Maplestory Chronicles

by Starlight Song

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Crossover, Alternate Universe, Human, Main 6, Dark, Other, Spike
Length: 7249

Twilight discovers that she is stuck in an alternate universe where magic and sorcery are at work with a dark villain wanting to resurface after centuries of being sealed away.

Twilight mysteriously vanishes without a trace, only leaving behind a huge book and nothing else.

Using the only clues she left, they suspect she is stuck inside another world. Using the mirror portal they use the book and are sent into the alternate universe to find Twilight.

Instead, they find themselves in different bodies. Dealing with the situations as the people they took. All of them lead different lives than they once did.

The Magic of Friendship will always survive, no matter what form it takes.

Main Theme

Based off the biggest free-to-play Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game known online: Maplestory.

Information about Maplestory would be useful to know about the story.

Coming soon: Update Black Heaven [img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BNyrVCj4nOMazVNUkITfSwzghs7esVCMwAZVQ6po2hU=w401-h207-p-no[/img]

cover by Nexon, not by me.

Published 2015-02-16 22:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-03-05 23:24:20 UTC

Maplestory People Index

Villains:

Black Mage: The main Antagonist of this world. Originally known as the White Mage, he wanted to research the light and see what lies beyond it.

With this, The White Mage continued his research. At this came a cost of his own soul which he cast away to the darkness, and expelled the light from his being. He allowed this darkness to manifest, and it corrupt him. He then became The Black Mage in the process.

He plans to conquer Maple World in an effort to purge it of its impurities (ALL HUMANS). He has recognized that humans are imperfect beings, and must either be controlled. Those who defy him are killed instantaneously. What he lacks is the fact that due to the flaws of humanity, they can strive to be perfect. This being a part of humanity, the Onyx Dragons sided with the humans instead of The Black Mage. As a result, he exterminated their entire race.

Black Mage is hellbent on more than just controlling Maple World, but is trying to make it perfect by controlling everything and everyone. He believes that only the darkness can bring about the Utopia that he hopes to achieve. Though not the good kind.

Heroes:

Luminous: One of the five heroes of Mapleworld who sealed away the Black Mage. The last of the six heroes, he dealt the final blow to the Black Mage once and for all. However, upon doing so, he became tainted with the Black Mage's dark power, and struggles to keep a hold of either light or darkness. He uses a Shining Rod and an Orb for his weapons. Twilight Sparkle now has this fate of Luminous.

Mercedes: One of the five heroes who sealed away the Black Mage. She is the Queen of the Elves, ruling in a secluded town known as Elluel. She uses Dual Bowguns and Magic Arrows for weapons.She faced a curse that froze her and her people for a hundred years by the Black Mage. But one day she wakes up with only her unfrozen, her people still stuck in ice. Rarity now has the fate of Mercedes.

Phantom:  One of the six heroes who sealed away the Black Mage and is part of the Thief branch. Using a Cane and Cards, Phantom has the unique ability to copy skills from Explorer players as well as from monsters.

A century ago, he was famous among the wealthy merchants and noblemen. He deliberately left traces when stealing, and even then people did not even know who he was. They called him "Phantom".

Throughout the Maple World, Phantom was honored. However, the death of Aria, the Empress before Cygnus, with whom he had fallen in love with while trying to steal the great treasure of Ereve, caused him to join the Heroes to take revenge on the Black Mage. He sought one of the heroes, Freud, for an invitation, and he was most welcome. After a fierce battle, he and the other five heroes sealed away the Black Mage and saved the Maple World. However, due to the curse inflicted by the Black Mage, all heroes except for Freud, who died in the battle, were trapped in ice and went into a deep sleep.

A hundred years later, Phantom reawakens from the curse. He infiltrates Ereve, where a meeting is being held. Hilla, a commander of the Black Wings poses as an Empress by showing the crowd Skaia, a jewel said to glow in the hands of the Empress. However, it did not glow in Cygnus's. Luckily, Phantom comes to the rescue. He calls the Skaia held by Hilla a fake and destroys it, claiming that the real Skaia is in his hands. This causes Hilla to back off and flee from Ereve, although she tells him that the Maple World is already in "his" hands. Phantom then gives Cygnus the real Skaia and returns to the Lumiere. Rainbow Dash now has Phantoms fate.

