"The lady of the dark?" asked twilight staring at me with her big glowing eyes. We were making our way through the forest. It was a cool morning from what I could tell. I'm not sure exactly how early it is in the morning, but I was told that the sun had risen about an hour ago.
"Who is this… lady of the dark?" asked thunder.
"is she the one who did that to you?" asked Martukus giving me an open stare. I glared back at him for a second before responding.
"Yes…" I said. He glared at me a while longer and we all walked onward in awkward silence until he turned around.
"It's obvious that she's trying to reach out to you for some reason." Said Martukus keeping his gaze set forward. "Has she spoken to you?" he asked.
"Y-yes…" I replied. I could feel the wave of surprise cover twilight.
"she has… when?" she asked.
"Last night… and just a moment ago." I said. "She keeps calling me 'her love'."
"'her love'?" quoted thunder.
"I'm not sure why but I don't like the sound of it…" I said. "we should try and get to a town before night falls, I don't like spending time in this forest."
"agreed." Said Martukus. "According to the map there isn't much forest left between us and the next town. But there's something written here in red up close. Some kind of red X with strange stallasain writing next to it." He said.
"I'm guessing you don't know what it says." I said.
"Not a clue…" he said.
"Well… whatever it is, I'm sure it was just a landmark the innkeeper put down. This is his map after all." I said. "Don't worry about it." I said. We pushed on down the path and we kept moving through. Something had occurred to me though. The entire time that I was up last night and since I had been in the incident that blinded me, I hadn't thrown up any blood or slime since then. I thought about that and with the dark lady whispering in my ear all last night I should have been tagging the forest with puke.
" I kinda wish things would be easy for a change." Said thunder.
" yeah, we all do... But nothing can really ever be easy." Replied twilight.
" I can testify to that..." I said. Everypony laughed and chuckled and we carried on with smiles on our faces. I managed to lighten the mood a bit and we trotted down the path telling a few jokes and funny stories. The air in the sky started to really warm up and was only complimented by a cool summer like breeze. If I had to guess though, it should be about spring back home in Equestria. I couldn't see the sun, but I could feel its warm rays shining down from the sky. "hey twilight..." I said
" yeah crimson..." She said in a chipper voice.
" can you tell me what the sky looks like?" I asked.
" uhh... Sure crimson." She said. Her head looked up to the sky. " it's a cloudless day today and the sun I beating down from behind us. There are a few birds flying high up in the air."
" thanks twilight." I said. She smiled and we kept walking down the road. After a while of walking down the road the temperatures rose slightly and the forest seemed to get a bit thinner than it was a while back. The path gee larger and a bit wider than before, it looked like you could pull a few carriages down this road. As we walked onward I felt something... Something different. It wasn't pure evil I was feeling, but it was unsettling. I didn't say anything but I looked over to martukus who seemed to eye the forest around us suspiciously. I could tell that he could sense the danger too. I think that red X on the map might have been important. Thankfully me and martukus had already dawned our armor and were ready for whatever would come our way.
Soon there was a sudden rustle in the bushes and I turned to look. I stopped and forced the others to stop with me. Twilight and thunder didn't say anything but they looked at me with confusion. The bush rustled again which grabbed their attention. We looked at the bush ready for a fight. It rustled again and then our attackers leapt from the bush like a rabbit. In fact... It was a rabbit. I saw a white fluffy outline of a bunny leap out from the bushes and onto the road. I let out a deep sigh and chuckled a bit as well as martukus. The rabbit swiftly hopped away and we began to turn around to go back. Suddenly there was a whirling in the wind and a rigid thud followed by a yell of pain.
"AAAHHHH..." Yelled martukus who was stricken with an arrow to the neck and he fell. Twilight and thunder scrambled and panicked and I did as well. Soon ponies leapt out from the bushes and dropped down from the trees. They were everywhere and their energies faded and blended in, there were too many that I couldn't tell where any of them were. Twilight screamed and thunder yelled out in rage. They started to glow and fired bolts of magic to try and defend themselves. I felt somepony tugging on my bags and I quickly turned and bucked them in the head.
" crimson... Help." Yelled twilight. I felt more enemies around me. I tried to cleave my way through the bandits but I couldn't tell anything apart. Something hit me in the back, but my armor was doing a good job of protecting me. I started using my magic to slash through all the energies I didn't recognize. Twilight screamed again and I pushed through the bandits. They had grabbed her and thunder and were hauling them away. There was a large cart with a cage on it that the bandits had thrown my friends in. They closed the cage and looked to me. They tried to fight me and they yelled out attacks but a slashed through every single bandit that approached me.
