[X] 01 Black Magic

>Day 35 in Equestria.

>You are sick and tired of this place.

>Ponyville...

>You want to explore this world!

>Get out there and slay dragons!

>Goddammit, you're a human! You were born to slay dragons!

>But you aren't allowed to, Celestia made sure of that.

>Damn her!

>Damn her and her 'Vanhoover Convention Of Endangered Species'!

>It makes you want to vomit.

>Because of this crap you are not allowed to leave a designated area in order to keep an eye on you and guarantee your safety.

>It just so happens that Ponyville and its vicinity is this designated area.

>On the other hand, it could be worse.

>Much worse.

>You can call a homey one-story house your home, you get a monthly allowance from Celestia.

>It's not a mountain of money, but what the hell do you care?

>Anyway, today is special.

>Some girl named Twilight Sparkle will return from hunting a criminal called Sombrero, or Somboro, for two months, but what the fucking hell shit do you give a fuck about that guy?!

>What IS important though is that your pal Dash is filled with an infinite amount of happy over this.

>If she is happy, you will at least give this mare a shot.

>”Come on Anon, don't slack, we gotta be at the train-station at 10 O'CLOCK, not a-”

“Yeah, yeah, I get you pest. I can't dress faster than the speed of light, okay?”

>”Move your fat ass Anon, come on, faster!”

“I'm trying! And I'm not fat, you are fat!”

>”No you are fat!”

“No you!”

>”No you!”

“You're so fat, If I spank your ass in the morning, it still jiggles when I come back in the afternoon!”

>”Spank my...” she murmurs.

>Rainbow closes her eyes for a few moments as you finish tieing your shoes.

>Pomf! Wingboners.

>What the hell does that even mean?

>Whatever.

“Hey!”

>You snap your fingers repeatedly in front of her face to get her out of it.

“Train-station?”

>Her eyes dart open “Oh! Right! Come on, and try not to trip over your own feet!” she closes one eye and sticks out her tongue.

>She flies, you run.

>Side alley, Town Square, large street.

>In no time you arrive at the station, just as a growing pillar of smoke appears at the horizon.

>The other girls are already there, waiting for their friend.

>They greet you absent-mindedly.

>All way too anxious to meet their old friend.

>If what Rainbow told you is true, then you will be meeting a real boring egghead.

>But maybe some smarts would do you some good...

>Shut up.

>The train arrives, with a loud low whistle and even louder screeching the train comes to a halt.

>Pinkie can't contain her giggles.

>Rarity contains her joy, but a big, quivering grin tells you she has to fight in order to do so.

>Fluttershy is sitting on her haunches, her eyes are teary and the rest of her face is covered behind her light pink mane.

>Applejack is jogging on the spot with occasional snickering.

>And Rainbow is choking you from behind, you guess it's supposed to be something like a hug or so, but it comes off as something near lethal.

>Then the door of the wagon opens.

>A dark figure stands in the frame of the door.

>A black, thick mist flows out of the wagon.

>You've never seen anything like it.

>The figure jumps out of the wagon and right in front of the mares and you...that doesn't match Rainbows description entirely.

>Jaws drop.

>Rainbow grounds herself forcefully “Twilight!” her voice full of surprise as much as of doubt.

>Fluttershy scoots behind your back in fright, whimpering without pause.

>Rarity and Applejack look at each other, dumbfound and at a lack of words.

>You are not sure what to think of this.

>The mare before you is a unicorn, surely.

>Her coat is a pale, light grayish mulberry.

>Her cutie mark consists of a pink six-pointed sparkle surrounded by five smaller white sparkles, just as Rainbro told you.

>Her horn though is unlike any unicorn's horn you've ever seen.

>It is curved, not straight, completely smooth, sharp at the tip and gradiates from the color of her coat into a crimson red.

>And her eyes, oh god, what are they?

>Her eyes constantly emanate a dark purple mist, what should be white is a slightly glowing green and her irises are not only scarlet in color but also slitted like the ones of a cat.

