The Secret Mentor

15 years later

It was a sunny day in Canterlot. Twilight was sitting in the park and enjoying a good book.

“Another good one?” asked a voice unheard by all except Twilight.

“Yeah it’s very interesting. It’s about the history of Equestria.”

“I see the spell I made a few weeks back works like a charm. We can now share our thoughts with each other on will. And I can see everything you see through your eyes. Quite useful, don’t you agree?” asked Dark Star.

“Very. I’m glad that now we can talk to each other more often.”

“Have any plans for today, my student?”

“Not really, I heard the other girls were having some kind get together, but it’s not really for me. I’d rather just study some more or talk to you.”

“I see. What about that little dragon of yours, Spike?”

“Him? Oh, I don’t know. He usually goes out when he wants and does the first thing that comes in his mind,” Twilight said not really paying much attention to Dark.

By this time Twilight had reached a section in the book that really interested her. It was about how Celestia had ruled over the lands of Equestria with Princess Luna.

“The elder sister used the Elements of Harmony to imprison her younger sister in the moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria ever since,” finished Twilight slightly lost in thought, “hmmm… The Elements of Harmony. I know I’ve heard of those before… But where?”

“Weren’t they mentioned in that one book you were reading a few weeks back? What was it called? The book about predictions and prophecies, was it not? ”

“Yes! I’ll go to the library and read about them right now.”

“Eager to learn, as always. One of the many reasons why you are my student.”

Twilight smiled at that, packed her book in her saddlebag and was already off the library. This was actually very typical to Twilight, whenever she wanted know something, she will do nearly anything to get the answer.

Later that day

A slightly annoyed purple unicorn was sitting in a chariot, which was pulled by two strong pegasus guards. A purple dragon was sitting next to her, but no words were exchanged between them at the time. Twilight could see the landscape pass by her, but her thoughts were too preoccupied to notice anything else around her. She was wondering why the princess would send her on such a ridiculous task.

“Still upset about this task?”

“Slightly. Just… I can get why she would need somepony to organize the Sun celebration, but why me? I’ve got more important things that I could be doing. And what about that “make some friends bit?” That is just silly. I explained to her that Nightmare Moon might return tonight and she doesn’t even care about that!”

Twilight let out a deep sigh, which was unnoticed by Spike: “She doesn’t trust me.  She just thinks that I’m being silly. “Stop reading those dusty old books. Go out and make some friends,” she tried to an impersonation of Celestia at the end.

Dark Star chuckled a little at the impersonation. But soon his tone was serious again: “I for one believe you, Twilight. The signs, as you showed me, are quite clear. I think that there might be chance that she is coming back.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Have I lied to you before?”

“Thank you. It really means a lot to me. The fact that you’re by my side makes me feel a lot better. Sometimes I feel like you’re the only one who understands me, Dark.”

“Like I said many years ago, Twilight, I will always be there when you need me. Don’t forget that.”

Twilight knew Dark was speaking the truth. She had known Dark for many years now and he really was always there when she needed him. When other students made fun of her, he always calmed her down. When she was upset or angry, he could make her smile again. Over the years Twilight learned to trust Dark with anything that bothered her. To her Dark wasn’t just a mentor, he was her truest friend.

Sure she had Spike, but he never really could understand Twilights feelings the way Dark did. One of the reasons was that he was younger than her. And well the main reason was that Twilight rarely told Spike about her trouble at school or bad mood. Of course Twilight trusted Spike, but she didn’t want to bother him with her problems. He already had his claws full with the chores Twilight gave him.

After a few minutes of flying, Twilight could make out a small village in the distance. It was Ponyville.

Spike spoke: “Well, looks like we’re almost there.”

Twilight let out a sigh and said: “Yeah. Lets get this over with I guess.”

Later that day

“It’s 4 am! What is wrong with these ponies?! Do they know what sleep is?!”

Twilight was sitting in her bed trying to fall asleep, but the party down stairs wouldn`t let her. All day she wanted to do some research on Nightmare Moon and The Elements of Harmony, but the ponies from Ponyville wouldn’t leave her alone. She had tried to find something a few hours back when everypony finally left her alone, but because of the noise she couldn’t

concentrate.

“I couldn’t get any research done!” said Twilight.

“I agree, this day has been quite unproductive and wasteful.”

“All I can do now is sit here and hope that Nightmare Moon doesn’t come back. I think for maybe the first time, I hope that I was wrong. I hope she won’t come back.”

“As do I, but we still can’t be certain. The next day will start only when Celestia shall raise the Sun.”

Twilight got up and went to her window. She could see the moon and the mares’ image on it.

“If she comes back, what will we do? How could we stop her? The only thing that could stop her are the Elements, but we don’t know anything about them.”

“I don’t know Twilight. But I think we’ll soon find out if you were right. The Sun will rise soon.”

With that Spike opened the door and said: “Come on, Twilight! It’s time to watch the sunrise!”

An hour later

Twilight just finished laying Spike in bed and went downstairs. After a few seconds books were flung through the air with Twilight's magic.

“She’s back! I can’t believe it! What do we do?!” Twilight panicked.

“Well first maybe we should try to find out something about the Elements of Harmony. They are the only known weapon against Nightmare Moon.”

“Yes! Elements, elements, ohhh, how can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?”

Twilight hadn’t noticed how Rainbow Dash had gotten in the library and was already a few inches from her.

She shouted: “And just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon? Are you a spy?”

