My Little Heroby steel soulChaptersIt was near a river...Stories...The Princess and the Forest...It was near a river...The morning dew dripped lazily from the treetops, and the song birds chirped happily from their nest. Little critters ran this way and that way busily doing what they do best, scurrying about. It was a normal day in the plains of Equestria. At least one would think it was… In the river, not too far from the Everfree Forest, was a brown furred figure, its lower body submerged while its upper body rested on the rocky gravel. He was, for the being was most certainly a male, unconscious. His body was covered with cuts and bruises, a trail of blood had trickled down his forehead, drying in the heat of the sun to cake his fur in and red nasty mess. He had been dressed in a black no-sleeve shirt, with tan pants, both of which looked no better than their owner, being torn and tattered to the point of disrepair. All and all, the poor being had looked as though he had been through the gates of Tartarus and back again. It was then that one would hear a cheerful little ditty coming not too far away from the strange being. The voice in itself belonged to a pink maned pony with butter-yellow fur. She had been trudging a cart full of clothes, having just washed them not to long ago up river. It only took a quick look for her to see the strange creature and for her to just as quickly dive in a nearby patch of bushes. They shook violently as her eyes peered from an opening she had made. They blinked twice before, trying to register what it was that she was looking at. After about five minuets she would pop her head out to see if she could get a better look at the being. To her surprise she could see that not only was it not moving but it seem to have been hurt somehow. Or possibly worse… “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” She stammered, quickly moving toward the creature. “What do I do!?” She quickly wrapped her fore hooves under his arms, and slowly began to pull the rest of his body out of the water, praying to the heaves above that she was not causing more damage to the poor creature. It took about a full five minutes to finish her task. The shy little pony twisted him so that he could face upwards, and despite the urgency of the situation, she could not help but study and be amazed by the look of the strange creature’s face. The same brown hair covered his face, along with what she had suspected was his hair. Despite the blood that had caked part of his face she could tell that he looked feline in origin, complete with a pink button nose and a cute little muzzle. She pressed her ear against his mouth. Nothing… “Oh my! Ok! Ok! Ah…” She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and lowered herself, pressing her lips against his own, letting her breath fill his lungs. After she did so she would raise up and begin pressing down on his chest with her fore hooves repeatedly. He didn’t stir… “C-Come on Fluttershy! You can do this!” She said quietly to herself, trying to give herself a boost of confidence. She repeated her past actions, ending with her once again pressing her hooves into his chest. Nothing again… “Please…for me…” She said as tears began to form at the corner of her eyes. She did it once more. *Cough Cough* When the creature coughed she almost squealed with delight, but quickly corrected herself. “No time for praising yourself Fluttershy! He’s not out of the woods yet! She ran to her cart and dumped the contents out there of. She quickly pulled it to where the creature was and quickly (but not too much so) loaded the poor thing onto the cart. She then began a fast yet careful trek to her little cottage on the hill. ******* “BURRRRRPPPPPP!!” “SPIKE!” Twilight Sparkle glared at her assistant with a judging look in her eyes. The one she was looking at, a little purple and green dragon. He turned around and raised an eyebrow to her, cookie crumbs clinging to the baby dragon’s mouth. “What?” The purple unicorn rolled her eyes and turned to face a pink cotton candy maned pony with a bright smile on her face. “Sorry Pinkie. You were saying?” “Oh I was just telling you my Pinkie Sense was going off like crazy yesterday.” She said in a sing-song voice. “Is that so…” Twilight still didn’t know what triggered her so called ‘Pinkie Sense’ and that in itself, had always baffled. For a pony to just…know…when something was going to happen with out the use of magic…it was so strange. But she accepted it none the less so why dwell too much on it and saying what everypony eles did. "Pinkie Pie is just being Pinkie Pie." “Yes-sir-ree!” Pinkie said, pulling the purple mare from her thoughts. “So…what did it say…your ‘Pinkie Sense?'” “I have no Ideal.” “What?” Twilight deadpanned. “Usually I would know, but this time I don’t. I’ve never not know before. WAIT! There was that time that I had pinkie sense and I didn’t know what it meant or what it was for. Though at the end of the day that Particular Pinkie Sense was for you when you told me that you believed in my Pinkie Sense. And I was all like ‘Say whaaaaa~’ and you where all like ‘Mhm!’ And I was all like, ‘Your kidding.’ And you were all like, ‘No way!’ and I was all like, ‘Yay!’ And you were all like-“ “Pinkie!!” “Yes?” “We get it…” He blinked a few times before smiling brightly at Twilight. “Okie-Dokie-Lokie!” IT was then that Spike chimed in. “So Pinkie…Are you saying that you don’t know what your Pinkie Sense is telling you…just like that last time?” “Yep-a-roony!” “Well whatever it was, it might have to do what that serge of energy I’ve felt last night…” Twilight said, more to herself than to anypony else. Spike looked upwards thinking back to last night. *FLASHBACK* Spike was busily sleeping in his bed, dreaming a peaceful dream about ice cream and cake, when he was pulled from his dream by a frantic looking Twilight. Her hair was a mess and bags where under her eyes. All and all, she was not the first thing he wanted to wake up to in the middle of the night. “SPIKE! TAKE A LETTER!” She yelled running to her table to pull out an ink pin and paper. She roughly levitated it to her assistant, who caught it with much distaste. “Take a letter? But Twilight, it’s not even light outside…I doubt the princess is even up right now…” He said, stiffening a yawn as he did so. “This is urgent Spike! I was looking up into the sky with my telescope when I noticed some bright light. Normally I thought that this was a new galaxy being formed but upon closer inspecting I noticed it was getting closer and closer to the ground, it hovered above the Everfree Forest for a bit before some…energy shot out of it. It made my horn glow like crazy when it did so! I need you to contact the princess now! I have to tell her about it!.” “Are you sure you’re not just sleep deprived Twilight?” Spike said, giving her a glare. She got close to him, her nose touching his own. He could clearly see the derange look in her eyes as she stared deep into the poor Dragon’s Soul. “Spike…dear…Please. Write. The letter…” She said in a disturbingly calm voice. Spike gulped before putting ink to the paper. *END FLASHBACK* Spike grimaced as he remembered the way Twilight looked last night. He was sure to have nightmares. “Spike? Did you hear me?” He looked over to see Twilight looking at him. “Ah…Sorry Twi…I was…ah…thinking?” “Well pay attention spike, I told you that we need to get over to Rarity’s.” His head perked up at his crush’s name. “Wait? Why?” “If I felt it, maybe other unicorns have as well. What better place to start then with her.” She said matter-of-factly. She turned and made her way toward the door. “Hey! Wait up!” Spike called out, following after her. He then came back and grabbed a plate full of cookies before leaving again. “Later Pinks!” “Later Spike. See ya Twilight.” She smiled and waved a hoof at them as they left, and even some time afterward. After a few seconds she would look at the door and then call out . “HEEEEYY! You forgot to pay!!” ****** Flutter shy came out of the wash room, covered in a power blue robe. She made her way downstairs and trotted over to the sofa where she had placed the creature just minutes before. She had dressed and cleaned his wounds (Much to her embarrassment when she found out what exactly his pants had hidden from her view. It also proved that she was right about him being a boy.) and had covered him with a thick blanket. Despite the scare he had given her at the river he was basically alright. His cuts weren’t as deep as she had first thought which meant that he was not in danger of getting an infection. She placed a hoof of his forehead for what seemed like the twentieth time in less then an hour. “Good…no fever…” She said, sighing lightly to herself. She sat down on her hunches, as she began to bursh her hair. “You gave me quite the scare back there. I’m glad your alright.” He just lay there, breathing lightly. She looked his way for a second before turning away from him again. “Just what are you anyway? I’ve never seen an animal quite like you before. You’re too tall to be a cat…at least not a normal one. Maybe your some kind of abnormal breed that resides in the Everfree Forest.” He gently began to stir in his dream like state, though his eyes remained close. “I hope it’s ok if I say this, but your fur is such a lovely shade of brown. It went so well with your outfit. To bad its looks ruined.” She looked up into the sky as a thought crossed her mind. “I wonder who made it for you. I could certainly see why you would need it though…Sorry about that