For a picture of Drakeheart and Bakarra, look up my profile (vet366) on deviantart. I tried to put the link in here, but it keeps getting deleted after I hit save.
One day when Drakeheart was in town gathering some supplies, he overheard some ponies from Ponyville, who were on vacation, talking about Princess Twilight and how she used to just be a unicorn. Intrigued, he walked over and asked them to tell him more about Twilight and Ponyville. They were initially afraid of him, not because of his black and red coat, although this didn't help, but because of his red eyes. They relaxed when they saw how calmly he was walking towards them and that everypony else seemed to be ok with him around. From what they told him, Drakeheart decided that Ponyville sounded like a really nice place. So he decided to go pack his things and move to Ponyville in hopes that he would feel more welcome there, hear more about how Twilight changed, and possibly learn from her. He knew that he would probably not be able to take Bakarra on a train and that Bakarra would attract a lot of unwanted attention if they took the main roads.
He bought a map of Equestria along with some darkly tinted sunglasses, as he did not want everypony to get a bad first impression of him like the ponies he had talked to did. He then planned a route that would avoid all towns, cities, and major roads, unafraid as he knew that he and Bakarra could handle any trouble they ran into. Unfortunately this route would take him weeks to get to Ponyville, so he stocked up on supplies before he left.
When they finally got to Ponyville, the first thing they saw was Sweet Apple Acres where they saw Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Applebloom working in the orchards. "Well howdy there, stranger," said Applejack. She then noticed Bakarra and said, "Uh, why is that manticore white? Is he friendly?"
"He sure is friendly, that is as long as you don't threaten me or him. I have no idea why he's white though. I think he's just an albino," Drakeheart replied.
Upon hearing this, Rainbow Dash, who was napping in one of the nearby trees, flew over and exclaimed, "Whoa, you have a manticore as a pet? That is so cool!"
"Well, he isn't my pet, he's my best friend. In fact, he is my only friend, and has been for a long time. My name is Drakeheart, and this is Bakarra," said Drakeheart.
"Nice to meet you Drakeheart. I'm Applejack. Over there is my brother Big Macintosh and my sister Applebloom," stated Applejack.
"And I'm Rainbow Dash. Cool sunglasses by the way," Rainbow Dash stated.
"Thank you. We have been traveling for a rather long time and are looking to move into Ponyville. Do you know if there are any houses available?" Drakeheart replied.
"Well, I don't think there are any houses for sale right now, but maybe you could stay here at the farm," stated Applebloom.
"Hold on there Applebloom, we can't just take in complete strangers like that," Applejack said.
"Come on Applejack, he seems like a really nice pony and we could always use some extra help around the farm," Applebloom replied.
"Well… maybe. Let's see how he does. Hey Drakeheart, how good are you at apple buckin'?" asked Applejack.
"I don't know. I've never tried it before. I can't imagine it would be too difficult if I saw how to do it first," he replied.
"Alright, I'll show you. You might wanna take your glasses off so you can see better though," said Applejack.
"No thanks, I'd prefer to keep them on," Drakeheart replied.
"Suit yourself," Applejack said as she walked over to a tree and bucked it. "Now you try," she said.
"Alright," replied Drakeheart. He walked over and managed to buck every apple off on his first kick.
"Whoa, I thought you said you never did this before. What do you usually do?" Applejack asked.
"I'm an inventor," replied Drakeheart.
"Huh, I didn't know inventors were so strong," stated Applejack.
"Well, I get the materials for my inventions in bulk, and they aren't exactly light. I need to be strong to carry them around," Drakeheart replied.
"That makes sense. Hey, your horn is kind of big, are you good at magic too?" Applebloom asked.
"I dabble in it a bit," Drakeheart replied modestly.
"Alright, you can stay with us 'till you find a place of your own. C'mon, let's get your stuff to the barn. We can get it moved to the guest room later," said Applejack.
"Ok," Drakeheart replied. On the way to the barn, he asked, "Do any of you know an alicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle?"
"Yeah, we're her best friends. Why do you ask?" replied Rainbow Dash.
"Well, I've heard that she use to just be a unicorn that was good at magic. I was hoping maybe I could get to talk to her and find out how she became an alicorn, and possibly even learn a bit from her," Drakeheart stated.
"Oh. Well, she ain't here right now. She's up in Canterlot doing somethin' for Princess Celestia. She should be back tomorrow though," Applejack replied.
"Oh," said Drakeheart, who was slightly disappointed.
"But we were there when she changed, we could tell you what happened. She fixed an old spell from Starswirl's journal. She said that by doing this, she made new magic and it caused her to become an alicorn, or something like that," Rainbow Dash stated.
"Hmm, so making new magic turns you into an alicorn. Interesting. Wait, did you say Starswirl? As in Starswirl the Bearded? He was a legendary magic user, all of his belongings should be in a museum. How did she get a hold of his journal?" Drakeheart asked.
"Princess Celestia sent it to her. And I don't think that making new magic alone makes you an alicorn," stated Applejack.
"So… are these your inventions?" Rainbow Dash asked while looking into Drakeheart's cart.
"Yeah," he replied.
"What's this one do?" Rainbow Dash asked as she reached for his flying contraption.
"Oh, PLEASE do not touch that one, I'm still working on it and have been for a long time. I do NOT want anything happening to it," he said.
"Alright, alright, I'll leave it alone," she replied.
"Hey, why don't we give you a tour of the town? We could introduce you to our other friends," Applejack suggested.
"That sounds great," replied Drakeheart.
"I'm coming too, right?" asked Bakarra.
"Of course, Bakarra. You're going to be living here too," Drakeheart said.
"Wait, he can talk?! That's so cool!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, I taught him myself. It wasn't easy though. So, where are we heading first?" asked Drakeheart.
"Let's go to Fluttershy's first. I'm sure she will enjoy seeing Bakarra and having her with us when we give you the tour will ensure that nopony gets scared of Bakarra," Applejack replied.
"Oh? Why is that?" Drakeheart asked.
"Her special talent is taking care of animals. She can even understand them and everypony knows that, so when they see Bakarra with her they will think that he is just another one of her animal friends," replied Rainbow Dash.
"Oh. That makes sense," Drakeheart replied.
When they got to Fluttershy's cottage, Applejack said, "You should probably wait back here and let Bakarra and us go up and talk to Fluttershy first. She is really uncomfortable around new ponies."
"Alright, I understand. Meeting new ponies can be kind of intimidating, especially if they look like I do," Drakeheart replied.
After a few minutes of talking, they all came back over and Fluttershy said in her normal, quiet voice, "Hello Drakeheart. My friends tell me that Bakarra here is your only friend right now and I was wondering if maybe you would like to be friends with me, I mean, if you want to be. It is apparent that you are good with animals if you managed to befriend a manticore, and anypony who is good with animals is a friend of mine."
"Really? I've never met a pony who wanted to be my friend before. Usually everypony tries to avoid me. They think I'm evil because of my coloration," Drakeheart replied.
"Oh, that's terrible. Our friend Zecora use to have a very similar problem. She lives alone in the Everfree Forest over there," said Fluttershy.
"Hmm, I moved into a forest after an incident that caused everypony in my hometown to completely fear me. Thankfully that misunderstanding was cleared up. It was in that forest that I met Bakarra. He was just a little cub back then. He was trapped at the bottom of a cliff when the cliffside began to crumble. I jumped in and saved him just in time," stated Drakeheart.
"Wow, you're pretty brave to do that. How did you know Bakarra wouldn't sting you in his fear and confusion?" asked Applejack.
"I didn't. It was a risk I was willing to take. Besides, I know what to do if you get injected with venom," Drakeheart replied. He then asked, "So, where are going next?"
"Well, we could go to Sugar Cube Corner to meet Pinkie," Fluttershy suggested.
"Alright, that sounds like a plan," Drakeheart replied.
"Just a heads up, she's a bit excitable," stated Applejack.
"That's an understatement," Rainbow Dash replied.
When they got to Sugar Cube Corner, the first thing Pinkie did was gasp really loudly and exclaim, "OH MY GOSH, A NEW PONY! What's your name? Where do you live? How long are you going to be here in Ponyville? Do you like it here? Is that an albino manticore?"
