Castle Gardens

Darling looked around, taking in the environment of the garden that she had chosen as her tutoring location. There were some things about it she wasn’t exactly that fond of, but all of that boiled down to its location. Walls surrounded it, a garden artificially created to bring some natural beauty to this castle on a hill. Yet at the same time a location like this is where she learned to do what she knew best: healing. The flowers, grass, bushes, if she was to stay within city boundaries for a single night, this would more than sufis. She didn’t have the time to find another place anyways.

Darling looked behind her, noting the distance between herself and Fluttershy. She knew that unicorns were more magically inclined, seeing as how they only needed horns, but Darling knew better than to think all beings were without magic. Of every one of the ponies she had been introduced to, something about Fluttershy immediately grabbed her attention. There was a connection to the natural elements that she alone seemed to have, one that not even the farm pony came close to.

None of that would matter, however, if Fluttershy couldn’t look her in the eyes. Darling knew the kind of presence she gave of, one that most conjurers, let alone the Padjal white mages, carried. If someone was to heal, they needed control over their emotions, something that Darling lacked despite her ability to learn and adapt quickly. That presence and lack of control was always an issue, but now the one that she had decided to tutor was scared of her because of it. Some time ago, she may have been able to cool herself to a more normal level, but the most she could find within herself was to groan.

“Look, sorry if I scared you. Now can you at least try to give off the impression that you want to be around me?” Darling asked. No answer came, or rather no vocal answer did. Fluttershy stepped back, closing her eyes in fear. “I’m not gonna eat you.”

Fluttershy waited, hoping that Darling would just give up and walk away. To her, that seemed like the obvious thing for someone like the Viera to do, given the short fuse she had. When she heard footsteps getting closer to her, she tightened up, both afraid and relieved that she was right, until the footsteps stopped right in front of her. Fluttershy opened an eye and looked up, seeing that Darling was carrying what seemed to be a tree branch in her arm. The Viera placed it down, before walking back to where she was previously.

“Um… what’s this for?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s to help train your white magic,” Darling explained, not giving as much as a look back as she answered.

“But… I’m not a unicorn.”

“So?”

“Only unicorns can use magic,” Fluttershy replied, not catching the fist Darling was making out of her left hand. “So shouldn’t you be teaching Rarity or Twilight-”

“Okay, look,” Darling turned to face the pegasus, who immediately tried to hide herself within her wings. With a sigh, Darling walked back over to Fluttershy and pushed a wing away, finally giving her the eye to eye contact she had been hoping for. “I don’t know who put that idea into your head, but it’s wrong. Maybe they can do it with a stick, but let me tell you something,” She picked up the tree branch and put it in Fluttershy’s hooves. “That stick will save their goddamn life more often than raw magic ever will. Understand?”

Fluttershy, afraid of what would happen if she even tried to say no, nodded her head rapidly.

“I can tell your bullshitting me, but since I want to be here as much as you probably do, I’ll take it,” Darling replied. “Now how about trying to stand up and look strong and dependable for Hydaelin’s sake.”

Fluttershy looked to the stick, and then to Darling. As the branch rested in her hand, she felt something strange about it that she didn’t feel before. Whatever that something was, she had no idea, but it was there and connecting to another thing deep inside of her. Fluttershy knew what magic felt like from being around Rarity and Twilight, but this wasn’t like that. It was different, more controlled, more natural in a way. This wasn’t an ordinary branch snapped off a tree, Fluttershy could tell now.

“Uh, Ms. Darling?” Fluttershy said, tensing up as she heard her “teacher” take an exaggerated breath in. “What is the, uh, stick?”

“A wand, one filled with the magic of the Black Shroud’s elemental spirits,” Darling answered. Fluttershy gasped, shivering in fear.

“Th-th-the Black Shroud?”

“Yeah, doesn’t exactly give off the vibe of a community of peaceful, tree hugging society, does it?” Darling asked rhetorically. She decided to sit down, allowing Fluttershy to relax her neck a bit. “It was like, what, a little under a year ago now? Came to Eorzea five years after a big scary dragon primal nearly fucked up us mortals and the practice of living. Fun stuff as I’m sure you would, would recommend being there if you don’t care for your sanity,” Darling sighed once again. “Black Shroud is home to this little city called Gridania, home to the conjurer’s guild and horn people. Joined the conjurer’s guild, saved this girl from ending her own life accidentally, and then somehow got involved in the practice of white magic.”

“Sounds… eventful,” Fluttershy commented. “But… I thought you all were “Eorzeans”?”

“Trust me, I’m less of an Eorzean than Matthia is,” Darling replied. “Though that is personal information. Back on track, somehow people thought that I was one of these Warriors of Light that everyone forgot about when the dragon primal almost fucked up everything, but they’re wrong. Heck, five years before coming to Eorzea and I probably wouldn’t know what the deadly end of a knife looks like. Anyways because of that title I’m here and I’m being forced to teach you white magic, so yeah, fun.”

“I’m sorry but, um,” Fluttershy said, making sure to choose her words carefully. “What is white magic? And why do you think I can use it?”

“You really want me to go into what it is?” Darling asked, getting a nod in response. “Well, white magic was made to heal people, though somewhere along the line someone fucked up and brought what is known as the Sixth Umbral Catastrophe. That didn’t really change its use though, or the fact that it’s power comes from that of the elements of earth, air, and water. As for why I know you can use it,” Darling shrugged. “Honestly, anyone can, but you seem to have a certain something that the girl who almost killed herself through excessive healing almost did.”

“Wait… this can kill me?” Fluttershy asked, dropping the branch and curling back into her feathery shell. “Why do you want me to use it then?”