Aran: is one of the five Heroes who sealed away the Black Mage and is part of the Warrior branch. With a Polearm in hand, Aran uses many ice and combination attacks against her foes. Aran fought some enemies for other stronger members to get through, but she was cursed and frozen for a hundred years. A century later, Aran awakes in Rien and meets Lilin, the last member of her clan who believed in her resurrection.  Pinkie Pie now has the fate of Aran.

Evan: One if the five heroes of Mapleworld.

Evan can use his dragon to fight instead of his weapon. Evan starts his journey in a farm as the son of a farmer. He can use a Wand or a Staff as his primary weapon, and Documents as his secondary weapon.

A century ago, there lived a heroic Magician named Freud. Mighty even by the standards of Maple World, he delved into many different areas of magical research, but the highest among his interests was the study of the Onyx Dragons. His greatest desire was to find a way for humans and dragons to live together in peace. After many years of study and exploration, this desire would bring him before the greatest of Onyx Dragons, the Dragon King, Afrien.

The King of the Onyx Dragons, Afrien was the greatest of his kind. Despite their many differences, Afrien loved humans as he loved all life. When Freud appeared before him, he found a kindred spirit, a human who shared his philosophical love for all lifeforms. Not wishing to miss out on this opportunity, Magician and Dragon pledged to each other a Spirit Pact of mutual defense and understanding. They bound themselves together using many powerful rituals and spells, creating the first Spirit Pact, the forerunner of the many that would come later. Under the pact, two spirits would become one and the resulting bond would be unbreakable, even lasting past death.

The benefits of the Spirit Pact were many and powerful. Magician and Dragon nurtured each other, each becoming stronger together than they ever could have alone. Together they ushered in an era of peace and justice, shining all the more brightly for the brief length of time that it lasted. It was shattered when a great evil entered Maple World - the Black Mage.

When the Black Mage discovered the incredible power of the Onyx Dragons, he coveted it for himself. One night while Freud was away, the Black Mage granted himself an audience with the great Onyx Dragon King.

Unable to understand the source of the Onyx Dragon's great power, the Black Mage asked Afrien to join him and betray Freud and the humans he had in his care. He promised the King that by working together they could become more powerful than anyone could imagine. Afrien tried to explain that the source of the Onyx Dragon's power was the love and trust that came from the Spirit Pact. He was incapable of betraying his friend, nor would he have broken the pact even if he was capable of it. Infuriated, the Black Mage vowed that if the Onyx Dragon would not join him, he would be destroyed.

The Black Mage fumed for a time, researching some way to destroy the Spirit Pact and defeat the Dragon King and his friend. Eventually he concluded that if he could lock Freud in ice forever, this might break the Pact. He launched a devastating attack on the pair, trying to maneuver them into a position where he could launch his horrible curse at Freud. After a fierce struggle, the Black Mage succeeded and managed to cast his devastating spell at Freud.

He had not reckoned with the Onyx Dragon’s loyalty. When the Black Mage cast his devastating curse at Freud, Afrien nobly threw himself in front of his friend, taking the curse that had been meant for him. The great Dragon was encased in ice. The Black Mage had succeeded. The Spirit Pact was broken.

His success was not complete, though. Afrien had left behind a great Dragon egg and so long as the egg existed, there was always a chance that a future hero might re-establish the Spirit Pact. Aran and the others knew it as well. Heroically, Aran ordered his fellow heroes to cover Freud's escape. Freud eventually escaped with dragon egg, determined to hide it in a place where it would eventually be found. As Afrien had sacrificed himself for Freud, he could do no less for his friend. Unknown to him, his fellow allies, like Afrien, were frozen in ice.

The Dragon Egg was hidden away, waiting for a hero with a strong spirit that will recreate the Spirit Pact.

After a long time, that time to recreate the Spirit Pact has come again. A humble soul, the child of a pig farmer, will reforge old bonds and re-establish the Spirit Pact. The Onyx Dragon will rise again at the side of a new hero who will use that power to fight for peace and justice! Fluttershy now has the fate of Aran. Spike has the fate of Mlr.

Shade: The missing Sixth hero of MapleWorld who sealed away the Black Mage, and is part of the Pirate branch. Shade uses Knuckles as a primary weapon and Fox Marbles as a secondary weapon. He calls on the power of spirits for aid.

