Ignorance Is Bliss, But Truth Is Far Greater
I woke up that morning as the sun shined through the window and the birds chirped happily outside. After I got on my feet, I crept downstairs carefully, as Spike was still asleep. After preparing breakfast and leaving some for Spike, I went about doing my daily routine. About 10 minutes later, Spike came barreling through the doorway with a scroll in his hand.
"From the princess, Twilight"
"Thanks Spike. I wonder what she needs me for."
Opening the letter, I began to read out loud.
"My faithful student. A matter of great importance has happened in Canterlot, and I need your help here within the next day. I will be sending a chariot to pick you up later today at 3:00 pm. You should be in Canterlot for about a week, half a week if the situation permits. I will explain when you get here. I look forward to seeing you again. Sincerely, Princess Celestia."
"Huh, what could have possibly happened in Canterlot. It's only been a couple of days since King Sombra and only a week since the changeling invasion."
"Spike, help me pack and re organize the checklist. I need to be ready by 3:00. I need you to stay here and make sure the library is up and running for everyone."
"Got it Twi," he replied
The rest of the day passed quickly as I prepared for my trip to Canterlot later. Me and Spike packed my bags and finished whatever couldn't wait until I got back and before I knew it it was almost 3:00 pm already.
Some time later, I could hear knocking at the door. It must be the chariot. Opening the door, I see a royal guard in the doorway.
"I assume you are here to pick me up?"
"Yes Twilight Sparkle. We will be waiting outside for you. Make it quick."
Turning around, the royal guard walked back to his place by the chariot. Closing the door again, I go back inside. "Spike, the chariot is here!" I yell upstairs, where Spike was currently."Make sure the library is cleaned up when I get back"
"No problem," he yells back," you can count on me."
Picking my bags up, I board the chariot.
On the way there, I think of what Princess Celestia could possibly need me and Spike for. It's not been that long since the changeling invasion or Sombra, and I don't think another big threat would be coming for some time. What then? Deciding I won't get answers until I get there, I busy myself with looking at the surroundings.
Before long, the chariot was descending towards the castle. After stepping out of the chariot, Princess Celestia walked up to the landing platform. Bowing to her, she starts to speak.
"Rise, my faithful student. There are no need for such formalities. It is always nice to see you again. Walk with me. I will explain while you are here. Your bags will be taken to your room."
Following her through the halls of the castle, she starts to talk again.
"I have some great news. The changelings have proposed a peace treaty between us. It will take some time, but I hope eventually we can live together peacefully."
"That's great news," I reply excitedly,"but why did you call me then? Don't get me wrong, it is always nice to see you, but don't you have important things to do with the negotiations?"
"That is precisely why I called you here. I will need help with the negotiations to make sure that it goes smoothly, and I can think of no one better suited to help me. My sister will also be joining us at the negotiations, as this matter pertains to both of us. I know it is a lot to ask, but I am sure it is nothing you can't handle."
"Now, this is where you will be staying for tonight. The preparations will begin tomorrow at 10:00. Meet me in the throne room then. I want to spend more time with you, but my schedule is too busy trying to free up time for tomorrow. Until then."
Turning around, Princess Celestia began to walk back to where we came form originally. Looking forward, a carved oak door greeted my vision. It was about 4 feet wide and 6 tall, with a carving of two earth ponies rearing back symmetrically. Opening the door and looking inside, a regular sized bed could be seen hugging the left wall, with simple cotton sheets, and a window at the far end of the room let in light. On top of the bed my bags could be seen. A dresser was on the right side of the room, next to a door which I could only assume was the bathroom.
The rest of the day was spent unpacking all my things and reading, and before long the sun was set and moon rose into the sky accompanied by its starry brethren, signaling that it was getting late. After getting ready, I slipped up under the covers, and fell asleep, both excited and nervous for tomorrow.
Or at least, that should have been what happened, but it seemed as if I was too nervous to fall asleep. After twenty minutes of pitifully trying to rest, I realized that I wasn't going to go to sleep anytime soon. Deciding to roam the castle halls, I set out from my room.
The castle was quite empty at this time, with only the occasional guard passing through. Before long however, I could hear a faint sound coming from down the hall. Walking closer to the sound, it seems to be, crying?
Moving down, the sound kept getting louder and louder until I was standing before the intricately carved room of Princess Celestia herself, where the sound seemed to meant from. Oddly enough, there were no guards stationed at the door. Peeking in through a crack in the door, I see something that is both puzzling and baffling, and something I will likely not forget the sight of.
Sitting on her large bed with silken white sheets, was Princess Celestia. However, it was obvious she was crying and had been crying heavily recently. Her eyes were puffy, and she was still sniffling. Opening the door, I walk into the room.
"Princess," I inquired,"what's wrong?"
