Darkness Beyond the Horizon

All that was inside the book was a note:

From the desk of Grey Shade:
Surprise, Surprise. Since you have found the second journal you are probably wondering "Why is it blank?" Well, that is because this is not the real journal. I, personally mind you, have hidden the real journal in a place where none may find it. In its place I left behind a small trove of memory orbs that Frostbite collected from the crew. The orbs are from our own views as we survived the ordeals of the ocean and the Island. Inside are 6 orbs that can only be activated via a specific virtue that belonged to its owner. Dispense these orbs to your friends and wait for them to activate. The orbs shall correspond with the owner's mind and slowly enter that piece of mind where our memory is stored and the orbs shall lightly tap that piece and gently place a flow of memories in there. That is how you shall know which orb belongs to you. Since the orbs were prototypes, they may contain several memories.

-Grey Shade "Ninja, Assassin, Scout, Pure-awesomeness incarnate"

Behind Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle resounded a faint 'Click" as the alcove where the book was opened further to reveal a second alcove below the first one.
"Well, that was clever" muttered Twilight.
Dash peeked inside the alcove where 6 orbs lay next to each other in two rows. She reached for the closest orb. As soon as her hoof brushed the orb it abruptly glowed greyish-blue and Rainbow Dash was enveloped in the hidden memory:
===L===O===Y===A===L===T===Y===
I woke up to the sound of banging on the deck and screams. Then, a loud slam and more shouting. "Ugh, what?" I groaned "What's happening?" I turned a bit to look at Frostbite. He was standing attentively and glaring at the ceiling.
"Someone got killed. Or wounded. Badly" said Frost. He could be very unusual at times and this was definitely one of them.
I heard the slam again and even more banging. Then shouts resounded throughout the ship. I was indeed curious about what was happening so I walked outside. It was there that I saw Sierra picking up her equipment and dashing up the stairs. I was surprised that she didn't fall. I turned toward Glade.
"So what happened up there?"
Glade slouched a bit "________ Got hurt pretty badly. I heard something about 'Hook-bats'. It was my fault that he got hurt up there. I was with him last night and I just left him there."
I perked my ears up a bit. What was this about ___ and Glade? Steadily I felt a slight surge a jealousy.
"So what exactly was going on...?" I prodded.
Another scream resounded. This one sounded more animal-like.
"Not much. We just stood around and talked. I tried to comfort him, but..."Glade shrugged "He misses his family. He misses home. And worst of all, he feels sorry for us most of all."
A few seconds later, I saw Sierra walking down the stairs looking pale as a ghost, Grey looking grim as always, and ___ being helped down by Grey. ___ Looked the worst. I gasped as I saw the bandages: They were soaked in his blood and slightly caving in on his wound. ___ Steadily walked down the stairs and as he reached the bottom he said something that I felt surprised us all:
"Hey, who's up for a musical?"
'Heh' I thought. Even in grim situations as this one he could still downplay it with a sense of humor.
I walked over to Grey and tapped his shoulder.
"Hmm?" He turned around "Oh, hey Skyfall. You need something?"
"In a way. Would you mind telling me what happened up there?"
He shrugged as he swung his sword around a bit "Just some Hooktail Bats. They messed ___ up pretty badly so I had to pull him over here. And by pull, what I really mean is drag."
"You better check up on him. He's pretty shaken up" Said Grey before he left for his room.
I sighed. I might as well check up on ___.
I peeked into his room and saw him writing down in his journal. He didn't seem to be affected too badly by his wound. For just a slight moment I saw a faint sparkle on his flank and the appearance of a cutie mark. It looked like two scythes crossed on top of a shield. As I saw it, I felt a strange chill beginning to seep into me. Shaking off the cold, I opened the door and walked into his room.
___ Looked up as he saw me.
"Heh, I thought you'd be passed out on the bed. That was a nasty wound you got."
He paused for a moment before replying "Yeah. It was. I should be better by tomorrow."
There was a bit of a silence between us.
"So, uh, sorry for interrupting you at the palace."
Glade wasn't joking. He really was a caring colt, even worrying over such trivial matters as that. "It's alright. You did much better than I could've. A much, much better job. I'm curious though, how did a pony from the slums learn to talk like that? Or know all that stuff?"
___ reached for a small stack of books and spread them out before me "Around the slums I sometimes would find some books. Plus, my friend Rose let me borrow some of her books. It's only thanks to her that I managed to do that."

