Resulting from a supernatural storm, a dark stallion is introduced to the lives of the ponies of equestria. But everything is not as it seems, for this pony will have to fight to defend the very forces equestrians aim to destroy.
One night, during a freak storm, a dark stallion wonders out of the evergreen forest and collapses outside Fluttershy's cottage. But after being treated in the infirmary, he is found to have no memory or any recollection of his past life. What no pony knew was that a monstrous army was forming with a goal of destroying all creatures of chaos, along with ending the Alicorns rule and inslaving the populace of equestria. Can the lives of all ponies rely on the beasts they once aimed to destroy and warriors long thought to be myths?
Fluttershy wondered around the town square with Rainbow Dash and Rarity. They had just returned from a picnic with there other friends when black clouds began to appear above them, causing the trio to glance nervously at the sky.
"What the hell, I wasn't told about scheduled rain today," Rainbow protested. Fluttershy glanced around and saw many ponies closing shop or returning home. Rarity herself looked towards the direction of her boutique in worry.
"I should head back before the rain starts. Don't want anything happening to my dresses whilst I am gone," Rarity stated. Fluttershy became anxious. She worried for her animals who were home all alone.
"I should hurry back also. Angel will start to freak out if I am away when the storm hits," she explained. Rainbow turned to her and Fluttershy could see the aggravation on her face, clearly the unscheduled storm had stroke a nerve for her. Fluttershy didn't have time to dwell on this, she charged back to her hut and herded her animals inside. They all crowded round the front room, but when the rain and winds hit, they all began to shiver nervously. Lightening lit her hut and thunder shook the ground around her, the rabbits began to scatter and birds flew around frantically. Fluttershy tried her best to calm them down, but she had to agree that there was something un-natural about this storm. Suddenly, the sky darkened and something shot across the sky, followed by a path of the shadows. It approached the tree's in front of Fluttershy's hut, but she turned around thinking nothing of it and continued to comfort her animals.
BOOM!!!
Fluttershy's whole cottage shook from impact. Her initial response was to retreat into the corner of the room and cower with her animals until the storm passed, but curiosity took her over. She slowly approached the window which faced the forest and peered through. First off, she couldn't see anything outside of the window, until a flash of lightning lit the sky and the outline of pitch black pony perched at the entrance of the forest appeared. She watched curiously as the mysterious figure stumbled forward. He slowly approached her cottage, and fear rose in Fluttershy causing butterfly's to stir in her stomach and she began to whimper. But, before the Stallion could get any closer, he toppled onto his side and remand motionless. Fluttershy stood still for a moment, until the storm cleared and she saw the pony was clearly injured.
Charging out the door, she approached the pony laying on the ground and checked him for damage. His chest was soaked in blood and his breathing was week. His leg muscles twitched every so often but other then that, he was completely still. She ran up the path looking for anypony that was out there.
"SOMEBODY HELP, PLEASE!" Fluttershy screamed. Almost instantly, Rainbow Dash rose above the cottages and scrambled towards her.
"What's wrong Shy?" Rainbow asked her concerned. Fluttershy didn't reply, she charged off, leading Dashie towards the fallen pony. On arrival, Rainbow Dash looked down in shock at the Pony on the ground. "Fluttershy, wha... what," she stuttered.
"I don't know. During the storm, something hit the ground in the Evergreen Forest. This pony stumbled out and just fell onto the ground. I ran out to see what happened and saw how bad of a state he is in," Fluttershy explained. Rainbow looked around and hovered off the ground nervously.
"Well, first things first, we have got to deliver him to the infirmary," she stated. She began to lift his legs from the ground. "We need some help with him, I don't think the two of us will be able to carry him. I'll get Twi and see if she can help us," She stated. Before Fluttershy could say anything in protest, Rainbow shot off in a blur. Fluttershy peered down at the pony in worry, wondering what could of happened to him cause this. He didn't appear to have any signs of burn damage, so he couldn't of been hit by lightning. No where appeared to be terribly bruised, so nothing fell on him during the storm. Surprisingly, Fluttershy came to the conclusion that all the cuts appeared to resemble sword wounds. Before she could investigate the wounds further, she heard voices in the distance. Rainbow flew up to her with Twilight trailing not far behind. Twilight froze when she saw the stallion and looked between the two of them.
"How did this happen to him?" She asked, not directed to just Fluttershy, but Rainbow Dash also.
"We have no idea, all we do know is that he is in a terrible state and needs to be treated right away," Rainbow explained. Twilight peered at Fluttershy who was only nodding frantically in agreement. Twilight looked down at her and shut her eyes in concentration. Her horn began to glow and a purple aura surrounded his body. He began to levitate off the ground, but the strain in Twilights face showed it wasn't easy. Rainbow hovered underneath to provide twilight with support and the three of them charged off into town.
As they made there way through town, ponies parted way to provide them a quick path. Many were about the great them, until they saw the pony they were supporting and glanced in worry. They arrived in the infirmary and Fluttershy approached the desk.
"Erm... excuse me," Fluttershy whispered. The Mare at the desk didn't notice her at first.
"Hey lady, a little help over here," Rainbow shouted abruptly. The Desk clerk looked up bored, until she saw the pony Twilight was now setting down on a bed. Her eyes widened and she shot down the hall calling names. After a few minutes, doctors ran down the hallway and whisked him away into a room.
After a short wait in the waiting room, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie arrived.
"Are you three alright? Word around Ponyville is that you all bolted through town holding an injured pony," Rarity questioned them in concern
"Yeah we are fine, but cant speak for the pony we were with, he is in there right now. We have no idea what happened to him, but Fluttershy found him stumble out of the forest and collapse right outside her door," Rainbow explained. The rest of them looked at Fluttershy concerned.
"You alright sweetie?" Apple Jack asked her. Fluttershy nodded in reply. She was still in shock about the whole situation that she didn't know what to tell her friends. She was still trying to process why the wounds looked like he had got into a fight. She was about to mention something when a man walked down the hall towards them.
"Hello, my name is Dr Whooves. You are the ponies who brought in the black stallion are you not?" He questioned Twilight and Rainbow.
"Yes, we are. But Fluttershy was the one who found him," Twilight explained.
"And good thing she did. His wounds were serious, also covered in some sort of toxin. It was slowly making its way to his heart but I managed to extract it before it did. He's skull was damaged, minor internal bleeding and many other problems that I do not have time to talk about, but surprisingly he is doing well. He is asleep, his body still needs time to recover but he should be awake shortly," he explained. The ponies looked at each other. None of them knew what could possibly cause such problems, no known monster in Evergreen would treat a pony like that.
"Do you have any idea how it happened to him," Twilight asked the question they were all wondering. The doctor shook his head in concern.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Do you have any idea of who he is. Name, family, where he lives. Without any data it is difficult to narrow down the causes," he explained. Instantly, everyone looked at Fluttershy. She shrunk back in worry.
"I have no idea. I saw him stumbling towards my house and he collapsed just outside. I called for help and rainbow arrived shortly after. We whisked him off here and that is all that happened," Fluttershy replied with hesitation. Dr Whooves nodded and issued them to follow him down the hall.
Upon arrival, the six ponies peaked into the room at the stallion on the bed. He was covered in a sheet and was connected to many different wires, the majority of which connected to a heart rate monitor. They stayed in the room for a while talking, and waiting for Dr Whooves to return. Fluttershy sat there quietly looking at the stallion, when she started seeing his eye twitch.
"Guys," she said. They all averted there attention to her, and then at the pony in front of them. His heart rate began to level and he began to move slowly.
"Someone get Dr Whooves back in here," Twilight ordered.
"I've got it," Applejack stated. She charged out the room, and as she did, the ponies eyes slowly began to open.
"Where...Where am I?" I asked the shadows but no one appeared to of heard me. My bones were numb and I didn't seem to be able to move. Mist swirled around me and through it, I saw the outline of a desolate castle that appeared to be in the midst of destruction. The roof of the towers that surrounded it were blown off, smoke bellowed from the court yards and the fields surrounding it were filled with fallen ponies in golden and white armour. Voices were bellowing from the castle, followed by an explosion causing a wave of panic to ripple through the palace.
"Stand fast," A women's voice boomed through the valley, the screams continued and a draw bridge began to lower. Ponies charged out in terror as a volley of nightmare like forces trailed them. "Do not run, stand strong and we can face them together," The female voice boomed once more. Her voice echoed across the field, although no one listened. Suddenly, My view flew across the field to the peak of the highest towers surrounding the castle. Nothing stood there, all I saw was a pool of darkness like a mirror, watching over the battle below. I stared into it for a while, expecting to see some sort of vision to appear inside. The sound of clashing blades, screaming ponies and strong winds bellowed throughout the area. My form began to melt into the pool of darkness. I gripped onto the sides of the tower, but the force below was to strong. I peered down and could almost make out a figure looking at me with closed eyes.
"Come to me, embrace your mistress and help me rise. These people have never done anything for you, so why should you help them. Join me, and together we can rule this world," The voice spoke. The voice was sharp, almost metallic but it clearly wasn't like any pony I had heard before. Whenever the voice spoke, shivers travelled down my spine causing fear to wash over me. Whatever it meant by "embrace," I didn't want to find out. I kept pushing away from it, but every time I struggled, the grip tightened, squeezing the air out of my lungs. The darkness rose to my neck and before I could even realise, I was engulfed by darkness...
Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep
What the hell is that? I pinpointed the source of the noise to the right of me. I couldn't open my eyes just yet, but it became increasingly irritating.
"I think he is awake," a voice said in front of me. The voice startled me and I almost jumped out of my skin, my eyes shot open and around me were five very concerned faces. Suddenly, two more ponies charged in through the door slightly breathless. One appeared to be an orange mare with a yellow mane, she wore a cowboy hat and had three red apples on flank. Following her was a grey stallion with a small blue tie and spiky brown hair. He wore a black waist coat and stood proud and tall.