As one of the six heroes, he sacrificed his existence to prepare for the seal to seal away the Black Mage. However, nobody remembers his existence due to the nature of the seal. He later mysteriously finds himself in Vulpes of Grandis, where he is aided by a young girl named Moonbeam. Applejack now has the fate of Shade.

People:

Lania: First introduced: The Power Of Darkness: Luminous Sparkle

She helped Luminous by inviting her to live in the forest with her. After finding Luminous, she had tended to him while he was still unwell, and not before long, they became friends. However, once the dark magic had apparently grown out of control, causing damage to Lania and her home. She was killed and Luminous left to control her dark powers.

In The Beginning There Was The Book

"Destiny is not a matter of chance; its a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." - William Jennings Bryan

In the beginning there was The Book, it held the answers to a mystery that gave only to a dead end. A disappearance that left the citizens of Ponyville baffled. And the answers that awaited the five ponies that dared to solve the disappearance of their dear Twilight. This is how it began....

Twilight Sparkle

The Book was unlike any other book I've ever held. It was heavy like a brick and I'm surprised the mailmare: Derpy was able to deliver it in great condition with no damage to the book. Covered in a brown package was a book more than a thousand pages long.

A good story will always take its time to develop the character, no matter how long it takes. I secretly loved long stories. It is why I found my love for books.

I waved Derpy goodbye and thanked her for the package as she left the castles premises. I whisked myself into the castle library, which was next to the throne room.

Then, I plopped myself down into a comfy chair and tore opened the book and saw how beautiful the cover was. It had the name Maplestory embolden in a gold color. The author knew it was a book to be proud of. Covered in red and gold it looked like one of Celestia's old history books from her personal library. It looked like one too, but only with a few minor differences.

I've been waiting years for this to finally come out, ever since it was spread around Ponyville that there was going to be this huge fantasy adventure story announced to come out, I patiently waited as the book was delayed, time and time again, but I didn't give up hope. Now I have it right here in my hooves. Patience finally paid off big time.

My hooves immediately flipped to the first page of the book and I read through it.

Chapter 1: Luminous

The battle that raged on for years will finally end tonight. Luminous knew that in her heart. She was awaiting the moment to go inside the temple. Two of her partners, Mercedes and Freud, were already inside fending off against their greatest villain in all of Mapleworld: the Black Mage.

Clothed in Black, he has never shown his face, not even in battle. He is the best wielder of dark magic. This was going to be a hard battle, even with the five of them, Luminous didn't think it would be enough to defeat him. It would purely be luck if they were to survive this long battle.

Luminous raced inside and slashed all the enemies in her path, they were nothing compared to the Black Mage. One slash and they were done for. She ran pasted a girl with a huge ax fighting off another enemy, she was holding him off for now. Luminous was prepared, he brought along his mighty staff.

He ran on, going past the destroyed paintings and all the destroyed structures keeping the place up.

The doors burst open for him as he made his way to engage in the final battle. The Black Mage was waiting for him as he hovered above his two friends, Freud and Mercedes.

They've taken quite a beating. Mercedes was knocked out and lay beside Freud, he couldn't even stand, it was too hard for him to move.

"I'll try to use my time stopping spell, " he whispered to him. Freud mustered up his will power to cast one last spell. Time stood still, nothing moved. Everything was silent. Don't worry, Freud, I'll put everything back to normal, but it will be hard, luminous was going to have to seal the Mage inside his own circular prison for centuries to come. This is what it has come down to.

Luminous set the trap into action by placing the seal all around the dark cloaked one, he would never see it coming.

You've got to hurry I can't keep this spell up for long. He turned to Freud, his lips weren't moving. I'm talking to you telepathically. Freud was smart, he knew ways to communicate even when a spell was active.

The world finally moved again.

Luminous growled in anger, "Time to finish you once and for all." He started running towards the enemy and jumped in the air. The Black Mage sent black chains to block his path mid-air, he moved swiftly around them. He deflected the chains all around him, warping one place to another, avoiding whatever he could.

Using a lot of his magic strength, Luminous sent a blaze of light at the Black Mage, which activated the seal. The barrier started o connect in a circle enclosing him. It struck him surprised, he screamed in pain as the seal tried to close on him.