>She gives a shy grin, but this only reveals that all of her teeth are razor sharp with two exceptionally long canines, it gives her a predatory aura.

>The black mist on the floor seems to follow her step.

>And if that hadn't been enough already, a second creature emerges from the wagon, following Miss Sparkle every step.

>Is it a hawk?

>No.

>Eagle?

>More likely, but...

>Most striking feature about this creature are the big golden eyes surrounded by a light purple tint.

>A beak sits in place of a mouth and her head and chest are covered in white plumage with an occasional light purple feather sticking out.

>Her body is feline, with a coat of moderate orange amber and darker wings that are easily thrice the size of pegasus wings.

>Where a pony has forehooves, this one has sturdy looking talons with solid black claws at each fingertip.

>Her eyes dart to and fro between Dash and you.

>Before your mind comes to a conclusion, Rainbow stutters “G-G-Gilda?! Twilight?! W-What...”

>Pinkie snaps “AAAAAhhhhhhmmppffhh!!” until Applejack rams a hoof in her mouth to shut her up.

~

>Evening that same day.

>The now complete again mane six have a get together in the local pub.

>You are invited but unsure if you should go, that Gilda bird was eyeing you so angrily...not sure if want.

>Whatever, you'll go.

>It's not like you can't handle yourself, right?

>Right.

>With that in thought you get moving.

>After a brief walk you can see your destination.

>As you get near the pub you can hear the usual sound of music that usually fills the air.

>You push the door open and see p0nies, p0nies everywhere, just like always. Chatter is ever present, there are about 25 p0nes in here, all gathered in small cliques.

>After a few moments looking around, you spy the group you're looking for sitting comfortably in a corner. The isle of black mist on the floor and those green glowing eyes are a dead give-away.

>You walk there straight and take a seat on the cushioned bench at the table.

>They are all here, listening to Twilight and Gilda's story.

>Twilight is already in the middle of it.

>”...so no matter how many times Gilda and I defeated his physical form, he would simply turn into mist and vanish, appearing somewhere else. It was then that I came to the conclusion that the only way to beat him, was with his own weapons. Black Magic.” Twilight tells.

>Applejack asks uneasy “But ain't Black Magic evil?”

>A big, pleased grin forms on Twilight's face “No. King Sombra was evil. It just so happened that he was the only one who had mastered Black Magic. It's all grey until you use it.”

>”But what about Princess Celestia? Won't she be angry?” Pinkie asks.

>”An understandable question Pinkie. And the answer is yes, but we already discussed this matter and she approved, under her supervision I will from now on devote myself to the study of Black Magic.”

>Gilda is watching you again...

>Rainbow speaks up over her drink “And how did you defeat Sombra? Was he still tough after you used that stuff?”

>”Not at all Rainbow, Gilda distracted him, I siphoned his strength and soon after he was so weak that he couldn't maintain his form any longer. Only his horn was left, unless we destroyed that he would have regained his strength over time and everything would have repeated itself.”

>”How did you destroy it? With a hammer? Or magic?!”

>”Nothing quite so simple. Through the use of Black Magic and stealing a small fraction of his power, I gained insight on how he managed to survive. There existed only one way to destroy his horn and end him and his reign of terror forever.”

>Twilight takes a sip of her drink.

>”Ahh, ahem. Gilda and I took the horn and carried it to the only place that is capable of destroying the indestructible. Mt. Groom!”

>You almost spit out your drink in their faces.

>”Is something the matter Mister...”

“Anonymous. I'm Anonymous, nice to meet you.”

>You turn to Gilda.

“And nice to meet you too Miss Gilda.”

>The rest of the evening is spent on talking about Black Magic or reveling in old stories about triumphs and hardships they had together.

>You can't shake the feeling that this griffon has something against you...

>Uhh...probably just your imagination.

>The evening ends uneventful, you're not that interested in Twilight's stories anyway.

>Today could have been worse.