly as tall as the white castle he knew, but it was still tall. As he approached the gates, the guards opened the door and let him inside, but he gave no thanks or any consent. He followed the guards directions to the throne room, up the stairs and to the left, passing by various artifacts and a large door with a bunch of symbols he didn't care one bit about.
It wasn't before long that Blackmoore found himself at the entrance of the throne room, the two guards at the door opened them up, and he entered the royal room. It was larger than he expected, with stained-glass windows everywhere, and beautiful decorated walls.
Celestia was on her throne as Blackmoore entered, and smiled with glee that her guest had finally arrived. She lifted herself off her throne and trotted towards him, eager to greet him and while she had a smile on her face, he had a unamused look.
"Welcome, my friend," She said happily.
Blackmoore tried his best not to get agitated, and replied somewhat pleasantly, "Greetings," and gave a little bow, which she did in return.
"I'm so glad your here, it certainly has been a long time since your kind has been here,"
"I.... could say the same thing for your kind," Blackmoore replied, still holding back his agitation.
"Yes, that is true, we haven't had much talk with each other for a long, long time, but you must see that I don't want that anymore, I really do want things to change, I want us to reunite in friendship again."
"There might be some difficulty in that." He said, trying not to sound so rude.
"I know, but that does not mean we can't try, we must strive to change ourselves, so that we can live in peace, you understand, don't you?"
Blackmoore was really having a hard time listening to this, but he remained true to his word, "I.... do understand."
Celestia gave a warm smile, "What is your name, my friend?"
"....Blackmoore."
"Well then, Blackmoore, I suppose you already know what your task is?"
"Yeah, yeah I do."
"Then there is much work to be done, but....," She paused and looked around.
"But what?" He asked.
"Where is she?"
"Where is who?"
Suddenly, the doors burst open, revealing a heavily panting Twilight, with Spike beside her.
"Oh, there you are Twilight." She said happily.
Twilight trudged forward, still gasping for air, "Gasp.... sorry.... I'm.... late," she panted, both breathing and sweating.
"That's alright Twilight," She said, "Besides, there's someone I would like you to meet."
"I.... know.... I....!" Twilight look and suddenly her heart skipped a beat, and she completely froze in place. Of all the creature she had encountered in her many days of research and books, and those she had even seen, none were as magnificent as the one right before her. The Darksider was even greater than she ever imagined.
"Twilight," Celestia began, "This is our Darksider visitor, Blackmoore."
Twilight couldn't find the right words to say at the moment, she could not believe how amazing a Darksider looked, how it stood, it's body figure, all of it could not describe how she was feeling at the moment.
"He........hello," Twilight stuttered
"Hi," Blackmoore said subtly.
"Um, my name is...."
"Twilight."
"Twilight Sparkle actually, Twilight is just shorter."
"I see."
"And, you are Blackmoore?"
"Yes,"
"Oh, and this is Spike," Twilight motioned Spike forward.
Blackmoore looked down and saw the small little dragon, looking up rather awkwardly.
"Uh, hey," Spike said sheepishly.
Blackmoore leaned down and inspected him closer.
"You have a pet dragon?" He asked.
Now Spike was not feeling so awkward, but insulted, "Hey, I'm not a pet, I'm her number one assistant!"
"Assistant," He asked confused, "Since when are dragons assistants, for ponies even?"
"Since I was raise by Twilight here!"
Twilight then interrupted, "Uh, Spike, why don't you go wait outside, okay."
"But Twilight...."
"Spike!"
"Ugh, fine," He said stubbornly, walking out of the throne room. Blackmoore was surprisingly amazed, the first dragon he's seen in a while was an assistant of the thing he hated the most, what irony he thought.
Twilight turned back to him, "I'm really sorry about him, he's not usually good with other creatures."
"....I see," He replied.
"Twilight," The princess decided it was time to discuss the arrangements, "Since you are now here, maybe you would like to explain to our guest the arrangement for his stay in Ponyville, if you would like to?"
"Huh.... oh, yes, yes I would love to princess!" Twilight said excitedly.
Twilight took a few steps back, cleared her throat, and began her speech.
"Now then, Blackmoore, you no doubt know that current mission here is to help repair the damage done to the relationship between you country and mine, is that correct."
Blackmoore felt a fierce sting to his brain, constantly asked that question over and over, "Yes.... yes I do, I've been told that one too many times." Trying to hide is unbearable urge to scream.
"Sorry," Twilight apologized, "I just wanted to make sure you knew."
"Of course you did."
"Now, anyway, since that is clear we are ready to head down to complete our tasks in Ponyville, there I will be your supervisor, and you will observer the other ponies that come and go."
Blackmoore eyes widened, "Wait what, supervisor, you mean I will be watched by you the whole time!?"
"Yes, I'm supposed to do that, my mission is not only to write down my notes on you behavior and manners, but to also watch over you, and, well; see that you are not causing trouble...."
Twilight paused for a moment, and Blackmoore looked at her strangely.
"Uh, that isn't a problem, is it?" she asked worryingly.
"N.... no, no it won't be a problem."
"That's great, I myself don't think that would be a problem, I'm sure that I can trust you with the utmost confidence."
Blackmoore was hesitant to make a noise, he wasn't really being honest with them, and here this pony believes he is a humble creature, it was so strange to him.
"Yeah, sure," He said subtly.
"Wonderful, this is going to be so great!" She said excitedly, "Alright then, before we go, do you have everything that you need with you?"
Blackmoore looked at the bag on his back, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"Great, but hold on for one second, I have to quick do something."
Twilight then walked out the front door and closed it behind her, Blackmoore could barely make out what was going on, but it sounded like she was talking to that dragon of hers, it also sounded like she was mad at him too. The conversation lasted a few minutes, but soon Twilight reentered, with Spike trailing behind her, looking a bit gloomy.
"Alright Spike," Twilight said, nudging Spike, "Will you please apologize to our friend here."
Spike was hesitant to speak, but he eventually was able to say it, "I'm sorry Blackmoore, I yelled out of term," Looking down sadly.
Blackmoore looked at the little dragon, he was still trying to process the fact that he was surrounded by extremely nice people, he wasn't used to this kind of thing, it was something he would have to get used to though, otherwise things would end badly.
Spike's attitude quickly changed from sad to happy, and he gave a large smile, which made Blackmoore feel unsettling.
Twilight smiled as well, happy that Spike apologized, but they had already spent enough time at the castle, they had to begin their objective. "Uh, guys, I think it's time we departed."
Twilight turned to Celestia, "Princess, we better get going."
"Yes, there is a carriage waiting for you at the door, I hope that you will be successful in your mission."
"I will," She replied, "It was nice to see you," She gave a little bow to her mentor.
The Princess bowed as well, "It was nice to see you too my faithful student, now go, and do me proud."
And with that, the three (almost) friends exited the throne room as Celestia waved her hoof good bye, and climbed onto the carriage outside near the castle, which was beautifully decorated with gold and jewels, with two Pegasi guards tied at the front, ready for take off. Within a mere few seconds, they were in the air, on their way to Ponyville.
Celestia watched from the throne room as the carriage flew off into the distance.
"Good luck to you Twilight," she said softly, "And to you too, Blackmoore."