"Ah, well I see you're awake. Time for you to answer some questions for me," The Stallion said.
"Who...who are you. Where am I?" I asked frantically. The beeping sound began to go crazy next to me as I struggled to escape the room and their powerful stares. I began to feel claustrophobic in the bed, in my clothes, in myself. I didn't know who the people were around me, I didn't know where I was, I didn't even know who I was. I attempted to remember anything from my past, but my mind was empty.
"What is your name?" he asked me first off. A wave of relief shot through me for this was a question I knew the answer to.
"Kalacos," I stated. He gave me a strange look. The others around me looked at each other in confusion and began shrugging.
"That's a peculiar name. Where are you from?" he questioned me further. My heart dropped hearing this, it felt like a part of me was missing.
"I don't know," I admitted and hung my head in shame. "I don't remember anything." The others looked concerned and gave me sorrowful looks,the doctor only nodded in reply.
"That doesn't surprise me much to be honest. You fractured your skull and rattled your brain a little. Short term amnesia, shouldn't last long until your memory's start coming back but you will get frequent headaches. If you begin to feel nauseous or light headed please come back and tell me," he explained. It was a lot to take in at that moment, but some hope began to flow through me.
"Ok, so where will I stay till then?" I asked. All of the Mare's in front of me peered at the doctor who gave me a sorrowful look.
"I'm sorry, I don't know. You cant stay here, we are quite busy at the moment," he explained. I lowered my head and felt like I was going to cry.
"I have a barn that you can sleep in for a few days if ya want?" She explained.
"Are you serious? You'll do that even though you don't know me?" I asked. She shrugged off the question like it wasn't much of a big deal.
"Heck, if you are willing to help me out around the farm then you can stay in the barn for as long as possible," She replied. I smiled at her not knowing how to reply to such a kind remark.
"Well, now that, that is sorted, I guess I can inform you about your condition. You have minor internal bleeding, and whatever bones that appeared to of been broken earlier... have decreased almost to a fracture in a few hours. It appears that I know as much about you then you know about yourself. But you are a strange stallion Kalacos, and a lucky one at that," he explained. I attempted to get out of bed and stand up, but a flare of pain shot through my chest.
"Oh, I also forgot to mention you have bruised ribs which should bug you for a while," he stated. I groaned.
"Thanks for the warning," I stated in annoyance. I managed to rise from my bed, but my vision became blurry. I managed to keep my balance but I thought I was going to throw up.
"Woo there, try not to fall over now," the blue pony said, keeping me on balance. I turned, and realised that I didn't even know who all of them were. The Purple mare must of picked up on my thoughts because she cleared her throat.
"We must of forgot to greet our selves. I am Twilight Sparkle," she said. "This is Rarity," she explained pointing at a white Mare with elegant, purple flowing hair. "And this is Pinkie Pie." She pointed at the pink Mare with Pink, poufy hair. "This is Fluttershy, the girl who found you." She pointed to a Yellow Mare with a Pink mane who allowed her mane to cover half her face. "This is Rainbow Dash." She pointed at the Cyan blue pony with a rainbow coloured mane who puffed her chest out after the mention of her name. "And finally, this is Apple Jack." I greeted all of them before following them out of the hospital.
Exiting, I saw the sunset across the horizon, leaving an orange glow all the way across the sky. I stared at the sky in awe, something about the way the darkness began to overlap the light enticed me. I stayed still for a second to get my bearings. The town looked nice enough, small, ponies greeting each other hear and there and many were now closing up shop for the night. The others in front of me stopped to and looked at me, wondering what I was waiting for.
"Sorry... I was trying to see if I could remember this place<" I explained. They all stared at me, until their face softened in sorrow.
"I should probably head back to my cottage now, I told spike I wouldn't be long so he may start to get worried," twilight explained. I looked at her in confusion. She turned to me, and it seemed like she was to tired to explain who spike was. All the girls said their good nights and went their separate ways. Applejack issued me to follow her, and we followed a trail the led just out of Ponyville in uncomfortable silence.
Upon arrival, the farm seemed quite beautiful. Apple tree's lined the back of the fields. Crops spread across the filled and fertilised land were getting ready to be planted. He followed Applejack to a barn near a big red house, She opened the door and stepped inside. The Barn appeared quite cosy. It was small and had multiple stacks of hay spread around the floor. There were two floors to the barn, although the top one was smaller and was made out of older wood.
"We haven't used this place in a while, other then storage so it may be a little unstable in places so watch yourself. You can pile some hay together and I can fetch you a blanket from the house. I know it aint much but, its better then nothing," Applejack explained. I looked around and smiled.
"Its perfect. Thank you so much Applejack, for everything," I said with a smile.
"Oh shucks, its nothing. But you are gonna have to do something to help around the farm to earn your place. I'll introduce you to the rest of the family tomorrow," She said. I nodded and walked up. I laid out some of the hay and fell on top of it. My eyes began to close on contact. "Well, ill let you get some rest, see you tomorrow Kalacos," She said.
"Yes, good night. Thank you again," I explained. She nodded and exited the barn. I turned around and saw a window behind me. The sky was pitch black and the stars dotted the sky. The darkness comforted me, made me stronger. I closed my eyes and relaxed until sleep finally greeted me.
After the day I had, all I wanted was a good night sleep, but nightmares haunted my slumber..
My eyes fluttered open and I appeared to be standing in some sort of arena. The sound of cheering roared in the sky as I looked around from the centre of the ring. Searching more thoroughly, my eyes landed upon a larger, open area in the centre of the viewing points. Inside, I saw four figures all standing around each other and looking down at where I was perched in the ring intensely. One was wearing a set of warriors armour, but it appeared to be far more powerful then regular, almost like an officer piece. The two stood next to her appeared to be a couple. They both wore some sort of crown and stood proud and above everyone else in the crowd. Lastly, next to the two leaders was a small mare with elegant hair wearing a smaller crown to the other two. She smiled down at the arena, directed at me and said something to her mother.
"KALACOS!" The female wearing the Commander armour shouted across the arena. When the name was spoken, the whole area erupted in even louder cheers. "ARE YOU READY?" I nodded. I realised I had no control of my movements.
Was this a memory? The sound of gridding metal boomed through the barren fields in the centre. Turning, I saw a gate slowly opening at the opposite end of the arena. Firstly, I couldn't believe how large the place was that I was standing in and Secondly, how high the gate towered above me. It was pure golden with a symbol in the middle of it of two sets of wings with a Mare and Stallions necked interlocked around one another's It was elegant, but at the same time extremely powerful.
ROARRRRRR!!!!!
A monstrous sound boomed from inside the gate and as I looked closer, I saw the monstrosity emerging from the shadows. The beast would easily be able to pick up a cottage and hurl it a hundred yards with one arm. Its face resembled a demon with horns and fangs for teeth, but the most noticeable thing was its giant belly and the fact that every time it stepped forward, the ground shook around me launching dust and rubble into the sky,
My body took over once again and I charged towards some sort of weapon rack that was behind me. I couldn't believe what I saw: Swords, spears, tridents, nets, personal cannons and the list goes on! From the rack, I retrieved a net which I flung over my flank, and I trident which hovered in front of me surrounded by a dark glow. The beast approached me but my body wouldn't move and forced me to observe the weapons rack some more until it was right above me. As the beast got ready to bite me in half with its giant fangs, I darted out of the way and ran for the nearest fang which was now embedded in the ground. I swiped the Trident in an arch motion cutting the giant tooth off and the beast to retract in pain. The crowed roared in applause as I made my way towards his two legs but as I got through, I launched the net off my back and somehow magically tied it around his legs. When the beast attempted to turn to face me, he toppled over and face planted the ground leaving a giant crater in his wake. I didn't have time to worship myself, because once again, I was on the move. Charging up his legs and landing on his body, the crowd went silent and let loose a swarm of chatter. I had arrived at his neck but before I could reach his head, the beast lurched back up almost causing me to topple off and back to the ground. The crowd let loose volleys of cheers once more as I struggled to stay alive. I embedded my trident into his neck and laid on top of it to keep my balance. Looking down in horror, I saw how high up I now was, as the beast regained his balance. I was above the wall, which gave me an insight to the area that I was in.
The surrounding area was beautiful, Giant towers stretching as far as the eye can see with strange, majestic creatures exiting and entering holes on the side of them. Underneath the giant arena appeared to be a small market where young fillies danced with bows in the mouth around a pole whilst mares and stallions watched in awe with baskets of bread and fruit from a peculiar looking stand at the end of the road. They appeared to be celebrating something, but right now Kalacos had no idea what he could celebrate. I regained my balance and tight roped across the trident. With my magic, I pushed it further and further into the monsters neck causing him to lower his head in agony. I used this opportunity to retract my trident and charge up the narrow slope which lead to a clear opening of his soft fore head. For a second I stood there with my trident surrounded by magic and raised high above the base of his head and looked towards the open area in the crowd. My attention was focused on the stallion with the crown, where he was now stood up against two different bells to the right of him. He rung the left one and the crowd went silent. I returned my attention back to the monster and impaled the beast straight through his skull There was a momentary cry from the beast but to only have it cut off abruptly when the tridents tip made contact with his brain. The beast began to sway at which I turned and charged towards his neck and began riding it like a slide down his body as he approached the ground. When I landed, I trotted away modestly towards the centre of the arena as the beast collided with ground once again, but this time, laid motionless. The crowd applauded and started cheering so loud it would make the monster jealous. The women in golden and white armour looked at me pleased and whispered something to the stallion who rung the bell. He stood tall and proud and when he did, the whole crowd silenced in respect for the man.
