Light in the Dark

When they have arrived in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie threw a party for Sokar and Luna. The citizens were curious about the new and unknown person. During the party, Sokar and Luna enjoyed the fun and had a fair share of laughter. It was something that would leave memories in their minds. After the party was over Celestia announce that her sister will remain in Ponyville until further notice. Twilight lead Luna and Sokkarr to her library and introduce them to Spike. The little guy nearly fainted a second time. They laughed when that happened.

Twilight took Luna to her new room and after that, the princess said that she wanted to rest. After leaving Luna's room, Twilight headed downstairs. She rubbed her forehead with her hoof and let out a sigh of relief.

"What a day," Twilight said. "First, we have helped Luna and now we have a Demon that returned. I guess nothing will surprise me now."

"You would be surprised, my dear." Twilight raised her head at the source of the voice and saw Sokkarr, sitting at the ceiling, reading a book in his hands.

"What are you doing?" Twilight asked him.

"What? Can't a man read a book in the library?" He answered her flatly.

"It doesn't explain why are you sitting at the ceiling." The mare said.

"One of my habits. I have read many books in my life." He jumped off and landed on the floor. "Many would say that I'm a bookworm by now." The purple aura engulfed the book and levitated to the bookshelf. "You would know what is like by now if you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean."

"Hm." Sokkarr took a glance at the lavender mare. "You look like you have lots of things on your mind."

"I'm all right. It just... many things have happened quickly, and it's hard to get used to." Twilight explained to him.

"It's understandable given the circumstances. But don't worry, my friend. Go with the flow and you will find peace." The Demon said to her with a smirk on his face.

Twilight slightly smiled at his words. "Thanks, Sokkarr. I think I needed that. Can I ask you a few questions?"

"What you need to know?"

"The magic you used is strange to me. I saw nothing like that in my life. The books don't contain any information about it." Twilight explained to him.

Sokkarr was waiting for this moment. He knew that Twilight would ask him such a question. It would make his job much easier to do.

He crossed his hands behind him and said, "Knowledge about the magic I've been using still exists in the books and scrolls. But they have been kept hidden or Celestia has locked them in her vault, where no one would gain access to them."

Twilight looked surprised by this. "What kind of magic you talking about?"

The Demon grin widened. "Dark Magic. It's a shame that its arts were forgotten and Celestia decided to keep the knowledge about it under the lock."

"Dark Magic?!" Twilight said, nearly shouting.

Sokkarr chuckled. "From your tone, I guess you hear about it."

"Well..." Twilight put her hoof on her shoulder. "I indeed heard about Dark Magic, but I thought that was a rumor."

That picked Sokkarr curiosity. "And where did you hear this rumor if I may ask?"

"Ponies said that Luna became Nightmare Moon using Dark Magic. That her jealousy and anger caused her to rebel against her sister, forcing her to banish Luna to the moon." She said.

Sokkarr let out a quiet growl. "I should expect that those nobles would come up with something to justify their own words."

"What are you talking about?"

"That rumor is nothing but a cover for the nobles who are greed and afraid to tell their ruler the truth in her face!" Sokkarr said furiously and his eyes glowed with purple light. "Luna used Dark Magic that's true, but the true reason for her banishment was because of the nobles. In the past, they wanted to overthrow Luna and even killed her to ensure that their plans would be safe!"

"What?! How do you know about this?" Twilight exclaimed, shocked about this.

"From the moment the sisters became co-rulers, I watched ignorant and greedy nobles plotting against Luna, and Celestia didn't know about it. I don't blame her for that, but she should do something about it. And I will talk to her about it." Sokkarr said.

"But... if that true... they will try to do it again," Twilight said, worried about her mentor and Princess Luna. "We have to do something."

Sokkarr chuckled. "Don't worry, my friend." He kneeled and place his hand on her shoulder. "I promise you that no hair will fall from her head."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Pinkie Pie has said something like that." Sokkarr said. "Also, I would give you a proposition Twilight."

"What kind of proposition?" She asked him.

"The chance to learn Dark Magic. I see in you the potential to become the greatest and the most powerful pony that lived in this world. Your cutie mark represents magic and I mean any magic. Light magic, Dark Magic, even Chaos Magic, or any kind of magic would be at your command but first, you need to learn them. Celestia taught you only Light magic because she thinks that you will fall, but she's wrong. You can gain power and knowledge beyond mortal understanding. So what will you say? Are you going to accept my offer?" He reached his hand towards her.