by the way…” She looked to her right to see the creature looking over at her, soft brown eyes stareing straight at the shy little pony. They were brown, only a shade lighter than his fur. They were the type of brown one would see in the begging of autumn just as the trees were begging to turn. The two stared at each other for the longest of times, their eyes never wavering, never blinking. One would be able to cut a knife into the tension that now surrounded Fluttershy’s home. The creature slowly began to sit up after a while, a bit of pain etched on his face as he did so. Fluttershy tensed up at this, her body now in the fight or flight position. She had opened her mouth to speak but before she could he had beaten her to the punch. “Hello?” All senses in Fluttershy’s brain instantly shut off then and there, and she fainted without a moment’s notice. Stories...Chapter 2 Fluttershy awoke to the morning sun beaming down on her. A think warm blanket snuggled against her frame, making her close her eyes, unable to find the energy to rise. As she did so her thoughts would drift to the dream she had, had. And to the strange creature that was at the epicenter of it all. “So…very…strange…”She would say as sleep threated to overtake her. *THUMBTHUMBTHUMBTHUMBTHUMBTHUMB* She was rudely awaken by several knocks upside her head. When it stopped her eyes rocked back and forth before swirling in dizziness. When she finally regained her composure she would looked toward the one that had assaulted her. It bounced in front of her, a little white bunny with a cotton like tail. It had folded his arms about its chest and was giving her a nasty glare. “Angel? What’s wrong? Did i-” The smell of food cut her off in mid-sentence. Smiling, she would float down the stairs (Which might not been as surprising as one would think due to her being a pegasus). “Oh, Angel. Did you cook ma ’ma breakfast? How-“ She stopped talking when she saw the creature from yesterday turning around to look at her. He had re-clothed himself in the outfit he had on before. A black no-sleeve shirt and tan pants. They were still ripped but still (To her surprise) quite wearable. “Oh! Your awake. Ah…you ok? That was a pretty nasty faint.” There was a touch of concern in his tone. Something she would have noticed if she didn’t ‘EPP!’ and zipped under the couch. The creature couldn’t help but watch as the little bunny Angel slipped in after her and pushed her out in front of him. He was tall…Almost the same size as Celestia. The yellow-furred mare shook like a leaf in a typhoon as she looked up upon him. The creature, finding the whole thing completely awkward, scratched the back of his head with, what she noticed, a furry paw with long appendages, and gave a nerves chuckle. “I…I’m not gonna hurt you if that’s what your thinking.” He gave her a kind smile raising his ‘Paws’ showing that he meant her no harm. After a long time of looking this way and that way. Anyway but at him. She would lower her head and spoke in a quiet voice. “W-Who are you? What are you?” The creature placed a paw on his chest, gesturing to himself. “I am Knights…Knights Kazuki. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” That was not something she had expected. Manners. Despite that she would look away, her ears folded back against her head. He looked down and noticed Angel looking up at the butter-yellow mare, an annoyed look on his face. He made a snapping sound with his paw (Which inadvertently caused her to “EPP”) and made his way into the kitchen. After a few seconds he would return with a nice, big, juicy carrot. Fluttershy watched as the he bent over and extend his arm, holding out the morsel to the bunny. The bunny instantly responded by bouncing over, a smile on its face. It took the carrot from Knights’s hand and would then proceed to nuzzle his leg as the bunny began to bite into its favorite food. Fluttershy couldn’t help not hiding her surprise. “Angel has never token food from anyone else before…let alone nuzzles them like that.” Knights chuckled as he reached to pet the little bunny behind the ears. “Is that so? Well I was always told I’ve had away with animals.” He slowly stood up and made his way to the kitchen. As he did so, Fluttershy, against better judgment, would follow noticing the scent of pancakes and strawberries. Peeping around the door, she would see the creature standing at the counter, chopping a strawberry. When he was done with that, he went on to the stove, and poured the last of some batter into a pan. With precision, he would flip the now forming pancake, letting the other side harden before pouring it onto an already made stack of fluffy, puffy, goodness. Picking up the plate and a bowl full of cut strawberries he would gently place both items on the table. Fluttershy slowly made her way to the table, giving the food a good sniff when she got there.” “Oh…My…” She would say taking in the sight before her. “Did you do all of this yourself?” He gave her a bright smile, folding his arms about his chest when he did so. “Yeah…I was always told I was a good cook.” “Your good at a lot of things…aren’t you?” She gave him a small smile. “Heh, heh…I suppose…” They were quite for a long time, Fluttershy studying the male, and Knights letting her. She barely moved, blinking only when she needed to. Despite her not knowing what he was…who he was…Somewhere in the deep recessives of her mind, she felt she could trust him. She couldn’t explain it…she just could for some reason. “Fluttershy…” He was slightly taken aback by her suddenly speaking. “Parden?” “My name…Its Fluttershy…” He looked at her for a second longer before smiling. Holding out his paw to her he would great her in a formal tone. “ It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Fluttershy.” She looked at his paw for the longest time before smiling as well. She held up her forehoof and let it rest in the palm of his odd looking paw. “Likewise…Mr. Kazuki.” ***** At the exact time Fluttershy was put into a fainting spell, Rarity would be gracing Twilight and spike with her presence. She would have come to meet then sooner but she insisted that she have some time to fix her hair. “You must always look your best “Was one of her many…many…mottos on fashion. As she came down the stairs, greeting her two friends, Twilight would have an annoyed look on her face while Spike would just be floating on airs, admiring the perfect unicorn in front of him. “Well?” The white mare would say, flipping her purple mane and posing for the two of them. “Amazing!!” Spike blurted out. “What he said.” Twilight would say, rolling her eyes. “I know right?” Rarity would say, puffing her mane’s curls with a hoof. “Now then Twilight, what can I do for you?” Finally glad to be back on topic, Twilight would begin. “Rarity, I have a few questions for you. First of all, did you feel anything…strange lately…last night maybe?” “Last night?” She thought for a moment. “Well…I WAS rudely awaken by some…feeling…I can’t quite explain it, but it felt a little…how do you say…overwhelming.” Twilight gave Spike an ‘I told you so’ look for which he responded by the rolling of his eyes. Looking back at Rarity she would then ask. ”Did you see any bright lights?” “I’ll say. That, my dear Twilight, is what broke the mules back.” She thought for a moment before making her way to the window. “No offence.” “None taken.” A homely looking gray donkey would say. She came back over to her friends before continuing. “That light shined into my room, pulling me completely from my sleep.” “Did you see where it came from?” Twilight asked. “Sadly…no. It disappeared with I got to the window.” “I see…” She was sure it was the same light that was above the Everfree Forest. “Is…something going on Twilight?” Rarity asked, a concerning tone in her voice. “I’m not sure…” A burp, followed by a flame came out of Spikes mouth. The flame would then form into a letter in which Twilight would catch and unravel hastily with her magic. Reading the contents therein she her eyes would turn to pinpricks before stuffing the letter into her saddlebag. Before Spike or Rarity had a chance to ask what it was about Twilight would be giving them orders. Spike! I need you to go get Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Rarity. You get Rainbow Dash. I’ll get Fluttershy. We’re all to meet at Books and Branches.” “What’s going on!?” Both the white mare and the dragon would ask. “I’ll tell you when you get the others. Now lets get going!” ***** Fluttershy would be at her home, enjoying the company that was Knights. “So how did you get here? Where did you come from?” Fluttershy asked cleaning up the dishes that was left over after their breakfast. He was right. He was a good cook. “I…That’s kinda hard to explain…In order for me to tell you I would have to start with…a fight…” “A-A fight?” “Yeah…you see…” *FLASHBACK* The landscape was bleak. Back and gray was the only noticeable colors all around. Even the sky would refuse to let even a bit of color show. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. It wasn’t a natural thunder though. It crackled and buckled around the palm of a certain brown furred creature. Blood seeped from the many cuts that were on his body, a look of defiance was in his eyes as he faced what looked like a living shadow. It stood over 9 feet tall, black tentacles flowing freely throughout its body. Evil, yellow eyes glaring down upon the boy. **“What do you hope to accomplish?”* He would ask, its voice raspy and weary. Though it did not look it, it was quite beaten. “You cannot stop the coming darkness…NO ONE CAN!!”