" let my friends go..." I shouted. I cleaved my way through bandits but something stung me on the neck. That sting soon turned into a raging pain and I placed ,y hoof around the arrow that just pierced through my neck. I began to get dizzy and soon collapsed onto the ground. A few bandits tugged away at me and grabbed the bags I was wearing. Instead of grabbing me too they just left me there to die and they left with twilight and thunder.
" crimson... Help us..." Yelled twilight from behind the bars of the cage. " crimson..." She yelled one last time before they grew too far and I had grown too faint. I started to fade to of consciousness and soon fell into darkness. In my head a went through everything I could have done differently. I hoped to wake up quickly before something bad happens to them. I then thought about how easily this could have been avoided if I had my sight. While I can get around like this normally it just isn't the same. Soon as I was now approaching the verge of consciousness I heard something like hoofsteps and the creaking of wagon wheels. Then there was a voice, an older, elderly mares voice.
" wait... Stop." She said calmly. Soon the hoofsteps stopped and the creaking wheels stopped as well. There was a brief silence before a pair of hooves hit the ground and started to walk over. I was now fading into reality slowly. I lazily started to open my eyes to see a white outline of a mare walking rot over to me. I let out a low moan. " here... He must be the one... I can feel it." Said the elderly voice. Her voice was soft and caring.
" are you sure Madame Roza?" Asked a stallion from the carriage.
" yes I'm sure... He is the one I've felt since he came here." She said. She walked up to me and I managed to roll over a bit to get a better look at her. There was another set of hoofsteps coming over and soon a brown outline came into my view.
" Madame Roza... He has an arrow in his neck." Said the stallion. " I don't believe he is the hero you thought him to be, he must not be long for this world now."
" nade uh ga sumeè" she said in some strange language. It rung in my head as strange but it seemed oddly familiar. It must be stallasian.
"Su... Da sumeè." Said the stallion.
" can you hear me hero..." Asked the mare.
" ughh... Y- yes..." I muttered.
" good... Now hold on, this might hurt." She said placing her hoof around the arrow in my neck. She slowly started to pull the arrow out and I grit and writhed in pain on the ground. One the arrow tore out of my neck I let out a slight yell of pain and grit my teeth even harder. " are you the one they call crimson?" She asked.
"How do you know my name?" I asked. Having the arrow torn out of my neck supplied me with a kick of adrenaline which helped me wake up. I slowly crawled over onto my stomach and slowly staggered to my feet.
" I am Madame Roza." She said. " I believe you have been looking for me." She said.
" you... Are you the spirit healer?" I asked.
" indeed I am child." She said with a smile.
" how long have I been out?" I asked.
" only an hour from the looks of these poor bandit bastards." Said the stallion form the carriage.
" we've been looking for each other. I'm glad we found you before another night had passed." She said. " hero... Can you please remove the blindfold from your face." She asked.
" I can't... The sunlight burns my eyes." I said.
" don't worry... It won't burn." She said. " please take off the blindfold." She repeated. I was reluctant to reach over and grab the blindfold. I untied it from. Behind me and pulled it off. I kept my eyes closed tight, but the light didn't hurt. I slowly opened my eyes and the sunlight wasn't burning me. I blinked a few times, it felt good to have that thing off my face, though it didn't help at all with my vision.
" can... Can you heal me?" I asked.
" yes... I can..." She said. " please lay down over here." She said walking over to the road behind the cart. She walked me over and placed me behind the cart. I slowly laid down on my back and looked at her. " now, stay very still... I'm going to heal you, but you have to fight to push the darkness out of you." She said.
" alright..." I said.
" whenever your ready to begin child..." She said. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. I swallowed my concern and got ready to go.
" alright... I'm ready." I said.
" good..." She said. "Zakiel... Get my bag for me please." She said looking over to the other stallion.
" yes Madame Roza." He said running to the carriage and grabbing something obediently. I couldn't see the bag but he placed some invisible item next to Roza and she smiled. She started pulling things out of the bag which seemed invisible to me too. Next she pulled out a little bag which was very visible to me. It was glowing the brightest white I've seen. She reached her hoof in and sprinkled this white glowing glitter in a circle around me. She placed the bag back and smiled.
" are you ready?" She asked one last time. I just nodded and she smiled. The other stallion stepped away from the circle of light around me and Roza placed her two hooves on the edge of the circle and closed her eyes. Then she started talking in stallasian again. " nomé îs nòr mas ga da shûn." She recited. She repeated that phrase over and over again and soon the circle of light started to blow and soon the simple circle turned into a cylinder of light than encased me. So all I could see was white. Just white everything. I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was in a strangely familiar white land. It was completely flat and seemingly endless.
