Bloodline

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Open your Eyes
Chapter 2 - First Steps
Chapter 3 - Dark Clouds
Chapter 4 - Strengthening the Bond
Chapter 5 – Walking Shadows
Chapter 6 - Three of their Kind
Chapter 7 - The Pride of a Dragon
Chapter 8 - Defense against the Dark Arts of Magic
Chapter 9 - The Everfree
Chapter 10 - Doubt
Chapter 11 - From Light into Shadow
Chapter 12 - Breaking the Rules
Epilogue - When Blood Changes Time

Chapter 1 - Open your Eyes

Bloodline
Chapter 1 – Open your Eyes

Twilight paced from one side of her room to another. Rattling down the checklist for unexpected overnight guests, she prepare for the arrival of Princess Luna. “Set up the guest bed? Check! Prepare reading material? Check! Prepared breakfast for the guest?”

She turned around and looked expectantly at Spike. The dragon stashed the last spoonful of ice cream into his mouth and laid the bucket aside. “Check!”

The occupant of the brilliantly constructed library tree hung again over the most recent letter she’d received from her former mentor. Twilight's eyes wandered hastily from character to character, from paragraph to paragraph.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Weeks have passed since your Coronation Ceremony, and I still can't express my regret about your decision to stay in Ponyville. However, I can fully understand that you want to stay at the side of your friends, as well.

Your loyalty to your friends proved that you are worthy to be called a true Princess. But this is the reason I'm writing to you, as well. I wish to ask you for a favour.

Over a thousand years ago, my sister and I defeated the evil King Sombra for the first time and banished him into the eternal shadows under the northern ice. However, he didn't live alone in the crystal castle where your brother and Princess Cadence are living today.

King Sombra had an illegitimate son with one of his foreign slaves. King Sombra was so ashamed of his son being born a pegasus that he decided to hide him deep down in the castle dungeon. His name is Light Chaser. After my and Luna’s victory against Sombra, we released him from his prison and put him into a millennial slumber to protect him from every other dark influence until the time was right to teach him the meaning of harmony and friendship. We had to protect him from the darkness that had surrounded him his entire life.

We searched the castle and found records of his imprisonment.. It appears that his father had blindfolded him shortly after his birth. Light has never seen another pony or the world around him. The moment you take the leathery ribbon off his eyes, he will awaken.

I want you and your friends to teach him the magic of friendship, and show him the real beauty of Equestria.

I believe that I can trust you fully with this matter. My sister will arrive tomorrow in the morning and will bring Light Chaser along with her. He might be quite different than you would expect him to be, but please show patience with him. I have hopes that he will understand, in time.

Good luck, Twilight.

~ H.R.H. Princess Celestia

Twilight's recently-gained wings itched at the mentioning of King Sombra. The Crystal Empire had almost fallen back into the hooves of King Sombra; she had just barely been able to save it, and then only with the help of her number one assistant, Spike. She stared down thoughtfully at the letter in front of her.

Spike returned from the countless bookshelves and was carrying two thick, heavy books. From the corner of his eye he noticed the uncertain gaze of his friend. He put the books back where they belonged and strolled on his tiny claws over to Twilight. “Is this letter still worrying you? You’ve barely gone away from it since yesterday. He can't be that bad, right? I mean, he’s just a pegasus; what harm can he really do?”

Twilight gnashed her teeth as an immense pressure built up inside her. With one powerful wing flap she blew the letter off the table. “I’m not entirely sure, Spike. On one hoof he was probably sleeping for his entire life and is unable to move properly or to fight. But on the other hoof, he is the son of King Sombra. We don’t know what happened a thousand years ago. Not even the Princesses know everything about him.”

Spike walked past Twilight and picked the letter from the dusty floor. He quickly let his eyes fly above the characters and sealed the scroll up again. “Even if he is evil, your magic should stop him. Or am I wrong?”

The freshly made Princess hesitated. Spike was used to Twilight's personal flaws, but ever since she’d become a Princess, uncertainty about herself ruled over the majority of her emotions. She sat there at the window, letting her face warm up by the gentle light Princess Celestia's sun was providing. “I hope so, Spike… I hope so.”

The sound of her voice was absorbed by the wooden bookshelves around her, but the silence didn’t last for long. The buzzing sound of magic boomed from outside the door through their ears. It was the unmistakable sound of teleportation magic. Twilight folded her wings neatly together and clipped them to her body. “Princess Luna is here. Brace yourself, Spike. It doesn't matter how gruesome and frightening Light Chaser may look, just be on your best behaviour.”

The door of the library was tossed open by the magical blast of the younger of the eternal sisters. She lowered her head to suit the library door and gracefully stepped inside. Her horn was brightly ignited, and she magically carried a dark wooden stretcher behind her. Twilight bowed a little bit down to the Princess of the Night, despite the fact that she was now a princess herself. “Good morning, Luna.”

Twilight followed the stretcher with her eyes. A dark piece of fabric was thrown over it to protect the pony beneath from unwanted glares. The fabric was raising and lowering in a calm breathing pattern. From the shape of the body beneath the fabric, Twilight could tell that he was an average-sized pegasus.

She nodded approvingly about the decreasing risk of being physically inferior to him. Princess Luna lowered the stretcher to the ground and levitated the sleeping stallion still wrapped inside the fabric over to Twilight's couch. “I wish you a good morning as well, Twilight Sparkle.”

The light around the horn of Princess Luna disappeared and left the stallion peacefully sleeping. “From now on it is up to you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Remove the fabric and the blindfold when you feel ready to. If you need any advice, don't hesitate to call for me. I will come to your aid. Good luck.”

Before Twilight could respond, the mare of the night disappeared in another ray of blueish light. Spike covered his eyes from the flash of light in order to keep his eye-sight. “Why are the princesses always teleporting? I mean we have a door... they can use it as well.”

Twilight covered a small giggle with her hoof. “You should be used to it. I'm doing it all the time, too.”

Spike rolled his eyes in annoyance and hissed at Twilight. “Yeah, but at least you don't dump the son of King Sombra here and disappear without any information given.”

The giggle quickly faded and turned into a worried frown. “I doubt that Luna was withholding anything. I'm sure that both Princesses have told us everything they know. This may be the issue and the reason why they didn't asked me for this favour when I was still a unicorn. They simply don't know how dangerous things could turn out. But I doubt they would me sent something that would actually able to harm me greatly.”

The little dragon's eyes wandered away from his alicorn friend and laid upon the calmly breathing pony beneath the piece of fabric. “What do you think he looks like?”

Spike stared at the sleeping stallion under the blanked. It was fear that held of his mind. The fear of the unknown. Twilight stepped slowly to his side and stroked his scaled head. “Maybe he has fur as dark as the night itself and razor-sharp dragon-like teeth. His eyes are coloured in a glowing golden shade and his cutie mark is the image of a nightmare! Who knows, he is the son of King Sombra after all.”

The little dragon had to suppress his laughter with all his power of will. “Are you sure that you aren't referring to Princess Luna's son?”

Spike couldn’t suppress his laughter anymore and began to chuckle faintly. Just barely loud enough for Twilight to notice, she tapped carefully against his head and shot him the evil eye. “Spike, calm down. That's not nice!”

There was still a faint giggle in his voice, but the little dragon tried to calm down by hastily breathing in and out. Twilight folded her wings again and sat down in front of her couch. “You know that is not funny! Luna is a very nice pony and you shouldn't make these kind of jokes at her expense.”

Spike made his way to the Twilight's side, he still wiped tears out of the corner of his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sorry, but do you really want to wake him up now? I mean, Luna said we should do it when we feel ready, and I'm not sure if we are. We can still get our friends to help us!”

The corners of Twilight's mouth wandered towards the ground, she could only barely managed to force a made up smile. “I know, but I don’t want to confront him with such a big crowd of ponies right away. That would probably scare him even more. If he wants to attack us right away, I can probably stop him alone. There should be nothing to worry about! Trust me.”

The lavender alicorn tried to hide her concerns behind the iron mask of royalty that Princess Celestia had taught her to wear in front of her subjects. Carefully, she raised her hoof and grabbed the fabric, and with one strong pull she exposed the stallion beneath.

The piece of fabric flew without pause, straight into Spike's face. He began to swing his arms wildly around himself. “Twilight! Help! He’s attacking me!”

Spike stumbled backwards on his behind and struggled free of the dangerous embrace of the blanket. “Twilight? Is everything all right? Where is he?”

His view wandered from his stunned friend over to the stallion on the couch. “Whoa...”

Twilight watched carefully at the stallion in front of her. She’d been prepared for the worst, but she hadn’t expected him to look like this. “Spike, we do see the same stallion, right?”

The baby dragon silently nodded and continued to stare at the sleeping pegasus. Only the eyes of the slumbering stallion were hidden beneath the enchanted leather ribbon, the rest of his body laid bare on Twilight's couch. The sunlight reflected on his pure white coat and created the impression that his body was glowing. Twilight inspected him closely, beginning from his ears that were a little bit more plush than was usual, over his light-blue, almost turquoise mane, to the joints of his wings, until she reached his tail. She stared at his flank without any words.

Spike drifted off and waited for Twilight's reaction. He watched her stare at something. Spike followed her gaze and happened to end up at the backside of the pegasus. The little dragon blushed and nudged Twilight firmly. “ You know, you don't have to look at him that way just because he's sleeping."

Twilight was taken aback by his statement. She blushed heavily and extended her hoof into Spike's direction to punch him. With the strength of an alicorn, she sent him flying into a pile of books that he hadn't sorted yet. “Oh, Spike! "Sorry, I keep forgetting how much stronger I am now."

She flashed him a goofy smile, while Spike struggled free from the heavy books above him. “Yeah. You forgot... sure.”

Twilight scratched her head and quickly tried to change the subject. “Don't you think there is something weird about him?”

Spiked kicked the last books aside and grumpily marched back to Twilight's side. “What? Besides the fact that his coat is blinding me in the light?”

Twilight's frown grew as her little assistent simply seemed to ignore the obvious. She closed her eyes and pushed Spike gently into the direction of Light Chaser’s backside. “No... Well, maybe, but that is not the issue here. I mean his wings and flank.”

Spike stumbled towards the pegasus and grabbed his wings. He looked at them for a minute but resigned quickly. “Nah, I don't get it. What's so special about them?”

Twilight stroked a hoof over her face and sighed quietly. “Sometimes I can't believe how unaware you are. Just look closely at his wings.”

Spike stepped closer to the sleeping pegasus and concentrated upon his wings. His once-white feathers were ruffled and dirty, like they had never been cleaned before. “Well, they look like no pony cared for the hygiene of them.”

Twilight stepped forward and stroked her hoof over one of his wings, sighing deeply.. With her magic she forced his wing to extend. Spike's eyes widened in face of their appearance. The little dragon eagerly jumped up and down and blurted out his suspicion. “They're shorter than they are supposed to be, right?”

Her magic gently laid the wing back where it belonged. The lavender alicorn almost began to cry at the sight in front of her. “His wings... they've been cut. Somepony has cut down the last bone in his wings. Even if he does manage to fly somehow, he will never go fast or far. He will likely be stuck to the ground.”

Spike grabbed Twilight's leg firmly, the alicorn laying a caring wing upon him. With Light Chaser’s wings and coat shining brightly in the light it was difficult to notice, but they were definitely shorter than the wings of an average pegasus. “Who could be so cruel?”

Twilight angled his wings slightly down and exposed the whole flank of their visitor. Spike let go of her leg and fell to his knees. He crawled over to the couch and stared at the stallion's flank. “It’s blank! But he’s a fully grown stallion. He looks like he could be as old as you, Twilight!”

She turned her head and ignited her horn. The magic built up around her horn and wrapped the letter at the floor in the same. The letter levitated to them and hovered in front of their eyes. Her eyes began to wander from the left to the right of the letter over and over again until she had a certain conclusion. “The Princess wrote something about King Sombra's idea of imprisonment. I think that this imprisonment was far more than sitting inside a lone room. My guess is that he never got to see the outside world because he was physically never able to. I doubt that he has seen anything aside from the inside of his blindfold. King Sombra might have laid him in chains and left him alone in some kind of dungeon.”

Spike crossed his tiny arms and gnashed his teeth. “We should have wiped the floor with King Sombra even more for this.”

Twilight laid her foreleg around the tiny dragon and pulled him against her chest. “Don't worry Spike, King Sombra paid for his sins. I think we should wake him up now. So much time from his life was stolen. We can at least try to make him happy for the rest of his life.”

Spike pushed his fear aside and consumed the last bit of bravery inside his little dragon heart. Carefully he began to loosen the little knot behind the pegasus’ ears. Slowly, the pressure of the leather ribbon against the pegasus’ eyes faded and the lessened enchantment allowed his breath to become deeper. With one sudden pull, the little dragon ripped the ribbon away and exposed his still closed eyes.

Twilight came closer and leaned above their visitor. His breaths became faster and deeper. He was slowly waking up. They watched him curiously, but nothing seemed to happen. Slowly, his eyes cracked open, Twilight could see the reflection of the fluid on the surface of his eyes. “Open your eyes, Light Chaser.”

She leaned back and awaited the worst. Her horn was already charged with magic in case Light Chaser would act wild upon being woken up so suddenly. It took him some time to regain his consciousness, but he finally managed to open his eyes fully. His eyelashes exposed the deep red orbs beneath. They took Twilight into focus and watched her closely.

Twilight showed him a warm and welcoming smile. “Good morning, my name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm your brand-new first friend.”

She waited for a response of any kind, but Light Chaser remained silent and shaking in fear. He didn't move at all. He didn't try to flee or to fight. His eyes were still fixed on Twilight, they shrunk to the size of thumbtacks.

Spike pulled gently at Twilight's mane. “I think you should give him some space, you're scaring him.”

Twilight withdrew her head slightly and firmly sat down. Light Chaser's eyes followed Twilight's movement precisely. His lips began to move. At first nothing was audible from the still sleepy stallion, But soon words could be made out? “What are you?”

She scratched her head and looked at the still drowsy pegasus in confusion. “Oh? So you can actually talk? I was afraid that you wouldn't understand me at all. I’m Twilight and I will take care of you.”

Light Chaser was still lying exactly the way he was before. The fact that he had regained his ability to move didn’t seem to interest him. “I didn't ask you who you are. I asked what you are.”

Faced with the pony before her, Twilight was almost speechless. His voice was smooth and without flaw. The stallion tried to sound calm and collected, but Twilight could hear the uncertainty and fear in his speech. “Well, I'm an alicorn. So basically a pony.”

The pegasus flinched at the word 'pony'. “Where am I?”

Spike and Twilight looked at each other, concerned. Small wrinkles formed on her face. “We are inside my home. The Princesses had brought you to me.”

The fear inside his eyes seem to fade. Slowly, he climbed down from the couch. His hooves touched the ground, but they couldn't support his weight and folded immediately. Twilight rushed to his side and helped him to stand with a supporting wing.

Light Chaser spun around and kicked Twilight in the chest as hard as his legs would allow. While Twilight withstood the kick and held her balance, the force of Light Chaser’s hindlegs sent him flying. He crashed into the little side table next to the couch, sending everything on it to the floor

He cowered underneath the table and shook violently with his body. His horrified gaze hit Twilight like a heavy book falling on her head. “Don't … touch … me... ever … again...”

His voice was more of a whimper than a normal spoken sentence. Twilight watched the terrified stallion on the floor and tears began to flow down her cheeks. “So what the Princess wrote was true after all. You really weren’t allow to see another pony. I really hoped that they were wrong. This was such a horrible experience. But please! You have to believe me. I only want to help you.”

Twilight offered him a helping hoof. He looked into her watery eyes. The hoof still hovered in front of him in a welcoming manner. Light Chaser smiled weakly at the alicorn. He observed the hoof and slowly closed the distance. Never in his life had somepony offered him a helping hoof. His curiosity got the better of him and before he could comprehend, he found himself inside a caring embrace.

She could feel his hooves trying to push him away from her. But she wouldn't let him go so easily. Slowly the pressure of his pushing became higher and higher. Light Chaser fought with all of his power to get free from the alicorn.

Twilight didn’t notice his struggling in at first, but the realization hit her quickly. She loosened her grip, and the pegasus leaned as far back as he could and bucked Twilight in the face.

She let go of him and winced in pain. Twilight wiped a few drops of blood away from her nose and looked for the fractious pegasus.

Light Chaser crouched beneath a nearby table. His shivering was almost audible and the adrenalin in his body forced him to extend his white wings fully. It was the instinctiv flight reflex inside of the mind.

Twilight’s heart ached when she saw the tears of fright in his eyes. They were frankly running down his white cheeks. The lavender alicorn took a few steps back and lowered her postion herself to eye-level with the stallion. “I guess that was a bit harsh of me. Please excuse my embrace. I’m not used to a pony like you either. I guess this won’t make things easier between us.”

Light Chaser looked stealthily past Twilight and looked into the mirror that had fallen from the side table earlier. His own face and wings reflected in it. An odd feeling crept into his mind, but he didn’t know what exactly made him feel sick over his own appearance.

His gaze returned to the threatening alicorn in front of him. His heart almost exploded in his chest from the sheer fright. With all of his will he forced his jaws apart. “Stay … away... from... me...”

Chapter 2 - First Steps

Bloodline
Chapter 2 - First Steps

The cold shiver that ran down Twilight's spine almost made her heart stop. The weeping pegasus underneath her wooden library table shot her a frantic glare.

His eyes told Twilight the story of his life. Being deserted by love and care. Being chained down and tortured. Being kept away from the chance of happiness. Twilight could read every last page of the book that was the poor pegasus, all within the fibres of his red eyes. Tears ran down the crystal white of his cheeks and met the ground.

Stunned, Twilight couldn't react other than stare at his terrified form. His chest rose and fell hastily with every breath. Spike simply sat silently by her side. The Pegasus' forceful movements and struggle for freedom kept the baby dragon from coming closer, although seeing that the prisoner was more afraid than himself let Spike’s tension ease.

Slowly, he stepped past Twilight and extended his tiny claw towards the shivering pegasus and formed it to a small scaly fist. “I'm sorry, bro.” The pegasus continued to gaze at Twilight, barely blinking at Spike’s words. “Twilight can be a little bit harsh and insensitive,” the dragon continued. “C’mon, get up and share a tub of ice cream with me!”

Light Chaser's gaze wandered down from the hapless alicorn to the little dragon. His lips were quivering, but his eyes regained some of their shine, mirroring his slowly raising confidence. “What is that ‘ice cream’ supposed to be?”

Spike stared at the white pegasus in sheer disbelief. Staring, mouth agape, he raised his claw and smacked it loudly against his forehead, pulling it down over his face moments later. “This is going to be a very long day...”

Spike turned around and scuffed in the general direction of the kitchen. The clicking sound of his hard scales caused Twilight to snap out of her stupor, and she followed his tiny steps.

She shook her head for a short moment, then put a false, but nonetheless heartwarming, smile onto her face. The lavender Alicorn sank to the ground and made herself comfortable.

Light Chaser narrowed his eyes but otherwise didn't react. He seemed to consider the distance between them as safe. His knees were still shivering a little bit but his heartbeat seemed to decrease. Maybe Twilight had taken the right turn.

Twilight observed Light Chaser's lips carefully. They were quivering less as long as Twilight kept herself from getting too near him. She made herself as small as possible, extending her wings but keeping them low, nearly touching the ground. Twilight leaned to her side and stretched her left wing as much as possible towards Light Chaser.

The white pegasus pressed himself stronger against the table leg. He watched the plush wing getting closer to his hooves. His lips began to quiver once more, fear returning to his mind. Twilight laid her head onto the floor next to her wing and tried to give him the most sympathetic smile. “You really don't have any need to be afraid of me. This is just my wing. It’s really soft and warm, just lay your hoof on it. You’ll see. There is nothing fluffier than a freshly preened wing.”

Light Chaser watched the wing in front of him. He inspected every single inch of the lavender wing closely while he narrowed his eyes until only two small slits remained. Instead of stretching his hoof towards the feathered limb, he stretched his own wing away from his body.

He laid his wing flatly on the ground and let his eyes gaze over its full length. His eyes returned to the charming mare, but his gaze wasn't filled with confidence or certainty. Instead, he wore the very same look a little foal would wear if it had to ask a very bothersome question. “Listen Alicorn, you and I look different. Explain.”

Twilight twitched slightly but tried to keep her stance. She licked her lips while she thought quickly about the most suitable explanation. “It is rather simple. You are a stallion, which means you are a male pony while I'm a mare, which means I'm a female pony. Most ponies have a differently shaded coat. Spike and I only happen to be both purple-coated. You are a crystal pony, which means that your coat has a gem-like shine...”

Her thoughts came to a halt when the gaze of the pegasus become more and more bored. “I may have been blindfolded and kept away from everything that could interact with me, but I'm not an idiot. Skip that part and explain why our wings look different.”

Twilight tried to stretch her wing even further. The startled pegasus didn’t notice her wing getting closer. “If I answer your questions, are you willing to answer mine?”

The white pegasus simply nodded weakly. “Depends on the question, but ask if you want.”

Twilight could only offer him a small, honest smile, considering what she had to tell him. “Thank you, Light Chaser. What I have to tell you now is quite difficult. I won't lie to you either. Your wings were gravely damaged when you were young. It seems like the last bone in your wing has been cut down. This will influence your upward lift. You may never be able to fly with these.”

Light Chaser seemed to become even smaller than before. He hid behind his crippled wings and pulled them close to his face. “How does it feel to fly? I heard some guards talk about it once.”

Twilight turned her head slightly away from the curious but still anxious pegasus. “I can't tell you much about flying, to be honest. These are new to me, too. I got them nearly two weeks ago, when I turned into an Alicorn.”

His ears perked up. He withdrew his wings and stared at the mare in front of him. “Become an Alicorn? Weren't you born like this?”

An uncomfortable twitch raced through her spine when she remembered her meeting with Princess Celestia in that foreign world. “After I finally understood what friendship really means, I gained these. It was a creepy feeling. So much energy was floating around and inside of me. I felt invincible in that very moment, but I don't like that feeling of unlimited power.”