"Jeez, you weren't kidding, she is really excitable. You must be Pinkie Pie. My name is Drakeheart and this is my friend Bakarra," Drakeheart replied and extended his hoof.
"Nice to meet you Drakeheart. Oh, I bet we will be good friends, you and I. I'm friends with everypony in Ponyville," Pinkie stated excitedly and shook his hoof so much that she almost knocked his glasses off, but he quickly fixed them.
"Wow, that's quite the hoofshake you got there. You almost made me lose my glasses. I don't doubt that we'll be friends," Drakeheart replied.
"Where are we going next?" asked Bakarra.
"HE CAN TALK! WOW that is so COOL! Say more things, what are you thinking right now?" Pinkie Pie asked, although everypony ignored this outburst.
"Let's go see Rarity. I bet she'll flip out when she sees you and Drakeheart. It will be hilarious," replied Rainbow Dash.
"Why would she flip out when she sees us?" Drakeheart asked.
"She's a fashion pony, your colors will either inspire her or upset her," replied Rainbow Dash.
"Well that's reassuring," Drakeheart stated sarcastically.
On the way, Drakeheart noticed the library and asked, "What's that building?"
"Oh, that's the library. Twilight lives there," replied Applejack.
"Really? Well it must be nice having all that reading material so easily within your grasp," Drakeheart stated.
Pinkie Pie asked, "So, what are your favorite colors?"
"Well, let's see. I would have to say my favorite color is black and red is a very close second. White would have to be my third favorite," stated Drakeheart.
Pinkie Pie replied, "Wow, that's lucky since you ARE black and red and Bakarra IS white, I mean who ever heard of a white manticore? In fact, who has ever heard of a manticore who could talk?! It's really strange. It's also strange that…"
Drakeheart cut her off by laughing and saying, "Calm down Pinkie, you're gonna hurt yourself."
"I doubt it, she's ALWAYS like this," Rainbow Dash giggled.
When they got to Rarity's boutique, Rainbow Dash said, "Hey Rarity. We got some friends we would like you to meet."
"That's nice, let me just finish this stitching first," she replied.
Bakarra saw her and said, "Hey, you're the same colors I am."
"What?" she asked. She then turned around and saw Bakarra, gasped, and said, "Do my eyes deceive me?! Is that a white manticore? Oh, you look beautiful, your fur is so shiny and clean."
"Why thank you," Bakarra replied.
"And you can talk?! Oh, this is just so wonderful. White manticores are rare enough, but one that can talk! This is just unheard of," she replied. She then noticed Drakeheart and said, "Hmm…" and circled him a few times, inspecting him. "Well, I'm not particularly fond of the color black but I must say you pull it off very nicely, especially with those red stripes. They go together very well. Ooh, that gives me an idea. What's your name, dear?" she asked.
Drakeheart replied, "My name is Drakeheart, and this is Bakarra. Thank you for the compliments. Your friends here were just showing us the town as we plan on moving in and…"
Rarity cut him off and said, "REALLY? Oh I MUST make you a 'welcome to Ponyville' gift. Perhaps a nice suit or a fancy necklace. Could you hold still for a minute while I get your measurements? Here, let me just take those glasses for you."
"NO, WAIT…" Drakeheart stammered, but she had already taken them off. Everypony gasped when they saw that his eyes were red and Rarity accidentally dropped the glasses causing them to break. "Aw, you broke them," he stated.
"Forget the glasses, what happened to your eyes?!" asked Rarity.
Drakeheart sighed and replied, "Nothing, this is their natural color. This is why I was wearing those glasses."
"Oh. Well I've never met a pony with red eyes before. That makes you very unique. If you ask me, I think you should be showing them off, not hiding them," Rarity stated, trying to make him feel better.
"You really think so?" he asked.
"Of course. If other ponies don't like it, then that's their problem," replied Rarity.
"Thank you Rarity. That makes me feel a lot better," Drakeheart stated. "Alright, so where should we go to next?" he asked.
"Well, we showed you the main parts of town, is there anything in particular you want to do?" Applejack replied.
Drakeheart's stomach growled and he replied, "I am kinda hungry, you know a good place to eat?"
"Yeah, let's go to the Hayburger!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie excitedly.
While they were eating, they told Drakeheart about themselves and several of their adventures. "Wow, it sounds like you girls have very interesting lives, I wish my life was more like that. The only really interesting thing to happen to me was Bakarra," he stated.
"Enough about us, why don't you tell us about yourself?" asked Rarity.
"Well, I'm sure Princess Twilight will want to hear about me too, I think I'll wait until she's here so I don't have to tell my story twice," Drakeheart replied.
"Oh, come now. Would you please tell us something?" Rarity pleaded.
"Alright, what do you want to know?" Drakeheart replied.
"Why is your name Drakeheart?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Well, my mom always said that I have the heart of a dragon, so she called me Drakeheart to reflect this," Drakeheart answered.
"What does it mean to have the heart of a dragon?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Well, it's a little difficult to explain as it could mean multiple things. It could mean that your love is very strong. It could mean that you will never give up even when there is no chance of winning. It could mean that you will never let go of your beliefs or just always let your true self shine through without caring what other ponies think of you. Or it could just mean that you have a very strong heart," Drakeheart replied.
"It's going to get dark soon. Can we head back to the farm now?" Bakarra asked Drakeheart.
"Alright Bakarra," he replied. He then turned to the others and said, "We haven't slept that well in the past few days, we were too nervous about how everypony would react to us and excited about the possibility of meeting a princess. See you all tomorrow,"
"Alright. Goodbye, Drakeheart," Rarity replied.
When they got back to Sweet Apple Acres, Granny Smith came out, saw Drakeheart and said, "You must be the pony Big Mac and Applebloom were telling me about. It's nice to meet a pony with a great work ethic like theirs. I'm Granny Smith. You're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like,"
"Thank you Granny Smith, I just might have to take you up on that offer," Drakeheart replied.
"C'mon Drakeheart, I'll show you to the guest room," Applejack stated.
"It's gonna feel good to sleep in a real bed again," Drakeheart replied.
When they got there, Applejack said, "Alright, this will be your room from now on."
"Hey Applejack, thanks for being so kind and helping to make today one of the best days I've had in a long time," Drakeheart stated.
"You're welcome, Drakeheart. Well, goodnight you two," she replied.
"Goodnight," replied Drakeheart and Bakarra.
Drakeheart thought about everything that had happened and how nice everypony was and said to himself, "I think I'm going to like it here."
"Me too," stated Bakarra. Drakeheart laid in bed and thought about how he should greet Twilight and how to go about asking her questions as not to ruin his first impression until he finally fell asleep.
The next morning, Drakeheart awoke feeling well rested. Bakarra woke up when he heard Drakeheart getting out of bed. "I feel great today, I don't remember the last time I slept that well. How did you sleep Bakarra?" Drakeheart asked.
Bakarra yawned and, while stretching, said, "Pretty good actually,".
They went outside and Drakeheart used his magic to pick a few apples for them. He said, "Heads up," as he tossed one to Bakarra, who caught it with ease.
Applejack came out and said, "Oh good, you're up. I was just about to head over to the train station with the others to welcome Twilight back. You coming?"
"Nah, you go ahead. I'll hang back and help out a bit here. Besides, there's a few things I need to work out before I meet her. Maybe you could put a good word in for me, though?" Drakeheart replied.
Applejack laughed and said, "Alright. See you later then."
About an hour later, Drakeheart and Bakarra were working in the orchards with Big Mac when they heard voices in the distance. They strained to listen.
"So he saved a manticore and now it's his best friend and follows him everywhere?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, yes. But it's not an ordinary manticore. Its white and very friendly. Drakeheart named him Bakarra and taught him how to talk," replied Fluttershy.
"Interesting. What is Drakeheart himself like?" Twilight asked.
"Well, we don't know that much about him other than the fact that he is an inventor and that he is a bit sensitive about his eyes. He said he wanted to wait 'till you were here so he wouldn't have to explain himself twice. He seems like a very nice pony, though," replied Applejack.
"Why is he sensitive about his eyes?" Twilight asked.
"They're red. Just try not to point them out," Rarity stated.
"Alright, I won't." Twilight replied.