I looked around and when I turned around to look behind me I saw myself. Although it wasn't really me, it was a complete shadow version of myself. Glowing white eyes with nothing but darkness to make up its being. She said I had to fight back the darkness, this must be what she meant. Without hesitation the black shadow version of me started charging at me. I soon took charge and did the same. We both charged at each other and we clashed. The clash seemed to shatter this world around me and the white world seemed to break like glass and shattered into darkness. The only light left was a faint glow from behind me, like a light at the end of the tunnel. Me and my shadow self bucked heads and tried to push each other back.
I wasn't doing well. The shadow version of me started to force me back wards and as he did I soon started to fade as well as the light from behind me. He pushed me back little by little until I called up any strength I had and kept him from forcing me back. At this point I looked like a ghost and the light behind me was almost invisible. If I loose this, then it's over. He pushed me back one more inch and a sudden rush of memories returned to me. Everything I had forgotten over the thousand years of training, all of it had returned to me in one flash. And to my advantage those memories gave me hope, purpose, and with that they gave me the will to fight back and the power to do so. I let out a shout of war and started to force the shadow back. It's eyes opened wide like it was afraid that I was going to win. He tried pushing back but I kept forcing him away. The light behind me, including myself, began to glow brighter and brighter.
" this is my body..." I shouted. " you can't have it, not after everything I've been through, you can't have me, I won't let you take everything away from me..." I shouted and with that I started to charge him backwards at an almost running pace now. The world grew brighter and brighter until the darkness shattered around me and I was launched backwards into a spiraling world of light. And suddenly everything was blindingly white. That white light soon faded into the world around me. Every color of the sky and forest filled my eyes all at once and I could see again. I let out a gasp and a yell of surprise as I shot up from the ground like waking up from a bad dream. I looked around and the first pony I saw warm Madame Roza.
She was an elderly mare who was wrinkled and old, but still somewhat appealing. She had white fur with brown hair. Her mane was tied back in a bun and her tail was draped and straightened. She had blue eyes and a white smile. Her cutie mark was a yellow flower which resembled a rose. She was wearing a black sundress with flared legs and a lace back. The more I looked at the dress the more horrifically similar it looked like the one I saw on the dark lady. The other stallion was just a brown stallion with black hair. He wasn't wearing anything and his mane and tail were rather unkempt. The road was littered with torn and sliced up corpses of bandits wearing leather armor and carrying swords. I was so relieved to actually be able to see.
" thank you Madame Roza..." I said smiling. " if there's anything you need... I am in your dept." I said.
" I don't want you to be in my dept." she said. " but I do want you to do something for me." She said.
" what is it... Anything?" I said.
" I'm sure you know of the lady of the dark." She said.
"Yes... I do." I said in a more serious tone of voice.
" you must defeat her..." She said. " she is too dangerous for this world... And I haven't been able to fight her myself."
" I have to ask something of you Madame Roza." I said.
" what is it child?" She asked.
" your related to her... Aren't you." I said. She seemed a bit surprised by this. " there's a connection between the two of you...I can feel it." She looked at me and then turned over to the other stallion.
"Zaniel... Leave us... I must speak to crimson alone..." She said. The stallion nodded his head obediently and walked away into the woods and out of earshot. She turned to me and took a deep breath and let it all out. " the lady of the dark... If my sister." She said.
" y-your sister." I stammered.
" yes... She has been terrorizing these forests for almost five hundred years." She said.
" how... How old are you really?" I asked.
" I'm going to be 478 next month." Se said smiling. " allow me top explain." She said. " me and her aren't normal ponies. In fact... We're the same pony." She said.
" is there a story behind this?" I asked.
" yes... And you deserve to know it." She said.
So she told me her story. A long long time ago, almost four hundred years there was a little girl named Alba Roza. She lived in a small village just off the edge of the forsaken land in the eastern blight. She loved playing outside when she was just a filly and would play in the woods every day. Her mother and father would let he replay in the woods because during the day it was a very safe place, but she always had to be home at night because it would get to dangerous. The night was always dangerous since the great eruption of the volcano but the lady of the dark only made it much more dangerous. So she would play in the woods and sit down by the stream and look at all the fish that swam through the water.
Then, one day she was playing in the woods and went in deeper than she had ever gone before. It was a particularly nice day that day and she was having lots of fun. That day was a special day too. It was the stallasian holiday celebrating the dead, so she was wearing a black dress. The Holliday was called 'Diam nos Mortès' or, month of the dead. It was a month long celebration where they have to wear black dresses every day in honor of the dead. She played in the woods in her black lace gown and she was having so much fun. But soon it started to get dark, very dark. She tried finding her way back home... But she had gone too far into the forest and she didn't know her way around. It wasn't long before she came to the grim conclusion that she was lost. Soon enough night fell and the forest was dark.