The purely white pegasus rose from the ground. His eyes became harsh and dim. The red orbs scared Twilight, but she still forced herself to stand still. Light Chaser got closer to her and leaned a little bit over Twilight. The incoming light fell from above the stallion and shadowed almost his entire face. Only his red shining eyes were visible to her. The sound of his voice was familiar to her. It was only a short moment, but she heard King Sombra talk once and the sound of Light Chaser's voice right now wasn't comfortable to her. “Powerful, you say? Does that mean that anypony can obtain such unlimited power?”

Her wings withdrew and neatly clipped against her body once more. His voice included a threatening tone, something that made Twilight shiver and confident at the same time. Maybe kindness wasn't the solution to soften him but his obvious interest in power. “Technically it would be possible I think. But since they are only four Alicorns around I would consider it very hard. It is a high goal to aim for.”

Almost as she’d predicted, Light Chaser began to hiss. Before his thoughts could continue further, Twilight rashly stepped in. “I think now it's my turn to ask you a question. How familiar were you with your father?”

Light Chaser's eyes switched back to the Alicorn. Immediately he remembered in what kind of situation he was and slowly retreated underneath the table he came from before. “In which way is this of interest for you, Alicorn?”

Twilight gulped, she had forgotten about a very important fact until now. Light Chaser didn't know about the time span he had been sleeping yet. “You see... Your father had enslaved the Crystal Empire over a thousand years ago but two Princesses stopped him and banished him into the eternal northern ice. Recently he got free, so Spike and I had to stop him for a second time. Which made me curious. I wanted to know how much you knew about him.”

The white pegasus retreated further back into the absolute shadow underneath the table. It was impossible for Twilight to read his body language now. “I knew that he was a king, but I never heard something of him being a dictator. Maybe it was what made him special … bringing misery to others... But a thousand years of imprisonment gave him enough time to think.”

Twilight bit her lip, it was the faint tone of sadness that let her urge to help rose. “I didn't want to make you sad, Light Chaser. It’s just that I want to learn as much about you as possible. I just want to befriend you and show you the beauty of Equestria. Much has changed since your father got hold of the Crystal Empire.”

He slightly emerged from the shadows but still eyed Twilight suspiciously. “Why would you want to know something about me? I'm just as strange to you as you are to me. There’s absolutely no need to know something about each other.”

Twilight couldn't help but giggle at his attitude. Not so far in the past, she had seen things the same way. “This is the very concept of friendship that made me an Alicorn in the end. Friendship means to rely on others, helping them and getting helped in return. You can even be pouring your heart out to them and find salvation in their kindness. So you don't have to be alone ever again. Nopony should be alone with his problems and worries. There are so many ponies out there. I'd bet many of them would love to be friends with you.”

She let her hooves occasionally wave to the little window to her right side. The shining light hindered his gaze to see anything on the outside, but the upcoming tension in his muscles told Twilight about his curiosity. “We could make a little deal if you want to.”

Light Chaser cocked an eyebrow and waited for her to advance. Twilight cleared her throat and did as he pleased. “I promise to stay at least three whole body lengths away from you, so you can take a look through the window.”

It felt rather suspicious to him. But Twilight just lay there idly without a dark twist in her expression. She was genuinely honest. “What kind of deal is this if you don't gain anything from me in return? You are just holding yourself back in order to help me advance.”

Twilight happily nodded and chirped in a happy tune. “That is exactly what friendship means! Doing something for another pony only to make him happy.”

Light Chaser eyed Twilight carefully and slowly arose from underneath the table. He stepped back into the light. Slowly and steady he laid one hoof in front of another. Always waited for Twilight's reaction. As promised she slipped further away with every step he made. His legs still didn't supported his weight very well and quivered with every step. But his confidence grew with every passing inch. From the corner of his eyes he watched Twilight's smile grew and grew. She just sat there idly and patient, waiting for his reaction to the world outside.

His hooves rose from the ground and met the window ledge. His eyes needed a second to adjust to the blinding light of the outside world that Princess Celestia was brightening day in day out. The sight let him forget his fear. Little birds were flying around the trees, and a swarm of butterflies just crossed the window to halt on the flowers around the library he was sitting in. Ponies in different hues and forms were mingling in front of the library, carrying some bags to their homes.

Light Chaser turned his head back to Twilight. A wide smile has grew on his face. The lavender Alicorn was sitting now exactly three body-lengths away from him, waiting for his response. “Hey, Alicorn! What are these tiny creatures out there?”

Twilight bent her neck and tried to get a glimpse of the animals outside. Her smile grew even bigger when she saw a little bird land right outside the window. Light Chaser's eyes grew wide when he observed it closely. “This little friend is a bird. As you see, they can fly through the air and chirp lovely songs all day long.”

He raised his hoof back to the window and tapped carelessly against the glass. The little bird flew away and left him behind. His smile fell back to a small frown, while Twilight couldn't cover another small giggle. “You know, if you want I can introduce you to a close friend of mine. She is really really sweet and very shy. She takes care of the animals around Ponyville. Many of them are even living with her. I can imagine that she will be even more afraid of you than you would be of her.”

A faint twitch rushed over his face. He just stared at her in disbelief. It seemed like a single familiar though come over and over again to his mind. “If I give this whole friendship thing a chance, does that mean that I could become an Alicorn one day?”

Twilight's body began to shiver. These emphasis in his speech, sounded too much like the dark king. Just as she wanted to answer his question, the clacking sound of Spike's claws resounded through the library. The little dragon walked around the corner from the little kitchen with a big tub of ice cream in his right claw and a small bowl filled with ice cream with a spoon stuck inside in his left claw. “Oh I see that you got him from underneath your table.Well then, here you go.”

Spike let the bowl slide over the ground. It began to spin while it got closer to Light Chaser. He lifted his hoof before the bowl came to an halt in front of him. The oddly sweet smell of the cold mass beneath him awoke his curiosity. He lowered his head and took a deep breath. “This smells so odd. Is this the ice cream you spoke of?”

The little dragon laughed at the inexperienced stallion and demonstrated the harmlessness of the frozen liquid. He lifted the tub above his head and poured the contents down his throat. Spike licked the remaining ice cream from his lips and tossed the tub aside. “You see? It’s delicious!”

Light Chaser stuck his hoof slightly into the ice cream and licked the sticky liquid from his white hoof. He gasped at the intense taste and began to stutter. “Wh... Wha... What? This is so sweet and full of sugar! I have to get another bite!”

He grabbed the bowl and hastily shoved one spoon after another inside his mouth. The bowl emptied quickly. A cold pain raced to his head after the ninth spoonful. The bowl and spoon fell to the ground and the white pegasus followed immediately. He clapped his hooves together above his head and rubbed his forehead. “This pain! What have you done?”

Spike couldn't cover his laughter while Light Chaser struggled with his pain. “It’s a question of training. You will withstand it soon.”

Light Chaser shot him an evil glare through the gap between his hooves. His gaze wandered over to Twilight. She was still smiling at him, but her smile seemed to be more forced than before. “Please don't be angry at Spike! He just forgot to warn you about the after-effects of eating ice cream too fast! Come on, I’ll show you around the library and show you where you will sleep later.”

The white stallion shook his head and rose back to his hooves. Spike watched him rise and noticed something odd. “Is it just me or is he looking somehow more dull than before?”

Twilight looked at the struggling stallion closely. “Oh! Why haven't I noticed before? He really greyed down.”

Light Chaser cocked an eye on the chatting two in front of him. “What do you mean when you say that I greyed?”

Spike wanted to step closer to him, but Light Chaser immediately flinched back. Spike awkwardly scratched his head and coughed. “When we woke you up you were all shiny. You seemed to be a little bit more plush and even your mane didn't look so flat before.”

Light Chaser looked at the little dragon in disbelief but Twilight stepped in to help. “It is pretty easy. When a crystal pony feels unsure or uneasy, it's coat loses its shine and it’s mane flattens. You must have been happy while you peacefully slept and after we scared you, your coat lost its crystal clear shine. Any questions?”

Light Chaser looked at the lavender Alicorn blankly but Spike was hastily raising his claw. “Twi? How is it even possible that a crystal pony is a pegasus? I thought they are all like earth ponies without horn, wings and stuff.”

She scratched her chin while she let the memories of the Crystal Empire pass through her mind. “Now that you mention it, I’ve really never seen a real crystal pegasus before. Maybe there are just living outside the capital or maybe he is some kind of mutation. Light Chaser said before that some guards have spoken about flying. Maybe there were once more of them. I really should ask Cadance about it. Maybe she can give me some more info. And while I'm at it, I could ask her how magic takes effect on a crystal pony.”

Light Chaser hesitantly raised his voice towards Twilight. “Why do you have to know how magic is affecting me?”

Twilight put on the most generous and happy smile she could and chirped enthusiastically at the baffled stallion. “Since your wings are not able to fly anymore, I want to regrow them. But I don't know a spell to do this, so I will ask her.”

“Is she an Alicorn, too?”

Spike and Twilight looked at each other for a brief moment. This was enough of an answer for the stallion. Light Chaser sighed faintly and turned away from them. “I think I understand. Is there some space where I can be alone for some time?”

Twilight tried to smile again, but the stallion in front of her made it harder and harder to be positive. “At the top of the library is a stargazing room with a little balcony. If you want you could spend some time there.”

His eyes turned towards the stairs and he took slowly off. He hid his face with his wings while he walked over the wooden stair. Twilight and Spike didn't dare to follow him now. Spike shot Twilight a worried glare. “Why did he asked you about Cadence being an Alicorn?”

Twilight sighed quietly and waited for the door of the stargazing room above to close. “We talked a bit and I told him how I have become an Alicorn. It was very strange. His voice became much darker and sounded so much more like King Sombra's. He asked me if anypony could become so powerful. I think he might be dangerous in his core. We have to watch him closely.”

Spike looked upstairs and rubbed his arms. “Yeah, I think you are right.”

Above them in the stargazing room were various books ripped out of the bookshelves, most of them covered highly complex topics and theories. Every single of them was flipped open. Light Chaser let his gaze strive over thousand of foreign characters. “Alright! Everypony has to begin somewhere.”

The white stallion had comfortably laid down in front of the big balcony windows and was looking through a little multi-coloured cardboard book with various colourful pictures of animals and objects.

This book was kindly named ‘A foal’s guide to reading’.

Chapter 3 - Dark Clouds

Bloodline
Chapter 3 - Dark Clouds

Light Chaser read this one particular book over and over again until he felt confident enough to move on to other topics. Slowly he tried to work through Twilight's endless collection of foalbooks. His head began to ache at the sheer unbelievable amount of characters and numbers on their pages.

Finally the mental strain took its toll. He lay carefully back on his back and stared at the ceiling above. His mind needed to rest. Even if reading was quite fun.

The door cracked hesitantly open and Twilight stuck her head carefully inside the room. Her heart skipped a single beat when she caught sight of the situation inside. Almost every single book was torn out of its place and distributed on the ground. Random papers were lying everywhere. It seemed like somepony had drawn some ominous characters on them. It looked oddly familiar to the hoof-writing of a foal that had just learned to write.

Twilight gasped for air inside this chaos. Her eyes zoomed through the room and searched for a still intact place. Her breathing became faster with every passing second. Light Chaser raised his head to get a glimpse of his visitor. The hyperventilating alicorn looked like she might need some help. “Hey Alicorn? Is something wrong?”

Her gaze switched to the relaxing pegasus at the ground. Her eyes narrowed while she collected her thoughts. “You are asking ME if something is WRONG? I… I can't even...”

Until now Twilight hadn't realized what Light Chaser was doing. Her entire collection of self-learning books were dispersed around the white pegasus. Twilight's breath calmed and her heart began to pump normally again. “You… you were studying?”

Light Chaser cocked his eye at the astonished alicorn. “Yes, I tried myself at reading and this maths thing. Pretty hard, but I think I can get the hang out of it.”

Twilight gasped at the so calm pegasus. A wide smile grew on her face. “This is amazing! I never even considered the possibility that you would learn here on your own! How did you even get the idea to do this?”

Light Chaser turned his gaze away from Twilight and looked again at the ceiling. “I saw many books downstairs and most of them looked like somepony has used them recently. So I figured that since you are most likely the one who read this huge amount of books, it could help me to achieve my goals as well.”

There it was again, this faint creepy feeling Twilight got when Light Chaser spoke about his goals. She swallowed this bad feeling and tried to carry on. “You’ve learned the entire day. It’s almost night. You must be hungry by now. Spike is preparing some dinner downstairs. I thought you may want to eat with us?”

Light Chaser turned around and looked out the windows. He hadn't notice that the sun had already set. The light of the stars reflected in his red eyes. Never before he had seen something this beautiful. The only thing in the night sky that could rival the stars was the moon itself. “What is this thing in the sky? It looks simply amazing. I can't even find words to describe it...”

Twilight kept the distance between herself and Light Chaser to keep him calm. She smiled at the lovely image of the full-moon high in the sky. “Princess Luna raises and lowers the moon every single night. She is a wonderful pony. She was even the one who brought you to me.”

Light Chaser couldn't take his gaze away from the night sky. Still astonished, he stared upwards. “If this Luna pony is as beautiful as her moon, I definitely couldn't resist any of her words.”

Twilight giggled sweetly at Light Chaser's little admiration for the Princess of the Night. “I'm sure you will meet her soon. You just have to be patient. Maybe you want to eat something in the meantime?”

The white pegasus shook his head and concentrated back on Twilight. She was still patiently waiting at the door step. Light Chaser got back to his hooves and looked expectantly at her.

Twilight waited for him to start walking, but for seconds nothing happened. The gears in her mind began to grind and she finally understood. “Oh, sorry. I forgot the distance. I will go in front.”

Light Chaser waited for Twilight to disappear. Only then did he follow her downstairs. With every step the lovely scent of toast became stronger in his nose. Twilight sat already at the table together with Spike. A third chair was a little bit more distanced then the others. The dishes were already placed for him.

Hesitantly, he placed himself at the chair and looked upon the freshly cooked food. Never before he had seen what he was eating. The guards had always fed him with the necessary food. He shoved the buttercup-garnished toast from one side of the dish to another, before he finally grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth.

Twilight and Spike looked at each other while they watched the cautious stallion eat his piece of toast. Their smile grew as wide as Light Chaser's smile while the taste of fresh food flooded his taste buds. Without asking he quickly tried everything new on the plate. Before Spike or Twilight noticed his plate was completely empty.

Light Chaser let himself slide down in the comfortable chair. His belly was completely stuffed. In his ecstasy he totally forgot about the alicorn and the little dragon watching him. A faint blush appeared on his face while he tried to cover it with his short wings.

Twilight giggled quietly and continued to eat her plate empty as well. Carefully, she levitated their empty dishes into the sink. Light Chaser's eyes followed th magic-wrapped plates. He licked his lips and shot Twilight a curious look. “This magic of yours... How powerful is it and what can you do with it?”

The unsure alicorn thought for a few seconds about her answer. She shouldn't encourage sinister thoughts, but there was no way that Light Chaser would ever he able to use magic on his own. “Magic is something eternal and completely unobstructed. It can be firm or liquid. Magic is everywhere around us. Every living being contains magic in some form. Earth ponies can't manipulate magic, but their bones and muscles are magically enhanced. They are really strong and persistent. Even pegasi are able to use magic in some for, weather magic to be specific. Pegasi are the only ponies that can walk on clouds and manipulate the weather itself. By shoving clouds aside they can create a sunny day or shield the ponies below from the direct sunlight. Even thunderstorms and rain can be manipulated that way. If you are interest you should really read a few books about it. Maybe you will find your luck in the weather patrol! I've got a good friend there. She maybe can get you in.”

Light Chaser didn't really answer to Twilight's seemingly generous offer. He simply stretched his wings a little bit and made his disability obvious for Twilight. She blushed a little bit at her missing empathy and tried to make the best of the situation. “You don't have to be necessarily flying through the sky to be in the weather patrol. Some pegasi have to do the administrative work, such as planning the weather and developing new ways to change the weather in a better and even safer way. You could consider them weather engineers. I'd bet that would be great fun!”

Light Chaser seemed to be pleased with this opportunity, but there was still this curious glim in his eyes. “I may take a look later. But you haven't finished your explanation about magic. What about the alicorns? What are their capabilities?”

It got uncomfortably warm inside the library kitchen. Twilight was still careful when it came to this particular question. She didn't know her own capabilities yet; he could only describe what she had seen before. “As far as I know, alicorns are theoretically capable of every magic known in this world, although they prefer to stick to their own special talent like Princess Luna. The only real difference I could spot between a unicorn and a alicorn is that an alicorn has both wings and horn and more magical resources. But I still have to learn advanced magic. So even an alicorn has to learn and study magic.”

Slight disappointment crept into Light Chaser's face, but he tried his best to cover it. In the meantime Spike had finished his plate as well. He clumsily slid from his chair and carried his dish to the sink. He stood still between the table and Twilight but shot Light Chaser a questioning glare. “Everything you ask for is magic. Why are you so interested in something you can't even really use?”

Light Chaser's gaze got significantly darker. Spike noticed that he may have gone to far and began to sweat. “Hehe, you know what? I think it isn't important! If you are curious, you should totally learn more about it.”

Annoyed from Spike's outburst, Light Chaser stood up from his chair and turned his back to Twilight and Spike. “I'm going upstairs again and continuing my reading exercises.”

Twilight and Spike shot each other a worried gaze. But with so less time Twilight had to make a quick decision. She turned to Light Chaser and yelled after him. “Would you mind if I come with you?”

Without turning around or stopping, the white pegasus hissed back at his landlord. “It is your library. You can do whatever you want.”

Before Twilight caught up to the fleeing pegasus, she shot Spike a warning eye. “You are absolutely right, Spike. He has an oddly big interest in magic. I should keep in eye on him. Even if he can't use magic, he could abuse other scientific methods.”

As Twilight finished her sentence, she immediately followed Light Chaser upstairs. Once more she found herself in the chaotic room. Light Chaser was hanging above a colourful book. Twilight still kept her distance to the cautious stallion, but could get a glimpse of the book. She found the matching title inside her well-organized memory of every single book in her library. “Oh, so you are reading the basics of weather control. This is already an elementary schoolbook! You are really making such vast progress! I could help you, if you want me to.”

Light Chaser lazily flipped to the next page in his book and didn't even think that Twilight was worth to be looked at while he responded. “I'm fine. It is still hard and I need much time to read a single page. But I will manage somehow.”

Twilight carefully went a step closer to the highly concentrated stallion and levitated a couple of books on top of the shelves next to Light Chaser. “You know... It is quite uncommon to learn to read in a single day. You seem to be special to me. Maybe you want to talk more about yourself?”

He tossed the book in front of him a few inches away and turned to the curious alicorn behind him. “Listen, Alicorn. You really want to know every single detail of my life so far? Fine! I will tell you! Everything I remember before you and your slave woke me up were simple sounds and very few feelings! The only voices I knew were from the guards that had kept an eye on me every now and than and the guards who feed me. I never saw a single one of them! Sometimes they made fun of me and even hit me! I couldn't move or scream. There was nothing that I could do... For endless days this events blurred into another. I couldn't even tell the difference between day and night... The only day I can really remember was at the very end of my imprisonment. I've heard loud noises and terrified scream of the guards whose voice I knew. But than silence turned in, their screams were gone. I heard hoof steps of something big coming in my direction. This being took of my blindfold and I saw another pony for the first time. She was a beautiful blue mare but my sight was still blurry and I couldn't really see her face. Seconds after she put me into slumber and the next thing I remember is waking up here... a thousand years later. She is probably dead by now...”

Twilight gasped at his horrifying narration. She wanted to step closer so badly, but she knew he would just run away in fright.

The door behind Twilight swung open and Spike walked carelessly into the room. “Hey, Twilight I just-”

The little dragon tripped over a book on the ground and quickly grabbed the huge shelf next to him. The giant construction of wood began to tilt into the room. Spike tried to hold the shelf back but his tiny body couldn't support the weight. Twilight saw the shelf falling down. Its shadow already covered Light Chaser but the stallion hadn’t moved at all. He just looked astonished at the heavy bookshelf. The first books were already hitting the ground. Light Chaser closed his eyes forcefully shut and covered his head with his hooves, waiting for the impact.

Seconds passed and instead of the heavy bookshelf, only a single tiny drip met his white coat. Slowly he cracked his eyes open and searched for the drip’s origin. Twilight was standing right above him. A red liquid ran down her back and dripped on Light Chaser's coat. She was shielding him with her own body. “Alicorn... you are bleeding... why did you do that?”

Twilight coughed faintly and tossed the bookshelf off her back with a powerful flap of her wings. “Don't worry about this, Light Chaser... This is what friends do for each other.”

She could feel something soft around her neck. Light Chaser had swung his hooves around Twilight's neck and was holding her tight to his chest. Twilight didn't know what she could say now. She simply hadn't expected such a heavy reaction. “What are you doing, Light Chaser?”

The stallion didn't look up or let go of his protector. He simply answered with a sad undertone in his voice. “I think you called it an embrace before...”

Twilight almost shed a tear at his words. She smiled motherly at the mental young stallion and returned his embrace. “Maybe you want to stop calling me Alicorn and call me by my real name?”

Light Chaser didn't really answer, but Twilight could feel his head slightly nodding inside her coat.

Far from this scene, Princess Celestia paced from one side of the Coronation Hall to another, waiting for her younger sister to return from her duty to raise the moon. Minute after minute passed without her presence. This particular room has been magic-proofed after the changeling accident. Even the Princess of the Night had to use the main entrance like a normal pony.

Finally the sound of Princess Luna's magic was audible outside the thick wooden doors. They ignited in her midnight-blue magic and swung gently open.

Gracefully but with a rapid step, the Princess walked inside to meet her sister. “What is it, sister? It isn't like you to call on me such a harsh way.”

Princess Celestia's face was covered in sweat. She’d had to wait too long for Princess Luna to appear. “Of course, I had to call you! You brought Sombra's son to my Twilight and didn't even tell me if everything went well!”

Princess Luna closed the distance to her sister and laid a comforting wing around her. “Listen, Tia. It went like we had discussed before. I checked his body. He had no injuries or something similar. I left him at Twilight's library and left immediately before he could take a glimpse of me. I told Twilight that she can call me if necessary. This pegasus won't do anything bad to her.”

