Shadows of the Past

Rainbow light surrounded the disciple as he made his first step into the gate. The warmth he felt when he touched the gate embraced him like a friend hugging him as it was trying to make all his problems disappear with a simple yet comforting gesture. It made the lone knight smile behind his mask and black cloak. The smile disappeared as he dispelled the thought and focused on the task at hand. The light was beginning to get brighter as he was nearing the exit. His thoughts of killing the Six Heroes returned to his mind again. Gripping the swords tightly from the thoughts, he wondered if it was right to kill them again when they had already went through the prospect of death once.

The light illuminating around him was at its brightest as he covered his eyes. The sounds of the gate opening at the other side reached his ears as he moved his arms slightly to see it. The gate was opened and the rainbow light was emitting no more, now only the light of the Sun was surging forth. He had reached his destination. Stepping out of the gate, his first view of the world left him in awe. He was on a mountain overlooking what the disciple can only describe as a paradise. Green hills with an abundance of flowers growing, the sky blue as it originally was back at his world, rivers that flowed and shifted with no interruption save the rippling of thrown stones. It was like he was witnessing nature flourishing at its rightful moments.

The sight of it all drew all of his attention, “I never thought to see a world where nature could flourish alongside whatever dwells here. If only Ilia were here to see this…” A chuckle escaped him. Despite the amount of turmoil he went throughout his life, seeing all of this made him smile. His ears picked up on a conversation and he almost cursed himself for forgetting that civilization was still around. He looked and found a ton of bushes around him. He hid by the closest one that can conceal his body best as he hears footsteps approaching.

Moving a few patches of greenery away from his eyes, he looked to where the sounds of approaching steps were coming from. In the corner of his right eye, he saw a… hoof? Two horses… no, not any ordinary horses, but what would he describe a pony with wings and a horn? Alicorn? It was better than nothing though as he focused on their details. One of these… alicorns, was tall, almost enough to reach his height. Her mane and tail consisted of what looked like a rainbow. It was moving like it was a part of the wind; the other one shared the same except hers matched the starry night sky. The other one was smaller with the colors that matched the night sky as expected. Perhaps it was the younger sister from his understanding. The disciple noticed they were wearing crowns and shiny hooves putting them at royalty, he could never doubt it anyway as he’s seen enough royalty to tell.  However, what caught his attention the most was the marks on their flanks. A Sun on the white one and a Moon surrounded by the stars on the other, though it wasn’t much, were they deities of this world? He knew better to not anger Gods if that is to be the case even if does have the strength to handle Gods. They passed him and were heading elsewhere but not before picking on their conversation, “I’m sure those six ponies will handle today’s event fine sister, you know them well enough right?”

“Yes, I can see those six ponies handling it well… maybe.” The elder sister chuckled a bit seeing where she was going from the conversation. A change of topic stopped her laughing however, “But I’m more concerned about the other six, if you know what I mean Celestia.”

The disciple caught onto that quickly. Other six can only mean the Six Heroes if she was referring to them that is. The white one all but confirmed it for him, “Yes I know Luna, those six beings… We’ve seen how they treated my student and her friends; I think we can trust them to not cause havoc, unlike Discord. And besides, we’ve seen what they are capable of. If should a threat come, they can help the Elements of Harmony in need or am I wrong to assume that?”

Elements of Harmony? Are they relics from this world? Whatever the case, the lone knight did not wish to know it personally. Perhaps reading into the history might help him out but for now, he stayed still as he was waiting for the two princesses to leave. To his regret of jinxing the moment, another princess stepped forward, a pink pony that lacked the ethereal mane the two had. Perhaps this one was gifted with the powers of the alicorn but not born like the two if his assumption was correct, “Auntie Celestia, Auntie Luna, how goes the day?”

Despite seeing them smiling towards their niece if the guesses again were correct, something felt off about her tone towards the two royalties. The disciple was adept at catching onto the slightest of details that occurred whether by sound, sight, or hearing. Her tone threw him off a bit despite not warranting his attention, “It is fine Cadance, I am just getting invitations ready and prepping the wedding today.”

A wedding? The lone knight did not like this. If he were to deliver the killing blow during the wedding and he ends up getting spotted by the population which is very likely, this would compromise a lot of things that occurred in his thoughts. He let out a sigh deciding to finish them off when the wedding was over. Besides, a part of him also wanted to see the events as well. He will be in the shadows but he did not wish to ruin a special event. It was heartless of him to do so.