She sat there in the forest scared and lonely. She began to cry and cry hoping that maybe somepony would come and save her, some kind of hero... But nopony came to help her. So she sat there in the dark scary forest crying, until somepony called out to her. She stopped crying and looked around for the pony who had called her name. When she looked around she found that it wasn't a pony who called her name... But a pixie. The little pixie helped lighten up the scared filly and soon they became friends. The pixie helped little Alba Roza out of the forest and back home. Her parents were relieved that she was out of the forest and she was reunited at last. She told her parents about the pixie that helped her but they never saw it.
The next day Alba Roza went back into the forest and when she got there she met the pixie again. They would play together all day in the forest and have fun. The pixies name was xena and she was a little pixie, not much bigger than a dandelion. So xena and Roza would play in the forest all day and each day xena would lead Roza a little deeper into the forest. Roza liked it, she liked seeing new parts of the forest and she didn't care that it got dark because every night xena would take Roza back home to her parents. Her parents were mad that she kept staying out in the forest during the night because they knew it was dangerous. Roza tried talking to her parents and told them about xena but they didn't believe her. They had no choice but to keep her from going back to the woods. This made Roza sad.
For the next week Roza wasn't allowed back into the forest. Each night she would cry herself to sleep thinking that she would loose her best friend xena. So one night Roza laid in her bed crying when there was a slight tap on the window. When she looked over she say xena. Roza was instantly filled with joy and happiness. Xena said that she missed Roza and she wanted to play again. Roza said she wasn't allowed back in the forest again. After a bit of persuasion the two of the, came up with a plan for them to be together again and they can have fun. Xena left and Roza went to bed with a smile in her face. The next day went by and it was time for xena and Roza to execute their clever plan.
In the later hours of the day when Roza's parents were at the market getting groceries for dinner tonight Roza was going to escape. Her parents had hired a baby sitter though since they are usually off at work, but the baby sitter was a horrible stallion. He would ignore Roza and he drank constantly. Luckily Roza usually was in the woods so she didn't have to put up with him too often. Roza went downstairs into the livingroom to see the babysitter sitting In a chair passed out with a bottle of alcohol in his hoof. Roza smiled at her chance and crept past the babysitter. She such outside and laughed and giggled as she ran away into the forest.
She ran into the forest and was rejoined by xena. Rosa knew that when her parents got back home and saw she wasn't their they would be furious. Roza didn't want to go back though, she wanted to stay in the forest with xena. Xena told Roza about a magical pixie city where she can run and laugh and play in the woods whenever she wanted and nopony would stop her. Being a young filly Roza was open to the idea and was with xena every step of the way. Xena, however, wasn't who she claimed to be... She would have other plans for the foolish filly. Roza's parents were right when they told her that the forest was dangerous at night, and now she is going to see why.
So xena lead Roza into the forest deeper than she ever imagined. It was late at night now and everything was dark. But Roza wasn't afraid, she had xena with her. As long as they were together nothing could happen to her. Eventually they came across a cave that was dug into a very large and steep hill. Xena lead Roza through the cave telling her that the pixie city was at the end of the cave. They both walked through the dark cave and soon they came into a large open room in the cave. There were large steps leading down to some kind of reflective pool. There were large glowing crystals on the walls and ceiling that lit the room up and all kinds of plants and mushrooms grew along the cavern. Xena lead Roza over to the pool.
Roza walked up to the pool and looked at her own reflection in the water. Xena snuck up behind her... And pushed poor Roza into the water. Roza screamed as she fell in and was engulfed in the water. The pixie laughed in a sadisctic and cruel voice much different from the one Roza was used to. Roza tried to swim out of the water... But it seemed endless. Soon the water turned black around her and she started screaming. The darkness of the water was drowning her. Dark tendrils rose up from the abyss below her and held her down. All
This time the pixie laughed at the child's suffering and screams of pain, help, and betrayal.
Dark tentacles rose up from the ground and tore her black dress she was wearing for the month of the dead celebration. It was cut and torn and soon the tentacles reached her. They cut into her flesh and tore away at her skin as she screamed and cried in pain. Two dark claws emerged from the darkness. They inched closer to her face and tore out her eyes. She screamd even louder in pain and was crying uncontrollably. The darkness entered her and tore her apart. Se was torn in half, not physically... But spiritually. Her fur faded to grey and her hair was stained black. The light was ripped from her and she was left with only darkness and hate. She was thrown from the water beated, broken, tortured, and bleeding from every inch of her body. She was crying now. She didn't have her eyes, so there were no tears. Her cries were a mix of devastation, pain, betrayal, and utter and soul rushing defeat.