The Princess of the Sun was still shivering. She had an awfully bad feeling about this. “I know we talked about it before but when you passed my chamber I got a bad feeling about him. Like King Sombra himself was strolling through the castle. Maybe there is something more about him that we don't know yet?”

Nothing could bring wrinkles of worries to Princess Luna's face. Twilight Sparkle had become a dear friend to her and she knew that Twilight wouldn't disappoint her. “I can understand your concern, Tia. But you have to trust Twilight. You led her the way to become an alicorn and there is no pony that you trust more than her. Maybe not even towards me. Twilight will bring Light Chaser on the right path, just as you did with Twilight.”

Little tears formed in Princess Celestia's eyes. “Don't be silly, Lulu. I trust you the most in this world. We are two immortal sisters and we will always hold to each other. We may not accept it but we have grown old. Cadence and Twilight are young and inexperienced. Especially Twilight... I don't want to lose her right away. What if Light Chaser intends to bring his father back to power? We haven't found a trace of him after Twilight and Spike helped to defeat him!”

Princess Luna withdrew her hoof and levitated a well-sealed scroll from one of the countless bookshelves around them. She magically unwrapped it and read quickly through it. “The Royal Guards hadn't found the body nor the remains of the dark king. But a fragment whose origin is seemingly the tip of King Sombra's horn had been discovered close to the Crystal Empire. It is still wrapped in dark magic and highly radiating in it’s dark shine. Prince Shining Armor has sealed it deep inside their Crystal Castle, far away from the Crystal Heart. A delegation of guards are protecting the artefact out of fear from terrorism. We still suspect that there are supporters of King Sombra, regardless of his being an enslaver of the crystal ponies.”

Every single hair of Princess Celestia's coat tensed up. There were always dangerous religious cults in and around Equestria but they never were a real threat to them. Nopony was strong enough to bring back Nightmare Moon or Discord. Most of them had even forgotten these ancient beings. But the Crystal Empire just reappeared like the last thousand years never happened. King Sombra wasn't in the distant past for them. For them, he had just fallen. “Terrorism? I didn't even think of that possibility! What if such ponies learn about Light Chaser's existence and want to foal-nap him? We've forgot to warn Twilight about this! She mustn't tell anypony about his true identity! It would be certainly safer for all of them. Especially since ponies wouldn't judge him right away. It will be easier for him to blend in. I'm sure Twilight's friends would accept him nevertheless, but we don't know about our other subjects. They may became afraid of him.”

Princess Luna tapped thoughtfully against her chin. She was well aware of the possibility of some cult member existence. But she never considered the possibility that some of them might attack Twilight or Light Chaser. Light Chaser isn't a unicorn and is unable to bring his father back with his own power. So even if somepony would like to capture him, he won’t be of a real use to them right now. He would never agree to try to bring his father back, since Light Chaser got restrained through the hooves of his father for the majority of his life. “I didn't think that a cult might be a threat to them. But I agree with you now. I will send Twilight a letter right away. You don't have to be afraid anymore. Everything will go well.”

Princess Celestia wiped her tears away and took her sister in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Luna...”

The Princess of the Night began to scribble something on a freshly crafted scroll and sent it right away. But against their expectations, they weren't alone. The shadow of a slender unicorn clothed in a frock stretched from behind a curtain, hidden in the most distanced corner of the room. The being hissed with his tongue and slowly withdrew from the magic-proof room. “So the rumours were right... I have to tell the others...”

Chapter 4 - Strengthening the Bond

Bloodline
Chapter 4 - Strengthening the Bond

The fierce battle between two opposing forces raged inside the little library of Ponyville. The moment Twilight left them to get some food and various little things, they started the fight that should seal the fate of countless countries.

The pure white pegasus used all of his skills to decide the battle. He took the dice of fate into his hooves and led Spike to his absolute destruction. The little dragon couldn't believe what horrible kind of act occurred in front of his eyes. Canterlot was completely surrounded by Light Chaser’s army. There was no way out of this wicked situation. “You can't be serious! This is the third match of Risk you played in your entire life and you're already crushing me like Twilight usually does! How is that even possible. You can't even read properly yet.”

Light Chaser flashed him a huge grin and brushed some imaginary dust from his strong shoulder to provoke him even more. “Seems like I'm just the smarter one of us, little lizard.”

Spike wiped the board clean of every pony figure. He stashed them back into the place they belonged and hid the game inside the games section of the library. Light Chaser followed his path and watched him return. Spike lifted his claw to give him a little friendly nudge on the shoulder. Carelessly the little dragon closed his eyes and leashed out. Unfortunately, the weak swing didn't met Light Chaser's shoulder but swung aimlessly through the air since Light Chaser easily dodged. He swirled around his own axis and finally fell to the ground with a dumb thud.

With disgust, the pegasus watched him stand up again. Spike scratched his scaled head and tried to cover the awkwardness of the situation. “You still don't like to be touched, right?”

Light Chaser shook silently his head, the disapproving gaze reminded Spike who was sitting in front of him. Slowly he retreated in the general direction of the entrance door of the tree. “Well, I'm really really sorry. I won't ever tr-”

The door slammed open and pinned Spike between the door itself and the wall next to it. Twilight happily walked inside her home, followed by three floating bags. “Good morning, Light. What have you been doing since I've left?”

Light Chaser's tail began to wipe over the wooden floor and a little smile grew on his lips. “Good morning, Twilight. I was playing Risk with Spike, I've totally crushed him.”

Twilight couldn't resist the urge to giggle. Spike wasn't exactly the best Risk player, but the fact that a pony who’d slept for a thousand years had beaten him was hilarious. “And where is our defeated soldier now?”

He raised his left hoof and pointed to the door, where the dragon was slowly struggling into freedom from behind it. Twilight quickly grabbed the door with her magic and closed it firmly. “I'm sorry, Spike, I didn't know you were standing there.”

With her bags of groceries, Twilight made her way to the kitchen. With a small giggle she passed Light Chaser and extended one of her wings to stroke him gently. He even raised up a tiny bit to feel the full measure of the soft wing.

Spike watched the pegasus looking to get stroked by his best friend. “You got to be kidding me...”

He wiped the last remains of dust from his scales and followed Twilight into the kitchen. The little dragon began to sort the different kinds of groceries into the cupboards around the kitchen. “What do you want to do now?”

Twilight turned around and puzzled her little assistant with a questioning expression. “What are you talking about, Spike?”

Spike placed the box of cereal next to the jars of marmalade and closed the cupboard gently. “I mean, we can't keep him inside our home all the time. That would be like another prison at some point.”

She scratched her chin with one of her hooves while she folded the paper bags in a well-organized manner and stashed them on top of the paper bag pile. “You may be right, Spike. He needs to be around other ponies, and I think I know exactly the right pony for that.”

His eyes grew wide. He leaned on top of the pager bag pile and took Twilight into his focus. “Are you sure you want to do this to him so early?”

Twilight waved her hoof and rolled with her eyes. “Sure, it’s not even a problem to touch him anymore. I'm sure he will be very welcoming.”

Spike bit on his lips and raised his tiny claw. “It’s only you Twilight...”

The lavender alicorn already swirled around inside the world of her imagination. “Oh my Celestia. This will be the best party ever! On top of that, it will be his first party ever! Spike! Go to Sugar Cube Corner now and tell Pinkie Pie everything. She should prepare a party for tomorrow. I will get Light Chaser out of the library so she can prepare everything. Make sure that the ponies will arrive one by one so that he can get used to them.”

Twilight clapped her hooves cheerfully together and bounced out of the kitchen. Spike followed his winged friend with his eyes and sighed deeply. “I hope this won't end in a disaster.”

Spike strolled through the living room and passed Light Chaser. The crystal pegasus watched the little dragon mumbling something unintelligible and leaving the library through the door. It firmly clicked into its lock and kept unwanted visitors outside.

Light Chaser turned his head around when he heard the sound of the incoming alicorn while her hooves tapped gently against the wooden floor. She smiled at the pegasus and stopped in front of him. “So you had a lot of fun with Spike?”

He nodded violently, his wings expanded. Twilight’s view drifted from Light Chaser's face over to his wings. This happened over and over again, no matter how hard she tried to focus. “Today, I will teach you a few more basic things. But first you have to shower.”

Light Chaser tilted his head and raised his eyebrow in concern. “What do you mean by 'have to shower'?”

Twilight couldn't resist and giggled like a little filly. “Don't worry about that, I will help you. It is really relaxing and liberating, I promise! I’m like your sister there is nothingyou have to be afraid of. I’m like a bigger sister to you.”

She pointed him the way upstairs with her hoof. There was a sympathetic smile on her lips. He followed her lead in good faith and found himself inside the bathroom.

He looked around the sink and bathtub, trying to figure out the meaning behind the different kinds of flasks and potions. The door clicked behind him magically into its lock. Light Chaser turned around and saw Twilight standing inside the bathroom. A brush hovered maliciously next to her head, enveloped by the alicorn's magic. His eyes shrank and he searched for a safe spot to hide. But the merciless expression in Twilight's eyes told him that there was no way out. “Twilight? What meaning has the brush next to you? You won't harm me with that, don't you?”

Twilight's grin grew wider when she approached step for step the nervous pegasus. Before he could react, he felt the magical grip around his body. Without the chance to escape, he faced the inside of the bathtub.

Light Chaser's hooves firmly touched the ceramic surface. His frown faded and a weak smile formed on his lips. “Maybe this isn't so bad. What happens next?”

He noticed a weird looking silvery thing that was attached to the wall next to the bathtub. Multiple small holes were on the bottom. Carefully, he raised on his rear legs and faced the strange object directly. Only a few inches parted him from it. If he thought a second time about his previous words, he would certainly regret them.

Beneath him, a squeaky sound became audible. He should have paid more attention to it. But some ponies learn only the hard way. A hot stream of water splashed into his face and caused him to fall backwards back into the bathtub.

The adrenaline kicked in and activated the escape reflex that was coded inside a pony's subconscious since the ancient times. But he didn't even stand a chance against the force of Twilight's grip.

The flow of water streamed between the joints of his wings and massaged this spot. The good feeling didn't last for long. He could feel the brush rubbing over his coat. The brush buried itself deep into his coat to remove every single piece of dirt. Between the different new feelings he could swear that the officious alicorn even poured some of the potions over him.

The touch of the brush and Twilight's hooves that ruffled through his mane in addition to the seemingly never ending flow of water made him feel uncomfortable. His wings began to flap wildly around and so he tossed even more flask inside.

The mix of different scents and the hot steam came into his nostrils. Gasping for air, he tried to stick his head out of the bathtub. Twilight bopped against his nose and let him fall back into the bathtub. He was forced to dive deep into the dammed water, the different potions burned in his eyes. With the whole extent of his power he extended his wings and began to flap one single powerful time.

The pressure lifted him into the air, leaving the astonished alicorn behind. He landed with a loud thud on the floor behind Twilight. Light Chaser broke down and rubbed his eyes violently with his hooves. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?”

Twilight tried to calm the pegasus in uproar. She grabbed his hooves and kept him from rubbing his eyes. Twilight levitated a ball of clean water over and washed the different potions out of his eyes. “Please calm down! Only the soap is burning in your eyes, everything is fine. I promise you! Please trust me, everything will be just fine!”

She laid her wings around him and tried to suppress his movements. He could feel the warmth of Twilight's chest against his back. The movements became weaker and their number decreased until he stopped.

Carefully, Light Chaser opened his eyes and looked into the big mirror over the sink. The reflection of his bloodshot eyes didn't troubled him, but the sight of Twilight's well grown wings . “Twilight? I want to ask you something.”

Her hooves stroked gently over his forelegs. She looked into the reflection of his eyes and nodded approving. “Ask anything you want.”

Light Chaser wiped her wings gently aside from his body and extended his own wings. Twilight bit her lip. She could already predict the question that he was about to ask. She could see the determination in his eyes. It was the same gaze that she had worn so many times before. “You said before that you want to find a way to regrow my wings... Were you serious? Do you really think that there is a way to fix them?”

Twilight hid her face behind his wings and pushed gently against his back. “Please lay down on your belly and extent your wings.”

He did as Twilight pleased, lowering himself to the ground and stretching his wings to his sides. Twilight stepped over him and let her body rest on top of him. Her weight pinned him neatly down. Carefully she began to straighten single feathers and rip damaged ones out. She could feel the stinging pain in her back here and there, but that didn't keep him from pushing for an answer. “Please tell me.Sooner or later I would find out for myself if it is possible or not.”

Light Chaser could feel Twilight's hot breath on his wings she began to tear out some feathers with her mouth. She licked over her lips and pushed more air out of her nostrils. “I looked over the blunted structure of your wings and I think that there might be hope. I'm not that skilled in healing magic but I'm sure that there is a way. The fact that your wings were cut and not shorter from your birth on may be a advantage. I guess that it is much easier to regrow something that was there in the first place.”

She lowered her head again and continued to tear out surplus feathers. Light Chaser pressed his hooves with all of his strength against the wooden floor and concentrated upon Twilight’s moves. “I remember the pain when they did this to me but I never understood what exactly happened. Now that I'm smarter than before … is there any hope that I will learn to fly? Don't you think it may be too late?”

The hot feeling on his back stopped and the weight shifted down his back. “I noticed your wings the first time when you were still asleep. My first thought was that you will never be able to fly. But just now you leaped out of the bathtub over to the sink. Nopony can jump that high except a winged pony. I don't want to raise your hopes, but I won't lie to you either. You may be able to fly someday. Maybe not as well as other pegasi, but you could fly.”

Despite the still stinging pain on his wings, a small weak smile formed on his lips. The weight on his back was gone, so he turned his head around and looked into Twilight's face. It was heavily blushed. “Your face seems to have a red colour. Is this something we should worry about?”

Twilight turned around and wiped her face with a cold towel. “There is nothing to worry about but that wing cleaning thing is something very personal. Usually only family members or really close friends do this for each other. I did it only because I wanted to show you how much you can trust me.”

She covered her blush with her hoof and didn't notice that Light Chaser was approaching her silently. He put her hooves aside and grabbed her face with his hooves. They faced each other directly now. Twilight's blush got even deeper and sweat began to pour from her forehead. “Hey, what are you doing? Please stop...”

Light overthrew the alicorn and forced her to lay down on her belly. For a moment he forced her hind legs apart and leaned over her. “Just calm down and relax, Twilight.”

Twilight could feel his weight on her back while she drove her face onto the floor. As well as she could, she nodded and focused on the little flask that had been tossed to the ground before. “Please be gentle.”

She could feel his hot breath on her body and relaxed every muscle in her body. Some ponies say that the first time always hurts. This was certainly the case here. “That hurts, please move a little to the right... Yes, this is much better.”

The stinging pain roared through Twilight's nervous system, but it felt so good. “Are you sure that this is your first time? You are really good at this, maybe you should think over doing this professionally, Light Chaser.”

Light Chaser spit out the most recent plucked feather and flashed the mare on the ground a happy, almost childish smile. Even though his eyes were constantly locked upon the tiny injury on Twilight's back from the bookshelf incident he managed to flash her such a bright smile. “I'm glad you're saying something that nice, I was a little bit afraid that this would end terribly. And by the way, please call me Light, just Light without the second part.”

Twilight giggled and let the stallion straighten her wings more. The gentle touch of his hooves massaged the stress out of her muscles. The stallion on top of her stopped for a moment but continued right away to talk. “You know... there is another thing.”

The lavender alicorn moaned in delight, she had closed her eyes to improve the relaxing feeling and nodded only slightly. Curiosity had taken over Light Chaser and he was eager to find the answer to his little question. “The mark on your flank, what is it and what meaning does it have?”

Twilight opened her eyes again and stared once more at the wall in front of her. “Well, they are called cutie marks. Once a pony has discovered their one special talent, their cutie mark appears on their flank so everypony can see it. Usually this happens when you are a little filly or colt, but...”

She could feel the pressure on her wings increasing. Light seem to knew what she was about to say. “It is okay, Twilight. Maybe someday I will discover my special talent.”

He felt that Twilight tried to stand up. Light stepped down from the deeply relaxed mare and nuzzled her. Twilight stretched her wings and folded them neatly against her well-formed body. She offered him a caring smile. “Close your eyes.”

Light raised an eyebrow, but he did as Twilight pleased and closed his eyes. The gentle smooch of Twilight's lips met Light's forehead. His eyes ripped open, so he could see the mare slowly retreating. Twilight bopped her hoof against his nose and happily proceed to walk out of the bathroom. The lavender alicorn stopped in the door frame and looked back at the slightly confused pegasus. “I think we are really good friends, almost like brother and sister. If you want, you can call me Twily when no other pony is around.”

He followed the giggling mare with his eyes until she left the bathroom and a prideful smile grew on his face. “Like brother and sister...”

Twilight stepped down the stairs from the upper floor, when a lovely smell streamed into her nose. She looked into the kitchen and saw Spike cooking something. “Oh, Spike. Did everything go well?”

The little dragon jumped down from his stool to grab some ingredients from the opposing table, then looked at Twilight. “Of course, she said that she will prepare everything, and besides… what happened to you? Your mane is awfully ruffled up and you seem to be unusually relaxed. What did you and Light Chaser do while I was gone?”

The blush on Twilight's face raised up again and she quickly made her way to the bookshelves, pretending to look for a certain book. Her voice rang through the library until it reached Spike's ears. “Nothing special, we just talked and stuff, you know.”

Spike rolled with his eyes and followed Twilight to the library. He took the turn into the library and ran against something soft. Spike opened his eyes and checked what hindered his way. He saw the white coat of Light Chaser in front of him and laughed weakly. “Hehe, I've touched you...”

Light's gaze drilled almost into Spike's mind, sweat poured down his scaly forehead. The sound of a couple of books falling to the ground distracted them from each other and let them focus on Twilight. “Hey you two! Play nice with each other, no fighting.”

Light turned away from Spike and casually watched over the headlines of the various books that were distributed over the ground. One of them was called 'The Glory of Princess Celestia of Equestria'. “Twilight? You mentioned once the Princesses. Are they the same ones who fought my father back than?”

Twilight lifted the book with help of her magic and searched for a particular page. “Here! This is Princess Celestia. She is my former mentor and guided me through the path of becoming a alicorn. She and her sister Princess Luna were indeed the two that fought back your father and freed you.”

Light laid his hoof upon the image of the Princess. “She is an alicorn, too?”

Twilight raised her hoof and pointed into the general direction of the sky. “As far as I know, there are four alicorn Princesses. There is the Princess of the Sun, Celestia; the Princess of the Night, Luna; the Princess of Love and my sister-in-law Cadence; and the Princess of… well, there is me.”

Twilight noticed his stare into the printed replica of Princess Celestia's eyes. “Are they strong?”

Twilight struggled to swallow. Slowly, she began to become nervous. “Of course they are, they have ruled over Equestria since the beginning. Every alicorn is strong.”

She levitated another book to them and searched through the pages until she found a newly taken picture of Princess Luna. The expression in his eyes scared Twilight. She bit her lip and waited for an reaction. Light's eyes narrowed until only two small slits remained when he looked at the picture . “How does this Luna pony look?”

“Food is ready, please come around!.” Both of them turned around when they heard the voice of the little dragon. Twilight leaped past Light and vanished into the kitchen. He turned around as well and made his way out of the room, but from the corner of his eye he still stared of the images of the Princesses. “Soon...”

Chapter 5 – Walking Shadows

Bloodline
Chapter 5 – Walking Shadows

A new day had arrived, but the scene inside the library was a very common sight. Twilight had received a letter early in the morning. However, instead of the insignia of the sun, there was a lunar emblem pressed into the wax seal. She read the scroll with a displeased frown. Light Chaser was slowly settling down. He’d even made great progress in his studies, but the contents of the letter changed everything.

Dearest Twilight Sparkle,

Only a few nights have passed since I brought Light Chaser to your home. I'm more than confident that you have taken good care of him. But I'm afraid that this letter is supposed to transmit possibly bad news.

My sister and I were so eager to release Light Chaser that we'd overlooked a serious risk. You may know that there have always been different kinds of cults all around Equestria. None of them were ever a real threat to us, but this time it might be different. The Crystal Empire has just returned. Although King Sombra had enslaved the entire nation, a few ponies might want him back in power. From their point of view their King has fallen just a few weeks before.

We have no other choice than to suspect them to be after Light Chaser. They most likely don't know anything about his existence, but we can't be too careful.

I want to plea you to keep an eye on your surroundings. If you notice anything strange or suspicious, don't hesitate to contact us.

May your slumber be peaceful and free of struggle,
Princess Luna

Twilight laid the letter aside and sighed. For a short period of time, Twilight thought that they could idly live on. She believed that Light Chaser could learn about friendship in harmony and peace, but this hope seemed to be shattered by this letter. For a short moment, she closed her eyes and collected her thoughts. Her eyes shot back open and her wings extended to their full span.

Light Chaser approached the confident alicorn from behind and eyed her small smile while he passed Twilight. “You seem to be happy. Did something good happen?”

She spun around and observed Light Chaser. His smile was innocent and free of worries. Nothing should be able to darken his face. He knew nothing about the ponies that could be after his life and it would be better if it stayed this way. “Oh yes, Princess Luna has sent me a letter about her newest idea for a star constellation. It is pretty exiting.”

The crystal pegasus looked at the scroll on the table and slowly approached it. But before he could grab the scroll, he was stopped by Twilight. The alicorn stared at him with a faint stain of sweat on her forehead. “You know... this is a thing between Princesses. Nopony else is supposed to see this until Princess Luna allows it. I'm sorry, but I shouldn't show you that.”

A small frown became visible on his lips. Before he could make some space for his frustration, Twilight reacted and switched the topic. “I know that you are curious, but please show understanding. In exchange, we could do something fun together!”

Light Chaser's gaze turned away from Twilight, but he couldn't resist the urge to offer her a small smile. “Only because you insisted.”

Twilight chuckled at him and laid a protective wing around him. She accompanied him out of the room and led him to her nearby couch. But before they left, she focused on the scroll on the table and vaporized it silently with her magic.

Light Chaser neatly sat down on the couch and waited for Twilight to take a seat next to him. However, the lavender alicorn had quickly began to search for a suiting book to enjoy. Cheerfully, she turned around with a faint happy glimmer in her eyes. “Which book do we want to read?”