Many things have started to run in Twilight's mind. She never was stopping herself from learning new spells, and now Sokkarr is allowing her to teach her unknown magic. When she was younger, knowledge was sinking into her like a sponge. It was a very tempting offer, one that Twilight couldn't decline.

"I accept." She said to him and shook his hand. Sokkarr smile at this.

"Excellent! You have made the right choice. You won't regret this, I promise." He said enthusiastically. "Now, excuse me but I have to take a look into the Archives. I want to know how things went under my absence."

He stood up and left Twilight alone in her library and started to head towards the Canterlot. He knew that in the Archives would be some hidden artifacts of Dark Magic. Black flames engulfed him and he teleported to the royal library. He looked around the place until he found what he was seeking. A steel door, locked by Celestia magic seals. He focused his magic and sensed that behind the gates that were sealed, was powerful Dark Magic signatures.

But before he would proceed further, Sokkarr decided to visit Celestia. He knew that she would be in her chambers at this time. He teleported yet again and he found himself before the doors to Celestia's room. He knocked three times before opening them. When he entered he saw Celestia sitting, reading lists, and drinking a cup of tea.

"Oh! Sokkarr you have surprised me." She said.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to. Can I talk with you?" The Demon asked her.

"Of course. I was finishing the reading of those lists." She ignited her horn and the lists disappeared from the table. Sokkarr walked and sit. "Now, what is important that you wanted to tell me."

"Well... it's the matter of the nobles. I think you should already know that." He said to her in a serious tone.

She sighed. "I was afraid that you would say that. They have been a pain in my and Luna's flank for a very long time. And because of them, I lost my sister." Celestia said, remembering what they tried to do.

"I think they would want to pull the same trick before but it's only the suspicion." Sokkarr sighed and crossed his hand. "There is another matter that I wanted to discuss with you, Celestia."

"And that would be?"

"I left Equis because it wasn't ready. It wasn't ready for me. You know already what I talking about. I saw that you wanted harmony and order in this world, but too much of it has started to affect the balance of this world. The balance between light and darkness. This has too much light and that started to upset the balance." Sokkarr explained. "That's is why I have returned. To make things right. When you banished your sister, the balance has returned, only for some time. Under your rule, you have united many kingdoms and brought pace through the Equestria, an accomplishment that I respect, but even the true order can tip off the balance of the world. Your rule has brought prosperity to the ponies, but they became stagnant and weak. At least Discord knew about it." Sokkarr sighed.

Celestia's eyes widened when she heard the name of the god of chaos. "You know him?!"

"Meet him a few years ago before I left." Sokkarr shrugged his shoulders. "He knew that you and your sister have upset the balance between the order and chaos. He failed to realize that he was too upsetting the balance. His arrogance was his downfall in the end, as he stands in your Royal Gardens as the statue." He pointed with his thumb at the balcony.

He shook his head and continued. "Returning to the main topic, I wanted to tell you something. It's about your student, Twilight Sparkle."

The Solar princess frowned her eyebrows at this. "What do you want to tell me?"

"You realize that she has the cutie mark that represents Magic, right? I saw that you reached her only Light magic. Which makes me think. Are you afraid that she will fall into the darkness like your sister if she will learn how to control the darkness? Or will she left you like your previous student?" The Demon asked her and saw the shock in her eyes. "Surprised? You shouldn't be. You forget that I watched everything that was happening in the Equestria. She had the potential of becoming a powerful unicorn, but you have restrained and now look at what has happened. She has left you, leaving you again alone in your life until Twilight came. Your loneliness, your anger... there still in your heart, Celestia." He smirked. "You told me once that the alicorns are pure. That they can't be tainted by the dark. How you were wrong about this, my friend. Even the gods have darkness inside their hearts. Yours is no exception. You kept bottle up in you, but one day or another the darkness inside you will consume you, just like your sister." He ended with a wide grin on his face.