The only friend had just thrown her away and tortured her. She should have listened to her mother and father, now she is broken and without light or happiness. The pixie flew around the crying and suffering child mocking her, calling her names like stupid, and idiot. The pixie only added insult to injury. But not to the pixies knowing the darkness that had entered her was giving her power. Soon her sadness and suffering turned to untold anger and rage. She began screaming out in fury as the caves shook and the earth trembled. The child let out a fierce shout and in one fell swoop released a hidden darkness that was buried for as long as time itself. The entire forest, even the village that the girl called home was engulfed in darkness.
Every living thing was swallowed whole by her shadows. Animals, plants and ponies alike were ravaged by the dark tendrils and claws she hid in her darkness. Nothing survived, she even feasted upon her parents who were at home crying over their lost daughter. Nothing survived, not even the fairy who Roza had trusted to be her friend. Once the darkness settle the only thing left was the dirt ground and the blood soaked ruins of the forest and the village. She let out one more shout of fury and with it a large beam of dark energy fired up into the air and broke through the car vent ceiling revealing the night sky. Full of hatred and sadness she left the cave and would haunt these woods for all of time. She would no longer be known as Alba Roza. She would be known as Nightshade, The Lady Of The Dark.
Then... One morning. The night had finally cleared, everything was silent. The sun rose up a over the hole in the cave. The suns light shone down into the cave and the light hit the pool of water. The black water now shone a bright white and glowed furiously. And from the water... Emerged another little filly. The light that was taken from Roza had also been given a physical form. I little white hoof emerged from the water and pulled up the rest of the girl. Whe was soaking wet with blue eyes and long brown hair. The little filly rose up from the water and crawled up onto the shore. She coughed and choked and cried. She was lost, confused. She was Roza... But not the real Roza. She was the light taken from Roza. She had all the same memories and experiencs, she remembers all the pain and the betrayal. She laid there and cried.
Thus the sisters were born Into this world. They were unable to touch each other since they must forever remain separated. They would go on their own paths. The lady of the dark, nightshade would go on and terrorize anypony who should go outside into the forest at night. Roza would heal anypony who survived and encounter with nightshade. She looked at them as sisters, but they were the same poor pony who was betrayed and suffered unjustly. They cannot harm each other since they are the same and must be forever separated. If Roza is slain, then nightshade will continue to live on. But if nightshade is slain then Roza will die with her.
Roza finished her story and looked at me with her blue eyes. I sat there and stared at her in shock and awe. That was certainly one hell of a story. I could feel the truth in her, she isn't lying. She looked at me with regret and sorrow. I could see the memories of that horrifying night flash through her eyes and I felt the pain she did. She looked like she was going to cry. She had her head down and she sniffed back her tears. I placed my hoof under her muzzle and picked her head up. She looked at me with curiosity and then smiled like she could take it, but telling this story was eating her up inside, I could feel it.
" don't worry Roza..." I said. " I'll be sure to put the two of you to rest and end your suffering." I said making her smile.
" thank you hero... I knew from the second I sensed your energy I knew that only you had a light bright enough to silence the darkness that has consumed Alba for so long."
" I'll make sure it happens... But right now I need to find my friends before it gets dark." I said.
" you needn't worry about her attacking you again." Said Roza. " as long as my light in inside of you she can't touch you, but it will only draw her ever so closer to you." She said. " I need to know, are you ready to kill her if you must?" She asked. I smiled at her.
" don't worry..." I said standing up and flashing my wings out to the side. I flashed with bright light and my armor materialized across my body and my whole being started to glow vibrantly. " I can handle it,vi promise I will end her suffering."
" thank you hero..." She said.
" I have to ask so wing of you..." I said, she just nodded and gestured for me to continue. " my friends were taken by bandits... I need to know where they are."
" ahh I thought you would ask that." She said. " they must be at aurora right now." She said.
" what is that?" It asked.
" it's the next town over, it seen overrun by bandits a long time ago and it has been turned into a bandit city. They are probably there in the old dungeon." She said getting up and whistling as the other stallion exited the woods. They both walked up to the cart. " make haste hero... They are in danger... Go." She said. I smiled as Roza got up and got back on her cart. The other stallion got on too and they started heading off. She smiled and waved to me as she left and I waved too. Once they were gone I looked up to the sky and saw it was getting dark now. I smiled at the opportunity and started walking down the road. I picked up my pace and started to bolt down the trail, and soon I shot my wings out on either side And took off into the air. As I flew onward the sunlight fled the earth and night ashes over. In the distance I could see a bright village surrounded by a large wooden fence. I was very determined to get there until I heard something.