The pegasus didn't want to speak about it directly, but he flapped one weak time with his wings to give Twilight the right hunch. She didn't hesitate and grabbed an old dusty book from the bottom of the shelf right in front of her and carried it over to Light Chaser.

Twilight flipped the book open and furiously skipped through the pages. The dust flew into Light Chaser's mane and made him cough. He closed his eyes tightly to protect them from the itchy particles. When his eyes snapped back open, they caught sight of the anatomy of a pegasus wing that was printed on the pages of the book. Twilight pointed her hooves at the last bone of the wing and sighed only barely audibly. “This is the missing bone in your wing. I don't know if the required muscles and sinews are destroyed as well, but if we are able to regrow the bone we should be able to regrow the rest too.”

Light Chaser cocked his eye and stared at the printing. His eyes rocketed back and forth between the picture and his own wings. “Is it really that easy to regrow bones? It sounds rather difficult in my ears.”

Twilight shook her head. Her frown was sad like she was sorry that he had to deny his theory. “I never said it will be easy. It may sound strange, but regrowing limbs has a lot to do with memories. The healer usually digs into the memory of the other pony and searches for the feeling that the owner had from the limb. Doctors say that if the limb is lost for more than five years, then a successful rebuild is almost impossible.”

Light Chaser's glare became sad, his eyes wandered bashfully away from Twilight and focused on the ground. “So you're telling me that I will be most likely never able to fly?”

His coat tensed up when Twilight grabbed his hooves and squeezed them tightly. “Don't be silly! Doctors are usually unicorns or even less magical ponies. But you’ve got an alicorn who will try everything to help you.”

Light Chaser's face immediately brightened up. His tail began to swipe from the left to the right and back. He almost threw the cushions off the couch but he stopped his tail right before this happened. His euphoria faded quickly when he saw Twilight's face. She frowned weakly at him. “Listen, Light... If you really want to get your wings fully recovered you have to completely trust me. I will gain full access to your memories. If you refuse any of them to me, I will be kicked out and might never be able to return. So we have to be completely sure and trust each other without any second thoughts.”

Twilight's expression didn't change, but she didn't dare to look directly at Light Chaser at this moment. Quickly, she forgot about him and drifted into her own thoughts. Before she could have a clear thought, she felt two forelegs swinging around her neck and pulling her into a warm embrace. Her own gaze met Light Chaser's for a moment she forgot about the possible consequences of this kind of magic when Light Chaser's smooth voice rang in her ears. “Which pony could I trust more than you? You even bathed me, remember?”

Twilight's frown turned into a gleeful smile as soon as she returned his embrace, light-hearted. Now she wanted to help him so bad. She’d already dreamed about Light Chaser's crystal body soaring through the air when reality came back to her. “That's really cute of you. But we still have to learn about each other’s behaviour. I don't want to bust the only chance we have to get your body fully functional again. I will even send a letter to my sister-in-law to get some information on a crystal pony's vital systems; maybe she has some records that could help us.”

Light Chaser's childish smile was almost enough of a reward for Twilight. The happiness made her tongue loose and she didn't think of the words she was about to say. “It is commonly easier to regrow limbs of unicorns, since all of their senses are connected to their magic and is not so hard to retrace. It is really sad that you were not born a unicorn, it would make things much more easy!”

Twilight didn't realize what she’d said at first, but the lack of an answer of Light Chaser made her think about her last statement. A dark suspicion crept into her mind. It got even more confirmed when she looked into Light Chaser's face.

His mood had completely turned around. Even his eyes got watery when he stammered a short sentence. “I would bet my father said the same when he decided to lock me up...”

Twilight's heart ached when Light Chaser's words left his mouth. She didn't know what to say in this situation; the only thought that raced through her mind was how dense she was. Spike had heard a part of the conversation and casually walked by the two sitting ponies. “You could just give him the Amulet of the dark Alicorn if magic would help you.”

Light Chaser’s ears perked up and his eyes shot over to Spike. Twilight was shocked by Spike’s brash suggestion. The crystal pegasus jumped from the couch and rushed to the little dragon. “You can give me magic? Tell me more, lizard!”

Spike's eyes rocketed back and forth between the approaching pegasus and the distressed alicorn. Twilight made a silencing gesture and hoped to stop Spike. But the little dragon felt threatened and bawled out what he knew. “The amulet doesn’t give you magic like Twilight's magic. It only enhances the magic you already have but it also corrupts its user. We don't even know if it works when a pegasus wears it.”

Light Chaser gnashed his teeth. Twilight had almost forgotten about his vast interest in magic. Light Chaser seemed to have calmed down when he befriended her, but now his possibly dark desire seemed to be stronger than before. Twilight gulped and thought quickly of something to say. She collected all of her bravery and asked the question she’d wanted to ask him from the beginning. “Light? I have to ask you something very important. Why are you desiring magic so much? What do you want to achieve by getting hold of magic?”

Spike didn't want to wait for his reaction and quickly fled upstairs. Twilight's coat tensed up. She waited eagerly for his response. Light Chaser didn't show any change of emotions when he responded, only his left eye twitched slightly. “It is easy. Being a pegasus caused my misery. I'm simply worthless. If I could somehow obtain magic, my life would finally make sense.”

Twilight couldn't believe what he had said. The feeling of wrath against King Sombra lit up inside her mind once more. How could a father disturb his own child in this measure? But immediately, she was fond of having found a suiting solution for his fear. “You are wrong, Light. A pegasus is not worthless. The pegasi are a proud and powerful nation, they aren't afraid of anything and have the absolute control over the weather. I know that you have never met another pegasus but I think I know just the right pegasus mare to show you their pride and will to win. The only thing you have to do is trust me and walk with me outside Ponyville to meet her.”

Light Chaser thought for a moment about Twilight's words. He had never left Twilight's library since he had awoken. So many creatures of different kinds were running through the outer world. But this wasn't the thing he was afraid of. He was afraid of the other ponies. Twilight said it herself, a crystal pegasus is unique. How would the citizens of Ponyville react? Light Chaser shoved his doubt aside and thought about the possible advantages of meeting another pegasus. “If you promise to protect me from everything that wants to hurt me, I'm willing to go. Maybe another pegasus can show me other perspectives to my life.”

Twilight was slightly worried by the choice of words he made. But she didn’t allow herself bother too much about it now. The lavender alicorn decided to take the risk and bring him outside. Even if some crazy cult members could be lurking at them, she didn't want to wait. At least she was an alicorn and should be able to defend herself and Light Chaser, even if it meant to flee like a little foal. “I promise to protect you no matter what happens. Shall we go now?”

Light Chaser weakly nodded at her and walked to the door. Patiently, he waited in front of the it and gulped. The crystal pegasus stood still until Twilight passed him and unlocked the door magically. It swung open and revealed the world outside the walls of the library. There were no birds or other critters in their surroundings. Nevertheless, Light Chaser felt threatened and unsure in this unusual environment. But Twilight reacted quickly and put a protecting wing around him.

Of course, she wanted to make him feel comfy and secure, but there was a second thought behind this. Twilight shielded his view from her own. He shouldn't notice that Twilight was nervously searching through her surroundings, looking for some suspicious ponies. “You don't have to worry. There is nothing you have to be afraid of. The name of the pegasus is Rainbow Dash, she shouldn't be far away from Ponyville. At this time she’s usually practising some flight stunts.”

Light Chaser still felt uncomfortable, even under Twilight's protective wing. Twilight couldn't see his head but she felt his mane stroking from the left to the right side. He was nervously eyeing everything as well. Everything that moved let his heart skipping some beats. “Twilight? I think this is not a good idea. Maybe we should go back and drink some tea or something.”

Despite Twilight's tension, she was able to offer him a small childish chuckle. “We've come this far, we can't go back now. Rainbow would be very disappointed if you ran away now.”

Light Chaser didn't know why but he was scared to disappoint a pony that he hadn't even met yet. He dwelt in his thoughts and didn't pay much attention to his surroundings anymore. But Twilight was still highly vigilant. The letter of Princess Luna had made her paranoid. Everything was a potential danger to her in this very second. Being hypersensitive makes a pony blind to the obvious. A single dark-clothed pony followed them, hidden in the shadows of the homes and buildings around them.

The dark-clothed pony followed every step of them. She had only eyes for the crystal pony beneath Twilight's wing. Their follower almost drooled at Light Chaser's sight. He looked simply stunning in the direct sunlight, even if he was frightened and his coat wasn't in its full shine.

From time to time, Twilight’s gaze wandered towards the sky and searched for a cyan mare racing through the clouds. She couldn’t see her, but a faint whistling noise told that she wasn’t far away. Twilight ignored the things around her and searched desperately for Rainbow Dash. She didn’t notice that the one shadow that followed her became many. They surrounded the unaware alicorn and Light Chaser quickly. Together they build a circle in order to catch those two by surprise. The ponies stepped out of their hideouts and ignited their horns, but the noise of somepony breaking the sound barrier interrupted them. In a panic, they stepped back into the shadow when a rainbow-coloured shockwave stretched in the sky.

Light Chaser’s eyes locked upon this mystical act. He followed the shockwave until it faded into the distance. His jaws hung low. For seconds he couldn’t comprehend what he had seen just now. Twilight was calmed down by this all-so-familiar sight, but she had to giggle at the sight of the astonished pegasus at her side. She withdrew her wing and released him into freedom. A small cyan blur raced down the sky from the centre of the shockwave towards their position. Light Chaser was frightened by the unknown object and hid almost immediately under Twilight’s wing again.

The cyan blur decreased its speed and slowly formed back into a pegasus. Light Chaser’s eyes widened when he identified the cyan mare as cause of the gigantic shockwave from before.

Rainbow Dash’s flight stopped only a few feet in front of them. She gracefully hovered the last few feet to the ground and landed gently. “Hey, Twilight! It’s nice to see you again. Who’s your pal over there? I don’t think I’ve seen him around before.”

Light Chaser immediately shied away and hid deeper inside Twilight’s fur. Rainbow rolled her eyes and paid only attention to Twilight. The lavender alicorn couldn’t act different then to smile at the shy and childish stallion under her wing. “Hello, Rainbow. I was looking for you all over the place. This is Light Chaser: He came from the Crystal Empire to meet another pegasus, so I thought it could be a good idea to introduce you to each other.”

Rainbow dashed forward and pated against Light Chaser’s back. “Hey! I’m Rainbow Dash! I’m the best flyer in all of Equestria and future Wonderbolt!”

Twilight nudged the suddenly timid pegasus towards Rainbow Dash. He took all of his guts and shyly introduced himself. “Hey, nice to meet you Rainbow, I hope we can become friends.”

Light Chaser turned to Twilight and waited for her approval. The alicorn only nodded violently and flashed him a cheerful smile. When he turned his head straight again, he noticed that Rainbow was awkwardly staring at him.

She rubbed her chin and thought about his appearance. Cold sweat ran down Light Chaser’s forehead. Maybe Rainbow had already noticed that his wings were disabled. The brash cyan pegasus clapped her hooves together when she finally found what she believed to have noticed before. “Ah that’s it! I’ve never seen a crystal pegasus before! It’s so cool to meet you! Do wanna fly a race against me? But I have to let you know, you can’t win against me.”

The crystal pegasus could only weakly smile at Rainbow. Twilight’s cheerfulness was gone and replaced with a sad and worried frown. Light Chaser simply looked at the ground in front of his hooves and sighed. “Yes, you are right. I don’t stand a chance against you.”

Rainbow Dash rolled once more with her eyes and took off. She hovered two feet above the ground and flapped slowly with her wings. “Oh, come on! What kind of attitude is this? You could at least try to beat me!”

Light Chaser didn’t respond. He merely stretched his wings apart from his body and waited for her reaction. Rainbow scratched her head and awkwardly looked away. “Ähh, I think, I’m sorry. Hehe...”

Rainbow Dash quickly folded her wings and dashed towards the ground. She tried to cover her brashness and pressed her wings as tight against her body as she could. “Maybe you want to hang out or something?”

Light Chaser shook slightly his head. There was no pain in his eyes. “You don’t have to be sorry, Rainbow. It is not your fault, after all. You don’t have to feel bad when you are flying around. Please use your wings if you want to.”

Rainbow took slowly off in the air again and hovered in front of the crystal pegasus. “So, a crystal pegasus, huh?”

Light Chaser weakly nodded at her but didn’t dare to look directly at her. “Yes, I don’t know if there are more crystal pegasi than me. So regardless of my inability, I have never heard much about flying. So I wanted to ask you something. How does it feel to fly?”

Twilight could only smile at Light Chaser’s nativity and sat idly down while Rainbow Dash tried to explain the feelings she has when she is soaring through the air. She even made a backflip in the air. “It’s just an amazing feeling to float freely through the air. The liberating feeling when your hooves are hanging down from your body, not feeling anything but the stream of air in your face and mane. It is freakin’ awesome!”

Rainbow blushed when she noticed how rude she’d been to the disabled pegasus. The look on Light Chaser’s face made her feel more than uncomfortable. “I’m sorry... I should have thought about this better.”

Light Chaser’s face was indeed sad. It wasn’t because of Rainbow’s rudeness, but because of the desire that he felt deep within his mind. “It doesn’t bother me, but you have made me think about what is really important. It is not really about flying, but about realizing your dreams. And to be able to fly on my own is now my greatest wish. I would give everything to achieve it.”

Rainbow and Twilight smiled at him but they weren’t the only ones that smiled at his dreams. One of the ponies in the shadows had to grin and weakly ignited his horn. “So to be able to fly is your price? Interesting...”

With a faint blow of dark magic every single one of the dark ponies disappeared, leaving no trace of their existence.

Twilight turned around. She thought there was something weird in the shadows lurking at them. But when she found nothing she paid her full attention to Light Chaser again. She was completely unaware about the incoming danger.

Chapter 6 - Three of their Kind

Bloodline
Chapter 6 - Three of their Kind

The dark-clothed ponies had disappeared out of the woods around Twilight, Light Chaser and Rainbow Dash and now walked down a lonesome corridor. Only a few rare candles illuminated the dark halls faintly. A big wooden door hindered them from going on. The gentle knock of the pony in lead was enough to get the door opened. More light filled the corridor when the wooden doors opened. The giant chandelier at the ceiling of the room behind spent enough light to illuminate the whole hall.

The group of ponies made their way through the other members of their cult. They were kneeling on the ground surrounded by small candles, praying silently inside their own minds. The leader of the group was the first to reach the row of thrones. They stood far off from the praying ponies in the dawn outside the range of the light. Only the eyes of the ponies within these thrones were visible. None of them paid attention to the approaching ponies but one. Her purple eyes looked down on their leader and a offered him only a lazy smile that was hidden in the shadows when he bowed to her. The subservient pony looked up and spoke bashfully to his Lord. “My Lord. We shall report to you the newest developments judged by the observations the councils had commanded.”

From within the dark, the mare stepped out into the faint light of the candles. Her blue coat darkened in the twilight, but her white teeth and shining eyes seemingly glowed in the dark. Her white mane deflected the light and made her horn barely visible. “The great and powerful Trixie allows you to speak, lower servant!”

This pony hissed under the hood of his cloak at the humiliating remarks of the arrogant unicorn. Fortunaly for him, he managed to suppress his anger and disgust. Carefully, he raised his head and looked at Trixie with a false grin on his lips. “It seems that the Princesses were telling the truth. The recently crowned alicorn Twilight Sparkle was accompanied by a crystal pegasus. His origin is unknown to us. There are no records of his parents or any other family members. He has to be the one the Princesses were talking about: King Sombra's son. His name is Light Chaser.”

Trixie slowly walked down the stairs in front of the thrones. Before she reached the leader of the pony group, he quickly bowed down to her again. The blue unicorn put her hoof upon his head and pushed his nose against the ground. “You know that this little cult here was founded after the banishment of Discord and the capture of King Sombra, only a few nights before the moon turned mad and sought for the extinguishing of the sun. It is our goal to restore the order in which this world belongs. Do you understand that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance? Ever since the founding of this cult we dreamed of reviving the dark King. We can't consider any other action before we get this Light Chaser into our hooves. But the great and powerful Trixie can't think of a way to convince him to switch sides.”

The pony under Trixie's hoof didn't fight back against her force. His blood was already boiling in anger but he only had to endure this pain. He almost forgot about Trixie's words, but when he repeated her speech in his head, he was reminded of a reason their prey might join them. “Light Chaser had talked to a pegasus mare, the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash. He said that his greatest desire is regaining the ability to fly. If we could grant him this desire, he may be interested in joining us. Even though he won't be pleased by being confronted with the possible resurrection of his father, he might give in and agree.”

Trixie took her heavy hoof from his head to scratch her chin while she dwelt in her thoughts. Her eyes closed and she began to hum, but her eyes snapped back open and she exclaimed her conclusion. “This is everything that is required to humiliated Twilight by showing the ponies of Equestria her stupidity. ” The great and powerful Trixie simply has to find a way to bring back his wings and convince him to join us!”

She began to laugh maliciously. With a spark of her magic she released small sparks around herself to dramatise the scene. The leader of the small group rolled his eyes and backed slowly down. The dumbness of the blue unicorn disgusted him. He just wanted to escape the mad-mare before she did something really bad.

The pony took his hood off and walked down the dark corridor. A still-cloaked mare stood in the shadow and waited for him to pass. When he crossed her path she silently whispered in his direction. “Do you have anything new besides the things you said to this puny Trixie pony?”

The light brown stallion looked at the shadowed mare and shook his head. His brown mane gently whipped by his firm movements. For a short moment his cutie mark was visible in the twilight. It was a hourglass that decorated his entire behind. For a short moment his blue eyes had narrowed when the mare peeked out of the dark to hear him better. “You are really a pain in the ass, always curious and putting your nose into things that shouldn't concern you.”

The mare giggled faintly and returned into her beloved darkness that hid her face. “Well, it is always an advantage to know what exactly is going on around here. The ponies were have become more and more labile, for example this Trixie. She has become mad. Even though she tried to clear the air between her and Twilight, she broke down. What mad-mare wants to bring back the Dark King? They would bring havoc over Equestria. What do you think, sweetie?”

The stallion straightened the bow-tie he wore underneath his cloak and coughed politely. “I'm not your sweetie. I'm Doctor Whooves, or just the Doctor. You know what? I like the Doctor more. Call me that if necessary. You are right, Trixie has become mad from the thought of proving to Twilight that she is equal to her. But we shouldn't do anything now besides waiting for her next move. Trixie's magic is nothing but show. She can't possibly be able to regrow Light Chaser's wings. This is nothing but a desperate girl-fight between Trixie and Twilight Sparkle.”

Darkness surrounded the mare and enveloped her in its gentle fangs. She carefully left while she spoke her final words to the Doctor. “Remember my words, Doctor. You say this is just a little girl-fight but this is far more than just fooling around. Light Chaser will be the one who brings Equestria down in the end. May it be with our help or on his own, this stallion will finally fall bitter and lonesome and begin to destroy everything that could hurt him.”

Doctor Whooves looked into the dark spot were the mare has stood before. She had retreated while she spoke her warning. The Doctor sighed and pulled his hood back on his head before he continued his walk. “I will remember your words,Whisper.”

Only minutes ago, the group of ponies that had observed Twilight and Light Chaser were in the forest where Rainbow Dash trained for the Wonderbolts. They were gone, but Rainbow, Twilight and Light remained between the woods.

Rainbow Dash still hovered alongside them and followed while they wandered through the forest. Light Chaser always held his distance from the brash pegasus. He simply hid behind Twilight, who was permanently walking between Rainbow and himself. From the corner of his eyes, the crystal pegasus glared at Rainbow's well-trained wings. Light Chaser gulped in front of the new pony. “Rainbow? Could you please tell me what flying means to you?”

She stopped in mid-air and eyed the crystal pony carefully. Rainbow was brash, but she knew that the wrong words might hurt the disabled pegasus on the ground. “Flying means really much to me. As filly I never had the freedom to go where I wanted to. Since I was able to hover only a little bit, I was always eager to feel the freedom high in the sky. Sometimes being alone at a place where nopony is able to reach you is the best. But don't think that flying means everything to me. You know, it is really awesome and stuff, but what means the most to me are my friends. I would give up my wings for every single one of them. Being able to fly might look enormous for you, but what really counts are the ponies around you that are caring for you and mending your worries.”

Twilight couldn't resist a smile at the warm words of her cyan friend. She would never have thought that Rainbow would find such suiting words. Twilight tried to read the emotions of Light, but the expression on his face didn't tell her anything. It felt like staring at a book with blank pages.

Rainbow cocked an eye at the curious stallion and passed Twilight quickly to hover in front of his eyes. “Now it’s my turn to ask you a few questions! How can you be the only crystal pegasus? I mean there just have to be more!”

Before Light Chaser could say anything, Twilight stepped in and shoved Rainbow Dash gently aside. Hastily, the lavender alicorn searched for an excuse. It was still too early to reveal Light's real identity to her friends. A pearl of sweat ran down her forehead. “It was quite unusual in the past that different races of ponies had foals together. So since the Crystal Empire only reappeared a few weeks ago, another kind of crystal ponies is a rare sight. This is the reason why he came here in the first place. He wanted to meet other pegasi. And please don't wonder why he may be a little bit timid sometimes, he was always the misfit among the other crystal ponies. Just give him time to adjust.”

Rainbow rolled with her eyes, but her frown quickly changed into an enthusiastic grin. “I didn't want to know about his entire family, Twi! But anyway, it is cool to have you here, Light! You just made your first pegasus friend! Come on! Bro-hoof, buddy!”

Twilight's eyes widened as much as Light Chaser's while Rainbow stretched her hoof towards Light. Twilight had to make a fast move and ignited her horn. The hoof got closer to Light. He didn't know how to act. Adrenaline shot into his body and made it impossible to move. Light felt heavy and slow but the gently stoke of Twilight's magic made him feel comfortable again. It was an odd feeling but it felt so good on his skin for this tiny period of time. Twilight had switched places with Light Chaser and got struck by Rainbow's hoof.

Rainbow blinked rapidly while she still pushed her hoof into Twilight's muzzle. Her eyes wandered slowly to Light Chaser, who laid shaking in fear at the ground. Rainbow Dash gulped and pulled her hoof off of Twilight. “Hehe, sorry. I see what you have meant with 'a little bit timid'.”