BOOM!!!
Before he could say anything, an explosion sounded in the centre of the town. Screams polluted the air and the soldiers in the arena took up arms and ran out of the door. The ponies in the top row looked over the walls in horror at something that was clearly not pleasant took place in the market. Some charged down the stadium screaming causing others to follow them in a wave of panic, as they attempted to flee for their lives.
"SCOUTS WHAT DO YOU SEE," the women shouted again.
"I DONT KNOW MAM... I don't know," one of the guards at the top of the wall stuttered. The women turned to me and issued me to follow as she escorted the royals out of the arena. I was about to make my way towards them when a green force grabbed my flank and began to pull me back. I turned and saw a stallion standing behind me, laughing as he pulled me closer and closer. I turned to the side and saw the weapon rack from which I grabbed a sword with my magic and sliced at the green sludge that had hold of me. The tentacle like shape retracted, but it soon launched back out. Before it could even touch me, I stepped to the side, held out my sword and swiped it through the centre. A chilling screech erupted from the creature as it fumbled around on the ground in front of me, before melting in a pool of green. The stallion in front of me looked at me in shock, before grinning and laughing.
"Oh Kalacos, you're better then they said you were," he said and slowly approached me.
"Who's they?" I ordered, but he only laughed and used his magic to unsheathe a sword of his own.
"You don't remember. Oh of course, Celestia wouldn't want you to remember that far back, may bring back old... nightmares," he explained laughing. I looked at him with confusion but before he could reply, he swiped at me only giving me enough time to will my magic into a defensive spell. I pushed him backwards with a gust of wind and charged forward attempting to impale where he moved out the way and gave me a clean slice to my head. I groaned in pain and stumbled away from him trying to stop my front hooves from collapsing in front of me. He approached once more but before I could do anything, he hit me with the butt of his sword and laughed calmly as he wielded his magic to slice me in multiple directions.
"Oh come on Kalacos, let your true self out, I wanna see it. I didn't come all this way just to kill you," he said. He gave me a quick swipe to the jaw causing a thrilling pain to explode in my body. Could of fooled me
"KALACOS," a female voice shouted behind me. The women in golden and white armour stood there and flung a spear which grazed the stallion's shoulder, he looked at her in rage. Suddenly, her throat was surrounded by a green ring and she was lifted into the sky. Before he could hurt her more, I sliced at his legs from which he retracted in pain and flung her out of the arena in a screaming projectile.
"NOOOOOO," I shouted after her as she flew out of sight and the stallion giggled manically. Strength returned to me, my armour began to melt off of my body in a pool of darkness. My vision became increasingly red and the air around me grew colder as I got back to my hooves and approached him slowly. He looked at me pleased.
"Now how difficult was that Kalacos," he said. I didn't reply, I was blinded by rage at this point. He stopped laughing and swiped his hand attempting to knock me away with the same green lasso he had used on the mare. The mist bounced harmlessly off me from which I charged closer towards him and used my front two legs to hold him up as I began to hoover. He looked at me terrified as a hole exploded in the side of the arena.
"You don't have to do that Kalacos," he pleaded whilst attempting to squirm out of my tight grip.
"Yes I do, now lets so how you feel when you begin to fall," I said. I was about to drop him when suddenly.
"Yes, Kalacos, but lets see how you like instead," a chilling voice sounded behind me. My spine began to tingle and as I turned around, I saw the same dark mirage from my previous dream. Before I could react, a powerful gust of wind launched me out into a monstrous storm and whisked me away from the palace.
The last thing I saw was my sight begging to return to normal and the storm carried me further and further away until finally.. darkness
I woke up in a sweat surrounded by bundles of hay and an unstable floor and a baby blue blanket strewn over me which I swore was not there last night. Putting the thought aside, I rose off of my makeshift bed and peered out of the window in the side of the room which unveiled the rest of the farm to me. I saw the sun was only just beginning to rise, but a figure stood by the apple tree fields not far away. I turned to go and greet myself, but as I did, Applejack opened the door.
"Oh Kalacos; you're up, good. Thought I would have to wake you myself. Anyway, there is breakfast in the house and maybe, if you feel up to it, you can help me and my big bro around the farm," she stated. I nodded in reply and shut my eyes for a second, and when they reopened, she was gone. I made my way out of the barn and, whilst walking to the house, I ran last nights dream through my head. Who was the women in the golden armour, where was the castle I stood in, who were the people that the monstrous stallion were talking about, who was the pony in the mirage and finally, what the hell had I done...
Arriving in the house, the scent of pancakes, hay fries, apple pie and a load of other pony goods that I couldn't even name filled my nose with a thrilling sensation. My mouth began to water and I realised how hungry I was after a whole day without food. I made my way into the kitchen and met Applejack and two other mares who turned to me with smiles on there faces. One of them was a green, older mare with a white fluffy mane and a symbol of a pie on her flank. The other was a young, pale filly and a straight, dark pink mane with a pink bow laced through. I picked up on the fact that; unlike every other pony, she did not have anything on her flank.
"Ah, Kalacos, I thought for a second you weren't actually going to come," Applejack stated, turning to look at the other two mares. "Guys, this is Kalacos, he was badly injured yesterday and needed a place to stay so he will be staying in one of our old barns for a few days and helping around the farm. And Kalacos, this is Granny Smith, and Apple bloom." Both of the mares looked at him and nodded respectfully, "And my bro, Macintosh is outside working right now, but we just call him Big Mac," she explained and I nodded in return. I was to hungry to concentrate on whatever she was talking about and before I properly realised what I was doing, I pilled my plate full of food. I was about to take a chunk of my food out when I peered up and saw Applejack staring at me.
"I'm sorry, do you guys want me to wait until you are ready?" I asked in a guilty tone.
"No, go right ahead," Applejack said. I sighed in relief and filled my mouth full of hay fries. The crispy texture made my mouth water even more, and when I swallowed, I ended up smiling like a maniac. I looked up and saw Apple Bloom and Applejack giggling to themselves.
"What?" I asked them. They shrugged and laughed a little more, then began to stuff there mouths full also.
After an amazing breakfast, I trotted around the room until I noticed something, I wasn't in any pain. I trotted out into the main hallway where mirror stood allowing me to properly look at myself. I was a pitch black stallion with a back mane that appeared to be naturally spiked, and dark blue eyes. Nothing creative there. I turned to see my flank and saw a grey mist like mark on my flank
"Are you ok Kalacos?" she asked. I turned back to the mirror and sighed.
"I feel completely fine, and that is what I am concerned about," I replied. She looked down at the cuts that were previously on my pelt that were now almost completely gone.
"Who are you Kalacos?" She asked after a moment of silence, honestly slightly scared.
"I was wondering the same thing," I explained, turning to look back at her whilst sighing. Suddenly, the door shot open and a Red stallion with a dark yellow mane and a green apple covering the majority of his flank entered the house. He peered in and looked at Applejack from which she coughed and put back on a stern face.
"Hey Big Mac, this is Kalacos and he is going to be helping around the farm for a few days<" she told him. He nodded in reply and issued me to follow him out.
"Is he always that quite?" I asked her as we travelled away from the big house.
"Normally yes. He is quite shy and uncomfortable around new people, but he is a sweet guy and a hard worker. Don't worry, you help him, he'll help you," She explained. I nodded and carried on forward but I felt Applejacks eyes on my flank where my cutie mark laid. She was still obviously concerned about my quick healing and was trying to find out who I really was. I paid no attention to her judgemental sight and carried on following the happy trotting stallion in front of me.
After a few more minutes of travelling, we arrived at a red coloured barn not far away from the big house. Big Mac held a piece of rope in his mouth and flung the doors open, causing a wave of stench to shoot out.
"Ugghhh, what the hell do you store in there?" I asked. They didn't pay much attention to the smell and carried on inside until they stopped at some sort of metal block with a pointed end. Big mac bit on the strings on the front and pulled it out of the barn where he let go of the string and looked up at me.
"Since you feel better Kalacos, you will be doing some ploughing to start you off," she told me.
"Ploughing?" I asked.
"You don't know what ploughing is?" She asked, shocked. I gave her a look which screamed really "Sorry, your memory." I followed Big Mac as he put the rope around his flank and carried it across a stone path to a dirt field until he arrived at a small gate and entered a field. He placed the plough just in front of the field and turned to me. I approached the plough and put all fours through the gap in the string and picked up the front to begin pulling the plough across the field. I started moving forward with ease and trotted casually up and down the field. I looked behind me as I travelled and saw the ground turning in my wake to reveal a line of a small dirt trench. I looked at the packet on my side with a symbol of a carrot and found that tiny seeds were inside.
"What am I supposed to do with these?" I asked Applejack.
"Once you have a line, you plant those seeds 5 cm apart from each other," she explained. I looked across the field at everything that was left and closed the satchel at my side and carried on moving up and down the farm. This wasn't hard at all, it was simply just walking around a field. However, when I looked up, I saw Big Mac looking at me very impressed.
After what felt like hours, I collapsed at the end of the field out of exhaustion and closed my eyes for a few seconds. After I had finished ploughing the field, I planted the seeds all around the field whilst a searing pain exploded in my chest where the rope was. I had not released how much strain it had put on me until I took it off, and now I even struggled to breath through it. I kept my eyes closed, but suddenly I heard someone approaching behind me. My eyes fluttered open slowly and I saw Applejack standing above me grinning like made.
"You seriously did not just plough the whole field did yah?" She asked me trying to hold back a giggle. I looked at her in annoyance.
"I thought..." I stammered. She started laughing.
"I didn't tell you to do the whole thing, I only asked you to plant some of the seeds around the field," she explained. I groaned and shoved my head into the dirt on the ground. "Well, you saved me a whole weeks work so that's good," she explained. I looked up at her with a glare and slowly rose to my feet. She turned to look out towards the direction of the Ponyville.