" hello my love..." Said a female voice from all angles. My eyes struck and suddenly something wrapped around my hind leg and pulled me to the ground. I fell down and yelled out in shock as I rocketed towards the ground. I hit the ground with a thud and a shout of pain as I bounced back a little and slid. I came to a stop and pulled myself up off the ground. It was much darker now in the forest. And out of the darkness I saw a figure start to walk out and take shape. It was nightshade, she walked out with tentacles of black shadow wriggling around her. " my love... Your eyes, there is light in them." She said with a confused voice. She let out a gasp and then glared at me with a rather angry face. " Roza, you've been with Roza..." She said.
" yes... And with her help you can't touch me." I said.
" I can't take the light from you..." She said lashing out a few tentacles that wrapped around my neck and held me up. " that doesn't mean I still can't touch you." I struggled to get free but the darkness was too strong. I let out a shout and burst into a bright ball of light. The shadows around my neck vanished and nightshade let out a scream of pain. " AAAHHHH. THE LIGHT BURNS." She shouted.
" leave me be..." I said glaring at her as I dropped back to the ground on my four hooves.
" that can't happen..." She said. " I love you too much to leave you xena." She said
" xena?" I said softly.
" we can be friends forever." She said.
" no we can't alba..." I said.
"DON'T SAY THAT NAME!" She shouted furiously as her black tentacles lashed out violently and cut down every tree around us. The darkness ripped the trees into shreds and stained the ground black. My shining light kept me protected.
" I know who you are alba..." I said she screamed again. " you don't have to be so angry." I said. She let out another scream and was washed over with darkness when it faded her red glowing eyes were gone and her body was covered in tears and open wounds, different from the other ones. There was almost no part of her body that was torn open, and her eyes. Instead of having eyes there were just two dark and bloody holes that stared at me with hatred.
" SILENCE..." She commanded. " I will tear the light from you and watch you suffer for all the pain you've put me through." She yelled. She was washed over with darkness again and when the dark faded she changed. She... She was a filly now. Black tentacles waved around her. Instead of being angry now,vs he was crying. She was only just a child, despite from her being over 500 years old. The darkness around her faded and she was on the ground crying. Her gown fixed itself and the wounds on her body healed except for the claw marks across both of her eyes. Her eyes returned too and glowed bright red with tears rolling down them. She sat there crying and bawling. I looked at her and saw the suffering in her, it was killing me on the inside.
I walked over to her and she sat there crying making a pool of tears on the ground. The shadows around her faded and I stood right in front of her. I brought up a tendril of light to strike her down and she looked up at me. Her eyes connected with mine and I stared at her with a look of guilt and apology. I was just about to lash out at her, when I saw something... A spark. In her eyes there was light, a faint light that seemed to bond her to sanity. She was so afraid of ever being hurt again that she would kill others before they could hurt her. But now that she has met somepony who she can't kill for the first time, she feels afraid. And she and every reason to, I was planning to kill her, I was just about to do it too... But I won't... I can't. Some of it is because she is a child, but mostly that she doesn't deserve any more pain, there must be another way.
" alba..." I said as the tendrils of light beside me lowered into the ground. She looked at me with big eyes and she grew quieter as she listened up to what I had to say. " I'm not going to hurt you... I want to help you." I said. She looked at me with surprise.
" how?..." She asked still sniveling with watery eyes.
" we can find a way..." I said talking in a very fatherly voice, and suddenly all the darkness seemed to fade from her and she looked like a normal filly. She leapt towards me and grabbed onto my hoof. " we can find a way alba, I'll put an end to your sadness, I promise." I said picking her up with my wings.
" thank you..." She said looking at me with her big red eyes. I smiled and placed her on my back. She sat down and held on to my shoulders and smiled. She rested her head on my back and I walked onward. We pressed forward towards the light of the bandit camp that use to be a city. We walked on and on and about a few hours passed until the camp came into view. The large wooden gates remained shut with guards on the top of the wooden fortress walls. I stopped as to remain hidden in the dark of night. The light didn't seem to bother alba who had just woken up. She looked at the bandit camp and just gave an blank stare towards it. Normally I wouldn't just charge in there with a child on my back, but this isn't just a normal child. " what are we doing here?" Se asked.
" I need to save my friends." I said
" did the bandits take them?" She asked.
" yes, they did." I said.
" I can't help you in the light..." She said. " but if you can take out the torches and lanterns then I can help." She said. Even though she was a child with a child's voice, she spoke like an adult.