* Knights huffed, looking at him form the corner of his eye. “You say that like you don’t have faith in me.” The Shadow roared before lunging its tentacles at him, in which Knights responded by rolling out of the way, a stream of lighting following after him as he did so. He then got to his feet and went into a mad headlong sprint, the energy in his paw becoming wilder by the second. The shadow tried its best to stop him, but was it was to no avail. Knights jumped high in the air, the lighting in his paw now pulsing and crackling louder than before. He came rushing down upon the Shadow striking it with the lightening in his palm, it roared in pain before smacking the boy away. After a rough landing Knights slowly began to pick himself up, struggling to do so. In spite of the pain he was in, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “That one sounded like it hurt…” A bright light shone upon the battle, though for some reason it felt…cold. Knights looked up and immediately his smile would fade and dread overtook his continence. The shadow not missing his reaction formed a creepy, sharp tooth grin. “What’s the matter boy…why the long face…” He looked up, as if seeing the light for the first time. *“Oh…are you looking at this. You must know what this is right…I’m sure you do. If you know than you know you cannot top it…”** It laughed then, sending a chill up Knights’s spine.* Knights cursed the fates for not noticing it sooner and ran full speed toward the shadow, bright violet lighting forming in his palm once again. As he reached the shadow a wide bright beam came upon the duo, enveloping them whole. When it subsided all that was left was where they once were, with no sigh that they were ever there to begin with. *END FLASHBACK* “…After that, I don’t remember. It was all a blur.” He finished his tale with a sigh. “Oh…my…”She had stayed silent, throughout the story not making a peep. Now that it was done she decided to voice her curiosity. “What was the light…if you don’t mind telling me that is…” The light was…a teleporting spell…of sorts…” “A…spell…You mean magic?” “Yeah…I know you have no reason to believe me but it’s the truth…I promise you.” She looked at him for a long time before saying. “I…believe you…” A knock came upon Fluttershy’s door, causing them both to jump (Fluttershy doing so a little higher). After regaining their composure Fluttershy would call out “Who is it? “It’s Twilight. We have an emergency!” She looked toward Knight who just nodded before making his way up the stairs. Seeing that he was out of sight Fluttershy would open the door for her friend. “A-an emergency?” “That’s right come with me.” Twilight said before turning to head back into the town. “W-where are we going?” “To the library. We need all the girls present.” “Why?” Twilight turned to face the shy pony. “Celestia has summoned us.” The Princess and the Forest...It took all of Fluttershy’s convincing to get Twilight to let her have some time to prepare. Grudgingly, the lavender unicorn relented and told her to meet at Books and Branches within the hour before making her way there herself. Closing the door behind her, the animal keeper would turn her gaze upward finding her guest heading his way back to the first floor. “Your needed elsewhere.” He said in a way that was most defently not a question. Slowly he turned his head to where Twilight had left. Fluttershy looked off to the side folding her ears back as she answered none the less. “Y-yeah…” He was quite for a few moments before speaking again, or rather asking. “So…a princess?” She nods. “There a King?” She shakes her head. “Queen?” She shook again. “No…just a princess.” He raised an eyebrow. “Odd.” “H-how so?” He folded his arms about his chest and smiled lightly. “Ah…just forget it. Anyway you had best get going before your friend starts to worry.” The shy mare turned to face the outworlder, a question on her lips. “What about you? What are you going to do?” “Don’t worry about me. I plan on finding heading him myself.” He closed his eyes whispering to himself. “I have to find it…the darkness…no matter what.” The gasp she gave would have sent him hugging her without remorse…if it wasn’t due to his iron will stopping him. “Y-you’re going alone. B-But what if…I mean you could…But you were just-“ Knights smiled lightly at her causing her to stop in her semi-panic rambling. “I can take care of myself Miss Shy.” He gave her a wink as he stuck a half cool, half ridiculous pose. “Besides I’m a guardian. It’s my job to stop him.” Is face had grew serious as he looked away from her and out the window. “Beside …For not only your sake but mine as well.” She looked up at him, her eyes full of concern. “I-Is he really that dangerous. I mean you were you were winning before he teleported both of you here.” “I underestimated him. He’s more powerful then I had thought. Besides, he’s after something here I just know it.” He turned to look at her. “On that note…why would the princess call for you and that…ah…other pony? Are you two knights or something?” The random change in the conversation caught her off guard. Her eyes widen and she blushed brightly. “O-Oh no! I’m much too scared to be any knight of any kind.” Her gave shifted toward the ground. “But…me and my friends are…well we represent the Elements of Harmony.” “The ‘what to the who’ now?” She looked at him oddly before realizing who she was talking to. “Oh that’s right you wouldn’t know would you.” She briefly explained how she and her friends acquired the Elements. “I see…” He closed his eyes folding his arms about his chest. “I guess I was wrong about you being knights...” She looked toward him, seeming to say something but was cut off by his bright smiling face. “That makes you heroes!” “Oh! N-no! I’m much to chicken to be a hero! I-I wouldn’t know what I would do if I ever met that shadow creature! That terrible, horrible, big-able shadowy thing would…Oh I can’t…I just can’t.” Knights scratched the back of his head slowly. He was use to others freaking out around him, it came with the territory, but seeing the fear in her big bright eyes, he wasn’t use to that. “Hey, its ok.” He placed a palm on what he believed to be her shoulder, to which she surprisingly didn’t shy away from. Her gaze met his own and despite of herself she couldn’t help but blush at what started back at her. His eyes. His big brown eyes. They were so full of kindness. Kindness so strong that it made her heart almost skip a beat. There was something else there though. Something hidden. Something sad. She couldn’t for the life of her tare her eyes away from the outworlder for one second. For some reason, she believed that it would be ok. She was far from being a stupid pony, and trusting others has always been one of the hardest things she could ever do, but she didn’t doubt for a second that his words were false. Knights smiled as he withdrew his hand and stood at full height. “I promise to do all I can to find and stop that thing.” He slammed a fist into his opened palm as he smiled once again. The way he did it, it was something reminiscent to what Rainbow Dash does before she gears up for a bully beat down. “You have my word.” She watched as he made his way toward the window in the back of her house, opening it before stepping one foot pad onto the seal. As he readied to jump out Knights looked over his shoulder and though it was hidden, she could see a shade of crimson on his cheek. “Um…by the way…”His voice had slightly cracked as he spoke to her. “You’re the one who…dressed my wounds right? Cleaned me up and everything?” She nodded. “R-right... T-thanks for that by the way…Cleaning me up that is.” His face was defiantly a bright shade of red as he jumped out of the window. Fluttershy looked on as he vanished, wondering why he was blushing so much, but then, at remembering her face tuned a bright shade of pink as well. “W-was he…Is he…?” She shook her head, trying to rid herself of mental images of the outworlder. She had treated animals before and was used to seeing them, and when she had treated Knights she had believed he was something more but never really paid it any thought…until now. Her cheeks still bright and pink, she was just about to turn away when the outworlders head popped up with a sheepish grin. “So…Ah…I don’t know where to go…” ~~~ Books and Branches “About time you got here Shy.” The tom-boyish voice cut Fluttershy to the core, causing her to advert her eyes and “epped” gently as all eyes came upon her as soon as she entered the Library. After a few quite apologizes she would fall in line with her friends standing beside the cyan pegasus with a mane like a rainbow that had called her out. The shy pony hid her face behind her mane opting the other to roll her eyes. “Alright Egghead now that we’re all here mind telling us what the hey is going on. I’m missing perfectly good nap- I mean practice time here.” An orange furred earth pony with blond mane and tail tipped the hat on her head as she spoke up. As well. “Yeah, Sugercube. Whats the emergency?” “I believe I can answer that question.” Every pony (and one dragon) present gasped and turned to the source of the voice immediately dipping into a bow at the sight of a tall white pony, with both wings and a horn gracefully entering into the library. Her ever flowing mane and tail of pink green and blue swaying ever so gently. “Princess Celestia!” Everypony (and once again dragon) said in unison. The princess raised a hoof motioning them to rise. “Please rise my little ponies.” As they did so Twilight stepped forward looking at her teacher with determination. “What’s the stich your highness?” “What’s the stich?” Spike gave Twilight an odd stare. “Really Twilight? I think you’ve been reading Mare Possible too much?” Twilight shot the dragon a scowl as Celestia continued. “Yes…well…Ahem. I’m afraid to say that a dark shadow is looming over Equestria, the one of likes I have never seen since I was a foal.” The cyan pegasus hovered into the sky and slammed her hooves together in a threating manner. “And you want yours truly to kick its sorry flank outta here quick fast and in a hurry right?” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down smiling brightly. “OH! OH! You want us to throw a party for the darkness thing right? Or we can use the Elements of Harmony to turn it into the lightness that way we don’t have to worry about it anymore.” She gasped loudly. “Wait! What if it turned into stone instead. I wonder why kind of stone the darkness would turn into. Marble? Granite? OH! Maybe a bit of both marble and granite! Or maybe brick! Hang on a second. Is brick a type of rock? I’m an expert on rocks and I sure as sugar that it has to have some qualities of rock. I wonder what bricks are made from. Hey you know what? Now that I think about it, what if the darkness thingy changes into a tree instead. It could change into an oak or a pine or a willow or a mumph…!” The orange earth pony stuffed a hoof into Pinkie’s mouth muffling her endless chatter. “Sorry your, highness yal’ll was saying?” “Thank you Applejack.” Turning to the others Celestia continued. “Everypony according to the report Twilight submitted last night the light originated from the Everfree Forest which is where I had felt it as well. I can…still feel it faintly but still opposing. Luna has gone, against her better judgment , to Everfree ahead of you so I need you six to find and assit her in any way you can.” Twilight stood proudly and puffed out her chest. “You can count on us your highness!” Celestia smiled just as proudly at her prized student. “I know I can.” With a flash of yellow a beautiful box appeared in-between her and her subjects. “As a just in case measure I insist you take your elements.” Upon opening the box five necklaces and one tiara sat proudly inside, each relic having the mark of their respective bearers. Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked upon the boxes contents. “The Elements of Harmony…” “Yes my student.” Using her magic the princess levitated and latched each necklace to their respective owner. “Use them only when you feel there is no other option. They still need to regain their power after your confrontation with Discord so they are not at their fullest as of right now.” Twilight nodded knowingly before turning to her friends. “All right girls! Let’s move out!” Everypony whooped and yelled excitedly. All except for one. Fluttershy had stayed quite throughout the discussion and while that might not have been anything to anypony that knew her, the reason as to why was. Oh no...She looked down, a worried look on her face. Knights... FLASHBACK The entrance to the ominous forest loomed over both the outworlder and the animal care taker. The latter doing her best to hind behind the former’s legs. With a shaky hoof Fluttershy pointed in the direction of the entrance. “T-there I-it is…E-Everfree Forest.” Despite his calm demeanor Knights couldn’t help but feel…Something off about the gloomy woods. His gaze grew slightly harder the longer he observed the strange forest. He didn’t like it…Not one bit…” The pull on his torn pant leg caused him to turn to the shy pony, his gaze instantly softening at the sight of ear etched into her expression. “K-Knights…” He voice was shaky at best. “P-Please reconsider. I’m sure the girls and even the princess will be more then happy to help you. You don’t have to go in there alone…” He reached a hand to gently pat the top of her head. The blushed she found herself with causing her to squeak slightly. The feel of his hand was warm. Inviting. “Sorry Miss Shy.” His tone was light as he spoke masking any true feelings. “This is my problem. My burden. I have to do this alone. Knights bent down so that he was eye level with the butter yellow pegasus. “It is for that reason that I have to ask…No…beg of you to not tell anyone else about me…unless you have no choice but to do so. I want to do this alone but I don’t want to get you in trouble.” She looked into his eyes his kind hearted, said laced eyes and found herself raiseing a hoof to her chest. Her heart. It was beating fast. She couldn’t explain why but it was. She closed her eyes for a second before opening them, a determined, yet oddly still adorable, look making its way onto her features. She begin an odd ritual as she once again spoke. “Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” At the last bit she raised a hoof to her head covering her eye with it. She couldn’t help but notice how cute he looked when he was confused. Kind of like when Winnoa can’t find the ball Applejack pretends to throw. “What…pray tell…was that?” “A Pinkie Promise.” That answer was met with the tilting of the outworlders head, something Winnoa also does when confused. She giggled a little before answering. “It just means that I’m not allowed to brake it…no matter what.” He blinked a few times before nodding. “ I see…” The smile returned as he stood up. “Thank you for your trust in me Miss Shy. I’ll try to be as quick as I can.” Before she could say anything the outworlder left running full tilt into the forest. PRESENT Fluttershy closed her eyes tightly. How could she put so much trust into somepony she just met? How could she make a promise like that to him. He could be bad news for all she knew. He could have been lying. Nopony else was there to back up his story. So…why? She opened her eyes as she pondered those questions Her gaze staying to the ground. “Because of his eyes…” “What was that Fluttershy?” The pegesus “epped” at the question directed toward her. The cyan blue pegesus was hovering beside her giving her a inquisitive stare. “Oh-Ah…Sorry Rainbow Dash. I was just…Thinking out loud.” She looked to the side and noticed that she and the other girls had long left the library (minus Spike in tow) and were steadily on their way toward their destination. Rainbow landed next to there and began to fall instep with her friend. “Your not cared are ya? You know you don’t have to be.” You got me to protect you from any nasty creatures we find and I never let my friends down.” “I-Its not that…w-well it kind of is that but its only part of it. “ She shifted uncomfortably as she spoke. There was silence before cyan pony spoke up again. “Well?” “W-well what?” “You gonna tell what the other thing is” Fluttershy looked away from her friend. “I-That is…” Her gaze shifted upward. “R-Rainbow…Do you think it’s weird to have complete trust in somepony you just met?” The rainbow mane pony thought for a second. “Well…I don’t know Fluttershy. I guess. Though we did trust Twilight the first day we met her so…I guess it’s not that weird.” She raised an eye brow. “Why” Do you have a met somepony or something?” “W-well. I…I mean he…that is…” “HIM!?!” The sudden scream of Rarity’s voice caused both pegesi to jump with fright, though to this day Rainbow claims that she was just slightly startled. “What do you mean him?” Her eyes widen. “My dear Fluttershy…Have you fell for some pony?” Fluttershy wasn’t expecting that. “I-I That is…I mean…” She squeaked as she hid behind her mane, her cheeks deep red with blush. Rarity’s eyes began to glow brightly as she grabbed Fluttershy’s hooves in her own. “Oh my! You did didn’t you!? What’s he like? Is he cute? How broad are his sholders?” “Girls!” Twilight eyed them as she spoke. “If you’ve forgotten we need to possibly save Equestria from an unknown something and I would like to do so before the world ends so… “But Twiiiilight~” Rarity most defiantly did not whine. “Fluttershy has a special somepony and never told us about it.” The pegesus in question was blushing brighter then ever. “B-but I never-“ Twilight stomped her hoof down. “Gha! Priorities ponies! We can deal with Fluttershy’s love life AFTER we deal with this .Now lets go!” A barely auditable squeak was heard coming from Fluttershy’s direction as the group continued toward the forest that was called Everfree. ~~~ The Everfree Forest, a place which bustles with wildlife of every shape and kind held a deathly quite tone to it this day. All animals watched as a shadow slinked its way through the jungle like forest. The shadow silently cursed at the guardian’s luck, being able to escape him the way he did. He had underestimated the boy’s tenacity in living. If he was lucky the river would finish him off for good. He didn’t need any distractions. A watery grave was just as accepted as a dirt one in his eyes. Slowly, surely, the shadow began to morph becoming more defined. Silver fur replaced the darkness that had surrounded his body, and long flowing silky hair ran down the length of his back, reaching to his knees. The shadows that had surrounded him had morphed into a black robe fitting snugly over his tall yet slender frame. His silver eyes caught a tear in the robe that was formed on one of his sleeves. “Bah!” He spat out harshly. “Damn Halfbreed. Well…I guess It could be worse. Heh…I could be drowning in the river.” The silver creature chuckled slightly at his cruel joke. “Now then…” He looked toward the castle that had made its way to his line of sight. “Time to move forward with the mission…”
