The Eclipsing of Equestria

A few weeks had passed since Iori Yagami's arrival in Equestria. He wasn't adapting well to the odd lifestyle of the ponies that surrounded him.

“Umm... it's kind of cold, sorry”, said a female voice. Iori turned in his seat to see the purple alicorn princess known as Twilight Sparkle. He grunted and turned back in his seat.

It was late evening and dinner was being served in the castle's dining room. Iori sighed at the thought of another night without his one favorite food group; Meat. For those past few weeks, all he had eaten was salad and fruit. Although it was a healthy alternative, a fighter of his caliber was in need of protein.

Twilight smiled sheepishly as she set the table. Normally, the ponies working in the castle would be setting the table, but Iori's presence was to be kept unknown until further notice. So here she was, setting the table with her horn, under the steel gaze of the first human to ever set foot in Equestria.

“What is it?”, Twilight finally managed to find the courage to ask. Iori looked away and rested his chin on his palm; his elbow planted firmly on the table. “Right”, the mare rolled her eyes and took her, reluctant, seat next to the red headed man. “So, I'd like to ask a fe-”, she was cut off mid-sentence by Celestia entering the room. The white alicorn raised a brow as she entered the room. What she saw was Iori leaning away from Twilight; whilst Twilight was trying to move closer. “Am I interrupting something?”, she asked. Twilight quickly regained her composure, “Uhh... no. Everything's fine”, she managed to say.

A few moments had passed. Iori stared down at his vegetable soup. He grimaced as he could feel the cold emanating from the bowl.

“Is there something wrong with the soup?”, inquired Twilight with a raised brow. Iori shook his head and muttered, “Cold”. Twilight blushed and looked away, “S-sorry. I tried following the recipe, but the oven just wouldn't turn on. However, I have read about soups being served cold. Or that may have been ice cream, but-”, she stopped when she saw the man place a hand on his bowl. “What are you doing now?”, she asked. Iori answered by closing his eyes. He had done this before during his travels. Iori focused his energy and will through the bowl and into the soup. A moment had passed when the soup began to bubble and boil. At this, Iori opened his eyes and stood; bowl in hand. Twilight couldn't believe her eyes. She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming, “H-how did you do that?! Was that some form of spell?!”, she stammered, “C-can you do that to mine?!”. Iori sneered and headed for the door. Celestia nodded as he opened the door. Twilight looked to the princess, then to the man. Grinning, Iori turned and sent a purple bolt of fire streaking towards Twilights bowl. “Bwah!”, she cried out as she fell back in her chair. The attack hit Twilights bowl, shattering the porcelain and sending bits of soup flying in every direction. Iori smiled, “That hot enough for you?”. He then turned and made his way to his “room”.

Celestia sighed, “You alright Twilight?”. The purple mare stood, “Y-yeah. What's his deal anyway?”, she asked, “First time he says anything to me and he decides to explode my soup with... whatever that was”. Celestia nodded in understanding, but said, “You must understand, Twilight Sparkle. He is not of our world. We have no clue as to the customs of his race. You should be more careful in what you say around him, alright?”. Twilight only nodded.

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“Hmph. Annoying rat”, Iori said to himself as he slammed the empty soup bowl into the wall. “She runs her mouth with no regard for those around her. Annoying...”, he said as he looked down at his hand. Memories of Orochi flooded into his mind causing him the punch the wall and leaving a small fist sized indent. 'You will not control me, foul demon', Iori thought to himself before motioning for his bed.

He remembered his first week at Canterlot. His first night was hell. He had grown accustomed to sleeping on the ground, or sleeping inside a shelter of some sort, but he was not prepared for a child-sized bed. Iori was annoyed, but awoke to find his bed a regular human twin size. He grimaced at the kindness being shown to him at the time, but he had grown used to such a thing the past few weeks. However,  he was well hidden and a well kept secret, but Iori couldn't help but feel he was here for a purpose. A purpose of which he had no idea to what it was.

Iori looked to the ceiling as he lay on his bed. The image of Luna and Celestia were painted and were reminders of this strange world. 'I'll find a way out of here. I just have to play along until I get my chance', he thought to himself before drifting off to sleep.

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Iori was dreaming. He knew the familiar sensation for he was a regular lucid dreamer. He looked around at the area around him. Iori grimaced at the destruction. Bodies lay strewn across the grass. Trees, houses, and vehicles were ablaze with his signature purple fire. Iori knew he should be overwhelmed, but these dreams were a regular occurrence, but this time it felt different. He was aware of a presence within his dream. A presence whom he had thought disappeared along with that bright white light. 'What do you want?!', Iori cried out as the familiar god manifested infront of his eyes. Orochi did not say a word, but Iori knew what it was thinking. 'Is that so? Hmph, you're even stupider than you look. I refuse. Get thee out of my dream, before I force you out!'. Iori smirked as his arm was engulfed in his fire. Orochi did not blink, but it did move his head to the right. “Iori?! What's wrong?!”, said a panicked voice from beyond his world. Iori suddenly felt as if he was falling.