He looked towards the pink princess and in a split second noticed her eyes turn green. He looked at the eyes again wondering if that was just a part of her or if there was something sinister about it. A smile that was seemingly forced despite it looking natural for the body was etched upon the princess known as Cadance, “That’s great news! Oh I can’t wait for the wedding; I’m so excited for it!”

Both princesses smiled as they stepped aside for her to come through. She proceeded to go pass them and head inside the castle walls but not before hearing one more sentence uttered from Celestia if the lone knight heard it right the first time, “I know you are but don’t rush it Cadance. You wouldn’t want this special day to be ruined right especially for Shining Armor right?”

The disciple saw her turn around and looked at them with joy. Despite the joy being genuine, something about it again felt wrong in his eyes. It was like the joy was of something else, “Oh I know auntie, I have all the time in the world for the special occasion!” She happily trotted away leaving the two princesses in the garden.

He looked towards the two princesses who were smiling and begun to leave. However, he noticed the night princess looking where Cadance left or, he hoped he was wrong, was looking specifically at the bush he was hiding in. His body tensed as the gaze lasted longer before the elder sister spoke, “Luna, are you coming to drink tea with me or is there something bothering you?”

The princess now known as Luna to the lone knight stared for a few more tense seconds before turning around, “No Tia, I was just looking back, that is all. Let us have some tea; I’d like to relax today.” Both nodded and left for wherever they would go for tea. As they were out of his line of sight, he collapsed out of the bush and took off the mask as he took some deep breaths. He never thought to feel a bit nervous about the whole ordeal. He turned around to see what was akin to a shield surrounding the city. Wait, when was there a shield? He swore there was never a shield the first time he stepped out of the gate.

After some deep breaths, he put the mask back on and decided to investigate the supposed Princess Cadance. Something about her just rubbed him the wrong way and he intended to find out. He entered the castle and noticed how massive the structure was. It might take awhile to find her especially with guards on high alert no thanks to today being a special event. It was a good thing there are shadows casted from the day. His black cloak allows him to blend into them well enough. He jumped from one shadow to the next while the guards weren’t looking hoping to find the elusive pink princess. The name calling of their color and title was beginning to wear on the disciple’s head as he muttered to himself about it, “I swear, I better think of some better nicknames next time. I’m beginning to tire calling them white one, or pink princess right now.” Jumping from the shadows again, he was beginning to curse himself for even thinking about it in the first place until something caught his eye.

One of the towers had glowed green before dissipating. If he were to hazard a guess, his would-be princess was in that tower. Looking at the location, he found a path that leads towards the tower in question. Avoiding the guards was the easy part as he slipped past them easily. He chuckled quietly seeing the incompetence of these fellow guards. His world can at least do it better than what they were doing. Then again, this world had been in peace for so long, he fathomed that they never thought to actually face a conflict.

Reaching the stairs that lead for the tower, he ascended up the tower silently hoping to not draw attention. The ascension went by quickly as he reached the spire of the tower. A single door with no guards was within reach, “I seriously question the competence of the supposed guard if they can’t even protect their own princesses.” In front of the door, the door was slightly opened allowing him to see what was going on inside. He saw Princess Cadance in a completely new light.

What was once the sweet and lovable princess was now what he can only describe as a bug in her place as green flames surrounded her and she appeared. The disciple was right to follow his instincts as he got to witness her transformation. He was about to leave until he heard her talking to herself, “Well that went well. I still can’t believe no one caught onto my act, and yet… there’s still one person that can catch me quickly, that pesky little sister of Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle I believe was her name?”

Despite every part of his body to move and get away, he stayed and listens to the conversation wondering if there are other details in mind, “Hmm, how do I get rid of her? I know she’ll escape if I should subdue her, but that doesn’t bother me much when the shield around this city dispels and my changelings can swarm the place.” An ominous laughter came forward from the bug creature as she looked at her hoof, “Oh Chrysalis, you’ve done well I’d say. I wonder how the real one is handling being stuck in the Crystal Caves? I bet she’s crying herself to sleep because I ruined her special day. Pah, ruin her special day, doesn’t bother me much as long as I get to feed on her husband’s love.”

