Chapters
Chapter 1: New Arrivals Breed Broken Hearts
Chapter 2: Death's Lullaby
Chapter 3: Invasion of The Darkness (Crossover Part 1)
Chapter 4: Dungeon Treatment (Crossover Part 2)
Chapter 5: Darkened Skies (Crossover Finale)
Chapter 1: New Arrivals Breed Broken Hearts
"Ah'm tellin' ya, he can pick up trees right outta the ground, he don't even need to cut 'em." A small filly was busy telling her friends all about the Drake that was staying at their family farm, her yellow hooves flying this way and that way, her red bow flopping up and down with every exaggerated motion.
"That sounds real neat Applebloom, but how do we know he's even real?" The reply came from another filly, she had a white coat and a well cared for purple and pink mane.
"Because Applejack asked him to try and help us get our cutie marks, he's gonna meet us here." Applebloom seemed really happy, she and her friends had tried hard the last few years to get their cutie marks. She turned to her other friend and asked, "Don't ya think that will be fun Scootaloo?"
The third filly just stood there, running an orange hoof through her short purple mane. "I don't know, he sounds cool but why didn't we just ask Rainbow Dash, I'm sure she could do all of that." She really was certain, standing there with a grin of satisfaction, she didn't even notice Bo standing behind her. He stood there for a moment, his blond hair rustling just below his sholders in the breeze, his eyes a bottomless blue. He was tall, about seven foot three, he smiled knowing what he was about to do was going to be hilarious, he held a single finger over his lips to keep the other two quiet as he leaned down close to Scootaloo. He took a deep breath and connected with his dragon side before releasing a thundering roar that shook the ground beneath him. Bo stood up laughing as Scootaloo looked out from behind Applebloom.
"Just as cool as Rainbow Dash huh," he struggled to suppress the laughter he felt inside, "I guess I have to start somewhere."
It had been a month since The Edge which marked Bo's arrival in Equestria, it was far better than Earth as far as he was concerned. All the humans ever used him for was war, and Bo just didn't like to fight and kill. These days he had a schedule he stuck to well; every morning he woke up first to work out, after that he had his morning chores, then he would go out to the Everfree Forest to meditate and practice his magic, The Edge was on it's way back and he wanted to be prepared for it. For the most part he only knew Runes, and he was good at using them, the chain of attacks would light up his body like a thunderstorm, each Rune pronouncing itself as it was used. He knew a couple of Glyphs , Divinum Lucem and Flammis Aeternam Dolor, he even knew how to combat a couple different styles, Musiikki and Bekjempe, but he just didn't have a knowledge of most types of magic.
"So, if I understand correctly cutie marks are like a symbol of what you're really good at, right? So let's see, Sweetie Belle, you're a unicorn how is your magic?"
"Hey why does she get to go first?" Scootaloo stomped her hoof demanding an answer.
"It's actually quite simple, if strengthening her magic abilities is all she needs, I know how to do that. It's going to take a little more time to figure out how to help you and Applebloom." Bo looked up at the sky, he studied the sun trying to figure out the time. "Ah shi..." he stopped mid sentence, realizing he was about to make a bad impression on the three fillies, "ah shoot." He looked around nervously hoping nobody realized his near slip.
"Wha's wrong Bo?" Applebloom looked at him a little worried.
"It's nothing major, Sweetie come over to the farm with Applebloom after school tomorrow and we'll get started. I promised Mac I'd meet him at the market so I gotta go." Bo turned and went into a full sprint, literally leaving the fillies in a thick cloud of dust.
"Told ya he was cool." Applebloom's statement spoke for itself as the three tried to breath in the cloud of dirt.
There wasn't much talk around the table at dinner, it was Bo's turn to cook so everypony was busy eating their fill before it was gone, except Bo. He just kept staring out the window into the expanse of open sky, he wanted to go out there and fly away from everything, he knew Lohikäärmeen Siivet could carry him far despite being made of pure light, but he couldn't leave, not now, not with the edge approaching again. He hadn't told anyone, he didn't know what was coming through the gateway and he didn't want anyone to be afraid. Eventually the fear started to show in his eyes, the whole family started to notice it, but Applejack assured them that everything was alright, that he was just a bit exausted from all the extra work he'd been doing lately. It wasn't until she noticed him in the same state before they went to bed that she even thought about asking if everything was alright.
"Bo, ya seem a bit distant here lately, is there somethin' ya wanna talk about?"
Bo thought for a moment, "I guess," Bo knew how it was going to sound to Applejack, and he didn't want to hurt the mare he had fallen in love with. "I haven't been honest."
"What are ya talkin' about sugarcube, ya told me everything, even about that day ya didn't want to talk about with princess Celestia. What could ya have possibly lied to me about?" Applejack seemed a bit worried, she stepped a little closer to Bo, the thought that Bo had lied about something made her a little upset and tears started to form in her eyes.