Sokkarr words cut through the princess like the butterknife. He was right. There was darkness inside her heart. It was small, but still there and was slowly growing with every passing year of her rule. After her sister was banished to the moon, she alone ruled the Equestria for over one thousand years. Back there she was alone and blamed herself for what happened. Anger, guilt, wrath was slowly eating her heart from the inside out. She fought against it, but Sokkarr knew one could resist the darkness in their heart for some time. She found temporary peace when her previous student was still learning the magic under her wing. But when she left her mentor, the darkness came back with doubled power. Celestia nearly filled in it. But she found the new strength to fight when Twilight Sparkle came into her life. She found a new purpose in her life.

Sokkarr saw in her the realization, an inner struggle was inside her heart. He stood up and headed forward the doors. When he opened, he looked at the princess and said, "Think about it, Celestia. Take your time, because it's what you need right now." He left the room and headed down the hall, bypassing some Royal Guards. He heard whispering to each other, so he stopped and focused on what they were talking about.

"Is that him?" The first guard asked his friend.

"I think so. The folks say that he's a friend of princesses." He answered his fellow guard.

"Tch. Like I would believe that. I bet he's just want to buy their trust and backstab them. Not on my watch." He said proudly, stopping his hoofs at the ground. Sokkarr quietly laughter at this.

"You know that I can hear both of you~" They turned towards Sokkarr who looked at them through his shoulder with his eye glowing maliciously. They could feel the killer intent from him, both of them felt like they were watched by the devil himself. He chuckled and left them alone.

He entered the Archives yet again and picked up a few books that pick his interests. He sited down at the chair and placed the books at his desk. He picked the first of the stack, it was colored in red and was named "Creatures of Equestria". He opened it. A few minutes have passed and he read most of the book that he picked.

Suddenly he heard the sound of hoofs behind him. He turned around and saw Celestia herself, which made him curious as he raised his eyebrow. "What's brings you here, your majesty?" He asked.

"I... wanted to talk with you." She said with hesitation. She sat at the chair beside him.

Sokkarr could already guess where this was going. "About what?"

"About what you said earlier. That... you are right." She said sadly. "Eons of loneliness, anger towards the nobles, the guilt of the past. I was able to keep myself in check for a long time. But... it's like you said... it's only a matter of time before I lose control and I will hurt those who are dear to me." Celestia's head fell in sorrow. He felt pity for her, even he saw this similar scene over and over again.

"That is why I wanted to ask you something." Sokkarr raised his eyebrows hearing that. "You said that you wanted to Twilight Dark Magic and I can already guess she accept your offer, is that right?" He nodded his head. "Then I ask you to teach me Dark Magic as well."

Sokkarr's eyes slightly widened. Even he was ready for something like that, he was still surprised.

"That is something I wasn't expecting from you, Celestia. But I feel that is something more than just gain control over yourself, right?"

Celestia sighed. "You got me there. When I and my sister became co-rulers of Equestria, we have to manage the economy, military, and technological progress of our country. The nobles were doing things for their gain, while I was approving or disapproving of their requests. Sometimes I felt like was a puppet and they were pulling the strings."

"So you want to show them that you are somepony that they should be afraid of?" He asked with a grin on his face.

"Something like that... I'm fed up with their arrogance. And want to prove to them that they shouldn't be so selfish." Celestia answered him.

"Heh. I would like to see that. They would be running like the chickens without their heads! That would be something!" Sokkarr exclaimed and started to laugh. Celestia joined him after and for some time they laugh until they finally calmed down themselves. Sokkarr has just remembered something.

"There is still one issue here." Celestia looked at him.

"What you mean?"

"Your sister. Back at the party, I sensed that some of her powers are sealed, like the Elements have not only purified her but also they stripped of some of her power." He explained to her.

"What? But why did this happened?!" She asked him.

"My guess is that was a safety lock that would prevent Luna to succumb to the darkness. But that has caused an imbalance in her heart."

"Is there something that we can do?"

"Hm... The quickest way to do that would be to teach her Dark Magic. It would react at her darkness and would cause it to return all of the strength that she lost."

"Or we would simply wait until she regains her strength over time."

"You catch on quick. In my opinion, I would choose the first one. I know that your sister can be stubborn and she's very cautious." Sokkarr explained.

"Well..." Celestia rubbed her neck in embarrassment. "I guess that has to do with a few pranks that have caused that."

Sokkarr held his laughter from hearing that. "Really? And what would that be?"

"I have used the marker to paint her face or I throw a bucket with cold water at her..." She giggled innocently. The Demon burst with laughter and hold his sides very tightly which make her confused. "What?"