It was near a river...The morning dew dripped lazily from the treetops, and the song birds chirped happily from their nest. Little critters ran this way and that way busily doing what they do best, scurrying about. It was a normal day in the plains of Equestria. At least one would think it was… In the river, not too far from the Everfree Forest, was a brown furred figure, its lower body submerged while its upper body rested on the rocky gravel. He was, for the being was most certainly a male, unconscious. His body was covered with cuts and bruises, a trail of blood had trickled down his forehead, drying in the heat of the sun to cake his fur in and red nasty mess. He had been dressed in a black no-sleeve shirt, with tan pants, both of which looked no better than their owner, being torn and tattered to the point of disrepair. All and all, the poor being had looked as though he had been through the gates of Tartarus and back again. It was then that one would hear a cheerful little ditty coming not too far away from the strange being. The voice in itself belonged to a pink maned pony with butter-yellow fur. She had been trudging a cart full of clothes, having just washed them not to long ago up river. It only took a quick look for her to see the strange creature and for her to just as quickly dive in a nearby patch of bushes. They shook violently as her eyes peered from an opening she had made. They blinked twice before, trying to register what it was that she was looking at. After about five minuets she would pop her head out to see if she could get a better look at the being. To her surprise she could see that not only was it not moving but it seem to have been hurt somehow. Or possibly worse… “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” She stammered, quickly moving toward the creature. “What do I do!?” She quickly wrapped her fore hooves under his arms, and slowly began to pull the rest of his body out of the water, praying to the heaves above that she was not causing more damage to the poor creature. It took about a full five minutes to finish her task. The shy little pony twisted him so that he could face upwards, and despite the urgency of the situation, she could not help but study and be amazed by the look of the strange creature’s face. The same brown hair covered his face, along with what she had suspected was his hair. Despite the blood that had caked part of his face she could tell that he looked feline in origin, complete with a pink button nose and a cute little muzzle. She pressed her ear against his mouth. Nothing… “Oh my! Ok! Ok! Ah…” She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and lowered herself, pressing her lips against his own, letting her breath fill his lungs. After she did so she would raise up and begin pressing down on his chest with her fore hooves repeatedly. He didn’t stir… “C-Come on Fluttershy! You can do this!” She said quietly to herself, trying to give herself a boost of confidence. She repeated her past actions, ending with her once again pressing her hooves into his chest. Nothing again… “Please…for me…” She said as tears began to form at the corner of her eyes. She did it once more. *Cough Cough* When the creature coughed she almost squealed with delight, but quickly corrected herself. “No time for praising yourself Fluttershy! He’s not out of the woods yet! She ran to her cart and dumped the contents out there of. She quickly pulled it to where the creature was and quickly (but not too much so) loaded the poor thing onto the cart. She then began a fast yet careful trek to her little cottage on the hill. ******* “BURRRRRPPPPPP!!” “SPIKE!” Twilight Sparkle glared at her assistant with a judging look in her eyes. The one she was looking at, a little purple and green dragon. He turned around and raised an eyebrow to her, cookie crumbs clinging to the baby dragon’s mouth. “What?” The purple unicorn rolled her eyes and turned to face a pink cotton candy maned pony with a bright smile on her face. “Sorry Pinkie. You were saying?” “Oh I was just telling you my Pinkie Sense was going off like crazy yesterday.” She said in a sing-song voice. “Is that so…” Twilight still didn’t know what triggered her so called ‘Pinkie Sense’ and that in itself, had always baffled. For a pony to just…know…when something was going to happen with out the use of magic…it was so strange. But she accepted it none the less so why dwell too much on it and saying what everypony eles did. "Pinkie Pie is just being Pinkie Pie." “Yes-sir-ree!” Pinkie said, pulling the purple mare from her thoughts. “So…what did it say…your ‘Pinkie Sense?'” “I have no Ideal.” “What?” Twilight deadpanned. “Usually I would know, but this time I don’t. I’ve never not know before. WAIT! There was that time that I had pinkie sense and I didn’t know what it meant or what it was for. Though at the end of the day that Particular Pinkie Sense was for you when you told me that you believed in my Pinkie Sense. And I was all like ‘Say whaaaaa~’ and you where all like ‘Mhm!’ And I was all like, ‘Your kidding.’ And you were all like, ‘No way!’ and I was all like, ‘Yay!’ And you were all like-“ “Pinkie!!” “Yes?” “We get it…” He blinked a few times before smiling brightly at Twilight. “Okie-Dokie-Lokie!” IT was then that Spike chimed in. “So Pinkie…Are you saying that you don’t know what your Pinkie Sense is telling you…just like that last time?” “Yep-a-roony!” “Well whatever it was, it might have to do what that serge of energy I’ve felt last night…” Twilight said, more to herself than to anypony else. Spike looked upwards thinking back to last night. *FLASHBACK* Spike was busily sleeping in his bed, dreaming a peaceful dream about ice cream and cake, when he was pulled from his dream by a frantic looking Twilight. Her hair was a mess and bags where under her eyes. All and all, she was not the first thing he wanted to wake up to in the middle of the night. “SPIKE! TAKE A LETTER!” She yelled running to her table to pull out an ink pin and paper. She roughly levitated it to her assistant, who caught it with much distaste. “Take a letter? But Twilight, it’s not even light outside…I doubt the princess is even up right now…” He said, stiffening a yawn as he did so. “This is urgent Spike! I was looking up into the sky with my telescope when I noticed some bright light. Normally I thought that this was a new galaxy being formed but upon closer inspecting I noticed it was getting closer and closer to the ground, it hovered above the Everfree Forest for a bit before some…energy shot out of it. It made my horn glow like crazy when it did so! I need you to contact the princess now! I have to tell her about it!.” “Are you sure you’re not just sleep deprived Twilight?” Spike said, giving her a glare. She got close to him, her nose touching his own. He could clearly see the derange look in her eyes as she stared deep into the poor Dragon’s Soul. “Spike…dear…Please. Write. The letter…” She said in a disturbingly calm voice. Spike gulped before putting ink to the paper. *END FLASHBACK* Spike grimaced as he remembered the way Twilight looked last night. He was sure to have nightmares. “Spike? Did you hear me?” He looked over to see Twilight looking at him. “Ah…Sorry Twi…I was…ah…thinking?” “Well pay attention spike, I told you that we need to get over to Rarity’s.” His head perked up at his crush’s name. “Wait? Why?” “If I felt it, maybe other unicorns have as well. What better place to start then with her.” She said matter-of-factly. She turned and made her way toward the door. “Hey! Wait up!” Spike called out, following after her. He then came back and grabbed a plate full of cookies before leaving again. “Later Pinks!” “Later Spike. See ya Twilight.” She smiled and waved a hoof at them as they left, and even some time afterward. After a few seconds she would look at the door and then call out . “HEEEEYY! You forgot to pay!!” ****** Flutter shy came out of the wash room, covered in a power blue robe. She made her way downstairs and trotted over to the sofa where she had placed the creature just minutes before. She had dressed and cleaned his wounds (Much to her embarrassment when she found out what exactly his pants had hidden from her view. It also proved that she was right about him being a boy.) and had covered him with a thick blanket. Despite the scare he had given her at the river he was basically alright. His cuts weren’t as deep as she had first thought which meant that he was not in danger of getting an infection. She placed a hoof of his forehead for what seemed like the twentieth time in less then an hour. “Good…no fever…” She said, sighing lightly to herself. She sat down on her hunches, as she began to bursh her hair. “You gave me quite the scare back there. I’m glad your alright.” He just lay there, breathing lightly. She looked his way for a second before turning away from him again. “Just what are you anyway? I’ve never seen an animal quite like you before. You’re too tall to be a cat…at least not a normal one. Maybe your some kind of abnormal breed that resides in the Everfree Forest.” He gently began to stir in his dream like state, though his eyes remained close. “I hope it’s ok if I say this, but your fur is such a lovely shade of brown. It went so well with your outfit. To bad its looks ruined.” She looked up into the sky as a thought crossed her mind. “I wonder who made it for you. I could certainly see why you would need it though…Sorry about that by the way…” She looked to her right to see the creature looking over at her, soft brown eyes stareing straight at the shy little pony. They were brown, only a shade lighter than his fur. They were the type of brown one would see in the begging of autumn just as the trees were begging to turn. The two stared at each other for the longest of times, their eyes never wavering, never blinking. One would be able to cut a knife into the tension that now surrounded Fluttershy’s home. The creature slowly began to sit up after a while, a bit of pain etched on his face as he did so. Fluttershy tensed up at this, her body now in the fight or flight position. She had opened her mouth to speak but before she could he had beaten her to the punch. “Hello?” All senses in Fluttershy’s brain instantly shut off then and there, and she fainted without a moment’s notice.