"Everyday after my chores I've been going out to the Everfree forest. I've been working out, meditating, and 'interacting' with the timber wolves. I've just been so afraid that you wouldn't approve of the way I've been spending the time. It started with that nightmare, the demons were Drakes, I was being attacked by them. I couldn't hold them off, but just when I was ready to give up fighting I was saved by an Alicorn, his coat was black as the night sky and he had a Drake's Brood Marks that were white as snow."
"Bo tha's nothin' to be worried about, ya had me thinkin' ya were seein' somepony elses." the southern mare's eyes showed a massive relief in her mood.
"That's not the end of it. The way I've been interacting with the timber wolves is," he lowered his head in shame, he didn't want to admit to what he had been doing, "I've been fighting them, I wait for them to attack and then I fight them, I know they get back up eventually, it's the only reason I do it."
Applejack stared at Bo for a moment, the relief she had felt slowly faded. Since arriving in Equestria Bo had maintained his disapproval of violence, but now he was telling her that he was doing something he hated. "Why? Ya always tell the Applebloom that fightin' ain't the answer, that there's always another solution. Why would ya say that and go do the opposite?" Applejack was more confused then angry.
"I know it doesn't seem like the best choice, but it's the only choice right now. The humans are coming, they know I didn't die in the arctic, they're coming to finish the job, and I'm not going peacefully."
No, sugarcube that can't be right. It's like ya say, violence ain't the answer ya gotta find another way! Maybe ya could try-"
"There isn't another way," Bo interupted her, walking slowly towards the window, "it's in the way Drakes are made. Have I told you that story, about my creation?" He looked at Applejack, waiting for her response.
"Well, Ah imagine it starts when a dragon notices a human an' the two git to know each other really well, and then it's just like everything else."
"It isn't that simple. How it works is the humans find a host for the Drake, typically a soldier, then they take a dragon, only warlords and kings will suffice for this part, then they extract the DNA from the dragon, the process kills them but the humans see it as acceptable. They modify the genetics before placing them in the host egg, makes the result bigger, stronger, faster, and more violent. Then they raise it like any other child, when the Drake becomes a technical adult they send them into war. The humans negotiate only when their Drakes can't do the job, and it's millions of them, versus one of me. The Drakes won't negotiate, all they're going to do is kill anything that moves unless I can stop them."
"Then get outta mah house! Ah thought that I could trust ya, but if all Drakes are made the same way then yer no different then the ones the humans are gonna send."
"Look, I don't like it, I just have to do it. I have heard the story about the last time a Drake was loose in Equestria, and if I have the power to stop that I will." Bo stood tall, trying to look like a hero.
"So ya have to be our hero 'cause ya had a bad dream? What that sounds like is that yer no better than that brother of yers!"
Bo took a step back, Applejack's remark caused Bo to feel a sharp pain, as if his honor was a part of his body. "I am not...I never will be..." the words he wanted to say just wouldn't come out "I am nothing like that monster!"
"Tha's not the way Ah see it." The heartbroken mare turned her back to Bo to hide the tears that ran down her face. "Jus' leave, Ah don't want nothin' more to do with ya, Ah don't wanna see ya, talk to ya, nothin'."
Bo could smell the saline in the southern mare's tears, he knew he had hurt the one pony who had shown him the most kindness, and the only one who had ever truly loved him. Slowly he raised his arm to cast a rune, before he left he issued a mock apology, "I'm sorry that what I am, and what I am forced to be, isn't good enough for you. Kuljettaa!" Bo suddenly changed into a beam of bright light which shot out the window towards Ponyville. Applejack stood there, crying over the love she had tenderly kindled, a flame which was now void.
The beam of light slowed down as it approached the center of town before it finally stopped and deposited Bo on the ground. He had nowhere to go now, he began to seek shelter in the dark night when a familier voice called out to him.
"Bo what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the farm with Applejack?" The voice was soft, kind, and gentle. Bo quickly turned around to see that it was Fluttershy addressing him. The shy yellow pegasus was standing outside the Library, talking to Twilight. "Is everything okay?"
Bo lowered his head, "Not exactly, we had a bit of a fight and she kicked me out."
"Oh, that's terrible." Fluttershy had gotten used to Bo, she saw him as a friend and was actually a little hurt to hear about the problems he had with Applejack. Fluttershy said good night to Twilight and walked over to Bo. "You know I have some a spare bedroom in my cottage, I just finished cleaning it out. You should come stay the night with me." Fluttershy tried her hardest to avoid cracking under the pressure, even after the time he spent with Applejack she still liked Bo, to be honest she was even a little jealous of how happy the two were together.
"I appreciate it Fluttershy, really I do, but I don't think it's a good idea. What happened between me and Applejack," Bo wanted to tell her, he did, but at the same he didn't want to scare her, "I just don't want to chance losing another friend."
"Well I guess I understand, but I'm not taking no for an answer. You need a place to stay, and that place is my extra bedroom." Before Bo could issue an argument he felt the shy mare behind him, pushing him towards her cottage. "It's just one night, tomorrow you can figure something out if you want but right now it's too late."