The disciple, hearing the conversation, was almost consumed by his anger as he was gripping his swords tightly. He was trying to think rationally and stay calm but every thought that lingered in his thoughts, all he can think of was ending this excuse of a pony’s life right then and now. He looked through the tiny opening of the door again wondering if she was going to say anything else. Finding nothing else of value listening to this creature, he walked away from the door. He decided to forgo executing the Six Heroes for now. His new priority was to help the heroes of this world in the shadows. No one’s special day should ever be ruined by this and he doesn’t give a damn if his master thinks otherwise. Nothing is going to stop him from bringing this special day a happy ending.

He jumped down from the high height of the tower. As he reached the ground, he skillfully rolled preventing damage on his body. If there was something he was glad of, he was training with not only his blades but his mind as well on things that are important. As night was beginning to fall away for the Sun, he disappeared with the shadows awaiting the events of today to come and wait for his time to strike.

In Ponyville, the Six Heroes and the Bearers of Harmony were enjoying a good picnic today. Ever since what happened days before, things have begun to settle down and they enjoyed each other’s company a lot more often now. During the picnic, a conversation was starting between Rainbow and Eze and everybody joined in it, “Wait wait, you serious Dash? You can seriously perform something akin to a sonic boom in our world? That’s something…”

“Oh yeah, I can! I can do it right now if you want me too!” Before Eze got the chance to completely say his answer, a burp came forth from the dragon as a letter appeared, “On second thought never mind, say, what does the letter say Twi?” The thunder hero pouted a bit but decided to let it pass for now as he turned his attention towards Twilight.

Spike gave the letter to Twilight who thanked him in return. Twilight read the contents of the letter in question, “Dear Twilight Spearkle…” She looked to see the Six Heroes looking at each other knowing who sent it. She let a smile form, “No worries you six, Princess Celestia treats me like a… daughter she never had I guess?” They all smiled hearing that as they gestured her to continue. Twilight happily obliges, “You and your friends are invited to a wedding…”

“Oh, a wedding is it? Who are the lucky ponies to be undergoing such a momentous occasion?” Both Rarity and Selena asked simultaneously. They looked at each other before chuckling seeing they shared the same thoughts. Rainbow gagged a bit from it but an elbow and a supposed glare from Eze promptly stopped her from continuing it any further. A few ponies were a bit surprised about that the thunder hero who shares similarities with Rainbow stopped her. The humans on the other hand were proud to see him developing little by little.

Twilight smiled behind the letter seeing the action there, “Anyway, we are invited to a wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza…” Twilight raised an eyebrow about this name alongside the humans though they understood what the name meant. The librarian just shrugged and continued, “Okay, her and…” Silence was met as she looked at the letter and rereading it just in case she was reading it right the first time. Vargas was about to ask what was troubling her until she responded, “My brother, Shining Armor…”

All twelve were looking at each other before a few cheers from the ponies came forward, “Oh Twilight, that’s wonderful news, your brother is getting married! Why I should get the proper dresses ready to go for this special occasion!”

Despite the ponies being somewhat oblivious, the humans caught onto her not sharing their sentiments as she stared off into space. Vargas stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder, “Twilight, is something the matter? We know that look you have well enough to give us worry.”

What came afterwards was a big surprise to the ponies and humans, “Of course there’s something wrong, it’s Shining Armor being married that is!” All of them were looking at each other trying to understand the situation of what she meant. She let out a sigh seeing that she was getting a bit ahead of herself, “Sorry, it’s just that it’s been years since I’ve seen Shining Armor. He would always send letters to me a few times personally whenever he was in the Royal Guard.”

The humans were able to understand quicker than the ponies considering they were under a militaristic life their whole time in their world, “Ah but you do realize that he wouldn’t be able to send you the letters like normal considering he’s under military training right?” Magress was the person who spoke it for them.

Twilight hung her head understanding where they were going with this, “Yeah I know, you six went through a military life so of course you’d understand easier… but still, I wished he should have at least sent me a letter about him getting married in the first place, no offense to Princess Celestia.” They all didn’t mind since this was a personal topic to her, “And who’s this mare he’s marrying to?! Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? I’ve never even heard of a name like that!” At this time, Lance was whistling away when she said that causing her to groan a bit, “Don’t tell me you guys understand the name!” A smirk formed on the nature hero’s face.