He awoke to find himself kneeling on the floor. He noticed his hand was on his chest, as well as blood infront of his eyes. For a second, Iori thought he could see mist escaping from his mouth, but it immediately stopped. He looked up to see Twilight and Princess Luna gazing at him with worry in their eyes.

“Are you alright?”, Twilight asked him. Iori quickly stood and turned away with a sneer. “It's ok to tell us if something is wrong, Iori Yagami”, Luna said calmly, “We won't bite”.

Iori remained silent as he moved to his bed and laid back down. He closed his eyes. Behind him, Twilight and Luna exchanged glances and left.

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“Luna?”, Twilight spoke. The moon goddess nodded. “I-I... I have to tell somepony about this, but I don't know how to say it”. Twilight lowered her head as they walked. “Twilight Sparkle. We are indeed aware of that man's presence. We too can feel the dark energy coming from deep within him”, Luna looked to Twilight and her eyes became serious as she spoke, “You felt it too, didn't you? Another presence within the room?”. The mare nodded, but remained silent as Luna continued, “We cannot trust this man, but we can be sure that he knows what he's doing. Whatever that presence was, I could feel he was fighting it with all his strength”, Luna suddenly stopped and put her attention squarely on Twilight, “But the question remains. What are you willing to do when he breaks? What will happen when that presence wins?”. The purple mare only lowered her head. Luna nodded as they continued on to their rooms.

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A few days had passed since the incident in the room. Iori was still shaken up, as one could tell by his sloppy technique.

Iori was in a training room, made especially for him by Celestia. He had given up thinking as to why she did it, and decided to just accept it as something necessary to continue his training.

“Huuhhh!”, Iori grunted as he completed a 3 hit upper-cut combo. He then turned and dashed for a wooden post as he executed his signature move; The Maiden Masher. “SHI-NE!”, he cried out in his native japanese language as a large plume of purple fire explodes from his palms and sent the wooden post back into a wall. “Hmph”, Iori simply stated.

/Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap/

Iori turned to see Twilight standing at the entrance, along with Celestia. “Wow! That was amazing!”, exclaimed the purple mare as she walked into the room, “Are you going to tell me how do conjure up those flames like that?”. Iori sighed at the same question he had heard many times before. “Well?”, asked Twilight. Iori grunted and motioned for a bench. He sat, but left enough room for the mare to sit with him. “Wow! You'll really do it?!,” Twilight cheered as she sat beside the red head. Iori nodded and began to explain.

“It's a part of my family. I have this accursed flame due to my ancestors carelessness and greed.”, Iori began, “My ancestors craved power, but it wasn't until a member of the Hakkeshu clan posed as a Kusanagi assassin, and slew one of our own. Desperate to strike back, my ancestors made a pact with the great demon Orochi. In exchange for this fire... our women, men, children, and sanity were all affected”. Twilight's eyes sparkled at this onslaught of new information and she remained quiet for more, but Iori became silent. A moment had passed before Twilight spoke up, “Umm... is that it?”. Iori nodded and stood. The princess couldn't help but feel as if he was keeping something from her, but decided it was best not to pry. Iori walked past Celestia without a word and returned to his chambers.

“Princess Celestia?”, Twilight asked. The sun goddess nodded. “Luna had told me that we are all feeling the same way. He's hiding something, isn't he?”. Celestia slightly smiled before turning and leaving. Twilight sighed as she too left.

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'What do you want with me?!', Iori shouted to the demon god hovering over him. He was dreaming again.

Again, Orochi was silent. This annoyed Iori as he lashed out with purple sparks of fire. 'Speak! Or I will force the answers I seek out of you, worthless worm!'. Still, Orochi was silent. Iori growled at the being and grabbed it by the throat. “P-please... stop...”.

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Iori became conscious again. What he saw was burned into his mind. He found himself holding Twilight Sparkle, the young mare, up by the throat. She appeared to be crying. “P-please.... sto-”, she was cut off as she passed out. Iori quickly let go. His mind was racing as he looked down to his hands. His skin was a darker tone. He even noticed steam rising from his lips. However, all that disappeared as he fully realized what he had done.

“Twilight?!”, Iori shook the unmoving princess. “Twilight?!”.