Bo thought to himself as he started to walk on his own, allowing Fluttershy to lead the way. 'Tomorrow I might not be alive. Besides it looks like I didn't have a choice in this to begin with.
The bed was comfortable, Fluttershy peaked her head in one last time to check on Bo before stepping down the hall to her own room for the night. Bo slowly faded off to sleep, letting the long day fuel his desire for rest.
"Poor poor Bo, trying so hard to run away from your destiny, only to find yourself closer than ever. Destiny is hard to flee Bo, it'll hunt you down somewhere along the way."
Chapter 2: Death's Lullaby
Fluttershy walked happily down the hallway of her cottage, she hadn't heard anything from Bo all morning and decided to check on him and make sure he was okay. She opened the door slowly, not wanting to startle him or catch him changing. "Bo, is everything..." he was gone, the shy mare approached the bed which she had seen Bo in the night before, it had been made as if no one slept in it. On the pillow she found a note, the only sign Bo had been there at all.
Fluttershy,
I really appreciate the kindness you showed me last night, however what Applejack said last night, that I was a monster, has been stuck in my head and the more I think about it, the more I realize that she was right. I am a monster, and I do not deserve the kindness you have shown me. I cannot stay here, even for a single night.
I wish I could have told you in person.
Bo
Fluttershy stared at the note for a moment after reading it. "Oh dear, I think I should go find him."
*knock knock knock*
A sudden knocking on Fluttershy's door was heard throughout the cottage. She quickly ran to the door, hoping it was Bo, when she opened it, however, all she saw was Twilight.
"Good morning Fluttershy," the lavender unicorn stood in the doorway, a huge smile on her face. "I just stopped by to check on Bo."
"oh, um...well you can't." Fluttershy tried not to admit that he had left.
"Why not, is he feeling bad?"
"No, well yes, I mean..." Fluttershy lowered her head, she felt defeated and the only thing she could do was tell the truth. "You can't see him because he left last night. Apparantly Applejack told him he was a monster and now he believes it."
Just then a gust of wind blew past the two, followed by an immense cloud of dust. The two ponies took cover inside, waiting for the dust to subside. They watched out the window as the dust settled, yet it kept getting darker and darker, it wasn't even noon yet and it appeared as if the sun was going down. Soon all the light had vanished, the two frightened ponies couldn't even see each other. Then the ground shook gently as a began to be torn through black sky, the two watched on in a familiar feeling of fear as pure white light flooded the area around the hole. Suddenly a figure dropped through, but this one was different than when Bo came through, Bo fell, but this one looked like it had jumped. The hole quickly closed and light returned.
Twilight looked at Fluttershy and spoke. "I think we need to find Bo, now!"
Fluttershy nodded in agreement, she didn't want to leave her cottage, but she knew deep down that if they found Bo she wouldn't have anything to fear. It was decided, the two ran outh the door and down the road towards Ponyville, they felt it was the best place to start looking.
"Dammit Beast! All you have to do is tell me where that FUCKING rogue is and all of this will be over." A swift kick to the ponies ribs from the woman showed no sign of being effective in getting the information. She stood at about 5 foot 3, a Tyyp 3 Songbird Drake used mostly as an assassin, unlike a 7 foot Tyyp 15 Tank like Bo. She leaned in close to the abused stallion, the heavy metal plates of her armor made a scraping noise as they rubbed together. She stared at him, her bright yellow eyes visible behind the glass visor on her helmet.
Fluttershy and Twilight came across this scene and looked on in horror as the Drake murdered the pony that was lying on the ground, slowly she stood and turned towards the two frightened mares. They stepped backwards trying to avoid the assassin.
Slowly she raised her hand to her face as she began to step forward, licking the blood from her sword. "Well well, you two smell an awful lot like my target, I imagine you must know where he is.
"Ristitulessa Tulipalloja!" A barrage of fireballs flew towards the steel clad Drake, landing at her feet as she stumbled back to avoid them. She looked up to see Bo land smoothly on the ground just a yard from his frightened friends. "Now now Serena, you know I can't let you do that." A smirk spread across his face.
"Bo you're not really going to chose them over your family are you? I don't want to kill you, but I can't leave until you come back with me or aren't breathing, well then there's the matter of the animals that saved you, can't banish rogues here if they don't die can we?"
Bo crossed his arms and looked hard at the armored threat. "So what, you come down, try to kill me and give up." A short laugh escaped his otherwise serious tone. "You don't really think that would work do you?
"I'll assume that means you aren't coming home with me? Such a shame, that rules out half of your options." She crouched down slightly, a yellow aura of magic slowly cloaked her as a low humming sound spread through the area, slowly getting louder.
"COVER YOUR EARS, SHE'S A FUCKING SONGBIRD!" Bo shouted the order over his shoulder at his friends, he recognized the spell as a Musiikki class Earthquake. He knew he could survive it, but the ponies would fall victim to the blasting beat.