" alright... We can try and sneak in, I have some tricks of my own." I said smiling. I crept into the thick of the woods and started making my way through the trees and bushes keeping an eye on the whole city. It wasn't as huge as I thought it was, but it was pretty big, and all of it is crawling with bandits probably. After crawling around through the forest I circled to the side of the city. I focused my magic and cloaked me and alba. She looked over herself and I and figured out we were invisible and she smiled. I made my way rough the bushes and just passed through them like a ghost. I trotted over to the wooden wall and dashed right through it. I phased through to the other side and looked around.
There were wooden houses and building with signs and ponies walking around. It looked like a normal town. There were mares and children everywhere, but any stallions that I saw were bandits... This interested me. Flags fluttered in the wind and they had two black swords crossed on a red background. This must be a bandit city. These mares are the wives, and the children will probably grow up to be bandits themselves. I started to notice some of the mares were bandits as well. They all wore leather like armor and walked around with smiles on their faces.
At first I was going to level the whole place to the ground... But I'm not sure if I can go through with that anymore. All the ponies were walking around and talking and I just trotted down the street passing through ponies unseen. I trotted through the streets looking for the dungeon. I ran around and soon something caught my eye. It was like some kind of miniature castle made of cobblestone and iron. If I had to guess there must be a king of this bandit city, and at the castle there must be a dungeon. I snuck my way over and past the guards standing in front of it.
I walked around and looked about for something that looked like a dungeon entrance. There was a lack of ponies here at this point but I kept cloaked. I walked around looking high and low but I saw nothing. Alba hung onto my shoulders and she looked around too. Before I moved any further I heard the sound of hoofsteps coming closer and I stopped and waited for them. Once the hoofsteps grew close enough I saw two ponies walking down the hallway. One of them was in plain leather armor and he was talking to the other pony. He looked rather more fancy than the other bandits with silver trimmed leather armor with a rather fancy and decorated sword. But he looked nothing compared to the other pony.
The other pony, who I will automatically presume is the king of the city was huge. He had a scared and blind eye which he didn't try and cover up. He was overly massive with ridiculously large muscle mass. I swear I could feel the ground shake slightly every time he took a simple step. He had red fur with dirty blonde hair. He looked strangely like big Macintosh. He was smoking a cigar in his mouth and he showed his teeth which weren't the whitest teeth ever. He was wearing huge black iron armor with spikes on the shoulder pads and spines on the back. On his hilt was a large broad sword that looked like it could cut down several trees in one swing, especially if he is swinging it.
"Tell me guile, about these ponies crew seven brought in today." He said in a deep booming voice which echoed through the hallway. I stayed silent and listened as he had caught my attention now. Hopefully these two will lead me to my friends. I decided to follow them.
" well there were four ponies there, two of them were adventurers." He said. " the other two seemed to be foreigners." He said. " I fact, they were all foreigners."
" foreigners huh... Good, we don't get many of those around here." He said.
" and I think you will be pleased to know one of them is a mare, a purple unicorn." He said.
" oh really now..." He said with sultry look in his eyes and a lick of his chops. " what of the other three?"
We fought two of them, and one of the adventurers managed to survive an arrow to the neck... The other one didn't however." He said.
" is he the one that caused trouble?" Asked the king.
" uhm... Yes..." Said the other pony. " he had some kind of magic with him and he massacred at least two thirds of squad seven. If he wasn't blind then he probably would have killed us all." He said.
" he was blind?" Asked the king.
" yes, had a blindfold over his eyes, probably ran into the dark lady." He said.
" are the other three down in the dungeon right now?" He asked
" yes..." Said the pony. " we made sure nopony touched the mare before you got the first turn." He said.
" good... You've done well, especially with all the money they were carrying."
" t-thank you, king borrim." Said the pony. King borrim huh... They began to head towards some door and I walked close behind them. They entered through a large iron door and walked down a large set of stairs into a deep dungeon, which was still well lit. I followed them down the stairs. They closed the door in my face but I passed through and followed them. They remained silent the whole way down and they leveled off onto a corridor. I followed them down the corridor and they stopped at a door to out left. They opened up they door and walked in. The king barely fit through. I entered by passing through the wall and we all walked into a large open room. It was a large cell built for multiple ponies. There I saw my friends. Twilight, thunder, and martukus. They where chained down to the floor. I'm glad I made it when I did. If I had known that they were planning on raping twilight I would have been here much earlier, but luckily I made it in time.
" let us go you bastards, you have our money... Let us go." Said martukus who seemed much better since last I saw him. Thunder didn't look too well. He was on the ground laying still. I froze for a second thinking he was dead. But he was fine, I could still sense his energy, it was still strong, but he wasn't in the best condition. It looks like they had tortured him, he was covered in cuts and blood.