He reached out for Luminous, he was trying to break the seal. He ran and with the last bit of his power he tried to strike the Black Mage with the last energy he had just for combat.

They collided and A blazing blue light clashed with the darkness inside of the Cloaked Mage. The darkness spread up Luminous's arm. Darkness and light will become one. "The Darkness you took from me will consume you," were the last words Luminous heard before the world was engulfed in brightness.

- End of Chapter 1 -

I took a moment to breathe, the battle was filled with excitement, horror, it intrigued me, but I would have a long ways to go before I would even finish the book. Looking at the book again, the chapter was only a few pages out of a thousand. This was going to be a long and interesting story indeed.

I turned the page to the next chapter hoping to continue the journey, but was graced by a chapter with only a few sentences. One page full.  The text was colored in a light blue. I decided to read the text aloud, since no one was home. "The only way to move forward is to choose your destiny. A road filled with light and dark is your fate alone. Choose wisely." It puzzled me confused.

Suddenly the text started to glow and they came out of the pages heading straight towards the mirror portal. I quickly moved away from the location sensing something was wrong, but I wasn't quick enough. The mirror portal turned on and started pulling me towards it. It was as if the portal was trying to suck me into another universe. I tried teleporting out of the portals way, but my magic wouldn't work at all, something was prohibiting me from using my magic.

I tried running as fast as I could, Eventually I tumbled into the portal and everything went silent.

What Happened Afterwards Is A Mystery

Throughout the town of Ponyville whispers were heard among the citizens. Words travel around here fast. Ponies whispered of the Purple princess screaming in terror. Applejack, however, didn't listen to the banter of gossip and rumors. She had apples to sell to make ends meet.

Applejack pulled the apple cart to the shopping center in hopes that she'd make a bit or two from a pony buying apples. A few ponies came buy and bought some, but business was slow today, she sighed, wishing she could have made more money for her family.

As the day neared to its end Applejack noticed someone running to her from a distance. A purple dragon with green scales ran his way towards her followed by a four other familiar ponies she called friends. Applejack could hear them from a mile away, clopping down main street, followed by Spike who had was the leader running towards her cart.

He skidded to a stop, only a few inches away from causing an accident. "Uh, Spike? Why are you in such a hurry?" Applejack asked, hoping they would explain.

"Twilight is missing!" The five ponies plus Spike the dragon said in unison.

"Missing?! How is that possible? Shouldn't Twilight be fine on her own?" The orange pony asked.

"I don't know, when I came home after getting groceries, the castle was a mess!" He exclaimed. "I looked everywhere for Twilight, but she was nowhere to be found." His voice sounded so sad.

Applejack felt sorry for the little guy, "Maybe she needed to go somewhere in a hurry."

"But that isn't like Twilight, she would've left a note or something at least. Where could she have gone?"

"I don't know Sugarcube." Applejack said.

"Maybe we should look for evidence," Rarity suggested with her fancy accent. "This is Twilight, our friend. She would never leave us behind so suddenly."

"You're right," Fluttershy said calmly.

"Let's go peek around the castle and see what we can find." Rarity suggested.

"Ooh! Super fun sleuthing time!" Pinkie Pie jumped for joy.

Spike lead the way towards Twilight's castle.

Once they arrived they all knew exactly where to look: the library. That's the place where Twilight would likely be or used to be. (And also Spike mentioned that the library was a wreck.) The group started their search there. Where they were greeted by a disastrous wreck. All the furniture and books were thrown everywhere.

But within all the havoc a big hardbound book lay in the middle of it all. A little alarm went off inside Applejack's head when she just saw it there. It was too out of the ordinary. It didn't look destroyed, it was in perfect condition. "Hold it!" Pinkie already beat her to it by grabbing the book. She struggled to hold it above her shoulders. "This book is suspicious!"

"How do you know?" Applejack asked.

"I sense something strange surrounding this book." Pinkie Pie saw a bookmark sticking out from one of the pages. "Twilight would never stop within the first few chapters of the book! She would at least get through a hundred pages before she stopped!"

"That seems right. Lets see if the book can give us any information," Rarity suggested.