I studied him closely, his cutie mark was still there, but it was fading away steadily. I wondered if there was more to this pony than I thought there was. I'd have to take a peek at his journal if I wanted to know. "Hmm. I don't think that those books were just the cause...There's more to you than anyone can see. I can just feel it..." A shroud of silence was cast upon us. I cleared my throat "Well, I guess you'd like to rest. See you tomorrow." I rushed out of the room before he managed to say anything.

===L===O===Y===A===L===T===Y===

As Rainbow Dash returned from the memory she had found herself confounded. As she entered Skyfall's mind she felt right in place. Like she was Skyfall. It was disturbing, but she knew that she was herself now.
"So what did you see?" Asked Twilight.
Rainbow Dash shuddered "A memory of Skyfall. A mare that was in that journal that I found a few days ago.
"This one?" Asked Twilight as she lifted the book up.
On the face of the book was the completed title "The Darkside Chronicles By Ripper".

"Huh!" Rainbow Dash grabbed the book and looked at the title. The author's name was there, but it just didn't fit. She then remembered what Skyfall had said "There's more to you than what anypony can see", Maybe this was what she meant? Dash opened the journal, but the colt's name was still crossed out. Gone. As if he never wanted anypony to know who he really was and what his name was. The title, maybe it was just a new identity he made for himself. A new life. If he survived then that meant that he had made it to the Island or escaped. A new life, identity, and world. He wanted to change, but something seemed to be missing here. Dash felt as if she was holding a puzzle that looked complete, but there were parts missing. She just wished that she knew what was missing.

6 hours later

After some much needed sleep, Rainbow Dash picked up the orbs and flew away. Her first stop was Clouddale where she had hoped to find someone who could interact with the orbs. While she had slept, she had experienced another memory. A faint one that seemed more like a dream, but in it, Dash was Skyfall and she saw herself running toward Canterlot with a burning desire to save somepony. A sense of Loyalty was compelling her. When Dash had woken up the feeling had still ot passed, but she felt the urge to give away the other 5 orbs. She felt that in doing so, she was helping Skyfall somehow. Once the last orb had left her satchel, Rainbow Dash had felt much more relaxed. She felt as if she had done the right thing, but she still wondered: To what end was she following these orders? And why?

Home

When Rainbow Dash had finally gotten home, she opened up the old journal and, much to her delight, she had found more chapters in the small journal. Inside, she also found an empty page where the writing once again appeared to her
"So you found the orbs?"
Rainbow Dash reached for something to write with before she muttered "Of course I did, no thanks to you" When she had turned back to the journal she had found that it had wrote back to what she said earlier:
"Haha, I apologize for my...Ah... Disappearance . The magic was beginning to fade and it grew harder for me to write back, now that it's back, stronger than before, what you say materializes on the book and I can read it"
Her eyes had widened. The book itself was not writing back, but it was somepony else! Hesitantly she wrote back "Who are you?"
The page was clear for a moment before an elegant writing appeared "A prisoner of unforeseen circumstances. My choices, and the lives that I saved all came back to me and had me landed in this prison. As for my name, I am not at a liberty to reveal it just yet. Or remember it. I have long forgotten much of my past, and the only thing that helps me retain my sanity is this book that lies before my hooves."
"So where are you?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
*Skritch Skritch* "I do not know. It has been long since I have last seen the outside of my prison."
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment before she asked him "How did you know what I was doing?"
*Skritch Skritch* "The magic that surrounds the journal is very, very ancient. As such, I can manipulate it slightly. This allowed me to see what was around the journal and interact with them. As long as they interacted with the book first."
"I once had journeyed with the 13 ponies that are written in the journal. I personally had known Skyfall, Grey, Rose, Scorch, FrostBite, ___, Glade, Hawke, Sierra Myst, Raindrop, Storm Chaser, Duster, and Snowflake."
Rainbow Dash frowned. The journal said there was only 13 colts, not 14. Then who was this one? "So who are you then? The Captain?"
*Skritch Skritch* "I was an excess passenger they picked up by chance. I was there when the Chaos began, and when the story ended. It is all written down before you. This journal was ___ Most prized possession. When it became damaged, he had Frost integrate it with another one. It was here that he wrote everything down before hiding it away with the other journals."
"The other journals?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
*Skritch Skritch* "Yes. The others. His journey to the Southern Islands isn't where his tale ends, but only where it began..."