Twilight spat the dirt of her mouth and coughed gently. “Many ponies have hurt him in the past, so he has grown afraid of others. But I treated him like I would treat every other pony in need and earned his trust. I'm sure that in the near future he will become used to being around other ponies.”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin and dwelt for a second in her thoughts. She clapped her hooves together when an idea finally came to her mind. “I know just the thing! We know another pegasus who is the most timid, shy and scared pony ever! I'm sure you two will get along just great! She will probably be more afraid of you are of her!”

Twilight waited for Light Chaser's reaction. The stallion stared for a few seconds on the ground. His eyes wandered from the right to the left and back until he decided to get back on his hooves. Bashfully, he looked up to the alicorn and nodded weakly at her. Twilight's face brightened up while they continued their walk through the forest. Fluttershy's cottage was nearby. Only a few minutes parted them from the butter-coloured pegasus.

Light Chaser held more distance from Rainbow Dash than before. Until now he’d been brave, but Rainbow's approach brought back his fear. But it showed Twilight that Light wasn't really a pony who wanted to live in loneliness. Light Chaser seemed to be a pony that liked the presence of others much more than Twilight did on her first day in Ponyville. Soon he might be able to interact with unfamiliar ponies.
Twilight lost herself inside her thoughts for so long that she didn't realize that they had almost reached Fluttershy's cottage. It was already in sight. Twilight sighed and turned to Light. “Do you remember about the mare with the animals who I mentioned before? This is the pegasus we are visiting now. You will love her critter friends!”

From the distance, Light Chaser could already see many different kinds of animals running wild around the lovely cottage. Butterflies were dancing around the flowers in front of the windows and squirrels jumped from branch to branch and playfully juggled with their nuts.

Rainbow used the advantage she had with her wings and sped towards the door to knock a few times. Fluttershy always needed some time until she reaches the door. The timing was perfect. Just as soon as Twilight and Light Chaser reached the door, it opened and Fluttershy waved them quickly inside. Some lettuce and cucumber were in her hooves. It must have been feeding time right now. They went inside and waited for a second before Fluttershy returned to them. This time, she walked over to them without food in her hooves. “Sorry girls, but I was just feeding my little friends. I'm happy that you...”

Fluttershy hadn't noticed the third pony in the party and eyed the crystal pegasus for a short moment before her instincts kicked in. She retreated immediately and hid her face behind her mane. Almost inaudibly she whispered into her hoof. “Hi, I'm Fluttershy... Nice to meet you... sorry about my timidness. I'm not used to talking to other stallions than Applejack's brother, Big Mac.”

Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other. Even though they’d known Fluttershy for a long time now, they didn't understand what she had said. But Light Chaser seemed to have an extraordinary sense of hearing and understood every single word Fluttershy had spoken.

Light Chaser was surprised by the reaction of the pegasus. She was the exact opposite of the cyan brute that stood next to him and Twilight. His heart was pumping hard at the presence of two unfamiliar ponies around him. His mouth has become dry, but he managed to bring words out of his mouth. “Hello, Fluttershy. It is nice to meet you, too. I'm Light Chaser. I came from the Crystal Empire to meet other pegasi.”

Twilight noticed that his knees were shaking, but she couldn't hear any waver in his voice anymore. Light Chaser had become braver and braver with every passing second outside the library. Smoothly, he acknowledged the lie Twilight was telling them. He understood that she was trying to protect his true identity for good.

Fluttershy cowered behind Angel Bunny and tried to hide the majority of her face behind her long pink mane.

Light Chaser's fright slowly left him. He couldn't understand the behaviour of the timid pegasus. Why was she afraid of him? Light was the one that should be afraid of others. Why does a mare that lived her entire life amongst other ponies have fear of them? Finally, an idea snapped in Light Chaser's mind. He bowed down to equal the eye-level of Fluttershy. “I think I can understand why you are afraid of me but please don't turn your back in front of the opportunity to make new friends. Twilight made this long way to come here only to introduce us to each other and I kinda like you. Both of us are very similar. I'm as much afraid of other ponies as you. I would really like to make new friends, you know... Back in the Crystal Empire I didn't have any friends because of my appearance. So do you accept my friendship, Fluttershy?”

Twilight couldn't believe what Light Chaser just had said. Just a few days ago, he couldn't even tolerate a mere touch of another pony, and now he showed such advanced social skills? Nopony learns that fast about friendship. But Twilight couldn't possibly interrupt him now. She had to see where the situation was going. She looked spell-bound at her still sheepishly hiding friend.

Fluttershy looked bashfully at the most distant corner of the room while she let Light's words resound inside her mind. She slowly got back on her hooves and stroked single strands from her mane of her face. Close in front of Light Chaser, she came to a halt. A heavy blush decorated her face. Light spread his wings a little bit in glee about her reaction. Fluttershy was still looking at the ground and only saw a little bit of the crystal stallion, but something in her perception was wrong. She raised her head only enough to equal his chest. For a second, her eyes were locked upon his wings. It took her some time to realize what was different about them. Tears began to run frankly from her cheeks and met the floor, while small sobs escaped her lungs. “This is terrible... what happened to your wings?”

This uncomfortable and oppressive feeling returned to Light. But something inside him knew that he should keep his masquerade straight. “I really don't want to bother you with this. You could say that I lost them while I fought with my father when I was young. They were too gravely injured, so the doctors had to take them off.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, something drove her to get closer to Light Chaser. The crystal stallion felt uncomfortable, but not threatened by the timid mare. He wanted to run but something deep inside his mind something told him to stay still. Fluttershy laid her hooves upon his wings and gently stroked over their soft surface. “I'm really sorry to hear this. If there is something that I can do to help you, then please tell me.”

She quickly noticed that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were glaring at her with big eyes. As quick as her timidness was gone, so it returned. She hid behind her mane and backed off from Light. “Did I do something wrong? I'm so sorry...”

Twilight blinked a few times before she realized that Fluttershy had noticed her glare. She shook her head and cheerfully exclaimed what made her wonder. “No! You did nothing wrong at all! This is truly amazing. When I first met him nopony was allowed to touch him. It needed sometime until I was able to, Rainbow wasn't allowed to bro-hoof him a few minutes ago. But you just went on and touched him without getting punished. This is great!”

Fluttershy blushed under her mane and whispered her response silently into it. “I guess that means we are friends?”

Light Chaser hesitated her a moment. He searched for the right words for this situation. “Of course, I would be happy to befriend you.”

A small sheepish smile formed on Fluttershy's lips. She get back to her hooves once more and waved over some of her critter friends. “Hello, my little friends. This is Light Chaser, he is a new friend of mine. Please be nice to him. You could play something together and have some fun.”

The small army of animals surrounded Light and climbed on his back. He playfully began to rear up and down to give them a joyful ride. The small animals couldn’t do anything to him, they just wanted to play with him and enjoy his company. He missed something like this for over a thousand years. Rainbow Dash shot towards them and circled above their heads. “Awesome! Two brand-new friends in one day! This day has just become twenty percent cooler!”

Twilight couldn't act different then to smile at the playing ponies. But deep inside her mind, something bothered her. Light Chaser's sudden change in his behaviour made her thoughtful. Just a day before, he might have murdered those two for even touching him. But this morning everything seemed to be different. Different enough to convince Twilight to go out with him at some point. She thought about the possibility that the stallion was manipulating her and her friends. Even though it seemed to be impossible that Light was able to obtain such skills, Twilight decided to have an eye on him. Twilight was sure that something was odd with him. Out of thin air she created a scroll and a feather to write with. The recipient of this letter would be her sister-in-law, Princess Cadence. Hastily, she began to scribble at the freshly created scroll.

Dear Cadence,

I hope you and my brother are doing well in the Crystal Empire, but as you might have guessed, this letter isn't about small-talk. In the past few days, you should have gotten word from the Princesses that they had commissioned me with the reintegration of King Sombra's son into our society.

I'm here at Fluttershy's and he is behaving oddly right now. I'm afraid that something could be wrong with him after all. Even if I really began to take a favour on him. He changed his whole behaviour from one day to another. Light might be plotting something after all. I honestly doubt that his father had put some kind of spell upon him, but please tell me if there are any indications of such a spell. Moreover, could you please tell me everything you know about crystal pegasi, their anatomy and behaviour? If you have found new information about his banishment, please let me know.

With love, your sister-in-law,
Twilight Sparkle

Twilight sent the letter away with her own alicorn magic and sighed quietly. She walked back to her friends and enjoyed a little play with Fluttershy's friends.

Again, she didn't pay attention to her surroundings at all, and missed the dark mare dressed in a cloak that peeked in from outside the window.

Chapter 7 - The Pride of a Dragon

Bloodline
Chapter 7 - The Pride of a Dragon

The hours passed by while Light Chaser played with Fluttershy's little critter friends. Rainbow Dash had joined them. Twilight and Fluttershy sat idly down and drank a nice cup of tea, talking about the most recent happenings. The timid mare laid her cup aside and stared Twilight's horn. “Uhm, I really don't want to offend you, but doesn't your horn seems to be bigger since you've become an alicorn?”

Twilight's eyes wandered upwards when they tried to focus on the long horn that sat upon her head, but only a lavender blur came into her view. For a second she thought about it. It never come before to her mind that her body might have changed. Of course, she noticed that she had become a little bit taller, especially since she had to get a new bed. “I guess it has grown a little bit. It could have something to do with the growth of my magical abilities as alicorn.”

While their chatter went on, Light Chaser listened with one ear their conversation. Rainbow Dash noticed his distraction when Twilight and Fluttershy began to talk about magic, but she decided to keep her silence. Light Chaser tried to listen as hard as he could without being noticed, but something drove his attention away. A faint whisper crept into his mind. A first it was barely audible, but with every passing second the voice became louder and more clear. It was the voice of a young mare. “Do you hear them talking about magic while you are listing? Inside their minds they are laughing at you! They are judging you by your missing ability to fly! None of them will help you to be the pony you are supposed to be...”

Light Chaser looked from one corner of the room to another, but he couldn't find the source of the mysterious voice. Inside his mind he tried to answer. “Who are you? How can you talk to me like this? This ponies will help me! Twilight risked her life to save mine... She won't betray me... I'm fond of her.”

The voice returned, this time louder. “You little fool! My name is Whisper and these ponies are playing with you! Twilight is an alicorn, nothing will bring her down! She just wanted to gain your trust... She won't give you anything! Join us and become our leader... We will grant you your dearest wishes, and in exchange you will help us to bring your father back to life. This wouldn't be necessary if Twilight Sparkle didn't kill him!”

Light Chaser snapped at the mentioning of his father. He shouted out loud and stomped forcefully at the ground. “NO! You are a liar! He is dead and he will stay dead!”

Twilight and the others turned to the struggling pegasus. He clapped his hooves over his head and yielded in pain. The foreign thoughts inside his mind seemed to tear him apart. His head hurt like a thousand needles were stinging into him. The voice yelled forcefully into his mind. “Don't be such a wimp! Leave them and join us! They are not your friends! We are your friends! Join the Silence!”

The crystal pegasus rolled on the floor. The pain was almost unbearable. Twilight rushed to his side and scanned him with her magic. She felt a weak magical flow coming from outside the shed. Twilight focused on the source and ignited her horn brightly. She turned her head quickly towards the window and caught sight of the cloaked mare. “There you are!”

A forceful blast of her magic vaporized the wall in front of this mare and laid everything in its path into ashes. Twilight rushed outside, followed by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. There was no trace of the mysterious mare. Fluttershy hid her frown behind her hooves and sighed. “Oh no! Twilight, did you...”

The lavender alicorn let her eyes wander from the right to the left and back. Only a faint trace of magic was in the air. Twilight shook her head and used her magic to recreate the wall of Fluttershy's home. The terrified animals that lived inside the cottage slowly left their shelters and surrounded Fluttershy. The magic that surrounded Twilight's horn disappeared with a faint snapping sound. She cleared her throat. “No, she got away. I just crushed the wall and wanted to made her immobile but she managed to flee just in time.”

Twilight had forgotten for a second about the weeping pegasus behind her. She rushed over to Light Chaser, held him up and laid her wings comforting around his back while she took him into a deep embrace and nuzzled him behind his ear. “Everything is alright now. I hunted that nasty pony away. Nopony will hurt you again, I promise.”

Light Chaser felt still a stinging pain in his head, but the gentle touch of Twilight's hooves and feathers eased the pain. He wept his last tears into Twilight's coat and gently put her down. His blood-shot eyes met Twilight's eyes. She offered him a warm smile and stroked over his head. “I will investigate this pony's identity and why she attacked you. She will pay for her crime. It is strictly forbidden to mess with the mind of other ponies. Only the Princesses are allowed to do so in special situations!”

The crystal pegasus gasped in the first attempt to speak, but the second succeeded. “You don't have to... This mare called herself Whisper...”

Twilight's eyes lit up. Every bit of information could be useful in this case, but she couldn't tell them why it was so important to learn the truth about this mare. None of them was supposed to know about this unknown cult. Twilight tried to hide her curiosity as well as she could manage. “Whisper? What else did she tell you? Maybe she said something that could help us?”

Light Chaser thought for a short moment about the conversation he had with the voice inside his head. “She told me to join them... She offered me the opportunity to regain the ability to fly and... in exchange help them to revive my father...”

Twilight gasped in shock. It seemed like a cult really was trying to contact Light Chaser. The pressure rose upon her. She couldn't tell them what all this meant, but she wanted to answer their questions so badly. Twilight sorted her thoughts and tried to make the best of this situation. “You know that both are for a normal pony impossible, right? They are just trying to lure you out for some reason, don't fall for their tricks! Moreover, you simply can't be considering reviving your father!”

“Whoa, whoa... Wait a second!” Rainbow Dash literally fell down from the ceiling and extended her wings just in time to stop in front of Twilight. “Wouldn't that be an awesome deal? He would get his wings AND his dad back! This is the chance of a lifetime! He just has to take this deal!”

Fluttershy awkwardly walked back to them. She was still scared of the frightful demonstration of Twilight's magical powers. “Uhm, I think Rainbow is right. No one should live without his father.”

Twilight was torn between their friends and the promise she’d made towards the Princesses. If she didn't tell them that Light Chaser's father was in fact King Sombra, Twilight would appear cruel and heartless. But she promised the Princesses that she would protect Light Chaser from any harm. Revealing his identity could lead to problems. Twilight finally sighed in defeat and waved her friends closer. They sat down in front of Twilight and looked at her with curiosity. The lavender alicorn cleared her throat and looked for a brief moment at Light Chaser. He hesitated for a second, but he decided to agree with revealing his identity by giving her a simple nod. “Listen girls, what I'm telling you now shall never leave this room. Light Chaser isn't just a visitor from the Crystal Empire. The Princesses sent him to me after they put him to sleep for a thousand years. His father restrained him inside the dungeons of the Crystal Castle since he was born. Except for me, both of you are the only ponies he has been friends with in his entire life. All of this is bad, but there is something that makes it even worse. It’s the reason why this pony wants his father back to life. Light Chaser's father … is King Sombra.”

The ponies gasped and looked back and forth between Twilight and Light Chaser. He had turned his head away in shame. He couldn't bear their gazes. Silence entered the cottage. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked blankly at him. While the timid mare began to shake violently, Rainbow Dash's wings extended and locked in an aggressive position, ready to strike.

Twilight watched the quite different reactions of her friends and quickly thought about something she could say to calm them. Rainbow hissed and snarled at the mournful crystal pegasus, but Twilight forced her to stay back at least. “Rainbow! Calm down! He is nothing like his father! Light Chaser would never hurt another pony. He don't even know his father. Light was turned into the dungeons since he was born. There is no reason why he would be like his father. Give him a chance!”

Rainbow Dash struggled to get free from Twilight's hold, but the lavender alicorn didn't let go of her. Rainbow still hissed and growled at Light Chaser. “The apple never falls far away from the trunk! He will betray us!”

Twilight pushed her down and fixed Rainbow's wings at the ground, hanging over her with a monitory expression. “Don't say something like this! Why should be pay for sins that his father had committed? That's anything but fair! He was a victim of his father's tyranny as well!”

Rainbow gnashed her teeth. She and Twilight got too distracted to notice that Light Chaser already began to head towards the door. Silently, he whispered his farewell. “I understand their antipathy towards me... I will just take my exit and leave you alone. I shouldn't bother any of you.”

The struggling mares noticed the door clicking open and turned around. What had held him away from leaving was Fluttershy's weak tug at his tail. With huge watery eyes, she looked at him from her lowered position. “Please, don't go... I think I can understand your feelings. Up to now, you must have lived quite a lonely and sad life. We’ve only known each other for a few hours, but I already don't want you to live such a life anymore. Even with your father's misconducts, I would be happy to give you a chance. When we were even able to change Discord then we gave him a chance. Light is like a blank page. There is no evil nor good inside of him. There is so much more he will see and learn, he is still easy manipulable when we don't keep an eye of him. Just like a little newborn bunny.”

The timid mare turned to Rainbow Dash. She walked slowly towards them and shoved Twilight gently aside. Fluttershy helped Rainbow to get back on her hooves and brushed dust from her mane. “You really should give him a chance, Rainbow. If you don't want to do it for him, then please do it for me.”

Rainbow looked away from her foalhood friend, but she finally gave in and sighed. She walked past Fluttershy and halted directly in front of Light Chaser. Rainbow extended her hoof towards him and looked at him like she didn't care at all. A few seconds passed while Light Chaser stared at her hoovering hoof. Slowly, his own hoof rose and headed for Rainbow's. It was just a small but firm bump when their hooves touched. Light Chaser barely flinched at the contact with the other pegasus, but a small grin formed on Rainbow's lips. “Glad to help you, pal.”

Light Chaser smiled back at Rainbow.Touching another pony wasn't that bad. Both of them looked each other deep into their eyes until they got interrupted by Twilight's hoof clapping. They looked at the enthusiastic alicorn while she slowly calmed herself. “Alright, everypony! I think it’s time now to leave. We have a far way home. Thanks to both of you for accepting Light Chaser as he is. I knew I could rely on you!”

Fluttershy went forward to hug Twilight. Firmly, she squeezed her friend before she bid them her farewell. “I really appreciated your visit, Twilight. Please come along anytime you want. Of course, you can stop by too if you want, Light Chaser.” Fluttershy turned to Rainbow Dash and smiled weakly at her. “Would you be so kind to stay a little longer?”

Rainbow Dash eyed Fluttershy suspiciously, but decided to agree. She waved Twilight and Light Chaser her farewell. Before both of them left through the door, the crystal pegasus turned around and smiled at the staying mares. “I'm really happy that I was able to meet you two. Both of you are genuinely different then Twilight. I was scared of ponies, well, I'm still not really comfortable with them, but I think I can deal with them. I think I might become happy if everypony is so kind and loyal as you. Thank you, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.”

Both pegasi flashed him a huge smile when he walked through the door and closed it shut. Twilight turned around when she noticed that Light Chaser stayed behind for a little bit. “What were you doing for so long?”

Light Chaser's eyes beamed with glee when he went after Twilight. “I just wanted to thank them for their kindness. These are really nice ponies. Even if Rainbow Dash is a little odd.”

The alicorn nodded in approval and walked along with the pegasus through the peaceful forest. They only enjoyed the company of each other silently until Twilight broke the silence again. “I'm more than happy that you like them as much as they do, but I'm beginning to think that you are doing this on intend.”

Light Chaser cocked an eye at the suspicious alicorn. He felt cold, despite the fact that he actually never plotted anything. At least, he thought so. “What are you talking about, Twilight?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, but her face was hidden from Light's sight. She was constantly walking in front of him. “Well, I think I told you before. Yesterday, you didn't even want to leave the library at all, and today you are talking and even touching others. It’s not that I'm not happy about this developing but it worries me a little bit. It seems like you are purposely changing your behavior for some reason. I can't put an hoof on a possible reason. It’s just a little suspicion.”

He hesitated for a moment. Slowly, his jaws moved and revealed his thoughts. “So after all you distrust me?”

A cold shiver ran down Twilight's spine. Various thoughts raced through her mind. One of them was that she may have been too brash. Light Chaser could still be fragile. Being distrusted by the one pony that he seemed to bond with could destroy the social progress he’d made and scare him away forever. Twilight thought quickly about something clever to say. “You see, I don't think that you are evil or that you are plotting something against us. In truth, I only assume that you might be much smarter than I think. I already noticed that you are a quick learner, judging from your quick obtain of the ability to read. Maybe you are some kind of genius!”

Light Chaser's suspicious glare didn't fade from his face. Twilight tried to take a glimpse of him from the corner of her eyes. She gulped when she noticed his unpleasant glare. Maybe he really was some kind of genius. He seemed to look easily through Twilight's lie. But Light decided to play along. “Do you really think I'm that smart? Isn't it too much of an honor for my small achievements? I'm just a small pegasus in this big world. I have particularity seen nothing of this world, not even the place where my family... where I used to live. I'm just a small and weak candle in the wind. Nothing will grieve or even notice if I vanish.”

Twilight stopped and turned around. She gently laid her hoof against his face and stroked over his coat. “Don't be silly. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spike and I would suffer if you left us. Please never do this to us. We are your friends... in some way we hope even to become your family.”

A weak smile formed on his lips. He pulled Twilight into a firm but short hug and squeezed her tight. “Thank you, Twilight. It means really much to me.”

They let go of each other and continued their way through the lightening forest. They’d almost reached Twilight's library. Both of them were smiling over their whole face. However, Twilight seemed to have forgotten something important. She knew it had something to do with Light Chaser, she’d known it only a second ago, but now it seemed like she had forgotten about it from one second to another.

The library came slowly in sight, but something wasn't right. It seemed like the library was changed. At first, Twilight thought that it was just her imagination, but as soon as they got close enough to see the whole library, her suspicions were confirmed. The old and prideful tree had been devastated by the hooves of many different ponies. Windows were broken, the door was torn out of its hinges, and hoof-prints decorated the outside of the library.

Twilight's steps became quicker. Light Chaser could barely keep up with her since her gallop was assisted by her graceful alicorn wings. Light Chaser lost a few feet to Twilight. She glided inside her own home and had to learn in terror what terrible deeds the unknown culprits had committed. Every single book was ripped out of the bookshelves. It seemed like they'd been searching for something special. But Twilight didn't get the chance to think about their possible target.