"Hey, there he is now," Applejack stated.
As they approached, Drakeheart bowed and said, "Princess Twilight." Bakarra bowed when he saw Drakeheart bowing.
"Well it's nice to meet you Drakeheart, but there's no need for that. I don't really like that whole special treatment thing. I prefer to be treated just like anypony else," Twilight said.
"As you wish. I'll remember that for next time," Drakeheart stated. He then noticed Spike and asked, "Is that a baby dragon?"
"Yes. This is Spike," Twilight replied.
Bakarra walked up, extended a paw, and said, "Nice to meet you, Spike."
Spike nervously shook his paw while saying, "Hi."
"So, now that Twilight's here, will you tell us about yourself?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Of course, but let's head over to the barn so I can get something," Drakeheart replied. When they got there he went into the barn while saying, "As you already know, I am an inventor and a tinkerer."
"What's a tinkerer?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"It means that I improve things that already exist as well as make new things," Drakeheart replied as he came back out with his flying contraption. "This invention here is my personal favorite, it's my life's work," he said.
"What does it do?" Twilight asked.
Drakeheart replied, "Well, it uses small, powerful turbines inside these four round parts to circulate the air rapidly. This creates a great amount of lift and power while the body is built to be highly aerodynamic. These flaps at the ends here move up and down accordingly to allow full spherical navigation. This helmet piece here I took from a brainwave reading machine…"
Pinkie pie cut him off and said, "Hey, Twilight used one of those on me to try to understand my Pinkie Sense."
"Pinkie, please don't… wait, what's a Pinkie Sense?" Drakeheart asked
"It's just some special twitches and tingles she gets that mean different things are going to happen. For example, if her tail starts twitching, it means that something is about to fall," Twilight replied.
"Oh, like a sixth sense. I have a bit of a sixth sense myself, but I'll circle back to that later. Now where was I? Oh yes, I took the helmet from a brainwave reading machine and modified it to make the contraption do specific things whenever you think certain things so that it works as though it were a natural part of your body," Drakeheart finished
"That's brilliant! It must have been very difficult to make," Twilight commented.
"It was," Drakeheart replied. He then noticed Rainbow Dash raise her hoof. "Do you have a question, Rainbow Dash?" he asked.
"Yeah, could you repeat everything you said? I didn't understand any of it." Rainbow Dash replied. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy all nodded in agreement with her.
Drakeheart slowly shook his head, chuckling softly. "Alright. Basically, it allows an earth pony to fly just as well as a pegasus pony can, maybe even better," he stated.
"Oh. That's pretty cool. I doubt it will let you fly better than I can, though. Does it work?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well… yes and no. I've tested each piece individually and after I put it all together, and everything works the way it is supposed to. However, I can't find a power source strong enough to both keep it running for extended periods of time and power the turbines enough to lift a pony off the ground," Drakeheart replied.
"Couldn't you just use magic to power it?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"I could, but that would defeat its purpose. You see, I invented it so that I could fly without using magic. Besides, if you used magic to power it, you would get tired rather quickly due to the large amount of power it requires," Drakeheart said.
"Oh. That's too bad, it's a really good idea. I hope you do end up finding something that will get it to work," replied Rarity.
"Thank you," Drakeheart stated.
"Alright, enough about your inventions. We want to hear about you," said Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow! You'll have to excuse her, she can be a bit blunt at times," Twilight said apologetically.
"That's alright. Let's see… everypony on my mom's side of the family were potion makers and magicians while everypony on my dad's side were inventors, tinkerers, and scientists. Before I moved here, I lived in a small town at the edge of Equestria that is very much like Ponyville. When I was little, I would hang out in the library all day reading mainly books on how to build things and how they work as well as books on magic. I'll read just about anything that's put in front of me, though. I love learning new things. Whenever I wasn't tinkering with something, I would be practicing magic and have gotten quite good at it. It may sound silly, but I believed that if I got good enough at magic, I would turn into an alicorn so I could be able to fly without needing to use a spell. Now I think I'm more likely to find a power source for my invention," Drakeheart said.
"That's not silly at all. I never thought I would become an alicorn, but I did. Besides, you don't have to be a mare to be an alicorn," Twilight replied.
"Thank you for trying to make me feel better, Twilight," Drakeheart stated. He then proceeded to finish his story. "I was forced to move into the forest after everypony saw me fighting a pony off, as they did not know what really happened. The pony I fought off was bullying another pony, and I was protecting them. Thankfully, the pony I protected eventually cleared up the confusion. You already heard the story of how I met Bakarra, so I don't need to recap that. I enjoy being out at night, especially when lightning strikes in the distance and lights up the sky, I would often stroll through the forest during the night with Bakarra to relax. I also find the sound of rain tapping the window and the sound of distant rolling thunder very relaxing. My favorite color is black and the two things I can't stand are bullies and cheaters. As far as I know, I don't have any allergies and I am completely fearless. I don't get sick very easily, in fact, I don't think I've ever being sick a day in my life. Also, sort of like Pinkie with her Pinkie Sense, my perception skills are incredibly high, and I am constantly aware of my surroundings. It's almost as if I can feel when something around me changes or moves even the slightest bit. Nopony has ever been able to sneak up on me because of this. To be honest, it would be easier to sneak up on Bakarra," he said.
"He's right. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to scare him, and I have never succeeded. He always seems to know exactly what I'm doing. It's borderline supernatural," Bakarra stated.
"That's very interesting. Is there anything else you can tell us?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. That's pretty much all there is to know about me, no special adventures or anything like that. Well, except for the trip I made to get here. The most interesting thing during that trip was when we ran into a chimera, but it wasn't much of a threat. We rapidly circled it in opposite directions to confuse it, then Bakarra let out a very loud roar to hurt its ears while I blinded it using a strong burst of magic light. We then tackled it from both sides, leaving it winded. It then realized that it couldn't take us both on, so it fled," Drakeheart replied.
"Was it scary?" Fluttershy quietly asked.
"No, I wasn't scared at all. The chimera was very intimidating in stature, if that's what you meant," Drakeheart replied.
"Well, it definitely shows that you read a lot," Applejack stated.
"What do you mean?" Drakeheart asked.
"You use a lot of big words. Twilight does it too, though, so we're used to it," Applejack replied.
"Hey, didn't you say you were good at magic earlier? Why don't you show us what you can do?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
"Well... I do practice just about every day if I can, but I don't really like to show off. I've always been afraid that if ponies knew just how quickly I can master a new spell, they would either begin to fear me or hate me for showing off, and it would be very difficult NOT to become evil if everypony either hates you or is afraid of you," Drakeheart replied.
"I guess that makes sense, but you don't have to worry. We promise we won't get scared or hate you," Twilight said reassuringly. Everypony nodded in agreement.
Drakeheart paused before answering. "Alright. Let me think for a minute," he said. He suddenly got an idea. "Spike, would you mind being used as a part of the demonstration?" he asked.
"I guess not. Twilight uses me for her spells all the time, so I'm used to it," Spike responded.
"Thank you. Are you ready?" Drakeheart asked.
"Just give me a sec," Spike said. He then braced himself and said, "Ready. This isn't going to hurt, is it?"
"That depends, some ponies say it does, others say it doesn't," Drakeheart said. He then performed a spell and Spike disappeared.
"What the… What did you do? Spike, where are you?!" Twilight yelled.
"I'm up here!" Spike responded. They all looked up. Drakeheart had teleported him to the top of the barn. "Can somepony please get me down?" Spike asked.
"Sure thing," Drakeheart stated. He then teleported Spike back down.
"I really don't like teleporting," Spike said. Twilight giggled at this.
"So, you can teleport others without teleporting yourself. That's impressive," Twilight said.
"Thank you. That was actually the first time I tried it on a living creature," Drakeheart replied.
"We should probably get back to work. There's a lot of things that need to be done," said Applejack.
"Ok. Hey Twilight, do you mind if I stop by after I'm done? I hear you have some rare books and I would very much like to see them," Drakeheart stated.
"Of course. I don't mind," Twilight replied.
"Alright, see you later then," Drakeheart said.
Several hours later after the chores were done, Applejack said to Drakeheart and Bakarra, "Whew, we sure made quick work of that. Nice job you two, it would have taken much longer if you weren't here."