"Well I need to go into town to get some things. You're welcome to come if you want," she explained. I groaned but nodded.
"Just give me a couple of minutes," I replied. I sighed and made my way back into my barn. I collapsed face first into my bed with my rear end straight up in the air.
A few minutes later, Applejack emerged through the door way and issued me to follow her. I stood up and exited through the same path that I entered the farm with yesterday. We made are way into town where many of the ponies looked at me concerned. I heard whispering like That's the injured pony from yesterday and he looks completely fine, what the hell happened. I ignored them and followed Applejack knowing if I paid to much attention nothing good would come out of it.
"Ok well, I have got some errands to run. I wont be long but can you stay here until I am back?" She explained. I nodded and she walked away towards an allotment of stores. I turned and walked towards a grassy area where I laid down for a second. Ponies looked at me strangely as they walked past but I didn't pay much attention, I was in to much pain. Suddenly, from around the corner emerged the Yellow and pony with the pink mane from yesterday, what was her name... Fluttershy. She was making her way into town with a bag full of pink decorations by the look of it.
"Hey, Fluttershy," I said. My voice was shrill and croaky as I attempted to stand up once again. She turned in embarrassment but the instant that she saw me, her eyes widened and she charged over to me.
"Oh my god. Are you ok!" She said whilst charging towards me. I nodded and she stood over me as I attempted to get up. "What happened?" She asked me concerned.
"Not much just... you know... ploughed a whole field," I explained whilst groaning. I regained my full strength with the help of Fluttershy and I smiled at her. She backed away nervously.
"I er, I have to go now. I hope you feel better," she said and ran away. I looked after her as she left in confusion.
"What is wrong with her?" I whispered to myself. I followed her with my gaze for a little longer until my eyes set upon Applejack making her way back towards me.
"Well, I have finished what I have to do. I am heading to Sugar Cube Corner now," she said. She began to walk away until she realised I wasn't following her. "You can come with me this time," she explained. I nodded and began following her away.
We arrived at a small shop with no lights on inside and no sign of life anywhere.
"Are you sure this place is open?" I asked her. She nodded and stepped inside. I followed and we were in the dark for a second until suddenly...
"SUPRISE!!!"
The lights shot on and party poppers were fired everywhere. Around 30 ponies were in the building and the tables were lined with snacks, drinks and balloons. A banner was above the table ready 'WELCOME TO PONYVILLE KALACOS'.
"What... what's going on?" I stammered.
"Well, you're new here and I realised you didn't know anyone so that means that you didn't have any friends and that mad me sad so that gave me an amazing idea to throw this awesome party for you so that you can meet everyone and just have a fun time," she explained in one breath. I was confused at first but I couldn't help but to thank her anyway. I felt myself begin to grin when I saw everyone who had turned up to say hello.
"All this, is for me?" I asked her, shocked. I felt tears of joy began to swell in my eyes.
"Yes it is. It was all pinkies idea but we helped a little," Twilight explained.
"Thank you guys. so much," I said. They all smiled at me but parted out the way when a small green dragon appeared next to them.
"So, are you Kalacos?" he asked me. I thought it was a pretty stupid question considering the fact that they had all just introduced themselves to me, but I nodded in reply anyway.
"Good. My names Spike, I help Twilight around the library and I heard a quite a bit about you last night when she came home rambling," he explained. I turned to Twilight and saw her slightly blush when she looked away.
"I just wanted to see if I could find anything about you or where you were from in any of the books," she stated. I laughed a bit and turned back to spike.
"Well hey Spike, I'm Kalacos. I am helping Applejack around the farm for a bit until I get my memory back," I replied. Applejack laughed
"Did he ever help around the farm," She said. I gave her a shut up look and turned back to the others.
"What do you mean Applejack?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, I woke him up and we had breakfast and I thought it would be a good idea to get him to start off the ploughing for the week," she said. At this point, the girls glanced at the red mark on my flank. "And well, he did it. The whole field, in less then an hour," she explained. They looked at me shocked until I backed away out of embarrassment.
"I didn't know I wasn't meant to do the whole field. It was pretty easy and I didn't realise the strain that it had on me until I was finished. I just kept going and going until I realised I had finished," I said. I saw them begin to smile a bit until chatter spread up and ponies began to take the food from the table.
"Well, after that you must be hungry. Take whatever you want," Pinkie explained. I nodded and smiled in appreciation and walked over to the buffet. I looked around and conveyed what I wanted to eat. I saw a cupcake that seemed appetising and ate it off of the counter. I chewed it for a little and ended up smiling like a maniac from the taste.
"wow, that is amazing," I said to no one.
"Should be, Pinkie makes them personally," Spike said, suddenly standing next to me. I looked over at her where she was laughing with the other six.
"She has a talent," I said, taking another bite. I accidently nudged it away and it began falling off the table. Before it hit the floor, a black aura began surrounding it and it rose back to my mouth. "Few, that was a close one."
"You.. you can cast magic," spike said in shock, slowly backing away from me.
"I guess so... why?" I asked confused. he looked at my head as if trying to find something.
"You're an earth pony aren't you. So how can you cast magic?" he questioned me. The other six began looking over at the commotion and decided to come over to us.
"Spike. What happened?" Twilight asked. He looked up at her and then back at me.
"I don't know he. Probably nothing," he said and walked away. I looked after him in shock as he walked off. I turned back to the others and they were giving me questioning looks.
"What happened?" Twilight asked. I looked down at the rest of the cupcake on the table, and then back up at spike.
"I'm not sure...." I replied.
After a few hours later, tensions died down and the party was a lot of fun. Occasionally, I would see Spike look over in worry as he talked to Twilight about something clearly urgent, but they never said anything to me. But when the party ended, I felt like I as going to pass out of exhaustion.
"So Kalacos, what'd you think of the party?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah it was good, apart from that... incident," I said. Pinkie giggled a little, but I didn't find it funny, I still had some cake in my hair. Around half way through the party, Pinkie came up to me and started dancing next to me, but her dance was so unique that I couldn't keep up and she ended up launching me into one of the cakes, knocking the whole mini table over.
"Yeah, that happens a lot," Rainbow Dash said chuckling. The others smiled a little and I stood straight up.
"Well I'm plum tuckered," Applejack said, stretching her flank a little.
"Yeah, I'm ready to hit the hay... literally," I replied. Everyone else nodded and walked out the store. Pinkie closed the door behind us and caught up. We all began to walk the same direction, until suddenly time moved slowly once again.
"Hello Kalacos," a voice spoke. Chills shot down my spine. I looked around frantically.
"Who are you!" I demanded but she let out a chilling laugh.
"You know who I am. Well you do somewhere inside of you anyway. Don't worry, everything will come clear in 2 days," she explained. Before I could do anything, time went back into motion, but I started swaying.
"Kalacos you..." Applejack was about to say something when she turned but she stopped.
"You ok honey?" Rarity asked.
"I don't feel so good," I replied. I began to topple over but Rainbow Dash and Applejack caught me. I heard them saying something but before anything else happened, I blacked out.
My eyes slowly opened and I found myself back in the barn with the same blue blanket which covered me when I woke up yesterday. A wet cloth like object was wrapped around my head and some of the hay in my makeshift bed had been replaced for some colder bundles. Even with all this and the fact that I was slightly shivering my whole body was filled with a warm fever. I got out of my bed slowly and lowered my head to attempt to be rid of the dizziness that was swarming my mind. After a few more minutes, I started to see straight once more and looked out the window. I couldn't see any life in the big house and the sun had only just started rising so I guessed no one would be up for a few more hours. I walked down the steps and decided to go into town for a while to say thanks to Pinkie for last night.
Arriving in town, I saw a couple of shops beginning to open, and luckily, I saw the lights on in Sugar Cube Corner and a grey pony enter. I followed the mare into the shop and saw pinkie exit a set of swing doors with a box of muffins.
"Here you go Derpy, Twelve freshly baked muffins for your mail run," Pinkie stated excitedly. She let go of the handle and the basket collapsed onto the front desk. Derpy fished for some coins from her pouch and produced five golden pieces.
"Thanks Pinkie," she said. She then grabbed the basket in her mouth and turned to face me and once she laid her eyes open me, she smiled. Her eyes were a deep shade of yellow and one seemed to wonder around on its own which made it very hard to concentrate.
"I'm sorry, let me get out of your way," I said. I stepped to the side but when she looked at me, her eyes straightened and she concentrated much harder. She looked like she was trying to decide something, and then her eyes widened and she moved away from me slightly. She gulped a little and she turned back to Pinkie as her face returned to normal.
"See you tomorrow Pinkie," Derpy said before charging out the door and flying off into the distance. She had acted the same way that Spike had yesterday. What is going on?
"Oh hey Kalacos," Pinkie said with a smile. She walked past the counter and approached me. I returned the smile and then looked around the room to see no trace of the party last night.
"You cleaned up pretty well. Sorry I left with helping," I replied. She giggled and shook her head.
"Think nothing of it, you were pretty ill last night anyway. You feeling better now?" Pinkie asked me. I nodded in reply.
"Yeah, just a bit light headed but that's about it. I don't know what happened, I was just exhausted," I lied. I didn't feel like I should tell any of them about my visions just yet, I didn't want to seem crazy.
"You probably just needed a little sleep after yesterday. Why are you here anyway Kalacos?" She questioned me.
"Oh, I just wanted to thank you again for the party. It gave me a chance to get to know the people around here and make some new friends," I replied.
"Well that was the idea," She said with a smile. "Well, most ponies will be getting up soon so that means it is about to get pretty busy. And if you don't need to head back to the farm straight away, I think Twilight wanted to talk to you when you were better," she explained. My heart sank, Spike told her something about what happened last night and now she was going to ask him questions I didn't know the answers to.