At my voice, Princess Celestia looked up at me.
"Sit down. I think it's time I told you a story," she replied, in hiccuping breaths."Just give me a moment to gather my thoughts."
Walking over to her bed, I sit on the edge and wait for her to talk. After a minute or two of quiet sniffling getting less and less, she starts to speak.
"Sometimes Twilight, a creature cannot understand the light of harmony. I think its time I told you the true story of Sombra and others like him."
"Long long ago, before even nightmare moon, Sombra was my student, and quite similar to you in many regards. He was curious, quick to learn, magically talented, and sometimes a bit over obsessive. However, unlike you, he was willing to do anything to sate his curiosity and his yearning for knowledge."
"This curiosity led him down some... dark paths. One day while in a restricted part of the library, he discovered a book on the dark arts. He knew he wasn't supposed to delve into them, was told they were dangerous, but his lust for knowledge won out. It started out harmless, paved with good intentions, as most dark paths do so often."
"At first, it was just the mechanics of how it worked, of how it fed off of negative emotions, how it only required a strong will and magic. Eventually, he started practicing basic spells, simple things like summoning crystals and vapor. That when his research started to get to him."
"At first, it wasn't anything noticeable, not anything that could have been predicted. He was more quick to anger, more fueled by emotions, his yearning for knowledge turning into minor lusts for power, becoming less sensible, things of that nature. Nothing noticeable, nothing stoppable, nothing preventable."
"In due time, he started to move on to more advanced spells: how to channel emotions into beams of magic, how to control the fog and solidify it, and how to use crystals offensively. He learned the more advanced theories, the more advanced spells, while meanwhile, his research started to shape his personality more."
"He became short-tempered and quick to anger. He started to listen to emotion over logic. His magic started to darken ever so slightly. He was caught zoning out and muttering to himself. Blind I was to this, as I thought that it was nothing more than a bit strange. How wrong I was."
"One year, I sent him off to oversee the crystal fair in the Crystal Empire, and how wrong I was to do that. When he got there, he succumbed to the final spell in the dark arts, and transformed himself into a unicorn not made out of the magic of the world, but of the darkness. His magic and mind were made out of the shadows, out of the darkness, out of the things that have no right to be in that way. His body was covered in armor of the strongest steel, enchanted with shadows to repel the light. His horn was tipped with anger, so that his magic, black as the shadow and laced with greed would be more powerful. He succumbed to the darkness, to the shadow, and they made him their puppet."
"His mind was clouded, and another took hold. When you succumb to the darkness fully, its will becomes your will, and there is no going back. Not even the power of the elements could have saved him without destroying his soul and conscience in the process. He was forever destined to be a puppet to the forces he tried to harness but could not."
"By the time I heard of what had happened to him, the empire was taken over, powerless to stop him, and I had to do something I had never done before. I had to kill my student, no matter the cost. He could not be imprisoned, for he was both to dangerous to do and it would be pointless. There was no recovery, only mercy in death."
"I flew as quick as I could with my sister by my side to the empire, where Sombra awaited. There, we fought. Luna with her dark purple armor and dual blades of starsteel, black as the darkest night, and me with my radiant golden armor, and a trident made out of the essence of the sun itself, glowing with a brilliant light. Sombra had a scythe made out of the shadows and darkness, able to go head to head with even our own weapons. Eventually, Sombra lost to the greater numbers, and with his last breath and magic, he performed one of the most advanced spells in dark magic, that can only be fueled by the desperation of defeat. Him, along with the rest of the empire, were sealed in between time and space, un retrievable until his spell wore off."
"We erased all evidence of the crystal empire, of Sombra, of anything that could lead to the discovery of the same dark magics that took over Sombra's mind. We either sealed all knowledge of the dark magic he used in a hidden vault protected by wards so powerful you would need the power of the heavens themselves to get through, or burned them, alongside erasing the memory of it from anyone who knew but us."
"However, while we managed to get rid of most of it, there we things we missed; ancient ruins, lost libraries, and others still held knowledge of the dark arts, and coupled with the fact that some can perform the dark arts without any teaching, Sombra was not the last. It did not happen often, but every couple of centuries somepony would find out about it, and succumb to the darkness, where the process would be repeated."
"Every pony we found was too far lost, too far gone, too far to be saved. Not a single pony walked back from that path, not in any of the number of times it has happened."
"All that succumbed to the darkness were killed, for the greatest mercy would be to end their suffering, and I shoulder the burden of that knowledge every day."
"They are called the Fallen, and I grieve for them every night."
Author's Note
Just a short little one shot that I came up with the idea for in the shower. There are probably a lot of times were I said person instead of pony, so please point that out if you see anything. I didn't notice until the end, and since it doesn't have any major impact on the story, I decided to leave it. Comments are of course read and appreciated and as always, until next time