"The only other option I was allowed to give you was die, so I guess it's time to let the beat flow!" Suddenly the faint yellow aura around the assassin shone brightly as the monotonous humming exploded into a booming bass line which shook the ground under Bo, he tucked himself to protect his own body as Serena rushed in and drove her steel covered fist into Bo's face, breaking his guard and forcing him to stagger backwards, uncovering most of his body, a kick to his chest from her spiked boot finished the job of opening his body to an attack, Serena noticed her opportunity to end the struggle quick, and drew her blade.
Bo saw this, he saw her approach him, but everything seemed to be moving slowly that it should have. It felt as if the entire universe stopped, just so he could see his own death in slow motion, everything faded into third person, he could see it all. He saw his friends still holding their ears as the watched on in horror, he saw more rushing towards the scene to see what they could do. But beyond Serena he could see something else, he could see Applejack, a look of regret frozen on her face she watched Serena thrust her blade towards Bo. For some reason Bo began to feel peaceful, he felt as if someone was grabbing him and trying to wake him from a deep sleep. His eyes wen't from their usual blue, to white. He could hear a voice in the distance, it was strong and fierce, yet gentle and reassuring. Suddenly everything faded to white and Bo felt himself drop to the ground.
"You aren't even trying Bo, why is that?" The voice was clear, but he couldn't see where it was coming from.
"Because what if I win, then what? I go on a blood rage and kill my friends. It isn't worth it. It's just like Applejack said, all of us Drakes are made the same."
"But not you, did they not tell you who you really are?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Part of you statement is correct, all Drakes are made the same, but you are different. The humans realized quickly that the powerful war machines they had made wouldn't listen to them, that they would need something more powerful to lead them. Something with free will, something like the Drakes but far more regal. What they needed is a dragon prince, one not yet hatched so it could be molded to what they wanted. What they needed is you."
"Dragon prince?" Surprise spread across Bo's face. "So what you're saying is that I am pure, there is no human blood diluting my strength?"
"I'll let you figure that out, and I will help you discover more of yourself in the future. For now, however, you have something you need to finish."
Serena's sword slammed hard into Bo's chest sending him back a few more steps, he kept his head hung low as the assassin approached slowly, extending her hand to grab the hilt of her blade. "Such big talk, and such a little fight, I really did expect more from a Tank like you."
Bo swiftly swung his fist upwards into Serena's jaw launching her into the air where she landed a few feet away. slowly he started to laugh as he reached up to pull out the weapon in his chest. "You didn't really think it would be THAT easy, did you? I'm starting to think you didn't research you target very well," Bo continued to speak as a black aura rose from the ground, slowly cloaking him. "None of the fights you've been in before can help you, nothing you have ever hunted could prepare you for me." He looked at the blade, a smile spread across his face as he threw it into the ground. The black aura around him began to conceil his body. Black metallic spikes began to tear through the skin on his arms and back, scales spreading along his body. He looked up towards the sky and let out an ear shattering roar as a black, scaled snout emerged from his face, viscious white fangs were attached to his gums.
Serena stood up, horror spread across her face. "What the hell are you."
Bo laughed harder now, "I'm the one thing you can't kill, and the last thing you will ever see, I'm a real FUCKING DRAGON. Tell me, was your task worth the fate you've just earned? You don't have to answer that, but let's just hope that armor of yours is pretty thick."
Serena drew another blade from a sheath on her side, she quickly rushed in swinging the sword as hard as she could, trying desperately to end the struggle. Each swing was caught by Bo and thrown to the side, Serena was slowly frustrated, she looked at Bo as he held her blade, a smile spread across his face. He was playing with her! The whole time he was just letting her attack, letting her get angry.
"Enough of this!" Bo threw the weapon to the side and used his dragon claws to slice right the Serena's armor, removing her arm, he raised his arm and grabbed her by the throat, a swift slash removed her helmet. "I hope you realize you never had a chance." Bo threw a swift slice along her chest before plunging his claws into her chest and wrapping his fingers around her heart. "Game over!" In an instance he pulled his hand out still clenching the beating heart as the veins and arteries connected to it ripped. A look of horror and agony was sealed onto Serena's face as he threw her limp, lifeless body to the ground, staring at the heart in his hand. "Your fight was valorous, your essence and power shall live on in me, Omaksua Ydin Ja Voima!" In an instance light began to shoot out from between Bo's scales as they dropped to the ground to reveal his soft, human like skin. The heart in his hand turned to pure light and allowed itself to be absorbed by Bo, becoming one with his very soul.
When the light show subsided Bo collapsed to the ground, panting heavily as his friends slowly got closer to him. He couldn't focus, he wasn't sure what just happened. He decided to look at Serena's body which was lying less than a foot away from him. Slowly he looked up to see the body, one arm missing and a large hole in her chest.
"Shit!" Bo shouted loudly as he partially stood up and stumbled back. "What...what the hell did I do?" Slowly he lowered his head, deep down he knew the anwer, but he didn't want to admit it.
