The Forgotten Elements: Shrouded Darkness

Buttercup trotted along the path leading to the village of Morin, a secluded place on the outskirts of Canterlot. And it was here that she had decided to live. As she neared the village entrance the faint sound of civilization could be heard, getting louder and louder. Home. She thought as she crossed bridge she had come to know very well, the cobblestones clacking beneath her hooves. She checked on the books tucked away in her saddlebag, making sure they hadn't been damaged. Her eyes caught on one of the books in her saddlebag and frowned at it. Doing a quick count, it turned out that instead of the four books she had borrowed she had five.

Damn it. She thought sighing to herself, turning her head back to the path ahead. I must have picked up an extra one by mistake. A sudden whisper caught her attention, stopping her dead in her tracks. Slowly she turned her head to locate the source of said whisper only to find the empty path behind her. Slowly she turned to the misty forest on the side of the pathway.

The Everfree Forest. She thought with a gulp. It was said that anypony who entered would be snatched up by the foul beasts that roamed it. Tuning her ears in, she couldn't find any noise or... well anything. Shrugging, she turned back to her original heading, thinking it was only the wind. Little did she know...

It was...

She is perceptive. A stray wind thought to itself, silently following the yellow pegasus. She even noticed the book. Its thoughts strayed to when it had placed it inside the mares saddlebag. That was only minutes before she had found out. Smiling to itself and doing a gleeful twirl in the air it.

She would be a great Bearer...

Buttercup hummed silently to herself, observing the little village she had come to love. Sure enough nothing had changed in the little town. From the dirt path running through the middle of it, to the simple yet elegant housing on either side of said path. It was one of the main reasons she had chosen to live here, nothing interesting happened. Now while that may be boring for someponies to, her it also meant that nothing terrible happened. Her thoughts drifted back to Ponyville, her old home, before being slapped, tied up and thrown into a deep cellar in the desolate wastes of the back of her mind. But the thought had already hit, a familiar pain surfacing in her chest. It was a long time ago. Just an old memory. She thought to herself, attempting to cure the pain.

"Buttercup!" A voice suddenly shouted, getting rid of her chest pain, but also causing her to wince, as she knew the voice very well. She turned to face a light green unicorn approaching, his mane being a dark green with a horn protruding. His face was painted with annoyance, and anger. You could easily think that he had been annoyed his whole life, making it very hard to picture him happy.

Buttercup smiled nervously, raising a hoof in greeting, "Hey Sour Grape." she said, praying that he would be somewhat nice this time.

Sour Grape narrowed his eyes before speaking, "Where have you been lately?" He asked menacingly. He always had a problem with ponies who didn't listen to him or inform him of everything.

"Just went to the Canterlot Library to find something to read." Buttercup replied, opening her saddlebag to reveal the books she had borrowed. His eyes narrowed at the books before widening, a flash of yellow enveloping his eyes before disappearing. He suddenly raised a hoof to his head in realization, saying, "I left the oven on!" And rushing off to his small house.

He gets stranger everyday. She thought to herself before continuing on her desired path to her cottage. It was nothing special, just a regular cottage in a regular village. Nothing interesting or peculiar ever happened in this village. Despite the cottage looking more like a shack, it was Buttercups most prized possession. She trotted up the familiar and comforting stairs to the door fetching a key out of her saddlebag. After opening the wooden door, she calmly trotted inside what would look like to a regular pony, a scene from a horror film. Cobwebs were forming in the corners of the dark roof, barely visible through the poor lighting. That was fixed soon however as Buttercup opened the shutters to the only window, driving the shadows into the few corners untouched by light. Sighing she sunk into a small chair, dumping her saddlebag beside the now dim fireplace, causing it to tip over revealing the books inside. Groaning at the sight of the stolen book she reluctantly got up to pack it up. Her curiosity peaked as she read the title of the book she didn't issue out.

Journal of Full Page

Classification: History

Tilting her head in a questioning way she held onto the book and brought it back to her spot on the chair, opening the book to reveal a very dusty inside, as if no one had opened this book in centuries. Coughing slightly from the amount of dust she began to read the contents...

Entry 1

Started new journal to record and catalogue pony history outside of regular history books in an attempt to make a name for myself. That is if anyone actually reads this. I plan to look into the creation of the universe and other things not covered by historians. I plan to start in the nation of Zebrica, known for their druids and tribal way of life. However they are also one of the oldest races in Equis, ranging back to Discords reign of Equestria and the unification of the three tribes. Now the curious thing is that pony history books stopped there, concluding that there was no way to find out what happened before then. Seems suspicious and will look into it if given the chance, but now I travel to Zebrica, and will be unable to record for a couple of weeks.

Full Page signing off

Frowning she flipped over to the next page only to find it covered in mold and grime, probably due to the fact that it had not been tended to in years. Sighing she flipped ahead, skipping through almost the entire book until she found a page with some form of readability and continued from there.

