Season 10: Dawn of a new generation of Harmony

Upon their return to the castle, evening had already fallen upon Ponyville. The school had let out for the day, and Hero and the company were waiting in the castle's foyer for Starlight and Smolder, who soon arrived. They teleported to the lobby's center to greet them after their meeting.

"Hero, Sunburst. I have both good and bad news," said Starlight, approaching Sunburst and nuzzling her face into his shoulder as he returned the gesture. "Which would you like to hear first?"

"The bad news," Sunburst replied.

"Things are worse than I thought. For some reason, the great new evil plaguing our land has been confirmed to be slowly progressing toward Ponyville. I have no idea why."

"And the good news?" asked Hero.

"Twilight has informed Starswirl and the Pillars. They're going to take action the moment they discover this evil attacking. Hopefully, we can prevent this disaster from happening, let alone getting worse for everypony."

"We can only hope. So, Hero, your home has been marked on this map." Sunburst gave Hero a map of the entire town. "Here's the key to your home. I pray for safe travels for you and a good night."

Hero thanked everypony and left, making his way out to Town Square. He located his new home, which looked nice and cozy. Hero assumed that this was standard for most housing in Ponyville. The first thing on his mind was sleep as he entered his new bed, which was snug and warm. Hero smiles and tucks himself in as he might get used to this.

Hero found himself in a vivid dream, feeling a mix of sadness and nostalgia. In the dream, he woke up in his old room, which was exactly how he remembered it. He could see the familiar furniture, the posters on the wall, and the moonlight streaming in through the window.

Unfortunately, his sense of comfort was short-lived as he suddenly remembered the horrific event that had taken place in his village. He remembered how the village had been burnt to the ground and consumed by darkness, leaving nothing but ruins and precious memories behind.

Looking up from his bed in his room, he saw the hooded figure that had caused all the destruction standing before him. The figure's face was hidden in the shadows of the hood, but Hero could sense its malevolent presence. The figure looked down at him with a smug expression, pleased with what it had done. Then, within a flash, Hero noticed the room was on fire. The flames were spreading rapidly, and the heat was intense.

Hero's heart raced as he frantically looked around for something to extinguish the fire. He saw a bucket in the corner of the room and rushed towards it, but it was too late. The flames had already engulfed the room, and Hero was trapped. He could feel the heat on his skin and the smoke in his lungs.

After finding no success as the house burned away into rubble and fell apart, all the wreckage deliberately and conveniently missed Hero's head so he could see the damnation wrought upon his home village. The houses were burning, and the ponies were screaming in panic as those shadow creatures hunted down each one.

The enigmatic figure's calloused laughter echoed in Hero's ears as if mocking him and his inability to stop him. Then, the sounds of blood-curdling screams of his family and chief devoured alive by darkness, the floor opened up into an infinite void of darkness as Hero fell through, and the shock of falling into the esoteric abyss woke him up.

The next day, Hero woke up screaming and drenched in sweat from a nightmare. He curled up in the covers and tried to shake off the harrowing experience. After roughly thirty minutes of composing himself, it was morning outside, and he was supposed to attend Friendship Academy for the first time today.

Suddenly, he heard a loud rumbling sound and realized he was hungry. "Oh yeah, I had a big day yesterday and went to bed early. I can't believe I forgot to eat dinner." Someone knocked on his front door, which surprised him since he wasn't expecting any visitors so early in the morning. "I'll be right there," Hero shouted to let the person know he was coming.

"A-Alright then." The voice sounded feminine but shy. As Hero opened the door, he saw the same periwinkle-colored changeling, pink chitin and wings, and blue compound eyes from his dream.

"Um.. hi there. Who are you?"

"Um, my name's Ocellus. It's a pleasure to meet you. And this is Hero's residence, right?" Ocellus asked as she bowed respectfully to introduce herself.

"That would be me, alright."

"Oh, good. I've got this basket for you. It's from Starlight. She told me to give you something to eat in case you forgot dinner." Wow, now that was a convenient coincidence. How did they know that he accidentally skipped dinner last night?

"Um.. thanks. I appreciate it." Hero took the basket and offered her to come in, "You want to have some with me? I don't mind sharing."