"I never thought that you would be a prankster, Celestia!" Sokkarr said laughing.

"You're not angry at me?"

"Why should I be? What you have done was moonless!" He said.

Celestia facehoofed herself and groaned. "I should know that you would make puns too..."

"Says the pony that likes to make pranks but hates puns." He commented. "In my opinion, you lack a part of the funny bone."

Celestia resisted the urge to hit Sokkarr with her hoof as she let out an irritated sigh. "I remember now why I hate you Sokkarr."

"Ohhh. I love you too Celestia." He snickered. "I wonder what Twilight and Luna are doing right now..."

"I guess that they are talking with each other," Princess said. "Any way you wanted to say something?"

"Heh. Funny you said that." He said, crossing hands over his chest. "I wanted to ask you for permission for opening the vault. You know which one."

"I was afraid that you would say that," Celestia said as she raised from her chair and walked to the locked wing of the Archives, Sokkarr followed her shortly. "In the past, there were many ponies that would use this power for their gain. We couldn't allow that, so we put the artifacts and the books in a safe place."

"And no one has tried to steal it?" Sokkarr asked the princess, raising his eyebrow.

"No. Over time, many have forgotten about them, thanks, Faust. We didn't dare to use them. Many of them have brought innocent creatures into madness. I hope what you doing." Celestia sighed.

Soon they have stood before the vault. Celestia's horn flashed in yellow light and soon the seals have been broken. The doors have opened before them, revealing stairs leading down. Sokkarr went first, Celestia behind him. The air in this place was very cold and was very dark. Sokkarr summoned a ball of purple light that inlighted their path before them. After some time they reached the bottom of the vault. Sokkarr saw several artifacts in the pedestals and bookcases, standing next to the walls of the cave.

Sokkarr let out a whistle from his mouth. "That's a very big collection, Celestia! I never knew that you were a type of collector!" He said to her.

"I don't know if I should feel amused or flattered." She said to him.

"Both... I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. "Now then... let's see what treasures have in here." Sokkarr walked between the pedestals until he saw a purple crystal in one of them. He walked closer to get a better view and to him, the crystal looked familiar. He turned to Celestia and asked her, "That crystal is interesting. What is it?"

"It's called "The Crystal of Corruption". It was created by the mad dragon queen Fyghyl during the war with dragons that waged years ago. The crystal itself was crafted, using the rituals and pure Dark Magic. When used, it can increase the user's magic and strength of his body but it comes with a terrible price. The crystal can corrupt the user's mind, transforming him into the beast that the only goal is to acquire more power and even conquer the whole world." Celestia explained to him.

"Hm... Mind if I put it into a different, safer place. It's not the first that I encountered something like this. I could even do something about affecting one's mind." Sokkarr requested.

"If you think that you can do that, then I go ahead." Sokkarr snapped his fingers and a small portal opened beneath the crystal making sink into it. The portal was closed shortly after that.

Looking at the books on the bookshelves he saw that they were mostly focused on demon magic, necromancy, blood magic, chaos magic, etc.

"That's some serious magic you acquired Celestia. I thought that you destroyed these," he said to her. "Most of them are very rich with knowledge. One that can be used for good."

"True but due to the nature of the Dark Magic, many have succumbed to Evil," she explained to him. "I hoped that would never happen again."

"Magic itself isn't evil. You decide what will do with it," he said to her. "Those who use Dark Magic didn't mean that they were always bad. There's always an exception."

"I suppose that's true..." she said.

Sokkarr took the books that were the most interesting for him. Then he opened his portal and put them in it and closed it. Celestia was practically surprised and curious at the same time. He was opening the portals whenever he liked and with only thought alone. She knew that teleportation for most unicorns is making them tired and could cause their horns to burned out. Only a few could master it, including her teacher.

"If you are curious where I put them I'll answer to you. Pocket dimension. A spell that allows me to store things inside my pocket. With it, I can feel safe that no one would steal them from me." Sokkarr answered, making Celestia's eyes brow raise in curiosity.

After Sokar was done, he turned towards Celestia. "That's all my dear. Now I'll be on my way." He snapped his fingers, opening the portal behind him. Before he entered, he turned his head last time. "I'll talk to you later, princess." And with that, he left her alone. Celestia turned around to leave the vault, closing the door behind.