And Pinkie opened up the page to where the bookmark was. They all saw light blue in the chapter. "Hm..." Pinkie mused. "Ooh! I love blue colored writing! Let's see... 'The Only way to move forward is to choose your destiny. Your road follows an Ax wielding warrior, this is your fate alone. Choose wisely.' Sounds so mysterious! What's an ax?" Pinkie asked.

Rarity looked closer at the writing, "It doesn't say that Pinkie Pie. Darling, your delusional, it says something about being the Queen of a Elven society is your fate alone! Ooh, being a Queen sounds wonderful," She said dreamily.

"Um... guys it says something about a dragon pact, but I don't know how that could happen, " Fluttershy said quietly.

"You guys are all wrong! It says something about being an awesome thief! That sounds so cool!" Rainbow interrupted.

Applejack wondered why they were getting different answers within the writing, maybe if she could get a closer look at the book... The orange pony moved closer to the blue writing. "Guys, mine doesn't sound real good." She cleared her throat, "The memories of you will be lost from time itself, you will face the fear that hides the most precious thing close to you: Your friends, this is your fate alone."

"Oh, that does sound bad," Fluttershy admitted.

"Twilight must have read something similar to us, what could her fate have been?" Rarity wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but whatever it is had something to do with this book!"

Rarity moved forward, "And I feel a powerful source of energy coming from it too... It flows through here like a strong wind!"

"Now why didn't you mention this before?" Applejack asked.

"I'm just now feeling the strong current of its power! Something doesn't sit well with me."

Suddenly, they all saw a flash of light go off from the mirror portal, "Did anyone touch that?"

Rainbow Dash gulped worriedly, "No."

Suddenly a gust of wind blew them towards the mirror portal. "I think I know where Twilight disappeared to!" Rainbow Dash yelled, as she tried to fly away from the portal.

"Help me!" Fluttershy screamed as she fell into the portal.

"Fluttershy!" They all yelled in unison.

"I'm going to save you Fluttershy!" Rainbow yelled, dashing into the portal. Spike fell onto the floor as was swooped in as well.

"Spike!" Applejack yelled, gripping onto a table, holding on as hard as she could.

Pinkie willingly jumped into the portal and yelled "whee!" as she disappeared.

Applejack's grip wasn't strong enough, her hooves gave in and she let go and disappeared.

The Power Of Darkness: Luminous Sparkle

The Power Of Darkness: Luminous Sparkle

When I woke up I screamed. I screamed as loud as I could, because I was no longer in Equestria. In a way I could say I deserved to scream and yell, and be realistic about the problem. There was no portal or way back to Equestria that I could see. My body felt weak, from the change of worldly proportions.

The ground felt lush beneath me, as I lay face forward in the middle of the forest. The air whispered its soft voice. Shade from the trees loomed over me in the daytime, giving brief comfort from the suns rays.

Its summer time here in this world. And my clothes cling to my body. I try to sit up and rest myself against a tree beside me, but my body is weaker than I thought previously. I can barely stand the gravity of this world. Let alone it up. Using the strength that is given to me, I use my strength to get closer to the tree and rest my back against it.

I soon hear a squish from the ground and see that the ground is wet from rain that must have passed through here a few days ago. The clothes are dirty now. I need to get clean.

My hands are a light tan color, not like from the other universe where I am the same pony color. And I notice that there is a staff laying right next to me, I grab it and use it to help me remain stable. It has a similar appearance to my cutie mark sticking from the ends of the staffs. It seems as if it was made for me. My hands have brown leather gloves on.

My legs are wobbly and at a lower height than from the other human world. Silver hair hangs from my head. It feels soft and lush, and maybe a bit longer than my usual length. I feel as if I don't even look like myself. Like I'm an entirely different being. Maybe I am, but for right now i need to get clean.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out to whoever could hear it. A girl with light blonde hair peeked my way. She headed towards me and helped me to my feet, "Thank you," I told her.

She smiled, "Are you okay? You seem out of shape," she asked.

"I'm new around here and I'm not used to this place just yet," I admitted.

"That's alright, let me help you get clean." She grabbed my hand immediately and I ran with her far into the woods.

"What is this place? I asked.

"Mapleworld. Right now were close to Ellinia, a small town known for the magical library that it has."

"Magical library?" I asked surprised.

