Chapter one, the discovery
that morning was like any other for shadow, working at his blacksmith shop, getting his younger sister out of trouble and taking her to school. but that all changed when he began to hear rumors around ponyville, which consisted of two unknown ponys coming from some unknown land. thought these rumors with quickly confurmed as two guards from the royal palace in canterlot came, which caused everypony to gather to the mayors building.
"HEARY HEARY!" one of the guards said, holding a scroll enveloped in a white aura same as his horn.
"You have all been invited to the royal castle for an emergency meeting with princess Celestia and princess Luna, tomorrow." the guard stated before trotting off.
the crowd that had formed began to chat away, drowning out a lot of hushed talking.
"What could this mean, is something happening?" a group of ponies to shadows left said in worried tones. however, shadow just stood there in thought. was this really happening, well only one way to find out, he thought as he turned and began to head to the train station.
the next day...
once shadow arrived, he noticed that the area was packed with ponies from all over equestria, from manehatten to las pagasus and everywhere in between.
"okay..." shadow murmured, slightly shocked at the sight. As the sun reached the middle of the sky Princess Luna and Celestia made their way to the balcony.
A hush fell over the crowd as she tipped her chin up, speaking out in a loud voice that would echo across the square.
"Citizens of Equestria! Your princesses thank you for your duty and loyalty to our kingdom. By appearing here you have shown once again the strength and dedication of our dear kingdom."
With a small pause Celestia waited for the arrival of two more princesses. The slender figures were adorned with scales, two horns, and a tufted tail unlike anything Equestria had ever seen.
"Today we have with us two Princesses from across the sea. They've come to Luna and I seeking council and assistance, as their home is threatened. Our allies have helped us time and again throughout my time as ruler, and without their assistance Equestria would not be what it is today. I ask that you please listen to them, and respect them as you would respect me." With a bow of her head she stepped back, allowing for the two to step forward and speak into the crowd.
The jade princess stood beside her sister with a worried expression on her face as Celestia spoke to the inhabitants of her kingdom. From time to time she'd glance to her golden sister, eyes narrowed with a scrupulous expression replacing the worried one. Unlike Celestia and Luna, the two Kirin were twins and shared an incredible bond. The ponies in their kingdom would whisper that they could communicate telepathically to each other due to their birth, but if it were true, the sisters never let on.
Finally Celestia moved away from the front of the gathered ponies. The jade princess lifted her head and moved to take her place, keeping her ears back in the respectful way of her kingdom when addressing important or new ponies. Once she reached the speaking spot she lowered her head in a bow by way of greeting.
"We thank you, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, as well as all of you who have gathered here today," she said in a loud, clear voice while lifting her head once more.
"I am Princess Yu of the The Mă Empire, and this is my sister, Princess Jin." She motioned over her shoulder with her head, casting a worried glance to the golden princess behind her. By the time she looked back over the gathered ponies, her face was once again impassive and stoic.
"We come with hopeful tidings to Equestria, to seek out those who may help solve our ongoing problem. There is none in our Empire that can assist us," she continued, her green eyes panning over the crowd as if already searching for the ponies that might be able to help her. Back in their home land many had tried to help, but some darker magic than either sister could combat prohibited any from being chosen for the task. Equestria was full of kind and generous ponies, though, and Yu was hopeful they'd find who they were looking for here.
"There is a dark force that resides over my sister," Yu continued, her long mane swaying in the light breeze, the jade beads at the end tapping against her slim legs.
"An unknown curse plagues her dreams and keeps her awake all through the night. As the one who looks over and takes care of the prosperity of our Empire, the crops and land as a whole are beginning to suffer. We need to end this dark magic before the problem becomes too much for us to bare."
There was only so much they could do, after all, should their Empire fall. The dark magic could come to these lands as well. The only option was to snuff it out before it had a chance to spread.
"That is where you come in," Yu continued, looking down at the ponies once more.
"We are hopeful that some of you that are gathered today will be able to assist us in eradicating this evil from our home. If you are chosen and you are willing to help, you shall have the endless gratitude and thanks of myself, Princess Jin, and the entire Mă Empire.
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There was a heavy sense of dread over the golden princess, her eyes bore an expression of fatigue as she looked over the crowd, blinking a few extra times here and there as her sluggish eyes would blurr. She tried to lift her chin a little higher and stand a little straighter each time her sister's gaze moved towards her, but there were only so many yawns she could bite back before she'd have to cover her mouth with her hoof and give in to the sleepy feelings tugging at her throat.
As Celestia stepped back she followed her sisters steps towards the head of the balcony. There were so many ponies, of so many kinds... she couldn't help but smile a little as she thought of what so many different types of pony could bring to their lands. They had only come over a hooffull of times, and their kin were fairly isolated. They mostly dealt in exports, but they had offered Celestia and Luna a hoof or two a few hundreds of years ago.
Like her sister she offered a gracious bow of her head, her ears back and her hooves close together. She upheld her posture with pure determination, despite her groggy body she wanted to show the ponies of Equestria her utmost respect. After all, it was her short comings that required the aid of these kind ponies. She nodded in turn with Yu's dictation of their problem, her eyes scanning the crowd as eagerly as her sisters.