Vargas pinched his nose seeing Lance being silly again but otherwise answered her question, “Yes we understand the name. It’s actually a language we speak a lot back in our home world.” He looked to see his fellow compatriot, Lance, still wearing that smirk of his. He couldn’t but compliment about it, “Why are you smirking Lance? The only time I see you doing that is when something funny comes up in your mind.”

He just shrugged still wearing the grin of his, “Oh don’t mind, blame Drevas here. He’s being a snarker right now.” That made a few of the ponies facehoof in seeing his spirit friend being like so when today was a special occasion. Lance and his Drevas just let it slide for now still wearing his smirk.

Twilight lowered her hoof and continued the subject at hoof, “Okay, ignoring Lance’s spirit friend being snarky today, can any of you tell me what it means in the first place please? I want to chat with my B.B.B.F.F alongside his fellow lucky mare.”

Before the humans could answer her question, the initials was caught their attention and Twilight’s friends shared their thoughts as well, “Uh Twi? What does B.B.B.F.F. supposed t’ mean? Those are some mighty long initials fer Ah’m guessing long name o’ yers.”

“It means big brother, best friend forever Applejack…” All the ponies were looking at each other before she looked at Canterlot and closed her eyes. Her mane and tail was flowing with the wind that was blowing behind her and before long she opened her eyes.

Eze groaned as he was beginning to see those familiar signs, “Don’t tell me she’s going to…” He hears her voice heading into that territory. The thunder hero then proceeded to facepalm, “Yep, she went to sing about her big brother.” He raised his index finger indicating to him that this was song one of the day.

Atro noticed the letter and picked it up and was about to read and share it but not before chatting with the idiot swordsman in question, “Do not be like that Eze, you know that she misses her big brother and I can’t help but not like them singing sometimes. Wouldn’t you miss any friends or family if you haven’t seen the in years?” Unbeknownst to the light hero, Selena winced a bit from the sudden memory of witnessing her friend Lucina sacrificing herself to defeat a maniacal witch from finishing her off. Her friend managed to defeat but at the cost of losing her own life. She wished she had a chance to help her when she had the chance.

Eze let out a sigh as he looked towards Canterlot, “Yeah I can see that but did she really have to sing it now? Ugh, I don’t mind singing but goodness, there’s a time and place when you don’t need to sing about your own B.B.B.F.F. here!” Silence was the thunder hero’s answer before he facepalmed a second time, “Great, she got me saying it now… Damn it to hell…”

His compatriots roared out loud in laughter from the thunder hero’s reaction just after hearing the song ending. All the ponies were looking at them in confusion wondering what was causing them to laugh loudly. They decided to not dwell into what they considered humorous in their case as they focused on the wedding today, “Well, with all that out of the way, you six want to join us in the wedding? I still want to chat with my brother about all of what’s happening but this might also be the best time for you six to chat with the Princesses right?”

Atro was the first to stop laughing as he looked at Twilight, “Of course, that would be best. And we’re not the only ones to think it as well. Your two princesses have shared our thoughts as well according to the rest of this letter as well.” The others stopped laughing as they got up from the picnic blanket and wrapped it up for Fluttershy.

Twilight grabbed the letter from the light hero’s hand and read the rest now that she was calm about the situation, “Huh, you’re right… They wanted to chat now though? Not that I’m complaining as long as you six can get to introduce yourselves to them. Just please be careful when you introduce yourselves please?”

“I think the only person you have to worry about not being careful when introducing himself would be our idiot swordsman here.” His right thumb was pointed towards where Eze is. The thunder hero was looking at Vargas with disdain all the while the fire hero was wearing a smirk, “Eze, you know I’m joking dunderhead! You’ll take it in stride anyway, not like I can stop you anyhow.”

This prompted the proclaimed idiot swordsman to puff his chest while raising his sword, Batootha, into the air proudly, “Yeah! Ain’t nothing stopping me from pleasing Princess Celestia and Luna! Look out Equestria! Make way for the greatest idiot swordsman that ever lived!” Everybody dropped onto the floor and shared in each other’s laughter. To their surprise, his words managed to echo throughout Ponyville causing some of the citizens that lived to look around in confusion. That prompted more laughter out of the twelve friends gathered together.