Applejack slowly approached Bo, the regretful look still hung on her face. "Ah'm sorry Bo, ya were right about them not negotiatin'. Ah was wrong when Ah said ya were a monster, and it was a bit too much. Ah really should've trusted ya, can ya forgive me?" Tears began to roll down Applejack's face.
Bo pulled the saddened Mare in closer, speaking softly. "Of course I forgive you, the month we spent together is not something I can just throw away over one little fight, our friendship is far more important."
Applejack looked relieved, slowly she got to the question she really wanted to ask, but was afraid to hear the answer to. "Does that mean yer gonna take me back, and come back to the farm with me?"
Bo sat there in silence, holding Applejack. "No, the month we spent together was the best one of my life, but in the moment when all of our lives were on the line, when I needed you to support and comfort me because the only solutions was something I feared the most, you abandoned me and made me feel like I didn't matter. While I can forgive you, I can't forget the way it made me feel, and I don't want to risk our friendship by allowing that to happen again."
Applejack nudged her head in closer before stepping back from Bo. "Yer not a monster, and yer nothin' like yer brother. I really am sorry about the things I said."
"Don't be, you were right, I am a monster."
Applejack jerked her head back, and stared at Bo. "Whaddya mean yer a monster?"
"Exactly what the statement implies, but I'm not a monster that Earth Ponies, or Pegasi, or Unicorns need to fear, I am a monster that humans and Drakes need to fear. Never will I allow them to enter this world and cause harm to those who live here. By Odin's spear Gungir, I swear this to be the truth!"
Chapter 3: Invasion of The Darkness (Crossover Part 1)
I need to start this off by stating that this is my first attempt at writing a cross over event, therefore the next few chapters will have parts written from a first person perspective, in addition to my usual style, I'll try to seperate each part so it isn't too confusing. The title says it all but I'll tell you now what my crossover contains, "The Darkness", mainly after the events of "The Darkness II". Don't down vote my story or chapters because I didn't do it right, but let me know how I can improve in case I decide to do another cross over in the future, and so I can fix the issues in these.
Also this is my last warning that the Chapter you're about to read may not be safe for work and has more profanity than usual, I advise you to make sure you're in a suitable location to read this, and it isn't after dark.
Thanks,
DW Bloodfin
"It took me quite some time to crawl out of hell, you know, after I lost the Darkness. I was struggling, but I had to get out, the Angelos had Jenny, and I wasn't letting her get away from me. Somewhere along the way I was broken, I could feel it, I just couldn't keep going, that's when it found me again. I'll be honest it was pretty fuckin' pissed, but can you blame it? Anyway I let back in, I know, I know, stupidest thing I could've ever done, but I had to get out, and I knew it wanted the same thing. Fast forward a couple of years and there I am, hanging out in my mansion when some guy from the government waltzes in and takes a seat in my office, he looks at me and says 'Jackie, we know about all the stuff you've been into, we also know about your little 'thing'. I want you to know that we can bring you down anytime, just a few lights and you're done. We want you to help up with a little problem. You make it go away, and we'll leave you alone.' Before I knew it they had me hooked up to some freaky machine, a few guys in hoods standing around in a circle, chanting or some shit like that, trying to open a hole in the floor. I looked at it for a second, partially amazed at the fact it worked, then they threw me in. Now I'm not sure what they thought I could do when they threw me in during the day, but I knew who I had to kill. Now I just needed to find him."
Bo sat alone at the window, Fluttershy was busy in the kitchen making dinner, he tried assuring her that he wasn't hungry after his fight, but she didn't care, he needed to eat whether he wanted to or not. "Okay, it's ready." The timid pegasus slowly walked in to notice Bo by the window, she knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what. "Bo, is everything okay. I know you said you didn't want to eat, but I think you'll feel better after you do."
Bo kept staring, slowly he took a breath before replying. "I feel fine, it's just that something isn't right. I can still sense something, something far more evil than anything I've killed before, of course that's not hard but I don't want to scare you with that story."
Fluttershy looked at Bo, wanting to comfort him, but not knowing how. She thought for a moment before constructing her sentence. "Maybe there is, there are a lot of evil things in Equestria, some are right in the Everfree Forest over there, but I don't let that scare me, and I'm a pegasus thats afraid of heights. You just have to keep going with what you know is safe and take everything else as it comes, plus I'm sure you can handle anything that's out there."
Bo turned to face his friend. "You're right, perhaps a nice meal will put my mind to rest." He smiled and stood up to follow the yellow mare into the kitchen when they heard a knock at the door.
"Oh, I wonder who that could be." Fluttershy walked over to the door, Bo close behind her in case someone was looking for him.
Slowly Fluttershy opened the door to find Princess Celestia, the two could make out a scowl on her face as well as her mane flowing in the breeze and her wings tucked against her side. A group of rather tough looking guards stood behind her, looking ready for a fight. "I thought it wouldn't hurt anything to let you roam around of your own free will, but clearly I was wrong. I thought I could finally trust that you wouldn't go back to your barbaric ways of life, but after today I don't think that's the case."