Nervously she bent a hoof, tapping the stones tied around her neck. If they couldn't find them here, were would they be? Clearing her throat Jin worked up the courage to speak out alongside her sister, sparing her a glance for approval and inner support, whatever semblance of unspoken communication they had between them seemed to relax the golden kirin.
"Our land has told us a prophecy, that there are those who can harness the powers that be and bring balance to our lands. Princess Celestia has told us many tales about the inner strength her kingdom has within their hearts, and the power of the friendships and bonds that have occurred here. My people's lives hang in the balance, and I've no power to aid them... Please, I beseech you, help us."
She took a deep breath, offering another polite bow, dipping a little lower than she had the first go. Her sister hadn't often approved of her manner of speaking, complained that if she regarded herself as weak that the people would loose faith in her thinking that she had none in herself. But Jin was quick to admit when she needed help, and proud to stand when she didn't. Looking out over the ponies once again.
"Within the halls of the castle Princess Celestia and Luna have granted us the benefit of using their throne room to conduct our search. There is magic in the stones we wear... Please, look upon them, and come to see us if you feel drawn to them..." They had lined up countless numbers within their own hall, to which the precious stones had remained dormant. This was their last hope.
With that she turned, awaiting her sister's movement so that they could set up their search within the throne room together.
after some time sitting at the dinning table, with the other five in there newly formed group that could wield the elements of balance, shadow got up. he was beginning to have doubts of the future, of his destiny of saving The Mă Empire from the darkness that threatened Yu and Jin's home. he was a blacksmith for Celestia's sake, hardly the making of a hero that the amber of joy choose. He could feel the amber that had magically turned into a pendent around his neck, pulse with his heart, as if it was alive. he then began to trot away from the others, heading to the spare guest rooms the Royal castle of canterlot held, that the princess was so kind enough to let them all stay at, until it was time to leave tomorrow.
after about 13 minutes of walking, being lead by a royal guard, who seamed to not wear the traditional royal armor like normal, the guard spoke out. "so, your the blacksmith of ponyville, correct?" he asked. Shadow glanced up, still looking sad, but gave an answer. "yea..." shadow had trailed off. "well I heard a lot about you, uh, Shadow was it? how your parents went missing after that Dragon migration several years ago, being left alone to take care of your little sister like that..." the grey earth pony said turning to look at Shadow with a smile. "not many pony's have the strength to pull that off." he paused realizing something. "were are my manners, the names Razor Blade." the grey pony said. Shadow gave a slight nod, looking sad.
"hey what's wrong?" Razor Blade asked turning to shadow, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "well, its just..." shadow trailed off not sure how to answer Razor's question. that's when Shadow heard a faint voice in his head. "Tell the truth..." the voice echoed. not even noticing the voice he answered. "I'm worried about this darkness that's attacking this empire that I never even heard about before today." shadow said raising an eyebrow, event though his sad look never left his face. "oh, that, well yea, I'm slightly worried about this to, but it should be no problem for you, i mean look at ya, your all buff from pounding metal for a living, and with that element," Razor said, tapping a hoof on the amber around Shadows neck. "Nothing can stop ya." Razor stated giving a smile as he turned, returning to leading shadow to his room.
"yea, I guess." shadow said lowering his head. "and believe it or not, I sort of look up to yea..." Razor added. this surprised Shadow, so raising his head he gave a confused look. "you... look up to me? but, I'm no different from anypony else..." shadow trailed off. Razor turned his head, giving a smile. "that's were your wrong, your tuff, you took care of your little sister, against all odds saying that you and her would end up in an orphanage, that, my purple friend, takes guts." he said as he looked ahead of himself once more. "but... i had no idea what i was going to do..." Shadow whispered, on the verge of tears. this guard, making him sound like some tuff Blacksmith, when the truth was, he had no idea what his next move was from the start.
"well, we're here." Razor blade said opening the door to the room. Shadow gave a nod as he entered the room, it was dark with a single lit candle by the bed side. looking at the flame of the candle, Shadow found some comfort in this, taking in the colors only he could see. "if you need anything, just request it and ill bring it as fast as i can." Razor said as he closed the door. Shadow let out a sigh as he trotted over to the window, looking out at the stars in the sky. Luna had outdone herself tonight, it looked so beautiful. "I've... been putting on a brave face for most of my life, when I have had no plan, I'm not strong..." he said softly. suddenly a voice echoed in his head, this time loud enough to hear it. "Don't worry, Keep the joy in your heart, and everything will turn out fine..." the voice echoed, causing Shadow to look about the room. "Who's there?" shadow asked.
"its me..." the voice said once again, this time the amber around his neck gave a flash of light. Shadow just looked down at the flash, was he just imagining this? or was the weight starting to get to him. "Don't worry Shadow, I Choose you, Things will turn out just fine..." the voice said once again, but this time in a caring tone of voice. "but how can you be so sure? What if..." Shadow said getting cut off by the voice. "always with the what ifs with you, Don't worry about the future, just focus on the hear and now, that's all anypony can ever do in life..." the voice echoed before becoming quite once more. Shadow had a face of slight shock, was he going Crazy, no, he couldn't be. so deciding to shake off the event, he returned his attention to the night sky. and that's when he heard his door open.