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh agreed.
Drakeheart wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Hey, it's the least we can do since your letting us stay here." He looked at the sky and said, "Looks like we still got a couple hours of daylight left. I'm heading over to Twilight's, it would be rude for me not to show up after I said I would."
"Alright, have fun," Applejack replied.
When they arrived at Twilight's, Drakeheart knocked on the door. "Just a second," Twilight said. She opened the door and said, "Oh, hello Drakeheart. I almost forgot you were coming. Come on in." As they came in, she said, "I was just doing some studying. Is there a certain book you're looking for?"
"Not one in particular, no. Do you mind if I just look around and see what you have?"
"Go right ahead," Twilight replied. As Drakeheart was looking through the books, Twilight said, "You know, I was actually about to head over to the library in the castle of the two sisters. There are some very old, very rare books there. Would you like to come with me?"
"I've heard about that castle, I thought it was destroyed by Nightmare Moon," Drakeheart stated.
"Not all of it," Spike said
"Cool. But why do you want me to go with you?" Drakeheart asked.
"Well, you said you like rare books, so I thought you might appreciate the offer. Also, if there are any dangerous creatures around, they are much less likely to attack a pony with a manticore guarding them, so if you come I will be able to stay later without having to worry about being attacked."
"Oh, that makes sense. Alright, I'll go with you," Drakeheart replied.
When they arrived at the Everfree Forest, Drakeheart said, "So this is the Everfree Forest, huh. It looks like an ordinary forest to me, Fluttershy made it seem like it was supposed to be really scary."
"That's just the way she is. She makes a lot of things sound scarier than they are," Twilight replied. When they got to the castle she said, "Here we are, the castle of the two sisters."
"Well, what's left of it anyway," Spike commented.
"Wow. Even as ruins it's impressive," Drakeheart said. When they were in the library, he said, "Whoa, would you look at all these ancient books! They must be hundreds of years old." They heard the hooting of an owl and Owlicious flew in.
"Oh, there you are Owlicious. You and Bakarra are both night creatures, why don't you take shifts making sure no dangerous creatures try to sneak up on us. We'll probably be here all night," Twilight said.
"Alright, that sounds good to me. I'll patrol the ruins now so I know the area. Owlicious, you can stay here and watch the entrance. I'll be back soon, and I'll roar if something happens," Bakarra said.
"Actually Bakarra, it won't be dark for another half hour or so. Owlicious should go with you while you explore the ruins since she already knows them. This way, you are less likely to get lost and if something happens to one of you, the other one can help or come get us if needed. When you are satisfied with your knowledge of the area, come back here, then you two can take turns between sleeping and watching," Drakeheart stated. Owlicious hooted in agreement.
"Alright. You always know what to do, just like you did with the chimera," Bakarra replied. He then left to explore with Owlicious.
"Smart thinking, Drakeheart," Spike said.
"Thank you, Spike," Drakeheart replied. "All of this ancient knowledge, I don't know where to begin. Thank you for bringing me here, Twilight," he stated.
"I thought you might like it," Twilight replied. Drakeheart then began pulling out books that he found interesting and put them in a pile. Twilight did the same. They spent the whole night reading.
They awoke the next morning to the sound of songbirds outside. Drakeheart yawned and said, "Jeez, I can't believe we actually slept here."
"It doesn't surprise me. When Twilight said we would be here all night, I kind of figured she meant it," Spike stated.
"We should probably head back to the farm before somepony notices we are gone and gets worried," said Bakarra.
"I agree Bakarra, but we need to put the books back first," Drakeheart replied. After all the books were put back, they all headed back to town.
On their way back to the farm, they ran into Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy. "There you are. Where were y'all?" Applejack asked.
"I showed them the castle of the two sisters. We were there reading all night," Twilight replied.
"Did you have fun?" Applejack asked.
"I sure did. I learned a lot of new things, and even a few spells. Like the orb of light spell. It is very similar to the magic light spell, but instead of producing constant light from your horn, it creates a ball of light for a period of time. You can send it ahead of you, make it float in place, or even have it follow you around. It is a rather simple spell, I wonder why I haven't heard of it before," Drakeheart replied.
"Huh, I bet that spell would be useful for exploring caves," stated Applejack.
"Big deal, I can see in the dark naturally," Bakarra stated.
"Ooh, somepony's grumpy. Did you stay up all night instead of taking turns with Owlicious like I told you to?" Drakeheart asked.
"No," Bakarra quickly replied, but then Drakeheart gave him an angry look. He sighed and reluctantly answered, "Yeah."
"Bakarra, how many times do I have to tell you not to stay up all night? You know how you get when you're tired," Drakeheart said.
"I know, I'm sorry. I promise I'll behave, I'll just take a nap whenever I get the chance," Bakarra replied sincerely.
Drakeheart stared at Bakarra angrily for a few more seconds, then said, "Alright, but you better behave yourself. I don't want any more outbursts or incidents, got it?"
"Understood," said Bakarra. Spike began to make strange faces and sounds like he was going to throw up.
"What's wrong with him?" Drakeheart asked. Before anypony could answer, Spike burped up a note. "What's that?" Drakeheart asked.
Twilight picked it up and said, "It's a letter from Princess Celestia." She opened it and read, "Dear Twilight, Princess Cadence has brought to my attention a rather strange occurrence. For the past few days, some of the miners in the Crystal Empire have been acting strangely. At first, she thought nothing of it, but things have only gotten worse each day. Because of this, the mine has been closed off until further notice. I would like you to go investigate the mine in question. Princess Luna has already left to help and will be awaiting your arrival."
"Jeez, those miners must have been doing something really strange for Princess Celestia to take an interest in it," Rainbow Dash stated.
"Yeah. I wonder what they did," Twilight replied.
Drakeheart politely asked, "Can I come, too? Please? I can help."
"I don't know, it could be dangerous. What do the rest of you think?" Twilight asked.
"Well, his strength might come in handy, and so could his magic," Applejack stated.
"And he is really smart, like you. If we find something strange but we can't get to you for some reason, he might be able to tell us what it is and does, and if not, I'm sure he could figure it out quicker than we could," said Spike.
"If he's as good at surveying his surroundings as he says he is, he could pick up on small details that we might not even notice," Rarity added.
"Yeah, and I'm sure we could use Bakarra's heightened senses and reflexes. Besides, it's just a mine, how dangerous could it possibly be?" Rainbow Dash stated.
"Rainbow, you of all ponies should know just how dangerous something seemingly simple can be," Twilight replied. She then said "All of you are right, Drakeheart could prove to be very useful. Alright, you can come."
"Thank you. When do we leave?" Drakeheart asked.
"The next train to the Crystal Empire arrives in about 45 minutes. We should get ready and meet at the train station," Twilight replied.
When everypony arrived at the train station, they noticed that Drakeheart had his flying machine. "Why are you bringing that? I thought you didn't have a power source for it," said Rainbow Dash.
"Well, that's not entirely true. If you recall, I said I could use my magic to power it for a while. I know we are just going into a mine, but there could be big holes or high up ledges that I will need to fly over or up to," Drakeheart replied.
"Well, what if there is a tight space that you need to go through?" Rainbow Dash stated.
"Then I will take it off and push or pull it through," Drakeheart answered.
"I already tried to talk him out of it Rainbow, but he insists on bringing it. Besides, he made some good points," Applejack interjected.
"Alright, the train should be here any minute," Twilight said.
Drakeheart look down the track and saw the train coming. "There it is," he said. When they got in, Bakarra went to the comfiest spot he could find.
"Wake me when we get there," requested Bakarra as he readied himself for a nap.
"Alright, I'll make sure to do it gently," Fluttershy replied.
When they got to the Crystal Empire, Drakeheart saw Princess Luna through the window and for a second he forgot what they were doing. Applejack came over to him and asked, "Are you ok, Drakeheart?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just deep in thought as all," Drakeheart replied.
"Well, come on then. We don't wanna keep Princess Luna waiting" Applejack stated.
When they got out, Princess Luna greeted them and said, "Princess Twilight."
Twilight responded with "Princess Luna" and Drakeheart said, "Your highness," immediately afterwards, and everypony bowed.