"O-Oh um... I don't want to impose. But I guess if you're alright with it, I could. Thanks." Ocellus walked in as Hero set the basket on his table and opened it up. There was a cornucopia of various treats and breakfast-based items here. There was no possible way for Hero to eat all that by himself, "Normally, changelings do not need to eat food as we gather love, but we can digest normal food, especially if there's love put into the dishes."

"Woah. There's a lot of stuff in here. Did Starlight think that I had this big of an appetite?"

"Well, I guess so. She's a bit too generous at times. She told me it was her way of saying thanks for your service to Equestria yesterday. If you don't mind me asking, what did you do?"

"I warned them of a great new evil that's approaching. It's a long story. But this awful guy unleashed these terrible creatures of darkness, and I fear they're already here, even though Starlight said they are approaching." After taking a bite of a blueberry muffin, he explained to Ocellus what he did that Starlight was so grateful for.

"O-Oh, dear. I don't like the sound of that. Do you know what they're called? Every creature should have a name, right?"

"But that's just it. I have no idea. I saw them in my dream, and I still can't believe they exist." After swallowing down what was possibly his fourth bite of muffin, he continued to tell his story.

"I sure wish that Gallus was here to hear this. But he's currently serving as an elite guard to the princess."

"I'm sure she had her reasons for recruiting him. So, who's this princess?"

"Y-You're joking, right?"

"No?" Hero swallowed his last bit of muffin as he sheepishly answered Ocellus's question.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle. You've never heard of her before?"

"Can't say that I have. Why?"

"Well, she and her friends have saved Equestria more times than I can count. She even helped me with finding my friends, too. You've already met Smolder."

"You mean that orange dragon lady?"

"Y-Yeah, her."

"That's right. She did say her name was Smolder, huh? I can't shake this feeling that something terrible will happen today. I don't know when or exactly where. But whatever it is, it can't be a good thing."

"Try not to worry about it; today will be great. Well, time's ticking, and we gotta get to school."

"You're a student there?"

"W-Well, not exactly. I graduated from Friendship Academy, the same as my other friends. I even have the cap, gown, and diploma to prove it."

"I guess we can eat on our way to the school, huh? I don't have anything against that."

"Sure. We could do that." They both made their way out of Hero's home to Friendship Academy.

Ocellus and Hero walked through the bustling morning crowd, making their way to Friendship Academy. "So, you said you graduated from the academy, right?"

"Yes, I did. What would you like to know?"

"Are you working there now?"

"Well, sort of. I work as an assistant secretary for the guidance counselor."

"And who's the guidance counselor?"

"My friend, Silverstream."

"That's great."

"By the way, you mentioned encountering some shadowy creatures?"

"Yes, I did. They were these creepy black shadows with yellow, soulless eyes that seemed to have an endless hunger for life itself."

"That's really creepy."

"Tell me about it. They're why I lost my old home and everyone in it. I was the only survivor."

"Oh dear, that's terrible. I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what you must have gone through."

"I promised myself to stay strong for them, my family. Even though they're gone, I'll still do my best."

"That's not an easy thing to do."

"You're right. But I don't have much choice, do I?"

"No, you don't. These fruit pies are delicious, though, aren't they?" Ocellus said in an attempt to divert the conversation into something more positive.

"Yes, they are." As they arrived at the academy's entrance, Hero was ready for his first class.

Ocellus and Hero entered the school and were met with a crowd of friendly and accepting ponies. "I never get tired of this place, you know?"

"Well, I am kinda new here. So who's my first teacher going to be, huh?" Ocellus took a look at Hero's schedule and giggled a bit. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"You've got physical ED with Yona."

"Okay? Who's that? Friend of yours, I'm guessing?"

"Mhm. Her, Gallus, Smolder, Sandbar, and Silverstream are the greatest friends I could ever ask for." Hero looked a bit nervous, but only for a moment. "Yona isn't too bad. You'll be fine. I promise."

"Yeah. I'll do my best there. Wish me luck."

"Yeah. Good luck." Ocellus waved goodbye as Hero made his way to physical education class and to meet this Yona.

Hero soon arrived in the PE Room to see a few ponies gathering, and then a big mare walked in. She could easily tower over Hero. This must have been what a yak looked like; they looked powerful, no doubt about that.

"Alright then, little ponies and creatures. Yona is pleased to announce that we've got a new student here today. This is Hero. Make sure to give him good treatment. We'll ensure our typical day and his first day will not be so bad."