"Well, where is her house?" I asked with a sigh.
"Oh you cant miss it, its the library of the town. Just look for a tree with windows," she told me. I thought she was joking but her town was obviously serious. I nodded in reply and thanked her one last time before exiting and making my way into the main allotment of the town.
Walking through the town, I thought I was lost. A couple of minutes passed when I saw a giant tree with windows dotted around it like Pinkie described. I couldn't believe that anyone would live in a place like that, but I approached and knocked on the door anyway.
"Who is it?" Twilights voice sounded from inside.
"Its Kalacos, Pinkie said you wanted to talk to me about something?" I replied.
"Oh Kalacos, come in," she said. I pushed open the door and the interior of the house was amazing. Books lined the walls of the tree and the roof had different correlations on them making it seem like a sky watching tower. A set of stairs led up to the top of the tree where a telescope was placed peering out of a larger window on the side. It was cosy, and seemed like a very suitable cottage for someone like Twilight.
"So... is Spike here?" I asked her trying to get the touchy subject started early.
"No he has gone to help Rarity at her boutique for a while but he will be back soon," Twilight explained. She was fiddling around in one of the shelves trying to find something. Is it possible Spike hadn't said anything, or maybe that wasn't what she anted to talk about.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"Just looking for... AHA," she said. She emerged holding a large hard back book with the title of "The History of Equestria'. She opened it up to one of the marked pages and presented it to me.
"What am I looking at?" I asked. She sighed and suddenly the book was surrounded by a purple aura and she brought it towards her face.
"It says here that something like your memory loss can easily be treated by getting rid of whatever is blacking them. They will slowly break through after a while but I may of found something that could speed the process," Twilight explained. My head popped up when hearing this.
"Really, you think you can help ?" I asked and she shrugged.
"I might be able to but I have never tried this spell before so I am not sure how well it will work," She explained.
"Well I mean... its worth a shot isn't it," I replied. She thought for a second but then she nodded and put the book down on the stand with an owl perched over it.
"Ok Kalacos, close your eyes and try to focus on some of the memories you have, anything that you can remember," she explained. I closed my eyes and thought back to the dream I had the other night. I still wasn't certain if it was a memory, but it was the closest thing that I had to one. I heard twilight begin to groan a little whilst concentrating and the vision in my head began to glow a strong shade of purple. It flicked through some different scenes: I saw the women in golden and white armour standing in beside me smiling lightly as we approached the royals in front of us. I saw myself walking through the town with a pure white stallion to my right and the women to my left. But then, it swapped to visions much darker.
It showed me standing in a desolate field surrounded by dead flowers whilst darkness erupted from my flank. It then switched to me standing alone in some sort of destroyed castle in front of a table with six seats whilst my eyes glowed red . But suddenly, the visions went a pitch black and two sickly green eyes opened with narrow pupils.
BANG!!
Twilight screeched as she was launched across the room with a dark etch surrounding her horn. I was a bit light headed but I approached Twilight who was no dazed on the floor.
"Are you ok?" I asked in worry. She started to get back to full height and shook.
"Yeah I'm fine, but I am starting to doubt if you are!" She stated.
"Why, did you see my memories?" I asked beginning to panic.
"No I couldn't see anything that you could, I had to concentrate, but I think you have something that I didn't want to believe you did," she explained. She walked over to the book once more and opened it to a different page. "And if that's true, well, you have a long road ahead of you."
"What do you mean?" I questioned her and approached her to observe the book.
"Well, near to peak of Equestria, there was a special type of flower called 'Blue Leethe'. Now, these plants used to be very dangerous when you would walk through them because if you got stung, it would not only erase your memory, it would also cause you to forget who you are," she explained.
"So, you're saying I may of walked through some Leethe plants?" I asked her. She thought for a second.
"You could have, but judging by what happened when I tried to relieve your memory, i think its something much worse." She said. She concentrated on another part of the page near the bottom. " Ah yes. Well, apparently an unknown enemy that is not even named in this book learned how to control the Leethe plants and use them to, oh what's the word... steal someone's memory. So basically, if you want your memory back, you need to find the one who took it in the first place so that you will be able to get it back," she explained.
"Well, how am I meant to get my memory back if I don't even know who took it?" I asked, but as I said it, I realised I had a sneaking suspicion on who it would be.
"Well, if anyone knows it would be Princess Celestia, but she has been busy the past few weeks with the eclipse tomorrow," she said. Wait, Tomorrow?
'It will all be clear in 2 days' The voice had said, could what she said have something to do with the eclipse.
"I need to go then," I pleaded. She simply laughed.
"Its an open event Kalacos, everyone in Equestria is invited. Since Princess Luna is back,. its the first one that they have been able to have in a century," she explained. I started smiling and felt a sense of hope swell inside of me. I looked out the window and the sun was high in the sky. I realised that Applejack would probably be wondering where I am.
"Thanks Twilight. I'll see you tomorrow because I have got to get back to Applejack so I can help around the farm" I explained. Twilight obviously understood and she issued me off before turning and grabbing some more books and running off up the steps. I exited the door and charged through the town towards the farm .
Arriving, I saw Applejack just leaving my barn when she saw me and issued towards the big house. She mouthed 'breakfast' and I felt my stomach begin to rumble when I attempted to catch up with Applejack before she disappeared through the door.
After a delightful breakfast, I once again followed Big mac. Although, this time he led me towards the apple tree fields whilst he carried two buckets which were stretched across his back. We arrived at a tree filled with red, ripe apples and he stood next to it, turned around and prepared to kick the tree. When he lashed out, the apples fell perfectly into the buckets at the side and I looked at him very impressed.
"How did you..." I stammered. He turned around and smiled at me until he started moving towards the Apple tree that was next to it. He stood in front of it, put the buckets down and looked at me, waiting for my go. I took in a deep breath and approached the tree and sized up my opponent. I turned around and lined myself perfectly in the centre like Big Mac had done. I smashed the tree with a powerful but I did not here any apples hit the floor until an ear splitting noise sounded from the distance. I opened my eyes and turned in surprise to see the tree had flown into a rock behind it. The most surprising part was the fact that there was now a huge crack in the boulder. I slowly turned my gaze towards Big Mac who was looking at me in shock.
"Sorry," I said out of embarrassment.
"How did you do that?" Big Mac asked. I didn't know and I just looked down in shame.
"Ok, no more Tree bucking for you, lets see how you do moving some hay to the storage centre," he explained. I looked up expecting him to be annoyed but he was grinning and trying to hold back a laugh. I smiled back and followed him across the farm.
After hours of tough work, I ended the day filled with pride at what I had accomplished. I headed towards the big house and delivered the wheel barrow to Applejack who smiled at me respectfully.
"Good work today Kalacos, you have the day off tomorrow though because I am heading to Canterlot with the others to watch the eclipse," she explained. I nodded in return.
"I know, I am going also. Twilight thinks she may be able to get advice from Celestia about what is happening," I replied. She yawned and nodded in reply.
"That's good. I'm sorry Kalacos, we are going to have to get up early tomorrow to catch the train, and I am already tired so I will see you tomorrow," she stated to which I smiled and nodded in reply. We said are good nights and I headed back to the barn, collapsing in my bed and wondered what will happen tomorrow.
Whilst trying to sleep, nightmares swarmed my mind. I was standing inside a court room area where a stallion was perched on a throne and another with his head down respectfully.
"My lord, Kalacos lives," The stallion in front of the man on the throne said. I was shocked when I realised it was the same one from my dream the other day.
"How could you fail at such a simple task. Our mistress took his memory from him so YOU SHOULD OF KILLED HIM," The man on the throne said now at full height. He was pure green with a sort of lizard tongue and sharp eyes. If I was actually there standing in front of him, I would have been terrified.
"I'm sorry sir, I made the mistake of attacking Athena whilst he watched, he was blinded by anger and if it wasn't for our mistress, he would of killed me," the stallion on the ground explained.
"Well then, you're lucky I wasn't there because if I witnessed that I would have killed you myself," he shouted at him. The stallion on the ground cowered in fear, looking like he was going to run away. "Ok, where is he right now?"
"He wont be a problem, he is in a small town with no memory of even who he is," the cowering stallion stated. The pony on the throne began to rise off his throne and approach him. "Please your majesty, I tried my best to execute your orders, but he was better then we thought."
"Don't talk to me about skilful combat, I sent you because you claimed that you were the best. So before you bow down to me and beg for forgiveness, do your job correctly," the king replied. "Now, they call you Snakebite, but I want you to prove that. We begin are assault the day after the eclipse, you will be the with the guards around the dark heart and don't you dare disappoint me again." Snakebite straightened once again, he looked like he was ready to protest but the king obviously wasn't in the mood to put up with complaints. He simply bowed and ran out of the room.
"You are to harsh on him," a shrilling voice sounded in the room as Snakebite left.
"Sometimes you need to be so they can do what they need to do," the king replied as he approached his throne once again.
"He will play a vital part in the days to come and if you push him, he wont be prepared to do what he has to do," she said. The king was silent for a while until he took his place back in his throne and glared out the door.
"Well lets hope, when the time comes, he wont hesitate once again," the king stated. My dream started to fade until finally, everything went dark.
I woke in a start and peered aroudn the room frantically to take in familair sorrundings.
"Kalacos, you alright" Applejack asked. Hearing her voice, I am almost jumped out of my skin from her sudden appearance.
"Applejack, how long have you been there?" I questioned her, attempting to control my breathing.
"I'm sorry, I just came to wake you up but it seemed like you were having a nightmare," she explained. I looked at her in fear, but saw she only appeared to be worried about me and she had no idea what I was dreaming about.