Spike was the only though that shot through her head. Actually... She wasn't concerned about him. Because she was able to see him. At least, a part of him. A spear with a feathered shaft had its back stuck in the ground. The head of the little dragon was stuck upon its tip. A scroll was clamped between his sharp teeth. Twilight magically levitated the letter in front of her and read with tears in her eyes.

We know about Light Chaser's true identity. Your little assistant was our first victim because he didn't want to tell us where you were.

Next time we will find him and take him with us. You don't even stand a chance, if you have to protect him. We don't need him alive. Jjust his blood is relevant to us. The dark Lord will rise and bring darkness over this realm. All of you will learn their place in this world!

Light Chaser marched over the doorstep, panting heavily. He looked around the room and caught sight of Spike's mortal remains. “Twilight? What...?”

Tears were running down Twilight's cheeks. Her eyes wandered onwards to the beheaded form of Spike's body. He held a scroll with the insignia of Princess Cadence tightly clenched between his claws. Twilight didn't turn to the terrified pegasus; only her words rang through the library. “From tomorrow on... I will teach you the defense against the dark art of magic. None of them will get to you. I promise...”

Chapter 8 - Defense against the Dark Arts of Magic

Bloodline
Chapter 8 – Defense against the Dark Arts of Magic

Sparks of lavender magic raged around Twilight's horn as she cleaned the traces of the disaster that occurred in her own home. Light Chaser tried to take a peek at her face, but a shadow hung over her eyes and hid her emotions in front of him.

The traces of blood disappeared from the ground and windows repaired themselves under the influence of Twilight's magic. Small sobs escaped her lungs while she levitated Spike's torn body from the floor into a small wooden coffin. She had crafted it out of his favorite sleeping basket and a few pieces of wood. Only a few steps parted her from the pike and Spike's head. It required all of her will to take the head off.

It was a disgusting sound when the little head plopped of the pike. A stream of blood splashed to the ground and made everything in reach dirty again. Twilight wanted to cry so badly. But she knew that Light Chaser was still around. She couldn't begin to cry now, Twilight had to show strength in the face of the enemy.

Light Chaser carefully closed the distance to Twilight. He wanted to comfort her so badly but couldn’t find the right words. Even though he didn't know what to say, Light Chaser laid his hooves gently on Twilight's shoulder. “I'm sorry for your loss, Twilight. I can't really know what is going on inside your mind right now. But I will try my best to help you to overcome his death. I only knew him for a couple of days, but you have known him probably the majority of his life. Tell me if there is anything I can do for you.”

Between her sobs and tears, Twilight managed to force a small weak smile towards the genuinely honest pegasus. “You can do exactly one thing to make me happy, Light Chaser.”

He pressed his body against Twilight's and waited patiently for her bid. Twilight hesitated for a short moment, but the silence shouldn't last for long. “The only thing that you have to promise me, is that you will do everything I say. When I tell you to run, you will run. And when I tell you to leave me behind, you will leave me. None of them shall get you. You are simply not allowed to die. Do you understand me?”

Light Chaser's heartbeat increased. He couldn't believe what Twilight wanted from him today. Something inside his mind was fighting against that kind of thought, but he gave in and nodded at the struggling alicorn. “Yes, I will do as you command. You only want to protect me.”

Twilight dried her tears and put Light's hooves carefully down. “Alright. I need to teach you how to defend yourself against the kind of magic you had to encounter at Fluttershy's cottage. Please go upstairs and bring me all books about dark magic that you can find, while I get rid of this pike.”

The crystal pegasus' response was of no words. He simply nodded gently and went upstairs. Twilight was all alone in the newly constructed library room. She channeled all of her dark feelings from deep within her heart and concentrated it upon her horn. Pure darkness surrounded Twilight's horn. For a short moment, Twilight let go and vaporized the pike into thin air. Nothing could have withstood the power of Twilight's rage against Spike's murderer.

Twilight let the emotions go and freed her mind from all bad things. There was still no trace of Light Chaser. So she decided to take a look at the letter that Spike received just before he died. Twilight broke the seal and read over the characters.

My beloved Twilight.,

I have some terrible news to tell. After you asked me for more information about Light Chaser, I personally took a look deeper into the archives of the Crystal Empire. There was only a little information about Light Chaser himself, but a few information about your second question.

Once there lived many different kinds of Ponies in the Crystal Empire. But when King Sombra came to power he organized a genocide and killed every single pegasus and unicorn that lived inside the border of his land. However, his joy didn't last for long. The recordings counted a few months only normal crystal ponies, but at one day a new species appeared on the inhabitant list. It was a crystal pegasus. His name was Light Chaser.

I think it would be a good idea to come here along with Light Chaser. Here he could see where his parents lived.

As soon as I learn more about him or King Sombra's intentions behind the genocide, I will let you know. I'm awaiting you at my castle in the near future.

In love, Princess Cadence

Twilight quickly burned the letter when she heard Light's careful steps. On top of his back was a pile of books. He let them slide from his back and shot Twilight a questioning glare. “I've collected every book in sight that might have something do to with dark magic. But I'm afraid that most of these books are telling about the usage or at least about the magical defense against the dark arts. Stuff that requires a horn, it is Nothing that could help me to protect myself.”

Light Chaser watched the books hover in the air. They swirled around Twilight's head, it seemed like she was reading them all at the same time. He watched her in awe until she spoke to him again. “You're right. Every book inside this library that concerns dark magic was written for unicorns. So we have to handle this situation differently. Magic is pure willpower channeled through a unicorn’s horn. Every living being is in some way magical, so it is just a matter of using your very own willpower to defend yourself against the influence of another pony. Or in other words... I will teach you to defend yourself by using dark magic against you.”

Twilight looked stern and free from emotions. Spike's death suppressed all of her emotions. Light Chaser doubted the rationality of Twilight's decision, but she was the only pony he could really trust. “Please be gentle, Twilight. I trust you, so please don't hurt me.”

The alicorn laid her hoof upon his shoulder. For a second, she was silent. But her voice rose together with a stinging pain inside his head. The crystal pegasus sank to the ground and struggled in pain. Twilight's eyes followed his movements carefully. “You have to withstand. I'm only using a small part of my magic, but you are already unable to move. It may sound like a bad idea, but you have to concentrate upon the pain. The exact place where the pain is the strongest is the place where the connection between you and the user of the dark magic is built. If you try to distract yourself, than the dark magician gets enough space to rule over your mind. But if you concentrate enough on the source, you might be able to push the other pony away.”

Light Chaser struggled under the influence of Twilight's magic. Every time he managed to push the alicorn a little bit back, Twilight increased the intensity of her magic. It felt like a never-ending period of pain. Light Chaser's sight blurred. Twilight noticed the faint gray haze in his eyes and instantly stopped the flow of magic. The connection broke loose. For the first time in minutes, the crystal pegasus was free of pain.

He struggled to keep his balance. Never before had he felt so light-headed and poor of tension in his body. Twilight followed his wavering movements, always ready to catch him. But Light Chaser's stance wasn't the one to fail. He didn’t wince and stared into Twilight's eyes. For the very first time they didn't show any kindness. The feelings that mirrored in her purple eyes was much darker. It was hatred. Not pointed towards him, but at the ponies who killed Spike.

The only wish that raced through Twilight's mind was to let the ponies who killed her little Spike pay, and she wanted to achieve this through the help of Light. Even if he had to struggle under her iron lead. Twilight snorted. She lit her horn up and let her magic flow through Light Chaser.

The feeling began like the last one, but instead of a stinging pain, there was a gentle stroke. It felt relaxing and mended his mental wounds. Light Chaser felt renewed and had more energy than ever before. But before he could respond to Twilight, she interrupted him. “Listen, we have to do this a lot of times before you will be able to resist me. If you are able to resist alicorn magic, you can resist any magic of this world. You wouldn't have to fear anything from this point on. Are you ready for a second round?”

Light Chaser only managed to nod weakly. The stinging pain returned to his mind. It was stronger than before. He could almost feel Twilight's presence in his thoughts. For a second time, he forced all of his power again the influence of Twilight's magic. But nothing seemed to happen for quite a while. It got harder and harder for him to maintain the state of concentration.

Once more his sight blurred. The alicorn in front of him became a single lavender blob. His thoughts only concentrated upon the source of pain inside his mind. All of his senses faded away except his thinking about Twilight. He fought and struggled but quickly he had to learn that there was no way to win against the powerful magical being. Even though Twilight restored Light's strength, the crystal pegasus began to waver.

This time, Twilight decided to hold her grip upon his mind tight. Light's steps became bigger. He stumbled from the right to the left and back. His muscles shouldn't take this torture any longer. They gave in and crumbled under his weight. His back legs gave in first and let him fall backward against a little side table. The wooden furniture met the ground and caused a loud startling noise, followed by a second, more distant one.

Twilight loosened the connection and let go of him. Light Chaser lay on the ground and breathed heavily. Slowly, his eyes wandered upwards and searched for Twilight. “How many times do we have to do this? I don't think that I will be able to take it anymore.”

Twilight didn’t look at him and passed him, heading for the door of the small broom-chamber in the close distance. “There was something else. I think somepony is here.”

Light Chaser followed her quick steps with his eyes and witnessed how the alicorn tore the door apart. Her horn was brightly glowing and filled with anger.

Light Chaser summoned all of his strength and crawled behind Twilight's legs. What his eyes found inside the broom-chamber wasn't any of Spike's murderers but a bubblegum pink mare who lay shivering in the corner. Twilight dropped the tension around her horn and dashed towards the mare. She pulled her into a tight hug and tried to comfort her. “Pinkie, it's okay. Everything is fine now. Why are you locked up inside here? What happened to you?”

Pinkie Pie lay between different brooms and dust-swirls, barely able to move. She could form sentences between her gasps. “Twilight! I'm so sorry! I just wanted to prepare the party and then some mean ponies came into your home and smashed everything! Spike and I were in the backroom of the library so they didn't see us. Spike told me to hide and went forward himself. I just heard him shouting at them but then there was a loud noise and Spike wasn’t saying anything. I peeked through the lock-hole and saw what they did to Spike. I just didn't know what to do! I've never seen something like that before! I never even thought that somepony was able to do something that horrible!”

Twilight wrapped Pinkie Pie inside her wings and spend her all the warmth she had to offer. Twilight's voice had a calming effect on the hyper mare in terror. “Shhh, Pinkie. Can you tell me what they exactly wanted? Did they say anything that might help us?”

Pinkie Pie's yes rocketed back and forth. They crossed Twilight multiple times before they caught sight of Light Chaser. She pointed her hoof hesitantly at him. “Is this Light Chaser?”

Twilight nodded weakly at her friend. Pinkie's eyes wandered back to Twilight. She gulped when she got the confirmation. “They asked Spike multiple times where he is. But Spike refused to tell them anything... so they got rid of him!”

Her last words were more of a whimper than a clearly spoken sentence. Pinkie swung her hooves tighter around Twilight's neck. Once more, tears began to run down her cheeks. Inside her world of unconditional happiness, there was no space for comprehending death.

Light Chaser eyed Twilight and Pinkie carefully. Various thoughts raced through his mind. One of them was the thought of guilt. Never before had he felt something like this, the certainty that another living being had to die because of his very existence. He got up to his hooves and stepped right next to them. It was more of a whisper than a statement, but he decided to speak to them. “Why shouldn't I go with them? There is nothing speaking against it... My father was defeated twice and I'm sure you'll be able to defeat him a third time. I don't know if I can help you to fight him, but I will do everything in my might to assist you.”

Twilight loosened hr grip upon Pinkie Pie and turned her head slowly towards the crystal pegasus. His color has become even darker. When he was still asleep, Light was purely white, and when he awakened he turned gray and dull. Now, he seemed to be a darkish gray. Guilt and pain darkened his feelings. The alicorn eyed him for a second. “You can't be serious... One of us already died because he wanted to defend you, that's true. But that doesn't mean we have to surrender right away. Spike hasn't died for nothing! We have to stay strong in face of the upcoming danger! We have to inform the Princesses about this!”

For the speck of a moment the library was cloaked in pure darkness. Lightning flashed in front of the windows and illuminated the room. A dark silhouette formed in front of their eyes. Twilight had to tilt her head up to look into the being’s face. Her graceful wings extended from her back. The beautiful etherneal mane of her flew in the nether of the stars. Her dark crown surrounded her horn while her blue eyes judged over Twilight.

Light Chaser's eyes widened when he recognized the pony standing in front of him. It was the very pony who was mentioned in the book Twilight had shown him. Princess Luna had came to support them. Light Chaser's eyes were widely ripped open. The sight of the living Princess Luna was simply stunning. The stallion's heart began to race. Other ponies would misjudge this feeling as love, but Light Chaser knew about the true nature of this feeling. It was fear. Fear in front of the predator who had defeated his unloved father. No words escaped his mouth, even though endless possibilities were racing through his mind.

Princess Luna's eyes wandered from pony to pony until they came to an halt upon Light Chaser. She looked deep into his blood-red eyes and sighed in relief. Twilight stepped forward. She couldn't even force herself to smile. Nothing could cheer her up at the moment. “Luna? What are you doing here? How could you know?”

The Princess shook her head in a manner that resembled much that of her sister. She gave them a deep growl. It was full of sorrow and grief. “I'm very sorry, Twilight Sparkle. I’ve felt the light of Spike’s life fading, so I came as fast as possible. If we had known earlier, my sister and I would have tried everything to prevent this event from happening. You have my greatest condolences. But be certain, Spike's death won't be unatoned. We will find and destroy the culprits.”

Twilight had never before felt a satisfaction at the mentioning of another pony suffering. The certainty that Spike's murderer will be found felt good to her. She got lost in her thoughts and forgot about the ponies around her. But the Princess didn't forget. Princess Luna looked only for a short moment at the terrified pink mare and went right on to Light Chaser. She eyed him carefully and watched the reflection in his eyes. It was filled with fear, clearly visible to her.

Light Chaser's knees began to shake. He had never seen her before, but he felt so much ancient fear inside his heart. Princess Luna extended her hoof towards him and waited for him to react. But Light Chaser just stood there still stunned. Adrenaline rushed through his veins and paralyzed his muscles. Even his mouth refused to open correctly. “You... you are Princess Luna. I never thought I would meet you in person.”

The crystal stallion bowed slowly down. His muscles still refused to move correctly. The Princess looked at him in awe. She couldn't understand the reason why he was so afraid of her appearance. She leaned down and tried to give him the most convincing smile possible, but Light Chaser didn't seem to trust her. He stared at her and looked her moves closely.

Deep inside his mind were the noises resounding in the night his father has fallen for the first time. The memories of this particular day returned. The dazzling sound of lightnings flashing in the sky, followed by the ear-splitting sound of an alicorns magic. What followed after was silence. But it wasn't the lack of sound from the outside that disturbed him in this moment. It was the hoofsteps he heard in front of the door. The hooves stopped directly in front of the door. There it was again silence. Only the faint sound of a door gliding open was audible to him. Light felt the breath of the pony that came through the door. Something tugged gently at his blindfold and loosened the knot behind his ears.

Until today, he couldn't remember the face of the other pony that entered the room. But now it was clear to him. The other pony that liberated him and helped to banish his father must have been Princess Luna’s older sister. Mixed emotions raced through his mind. He didn't understand why, but he felt a mix of grief for his father and gratefulness towards the Princesses.

Light Chaser got back to his hooves and looked deep into Princess Luna’s eyes. He shot the Princess a smug grin and extended his hoof towards her. She grabbed it and shook it like she would do with a dear friend. “It is nice to meet you, Light Chaser.”

He firmly bowed down to her. “I'm honored, Princess of the Night. Maybe you want to assist us in my spell resisting training?”

Princess Luna's eyes widened in shock. Her gaze shot over to Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle! How could you try to teach a non-unicorn something that hard? It is impossible to teach a pegasus to resist mind-control spells!”

Twilight awoke from her stasis. Still in shock from the events before, her brain short-circuited. “I would bet you’ve never even tried before! We are making progress! You are wrong!”

Princess Luna bit her teeth and snorted loudly in scorn. “Very well, Twilight Sparkle. We don't have the time to fight a senseless fight. I will retreat to Canterlot Castle and indicate further measures. We will meet each other soon again.”

With this words the Princess disappeared in a flash of magic. Twilight was furious in her pure anger, a dangerous idea brewing inside of her head. “So only a being that is in possession of magic can resist, huh?”

Chapter 9 - The Everfree

Bloodline
Chapter 9 – The Everfree

Twilight mind became obsessed with the dark idea inside her head. She turned around to Light Chaser and shot him an mischievous but emotionless glare. Her eyes rocketed back and forth between Pinkie Pie and the crystal pegasus. For a second she closed her eyes. After a short breath, they snapped back open. “Alright. Luna might be right, so I have to make some preparations. Light Chaser? Would you be so kind and bring Pinkie home?”

Light Chaser shot her a questioning glare. “Do you really think it is a good idea to let me run around alone in the darkness? Together with an earth pony that couldn't defend me against this cult?”

The alicorn groaned and rolled with her eyes. “I guess you're right. Stay still...”

Twilight charged her horn and released a bolt of her magic towards Light. Her magic flooded his body and sank into every fiber of his flesh. He stayed still, stunned from the shock. Twilight turned away and explained her action while he walked away. “I've connected your neural system with mine. When you're extremely nervous or frightened I will notice and come immediately to your aid. They won't be able to defeat me with pure magic since I have become an alicorn. That's for sure. They know I'm angry. I think none of them would be foolish enough to battle me now. It should be safe for now.”

Light Chaser sighed, but his sight went to the still shaking pink mare next to them. “Fine. I will accompany her until she reaches her home.”

Twilight didn't even hear him anymore. Sometimes Light Chaser didn't understand this mare. He guessed that it was pointless to try to understand a mare at all. He stretched his hoof towards Pinkie and tried to help her get up.

When Pinkie grabbed his hoof, a cold shiver raced over his spine, but he didn't flinch at all. Slowly, it had become normal to get touched by another pony. Light went over to the door and held it upon for the terrified mare. While Pinkie passed him, he let his eyes wander over her coat. A thought raced through his mind. If a pony that witnessed a murder will become gloomy like that, how does a pony that had murdered feel and look like? Light quickly shook his head and banished these kinds of thoughts out of his mind.

Light closed the door behind him and caught up to Pinkie. For some time they didn't talk to each other and just quietly walked down the dirt road to Sugar Cube Corner. No one would have guessed who eventually started the conversation. Pinkie remained silent until Light Chaser broke the ice. “So you are Pinkie Pie? I think Twilight mentioned you a few times. It's really sad that we have to meet under this circumstances.”

Pinkie Pie remained silent. This was probably the longest time-span since she’d lived in Ponyville that her mouth hadn't been constantly moving. She opened the door as they reached Sugar Cube Corner and stepped inside. Before she vanished into the room, she turned around to face Light Chaser.

The crystal pegasus cocked an eye on her. Nopony would even suspect Pinkie to have an evil glare. But her expression was the pure impression of grief and sorrow. “Spike's death is your fault! Nothing like this would have happened if you hadn't shown up!”

These were the first words Pinkie spoke on their way. She slammed the door shut. The lights inside the sweet shop turned on but Light Chaser remained outside the wooden door, left alone in the coldness of the night. Her words sank deep into his mind. Never before had he felt hurt just from words. He didn't know what to do or to say. The only thing that calmed the uproar w in his heart as the quiet whistling of leaves that were dancing along with the wind.

Still shocked, he turned around and began his way back to the Golden Oak library. But of course, he wasn't alone out there. Another pony watched him from far above his head, jumping from cloud to cloud, carefully following his steps. The pony quickly shot down from the sky and headed almost with the speed of sound towards Light Chaser. At the last moment, she pulled upwards and shot above his head. She flew in a curve, only to end up right in front of Light Chaser, who watched the cyan blur with surprise.

Rainbow Dash came slowly to a halt in front of him and finally set her hooves at the ground. She gave him a smug smile and nudged his shoulder. “Hey! What are you doing out here, in the middle of the night? Couldn't it be dangerous for you alone out here?”

Light Chaser lowered his head and continued slowly his path. Rainbow Dash walked along but kept an eye on him. He didn't pay much attention to the multi-colored mare at all. However, he did answer her question. “Twilight cast a spell upon me, so every time I'm in fright or distress she will notice and come to my aid. At least, this is what she told me.”

Rainbow looked around and tried as hard as she could to find anything suspicious, but nothing was visible in the dark around them. “Twilight could have asked me to keep an eye on you instead! I kinda took a favor in you. We would be great flying buddies! I hope Twilight will find a way to let you fly again. That would be awesome! Anyway... Why did you bring Pinkie home at all? She usually wanders around at night as well. She would never be afraid to go alone.”

Light Chaser sighed slightly, his head still pointed towards the ground. Quietly, he revealed the truth to the uninformed mare. “After Twilight and I got home, we learned that somepony broke into the library. Pinkie Pie was setting up a party for me secretly. She had to witness all the bad things that happened. I'm not surprised that her entire body was shaking when we found her.”

For the first time in minutes, Rainbow began to flap her wings again and hovered in front of him, shooting Light a smug smile. “Hey! That's not a reason to become all sad and stuff! I'm sure that there was nothing important in the library, since... well it’s a library. There are only books and stuff like that. Nothing with real value, right?”

Light Chaser elevated his head and stared directly into her eyes. Coldly, he told her what Pinkie Pie had to see. “Maybe the books weren't valuable. They weren't after the books. They came after me! This makes the whole thing even worse. Spike had to die because of me! Pinkie just said it! It is all my fault!”

Rainbow's wings clipped to her body in shock and let her fall a foot to the ground. With a loud thud, she landed right in front of him. There were already little dots of tears in the corners of his eyes. She didn't know what to say. Never before had she had to comprehend the death of somepony close to her. Only one thing was clear to Rainbow; it wasn't Light Chaser's fault. She stepped next to him and laid a supporting hoof at his shoulder. “Hey, hey, listen to me. It is not your fault that these sickos killed Spike. No sane pony would do something like that to another living creature. It’s their fault for being such monsters!”