"Yes, this place is filled with magic and people who love to learn about it. Most of the people here often have magical capabilities."

"Really? That's very interesting. Tell me more about this world," I asked her.

"Well it would take me more than an entire day explaining all the world and culture surrounding this place. Where have you been?"

"I've been somewhere where no one has been. No one one can explore it. A different universe."

"Your so interesting. I wish you could tell me about your world." She was a small girl, the age of ten. She believed in the magical fairy tales that an adult wouldn't believe. Which is why I thought of her as innocent, yet she was a kid willing to listen to anything.

"Where are your parents?" I asked. She was too young to be on her own.

"I...I don't know, they disappeared one day while they were searching or food. It was a long time ago." Poor kid. She changed the subject, "You have pretty eyes," she said, "They are different colors. That makes you special." She pointed to my left eye, "That one's blue," she pointed to the other, "that one's red."

I didn't realize that my eyes were different, I didn't even consider that I might be someone I feared. I didn't think I would be Luminous when I entered this universe. "The only way to move forward is to choose your destiny. A road filled with light and dark is your fate alone. Choose wisely." Those words echoed through my mind. At the end of the chapter of the book it said the darkness will consume you, is this what it meant? That Luminous would be of light and dark? I was destined to face this challenge?! Why did I have to be Luminous?! Why?!

Tears slipped through my feelings. She looked at me worriedly, "Don't cry... What's wrong?" She asked me, "Don't cry..." But I did, this was not what I wanted.

She made me move into the cottage to get clean. Once I was inside I looked at a mirror, occupying the living room and saw me as the person I was fated to be: Luminous.

She introduced herself as Lania, and welcomed me to stay with her. I introduced myself as Luminous Sparkle, because at the same time I was both me and I was Luminous. Taking his appearance as the girl version of himself. Maybe when you transfer over you must remain as the same gender or else it would be more complicated than that.

Lania was a sweet girl, she we a small blue dress and took care of herself like an adult. She learned to survive on her own by fishing and earning money by killing creatures.

I hated killing creatures, but that was how she survived to get food and necessary needs.

First day I stayed at her place I felt sad. Because, I could no longer be with my friends. I had no way of fin ding a portal to take me back to Equestria.

I did find a way to travel between the lands here, but they had no way of entering Equestria. Where could the portal back home be?

"Are you okay?" She asked me as I zoned out in the middle of lunch. She made some chicken soup earlier, I was grateful for the meal. But without my friends I felt lonely. I never knew how much friendship helped me have fun in life.

I didn't want her to worry about me, "I'm fine," I faked a smile to reassure her.

"Are you homesick?"

"I guess you could say that."

"I don't believe you," she looked at me with a straight face. For a moment she seemed like a mother, wanting to care for her child. Having to grow up so early in life has made her more mature in some way.  She sat beside me. Then suddenly hugged me with her little arms round my torso. I smiled, my silver hair hung down my white and gold laced clothing. Lania truly wanted me to feel right at home.

"Here, I'll tell you a little bit of my world, in exchange for a lit bit of your world," she gave me a quivered lip, with big sad eyes, I couldn't say no to a face like that. She was a kid, she deserved to have stories told to her filled with magic and fantasy. Your only a kid once.

"My Mom used to tell me the story of five heroes who took down the Black Mage. It was a fairytale that she told me a long time ago. Later on I found out that the story was actually true. There was a dark caped villain who planned on destroying Mapleworld- this wondrous land- for himself. But five heroes sealed him away for centuries. No one knows who these five heroes are, but they were what saved this world from the Black Mage."

The Black Mage that name rang a bell, it was from chapter one of the book I read earlier. And Luminous was one of the five heroes! How could he be alive after that battle from centuries ago? I don't know how, but maybe the Black Mage had something to do with it.

I needed a minute to take this all in. Within a day I had gained some information from a little fairytale about a battle that happened long ago. This world is so different from Equestria and so much more interesting than the other human world. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad, just for until I can find A portal back to my home world.

"So now you can tell me about your world. Where did you come from?" She was eager to learn about Equestria.

"Now my world seems so less serious than yours, I'm not sure if you will believe me or not."