"I see you have a new friend. What is your name?" Princess Luna asked.
Drakeheart replied, "My name is Drakeheart, and this is Bakarra. It is a great honor to meet you."
"Well, aren't we the polite one," said Princess Luna. She then pointed to his flying machine and asked, "What is that device? Is it going to help us find out what is going on?"
"Yes… well, sort of. It allows me to fly. I brought it in case we have to explore any ravines or such," Drakeheart answered.
"Then I'm afraid you brought it for nothing. The mines in the Crystal Empire are rather flat," Princess Luna stated.
"Oh. Then I guess I need to find a place to put this so it doesn't get in the way," Drakeheart said.
"There is a storage shed at the entrance to the mine, you can put it there," Princess Luna stated.
"What were the miners doing that caused this problem? How have they been acting strange?" asked Twilight.
"I am unsure as to what may have caused the problem, all I know is that the miners' personalities have changed drastically," Princess Luna replied.
When they got to the mine, Drakeheart put his machine in the shed, then they all went into the mine. As they got deeper, Drakeheart thought he felt something. "Did anypony feel something?" he asked.
"No, did you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I thought I did. Maybe I just imagined it," Drakeheart replied. After a while, he felt it again. "There it is again," he said.
"Drakeheart, I don't feel anything. If you're trying to scare us, it's not going to work," Rainbow Dash stated.
"Rainbow, I don't think Drakeheart is the kind of pony that would joke about something like this. Remember, he has heightened senses, so he could very well be picking something up that we can't," Twilight said. She then turned to Drakeheart and asked, "What is it?"
"I'm not sure. It feels like a small surge of energy. Magic maybe?" Drakeheart replied.
"Maybe you're just picking up Twilight's or Luna's magic," said Spike.
"No, no, it's far too weak to be coming from any of us," Drakeheart stated. He felt it again and said, "I just felt it again. It appears to be occurring at a pretty regular interval, and it is getting stronger as we head deeper. Maybe I could use this to find out where it is originating from."
"Good idea. You should take the lead then," stated Twilight. Drakeheart lead them down to an area of the mine that has not been used in a very long time. "Hey, I'm starting to feel something too, but barely," Twilight said. Everypony else nodded in agreement as they started to feel it too.
Drakeheart said something to Bakarra, but nopony else could hear what it was. Bakarra then ran further into the mine. "What did you tell him to do?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Oh, I just asked him to explore a bit," Drakeheart replied. He then walked up to a section of the wall that had a small crack going up it. He pressed his ear against the wall and knocked on it in several spots. Then he said, "Whatever is making that energy is behind this wall. This spot of the wall is thinner than it is anywhere else, but it is still pretty thick. It feels very strange to tell a princess what to do, but Princess Luna, I'm going to need you to help me blast through the wall. Twilight, I need you and the others to support the surrounding area so the mine doesn't cave in on us."
"Cave in?! Umm, maybe there's a safer way to find out what's on the other side? Or, maybe we could just leave…" Fluttershy started, but Rainbow Dash interrupted her.
"Fluttershy, don't chicken out on us now. We have a duty to find out what's happening down here… but I agree that we should probably find a safer way to do this," Rainbow Dash stated.
Bakarra came back, looked at Drakeheart, and shook his head. "Unfortunately there is no other way. I sent Bakarra ahead to see if there was another way around, but he just said that no other area is as close to the source as we are now," Drakeheart stated.
"Alright, let's do this then," Princess Luna stated.
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Bakarra went and got some of the support beams that were lying around while Rarity and Twilight figured out where the beams should be placed to give the most support. At the same time, Drakeheart started to knock and listen to the wall again. "I thought you already found out that this was the wall that we need to break through," Pinkie Pie stated.
"I did, but now I'm trying to find the EXACT spot that will require the least amount of effort. This will minimize the amount of time and power we need to break through, thus minimizing the amount of stress we put the shaft under and the likelihood of a cave in," Drakeheart replied. He found the spot and marked it.
"Time?" questioned Bakarra.
"Bakarra, they aren't going to try to break through in a single blast. That would be far too dangerous, not to mention difficult," Twilight stated. After the beams were set up, she said, "All the beams are in place. This area is as stable as it is going to get, but I'll also use a spell to try to make it even more stable when you start blasting the wall."
"You read my mind, I was just about to ask you to do that," Drakeheart replied as he and Princess Luna took a few steps back from the wall. "Are you ready, Princess Luna?" Drakeheart asked.
"Whenever you are," Princess Luna replied.
"Ok, on three," Drakeheart said. He and Princess Luna braced themselves to get the most control out of their blast and started to charge it, and Twilight started to perform the stability spell. "One… Two… THREE!" Drakeheart counted, and they started blasting the wall. The mineshaft started shaking and small bits of debris started to fall from the ceiling. This caused Fluttershy to get nervous and she started to make strange sounds to indicate that she was scared. After a few moments, they broke through.
"Good job, everypony," Twilight stated. She and Princess Luna started to walk into the hole, but Drakeheart said "Wait", so they stopped.
"What is it?" Princess Luna asked.
"Whatever is in there could be dangerous. I'll go first," Drakeheart replied.
Princess Luna and Twilight looked at each other, then back at Drakeheart. "Alright," Twilight said as they moved out of the way for him.
When Drakeheart got through the hole, he said, "Whoa!"
"What is it? What's in there?" Twilight asked.
"It's a small cavern. There is a very large crystal in the center, and it is surrounded by smaller crystals. All of them are black, and it appears that the center crystal is what is producing the energy I was feeling," Drakeheart stated. The others came in to see.
"Hmm, why do these crystals seem familiar?" Twilight said to herself. Drakeheart climbed down and started to head to the center crystal.
"Be careful, Drakeheart," Applejack stated.
"Don't worry, I will," Drakeheart replied. As he got near the big crystal, he started to notice that it was producing a pulsing glow, which was not noticeable unless you were up close to it due to its dark color. The smaller crystals also had this glow, indicating that they were the same type of crystal as the large one. "Hmm… curious," Drakeheart said to himself. He reached his hoof out to touch the large crystal, withdrew it in contemplation, and then slowly reached back out for it.
"That's not being careful," Bakarra stated.
"Relax, it's just a crystal. What could possibly happen?" Drakeheart replied. Before anypony could answer, he touched it. He felt like he was being struck by lightning repeatedly, but he couldn't pull away. He could hear evil whispers in his ears along with an evil laugh, but nopony else heard this. After a few moments, the crystal cracked and a strong burst of magic and energy was released from it, knocking Drakeheart back a couple of feet. He laid motionless where he landed.
Everypony yelled, "DRAKEHEART!" and went down to him. Drakeheart let out a grunt of pain and slowly opened his eyes. They all sighed in relief that he was ok.
"Just for the record, THAT'S what can happen. Are you alright?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Drakeheart let out another groan as he slowly got up. "I… I think so. Nothing appears to be broken," he replied. He then got a headache as he began to hear the whispers again and stumbled.
"Careful now, that was quite the blast you took," said Princess Luna.
"I'm ok, just a headache as all," Drakeheart stated. He then looked back at the center crystal and noticed it was no longer pulsing energy or glowing, but the smaller crystals still were. "Bakarra, can you give me my bag?" he asked, and Bakarra tossed it to him. "Twilight, can you use your magic to pull up some of the smaller crystals and put them in here?" he asked.
"What?! Did you already forget that one of those things almost killed you?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"That's why I asked her to use her magic instead of touching them. I need to study a few so I can understand just what they are, why they produce energy, and where they came from. Once I know more about them, they will be easy to deal with. Besides, these crystals are much smaller, it's impossible for them to have anywhere near the amount of energy that the big one had," Drakeheart replied.
Twilight thought for a minute, then said, "Alright. I hope you know what you're doing." She then filled the bag.
It took them longer to get back to the entrance to the mine as Drakeheart had to keep stopping to rest due to his muscles being so sore from the blast. When they reached the entrance, Drakeheart said, "Go on out without me, I need to rest again. I won't be long."
"Alright, I'll wait here with you." Bakarra stated. Everypony else went outside where Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were waiting for them.
"I don't know what you did, but all the ponies that were affected are returning to their normal selves now. Thank you," Princess Cadence stated.