The tension inside his body rose. Even though it was dark around them, Rainbow thought she noticed that Light Chaser's crystal coat got even darker than before. “Only because the same blood as King Sombra's flows through my veins, they want to hunt me down. What shall I do? I can't hide, nor could I run away! They will find me, no matter where I go! I can't even fly! The only purpose I have is to sacrifice my body to this cult. I'm worthless!”

Rainbow was losing him. She had to think of something to calm him very quickly before he finally decided to do something stupid. “The Princesses wouldn't have saved you if you were worthless! Many ponies would be really sad if you vanished! Fluttershy and Twilight would miss you! I would miss you! You would be surprised how much you mean to me after such a short time! Gosh! We even turned Discord into one of our friends! Nopony is truly worthless. As long as you have friends that care for you, you are not worthless!”

Light Chaser's look told more than more could possibly do right now. He simply stared at the cyan mare in the twilight in disbelief. His mouth stood fully agape. “I would have never thought that you were such a sensitive mare. You seemed to be quite a boyish pegasus. But now I'm kinda looking at you with different eyes, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow blushed slightly while she turned her head away from him. She hissed at his disrespectful comment and slowly trotted on. Of course, the crystal pegasus followed her. His steps were audible to her in the stillness of the night. She tried to hold a few steps distance between them. “Nopony calls me boyish! I'm just very athletic! It’s true that I hate to get all sappy and stuff, but I'm still an awesome mare! I just care about my friends. So deal with it.”

He couldn't act different than flashing her a wide smile. “I really appreciate such company as yours, Rainbow. I think you are really cool. Do you want to hang out for a while? I don't think Twilight awaits me back this soon.”

Rainbow didn't have to think long about his offer. She took his hoof and pointed it towards her. Rainbow withdrew her hooves and slammed into a hoof-bump. “Of course, buddy! I think I know just the spot to chill out!”

The cyan mare wanted to elevate into the air and brush off but she quickly remembered Light's disability and clipped her wings in. They walked past the darkened homes of the citizens of Ponyville. Most of them were already soundly sleeping inside their beds. Rainbow and Light walked towards the alley that led into the Everfree Forest.

The houses became fewer and fewer before disappearing, while more trees began to surround them. Only a little bit of the moonlight could pierce through the thick layer of leaves. Strange shadows stretched over the ground and crossed their path. Startled by the unknown, Light Chaser moved closer to Rainbow Dash.

She noticed the upcoming warmth of his body, but didn't care. Secretly, she was uncomfortable as well in this spooky environment. Light Chaser looked nervously around the shades of the trees. “Where are we heading to? Something here feels wrong to me.”

Rainbow rolled with her eyes. She pressed air through her slightly opened lips to create a whistling sound. “Nowhere special. I only want to show you the most mysterious place all over Equestria! The Everfree Forest is a place where magic is constantly roaming. Strange things are always happening here. There are many legends around this place! Most of the ponies that enter, never return!

Light's eyes widened in fear. Every single muscle in his legs began to itch, and even his wings spread. “Oh! That's fine! Now that I have seen this place we can turn around, right?”

Rainbow couldn't suppress her laughter. Light Chaser blushed at the shame he felt from her mockery. Paralyzed by his own thoughts, Light didn't notice that the dirt road underneath his hooves had vanished. The thorn bushes on both their sides came closer and closer with every step. The whistling of the wind that blew through the tiny gaps between the leaves and branches of the plants around them scared him even more.

The cyan mare was still maniacally laughing before a not really gentle nudge from the crystal pegasus stopped her. She turned to him with still teary eyes. “What's wrong? I wasn't laughing at you, you know?”

Light Chaser simply pointed his hoof towards the sky. Rainbow's eyes followed it, but the cloudy sky of Equestria was nowhere to be found. The branches of the trees around them were thickly intertwined, so no light could fall to the ground beneath. Rainbow quickly shot upwards and pressed against the ceiling of wood and leaves but it wouldn't let her pass. She raced back in the direction they’d come from, but she was welcomed by another wall of plants that tossed her back at the ground in front of Light Chaser's hooves. Rainbow looked hastily at her surroundings. Her sight was limited to a few feet due to the missing light. She began to pant rapidly. “This is not good… this is not good.”

Sweat poured down Light Chaser's forehead. “You are kidding, right? I mean, we are not really trapped in here, are we?”

He got nervous, his wings wanting to flap so badly. However, there was no sense in using them. It was impossible to fly for him. “Please say something, Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash continued to look around, searching desperately for an exit. Her wings flapped at an insane speed and carried her from one side of their prison to another. “This place isn't called the place of endless magic for nothing. It's common that weird things happen here, but we’ve always had found a way out of here, so far!”

Light Chaser's heart skipped a few beats it almost stopped by the unbelievable amount of fear. He curled up into a little ball. He remembered the enchantment Twilight had casted upon him. His eyes rocketed up to the place where the sky was supposed to be. “Twilight! You promised to save me! No matter what happens! So where are you, foul alicorn! Make use of your magic and save us!”

His scream remained unanswered. Nothing seemed to happen around them. The forest remained dark and silent. Only the sound of the plants crawling over the ground was slightly audible. Rainbow tried to take a step towards Light but something at her rearhoof stopped her from advancing.

Rainbow looked behind her and noticed a tendril of thorns that was wrapped around her ankle. She shook her hoof violently, but the tendril wouldn't let go of her so easily. “Go away, you stupid piece of wood!”

In fear, Light Chaser tried to stretch his hoof towards the immobilized mare, but a bright beam of light blinded them. He opened his eyes a tiny bit in order to catch a glimpse of the light's source. The silhouette of a pony came into view. “Twilight? Is that you? Are you finally here?”

The pony came into view. Rainbow Dash was still blinded from the sudden ray of light and didn't even notice the approaching mare. The blue mare with a white mane was illuminated by the background light. She seemed to be an wingless angel. She looked upon the caught pegasus and the almost weeping form of Light Chaser. She lowered her gaze and stared into his eyes. “If you want your friend to be freed, then you will come with the great... I mean, then you will come with me! We will make sure that your heart’s desires will be fulfilled. Come into the light and finally be able to be become what your heart is craving for.”

The tendrils climbed up Rainbow's back, but Light Chaser's heartbeat slowed down. He calmed down when he opposed the being in front if him. “Everything I want?”

The change in his attitude didn't matter to Twilight, who was already searching for him in the Everfree Forest. The odd magic inside this place was dislocating her teleportation spells over and over again. After a dozens of tries she finally reached the place where he was supposed to be. However, the only thing she saw was Rainbow Dash wrapped in a rope, lying on the ground. The cyan mare looked up with small tears in her eyes. “A pony came here! She took Light Chaser with her!”

Chapter 10 - Doubt

Bloodline
Chapter 10 - Doubt

Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash as if she’d been struck by lightning. “What do you mean by 'she has taken him'? He wouldn't go anywhere without me! This doesn't make any sense! It looks like there are two different groups of ponies seeking after him!”

Magic roared around Twilight's horn. It soared down towards the ground and hit the rope that was wrapped around Rainbow's ankles. The rope burned and turned into dust. A small gust carried the faint remains away.

Rainbow struggled to get back on her hooves, but managed to turn around with a precise flap of her wings. “Why should there be two groups after him? Seems like the same ponies to me.”

Twilight shook her head violently. “No, they act totally different. The ponies that came to Fluttershy's cottage and here into the Everfree knew exactly where Light Chaser was. The ponies that rampaged through my home were absolutely clueless. From my point of view, it’s clear. We are dealing with more than just these maniacs.”

Rainbow Dash gulped at the thought of even more sickos seeking after Light Chaser. “What are we supposed to do now?”

For a short moment, Twilight sank into her thoughts. She excluded every foreign thought and tried to focus on Light Chaser. Silently, she mumbled something into her coat. “What did I miss? What could I have overseen...?”

Her mind needed a few moments, but it quickly combined the pieces to a whole picture. Various pictures flashed in front of her inner eyes. It was too much for her to actually realize what she had seen, but one particular picture was burned into her mind. It was the moment when Spike mentioned the Amulet of the Dark Alicorn in front of Light Chaser.

She gasped in shock, it felt like a lightning was racing over her spine. “I've got it! If their lure is giving him wings, they need magic! But not any magic, they need the magic of an alicorn to gain him wings. Since the Princesses and I wouldn't corporate with them, they need the amulet!”

Twilight spun around and extended her wings. Rainbow just looked at her lavender wings in awe. “Rainbow! Don't stare at me like you've never seen wings before! Come on!”

The alicorn's horn shone brightly and burned a hole into the thick layer of leaves and branches above their heads. Rainbow shook her head and quickly followed Twilight. The cyan mare caught up with her friend immediately. “Twilight? Where are we heading to?”

Twilight concentrated only upon her destination. “The library! We have to look after the amulet! Maybe it is still there! They have no reason to return to Ponyville if they've got everything they need. If the amulet is still there, we still have the chance to get any of them into our hooves!”

Rainbow and Twilight soared down and crashed right through the front door. Twilight wrapped the furniture that hid the Amulet inside her magic and shoved it aside. A small enchanted wooden box became visible. Twilight's magic crept inside the lock and opened it unexpectedly easily.

The wooden box revealed its contents, but to their disappointment the chest was empty. Twilight's entire body began to shake. Pure anger crept up her spine. Rainbow looked curiously over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the empty box. She could see Twilight shaking and mumbling something into her coat. “Darn! The amulet is gone! I guess we have to find another way to chase them.”

Twilight's magic to begin boil in her inner. She wanted to find them so badly. It wasn't the thought of revenge that formed her desire, but the certainty that the ponies that got rid of Spike would get their righteous punishment. “Another way? There isn't another way! If they've got everything they require then there is no need for them to come ever back to us. Nopony would be so dumb as to risk facing an alicorn. Their entire plan could fail!”

Rainbow looked around the room when something inside her mind tried to come to the outside. “Well, isn't there anything else they need? Maybe some sort of spell or anything?”

Twilight's outrage slowly faded when Rainbow's words resounded inside her mind. Wasn't there something else? The switch inside her mind finally flipped over. “You are right, Rainbow! I simply love your plain mind!”

The alicorn passed Rainbow and shot straight to a small book that was thrown to the ground before. It was Twilight's notebook. Rainbow just hovered after her with a questioning expression. “Did you just called me stupid?”

Her question remained unanswered. Twilight was already rushing over various pages. Her magic stopped and she tapped her hoof at one exact point. “Here it is! Everytime I hear something that could be useful I make a mental note. And what use it being able to use magic if I can't even take notes from the distance!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “You actually realize how ridiculous this sounds, right?”

It seemed like Twilight couldn't even hear Rainbow anymore. This new turn of events gave her new hope. “The amulet was just additional! The last thing they really need is the fragment of King Sombra's horn! It is treasured inside the Crystal Castle of my brother and Cadence. We have to meet the other Princesses to prevent King Sombra from being revived.”

Rainbow looked briefly out of the window and pointed her hoof towards the outside. “You actually know that it is the middle of the night? How are you planing to reach anypony?”

Twilight shoved the notebook aside and levitated some books and quills into her saddlebag. “Don't be ridiculous. There is a pony that raises the moon. Princess Luna has to be awake at that time of the day. Prepare yourself; we have to go immediately.”

The cyan mare snorted loudly. “I should prepare myself? How about you? I'm the fastest pony in the whole of Equestria! You should prepare yourself to keep up with me!”

In her apartness, Rainbow had closed her eyes. When they slowly cracked open, she found herself over Canterlot Castle. Rainbow just hovered there, her mind needing a few moments to realize what just had happened. She saw Twilight quickly gliding down towards the tower decorated with blue fabric. Rainbow shot past her and landed as first on the marble balcony. “Hey, Twilight! Your teleportation magic sure has improved! I didn't even notice that you had used magic at all.”

Twilight could only offer a small smile towards her cyan friend when she gently tapped at the ground. She proceed to the balcony door and gently tossed it open, only barely enough to create a gateway for both of them.

The room was dark. No lights were lit inside Princess Luna's chamber. Twilight illuminated the tip of her horn. She was taken aback when she was able to see. A dark sphere was placed in the middle of the room. She couldn't see what was inside, but it didn't feel good to her. “Okay, Rainbow! Get in cover. I will blow this thing away!”

Before the cyan pegasus could answer, the magic around Twilight's horn became stronger and stronger until it released itself as a powerful ray. It hit the sphere and shattered it into thousands of pieces.

The two beings underneath the sphere were completely stunned by the sudden burst of magic that forced their shield to break. The two alicorn sisters were hanging above a map of the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia arose and mustered Twilight carefully. “Twilight? What is the meaning of this?”

Twilight's eyes raced through the room, looking for a possible source of danger. They only slowly calmed upon the alabaster chest of her former mentor. “I'm very sorry, Princess. I couldn't afford lose time and open the sphere gently.”

Princess Luna accompanied her sister and mustered Twilight with a warning expression. “What could possibly drive you to such vast actions?”

Twilight bit her lips. Her body was filled with adrenaline since she concentrated such a huge amount of magic. “You are really asking me why I'm upset? Do you really think that nothing is wrong here? Haven't you noticed? Light Chaser is not here! This dreaded cult has foalnapped him! We can't lose any more time!”

Before Princess Luna could answer, her sister stepped quickly in front of her. “Twilight Sparkle! We know the situation is critical, but this doesn't qualify you to speak to my sister in this way! Has Spike's death confused your mind? Keep calm and explain yourself.”

Twilight used the calming technique Cadence shown her once. She put her hoof onto her chest, breathed deeply and then extended her hoof from her heart in a wide curve. “It is my fault. After Princess Luna left, I snapped and sent Light Chaser away. I told him to escort Pinkie Pie home, but on the way home he met Rainbow and they decided to hang out. They got trapped in the Everfree and a mysterious pony appeared and took him away.”

Rainbow looked bashfully at the ground while she closed in to the Princesses. “I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for something like that to happen.”

Princess Celestia laid her hoof in a welcoming and calming manner upon Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “It is neither of yours fault. We shouldn't have gave this task to any of you in the first place. I have to apologize that we didn't checked for other possible threats. I'm sorry.”

Twilight shook her head and fell into Princess Celestia's hooves. “No, I have to be sorry! I disappointed you!”

She sobbed into her alabaster coat. Princess Luna watched the scene and rolled her eyes. “Well, if we could go on now? We were just seeking for a way to secure the fragment of King Sombra's horn from foreign influence. Do you have any other information that might help us?”

Twilight thought hard, but only a single but important thing came to her mind. “The Amulet of the Dark Alicorn. It was stolen after the ponies came into my home. So it seems like Light Chaser has taken it with him.”

Princess Luna cocked an eye. “Did he know about the amulet?”

Twilight almost whimpered at the thought of Light Chaser being a traitor after the success she’d seemingly made with him. “Yes, Spike was mentioned it while he was around accidentally.”

The Princess breathed calmly. “You think he betrayed us?”

Twilight couldn't talk any more. She simply nodded weakly and pointed her gaze towards the ground.

The Princesses looked at each other in concern. Princess Celestia sighed and turned again to her former student. “I was afraid that this could happen. I foolishly believed that the power of harmony was enough to show him the light. How could I think that King Sombra's son wouldn't follow his path into darkness? I should be ashamed of myself... But I can't let myself down now. I have made many mistakes during my lifetime and every time I came back stronger. We have to go to the Crystal Empire and secure the horn fragment. They will come to us sooner or later.”

The waver in Princess Celestia's eyes was gone and bravery replaced it swiftly. A small smile formed on her sister's lips. Princess Luna stepped back to their table and folded the map with help of her magic. “Then it is decided. We will go to the Crystal Empire and bring Light Chaser back into our control.”

A determinate look emblazoned the faces of the three Princesses only the usually so brave Rainbow Dash had issues. “Shouldn't we tell the other guys? I think it would be nice to have the Elements around since King Sombra could actually be revived and stuff.”

Twilight simply shook her head at her cyan friend. “I don't think this would be a good idea. The others can't really defend themselves against others. It’s already dangerous enough that you’re here. You've seen what these ponies are capable to do. You are fast and still able to flee, but the others are not. The Princesses and I are perfectly able to protect us magically.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. After a short moment of hesitating, Rainbow agreed. “You may be right. However, I think that the others would like to punish the ponies that did this to Spike.”

While Twilight only had to suppress her anger, something in Princess Luna's mind clicked into order. “You remind me of something, Rainbow Dash. When I returned from the library after the incident I searched for the purpose of this gruesome deed. It seems that I have found the spell that they want to use. For this spell is not only a living relative required, but the blood of a dragon.”

The Princess of the Night almost choked at her last words. “They want to bring King Sombra back and empower him until he surpasses my sister and me, to cause the ultimate downfall of our Equestria.”

Chapter 11 - From Light into Shadow

Bloodline
Chapter 11 – From Light into Shadow

Two ponies wandered down a dark hallway. The first one was clothed in a dark and heavy cloak while the second was walking like the creator that made him. His flank was bare and his wings were short. Their gazes pointed straight toward a small flickering light of some candles. The cloaked ponies eyes wandered from time to time to the crystal pegasus by her side. “I wonder... You barely resisted when I wanted to take you with me. Was there any particular reason you agreed so easily?”

Light Chaser didn't even look at the other pony. “Except of your threat to harm Rainbow Dash?”

The dark pony hissed silently into his cloak. “Yes.”

Light Chaser coldly answered, “No.”

Slowly, they came closer to the illuminated door frame at the end of the hallway. No voices came from inside the room. Only a shadow danced in the light and exposed the presence of another pony. The moment they entered the dark pony exposed her face.

She revealed her foggy gray mane and brown eyes. Even her coat was colored in an ashen gray hue. This unicorn was the complete opposite of the word 'colorful'. Rapidly, she walked forward to the stallion waiting for her. The grey mare turned around and faced Light Chaser directly. “My name is Whisper. I'm sorry that I hadn't the time to introduce myself before.”

Whisper pointed her hoof at the light-brown stallion next to her and flashed him a cheeky smile. “And this handsome stallion wants to be called the Doctor. Don't mind his weird name, he is a special one.”

Both ponies proceed to sit down at a nearby table. Only there chairs were set around the table. Light Chaser carefully watched them. “Are you the only member of this cult?”

Whisper had to laugh slightly at the naïve stallion. She waved him over and pointed at the empty chair at the other end of the rectangular table. “You are mistaken, Light Chaser. Please sit down and listen to us.”

Light Chaser narrowed his eyes, but he followed the instructions of the self-secure mare. He sat down and watched both of them closely. “I already know what your cult wants from me. So why talk?”

The Doctor simply had to laugh at the brash attitude of the just recently awoken pegasus. “For a pony that only wanders among other ponies for a few days, you're quite rough. You are either really quickly adapting or just really disrespectful. We are only here to help you.”

Light Chaser cocked an eye at the brown earth pony. “Help me?”

Whisper licked her lips and shoot him a devilish grin. “You are right that we supposed to be member of the cult that wants to awaken your father from the dead, but we wouldn't be here sitting with you if we hadn't had something different in mind.”

Light Chaser seemed to be a little bit distracted and uninterested in his fate, but now he was fully aware of the ponies in front of him. “Something different? What other sick goals do you and your friend wish to accomplish?”

Whisper rose slowly from her chair and took a small pouch out of her cloak. She pulled a familiar artifact out of it and laid it in front of Light Chaser. “I guess you're familiar with this one?”

Light Chaser's eyes wandered down and focused the Amulet of the Dark Alicorn. “Of course, I do. It is the charm that Twilight was talking about.”

The Doctor simply smiled at the hesitant pegasus. He seemed to be confident about his plan. “Listen, we want you to wear it.”

Light Chaser's eyes rocketed back up and locked on the stallion. “Sorry? It don't apply to pegasi. There is no use for it.”

The Doctor's smile got even more confident than before. “Really? Why don't you try to wear it and see if something will happen?”

A unpleasant feeling fluttered through Light Chaser's belly when he thought about wearing the amulet. The two others observed him carefully, but their concerns relieved when the angles of his lips turned upwards. Light Chaser reached for the charm and swung it around his neck. It clicked into it's lock and laid perfectly on his crystal body.

It felt to him like cold water got poured over his body. The sinister energy of the charm flooded his body and reached every single cell. The cold chill yielded and was replaced by an intense pain. It felt like a burning arrow was shot into his head.

Unnoticed from the in pain cringing pegasus, the magic made its way towards his wings. The magic has tainted his entire body to a darkish gray. Only the tips of his feathers were glowing in an intense black aura. It slowly build new feathers that were added to his usual feathers. They newly gained primary feathers formed a framing underneath his wings. For a short moment, it seemed like his reddish eyes were burning from the inside.

The pain left Light Chaser's body. He raised to his full height and expanded his wings. With one powerful wing flap he took off into the air and hovered above Whisper's and the Doctor's head. “I can fly! I can finally fly!”

Whisper flashed the airborne stallion a childish smile before her gaze turned once more stern and dark. “You might have already guessed that we want more than just giving you the ability to fly.”

Light Chaser's red eyes shot down, back at the ponies at the ground. “What kind of deed do you have in mind?”

The gray mare looked at the Doctor and waited from him to advance. He returned her gaze and nodded firmly. “Well... Where do I begin? Many years ago we had infiltrated this cult under the lead of this dreadful Trixie to avoid them from succeeding in their plans. Now the time has come to destroy the cult. It may sound odd, but you have to fly to the Crystal Empire and achieve the fragment of your father's horn before the cult itself reaches it. They can't resurrect him if you are refusing yourself to them. It is really important that you act like you are a member of the cult as long as possible. They have to believe that we convinced you to join us. But we will do a little twist at this scenario. As soon as you grab the fragment you have to dash into the endless sky. Near the Crystal Castle is a very special lake. The ponies are telling tales that this lake is endlessly deep and no pony could retrieve what lies at the ground of this lake. You simply have to toss it into the lake. At this point our little cooperation ends and we will never see each other again. After this, you are a free pegasus and able to do what ever you want. “

Light Chaser simply snorted at the explanation of the Doctor. “What about the Princesses and the others? Will they abandon me?”

The Doctor exchanged worried gazes with his companion, but eventually paid attention to Light again. “This might be possible. We don't exactly know what they will do during our plan.“

Light Chaser's gaze wandered to the ground and focused a single outstanding nail. “And what are you two doing now?”