"I'll believe anything!" she cried out immediately, "I promise not to tell anyone. It'll be a secret, just between you and me." She put out her pinkie for me to do a pinkie swear. I shook her finger with mine, "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," she said. I said something different, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Her version was a lot more brutal than mine.

"Wow, you even pinkie swear differently than me, our pinkie swear sounds so much crueler than yours. Okay, that's it, I officially like yours better, I'm using it permanently."

"Okay, so now tell," she turned her full attention towards me.

"My world is filled with magic, but we are colorful ponies who use the magic of friendship to stop evil. Were are kind of like your five heroes, only villains come along every few months to try to rule the world of Equestria."

"So you are like heroes in your universe?"

"Yes, only we have six heroes who save the day."

"Your world sounds fun! Mapleworld must look so different to you, doesn't it?"

I nodded, "Very." Her eyes gleamed with interest about my world.

We talked for hours and hour, talking back and forth about our two very different universes, soon it was nightfall. She lit some candles to keep us out of the dark. "Did you know in this world there are people with wings?"

"No, I didn't."

"There are people from other planets, I saw a person with little horns and pink wings. She's not from around here, sources say shes from that planet over there," she points at a purple colored planet right next to the moon, "That planet there is Pantheon."

"You learned all about this by observing other?"

She quickly nodded, "Yup! I love listening to other peoples conversations."

"So are they some kind of different species?"

"I guess, I haven't found out what she is just yet." She turned to me, "I like you," she smiled. "I have something that might make you feel a little bit more at home."

"Okay..."

"Close your eyes!" She said immediately.

I closed them shut. She set something into my hand. "Now open them!" She demanded playfully.

In my hands, there was a luminescent bracelet. She gestured me upwards and led me to the living room, where there was so much space to move around. "Now try on the bracelet," I slid it on. It suddenly started to glow. Then luminescent magic started to swirl around me, I felt a tingling sensation near my back and then the light started to fade.

"Yes! It worked!" Lania screamed in glee. "Thank you random act of kindness!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about these wonderful things!" She pointed at the huge prismatic wings that now resided behind my back.

"How did you?...."

"A guy traded this with me one day and said that they give you the ability to fly, and since you told me earlier that you used to have wings, I thought about giving this to you. Do you like it?"

I took a moment to look at my new wings, they were huge compared to the human world wings I had in the other universe. I flexed my wings and they moved naturally. "Thank you so much! I love them!"

"That guy was so sweet, after he gave me that item he yelled, 'random act of kindness!' as he left Ellinia."

"Wow, what luck!"

"I know! I hope you really do like my present. I want us to to be the best of friends!" And then she hugged me and I hugged her back.

We went off to bed, Lania laying right beside me, I kept her company, but tonight she couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned late at night. I fell asleep but was soon awoken to the sound of music. "I'm sorry for waking you up," she said sleepily as she returned to bed.

"Why did you turn on music?"

"It helps me go to sleep on a night when I can't seem to sleep. And also my Mom used to play this song when I went to sleep every night when I was little."

"It sounds so pretty," I said.

"That's why I love this song. It must've been one of my Mom's favorite songs.  I remember her always smiling when she played the song. She disappeared when I was five so I can still remember little bits of her. I remember she had short blond hair and blue eyes like mine, but she was very tall for her age. Hearing this song always helps me remember her."

That was when I held her close, and we slept through the night listening to the calming music.

Then I got a headache. This was the first out of many more to come.

-- Years Later --

This morning I woke up with the worst headache imaginable. It was the worst headache I've felt in years. But today was a beautiful day and a simple bad headache wasn't going to stop it.

I headed downstairs where Lania was fully awake. Her hair is a lot longer than when I first met her. That feels like such a long time ago. "Good morning Luminous," she greeted me.

I looked at the pantry doors they were rummaged through, then there sat her Cat Penny, licking her paws. "What did you do this time Penny?"

"I did nothing," she stated matter-of-factly.  Lania and I nodded our heads in disapproval. Her cat could talk and by now I was used to the talking creatures, so this was a regular day to me. Luckily she didn't get into anything this morning, but we still had groceries to get.

"Okay! We need fresh milk, three servings of pork, fishing bait...."

Lania interrupted, "And thread! I need thread. Were going to be freezing if I don't have time to knit scarves and socks."

"Of course! Of course, red and white thread," I immediately write it down on paper, with a small quill, "I apologize, my headaches."

