Daniel Book Four- Zebrica

Daniel entered through the door, and found himself in a very large room, with a very long table. On one end of the table sat the changling. Daniel walked up to her, and stuck his hand out. "My name's Daniel," he said cheerfully. The changling looked into Daniel's eyes and shook his hand with her hoof.

"Cartline Cadianidina, although you can call CC," she said with a neutral expression. Daniel nodded.

"Alright CC, I hope I can consider you a friend," Daniel said. CC's horn glowed and she smiled slightly, licking her lips.

"Sure, it's nice to have some friends. Them's good eating!" And with that she laughed. Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I can see, feel, and absorb emotions. Sorry, I thought you already knew that," she said with a shrug. She then proceeded to get serious. "What training have the three of you had?" She asked. Daniel spoke up first.

"Uh, I cannot speak for all three of us, but as for battle, I know a few spells, some sword combat, some hoof to hoof, and a little hand hoof. I can say that I have been through quite a few battles though," Daniel thought back to some, the manticore battle, the battle with Bane, and even the battle with the darker version of himself. Speaking of which, what the heck was going on with that anyways?

"Uh huh, well, you have never faced something as nasty as a Newborn. Not a Newborn child mind you." CC said with a dark chuckle. "Okay, the rest of the herd, come on!"

"I'm not part of the herd!" Gilda yelled defensively. CC rolled her eyes, and then looked at Ditzy.

"I have been trained as an alicorn, rigorous and deadly, I have been trained as the Fifth's alicorn protector, although he has shown that he is more powerful than I. I know many spells, although my hoof to hoof fighting skills are fairly weak due to my bad coordination," Ditzy said, gesturing towards her eye that always seemed to go in the wrong direction. CC nodded.

"Alright, griffin, you're up," CC said.

"I am a black belt in the heavy feather arts, other than that, I'm helpless," she said sheepishly. Both Daniel and Ditzy raised an eyebrow. Glancing at either of them, she sighed, "Okay, that was a load, I don't know how to fight all that well. Normally I charge head on, and hope for the best, or one of these two over here to save me." Gilda gestured to Daniel and Ditzy.

"Alright then, what about you two?" CC turned towards the zebras.

"Uh, I don't really fight, so I'd rather not say. If that's alright," Blueberry said.

"Same here," Candy Cane agreed. CC squinted, as if in thought.

"I know you two from somewhere, I just can't place my hoof on it," CC said. Blueberry looked worried. CC suddenly widened her eyes in realization and picked up a knife. twirling it in her hoof, she then flung it across the table straight at Blueberry's head. Several things happened.

Time seemed to slow down for everybody, the knife met Blueberry's gaze as she planted her hooves down, and Candy cane flipped, literally flipped, over Blueberry and faced the knife. CC just examined the knife as it flew. Daniel tried to stop it, but couldn't reach it, suddenly time sped up once more, and to everybody's astonishment, Blueberry did not have a knife stuck in her body, but instead, the knife was in her mouth. Spitting it out she glared daggers into CC.

"I knew it. You aren't just Blueberry and Candy Cane, you are the Blueberry and Candy Cane, the zebra alicorns. Slaves, due to customs, and under the only authority that is more powerful than you even if you were not slaves. But then again, you were supposed to end up near him weren't you," CC said, smug.

"Yes, fine, you caught us, but it's our duty to make sure no harm comes to the fifth during his stay here. His death cannot happen yet." Candy Cane said, growing both in size, and in power. A horn and wings sprouted, and she had grown to full height, as had Blueberry. CC nodded.

"Alright, shrink back down to your normal size before you blow a blood vein. I just wanted to prove it to myself," the changling said. The two alicorns glared death into her and made a move to get to her, but Daniel spoke up.

"Hey, it's alright, and besides, no real harm done," he said carefully. The other two immediately shrank down on the order given, their innocent smiles returning. Daniel closed his eyes trying to process his information. Pieces were slowly, very, very slowly, fitting into place. CC seemed to be some sort of chosen trainer for him, and his two slaves were his slaves on purpose. Alright so what about Dark Daniel, how did he tie into all of this? Daniel had not realized that upon thinking of said entity, Dark Daniel had appeared from his shadow.

"Daniel, look out!" Came Ditzy's worried voice. Daniel opened his eyes, and drew his sword. Spinning around quickly, his sword was met by Tenebrae's. They gazed at each other for a moment, and both sheathed their weapons.

"Alright, seeing how you're here, it's time for some answers," Daniel said with a growl, for some reason feeling angrier.

"I never left, and watch the anger, all bad emotions that you feel at nearby people are intensified twenty fold when I am physically near you," Tenebrae replied. "Oh, and if I were, you, I would talk to Ditzy about that anger at her. It's never healthy for a relationship," he said calmly.

"I have to agree with him," came another familiar voice. "Although, relationships only hold you back. Unless they can benefit you in another way, like mine with Luna's," the female voice spoke. Daniel recognized it now. He drew his sword and turned towards the voice. Seeing the human female, he swung the sword, and down she went, only to get back up. "Ah, so you do remember me. You never seem to bring me up." Bane said.

"Horrible things of my past must stay dead," Daniel said darkly. His hatred only increased by Tenebrae. "And you are most certainly dead. Not even dead, I obliterated your very essence, your soul. You aren't dead, you don't exist. your energy was absorbed by that of my own," Daniel said, his voice was grim as he remembered some of his own memories, mixed with that of Faust. "You cannot be here," and with that statement, the candles lighting the room up were immediately put out, and the moon that had began to rise dimmed as well. It was there that everybody in the room began to realize that Daniel's power was not something to be trifled with.

"My power is a mere ghost of what it was. I am a part of you, and I can finally show myself. For some reason, your emotions have been increasing slowly since earlier this very day. The energy off of it has been feeding my power, but my power is only another part of yours. And in all honesty, I'd rather be dead then have to share any of my power with anybody, especially you," Bane snarled back. CC began to realize that she had been feeling the change as well, although she didn't dare speak. A cold presence seemed to shroud the room, like that of a dark night. It gave off the felling of loneliness, and hate.

"Daniel, do not destroy her, she will be able to help you, as much as I can. Maybe even more." Tenebrae spoke, unafraid.

"I don't care, back off," Daniel hissed, his voice seeming to be more animal than pony/ human. Tenebrae nodded, and stepped back as the looming fear pressed ever deeper.

"Daniel, please, don't, she cannot harm anypony any longer. Bane is gone, in its place is the ghost of what you fought, do not destroy her. Please," came the words from not Tenebrae, but Ditzy, who had padded up next to Daniel, along with Gilda.

"Yeah, come on boss, it'll be alright," Gilda said, her voice more gentle than her normal brash self. Daniel glanced at the two, and for a moment, everybody in the room thought that somebody was not going to live. But slowly the candles began to relight, and the looming presence disappeared, along with Daniel's consciousness.