Whisper waited for him to land on the ground again. “We will go to Trixie and tell her that you are traveling to the Crystal Empire and meet us there.”

Light Chaser turned around, but stopped in the framing of the door. “Very well, I will go and destroy the fragment for you. But none of you will harm any of my prior friends.”

Whisper nodded and looked after him as he left the room. “We promise, Light.”

The dark pegasus left the room, his hoof steps were still audible along with his voice. “I'm not Light anymore, there is nothing good left. I just want to be done with you.”

He walked along the dark hallway and looked for the exit. Light reached a stone stair that led to the outer world. The light surrounded him as he stepped through the door and allowed his eyes to look over northern Equestria. There it was, far in the distant could be the Crystal Empire seen. “Let the act begin...”

Light expanded his wings and flapped as hard as he could. His body was lifted into the air. Another powerful wing flap let him accelerate. His wings beat over and over up and down. They made him faster as he ever would have believed.

It will take some time for him to reach the Crystal Empire, but his deed will certainly be done before night has fallen over Equestria.

But he still can't know, that the Princesses were already preparing for the arrival of the cult. It was quite simple for them. They had simply to wait until they enter the main hall of the Crystal Castle. Magically, they will lock the doors and stun every member that arrived. This will make it easy to secure Light Chaser. At least, this is what they believed.

The sun was already reaching for the horizon, but the Princesses hadn’t lost their patience. Several hours they had to wait until the crystal doors would eventually swing open, revealing a small filly with a small red vial around her neck. She stepped clumsily inside and looked carefully around the room, acting like nothing happened. Finally, she proceeded to step up the crystal stairs.

Twilight hissed in impatience and rolled with her eyes. “Will they ever arrive here? Why are they taking so long? They already have everything they need except the horn fragment. Such a sultry bunch of ponies should already be tearing in the walls of this castle!”

Princess Celestia couldn't believe what she'd heard from her former pupil. “Twilight? Are you serious? This would be the most terrible thing to happen. We worked out this plan especially to avoid anypony to be hurt. We want to settle this as peacefully as possible.”

Twilight looked back at the older of the alicorn sisters. “You said it yourself! Peacefully as possible! If necessary, we have to use violence to bring them back to their senses. None of them should go unpunished for their doings!”

A loud slapping noise rang through the entrance hall. Twilight felt an intense pain on her cheek. She didn't see it coming, but she could follow Princess Luna's hoof as it left her face after the Princess slapped her. In disbelief she stared at the midnight blue alicorn and watched how Princess Luna gave her a disappointed face. “I expected you to be different, Twilight Sparkle. This is the exact behavior which led me to become Nightmare Moon. Even though they murdered Spike, you must shield your heart from hatred and anger. You became a being with great responsibilities and power. You have to protect your other friends with all of your power.”

Every word that rang through Twilight's head left in the next second. Her mind was blurred by anger and grief that she tried to suppress as hard as possible. “Protect my friends? I already failed to do it twice! Spike is already gone and Light Chaser is working together with this cult! He has no idea what he might cause. I'm sure he is afraid and just waits for us to rescue him.”

Princess Celestia couldn't act different than shook her head. “I would have never thought that you might lose your faith just as quickly as you did right now. Your loss is tragic, but that doesn't mean that you have to let down your other friends as well. Don't forget that you've become a Princess because you cared for your friends more than for your own life. Twilight, please concentrate upon what is important right now. We have to save our friend without hurting anypony. Spike might not return through our deeds, but he lost his life while he defended our secret as good as he could manage. Don't let his sacrifice be for nothing. Be strong, Twilight Sparkle. Be strong for Spike.”

A loud clapping noise was audible from the spot where the little filly has entered the room before. The Princesses hadn't pay any attention to their surroundings anymore and missed that a bunch of ponies had entered the building. A blue unicorn mare with a white and blue highlighted mane stood in front as their leader. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is pitying you, Princesses. Your efforts are pointless. We will obtain ultimate strength and defeat you!”

Twilight left their hiding spot and coked an eye at her acquaintance. “Trixie? What are you doing here?”

Before Trixie could answer another familiar voice rang from a window above them. A crystal pegasus with black tipped wings stood proudly in the place of an open window and threw a shadow over the entire hall. “She will lead us to victory, Twilight.”

Chapter 12 - Breaking the Rules

Bloodline
Chapter 12 - Breaking the Rules

Twilight was stunned by Light Chaser's changed appearance. Her jaw hung fully agape and her eyes were locked upon the dark charm around his neck. “Light, is this really you?”

Slowly, her eyes wandered over him. His crystal body was tainted by the amulet of the Dark Alicorn. Light extended his wings and carefully soared in a circular pattern down the hall. His hooves touched the ground gently next to Trixie. “Nice to see you again, Twilight.”

Completely overwhelmed, the Princesses stepped out of their hiding spot as well. Trixie wasn't prepared to find such hard resistance. It was obvious that Twilight would be here, but the Princesses are a whole different piece of cake. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has to admit that I hoped to avoid three out of four alicorns, but we are still going to win!”

The loud noise of another set of four hooves was audible behind the Twilight and the Princesses. Nopony notice her, except Light Chaser. He already stared at her with a smug smile on his face. “So the fourth alicorn will stay in our way as well.”

The kind and caring Princess Cadence couldn't be recognized in this very moment. Her expression was harsh and the lack of mercy would cause everypony to shiver. “Not only are the Princesses here to stop you and these foolish ponies, but Shining Armor is surrounding the castle with the Royal Guard right now . There is no way to escape from here. We trapped you inside our castle. None of you will even come close to the fragment!”

Dark magic slowly originated from the sinister charm and interacted with Light Chaser's eyes. A thin path of black particles led upstairs, passed Princess Cadence and made its way until it was out of sight. Light Chaser's grin became even bigger when he understood what this could mean. “I guess you hid the fragment somewhere upstairs? I will just go where the most guards are stationed. They will lead me there.”

His wings swung open and a massive wing flap lifted him into the air. He already hovered over Twilight's head when she screamed. “Rainbow Dash! Get him to the ground!”

A cyan blur shot from the ceiling down and aimed for the crystal pony's back. She missed him only merely, but Rainbow kept being stubborn and followed him as fast as she could. The Princesses used the general confusion and froze the ponies at the spot. Only Trixie could manage to dodge the magical ambush, when she jumped as far forward as she could manage. Unfortunately, she landed just in front of Twilight's hooves. Trixie's entire body began to shake violently when she felt the magic of all Princesses charging up again.

Slowly, she turned her gaze up to meet Twilight's. Completely stunned by the overwhelming power of the alicorns she could only wait. Twilight bent down and silently whispered into her ear. “Are there any last words before we throw you into the dungeon?”

Twilight could clearly see the fright in Trixie's eyes, but there was something different as well. Her attitude changed and a devilish smile formed upon her lips. “You are so full of yourself that you hadn’t noticed at all, right? Your foolishness will bring the downfall of Equestria!”

A single thought raced like lightning through Twilight's mind. She turned around and looked at the other Princesses. “This is a set-up!”

Even before they realized what was actually going on, they were already caught underneath a dome of magic. Twilight looked hastily around her surroundings, but her eyes came finally to a halt upon Trixie's horn. “What have you done? You are not using your magic, Trixie! How are you doing this?”

Trixie began to laugh maniacally, she got back to her hooves, but never stopped laughing during this process. “You are still too good-willed, Princesses! Remember the little filly that has entered the castle just before us? The Great and Powerful Trixie gave her the task to prepare a trap for you! I already thought that some ponies would be here, but I never would have thought that I would catch all alicorn Princesses at once!”

Princess Celestia stepped to Twilight's side. She had lost every bit of mercy in her expression. “Was it worth to be trapped here along with us? Even your subordinates are frozen and unable to move at all. Nopony is able to perform the resurrection spell anymore!”

Trixie had another time to laugh. “Seriously? You think that this was everything we got? Of course, you would set up some measures to stop us, but you would never distrust a small filly. All we have to do is to pour dragon blood over the fragment before Light Chaser touches it. The magic of the amulet will do the rest. It is foolproof, nothing will stop is now. He can't even betray us! He will definitely revive his father!”

Twilight bit at her lip, tears already ran down her cheeks. “Why? Why are you doing this? What is the purpose in reviving this cruel dictator?”

Trixie walked calmly from the right to the left side of the dome. “It is simple, King Sombra only appreciates pure ponies and the Great and Powerful Trixie is such a pony!”

Princess Cadence couldn't believe her ears. Slowly, she accompanied her aunts and sister-in-law and stared aghast at Trixie. “What leads a pony to such a conclusion? Do you know why Light Chaser was put in chains? He may still have had a heart since he didn't kill his own son, but King Sombra had collected unicorns and pegasi from every corner of the country just to molest, rape and kill them. King Sombra is a sick mind. He will kill you as well, Trixie”

Trixie finally snapped. “Stop talking nonsense to the Great and Powerful Trixie! King Sombra will make me his queen!”

Her body began to shake once more like before. Princess Luna came closer and laid her hoof upon Trixie's shoulder. “I'm sorry, Trixie. You've doomed all of us, it might as will become a hard fight. Many ponies might suffer, but nevertheless we will fight King Sombra back.”

Trixie slowly realized what she has done. With teary eyes, she looked at the Princesses. “The spell might sound simple, but it is more than that. It will empower King Sombra beyond everything known to ponykind. Nothing will stop him...”

The Princesses looked at each other in worry. Princess Celestia finally turned to Trixie again. “Can you open this dome?”

The tears were already flowing down her blue cheeks while she shook sadly her head. “No... I'm sorry...”

Princess Celestia turned around and looked at the end of the stairs. “In this case, we just have to trust Rainbow Dash that she will be able to stop him.”

Light Chaser could only make it around the third corner until Rainbow Dash caught up with him. She tossed him to the ground and brought herself between him and his path. Light Chaser hissed at the cyan mare. “What are you doing, Rainbow? I have to get rid of this fragment!”

Rainbow hovered in the air and tried to make her as big as possible. “I'm going to stop you! You... Wait? What?”

The crystal pegasus was still full with adrenaline and only waited to shot past Rainbow. “You don't understand anything. I'm not siding with Trixie! I want to get to the fragment as soon as possible to toss it into the Crystal Lake!”

Rainbow was more then confused. She tapped the ground gently with her hooves and searched for the right words, but Light Chaser didn’t have any time left to wait. “We can't lose any more time! Trixie might be already heading here! Will you help me?”

She blinked rapidly and looked at him in confusion, but she quickly regained her ability to speak and turned around. “Alright! Let's go! I've got a hunch that you are telling the truth. Do you know where it is?”

Light Chaser raced past Rainbow and didn't even look back. “I can see a small trace that will lead me there. We just have to follow it!”

Rainbow tailed Light Chaser. They passed several guards that are now following them as well. They ended up in a long hallway being followed by at least twenty guards. Rainbow turned her head around in slight concern. “Are you sure we can make it like that?”

Light Chaser's wings spread even further. In the distance he could see the end of the hallway. The trace ended at the surface of the wall. “Rainbow! The trace is ending at this wall. You might call it a guess, but I think we have to fly right through this wall!”

Rainbow lost a little bit distance to him. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea since a crystal wall is as hard as diamonds. “Are you sure? Maybe it is just around the corner?”

Light Chaser looked back at the unsure mare and noticed that the guards has lost track of them. “Follow me, if you trust me.”

The wall came closer and closer and Rainbow still wasn't sure what to do. Just mere feet from the wall she breathed calm and closed her eyes. “I do...”

Both pegasi closed their eyes for the spec of a second, right before they touch the wall. They expected a hard impact, but this one should never come. They opened their eyes and found themselves in a giant circular room. Only a small podium was placed in it's center. Dark magic pulsed around a small object that lay on a small pillow.

They slowed down immediately and walked carefully to his father's horn fragment. A red liquid was poured over it. Rainbow Dash cocked an eye. “This looks weird. Something is wrong here.”

Light Chaser ignored Rainbow Dash completely and attempted to grab the fragment. Rainbow turned her head and saw a small filly staying the way they had come from. The silly jumped into the crystal wall and disappeared. She spun around and wanted to warm him. “Light, stop! This is a trap!”

The moment Rainbow's words left her mouth, was the exact moment when Light Chaser touched the horn. The dark charm around his neck began to radiate a leash of magic swung around the horn. A bright explosion blinded them and left them stumbling to the ground.

Light Chaser slowly regained his sight. Light Chaser couldn't believe his eyes. He never saw him before, but Light was certain that the pony standing in front of him was his father, King Sombra.

The dark king looked carefully at his son. “If I only would have known that you will become something like this, I would never have locked you up in the first place.”

Light Chaser wasn't certain if the upcoming feelings originated from the charm around his neck or out of his inner. It wasn't a feeling of the love a son would feel for his father, but rage. “I'm not even interested how you come back, but now you are telling me that you might be proud of me? I have freed you, but this time I'm the one who will cage you!”

King Sombra shot him a smug smile. “Don't be so full of yourself, foal. Only because you made it into this room, it doesn't mean that you will ever leave it.”

Light Chaser flashed his teeth, his wings were fully expanded and ready to charge at him. “You are mistaken, you fool. You won't make it.”

The dark unicorn brushed a little bit of dust out of his mane and firmly sat down. “You're pathetic, my son. You know much less then you think. This room wasn't created by the Crystal Ponies or anypony else. This room was especially created by myself and the portal you just have crossed leads outside the castle.”

Rainbow looked in awe at King Sombra. “You mean we aren't even in the castle anymore?”

King Sombra got back to his hooves and headed to the little podium in the center of the room. “No, not even close. There is only one way to escape from here.”

Light Chaser simply cocked his eye. The dark king didn't even wait for verbal response. “You can only leave this room together with me.”

Light Chaser beat his wings down and charged at his father. He only missed him by mere inches. “You won't set a hoof outta here!”

Rainbow Dash watched both of them fighting. Never before had she hadto see two ponies fight for their lives. The spells of King Sombra repelled against the force of the amulet, but there still was no guarantee that Light Chaser would win. Light-headed, Rainbow decided to get some help and escaped through the portal which she came from. Her wings pounded harder and harder until she reached the entrance hall.

In Rainbow's terms, time has stopped for the blink of a second. She saw the Princesses being trapped together with Trixie under a magical dome. “Twilight!”

The Princesses looked up and saw Rainbow in the air. Even Trixie turned her gaze towards the loyal pegasus. For the first time her expression has changed to a happy one. “You! You have to find four little crystals that are stuck in the ground around us! This way the dome will disappear.”

Rainbow's eyes wandered around the room. Quickly, she had spotted all of the crystals and torn them out of the ground. The dome disappeared and the ponies were free. Twilight charged at Rainbow and pulled her into a bone-crashing hug. “Thank you, Rainbow!”

Rainbow pushed Twilight's hooves away. “Yeah, yeah. We don't have time for this now. Light Chaser is fighting against King Sombra and I don't know how long he will be able to stop him.”

Princess Celestia parted them and looked with determination at Rainbow. “Lead me there. I will stop him.”

Rainbow Dash gasped. “They’re are in some sort of enchanted room. We go into through a crystal wall. King Sombra said it isn't inside the castle at all.”

A small smile formed on Princess Cadence lips. “It might be outside and well-hidden, but I was the pony who stashed the fragment there, so I know where this room is.”

Princess Cadence charged her horn with magic and ripped the ponies out of reality. In the blink of a second they reappeared in a circular room and were facing the struggling ponies. None of them seemed to have the upper hoof. Both were badly beaten.

Twilight stepped forward, but stopped immediately when she spotted the dark amulet around Light Chaser's neck. “You... You are fighting him, even though you are wearing the amulet? But why?”

Light Chaser could only offer her a small smile. “Because, I never wanted to free Sombra in the first place. I wanted to sink the fragment deep into the Crystal Lake, but it went wrong and now this fraud is here.”

Simultaneously, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia stepped forward. The older of the sisters spoke first. “You won't escape from here, Sombra. You will be banished once more into the eternal northern ice.”

King Sombra smiled carelessly at the Princesses. “And how are you planning to do so?”

Coldly and without any hesitation, Princess Luna responded. “We will stop you like the last time. You are no harm to us in this state. The plans of your saviors had failed. You are as weak as you were before. There was no sense in bringing you back to life.”

The Princesses horns charged up with magic. The smug smile disappeared out of King Sombra's face as quickly as it came. He felt the tug of their magic becoming stronger and stronger with every passing second. A dark void is beginning to suck everything inside. The Princesses are standing firmly at the ground. Twilight held Trixie and Rainbow at the ground with help of her wings. They only stared as the dark king was about to be sucked into the shadows, but King Sombra was a stubborn one. He focused all of his might upon his horn and created tendrils of dark magic. They swung around Rainbow Dash and tore her along with him.

Light Chaser had a hard time to resist the powerful surge. From the corner of his eye he watched them getting closer to the shadows. His eyes rocketed back and forth until a certain conclusion came to his mind. He clipped the amulet off his neck and charged at his father.

The dark king lost his concentration and the tendrils broke. Father and son stumbled together towards the darkness. Only a second parted them from being devoured, but it seemed like this were the happiest seconds in his entire life. Before the Princesses could react, Light Chaser began to glow. The darkness inside him faded and his coated turned purely white and shined like the sun was reflecting on his coat.

Father and son entered the shadows and the portal closed. The ponies stared at the empty wall in disbelief. Twilight couldn't help herself, she bit her lip. “And so I lost another one of my friends. I always wanted for him to be happy and now he had the only happy moment in the second he was certain to get rid of his father. Both of them are banished in the shadows. None of them shall ever reappear. He did everything he dreamed of and more. He even saved Equestria and sacrificed his by doing this deed. It was like Light Chaser has only lived for seconds, but he already witnessed what love and to care about a pony meant. I think I can speak for all of us, if I say, we love you, Light Chaser... Our hero.”

Epilogue - When Blood Changes Time

Bloodline
Epilogue - When Blood Changes Time

There it was again. The eternal darkness that had surrounded him before Twilight woke him up. It felt so familiar to him, but it was still frightening. He could feel how his body fell through the darkness, and with the last bit of his energy, he opened his eyes. His eyes couldn't find anything but darkness, with the exception of another stallion that was falling down next to him.

For a moment, he seemed to be unconscious, but as soon as Light Chaser focused his on closed eyes they ripped open. They seemed to be full of dread and hate, but soon their expression changed into something smoother and more friendly.

Even though it felt like there was no air around that allowed us to breath, the stallion was able to speak. “Was it worth the trouble?”

Light Chaser cocked his eye at King Sombra. His tone was soothing and calm. He had heard it so many times before, but the voice was never even close to friendly. “Worth the trouble? I would have expected a question that is not as stupid as this one from you. Of course, it was worth it. In the end I was able to protect them from you and this mad cult. Nopony has been hurt.”

The dark king quietly chuckled into the emptiness surrounding them. “Are you sure about that? It seems that you still don't understand ponies completely. You hurt every single of them with your behavior.”

The bright pegasus shook his head in denial. “You're wrong. I did this on my own. None of them got hurt. You're confusing things.”

King Sombra looked deep into the eyes of his son. “The pony that got hurt was you. Every single one of them embraced your being. Now that you are gone, they are in pain over your loss. You can be sure that they will mourn your death.”

The pegasus extended his clipped wings and tried to make himself as big as possible. “You know nothing! You weren't even around. I changed my entire behavior, I even betrayed them! None of them will cry after me.”

King Sombra shook gently his head. “Don't be a fool. There is no way to succeed in your goals without hurting somepony.”

Light Chaser's wings twitched uncontrollably. “This is rubbish. How could that be possible?”

The dark hoof of the king pointed at Light Chaser's twitching wings. “It is just so easy to hurt others to accomplish your own goals. I learned this the hard way… twice.”

His son turned his gaze away in disgust. “And how so?”

King Sombra was more than happy that he didn’t have to face his son directly right now. “For instance, I betrayed your mother and the whole Crystal Empire, as well as clipped your wings and restrained you.”

Light Chaser's head spun back in anger. “And why did you do this? What kind of advantage did you get by crippling me?”

It seemed like there was a small tear forming at the corner of the dark king's eye. “I never thought that I would admit this to somepony, especially you. I was a dishonored pony. None of them even looked at me. So I decided to take the power and enslaved every single of this crystal ponies. Only your mother was different. I loved her, but she would never let me rule a kingdom like this. We fought, and finally, she died. I got carried away and used far too much of my power. The only thing that was left was you. You are a pegasus, just like your mother. So, I became afraid that you would overthrow me when I revealed the truth about your mother’s death. The decision was hard, but the my fear has driven me that far. I let a servant cut your wings and blindfold you. Isn't it ironic that you brought me down in the end? It seems like destiny never fails... Believe me when I say that you are so much better than I am.”

Light Chaser closed his eyes, a single tear rolled down his crystal cheek. “But in the end ,both of us are falling through darkness and only waiting for our salvation.”

King Sombra could offer a small smile, while tears began to flow frankly. “I'm so sorry... If I could undo my doing then I would do it for you.”

Light Chaser let even more tears escape then before. He tried to keep them in as hard as he could. “Why did it come this far? Why couldn't we live like normal ponies did?”

King Sombra watched his son cry into his own coat. He wanted to embrace him for the first time in his life badly, but couldn't reach him with his hoof. He tried to reach him by magic, but before the magic grabbed his son a thought came to his mind. “My son? Do you forgive an old fool for being so selfish?”

The crystal pegasus nodded violently and sobbed. “Now... we can be together for eternity, Father.”

The sound of King Sombra's voice became quiet, more like a whisper. “I hope you will forgive me this time, too.”

As Light Chaser heard his father's words, his eyes shot open. What he saw scared him to the core. King Sombra ignited his horn brightly, and the next thing Light Chaser knew, he was all alone in the darkness.

Another tear rolled down his cheek as he noticed that something was tugging at him. Something was pulling him out of the darkness. Light came into his view. When his vision eventually cleared up, something familiar came into his view.

His story is starting from the beginning. His story will be rewritten. He looked upon a baby dragon and a lavender alicorn inside a library that spoke to him.

“Open your eyes, Light Chaser.”