"Wait, their returning to normal? How? We didn't really do anything, Drakeheart just touched a crystal, it zapped him, and then it broke, and there's still more of them down there," Rainbow Dash said.
"Really? Well, maybe he broke the master crystal," Shining armor replied.
"Who is Drakeheart?" Princess Cadence asked.
"He's a new friend of ours," Twilight replied. Drakeheart came out of the mine and headed straight for the shed to get his flying machine. Bakarra followed him. "Oh, there he is. The manticore following him is his friend, Bakarra. Hey Drakeheart, could you come over here for a minute?" Twilight asked. Drakeheart, who had just opened the shed door, looked over, then rolled his eyes. He slammed the door and walked over with a bit of a bad attitude. "Well, that was rude. Are you positive you're feeling ok? That didn't seem like something you would normally do," Twilight stated.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had another headache and feel rather tired. I just want to get my invention, go home, and study these samples a bit before going to sleep." Drakeheart replied.
"Jeez, and I thought I was bad when I'm tired," Bakarra stated.
"So, he's not normally like this then?" Princess Cadence asked.
"No. He was really nice when we first met him," Twilight replied.
"He was very polite when he introduced himself to me as well," Princess Luna added.
"Alright, let me try something then," Princess Cadence requested. She then performed a calming spell on Drakeheart. "Do you feel better now?" she asked.
"Yes, I actually feel a lot better. Thank you. A thousand apologies for the way I acted, there is no excuse for behaving like that," Drakeheart replied.
"Apology accepted. That spell helped calm the miners a bit, so I thought it might help for you," stated Princess Cadence. "So, did you say something about an invention?" she asked.
"Yes, it is in the shed over there. I'll go get it," Drakeheart replied. He walked to the shed, pulled his machine out, and came back over. "Here it is," he said.
"Looks impressive, what does it do?" asked Shining Armor.
"It allows whoever is wearing it to fly," Drakeheart answered.
"That sounds exciting. Can you give us a demonstration?" Princess Cadence asked.
"I'm afraid not. It requires magic to run, and I don't think I should be performing any magic right now. My head still hurts from the blast and I don't want to strain myself. Maybe next time, though," Drakeheart replied.
"Oh, ok. That's understandable," Princess Cadence replied.
As they approached the train station, Drakeheart got another headache and heard the whispers again, and this time the outside of his eyes started to turn green, but nopony saw this as he was looking at the ground when it happened. He also started to feel angry again. Princess Luna approached him and asked, "Another headache?" As she drew near, his eyes returned to normal and he calmed down.
Drakeheart looked up and said, "Yeah. I'm fine, though. You don't need to worry about me, I just need to go home and get some rest. I'm sure I'll be better by tomorrow."
"Are you sure you're ok to travel?" Applejack asked.
"Of course, it's just a train ride. It's not like I'm gonna walk all the way back to Ponyville," Drakeheart replied.
"You know, you don't have to leave yet. Why don't you stay around for a bit? We could show you around," Shining Armor stated.
"I'm good, thank you. I came to help solve what was happening and stop it, and according to you, I did just that. Besides, I'm sure there's some things back at Sweet Apple Acres that Big Macintosh and Applebloom could use help with," Drakeheart replied. He and Bakarra went up to the platform to wait for the train.
When he was out of earshot, Princess Cadence said, "One of you should go and keep an eye on him. He was acting just like the miners were, only he seems to be getting even worse faster than they did. I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to worry him."
"I'll go then. It will be easiest for me to watch him since he lives at the farm," Applejack stated.
The train pulled in and Drakeheart asked, "Is anypony else coming?"
"I am," Applejack said as she walked up.
"What about the rest of you?" Drakeheart asked.
"We're staying here. We can't help but feel like this whole thing was too easy," Twilight replied.
"Alright," Drakeheart said. He and Applejack entered the train and took their seats. "You know what, I just thought of something. Since these crystals produce a lot of energy, maybe I could use them to power my flying machine," he said.
"Maybe, but those crystals are kinda dangerous. You probably shouldn't use them like that until you know more about them," Applejack replied.
Drakeheart wasn't paying attention. "I could put the storage units on my sides at the rear just like a set of bags. That could help counterbalance the weight from the entire device, and I could slope the sides of the storage units to make them more aerodynamic. All I would have to do is make some small adjustments and add a few wires to hook them up," he said to himself
"Well, I'm glad you got that all figured out, but you shouldn't be worrying about that right now. You need to rest," Applejack said. The train then departed.
"We have a few duties we need to take care of, so everypony can relax for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, we will need you to lead us to the crystals so we may handle them," Princess Cadence stated.
"Alright, I'll send a letter to Celestia to inform her that I will be staying here tonight," said Princess Luna.
Later that night while she was preparing for bed, Twilight said "I wonder how Drakeheart is doing. I hope he's ok."
"Hey, he's one tough colt, I'm sure he's fine. Besides, he's got Applejack and Bakarra watching him," Spike replied.
"Yeah, your right. I don't know why I'm worried, they should be able to handle him," Twilight stated.
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Drakeheart was tossing and turning in his bed. In his dream, it looked like the sky was burning and he saw what appeared to be the crystal empire, only everypony was enslaved and the feeling of despair and hopelessness filled the air. He could hear the ponies crying in anguish and they all cringed in fear at his presence. He walked up to a puddle and slowly looked into it. Instead of his own reflection, staring back at him was a black alicorn whose eyes were green around the outside and red in the middle, and his horn was blood red. Drakeheart jolted awake, panting. This scared Bakarra awake. He said, "Jeez Drakeheart, you scared me. Are you alright?"
Drakeheart waited a second to calm down before responding. "Yeah, just a bad dream," he said.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Bakarra asked.
"There's nothing to talk about. It was just a dream, and now it's over. I'm not going to be able to sleep now. Maybe a nice stroll through the fields on this beautiful, cloudless night will help me relax," Drakeheart stated.
"Alright. I'm coming with you," Bakarra replied.
The next morning, Twilight woke spike up and said, "C'mon Spike, we need to go to the mine and lead Cadence and Shining Armor to the crystals."
"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Spike replied grumpily.
When they got to the mine, they saw that Princess Luna, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence had a worried look on their faces. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked
"Drakeheart had a nightmare last night," Princess Luna replied.
"So? Everypony gets nightmares sometimes," Spike stated
"Yes, but there was magic around him that prevented me from entering the dream to help him," Princess Luna said.
"Well, maybe he just cast a spell in his sleep," Spike said. Everypony stared at him. "What? It's possible," he said.
"Let's hope that's all that happened." stated Princess Cadence. They all entered the cave with Princess Luna taking the lead. While they were walking, Twilight told Princess Cadence and Shining Armor all they knew about Drakeheart, including how he took charge in the mines and found out exactly where to blast the wall.
"It sounds like he's a natural leader," Shining Armor commented.
When they got to the hole that they made, Princess Luna said, "Here we are. The crystals are just through here."
Princess Cadence and Shining Armor went through first. When they saw the crystals, Shining armor exclaimed, "Oh, no!"
"What? Do you know what they are?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"These are no ordinary crystals. These are King Sombra's crystals!" Princess Cadence exclaimed.
"THAT'S why they looked familiar," Rainbow Dash stated.
"Oh, this is bad, this is very bad. Drakeheart took a few of them with him," Twilight stated nervously.
"What?! We need to get them away from him, quick!" Shining Armor stated.
Princess Cadence noticed the center crystal and said "What's wrong with that crystal? It doesn't seem to be doing anything anymore," She said.
"That's the crystal Drakeheart touched," replied Twilight.
Shining Armor went up to it and inspected it. "I can feel King Sombra's presence on this crystal rather well, but it isn't fresh. Part of his soul must have been trapped in here," he stated.
"And when Drakeheart touched the crystal, King Sombra's soul must have transferred into him, of course! That's why he was acting strange," Twilight concluded.
"That is also why the miners were acting strange. We need to destroy every last one of these crystals so this can never happen again," Princess Cadence stated. Then She, Shining Armor, and Princess Luna charged up and performed a powerful spell that destroyed all the crystals in the cavern. "Hopefully there aren't any more hidden caverns like this," Princess Cadence said.