"Oh, Im fine, it was just a nightmare," I lied. "When are we leaving for Canterlot?" I asked.
"We are heading to the train station in an hour. We are brewing up some breakfast to have before we leave, but first, you will need to change the hay in your bed before it becomes weared out," she explained. I lifted the blanket a little and saw that some of the hay had turned a sickly black and started to lose all shape.
"Alright, I'll meet you up there in a bit, feel free to start without me," I explained. She nodded slightly and made her way out of the barn and towards the big house one more time, I began to grab bundles of hay in my mouth and threw it into the wheelbarrow in the corner. I then grabbed some new hay, laid it out accordingly, placed the blanket down and smiled at my work. Suddenly, the smell of cooked food flooded through the open window and invited me to follow the trail.
After a filling breakfast and excited chatter, we packed some drinks and food into a bag and headed out towards the train station. The station was completely packed with stallions and mares alike. All the young ponies were charging around chasing each other out of excitement and the older ones standing around, filling the air wi4th a buzz of chatter. I approached the girls with Applejack at my side, and when they saw us, they turned and smiled.
"Hey guys, you excited?" Twilight asked.
"Sure are, seems like a big turn out," Applejack explained looking around at everyone.
"Yeah, looks like everyone from Ponyville turned up," I stated. "What is happening in the town?"
"Everyone is here. People had only heard of eclipses in legends and now that one is happening, who would want to miss that?" Rarity explained.
"Plus it's an excuse to take a day off work and visit Canterlot," Twilight added. The others nodded in reply and ended up rambling away.
After a few minutes, a faint sound was heard in the distance and a smoke trail shot up from the tunnel. A glamorous train arrived in the station and every pony began to shuffle towards the doors in excitement. But the real attraction was the inside of the carriages. The roof was emerald incrusted and tables had lined the walls. White chairs were dotted around the carriage but left enough space for breathing room. All in all, the carriages were perfectly designed to make the journey as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. I took a seat at the end of the cabin whilst the girls carried on walking up. The moment I hit the soft surface, my eyes began to feel heavy.
"Oh and Kalacos, I will try to get you a talk with Princess Celestia before the eclipse, but I wouldn't count on it. She has a busy day today so we will be very lucky if we manage to. But don't worry, will we get a talk with her either way," Twilight explained. I nodded in reply and gave her a appreciative smile before peering out the window as the train set out from the station and revealed the journey ahead.
Upon arrival in Canterlot, I saw how amazing the city was compared to Ponyville. The city itself was massive with cottages, Shops and Bakery's down almost every street. The train stopped at a station just a bit outside of the city and I got a good view of the castle, towering above all of the other buildings in the middle. It has golden spires which seemed to reflect the sunlight giving it a glowing mirage. But another building caught my eye. A giant golden dome with a huge telescope sticking out the top.
"That building is the library," Twilight explained.
"Its impressive," I pointed out as we made our way out of the station and into a busy crowd of people. "Is Canterlot always this busy?" I asked.
"No, the eclipse is a big event. Every pony in Equestria has heard about it, and since it is an open event, almost every pony will take the opportunity to visit Canterlot," Twilight replied.
"Who wouldn't want to come here, this place is amazing," I pointed out. The girls giggled and stormed passed me up the steps to join the rest of the ponies at the gates. When the soldiers opened them, a swarm rushed through and separated into different directions. Young ponies ordered their parents to buy them sweets and elderly pony were dining at some of the nearby cafes. We followed the main path leading towards the castle with a group of others, but we mainly left alone when we reached the gate.
"I'm sorry, no one is allowed in until... oh hi Twi, I am sorry, I didn't know it was you," A stallion in golden armour said, smiling at twilight. She approached and embraced the pony.
"Hey Shining, I am sorry to be abrupt but we need to talk to Celestia," Twilight explained. The pony in armour turned and looked at the giant doors warily.
"I would love to help you twilight, I could send a messenger up to Celestia but she is busy right now. Her and Luna have a lot of preparing to do, and with the flood of ponies in Equestria, the royal guards are on full alert just in case the Changlings attempt to take advantage of the situation. And we don't want that again," the stallion explained. The girls behind me began to smile, but with a mixture of worry like it brought back mixed memories.
"No we do not," Twilight replied nodding slightly. "How is Cadence?"
"She is good, you should visit the Crystal Empire soon, Skyla's birthday is coming up and we holding events for the occasion," the stallion stated. He then moved to one of the guards next to him and ordered him to do something. The soldier saluted and entered through the gates. The stallion then turned around once again, he studied the group and when his eyes landed on me, he began to frown.
"Oh right, how rude of me. Shining, this is Kalacos. Kalacos, this is Shining armour, captain of the Canterlot Royal guards, prince of the crystal empire and best of all, my big brother," Twilight explained.
"Quite a title," I replied and nodded respectfully towards him. He returned the gesture but he was still looking at me in concern.
"I'm sorry, It's just I feel like I have seen you somewhere before," Shining armour said. I turned to Twilight to explain but she was looking at me in confusion also.
"Erm... Kalacos has lost his memory, and that's one of the reasons we need Princess Celestia to see if she can help him recover them," Rainbow Dash pointed out. Shining armour slowly nodded whilst still staring at me, but he shook his head and smiled back at twilight once again when the soldier who entered the castle remerged and whispered something in Shining Armours ear.
"Ok. Celestia will see you before the eclipse, but she is busy right now so please come back to the castle in around... 2 hours," Shining Armour explained. He then averted his gaze to twilight. "Cadence and Skyla have arrived so if you would like to come with me and see them whilst the others explore the city, I am sure they would love to see you."
"I would love to. Do you guys mind?" Twilight asked turning back around to us.
"Oh not at all, I think I am going to go into the centre and do some shopping," Rarity said. The others nodded along with her and Pinkie began to bounce excitedly.
"You guys can go ahead into the town. I think I am going to check out the library for a bit," I explained. Rainbow Dash scoffed.
"Oh god, the last thing we need is another Twilight," she joked. Twilight gave her a death glare, said her goodbyes and began following Shining Armour up a separate path. I followed the others into town, but we split paths after a while and I followed a solo road towards the giant building in front of me.
I thought the outside of the Library was impressive, but the inside was even more breath taking then the exterior. The walls were lined with shelves which were filled with books. At least a hundred ponies were strolling around the library, but (due to the size) I could hardly tell. For some reason, I felt a strong urge to go over to a secluded part of the library where a single shelf of books were out of the way. I walked over and pulled out one of the book labelled "History Of Equestria." I thought it would be a good way to learn about my new home so I brought it to a near by table and began reading.
After what felt like forever, the girls walked into the library and approached the table I was sitting at.
"Hey Kalacos, we better head back to the castle soon, Princess Celestia may be waiting for us," Applejack explained. I looked up in a slight daze.
"Er... yeah, sorry, I kind of lost lack of time," I said, approaching the shelf and putting the book back. I turned around, shook my head and smiled at them. "Let's go find out who I am." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A guard guided us through the castle. The halls were lined with giant windows which were painted with images.
"Isn't that King Sombra being defeated by Princess Celestia and Lune," I explained. "And that's discord... And that's Luna turning into nightmare moon," I said whilst walking down the corridor nodding towards each window. The girls looked at me in shock.
"How do you know all that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The stories were all in the book I read. I didn't realise how important this princess truly was," I replied, looking around the room in awe once more. We walked up a set of stairs and a tall throne appeared in front of us were a white pony with flowing rainbow hair stood talking to a dark pony with purple flowing hair. They didn't here us approaching at first, until the guard knelt in front of us.
"Princess Celestia, the visitors are here to see you," the guard said. The two ponies turned and smiled at the girls, they returned the smile and walked further up the steps towards her.
"Girls, I am glad you could make it. I am sorry I couldn't see you sooner, there has been a lot o do preparing for today. Forgive me for being rude but I must ask, why did you come to see me," Princess Celestia said politely. As if on cue, Twilight emerged from one of the doors on the side of the room.
"I'm sorry I am late guys," Twilight explained. She approached Applejack who was standing in front of the others and nodded her head respectfully. "Princess Celestia."
"Hello Twilight. And as I was saying to the girls, I must ask why you have come to see me so abruptly?" She asked Twilight.
"I am sorry Celestia, but we wanted help with a situation that happened. I will let Kalacos explain though," Twilight said.
"Kalacos?" She asked. Was it just me or did she glance nervously at Luna. Twilight smiled at me and I emerged from behind the other ponies.
"Hello your majesty," I said, bowing. When I looked up, she had a strange look on her face. The respectful smile that she was giving me was obviously forced, and her eyes grew darker.
"Hello Kalacos, and what seems to be the problem," she asked. I looked her in the eyes, but they drifted else where.
"Erm... well, It's sort of a long story," I said. I then proceeded to explain waking up in the infirmary with no memory, the back flashes that I have had and how I could cast magic (Twilight seemed to of thought it was important.) When I was done, Princess Celestia didn't seem shocked, in fact, she seemed quite relieved.
"So, you say you have no memory," Celestia asked.
"It's more then that. I attempted to use a spell to see if I could retrieve any, but... well, I believe they have been stolen," Twilight then explained. Celestia looked at Twilight with new found interest.
"Stolen? Why do you think that?" Princess Celestia replied.
"Well, when I was casting the memory, I could feel myself pushing through. But then, something forced me out. Something dark and alive," Twilight told her. Celestia was quite for a second. I turned to look at Princess Luna and saw her looking at me in shock. Both of them seemed to share a secret that they were not willing to talk about. It seemed like Celestia was about to say something when a guard opened the door.
"Sorry to disturb your highnesses, but it is time to get ready," he said. Princess Celestia seemed in some sort of trance, but she looked up at him and nodded.