Magress just watched the scene in amusement as everybody was rolling on the grassy hill and pounding away at it from today’s hilarious antics. He spoke after everyone managed to settle down, “Well, after all of what happened now, shall we prepare for the wedding ahead? We do not want to be late for this special occasion correct?” Everybody nodded in agreement and went their separate ways to ready themselves for the wedding ahead.

Celestia was watching their picnic from the distance with a telescope as she sent that letter. It was silly of her to be watching them afar but since the topic of the letter was personal at best, she couldn’t help but see if she was handling it well. To her surprise, it started getting a little sensitive until she saw eleven of them laughing and even got to hear Eze’s exclamation. That caused her to chuckle a bit from the thunder hero’s response. She pushed the front of the telescope making it shrink until it fit in her bag of assortments, “I think I will most definitely be enjoying this long-awaited conversation with them.”

“Were you watching them again?” Celestia heard the familiar voice and turned around with a smile seeing her sister returning her smile, “You know, I really wonder why you like to do so when we had a conversation about watching our little ponies in the first place…”

Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle a bit remembering the conversation, “Yes, but in this case, considering the letter I sent was personal, I was merely being precautious about it.” She saw Luna roll her eyes but her sister ended up chuckling seeing what was going on her head being very likely with Twilight. She looked at the tower that held their niece, “Today’s the day… I hope things go well Luna. I don’t want this day to be ruined by any threats outside the walls.”

“Indeed, tis such a good day for Cadance. Were it to be ruined, I might as well smite upon thee who ruins her glorious day. Or something close to that I think.” Both chortled at what Luna had in mind for anyone who would disturb such a good time for their niece and her soon-to-be husband. They were about to return back inside the castle until a sound of metal being hit resonated in their ears. They both stopped and looked around trying to find the source. Luna then looked down to see a single rock with a note attached to it and from its location and trajectory, was aimed specifically for Celestia’s torc.  She followed the thrown rock’s course and looked behind a bush to find no one there in particular. She let a sigh before looking at Celestia who picked up the rock and was reading the note, “What does the note say sister?”

Celestia lowered the note and looked towards the Canterlot Gardens wondering who this mysterious pony that tossed it was, “The note is intricate… I almost mistook for Archaic Equestrian.” She gave the note to Luna who was reading it, “Apparently a mysterious pony wants to meet me alone in the Canterlot Gardens now. It looks to be important but I’m worried.”

A smile formed on Luna’s face as she finished reading the note, “The note also said that I can join in the conversation too. Perhaps I should be with you if this is important for the both of us to know.” Seeing her sister nod, both made their flight to the gardens to see who was this hidden messenger. The sight of Canterlot preparing for the wedding was a good sign for the both of them as well as the shield being still functional. Both did wonder how Shining Armor still manages to keep the shield going strong despite it being tiring for him.

A short flight later and they landed on the Canterlot Gardens. Both looked at the message wondering whether this was a ploy or not. They decided to not prolong this any longer and called out this being from its hiding, “You may show yourself now… There is no need to hide from us now that we are here at your beckoning.”

Silence lingered around the Gardens for sometime after Celestia made her speech. Both were beginning to think this was some joke by a bystander and were about to return back to help the ponies when a voice spoke out breaking the silence, “Forgive me for being silent, but I assure you that I called you here for a reason.”

Both turned around to not see the pony on question. Though they originally were assuming that they were making spiritual contact, they quickly dismissed it as the voice was too close for it to be spirits from the past, “Well, if you wish us to be here, why not reveal yourself to us? Surely, you are not wary of not showing yourself after doing an… unconventional way of getting our attention.”

Celestia chuckled and agreed with Luna on how his pony gathered their attention. In fact, something about him, according to the Sun Princess if she heard said voice right, trying to grab their attention bothered her a bit. She stepped forward looking around for the being in question, “The way you tried to get our attention. If my assumption is to be correct, than you somewhat fear us. Why do you hide and fear from us? Do you not know of what we achieved?”

That got Luna’s attention and suddenly she was looking as well for this supposed being as well. The disciple was wearing a smile behind his mask, “Perceptive I see… While I do not fear you two, I hide because of my… appearance shall I say. But I speak the truth when I say that trouble is brewing during this special day.”

Both looked at each other, their expression matching their concerns. However, before they could think of what kind of trouble was coming, both wanted their worries to be confirmed, “How can we be certain that you are not lying to psych the both of us out? For all we know, you may be the trouble brewing on our niece’s special day.”