"You can trust Bo, he only killed her because she was going to hurt me and Twilight." The yellow mare looked at the princess reassuringly, she didn't want the princess to banish Bo for killing someone to save her life.
"The fact isn't why he did it, the fact is that he did it. If he can slip into killing something that easy, why wouldn't he kill somepony just for brushing up against him on the street?"
"Princess it isn't-"
"I see where this is going," Bo cut into the conversation to save Fluttershy the trouble of defending him. "To the moon is it? I know you banished your own sister to the moon just because she wanted a little bit of respect. Well go ahead, get rid of me, it's exactly what you wanted since I got here." Bo was standing in a circle of guards now, he hadn't realized that he had slowly walked forward, causing the princess to stumble back in fear. "I'm not going to kill you, I'm not a violent person unless I need to be."
Celestia stood tall now, a wall of guards stood between her and Bo. "Regardless I have to lock you away until I can be absolutely certain you pose no threat to my kingdom, I assume you won't resist and try to escape while we put these chains on you."
"No chains, my only condition and you'll have my full cooperation." Bo stood firm with his statement.
"Bo, why aren't you going to resist, you didn't do anything wrong?" Fluttershy was a bit shocked that he was just giving up.
"I'm still new here, it's her kingdom and I have nothing to gain by putting up a fight with the ponies I swore to protect. What kind of Dragon would I be if I just let go of everything I stood for and killed the innocent?" He looked at Fluttershy, his calm and certain demeaner comforted her. "I'll be back, I promise"
"Okay, as long as you know what you're doing." The mare looked a little heartbroken still, but slowly she slipped into her house to leave the guards to their duty.
"Alright, let's go." Bo and the princess both walked towards the chariot, Bo casually stepped into the cage attached to the back and layed down, he was tired and needed the rest. It wasn't as soft as the bed Fluttershy was letting him use, but it was better than nothing. Slowly he drifted off to sleep, the long day now behind him, but the thought of killing Serena still haunted him. Made it difficult to stay asleep. He was in for a rough few nights, and he was going to spend them alone in a dungeon, talk about hard luck.
Chapter 4: Dungeon Treatment (Crossover Part 2)
"You know that feeling when you're trying to do a job, but you know you aren't getting anywhere. That's what I started to feel when I landed in this place. I knew that this 'Equestria" was big, and I didn't have the time to search the whole place for this guy. So I decided that I'd let him find me, made sense at the time but after awhile it didn't seem like it was working. I figured I'd kill a couple of ponies and there he'd be, standing just waiting to try and shank me or some shit like that. But as the night went on he never showed up, I had to hide the next day so The Darkness would'nt freak out, but the longer I waited, the more I felt like he wasn't going to show up, and The Darkness, well let's just say it liked the hearts I kept feeding it the night before."
"Stay calm, I mean you know harm." A soft voice echoed throughout the dark void, Bo tried to listen to it, tried to find it, but he just couldn't, the echo was too strong as if the void was speaking to him itself.
"Where are you? Why are you keeping me here?!" Bo shouted furiously, he wanted to know where he was, and who was keeping him there.
Slowly a platform materialized beneath Bo's feet, stretching into a path way into the distance. A figure began to emerge from the darkness. "Hey, stay quiet, if Celestia finds out I'm here we're both in deep." It was the princess of the night herself.
"You, Luna right? So, then this is a dream?" Bo was confused, Luna only came to him once to speak, that was his first night in Equestria, but this was different, Bo could feel like something was bugging Luna this time.
"A nightmare to be more exact, and one of the strangest that I've seen. I'm curious as to how your mind can pick up on the slightest disturbances and warn you before hand." She seemed equally perplexed, her azure eyes studied the void around them.
"What are you talking about?" Deep down Bo knew what she meant, he was right, something else had arrived with Serena, the only question was what.
"Something ravages this land, it feeds on the souls of it's victims, it lives in the night and extinguishes the light. My magic can take me into your mind where you see it, but I am powerless to stop it. I was hoping you could help."
Bo thought for a moment, what do you want me to do? You're sister has me locked up in the dungeon, and I have no intention of going against her will and breaking out. Even then I've only heard legends about the monster you described, it's called The Darkness, and it's literally unkillable, unless...no, it's not worth it to try."
Luna's eyes lit up when Bo shot down his own idea. "What is it, we need to save the kingdom at any cost! Don't tell me you're just giving up."
"You don't understand the "if"s "and"s or "but"s involved for this to even chance working. I've had time to study things here, my magic is a lot like that of a changeling's, the more love I feel, the stronger I am. I don't drain those who provide my strength of their life, but it's still just as effective. Without Applejack I won't have the strength to play out my part, not to mention your sister has to let me out of here and help me subdue The Darkness first." Bo stared at the ground for a moment, thinking about another way to put it. "So basically IF Celestia decides she can trust me and let's me out and IF she decides to help me, I still won't be able to cast the proper Latin Glyph to banish The Darkness."