"I'll stay here to watch the Crystal Empire," Shining Armor stated.
"And I will fly to Canterlot to warn Celestia, the rest of you go to Ponyville to get the crystals away from Drakeheart before they can corrupt him any further. Hopefully, we're not too late," Princess Luna stated.
When they arrived back at Ponyville, they immediately ran for Sweet Apple Acres. As soon as they got there, Twilight asked, "Where's Drakeheart?"
"He's around here somewhere. He got his flying machine to work by using those crystals to power it. He can fly almost as fast as Rainbow Dash with that thing," Applejack replied.
"Well, that's impressive, but we need to get those crystals AWAY from him. They're King Sombra's crystals," Twilight stated, slightly distraught.
They heard the sound of an engine and beating wings. Drakeheart and Bakarra flew in at high speed, then landed a few feet away from Applejack. "Whew, that was a heap of fun. If these crystals can power my flying machine, just imagine what else I can do with them. I could make mechanical parts for disabled ponies so they can walk again almost naturally, or maybe I could even use them to create an entire mechanical pony!" Drakeheart stated excitedly. He then started to get a little evil and said, "Maybe, just maybe, if I can get enough crystals and materials, I bet I could make a life-size mechanical dragon that can breathe fire and everything!" He then quickly added, "You know, to protect cities from real dragons."
"Mechanical ponies and dragons? Don't you think that's a little farfetched? Technology just isn't there yet, and probably won't be for a long time," Bakarra stated.
"Maybe not, but I'm smart enough that I could probably figure something out," Drakeheart replied. He looked over and noticed that everypony was staring at him. "Umm, can I help you?" he asked.
"Actually Drakeheart, you can. You see, those crystals we found… we found something out about them," Twilight said, trying to find a way to say it without upsetting him.
"Yeah, what is it?" Drakeheart asked as he was getting a little impatient.
"Well, they're…" Twilight stammered, but Rainbow Dash cut her off as she was also getting impatient.
"We need them back," Rainbow Dash said.
"What? Why?!" Drakeheart angrily demanded to know.
"They're evil, we need to destroy them," Twilight replied.
"Do you really expect me to believe that? No, you just want their power for yourselves whereas I am using their power for science and technology," Drakeheart stated angrily. He got another headache. He stumbled and put his hoof to his forehead while looking at the ground. They started to walk towards him. "STAY BACK!" he yelled. He used a spell to create a small earthquake around them, causing them to fall to the ground and forcing spikes of rock to thrust up out of the ground.
"We are telling the truth. We know you are just trying to protect your studies and inventions but those crystals must be destroyed," Princess Cadence stated as they got back up.
"LIARS!" Drakeheart exploded. "I won't let you take them from me!" he yelled.
"Drakeheart, please calm down," Twilight pleaded.
"Drakeheart?" Drakeheart said. The edges of his eyes turned green while the middles remained red and his teeth grew sharp and long as he let out an evil laugh. "There is no more Drakeheart. I am Prince Blackheart, and those crystals are MINE!" Blackheart stated. He flew back to the barn, grabbed the bag of crystals, and took off.
"I'll get him," Rainbow Dash stated as she bolted after him.
"Be careful!" Twilight yelled. As Rainbow Dash was following Blackheart, he turned around and temporarily blinded her with a magic light spell. As she was blinded, he dove into the Everfree Forest. When Rainbow Dash's sight returned, she realized that she had lost him, so she returned to the others.
"I lost him. I think he went into the Everfree Forest, but I'm not sure because he blinded me," Rainbow Dash stated. Just then, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna arrived.
"Did you get the crystals away from him?" asked Princess Luna.
"Unfortunately, no. He grabbed them and took off before we could stop him," Princess Cadence answered.
"And he changed. He said his name is Prince Blackheart now," Rainbow Dash added.
"This is not good. If what Luna has told me is true and he really does come from a long line of powerful unicorns, that means that magic runs through his blood, making him inherently powerful. The change would have been caused by King Sombre successfully fusing with him, which means he also has all of King Sombra's powers now, quite possibly making him the most powerful unicorn in the history of Equestria. Seeing as he is an inventor and successfully made a flying contraption that doesn't require magic means that he is also highly intelligent. The combination of these things makes him extremely dangerous. We will not be able to take him head on," Princess Celestia stated.
"We can't take him by surprise either. He knows too much about us so he will be able to predict our moves, and his perception skills will let him see us coming from a mile away. What are we supposed to do?" asked Twilight, who was starting to lose hope.
"Don't lose hope, there has to be a way to beat him," said Princess Celestia.
"If only I had gone into the mines with you when you discovered the crystals, I could have destroyed them then and there, and none of this would be happening," Princess Cadence stated.
"Perhaps I could be of assistance," stated a mysterious voice. Everypony looked around to find who said it. It was Discord, who had landed in one of the trees while they were talking.
"Discord! What are you doing here?" Applejack asked.
"Well, Fluttershy sent me a letter saying that you all made a new friend, Drakeheart was it? She told me he was an inventor and had a white manticore for a friend. I grew curious, so I came over to visit and see him for myself," Discord responded.
"Alright, but how can you help? I'm not sure if we can trust you to confront him as he may be able to corrupt you, too," Twilight asked.
"That may be true, but that's not how I intended to help. Remember, I was a powerful and evil creature as well, so I may be able to predict his moves," said Discord.
"We already know what he's going to do. He's going to try to take over the Crystal Empire, just like King Sombra," Rainbow Dash stated.
"That is incorrect, my dear friend," Discord replied. "He is only part King Sombra, so he is not quite the same as him. Besides, he knows that he will be more powerful than anypony else, so he won't settle for just the Crystal Empire. He is going to go for all of Equestria. But, he is not at full power, yet. The longer he is near those crystals, the faster his power will grow. If I were him, I would lay low for a while to gain more power, then go to take over the least guarded major city in Equestria to establish my power and work my way up from there," he said.
"That's… actually really smart, which means it's exactly what he's going to do," Princess Cadence replied. "What is the least guarded city?" she asked.
"That would be Manehattan. It is so big that everypony would think that nothing would attack them, and all the ponies there are always so busy that they would never see it coming. When he attacks, almost all the ponies would go into a panic rather than fight back due to shock and fear, which will make it even easier for him. They wouldn't stand a chance," Bakarra stated. Everypony stared at him in disbelief at what he said. "What? When you've been around a pony as smart as Drakeheart as long as I have, it tends to rub off on you," he said.
"Heh, I know all about that," Spike said.
"Alright, we know what he is going to do. Now, how do we stop him?" Twilight asked.
"Bakarra, you know Drakeheart better than anypony else, is there something about him that can help us? Any weaknesses, anything at all?" Fluttershy asked.
"Unfortunately, I don't think he has any weaknesses. He is very strong, is completely fearless, and he doesn't have any allergies. His perception skills are incredible, he is super smart, and he does very well under pressure. He's practically unbeatable," Bakarra replied. He thought for a minute, then said, "Wait… there IS one thing."
"What is it?" asked Princess Luna.
"You," Bakarra replied.
"What?!" Princess Luna exclaimed.
"I've never thought about it before. He was very calm when you were around him, and he use to talk in his sleep about how he wished he could get a chance to meet you. He also loves taking strolls through the night, but I see now that it wasn't the night or the walks that he enjoyed, it was the fact that you are the one that brings the night. Princess Luna, I think he loves you." Bakarra stated.
"Yeah, that would explain why he froze up on the train at the Crystal Empire, and why he was even nicer to you than he was to us," Applejack said.
"How will that help us?" Princess Luna asked.
"You can distract him for me while I try to get close enough to perform a paralysis spell on him. I'll think of what to do with him from there," Princess Celestia replied. "He will most likely try to get you to side with him. Whatever you do, don't let him get in your head," she added.
"Wait. Princess Celestia, if you, Princess Luna, or I go to Manehattan, everypony will start an uproar of excitement and Blackheart will know something is up. We need to find a way to disguise ourselves first," Princess Cadence stated
"I can help with that," Discord said. "All I would need to do is take your wings and change your colors, and for you Celestia, I would need to solidify your mane and tail, which will be a little tricky. Although, for this plan to work, Princess Luna will have to stay the same, so she needs to find a way to avoid being seen until Blackheart arrives. Perhaps a large, hooded trench coat will do the trick," he stated.