The disciple cringed upon hearing those words used against him, were they not true to begin with. While he was not the source of the current conflict that is occurring soon here, in the future, he will be with the assassination of the Six Heroes again. He shook his head, wanting to purge those thoughts out and focus on the problem that will spawn, “I assure you I am not the trouble…” He let the silence linger on as the words felt like poison to him, “If I were, I would not be calling you and somehow be able to end your life right here and now do I?”

Though the words gave the two princesses a sense of fear, the voice that was speaking to them had bought up a good point, “Very well, so tell us. What is this trouble that you speak of?” Their horns were glowing with magic in case if the being was trying something that will put their niece in danger.

Silence was his answer as he watched the two of them in the shadows. Their horns were glowing and the lone knight knew that well enough as a sign of them being precautious, “I applaud you for bringing caution in mind but do not worry, I do not bring harm.” Their body relaxed a bit but their horns were still glowing still. He could not blame them though, if a mysterious voice were to make contact with him, he would be exercising caution as well. He let out a deep breath as he continued, “I, too, wish this special day to not be ruined like you two are. I once had someone whom I loved and friends that cared for me both in competition and friendly banter.” A slight chuckle escaped from him seeing that he was reminiscing about his past right now to two strangers in different species. The laughter faded as old memories resurfaced and he was gripping his swords in anger, “It was during a battle that my allies had unfortunately faces heir demise and my lover was lost forever. I… was the only surviving member of that battle.”

He looked towards them and saw their magic dissipating as they were wearing looks that suggested to the disciple that they understood his pain. The Night Princess however, grabbed his most attention as she looked to be the most pained, “Please reveal yourself… I have a past that I am not proud of…”

“Luna, you don’t have to speak about it towards a stranger, you know as well as I do that he cannot be trusted yet.” Her younger sister looked away, the feeling of guilt still lingering a bit despite having a good life. Celestia let out a sigh seeing her sister being like this.

To their surprise, a sound of rustling broke their train of thought. They gathered their magic as one of the bushes was shaking. Something popped out of the bush and they readied themselves for whatever was about to appear. A black cloaked and hooded bipedal figure appeared in front of them with a mask covering his face. The same voice spoke out from this creature as he raised his hand over the mask, “You have a painful past Princess Luna?”

The Night Princess looked at the being on question, “How do you know of our name creature? You do not look like anything we’ve seen past or not.” She lowered her guard as she walked forward. Celestia was about to stop her but the being in question stood still and only keeping eye contact on the younger sister. Both looked at each other’s eyes conveying their emotions through the silence until it as broken by Princess Luna, “Your eyes, they speak the truth… I have learned that the eyes always speak the truth when two people who share similarities with one another stare. If whatever trouble you speak of is true, then speak with it. I do not wish to see my niece in trouble.”

The disciple partly opened his mask revealing to her his smile before lowering it back, “I am sorry that I cannot reveal to you yet. You seem like someone I would enjoy having a simple conversation with.” A smile from Luna confirmed that she shared his thoughts as well. Looking towards the approaching Celestia, she too wore a genuine smile. He bowed towards them as his way of saying thanks, “Forgive me for the suddenness of this but please do not react wrongly of my words, but… Keep a closer watch of your niece, she is not whom she truly is.”

Both were confused as to what the being said as they looked at each other. They turned around to look but to their surprise, he was not there anymore. They blinked a few times trying to be certain but when he did not appear, they stopped and conversed with one another, “Luna what does this being mean? I do not trust him yet but something about his voice tells me he was being genuine in his words.”

Luna looked towards the place where he originally was comtemplating about it, “I agree, perhaps it is best to keep his words in mind. I do acknowledge that he may have possibly lied to get us to thinking wrongly but I cannot shake the feeling that he may be correct as well.”

“So… keep his words but do it in secrecy then?” A nod from Luna was met and both flew back to the main room of the castle. Whatever was happening, if what the mysterious being said was true, then it was best to be careful about it. But something about him also bothered Celestia. Despite taking his mask off to only flash a smile, the way he looked seemed odd. Celestia was probably thinking too hard but she can’t help but make the connection between him and the other six that came here as well. Maybe when they meet in the end, she can ask if there was some relevance to this black cloaked being than meets the eye.