Stories...Chapter 2 Fluttershy awoke to the morning sun beaming down on her. A think warm blanket snuggled against her frame, making her close her eyes, unable to find the energy to rise. As she did so her thoughts would drift to the dream she had, had. And to the strange creature that was at the epicenter of it all. “So…very…strange…”She would say as sleep threated to overtake her. *THUMBTHUMBTHUMBTHUMBTHUMBTHUMB* She was rudely awaken by several knocks upside her head. When it stopped her eyes rocked back and forth before swirling in dizziness. When she finally regained her composure she would looked toward the one that had assaulted her. It bounced in front of her, a little white bunny with a cotton like tail. It had folded his arms about its chest and was giving her a nasty glare. “Angel? What’s wrong? Did i-” The smell of food cut her off in mid-sentence. Smiling, she would float down the stairs (Which might not been as surprising as one would think due to her being a pegasus). “Oh, Angel. Did you cook ma ’ma breakfast? How-“ She stopped talking when she saw the creature from yesterday turning around to look at her. He had re-clothed himself in the outfit he had on before. A black no-sleeve shirt and tan pants. They were still ripped but still (To her surprise) quite wearable. “Oh! Your awake. Ah…you ok? That was a pretty nasty faint.” There was a touch of concern in his tone. Something she would have noticed if she didn’t ‘EPP!’ and zipped under the couch. The creature couldn’t help but watch as the little bunny Angel slipped in after her and pushed her out in front of him. He was tall…Almost the same size as Celestia. The yellow-furred mare shook like a leaf in a typhoon as she looked up upon him. The creature, finding the whole thing completely awkward, scratched the back of his head with, what she noticed, a furry paw with long appendages, and gave a nerves chuckle. “I…I’m not gonna hurt you if that’s what your thinking.” He gave her a kind smile raising his ‘Paws’ showing that he meant her no harm. After a long time of looking this way and that way. Anyway but at him. She would lower her head and spoke in a quiet voice. “W-Who are you? What are you?” The creature placed a paw on his chest, gesturing to himself. “I am Knights…Knights Kazuki. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” That was not something she had expected. Manners. Despite that she would look away, her ears folded back against her head. He looked down and noticed Angel looking up at the butter-yellow mare, an annoyed look on his face. He made a snapping sound with his paw (Which inadvertently caused her to “EPP”) and made his way into the kitchen. After a few seconds he would return with a nice, big, juicy carrot. Fluttershy watched as the he bent over and extend his arm, holding out the morsel to the bunny. The bunny instantly responded by bouncing over, a smile on its face. It took the carrot from Knights’s hand and would then proceed to nuzzle his leg as the bunny began to bite into its favorite food. Fluttershy couldn’t help not hiding her surprise. “Angel has never token food from anyone else before…let alone nuzzles them like that.” Knights chuckled as he reached to pet the little bunny behind the ears. “Is that so? Well I was always told I’ve had away with animals.” He slowly stood up and made his way to the kitchen. As he did so, Fluttershy, against better judgment, would follow noticing the scent of pancakes and strawberries. Peeping around the door, she would see the creature standing at the counter, chopping a strawberry. When he was done with that, he went on to the stove, and poured the last of some batter into a pan. With precision, he would flip the now forming pancake, letting the other side harden before pouring it onto an already made stack of fluffy, puffy, goodness. Picking up the plate and a bowl full of cut strawberries he would gently place both items on the table. Fluttershy slowly made her way to the table, giving the food a good sniff when she got there.” “Oh…My…” She would say taking in the sight before her. “Did you do all of this yourself?” He gave her a bright smile, folding his arms about his chest when he did so. “Yeah…I was always told I was a good cook.” “Your good at a lot of things…aren’t you?” She gave him a small smile. “Heh, heh…I suppose…” They were quite for a long time, Fluttershy studying the male, and Knights letting her. She barely moved, blinking only when she needed to. Despite her not knowing what he was…who he was…Somewhere in the deep recessives of her mind, she felt she could trust him. She couldn’t explain it…she just could for some reason. “Fluttershy…” He was slightly taken aback by her suddenly speaking. “Parden?” “My name…Its Fluttershy…” He looked at her for a second longer before smiling. Holding out his paw to her he would great her in a formal tone. “ It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Fluttershy.” She looked at his paw for the longest time before smiling as well. She held up her forehoof and let it rest in the palm of his odd looking paw. “Likewise…Mr. Kazuki.” ***** At the exact time Fluttershy was put into a fainting spell, Rarity would be gracing Twilight and spike with her presence. She would have come to meet then sooner but she insisted that she have some time to fix her hair. “You must always look your best “Was one of her many…many…mottos on fashion. As she came down the stairs, greeting her two friends, Twilight would have an annoyed look on her face while Spike would just be floating on airs, admiring the perfect unicorn in front of him. “Well?” The white mare would say, flipping her purple mane and posing for the two of them. “Amazing!!” Spike blurted out. “What he said.” Twilight would say, rolling her eyes. “I know right?” Rarity would say, puffing her mane’s curls with a hoof. “Now then Twilight, what can I do for you?” Finally glad to be back on topic, Twilight would begin. “Rarity, I have a few questions for you. First of all, did you feel anything…strange lately…last night maybe?” “Last night?” She thought for a moment. “Well…I WAS rudely awaken by some…feeling…I can’t quite explain it, but it felt a little…how do you say…overwhelming.” Twilight gave Spike an ‘I told you so’ look for which he responded by the rolling of his eyes. Looking back at Rarity she would then ask. ”Did you see any bright lights?” “I’ll say. That, my dear Twilight, is what broke the mules back.” She thought for a moment before making her way to the window. “No offence.” “None taken.” A homely looking gray donkey would say. She came back over to her friends before continuing. “That light shined into my room, pulling me completely from my sleep.” “Did you see where it came from?” Twilight asked. “Sadly…no. It disappeared with I got to the window.” “I see…” She was sure it was the same light that was above the Everfree Forest. “Is…something going on Twilight?” Rarity asked, a concerning tone in her voice. “I’m not sure…” A burp, followed by a flame came out of Spikes mouth. The flame would then form into a letter in which Twilight would catch and unravel hastily with her magic. Reading the contents therein she her eyes would turn to pinpricks before stuffing the letter into her saddlebag. Before Spike or Rarity had a chance to ask what it was about Twilight would be giving them orders. Spike! I need you to go get Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Rarity. You get Rainbow Dash. I’ll get Fluttershy. We’re all to meet at Books and Branches.” “What’s going on!?” Both the white mare and the dragon would ask. “I’ll tell you when you get the others. Now lets get going!” ***** Fluttershy would be at her home, enjoying the company that was Knights. “So how did you get here? Where did you come from?” Fluttershy asked cleaning up the dishes that was left over after their breakfast. He was right. He was a good cook. “I…That’s kinda hard to explain…In order for me to tell you I would have to start with…a fight…” “A-A fight?” “Yeah…you see…” *FLASHBACK* The landscape was bleak. Back and gray was the only noticeable colors all around. Even the sky would refuse to let even a bit of color show. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. It wasn’t a natural thunder though. It crackled and buckled around the palm of a certain brown furred creature. Blood seeped from the many cuts that were on his body, a look of defiance was in his eyes as he faced what looked like a living shadow. It stood over 9 feet tall, black tentacles flowing freely throughout its body. Evil, yellow eyes glaring down upon the boy. **“What do you hope to accomplish?”* He would ask, its voice raspy and weary. Though it did not look it, it was quite beaten. “You cannot stop the coming darkness…NO ONE CAN!!”