"I am sorry girls. We will talk again later, but I must prepare now," she said. She then turned to me. She gave me a strange look at first, but she smiled at me respectfully. "Nice to meet you Kalacos." Luna and Celestia then turned and 3walked through a door behind the throne and up a set of stairs.
"Is it just me or was she acting strange?" Rainbow Dash asked. The other girls nodded slightly.
"I am sure it is just because she is stressed about tonight," Fluttershy pointed out, The other agreed with no other explanation, but I couldn't shake the feeling that they had met me before. I turned and forced a smile.
"So, should we go watch the eclipse then?" I asked. They returned the smile and walked out of the gate to the viewing point on the other side of the city
"We should not go on with this event Celestia," Luna explained. Celestia was standing on the balcony looking over at her subjecyts crowd around, waiting for the Eclipse to appear.
"You know we have to di it now Luna. This world has gone for too long without replenishment, his appearance does not change anything," Celestia replied.
"It changes everything and you know it," Luna pointed out. Celestia gave her a scorning look.
"I know it could be dangerous Luna, but you know as well as anyone we need to combine our powers. If we do not, the consequences could be even worse," Celestia explained. Luna was getting ready to argue, but she knew how stubborn Celestia could be. She stayed quite and approached her side.
"Look at all of them," Luna said. Her sisters face was dark as she studied her subjects. "Equestria will be fine one more year without are light and darkness. If we carry on, not only could that be a danger for us, that could be a danger for all of them," Luna explained. Celestia looked down, she had tears in her eyes, but after a while she looked back up and turned to her sister.
"Luna, this world cannot wait any longer. The reason why so much evil has risen is because it has waited long enough. It has to happen now Luna, or else we could lose once and for all," Celestia explained. Luan then turned once more to look at the city. Inside, she wanted to leave and prevent the Eclipse from happening, but she knew there was no other way.
"Well then, we better get on with it before it gets to late," Luna stated, Celestia turned and smiled.
"Thank you for understanding sister," she replied. They faced it each other, and crossed there horns. Both began to glow, one was surrounded in light, the other was surrounded in darkness. The sky followed there command, the moon began to rise, but the sun stayed put. As the moon began to cover the soon, dark mist filled the fields outside the city. Suddenly, something inside Luna started churning, and the moon completely covered the sun. Luna suddenly shot back and Celestia looked at her in shock.
"Luna what are you doing?" Celestia asked her.
"I knew we shouldn't have done this Celestia," Luna shouted at her sister. Suddenly...
BOOM!!!
An explosion of darkness shot up from the crowd of ponies and Celestia looked down in horror.
"Luna, quick. We have to finish or else..." Celestia turned. She looked at her sister in horror as she was doubled over in pain. The darkness seemed to be attracted towards her skin, making her morph into a monstrosity. "LUNA!" Celestia charged over to her and rested her horn on her flank. The darkness was forced away with the light from the princesses horn, but Luna laid there unconscious. Celestia dragged her inside and opened a door to a different room shrouded with light, forcing the darkness to retreat.
"Rest easy sister," Celestia said. She then turned to the balcony once again and saw the mass of ponies dispersing in a wave of panic.
So much pain... What is happening... It's so dark... I'm so cold.
When the eclipse was in full motion, and darkness began to dominate the light, I felt something churning inside of me. I attempted run away from the others, but I was stuck in the crowd. I felt like screaming, but no one could hear me. I was trapped in my own body, and something was desperately attempting to get out. I watched in horror, unable to move my body as I sensed a wave of darkness approaching the castle, and by the time the moon had completely covered the sun, I lost all control. M vision went dark, the only thing I could hear around me was ponies screaming in fear.
"You're even more vulnerable then I thought," The female voice shrieked in my mind once again. I attempted to fight the sensation, but it was almost impossible. Suddenly, my vision changed and I could see myself in a third person view. I was surrounded by a mist of darkness, glowing red eyes with tiny black pupils. My mane stood up on edge and the muscles in my legs were pulsating with power. Suddenly, I couldn't control myself, I started making my way through a screaming crowd, approaching the castle which loomed above me. The girls were behind me looking at me in horror. I fought against the force, attempting to take control of my body, but all I managed to do was slow myself down.
"Why are you fighting yourself Kalacos, can't you tell. This is your true nature," the voice said once again, but I realised it was actually coming from my own body. I couldn't believe that was true, but I remembered my nightmare when I fought the stallion in my old home. The darkness that surrounded me and attacked him without thinking. My anger overwhelmed me, and if his mistress didn't intervene, I could have killed him. I was now at the gates, and as I opened the gates, I saw Princess Celestia standing in front of her throne, staring at me intensely.
"Why are you here, leave his body and show yourself," Celestia shouted at me. Suddenly, the darkness in my skin turned into a sickly green mist.
"I will not fall for that. The only way you can defeat me is by killing your friend," the female voice replied.
"How did you do this, you should not be powerful enough to dominate any body yet," Celestia replied. The voice let out a chilling laugh.
"Oh please, thanks to you, Kalacos was pretty much dead anyway. You knew the consequences, and still you carried ion. Now my army is on it's way, and you have no way to protect your city," the voice spoke. Suddenly, the doors shot open and the 6 girls charged through the doorway, all with charms on. 5 of the girls had necklaces, all suited to there cutie marks, but Twilight wore a crown and stood in the centre.
"Princess Celestia, leave," Twilight shouted. A purple mist began to form around them and the girls began to hover off the ground.
"NO, STOP!" Celestia shouted at the girls. The voice was laughing like a maniac and as a strike of rainbow it my body, a flare of pain shot all around of me. I could feel my life's essence being drained and, when my vision returned to my body, I blacked out...
Once the eclispse started, Kalacos started to act strange. He began to stumble backwards, and as the girls attmepted to let him out of the crowd, he began to cower in fear.
"Kalacos, what's wrong?" Applejack asked him, growing increasingly concerned. Suddenly, the moon overlapped the sun and stopped. Kalacos started to whimper, he held his flank.
"He needs help. We have to find help," Fluttershy stated. Other ponies turned around and looked at him in concern. Suddenly, an orb of darkness exploded from his body and surrounded the court yard. Ponies were sent into a mass panic, and the sky was caught in a constant darkness. A few moments passed when suddenly Kalacos stood back up.
"Kalacos... you alright?" Twilight asked him. Suddenly Kalacos turned around and what they saw was terrifying. He had transformed into a nightmare with darkness surrounding him and pure red eyes with dark, empty pupils. He turned around and faced the castle. He began walking towards is, but after a while he started to slow down.
"Why are you fighting yourself Kalacos, can't you tell. This is your true nature," Kalacos said, but it wasn't his voice, it was shrill, female voice. He made his way towards the castle, and entered through the doors.
"Quick girls, we have to get the elements," Twilight ordered. the girls all nodded and charged off.
When they got the elements, they ran to the castle, and saw Kalacos surrounded by a green mist rather then black. He turned and his eyes were now pure green.
"Celestia get out of here," Twilight shouted. The elements were activated and they began to hover off the floor. When the beam of light hit Kalacos, there was a blinding light for a few second, until the mist faded. Pinkie's hair straightened and all the others looked down in horror.
"What have you done!" Celestia demanded, charging over to the pony laying motionless on the floor.
"I... I thought the elements on extinguished the darkness from within?" Twilight asked in horror. Kalacos was laying on the ground, twitching as blood seeped from his flank. The crimson red liquid began to cover the section of the floor and trickled out of his mouth.
"What have we done?" Rainbow asked in shock.
"MEDICS!" Celestia shouted. After a few minutes, two ponies charged through and investigated Celestia. "Not me you fools, him!" She ordered. No one had ever seen Celestia so intense. The ponies picked Kalacos up and brought him through a set of doors and disappeared into a different room.
"Celestia... we're sor,"
"SAVE IT! I tried to warn you, stop you, but you wouldn't listen," Celestia shouted. She then sighed and shook her head. "I am sorry girls, I know you were trying to help, but right now, I need some time to think," she said. Suddenly, her face seemed to age a few years and her posture became lazy. She wandered out of the room and up a set of stairs towards the royal bedroom.
"Should we go after her or Kalacos?" Twilight asked the girls.
"No, I think it would be best if we stayed out of there way for a while," Applejack replied. The other girls hesitated at first, but they admitted that they were in the wrong. The approached the gate with the head held low out of shame, but as they exited the castle, they realised the chaos the palace was in. Many ponies had retreated to the station and swarmed the trains which were waiting to bring them back home. Residence's of Canterlot closed up shop and stayed in for the night, and the fields all around were surrounded by a peculiar dark mist with a green tint.
"What happened?" Applejack asked. No one had a reply, they just watched in horror as Equestria entered anarchy, the guards attempted to calm all the ponies down, and a couple kept order at the train station allowing them to board the train one at a time. The other guards were on full alert around the castle, I am surprised they didn't see Kalacos approaching the castle, but they seemed to be peering nervously at the sky.
"What are they waiting for?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't know, and I am not sure if I really want to find out," Twilight replied. The girls headed to the bottom of the steps, but they couldn't find anywhere to go. The streets were deserted, and the ways to the station was now blocked off, the only thing that they could do was sit on the steps and wait for the situation in the castle to die down. Suddenly, Rarity perked up and began to look at the others.
"Did anyone see Princess Luna?" She asked. They all shook there heads, and began to grow increasingly concerned.
"If something could posses Kalacos like that, is there any way Luna..." Fluttershy stuttered. They all knew what Luna could do, and the fact that the moon was stuck in the sky simply increased there suspicions.
After the girls charged in, some much happened that I couldn't even keep track of it. I watched my body get hit by a powerful strike, but as it happened, my vision returned to normal. There was a searing pain through my entire body, and I blacked out. Even though the pain subsided, I was haunted by nightmares, worse then I had before.