"What's in it for you?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"Isn't the fact that we're friends a good enough reason to help?" Discord asked. They all glared at him with their eyes slightly lowered. "Alright, I was going to watch the big fight quietly from the sidelines. It should be a good show. Don't worry though, I'm going to have myself disguised as some object so he won't notice me," he stated.
"That's not a good idea, Discord. If he does end up finding you, it could be bad," Twilight said.
"Actually Twilight, that is a good idea, so long as he stays out of sight. If things really go wrong, he can help us. Right, Discord?" Fluttershy said.
Discord sighed and said, "Of course. Anything for you, Fluttershy."
"Will you be able to turn us back afterwards?" Princess Cadence asked.
"Of course I can, that's the easiest part," Discord replied.
Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia looked at each other for a second in contemplation, then back at Discord. "Alright Discord, do your thing," Princess Celestia stated.
"With pleasure," Discord said. He removed their wings and made Princess Cadence white with pink eyes, mane, and tail. He made Princess Celestia blue with green eyes, mane, and tail. "Finished," he said as he summoned a mirror for them to look into.
"Good job, Discord. Nopony will recognize us like this," Princess Cadence remarked.
"Of course not, I don't even recognize you," Discord replied. He then said, "And for you, Luna." He created a coat and handed it to her.
Princess Luna put the coat on and said, "Alright, there's no time to waste. Let's go."
"Wait, are we all really going to Manehattan and leave the rest of Equestria unguarded? What if Blackheart attacks someplace else?" Rarity asked.
"Don't worry, he won't," Bakarra replied reassuringly.
"How do you know that?" Pinkie Pie asked
"Please, I've lived with Drakeheart almost my entire life. I think I know him well enough to accurately predict his actions in just about any situation," Bakarra stated.
They all got on the train and headed for Manehattan. When they got there, Princess Celestia said, "Alright, let's go over the plan again. Princess Luna will distract Blackheart by talking to him. I'll sneak up behind him while he's distracted and paralyze him, while the rest of you stay out of sight, but stay close by incase things go wrong. Until he shows up, we will patrol the city looking for signs of him. Let's hope this plan works, because if we don't stop him here, we may never be able to stop him."
After a few hours went by, they heard ponies screaming and saw them start running. One of the ponies yelled, "Somepony help, there's a crazy unicorn destroying town square!"
"That's our queue," Princess Luna stated as she took of her coat. She started running for town square with the others close behind. When they got close, they all hid behind the surrounding buildings.
They could hear Blackheart yelling things like, "Go ahead, run, you can't escape me" and, "Soon I will rule you all!"
"Alright Discord, I know you can hear me. Change us back now, please" Princess Celestia said.
"Fine," Discord said. He came out of his hiding spot and snapped his fingers, turning Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence back to normal. "It would have been more fun if you would have stayed like that," he mumbled.
Princess Luna took a deep breath, walked out, and said, "Prince Blackheart."
Blackheart's eyes narrowed and he turned around. He said "Well, well, well." He then landed. "If it isn't Princess Luna. What, did Princess Celestia send you because she didn't want to get her hooves dirty? That's pretty low of her to send her own sister to deal with her problems instead of dealing with them herself," he stated, trying to psych her out.
"It is, isn't it? That is something she would do," Princess Luna replied as she started to circle around him to draw his attention away from the building the others were hiding behind. "But, that's not why I'm here," she stated.
"Oh? Then why ARE you here?" Blackheart asked, slowly following her.
"I came because I figured you would end up being the victor and I wanted to join the winning side," Princess Luna replied. At this point, Princess Celestia decided that Blackheart was turned around enough and started slowly moving in. "Besides, a prince needs someone to rule by his side," Princess Luna stated.
"Really? You want to become Nightmare Moon again?" Blackheart asked in disbelief.
"Of course. Together we would be unstoppable and we could teach my wretched sister a lesson that she shan't soon forget," Princess Luna responded.
"Heh, I like the sound of that," Blackheart said. Just then, one of Princess Celestia's shoes scraped a piece of glass on the ground. Blackheart turned around and saw her. She quickly took her shot, but Blackheart teleported out of the way and the paralysis spell headed for Princess Luna, who jumped out of the way just in time.
"Give up, Celestia. That was your only chance, and you blew it," Blackheart stated.
"I will never surrender, my friends and I will defeat you," Princess Celestia stated. Upon hearing this, the others came out from behind the building and started to walk towards her.
Blackheart simply shot lightning at them to back them out of the area, then enclosed all of town square in a giant, thick crystal. "They can't help you now," he said. He paused a minute, then, while shaking his head, said, "Using your younger sister as bait… that's even worse than sending her to face me on her own. I have to hand it to her though, she was very convincing. It was almost as if she meant every word she said." Princess Luna prepared to charge him, but he spellbound her so she couldn't move or perform any magic. "Uh, uh, uh. We don't want you to get hurt now, do we? This is between me and Celestia, not you," he said. Princess Celestia started to try to blast him, but he kept dodging her, each blast slightly weakening the crystal wall. "You're a terrible shot, you know that?" Blackheart stated, trying to make her angry. She flew up into the air and started to charge a powerful blast. Blackheart did the same. Their beams met in the middle of the "arena". Blackheart focused his beam immensely and it started to push forward. "You know you can't win," he said. Just before the beam reached her, she flew out of the way. The beam hit the crystal wall and it cracked all the way up to the top. A section of it fell down and landed on Princess Luna. "LUNA, NOOO!" Blackheart screamed as he darted down to her before Princess Celestia even realized what had happened. Blackheart quickly flung the crystal pieces off of her. She was badly injured and unconscious. "No… what have I done?" Blackheart said to himself, his eyes starting to return to normal. He performed a small healing spell on her that he remembered, which wasn't much, but it was enough for her to regain consciousness. "Don't worry, Blackheart won't hurt you anymore, or anypony for that matter," Drakeheart said. He then started to walk towards the center of the area. "What are you doing? I'm a part of you now. If you destroy me, you'll destroy yourself!" Blackheart exclaimed. "I don't care, if it means that you can't hurt Princess Luna anymore, then it will be worth it," Drakeheart replied, and he started to charge up a very powerful spell. He started to float. "What?! No… no… NOOO!" Blackheart yelled as he was consumed in a ball of bright light. After a few moments, the ball of light exploded, purifying everything within a few hundred yards. The crystals in the bag and in the flying machine disintegrated, as did the giant crystal surrounding them. Drakeheart fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless.
Drakeheart awoke in a hospital bed several days later. "What… where am I? What happened?" he asked.
Princess Celestia walked over and said, "You're in the Manehattan hospital. You performed the most powerful purification spell I have ever seen, getting rid of Prince Blackheart forever. But, since he was part of you, it destroyed part of your soul, which almost killed you. Luckily I was able to perform a recovery spell on you fast enough to save you."
"What about Princess Luna, is she alright?" Drakeheart asked.
Princess Luna, who was in the bed next to his, pulled the curtain open and said, "Yes, I'm fine."
Drakeheart looked over at her and said, "Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry I hurt you so badly." He then looked at Princess Celestia and said, "I'm sorry for everything I've done. Can either of you ever forgive me?"
"Hey, you healed me enough to save me, then almost killed yourself to protect me. I'd say we're pretty even," Princess Luna replied.
"Besides, that wasn't really you that did all those things, you couldn't control yourself. What matters is that, in the end, you were able to defeat yourself and right your wrongs," Princess Celestia stated.
"Thank you for your forgiveness," Drakeheart replied. Just then, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Bakarra looked into the room.
"You're up. How are you feeling?" Bakarra asked.
"Pretty good, actually," Drakeheart replied.
"Hey, Drakeheart. Do you maybe want to go do something togeather sometime once we get out of here?" Princess Luna asked.
"What?!" Drakeheart asked, staring at her in disbelief.
"I know you like me Drakeheart, and I've decided that I should give you a chance. So, do you want to hang out sometime?" Princess Luna asked again.
Drakeheart paused for a moment, still unable to believe that she was asking him out. He smiled, then said, "Yes… I would like that very much."