* Knights huffed, looking at him form the corner of his eye. “You say that like you don’t have faith in me.” The Shadow roared before lunging its tentacles at him, in which Knights responded by rolling out of the way, a stream of lighting following after him as he did so. He then got to his feet and went into a mad headlong sprint, the energy in his paw becoming wilder by the second. The shadow tried its best to stop him, but was it was to no avail. Knights jumped high in the air, the lighting in his paw now pulsing and crackling louder than before. He came rushing down upon the Shadow striking it with the lightening in his palm, it roared in pain before smacking the boy away. After a rough landing Knights slowly began to pick himself up, struggling to do so. In spite of the pain he was in, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “That one sounded like it hurt…” A bright light shone upon the battle, though for some reason it felt…cold. Knights looked up and immediately his smile would fade and dread overtook his continence. The shadow not missing his reaction formed a creepy, sharp tooth grin. “What’s the matter boy…why the long face…” He looked up, as if seeing the light for the first time. *“Oh…are you looking at this. You must know what this is right…I’m sure you do. If you know than you know you cannot top it…”** It laughed then, sending a chill up Knights’s spine.* Knights cursed the fates for not noticing it sooner and ran full speed toward the shadow, bright violet lighting forming in his palm once again. As he reached the shadow a wide bright beam came upon the duo, enveloping them whole. When it subsided all that was left was where they once were, with no sigh that they were ever there to begin with. *END FLASHBACK* “…After that, I don’t remember. It was all a blur.” He finished his tale with a sigh. “Oh…my…”She had stayed silent, throughout the story not making a peep. Now that it was done she decided to voice her curiosity. “What was the light…if you don’t mind telling me that is…” The light was…a teleporting spell…of sorts…” “A…spell…You mean magic?” “Yeah…I know you have no reason to believe me but it’s the truth…I promise you.” She looked at him for a long time before saying. “I…believe you…” A knock came upon Fluttershy’s door, causing them both to jump (Fluttershy doing so a little higher). After regaining their composure Fluttershy would call out “Who is it? “It’s Twilight. We have an emergency!” She looked toward Knight who just nodded before making his way up the stairs. Seeing that he was out of sight Fluttershy would open the door for her friend. “A-an emergency?” “That’s right come with me.” Twilight said before turning to head back into the town. “W-where are we going?” “To the library. We need all the girls present.” “Why?” Twilight turned to face the shy pony. “Celestia has summoned us.”
The Princess and the Forest...It took all of Fluttershy’s convincing to get Twilight to let her have some time to prepare. Grudgingly, the lavender unicorn relented and told her to meet at Books and Branches within the hour before making her way there herself. Closing the door behind her, the animal keeper would turn her gaze upward finding her guest heading his way back to the first floor. “Your needed elsewhere.” He said in a way that was most defently not a question. Slowly he turned his head to where Twilight had left. Fluttershy looked off to the side folding her ears back as she answered none the less. “Y-yeah…” He was quite for a few moments before speaking again, or rather asking. “So…a princess?” She nods. “There a King?” She shakes her head. “Queen?” She shook again. “No…just a princess.” He raised an eyebrow. “Odd.” “H-how so?” He folded his arms about his chest and smiled lightly. “Ah…just forget it. Anyway you had best get going before your friend starts to worry.” The shy mare turned to face the outworlder, a question on her lips. “What about you? What are you going to do?” “Don’t worry about me. I plan on finding heading him myself.” He closed his eyes whispering to himself. “I have to find it…the darkness…no matter what.” The gasp she gave would have sent him hugging her without remorse…if it wasn’t due to his iron will stopping him. “Y-you’re going alone. B-But what if…I mean you could…But you were just-“ Knights smiled lightly at her causing her to stop in her semi-panic rambling. “I can take care of myself Miss Shy.” He gave her a wink as he stuck a half cool, half ridiculous pose. “Besides I’m a guardian. It’s my job to stop him.” Is face had grew serious as he looked away from her and out the window. “Beside …For not only your sake but mine as well.” She looked up at him, her eyes full of concern. “I-Is he really that dangerous. I mean you were you were winning before he teleported both of you here.” “I underestimated him. He’s more powerful then I had thought. Besides, he’s after something here I just know it.” He turned to look at her. “On that note…why would the princess call for you and that…ah…other pony? Are you two knights or something?” The random change in the conversation caught her off guard. Her eyes widen and she blushed brightly. “O-Oh no! I’m much too scared to be any knight of any kind.” Her gave shifted toward the ground. “But…me and my friends are…well we represent the Elements of Harmony.” “The ‘what to the who’ now?” She looked at him oddly before realizing who she was talking to. “Oh that’s right you wouldn’t know would you.” She briefly explained how she and her friends acquired the Elements. “I see…” He closed his eyes folding his arms about his chest. “I guess I was wrong about you being knights...” She looked toward him, seeming to say something but was cut off by his bright smiling face. “That makes you heroes!” “Oh! N-no! I’m much to chicken to be a hero! I-I wouldn’t know what I would do if I ever met that shadow creature! That terrible, horrible, big-able shadowy thing would…Oh I can’t…I just can’t.” Knights scratched the back of his head slowly. He was use to others freaking out around him, it came with the territory, but seeing the fear in her big bright eyes, he wasn’t use to that. “Hey, its ok.” He placed a palm on what he believed to be her shoulder, to which she surprisingly didn’t shy away from. Her gaze met his own and despite of herself she couldn’t help but blush at what started back at her. His eyes. His big brown eyes. They were so full of kindness. Kindness so strong that it made her heart almost skip a beat. There was something else there though. Something hidden. Something sad. She couldn’t for the life of her tare her eyes away from the outworlder for one second. For some reason, she believed that it would be ok. She was far from being a stupid pony, and trusting others has always been one of the hardest things she could ever do, but she didn’t doubt for a second that his words were false. Knights smiled as he withdrew his hand and stood at full height. “I promise to do all I can to find and stop that thing.” He slammed a fist into his opened palm as he smiled once again. The way he did it, it was something reminiscent to what Rainbow Dash does before she gears up for a bully beat down. “You have my word.” She watched as he made his way toward the window in the back of her house, opening it before stepping one foot pad onto the seal. As he readied to jump out Knights looked over his shoulder and though it was hidden, she could see a shade of crimson on his cheek. “Um…by the way…”His voice had slightly cracked as he spoke to her. “You’re the one who…dressed my wounds right? Cleaned me up and everything?” She nodded. “R-right... T-thanks for that by the way…Cleaning me up that is.” His face was defiantly a bright shade of red as he jumped out of the window. Fluttershy looked on as he vanished, wondering why he was blushing so much, but then, at remembering her face tuned a bright shade of pink as well. “W-was he…Is he…?” She shook her head, trying to rid herself of mental images of the outworlder. She had treated animals before and was used to seeing them, and when she had treated Knights she had believed he was something more but never really paid it any thought…until now. Her cheeks still bright and pink, she was just about to turn away when the outworlders head popped up with a sheepish grin. “So…Ah…I don’t know where to go…” ~~~ Books and Branches “About time you got here Shy.” The tom-boyish voice cut Fluttershy to the core, causing her to advert her eyes and “epped” gently as all eyes came upon her as soon as she entered the Library. After a few quite apologizes she would fall in line with her friends standing beside the cyan pegasus with a mane like a rainbow that had called her out. The shy pony hid her face behind her mane opting the other to roll her eyes. “Alright Egghead now that we’re all here mind telling us what the hey is going on. I’m missing perfectly good nap- I mean practice time here.” An orange furred earth pony with blond mane and tail tipped the hat on her head as she spoke up. As well. “Yeah, Sugercube. Whats the emergency?” “I believe I can answer that question.” Every pony (and one dragon) present gasped and turned to the source of the voice immediately dipping into a bow at the sight of a tall white pony, with both wings and a horn gracefully entering into the library. Her ever flowing mane and tail of pink green and blue swaying ever so gently. “Princess Celestia!” Everypony (and once again dragon) said in unison. The princess raised a hoof motioning them to rise. “Please rise my little ponies.” As they did so Twilight stepped forward looking at her teacher with determination. “What’s the stich your highness?” “What’s the stich?” Spike gave Twilight an odd stare. “Really Twilight? I think you’ve been reading Mare Possible too much?” Twilight shot the dragon a scowl as Celestia continued. “Yes…well…Ahem. I’m afraid to say that a dark shadow is looming over Equestria, the one of likes I have never seen since I was a foal.” The cyan pegasus hovered into the sky and slammed her hooves together in a threating manner. “And you want yours truly to kick its sorry flank outta here quick fast and in a hurry right?” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down smiling brightly. “OH! OH! You want us to throw a party for the darkness thing right? Or we can use the Elements of Harmony to turn it into the lightness that way we don’t have to worry about it anymore.” She gasped loudly. “Wait! What if it turned into stone instead. I wonder why kind of stone the darkness would turn into. Marble? Granite? OH! Maybe a bit of both marble and granite! Or maybe brick! Hang on a second. Is brick a type of rock? I’m an expert on rocks and I sure as sugar that it has to have some qualities of rock. I wonder what bricks are made from. Hey you know what? Now that I think about it, what if the darkness thingy changes into a tree instead. It could change into an oak or a pine or a willow or a mumph…!” The orange earth pony stuffed a hoof into Pinkie’s mouth muffling her endless chatter. “Sorry your, highness yal’ll was saying?” “Thank you Applejack.” Turning to the others Celestia continued. “Everypony according to the report Twilight submitted last night the light originated from the Everfree Forest which is where I had felt it as well. I can…still feel it faintly but still opposing. Luna has gone, against her better judgment , to Everfree ahead of you so I need you six to find and assit her in any way you can.” Twilight stood proudly and puffed out her chest. “You can count on us your highness!” Celestia smiled just as proudly at her prized student. “I know I can.” With a flash of yellow a beautiful box appeared in-between her and her subjects. “As a just in case measure I insist you take your elements.” Upon opening the box five necklaces and one tiara sat proudly inside, each relic having the mark of their respective bearers. Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked upon the boxes contents. “The Elements of Harmony…” “Yes my student.” Using her magic the princess levitated and latched each necklace to their respective owner. “Use them only when you feel there is no other option. They still need to regain their power after your confrontation with Discord so they are not at their fullest as of right now.” Twilight nodded knowingly before turning to her friends. “All right girls! Let’s move out!” Everypony whooped and yelled excitedly. All except for one. Fluttershy had stayed quite throughout the discussion and while that might not have been anything to anypony that knew her, the reason as to why was. Oh no...She looked down, a worried look on her face. Knights... FLASHBACK The entrance to the ominous forest loomed over both the outworlder and the animal care taker. The latter doing her best to hind behind the former’s legs. With a shaky hoof Fluttershy pointed in the direction of the entrance. “T-there I-it is…E-Everfree Forest.” Despite his calm demeanor Knights couldn’t help but feel…Something off about the gloomy woods. His gaze grew slightly harder the longer he observed the strange forest. He didn’t like it…Not one bit…” The pull on his torn pant leg caused him to turn to the shy pony, his gaze instantly softening at the sight of ear etched into her expression. “K-Knights…” He voice was shaky at best. “P-Please reconsider. I’m sure the girls and even the princess will be more then happy to help you. You don’t have to go in there alone…” He reached a hand to gently pat the top of her head. The blushed she found herself with causing her to squeak slightly. The feel of his hand was warm. Inviting. “Sorry Miss Shy.” His tone was light as he spoke masking any true feelings. “This is my problem. My burden. I have to do this alone. Knights bent down so that he was eye level with the butter yellow pegasus. “It is for that reason that I have to ask…No…beg of you to not tell anyone else about me…unless you have no choice but to do so. I want to do this alone but I don’t want to get you in trouble.” She looked into his eyes his kind hearted, said laced eyes and found herself raiseing a hoof to her chest. Her heart. It was beating fast. She couldn’t explain why but it was. She closed her eyes for a second before opening them, a determined, yet oddly still adorable, look making its way onto her features. She begin an odd ritual as she once again spoke. “Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” At the last bit she raised a hoof to her head covering her eye with it. She couldn’t help but notice how cute he looked when he was confused. Kind of like when Winnoa can’t find the ball Applejack pretends to throw. “What…pray tell…was that?” “A Pinkie Promise.” That answer was met with the tilting of the outworlders head, something Winnoa also does when confused. She giggled a little before answering. “It just means that I’m not allowed to brake it…no matter what.” He blinked a few times before nodding. “ I see…” The smile returned as he stood up. “Thank you for your trust in me Miss Shy. I’ll try to be as quick as I can.” Before she could say anything the outworlder left running full tilt into the forest. PRESENT Fluttershy closed her eyes tightly. How could she put so much trust into somepony she just met? How could she make a promise like that to him. He could be bad news for all she knew. He could have been lying. Nopony else was there to back up his story. So…why? She opened her eyes as she pondered those questions Her gaze staying to the ground. “Because of his eyes…” “What was that Fluttershy?” The pegesus “epped” at the question directed toward her. The cyan blue pegesus was hovering beside her giving her a inquisitive stare. “Oh-Ah…Sorry Rainbow Dash. I was just…Thinking out loud.” She looked to the side and noticed that she and the other girls had long left the library (minus Spike in tow) and were steadily on their way toward their destination. Rainbow landed next to there and began to fall instep with her friend. “Your not cared are ya? You know you don’t have to be.” You got me to protect you from any nasty creatures we find and I never let my friends down.” “I-Its not that…w-well it kind of is that but its only part of it. “ She shifted uncomfortably as she spoke. There was silence before cyan pony spoke up again. “Well?” “W-well what?” “You gonna tell what the other thing is” Fluttershy looked away from her friend. “I-That is…” Her gaze shifted upward. “R-Rainbow…Do you think it’s weird to have complete trust in somepony you just met?” The rainbow mane pony thought for a second. “Well…I don’t know Fluttershy. I guess. Though we did trust Twilight the first day we met her so…I guess it’s not that weird.” She raised an eye brow. “Why” Do you have a met somepony or something?” “W-well. I…I mean he…that is…” “HIM!?!” The sudden scream of Rarity’s voice caused both pegesi to jump with fright, though to this day Rainbow claims that she was just slightly startled. “What do you mean him?” Her eyes widen. “My dear Fluttershy…Have you fell for some pony?” Fluttershy wasn’t expecting that. “I-I That is…I mean…” She squeaked as she hid behind her mane, her cheeks deep red with blush. Rarity’s eyes began to glow brightly as she grabbed Fluttershy’s hooves in her own. “Oh my! You did didn’t you!? What’s he like? Is he cute? How broad are his sholders?” “Girls!” Twilight eyed them as she spoke. “If you’ve forgotten we need to possibly save Equestria from an unknown something and I would like to do so before the world ends so… “But Twiiiilight~” Rarity most defiantly did not whine. “Fluttershy has a special somepony and never told us about it.” The pegesus in question was blushing brighter then ever. “B-but I never-“ Twilight stomped her hoof down. “Gha! Priorities ponies! We can deal with Fluttershy’s love life AFTER we deal with this .Now lets go!” A barely auditable squeak was heard coming from Fluttershy’s direction as the group continued toward the forest that was called Everfree. ~~~ The Everfree Forest, a place which bustles with wildlife of every shape and kind held a deathly quite tone to it this day. All animals watched as a shadow slinked its way through the jungle like forest. The shadow silently cursed at the guardian’s luck, being able to escape him the way he did. He had underestimated the boy’s tenacity in living. If he was lucky the river would finish him off for good. He didn’t need any distractions. A watery grave was just as accepted as a dirt one in his eyes. Slowly, surely, the shadow began to morph becoming more defined. Silver fur replaced the darkness that had surrounded his body, and long flowing silky hair ran down the length of his back, reaching to his knees. The shadows that had surrounded him had morphed into a black robe fitting snugly over his tall yet slender frame. His silver eyes caught a tear in the robe that was formed on one of his sleeves. “Bah!” He spat out harshly. “Damn Halfbreed. Well…I guess It could be worse. Heh…I could be drowning in the river.” The silver creature chuckled slightly at his cruel joke. “Now then…” He looked toward the castle that had made its way to his line of sight. “Time to move forward with the mission…”