I saw an army, it was mixed with dark creatures with devilish teeth and horns. Although, in the mass of all of them, I saw the pony who had attacked me in the sky castle, and the king who sat on the throne. They walked through the armies ranks towards an allotments of cages being carried by giant ogre like creatures. The placed the cages on the floor violently, causing the hundreds of ponies inside to flinch in fear. He ignored the majority of cages, he seemed to take joy from the terrified expressions he was retrieving. His main focused appeared to be a different cage with its on personal transport. Inside were four different ponies, three mares, and one stallion.
"So, you're the mighty Athena I have heard so much about. It's not nice being trapped in a cage is it," the king said putting his head right against the cage. The bruised and blooded mare looked up at the pony and started muttering some pretty harsh comments. "Oh, don't worry, I will not kill you or the royals. You will be used as bait for Kalacos, and also, My Mistress has specifically ordered your majesties to be delivered alive for your royal blood," he told them, directed towards the older ponies. They had a protectiv4e statue over a younger pony who was looking at the stallion terrified. He then smiled at her.
"Oh Princess Stela, the legends about you are true I see," he said, admiring her. "And don't worry, you will be spared to. When we end the Alicorns rule, you will be my queen," he said. The king pushed her further behind him and gave the stallion a death glare.
"You will not touch her!" he stated. The monstrous stallion looked ready to snap, but instead, he let out a manic laugh.
"Oh, you are funny. But you see, we have control of your kingdom now. You have no power. Soon, you will be dead, and your blood shall water the earth and mark a new era of rule," he said. The injured king retracted a little, put he kept a defensive position over his daughter.
"No matter, my patience will be rewarded. . The Eclipse has caused a constant night, Kalacos sent a wave of chaos throughout Equestria He would be lucky if they don't kill him themselves," The monster said. At that point, Athena's eyes filled with terror. She had a mixture of horror and rage and she glared at the man.
"What did you do to him?" Athena asked him.
"Oh, I didn't do anything. My mistress only helped him reveal his true nature. Princess Luna is immobilized and Celestia is in a dangerous state. The defenders realm has been wiped out and there is no one left to protect the kingdoms below. In no time, My Mistress will wake and there will be nothing that can stop her," he explained. He then turned around and a magical veil covered the cage.
"WE ARE MOVING, WE WILL BE ARRIVING IN EQUESTRIA IN 5 DAYS," The king shouted. A collective cheer shot up from the crowd and they carried on marching.
I woke up in a start, I was in a cold room all alone with a searing pain in my side. I attempted to get up, but I swarmed by fatigue, I was forced to lay back down. Peering around the room, I saw that the room was quite spaces with multiple beds in. It was still pitch black outside and completely silent. Suddenly the door creaked open a little and a man in a doctors uniform came in. He didn't notice me awake at first, and as he stumbled around the room checking for certain syringes.
"Hello," I said. The doctor jumped so bad, the hair all over his body stood on one edge. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"That's alright, I just didn't expect you to be awake for a while. You recover fast," he pointed out. He approached me slowly and checked the scars all over my body. "You heal fast to, I stitched up the worst makes, but the others will take a while to heal. You should have a flaring pain in your lower abdomen for a while, and I wouldn't get up to fast either. Your lucky to be alive you know," he explained. I still couldn't concentrate after my dream.
"Erm excuse me, is there any chance I could talk to Celestia?" I asked him. He looked at me.
"I am not sure, she isn't in the best of moods right now, Princess Luna is badly injured. I will tell her you are awake, but if she wants to meet with you, you will most likely have to wait," he explained. I nodded and began to get up. I began to sweat and felt extremely dizzy, but I got onto my feet.
"Have you seen six girls anywhere?" I asked, almost completely out of breath. He looked at me very concerned, he started to approach me, but I issued him away promising I can support myself.
"Well, there are some girls in one of the guest rooms. They looked upset when they were let in," he explained. I sighed, I hope they weren't beating themselves up over me.
"Ok thank you doctor, where abouts is the room?" I asked.
"I wouldn't recommend walking around right now, you need some rest before you tsrat moving," he said.
"Im fine," I protested.
"No you're not," he argued. I turned around and looked out the window towards the deserted streets.
Kalacos sent a wave of chaos throughout Equestria, he would be lucky if they don't kill him themselves
"Please, this is important, I have to speak to them," I explained. He saw the desperation in my face and sighed.
"Atleast let me fetch them so you don't have to go up the stairs?" he asked. I hesitated, but I nodded in reply anyway. He exited the room along with a couple of pads and sirenges.
A couple of minutes later, Pinkie peered into the room.
"Kalacos, oh thank god you're ok," she shoited. She charged towards me and hugged me, which took me by surprise.
"What... you don't hate me?" I asked in shock. The other girls walked around the corner.
"Thank god, I thought you were... never mind," Twilight said, slowly approaching me.
"What happened, hwo did you guys do that?" I asked.
"We are he bearers of these things called the elements of Harmony, it vanquishes the darkness inside people," she explained
"Does it normally do this to the people on the outside?" I asked.
"Not usually know, but I think whatever was inside you transfrerred the damage to youer body," Twilight explained.
"Interseting theory Twilight, but that isn't entirely correct," someone said in the doorway. I looked up and saw a weary looking Celestia entering the room.
"Celestia are you ok?" Twilight asked. Celestia gave her a weak smile.
"I am alright Twilight, a lot has happened, and it has happened to fast," Celestia explained.
"What did you mean, not exactly. Do you know something about me?" I asked her. She looked at me with a mixture of fear and concern.
"I do, but i promised I wouldnt say. Some of your memories were taking away from someone else in spite, but some were taken for a good reason," Celstia explained. Rage began to build inside me.
"Are you saying that you have information about my past and you are not even going to say?" I asked.
"I made a vow a long time ago to beings far more powerful then our own. And some vows can never be broken," Celestia explained. I still didn't understand and kept my eyes on her.
"Well whatever you know about me doesn't matter," I said resisting the urge to scream at her. "You Majesty, what is the Black Heart?" She turned to look at me in shock.
"Where did you hear about this?" she asked me.
"I had a dream. A... couple dreams actually," I replied. I then went on to explain about the army and the 5 day deadline. I didn't mention the imprisoned gaurdians, that seemed personal.
"5 days. This is worse then I thought," she said.
"You know this would happen?" Twilight demanded, anger filling her voice. "Why didn't you warn us?" She turned to the girls with tears in her eyes.
"You all should know better then anyone that these events aren't that simple," she replied. Twilight look4ed like she was ready to argue, but she retracted and began to walk around the room in frustration.
"Well what do you expect to do then. We can't just sit around whilst things threaten to destroy Equestria," Rainbow complained. Celestia sighed and shook her head.
"There is not much we can do. This is not like anything we have fought before. These armies have no darkness inside them, they seek to destroy it. The elements will not assist us on this journey," Celestia stated.
"What do you mean hey can't assist us. You said they are Equestria's greatest weapon?" Applejack argued.
"They are, I am sure you have realised that Equestria isn't the only land in this world," Celestia stated. The other girls looked at her in shock.
"Well I mean, I guess I sort of understood that. But I never truly thought about it," Twilight said. "If there are more lands, why have we never heard about them?"
"Because most places are either left barren, or filled with creatures that would happily kill ponies without a second thought," she explained.
"And that's where the black heart is?" I guessed. She nodded glumly. "Well how are we meant to retrieve it if it's so dangerous?"
"I am afraid I can't go. If war is coming, I have to stay here to defend my kingdom," Celestia explained.
"Well, I think the best way to defend your kingdom is to find the only thing that could save it," Twilight stated.
"I cannot leave at a time like this. That'll cause even more chaos, and we need all the ponies we can get right now," Celestia explained.
"Well, I guess that just leaves us?" Fluttershy pointed out. They looked at Celestia, waiting for her to say something in return, but she simply nodded.
"Well I am going with you. I was sent here for a reason, and the fact I have been having these dreams is not a coincidence," I explained. Celestia seemed to flinch.
"No... you have to stay here," Celestia said. The others looked at her in shock.
"What do you mean. Someone needs to help with this trip, and if you can't spare any soldiers, what's the problem?" I asked her.
"It's to dangerous, that land is filled with darkness and after seeing what happened here, I am not sure your company will be a good thing," Celestia explained.
"Well what am I meant to do, sit around whilst others do the job I am meant to do?" I asked.
"We are done talking about this!" Celestia ordered. She turned to the girls. "You'll be leaving tomorrow, get some rest," she stated. Rainbow and Applejack peered at me with suspicious faces but in the end they all nodded.
"Alright, I must rest now, if we want to survive there is a lot of work to be done," Celestia stated. She then stormed out the room without a second glance.
"Kalacos, do you want us to stay for a bit?" Twilight asked. I peered out the window and looked across the fields. The pain in my flank had subsided a little, and I was tempted to leave. I knew I had a place in this quest, and I was not going to sit around helplessly whilst the others risked there lives.
"No it's fine, get some sleep. I need some time to think," I replied. They all nodded, said there goodnights and left the room. I sat up and stared out the window. Darkness flooded the fields and the moon still had not moved across the sky. It covered the sun preventing any light from flooding through. I know I needed to leave, I didn't belong here. If I don't find the black heart, what will happen to the imprisoned guardians. I knew what I needed to do, and I wasn't going to let a sleep deprived princess say I couldn't.
I got off the bed, packed some useful supplies into a satchel. Cloths, medicine, water and collected some food off a banquet table. Some weapons were lined in the corner of the room, I grabbed a golden glazed dagger and a metal lined net. I strapped the knife to my side and the net in the bag, and set out towards the mountains.