"Well, what if there was someone who loved you? What if someone, or even a group of ponies that loved you stood by your side when you go to cast the Glyph, what about then? Would it be enough?" Luna was certain she could get Bo to try it, no matter how risky it was. She began to open her mouth again before Bo cut her off.
"Maybe, and that's a big maybe. First things first, we have to convince Celestia to let me out." Bo had a look on his face that spoke his concern for the success of their grand plan.
The world seemed to be nothing more than a giant blur, slowly everything moved into focus, the stone bricks making up the cell, the iron bars that held him in place, and even Celestia crying in the corner.
"Ungh," Bo grunted while trying to sit up, his back sore from sleeping on the wooden bed. "Princess, why are you crying?"
"You! You know why I'm crying, you act like you didn't kill those ponies in Trottingham-"
"But I didn't!" Bo stood up quickly, he teetered a bit from the sudden action. "You can ask the guards who watched me all night where I was, ask your sister what I was doing. We came up with a better plan to stop The Darkness in my sleep than you have just sitting here yelling at me!" His statement was firm, it was clear, but it just wasn't effective.
"You say you have a plan," Celestia seemed skeptical of Bo's claim. "Then tell me, what is your grand plan?" A smug smirk spread across her face.
"It's simple, but you have to trust-"
"You want me to trust you!?" Angry now Celestia interjected her statement, cutting Bo's sentence off.
"I know you don't like it, but we want the same thing here, we want the ponies to be safe. You're the goddess of the sun, light is the only thing that can even make this thing flinch, that's why it attacks at night."
Celestia stared at Bo, the smug grin on her face slowly faded, Celestia realized what Bo was getting at. "I see, I'll make you a deal, you tell me why you don't like to fight and kill, and I'll hear out your little plan." Finally Celestia found the perfect moment to ask the one question on her mind.
"Fine, that only seems fair, I guess I'll start early on. I was a soldier on the front lines, I didn't do any spec ops missions or anything, I just went straight against enemy forces, and I was good at that. They said I was just like my brother and that I should be in the Special Forces squad, I was glad, At the time I had always looked forward to the day I would be Special Forces like my older brother. The day finally game for my first mission, I could hardly sleep the night before, I was that excited. We were in the field, we were supposed to find and eliminate future soldiers before they could be trained. It took all day, but we finally found the building with the targets inside. They told me to take point, like an initiation or something. I walked towards the door, my weapon drawn ready to slaughter grown men, I thought it would be better to just disintegrate the whole building alone to show off. I kicked in the door and cast the Rune, but it wasn't grown men inside, they were women and children." Bo broke eye contact with Celestia, his eyes began to fill with tears as the memories surged back. "I still remember everything, it's as if time slowed down so that every sight sound and scent would be burned into my memory to haunt me forever." Bo took the back of his hand and wiped away the tears. He looked back at Celestia, rage towards the humans and Drakes burned in his eyes. "I can never forget the look of horror on the faces of those kids, and I vowed that I would never allow anyone to cause harm to the innocent again, that's why the humans banished me here, because I was a nuisance to them, and until Serena showed up I hadn't killed anyone since that day. You might hate my brother for what he did to you, and I may not have known you before a month ago, but I hate him for what he did to you, I hate him for what he did to all of you, and I won't allow him and his plans to harm anyone else."
Celestia sat there, she finally understood everything about Bo. She knew why he hated unnecessary violence, why he was in Equestria, and most importantly, why she should trust him. "Okay, what do you need me to do?"
"Glad you're on board," A smile stretched across his face as he began to lay out his plan. They only had a few hours to prepare, and the fate of Equestria may be riding on their success.
Chapter 5: Darkened Skies (Crossover Finale)
"You know there's always that one fuckin' moment when you think that everything you've been doing was for nothing. You just can't seem to figure anything out. But in the end it works out right? I guess we'll find out."
"We need more lamps down that street! Make sure he can put them out when he get's here!" Bo was loudly shouting orders to everypony, they were running out of time to prepare for The Darkness, the carrier would come as soon as it was dark and everything in Bo's plan had to be perfect, or things were going to get messy. "Luna is everypony here?" He was relying on at least one person in his circle of friends to provide the amount of love he needed to fuel the Glyph, it was their only chance.
"They just got off the train and are on route to their positions." Luna was happy Bo was going to try, it meant he had faith in someone to love him, and hopefully he would know who loved him the most. Celestia was lowering the sun, it was time for everything to unfold. Everypony got into their positions and Bo stood in the middle of Ponyville, waiting for his foe.
A couple of hours passed and there wasn't any activity. Bo patiently waited, he managed to find a pack of smokes The Carrier dropped in Trottingham and lit up a cigarette, puffing on it gently to pass the time. The hours seemed to never fade, everypony began to feel restless when they heard a sound in the distance.
*BANG* Bo looked towards the sound of gunfire as a lamp was extinguished. "Here he comes, everyone get ready!"
*BANG* Another light went out.
*BANG*
*BANG* Two more, he was getting close, finally Bo thought it would be best to see what was coming.