Twilight was slowly taking a few steps back as Rainbow got closer.

“What should I do Dark?”

“Don’t worry, she isn’t a threat to you. But I think she might prove useful to us, they all might,” he finished his sentence smiling to himself.

“They?”

A second later Applejack pulled Rainbow away from Twilight.

“Settle down! She ain’t no spy, but she sure knows what’s going on. Don’t you Twy? ” she was stepping closer to the unicorn as she spoke.

Twilight sighed and thought to herself: “Huh, what have I gotten myself into?”

A few hours later

Twilight was now in the castle of the royal pony sisters, separated from her friends. She had just teleported along with Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony. The unicorn was now all alone with the alicorn.

“Twilight don’t you dare fight her! You are strong, but not that strong yet!” said Dark in very serious tone.

“I won’t fight her. But I have to get to the elements. I have a plan.”

She started to run against Nightmare Moon, and the alicorn did the same. Just before Twilight would have made contact with her, she teleported to the elements.

“Just one spark.”

She immediately started channeling her energy into the elements, but before Twilight could do much more, the energy from the elements threw her back. However this did nothing to the elements as Nightmare Moon was able to destroy them easily.

Twilight was internally panicking: “What do I do now? I lost... I failed.”

“Don’t give up just yet Twilight. I think there might still be hope.” said Dark.

“What do you mean?”

Right after that, the unicorn heard the voices of the ponies she was walking with through the forest. Her eyes widened with realization.

“Dark, I know what I have to do.”

A few hours later in Ponyville

After Nightmare Moon was defeated, in Ponyville there was a huge celebration. Of course Pinkie Pie was arranging all of the party games and decorations. Everyone enjoyed themselves. It was already starting to get dark when the party was coming to an end. Twilight felt exhausted after the nights events so she said goodnight to everypony and went to the library.

“How are you feeling, my student?” asked Dark

“Exhausted. I can’t wait to get to bed.”

“Well you definitely earned the rest. You did beat Nightmare Moon after all.”

“I couldn’t have done it alone. Without my new friends the elements would have been useless.”

“True, but how much did they actually do? All they did was show up at the right time at the right place. You had to face Nightmare one on one, you had to figure out what to do with the elements, and you had to channel most of the energy from the elements through yourself,” Dark smiled to himself and continued, “and I must say. The teleportation spell back there was very well timed. I’m proud of you, my student.”

Twilight blushed slightly at the praises she was given.

“Thanks, Dark. It means a lot to hear that from you. You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better.”

By this time they were both already at the library. As Twilight entered the library there was a sudden flash of energy in front of her. Dark was now standing in front of the purple unicorn.

Twilight immediately recognized him. She was happy see Dark again.

“Good evening, my student. Good to see you in person again.”

While he was talking, Twilight walked right next to him and gave him a friendly hug. Dark was slightly surprised by the sudden gesture, but soon returned the hug. After a few seconds the hug ended.

“Sorry, I’m just happy to see you. This was one crazy night.”

Dark chuckled slightly: “I completely understand. I’m happy to see you as well.”

The purple unicorn yawned and said: “If you don’t mind Dark, I really want to go to bed. Like I said I’m exhausted.”

“Of course, but before you go, there’s one thing I wanted to mention before we depart,” Dark said in a rather serious tone.

This caught Twilights attention. She knew when Dark had that certain tone in his voice, there was no joking around. Twilight nodded.

Dark then continued: “As I mentioned, I’m very impressed how you handled yourself when confronting Nightmare Moon. You showed no fear, and you were completely concentrated on your spells. Therefore I think you are ready to begin our next level of studies in magic.”

If Twilight was feeling very sleepy a few seconds ago, now she was wide awake.

“Next level? What do you mean by next level?”

“I mean some more advanced spells. Some of them are offensive.”

To the unicorn this was something new, she had never studied or read anything about offensive spells. Back in Canterlot Princess Celestia didn’t allow any of the students to read anything about offensive or combat magic. Twilight was of course excited, but also a little worried.

“Do you really think I’m ready? I mean I want to learn about it, but it’s just that whenever I asked Princess Celestia about this subject, she kept on telling me I`m not ready,” she said a little nervously.

“Celestia doesn’t know you like I do. She hasn’t seen what you can truly do even under pressure and in seemingly hopeless situations. You are ready, I know you are,” he finished with a smile.

His words brought some confidence in Twilight.

“Well then when do we start?” she asked not hiding the excitement in her voice.

“Not tonight. I’ll allow you to dream tonight. We shall start the next night.”

Twilight nodded, but after a moment yawned again.

“You can go to bed now, Twilight.”

“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow, Dark.”

She started to walk up the stairs while Dark was still standing in the middle of the room. When Twilight got to the top she turned around.

“Dark?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you, about everything you said tonight. I hope I won’t disappoint you. I look forward to our new lessons.”

Dark smiled: “As do I, Twilight. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

The unicorn entered her bedroom and lay down in her bed. Sleep slowly took over her. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

When Twilight was asleep Dark quietly entered her room. He observed her for a few seconds and thought to himself.

“You will do great things one day, Twilight. You’ll just need a push in the right direction. And that’s what I’m here for.”

He leaned closer to Twilight and started to channel a dark mist from his horn. The mist slowly made its way into the purple unicorn’s ears and nose. When Dark finished he left the room. Twilight didn’t feel a thing, she was enjoying a peaceful sleep.