“Should have realized bringing up Sylphie was the wrong move,” Darling muttered. Just as before she moved a wing away and held out the branch “Listen, Fluttershy right? If that was the case do you still think I would be around?” Fluttershy shook her head. “Exactly. The girl I mentioned was using her own life energy to heal others, thus why she almost killed herself. My job, as your teacher, is to make sure you don’t make the same dumb mistake. Got it? Then grab the staff and follow me.”

Darling stood up and waited, watching as Fluttershy carefully opened up her selfmade shell and grabbed the branch again. The pegasus closed her eyes, waiting for anything bad to happen to her, but when that never came to pass she opened them again. Looking up once again, Fluttershy watched as Darling walked into the garden, and she hurried to catch up with her. The Viera had shown slight vulnerability to the pegasus, even if their was too much left under that mask of hatred. That alone showed Fluttershy that she could trust this girl, whoever she claimed to be.

Luna reached out at the fading sun, one hand doing her best to grab the distant object while the other was limp at her side. She did all she could to call out to the moon like she was used to, but no semblance of an answer was received. Her ears folded, teeth gritting as she did all she could to grasp the force she was trying to call upon. Slowly that raised hand closed, until it was a fist, and Luna was left with an answer she had begged would not be true.

She couldn’t feel the moon anymore. She couldn’t call upon the dreamscape or the night sky, her soul no longer the form that had the power to do so. With every advantage Luna could imagine this form having, it lacked the ability to call upon her most important duty. She could not raise the moon into the sky nor could she keep the dreams of her citizens safe. It was something she hadn’t felt since she was young, a blank flank in a land before Equestria. Luna hugged herself at the thought, scared at how thinking that far back made her realize how little she remembered of her parents.

Celestia, meanwhile, watch and waited to see if her sister succeeded. Only after Luna curled up on the floor did she make herself known.

“I’ll take care of it tonight,” Celestia said as she sat next to her sister. It was strange looking upon her sister in a different form. It wasn’t simply because it had been many years since the mirror was last used, but because the last time something like this had happened, Luna had not been herself. “Let us just be glad that we did not have a repeat of that night, one thousand years ago.”

“The mirror doesn’t change one that much sister,” Luna replied.

“I know,” Celestia touched a hoof to her heart and closed her eyes. “But every second you were gone I worried that something might have happened to you. I lost you once, and I would rather you still be yourself upon returning, even if that doesn’t account for your body.”

“The races of Eozea are stranger than I remember,” Luna said, holding her hands in front of her and wiggling her fingers. She took on of them and used it to pull at one of her ears before letting it fall against her side. “The hyur remind me of the humans of many other worlds, but that is the only thing I can say. They all look so similar, but some stay small while others grow to be bigger than you are. That Shinji character has scales, a tail, and horns!”

“Like how we ponies come in many forms,” Celestia continued. “Zebra, alicorn, earth pony, pegasus, unicorn. Our bodies share many similarities but each are different still.”

“I understand, but you must understand how it looks when you are having a literal out of body experience,” Luna explained. She showed one of her arms to Celestia. “Though ponies had the ability to grab and manipulate things like these creatures do, it’s so much easier! The only thing covering my body are clothes, except for the hair on my head and ears. Though, most terrifying of all,” Luna retracted her arm, bringing it back in for a self hug. “My power to protect, at least in the method I’m familiar with, is gone.”

“Let’s change the subject,” Celestia said, hoping to bring her sister out of the dumps. “These warriors they found certainly seem experienced, though they are definitely not what I imagined. Especially that Darling girl.”

“Scary, isn’t she?” Luna asked. “Hard to think she uses magic to heal instead of harm.”

“I have a feeling her anger doesn’t come from there,” Celestia replied. “When they were in the throne room, did you notice anything about how her expression changed when looking at ponies, or people in this case?”

Luna did her best to recall the scene, though she found she was less interested in the Viera at the time. She remembered the reactions of Twilight and her friends, how the mention of Sombra and his story stunned them. Twilight’s fear at Matthia’s description of primals, the intrigue at the list of achievements his companions had obtained, and contemplation when she learned that Celestia had no wish for her to attempt parly with Sombra. Not once, though, did she look at how Darling was reacting.

“I feel like looking at her is asking to be thrown across the room,” Luna joked, getting a chuckle from her sister.

“That is certainly the look she had most of the time, but there were two distinct times that she didn’t,” Celesia explained. “The first was any mention of that Au Ra girl, Alun. She would smile, though you could barely see it, and the only time she seemed to. The other, was when the Miqo’te girl Lucia was mentioned. Darling’s expression didn’t change, but she hesitated when Lucia was called a “fellow Warrior of Light”.”

Luna looked to Celestia in surprise. “She did?”

“A hateful soul is one that cares for nothing,” Celestia said. “Darling showed sadness and joy outside of her choice words and unenthusiastic remarks. Whatever caused this part of her to surface can’t be destroyed, but maybe…”

Celestia looked to Luna with a smile.

“... someone like you, who acted so similar a millenia ago, could help her.”

Author's Note

I think I already made it clear that Darling doesn't completely follow who the Warrior of Light isn't stated to be in the actual game, but this is me pretty much cementing it. Darling isn't one of the Warriors of Light present at the Calamity, nor did she know how to fight then. Considering I already mentioned that other people were responsible for felling Ifrit and Titan, it's not to hard to see, but I figured that it might be a good idea to just drive it in a little further.

Either way, like, comment, and give me all your feedback and criticism. Have a fantastic day, because now I'm gonna go help my Dad figure out how to set up an account.