"Yö Visio!" Bo's eye's turned a bright green as the night time erupted into beautiful color as if the sun was still out. He studied carefully but could find no sign of The Carrier. He turned around to walk back to his post before his leg was jerked out from underneath him by an unseen figure.
"You didn't really expect to see me coming did you?" The figure stood before Bo, dual pistols to his head.
"Jackie Estacado, it's been some time hasn't it? So this is where you're at now, just a dog for the humans? You know I expected more from a host for The Darkness." Bo had his usual demeanor about him, everyone watching him could tell that he was just taunting Jackie, it seemed to be what Bo did before any fight.
"SHUT UP!" Jackie was infuriated by the taunts, throwing Bo away into a nearby wall. "You don't know anything about me!"
"Oh but I do Jackie, I know The Darkness doesn't take kindly to light, and if if was presented with a sudden blast from a sun goddess, well you would just be immobilized wouldn't you?" Bo watched as a grim look spread across Jackie's face, he'd hit that critical point, it was time to act. "CELESTIA DO IT NOW!"
Celestia leaped into the sky from behind town hall, showering Jackie in intense light which stopped him in his tracks as his demon arms faded to dust. "Now's the time Bo, I can't keep this up for long!"
Bo knew his cue, he too was blinded by the light, but he didn't need to be able to see to do his part. Loudly he began to chant, "Obsecro autem eos, quos amore vitae nititur. Hic amor Glyph ades sacris, ut mittat virtus!" Slowly Bo could feel himself grow stronger and stronger, the love of his friends slowly filled his soul, the magical strength was practically tangible it was so strong. Slowly he raised his hand, he knew that Celestia would cease her spell soon, so Bo prepared his own. Once more he began to chant. "Luceat lux in tenebris omnia, eieci te omni tempore. Veteres utor glyphs in te per yygdrasil sacri arbore. Eieci hoc daemon oblivio! Divina lux!" As the light from Celestia's spell faded Jackie managed to get one last look at Bo before his spell took effect. Light of a divine property shot out from Bo's hand, it's majestic rays scorched Jackie's skin as they beamed by, soon Jackie was reduced to a pile of ash, and The Darkness no more.
Warm.
Bright.
Cherished.
The feelings Bo now felt contrasted the feelings of his arrival, he felt as if he belonged.
"This feeling, I know this feeling." Bo's thoughts floated through the bright void, they had body, they had sound, they had meaning. "I feel peaceful, almost as if...almost as if I were dead." The despair in his thoughts had a feeling for once, and they only made Bo feel worse.
"You are not dead, you are merely resting in an eternal void."
A voice echoed from the distance, it was far too bright for Bo to see where it came from, but it sounded familier, as if he'd heard it before. "Who are you? Surely you hold me here because you've helped me."
Bo's words faded before a reply came. "I am known by many, they have called me Ra, Zeus, and Toci. You, however, have called me Odin. I am your god, I am the one who chose you to take on this destiny." The voice grew quiet, then it spoke again. "You have done well Bo, your name and honor shall survive for generations to come, but your destiny is not fulfilled yet, for you know not of who you are."
"Then tell me Lord Odin," Bo knealt before the Allfather, no matter how many men he killed, he knew where his respect fell. "Tell me of my past so that I may better serve you my lord!"
"You are Bo, first heir to the throne of Dracony, son of Robert, son of Conrad, son of Sigmund. You are the prince of dragons, the embodiment of undying flames and power. You are my proxy, and the leader of a powerful team."
Odin's voice faded, Bo needed more information. "What team, and why didn't I know that I was the prince of dragons?" He was getting frustrated, he needed to know who he was, where he came from, if he wasn't born to human parents then how did he get on Earth?
"Years ago your parents led their kingdom to war when the humans attacked, slowly the humans pushed back the defending armies until they arrived at the center of the capitol. The humans had taken prisoners to use for their sick experiments. One dark night, when all were asleep, a human snuck into the castle and took a very special egg from it's nest, that egg was you. For years they cared for you, trying to make you hatch and lead their army, but when it came time you had other plans. There are more like you, princes that will fight by your side against the humans. They will find you, after that it is up to you what occurs."
The voice grew silent once more, but this time the color surrounding Bo in the void began to fade back to everything he had seen before. He could see Celestia approach where he was, a grim look of despair on her face. Luna was off to the side crying, but why? He hadn't died. Slowly Bo regained his ability to move, he focused his mind and tried to sit up, it hurt as if a thousand blades had pierced him at once. He looked up at his friends, his face showed no worry, no pain, no joy. He stared for a moment, his eyes shifting from one pony to the next. Bo lowered his head, he looked at the ground and said one thing.
"We're not alone, more are coming."
-End-
Thank you to everyone who read this, it really means a lot to know that there are people who enjoy my work. Make sure to check me out on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr as DW Bloodfin. Also be sure to check out my podcast where I'll answer your questions and all that fun stuff, info will go up on all of those pages each Monday about an hour before I go live. I'll see you guys when I finish the next book.