Entry 354

I have found things about the past, things that they do not want me to find out. They burned my library. I barely escaped, and even now they are hunting me down. The Elements of Harmony weren't the only ones to be created. Everything ponykind has been told is a lie. So big that everypony believes it. My suspicions from before were confirmed. They kill anyone that disrupts their so called order. Sombra knows. It was why he was banished. He was a Bearer, and they couldn't stand that. I have no proof, but the royalty are connected somehow. They are behind all of this. If you are reading this you are most likely a Bearer chosen by the Element of Air. Don't be afraid. If you accept I will be able to explain all of this.

Full Page signing off

She gaped at the book, having suddenly took a dark turn. Her mind raced with possibilities of what this could all mean. Bearers. The royalty. Even Sombra for crying out loud! It was too much. Was this actually true? Or was it just a good joke? Seeking answers she flipped open the book, hoping that the latter was true.

Entry 355

Dear reader. As I write this they come for my head. I have been unable to get the truth out, and I can only hope that whoever is reading this can understand the words I am about to say. You must fear the day. The sun will burn you.

And finally...

Darkness is your ally.

Full Page sig-

The words cut off, replaced by a black smear across the bottom of the page. Buttercup gasped dropping the book into the pile of ash on the outskirts of the fireplace, before jumping off her chair and backing away from it as if it was Tirek himself. She covered her mouth with a hoof, to stop herself from retching. Her attempts were futile however as her stomach emptied itself into a corner, splashing over the stone floor. After about a minute of puking she managed to stabilize herself enough to walk slowly back over to the book. She wasn't ready for this, she wasn't some knight in shining armour. These thoughts ran through her head, before being ground to halt with the distracting thought of what she was going to do about the messy corner she had made.

A shift in the wind caught her attention and she span around ready to take on the invader, only to find that it was just the vomit being carried into the bucket. Sighing in relief she turned back to the book on the floor. Now what do we do wi- She froze for a moment her eyes drifting back to the now vomit filled bucket, as she pondered how this had happened.

"Hello young master." A voice suddenly whispered causing her to jump.

"Where are you!" She shouted in her best, 'I'm not afraid of you' voice.

"Die without me, Never thank me." It suddenly said, its voice echoing throughout her small house. "Walk right through me, Never feel me." It continued despite the bewildered and terrified expression Buttercup wore. "Always watching, Never speaking. Always lurking, Never seen. What am I?" It finished with a slight stirring in the wind, bringing Buttercup out of her thoughts as she rolled the riddle over in her mind.

Die without me, Never thank me. She thought in her head thinking on what a pony would die without. She frowned in thought, mulling over the other lines and their connection to each other. A thought sprang in her head about the answer, before making its way out her mouth.

"Air." She said cautiously yet confidently at the same time, unsure of what would happen if she got it wrong. A mini tornado suddenly appeared in front of her blowing her mane in the wind, yet leaving her house untouched. It suddenly disappeared to reveal an earth pony with a red coat, a page with a quill crossing it as his cutie mark.

Smiling grimly he greeted the frightened pegasus, "Good evening, I am Full Page, you may have heard of me."

Buttercup blinked at the casual tone of one who had just come from a mini tornado, while said pony should also be dead from what the journal indicated. "Wait aren't you de-" she was cut off mid sentence with a dismissing wave of his hoof.

"I would rather not talk about my... misfortunes." He said with a grimace. His tone suddenly switched to an urgent one, worry filling his face as he looked out the single window. "You must leave." He said after a while.

Buttercup blinked at this. Leave? Why would she do that? She opened her mouth to disagree when a suddenly a loud bang came from the village, sending a shock wave that almost knocked her over, causing her to stagger. This was shortly followed by screams, and the sound of spells going off.

"What is going on!" She shouted over the screams at Full Page.

"RUN!" Was his only answer as he burst out the door, heading towards the village.

"Make for Ponyville," The wind whispered suddenly, "And don't look back." Before packing up all her necessary belongings into her saddlebag and dumping it on her.

Not waiting for whatever was coming to find her she ran out the door Full Page had exited, only to turn in the opposite direction, towards the road that lead to Ponyville, unsure of what was happening behind her, and even more unsure if she wanted to know...

Celestia stood in the center of the now burning village, the residents either dead or dying. She picked up an old one that was still alive with her magic, a yellow aura surrounding the pony.

"Where is Buttercup." She asked with venom in her voice.

A coughing fit followed shortly after before the stallion could talk. "The edge of the village, just follow that path." He said, gesturing towards a small dirt path.

Smiling devilishly, she replied with a short, "Thank you" Before depositing the pony into one of the nearby fires, his screams beginning anew, as his remaining flesh was melted off by the searing fires. Approaching the previously mentioned dirt path. Her eyes narrowed at the small brown cottage, a magical fireball appeared on her horn before being released, engulfing the cottage in flames. Sighing she rubbed her eyes in a tired way, before flying back to Canterlot, completely unaware that her target was already halfway to Ponyville...

She doesn't know, we may yet be saved.

You forget of the others that are free, this one simply adds to our chances of escape.

We must be patient, as we have been for thousands of years.

I say we fight our way out, show them who's boss.

Our time to fight is soon. Patience brothers and sisters, the free will come for us. Sooner or later...