"Is it really bad today?" she asked. I nodded, biting my lip through the pain. My head aches more and more with every passing day, as if a fire was burning in my mind.

"Mrow! Need me to scratch the shopping list into your arm?" Penny cat-called me.

"Don't be mean Penny!" The cat rolled her eyes, "And you! Don't forget my stuff this time. I don't want my feet to freeze off!"

"I won't Lania, not this time. I swear it!"

"Let me at least walk you out, Penny, you guard the house, okay? " she asked.

"Mrow! Lania this, Lania that, what about little old me?!" Penny nagged.

"Penny when I return, I promise I will catch you the king of all fish." I promised. Ever since I've been here I've learned so much. I've learned to fish, and done so much more.

"Really!?!" her face looked surprised. "I mean... you can't sway me that easily! Just... it better be a really fat one!" she said smugly.

"I'm sure it'll be the biggest fish in the lake Penny," Lania assured her. "Let's go Luminous!" She took my arm and led me outside.

Suddenly my chest felt very tight like I couldn't breathe, "Let's.... Go..." I've never experienced that before. I tried breathing as normal as I could, not to worry Lania. Then it subsided.

The day was bright and sunny, with no clouds seen in the sky. "The weather is beautiful! We should have a picnic before winter comes! Would you like that?" she asked me.

I replied, "Let's buy some ingredients from the market! I feel like cooking today!" She taught me how to cook too! today was a wonderful day to make something delicious.

"Yes!" she agreed with me. "I'll make a cream cheese spread and we can make fancy sandwiches!"

Yes! A home-cooked meal is what I need to calm the turmoil inside. She waved me off and soon I was on my way to the market. She followed me at a distance as I walked a few steps. "Don't take too long, okay? I know how you like to dilly-dally in town." I always tried to visit the magical library when I could, but today Lania wants me to be home soon, she worries about me so much.

"I'll return as soon as I can Lania!" I turned to her, "Lania, since you've welcomed me to stay here, I wanted to thank-- AHH!" I screamed in pain.

"Luminous?" she sounded scared.

I felt this terrible sense of darkness, Lania moved towards me. "Luminous, are you okay? You don't look so well."

I didn't want her to get hurt, I feel like something is wrong with me. A dark aura starts surrounding me. "Stay away from me! Get back!" I warned her. I realized something as the darkness is surrounding me, I remember The Black Mages words, 'The darkness you took from me will consume you,' was this what he meant? I tried to keep this feeling inside me, but it was too strong, even for me to handle. The world exploded in darkness.

I opened my eyes, everything was on fire. All the trees were burned to a crisp. I wouldn't even call it a forest. It was all ashes. I did this. I burned the whole forest. "What have I done?" I cried, falling to my knees. Our house was burned down, along with Lania. She lay dead on the burned grass. "Lania..." Tears fell to the ground.

"The Black Mage has cursed me!" I realized. "His dark power has corrupted my heart! But why now?!" Why?! I called my staff to me, it flew out of the ashes into my hands. What can I do now? Lania was the only person I called a friend.

I feel this darkness inside me, it courses through me, and it caresses me like a moth to a flame. It makes me feel wonderful on this inside. But I try to avoid the darkness. It is overtaking me! I'm losing control of my own self... No this is who I was destined to be so now the darkness will make me embrace it! "Lania, this is for us! I will embrace what is mine! Hahahaha! I am a creature of darkness now!" and I stride off with the dark aura surrounding me, leaving behind all that I know.

I teleported myself using these new dark powers, the scenery changes before me, now I'm surrounded with new creatures and high above the world in the treetops. Wooden bridges are seen everywhere as the bridges lead to more and more areas. I see all the small creatures, they are pathetic and weak, "Was this how the Black Mage understood the world? I see now that everyone else is beneath me!" But then I tried to find my way through the darkness. My soul was almost lost to the power of darkness. I see its appeal, but I will not have it erode my entire being. I can't let it control me, I must learn to harness it and make it my own.

I am unstable, and very dangerous. I have to hold on to the good inside me. But first I must master my new magic, it will be a lot different than my old magic back in Equestria. This shining rod staff will now be used for dark magic. Who shall I test it on first?

-- End Of Chapter --