"U-Um.. hi guys." They greeted back in earnest. This school honestly wasn't too bad. No wonder Luster Dawn loves the place so much. The first few exercises weren't too bad. Hero was doing a pretty decent job, and so were some others.

"New pony doing good for the first time; you are very athletic. Have you done this before?"

"U-Um, I guess. I used to work around my house and do farm work with my uncle and parents."

"Very impressive that you're this active, Hero. That is good enough for practice; alright then, everypony, we need to do the new cheer for our school. This new festival is approaching, and I want our school to be the best." Everypony agreed as they all cheered their approval.

"But I'm not a cheerleader. How would I be useful to anypony?"

"Do not worry, Hero. Yona will have a solution for you." Indeed, she did. She provided him with some smokers and colored streamers.

"What's this for?"

"Cheering favors, Hero. Our cheers every year have to be flashy. It is how we always win the gold trophy, mostly every year."

"Mostly every year?"

"Steep competition, Hero. Yona admits that she enjoys healthy competition; It's a good challenge for us."

"I see. Okay then. I don't see why I can't at least try it."

"That is a good spirit, Hero. Yona has faith in you, then." She pats his back, which makes him fall onto his stomach.

"Oof. Hey. What was that for?"

"Oops. Yona is sorry. Sometimes, I don't always know my strength." As cheering started, Yona's eyes slightly squinted in mild suspicion as she saw some pitch-black figures in the distance of the gym court, and they were getting closer. "Hey, you! What're you doing out of class? Yona disapproves of skipping." This had alarmed Hero for apparent reasons.

"What!? Oh no... It's those things again. Quick! Everypony, get back now; believe me, they're anything but friendly." Then that blade came back as if it knew he needed it most. "Alright then, you freaks, if it's me you want, then come and get me!"

The shadows then surrounded the whole room, causing the students to panic. Hero shouted vigorously as he began his charge; he rushed the small group of three in front of him, using a flurry of downward swipes with his sword, knocking the three in front back and guiding his other slashes to the ones in his blind spot. "I don't think so."

"Wait, Hero, this is dangerous. Yona will help you." Yona rammed her horns into one of them to knock it over and then stomped onto it, flattening it under her cloven hoof as it vanished into a dark-like mist. "Take that, you little creeps!"

"Y-You killed it? Well then, the help is appreciated. Just be careful, okay?"

"Yona will smash little creepy shadows. Students will leave and alert Headmistress Trixie, now!" The few remaining students that were left all nodded as they left the strange shadows for Hero and her to deal with. "You're a very brave pony, Hero."

"Yeah, thanks, but let's save the compliments until after we beat these guys, yeah?" Both Hero and Yona rushed into the shadows. He jumped onto Yona's back as she boosted him up.

Hero used this added air-time to land an aerial strike from above, delivering a pulse of what appeared to be light magic as that explosion cleared out the rest of them, only leaving behind an entirely new shadow—this one looked a bit taller and wore darkened armor. "This one looks new. But I can tell he's one of those things."

"Armor or not, if it can be smashed, then Yona will smash it!" The new shadow took this as a personal challenge as it leaped up to deliver a swift kick to Yona's side, toppling her over as it stood on her. It was about to dig its claw into her side, ready to grab her heart, as a stray blast of light shot the shadow, knocking it off of Yona as she got back up. "Thank you, Hero."

"That didn't come from me, Yona." Hero and Yona looked to where the blast came from to see a robed grey stallion with a white-gray mustache and beard, a blue wizard's hat, And his horn glowing white with the spell that sent that shadow sprawling onto the floor.

"Get away from them right now, you empty husk!" The stallion shouted at the creature as he charged another light spell; this time, he blasted the shadow's body again, obliterating it into a dark mist as it shrieked in pain, and a pink and glistening heart rose from its chest. In its last moments, it tried to reach out desperately for that heart as its body vanished.

"Starswirl. Yona is pleased to see you."

"Yes, Yona. When Twilight informed me of these shadows, I then used a tracking spell on the only other thing that could lead me to you two: the harmony magic I sense inside that pony right next to you."

"Me? Right, you're referring to me. My bad."

"Alright then, you have to come with me. Yona, this pony's day is adjourned. We've got something crucial to discuss." The wizard then guided Hero to his side as he gestured for him to grab his forearm. Once he did, he and Hero teleported off the school grounds.