" please let us go..." Said twilight. " for your sake, before crimson gets here and burns this place to the ground." She said rattling her chains.
" you mean that poor sod that wiped out two thirds of my crew... No no, I don't think he's going to be going anywhere for a while." Said the other pony.
" you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into." She said rattling her chains some more. I stood in the room thinking of a plan. I looked back over my shoulder to alba and she looked at me. We both were thinking the same thing and she smiled and nodded telling me to go on with the plan. I smiled and focused my energy. I focused and forced and strong breeze from out of nowhere. The wind shuttered through the dungeon and everypony started looking around in shock.
" where is this wind coming from?" Asked the king. " we're underground In a dungeon." He shouted getting angry at nothing. I forced the wind to pick up and all the torches that were posted on the walls suddenly all extinguished and the whole dungeon was filled with darkness. Alba crawled off ,y back and covered herself in darkness and when she was visible again she was a full grown mare again. She gave me a wink and started to head forward to the two bandits. I could tell from the screams outside of the cell I was hiding in that she was already at work massacring the bandits in the halls. The king and the other bandit looked around with horror in their eyes.
Once alba made herself present the feeling of shock fired throughout the room. I made myself visible again and watched in the safety of dark. The king and the other bandit looked at her with horror, mostly the other bandit. Without notice alba lashed out a whip of shadows and it wrapped around his neck. She pulled him back towards her and whipped him at the wall behind her. He made impact with the wall right next to me and filled the room with a Thud and a crack. He dropped to the droid dead after already cracking the wall.
" oh no you don't..." Said the king. " you won't get me." He said. He pulled something out from a satchel in his armor and held it up. It looked like... A flare. He pulled the top off and swiped it against the wall and it shone brightly. Alba let out a yell because the light was burning her in her shadow like form. She let out cries of pain and I disappeared before the light could reveal me. I crept over and I had come up with a plan. I focused all of my energy and pull all the darkness in the dungeon over to me. Alba let out another cry of pain as shadows washed over her and when they faded she was just a child again. " a child..." Said the king, he laughed. " ha...a child is the lady of the dark... Hahaha." He said laughing aloud. "No need to be afraid of the dark now." He said walking up to alba who was shaking on the ground.
" Don't be too sure..." I said in a dark, evil voice. I rose up from the darkness and loomed up over alba and even the king. I used my imagination to make myself look as horrifying as possible. I grew to massive size and covered myself in darkness. The darkness dripped off me like slime and I stared down at the king. My eyes wide open and glowing white and my slimy mouth was hanging open showing several rows of razor sharp teeth. I flicked out a forked tongue and learned forward. Large tendrils and tentacles burst from my back and writhed around the room. The room seemed to ice over with a dreadful chill. Even my friends looked at me with gripping horror and fear. I slunk down over alba in a protective state and stared at the king with a sadistic looking smile spread over my face. The darker parts of my mind started to pull away at my thinking and to keep up my looks I lashed out my tentacles and wrapped them around the king.
I pulled him into my darkness and he kicked and screamed and pleaded. I sucked him into the darkness and tore him to pieces. The room splattered with his blood and entrails. I dropped the lifeless mass of raw and bloody meat that used to be the bandit king. He hit the ground with a squish and I began to cool off. I sucked all the darkness out of the room and used it to refill my energy. The torches relit themselves with the help of my magic and I shrunk back down to size. The black slime I covered myself with washed away and started to make way for my white glowing armor. I looked over to my friends who stared at me with awe and I winked at them. I walked over to alba and she reached out for me like a child. I smiled and picked her up. She washed the tears from her eyes and I placed her on my back. I turned to my friends and smiled as my armor faded and alba kept her head on my back resting.
" is that?" Twilight stuttered before I answered her question.
" yes, this is alba Roza, the lady of the dark..."
-Authors Note: well... hows that for character development. i think alba Roza (The Lady Of The dark) may be one of the more interesting characters ive ever made. and little Roza's story wasn't the only interesting thing in there. this nifty little bandit camp, more folklore of stallasia, and even some stallasian language thrown in there... huh...huh? i thought it was pretty good for just making up a language all on my own. it's probably not going to stay very consistent or dynamic... but it will hold. so i gave you guys a delightful back story that i thought fit in ever so perfectly with her character. i had lots of fun witting this chapter. and originally before my computer crashed i didn't have any of these things, but when it crashed and forced me to rewrite all these chapters i rewrote alba Roza into the story... and i regret nothing. so i hope you enjoyed this new installment. stay shady my friends.-End of Note.-